Explore California Metal

Browse California Metal Bands

423 bands found
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.
Long Beach · 2014–present · active
Long Beach's Empathy carve progressive thrash metal with Southern California's technical precision and just enough melodic sophistication to separate them from pure aggression acts — cerebral without losing the crunch.
San Francisco · 2019–present · active
San Francisco's Empty Suits channel blackened thrash with a punk backbone, dragging Bay Area aggression through the filth of second-wave black metal since 2019.
Fresno · 2017–present · active
Fresno thrash outfit with one of metal's most deliberately confrontational names, channeling the San Joaquin Valley's working-class grit into raw, no-frills thrash since 2017. Expect speed, attitude, and zero pretense.
Palm Desert · 2016–present · active
Palm Desert's Enrage runs on the fuel of classic speed and thrash metal, channeling the southern California desert's blistering energy into tight, riff-driven aggression with old-school urgency.
Huntington Beach · 2014–present · active
Huntington Beach's Enrot scrapes corrosive thrash metal from the Southern California coast, forging sharp-edged riffs and aggressive tempos in the tradition of the genre's classic Bay Area and SoCal forebears.
El Cajon · 1996–present · active
please update this band
San Diego · 2022–present · active
San Diego thrash/heavy metal band tapping into the California coast's deep tradition of aggressive, sun-bleached metal — riff-forward and no-frills, built for the pit.
Nevada County · 2011–present · active
Conjured from the forests of Nevada County in the Sierra Nevada foothills, this Northern California black metal act captures the isolation and cold fury of the mountains in its sound.

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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.
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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.
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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.