San Francisco's Herpes lean into D-beat and goregrind with the kind of self-aware punk nihilism that the Bay Area's underground has always nurtured since their 2010 formation. The name tells you everything about their attitude toward conventional good taste.

One-man black/death project by Brungard, risen from the ashes of Howls of Ebb. Released on the prestigious I, Voidhanger Records.

Named after their Inland Empire hometown, Hesperia (CA) have been trafficking in death metal since 2018 with a directness that reflects the working-class sprawl of their surroundings. Unadorned brutality from a corner of California metal that rarely gets the attention it deserves.

Chicago's Hess navigates the intersection of neoclassical grandeur and progressive metal architecture, weaving composed precision with metallic weight. Formed in 2020, the project brings a composer's sensibility to heavy music, prioritizing structure and dynamics over brute force.

Out of Wichita since 2018, Hess n Hell deal in the bruising overlap between doom's slow grind, groove metal swagger, and classic heavy riffing. Their sound is blunt and earthy, built for low-ceilinged venues and speakers pushed past their limits.

Portland, Maine's Hessian carry the banner of traditional heavy metal with the roughhewn conviction of a band uninterested in trends. Active since 2014, they write the kind of riff-forward music that feels like it emerged fully formed from a forgotten decade.

Philadelphia's Hessian strip the genre back to its most feral components — black metal ferocity, speed metal momentum, and the raw bite of early thrash. Since 2014 they've operated at the intersection where aggression meets velocity.

Atlanta's Hessian favor the unfiltered and abrasive end of black metal, trading atmosphere for confrontation in the raw black tradition. The project dispenses with polish entirely, prioritizing a corroded, static-soaked hostility.

Named for Hawthorne's condemned outsider, Kansas City's Hester Prynne channel that defiant energy into a brutal blend of deathcore and straight-ahead death metal. Active since 2009, they pair pulverizing low-end chug with genuine death metal menace.