San Diego's Serpentyne draw from three directions at once — progressive, thrash, and power metal — resulting in a dynamic, melodically rich hybrid that has been sharpening its edge in Southern California's metal scene since 2018.

Progressive metal outfit Seven Thirteen emerged from Titusville, Florida in 2020, pursuing an expansive and technically demanding sound that blends intricate compositional structures with heavy, dynamic playing. Their music draws on the genre's long tradition of merging precision with emotion, finding space for both crushing passages and melodic complexity.

Baltimore's Seventh Seal have been developing their progressive metal vision since 2014, tapping into that city's diverse and experimentally inclined underground to push against the edges of the genre. Their music navigates the tension between structure and improvisation, trading in long-form compositions that blend metallic heft with progressive rock's expansiveness.

Albuquerque, New Mexico's Seventhsign have been building their progressive metal catalog since 2014, operating in one of the more isolated yet quietly productive corners of the American underground. Their music reflects the wide sonic horizons of the Southwest, blending intricate guitar work and dynamic song architecture with a heavy, grounded core.

Portland, Maine's Shabti have been developing a sophisticated strain of progressive death metal since 2010, weaving technical complexity and compositional ambition into material that still hits with the weight the genre demands. They sit in the upper tier of the Northeast's underground extreme scene.

Intricate Progressive Metal from Austin.

Miami's Shadow Reborn combine progressive metal's structural complexity with gothic metal's emotional atmosphere, an unusual pairing that reflects both the ambition and the heat of their South Florida surroundings since 2015. Their approach to gothic prog leans into the dramatic without sacrificing the technical intricacy that defines the progressive side of the equation.

Portland, Oregon's Shadow Strategy Task Force have been working the intersection of progressive and traditional heavy metal since 2014, their name as deliberately odd as their approach — part conceptual project, part riff-forward metal band. The Pacific Northwest's tolerance for the unconventional gives them plenty of room to operate.

Based in Spokane, Washington, Shadow Thoughts have been channeling progressive metal's introspective complexity since 2020, working in a city that sits somewhat apart from the Pacific Northwest's coastal scenes and seems to foster a more internal, cerebral kind of heaviness. Their progressive-rock lean suggests a band as interested in atmosphere and texture as in sheer weight.