Milwaukee death/grind act Chopping Mall trade in B-movie-inspired carnage, delivering blasting extremity with a wicked sense of humor. Wisconsin underground weirdness at its finest.

Clovis, California death metal act Chopt keep things straightforward and heavy, focusing on riff-forward songwriting in the traditional mold. Central Valley brutality without frills.

Chicago's Chordate push death metal into strange experimental territory, dismantling genre conventions with unconventional structures and a restless sonic curiosity. Not for the orthodox.

Alabama death metal act Christ deal in blunt, straightforward brutality from the American South, a region with its own tradition of extreme music running underneath the mainstream. Heavy and unadorned.

Houston brutal death metal act Christ Malformation deliver relentless extremity from deep in the Texas underground, combining technical brutality with blasphemous intent. Heavy and unsparing.

Morgantown, West Virginia black/death act Christ Slaughter channel Appalachian isolation into raw, hostile metal that draws from both traditions without fully committing to either. Underground and uncompromising.

Denver brutal death metal outfit Christectomy delivers pulverizing low-end riffs and blast-heavy compositions rooted firmly in the gore-drenched traditions of the genre. Their sound favors maximum density and surgical brutality over melodic concession.

Louisville black/death hybrid Christlier fuses the caustic atmosphere of black metal with death metal's brutality into a dense, unrelenting sound. Their music draws from Kentucky's historically fertile underground extreme metal community.

Nashville brutal death and slam outfit Christorment brings bone-crushing low-tuned riffs and guttural vocals to a city better known for country, making them a genuine outlier in the Tennessee underground. Their slam-inflected style is uncompromising in its physical heaviness.