Compared to Justin Pearson and Gabe Serbianâs previous anarchic noise fests, such as the Locust and Holy Molar, their new band Retox are practically an old-fashioned rhythm & blues combo. Of course, the tempos are still breakneck, the screaming still sneering and shrill, and the songs still clocking in well under the one or two minute range. But the scrambled synth drilling and the unpredictable changes (that feeling of 23 songs compressed into a single burst) are largely replaced by more straightforwardly crushing metal chord progressions and songs which take one riff and run it steadily into the ground, rather than jumping all over the place. No one will mistake it for easy listening, but, you know, relatively speaking. With Melt Banana headlining, though, no one should suffer for lack of alien gibberish freak-outs. With Dog Shredder. ERIC GRANDY
Mon., Oct. 3, 8 p.m., 2011
