Out of Bellingham, Washington, Leatherhorn have been practicing raw, primitive black metal since 2012 — the Pacific Northwest's grey skies and isolation evident in every bleak passage.

Named for the terrifying owl-witch of Mexican folklore, Lechuza channel that mythological dread into raw black metal that is deliberately abrasive and relentlessly malevolent.

Dayton, Ohio's Lectoblix work in the atmospheric post-black metal space where cascading melody and harsh aggression coexist — a nuanced sound built up carefully since 2012.

Kansas City's Leech have been parasitically draining the life from the sludge metal template since 1997, one feedback-drenched, slow-motion assault at a time.

Albuquerque's Leeches of Lore draw from the deep well of traditional heavy and speed metal, keeping the spirit of the NWOBHM and its American inheritors alive in the New Mexico high desert.

Franklin Square's Leeds Point tap into Long Island's blue-collar metal tradition, blending heavy and stoner metal into a riff-heavy, earthy sound that has been growing steadily since 2014.

Queens crossover veterans Leeway have been crashing hardcore and thrash together since their reformation in 2012, carrying on a tradition they helped build in the New York underground decades prior. Pit-ready riffs with street-level aggression are their calling card.

Out of the Tri-Cities, Washington, Left After Death arrived in 2025 fusing deathcore breakdowns with blackened atmospherics and death metal brutality. The band hits hard from the jump, blending suffocating heaviness with an icy, corrosive edge.

Charleston, West Virginia's Left Behind drag sludge and stoner metal through a metalcore filter, letting the Appalachian weight of their hometown seep into every lumbering riff. Slow-burning and heavy, they have been at it since 2013 with no signs of lightening up.