This is the fifth year that I've cobbled together one of these SXSW guides for Metal Injection, and without fail they never really come together until the last minute. While this phenomenon certainly accommodates my innate procrastination, it's not actually driven by it. Rather, the booking process itself is staggered over the course of several months and rear loaded by a grossly disproportionate amount, with seemingly more shows added within the last 2-4 weeks then there were for the first 2-3 official announcements combined.
That's ok, I'm used to how they roll at this point. No one really attends SXSW for any specific band(s) – no one in their right mind, anyway – so the general idea is that you show up and make the most out of what's available. From a metal perspective, the pickings have frankly been pretty slim the last few years. Mainstays like Pitchfork's Show No Mercy showcase have evaporated without anything substantial to take their place. The City of Austin has continued its retrenchment policy that started last year, limiting permits in an effort to control crowds and increase safety, an initiative that adversely affects the day parties where the metal bands have largely made their presence felt in the past. It's fairly expensive to travel all this way just to play a single official showcase in the evening, so day parties have in the past been an essential supplementary way to get as many gigs under your belt as possible in just a few days.
There's gotta be more to it than that, though: indie rock, hip hop and Americana continue to thrive at SXSW, so what's the deal with metal? Honestly, it's kind of hard to say. My guess would be that there were only ever a handful of metal labels that seemed enthused about sending their artists down in the first place, and if even one or two of those bigger labels cooled on the prospects of SXSW it could easily gut the metal representation overnight. It's not all downside, but it's also far from the scenario just a few years ago where there were multiple metal showcases running concurrently to choose from. It definitely pays these days to have diverse tastes if you're going to attend SXSW, which was frankly never intended to be a genre-specific industry show to begin with. At any rate, there are still plenty of compelling showcases to be had if you know where to look.
Click on the poster art for each showcase's respective event page.
Saturday, March 12 (pre-party)
Metal Monsters of Texas
Dirty Dog Bar
505 E 6th St (map)
2:00 – Doors
2:45 PM – Black Thorn Halo
3:30 PM – Slurr
4:15 PM – Reign
5:00 PM – Nahaya
5:45 PM – Casket of Cassandra
6:30 PM – An Oath of Misdirection
7:15 PM – Green as Emerald
8:00 PM – Myra Maybelle
8:45 PM – Bow Before Horus
9:30 PM – Carry the Storm
10:15 PM – Dead Earth Politics
11:00 PM – Critical Assembly
11:45 PM – Death of a Dream
12:30 AM – Death Will Tremble
Monday, March 14
Wicked Bad Stoner Jam
Swan Dive
615 Red River St (map)
STAGE
7:00 PM – Smoky Mirror
8:00 PM – The Dirty Seeds
9:00 PM – Summit
10:00 PM – ODDFELLOWS
11:00 PM- White Dog
12:00 AM- Black Tabs
FLOOR
7:30 PM – Mountain Rag
8:30 PM- Lady Killer
9:30 PM – Foxmoor Express
10:30 PM – Thunderkief
11:30 PM – Orcanaut
PATIO
7:15 PM – Amplified Heat
8:15 PM – Greenbeard
9:15 PM – R.I.P.
10:15 PM – Crypt Trip
11:15 PM – Glitter Wizard
12:15 AM – The Great Electric Quest
Outside DJ Sets by DJ Smoak & DJ Volksradio Moos
Light show by Youth512
Wednesday, March 16
Metal Sucks Presents South by South Death
The Dirty Dog Bar
505 E. 6th St. (map)
1:00 AM: Monuments
12:00 AM: Conan
11 PM: Lord Dying
10 PM: InAeona
9 PM: Khemmis
8 PM: Expander
5th Annual Psychedelic Pig Roast
Mine & Mountain
879 Springdale (map)
Al Lover
Yonatan Gat
Kirpatrick Thomas (of Spindrift)
Greenbeard
Lord Buffalo
Black Liquid Drop
SEXTILE
Sugar Candy Mountain
JJUUJJUU
The Stone Cold Showcase 2016
Badlands
1203 Chicon St (map)
Doors @2pm
$10 >21
$12 <21
Bermuda
Demolisher
Invoker
Bury The Rod
Far From Nothing
I Am
Of Ruins
Bow Before Horus
REIGN
Dogma
Perplexity
Misconceptions
Modern Day Kings
Athanatos
Momentous
Gnarwolf
Hardship
Welcome The Coroner
Heart of Texas Rockfest
Running March 16-19, this unofficial showcase features a large variety of hard rock and metal acts including Ektomorf, hellbilly legends Agony Column and Ignitor featuring Jason McMaster of Dangerous Toys. Schedule is still completely up in the air at time of this publication so see here for details.
Panel: Back From the Dead: Is Rock & Roll on Life Support?
Austin Convention Center, 531 E. 4th St., Room 10C
2pm-3pm
Speakers: Dave Rath (Roadrunner Records), Jason McMaster (Broken Teeth, Ignitor, ex-Dangerous Toys), LA Lloys (Emmis Radio Austin)
Moderator: Chuck Loesch of the MetalSucks Podcast.
More info here.
Panel: Management: The Busiest People in Show Business
Austin Convention Center, 531 E. 4th St., Room 10C
5pm-6pm
Panelists: Mike Mowery (Outerloop Management), Steve Hutton (Uppercut Management), Deb Klein (Primary Wave)
Moderator: Godless (The MetalSucks Podcast)
More info mhere
Thursday, March 17
Roadrunner Records Presents
Empire Control Room
606 E 7th (map)
12:00 AM: Killswitch Engage
11:00 PM: Turnstile
10:20 PM: Power Trip
9:40 PM: Wild Throne
9 PM: More to Monroe
eOne's Austin Takeover
Elysium
705 Red River (map)
1:00 AM – Crowbar
12:00 AM – The Contortionist
11:00 PM – Drowning Pool
10:00 PM – Black Crown Initiate
9:00 PM – Black Fast
8:00 PM – Toothgrinder
Monster Outbreak House @ SXSW
Old Antone's Venue
213 W 5th St (map)
12:30 AM Capture The Crown
11:50 PM A Lot Like Birds
11:10 PM Hail The Sun
9:15 PM Conquer Divide
8:40 PM Stolas
Worshiper Cabinets & Wounded Earth Present
The Lost Well
2421 Webberville Road (map)
WORD – 1:15-1:45
L.M.I. – 2:00-2:30
STONE ANIMALS – 2:45-3:15
GLASSING – 3:30-4:00
SERIAL HAWK – 4:15-4:45
DESTROYER OF LIGHT – 5:00-5:30
BLEAK – 5:45-6:15
EMPTY VESSELS – 6:30-7:00
BANQUET – 7:15-7:45
CROSSBUILDER – 8:00-8:30
POISON RITES – 8:45-9:15
MOUNTAIN OF SMOKE – 9:30-10:00
VENOMOUS MAXIMUS – 10:15:10:45
WOVOKA – 11:00-11:45
KHEMMIS – 12:00-12:45
DEAD TO A DYING WORLD – 1:00-2:00
FREE 1PM – 8PM
$10 8PM – 2AM
St. Patrick's Day Blowout
311 Club
311 E 6th (map)
Doors 4 PM
Far From Nothing (Abilene, Tx)
Infinite of Azumith (El Paso, Tx)
Momentous (Austin, Tx)
Triumph Over Shipwreck (El Paso, Tx)
Bury The Rod (Austin, Tx)
Bow Before Horus (Conroe, Tx)
Morningside (Austin, Tx)
Sausage Fingers (Austin, Tx)
Drown The Coward (Austin, Tx)
Guatch (Abilene, Tx)
BrotherWolf (Shreveport, LA)
Words Like Daggers (Des Moines, IA)
Ten Foot Beast (Austin, Tx)
Friday, March 18
Metal Injection: The Official SXSW Showcase
Dirty Dog Bar
505 E 6th St (map)
12:30 AM: Steve N’ Seagulls
11:30 PM: Exmortus
10 PM: The Fine Constant
10:45 PM: Wild Throne
9:15 PM: Wrong
8:30 PM: Take Over and Destroy
7:45 PM: Aminals
7PM, 21+
Heavy Metal Parking Lot 3 – Day 1
The Lost Well
2421 Webberville Road (map)
WEEDEATER ( Exclusive Performance )
BONGZILLA
Kings Destroy
Black Cobra
Author and Punisher
Today is the Day
Lord Dying
Lo Pan
Widower
Slurr
Thunderkief
Red, White & Blood – Day 1
Midway Field House
2015 E Riverside (map)
1am – 1:40 Whore of Bethlehem (Main Stage)
12:00 – 12:40 Seeker (Main Stage)
11:00 – 11:40 HeadCrusher (Main Stage)
10:00 – 10:40 Death Will Tremble (Main Stage
9:30 – 9:55 Id (Second Stage)
9:00 – 9:25 OF THE SUN (Main Stage)
8:30 – 8:55 Burial Wraith (DNA Stage)
8:00 – 8:25 Ornaments (Main Stage)
7:30 – 7:55 Death Motif (DNA Stage)
7:00 – 7:25 Omotai (Main Stage)
6:30 – 6:55 Clit Eastwood (DNA Stage)
6:00 – 6:25 Desecrated Remains (Main Stage)
5:30 – 5:55 Athanatos (DNA Stage)
5:00 – 5:25 Ten Foot Beast (Main Stage)
4:30 – 4:55 Unmothered (DNA Stage)
4:00 – 4:25 Lions of Tsavo (Main Stage)
3:30 – 3:55 Humut Tabal (DNA Stage)
3:00 – 3:25 Mothman (Main Stage)
2:30 – 2:55 Black Vimanas (DNA Stage)
2:00 – 2:25 Drip-Fed (Main Stage)
1:30 – 1:55 Prions (DNA Stage)
1:00 – 1:25 Cactus Druid (Main Stage)
12:30 – 12:55 Never The Victim (DNA Stage)
12:00 – 12:25 Manifest Insanity (Main Stage)
FREE for 21 and up ($8 for 18 – 20)
Spin at Stubb's
Stubb's
801 Red River (map)
3 PM: Deftones
RSVP here (waitlisted)
SXSW Outdoor Stage
Outdoor Stage at Lady Bird Lake
Riverside Dr. and S. 1st St. (map)
8:00 PM – Coheed & Cambria
7:00 PM – Wolfmother
No badge or wristband? Get a guest pass here.
Official SXSW Showcase @
Sledge Hammer
503 E. 6th St. (map)
1:00 AM – Chemical Burn
12:00 AM – Joliette
11:00 PM – Illustrations
10:00 PM – The Great Discord
9:00 PM – Culture Abuse
8:00 PM – Dead Earth Politics
Panel: The Hunt for the Next Great Metal Band (more info)
Austin Convention Center, 531 E. 4th St., Room 10B
2pm-3pm
Panelists: Mike Mowery (Outerloop Management), Mike Gitter (Century Media), Scott Givens (eOne), Jose Mangin (SiriusXM)
Moderator: Eric German (Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp LLP)
More info here
Saturday, March 19
Tone Deaf Touring Official SXSW Showcase
Swan Dive
615 Red River St. (map)
Bongzilla
Black Cobra
Author & Punisher
Kings Destroy
Lo Pan
Dirty Streets
Heavy Metal Parking Lot 3 – Day 2
The Lost Well
2421 Webberville Road (map)
PENTAGRAM (Exclusive Performance)
Mondo Drag
Venomous Maximus
Sweat Lodge
The Blood Royale
Tower
Sabbath Crow
Against the Grain
Destroyer of Light
Banquet
From Beyond
Greenbeard
Circle Talent Agency and Come and Take It Productions present… OFFICIAL SXSW SHOWCASE 2016
Dirty Dog Bar
505 E 6th St (map)
1:15 AM – Pouya
12:35 AM – $uicide Boy$
12:00 AM – Montana of 300
10:45 PM – I See Stars
10:05 PM – Chunk! No Captain Chunk!
9:30 PM – Summer Wars
8:55 PM – Currents
8:20 PM – Memories in Broken Glass
7:45 PM – The Ansible
Red, White & Blood – Day 2
Midway Field House
2015 E Riverside (map)
1:00am – 1:40 Insvrgence (Main Stage)
12:00 – 12:40 Triumph Over Shipwreck (Main Stage)
11:00 – 11:40 In Search of Sight (Main Stage)
10:00 – 10:40 DSGNS (Main Stage)
9:30 – 9:55 Bury The Rod (DNA Stage)
9:00 – 9:25 GnarWolf (Main Stage)
8:30 – 8:55 Never the Victim (DNA Stage)
8:00 – 8:25 BEYOND GODS AND EMPIRES (Main Stage)
7:30 – 7:55 UGLYTWIN (DNA Stage)
7:00 – 7:25 Fire From the Gods (Main Stage)
6:30 – 6:55 ADVORSUS (DNA Stage)
6:00 – 6:25 TBD
5:30 – 5:55 Of Serpents And Saviors (DNA Stage)
5:00 – 5:25 Concepts (Main Stage)
4:30 – 4:55 Chernobyl the Secret (DNA Stage)
4:00 – 4:25 Versa Nova (Main Stage)
3:30 – 3:55 Ever Since The Fire (DNA Stage)
3:00 – 3:25 Ties (Main Stage)
2:30 – 2:55 Momentous (DNA Stage)
2:00 – 2:25 Welcome The Coroner (Main Stage)
1:30 – 1:55 Authoritarian (DNA Stage)
1:00 – 1:25 Message To The Masses (Main Stage)
12:30 – 12:55 TBA
12:00 – 12:25 Lethal Injektion (Main Stage)
FREE for 21 and up ($8 for 18 – 20)
