Denver groove metal outfit with two releases since 2014. Named after parasitic roundworms, their full-length The Raised Hand channels biological horror through heavy, rhythmically precise music from Colorado's capital.

California doom band whose name perfectly captures their approach — massive, sky-reaching riffs that slowly elevate through crushing weight into transcendent heaviness.

Anacortes/Oak Harbor groove metal and metalcore act from Washington's Whidbey Island area, bringing heavy music to the Pacific Northwest's coastal communities.

Lakewood, Colorado metalcore band operating from Denver's western suburbs, adding melodic aggression to the Front Range's active heavy music community.

Charlottesville, Virginia metalcore/NWOTHM hybrid blending traditional metal melody with modern aggression, contributing to Virginia's productive mid-Atlantic metal scene.

New Jersey progressive metal act crafting intricate, architecturally-inspired compositions from the Garden State, blending technical precision with expansive songwriting.

Buffalo, New York metalcore and thrash hybrid whose 2018 debut The Undying delivers aggressive, melodically charged heaviness from Western New York's hardscrabble metal scene.

Detroit metalcore project whose 2020 EP Eulogy of Man delivers apocalyptic breakdowns from the Motor City. The portmanteau name — asylum plus silence — captures the quiet madness at the core of their sound.

Politically charged metalcore from Austin.

Cincinnati, Ohio metalcore act whose 2010 split with Daggers creates a recursively violent pairing. Queen City aggression in its most direct form.

Yuba City/Sacramento metalcore and thrash project with an impressive eleven releases since 2019. Albums like Eclipse and Fusion demonstrate a prolific output spanning multiple stylistic approaches from the Sacramento Valley.

Great Falls, Montana metalcore outfit with two albums spanning 2012 to 2019. In Home Hell and Self Identified Deity deliver aggressive heaviness from one of the most isolated cities in the American West.

New Albany, Indiana metalcore project with four releases since 2019. Live From Isolation captures the pandemic era through heavy music, while Holding On To A Ghost explores spectral themes from the Louisville metro's Indiana side.

Kansas City metalcore act channeling left-hand-path themes through aggressive breakdowns and heavy riffs, contributing to Missouri's underrated heavy music community.

Hilo, Hawaii death metal and metalcore project — possibly the most remote metal act in the United States. Six releases since 2014 including Angel In Plainclothes demonstrate that extreme music can emerge from tropical paradise just as readily as from industrial wastelands.