Los Angeles, California's Intronaut occupies a rare space in prog-metal. While the band openly indulges in the herbal supplements you'd expect a band with album titles like "Valley of Smoke" to condone, Intronaut's time signature defying riffs suggest a more focused and musical approach than their bong-ripping compatriots. With a near-constant stream of genre-bending releases under its belt since its beginnings in 2004, the band's latest LP, 2015's "The Direction of Last Things," navigates freeform jazz, death metal growls, and jaw-dropping drumming with time-tested grace and precision. "Tune low, play slow" this is certainly not.

Intronaut plays with Entheos and Moon Tooth on Saturday, July 16, at the Montage Music Hall, 50 Chestnut Street. 7:30 p.m. $15. themontagemusichall.com; intronautofficial.com.