Slayer is God’s favourite band

Before I get to the gigs, here’s my final classic-drone-record pick, part of my ongoing attempt to woo underground music fans (more specifically, people into avant metal, minimal synth, ambient and doom) over to drone side of minimalist composition. See my other Important Drone Record recommendations here and here.

Brian Eno and Robert Fripp, No Pussyfooting (Island)

Although Eno hardly invented ambient music, he was first to actually attach a name to the style. His releases on his short-lived Obscure label (Harold Budd, John Cage, Michael Nyman) in the mid-‘70s were key to turning a lot of people on to the power of minimal composition. Truthfully, this record is not even the best piece of work from either of these two musical giants, but the tapestry they manage to weave together through two reel-to-reel tape decks feeding into each other is undeniable. Fripp gets the fader pushed to the fore in the mix, it’s Eno’s incidental work languishing in the inky background that achieves true musical transcendence.

For more, seek out these drone and minimalist artists: Sunn O))), Steve Reich, Rhys Chatham, Nadja, Overmars,  La Monte Young, Harold Budd, Terry Riley and Chord.

Thursday: If you dig the Barrett-led era of Pink Floyd, the Creation, the Move and other ’66/’67 freakbeat/psych-fuelled anglophile pop, you have to catch the superb sounds of Temples, who are making the trip all the way from the Midlands to Petit Campus. 57 Prince-Arthur E., 9:30 p.m., $15

Saturday: New York soul DJ Jonathan Toupin lugs his dusty 45s to town yet again for his always-awesome Soul Clap night at Divan Orange, but raising the bar even more are the locals from the killer Mess Around night, DJ New Breed Nick and his trusty cohort DJ Ben Shulman. Mess Around and Soul Clap waging a dusty wax war? Better prepare to shake it like a bowl of soup. 4234 St-Laurent, 12 a.m. (yes, midnight)

Finally, one of my favourite bands of all time, Slayer, will make a triumphant return to CEPSUM with Gojira and 4Arm. Having seen Slayer on every tour they’ve done that has passed through town (including the Hell Awaits tour in ’84 in Toronto at Larry’s Hideaway — yep, it was many birthdays ago), I know in advance that I’ll have gotten more of a metal fix at last week’s High on Fire show. I know this sounds like the wrong kind of blasphemy, as Slayer is God’s favourite band, but with the passing of Jeff Hanneman earlier this year and the exclusion of my all-time-favourite metal drummer, Dave Lombardo, I’m a little scared. I’ll be there anyway (obviously), so if you see me hanging around the bar…BUY ME A FUGGIN’ DRINK! 2100 Edouard-Montpetit, 7:30 p.m., $57.50/$63 ■

jonathan.cummins@gmail.com