Post-hardcore kingpins Alexisonfire dominated Canada's heavy music landscape in the '00s with a genius approach: churn out louder and more aggressive takes on the disparate sounds of the turn-of-the-millennium American rock underground. As a result, AOF's frenetic rhythms and jawing riffs nod to desperate punk throttling (Snapcase), post-punk ingenuity (At the Drive-in), charred post-rock (Shiner), and even melodic second-wave emo (Owls).