Millions of Dead Cops. Austin political hardcore punk, one of the most important punk bands in Texas history.

Rising out of Clinton Township, Michigan in 2023, MDCLXV — a name rendered in Roman numerals — channels the cold, suffocating atmosphere of second-wave black metal into a distinctly modern American framework. Still early in their existence, they carry the intensity of a project with something to prove.

Los Angeles-based Me Igi traffics in raw black metal stripped down to its most abrasive essentials, formed in 2021 against the grain of the city's sunlit reputation. Their material is lo-fi and confrontational, drawing from the primitive necro tradition while filtering it through a Southern California isolation.

Denver's Mead Thief blend heavy doom with the muscle of classic heavy metal, evoking mile-high altitude and long, barren stretches of highway in equal measure. Since forming in 2020, the band has leaned into slow, crushing riffs anchored by a traditional songwriting sensibility that keeps the hooks in reach.

Heavy Heavy Metal from Austin.

Hailing from Westchester County, New York, Meanstreak occupy the crossroads of power, thrash, and old-school heavy metal — a hybrid sound that nods to the 1980s New York scene without getting lost in nostalgia. Their catalog moves between the melodic ambition of power metal and the raw, club-ready aggression of early thrash.

Chicago's Meat Crayon waste no time with subtlety — founded in 2023, they deliver brutal death metal that favors pulverizing low-end tonnage and inhuman drumming over any concession to accessibility. The name sets the tone: absurdist and violent in equal measure, rooted in the city's long tradition of extreme underground acts.

Cleveland's Meatyard have been hauling their crossover thrash and death metal hybrid since 1990, outlasting trends and scene cycles with a stubborn devotion to the pit-ready intensity that defines both genres. Their longevity in the industrial rust belt context has sharpened the band into a compact, battle-tested machine.

California's Mechanical Butcher arrived in 2025 with a brutal slam death metal approach that marries guttural extremity with the mechanized precision the name implies. A brand-new act in a crowded space, they waste no time on ceremony — this is slam as a blunt instrument, heavier than function.