Muskegon’s Infinite Design is one of those bands, serving up classic technical/progressive death metal in fresh new ways. More Between the Buried and Me than Pig Destroyer, the band’s particular blend of hooky riffs, mosh-happy breakdowns and furious blastbeats have an invigorating gleam of originality to them, with a smattering of Dream Theater-style noodling and tempo shifts that keep you guessing (and impressed).

Representing Kalamazoo, Lasso serves as a sonic snapshot embodying the city and its musical direction. Lasso’s latest album, Golden Lasso, was released from Andy Catlin's Double Phelix record label, which houses a Kalamazoo-based collective of artists. On Golden Lasso, Catlin welcomes in various guest musicians to create an effortless mix of vocals and live instrumentation, ideal for a summer afternoon.

Shneal isn't just a rapper in the local Kalamazoo hip-hop scene — he's also an ambassador for the genre. The 24-year-old artist puts arguably as much sweat into growing the scene as he does his personal endeavors, and it has paid him back with an already fruitful résumé.

It's no secret that the best metal bands are apt to get rowdy both on and off stage, but in the '90s, New Orleans-based sludge metal outfit Eyehategod put other bands to shame.