Explosions in the Sky

With a reputation for scathingly intense live performances, Explosions in the Sky were touted early on in their career as the next phenomenon in moody and dynamic instrumental indie rock à la and . Eventually they became one of the genre's most commercially successful bands, scoring several motion pictures and being featured in countless other films, television series, and video games. The quartet of Texas kids, made up of Mark Smith and Munaf Rayani on guitars, Michael James on bass, and Christopher Hrasky on drums, was signed for its first release on after half-a-listen to the foursome's 2000 CD-R How Strange, Innocence, which was submitted by with a brief note saying ""This totally f*cking destroys."" From there, they released their first widely distributed album, Those Who Tell the Truth Shall Die, Those Who Tell the Truth Shall Live Forever, in the latter half of 2001.