Fri. Nov. 14 -- The smoke, the riffs, the violence, the heritage: Slayer can add an extra dimension to their death obsession since founding guitarist Jeff Hanneman's liver finally gave out last year; they've offered little new material after Exodus axman Gary Holt switched from temporary replacement to semipermanent status (their last album was "World Painted Blood" in 2009), but Kerry King, Tom Araya and on/off drummer Paul Bostaph will still be spewing "Reign in Blood," "Mandatory Suicide" and their other proto-thrash markers. Speaking of self-destruction, punk-metal campaigners Suicidal Tendencies take the middle slot so Holt can catch a breath after shredding his digits in the opening set with his original Bay Area thrashers Exodus. At the Forum, 3900 Manchester Blvd., Inglewood 90305; 7:30pm; some seats still available in the $100-$150 range; www.ticketmaster.com.
Fri. Nov. 14 -- Those priced out of tonight's Slayer wake still have a expirational option via eponymous death-metal forefathers Death (DTA Tours), continuing despite founder Chuck Schuldiner's 2001 demise with some creditable past members including Sean Reinert and Steve DiGiorgio. Plus: truly murky modern metal from fellow Florida early-deathsters Obituary (three members from '84!), plus Massacre, Rivers of Nihil. At Club Nokia, 800 W. Olympic Blvd., downtown 90015; 8pm; $28; www.clubnokia.com.
Fri.-Sat. Nov. 14-15 -- Keyboardist MitCh Forman, blazing guitarist Tony MacAlpine, drummer Sam Aliano and bassist Bunny Brunel are the current members of the always formidable fusion ensemble CAB. At the Baked Potato, 3787 Cahuenga Blvd. West, Studio City 91604; 9:30 & 11:30pm; $25; (818) 980-1615; www.thebakedpotato.com.
Sat. Nov. 15 -- Pharoah Sanders, repository of Afro-American avant-spiritual saxophonic history from the '60s onward, leads a quartet with harmonically sly pianist Bill Henderson and two more draft choices. A presentation of the Jazz Bakery's Movable Feasts at the Colburn School's Zipper Hall, 200 S. Grand Ave., downtown 90012; one show 8pm; $35 (add $20 for each student); www.jazzbakery.org.
Sat. Nov. 15 -- If Pharoah played with Coltrane-influenced saxist Azar Lawrence, you'd almost have the front line of Trane's "Meditations" -- 1965, what a year. Azar's got his most consistent quartet, with pianist Theo Saunders (not Sanders), bassist Henry Franklin and thrumptastic drummer Alphonse Mouzon, plus vocalist Jeff Robinson as special attraction. At Roscoe's Seabird Jazz Lounge, adjacent to Roscoe's Chicken & Waffles, 730 E. Broadway, Long Beach 90802; $15; 9pm-1am; (562-787-0899); www.seabirdjazzloungelbc.com.
Sat. Nov. 15 -- Support your local post-boppers with the ensemble of trumpeter-composer Elliott Caine in an old-school steakhouse. At Colombo's Restaurant, 1833 Colorado Blvd., Eagle Rock 90041; 9:30pm-midnight; no cover; (323) 254-9138.
Wed. Nov. 19 -- In its classic tradition, Dub Club presents Jamaican rub-a-dub singer Al Campbell, U.K. reggae hitmakers Black Slate and underground Austin mixmaster McPullish, along with the superb house DJs. At the EchoPlex, 1154 Glendale Blvd., Echo Park 90026; doors 9pm; $15; 21+; www.attheecho.com.
Wed. Nov. 19 -- Guitarist Yoshe Fruchter leads the Masada-influenced radicals Pitom (on John Zorn's Tzadik label); trumpeter Daniel Rosenboom's other-other band Plotz gets Balkanized in the musical sense, not the fragmented sense. At the Blue Whale on the third level of Weller Court Plaza, south of East First Street between South Los Angeles Street and South San Pedro Street, Little Tokyo 90012; 9pm-midnight; $10; 21+; parking $5 underneath off Second Street at the sign of the P in a circle; (213) 620-0908; www.bluewhalemusic.com.
Thurs. Nov. 20 -- Guitarist Alex Noice (notable from Daniel Rosenboom's groups) brings his looming slacker presence and fiery distortion to his own ensemble with vocalists Karina Kallas & Argenta Walther, windman Gavin Templeton, bassist Colin Burgess and drummer Andrew Lessman. At the Blue Whale on the third level of Weller Court Plaza, south of East First Street between South Los Angeles Street and South San Pedro Street, Little Tokyo 90012; 9pm-midnight; $10; 21+; parking $5 underneath off Second Street at the sign of the P in a circle; (213) 620-0908; www.bluewhalemusic.com.
Thurs. Nov. 20 -- L.A.'s Exhausted Prayer rampage with screaming, growling black-metal authority; great titles, too, like "The Meaninglessness and Futility of Existence." Read Alex Distefano's review of Exhausted Prayer's current "Ruined" here. They're in the middle of a bill with Steel Bearing Hand, Witchaven, Livin Alive, Damnatoque. At Five Star Bar, 267 S. Main St., downtown 90012; doors 8pm; $7; 21+; fivestarbardtla.com; (323) 428-4492.
Thurs. Nov. 20 -- Bhob Rainey performs an electronic quadraphonic composition influenced by horror films. Leave your dog at home. A SASSAS presentation at Center for the Arts, 2225 Colorado Blvd., Eagle Rock 90041; 8pm; $12; (626) 795-4989.
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Read Don Heckman’s jazz picks here and MoshKing's metal listings here. Read John Payne's plutonic Bluefat.com here.