He explored quite a lot throughout his career, from the early Bartok/Stravinsky influenced stuff, to the Darmstadt stuff, to Le Grand Macabre to the late polyrhythmic stuff, he's great

Certain moments in this early Webern masterpiece:

I especially like the music Elliott Carter wrote in the 40's.

And Berio Sequenza.

Not as spine crushing as the stuff you're talking about but still discordant. I like that vague sense of direction.

Elliott Carter's string quartets get quite piercing at times (often like Brian Ferneyhough), also his concertos (like the Double Concerto and the Concerto for orchestra)

I love the Berio Sequenzas :beer:

What's one of your favorites by Alban Berg?

Though Carter (like the serialists) often falls into the category of being too romantic, so it looses that edge.

Berg's not that heavy to me.

I love his chamber concerto and Lyric Suite. Wozzeck is great on occasions (but reminds me too much of zappa for some odd reason, lol)

Carter's Sonata for Cello and Piano is one of my very favorites.

Zorn likes to put his musicians in intense (often very mystical too) situations:

My namesake, not percussively heavy but intense (and ethereal) nevertheless: