Portland, Oregon's Glacier revive the classic traditions of heavy and power metal with a reverence for melody, soaring vocals, and anthemic songwriting that feels earnest rather than nostalgic. Active since 2013, they're a bright light in the Pacific Northwest's heavier underground.

Alabama's Halgena have been crafting melodic black metal since 2012, weaving cold atmospheric passages into material that still carries genuine ferocity. Location unknown within the state, but their sound is unmistakably Northern in character.

Fayetteville, Arkansas's Hand of the Wicked combine melodic black and death metal with the kind of conviction that only comes from building something serious in a place where the scene doesn't hand anything to you. Formed in 2023.

Arizona's Harad emerged in 2022 with melodic black metal that feels both epic and austere, channeling the desert state's vast, sunburned landscape into something cold and expansive.

Chicago's Haunted Knight channel melodic black metal into a sound that balances scorching intensity with dark, sweeping atmosphere, carving out a presence in the Midwest underground since 2022.

Akron's Hieros draw on the melodic black metal tradition to create music that is sweeping without being saccharine, atmospheric without surrendering aggression. Since 2020 the project has built a sound that sits somewhere between the triumphant and the grim.

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania's Horde of the Eclipse have been forging melodic black metal since 2010, threading cold riffing and atmospheric darkness into compositions that feel celestial and menacing in equal measure.

A recent arrival from Portland, Oregon, Ilurambar channels melodic black metal's twin strengths — sweeping guitar harmonies and icy atmosphere — into an approach refined beyond what their 2023 formation date might suggest.

Plaistow, New Hampshire's Kataan blend the melodic interplay of Scandinavian black metal with the brutality of death metal, carving out a dense, emotionally charged sound since their 2021 formation.

Heavy Melodic Black / Death Metal from Copperas Cove.

Marysville, Washington's Knellrite formed in 2024, channeling the melodic black metal tradition through the gray skies and old-growth forests of the Pacific Northwest. A new voice in a region with deep black metal roots, their sound leans into melody without softening the darkness.

Asheville, North Carolina's Lammoth draw on Tolkien mythology for their name and channel it through melodic black metal rich with atmosphere and mountainous grandeur. Formed in 2021, they fit naturally into the Appalachian city's thriving underground.

Indianapolis melodic black/death outfit Lysura balance knife-sharp riffing against a melodic sensibility that keeps the music from collapsing into pure brutality, a tension they've been refining since 2012. Cold but never static.

Miami's Maedusa conjure melodic black/death metal with the heat and tension of South Florida baked in — serpentine riffs coiling around bleak, atmospheric stretches. Since 2016 they've carved a menacing identity that feels distinctly rooted in the subtropics.

Pittsburgh's Marsh Dweller began in the melodic black metal tradition before evolving into sludge and post-metal terrain, tracing an arc that mirrors the city's industrial grit. Their later material layers atmosphere and weight in equal measure.