Milwaukee's H1Z1 has been grinding out heavy, groove-laced metal since 2016, taking their name from the virus and bringing a similarly infectious heaviness to the Wisconsin scene. Thick riffs and a hard-swinging rhythmic core define their approach.

Pittsburgh's Habitual Sins has been carrying the torch for traditional heavy metal in western Pennsylvania since 2017, drawing on the genre's classic power and melodic directness while planting firmly in the city's blue-collar metal tradition.

New Bedford, Massachusetts's Hadean builds sprawling, emotionally heavy music at the intersection of progressive and post-metal, where texture and dynamics matter as much as riffs. Active since 2014, they bring the bleak coastal atmosphere of the South Coast into their expansive compositions.

Portland, Oregon's Hadean works in the slow, oppressive territory between doom and heavy metal, their sound as grey and overcast as the Pacific Northwest sky above their city. Formed in 2014, they lean into the weight.

New Jersey's Hades has one of the longer journeys in underground U.S. metal — from power and heavy metal roots to a full thrash conversion, the Paramus band traces a lineage back to the early days of East Coast extremity while remaining active through the present.

Philadelphia's Half-Ton of Humanity take the mechanical churn of progressive thrash and push it through a classic heavy metal sensibility, landing somewhere between technical and anthemic. They've been at it since 2020 in one of the East Coast's most competitive metal cities.

Detroit's Halloween carry the torch for classic American heavy metal, a city-fitting lineage given Detroit's deep rock and roll roots. Active since 2015, they deal in the kind of no-frills, riff-driven metal that doesn't need to be fashionable to work.

Santa Clara's Halloween play heavy metal with hard rock instincts — melodic, energetic, and rooted in the kind of song-first approach that made the genre commercially viable in the first place. A Bay Area act keeping the classic sound alive since 2015.

Atlantic City's Hammer Fight bring a barroom swagger to their heavy metal and thrash, with a hard rock edge that makes every track feel like it was written for a sticky-floored venue at last call. They've been at it since 2011.

Santa Cruz County's HammerDown fuse heavy metal and hard rock with the laid-back coastal defiance only Northern California can produce, active since 2019 and built around thick riffs and road-tested grooves.

Ventura County, California's Hammered traffic in straight-up heavy metal with no frills and no apologies — the kind of band that reminds you why the genre thrived in suburban garages before arenas ever came calling. Active since 2019.

Out of Dearborn Heights, Michigan, HammerHead play heavy metal with the blue-collar conviction of a region that has always known what hard work sounds like. Formed in 2011 and still at it.

Sedalia, Missouri's Hammerspace layer orchestral ambition onto heavy metal and thrash foundations, an unlikely combination from an unlikely location that has been paying off since 2011. The symphonic elements amplify rather than soften the aggression.

Indiana's Hammerstar have been delivering traditional heavy metal since 2015, a band clearly devoted to the craft of the classic sound and uninterested in chasing whatever genre trend is current.

Named for the four-armed Mortal Kombat villain, this San Francisco outfit emerged in 2024 swinging old-school heavy metal with a playful nod to the genre's pulpy, monstrous roots.