Seattle is often associated with the grunge scene, a high consumption of coffee, and copious amounts of interpersonal apathy manifesting in a “Seattle Freeze,” that I attribute to the fact that the region has heavy Nordic vibes. What is lesser known is that the greater Pacific Northwest region has one of the best metal scenes in the US, and a marquee showcase for it is Northwest Terror Fest, now entering its sixth year. The lineage of NWTF directly stems from the team at sister outlet No Clean Singing, renowned for their good taste and knack for finding underground gems. These days, Joseph Schafer and Leah Solomon handle the actual curation and operation of NWTF, and between the two of them and myself, there’s representation from Seattle, Olympia, and Portland, for which I am now creating the term “Cascadian Corridor.”
As for the festival itself, much has been written about the headliner acts, which includes the heralded reforming of Black Breath, perennial east coast grindcore band Pig Destroyer, and Finnish psychedelic black metallers Oranssi Pazuzu, so I sat down with Joseph and Leah to get their thoughts on the PNW metal scene as a whole, the venues they’ve loved, and a sampling of some of the lesser-known bands that have caught my ear. Unlike other festivals where you can expect a heavy representation of a particular genre, NWTF has something for everyone. Yet, at the same time, it’s not for everyone as it showcases mostly underground acts.
Both single-day and festival passes for Northwest Terror Fest are available here. Read on to learn more about some of the emergent artists I’m excited about, mostly playing on the literally underground stage of Barboza, and the venues throughout the coolest corner of the United States you should catch a show at!
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Hedonist
In 2013, Bolt Thrower performed one of the most memorable and packed-to-the-rafters shows I saw at Neumos, where NWTF is being held. 13 years later, Victoria, B.C.-based Hedonist is primed to carry the battle flag forward from that show, providing a barrage of war-themed death metal riffs. I’m embellishing a bit on the comparison, but make no mistake, their recent Scapulimancy album is a spiritual successor to Those Once Loyal, and they provide an excellent wake up assault somewhat early on day three of the festival. A new realm opens.
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Drouth
My favorite part of attending any given music festival is getting exposed to bands you might not have otherwise heard of. In that regard, Portland-based Drouth has made me feel very stupid, as they’ve been around since 2015 and is only now my personal sleeper discovery of the festival. They cleverly encapsulate many of the metal subgenres that NWTF is showcasing, mixing death metal, black metal, and melody in their three albums throughout the years. At the risk of alliteration, much of their back catalogue reminds me of if you combined Woe with Wode.
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Føsphene
Corvallis-based Føsphene proclaims to be a nihilistic brand of black metal, but I actually find their recent self-titled debut to contain plenty of beauty. It’s a textured and atmospheric take on traditional USBM with elements of shoegaze and literal recordings of what I assume are the frequent rainstorms that occur in the Willamette Valley area. Much of the pacing, guitar tuning and even album art (attributed to American classical realist Winslow Homer) remind me of a slightly more melancholic version of Drudkh, and it was surprising to hear such cohesion from a debut release. Føsphene will exhibit their bleak outlook on existence early on day three of the festival, on the Barboza stage.
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Netherrealms
Many people I’ve met in the PNW metal scene attribute their roots to punk and hardcore, which I must admit isn’t a lineage I’ve ever ascribed to, preferring black metal back in the day as I got deeper into the broader genre. It’s because of this that Portland-based Netherrealms caught my ear, combining dbeat rhythms, wailing tremolo picking, and black metal-tinged hardcore vocals. I expect an active pit for this one as they open as the very first band on day one of the festival!
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Wretched Blessing
I’m always impressed when I see bands that are duos or trios and can create an immense sound, such as Crossspitter at last year’s NWTF. Chicago-based Wretched Blessing is a relatively new band with a small following, but has put out a solid back catalogue of EPs, particularly 2025’s Psychic Barriers to Entry, which you can think of as a high-production, faster approach to the Dismember style of death metal. I make it a point to check out drummers who pull double duty on vocals as well, an admirable undertaking.
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Primeval Well
I’m not sure if this was the intention, but between Wayfarer, Pan-Amerikan Native Front, and Nashville-based Primeval Well, there is an unofficial Western-folk vein running through the NWTF roster this year. Their unique blend of black metal, folk, and a touch of bluegrass seems to be inspired by the relative warmth of the Appalachians compared to the grim frostbitten tropes that you’ll often see from mountainous-inspired black metal you see these days. 2021’s Talkin’ in Tongues with Mountain Spirits is filled with switchbacks that remind me of if Sigh’s Imaginary Sonicscape was made with moonshine, so make sure to ballhoot your britches down to their set on day two of the festival.
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I initially caught wind of NWTF in its first year as someone who lived right down the block from the now sadly defunct Highline bar, which for non-locals had ownership ties to Bell Witch. NWTF is now all centralized at Neumo’s, which is located in the nexus of one of Seattle’s most notorious neighborhoods, Capitol Hill. The neighborhood has changed a lot over the years. How would you say that NWTF has changed with it?
Joseph Schafer: That’s a pretty good question! I lived within a 15-minute walk of Neumos – and the Highline! – for years. It’s interesting to walk through the neighborhood now, because it’s like a liminal space. The neighborhood I fell in love with is both dead and alive, and the two versions are superimposed on one another. The buildings remain the same, but the businesses inside them change. If you walk down Pike Street on a Friday night, you’re still going to see 20-somethings smoking cigarettes in black leather jackets the way you would have a decade ago, but now they’re wearing clubbing jackets instead of biker jackets. However, the phenomenon is also somewhat spiritual.
Not to sound overly dramatic, but I feel as though there’s been a long battle raging over the soul of this city. In that battle, the opposing team has been winning for the past 30 years. The opposition team is the adversaries of art and creativity, comprised of the forces of gentrification and large-scale capitalism, and they have way more economic and political power than my team does. NWTF serves many functions, but one of them is my and my friends’ private rebellion against the opposing team, and I think our local metal-punk-goth-etc community sees us the same way. They can price some of us out, but not all of us. So, in that sense, NWTF hasn’t changed in response to the passage of time. We’ve had to raise the ticket prices occasionally thanks to inflation, but other than that, NWTF is still the same annual reminder that we outsiders are still here, and we’re not leaving.
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Leah Solomon: I guess I wouldn’t personally characterize the hill as notorious, rather a historic nightlife center. Because of that, it’s a great place for us to throw our event, there’s one of everything (if not two or three) within walking distance. It has something for everyone and plenty of infrastructure to support a multi-day party. I think it’s no secret that Seattle has changed a LOT over the last decade, and even more so in the decades preceding it. For whatever reason, NWTF is lucky to continue to be a pillar of the old way- a great weekend for experiencing Seattle as it has been and should be. I would say overall, the neighborhood and venue have seen a classic gentrification/yuppification. From what bars continue to exist, to who patronizes them, things have really become boring and normal. But not on NWTF weekend, thank goodness.
Living up to the name, many of the team members for NWTF are scattered throughout the Pacific Northwest. I’ve lived throughout the region and have fond memories of shows at the Obsidian and Manium in Olympia, or Mississippi Studios in Portland, which doesn’t necessarily focus on metal but is a great place to catch a show. What are some venues that people should be on people’s radars that are critical to the metal scene in Cascadia?
Joseph: Man. I miss Obsidian. They served this amazing basil martini there called The Basilisk. I need to ask the Wolves in the Throne Room boys if any of them still have the recipe. Unfortunately, Obsidian, like The Highline, is done. I don’t know for a fact, but I suppose they’re both casualties in that war against commerce that I mentioned earlier, and they’re just the tip of the iceberg. But we have a few left standing. Neumos is obviously one of the survivors; however, outside of NWTF, they don’t book much metal. Recently, I’ve seen many shows at the Central Saloon, which has been around since at least Seattle’s late-80s alternative hard rock boom (I refuse to use the term “grunge” when two of the four big Seattle bands, Alice in Chains and Soundgarden, are metal bands). There’s also a local metal bar called The Kraken, which has changed locations multiple times, but like a cockroach that refuses to die. It’s one of the first places I visited in Seattle, and still feels dirty and fun in the way I most enjoy.
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Leah: I grew up in the suburbs of Seattle, but lived in-town from 2007 to 2021. I live in Portland now, thank god, but I still produce the fest and also book year-round with Hierophant Booking and I think that there are a lot of rooms in both towns that deserve the scene’s love and affection for keeping the light on. In Portland, High Water Mark is the living room of the heavy music scene, and Black Water provides an outlet for heavy music, and stimulating the local economy through record purchasing. In Seattle, the legendary Central Saloon continues on, alongside Clock Out Lounge and The Kraken.
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It’s always fun to hear the origin stories when it comes to venues. In addition to the places that Leah and Joseph mentioned, I have found the Pioneer Square neighborhood of Seattle to be going through a bit of a resurgence, and have been enjoying shows coming through to Baba Yaga, located a couple blocks away from Central Saloon and suited for smaller shows. In Olympia, Manium became Cryptatropa, then The Crypt, and continues to maintain its witchy vibes, being impossible to miss as an expansive blacked out venue/bar downtown. Finally in Portland, in addition to Black Water, DEVOUT Records is one of the most unique black metal-focused record stores in the country, offering a great selection and aesthetically amazing interior that clearly had a lot of thought going into it.
An interesting trend that I’m seeing in the region are camping-only outdoor festivals, such as Concatenate Fest and Cascadian Midsummer. NWTF this year also shares some roster bands with Fire in the Mountains, another great fest that requires one to pitch a tent. Conversely, NWTF is in the thick of one of the busiest neighborhoods of Seattle. How’s the reception been for the community there, as well as visiting bands? Any fun stories?
Joseph: I definitely see NWTF as an urban event. It’s more like a block party than the fests that you describe. Ever seen Dave Chappelle’s Block Party? It kills. One day I’d love an NWTF that feels that way, except with Trikptykon instead of The Fugees. I don’t think NWTF will ever go into the woods, in part because while I love being outdoors–I hike every morning–I loathe camping. The FitM guys have tried multiple times to coax me out there, but sorry, fellas, it ain’t happening. As for the resident population in Cap Hill itself, I think most of the normies forget NWTF exists until it’s happening! For what it’s worth, I think we’re in good company: they also forget Pride until it happens, and Cap Hill is a historically gay neighborhood as well as a historically artsy neighborhood. That’s because it’s an incredibly busy neighborhood, and also because the population there is so transient. It’s a place to live while you’re a party animal, but not when you’re trying to live somewhere bigger than a shoebox.
When NWTF is going on, though, they can’t ignore that it’s happening. There’s always a crowd of dumbstruck yuppies crowded outside the doors trying to get a glimpse of what’s making all that noise. Sometimes they do buy a ticket to come in and get wrecked in what I can only assume is their first and probably last mosh pit. As for the metal community itself? I’ve never gotten anything less than positive feedback. I believe that folks look forward to it all year.
Someone told me this year that they thought NWTF is a nonprofit organization, not a fest. In some ways, that’s true, NWTF doesn’t pay the rent, and that’s not why we do it. Seattle has a reputation as a city where metal fans don’t get excited at shows; Seattle-ites like to lurk in the shadows and nod along. But that’s not true at NWTF. Our community likes to pack that room before 5pm, even on a weeknight. When the music is appropriate, we get serious circle pits and stage dives. I like to think of it as the community pulling out all the stops for our out-of-town guests, as well as the bands. I’ve heard a few headliners tell me they played their best show at NWTF. It’s my ‘job’ to say those sorts of things, but if anyone reading this interview would like proof, please buy a ticket and see for yourself. We throw a hell of a party. A lot of that is Leah’s doing. She’s brilliant at running large, complex events. I wouldn’t do this with anyone else.
Leah: I have been lucky enough to attend Fire in the Mountains (the 2025 iteration) as Blood Incantation’s tour manager (enjoying the safety and luxury of our bus in the campground), and can say it is incredible! I think it’s a safe bet that people who like heavy music will be camping/outdoor enthusiasts! Notably, Joseph hates to camp and can’t be convinced, I think I’m more-so in the middle, but it’s obvious there are a lot of our brethren that love an opportunity to be in nature and experience extreme music, that environment lends itself to all kinds of special stuff- starting a rare Timewave Zero performance in a flash rain storm will be remembered forever!
It seems that on the other side of the coin, like Joseph, there are plenty of folks who are very much more interested in stationary bathrooms, showers, and beds. Also likewise, introducing hundreds of extreme music enthusiasts to an increasingly normal-ified neighborhood has its perks! I know that the venue staff and nearby food and beverage staff LOVE to see NWTF coming. The nearby hotel, where we host staff and bands, also lends itself to fun. You never know who is going to be in the elevator when the door slides open, or who might be out front with a beer and a cigarette when you get back from the venue at 2 am. I think no matter where you do it, any convening of the heavy music brain trust is a recipe for fun and excitement. We’re all so used to feeling different, when we’re surrounded with our peers magic will surely ensue.
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Northwest Terrorfest takes place May 7 – 9 in Seattle, WA. Tickets are available here.
