Formed in Los Angeles in 2022, Wings of Steel belong to the city's tradition of traditional heavy metal acts who look back to the genre's foundational era — NWOBHM riffing, soaring clean vocals, and a commitment to the metal aesthetic that the LA scene has never entirely let go of. They arrive late to the revival but with clear conviction for the craft.

please update this band

Colorado Springs's Winter Nacht have been playing traditional heavy metal since 2017, drawing on the Germanic connotations of their name to anchor a sound rooted in classic European metal traditions. The high-altitude, mountainous setting of Colorado suits the kind of grandiose, cold-edged metal that Winter Nacht build their songs around.

San Antonio doom metal with soaring vocals. Classic doom with a Texas edge.

A brand new outfit out of West Long Branch, New Jersey, Witchlord formed in 2025 and are staking their claim in traditional heavy metal — a genre whose values of melody, power, and riff craftsmanship have never gone out of style. New Jersey has long fed into the New York-area metal ecosystem, and Witchlord appear to be drawing on that regional energy. As one of the newest acts in this directory, their story is only just beginning.

Washington state's Witchtrial formed in 2017 playing speed and heavy metal with a clear nod to punk's energy and punk's contempt for pretension, straddling the line where Motörhead meets the NWOBHM. Their Bandcamp handle's "DC" tag suggests some cross-country connective tissue, adding intrigue to their geographic placement. They are lean, fast, and direct — a throwback built with genuine conviction.

Richmond, Virginia's Witherhorde formed in 2024 playing thrash and heavy metal with the urgency of a band that has a lot to prove and no patience for half-measures. Richmond is one of the American South's genuinely strong metal cities, with a DIY underground that has produced a steady stream of serious acts over the decades. Witherhorde are a new entry in that lineage, leaning hard into the old-school thrash tradition.

San Francisco's Wizard traffics in the hard rock and heavy metal of an earlier era, channeling the raw electricity of classic metal into a modern Bay Area context. Formed in 2011, they keep things straightforward and guitar-forward, a deliberate contrast to the city's reputation for experimental music. Their no-frills approach is part of the appeal — this is heavy metal without apology or affectation.

Pittsburgh's Wizard share a name and a vintage heavy metal sensibility with their West Coast counterparts, though they emerged from the blue-collar grit of the Steel City's rock underground in 2011. Their hard rock and heavy metal sound feels entirely at home in a city with deep roots in working-class American rock. Straightforward and hard-hitting, they embody Pittsburgh's no-nonsense approach to loud music.