Detroit death metal act whose Latin name means 'hail the void,' delivering crushing nihilism from the Motor City's historically productive extreme metal underground.

Salinas, California black metal project whose 2016 debut The Burning Chariots in the Skies channels biblical warfare imagery through atmospheric extremity from the agricultural heartland of the Central Coast.

Avenged Sevenfold formed in Huntington Beach in 1999 and became one of the most successful American metal bands of the 21st century by refusing to stay in one lane. Sounding the Seventh Trumpet and Waking the Fallen placed the band in metalcore, with screamed vocals, fast riffs, and dramatic song structures. City of Evil transformed them into a twin-guitar heavy-metal force, while Avenged Sevenfold, Nightmare, and Hail to the King pushed arena hooks, hard rock, and classic-metal influence to the front. The Stage and Life Is But a Dream... later expanded the band's progressive and experimental side, proving that their ambitions reached beyond radio metal. Avenged Sevenfold fit metal scope directly through their riffs, solos, breakdown origins, and major role in the New Wave of American Heavy Metal. Their catalog is held together by M. Shadows' theatrical vocals, Synyster Gates and Zacky Vengeance's guitar chemistry, and a taste for excess that can be melodic, technical, macabre, or absurd. At their best, A7X make modern metal feel grand, restless, and defiantly personal.

Speed/thrash metal act that migrated from San Jose to Las Vegas. Two releases since 2012 including On Slaying Grounds deliver relentless, classic-influenced thrash that fits naturally in both the Bay Area and desert metal traditions.

Chicago gothic metal veterans with nine releases stretching back to 1993. One of the longest-running underground gothic metal acts in America, their catalog — from the delicate A Delicate Tracery of Red to later works — traces over three decades of darkly beautiful music named after the entrance to the Roman underworld.

Black metal project of unknown origin whose 2023 EP Poetry of Leathered Wings channels bat-winged imagery through atmospheric extremity. Named after the gate referenced in their namesake's mythology — the entrance to Hell.

Black metal project that relocated from Los Angeles to Philadelphia, carrying West Coast atmospheric influence into East Coast extremity across two of America's major metal scenes.

Austin black metal. Intellectual, esoteric, and crushingly heavy.

Energetic post-hardcore from Dallas with emo-tinged melodies.