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Reasons to Love Minnesota No. 96: Minneapolis’ Heavy Metal Scene

False and Extreme Noise lead the pack

The Twin Cities has a small but mighty metal community—supportive enough to fill the 350-person Turf Club, our favorite music venue in St. Paul, with False fans on a ‪wild Saturday night‬. The tight-knit sextet was headlining the release show for its new album, Portent, which hit record shops in July through the Oshkosh, Wisconsin label Gilead Media.⁣

From the cross-contaminated power chords of Jimmy Claypool and Skorpian Vanderbook to the soul-baring exorcisms of singer Rachel N., False’s breakneck set held nothing back. Breaking away from church-burning, corpse-paint cliches, her poison-tipped verses are both personal and poetic. (Sadly, these demons are real: Several band members dealt with deaths in their families while making this album.)⁣

“If you were to read the lyrics,” she explained in a recent Outburn interview, “[Portent] diverts from traditional black-metal tropes. It’s a vulnerable and honest piece…. If you want to call that learning how to self-actualize in the most powerful and healthy way that you can, then that’s f***ing black metal to me.” ⁣

Other refreshing takes on extreme music within Minneapolis’ underground scene include Void Rot, Lungs, Wanderer, Feral Light, and Sunless, many of which have benefitted from the top-notch recording techniques of Signaturetone Recording founder Adam Tucker. ⁣

We’re still new here though; if you want to learn more about the Minnesota metal scene (and beyond), swing by Extreme Noise for all the latest releases and recommendations. The volunteer-run co-op just celebrated its 25th anniversary, and while it’s focused first and foremost on punk rock, the Lyn-Lake record shop also stocks a healthy amount of grind, death, black, and doom metal. Check out its current location below, along with some other streaming records that deserve five 🤘🤘🤘🤘🤘.

Extreme Noise
407 W. Lake St., Minneapolis, MN; 612-824-0100.