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Seven Days, 46 Shows: Classics, Noise and Basement Clubs

This week reads like a cross-section of forty years of loud music. Two eighties institutions return to NRW stages, two musicians from the classic Death line-up play the old songs, and a Duisburg car park serves black metal for fifteen euros. 46 shows between Aachen and Osnabrück – here are the ones we're circling in red.

The Big Ones

Tuesday carries the heaviest load: Black Label Society bring the "A Matter of Time" tour to the Turbinenhalle in Oberhausen. Zakk Wylde's blend of southern doom, guitar excess and beer-soaked swagger works exactly right in a hall this size, with Thrown Into Exile opening.

Thursday turns historic. Savatage are out on their first summer tour in ages with "Prelude To Madness", and KUNST!RASEN in Bonn is the only NRW stop – Zak Stevens on vocals, Al Pitrelli and Chris Caffery on guitars. Special guest: Nevermore. Two names you wouldn't have expected on the same poster ten years ago.

The real connoisseur's pick lands Tuesday at Turock in Essen. LEFT TO DIE are Terry Butler and Rick Rozz from the classic Death line-up, joined by Matt Harvey (Exhumed) and Gus Rios. They play the "Leprosy" material the way it was meant to sound – and this year released their own album, "Initium Mortis", on Relapse. Support comes from Danish outfit Livlos.

Also on the bill: Soen Thursday at Musikbunker Aachen, where ex-Opeth drummer Martin Lopez unfolds his precise progressive metal. Mortal Sin celebrate forty years of "Mayhemic Destruction" Friday at Kulttempel, flanked by Velozza, Hidden Intent and local crew Blood Atonement. And Midnight play twice – Monday at Junkyard Dortmund, Wednesday at Bastard Club Osnabrück, both times with Spectral Wound in tow. If you prefer it slower and filthier, catch Tokyo's Coffins Monday at MTC Cologne. And Primus at Carlswerk Victoria? Sold out for weeks.

Underground Gems and Local Heroes

Friday belongs to the small stages. Parkhaus Meiderich in Duisburg hosts Blasphemic Carnage Night with four regional bands: Old Ruins, Hellgrav, Rotting Demise and Final Error. Fifteen euros advance, cash only at the door – exactly as it should be.

At the same time Daily Thompson do something rare at Backyard Club Recklinghausen: the Dortmund fuzz trio plays its new album "Glue" in full – a week before it's even out. Saturday brings 100blumen and their electropunk to Karibu Wageni in Bochum, while out at Meinerzhagen airfield the HicksRockFestival puts nine bands on a single stage, led by Artefuckt, Grenzenlos and the Ochmoneks.

From Streetpunk to Darkwave

The punk side is generous this week. The Drowns and Maid of Ace split a double headline Monday at Pitcher, where Los Fastidios celebrate 35 years of Verona streetpunk on Thursday. Dead Fish bring Brazilian hardcore to Ratinger Hof on Friday, The Dreadnoughts bring folk punk to Musikbunker the same night. Sunday goes doubly legendary: Adolescents at the tiny Don't Panic in Essen – a band of that stature in a room that small is a genuinely rare sight – while Deez Nuts at MTC Cologne and Fiddler's Green at Burg Wilhelmstein close the week out. For the folk contingent, Schandmaul play Fabrik Coesfeld on Saturday, supported by Silent Revenants.

Saturday also gets darker. Sputnikhalle Münster hosts the Tanz der Vampire Dark Summer Festival with Bragolin, Dortmund's ISOCULT and Fixed Lens – followed by an open-air party well into the night. And Club Volta in Cologne launches NOCTUA, a brand-new festival "by the scene, for the scene": Hocico headline the electro marathon, which kicks off as early as 2:45 pm.