Unleashed In The Midwest: March 2017

Spring is here and as is customary, the heavy touring cycle is spinning up again. With some killer albums already released, it looks like extreme music is due for another great year of releases. You know it'll be a good year when Code Orange, Immolation, Unearthly Trance, and Junius (to name just an extremely select few) already have new releases out. So, here's to the rest of 2017 keeping up the good work.

March 7th - Archgoat with Valkyrja, Hellfire Deathcult, Garoted, Abjure @ The Riot Room

Warning: this one is not for wimps. Finland's Archgoat have perfected the oppressive, suffocating offshoot of blackened death metal known as "war metal" and it's honestly a sight to behold. Still touring off the strength of their magnificent 2015 release "The Apocalyptic Triumphator," expect to be swooning over songs with titles such as "Phallic Desecrator of Sacred Gates," "Hammer of Satan," and "Sodomator of the Doomed Venus." Direct support is from Sweden's Valkyrja. Valkyrja has a more straight-forward black metal approach. Chicago group Hellfire Deathcult's own take on war metal is more than enough reason to turn up early. For an added bonus, local support is from the amazing Garoted and great newcomers Abjure. The best bill from top to bottom this year in KC!

March 8th - Suicidal Tendencies with Crowbar, Havok @ Liberty Hall

Everybody knows Suicidal Tendencies and everybody loves Suicidal Tendencies - and it makes for such a fun live experience. Entering their 36th year of existence (holy crap), the SxTx lineup may be unrecognizable from what it was back in their late eighties and early nineties heyday, but they can still put on a great show. If anything, it's worth it to see Mike Muir bound around stage and his in-between song rants and messages. Oh yeah -- the riffs are still better than ever. Sludge metal titans Crowbar and impressive Colorado thrashers Havok open.

March 16th - Power Trip with Iron Reagan, Hyborian, AGENT @ The Riot Room

Power Trip and Iron Reagan are early frontrunners for 2017 album of the year with "Nightmare Logic" and "Crossover Ministry" respectively. Power Trip have strayed a bit from their crossover roots and are embracing more intense thrash/death metal on their new release. Think of them as returning to the glory days of Demolition Hammer. Iron Reagan on the other hand are fully committed to bringing back the Cro-Mags and D.R.I. crossover sound to the mainstream. With opening sets from Hyborian and AGENT, The Riot Room will be full of stage dives and circle pits all night long.

March 28th - Bring Me The Horizon with Underoath, Beartooth @ The Midland

Listen. Hold on, don't exit out of the page. Just listen what I have to say, okay? Okay. The past few Bring Me The Horizon albums are actually kind of good. No, where are you going?! Just ... just hear me out, okay? The group started to drop their terrible deathcore roots in 2010 and completely abandoned it in favor of heavy post-hardcore and electronica-tinged alternative metal with 2013's "Sempiternal" album before moving even further away from heaviness and into alternative, hard, and pop rock with 2015's "That's The Spirit." Their latest output is basically the best Linkin Park album in 15 years. No wait, don't leave! What if I told you Underoath and Beartooth are opening? Hello? Fine, your loss.