Dolore Affectus — Latin for "pain" and "suffering" — is a US black metal project that emerged in 2020 with a name that lays its aesthetic philosophy bare from the outset. Rooted in the rawer, more introspective traditions of the genre, the project leans into the emotional devastation that the best black metal weaponizes. Their anonymity and lack of fixed location only adds to the isolationist mystique central to their craft.

Pittsburgh's Domicile formed in 2024, stepping into the city's proud tradition of underground death metal with a fresh sense of purpose. Still in their earliest days, they carry the gnarly, working-class aggression that Pittsburgh's heavy music scene has never shaken. Their death metal approach reflects a city that has always preferred its extremity unpolished and uncompromising.

Minneapolis's Domidium came together in 2023 weaving melodic death metal's Scandinavian sweep with the gut-punch immediacy of thrash and groove metal, making for a sound that refuses to settle into any single lane. The Twin Cities have a long history of nurturing technical, eclectic metal acts, and Domidium carry that forward with a multi-dimensional approach spanning four subgenres. They are one of the more compositionally ambitious young acts to emerge from the region's current scene.

Out of Venice, Florida, Dominant Force blur the lines between crossover thrash, hardcore punk, and straight-up metal with the chaotic energy the genre demands. Formed in 2018, they carry the pit-starting ethos of classic NYHC crossover acts filtered through Florida's sweat-drenched, no-nonsense underground. Their approach is fast, physical, and uninterested in subtlety — a machine built exclusively for live punishment.

Alhambra, California's Dominion have been carving out their corner of the West Coast death metal underground since 2016, trading in the kind of punishing, technically-minded brutality Southern California has long incubated. The band's Bandcamp presence under the "ashen" moniker hints at a sound steeped in ash-and-ruin imagery befitting the genre's bleakest tendencies. They represent the current generation of LA-area death metal acts keeping the flame burning in the shadow of the genre's old guard.

Portland, Oregon's Dominus Nox — "Lord of Night" — have been adding to the Pacific Northwest's rich extreme metal tapestry since 2017. Their death metal approach fits naturally within a city that has fostered some of the country's most dedicated underground scenes, where the relentless grey weather seems purpose-built for heavy, unforgiving music. Dark in theme and blunt in execution, they are firmly part of Portland's current death metal resurgence.

Formed in Birmingham in 2018, Domnitor work the volatile intersection of death and black metal, a fusion that produces something uglier and more unpredictable than either genre alone. Their Bandcamp handle — "domnitorulrau," Romanian for "the evil ruler" — suggests a fascination with Eastern European black metal mythology and historical darkness. The blending of death metal's blunt physicality with black metal's atmospheric savagery gives their sound a distinctly volatile edge.

Don Caballero were a math rock band from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, formed in 1991. Driven throughout their career by drummer Damon Che, the band helped define the genre with intricate time signature work, dissonant guitar interplay, and meticulous compositions drawn partly from jazz. Their 1995 album Don Caballero 2 and 2000's American Don are considered genre touchstones; guitarist Ian Williams went on to co-found Battles. The band dissolved in 2009 after several acrimonious lineup shifts.

Don Jamieson is a New Jersey-born stand-up comedian known for comedy deeply rooted in heavy metal and hard rock culture. He co-hosted VH1 Classic's That Metal Show alongside Eddie Trunk and Jim Florentine for 14 seasons from 2008 to 2015. Jamieson has released five comedy albums on Metal Blade Records, beginning with Live & Hilarious (2011), which debuted at number 9 on the Billboard Comedy Albums chart.