DeLand, Florida's Seven Kingdoms take their name from George R.R. Martin's fantasy saga and channel that epic storytelling ambition into anthemic power metal driven by blazing guitar work and soaring vocal melodies. The band has shared stages with Blind Guardian and Holy Grail, natural companions for their European-influenced sound rooted in the tradition of classic Helloween and Gamma Ray. Their signing to Reigning Phoenix Music and ongoing releases demonstrate a band committed to keeping American power metal alive and thriving.

Progressive metal outfit Seven Thirteen emerged from Titusville, Florida in 2020, pursuing an expansive and technically demanding sound that blends intricate compositional structures with heavy, dynamic playing. Their music draws on the genre's long tradition of merging precision with emotion, finding space for both crushing passages and melodic complexity.

Tallahassee's Sexual Predator traffic in a chaotic convergence of black metal, death metal, and grindcore that resists easy categorization — raw and confrontational in all three modes at once. Formed in 2015 in Florida's fertile extreme music underground, they favor intensity and dissonance over any single style's rulebook.

Miami's Shadow Reborn combine progressive metal's structural complexity with gothic metal's emotional atmosphere, an unusual pairing that reflects both the ambition and the heat of their South Florida surroundings since 2015. Their approach to gothic prog leans into the dramatic without sacrificing the technical intricacy that defines the progressive side of the equation.

Miami's Shadows Carnage launched in 2024 with a death metal sound shaped by South Florida's long and storied extreme metal legacy. Brand new to the scene but working in a city that has produced some of the genre's most influential acts, they bring a ferocious, sun-scorched brutality to the tradition.

Pompano Beach, Florida's Shai Hulud, named after the sandworms of Frank Herbert's 'Dune,' have been one of melodic hardcore's most respected and influential bands since their seminal 1997 debut 'Hearts Once Nourished with Hope and Compassion.' Despite constant lineup changes revolving around founding guitarist Matt Fox, the band's signature blend of metallic hardcore with intricate, harmonized guitar leads and passionately delivered philosophical lyrics has remained remarkably consistent. Shai Hulud's impact on the melodic hardcore and metalcore scenes is disproportionate to their profile, with countless bands citing them as a formative influence.

Orlando's Shake the Castle Wall move fluidly between hard rock and doom metal, grounding their heavy riffs in classic rock sensibility without sacrificing weight or atmosphere. Formed in 2015, the band reflects Florida's diverse heavy music scene with a sound that draws as much from 1970s rock as it does from the doom tradition.

Hailing from Hudson, Florida, this death/thrash hybrid tears through riff-heavy territory with the swampy intensity expected from the Sunshine State's underground, formed in 2011.

Tampa's Shimera brings a groove-heavy approach to heavy metal, leaning into the mid-paced churn and rhythmic swagger of groove metal within a city known for producing acts that favor intensity over flash.