Rancho Cucamonga's Havocxx fuse the melodic leads of Gothenburg death metal with the chug and breakdown vocabulary of metalcore, a hybrid approach that's been their calling card since 2017. The tension between the two styles gives their Inland Empire take on the crossover sound its kinetic edge.

Georgia's Heartless have been practicing a stripped-down, unadorned black metal since 2008, operating with the uncompromising conviction of an act that has no interest in mainstream accessibility. Their sound is lean and cold, indifferent to trends.

Houston newcomers Held in Orbit blend melodic heavy metal hooks with the angular punch of metalcore, arriving in 2023 with a sound that orbits the line between anthem and aggression. Their songs carry the epic sweep of classic metal filtered through a contemporary lens.

Lowell, Massachusetts veterans Hell Within have been refining their brand of technically precise metalcore since 2005, well before the genre's peaks and valleys of commercial visibility. Their longevity speaks to a genuine conviction in the sound rather than an eye on any scene's fortunes.

Burlington, North Carolina's Hermaeus Mora began as an atmospheric black and death metal act in 2015 before evolving toward metalcore, always guided by a cinematic heaviness and an appetite for transformation. Named for the Daedric Prince of forbidden knowledge, they've pursued their own sonic secrets across several years of restless genre movement.

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania metalcore band Hero Destroyed coalesced from a local metal outfit active since the late 1990s before reforming under the current name in 2005 and signing to Relapse Records. Their self-titled debut album, released in 2008, drew comparisons to Converge and Curl Up and Die for its chaotic, dissonant approach to the genre. The band occupies a space in the heavier, more abrasive end of the mid-2000s metalcore spectrum.

Seattle metalcore band Himsa formed in 1998, taking their name from the Sanskrit word for harm or violence, and released four studio albums before disbanding in 2008. Produced during a period when the band relocated to Denmark, their 2005 album Hail Horror followed the well-received Courting Tragedy and Disaster (2003), and the band's final record Summon in Thunder was released through Century Media Records in 2007. A 2016 reunion brought them back to the stage, though no new recordings have followed.

Colorado Springs' Hit the Shadows work the metalcore format with the earnestness typical of the genre's Mountain West scene — heavy breakdowns, melodic passages, and a straightforward emotional directness that doesn't complicate what the genre does well.

Amarillo, Texas's Hubris have been bringing metalcore's emotional intensity to the Texas Panhandle since 2015, where the flat horizon and punishing wind seem to breed a certain grim determination. Melodic but never soft.