Moire and Element

Moire has earned its share of battle scars on the local hard-rock scene, where competitive concerts are part of the culture. But no recording time or cash prizes will be on the line Friday night when that bone-crushingly brutal band engages in figurative combat with Element, an engaging, spastic hardcore hybrid outfit that’s been around in one form or another for almost a decade. Moire overwhelms listeners with 10-ton-hammer heft, from its bludgeoning drumbeats to its larynx-lacerating vocals and grinding guitars. And its latest recording, A Taste of Porcelain, will be available for free to showgoers. Element alternates approaches between the ambush (in which it surprise-attacks listeners disoriented by its staggered signatures) and the avalanche, in which a slight shift in the song’s progression triggers a massive reaction.