Minneapolis groove metal project. The name's imagery of burning aspirations channels Midwestern frustration through rhythmically driven heaviness.

Philadelphia groove metal pioneers who helped define the metallic hardcore sound of the mid-2000s. One of the most influential heavy bands to emerge from the Philly scene.

Dix Hills, Long Island groove metal project. Suburbia channeled through rhythmic heaviness from one of New York's wealthiest communities.

Detroit groove metal and NWOTHM project. The name resonates differently in a city that knows something about being left behind.

Acid Angel is a thrash and groove metal band. The band fuses thrash metal's speed with groove metal's rhythmic punch.

Austin, Texas groove metal project named after the ancient Pueblo settlement. Native American heritage meets Lone Star heaviness.

Buford, Georgia groove metal project. The legal term for a guilty act adds courtroom drama to Atlanta-area heaviness.

Adder is a thrash and groove metal band from South Harrison Township, New Jersey. With four releases, the band delivers hard-hitting riffs that bridge the speed of thrash with groove metal's rhythmic punch.

New York City groove metal supergroup featuring members of Dream Theater and Symphony X. High-profile musicians channeling prog pedigree into stripped-down, aggressive metal.

Palmyra/Middletown, Pennsylvania groove metal project. The name blends adrenaline with morphine — stimulation and sedation in chemical equilibrium.

Adversary is a death metal band from Albuquerque, New Mexico. Their 2009 full-length "A Bright Cut Across Velvet Sky" is a fifteen-track deep cut of underground death metal from the desert Southwest.

Half Moon Bay, California groove metal project channeling coastal fog into heavy, rhythmically driven music from the Pacific shoreline.

Los Angeles groove metal and progressive project. The Latin name — meaning 'heat' or 'tide' — channels LA's dual nature of sunshine and ocean.

AfterShock is a thrash metal band with roots in Honolulu, Hawaii, later based in San Francisco. Their 2020 full-length "RiSk - High-Risk Behavior" brings an island-to-mainland thrash metal attack across eleven tracks.

Against is a metal project from West Virginia that has released an extraordinary nine records since 2025. Spanning groove, thrash, and alternative metal across three full-lengths and six EPs/singles, the project's rapid-fire output and evolving style suggest a restless creative vision.