Portland black metal project Chariots of Fire pursues a cold, atmospheric sound steeped in Pacific Northwest misanthropy. Stark riffs and bleak compositional choices define their approach to the genre.

Atlanta's Chariots Overdrive plays heavy metal with a hard-driving swagger that reflects the Southern rock influence running through Georgia's metal underground. Their riff-forward songs carry a road-worn, anthemic energy.

Named after the Lovecraft protagonist, Mobile's Charles Dexter Ward channels cosmic dread into slow-grinding stoner metal drenched in psychedelic murk. Their Southern-fried heaviness is tempered by a reverence for occult atmosphere.

Denver black metal act Charles Martel takes its name from the Frankish military leader, matching its historical themes with harsh, martial compositions. The project operates at the rawer end of the American black metal underground.

Corbin, Kentucky's Charming Demons blend groove metal's mid-tempo chug with straightforward heavy metal hooks, producing a sound well-suited to the bar stages of rural Appalachia. Their no-nonsense approach prioritizes impact over complexity.

Fort Smith's Charnal melds black and death metal into a vicious, unpolished hybrid with the raw edge typical of the Arkansas underground. Their recordings favor suffocating density over technical refinement.

Florida's Charnel Grounds pursue technical death metal with surgical precision, wielding complex arrangements and intricate fretwork in the tradition of the Sunshine State's storied extreme metal scene. Their compositions reward close listening with layers of dense, disciplined brutality.

Queens death-thrash outfit Charnel House drew from New York's fertile extreme metal soil, combining the aggression of early thrash with the morbid textures of death metal. Their approach reflects the raw intensity that defined the New York underground in the genre's formative years.

Englewood's Charon plays thrash metal with the blunt force and speed-obsessed energy that flourished in Florida's scene alongside its more globally recognized death metal movement. Their sound is rooted in classic late-80s thrash without much concession to modern production trends.