If you went looking for a random midweek show at a small club featuring an all-local lineup of bands you'd never heard of, you might end up at Sk8bar on a Tuesday night for a metal show. You should do that.

Eight o'clock sharp and Between the Elements was on the stage. The audience was largely composed of the other band members, padded out by a few girlfriends. But no matter, the rock can't be stopped. Between the Elements is heavy metal. The quartet claims metalcore, and maybe they've got a case – Lee Sheahan's hard rock vocals occasionally included a deathly growl. "This next song is called 'Savage!'" he shouted in his monster voice. Cody Backhus played long butt rock solos with lots of hammers and pull-offs. Bassist Lucas Wooding wore a battle vest and played with pedals. During solos he shifted to chords to maintain cover. There were taps and backing vocals too. Drummer Charlie Davis lost his shirt after the first song. He played simple rock beats. Nothing diabolical or jarring about his playing. Nothing diabolical or jarring about the twenty-two-minute set either.

Crispy Bits is a father and son duo. Aidan Ringer on vocals and guitar. Randy Ringer (now that's a rock name if there ever was one) on drums. Usually. The twosome may be death metal. Maybe grind. Maybe something else more extreme that I'm just not hip to. Aidan's vocals were low. Squeals? Tunnel Throat? Maybe something else more extreme that I'm also not hip to. Lots of chugging guitar. Occasionally dropping a hardcore-adjacent false harmonic. He smiled a lot and did a few donkey kicks. Randy's drums were mostly played half time – slow and heavy on the ride – sometimes finding curious grooves. Sometimes the act's intensity felt cozy. Aidan introduced a few covers. Later I'd learn they were by Sanguisugabogg, Obituary, and Dying Fetus. That got a couple of people dancing. The originals were short and their titles were gems. "This one is called 'Jesus was a Kangaroo'." The end of the set mixed things up. A guest guitarist (Jackson Trader of Nocturn) joined, creating a temporary trio, then a reconfigured duo, and when he left, the original musicians played one more – this time on swapped instruments. It probably made more sense at band practice.

It was barely nine o'clock when Black Serpent took the stage clad in battle vests and corpse paint. Well, except the drummer "Count Akaroth" who evidently is so evil that he didn't need to paint his face to prove it. The quartet was fronted by "Dëthbringer." Good screams. A diabolical laugh that would make King Diamond jealous. He screeched his lyrics praising Satan. Between songs he screeched introductions and continued to praise Satan. He has mastered the Abbath creature pose. No crab walks, but he did pick up the mic stand a lot. Guitarist "Karkass" shifted through simple chords. Was there a solo? Who knows, but there didn’t need to be. This project follows the Venom metal punk branch of the black metal family tree. Bass player "Erlik" kept his back to the audience. He's the shy demon. He might still be a teenager. They might all be. The last song in the act's short set did that bring-it-back-around-only-slower-and-sicker thing. It was a banger. A head banger.

By 9:30 it was over. Three local bands had played on a Tuesday night at the small Sk8bar. A dozen of us were there to see it. Shows like this are how scenes survive. Go see random shows.