Formed in Fresno, California in 2021, Our Ascending Kingdom deal in the collision of black and death metal — blastbeats and tremolo riffing shot through with death metal's visceral brutality. The Central Valley heat seems to fuel a relentless, caustic intensity that sets them apart from the coastal scene. A young act with a vicious early ambition.

Out of Rockville, Maryland since 2011, Our Days Are Numbered fuse melodic death metal's harmonic tension with metalcore's aggressive rhythmic churn. They balance hooks and heaviness with the kind of precision that comes from over a decade of refining their craft. The mid-Atlantic scene runs thick with this hybrid sound, and they've made it their own.

Rooted in Montclair, New Jersey since 2005, Our Dying Souls have spent two decades navigating the intersection of melodic death metal and metalcore — a path that demands both technical discipline and emotional urgency. Their longevity in a crowded scene speaks to a persistent drive to push past the genre's boundaries. Few bands from the Garden State have stayed this committed to the form.

San Francisco deathcore outfit Out for Blood launched in 2016 with the Bay Area's characteristic no-frills aggression baked in from the start. They lean into the genre's heaviest impulses — bone-crushing breakdowns and death metal riff velocity — without sacrificing intensity for polish. Their name says everything about their intent.

Los Angeles-based Out from Under have been forging heavy metal and hard rock since 2010, drawing from the deep well of classic metal that runs through Southern California's club circuit. Their sound sits squarely in the tradition of riff-driven, no-frills heaviness without chasing trends. A working band committed to the fundamentals of the form.

Los Angeles groove/thrash act Outbreak formed in 2013, channeling the city's long history of punishing metal into a sound built on syncopated riffs and relentless momentum. They fuse the groove metal's locked-in low-end swagger with thrash's forward aggression, a combination that hits hard in a live setting. The LA underground has been their training ground.

Named for the legendary highway that cuts through the American heartland, Chicago's Outburst on the 66 have been delivering stoner metal since 2016 with the kind of hazy, fuzz-drenched weight the genre demands. Their music evokes long stretches of blacktop and the slow burn of distortion-soaked riffs rolling out of the Midwest. The city's industrial backbone gives their sound an extra layer of grit.

Milwaukee death metal newcomers Outer Graves arrived in 2023, already reaching for the darkest end of the spectrum. Wisconsin's metal underground has always rewarded uncompromising brutality, and this outfit seems intent on earning their place in it. Still early in their trajectory, but the foundation is unambiguously grim.

Outer Heaven is a death metal band from Douglassville, Pennsylvania, formed in 2012 and signed to Relapse Records. Their 2018 debut Realms of Eternal Decay established them as one of the stronger voices in contemporary American death metal, drawing on cavernous production and punishing riffs indebted to old-school Florida and New York death metal. The band has continued releasing material, including the covers album In Tribute, paying homage to Repulsion, Morbid Angel, Pig Destroyer, Mortician, and Death.