Catch 22 is an Ohio act from Marietta blending heavy metal, power metal, and thrash in a melodic yet aggressive style. Soaring vocals, twin guitar harmonies, and driving rhythms define their sound.

Thrash metal band from Athens, Ohio, playing aggressive, riff-driven thrash in the American tradition.

Cleveland, Ohio act spanning black metal, death metal, and thrash, drawing on all three traditions to create a raw and aggressive hybrid sound.

Chaos Reigns is a thrash metal band from Youngstown, Ohio, formed in 2010, that delivers straightforward, aggressive thrash in the tradition of the classic American bands that shaped the genre. The band features members trained at respected music programs including Berklee College of Music and Youngstown State's Dana School of Music.

Chaos Ritual is a groove and thrash metal band from Cincinnati, Ohio that formed on the city's east side and quickly built a local following, opening for national acts including Soulfly, Geoff Tate, and Sanctuary. The band later continued under the name Critical Khaos.

Cleveland's Chemikilled blends the melodic hooks of power metal with thrash's angular aggression into a hard-hitting hybrid sound. They carry on the Midwest tradition of no-nonsense heavy metal.

Cleveland's Cholera straddle the line between death metal and deathcore, bringing Midwestern grit to breakdowns and blast beats alike. Their approach is direct and punishing.

Springfield, Ohio groove metal band Chronic Aggression keeps it heavy and direct, built on mid-tempo down-tuned riffs and a rhythm-first approach to metal songwriting. Their sound sits firmly in the machine-groove tradition popularized by the early 1990s.

Cincinnati's Citizen X traffic in groove-driven thrash built on thick mid-paced riffs and a blue-collar Midwestern intensity. Their material locks hard into the pocket before erupting into fast-lane aggression.