Cleveland's Montez formed in 2021 and play speed/power metal with the breakneck intensity the genre demands — sharp, melodic, and built on a tradition that the Midwest has quietly sustained since the 1980s.

This Ohio speed and thrash metal band formed in 2021, drawing from classic speed metal's frenetic tempos and the hard-edged attack of early thrash for a driving, old-school sensibility.

Akron, Ohio's Silent Knight have spent two decades threading death, thrash, and speed metal into a cohesive whole since forming in 2005, blending the velocity of old-school speed with the darker tonality that comes from a genuine death metal foundation.

Cleveland's Torment blends speed and thrash metal in the tradition of a city that has produced hard-hitting heavy acts for decades. Formed in 2021, they bring a tightly wound, velocity-obsessed approach that nods toward the NWOBHM-influenced speed metal roots of the genre.

Cleveland's Vanik play speed and heavy metal with the gonzo energy of someone who discovered Motörhead and never recovered. Since 2016, they've been delivering short, hard-charging songs that feel like they were written in a garage and meant to be heard very, very loud.

Cleveland's Wyld Timez weaponize the rawness of first-wave black metal and fuse it to the locomotive momentum of speed metal and classic heavy metal, resulting in a high-energy blast of blackened aggression formed in 2021. Their approach pulls from the leather-and-spikes underground with a restless, reckless energy.