Miami sludge/doom duo formed in 2009, known for massive down-tuned riffs layered with swamp-thick atmosphere and the raw, swaggering physicality native to the Florida underground. They carry a distinctive Southern weight filtered through the caustic traditions of sludge.

Atmospheric doom/death metal band from Sandown, New Hampshire, active since 2004 and rooted in slow, grief-laden compositions that fuse the melodic melancholy of doom with death metal's darker harmonic palette. One of the longer-running acts in the regional underground.

Milwaukee black metal project active since 2000 with a prolific catalog that ranges across raw, atmospheric, and folk-inflected territory — a relentless one-man operation that has accumulated dozens of releases over its long run in the American underground.

Seattle heavy metal band formed in 2013, occupying the classic end of the genre with thick riffing and a traditional song structure that sits apart from the city's more experimental tendencies. Their name evokes a dark, gothic atmosphere within a fundamentally heavy metal framework.

Portland, Oregon death metal band formed in 2012, known for dense, suffocating compositions with a cavernous production style and a penchant for slow, deliberate heaviness as much as outright brutality. They occupy the dissonant, occult-leaning corner of the Pacific Northwest death metal underground.

Indianapolis doom/death/black metal band formed in 2017, blending the sepulchral weight of funeral doom with blackened dissonance and death metal's low-end aggression. Their multi-genre fusion reflects an Indianapolis underground scene willing to blur stylistic boundaries.

Washington State progressive black/death metal act formed in 2017, weaving complex song structures and shifting dynamics through a foundation of blackened aggression and death metal intensity. The progressive element gives their compositions an unpredictable, sprawling character.

Bloomington, Indiana atmospheric black/doom metal band formed in 2013, drawing on the desolate naturalism of the Midwest to build slow-moving, expansive compositions that balance glacial doom passages with black metal's windswept atmospheric sweep.

Greenville, South Carolina blackened death metal act formed in 2021, merging the blasting intensity of death metal with the cold tremolo sensibility of black metal. A young act from the South Carolina underground pursuing an aggressive, fused extreme metal sound.