Hitter Credit: courtesy the artist

When I first heard of local outfit Hitter coming together—with Adam Luksetich of Foul Tip on guitar, Madalyn Garcia of Lil Tits on bass, Ryan Wizniak of Meat Wave on drums, and Hanna Johnson of Lifestyles and Lil Tits on vocals—I was expecting them to be the coolest, punkest band I’d ever hear. But these four steered away from the laser-focused punk of their other bands in favor of scuzzy heavy metal and sleazy, riffed-out rock ‘n’ roll. On the six-track demo tape they released this August (which features two songs that include the word “rock” in their titles), the foursome blast away on simple, raw, wildly distorted AC/DC-flavored riffs that barrel forward with Wizniak’s caffeinated energy and get topped off with Johnson’s in-your-face wails. Hitter aren’t breaking new musical ground, but it’s clear they’re not trying to—what makes their music so good is that you can hear how much fun they’re having, and that will keep anyone coming back. Also playing this show are another local four-piece, Rezn, who operate in the realm of metal opposite of Hitter: on their October LP, Calm Black Water, they worship at the beyond-stoned, psyched-out, loud-as-hell altar of Sleep and Dead Meadow.   v