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It can be easy to miss unless you’re looking for it, but there’s a lot of metal in the Valley, locals and touring acts alike. That’s why we’re looking for it.
Here’s a list of nine shows–the 10th was Thursday’s Testament/Killswitch Engage/Lamb of God/Huntress bonanza–you must see this month, as compiled by our Metal Mondays columnist, Lauren Wise.
3 Inches of Blood, Battlecross, Revocation, Diamond Plate, and Death Angels – Club Red, Tempe – November 9
Canada-based 3 Inches of Blood is always fantastic live; they combine a sense of medieval lyrical imagery, and a super energetic stage show. Plus, they are influenced a ton by the New Wave of British Heavy Metal and ’70s guitar-driven rock bands.
Three Inches of Blood
Nine Inch Nails – U.S. Airways Center – November 9
You all know who NIN is by now. Those into industrial metal will definitely dig Trent Reznor’s return, but unless you’re a die-hard fan you probably won’t want to splurge for the ticket prices.
NIN
Bobaflex, Four Skin, Barber Floyd, Unconscious Minds and What Comes Natural – Club Red, Tempe – November 14
West Virginia metal band Bobaflex may be hard to take seriously. In fact, when I saw them at Rock on the Range this past May I was skeptical–they look like a cross between Black Veil Brides and Avenged Sevenfold. Like, Black Veil Brides’ creepy uncles, or something. But they can definitely rock the hell out of any venue.
Bobaflex
Kreator, Overkill and Warbringer – Marquee Theatre, Tempe – November 16
Kreator is known as one of the biggest thrash titans in Germany alongside Sodom and Destruction. They’ve not only helped pioneer death metal, but pretty much all of their 13 albums have been well-received all over the world.
And Overkill may be based out of Jersey, but they are one of the best thrash bands from the East coast, regardless of how many line-up changes they may have had. In fact, they’ve sold more than 65 million albums world-wide, making them one of the best-selling thrash bands of all time.
Kreator
Seeker – Nile Theater, Mesa – November 17
Seeker combines heavy metal and punk rock, and pulls from such influences as Dillinger Escape Plan, The Bronx, and satanic metal band Watain. And with a motto like “art, community, and aggressive non-conformity,” what’s not to be curious about?
Seeker
The Devil Wears Prada, November 26, at Club Red
Christian melodic metalcore band The Devil Wears Prada has been around the block several times. The band offers up a tight, concise show with lots of screams and guttural grunts.
Devil Wears Prada
Sepultura, Scattered Guts, Souless, Splatterkill, Existence A.D., and more – Club Red, Tempe – November 26
Sepultura is always a favorite of mine. The Brazilians just know how to do metal, man. You can’t beat the death and thrash of the ’80s and’ 90s. This show also reps a lot of local metal; so Sepultura must have a thing for us. Scattered Guts is straight AZ stoner thrash, Souless is metal out of Mesa, and Existence A.D….well, you’ll just have to see for yourself.
Sepultura
Finntroll – Club Red, Tempe – November 27
Finntroll is a sight to behold. Based out of Finland, they combine elements of folk metal and death metal, and almost all of the lyrics are in Swedish to go hand-in-hand with the band’s “trollish” image. According to some of the band members, they took their name from an old Finnish legend where Swedish priests came to Finland, had an encounter with a crazy guy who killed most of their party. Thus, the survivors came back home with tales of the “Finn-Troll.”
Fintroll
Morbid Angel – Joe’s Grotto – November 30
This American death metal band’s debut album is been ranked first on Terrorizer‘s top 40 death metal albums, and are known as one of the top-selling death metal bands in the country, after Cannibal Corpse and Deicide (when will they all tour together??). Decibel magazine also ranked guitarist Trey Azagthoth as the top death metal guitarist. The songs are complex, technical, and downright dirty.
Morbid Angel
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