Los Angeles death-thrash band formed in 2016, merging the technical aggression of death metal with thrash's velocity and street-level intensity. A decade into their career, they remain rooted in the DIY ethos of the LA underground.

Tremonti is a heavy metal band formed in Orlando, Florida in 2012 by guitarist Mark Tremonti, best known as the lead guitarist of Creed and Alter Bridge, as a vehicle for his heavier compositional ambitions. Debut album All I Was (2012) introduced a thrash-influenced sound with melodic vocals that departed sharply from Tremonti's main bands, and the project has since released six studio albums including Cauterize (2015), Dust (2016), A Dying Machine (2018), Marching in Time (2021), and The End Will Show Us How (2025). The band performs regularly and has evolved from a solo project into a stable four-piece lineup including guitarist Eric Friedman.

Boston thrash outfit that has been grinding since 2016, channeling the city's hardcore-adjacent intensity into straight-ahead thrash with a raw, no-nonsense delivery. Their Bandcamp handle suggests New York crossover influences feeding into their New England sound.

Bartlesville, Oklahoma thrash band formed in 2014, bringing aggressive, technically tight metal to a part of the country not typically associated with the genre. Over a decade of activity, they've become a fixture in Oklahoma's small but dedicated heavy metal underground.

Ohio brutal death metal and grindcore act formed in 2020, dealing in short, violent bursts of distorted noise with the surgical precision of death metal riffing beneath the chaos. Their name does not oversell the filth.

Bestial war metal from West Texas. Demo released through Nuclear War Now! Productions, debut full-length on Transcending Obscurity Records.

World War Metal from Austin featuring members of Imprecation and Morbosidad. Debut full-length Commandoccult released 2022 on Godz Ov War Productions.

Austin's Trenchant deal in blackened death metal of the uncompromising variety — dense, caustic, and unrelenting since their 2018 formation. Their approach fuses the atmospherics of raw black metal with the brute physicality of death metal, making them a notable presence on the Texas extreme underground scene.

Oakland speed metal act Trencher have been forging their craft since 2004, drawing from the Bay Area's long tradition of fast, riff-forward metal with a lean and no-frills delivery. Their longevity in an unforgiving scene speaks to a dedication to the pure mechanics of the style.