Explore California Metal
Featured Album
Dead Bodies Everywhere (2021)
Featured Heavy Metal Album
Metallica (Remastered Deluxe Box Set) (2021)
Featured Artist with an Upcoming Show
Featured Groove Metal Album
Outside The Box (2021)
Featured Artist with an Upcoming Show
Browse California Metal Bands
278 bands found
California groove metal project whose 2025 single In the galaxy, hides mystical dreams blends cosmic wonder with heavy grooves. The compressed, lowercase name and poetic title signal a band reaching beyond genre conventions.
Walnut, California doom metal and grindcore hybrid with ten releases since 2024. Their catalog — including Anhedonic Empires and Cryptomnesis — blends seemingly incompatible genres at a feverish pace from suburban Los Angeles.
East Los Angeles crossover thrash project from the California underground.
Oakland grindcore outfit whose 2011 self-titled EP delivers rapid-fire aggression from the East Bay. Part of the Bay Area's long tradition of politically charged, musically ferocious extreme punk-metal.
Inglewood, California grindcore veterans whose 1999 debut Monarchy of Damned predates the genre's modern revival. A piece of LA County grind history from the turn of the millennium.
San Diego death metal act with impressive longevity, spanning 2007 to 2020. Famine of A Thousand Frozen Years established their epic approach to the genre, while the much later Allies of a Fallen Empire shows a band still committed to their dark vision after over a decade.
Concord, California melodic death metal and thrash outfit active since 2012. Their EPs Sensory Overload and They All Carry Ghosts blend Scandinavian melodeath influences with Bay Area thrash energy, the apothecary-inspired name suggesting music as medicine — or poison.
Orange County, California doom metal project shrouded in mystery. Their untitled debut channels the genre's most spectral qualities, the name evoking ghostly visitations rendered in crushing heaviness.
Los Angeles symphonic metal project from the California underground.
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.