As 2017 draws to a steady close and we start to see everything ease off for the end of the year, we can always count on bands to keep functioning as per usual. Here’s a handy list of bands to catch next year. Time to start filling up those tacky new 2018 calendars…
Bell Witch
Scoring place number 11 on Decibel’s top 40 albums of 2017 is all the approval I / anyone needs. The arse-end of March 2018 will see this doom metal duo embark on four UK dates with Monarch in support of the monolithic, single-track, 83 minute Mirror Reaper. That’s not all from the group though. With director Taylor Bednarz at the helm, a feature-length video has been finished to act as a projection for the band’s live performances, weaving together dozens of archival films to build a patient, heavy, and haunting narrative. The trailer is available here for all the doom-heads amongst us.
March
- 28th – Exchange, Bristol
- 29th – Nice & Sleazy, Glasgow
- 30th – Rebellion, Manchester
- 31st – Boston Music Room, London
Modern Life Is War
The optimistically-titled hardcore troupe are set to hit the UK next June for a run of four dates, their first shows in the country since 2016. Tickets are available from the 10th of December. Get down to one of the dates below to support yet another band from a fine new wave of hardcore.
June
- 25th – The Haunt, Brighton
- 26th – Brudenell Social Club, Leeds
- 27th – The Exchange, Bristol
- 28th – The Underworld, London
Loathe/ Holding Absence
Having met on tour together supporting Blood Youth earlier in the year, the bands’ friendship has spawned the new split EP This Is As One, featuring two new original tracks from each band. They have announced a co-headline tour for the split EP, touring together for ten dates at the very beginning of March. This Is As One is out on February 16th and tickets for the supporting shows are available from the 6th of December.
February
- 28th – Thekla, Bristol
March
- 1st – Star and Garter, Manchester
- 2nd – Audio, Glasgow
- 3rd – Think Tank, Newcastle
- 4th – Key Club, Leeds
- 6th – Bodega, Nottingham
- 7th – Asylum, Birmingham
- 8th – Boston Music Room, London
- 9th – The Anvil, Bournemouth
- 10th – Hobos, Bridgend
Moonsorrow
So there’s good news and bad news for Moonsorrow fans on this one. The good news is that this is another exciting co-headline tour for the new year. The “Heathen Crusade” will see Moonsorrow cross Europe relentlessly throughout March with Primordial. The bad news however is that this tour will cut out the entirety of the UK bar one city on one date, and you can guess where that’s going to be (much to my delight). Tickets are out now.
March
- 16th – Islington Assembly Hall, London
Escape The Fate
With the metalcore quartets’ sixth studio album I Am Human on the horizon, quite a buzz has come from the ETF camp. A new single single “Do You Love Me” lifted from the album precedes I Am Human which is released on February 16th 2018. Check out the new song below. Obviously you wouldn’t be seeing them in this list if they didn’t have some live shows to support it. Catch them next year on the following dates:
January
- 20th – The Garage, Glasgow
- 21st – Academy 2, Manchester
- 22nd – Thekla, Bristol
February
- 9th – KOKO, London
- 10th – Rescue Rooms, Nottingham
