Lake View, Iowa NWOTHM project channeling classic heavy metal from the rural Midwest since 2012. Three EPs including Floods of Winter and Negative Existence deliver galloping riffs and soaring leads from one of the most unlikely metal outposts in America.

San Francisco NWOTHM stalwarts forging traditional heavy metal since 2013. Four releases including Other World and The Tower showcase Bay Area melodicism applied to classic metal structures — twin harmonies, anthemic choruses, and fist-pumping energy that honors the genre's golden age.

Los Angeles thrash metal act attacking since 2022 with a live demo and multiple EPs. The Plague Ship and subsequent releases deliver aggressive, riff-driven thrash from a city that helped define the genre in the '80s and continues to breed new generations of headbangers.

Milwaukee death metal project from the Wisconsin underground.

Los Angeles post-metal project whose 2024 debut carries one of the most apocalyptic titles in recent memory — Where Their Worm Does Not Die and the Fires Are Never Quenched. Biblical dread rendered in towering walls of atmospheric heaviness.

Philadelphia black metal project from the Pennsylvania underground.

Philadelphia black metal act emerging in 2025 with Hymns of the Old Healing Sun. The title's juxtaposition of ancient spirituality and solar warmth hints at a more contemplative approach to black metal, fitting for a city steeped in American history.

Chicago death metal outfit active since 2010. Their debut EP Burning Lies and full-length Living in the Wrong Time deliver straightforward, punishing death metal from a city whose extreme underground runs deep beneath the blues and jazz surface.

Riverside, California black metal project that emerged in 2025 with two EPs in quick succession. Comes the Green Man and Journey Through Mist and Mountain deal in nature-worshipping atmospheric black metal, drawing unlikely inspiration from the Inland Empire's sun-scorched landscapes.