Byzantine, Centurion (from Oblivion Beckons, 2008)

Imagine if Chuck Schuldiner had joined Carcass and Ken Owen's replacement was Tomas Haake from Meshuggah (or maybe one of the boys from Dillinger Escape Plan?), and that's Byzantine. I think they also manage to escape the bounds of their genre better than any of these bands without looking like they're trying to. I hope these guys from the wildlands of West Virginia get the recognition they deserve now that they're back together. Imagine Meshuggah with occasional clean vocals, some Slayer influence, a truly unique sense of chord progressions, and some harmonic bits thrown in for good measure (thirds and all). All this innovation is well-presented by excellent production and some very light touches from non-traditional instruments, without compromising heaviness and aggression.