Psycho Las Vegas always books a wide variety of bands from all across the extreme music spectrum, and this year’s festival—running from August 20-22 at Mandalay Bay—is no exception. Here are 10 acts beyond the headliners, mostly pulled from different subcultures across the metal world, worth checking out across the three primary stages.
Khemmis
(Friday, 4 p.m., House of Blues) With 2018 album Desolation, this Denver trio became the current standard-bearers of the doom metal/stoner rock sound upon which Psycho was founded. A highly anticipated follow-up was recently recorded, and this year’s fest seems like a natural place to debut some of that new material.
Obituary
(Friday, 7 p.m., Michelob Ultra Arena) This year’s Psycho lineup leans heavier into death metal than ever before, and these Tampa, Florida, genre pioneers remain ferocious enough to put the younger acts to shame. Beware of the pit when Obituary dusts off classics like 1989’s “Slowly We Rot” and 1990’s “Find the Arise.”
GZA
(Friday, 11 p.m., Mandalay Bay Beach) The Wu-Tang Clan member’s 1995 sophomore solo release, Liquid Swords, remains among the most-beloved cult albums in hip-hop history. GZA will pay homage to that masterpiece with a set commemorating that project’s 25th anniversary.
Deafheaven
(Saturday, 3:50 p.m., Michelob Ultra Arena) Think of it as an album release show for Infinite Granite, as the influential blackgaze band will release its latest full-length one day before this set. Singles “The Gnashing” and “Great Mass of Color” showed the band heading into more delicate, less-aggressive territory, and the Psycho crowd will be the first to see how that translates live.
Poison the Well
(Saturday, 7:35 p.m., House of Blues) The Miami metalcore greats changed the genre forever with 1999 debut The Opposite of December… A Season of Separation, which traded machismo and militance for musing and melody, before the band began exploring moodier sonics on later releases. What was originally slated as a special December set for Psycho 2020 now appears to be a more career-spanning approach.
Pig Destroyer
(Saturday, 8:40 p.m., Mandalay Bay Beach) Even before the pandemic, the Virginia-based grindcore institution played just a few shows per year, making every opportunity to catch its spastic assault special. Based on social media posts and merch releases, this setlist should draw heavily from 2001 landmark release Prowler in the Yard as a 20th anniversary celebration.
Cannibal Corpse
(Saturday, 11 p.m., Mandalay Bay Beach) “Midnight Massacre” might sound like a Cannibal Corpse song title, but it’s just a descriptor of the destruction these death metal giants will unleash in their first show since adding renowned producer/guitarist Erik Rutan to the permanent lineup. No band in history has more successfully melded pummeling riffs with tales of horror and gore, and Cannibal Corpse has done it across a stunning, uninterrupted 33 years and 15 full-length records.
Cult of Fire
(Saturday, midnight, House of Blues) The mysterious black metal collective got clearance from the Czech Republic government to travel for the festival on Wednesday, paving the way to their first U.S. appearance in seven years. They’re known for elaborate production full of religious and dark magic iconography. Think Ghost but less cheesy, more creepy—and significantly heavier.
Midnight
(Sunday, 2:20 p.m., Michelob Ultra Arena) Expect leather jackets, black head masks and bullet belts, if not pyrotechnics and other props, from auteur Athenar and his collaborators, as they rip through their throwback 1980s speed-metal sound. It’s a shame Motörhead never got to play Psycho before Lemmy Kilmister’s 2015 death, but Midnight might be the closest thing sonically.
Drab Majesty
(Monday, 12:15 a.m., House of Blues) Rest your neck after the weekend’s headbanging and dust off your dance shoes for the festival’s closing act. An inspired choice to conclude the festivities, Drab Majesty’s dark, synth-driven gothic rock should make for the perfect parting gift.
PSYCHO LAS VEGAS August 20-22, Mandalay Bay, $299-$599/3-day pass, $129/day pass, vivapsycho.com.
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