Durham, North Carolina trio Church of Wolves traffic in hazy sludge and stoner doom, building slow-burning songs around thick southern fuzz and oppressive low-end weight. Their sound evokes smoke-filled rooms and the long, grinding hours of a southern summer.

Providence, Rhode Island band Churchburn forge a bleak convergence of black metal, doom, and sludge, delivering harrowing, slow-motion devastation across releases on Hells Headbangers and Relapse. Their sound is suffocating and deliberate, built on crushing tempos and corrosive atmosphere.

Columbus, Ohio doom/sludge duo Churches Burn construct massive, slow-crawling dirges that lean heavily on feedback and minimalist songwriting. Their sound is oppressively heavy and desolate, built for endurance rather than aggression.

Chicago death/doom veterans Cianide have been crushing spines since the early 1990s, delivering some of the heaviest and most uncompromising music in the American underground. Their sound — slow, filthy, and utterly determined — has influenced a generation of death metal bands.

New Orleans doom/stoner/sludge band Cikada channel the murky, humid atmosphere of their city into sprawling, fuzz-drenched compositions that sit at the intersection of southern sludge and psychedelic doom. Their sound draws naturally from the well of Eyehategod and Crowbar.

New London, Connecticut doom/stoner duo Cinder Mage craft slow, hypnotic riff worship drenched in fuzz and reverb, conjuring occult imagery through heavy, ritualistic song structures. Their music moves like lava — deliberate, unstoppable, and scorching.

Minneapolis doom/sludge band Circadian Ritual trade in slow, punishing dirges built on massive riffs and grinding repetition. Their music carries the cold, gray weight of a Minnesota winter stretched into sound.

Los Angeles progressive/doom metal outfit Circle of Sighs build lengthy, emotionally complex compositions that move through shifting dynamics and melancholic atmosphere. Their sound blends the heaviness of doom with the ambitious structure of progressive metal.

New Orleans trio Circling Vultvre conjures a suffocating blend of black, death, and doom metal steeped in Southern Gothic dread. Their music circles decay and darkness with relentless, unhurried menace.