Chicago solo project by Samu Rahn of Embittered, Wintering, and The Living Fields, weaving black metal and neofolk into elegiac, multi-genre compositions.

California solo project by Agravain that evolved from power/melodic death metal into black, pagan, and folk metal territory, drawing on themes of despair, fantasy, and ancient legend before disbanding around 2010.

Cathar is a California black metal project rooted in the raw, minimalist tradition — sparse arrangements, cold tremolo riffing, and a misanthropic atmosphere informed by orthodox underground aesthetics. The Palmdale origins contribute a desolate, high-desert bleakness to the music.

Charakter is a black and folk metal band from Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, blending the aggression of black metal with folk metal elements in a region with a sparse extreme metal presence. The project is an independent effort drawing on both Scandinavian folk metal traditions and raw black metal aesthetics.

Lancaster, Pennsylvania folk/heavy metal band Cimmerian draw on ancient mythology and pagan tradition to craft melodic, epic metal with a raw folk undercurrent. Their sound evokes the savage world of the Hyborian Age that inspired their name.

Cincinnati, Ohio crust-punk and death metal band Coelacanth have been grinding out ferocious, politically charged metal since the early 1990s, earning a cult following in the American underground. Their sound fuses the rawness of crust with the brutality of early death metal.

Petaluma's Cormorant blend black and death metal with folk textures and progressive ambition across sweeping, literary-minded albums. They are one of the most ambitious DIY metal acts in the American underground.

Seattle black and symphonic metal band that layers orchestral grandeur over black metal's icy ferocity. Their sound is cinematic in scope, drawing on the gloom and grandeur of the Pacific Northwest.

Connecticut post-black metal project weaving folk elements into a harrowing atmospheric framework. Crawl Below balances earthy melodicism against the desolate bleakness of the black metal tradition.