Lord Dying formed in Portland, Oregon in 2010 and quickly established themselves in the sludge and doom metal underground, signing to Relapse Records for their debut Summon the Faithless (2013). Subsequent albums Poisoned Altars (2015) and Mysterium Tremendum (2019) expanded their palette to include progressive and psychedelic elements, with Kerrang! describing the latter as a prog-metal masterpiece. Their 2023 album Clandestine Transcendence further developed their increasingly ambitious approach, cementing their place among the Pacific Northwest's most creatively restless heavy bands.

Oklahoma City's Los Hijos del Diablo have spent nearly two decades channeling the Devil's blues into smothering sludge and doom metal built for long, punishing nights.

Phoenix stoner/doom outfit Loserfur cook up a hazy, sun-baked misery that thrives in the desert heat, blending fuzz-heavy riffs with a loose, narcotic groove.

Los Angeles doom metal act Lost Breed returned in 2025 after years away, dragging their slow, suffocating heaviness back into the light with zero urgency and maximum weight.

Fort Worth sludge trio that went on a long hiatus then reunited. Features a guest vocal from Craig Welsh of legendary Texas hardcore act Brutal Juice.

Asheville's Low Earth orbit the border between doom and traditional heavy metal, drawing on the Blue Ridge Mountains' gloom for a sound that's both earthy and oppressive.

Crushing Doom / Post-Metal out of Texas.

New York's Lucifer Jones have been threading doom, heavy metal, and punk together since 1995, with a street-worn irreverence that keeps even the heaviest riffs from taking themselves too seriously.

Lexington's Lurking drag black metal into sludge and drone territory, piling glacial riffs on top of one another until the weight becomes its own kind of violence. Since 2016 they've made suffocation feel ceremonial.