THE BRILLIANCE OF BRUTALITY: SWAMP WOLF

We're stoked to announce that Arizona's Swamp Wolf will be returning to Missoula for Total Fest this August. These five dudes from Flagstaff (Dirty Steve, Daniel, Kevin, Nate and Hobbit) showed up in Missoula last August on the second night of Total Fest XI and offered to pinch hit when a scheduled band failed to show. To be honest, I wasn't sure what to expect from them initially, but my expectations were blown out the water when they took the stage. No less than two songs into their epic and totally relentless set, I'm pretty certain they proved themselves to be a fan favorite of many Total Fest XI attendees in the Badlander that Friday night.

These guys embody some of my favorite elements from 90s metallic hardcore (camo shorts and XL shirts not included), with blackened bits of thrash, sludge and blazing, squealing guitar brutality. Since they played here last August, they've issued their full length Brilliance of a Feral Mind on vinyl, which you can check out on their bandcamp page.
 

WHAT DO SWAMP WOLF, ZOMBIE TOOLS AND TIDAL HORN HAVE IN COMMON?
Other than we're talking about 'em here, and they've got something to do with Total Fest this year? Yes, that's the full question. Well, let's start at the begining: I was gonna say "metal" but I just read in the Missoua Independent that Tidal Horn don't consider themselves "metal." Well, Tidal Horn, that's tough, you're kind of what we'd (very flatteringly) call "party metal." You've got the riffs, you cover Dio. You gallop. That's the evidence. That's enough to us. Won't get all into the degrees of metallitude here, but that's what we'd call 'em. And they're a damn fine band, all that explanation of what they play aside. 

We're in for a dark, heavy, black treat with this Swamp Wolf addition to tonight's show. Check this shit out. Man, I need a shower after listening to this. It's like getting spit on by Cronos or something. How does Flagstaff continue to do this?

Finally, the bros of Zombie Tools, a first time Total Fest sponsor, are a feral lot. Often seen with black under their fingernails from working on the forge, bowler hats ala Clockwork Orange, and you know, (pretty good) scotch on their breath. You see, Zombie Tools to the uninitiated is Missoula's own full-on, un-ironic hand-crafted sword company. These guys take this shit so entirely seriously, it's actually pretty incredible. Their whole m.o. is based around the idea that when the shit goes down, eventually you'll run out of ammunition, and will need a reliable, simple weapon, that will effectively be your tool for surviving whatever harshness the world's throwing your way. Not terrible, if a bit err fatalistic, logic. They've got some great youtube vids of their katanas in acton, hacking the shit out of Pabst cans mostly. Thanks Zombie Tools.