Elizabeth, New Jersey thrash act Gargoyle channels the caustic energy of classic speed and thrash metal into a punishing and direct style. Formed in 2021, they keep the attack sharp and the tempo aggressive.

Pittsburgh's Genghis Khan draw from heavy, power, and speed metal traditions to build music with scope and ambition, active since 2014. Classic influences run strong here, delivered with the no-nonsense energy of Pennsylvania's steel-city underground.

Out of Gresham, Oregon, Gladius hit the ground running in 2011 with a thrash-and-speed attack that leans into the aggressive end of the Pacific Northwest underground. Their sound is built for velocity — fast riffs, sharp edges, zero fat on the bone.

Los Angeles's Grim Death weaponize speed metal's manic energy with thrash's precision and aggression, delivering a tight, stripped-down assault that hits hard and moves fast. Since 2020, they've been one of the more focused purveyors of the classic crossover between those two worlds.

Atlanta thrash pioneers Hallows Eve have been at it since 1985, predating most of the genre's defining records and helping establish the Southern US as a legitimate player in extreme metal's early years. Their aggressive, speed-forward approach influenced a generation of acts and they remain one of Georgia's most important metal exports.

Brooklyn's Hammerhoid have been gleefully ransacking the intersection of speed, thrash, and black metal since 2014, their New York City chaos lending the music an urgency that straight-up retro acts rarely achieve.

Cleveland's Hammr channel the blackened speed metal of the early 1980s with a punk-soaked fury that fits perfectly in a city with a long history of no-bullshit heavy music. Active since 2018 and showing no signs of slowing.

Lansing, Michigan's Harbinger race through heavy, speed, and thrash metal with relentless momentum since 2015, another act from the Great Lakes underground proving that the Midwest has always had the chops.

Los Angeles's Harum Scarum have been a fixture of the city's progressive thrash underground since 2014, fusing speed metal's kinetic energy with progressive structures that don't sacrifice aggression for sophistication. They move fast and think hard simultaneously.