Los Angeles' Slizard bring a reptilian swagger to heavy metal since their 2021 formation, working within the genre's traditional structures in a city whose underground supports both massive arena acts and basement-level metal diehards. Their sound channels the raw, riff-forward approach that has always been heavy metal's backbone.

Slyther is a heavy metal band from Las Vegas, Nevada, formed in 2023, drawing on classic metal traditions to craft a straightforward and hard-hitting sound in the early stages of their career.

Smaug is a Colorado Springs heavy metal band formed in 2020, blending doom-laden tempos with thrash metal punch and classic heavy metal structure, named after the legendary dragon of Tolkien's Middle-earth.

Smithereenz is a heavy metal and hard rock band formed in 2022, delivering energetic guitar-driven music rooted in the melodic and accessible end of the heavy metal spectrum.

Smoke Healer is a stoner and heavy metal band from Hebron, Kentucky, formed in 2015, blending the slow, fuzz-laden grooves of stoner metal with traditional heavy metal riffing and a hard rock foundation.

Smokescreen is a progressive heavy and power metal band from Pelham Manor, New York, formed in 2025, combining soaring melodic power metal songwriting with progressive metal's structural complexity and technical ambition.

New York City heavy metal and hard rock outfit formed in 2017, blending traditional metal songcraft with a gritty urban edge consistent with the NYC underground.

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania heavy and power metal band formed in 2015, combining muscular riffing with melodic hooks in the classic American power metal tradition.

Heavy metal band from Branson, Missouri, active since 2010, delivering no-frills traditional metal rooted in the hard rock and classic metal aesthetics of the Midwest.