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.

Baltimore melodic death metal band formed in 2023, blending hook-driven melody and harmonic guitar interplay with death metal's aggression — a recent entry into a city with a deep extreme metal history and a melodeath tradition indebted to both Scandinavian and East Coast influences.

Dallas groove metal band formed in 2021, rooted in the mid-paced, downtuned chug and hard-hitting rhythmic aggression that defines the groove metal tradition — a Texas act carrying the state's long-standing connection to heavy, riff-driven metal.

Crewe, Virginia thrash/death metal band formed in 2018, working in the aggressive crossover territory where old-school thrash velocity meets death metal's heavier harmonic darkness. A rural Virginia act bringing sharp-edged extremity to a state with a scattered but resilient underground.

Massachusetts melodic black metal project formed in 2023 — the name drawn from the Buddhist concept of emptiness — weaving melody and atmosphere through a black metal framework. Their Bandcamp name, Shūnyatā Black Lion, signals both a philosophical underpinning and a fierce sonic identity.