The Metal Column – September 2012

Creeps, it looks like Summer might just be over. Perhaps it's time to step out of the shadows and rear your ugly mugs under the comfortable camouflage of those grim Autumnal vibes. You're gonna need a soundtrack to that; luckily your resident metal correspondant can help...

 

I'll take a wild guess and presume that Glasgow's blackened tech metal outfit Maelstrom will be at their usual, unrestrained best at the 13th Note (4 Sep). Man Made Origin, Norderobring and Desecrator join them on a bill which is not for those of a sunny disposition. If you're over Auld Reekie way, you can catch the headliners again at the Banshee Labyrinth alongside Atragon and The Aversion Project (7 Sep).

 

The repulsive band names probably speak for themselves, but in case you're left in any doubt: Infanticide, Horsebastard, Scatorgy, Foetal Juice and Sufferinfuck are coming together to spread love and joy at Bannermans (12 Sep) through the medium of deathgrind. The former two mentioned will also appear at the 13th Note the next evening with powerviolence mob Coffinsplitter.

 

We generally like our rock destructive and bleak round these parts, but we're willing to make an exception for Torche, who bring their tongue-in-cheek, almost poppy approach to sludge rock to christen the newly relocated Captain's Rest (15 Sep). Have you ever witnessed a grown man passionately hump a guitar on stage? Now is the time.

 

Black metallers, take note: Denmark's Hexis inject hardcore and post-metal ethics into their sound, resulting in a majestic and mournful take on the genre. Catch them live at the 13th Note (18 Sep) in the company of local kindred spirits Assynt and 4 Inches Ov Foreskin. Elsewhere on the spectrum, the Cathouse hosts U.S. death metal vets Dying Fetus, no doubt seeking to tear shit up with the similarly prolific Job For A Cowboy (21 Sep). It doesn't end there – Revocation and Cerebral Bore join this vicious bill.

 

Yes, veteran shock shockers W.A.S.P. (AKA We Ate Savory Pancakes) are still going. Flowing locks a little greyer, albeit, but the doomsayers continue to roll on. You can witness Blackie Lawless and co soundtrack the impending apocalypse at the HMV Picture House (22 Sep).  

 

If you're noticing a distinct lack of thrash on the horizon for this month, dinnae greet – Malefice have your back. They bring their death-obsessed theatrics to the Garage on 23 Sep; Necrotize will also be thrashing out at Ivory Blacks on the same evening. Still not had yer fill? Glasgow's Vale Bar hosts Welsh tech/death metallers Impaled Existence just a few nights later (26 Sep).

 

Arriving in time to wash away all that gloom, super-daft power metallers DragonForce return to the O2 ABC (28 Sep), with equally unhinged Perthshire pirate rockers Alestorm in tow. Stand avast!