Cold Slither plays heavy metal rooted in the blue-collar, blue-collar tradition of 80s power and traditional metal, a band that wears its genre love plainly and makes no pretense about it.

Seattle's Cold Steele draws from classic heavy metal tradition, occupying the same Pacific Northwest metal underground that quietly sustained the genre through lean years in one of America's most musically restless cities.

Connecticut's Cold Sweat mined the fertile late-80s heavy metal vein of the Northeast corridor, playing melodic, hook-driven metal with a gritty sincerity common to the era's club circuit.

Glendale, California's Collusion blends classic heavy metal songwriting with progressive ambition, threading melodic sensibility through complex structures in a way that draws from both the LA scene's commercial roots and its progressive outliers.

Vicksburg, Mississippi's Colossus fuses stoner metal's heavy grooves with traditional heavy metal's riff-forward clarity, a Southern outfit that grounds cosmic heaviness in the Mississippi Delta's deep-rooted musical tradition.

Los Angeles-based Commander play traditional heavy metal steeped in the city's storied hard rock and metal heritage. Their sound honors the classic LA approach to big riffs and infectious hooks.

Lansing, Illinois power metal act Commandment pair heavy, driving riffs with soaring melodic ambitions, crafting anthemic metal that nods to both classic American power metal and traditional heavy metal. They bring a polished, forceful sound to the Chicago suburbs.

Boston's Company of Strangers blend traditional heavy metal's melodic sensibility with doom metal's weighty gloom, producing a sound that is both hook-laden and heavy. The city's rich metal heritage informs their classic approach.

Conceived by Thunder from Tucson, Arizona take cues from classic heavy metal and speed metal traditions, delivering high-energy riff workouts with a reverence for the genre's analog-era roots.