Los Angeles sludge metal trio laying waste since 2014. Three releases of corrosive, tar-thick heaviness that channels the smog-choked sprawl of LA into music that feels like breathing in exhaust fumes — oppressive, toxic, and oddly addictive.

San Francisco NWOTHM stalwarts forging traditional heavy metal since 2013. Four releases including Other World and The Tower showcase Bay Area melodicism applied to classic metal structures — twin harmonies, anthemic choruses, and fist-pumping energy that honors the genre's golden age.

Los Angeles thrash metal act attacking since 2022 with a live demo and multiple EPs. The Plague Ship and subsequent releases deliver aggressive, riff-driven thrash from a city that helped define the genre in the '80s and continues to breed new generations of headbangers.

Los Angeles post-metal project whose 2024 debut carries one of the most apocalyptic titles in recent memory — Where Their Worm Does Not Die and the Fires Are Never Quenched. Biblical dread rendered in towering walls of atmospheric heaviness.

Riverside, California black metal project that emerged in 2025 with two EPs in quick succession. Comes the Green Man and Journey Through Mist and Mountain deal in nature-worshipping atmospheric black metal, drawing unlikely inspiration from the Inland Empire's sun-scorched landscapes.

Pasadena black metal project whose 2021 single features a vaporwave-styled title in full-width Unicode characters. A collision of internet aesthetics and black metal that signals something stranger and more modern than the ancient name suggests.

Oakland speed metal project from the California underground.

Orange County doom and heavy metal project whose 2024 demo Demos That Tell The Same Tales hints at a band mining the past for eternal truths. Irvine may be synonymous with suburban sprawl, but Ancient Ruins finds weight and darkness in the gaps between the strip malls.

Los Angeles thrash metal act whose 2015 debut Forever In Hell delivers exactly what the title promises — relentless, fire-breathing thrash with no escape hatch. A contribution to LA's endless thrash revival.