Brandon, Florida's Nasty Savage are one of the unsung survivors of the American metal underground, plying power-speed-thrash since 1985 with an eccentric theatricality that's always set them apart. Four decades in, the band still commands a rabid cult following.

Brooklyn, New York's Natur formed in 2008 with a commitment to unadorned traditional heavy metal they describe as "old metal," drawing heavily on NWOBHM and early American speed metal. Their debut full-length Head of Death (2012) and the follow-up Afternoon Nightmare (2020) document a band devoted to high-energy, riff-driven songwriting without genre concession. They emerged when few American bands were playing unapologetic straight-ahead heavy metal and helped anchor a small revival of the form.

Asheville's Oblivion Throne hit the ground running in 2021 with speed metal urgency fused to classic thrash aggression, channeling the mountain city's outsider energy into high-octane riffs. Fast, fierce, and deeply rooted in the old-school spirit that never gets old.

Long Island's Original Sin carry the speed and power metal torch with old-school conviction, invoking the twin-guitar tradition of NWOBHM and early American power metal on records built for those who think the genre's golden era never had to end.

A raw speed and thrash metal outfit out of Gainesville, Florida, Prostitute emerged in 2024 with the aggressive, no-frills energy of early Bay Area thrash and classic NWOBHM-influenced speed. Even as a new act, the band wastes no time announcing a commitment to velocity and abrasion over polish.

Hackensack, New Jersey's Psychotic have been delivering speed and thrash metal since 2010 — fast, ferocious, and indebted to the classic New York and New Jersey underground, they prioritize velocity and raw riff aggression above all else.

Formed in 2023 in Detroit, Michigan, Psychotic Poetry bring high-energy power and speed metal to the Motor City's metal underground — soaring, fast-moving compositions that draw from classic American speed metal while reaching for anthemic melodic payoffs.

Arlington, Massachusetts's Revengeance have been delivering high-octane power/speed metal since 2012, channeling the fist-pumping bombast of classic European power metal through the razor-edged velocity of American speed metal. Their sound is unapologetically epic — twin guitar harmonies, soaring vocals, and tempos that never let up — which cuts against Boston's more indie-leaning reputation and plants a flag for the region's underserved metal faithful. Over a decade in, they remain one of New England's most enthusiastic proponents of pure metallic excess.

Portland's Ripper launched in 2020 playing a hybrid of heavy metal, speed metal, and punk that draws a direct line to the aggressive early-80s underground — think Venom and Motörhead filtered through the Pacific Northwest's anything-goes DIY ethic. The band plays fast and dirty, treating the punk-metal divide as a suggestion rather than a boundary.