San Francisco thrash metal act with six releases since 2018, including the Connecticut-referencing Connecticut Casual series. Their prolific output and the cryptic King Of Gods. No Second demonstrate a band with both the ambition and work ethic to stand out in the Bay Area's crowded thrash field.

Albany death metal project from the New York underground.

Boston sludge metal project from the Massachusetts underground.

Des Moines, Iowa groove metal project whose 2014 debut Paranoid Fiction channels Midwestern alienation through heavy, rhythmically driven metal. The name captures a very specific modern malaise — feeling nothing in a world demanding constant engagement.

Battle Creek death metal project from the Michigan underground.

Cincinnati power metal project from the Ohio underground.

Portland doom metal act named after the longest lava tube in the continental US, located in nearby Washington State. Their 2016 debut Pillars of Evolution pairs geological time scales with crushing heaviness, the subterranean imagery perfectly matching their cavernous sound.

Valdese, North Carolina sludge metal project whose releases Arctic Noise and Andromedas Colossus span from frigid isolation to cosmic scale. Foothills Appalachia proving unexpectedly fertile ground for experimental sludge.

Chicago heavy metal / nwothm project from the Illinois underground.