Local Option brand ambassador Alexi Front has been into heavy metal for a long time. In 2001—when he was just 15—he and some friends started the zine Pivotal Rage, writing about all types of extreme music but focusing on death metal from Sweden. By 2004 Pivotal Rage had evolved into the label Pivotal Rockordings, releasing records by Swedish bands such as Sonic Syndicate and Blinded Colony. (Fun fact: former Blinded Colony vocalist Karl Johan Schuster, now better known as producer Shellback, has worked on songs by the likes of Taylor Swift, Kesha, Usher, and Carly Rae Jepsen.) As Front’s label grew, he began traveling from Chicago to Sweden to throw his bands a party.
The Scorched Tundra festival debuted in 2011 in Gothenburg, and it’s grown steadily over the years. To celebrate its success, Front is bringing the heaviness to his hometown in 2016. Scorched Tundra VI comes to the Empty Bottle on Fri 9/2 and Sat 9/3, showcasing top-shelf metal bands in a wide variety of subgenres. Minneapolis black-metal collective False play the first day and Swedish trio Monolord headline the second, but there are plenty of locals too: DIY doom maniacs Bongripper, postmetal giants the Atlas Moth, and thrash weirdos Oozing Wound (who debut their new drummer, Casey Marnocha of Milwaukee psych band Catacombz, at this show).
Because Front’s day job is in beer, Scorched Tundra VI will also feature exclusive drafts from Local Option Bierwerker, the brewing arm of the bar that employs him.
Check out the full lineup below.
Fri 9/2
Bongripper
False
Oozing Wound
Sat 9/3
Monolord
The Atlas Moth
Beastmaker
Sweat Lodge
Tickets are on sale for the festival at $15 per night, and on Wed 6/15 beginning at 7 PM you can stop into Local Option and buy them without service fees—which will also give you a chance to sample the bar’s impressive beer list.