The 2013 Southwest Terror Fest is approaching and the new (full) poster is available and with one quick glance you can tell it will be an event to be reckoned with. In fact, it is double the mayhem of last year's inaugural event, featuring 65 bands over the course of four days at the Rock, Thursday, Oct. 10 through Sunday, Oct. 13. A limited amount (only 50) of the 4-day VIP passes are available at a reasonable price of $55, and single day passes are available at the door.

David Rodgers might be one of the harder working people in Arizona when it comes to the metal music scene, and he has been able to build this event into what it is now, which is a marathon of metal madness. It would fantastic to see this continue to grow and become a mainstay of Arizona music.

Any local music fan should consider attending at least one night, if not two, or better yet, all four nights.

Check for updates here. Also, the poster:

So call in sick or take a vacation day on Monday, Oct. 14th, because the 2013 Southwest Terror Fest is coming and it's all out of bubblegum.

Although there were many fantastic acts last year, and the local bands were some of the highlights. Most of the local bands played on the second stage, letting the out-of-towners play on the main stage. The second stage is is on the floor, and the experience can be both intimate and chaotic. Having the band so close is a nice touch, but at the same time on some heavier songs the crowd can get a bit rowdy and even mosh into the band members.

Powered Wig Machine was the first band that really moved the crowd on the second stage. They played as if they were on the main stage and commanded the room with hard and unique anthems and genuinely put the room in order. This is a band that should be looked at in the coming future. They represent a cross-section between groovy funk-metal and a sludgy desert rock. They didn't necessarily play for the crowd but still managed to own it.

In all fairness, I'm a huge fan of Anakim and that was my personal highlight of the Friday show. In this respect I'd like to say that they need to play a bit more around town and tour past the state line with another act. Instead of being a prog-metal band, they're more of a metal band with some progressive hints. The sound is very straight forward and hits you in the gut and the head at the same time. Anakim has a phenominal tension-building intro in "Calling the Wind" that keeps the momentum building until a heavy burst of energy hits with the main part of the song, at which point it sends the crowd into a rampage.

The second night's highlight was, for me personally, again, the second stage. I'd always prefer to see local acts, and Godhunter was the headline of choice. With an LP release on the horizon, they are fully capable of playing for a full set and have played enough to always entertain the crowd. One can tell immediately that this band has enough experience that they know how to jump around the stage, keep the audience engaged beyond really acceptable limits, but yet still play amidst the chaos. At least twice someone fell over a mic or an amp and was pulled back into the crowd. They know how to let their roadies (and friends) pick up the fallen equipment and play on. David Rodgers, the guitarist and occasional singer, is the one that really put the work into making the Southwest Terrorfest happen. He is extremely dedicated to the craft and the scene, and his passion echoes through the band. Never missing a beat, they played with all-out and dominated the second stage of the second night.

I'm looking forward to many years of this showcase of music. I'd hope that it can expand to include outside stages or, perhaps even, downtown venues and alleyways. Tucson has always been a known underground scene for great music on all levels and types of music. This has the making to become a desitination point for metla fans everywhere.