Crushing Cascadia:
Earworthy Metal of the Pacific Northwest

The Pacific Northwest has always been notorious for its number of grunge-related acts through the eyes of modern society. For those who partake in the metal scene, it could go in many ways differing from one to another depending on who you talk to, but the most common and unfortunate consensus from outsiders will involve the words Cascadia and such along the lines of “hipsterism” thrown into the pot. I, for one am tired of these preconceived notions of those who choose to clump bands from a particular region into a category based on just the more well-known ones who are in the spotlight more often than others. And alas, there lies much more beyond those who are familiar solely with bands such as Agalloch, Velvet Cacoon or Wolves in the Throne Room (note: the term solely). The term ‘Cascadian’ should be deemed for nature-related purposes and not within its music. According to Wikipedia, the term Cascadia includes all of these areas which are lined up on the Pacific coast – when some people think of metal bands from this side of the country, these three bands listed above seem to come to mind instantly, but let’s not forget bands such as Blasphemy and Conqueror who have originated from the British Columbia province and not to mention the mighty Inquisition who hail from the Seattle/Everett area (not Colombia as some may argue) as well.

Blasphemy live @ Nuclear War Now! Festival Volume III

With that said, for those who are unfamiliar or ‘out of the loop’ with what has been stirring up around these parts, in the most recent times, these all-too-common generalizations have been replaced with a number of rising bands in death, doom and black metal alike. In the last year, there has been an exceptional amount of bands from the Seattle, Portland and Vancouver BC areas which have risen from Northwestern soil and continue to grow at an immeasurable and rapid rate. Of course, like any region whether it’s in the U.S. or otherwise, there will always be one’s own “scene” in which there will be bands that most in the area will be familiar with, whereas their existence will be lesser known in another country or even outside of one’s own territory. Similar to the surroundings of Scandinavia with endless forestry and mountains that outstretch for miles on end, many dark and sinister gems lie within. The drive perhaps comes from these surroundings and only enhances inspiration for a number of artists both born and raised up North or relocated from other territories.

Demoncy – “Into the Twilight Mists”

One of America’s most notorious one-man black metal bands, Demoncy has been based in Seattle for almost a few years now after relocating from the Southeast and produced a full-length for the first time in many years in 2012 titled Enthroned is the Night, which surprisingly did not make as many “year end” lists as I was expecting, although it is indeed a nice follow-up to one of the most profiled black metal releases of all time, Joined in Darkness. One of Seattle’s most well-known death/thrash crossover local bands who have been around for quite some time, Scorched-Earth make frequent live appearances and effortlessly know how to liven up a crowd every time – if you are a local, the name will ring a bell instantly, as they always manage to put on an enthusiastic and menacing live show. Some more recent groups such as Ævangelist, whose main frontman recently relocated from Florida to Portland have released new material and progressed significantly on the recording front since the projects’ birth and and has been gaining more recognition due to its bizarre, disgusting and horrific death metal sound.

Knelt Rote – “Hunger / Passenger”

While on the topic of such, one of New Zealand’s heaviest and filthiest black metal projects, Vassafor has recently rekindled the flame of new material (Obsidian Codex full-length 2012) and live performances with a whole new line-up based in Seattle, where frontman and founder VK now resides as well. Vassafor will be on tour soon this upcoming February with Knelt Rote from Portland – a more recent death metal project that shares a member in Vassafor’s live line-up, as well as rotating members in other Portland-based death metal acts Ritual Necromancy & Weregoat. It is astounding and refreshing to see such collaborations from musical artists who progress with their creations in various projects and cycles without leaning more towards one or the other and still managing to make malevolent music through various sinister portals of creation.

Ritual Necromancy live in Las Vegas

In relation to such things, one of Vancouver’s finest ‘vitriolic’ death metal bands, Mitochondrion has been releasing unrelenting, abhorrent tracks and making more of a debut since their signing in 2011 to Profound Lore Records who released their last full-length Parasignosis. Members of Mitochondrion have also supported and performed alongside bestial black metal newcomers Radioactive Vomit who hail from BC as well. The band have recently been doing their fair share of live shows throughout the Northwest area as of 2012.

Mitochondrion live @ The Rickshaw Theatre in Vancouver

Although it does not stop at just black and death metal acts – 2012 was undoubtedly a highlight worthy year of doom metal releases from across the board, although more specifically from more recent acts who have gained a fair share of popularity from Northwest natives such as Anhedonist, Samothrace, & Bell Witch from Seattle. And Portland’s share of bands such as Aldebaran & Atriarch. The majority of these bands come close in comparison (genre-wise) to funeral doom, albeit so well done in their own unique sound that there is indeed noticeable differentiations with each project holding their own form of slow, soul-crushing darkness. Realistically, each band deserves their own individual praise although this can be found through various outlets of reviews of their own on blogs and older articles found through the archives of CVLT Nation.

Aldebaran – “Forever In The Dream Of Death” (Pt. 1)

Having witnessed Aldebaran at the Rites of Darkness Festival III in 2011 and Anhedonist several times for local performances, I am just blown away each time and totally absorbed in the energy both of these bands invoke live. Anhedonist also share members of a death-doom project called Old Skin, whom are currently working on a full-length and are also no less powerful and crushing on stage. Currently, the project is more under wraps at the moment although there have been exclusive local performances and hopefully more information to follow up on this soon.

Old Skin live @ The Highline Bar in Seattle

It is nearly impossible to cover and highlight every single band or artist which originates from this region, but a noteworthy amount for ‘modern’ times I felt was needed, especially with the amount of underground & independent distributions these days whose roster line-ups as well as releases outnumber the more “popular” ones for metal. And so there you have it for the time being, as this compilation will (hopefully) open the eyes of some readers and those who are seeking to find newer bands from this region of the U.S. specifically or just in general. New blood is flowing and new life begins to emerge from our soil which shall hopefully make their way across the ocean onto the motherlands of Europe as well. The Pacific Northwest holds a great deal of both quality and quantity if you know where to look for it, more than what meets the eye to mainstream metal fans and those who seek to expand their musical knowledge – here is a good place to start, but always seek to look further. It is truly a unique region in America within its forested scenery and within its music.