The Metal Column – November 2010

Kicking off what is perhaps Scotland’s single greatest metal month of the year, Finnish Cello quartet Apocalyptica, like off-cuts from Lucifer's Orchestra, showcase their infamous classical metal stylings at Glasgow's ABC (3 Nov). If you can’t find your dinner jacket, we instead entreat you to a death metal triumvirate at The Garage in the company of Job For A Cowboy, Whitechapel, and Annotations Of An Autopsy the following night (4 Nov).

Elsewhere, Canadian workhorses Cancer Bats take to the tiny floor of Cafe Drummond, Aberdeen (6 Nov) where carnage is a certainty. If that’s not quite enough to shake the foundations of the Granite City, Motörhead, with human cockroach Lemmy leading the charge, are set to speed-metal the shit out of the AECC (8 Nov), and Glasgow Academy (9 Nov).

When it comes to bringing the pain, it's a meagre month for the capital. But She Said Records' launch night, featuring the post-hardcore stylings of Skinny favourites United Fruit and progressive math rock peddlers Pensioner (Sneaky Pete's, 26 Nov) is well worth your shrapnel.

Back in Glasgow, Dez 'Coal Chamber' Fafara's Devildriver and metalcore stalwarts 36 Crazyfists slay the unlikely confines of The Arches (7 Nov), whilst energetic Canadians Alexisonfire and Amorphis ignite the ABC and Cathouse respectively on the 9 Nov.

Like some impossible 80s flashback, the mighty Annihilator, thrash legends Exodus and eh, W.A.S.P., usurp the Garage throne within a week of each other (14, 19 and 21 Nov respectively). However, UK sludge veterans, Charger, joined by homegrown grindcore heroes Co-Exist (Classic Grand, 18 Nov) and maniacal Californian hardcore crew, Trash Talk (Captain's Rest, 19 Nov) are on hand to offset any morbid retro-fascination.

Industrial insanity awaits the Arches, courtesy of (sort of) reassembled digital hardcore progenitors Atari Teenage Riot (there’ll be no replacing the late Carl Crack, and Hanin Elias has indefinitely stepped away from the music business), whilst Swedish death metal vendors Arch Enemy and Malefice return to the Garage (both 24 Nov). Yet another huge Garage bill plays host to All That Remains, Soilwork and Caliban on 28 Nov, with outstanding doom supergroup Shrinebuilder (comprising members of Melvins, Neurosis, Om and The Obsessed) plus Glesca sludgers Holy Mountain (now expanded to a three-piece with Idlewild/DeSalvo's Allan Stewart adorning a wife-beater and picking up bass duties) simultaneously laying waste to the Òran Mór.

Thrash maniacs Wolves In The Throne Room cap things off at the Classic Grand on 30 Nov, but honourable mention should go to glam revivalists Marseille – featuring Neil 'Art Attack' Buchanan on axe duties (for real). If you're in Fife, St. Andrews Uni Student Union is your only destination on 26 Nov. Keep 'em peeled for a life-sized Satan made out of macaroni and old tyres.