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.

Ventura legends Cirith Ungol helped define American doom and epic heavy metal in the late 1970s and '80s with their dark, Tolkien-inspired sound and Tim Baker's instantly recognizable wail. Rediscovered by a new generation of doom devotees, they reunited in 2015 and continue to record.

Durham doom/groove metal duo City of Medicine lay down slow, crushing riffs drawn from North Carolina's fertile heavy underground. Their music moves with the measured weight of something that cannot be stopped.

Los Angeles death doom act Civerous conjure suffocating, subterranean darkness at the intersection of black, death, and doom metal, building cavernous soundscapes of genuine dread. Their Maze of Sorrow EP and Decrepit Flesh Relic debut mark them as one of the more compelling voices in contemporary underground death.

Florida death/doom act Clairsentience move at the funeral pace of the genre's most immovable practitioners, weighing down long, ominous compositions with suffocating low-end and an atmosphere of absolute despair.

Oakland, MS doom and stoner act Clawhammer pile on the fuzz and drag tempos down to a slow, hypnotic crawl. Their sound is thick with distortion and heavy atmosphere, rooted firmly in the traditions of southern-tinged doom.

Seattle's Cleanse navigate the slow, aching terrain between doom and post-metal, building expansive, emotionally charged pieces from crushing low-end and restrained atmosphere. Their sound carries the grey weight of the Pacific Northwest.

Granger, Indiana doom metal outfit Climate of Despair channel bleak midwest winters into slow, crushing compositions built on massive riffs and an unrelenting sense of hopelessness. Their approach is traditional and unadorned, letting sheer heaviness do the work.

A Nashville psychedelic doom outfit formed in 2009 by Belmont University students, Clorange channeled Black Sabbath, Sleep, and Electric Wizard into a hazy, riff-heavy sound. They released the album Instinct in 2012 before disbanding the same year.

Dayton, Ohio's Close the Hatch have been building their atmospheric doom-post-metal sound since 2011, occupying a sonic space where Electric Wizard's psychedelic weight meets the post-metal grandeur of Neurosis. Their 2020 album Modern Witchcraft, released on Red Moth Records, stands as one of their most fully realized statements.