Dayton, Ohio's Half-Lit brew groove metal with a Southern rock warmth, a combination that sounds loose and lived-in rather than clinical. Founded in 2019, they're the kind of band best experienced cold beer in hand.

Chattanooga's Hatestomp bring a Southern swagger to their groove metal, locking into thick, mid-paced riffs with the confidence of a band that knows the South breeds its own strain of heavy.

Dallas's Hell Goat plants Southern metal's flag deep in Texas soil, churning out sludge-laced, groove-heavy riffs drenched in heat and diesel. Formed in 2016, they carry the slow-burning menace of the Lone Star underground with deliberate, swaggering weight.

Named after an invasive aquatic weed, Deer Park's Hydrilla chokes out the competition with thick groove riffs and a Southern swagger rooted deep in the Houston industrial corridor. Their sound hits like the humidity — heavy, inescapable, and absolutely relentless.