The first week of December provides several headbanging and mosh-pit opportunities to burn off the excess calories you consumed on Thanksgiving. Here’s a closer look in chronological order:
- CROWBAR (8 p.m. Mon., Dec. 2 @Tequila Rock Bar) — The sludge metal band led by singer/guitarist Kirk Windstein (top left) will be playing in the hole-in-the-wall bar adjacent to Backstage Live (1305 E. Houston St.). The Tequila isn’t the most mosh-friendly venue around given the fact there are poles in tight quarters, and more than 50 people in attendance would likely constitute a fire hazard. But that doesn’t mean you can’t get heavy in an intimate setting with the New Orleans veterans, who recently replaced bassist Pat Bruders with Jeff Golden. Click here for the SAMME’s 2011 interview with Windstein, and watch the SAMME’s clip from the band’s 3:30 a.m. performance aboard the 70000 Tons of Metal cruise in 2012. SUPPORT ACTS: White Light Cemetery, Iron Liver, The Crowned. TICKETS: $15; click here.
- FATES WARNING (8 p.m. Wed., Dec. 4 @Backstage Live) — The progressive metallers released their first album in nine years, Darkness In A Different Light, on Oct. 1. Fronted by San Antonio native (Los Angeles resident) Ray Alder and with San Antonian Bobby Jarzombek on drums, homecoming vibes will undoubtedly fill the air at BSL. The album marks Jarzombek’s first CD with the group he joined in 2007. Jarzombek played the now-defunct Scout Bar with Fates Warning on July 10, 2010, and with Riot on June 3, 2009. That venue held an estimated 500 people. Incredibly, this show figures to be the biggest crowd he will play in front of (BSL’s indoor capacity is 1,200) in his hometown since a gig in 2000 at Sunken Garden Theater as the drummer in Halford. Click here for the SAMME’s recent interview with Alder, and watch a sit-down chat with Jarzombek in 2011 here and here. SUPPORT ACTS: Artizan, Baad Newz, Wicked Angel. TICKETS: $21; click here.
- THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA (7 p.m. Thu. Dec. 5 @Backstage Live) — The Christian metalcore group from Ohio released 8:18 in September. The band technically no longer sports the original lineup it has had since its inception in 2005 thanks to the departure of keyboardist James Baney last year. But that’s more worthy of an asterisk not to be held against the rest of the band. In this day and age, having the same members throughout a lineup for a group’s first eight years is fairly impressive. Judge for yourself as to whether the band’s performance will be as well. Click here for the SAMME’s interview with guitarist/vocalist Jeremy DePoyster nearly two years ago to the day of this upcoming gig. SUPPORT ACTS: The Ghost Inside, Volumes, Texas In July. TICKETS: $21; click here.
- WAYNE STATIC (8 p.m. Fri. Dec. 6 @Backstage Live) — The former frontman of Static-X went solo after breaking up the band primarily over a deteriorating working relationship with bassist Tony Campos, who has since joined Soulfly. Expect a mixture of classic Static-X material such as “Push It” and “Cannibal” along with solo material from Static’s 2011 album Pighammer, which he supported that year also at Backstage Live. You can also expect Static’s wife, former porn star Tera Wray, to be in the house delivering drinks (water, beer or the hard stuff?) to her man on stage between songs. Static professed his love for Wray on what proved to be Static-X’s final album, 2009’s Cult of Static, via song titles “Tera-Fied” and “Stingwray.” SUPPORT ACTS: The Defiled, Madlife, The Akuzma, Souless Affection. TICKETS: $16 advance; click here.
In addition to these gigs, the middle of the month will be highlighted by back-to-back concerts from Drowning Pool (Thu. Dec. 12) and Suicidal Tendencies (Fri. Dec. 13). Both will be at Backstage Live as well. Tickets for the former here; details on the latter here.
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