Death Metal MusicMusic and Culture on the Edge

SFIFF Though there were far starrier, more expensive films debuting in the Midnight Madness section of last year's Toronto Film Festival, the category's prize and foot-stomping audience favor was stolen by a low-budget Australian film that arrived with no fanfare, no name actors, and a writer-director who'd made no prior features.

The Music Recital Hall could have used a velvet rope and bouncer as it welcomed a full house and waiting guests for the fourth annual Songwriter Showcase held Thursday. An overwhelmingly large audience turned out to watch student performers show off their talents through their original songs in a concert that raises money for students in the Music Industry Studies program.

In the TV business, programming gurus know that anything connected to the Packers or the weather will draw an audience. When it comes to rock radio, Metallica -- which performs Monday night at the Bradley Center -- is as close as you can come to a sure thing.

So this band is back up to doing dual-disc albums now, are they? In all fairness, I didn’t actually get the second disc in my promo copy, so I’ll just have to go with the first half. Now if you’re not familiar with Esoteric, they’ve gotten a degree of fame in the world of underground, and very extreme doom metal. Hmm, would that actually be fame though? It’s not exactly a huge selling audience their catering too, though the people who reside in the more extreme world of Neurosis, Isis, Cult of

After awaking the giants, the night grew closer to the end of the world. Nobody knew what to expect from the band taking the helm just before the end, but Chico was sure to get a dose of something new Thursday. Packed in the sawdust-laden nook known as Monstros Pizza, four post-rock and experimental groups tantalized an audience with their band names and musical talents.