Listmania: Metal Noise Top #5 Underground Metal Bands to Watch in 2026!

Why do we limit ourselves to just five in each of the categories of Listmania Awards Season we hear you ask? Well it’s pretty simple. No one has the time or attention span to pour over a list of 25-100 things on anyone’s and actually give them the attention that they deserve! That’s why we distill our choices down to the bare essentials, in the hope that if you haven’t already, you might have the opportunity to find a new favourite! This time out we look at top five Underground Metal bands to watch in 2026!

2025 was a phenomenal year for Deathcore brutes Dead Flesh, a band who had the honour of cutting the metaphorical red tape as the first to perform at Bloodstock Open Air Festival having impressed on the New Blood Stage the previous year. They’re currently looking for a new vocalist but having earned the right with their collection of angry anthems like “Bodies Upon Bodies” it surely won’t be long before the riff machine returns to the stage…

Back in November, Finnish Melodic Death Metal act Torch Us made waves with EP “Non-Existence“, their sound having the nostalgic air of 2003 era American Metalcore about it with the punch of Groove Metal. Raw and intense with haunting riffs, dark grooves and unfiltered emotion, it’s a record which put them on the map in a big way so if they get snapped up by the likes of Century Media and pushed out on a European tour then we’re not going to be surprised!

As vocalist and guitarist Chris Underhill explained in detail in our Christmas interview with My Latest Failure, his Essex Hardcore injected Punk trio have got a collection of singles set for arrival in the new year. They include a pair of We Punch Tigers covers as well an alternative version of their 2022 single “Bad Dreams” mixed by Ross Walker of Sore Teeth fame so we can’t wait to get our ears on those!

Returning from a two year hiatus in 2025 with singles “Ratboi” and “The Maryland Confessions” as well as a powerful headlining performance at Manchester Rebellion for Shammer Festival, Clashmute are a band we have an eye on. The Manchester Metalcore merchants have a rich history of livewire stage antics (as demonstrated at Slammer!) with everyone from InVisions to Siamese so it’s little wonder that their return has certainly captured the imagination. If they manage to convince Benji Mars from Waterlines to join them on a recording like he did live, well…

After a fistful of shows in December, Viking Skull, a band who feature in their ranks a couple of members of Raging Speedhorn, have suggested that 2026 will see a new EP arrive from them. Whether that will happen before they play Dorset Doomsday Festival in April or not remains to be seen but if we had to put money on it… For those not in the know they had a run from 2002 to 2016 before calling it a night following the release of their self titled album. 2023 saw their resurrection from the grave in a live capacity…

Honourable mentions? In time honoured tradition, here are five more! This second wave are all based on live performances we’ve had the pleasure of witnessing in the past twelve months! Don’t say we didn’t warn you!

Seething Akira
Eschalon
Countless Skies
Kulan Gath
Continents