Sweden's Matadors were founded in 2001 by vocalist/guitarist Andreas Bergström and drummer Jonas Jönsson (formerly of Ridge), but would go through about eight different bass players before finding a likeminded soul in Johan Anderberg. Jointly inspired by the compressed post-stoner rock and unpredictable stylistic idiosyncrasies of Queens of the Stone Age (or Kyuss meets Devo, if you prefer), the trio released their debut full-length, The Muse of Señor Ray, in 2005, then followed it with the sophomore Flame the Whisper in 2007. The latter saw the addition of session guitarist Lars Andersson to the fold, and both albums also contained Tarantino-esque nods to Latin music rhythms. ~ Eduardo Rivadavia