Marietta, Ohio's Proper Burial have been delivering straightforward, no-frills death metal since 2016, the kind of small-town American underground band whose regional isolation arguably sharpens rather than dulls their edge. Rooted in old-school death metal aesthetics, they favor punishing mid-paced riffs and a murky atmosphere over technical showmanship.

Formed in Columbus, Ohio in 2002, Propulsion have spent over two decades driving groove metal forward with locked-in rhythm work and relentless low-end momentum. Their sound sits firmly in the tradition of mid-tempo heaviness where pocket-tight riffs do the talking.

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Based out of rural southeastern Ohio, Psychomancy formed in 2020 playing a groove-heavy thrash metal hybrid that pulls from the rhythmic muscle of groove metal while keeping the riffing speed and attitude of classic thrash firmly intact.

Salem, Ohio's Psyclosarin formed in 2019 playing a grinding hybrid of groove and death metal — the combination of rhythmic heaviness and technical death metal aggression gives them a distinct character within Ohio's active and underrated heavy underground.

Vermillion, Ohio's Psycopath have been playing straightforward thrash metal since 2018, delivering the genre's trademark aggression and speed from a small-town Ohio setting that keeps their approach stripped down, road-tested, and unpretentious.

Cleveland's Punching Moses have been at it since 2012, playing a hard-nosed crossover that draws equally from Bay Area thrash and Midwest hardcore — aggressive, blunt, and grounded in the blue-collar ethos of the city they come from. Expect circle-pit riffs and no philosophical hedging.

Cleveland's Puppet have been playing groove metal since 2014, leaning into the genre's emphasis on rhythmic lockstep and mid-tempo menace rather than speed, constructing riffs built to land like a hammer rather than a scalpel. A sturdy, head-down entry from Ohio's heavy music scene.

Cleveland's Putrefy deal in a corroded hybrid of black and death metal, leaning into atmosphere as much as brutality with a raw, caustic sound that reflects the rust-belt underground. Active since 2014, they occupy a grimy middle ground where blastbeats collide with dissonant, suffocating riffcraft.