Don Caballero Essentials

Too quirky to be metal and too punk to be prog, Don Caballero unleashed some of the most complex and thrilling math rock of the '90s. Driven by the convoluted-but-crunchy rhythms of drummer Damon Che, the band laid down a mixture of crushingly heavy riffs and dizzyingly intricate melodies, moving ever closer to the avant-garde sound of post-rock as the decade wore on. After splitting acrimoniously in 2000, guitarist Ian Williams went on to form Battles, but Che reformed Don Cab with a new line-up in 2003, returning the group to their aggressive roots.