Age of Darkness is a black and death metal band from Calexico, California, just miles from the Mexican border. Their 2022 full-length "As Essence Left Your Soul" and EP "Mental Crisis" bring extreme metal to one of the most remote stretches of the US-Mexico borderlands.

Aggravated Assault is a thrash metal band from Fairfield, California. Their 2025 live recording from Transplants Brewing captures the raw energy of a thrash band in their element — playing a Christmas show at a local brewery.

Aggro is a thrash/death metal band from Hayward, California. Their 2020 release "Going Under OST" is a massive twenty-nine-track video game soundtrack, an unusual format that channels metal aggression into interactive entertainment.

Agnostic Priest is a thrash and speed metal band from Oakland, California. Their 2019 full-length "Final Stand" delivers eight tracks of high-velocity thrash from the East Bay.

Los Angeles thrash metal project. The name suggests a state of unknowing — ignorance weaponized through speed and aggression.

Agonia is a death/thrash metal band from Los Angeles with an extraordinarily prolific output — fourteen releases since 2024 alone. The project's relentless pace includes multiple full-lengths, EPs, and singles that suggest either a deep well of material or a one-person creative torrent.

Agowilt is a drone/doom metal and crust project from Long Beach, California. Their 2012 single "Clocks Made Of Their Own Bones" hints at a band operating at the crushing intersection of drone doom and crust punk.

Agrezor is a thrash metal band from Los Angeles. Their 2023 output includes the EP "Death to Earth" alongside a reissued 2008 demo, connecting the band's present-day thrash to over a decade of underground activity.

Agriculture is a post-black metal band from Los Angeles that has quickly become one of the most talked-about acts in American underground metal. Formed by members of the hardcore and punk scenes, the band's approach to black metal is informed by shoegaze, post-rock, and a DIY ethos, earning critical acclaim and festival appearances since their emergence in 2022.