Metalheads and psych-os rejoice

Hotcha!!! Wotta week ahead for gigs. You can get wasted on mead and get into some serious Viking metal over two nights, try and headbang to 12/8 time signatures with some tech metal, sleazy rock ‘n’ roll, Can-con first wave punk, Boston post-hardcore royalty and previous psych garage dwellers who just put out the best psych/prog record of the year. Dig in.

Thursday: Woah, all of you black-clad no wave transgressive types are gonna want to meet up at l’Esco to see Teenage Jesus and the Jerks and just general queen of mean Lydia Lunch, who will do spoken word bits from her new book to the skronking of Weasel Walter. Their joint is going under the name Brutal Measures. Adding to the brutality is Broken Column and local stud muffin Mickey Dagger. 4461 St-Denis, 9 p.m., $22.97

For those of you who demand crushing heaviness, your needs will be met at Turbo Haüs with Cruickshank and Frig Dancer. 2040 St-Denis, 8 p.m., $10

The first show of Amon Amarth‘s two-night stand at MTelus is happening tonight and finishes up on Friday night. I have had people whose musical opinion I respect and try to explain Amon Amarth to me but I still can’t get into this mead-drinking Viking thingy. The real reason you should be hitting up one of these two nights would be to see openers Grand Magus and the blistering pummeling of legends At the Gates. In the direct support slot is the whatevs metal stylings of Arch Enemy. Bring your own mead. 59 Ste-Catherine E., 5:30 p.m., $76

Friday: If you are truly metal AF, you will be hitting up Amon Amarth for two nights in a row but for those of you who aren’t insane, you will want to be checking out Hamilton first wave punk rock legends and potty mouths Forgotten Rebels with the Lucky Ones and the Bombs at Foufs. 87 Ste-Catherine E., 9 p.m., $20

Feed your need for sleazy rock ‘n’ roll at l’Esco to catch Dangereens when they launch their new jammer Tough Luck with extra padded support from Toronto poseurs Cherry Hooker and Street Panther. 4461 St-Denis, 9 p.m., $12/PWYC

For those of you who think that live music is overrated and all of the good songs have already been written, you can drag your crusty ass to the best rock ‘n’ roll, glam, power pop, new wave etc night in the city, Punk Police’s Rock and Roll Trainwreck with dynamic duo DJ Hot Cark and DJ Atom Quilty at North Star….and fuck me gently, it’s free, by gummy!!! 3908 St-Laurent, 10 p.m., free

Tech-metal heads, please bring your abacuses down to Club Soda as Despised Icon go toe to toe with Amon Amarth just a block away. Putting the thumb on Despised Icon’s scale are openers Suffocation, Kublai Khan, Ingested and Shadow of Intent. 1225 St-Laurent, 7 p.m., $29.50/$32.50

Saturday: The king of the weekend night is wide open with the quirky rock power of Ancient Shapes owning it with Teenanger at Brasserie Beaubien. If you were celebrating the Dangereens’ launch at l’Esco, you can expect to see the same people lining up at the bar here. 73 Beaubien E., 9 p.m., $12/$15

Monday: Thank God it’s Monday, and Montreal, you have spoken: you clearly love live music enough to have bought up all the tickets for the Boy Harsher, Spelling, Deidre show at Phi Centre, but have no fear as my big pick of the week is falling on the shittiest night of the week: Cave In will pummel the Sala P.A. system with crushing superiority, with War on Women and Lazer/Wolf. 4848 St-Laurent, p.m., $26/$28

Tuesday: Weekly experimental music series Eardrum Buzz hits its 49th edition at Barfly with a performance by Peeter. Puhleeeeze pay attention to the early start time. 4062A St-Laurent, 6:30 p.m., free

Alrighty, I did give the Hammer bump to Cave In, but nipping dangerously at the heels of the Beantown bruisers is the psych freak out of Thee Oh Sees at le National with Prettiest Eyes. Their new epic jammer easily glides over the prog/psych line but thankfully stops just short of something shiddy like uh, Tool or something. This will rock like heck. 1220 Ste-Catherine E., 9 p.m., $30/$35

Current Obsession: The Replacements, The Shit Hits the Fans

jonathan.cummins@gmail.com