Metal Church emerged from the Pacific Northwest in the early 1980s as one of thrash and power metal's most distinctive voices, with David Wayne's piercing vocals on their self-titled debut and 'The Dark' establishing them as peers of Metallica and Megadeth. The band's revolving lineup over the decades — including stints with Mike Howe, whose return on 'XI' was celebrated before his tragic passing — has never diminished their commitment to riff-driven, uncompromising heavy metal.

Soaring Speed / Power Metal out of Texas.

Formed in Chicago in 2022, Metal Heart represent the latest wave of traditional heavy metal revivalists to emerge from the city's active underground scene. Still in their early years, they channel the spirit of classic heavy metal with a fresh, contemporary edge tied to the Factory Tones imprint.

Heavy Heavy Metal out of Texas.

New Jersey's Metal Mike is a solo project that fuses heavy metal's primal backbone with the technical ambition of neoclassical and progressive metal, leaning hard into shred guitar as a central vehicle. The project mines the intersection of virtuoso technique and melodic metal songwriting, placing it in the lineage of players like Malmsteen while carving its own niche on Bandcamp.

Fort Lauderdale's Metal Militia have been bringing a relentless thrash attack to South Florida since 2014, channeling the aggression and speed of the genre's Bay Area and East Coast forebears. Their Bandcamp presence reflects a band committed to the uncompromising intensity that defines underground thrash.

Minneapolis's Metal Ships occupy a moody corner where heavy metal meets gothic atmosphere, threading hard rock swagger through darkly melodic songwriting since 2013. Their sound draws on the gloomy grandeur of gothic metal while keeping one foot planted in hard rock accessibility, making them a distinctive presence in the Twin Cities scene.

Hailing from Beloit, Wisconsin, Metal Storm have straddled the line between traditional heavy metal and thrash since forming in 2014, delivering the kind of hard-hitting, riff-forward sound that defined the genre's formative years. Their approach is rooted in the Midwest's no-nonsense work ethic, favoring heaviness and momentum over studio polish.

Brooklyn's Metal Storm are a thrash outfit forged in 2014 within New York City's dense and competitive underground metal circuit. They draw on the aggressive, rapid-fire riffing of classic East Coast thrash, carrying forward a style that has deep roots in the boroughs of New York.