10 Best Hard Rock & Heavy Metal Live Bands Of 2017

2. Raised By Owls

Raised by Owls are the greatest heavy metal band in the history of the universe, and their live shows in 2017 proved it.

Not only did the five Derbyshire lads break records at this summer’s Bloodstock Open Air – drawing the biggest crowd in the history of the festival’s New Blood Stage – but they also capitalised upon that momentum with a magnificent UK tour the following autumn.

Packing such volatile tracks as “Ross Kemp on Gang Bangs”, “David Cameron’s Favourite Band Is Pig Destroyer”, “Harry Potter and the Curse of the Student Loan” and “The Almighty Sunday Roast”, Raised by Owls provided some of the most insane live shows in the history of grindcore. Such attractions have included a “Wall of Scones” (a wall of death where sides are decided by how you pronounce the word “scone”), beach balls, moshing to the ChuckleVision theme tune and, best of all, lead singer Sam Fowler’s butt-ugly shirts.

Needless to say, a Raised by Owls concert is the most fun a metalhead can ever have, mixing hilarious lyrics and antics with death metal that, even if it wasn’t as side-splittingly funny as it is, would still shred with all the power and terror of a chainsaw.

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