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
9 bands found
A California death metal outfit with deep roots in hardcore, Skinfather (formed 2012) carve out a punishing middle ground between the two genres — delivering crushing riffs and pit-ready aggression that owes as much to the beatdown scene as it does to old-school death metal.
Los Angeles's Skorched pull from thrash, death metal, and hardcore in equal measure — a crossover-minded trio active since 2017 that reflects the city's long tradition of genre-blurring underground acts where pit culture and riff weight converge.
A California crossover act active since 2015, Skullcrack sit at the volatile intersection of thrash metal, hardcore, and straight-up crossover — short, fast, and built for the pit, with an HC-first mentality that keeps the music leaning aggressive and raw.
San Francisco band founded in 2020 that fuses brutal death metal with hardcore aggression, channeling the Bay Area's long tradition of punishing crossover extremity.
Spinebreaker is a San Jose death metal and hardcore band formed in 2014, blending the savagery of death metal with hardcore's directness and aggression in the Bay Area's active heavy underground.
Los Angeles band formed in 2025 fusing black metal's cold dissonance with the urgency and aggression of hardcore punk, operating at the raw intersection of both traditions.
Sudden Strength is a Los Angeles thrash/hardcore band formed in 2021, drawing equally from the velocity and riffing of thrash metal and the raw intensity of hardcore punk in the tradition of the LA crossover scene.
Suffer is a Los Angeles band formed in 1993 that combines thrash and groove metal with hardcore influences, reflecting the hard-edged street energy of the Southern California metal underground across more than three decades of activity.
San Francisco crossover thrash outfit active since 1998, drawing equally from Bay Area thrash tradition and hardcore punk to produce a fast, aggressive sound with strong street-level attitude.
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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.