Body Count is a Los Angeles heavy metal band formed in 1990 by rapper Ice-T and lead guitarist Ernie C, both of whom met as classmates at Crenshaw High School. Their 1992 self-titled debut on Sire Records drew national controversy over 'Cop Killer,' a song that prompted label pressure and was voluntarily pulled by Ice-T from subsequent pressings. The band is credited with helping pioneer rap metal, and after decades of continued activity, they won the Grammy for Best Metal Performance at the 2021 ceremony for 'Bum Rush' from Carnivore (2020).

Orlando's Bodybox burst onto the extreme metal scene in 2021 with a savage blend of brutal death metal, grindcore, and hardcore that hits like a sledgehammer to the chest. Frontman Harrison Brown leads the assault through guttural vocals over relentless blast beats and downtuned savagery. Their debut album '3' cemented their reputation as one of Florida's most unhinged new heavy acts, carrying on the state's proud tradition of death metal brutality.

Bodysnatcher emerged from the swamps of South Florida in 2014, delivering a brand of deathcore and beatdown hardcore so heavy it feels like being buried alive. Their albums 'This Heavy Void' and 'Bleed-Abide' pair guttural vocals with crushing slam riffs and breakdowns designed to level any room. The band has become a cornerstone of the modern deathcore underground, earning respect through sheer sonic violence.

BOLTCUTTER emerged from Eugene, Oregon in 2023 with a brand of hip-hop-infused slam metal they call 'idiotic slamming chainbreak chuggery.' The band revels in absurdity, layering guttural slam vocals over crushing breakdowns and trap-influenced rhythms. Their debut material quickly earned attention in underground slam and brutal death metal circles for its unhinged energy and refusal to take itself seriously.

Savage Raw Black Metal / Ambient out of Texas.

Bonded by Blood is a thrash metal band formed in 2005 in Pomona, California, named directly after the classic Exodus album of the same title. Rooted in the Bay Area thrash tradition, the band self-released their debut EP Extinguish the Weak in 2007, which earned them a deal with Earache Records. Their debut full-length Feed the Beast (2008) and follow-ups Exiled to Earth (2010) and The Aftermath (2012) established them as committed revivalists of 1980s Bay Area aggression.

Heavy Blackened Death Metal from Houston.

Suffocating Doom / Stoner Metal from Los Angeles, California (early); Houston, Texas (later).

Bongzilla is a stoner, sludge, and doom metal band from Madison, Wisconsin, formed in 1995, whose catalog is among the most explicitly cannabis-themed in American heavy metal. The band released a string of albums on Relapse Records—including Stash (1999), Apogee (2001), Gateway (2002), and Amerijuanican (2005)—before entering a hiatus from 2009 to 2015. After reforming and returning to the touring circuit, they released their sixth studio album Dab City via Heavy Psych Sounds in June 2023, cementing their status as seminal figures in the American sludge underground.