12 Best Metal Concerts in Phoenix This November

November brings the best of both worlds to the Valley of the Sun -- temperatures have finally fallen below 90 degrees, and some of our favorite metal band's touring schedules are still in full swing. It's that time of year where we can leave those sweaty mosh pits and emerge into some crisp cool air.

The season for giving is bringing a bounty of metal shows around Metro Phoenix, thanks to an array of locals and major international legends. As such, we're on the lookout for the best upcoming shows.

That's why we compile a monthly list of the best metal and hard rock concerts happening at venues around the Valley during the month of November. There's metal vets like Judas Priest, Slayer and Eyehategod; to Thanksgiving food drive shows and extremely heavy local bills; to a CD release show by local act Singularity. And I must say; you would think it's October with all the costumed cautionary tales scheduled, like Old Lines, Green Jelly, and Nekrogoblikon.

King Diamond - Monday, November 3 - Rialto Theatre

This is one of those shows well worth the drive from Phoenix to Tucson. It's King Diamond, people! The Grammy-nominated Danish metal artist has been fascinating the world for decades, from Mercyful Fate to his conceptualized albums and videos, like "The Puppet Master," as a solo act.

Old Lines, Sorrower, Seas Will Rise, Lago, Kashyyyk - Friday, November 7 - Yucca Tap Room

Combine your heavy metal tendencies with a generous spirit at this show but bringing two food items to donate in order to get in free -- and we're talking good stuff, not two packages of ramen noodles. Once you're in the door, enjoy Old Lines, a band formed in 2010 by ex-Pulling Teeth/Ruiner guitarist Mitch Roemer and drummer Jake Berry. The combination of hardcore, punk, metal and doom is the perfect headliner for this lineup, which is rounded out by some of Arizona's favorite metal bands: grindcore-rooted Sorrower, punk/hardcore act Seas Will Rise, and death metal outfit Lago, to name a few.

Green Jelly - Saturday, November 8 - Joe's Grotto

For some reason, Green Jelly has been on a touring kick the past 12 months -- it's actually the third time they've been at Joe's Grotto since October of 2013. Not that I'm complaining; this act cracks me the hell up. It's like budget version of Gwar, but with an even more elevated level of comedy and sarcasm. It's even more ironic since founder Bill Manspeaker wanted to create "the world's worse band." This line up is pretty big, with Xpansion Theory, The Lesser Saints, Camel Enamel, Building Stonehedge, Fire Glass, Wrath, and more.

EyeHateGod - Saturday, November 8 - Club Red

Since 1988, the influential NOLA band Eyehategod has been perfecting the art of bringing together Southern metal, rock and blues (at least in my opinion). Jimmy Bower is incredible to watch on the guitar, as Joey LaCaze on the drums. The bill is rounded out by Today is the Day, Tucson's own Godhunter, Funerary, Column III and more.

36 Crazy Fists, Skinlab, All Hail the Yeti, Incite Sunday, November 9 -- Pub Rock Live

Celebrating "20 years in the trenches," 36 Crazy Fists is finally touring in the U.S. again after recording and touring the U.K. for the past five years. With a new album due out in early 2015, I can only hope it's as good as the screaming A Snow Capped Romance, my personal favorite album of theirs. There's also groove metal act Skinlab, straight-up metallers All Hail The Yeti, and AZ-based Incite, which is fronted by Richie Cavalera.

Judas Priest and Steel Panther - Wednesday, November 12 - Gila River Arena

Judas Priest needs no introduction -- period. However, in a recent interview Rob Halford did tell us that he has a special intimate show planned for Phoenix, where he spends half of his time as Alice Cooper's neighbor. Looking forward to it! The band's newest album, Redeemer of Souls, will make a solid appearance in the set list as well. Steel Panther rounds out the metal bill with their brand of comedic glam metal.

Emery, Classic Crime, Artifex Pereo and Ella Kaye - Friday, November 14 - Nile Theater

Mantooth brings us this intense lineup, not for the faint of ears. The lineup is rather interesting: we've got Emery, chock full of guttural growls and screamed lyrics, with a handful of melodic bridges that sound like they alone should be on the radio. Then there's Classic Crime, all about the alt-rock. Artifex Pereo is a bit more experimental, and then there's local hardcore/death metal band Ella Kaye, who I am most excited to see. The band is heavy as hell, with grueling, grinding vocals by Justin Chard, who was named one of the top metal vocalists in Phoenix earlier this year.

Arch Enemy, Kreator, Huntress - Saturday, November 14 - Marquee Theatre

While this show will be packed full of female metalheads (on stage and off), the brutality of the music will be as intense as ever. Arch Enemy, with new frontwoman Alissa White-Gluz, is promoting the new album War Eternal, which has been called the band's strongest album in years. White-Gluz takes over original vocalist Angela Gossow's brand of perfecting guttural female vocals beautifully. German thrash metal vets Kreator keep things heavy as hell next, and Huntress, fronted by gorgeous screamer Jill Janis, has a new album coming out in early 2015.

Nov 15 - Slayer, Suicidal Tendencies, Exodus - Saturday, November 15 - Comerica Theatre

This lineup of three metal/hardcore legends has been called many things: "the best metal on the planet," "a metalhead's dream come true," and "the best metal show in years I've been blessed to witness." This is one night that anyone who has ever been a fan of metal shouldn't miss.

Nekrogoblikon, Phoenix & Dragon, Rainbow Dragon Eyes, Storm of Perception, Adreus - Thursday, November 20 - Club Red

Goblin metal might sound odd to some...but it's pretty kickass. That's what Nekrogoblikon is all about, a group of musicians creating a sound that crosses thrash, power, Swedish and death metal, with Dream Theater-esque keyboard interludes, and vocals that cross between falsetto ("goblinish"), guttural growling, and melodic choruses. Besides local metallers Phoenix & Dragon (who just got a new vocalist), there's also one of my favorites Storm of Perception from Prescott.

Onslaught, Artillery, VX36, Ye'iitsoh, In Vegeance, Warhead - Tuesday, November 25 - Club Red

13th Floor Entertainment presents a line-up of national and oversea legends. There's UK thrash legends Onslaught (taking over the stage with Neil Turbin, vocalist of Bleed the Hunger), Denmark's thrashers Artillery, Cali's powerhouse of thrash/speed metal act VX36, AZ's old-school metallers Ye'iitsoh and Warhead, and many more.

Singularity CD Release show, with Apparitions AZ, Atoll, Death Awaits, We Are Nemesis - Friday, November 28 - Club Red

This is a solid line up of AZ metal on what is now called (Black) Metal Friday. We've got well-known symphonic technical black metallers Singularity hosting the night with their CD release show, and playing the entire album from start to finish. Death metal act Apparitions, thrashers We Are Nemesis, and other acts like Atoll, Death Awaits, Charon Incentive, Pedestal of Infamy, and more round out the bill.

Find any show in Metro Phoenix via our extensive online concert calendar.

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