Abigail Williams
Abigail Williams

Metal tours announced: Bell Witch, Crisix, Abigail Williams, Killswitch Engage, more

Tons of shows get announced every week, and it can be hard to keep up. Here are all the heavy music (metal, hardcore & more) tours, shows & fests that we posted on BV this week, and some new ones too…

PSYCHO LAS VEGAS 2020

The initial lineup for Psycho Las Vegas 2020 has been announced, and it includes Ty Segall, Mayhem, Blonde Redhead, Ulver, Windhand, Kaelan Mikla, and Mephistofeles, with many more TBA. (And we can surely count on this increasingly awesome festival to book tons of other great acts.) Tickets are on sale.

MAYHEM / ABBATH

Before playing Psycho Las Vegas, Mayhem will join co-headliners Abbath on the 2020 Decibel Magazine Tour. That includes both bands’ appearances at the 2020 Philly edition of Decibel Metal & Beer Fest and lots of other cities. Mayhem also have this new video out:

MEFITIS

Oakland “dark metal” band Mefitis released some demos in 2008 and 2009, and then took a very long break. A three-song single was released in 2018, and on August 13th of this year (2019), Mefitis officially released-their first ever full length album. It’s called Emberdawn, and it mixes black metal and death metal so well, that some are saying they’ve succesfully transcended both genres. They hype on this album — where all songs were written and played by the band’s two members Pendath (Drums, Guitars, Choir) and Vatha (Vocals, Guitars, Bass, Choir) — is slowly spreading, and the band will play their first show in over ten years at “The Shop” in Castro Valley, CA on November 22nd. It’s their only upcoming date at the moment, they say they are “well rehearsed” for it, and it’s just $5 to get in.

BASK

Bask are a psychedelic hard rock band with a new album called III out today on extreme metal label Season of Mist. Invisible Oranges has a new interview up with the band, where among other things, they talk about albums to get the unacquainted listener in the proper headspace for III.” Led Zeppelin and Mastodon is on the list, but so are indie rock favorites like The Decemberists and The War on Drugs. Bask will be celebrating the new album at The Mothlight in their home city of Asheville, NC tonight, and then heading out on a tour for the rest of the month (Gold Sounds in Brooklyn included).

CRISIX

Barcelona thrash band Crisix are about to kick off a tour in Brooklyn at the Kingsland — with NJ thrash band Paralysis — in support of the Spanish band’s new album of American Thrash covers (out today via Listenable Records). The new album features covers of Vio-Lence (who themselves have some two shows in NYC this weekend), Nuclear Assault, Anthrax, Testament, Demolition Hammer, Exodus and more. All dates and tickets here. Here’s the Exodus cover:

ABIGAIL WILLIAMS

Right after going on a lengthy tour with Ensiferum, Kalmah, and Aenimus, black metal greats Abigail Williams are playing some headlining shows with Aenimus opening, including stops in Pittsburgh, PA; Lakewood, OH; St. Louis, MO; and Omaha, NE. All dates here. They’ll be playing songs at these shows off their upcoming album Walk Beyond The Dark.

KILLSWITCH ENGAGE (with IRON MAIDEN and AUGUST BURNS RED) (separately)

Melodic metalcore giants Killswitch Engage will be opening Iron Maiden’s Australia/New Zealand dates in 2020, but first they’re doing a headlining North American tour with support from August Burns Red (including NYC’s Terminal 5 on 4/11). All dates here. Iron Maiden are also touring Europe next year, and you can find all of their dates here. And August Burns Red have an upcoming holiday show that Knocked Loose is playing (and other bands too). Lastly, Killswitch vocalist Jesse Leach is on this new Jamey Jasta (of Hatebreed) song:

HIGH ON FIRE (with new drummer) / POWER TRIP / DEVIL MASTER / CREEPING DEATH

High On Fire, Power Trip, Devil Master, and Creeping Death kicked off their tour at Austin’s Levitation festival last night (11/7), and it continues in Dallas tonight (11/8), before hitting lots of other cities all across North America. As mentioned, they’ve got two Brooklyn gigs and an Asbury Park show. All dates here. As The PRP points out, it was learned at the Levitation show that High on Fire’s current drummer is Chris Maggio (Wear Your Wounds, ex-Trap Them), following the recent departure of founding drummer Des Kensel. Nick Parks was filling in over the summer.

LOS ULTIMOS FRIKIS PREMIERE (with Dave Lombardo score)

Director Nicholas Brennan’s Los Últimos Frikis is a new documentary on Cuban metal band Zeus, who have been around for nearly 30 years but are only just now touring Cuba for the first time due to restrictions against their style of music under Fidel Castro. It’s got a score by former Slayer drummer Dave Lombardo (who is Cuban-American), who says, “When Nick told me his vision for this documentary, I was immediately intrigued by the story because it could have been mine. When he asked me to score the film, I didn’t hesitate to accept. It couldn’t have been a more perfect match for my debut at a new form of musical expression.” Nick added, “With the film’s original score, Dave pours his heart into the music, blending Cuban rhythms, a deeply emotional sensitivity, and his metal instincts to echo the powerful, impactful story of ZEUS as it unfolds on screen.” The film gets its world premiere at DOC NYC this Sunday (11/10) at the SVA Theater (tickets). The screening happens to be one day after Slayer’s “final” NYC show at Madison Square Garden (though Dave Lombardo is no longer in Slayer and it’s presumably just coincidental timing).

MONO (with BELL WITCH, THE ALBUM LEAF, more)

As previously mentioned, Japanese post-rock greats Mono are on a North American tour as we speak, including shows with pretty great support acts varying by date: electronic/ambient musician The Album Leaf and doom duo Bell Witch (and one show with Black Mountain). The NYC, LA, and Chicago shows will also have Mono joined by orchestras. Bell Witch are on the NYC and Chicago shows (and 6 non-orchestral shows), while The Album Leaf is on the LA show (in addition to others). All dates here. MONO also just released this new EP with three of their earliest songs recorded live in studio this year with Steve Albini:

DEATH THREAT

New Haven hardcore vets Death Threat are celebrating the 20th anniversary of their 1998 debut Last Dayz at a home state show at Hamden’s Space Ballroom tonight (11/8) with Billy Club Sandwich, World Demise, Carried By Six, and Nightmare Solution; and they’ll also come to NYC for a one-off around the holidays on December 28 at The Kingsland with Mindforce, Restraining Order, The Answer, and one more TBA.

OBITUARY

Florida death metal legends Obituary are playing classic albums in full on an East Coast tour this December.

HEILUNG

Metal-friendly Nordic dark folk band Heilung recently announced their first-ever North American tour, and the anticipation for it is clearly high. They quickly sold out several shows, and they’ve been upgrading some to larger venues and adding more dates, including a second NYC show.

KISS

KISS had previously planned to conclude their ‘End of the Road’ farewell tour in March 2020, but the end is now much further away as they’ve just added over 75 new dates.

FRAIL BODY / FOR YOUR HEALTH

Two promising screamo bands, Frail Body and For Your Health, are touring together this December.

MURDER IN THE FRONT ROW SCREENINGS

Bay Area thrash documentary ‘Murder in the Front Row’ continues to screen around the world. Those who showed up at the screening we presented at Nitehawk in Brooklyn last night were gifted with a surprise appearance by Testament’s Alex Skolnick:

KING DIAMOND, UNCLE ACID, IDLE HANDS

Also last night was the Brooklyn stop of the ongoing King Diamond tour. Check out our photos and review.

For more metal tours, browse Upcoming Metal Tours. Browse our Tour Dates category for even more tours you may have missed. Also browse our Metal category and Invisible Oranges for more metal news.