Suspectum is a Cincinnati, Ohio death and groove metal outfit formed in 2024, merging the brutality of death metal with the syncopated heaviness of groove to forge a punishing and rhythmically direct sound.

Springfield, Ohio's This Blessed Hatred fuse the mid-tempo chug of groove metal with the high-tension dynamics of metalcore, producing a sound built for impact on both the stage and the pit.

Tusko is a sludge and groove metal band from Canton, Ohio, formed in 2015, melding the lurching heaviness of sludge with groove metal's infectious rhythmic punch.

Cincinnati's Vile Sanctum launched in 2023 bridging groove metal's kinetic swagger and metalcore's angular precision into something that hits the body first and the brain second. The band's name gestures at ritual while the music keeps both feet planted firmly in the pit.

Formed in Cleveland in 2021, Voices of the Damned fuse the punishing weight of death metal with groove metal's rhythmic swagger, building songs around thick, locked-in riffs and a relentless sense of momentum. The Cleveland scene's blue-collar aggression runs through everything they do, grounding the brutality in something physical and immediate. They're a young band arriving fully formed.