Death metal band from Mishawaka, Indiana, formed in 2016, operating in the dense and overlooked underground of the American heartland. Their name evokes a kabbalistic hierarchy of forces, lending a philosophical undercurrent to the brutality.

Formed in 2021 in Opelika, Alabama, Septarian forge a sound that fuses the melodic sweep of Scandinavian death metal with the aggressive riff velocity of thrash. Their approach leans hard into dual-guitar interplay and driving rhythms that never sacrifice hook for brutality. Still a young band, they represent a promising new voice in the American melodic death/thrash underground.

A fresh arrival out of Seattle, Seraphlesh formed in 2025 blending melodic death metal's harmonic sensibility with the raw aggression of straight-ahead death metal — one of the Pacific Northwest's newest entries in the melodeath tradition.

Severed Hand is a heavy and power metal band from Eatontown, New Jersey, formed in 2023. They traffic in the melodic, riff-driven side of the power metal spectrum, a relatively rare pursuit in the modern New Jersey underground.

Portland, Oregon's Shade of Ice work the space between melodic death metal's harmonic sensibility and straight death metal's blunt force, delivering a sound that's harsher than most melodeath but more structured than pure brutality. Formed in 2014, they've built a presence in the Pacific Northwest underground on the strength of that balance.

Seattle melodic death metal band Shaded Enmity have been active since 2004, accumulating two decades in the Pacific Northwest metal underground with a sound that draws from the Gothenburg tradition while incorporating the technical and heaviness priorities of American death metal. Longevity in that scene is its own credential.

From Clarion, Pennsylvania, Shadow of Corvus have spent a decade developing their take on melodic death metal — layering hooky, harmonized guitar work over the death metal foundation that gives their sound its backbone. Formed in 2015, they represent the quieter corners of Pennsylvania's extreme metal output.

Connecticut's Shadow of Intent are one of the most ambitious acts in modern deathcore, layering symphonic grandeur and melodic death metal sophistication over the crushing weight of the genre since 2014. Their elaborate orchestration and precise, technical aggression have made them a benchmark for cinematic extreme metal in the US.

Shadowforge emerged from Buenos Aires in 2020 working within the melodic death metal lineage, pairing hook-laden leads with the downtuned aggression the genre demands. Though registered with a US country code, the band's Argentine roots color their approach with a South American heaviness that gives their melodic ambitions an added edge.

Phoenix, Arizona melodic death metal outfit formed in 2011, blending the melodic sensibilities of the Gothenburg tradition with the heavier, sun-scorched aggression of the American Southwest.

Los Angeles' Shepherd brings a melodic sharpness to their thrash-infused death metal, weaving the hooky aggression of melodic death into a sound anchored by California's long history of speed and precision.

Vicious Melodic Death / Thrash Metal from Abilene.

Columbus, Ohio's Shores of Elysium have been working the boundary between melodic death metal and deathcore since 2012, combining memorable melodic hooks with the heaviness and aggression that define Ohio's prolific extreme metal output.

Phoenix, Arizona's Shores of Ithaka formed in 2023 drawing on the epic, narrative qualities of Homeric myth to inform their melodic death metal — a sound built around sweeping leads and heavy grooves well-suited to the desert Southwest's dramatic terrain.

Redwood City, California's Short Fuse play melodic death metal with a Bay Area edge — formed in 2017, the band combine Gothenburg-style melodic leads with the technical precision and intensity characteristic of the Northern California extreme underground.