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A holiday, 212 shows in one day – and that's just Saturday
This week the calendar holds 709 shows in 253 cities across Germany, Austria and Switzerland. 3 October, German Unity Day, falls on a Saturday, and it shows: that day alone brings 212 concerts, and 19 festivals take place in Germany over the week. On top of that: a Norwegian black metal headliner in Vienna, technical thrash legends from Zurich and a hardcore Sunday worth the trip.
The Week's Heavy Hitters
The biggest name plays Saturday at the Arena Wien: Satyricon head the Vienna Metal Meeting, one day on two stages. Below them: Benediction, Swedish crust-black-metallers Dödsrit, Sulphur Aeon with their Cthulhu death metal and Ellende from Graz. One change: Lamp of Murmuur cancelled their European tour, and Vollmondprozession from Switzerland step in.
Things get serious on Tuesday. Coroner from Zurich, pioneers of technical thrash and reunited since 2010, play the Colos-Saal in Aschaffenburg and, on Wednesday, the Knust in Hamburg. That same Tuesday, Belphegor from Salzburg meet the Brazilian brothers of Krisiun at the Turock in Essen – blackened death metal versus death metal at full speed. And Havok bring Denver thrash to the Backstage in Munich with Blood Red Throne in tow, followed by the SO36 in Berlin on Sunday.
Symphonic metal fans have a choice on Wednesday: Xandria from Bielefeld play the Backstage in Munich, with only a handful of tickets left, while Tarja sings at Huxleys Neue Welt in Berlin. Haken already sold out the Backstage on Monday.
Underground Gems and Hidden Tips
Old Ruins from Gelsenkirchen play a home show at Consol4 on Saturday – black metal with a doom and heavy metal edge, lyrics drawn from the Diablo universe. The same night, Undergang from Copenhagen bring death metal to the M.A.U. Club in Rostock.
In Troisdorf, the Sixth Circle Fest celebrates its 16th edition on Friday and Saturday under the motto "10 Years of Heresy". Friday brings Terzij De Horde from Utrecht and Urisk from Bonn with their album release show; on Saturday Karloff from Oldenburg follow with blackened punk.
The Helvete in Oberhausen opens twice: Friday with Bullet from Växjö, heavy metal straight out of a battle vest, and Sunday with Firtan from Lörrach, presenting their new album "Helios". On the MS Stubnitz in Hamburg's harbour, Eremit from Osnabrück play funeral doom on Friday, and at Neue Zukunft in Berlin Thronehammer celebrate their new record on Thursday.
On Saturday, Club Puschkin in Dresden hosts the 20th SkullCrusher benefit "Metal hilft Kids", led by Milking The Goatmachine. And in Switzerland the Up In Smoke Festival runs Friday to Sunday at the Z7 Konzertfabrik in Pratteln: Zeal & Ardor and Ufomammut on Friday, 1000mods on Saturday, Arthur Brown with The Crazy World of Arthur Brown on Sunday.
From Hardcore to Darkwave
Sunday belongs to hardcore. Integrity, founded in Cleveland in 1988, play with Ringworm and World I Hate at Die Trompete in Bochum – doors at 6 pm, so don't be late. At the same time Madball play the AJZ Talschock in Chemnitz, and Loma Prieta from San Francisco bring screamo to Cassiopeia in Berlin. Two days earlier, on Friday, Twitching Tongues are at Gleis 9 in Bochum.
Thursday belongs to the small rooms: Hexis from Copenhagen, black metal with hardcore force, open their European tour at Hirsch Q in Dortmund. In Cologne, Casey celebrate ten years of "Love Is Not Enough" at the Kantine. Important if you have tickets: King Woman play the same night not at the Luxor but at the MTC. Pisse are at the Fabrik in Hamburg on Tuesday and the Kantine in Cologne on Wednesday, and The Accüsed from Seattle bring their crossover to Wild At Heart in Berlin on Wednesday.
On Saturday, Münster's Sputnikhalle hosts the Hawerpunk Fest with Rasta Knast from Celle, while Oberhausen has the NDH festival Nachtbrand at the Resonanzwerk with Varg and Stahlmann. It only gets darker at the end: And Also The Trees play the LUX in Hanover on Monday and the Fabrik in Coesfeld on Saturday, and on Sunday The Sisters Of Mercy close the week at the Batschkapp in Frankfurt.
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709 shows, a public holiday and a Sunday full of hardcore – the KRACH app shows you what's on near you and lets you know as soon as your bands announce new dates. 🤘
