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Two arenas, a festival in a sports hall and a black metal Friday

This week there are 933 shows in 273 cities across Germany, Austria and Switzerland, plus around 27 festivals. Saturday alone has more than 300 gigs. The big tours keep rolling through the country, and on Friday black metal is packed tighter than it has been in a long time.

The big ones

Korn play the sold-out Olympiahalle in Munich on Monday and the Lanxess Arena in Cologne on Wednesday, their only date in North Rhine-Westphalia. Architects play before them both nights. The same Wednesday, Amon Amarth bring Soilwork and Orbit Culture to the Sporthalle Hamburg.

The package of Behemoth, Dimmu Borgir and Dark Funeral plays the Palladium in Cologne on Tuesday and the Columbiahalle in Berlin on Friday. And Friday stays black everywhere: Wolves in the Throne Room play the sold-out UT Connewitz in Leipzig, Krallice from New York play the MS Stubnitz in Hamburg. In the Jahnhalle in Hirschaid the Braincrusher Nuclear Winter Festival begins: Carpathian Forest headline Friday, Destruction play Saturday.

If you like it technical, head to the Essigfabrik in Cologne on Friday for Archspire from Vancouver. On Thursday, Lifelover play the Kulturkirche Altona and Oranssi Pazuzu the Bahnhof Pauli, both in Hamburg.

Underground gems and hidden tips

Ultha from Cologne play a home show at Gebäude 9 on Saturday. On Tuesday, Cult Of Fire from Prague bring their black metal to the Hellraiser in Leipzig, and Heretoir play the Chemiefabrik in Dresden. Primitive Warfare play war metal at Kulturhaus Insel in Berlin, Mork from Norway the bar room of the Rockhouse Salzburg.

Sudhaus Basel hosts the Conquering Basilea Fest on Saturday, with Gorgasm from Chicago. Evadne from Valencia play Doomed Metropolis at Neue Zukunft in Berlin, and Khemmis from Denver bring doom to Leipzig and Berlin. At Toxic Waltz in Koblenz's Jam Club, local heroes Spread Of Disease play, and in Bonn Fabulous Desaster celebrate 20 years of thrash at Kult41 on Tuesday.

Plus old-school thrash and heavy metal: Onslaught play Dresden and the Pitcher in Düsseldorf, Anvil the Sputnikhalle in Münster and Lindau on Sunday. On Sunday Dust Bolt come to the Goldgrube in Kassel, Threshold celebrate 25 years of "Hypothetical" at Turock in Essen, and Gloryhammer play the Markthalle in Hamburg on Saturday.

From hardcore to darkwave

Guilt Trip from Manchester play Zeche Bochum on Thursday and Gruenspan in Hamburg on Sunday. Slope from Duisburg are at Stattbahnhof Schweinfurt on Tuesday, Haymaker at the Hellraiser on Friday. English anarcho-punk institution Subhumans play Kult41 in Bonn on Monday, Cock Sparrer play the Garage in Saarbrücken with Sheer Terror on Saturday. Turbostaat play their album "Vormann Leiss" in full at the Admiralspalast on Sunday, and Betontod have moved to the Stadthalle Köln.

Yawning Man, the fathers of desert rock, play Forum Bielefeld, Valley Of The Sun play ArTik in Freiburg, Skraeckoedlan from Sweden play Berlin. The Sisters Of Mercy play the Columbiahalle on Monday, Rue Oberkampf bring coldwave to Modus Berlin. And to close, the European Dark Dance Treffen in Mannheim: Suicide Commando on Saturday, Chrom on Sunday.