Return to the House of Grindcore: Scene Report: The First Annual Texas Grind Fest

"Brenda"

Growl is a combination record store and comic book shop situated in a small strip mall on East Abrams Street in Arlington, Texas. This retail establishment is a subsidiary of the Division Brewing Company, which operates an eatery serving pizza and burgers right next door. In the back, a nondescript garage houses the brewery's modest collection of boilers, barrels, and a bar. Both Growl and Division Brewing share a concrete courtyard with picnic tables, large cable spool tables, and a lighted canopy, providing a secluded outdoor seating area.

The first time I went to Growl was on a scouting mission with my good friend Natalie (formerly of Wildspeaker, currently of BadxMouth) back in March of 2018. We heard shows were being booked there—and not just shows, but punk shows—so we went to size up the promising new venue. We were met with an empty linoleum floor, a large storefront window, and a heavily graffitied female mannequin in a wheelchair with a bandolier of bullets, a hook hand, named "Brenda." It was literally that hardcore meme of Michael and Daryl from The Office of them looking at a wooden pallet on the floor as a stage. Perfect.

Now, some six or seven years later, Growl has become one of the unofficial homes for the local Dallas-Fort Worth nomadic grind scene and touring genre acts. This is largely thanks to Irving Lopez (Cognizant, Trucido, Real Life Ugly, Anomalous Mind Engineering) and other like-minded promoters. The DFW grindcore scene, pre-pandemic, was a modest and honed tribe. Post-pandemic, the scene has bolstered its numbers with an influx of a new generation of grind youths, as well as a fresh overflow from the punk, hardcore, and metal communities.

I have often playfully, yet in all sincerity, referred to Irving Lopez as the hardest-working man in grind. He's currently in enough bands to fill a show bill on their own, works a full-time day job, is a devout family man, and chances are you own at least one—in most cases, several—records that have his name in the technical liner notes.

Through his bands and his recording and sound engineering, Irving has been fortunate enough to tour outside of Texas and the United States, meet a lot of different bands and people, and see numerous grindcore scenes at work. This year, Irving has decided to show the grindcore fans of his hometown some of what he's experienced on the road. "Dallas needs to hear how different scenes interpret this music, whether it's L.A.'s grind-violence, Chicago's goregrind, New York's tech-grind." states Irving in a social media announcement.

Irving Lopez

The Texas Grind Fest is Irving's way of sharing that extended community with the North Texas Metroplex.

"Houston and Dallas are very much into hardcore. So what we're trying to do here, we're trying to make an expansion to a grindcore family."

With the help of DFW punk and grind stalwarts—Will Colley, Jay Gutierrez, and Jakob Barron—Irving has not only aimed to bring some of the top national and international grindcore acts to Dallas, but also put Dallas, Texas on the world map as a more than decent place to stop when bands tour the south. "This is just the start. After laying the foundation with U.S. acts, the goal is to bring international grind acts to Dallas next year." promises Irving.

Irving also hopes the Texas Grind Fest will put focus on the health of the Dallas grindcore scene as a whole. He believes positivity, respect, and crowd inclusivity are not only the keys to keeping The Metroplex grind community fun and thriving, but also the keys to establishing and sustaining a successful annual ongoing music festival. In the past, Dallas has had some grindcore music festivals that eventually turned rancid due to sketchy and abusive promoters that left the bands feeling taken advantage of, as well as leaving the fans with a bad taste in their mouths. Irving's goal is to restore faith in the scene and make sure that the infrastructure is there to accommodate touring bands. All bands get paid and are put up, or as he puts it, "Too many times people get burned by empty promises in the scene. We're doing the opposite: putting every dollar back into bands, the venue, and the people who make it happen. If you're part of this, you're family."

Stefan González

Part of that Dallas grindcore family is Texas Grind Fest 2025 honorary Master of Ceremonies, Stefan González, widely known for his bands, Akkolyte, Orgullo Primitivo, and Imperial Slaughter. Stefan is a renowned jazz drummer, a local grindcore legend in Dallas, and is one of the most kind and generous people I've ever met. I've probably known Stefan over fifteen years or so. Even with legend status, Stefan always supported my fledgling bands or helped us fill a bill for a show. Their frequent Outward Bound Mixtape events showcased an eclectic array of music from the Dallas underground. Stefan was responsible for laying down a lot of roots for the scene in the late 90's and early 2000's, including bringing in bands from outside the state and the country. (I recall a very specific Magrudergrind and Unholy Grave show in a Fort Worth strip mall.) "When I was first coming up here, Stefan was bringing bands, obscure bands, from around the world: Japan, France, Europe," Irving says about Stefan. He adds, "And I hope to keep going."

Bryan Fajardo

Saturday afternoon, the sixth of September, I walked into the calm, yet active, sunbathed courtyard between Growl Records and Division Brewing. At the entrance was a merch table selling entry tickets as well as official Texas Grind Fest posters, T-shirts and event card lanyards that read "Tx Grind Fest Survivor." (I myself was presented with a "Press/Media" lanyard. Days later, my girlfriend made fun of me because I was still so genuinely grateful and touched by the badge.) The courtyard was flanked on either side by vendors. Fold out tables and canopies featured art prints, clothing, patches, pins, jewelry, skateboards, free Narcan, and even oddities. In the center—backed against a tall, staggered, large planked wooden fence—was a platform stage. On either side of the stage the bands made camp on wooden picnic tables that displayed the usual spread of tour shirts, records, stickers, and patches. Hung on the fence, stage right, was a large professionally printed vinyl banner with a list of bands and the duration of their set times. This banner was pure genius and invaluable to someone in my position. The official Texas Grind Fest 2025 lineup included: Puppy Mill (TX), Dried Remains (TX), Winona Grinder (TX), Hematochezia (TX), Cognizant (TX), Cryptic Void (TX), Triage (TX), Shock Withdrawal (CA), Trucidio (TX), Slab (LA), Pavel Chekov (TX/Canada), Moisturizer (RI), Shitbrains (CA), Impulse Noise (WA), Morgue Breath (CA), Organ Failure (IL), Noisy Neighbors (TX), Terminal Lucidity (TX).

The festival set times were scheduled to trade-off between Growl's aforementioned indoor linoleum floor stage and the outdoor elevated stage. The staggered timetable would essentially have one band playing, while the next band would be setting up. This system worked so efficiently that the festival would eventually be ahead by almost an hour.

Just after 2:30 PM the fest began in earnest with the initial sets being made up of some talented up-and-coming DFW local support.

Now, I can assure you that I took my Press/Media credentials very seriously and took photos, video, and notes on every band and every set. Yet, after Googling, "How do you write a music festival article?" I was informed that talking about each and every band might come off as "tedious" and "boring" for the reader. Several articles insisted that I stick to the highlights. So here's my attempt to corral most of my personal "highlights."

Cryptic Void inside
Growl Records

Houston's Cryptic Void put on a hell of a set on the Growl floor. Their acclaimed all-star death-grind is why Texas' Gulf Coast remains hallowed ground for grindcore. I always love seeing the band and feel lucky that it's often in such an intimate setting.

Immediately after Cryptic Void, Triage took the outside stage for their amazing set. I had never seen Triage live before, so I was excited when they were announced for the gig. Having been a big Kill The Client fan during their long tenure, I was stoked to see the next evolution of what could be argued as fundamentally the same band, now featuring Knife Kult bassist and all-around nice guy, Travis Tompkins. Vocalist Champ Morgan (Kill The Client, BLK OPS) was as

Triage Featuring
Mitchell Luna

imposing a frontman as ever. He took time out of the band's set to disparage the likes of ICE and DOGE, warning the crowd that times are coming where simply cheering might not be enough and it might be time to "stand up or get the fuck out of the way." Mitchell Luna of Shock Withdrawal and Maruta fame joined Champ on stage for vocals on one song in what seemed like a rare moment. The set also marked the second of three sets that Bryan Fajardo (Trucido, Noisear, Kill The Client, Gridlink, PLF, Cognizant) would be drumming in at Texas Grind Fest.

Speaking of Shock Withdrawal, they were another band that I was eager to see perform. I really liked Maruta back in the day and I was pleased to see Mitchell Luna behind the mic again. They put on an extremely tight set that I thought was criminally under-attended, but I was grateful to see them. At the end of the night I forgot to get a T-shirt from the band and it legitimately makes me sad whenever I think about it.

Pavel Chekov

A band that I never thought I would see again were my old friends in Pavel Chekov. The band and their vintage communist/Star Trek themed "warp-core" grind only play sporadically nowadays after drummer, Alan Dailey moved from Texas to Canada. Pavel Chekov and my last band came up together years ago and played a lot of shows throughout The Metroplex. They are good dudes and are the best at what they do. I was, however, pleasantly surprised how tight they were given the massive international distance. And it looks like there is more Pavel in the public's future, as their Canadian tour with Endless Swarm starts later this month.

Shitbrains

As the sun set in the western sky and the moon rose in the east, what could possibly be the band I was most looking forward to out of the entire fest started soundcheck on the stage. Shitbrains is one of my favorite bands. I unfortunately missed the band when they were here a few months back. Thankfully I was fortunate enough to be given another chance. The Californian couple's playful set of stop-and-go grindcore was nothing short of an aural treat. If there were a blast beat flavored ice cream, it would be called Shitbrains.

Like so many other musicians on the day, Shitbrains' Emi Tamura played double set duty with her other band from Los Angeles, Morgue Breath. The band was another bucket list band that I didn't think I would ever see. Back dropped by a night sky of light pollution and framed by passing plumes of marijuana smoke, Morgue Breath put on a brutal, albeit, bubbly show.

Finally, San Antonio's own, Noisy Neighbors managed to give possibly the most entertaining set of the evening. Part grindcore set, part stand-up act, part vaudeville routine, Noisy Neighbors brought both the laughs and the blasts. Sardonic cover songs, comically flippant crowd participation, and exaggerated bravado punctuated some of the best and heaviest grindcore in the state. And yes, there were Skittles.

Impulse Noise

As for Growl and Division Brewing, they continue to foster a symbiotic relationship with the DFW grindcore scene. The whole plan of getting bigger or foreign bands out here is reliant on accommodating venues willing to work with promoters. While most venues wouldn't necessarily want punk or grindcore shows—which admittedly can get pretty rowdy—Growl and Division Brewing have embraced these fervent subcultures. Division Brewing even went as far as making an exclusive beer for Texas Grind Fest 2025—Blast Brau Blonde.

The Division Brewing Company bar

I will say that this was possibly the best grindcore show I've attended in recent memory. I don't think I'm alone in this sentiment, as the Texas Grind Fest social media is still being tagged in videos and photos a week later from fans expressing their thankfulness towards the fest and the bands.

Irving's quest for positivity and love in the grind scene seems to be taking root. I was personally overjoyed to see old friends from the before times, as well as members of bands I used to play with—not to mention the current bands I was keen to see perform on stage. While Texas Grind Fest 2025 was nothing wholly new, it was a much-welcomed shot in the arm for grindcore fans in The Metroplex. Irving noticed an opportunity to do something bigger, stating with a humble shrug, "Somebody had to do it".

So, why is Texas Grind Fest so important? After almost a decade since Dallas's last repeating grind or grind adjacent music festival, Irving and company are steadily sowing the seeds for what promises to be a far reaching, well organized annual festival based on solidarity, positivity, and community. While the crowd might not be strictly puritanical "grind freaks," as Irving calls us, the bands will be, and that's vital.

The Dallas-Fort Worth grind scene isn't defined solely by Irving and Texas Grind Fest; shows are happening all the time. The circle pits of scrawny elbows and stretched-out T-shirt necks that I witnessed prove that DFW's younger generation and newer bands are giving the scene a fresh breath of life. While out-of-state and international bands do occasionally come through, this fest might provide a foundation for much more. By nurturing the local Dallas grindcore scene, Texas Grind Fest can only hope to improve itself in the years to come.