Des Moines, Iowa groove metal project whose 2014 debut Paranoid Fiction channels Midwestern alienation through heavy, rhythmically driven metal. The name captures a very specific modern malaise — feeling nothing in a world demanding constant engagement.

California groove metal project whose 2025 single In the galaxy, hides mystical dreams blends cosmic wonder with heavy grooves. The compressed, lowercase name and poetic title signal a band reaching beyond genre conventions.

Green Bay groove metal project from the Wisconsin underground.

Ingleside, Illinois groove metal and melodic death metal hybrid whose 2013 debut Evolution of Reality blends Scandinavian melodeath with American groove sensibilities. A suburban Chicago act reaching for something beyond the ordinary.

Bethlehem deathcore project from the Pennsylvania underground.

Phoenix groove metal project from the Arizona underground.

Las Vegas thrash metal project whose 2024 single arrives from a city practically adjacent to America's most famous classified military installation. The conspiracy-theory name writes itself when you're playing thrash in the Nevada desert.

Denver groove metal band harnessing the Mile High City's ferocious energy into driving, riff-heavy anthems that hit with the force of a Colorado avalanche.

Oklahoma City groove metal act delivering heavy, mid-tempo punishment from the heartland, bringing thick riffs and crushing rhythms to OKC's underground.

Tulsa, Oklahoma groove metal and metalcore project with nine releases since 2020. Their debut Force Majeure and subsequent output build a substantial catalog of rhythmically driven heaviness from a city not traditionally associated with the metal underground.

Memphis groove metal band named after the four-armed Mortal Kombat boss, delivering equally punishing heavy riffs from Tennessee's blues capital with a sense of humor.

Denver groove metal and hardcore project whose 2025 debut A DYING LIGHT channels punk urgency through heavy, rhythmic aggression. The all-caps title matches the intensity of their Colorado-bred metallic hardcore.

Moore, Oklahoma progressive groove metal project whose EP 5:02 and the endearingly named Laundry Demos capture a band in their formative stages. Technical ambition from the Oklahoma City suburbs.

Louisville, Kentucky groove metal project with two releases since 2017. The paradoxical name — art for those who cannot see it — captures an existential irony that matches their heavy, searching sound from the city that gave us Slint.

Leonardtown, Maryland groove metal and melodeath project whose 2015 EP It Was More Fun in Hell delivers infernal aggression with a darkly humorous title. Southern Maryland heaviness that doesn't take itself too seriously.