Spokane's He Who Walks Behind the Rows lift their name from Stephen King's rural horror mythology and apply it to a black/death metal sound steeped in malevolence and ritual menace. Formed in 2021, they belong to the Pacific Northwest's tradition of atmospheric, darkly literary extreme metal.

Puyallup, Washington's Head Stabber are a fresh-faced death metal outfit formed in 2024, arriving with the blunt directness their name implies and a Pacific Northwest underground pedigree built on aggression rather than atmosphere. Still early in their arc, they show a clear commitment to old-school extremity.

Battle Creek, Michigan's Headcheese are a gloriously repugnant collision of slam death metal, brutal death, and goregrind, weaponizing grotesque imagery and gut-punch breakdowns with the enthusiasm of a band that genuinely loves how ugly their music can get. Since 2020 they've been an ideal entry point for listeners who want their death metal without any refinement.

Tucson death metal outfit Headhunt have been operating in Arizona's desert underground since 2022, delivering the genre's fundamentals — buzzsaw guitars, deep vocals, punishing tempos — with the focused purpose of a band that knows exactly what it wants to be.

New York's Headless Eyes occupy an unusually broad corner of extreme metal, blending death, thrash, and traditional heavy metal into a sound that refuses easy categorization. Formed in 2020, they draw on the full timeline of heavy music and synthesize it into something with its own jagged shape.

Iowa's Headless Torso have been carving up the death/thrash intersection since 2007, delivering Valley Junction's brand of surgical riff dismemberment with unrelenting aggression. Their sound sits squarely in the tradition of technically brutal death metal seasoned with thrash's kinetic drive.

Providence death metal veterans Headrot have been at it since 1991, making them one of the longer-running acts in Rhode Island's underground metal scene. Decades on, they continue trading in the kind of rotting, blunt-force death metal that defined the early 90s American underground.

Denver's Headshrinker emerged in 2021 bringing a caved-in, skulking brand of death metal to Colorado's already formidable heavy scene. Their sound leans into primitive brutality — no frills, no mercy, just relentless forward pressure.

St. Louis's Headworm tunnel through the brain with a particularly nasty strain of death metal and grindcore, collapsing the distance between surgical brutality and pure chaotic noise. Since 2018, they've been one of Missouri's more abrasive underground exports.