Louis, Missouri since 2009. The five-piece, consisting of singer Matt Janssen, guitarists Sam Penner and Ryan McAllister, bassist Jake Mitchell, and drummer Alex Livingston, has a lurching, breakdown-heavy sound that's tempered with a spiritual message. The band got off to a fast start, signing on with Strike First Records and releasing its debut album, Out of Darkness, in 2009. The following year, the band made the jump to Facedown Records, releasing its sophomore effort, Heart of Man, before heading out as the headlining act of the label's Young and Wreckless Tour later that year. In the Midst of Lions' third album, Shadows, appeared in 2011, and found the band breaking onto the Billboard Heatseekers chart. ~ Gregory Heaney