Explore California Metal

Browse California Metal Bands

123 bands found
Ventura · 2013–present · active
A Ventura, California death-grind act with over a decade behind them, Eat the Living has consistently delivered the kind of gore-soaked, blast-heavy brutality their name promises.
Atascadero · 2012–present · active
California's Central Coast town of Atascadero is an unlikely birthplace for a death-grind outfit, but Emetic have been operating there since 2012, delivering short, savage blasts of noise that owe as much to grindcore's hardcore roots as to death metal's brutality.
Yucca Valley · 2012–present · active
Out of California's high-desert community of Yucca Valley, Emulsified Flesh have been splicing grindcore's manic velocity to death metal's rotting heaviness since 2012.
Los Angeles · 1989–present · active
Los Angeles grindcore veterans who have been grinding since 1989, making them one of Southern California's earliest practitioners of the form. Decades of output and lineup changes have done nothing to blunt their commitment to maximum brevity and maximum violence.
Orange · 2020–present · active
Named for a Pacific atoll obliterated by nuclear testing, Orange, California's Enewetak arrived in 2020 with grindcore intensity fused to metalcore structure — short, violent, and purposefully destructive. Their music moves at the speed of a chain reaction, leaving very little standing.
El Cajon · 1999–present · active
El Cajon's Enthrallment has been fusing death metal and hardcore since 1999, channeling the San Diego underground's pit-ready intensity into a hybrid that hits with the pummeling directness of both genres and the compromise of neither.
Santa Ana · 2013–present · active
Santa Ana goregrind unit with a name designed to offend and music built to match — blasting, absurdist, and utterly indifferent to good taste in the grand tradition of West Coast goregrind.
· 2008–present · active
California's Erizo — Spanish for hedgehog — is anything but soft, weaponizing experimental grindcore and death metal into unpredictable, spiny sonic assaults that defy easy categorization. Active since 2008, the project treats genre as raw material to be shredded and reconfigured rather than adhered to.
Corona · 2003–present · active
Borrowing their name from a campy horror film, Corona, California's Ernest Scared Stupid plays it anything but light, delivering caustic death metal and grindcore laced with punk fury. Two decades of activity since 2003 have honed their approach into fast, filthy, and ferocious releases.

Enter the Inferno

No threads yet. Be the first to post!

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.