Explore California Metal
Featured Album
Seven Souls (2021)
Featured Doom Metal Album
The Cave We Fear To Enter (2024)
Featured Artist with an Upcoming Show
Featured Metalcore Album
The Powerless Rise (2010)
Featured Artist with an Upcoming Show
Browse California Metal Bands
1987 bands found
Seattle/Long Beach doom and drone metal project. The minimalist name matches their approach — glacially paced, frequency-obsessed heaviness that operates at the outer reaches of metal's slowest subgenre.
Yuba City/Sacramento metalcore and thrash project with an impressive eleven releases since 2019. Albums like Eclipse and Fusion demonstrate a prolific output spanning multiple stylistic approaches from the Sacramento Valley.
Central California black metal project that moved from Santa Cruz to Los Osos. Five releases since 2011 including the pointedly titled Anhedonia deliver atmospheric black metal informed by the Central Coast's moody fog-shrouded landscapes.
Suisun City/Napa, California deathcore project whose 2016 EP chetirye — Russian for 'four' — brings multilingual mysticism to Bay Area breakdowns.
Long Beach, California groove metal and hardcore punk outfit with fifteen releases since 2019. Their LATE series — numbered and themed — builds one of the most extensive catalogs in Southern California's heavy underground.
Twentynine Palms stoner metal band from the high desert outside Joshua Tree, their sun-scorched, psychedelic doom perfectly mirroring the alien landscape of California's Mojave.
Los Angeles black metal project whose EPs Remember and Hiraeth — the Welsh word for an untranslatable longing for home — channel exile and nostalgia through atmospheric extremity since 2023.
Los Angeles groove metal act delivering heavy, mid-tempo power from the City of Angels, channeling mythological immortality themes through crushing rhythmic assault.
Mission Viejo, California black metal project whose 2018 debut En Trance plays on the double meaning of entrance and entrancement. Atmospheric black metal from Orange County's suburban sprawl.
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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.