Raw blackened speed metal channeling Motorhead and Judas Priest through an extreme metal lens. 'Midnight Assassin' is a nine-track ode to serial killers.

Lawrence, Kansas's Sarkatha arrived in 2023 with a speed/thrash/black metal hybrid that pulls the Great Plains' wide-open emptiness into genuinely ferocious music. They operate in a college town with a surprisingly deep underground tradition, channeling that energy into a sound that refuses to pick just one lane between black metal's cold fury and thrash's kinetic aggression.

Out of Jonesboro, Arkansas, Scootergypsy has been hauling classic speed and heavy metal influence through the South since 2013 with a no-frills directness that feels ripped straight from the genre's early-80s heyday. Their music runs on twin-guitar attack and wiry, hard-rock swagger — the kind that sounds better on a back-road highway than in a concert hall. They sit comfortably in the tradition of NWOBHM-influenced American speed metal, with enough hard rock looseness to keep it from feeling purely academic.

Austin's Sex Chamber have been blending stoner metal's fuzz-soaked swagger with speed metal's throttle since 2012, producing a grimy, high-octane sound that thrives in the Texas capital's anything-goes heavy music environment. They move fast and heavy at the same time, rarely letting either impulse win.

Los Angeles's Shrapnel, formed in 2021, deliver heavy and thrash metal shaped by the city's sprawling extreme metal community, prioritizing riff density and forward momentum in a style that echoes the early-80s heavy thrash underground.

Los Angeles speed/power metal band formed in 2017, channeling the fist-pumping energy and high-velocity attack of classic speed metal through the city's hard rock tradition.

Akron, Ohio's Silent Knight have spent two decades threading death, thrash, and speed metal into a cohesive whole since forming in 2005, blending the velocity of old-school speed with the darker tonality that comes from a genuine death metal foundation.

Old Bridge, New Jersey's Silo have been refining technical thrash and speed metal since 2016, hailing from one of the Garden State's most storied underground scenes and putting a premium on precision and velocity in roughly equal measure.

Omaha, Nebraska's Sinne emerged in 2022 playing speed/black metal with a punk backbone, combining the reckless velocity of first-wave black metal with the rawness of '80s hardcore and the Midwestern underground's DIY ethos.

Skelator is a Seattle-based epic heavy and speed metal band formed in 2008, playing a style that recalls the grandeur of Manilla Road and Manowar — soaring vocals, galloping rhythms, and sword-and-sorcery mythology without a trace of irony. They are one of the most dedicated standard-bearers of true metal in the Pacific Northwest.

Out of Santa Fe Springs, California, Skeptor has been honing a razor-sharp technical speed and thrash metal attack since 2014 — a Southern California act rooted in the region's rich thrash heritage but pushing toward more intricate, precise territory.

One of New Jersey's longest-running underground metal acts, Helmetta's Skitzo have been honing their progressive power and speed metal craft since 1985 — a band whose four decades of persistence speaks to a genuine devotion to the technical, melodic end of the genre.

Philadelphia's Skullovich formed in 2023 to play the kind of fast, lean thrash and speed metal that cities like their own helped define decades ago. Their approach is unambiguous — riffs built for momentum, solos built for impact, with no detours into modern subgenre territory.

Slutlust is a Philadelphia black/speed metal outfit formed in 2014, blending the raw aggression of first-wave black metal with the stripped-down velocity of speed metal in the tradition of acts like Venom and Motörhead.

Bayonne, New Jersey speed and power metal band formed in 2009, evolving from classic heavy metal roots toward a harder-hitting thrash and speed metal sound over their career.