To the dismay of many, Mico de Noche dropped off the scene not long after unleashing an unbelievably radical split seven-inch with Brothers of the Sonic Cloth in late 2009, leaving a riff-sized void in the heart of the local metal monster. The scene got a blast of good news, though, when MDN resurfaced from hiatus this summer, and started booking shows like, well, like they weren’t on hiatus any more. MDN—whose name basically translates to Monkey of the Night (which is awesome)—repeatedly summons the Melvins-derived “sludge-metal” tag from descriptivists, and that’s no surprise: their forceful riffage carries low-end weight, and, like the Melvins, routinely make people’s brains work all slow and sludgy. Come welcome the dudes Noche back into the swing of things, and rock the hell out while you’re at it. With Jr. Worship, Argonaut, Hand of Doom. TODD HAMM

Thu., Dec. 1, 9:30 p.m., 2011