Rapid City groove metal outfit Civil Serpent build heavy, mid-paced riffs out of the isolation and edge of the Great Plains, channeling South Dakota's sparse landscape into dense, grinding heaviness. Their sound is thick and unhurried.

Indiana's Clarence Oddbody brings a beefy groove metal sensibility to the rural Midwest, stacking heavy riffs on punishing mid-tempo rhythms. Named for the angel in It's a Wonderful Life, the band's approach is anything but angelic.

Kenai, Alaska's Clench make death/groove metal in one of the most remote heavy metal scenes in the country, grinding out heavy, mid-tempo riffs far from any major touring circuit. Their isolation seems to fuel a particular ferocity and independence.

A progressive metal outfit from the Philadelphia suburb of Broomall, Pennsylvania, Clockwork blended symphonic prog complexity with technical metal muscle, drawing comparisons to Yes and Dream Theater. Their lone album Surface Tension showcased lush keyboards, intricate rhythms, and soaring guitar melodies.

Minneapolis death-doom outfit Cobra Czar pair crushing low-end heaviness with groove-driven swagger and mid-paced menace. They occupy a filthy intersection of groove metal and death metal that hits hard in the Twin Cities underground.

Denver groove and stoner metal band Cobranoid blend sludgy bottom-end with locked-in rhythmic punch and an attitude to match. They're a reliable fixture in Colorado's heavy underground, serving up beefy riffs with swagger.

Queens, New York groove and thrash metal band Code 6 bring the aggressive, street-hardened edge of New York City metal to tightly wound groove and thrash riffs. They reflect the borough's long history of tough, no-frills heavy music.

Punishing Industrial / Groove Metal out of Texas.

Bergen County, New Jersey's Cold-Blooded Capitol plays groove-infused thrash that inherits the dense riffing legacy of the New York/New Jersey metro scene while leaning into the stomping rhythms that defined groove metal's peak.

De Queen, Arkansas groove metal outfit Combat Valley bring a Southern-fried heaviness to a genre defined by pocket and punch. Big riffs and a swaggering mid-tempo attack anchor their sound in the heartland.

Pleasant Hill, California's Concealed meld groove metal's mid-tempo swagger with nu metal's heavy atmosphere and occasional thrash bite, landing in the aggressive pocket of late-90s Bay Area heaviness.

Tullytown, Pennsylvania's Concoct stir together death metal's extremity and groove metal's rhythmic swagger, concocting a sound built for pit-ready heaviness.

Fort Lauderdale groove metal band bringing heavy, mid-tempo punishment to the South Florida metal scene. Thick, churning riffs and a menacing low end define their approach.

Pittsfield, Massachusetts groove/thrash act combining the groove metal heaviness of the early 1990s with hardcore attitude and thrash metal momentum. A heavy-hitting presence in the Western Mass underground.

Kansas City's Conspiracy combine the locked-in chug of groove metal with the kinetic aggression of thrash, delivering a heavy, head-down attack built for the working-class Midwest metal crowd.