Gold Metal

Emo, screamo, pop-punk -- bor-ing! The music of the moment is metal. Yep, lotsa young acts such as Avenged Sevenfoldare reviving it. (They were toddlers when their influences such as Metallica and Black Sabbath hit the scene.) The rockers from Huntington Beach have polished their sound, with lead singer M. Shadows evolving from metalcore, acid-throated screaming to actual vocal stylings. They've got the goth-meets-hair-metal image down pat, and the requisite biblical references are everywhere. There's the members' monikers (the drummer's name is The Rev), their latest CD (City of Evil refers to Babylon) and even their name, which is an Old Testament warning of punishment for mercy-killing Cain.

Their sound, however, ain't godly. Their brand of metal is flat-out dirty, speedy and full of cock-rockin' riffs. (Their sexed-up videos for the singles "Bat Country" -- which is landing on video game soundtracks -- and "Beast and the Harlot" are worth a peek.) A7X, as they're commonly called, are blowing up, and they'll hit town today with Coheed and Cambria, who are reminiscent of Faith No More. C&C's ability to create orchestral head-banging metal that's neither trite nor ironic is pretty damn amazing. Their latest single, "Welcome Home," starts off with a Spanish guitar intro that bursts into straight-up, ball-smashing rawk. If you can handle the hardcore riffs and metallic posturing, check out this head-bangin' show.
Mon., April 17, 8 p.m.