Duvall/Seattle/Los Angeles sludge metal project whose absurdist name reflects a refusal to take anything seriously. Multi-city sludge with a sense of humor as thick as their tone.

Omaha, Nebraska NWOTHM project. The aggressive, in-your-face name matches the direct approach of traditional heavy metal from the Great Plains.

Alexander City, Alabama groove metal and NWOTHM project. Named after the hour when nothing good happens — late-night heaviness from small-town Alabama.

40 Below Summer are a New Jersey nu-metal band who captured the anxious, groove-heavy side of early-2000s heavy music. Formed in 1998, they broke through with Invitation to the Dance, a record that paired Max Illidge's volatile vocal shifts with thick guitars, syncopated rhythms, and songs like "We the People," "Rope," "Step Into the Sideshow," and "Falling Down." The Mourning After and later releases such as The Last Dance, Fire at Zero Gravity, Transmission Infrared, and Untethered kept the band connected to listeners who valued nu metal's emotional rawness and rhythmic impact. 40 Below Summer fit metal scope through nu metal, alternative metal, and hard-rock heaviness, with enough hardcore edge and groove to stand apart from more polished radio acts of the same era. Their strongest material feels tense and physical, moving between whispered unease, shouted release, and riffs that lock into the body. The band never depended on subtlety, but that is part of the appeal: 40 Below Summer make frustration sound oversized, immediate, and built for a room moving in unison.

40 Grit was an alternative and nu metal band formed in Concord, California in 1996, releasing their debut album Heads in 2000. The band balanced downtuned, Korn-influenced riffing with melodic vocals, occupying the heavier end of the late-1990s alt-metal spectrum. They released material through Metal Blade Records before disbanding in 2004.

Middletown, New York groove metal project whose name combines cannabis culture with rhythmic violence. Hudson Valley heaviness built for headbanging at any elevation.

Williamsport, Pennsylvania thrash metal project named after the .44 Magnum cartridge. Firearms-grade thrash from Little League's hometown in central PA.

Columbia/St. Louis, Missouri hardcore punk project. The surgical name implies precision violence from the Gateway City's punk underground.

Technical Progressive Rock / Metal from Austin, Texas / Nashville, Tennessee.