Buffalo death-doom and groove metal band pulling from multiple heavy subgenres to craft dense, lurching compositions. They sit at a bleak crossroads where different strains of heaviness collide.

York, Pennsylvania husband-and-wife duo Cultic fuse early death/doom, first-wave black metal, and punk into what they call dungeon doom — a battle-scarred sound decorated with dark fantasy themes, dungeon synth interludes, and martial industrial textures. Released via Eleventh Key Records, their 2025 album Lore is their most fully realized entry into this singular aesthetic.

Columbus, Ohio's Cultists work within the death/doom tradition, building heavy, suffocating compositions that balance the slow crawl of classic doom with the brutality of death metal. The Ohio band operates independently, adding to a Columbus extreme metal scene that has produced some of the most punishing underground acts in the Midwest.