The Metal Column – February 2011
In the face of the recent panic that 'rock/guitar music is finally dead', we feel obliged to reassure all those lamenting some kind of rock-pocalypse that you probably aren't looking hard enough, or have in fact had your brains pulverised by gratuitous use of autotune. But rather than pander to such debate, whatever your thoughts on the state of all that is hard and heavy, we live by the words of the late, great Ronnie James Dio: 'Metal will never die!'
In fact, one glance at the bountiful feast that February has to offer us is evidence enough, with the shortest month of the year looking to stuff us with so much metal that we'll be shitting nails by Valentine’s Day.
Granted, it’s a slow start, but a searing blast of Arizonan death metal – courtesy of a re-energised Knights Of The Abyss – ought to finally blow those post-New Year cobwebs out of your lugholes. They're joined at Glasgow's Classic Grand by the depraved homeland brutality of Glasgow's very own Scordatura (7 Feb). The next night sees Ivory Blacks engulfed in the epic sludge of Georgian swamp-metallers Black Tusk, with Rhode Island's Howl rounding out a dirty night of bowel-crushing mayhem (8 Feb).
The following night, Kylesa engulf Ivory Blacks with their sprawling set of sludgy, down-tuned psychedelia (both 9 Feb). A tough choice follows on Thursday when Liverpudlian 'goth-metal' pioneers – and now prog-rock peddlers – Anathema visit the Cathouse, squaring off against the re-emergence of Joey Jordison and Wednesday 13's horror metal troupe, Murderdolls at the O2 ABC (both 10 Feb).
Elsewhere, Brooklyn crew Gay For Johnny Depp head up a night of rampaging hardcore at Edinburgh's Sneaky Pete's (21 Feb), fronting a bill decked out with premier local assets Secta Rouge and Shields Up.
Meanwhile, Leeds collective Vessels take their post-rock splendour to Glasgow's Captain's Rest (21 Feb) before hitting Aberdeen (The Lemon Tree, 22 Feb) and Dundee (Hustlers, 23 Feb) in advance of new album, Helioscope. Fresh from recording their second album with influential producer Ross Robinson (The Cure, Glassjaw, At the Drive-In), Dananananaykroyd also make a welcome return to the north east regions, taking in The Doghouse (26 Feb) and Aberdeen's Cafe Drummond (27 Feb) as a part of a brief tour.
Back in Glasgow the old guard are out in full force as US thrash titans Evile hit the Cathouse (11 Feb) while legendary beer-guzzler, axe-wielder and beard-enthusiast Zakk Wylde returns to shred the O2 Academy with Black Label Society (16 Feb) and the cockroaches of arena-hair-rock, Europe (ABC, 17) continue to do the rounds – FYI they play The Final Countdown twice, if you had any second thoughts.
February also sees your gran's favourite gore-monger Rob Zombie ditch the classic horror remakes to make a welcome return to Glasgow, with a list of industrial thrash classics longer than the sum of ZZ Top's beards, he's sure to headbang the O2 Academy (20 Feb) into a coma alongside the ragga-metal stylings of Skindred.
If guitar music's dead, this is one hell of a graveyard.