The inaugural Northwest Terror Fest was top-to-bottom, entrance-to-exit brilliant. Coven’s first US performance in 27 years. PNW black and doom metal galore. Cult Leader and Young And In The Way insanity. It satisfied the lust that the non-traveler feels every year after Roadburn. It showcased intense US music in a diverse way that included Goatwhore and Marissa Nadler. Under a ceiling of Seattle rain clouds, NWTF bestowed upon its damp first-day attendees a night that included local black metal, doom metal from California, sludgy Arizona metal and everything in between. As soon as one band finished at Neumos, another began downstairs at Barboza; there were few moments to clear your ears before another barrage had begun. From UADA’s fog to Wolves In The Throne Room’s sage, the hours were an otherworldly exhibit of some of the greatest American metal practitioners. The day one experience by itself was cause enough to book a hotel for next year’s festival a year in advance…
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- Teddie Taylor
