Travgina Marmuff
Cries at The Notebook
In an effort to appeal to a wider demographic with its live music performances, Common Grounds will be hosting its first heavy metal festival on Saturday, April 6.
While the campus’s chem-free coffeehouse is known primarily for quiet acoustic music on weekends, Gable House Grindfest is sure to bring volume, as well as blood, sweat and brutality. “Honestly I’m a little bit tired of these singer-songwriters we have every Friday night,” said house member Audrey Platt ’15. “I’m ready to open this fucking pit up.”
Common Grounds has taken advantage of its sizable budget to bring in some of the most prominent extreme metal acts in the country while still offering free admission.
Washington, D.C.-based grindcore band Pig Destroyer will be headlining the festival.
The band will be playing its seminal work Terrifyer in its entirety to celebrate the album’s tenth anniversary. Concertgoers will have to be careful not to spill their Italian sodas when moshing to songs like “Carrion Fairy” and “Towering Flesh.”
“Piggy D are one of the best bands around right now,” said Lily Iserson ’17. “I’m probably gonna get a concussion from headbanging.”
A number of veteran death metal groups from all over the U.S. will join Pig Destroyer at Grindfest. The bill includes Seattle’s Drawn and Quartered, California’s Impaled, Chicago natives Gorgasm and legendary Florida band Autopsy.
Chris Reifert, the vocalist and drummer of Autopsy, expressed excitement about Grindfest in a statement to the Voice. “We’ve never played Wooster before,” he said, “but the crowds in Cleveland have been pretty sick. I bet the college kids will be ready for it to rain blood in Gable House.”
The festival is expected to bring in a larger audience than a typical Common Grounds performance, including many students who have rarely been to Gable House. “I’ve never been to Common Grounds before,” said Sam Corman Penzel ’16, “but I’m so stoked for this show. The drummer from Impaled is siiiiiick.”
Because Common Grounds is a chemical-free program, no alcohol will be served. However, the program will offer half-off prices on Italian sodas, milkshakes and coffee.
The performers will play in the same living room space that Gable normally uses, with some couches removed for crowd space.
Merchandise will be available in the television room. Security and Protective Services (SPS) will be on hand to make sure that fire codes aren’t violated and the audience members are not hurt.
“I’ve never guarded a music festival before,” said Director of SPS Steven Glick, “but I’m excited. It’s a great opportunity for the students. I just hope they don’t hurt themselves slamming to Gorgasm.”