Ventura legends Cirith Ungol helped define American doom and epic heavy metal in the late 1970s and '80s with their dark, Tolkien-inspired sound and Tim Baker's instantly recognizable wail. Rediscovered by a new generation of doom devotees, they reunited in 2015 and continue to record.

Tulsa's Cirkus blends Southern metal swagger with heavy groove, delivering thick riffs and a road-worn attitude rooted in Oklahoma's hard rock underground. Their music is equal parts dirt and electricity.

Pennsylvania brutal death metal unit Cirrhosis grind through dense, low-tuned punishment with relentless double-bass precision and guttural vocal devastation. They keep the approach surgical and the results crushing.

Plant City, Florida's Cirrhosis channel the corrosive energy of classic death/thrash into punishing modern form, bridging the raw aggression of the genre's Florida roots with thrash's speed and spite.

Secaucus death/progressive metal act Citadel fuse technical death metal's precision with progressive architecture, building compositions that shift between calculated brutality and melodic expansiveness. Their sound rewards patience as much as headbanging.

Philadelphia thrash unit Citadel bring a no-nonsense Northeastern aggression to their riff-forward attack, drawing on the old-school Bay Area and East Coast scenes. They play thrash as a blunt instrument.

Moorhead, Minnesota's Citadel channel Nordic black metal fury through a Viking metal lens, crafting cold, atmospheric epics that evoke the frozen plains of the upper Midwest as much as ancient Scandinavia.

Evansville, Indiana heavy metal act Citadel Besieged plant their flag in traditional metal soil, delivering anthemic songs built on honest riffs and a love of the classic form. They wear their influences openly and without apology.

Staten Island heavy/power metal band Cities have been delivering high-octane traditional metal since the 1980s, and their anthemic choruses and twin-guitar energy helped define the New York heavy metal underground. Their legacy looms large among East Coast metal die-hards.