Written By Caine Blackthorn
These Gen Z metal bands aren’t stuck in tradition; they’re messing with the formula.
Metal isn’t stuck in your dad’s dusty CD binder anymore. The Gen Z metal vands have stormed the pit, taken over the algorithms, and they’re rewriting heavy music on their own terms. These 23 bands aren’t just keeping metal alive, they’re mutating it into something wild, fresh, and chaotic enough to fit the times.
Metal doesn’t belong to just one generation. From the denim vests of the ’80s to the mall-goth kids of the 2000s, every wave has left its fingerprints on the genre. Now it’s Gen Z’s turn and they’re not here to politely join the circle. They’re kicking down the barricades with deathcore breakdowns, TikTok memes, kawaii chaos, and riffs heavy enough to crush your WiFi router.
Forget the tired “metal is dead” takes. These 23 bands prove heavy music is alive, mutating, and moshing harder than ever. Some are dragging old genres into the future, others are inventing weird hybrids nobody saw coming. Either way, they’re shaping the soundtrack of a new era.
So here are the bands, loud, messy, and unapologetically Gen Z.
Sleep Token
The cult nobody asked for but everyone joined. One minute it’s djent riffs, the next it’s R&B crooning from possibly the best voice of our time. Vessel’s most-streamed track, “The Summoning,” single-handedly brought horniness back to metal. Somehow Gen Z and everyone else is sobbing into their iced lattes while headbanging.
Lorna Shore
Will Ramos didn’t just scream, he unlocked a new Pokémon evolution. Half the internet follows them just to meme that scream, the other half to see if deathcore can actually break TikTok’s algorithm.
Shadow of Intent
Symphonic deathcore that sounds like a Final Boss fight scored by Hans Zimmer’s evil twin. Every breakdown feels like losing half your health bar in Dark Souls, and fans wouldn’t have it any other way.
Enterprise Earth
Deathcore but prestige TV. Every song feels like a trailer for a Netflix show that doesn’t exist yet. Cinematic, dramatic, and brutal enough to get its own trigger warning.
Zeal & Ardor
What happens when the Black spiritual genre gets drunk with Darkthrone and they go home together? Zeal & Ardor is the messy, brilliant lovechild. Gen Z eats it up because it’s as chaotic as their Spotify playlists (yes, gospel and black metal can actually coexist). They give you that “holy shit, this band is weird but genius” vibe.
Dvne
Prog-sludge that sounds like collapsing galaxies. Their riffs come with free stoner philosophy: “What if your D&D dice were really just fragments of a dying star?” (They’re the band your friend with three bongs won’t shut up about.)
Knocked Loose
Every pit turns into a demolition derby. Are they tight? Thats highly debatable. Are they loud enough to send your vape pen flying across the floor? Absolutely. (And maybe that’s the point, chaos is the brand.)
Spiritbox
Courtney LaPlante is basically Gen Z’s Beyoncé of metal. Angel one second, demon the next and the fanbase screams “MOMMY??” every time she hits a note. She’s technically brilliant (her range is nuts), but also charismatic and stylish.
For the latest weekly chaos, don’t miss Seven Deadly Songs where we spotlight fresh new tracks storming the metal world.
Bad Omens
Moody breakdowns and catchy hooks. Half the fanbase discovered them via Spotify’s “Sad Bangers” playlist. They are the patron saints of sadboi on TikTok. Every chorus feels like it belongs on a crying-while-driving playlist. If Hot Topic still ruled malls, they’d already have their own eyeliner line.
Poppy
One day bubblegum, the next day blast beats. She’s the glitch in the metal matrix, proving you can shred in a pastel dress while whispering “I Disagree.” The gatekeepers say, “you can’t sit here,” but Gen Z eats chaos for breakfast and Poppy is the menu.
Wargasm (UK)
Imagine if nu-metal and punk got blackout drunk and hooked up in Camden. Wargasm is the morning-after chaos: loud, messy, and a little too fun to regret.
Electric Callboy
Boy-band harmonies, rave lights, mullets, and breakdowns. They’re either the dumbest thing you’ve ever seen or the most genius. TikTok can’t decide, so everyone just keeps watching on repeat. Basically the only band that could headline both a metal fest and a frat party.
Code Orange
Industrial glitch, hardcore grit, and a vibe that screams “final boss when your controller disconnects.” They’re the band your laptop fan turns on for before you even hit play.
Vended
Yes, they’ve got Slipknot DNA but these kids are carving their own pits. If nepotism always sounded this raw, nobody would complain. They sound like chaos incarnate. these guys go harder than most “real deal” bands, and fans can’t stop showing up.
Holding Absence
Sadboi-core supreme. Perfect for crying, moshing, then posting a TikTok slideshow with the caption “he didn’t deserve me anyway.”
Polaris
Aussie breakdown merchants with choruses so big you could surf them. The band you play when you want your road trip to end in a wall of death. They’ve got choruses built for Gen Z scream-alongs and riffs strong enough to break surfboards.
Make Them Suffer
They’re Beauty and the Beast if Beast brought blast beats. Sweet keys, then bam, your face just got ripped off. (Fans secretly love the whiplash.)
I Prevail
They memed their way into fame, but they’ve stuck around by delivering bangers. From meme covers to modern metalcore kings. They’re basically the “elder statesmen” of Gen Z metal now, like the older cousin who still gets into house shows and somehow never aged past 23.
Hanabie
Kawaii-core chaos. J-pop hooks over riffs that shred like Sailor Moon throwing hands in a circle pit. They’re proof you can wear cat ears and still trigger a wall of death.
Loathe
Atmospheric heaviness with underground cred. Listening feels like discovering a bandcamp gem before Pitchfork ruins it. Gen Z gatekeepers love them for exactly that reason.
Druids
Doom riffs fuzzed out like lava lamps. The stoner Gen Z has them blasting in the background while overwatering the succulents and forgetting their DoorDash order.
Sutrah
Tech-death for the math nerds. Blast beats and polyrhythms complicated enough to double as calculus homework. If you can headbang to this, you deserve extra credit.
Cough
Sludge so slow it feels like your WiFi buffering. The soundtrack for hotboxing your basement until you forget which presidential administration it is.
Metal’s not dying, it’s mutating. These 23 bands prove Gen Z isn’t just listening, they’re leading.
This is what Gen Z metal looks like. It’s messy, experimental, and thriving. Whether you love it, hate it, or don’t get it yet, one thing’s clear, heavy music isn’t dying anytime soon. It’s just reinventing itself for the kids who grew up with TikTok scrolls instead of cassette tapes.
“Want more?” If you’re hungry for more underground gems, check out our ongoing series Deep Cuts: Metal’s Hidden Gems.
Who did we miss? Drop your must-hear Gen Z heavy bands in the comments and build the playlist with us.
