Houston death metal project exploring temporal themes since 2023. Their releases — titled with timestamps like 81:03 and 23:03 — suggest a conceptual framework beneath the brutality, freezing the tropical Houston heat into something glacial and unforgiving.

New York City black metal project with six releases since 2022, including modular synthesis sample packs that blur the line between metal and electronic experimentation. Named after the red supergiant star, their music reflects a cosmic ambition rare in the underground.

Omaha doom metal project from the Nebraska underground.

Newington, Connecticut crossover thrash act whose 2016 debut Get down into the dirt delivers exactly the muddy, aggressive punk-metal hybrid the title demands. New England crossover with zero pretension.

Paramount black metal project from the California underground.

Raleigh/Cary, North Carolina death metal and progressive project named after the second ring of the ninth circle of Hell in Dante's Inferno. Their 2018 debut Horrors channels literary horror through technically accomplished extreme metal from the Research Triangle.

Ypsilanti, Michigan black metal project with a prolific seven-release catalog since 2013. From self-titled EPs to splits, they've built a substantial body of atmospheric black metal from the fringes of the Detroit metro area, their invented name adding to the enigmatic presentation.

Austin sludge metal outfit whose 2012 EP Titan delivers monolithic heaviness befitting its mythological title. A contribution to Austin's diverse heavy music scene that extends well beyond the city's reputation for psych rock.

Los Angeles symphonic metal project crafting cinematic heavy music since 2020. Their singles Illusion and Tales Untold pair orchestral grandeur with metal power, channeling Hollywood's epic sensibility into something genuinely heavy.