S U R V I V E is an Austin, Texas quartet formed in 2009 by Michael Stein, Kyle Dixon, Adam Jones, and Mark Donica, crafting dense synthesizer-driven music indebted to 1980s film composers such as John Carpenter, Tangerine Dream, and Giorgio Moroder. The group released the acclaimed album RR7349 in 2016, showcasing slow-tempo compositions blending darkwave, electro, and ambient electronics. Dixon and Stein gained widespread recognition beyond the underground when they composed and performed the score for the Netflix series Stranger Things, winning an Emmy for Outstanding Original Main Title Theme Music.

Hailing from Marrero, Louisiana, S.I.K. have been grinding out no-frills thrash metal since 1987, outlasting trends and scene shifts with the stubborn persistence of a band that simply refuses to quit. Their sound carries the swampy grit of the Gulf South — tight riffing, caustic vocals, and a rhythm section that hits like a sledgehammer on concrete.

Filthy Sludge Metal out of Texas.

Sacramento's S.U.R.G.E. emerged in 2021 with a sludge metal attack that feels distinctly Californian: sun-scorched, distorted, and lumbering under the weight of its own density. Their music channels the industrial edge of the Central Valley into slow-churning riffs and feedback-drenched sonic punishment.

Crushing Psychedelic Rock, Doom Metal from New York, New York /.

Austin doom metal. Crushing riffs channeling Black Sabbath worship.

Lynnwood, Washington's Sabre have been sharpening their thrash attack since 2010, drawing on the Pacific Northwest's long tradition of heavy music built for damp, grey skies and relentless energy. They trade in razor riffs and velocity-first songwriting that keeps classic thrash values intact without retreating into nostalgia.

Crushing Crust / Death Metal from El Paso.

Sacred Reich is a thrash metal band formed in Phoenix, Arizona in 1985 by vocalist and bassist Phil Rind alongside guitarists Wiley Arnett and Jason Rainey. The band established itself as a politically outspoken force in late-1980s thrash with albums such as Ignorance (1987) and the landmark The American Way (1990), the latter credited as one of the earliest groove metal records. After disbanding in 2000 and reuniting in 2006, the band returned to Metal Blade Records and released Awakening in 2019, their first studio album in over two decades.