I guess you could call Mick Gordon independent. He freelanced quite a few video game soundtracks.
Wolfenstein The New Order - Prototype
Wolfenstein II The New Colossus - Right Trigger Warning
I'm a fan of Lich King. It's thrash metal with a bit of humour mixed in, sorta like Municipal Waste or Gama Bomb.
If you like Black Metal but don't like the fact a lot of it is problematic, The Anti Fascist Black Metal Network is a great place to find good stuff.
Over the years they've promoted Allfather, Dawn Ray'd, Auld, Blackbraid, The Infernal Sea and loads of others.
It's not all Black Metal and you can listen to it with an easy conscience.
Black Kirin is an extreme folk metal band from Changchun, China that does a really compelling blend of melodic death metal, folk metal, and classical (Chinese) music.
Bloodywood is an Indian folk Nu-Metal (?) band with one of the most interesting sounds I've ever heard and that dropped single-handedly, without label support, what is arguably the best metal album released this year.
Arka'n Asrafokor is a Togo melodic death-flavoured band with a sound and lyrical content that really needs to be heard.
Metal community, all subgenres welcome.
It only seemed fitting to have Lemmy himself as the icon.
Other Communities: