Death metal-lite

Heavy metallers Pathology used to be a local joke. Formed in 2006 by Dave Astor (the Locust, Cattle Decapitation) and Levi Fuselier (Disgorge), later joined by fang-wearing vocalist Matti Way (Disgorge, Liturgy), they quickly found their brand of death metal-lite sounded too much like every group signed by Metal Blade to attract stateside interest. However, like a lot of paint-by-number bands, they found willing partners overseas, with their debut album Surgically Hacked released in September 2006 on a Japanese label, while their 2008 full-length Incisions Of Perverse Debauchery came out on Grindhead Records in Australia. Then began a comical array of membership changes, at one point racking up seven lineup shifts in the space of single year. Old and new members were still coming and going as of 2012, but things seemed to have settled into a loud and steady groove on their new album, Reborn To Kill, released this month. Their inclusion in this column acknowledges they’ve developed a somewhat more original sound (even if the cover art is indistinguishable from their other half dozen sleeves), not to mention a fan base large enough to support major headline tours. The bill includes Narcotic Wasteland, who released their self-titled debut in 2014.

What do you get when you cross Blink-182 with Pink Floyd? Angels & Airwaves is a sci-fi inspired alternative/post-grunge/progressive rock band formed by former Blink and Box Car Racer guitarist/vocalist Tom DeLonge, who keeps landing in the headlines for non-musical endeavors such as spearheading UFO investigations. The band’s ambitions have seen them producing films, books (fiction and non-fiction), documentaries, graphic novels, and a colorful merch selection right out of a Comic-Con booth. DeLonge seemed sidelined for a while by other projects (including a reported attempt to start an aerospace company, as well as announcing his plans to eventually rejoin Blink-182), but Angels & Airwaves recently dropped their first new song in three years, “Rebel Girl.” Their first live dates in seven years include this appearance and a two-night stand at downtown’s House of Blues on October 5 and 6. They’re not quite as DIY anymore, with their music no longer being released through DeLonge’s To the Stars Academy of Arts & Science (they’re currently signed to Rise Records, home of Mayday Parade and ISSUES), but they sound just as bombastic and alien-obsessed as ever. Performances begin shortly after the last race of the day, are 18 and up, and are free with racetrack admission purchase. Late attendees will be charged $30.

Originally based in southern New Jersey, punk rockers Just In Case cite among their influences the Descendents, Jimmy Eat World, Lagwagon, NOFX, Face To Face, and Voodoo Glow Skulls, an inventory that also serves as an accurate RIYL list. Their self-titled debut was released in 2008, followed by a few years of dive bar dues until their 2013 Better Late Than Never EP (preceded by a single for “News To Me”) was recorded in summer 2012 at local Studio West in San Diego. It took nearly another year before the EP was finalized by mastering engineer Joe Goodwin at local Capricorn Studios, but its release was greeted with enthusiastic reviews and a continued slate of local gig offers, which nowadays is a pretty far rung up the ladder of what constitutes success for a working band. A new album was recorded in 2015, Prior Knowledge, with the group pared down to a duo featuring Brian Rash and Adam Bucciarelli. Released in September 2016 along with a single for “Profiles,” the album was engineered and produced by Roland Ware at Rdub Recordings, mixed by Jeff Forrest at Doubletime Studios, and mastered by Joe Goodwin at Bellwether Mastering. The bill includes the A-Bortz, a local punk group who’ve been around since 2012 and released their first album two years later.

The double headline bill of Korn and Alice in Chains isn’t so much of a 90s nostalgiafest as it is a celebration of the few who’ve survived the subsequent quarter century or so since their FM heyday. Alice in Chains weathered a Shakespearean ordeal with their substance-abusing lead singer Layne Staley, who died in 2002. It wasn’t a sure bet that they’d be able to bounce back without him when they decided to reunite a few years later, but they’ve managed to steadily rebuild with new albums and intensive all-star multiband support tours. Their sixth studio album Ranier Fog debuted at number 12 on the Billboard 200 chart when it debuted last year, earning a Grammy nomination for Best Rock Album. Co-headliners Korn just released a new single, “You’ll Never Find Me,” from their upcoming album The Nothing, due September 13. The bill includes Underoath, a group you could easily have mistaken for either headliner the first time they crossed your music player.

Local Latin party band SM Familia was nominated in 2014 by the San Diego Music Awards for Best World Album. The seven-piece group blends rhythmic Latin, reggae, funk, and cumbia grooves with positive, optimistic, and uplifting lyrics sung in both Spanish and English. They’ve played alongside other locals trading in a similar “conscious” presentation and performance, such as Tribal Seeds, Hirie, Maiz, B-Side Players, and Big Mountain, and they’ve toured around the western U.S. and Mexico. Their single for “Nada Te Falta” (featuring Ranking Joe) can be streamed online, and they finally decided to use that track as an excuse to film their first music video, with footage shot around San Diego and Tijuana. This past June, they released another video, this time for their song “Revo,” that premiered on Reggaeville.com but can now be viewed on Youtube.