Explore California Metal
Featured Album
Lie To My Face (2022) (2022)
Featured Thrash Metal Album
Metallica (Remastered 2021) (2021)
Featured Artist with an Upcoming Show
Featured Stoner Metal Album
Spitting Fire Live Vol. 2 (2013)
Featured Artist with an Upcoming Show
Browse California Metal Bands
125 bands found
Salinas, California's Elektrix have been churning out meat-and-potatoes thrash metal since 2015, the agricultural heartland of the Central Valley providing an unlikely but appropriate backdrop for no-frills aggression.
A California-based progressive metal and hard rock act formed in 2011, this Eleventh Hour pushes the genre's complexity toward accessible territory, blending technical ambition with broadly melodic songwriting.
Named after the tragic figure who died at the Cecil Hotel, this Los Angeles black metal project channels dread and unease into its music — atmosphere soaked in paranoia and the feeling of being watched in a dark corridor.
Anaheim's Elixir have been keeping the power metal flame burning in Southern California since 2008, dealing in soaring vocals, galloping double bass, and anthemic choruses built for arenas but honed in clubs.
Los Angeles black metal act Elrik operate in the city's more underground corners, trading the sunshine of their surroundings for cold, misanthropic darkness that has defined the project since 2014.
Sacramento's Elysia entered the deathcore space in 2024 with the genre's characteristic wall-of-sound ferocity, bridging death metal's technical severity with the breakdown-centric architecture that drives the style.
San Diego's Elysian blend traditional heavy metal with hard rock's melodic accessibility, a combination that keeps the music approachable without sacrificing the weight that makes it worth returning to.
Oakland's Embers fuse black metal's icy atmosphere with doom's crushing weight and crust punk's streetwise grit, building something uniquely Bay Area in its bleakness. Active since 2009, they've carved out a space where political urgency and sonic desolation intersect.
Sacramento's Emberthrone fuse deathcore's breakdown architecture with death metal's compositional aggression, keeping both sides of the equation bone-heavy. Formed in 2022, they represent the current California wave pushing the genre's technical and sonic boundaries.
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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.