Shades of metal

If you're into technical dexterity...

ORIGIN THE END OF AN ENTITY SOUTHEAST ASIA TOUR

Kansas technical death metal quartet Origin are best known in metal circles for their almost unparalleled level of technical proficiency.

Listen to songs such as The Aftermath and Void, and you'll be awed by the abundance of shredding, sweep picking, arpeggios and uneven time signatures.

Despite the band's obscurity, their fourth studio album Antithesis peaked at No. 21 on the Billboard Top Heatseekers chart in 2008.

When: May 4, 6pm

Where: Aliwal Arts Centre, 28 Aliwal Street

Tickets: $48 and $55 from Sistic (6348-5555 or www.sistic.com.sg)

If you're into controversial music videos...

ASKING ALEXANDRIA FROM DEATH TO DESTINY TOUR

Themes of sex, hedonism, drugs and violence permeate the dark, shocking music videos of UK metalcore band Asking Alexandria.

In their video for The Death Of Me, there are scantily-clad girls trapped in vending machines.

The five push boundaries further in their latest video, Killing You, which features a naked body, suggestive sex and graphic torture scenes.

Definitely jaw-dropping, but not for the faint-hearted.

When: April 28, 7pm

Where: *Scape Warehouse

Tickets: $78 from www.eventclique.com

Like how colours come in multiple shades, the beauty of heavy metal lies in its variety and complexities.

Local headbangers will be happy to know that three highly-lauded metal acts - each with distinct characteristics - are coming to blow your mind with ferocious, blistering tunes.

Should you be spoilt for choice, do not fret. M breaks it down for you.

If you're into video games...

SKELETONWITCH SERPENT UNLEASHED SOUTHEAST ASIA TOUR

Hardcore gamers will find Ohio thrash metallers Skeletonwitch familiar. The quintet's epic, majestic song Soul Thrashing Black Sorcery is on the soundtrack of action-adventure game Brutal Legend.

The game also features the voice of Hollywood comedian Jack Black.

The game itself reads like a dream landscape for metal fanatics - Black plays Eddie Riggs, a roadie sucked into a mythical land of rock where mountains are made of amplifiers and killer spiders spin guitar strings.

When: April 12, 4pm onwards

Where: Aliwal Arts Centre, 28 Aliwal Street

Tickets: $52 from Roxy Records, Inokii and Hear Records

This article was published on April 2 in The New Paper.

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