Montgomery, Alabama progressive thrash outfit that has been pushing against genre boundaries since 2011, threading complex song structures and odd time signatures through aggressive thrash foundations. Long-running for the Alabama underground, they bring a technical edge that sets them apart from the region's more straightforward metal acts.

Kansas City heavy metal band carrying on the tradition of classic metal since 2014, rooted in the no-frills, riff-forward style that defined the genre before subgenres splintered in every direction. They're a reliable presence in the Missouri underground, built on hooks and volume.

Riverside, California death metal band formed in 2020, adding another voice to the Inland Empire's long history of brutal underground metal. Their approach draws from the meat-and-bones tradition of American death metal, built on punishing riffs and relentless percussion.

Binghamton, New York death metal act operating under the Swedish word for "apparition" or "ghost," a name that hints at a sound influenced by the spectral, rotten-sounding Swedish death metal tradition. Active since 2012, they've quietly maintained a presence in the upstate New York underground.

Oregon black metal project formed in 2025 under a heavily diacritical name that reads as deliberately cryptic and anti-legible — a statement in itself about obscurity and esoteric intent. A brand-new entry in the Pacific Northwest black metal underground, with the aesthetics of a project designed to resist easy categorization or consumption.

Vómito Vacuo is a black/doom metal band from Concepción, Chile. The band released their debut EP "Locura y un cuerpo" in April 2022, a three-track recording that earned a 92% review score on Metal Archives.

Spartanburg, South Carolina band fusing black metal, death metal, and noise into a corrosive, boundary-dissolving sound since 2018. The Vølus name evokes Norse mythological resonance, and the band's blackened death approach carries the dense, suffocating weight that typifies the genre's most extreme convergences.