Los Angeles' Hexen bring melodic sophistication and progressive ambition to the thrash template, threading complex arrangements through otherwise hard-hitting material. Their approach reflects the technical tradition of the LA metal scene while reaching toward something more compositionally adventurous.

San Francisco Bay Area act Hexx formed in 1983 under the name Paradox before settling on their current name and releasing the debut No Escape on Mike Varney's Shrapnel Records in 1984, establishing themselves in the nascent US power metal scene. Their sound evolved through the speed and thrash influences of the Bay Area through the late 1980s, culminating in the Century Media-released Morbid Reality (1992), their most technically demanding record. After a long dormancy following that album, founding members reformed the band in 2013 and released Wrath of the Reaper through High Roller Records in 2017.

Terre Haute's High Off Anxiety channel exactly what their name implies into a volatile fusion of thrash and grindcore that treats nervous energy as structural material. A new outfit, they bring the cathartic directness that the most effective short-form extreme metal demands.

Richmond, Virginia's Hoboknife weld black metal's nocturnal hostility to thrash's speed and aggression, cutting through the mid-ground with serrated efficiency. Active since 2013, they belong to a Richmond scene with a long tradition of making extreme metal feel physically threatening.

Thunderous Groove Metal from Fort Worth.

Vicious Groove / Thrash Metal from San Antonio.

please update this band

Barrington, Illinois's Hostile have been delivering groove-laced heavy metal since 2010, fusing the punch of groove metal with the directness of traditional heavy metal. Suburban Midwest aggression with a low center of gravity.

Out of Colorado Springs since 2014, Hostile Encounter bring a high-altitude intensity to old-school thrash metal, with riffs that hit like altitude sickness — fast, disorienting, and unforgiving.