Tonight: Children of Bodom, Red Fang

If future Queens of the Stone Age leader Josh Homme had chosen to invite Black Flag founder Greg Ginn and Black Sabbath bassist Geezer Butler to his legendary Desert Sessions back in the late '90s, the results probably would have sounded much like Red Fang today. Watching them peel the paint off the walls at the Comet last month felt akin to being fortunate enough to catch Metallica play a small club while touring in support of their debut, Kill 'Em All. HANNAH LEVIN

Children of Bodom, Black Dahlia Murder, Skeletonwitch at Showbox at the Market, 7 p.m., $26, all ages

Sometimes a little bit of masturbatory metal revelry is just what the doctor ordered. In the case of Swedish power/melodic/technical metal maestros Children of Bodom, that prescription comes filled in the form of crunching riffs, chain-gun rhythms, climaxing guitar crescendos, and the occasional lovely keyboard flourish, providing a fix for just about every metal addiction there is. And just like any good addiction, these songs come in fast, embed themselves in your nervous system, and leave you lying naked on the floor of a bus terminal bathroom, shivering and begging for more. Most CoB tracks are tight and focused, allowing the band to hit again and again, like some wonderful sucker punch to the eardrums. CoB also likes to stretch out in epic metal ballads, playing well with Alexi Laiho's often flowery guitar work. Recently released covers album Skeletons in the Closet finds the band in a playful mood, adding a sinister edge to Kenny Rogers, an epic thrill to cowboy standard "Ghost Riders in the Sky", and just plain fucking around with "Oops!. . .I Did it Again." The collection finds the band reinterpreting a wide variety of styles, adding blast beats, snarling guitars and vocals, and a warped sensibility to pop classics of the past 40 years and more. NICHOLAS HALL