Los Angeles technical death metal quartet formed in 2003, blending mathcore complexity with sci-fi and horror themes across a discography that spans from their early goregrind experiments to the 2021 comeback full-length The Reaping Phantasm. Their dense, groove-laced compositions were tracked across studios in LA, Seattle, and Portland.

Progressive thrash/death metal quartet from Calumet City in the south suburbs of Chicago, drawing comparisons to Megadeth, Carcass, and Pantera. The band released their EP Inciting Insurrection while building a reputation in the Chicago-area heavy metal scene.

Experimental solo metal project from Seattle, created by xenharmonic composer and microtonalist Deja Igliashon, using a 23-step microtonal scale to produce dense, unconventional music at the crossroads of drone, stoner, and progressive metal. Albums like Our Crumbling Psychic Infrastructure showcase a sound that defies easy genre classification.

Progressive sludge and post-metal instrumental band from Upper Nazareth, Pennsylvania, building atmospheric and heavy soundscapes that reward patient listening. The band operates at the heavier end of post-metal, favoring texture and dynamics over conventional song structures.

Watertown, South Dakota's Cubultra fuse progressive metal's technical ambition with the raw drive of thrash, building complex, ambitious songs from the Northern Plains underground. Their approach is cerebral without sacrificing aggression.

Baltimore's Cult of Leviathan blend progressive ambition into a death/doom core, sprawling across tempos and textures without losing the suffocating weight that defines the genre. The Maryland band operates as an independent act, favoring labyrinthine song structures that reward patient listeners.

Lowell, Massachusetts's Cunt Cuntly started as a bedroom solo project before expanding into a full band that pressed progressive ambition into a deathcore and death metal framework. Active from 2011 to 2017, they built an eclectic discography that showed a restless willingness to cover everything from Judas Priest to Creedence Clearwater Revival alongside their original extremity.

Philadelphia outfit blending progressive death and thrash metal into a technically ambitious and conceptually dense sound. Their music wrestles with cycles of existence through shifting time signatures and punishing riff architecture.

San Francisco progressive metalcore band known for intricate song structures, shifting rhythms, and a technically ambitious approach to heavy music. Cyborg Octopus weaves progressive metal's complexity into emotionally dynamic metalcore compositions.