Let the cool music festivals begin

This week is definitely letting metal put its thumb on the scale but there are still plenty of gigs for those of you who aren’t well versed in everything Cannibal Corpse. One of the best bets of the week is the Cool Move Festival, which is already underway, and the Distorsion Psych Festival, which gets started at the end of the Hammer of the Mods week. Hotcha

Thursday: Tonight is definitely for metalheads only as Invicta, Warpit, Vocyferium and Fast Idle will shake the foundations at la Vitrola. 4602 St-Laurent, 8 p.m., $9

A perfect capper to your metal night is the double header at Turbo Haüs, with CJLO metal DJs doing their thing on the venue side while I sling the riffs at my metal night See You In Hell on the bar side. 2040 St-Denis, 9 p.m., free

Friday: For a night of completely frost-bitten black metal (with a hint of blackened punk thrown in), you’ll want to be at Turbo Haüs for my big pick of the week: my local faves Spectral Wound will slay with Oppression and Issfenn and Graveren. This will leave marks. 2040 St-Denis, 7 p.m., price not listed

Katacombes has the death metal cranked up high with Ruinous, Skullmace, Iseeyou, Ignominy and Amarah. Geez, maybe we really are a metal city. 1635 St-Laurent, 7 p.m., $18

The fine furry folks behind Analogue Addiction are hosting another rager this week at their favorite venue l’Esco, with Protruders and Chris Burns and his Going Concerns and Hélène Barbier. 4461 St-Denis, 9 p.m., $10

For a night of mind-bending psych and baffling prog, you can make it down to God’s favourite bar — Barfly — to catch the Beach Bats, Mars on Water, A Devil’s Din and Raddleshaker. 4062A St-Laurent, 8 p.m., $5

If you find that there just aren’t enough whiny and nasal vocals happening in rock ‘n’ roll these days, you can get your fill with the Mountain Goats and Shana Cleveland at l’Astral. I actually love the Mountain Goats and have for decades, but duder’s voice is a serious acquired taste. 305 Ste-Catherine W., 7 p.m., $39.15

The Cool Move fest is already underway but is really heating things up at Casa with Spell Runner, Weird Star, Wax Raze and the Hundred Steeples. If this is getting you hot under the collar, check out all of their shows for the best underground music of all stripes. 4873 St-Laurent, 9:30 p.m., $12/$15

Saturday: For another night of killer molten metal you can make it Turbo Haus for the thrash attack of Reanimator with Black Mass, Voor and Infrared. 2040 St-Denis, 7 p.m., $10

The Cool Move festival has cooked up a couple of great gigs for the king of the weekend, starting with the matinee hardcore show with Mati, Gazm, Doxx and Torpor. 4873 St-Laurent, 3 p.m., $10/$12

Later on you can make the Cool Move scene at la Vitrola for Prowl, the Fight, Corrode Sniper Culture and Liquid Assets. 4602 St-Laurent, 9:30 p.m., $15/$17

Sunday: The crowned king of Sunday night shows would be the oud-off at la Vitrola, with Vancouverites Gordon Grdina’s the Marrow vs. local oud ragers Sam Shalabi and Jerusalem in My Heart’s Radwan Ghazi Moumneh. 4602 St-Laurent, 8:30 p.m., $12/$15

Tuesday: If you were hoping to catch the genre-bending tech metal of Architects at MTelus with Thy Art Is Murder and While She Sleeps and didn’t grip tix, you’re fugged without a kiss as it has long been sold out. Perhaps this will teach you to stop being such a turd burglar.

Wednesday: For a night of exquisite garage pop, you can catch the Peg’s Merin with Ocean Charter of Values and Unashley at l’Esco. 4461 St-Denis, 9 p.m., price unlisted

The Distorsion Psych Festival gets another year kicked off with local faves Elephant Stone with Klaus Johann Grove and Vinyl Williams at their ground zero point Eglise St. Enfant-Jesus. 5039 St-Dominique, 7 p.m., $15

Current Obsession: The Rolling Stones, Exile on Main St. deluxe box edition

jonathan.cummins@gmail.com