Madison, Wisconsin's Switchblade Monkeys have played groove and heavy metal since 2014, crafting punchy, riff-forward songs rooted in the Midwest's working-class metal tradition.

Modesto, California act founded in 2015 that blends deathcore brutality with groove metal's mid-tempo churn, delivering a heavy sound built on syncopated riffs and punishing low-end.

Nashville groove metal outfit formed in 2019, delivering down-tuned, mid-tempo heaviness with the rhythmic punch and Southern swagger that define the genre's post-Pantera lineage.

New Haven, Connecticut act formed in 2014 that fuses groove metal's rhythmic momentum with death metal's vocal ferocity and riff weight, producing a heavy and kinetic sound from the Connecticut underground.

Punta Gorda, Florida band formed in 2010 that has evolved considerably over its career, beginning in progressive power metal before gravitating toward a harder groove and thrash metal sound with a consistently wide-ranging musical sensibility.

Heavy metal band from Pottsville, Pennsylvania, formed in 2017, rooted in traditional metal song craft and occupying a region of Pennsylvania with a long history of working-class rock and metal.

Systemic is a thrash/groove metal band from Albuquerque, New Mexico, formed in 2016, fusing the punishing mid-tempo pound of groove metal with the kinetic riffing energy of thrash.

From the small town of Nauvoo, Alabama, The Alchemy Project have been quietly grinding out groove metal since 2010, channeling the swaggering riff-first ethos of the genre into something distinctly regional — unhurried, thick, and built on locking rhythms that demand physical response. They're proof that groove metal doesn't need a major city behind it to hit hard.

Seattle's The Brown Scare blend groove metal's rhythmic lock-step with stoner metal's hazy, riff-heavy lumber — a combination that fits the Pacific Northwest's particular brand of heavy music, where the weather seems to slow everything down just enough to make the grooves land harder. Active since 2018, they're part of Seattle's ongoing experiment in finding new ways to be heavy without being fast.