Explore California Metal
Featured Album
Death's Forgotten Children (2023)
Featured Death Metal Album
Necromanteum (2023)
Featured Artist with an Upcoming Show
One Day Closer to the End of the World (2019)
05/12 @ The Basement East, Nashville
Featured Melodic Death Metal Album
From Days Unto Darkness (2019)
Featured Artist with an Upcoming Show
Browse California Metal Bands
66 bands found
Los Angeles brutal death metal band formed in 1994, active in the California death metal underground through the mid-1990s before splitting up.
Formed in Santa Ana, California in 2024, Cadaverous Odour takes the splatter and speed of brutal death metal and goregrind and channels it through an intense, blood-soaked sonic attack.
Bakersfield, California slam/brutal death metal band formed in 2024, a new entry in the West Coast extreme metal underground.
Santa Maria brutal death and grindcore act formed in 2021, delivering chaotic, speed-driven extremity that blurs the line between the two genres with short, savage, and unrelenting compositions.
Sacramento brutal death and slam act formed in 2024, pursuing the genre's most visceral extremes through crushing breakdowns and low-register sonic violence.
San Diego, California brutal death metal and slam act formed in 2003, known for guttural vocals, down-tuned chugging riffs, and the punishing rhythmic intensity central to the slam subgenre; frequent comparisons to Devourment and Disgorge.
San Francisco, California three-piece brutal death metal and slam band formed in 2007, evolving from a noise project into a full-force practitioner of slam's rhythmically punishing style, with their 2011 album Orgasmica showcasing their established sound.
Atascadero, California's Chewed to Stubs traffics in brutal death metal executed with grinding intensity and no decorative excess. The Central Coast band channels pure sonic punishment into concise, devastating tracks.
Berkeley's Colonoscopy commits fully to brutal death metal's most repulsive aesthetic tendencies, delivering dense, guttural heaviness with the Bay Area's characteristic technical edge lurking beneath the gore.
Enter the Inferno
View all threads →Frequently asked questions
California Metal Index indexes hundreds of California heavy metal bands across every subgenre — death metal, black metal, thrash metal, doom metal, metalcore, hardcore punk, grindcore, sludge, stoner metal, and more. Browse heavy metal bands by genre, city, or state.
Yes — browse California death metal bands in our index. Filter by genre to find death metal, technical death metal, and melodic death metal bands. We also index black metal, thrash metal, doom metal, and all heavy metal bands.
Use the genre filter to browse California black metal bands. We index black metal, atmospheric black metal, and related subgenres alongside death metal, thrash metal, doom metal, and all heavy metal bands.
Browse our index for California thrash metal bands. Filter by genre to discover thrash metal, crossover thrash, and speed metal bands. Our index covers all heavy metal bands including death metal, black metal, doom, and metalcore.
Yes — we index metalcore bands, doom metal bands, and every heavy metal subgenre. Browse California metalcore, doom metal, sludge metal, stoner metal, progressive metal, power metal, and more.
Yes — browse California hardcore punk bands alongside heavy metal bands. We cover hardcore punk, crust punk, D-beat, grindcore, metalcore, and all heavy music subgenres.
Filter by city and state to find heavy metal bands near you. Each band page includes streaming links, genre tags, and upcoming metal concerts. Discover death metal, black metal, thrash, doom, and all heavy metal bands in your area.
Visit our shows page for California metal concerts — death metal shows, black metal concerts, thrash metal shows, doom concerts, and all heavy metal events. Updated daily with ticket links from Ticketmaster and SeatGeek.
California Metal Index is an index of California heavy metal bands — death metal, black metal, thrash metal, doom metal, metalcore, hardcore punk, and all heavy music. Browse bands by genre, find metal concerts near you, and discover the California metal scene.