You are about to enter another dimension. A dimension of A/V. This is the middle ground between mediocre and too-good-to-be-true, between something called "reggae" and the sound angels emit. You are traveling deep into the realm of rad tuneage. Next stop, Now Hear This!

Zachary James Watkins and Marshall Tramell aka Black Spirituals bring "black resonance" to Spirit Abuse (1103 Fourth Street NW) tonight. Our interview "Postmodern Black Spirituals" yielded more insight than we could fit in print. For instance, the project's name originates from Watkins finding a dusty cassette in a closet; the recording within was a 1970s lecture by activist, scholar and singer Bernice Johnson Reagon on the roots music of black slaves in America. Black Spirituals tour in support of their forthcoming SIGE Records cassette Of Deconstruction. Five bucks gets you in to the most intriguing concert of the week. The sympathetic vibrations amp up at 9pm, and Bigawatt and Mesa Ritual open the show. I'll see you there.

If you feelin' more metal than avant-garde, scope Alibi resident hesher Constance Moss' previews of two heavy gigs. Tonight at Sister (407 Central NW) revel in crossover metal, hardcore, "low desert punk" and sludge metal with Corrosion of Conformity, BL'AST!, Brant Bjork and Lord Dying. Scope "Melt Your Face Off" for all the deets.This 21-plus gig starts at 8:30pm, and admission is $15.

On Sunday night at Sunshine Theater (120 Central SW), Geoff Tate's Queensrÿche—featuring former members of Dio, Ozzy and AC/DC—brings a mishmash of nostalgia and brand-new heavy. Read Moss' Show Up! column to learn more about the drama surrounding Tate's physical and verbal abuse of his bandmates and consequent firing, the ensuing legal battle and future of Queensrÿche. According to our in-house metal expert, this show will not be a "pathetic and flaccid mockery of itself." Irish rock outfit The Voodoos open this all-ages concert, and presale tickets are $25.

Last week in "Now Hear This, Vol. V" I hyped much-buzzed about hometown swervegaze idol REIGHNBEAU's inclusion in tonight's Nothng Forevr showcase at Burt's Tiki Lounge (313 Gold SW). Burqueño electro standouts BK Beats, The 1960 Sci-Fi Era and Nathan New round out the bill for this 21-plus vowel-eschewing celebration. The aforementioned artists begin casting sonic spells at 9pm, and there's no cover, man.

You are about to enter another dimension. A dimension of A/V. This is the middle ground between mediocre and too-good-to-be-true, between something called "reggae" and the sound angels emit. You are traveling deep into the realm of rad tuneage. Next stop, Now Hear This!

When it comes to local wizard-themed bands, too much is never enough. Swervegaze wizard REIGHNBEAU has been casting beatific spells—and stealing my vantablack heart—since prime mover Bryce Hample began transmitting incantations into the æther. During the Alibi's latest totally-not-weekly podcast, guests Marya Errin Jones (ABQ Zine Fest founder, The Tannex co-founder) and Mike Smith (author, zinester and Alibi contributing writer) had high praise for REIGHNBEAU's "Milk of Amnesia" video premiere at Guild Cinema. If you missed that rad event, fear not. Screen the viddy below. Commune with REIGHNBEAU, BK Beats, The 1960 Sci-Fi Era and Nathan New in the so-called flesh at a Nothng Forevr showcase at Burt's Tiki Lounge (313 Gold SW) on Saturday, Aug. 23 at 9pm. It's a 21-plus recital, and there's no cover.

During the same podcast, Mike Smith hipped us to the debut music video for up-and-coming alchemical heavies Melanthius. It's a family band featuring siblings Mauro Woody, Brahm Woody and Dhaveed Woody and kindred spirit Eric Wellman. "The Door" video captures the mage collective with shimmery, psychedelic cinematography as they walk the earth, work a fluorescent cauldron and seek nuevomexicano treasure. Scope the vid below, and catch Melanthius' debut gig on Tuesday, Aug. 26, at Burt's (313 Gold SW) starting at 9pm. The 21-plus show is free and also features Shoulder Voices and Billy Crooze and the Dinglehoppers.

Steve Hammond's various projects have garnered a lot of ink in the Alibi over the years. His most well-known bands are twang-and-thrash trio Leeches of Lore and umlautcore outfit Tenderizor, but Hammond is a prolific solo artist and has also performed as Retard Slave and in Death Convention Singers, Knife City, Filthy Jim and Black Ale Sinners. His microlabel, Flying Midget Records, hosts releases from these projects. One of my favorite Flying Midget offerings is Hammond's Cover of the Month Series. Available as a name-your-price download, the compilation features covers of tunes by Miles Davis, Billy Idol, Buck Owens vs. The Fresh Prince, Wire, Melvins, Irving Berlin, Hank Williams, Funkadelic, Neil Young, The Kinks, They Might Be Giants and Beach Boys. Stream or download it below.

Explore the bountiful local music scene further with our Back to School Guide's "Intro to Venues—ABQ 505," "'90s Nostalgia Meets New Wave of Now," Music to Your Ears and micro reviews of new albums by David Kilgour and the Heavy Eights, Naomi Punk and Samantha Glass. Happy listening, y'all!

You are about to enter another dimension. A dimension of A/V. This is the middle ground between mediocre and too-good-to-be-true, between something called "reggae" and the sound angels emit. You are traveling deep into the realm of rad tuneage. Next stop, Now Hear This!

On the local tip, swervegaze wizard REIGHNBEAU is premiering the boss music video for "Milk of Amnesia" at the Guild Cinema (3405 Central NE) on Wednesday, Aug. 6. One of the perks of the fourth estate is sneak peeks, and I can assure you that my REIGHNBEAU crush remains strong. The screening will be followed by a live performance and light show. The house lights dim at 10:20pm only to rebound with matchless radiance. For more deets and to RSVP for this free cinematic event, click here. Below, listen to or download REIGHNBEAU's "bootleg" of Angelo Badalamenti's "Twin Peaks" theme.

Chapter House is an enigmatic micro label whose catalog is hyperlinked to genres like "punk," "moccvsin gvze" and "stewgaze." The label's latest compilation features Four Corners-based and nuevomexicano artists. Ryan Dennison and DISCOTAYS are all-time favorites of mine, but I was unfamiliar with other acts showcased on the release. And while I didn't unearth the secret lives of those new-to-me bands, I did discover groups with names like Purple Cats in Slacks, Midnight Stew and The Fly that are ripe for inclusion in New Mexico's sonic cosmology. Stream Volume 3 below and nab some pay-what-you-will releases from the Chapter House Bandcamp.

This entry's final homespun miracle is the NSFW [coughfreethenipplecough] music video for the opening tracks from sleaze-thrash trio [H]ohm's Haroun Farm EP. The narrative begins with telegenic power-drummer Kris Kerby hitchiking, and it focuses on the band and alt.models from The Voodoo Dolls, including co-owner Jelly Honey. Produced by Solano Pictures, the photography and editing are professional-strength. The cast is easy on the eyes, but wild women and band members aren't the only characters. The Sandias are the real star of this production. If you've ever dreamed about rocking the Kiwanis Cabin, hit play below for vicarious wish fulfillment.

Consumers of my dancing-about-architecture reportage are probably aware of my frequent use of the adjectival "blackety-black." It's really just an overly precious synonym for: atramentous, ebony, jet, obsidian, onyx, pitch, slate, sloe and the like. But thanks to British scientists at Surrey NanoSystems, there's now an honest-to-goodness blackety-black. It's called Vantablack (or super black), and it's record-breaking darkness absorbs all but .035 percent of light. It's so damn black that the human eye has difficulty discerning its dimensions. Like a freaking black hole. Its primary intended applications are terrestrial, space and air-borne optical instrumentation. But now hear this: The Little Black Dress will never be the same.

The Daily Mail reports that it's created using carbon nanotubes—"which are 10,000 thinner than human hair and so miniscule that light cannot get in but can pass into the gaps in between"—and if that isn't enough, it's 10 times stronger than steel and conducts heat seven-and-a-half times more effectively than copper. Yeah. Owing to my obsessive-compulsive nature, themes prove irresistably attractive, so here are my favorite songs that pay tribute to blackety-black, er, Vantablack. Share your favorite black-centric tracks in the comments, fellow darklings.

Are you properly caring for your inner goth? My years of rockin' an all-black wardrobe, a Wite-Out complexion and panda eyes may be over, but I take care to nourish my blackety-black heart and sonic sensibility. If you're feeling the urge to chainsmoke clove cigs, brood and write bad poetry, I recommend channeling that energy into a celebration of Dark Entries Records' fifth anniversary.

DJ Josh Cheon founded the label in July 2009 with the intention of releasing out-of-print and unreleased underground '80s treasures. Named for the first 7-inch released by goth icon Bauhaus, Dark Entries' focus is curation, preserving sound quality and respecting its artists' aural aesthetic . And, yes, the label's output is strictly vinyl.

Dark Entries' lifeblood is the excavation, quality reproduction and distribution of largely unknown pleasures, but it also showcases contemporary acts whose sound harkens back to the heyday of minimal synth, coldwave, dark wave, electro, Italo disco and post-punk. Highlights of the Dark Entries catalog include work by Dark Day, Jeff and Jane Hudson, Starter, Linea Aspera, Kitchen & the Plastic Spoons, Algebra Suicide, Los Microwaves, Patrick Cowley, Victrola, Lè Travo, Crash Course in Science, Lassigue Bendthaus, Cute Heels and Helen.

"If only for the old times," reminisce and peer into the future by exposing your dark side to Dark Entries.

Welcome to the first installment of "Now Hear This," a column to chronicle my obsessive-compulsive sonic studies, archaelogical and futurist alike. And while here with me, expect everything from old and alt.country to rocanrol to dark wave to Italo disco to queercore to punk to riot grrrl to noise to minimal synth and everywhere in between ... Except smooth jazz, (most) contemporary country and reggae. They just don't do it for me. As they say—who are they, anyway?—there's no accounting for taste.

I embrace that motto and am wholly dependent on my musical addiction to transcend the banality of everyday life. Don't get me wrong. I really dig my life. Getting to collaborate with and work alongside an uber-talented editorial staff and freelancers every day is, like, the dream. But sometimes you simply have to hear something new or unfamiliar that excites and challenges you. This column will serve as complement to my colleague Mark Lopez' wide-ranging Rooster Roundabout series.

My soundscape and its population, past and present, have benefited from the hive mind of many wonderful humans, ranging from my vinyl historian pal Mike Harper in Huntsville, Tex., who first exposed me to the music nerd bug;

to synth/post-punk/ industrial maven and Systems of Romance curator Frankie Teardrop, also of cold wave/post-punk band The Harrow;

to Dirt City denizen Derek Caterwaul, notably of KUNM Radio and Low Life at Blackbird Buvette, who remains one of my favorite DJs after more than a decade of listening to his Music to Soothe the Savage Beast and Overnight Freeform shows;

to Burqueña Tahnee Udero aka DJ Tahnee, whose massive knowledge base is supplanted by exquisite taste, and her solo project TAHNZZ garnered serious listmas praise in 2013;

to Mello Sanchez aka DJ Mello, an uber-talented DJ and pastry chef and one of my best friends;

to northerly neighbor Lorrie Edmonds, curator of I Will Not Return Your Records, which I can safely say is one of the best radio shows on the planet.

So this is a shout-out to all y'all strange, kindred music nerds, both the ones I know and the ones I haven't met yet.