Over the years, no one has treated us with more kindness, hospitality, and gratitude than unsigned bands. It’s high time we pay it forward with a grand gesture—And trust, wrangling 50 bands together is no easy feat. From vixens to Vikings, doom to death, and hair to hellions, we present our tour de metal of the United States.
Part 2, that is. Find Part 1 here, and if you don’t mind spoilers for Part 3, check out our accompanying Spotify Playlist.
KENTUCKY — CRUEL QUEEN
METALCORE
Disparage at its most graceful; an auditory experience akin to a swaying ship as you’re reeled between violent heartache and disillusioned indifference. Beauty with a bite, Cruel Queen is a tree of vibrant flowers and bitter fruits, and their roots have found a comfortable home in the future of metalcore. In Part 1, I had mentioned Coldstate’s sound was far too clean for such a small band, and I’d put Cruel Queen right there next to them.
LOUISIANA — HERAKLEION
DEATH METAL
You know that joke these days about everyday things that would kill a Victorian Child? Hell, I don’t think we need to go back that far—Herakleion would probably give your grandma a stroke. Adding them to my file of “I don’t think humans should be able to make that noise” bands, Herakleion is horrifically brutal, demonically subversive death metal at its purest. Louisiana is largely considered one of the most supernatural places in the country, and I’m not convinced this band isn’t a pack of undead Hell spawn that crawled out the bayou in the pitch black of night.
MAINE — WHEN THE DEAD WON'T DIE
DEATHCORE
Where technical meets terrifying, enter your new favorite New England cryptids! Within the depth of your most disturbing nightmares, you’ll find the vilely infernal and feral creatures of When The Dead Won’t Die. The basis of WTDWD’s identity exists in complexity, boundary-pushing, and harrowing Hellish howls. I imagine with all the tongue-speaking and fancy fret work, they’ve accidentally summoned a demon at least once during practice.
MARYLAND — OFFENSIVE
HEAVY METAL
Dancing trills and operatic vocals tell tales of Earth shattering epics. Through twisting visuals and morbid lyrics, Offensive invites you to explore their omnibus of otherworldly fables. In combination with a wide accumulation of inspirations, they create a symphonic identity through a thrash lens. It’s no wonder their live history runs the genre gamut. They are both flexible and hard to hold to one label.
MASSACHUSETTS — MY MISSING HALF
DEATH METAL
Unconventional even by death metal standards, the dynamic shredding duo of My Missing Half giveS life to an anxiously chaotic melodic monstrosity. Through gritting and bleak visions of brutality, their lyrics explore existentialism, anarchism, and, naturally, self deprecation—I mean, no one belts out guttural demonic shrieks about how happy they are, and MMH is no exception to the rule. Their structural approach is very unique for a death band, and a refreshing listen for both people who love and hate death metal.
MICHIGAN — VULGARA
HEAVY METAL
Vulgara’s discography forms a beautiful gradient of sympathetic symphonies to rousing riot anthems. Many of their songs capture a nostalgic 90s Nu sound, bolstered by bone chilling, bloody stories and racing tempos, all while bringing their own flavor to the mix through modern influences and ingenuity. Hailing from Southeast Michigan, their high intensity live shows have already earned them a strong local reputation—A reputation well deserving of a larger stage.
MINNESOTA — AFTERTIME
SYMPHONIC METAL
Angelical hymns laid over fantastical instrumentals, the bards of AfterTime weave a sonic tapestry of enchanting epics. While capturing a Dungeons and Dragons-esc ambience tends to be the goal of symphonic metal bands, AfterTime’s ability to build a fantasy world within every song and every venue they play is remarkable even by their genre’s standards. Through both their work as artists and their kindness as people, they invite any and all listeners to join on their cinematic adventure.
MISSISSIPPI — SKULLDOZER
DEATH METAL
Developing a mechanical and industrial sound within the death metal sphere is far more difficult than you’d think—Skulldozer is the first band I’ve run across to really truly nail it. The Gulf Coast metal veterans deliver an almost unearthly reimagining of brutality through the scope of an apocalyptic future-state sound. Within the Mississippi scene, their reputation precedes them as knockout performers; They’ve served as pioneers and pillars in their community for countless years now.
MISSOURI — WHITE ROSE
NU METAL
While White Rose arrives on our list as one of only two self-proclaimed Nu bands, in truth their sound falls somewhere between Nu and Metalcore. Their hazy and dazed visuals, wrapped up in their own special brand of horror, come complete with a new pharmaceutical rebranding. But, hit up the comments of any of their videos and you’ll find their one true theme persists; a unanimous agreement that they’re criminally underrated.
MONTANA — ELEPHANT GRAVEYARD
SLAM DEATHCORE
Harrowing harbingers of the underworld and thrilling twisters of doomed deathcore with a slam and sludge edge, enter Elephant Graveyard. Somewhere in all their demonic summoning and grifting across forbidden lands, they find room for a corrupted religion theming with a dash of cultism. Their expert experimentation of subgenre and thematic blending results in a deliciously depraved death delicacy. This, all while lost out in the vast plains of Montana, makes for the true definition of a hidden gem.
NEBRASKA — FAHR
DEATH METAL
While we’re on the topic of middle of nowhere gems, what a perfect time to roll into Lincoln, NE to meet the kind boys in FAHR. Their “Shellshocked” music video may have a flashy Y2K sci-fi style, but don’t let it fool you—FAHR is a death metal band through and through. The trio isn’t afraid to explore all kinds of unique sound elements and aesthetics, while still staying true to their death identity. At their core, their music is callous and merciless, with a touch of unconventional beauty.
NEVADA — MÉMOIRE
METALCORE/HARDCORE
Las Vegas natives Mémoire combine heinous hardcore screams with the dreamy clean vocals of metalcore to form uniquely vicious poetry. Though their earlier work held a far stronger leaning to the hardcore side, with each release they’ve begun pushing their boundaries more, showcasing the development of their identity along the way. Mémoire manages to create cohesion out of two somewhat disjointed sounds, melding a blend of styles and random out-of-genre textures into an ephemeral abstraction.
NEW HAMPSHIRE — MARTIAL LAW
GROOVE METAL
Bearing the weight of being our sole Groove representatives, Martial Law emerges! Weight is the name of the game in terms of Groove, actually, and these boys bring the heft. Each of their songs carries the heaviness of a black hole, helped in part by inhuman vocals and writhing rifts. Through their music, they build monoliths of hate, painting vilely vivid images of human depravity, death, and isolation.
NEW JERSEY — PARALYSIS
THRASH METAL
Paralysis has stood as a pillar in both the New Jersey scene and the underground thrash community for over a decade. Trust, their experience definitely shines through in their production and talent. Thrash isn’t clean or polished by nature, but it can be elevated, and that’s exactly what Paralysis is doing. They’ve developed a way of making a Thrash sound that’s more palatable for non-Thrash folks without abandoning the rawness and genuinity of the genre. In fact, there’s just something about these guys and their sound that bleeds genuinity. Not to mention, they have some very brain scratching and satisfying riffs.
NEW MEXICO — DISTANCES
POST-HARDCORE
The music of Distances develops a very atmospheric environment—Just to unabashedly tear it down with dynamic brutality. Their combination of suffocating screams and open ambients has helped to develop their surrealistic identity. Though they have served the New Mexico scene for over a decade, it wasn’t until recent years that they began to shape themselves into the Post-Hardcore heroes they are today.
NEW YORK — BEDLAM BARRIO
METALCORE
Coming to us from the vast and rich landscape of Booklyn’s metal scene, we have the killers of Bedlam Barrio. With a focus on the lighter side of metalcore, their sound showcases an ethereal openness, blooming in sonic iridescence. Meanwhile, their lyrics keep a focus on introspection, retrospection, and healing—The ladder of which is truly the best word to describe Bedlam Barrio. Their music is not only cathartic to listen to, but you can hear how cathartic it is for the band themselves. Their ability to capture raw honesty and vulnerability in a song comes off so effortlessly, drawing in a very dedicated fan base that continues to grow by the day.
NORTH CAROLINA — BUNKER HILL BLOODBATH
HARDCORE
Born between two brothers in 2019, Bunker Hill Bloodbath would go on to amass two additional members before growing into the malicious, murderous mammoth we know them as today. With perhaps some of the deepest distortion we have on this list, BHBB is on a mission to make each new record more brutal than their last. Abysmally morbid and eternally pissed off, they are hate metal at its purest. (The alliteration in their name also makes it a lot of fun to say, but I digress.)
PART THREE COMING SOON
all photos associated with this article and their respective credits were provided by the artists.
photo credits - Hereakleion: Robert Wilson, When The Dead Won't Die: Elle Azul, Offensive: Mind Over Media Studios, My Missing Half: Michael A, Vulgara: Jacob Myers, AfterTime: Ruby Glass Media/Edited by Gogo Melone, Sulldozer: Gene Broome/Spade Image, White Rose: Kaylee Roberts, Elephant Graveyard: Ryan Watson, FAHR: The Maze Brothers, Memoire: Dustin Bowles, Martial Law: Bailey Gendron, Paralysis: Mackenzie Gibson, Distances: Donnie Valdez, Bedlam Barrio: Daniel A. Diaz, Bunker Hill Bloodbath: Michael Hull.
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