Florida has produced no shortage of seminal death metal bands since the genre's early-90's inception: Obituary, Morbid Angel, and Death, to name a few. While it never quite achieved the legendary status it deserved, one would be amiss to leave Solstice off of any list concerning Florida's best metal outfits. Western New York connection aside (founding bassist and vocalist Rob Barrett went on to play in Buffalo's Cannibal Corpse), Solstice's first two records, 1992's "Solstice" and 1995's "Pray," are true death metal sleeper hits. There's a raw, unmatched ferocity on tracks like "Transmogrified" and "Survival Reaction" that makes metal-heads blush to this day.

Solstice plays with Warsenal, Feathom, War Curse, Burndwiller, Grindlock, and Dimension66 on Friday, July 8, at the Bug Jar, 219 Monroe Avenue. 6 p.m. $12-$14. bugjar.com; facebook.com/solsticefl.