IOfTheStorm: I'm curious as to see who you think which bands exist in the "US underground"? I don't mean to be argumentative, but I really am curious. You see, some of my favorite power/prog bands come from Europe - Sonata Arctica, Edguy, Gamma Ray, Blind Guardian, Stratovarius etc. Even if I think back 10-15 years, the heavy metal bands I liked the most always had European origins: Sabbath, Malmsteen, Priest, Iron Maiden etc.
I can barely even mention any band from the US that I love: Iced Earth and Jag Panzer are both ok, but they're certainly not my favorites. And before, I would give my dues to Metallica, Megadeth (RIP), Slayer, and Testament. I even loved Suicidal Tendencies. However, the way I see things now, the metal industry (underground or not) in the USA is just dire.
Now if you're talking about grindcore and all the extreme types of music, then I have no idea what you're going on about since I don't listen to that stuff. Again though, I would be curious to see what US bands you think are great - might give me inspiration to explore and hear a few samples....!
In fact, I'm going to start a new thread about this!