Denver's The Thorn and Tear blend melodic power metal with folk instrumentation, drawing on nature-themed lyricism and epic song craft since 2010. Their sound balances anthemic vocal hooks with rustic, earthy arrangements that set them apart from the polished power metal mainstream.

A heavy and power metal act out of Leverett, Massachusetts, The Threat formed in 2023 with a sound rooted in classic metal tradition — muscular riffing, assertive vocals, and songs built around momentum and impact. Despite being newly formed, they carry the conviction of bands with far longer histories.

Orlando's The Tome traffic in black/death metal with an occult sensibility, weaving blasphemous atmosphere into caustic riffwork since 2018. Their releases operate under the Bandcamp handle onelandoneking, hinting at a singular, totalizing vision within the extreme metal underground.

Devastating Death Metal from McKinney.

A New York black/death metal project formed in 2018, The True Goat channels raw, ritualistic aggression with an underground ethos that favors darkness over accessibility. Their approach leans into the primitive, confrontational side of extreme metal with little concession to polish.

Indianapolis's The Tug Fork River Band have been mining the groove-heavy, swampy end of Southern metal since 2012, delivering thick riffs with a blues-inflected grit. Their name and sound both nod to the working-class river country that runs through Southern and Midwestern American identity.

Muscatine, Iowa's The Unbecoming have been delivering straightforward death metal since 2013, keeping their focus on riff density and guttural intensity without dressing it up in atmosphere or technicality. They represent the no-frills end of Midwestern death metal.

San Francisco's The Undying fuse symphonic orchestration with technical death metal brutality and deathcore breakdowns, a combination that has driven their sound since forming in 2011. Their music is uncompromising in its ambition, stacking complexity and cinematic scale into the same passages.

Nu-metal heavyweights from San Antonio. "South Texas Deathride" and "Turn Me On Mr. Deadman" were inescapable in the early 2000s.