Some crossover here, admittedly, in acts like Messa, Amenra, Blackwater Holylight, the Giant Squid reunion (nice), Mother of Graves, Body Void, and so on. Immortal Bird, whom I’ve spent the last 15 years feeling like I should be writing about, etc., alongside the extremity of grindcore pioneers Repulsion and plenty of other noise of varying harshnesses. I’ve covered the fest before, but if you’ll note the first word of the post, it’s “some” crossover, and that’s true here too. Even some bands, like Sumerlands or Mother of Graves, I can’t decide if they fit here or not. I like that about them, and I like that about Northwest Terror Fest 2024, which has early bird tickets on sale as of 1PM Eastern yesterda.

But while there’s badassery in the bill and that’s not at all a surprise, the dual-prong motive for posting is sharing the GoFundMe link for Northwest Terror Fest (and Southwest Terror Fest) founder David Rodgers, who has a rare form of cancer detailed below. I remember working with David about a decade ago when he had his band Godhunter (still ahead of their time) going and his label Battleground Records, both of which seem to take a back seat ultimately to the success of the festivals, and fair enough. He’s someone who’s done excellent work to move aesthetic forward, in his own artistic output and in terms of supporting the work of others, and if you can help, you should. This country has shit for medicine and doesn’t care if you live or die. Would in many ways prefer you dead. All we as humans have is each other. No one’s coming to save us.

From the PR wire:

Northwest Terror Fest Announces 2024 Line-up; Early Bird Tickets On Sale Monday November 13, 10am PST

NORTHWEST TERROR FEST, the Pacific Northwest’s only destination extreme music festival, will make its triumphant return for its 6th year, in Seattle, WA.

A limited number of early-bird tickets go on sale Monday, November 13, 2023 at 10am PST.

The inclusive extreme music festival will take place over three days – May 9th to May 11th – at two of Seattle’s premier music venues, Neumos and Barboza, located in Seattle’s historical Capital Hill neighborhood.

Over three days of NORTHWEST TERROR FEST – which is sponsored by the highly revered heavy metal site NO CLEAN SINGING, – the festival will showcase extreme metal, hardcore punk, and experimental music from 36 acts from the heavy metal underground and beyond. The festival packs a powerful lineup with Washington/Oregon exclusive performances by Daeva, Eternal Champion, Forbidden, Giant Squid (reunion performing Metridium Fields), Repulsion, Spiritual Poison, Sumerlands, and Weekend Nachos!

About the festival, The Northwest Terror Fest Planning Committee shares:

“We’re excited to once again bring three days of diverse and devastating music to Seattle in May, 2024. This year’s lineup features many of the most exciting new bands in metal, a handful of long-awaited reunions, excursions into industrial and darkwave, and a showcase of young and ambitious bands keeping underground music alive in the Pacific Northwest. Team NWTF is eternally grateful for the support of Washington and Oregon’s extreme music community – Northwest Terror Fest will always be for you. We’re looking forward to seeing you all in the pit. Until then, leave no cross unturned!”

Northwest Terror Fest VI 2024 Full Line-up
May 9-11 2024 | Seattle, WA
Neumos & Barboza

Abyssal
Amenra
Ascended Dead
Blackwater Holylight
Body Void
Brat
Colony Drop
Cystic
Daeva (WA/OR Exclusive)
Deathgrave
Diabolic Oath
Disimperium
Eternal Champion (WA/OR Exclusive)
Foie Gras
Forbidden (WA/OR Exclusive)
Giant Squid performing Metridium Fields (WA/OR Exclusive)
Grave Infestation
Habak
Hemorrhoid
Immortal Bird
Kömmand
Messa
Mother of Graves
MVTANT
Nox Novacula
Physical Wash
Primitive Man
Repulsion (WA/OR Exclusive)
Slow Crush
Spiritual Poison (WA/OR Exclusive)
Sumerlands (WA/OR Exclusive)
Ulthar
Undergang
Undulation
Warp Chamber
Weekend Nachos (WA/OR Exclusive)

NWTF TICKET LINK WILL BE LIVE MONDAY NOVEMBER 13, AT 10AM PST

https://www.axs.com/events/509507/northwest-terror-fest-tickets?skin=neumos

PLEASE TAKE A MOMENT TO READ BELOW

David, a founder of Southwest Terror Fest and Northwest Terror Fest, has unfortunately been diagnosed with an incurable form of cancer called Multiple Myeloma cancer. The cancer can only be treated, with the goal of entering a remission state that will allow David to live longer. Without treatment, his life expectancy would be two years, at most. The end of his life would be on a dialysis machine. David’s family has decided to throw everything they have at this and fight it with chemotherapy and stem cell replacement therapy. His doctors are hopeful that these treatments will push the cancer into a dormant state. They believe that this will give David nine years, or more.

Anything that you can give will help David and his family greatly. If you are unable to financially support the fundraiser, simply sharing the Gofundme page on the internet would be immensely appreciated: https://www.gofundme.com/f/xuvgvh-davids-cancer-fund.

https://www.facebook.com/northwestterrorfest/
https://www.instagram.com/nwterrorfest/
https://www.threads.net/@nwterrorfest
https://linktr.ee/northwestterrorfest

Giant Squid, Metridium Fields (2006)

Northwest Terror Fest 2024 teaser

The Obelisk Questionnaire is a series of open questions intended to give the answerer an opportunity to explore these ideas and stories from their life as deeply as they choose. Answers can be short or long, and that reveals something in itself, but the most important factor is honesty.

Based on the Proust Questionnaire, the goal over time is to show a diverse range of perspectives as those who take part bring their own points of view to answering the same questions. To see all The Obelisk Questionnaire posts, click here.

Thank you for reading and thanks to all who participate.

The Obelisk Questionnaire: Joseph Schafer of Colony Drop

—

How do you define what you do and how did you come to do it?

I don’t try to define what I do, personally.

As a kid, I wanted to be a “Writer” – whatever that means these days. I must thank my excellent High School teachers, Ms. Forte, Mr. Kinkaid and Mr. Broadway, for fostering that talent in me. I should also thank my writing professor in college, Diane Suess (Pulitzer Prize Winner), for training me.

I don’t think people need to be just “one thing” anymore. Idris Elba is an actor and a rapper, for example. Rhianna is a CEO of a clothing company as much as she is a pop star. Frances Ford Coppola probably makes more money as a wine mogul than as a film director. If all those folks can do many things, why not me, too? The only limitations are my willpower and my circumstances, though those are both significant limitations.

Besides writing, everything else that I now do began by accident. As an events promoter, I just wanted to put a half-decent show on and wound up running a small business. As a musician, I just wanted to yell in a room with my friends, and now I’m in a band, and in that band, I often manage our analytics and booking, so as a band member, my role is much larger than only “musician” and that’s true of every member of Colony Drop. Creativity and enterprise are simply about doing things.

Describe your first musical memory.

My earliest musical memory is being a five-year-old child and going with my parents to see Jurassic Park. I recall being strongly affected by John Williams’ theme in that film. Maybe that’s a bit basic. The first song I remember wanting to hear a second time was “Be Prepared” in the Lion King a year later. That soundtrack was the first cassette I begged my mother for. We wore it out. Pop music, rock music, and extreme metal all came later.

Describe your best musical memory to date.

It’s difficult to pick a ‘best,’ however, in 2005, I saw Nine Inch Nails play the Toledo Sports Arena on the With Teeth tour. That was my first genuinely massive show. I got into the mosh pit as a scrawny teen and was totally ripped away from my friends and thrown way far near the front of the crowd. I was totally alone and could not find them (no cell phones!). I recall I had a sunburn, so the bodies around me were kind of uncomfortable. I had no choice but to give myself up to the stimulation of the lights and sounds and Trent Reznor’s music. That was the first time I truly went into a transcendental or sublime surrender state while seeing live music. I still have a bootleg CD of that show – it was a great set. They played “Dead Souls”!

When was a time when a firmly held belief was tested?

When I was a kid, my parents went all out for Christmas. They were really into making Santa Claus real for me. Dad would get his boots muddy and track them through the house at 4 AM – the works. As a result, I believed in Santa for a while longer than my friends. When I confronted the fact that Santa wasn’t real, that led to an immediate test of my juvenile religious beliefs. Jesus and God went in the trash can probably minutes after that. My apostasy was fast and brutal. Black Sabbath came into my life soon thereafter!

Where do you feel artistic progression leads?

Bankruptcy. But if you’re doing it right, it also leads to community, friendship, and solidarity. Maybe even love – I met my wife through metal.

How do you define success?

Success is when something you’ve taken part in has a tangible effect on someone else’s life. Even if you only bring a spark to one person’s life, that justifies all the labor involved in creative expression. The only value in trying to do music, writing, or art on any kind of large scale is that it gives you the opportunity to have a tangible effect on people more often and more regularly – everything else is just a hoop to jump through.

What is something you have seen that you wish you hadn’t?

I spent too much time on the Something Awful forums in High School; let’s leave it at that. I’m thankful I never followed any of those random acquaintances to 4chan.

Describe something you haven’t created yet that you’d like to create.

I have an as-yet unproduced complete screenplay for a feature-length horror film, as well as a complete manuscript for an epic fantasy novel. I’d love to see those two pieces published.

What do you believe is the most essential function of art?

I subscribe to the theory of creative expression put forth by playwright Lajos Egri – I’m not sure if his theory has a formal name or school of thought, but his basic premise is that art exists to express a worldview and put it up for an audience’s evaluation.

So, for example, the worldview expressed by Metallica on Master of Puppets is “life cannot have value while you’re being controlled by an outside force.” Each song explores one outside force that sucks value out of your life: narcotic addiction, religion, wartime conflict, mental institutions, and so on. The album is such a success because it expresses that worldview so completely without talking down to the audience.

Egri argues for this theory in his excellent books On Dramatic Writing and On Creative Writing. They’re great resources even for songwriters, musicians, or painters. I can’t recommend them highly enough.

Something non-musical that you’re looking forward to?

I’m getting married next month. I’m looking forward to the wedding, but I’m also looking forward to the wedding being over so I can finally get some sleep. Haha!

https://linktr.ee/colonydropthrash
https://www.instagram.com/colonydropthrash
https://www.facebook.com/colonydropthrash
https://colonydropband.bandcamp.com

https://www.namelessgraverecords.com
https://www.facebook.com/NamelessGraveRecords
https://www.instagram.com/namelessgraverecords
https://namelessgraverecords.bandcamp.com

Colony Drop, Brace for Impact (2023)