Kings of Mercia is a hard rock supergroup formed in 2021 by Fates Warning guitarist Jim Matheos, whose melodic songwriting found its counterpart in the voice of Steve Overland of British AOR veterans FM. Rounding out the lineup are drummer Simon Phillips (Toto, The Who) and bassist Joey Vera (Armored Saint), giving the project considerable pedigree across classic rock and metal. The band debuted with a self-titled album in 2022 on Metal Blade Records, followed by Battle Scars in 2024.

Las Vegas heavy metal band active since 2016, Kingscrossing keeps the old-school flame burning in the desert Southwest. Their approach favors straightforward, riff-forward metal with a traditional sensibility born in the neon shadows of Nevada.

Indianapolis outfit Kiritsis arrived in 2025 fusing the slow, tar-thick weight of sludge metal with the grime and brutality of death 'n' roll. Their sound feels like the Midwest's industrial bones being ground down — ugly, visceral, and deliberate.

The solo project of Kirk Windstein — guitarist and vocalist known for his work in Crowbar and Down — this New Orleans doom vehicle launched in 2020 as a deeply personal, dirge-laden outlet. Windstein's signature tone and Southern Gothic heaviness are unmistakable here, steeped in the grief and grit that define NOLA metal.

Named for the legendary sunken Russian city, Denver's Kitezh has been crafting melodic and progressive death metal since 2011. Their music balances technical ambition with melodic depth, weaving elaborate song structures through the mile-high city's fertile extreme metal scene.

Out of Port Orchard, Washington, Kitsa formed in 2023 where heavy metal and stoner metal meet the fog-laden Pacific coastline. Their sound has the sun-baked haze of stoner riffing tempered by the cold, overcast energy of the Puget Sound region.

St. Louis experimental black metal act Kivelak pushes the genre into unsettling, dissonant territory since forming in 2020. Their work treats black metal as a canvas for sonic deconstruction — fractured, cerebral, and deliberately hard to pin down.

A solo black metal project rooted somewhere in Virginia, Klanen has been cultivating raw, atmospheric darkness since 2020. Sparse in detail and dense in atmosphere, the project leans into black metal's most solitary and confrontational qualities.

Heavy Melodic Black / Death Metal from Copperas Cove.