I confess that I'm not always up on the current happenings in local metal. The world of metal and punk has remained strong and thriving in Washington for a long time, though it has been increasingly relegated to insular communities who always know when and where the great shows are happening. Metal shows are so prevalent in Tacoma that they may be taken for granted, instead of being given the spotlight some of these bands deserve.

NXNW Metal Fest aims to correct this by devoting three whole days to a dizzying assortment of bands, ranging from hardcore to mainstream metal to death and speed metal. From Friday, July 22, through Sunday, July 24, Sixth Avenue - specifically the Backstage Bar & Grill - will be the absolute loudest place in Tacoma. Put together by Lonnie Local and Chris Cricket Johnson, and sponsored by KISW Metal Shop, NXNW will be an all-ages event with a bar for those older than 21, with discount piercings being done by Johnson, courtesy of Action Tattoo.

"Lonnie Local approached me and said that he wanted to put this big metal festival together, and kind of mold it after South By Southwest, down in Texas," says Johnson. "Everything kind of fell in place. Everyone wanted to jump on it, and now we got a whole shit-ton of bands that wanted to play."

Boy, he's not kidding. The sheer volume (er, that is, number) of bands participating in the festival is staggering. More than 40 bands are listed on the bill, with a cautionary note saying that more may be added. Bands from all over Washington will be participating, including bands familiar to those oblivious to metal (me) like I Defy, Monsters Scare You and Osama Bin Rockin. With this enormous lineup, NXNW Metal Fest easily qualifies as one of the larger music festivals in Tacoma - which may be a testament to the quantity and popularity of metal in the Northwest.

"I got wrapped up in the metal scene," says Johnson. "I've got a lot of friends in metal bands. I'm just that guy that seems to know everybody, so sometimes a benefit show needs to go on, or a birthday party, so somebody will hit me up and I'll make a couple phone calls and we can make a show. ... This is definitely the biggest thing I've ever had my hands in."

Previously, we reported that NXNW would take place at Uncle Sam's Bar & Grill in Spanaway, but the venue was recently changed.

"It's been changed to the Backstage Bar & Grill," says Johnson. "There were issues with the liquor permits at Uncle Sam's, with regards to making it all-ages. But Backstage jumped right on, and they said that they've got it covered. It's going to be a lot smoother now."

As insular as the metal scene is, Johnson hopes that the NXNW Metal Fest can help introduce people to new music.

"We're hoping that something like the NXNW Metal Fest can expose (these bands) to a broader audience, and open people's eyes," says Johnson. "There's a lot of people out there trying their best, you know? Bands come and go, left and right, so the scene's always changing. Not everything is what everybody desires, but we've got some really good bands on the marquee who are killing it, locally."

In all likelihood, NXNW Metal Fest will be a success. On Facebook, more than 750 have said they will attend - and that's just on dumb old Facebook. And I hope that it does succeed. The generation of local music needs to be a perpetual motion machine, and the metal crowd seems to have really figured that out. They are some of the most supportive music fans out there, and they'll make sure that they see NXNW come around a second time.

NXNW Metal Fest

July 22 4-11:55 p.m., July 23-24 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., $8-$10
Backstage Bar & Grill, 6409 Sixth Ave., Tacoma
253.564.0149

Schedule (subject to change)

Friday, July 22

• Charlie Drown, 11:15 p.m.
• Prepare The Bride, 10:30 p.m.
• The Fool, 10 p.m.
• Crutches, 9:15 p.m.
• Parley/Party Foul, 8:30 p.m.
• RHEMA, 7:45 p.m.
• Devils Of Loudun, 7 p.m.
• Pariahs Revolt, 6:15 p.m.
• Parley Party Foul, 5:30 p.m.
• Thief River Falls, 4:45 p.m.
• A Solemn Goodbye, 4 p.m.

Saturday, July 23

• Keeping Secrets, 10:45 p.m.
• Monsters Scare You, 10 p.m.
• Ellis Armor, 9:15 p.m.
• Crowd War, 8:45 p.m.
• We Were Dreamers, 8 p.m.
• Plague Ships, 7:15 p.m.
• Athena, 6:30 p.m.
• From Deeper Seas, 5:45 p.m.
• They Charge Like Warriors, 5 p.m.
• I Delilah, 4:15 p.m.
• Vessels, 3:30 p.m.
• Dead Pilots, 2:45 p.m.
• The Day I Ate the Moon, 2 p.m.
• Grizzly, 1:15 p.m.
• It Was Written in the Sky, 12:30 p.m.
• Dismember The Dream, 11:45 p.m.
• Tatarus, 11 p.m.

Sunday, July 24

• Black Heart Blight, 10:15 p.m.
• Curse of the North, 9:30 p.m.
• Super Happy Story Time Land, 8:45 p.m.
• SIN, 8:15 p.m.
• Lenore, 8 p.m.
• Deathbed Confession, 7:15 p.m.
• I Defy, 6:30 p.m.
• A City Screams in Terror, 5:45 p.m.
• No Living Witness, 5 p.m.
• This Is Treason, 4:15 p.m.
• The Scarlet Escape, 3:30 p.m.
• Corpus Mortum, 2:45 p.m.
• Osama Bin Rockin 2 p.m.
• Deathbed Confessions, 1:15 p.m.
• GLV, 12:30 p.m.