Northern New Jersey death metal project.

Houston death metal project from the Texas underground.

Toledo, Ohio death metal project named after the inability to feel pleasure — fitting for music this relentlessly punishing. Eight releases since 2019 demonstrate a prolific commitment to extremity, with Abandon Lust and Ash Wednesday anchoring a substantial catalog from the Glass City.

Columbus death metal project from the Ohio underground.

Okmulgee black metal project from the Oklahoma underground.

Maple Grove, Minnesota death metal project. The vigilante-justice name channels righteous fury.

Norwich, Connecticut death metal project with one of the most absurdist names in the underground.

Winchester, Virginia thrash metal act releasing singles since 2016. Dirt Road Chronicles and Hustle Tactics pair rural Shenandoah Valley grit with thrash metal velocity — a distinctly Appalachian take on the genre.

Colorado Springs thrash metal project from the Colorado underground.

Sparta, Michigan death metal outfit who released both a full-length and EP in 2019. Lynching The Lunacy and Mangled deliver West Michigan brutality with the kind of unflinching directness their name demands.

Somerset, Massachusetts death metal and grindcore hybrid with three releases since 2021. Named after charged particles, their music carries a similar volatile energy — the provocatively titled Happiness Through Fentanyl pulls no punches about the opioid crisis devastating small-town New England.

Oakland death metal and metalcore fusion named after the suborder containing dragonflies. Their 2018 debut Spawn of Odonata continues the entomological theme, building an insectoid mythology through aggressive, technically accomplished heavy music from the East Bay.

Death metal project of unknown origin whose 2012 debut them strips the genre to its barest essentials. Lowercase title, no location, no biography — just destruction.

Los Angeles death metal act whose 2022 debut Submission To Annihilation delivers exactly what the title promises. Unrelenting, single-minded brutality from a city that helped invent extreme music on the West Coast.

Chicago thrash metal outfit with a substantial seven-release catalog since 2008. Albums like Extinction and The Undivided Wholeness of All Things trace an evolution from pure thrash fury into more ambitious compositional territory, all anchored by the Windy City's relentless energy.