They were the first band I ever heard referred to as "hipster metal", and they managed to make USBM into a thing with its own voice rather than a pejorative at the time when everyone was fretting over regional forms of metal being a thing of the past. Good on you, you crazy dirty hippies. Though how anyone could hear A Looming Resonance and not think 4AD is beyond me.
They're new to me but that's interesting. I've just started digging into the dynamics of regional music and collectives-- there's some serious energy coming out of Brooklyn NY right now in punk, noise & performance art-type stuff. Really cool to see a town or city bringing it's artists up on pure appreciation.
Noise never has never really had regional variations, beyond Japan independently inventing their own sort. It started out with mail art, file sharing via the postal service. That said, Theologian is doing a lot of shows in Brooklyn these days. You should go to all of them. With a few exceptions nothing Leech has ever done has been bad.
It's specifically sludge and noise-rap, not just noise like Merzbow. I got a lot to catch in BK, I've never paid attention to Theo but I'll put him on the list! https://blackieallcapswithspaces.bandcamp.com/track/wings-blocking-out-the-sun/ This fucker is incredible, saw him open last night, he put a mic in his sax and started screaming into it in the middle of the mosh.
Sludge is a Brooklyn thing now? Wow. Sludge is always going to be a southern thing to me.
Haha yeah, it's a bit different from that, I love these guys explaining the music though: "This is... just... it's just the fuckin' shit, man." Show Me the Body is making waves with the punk roots: