MUTOID MAN, WILD THRONE
(Hawthorne Theatre Lounge, 1507 SE César E. Chávez) If you locked three of the most vicious hardcore musicians alive right now in a storage crate with a tape recorder and nothing to listen to but a copy of Cream's Disraeli Gears, the result might resemble Mutoid Man, the supergroup featuring members of Cave In and Converge. The band's recently released debut LP, Bleeder, sounds like '60s psychedelia strapped to the hood of a '67 Camaro with the brakes cut. Bellingham power trio Wild Throne will play direct support—they also have a shreddy new album, Harvest of Darkness. JOSEPH SCHAFER

CASTLE, SPELLCASTER, DISENCHANTER
(Ash Street Saloon, 225 SW Ash) The San Francisco band Castle is one of the best-kept secrets within the West Coast's metal scene. That's not to say they're an unknown, because they're not; this is a band that has toured all over the world, including premiere heavyfests like Roadburn, and whose albums have been lauded by the Canadian Juno Awards and Metal Hammer website's Norwegian branch. (Norway knows something about metal, ya know.) Still, Castle feels like it's flying under the radar, at least in their home region. Their 2014 album Under Siege is a sturdy collection of dark, doomy hard rock that sounds like it was shipped in from the '70s, and Castle's live show is a can't-miss, primarily because bassist/vocalist Liz Blackwell is nothing less than a blazing beacon of badass stage presence. She commands the room like few other frontpersons in metal today, and the band that backs her can kick out some serious jams. BEN SALMON