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The Electric Highway 2024 Makes First Lineup Announcement

Posted in The Obelisk Presents, Whathaveyou on January 16th, 2024 by JJ Koczan

Canadian metallers Anciients rest atop the bill for The Electric Highway 2024, the Calgary-based three-dayer festival co-presented by The Obelisk along with a slew of others. After the date reveal and ticket-onsale in November, the fest has now begun to unveil its lineup, which is probably fortunate because it’ll be April before you know it. Vancouver’s Dead Quiet and Empress are also included, as well as Darty from Chron Goblin‘s ambient project Musing, the returning hardcore-born heavy of Owls and Eagles and I think a few other repeat offenders. Hell, Anciients played Calgary 420 Fest in 2017, which was the precursor to The Electric Highway, so there’s history here if you want to find it.

There will be more as well, so sit tight. Canadian heavy is its own ecosystem distinct from the US underground, and I always look forward to seeing who’s going to be at The Electric Highway as a great way of finding new bands and checking in on those regulars. I’ve never been to Alberta and don’t harbor any delusions that I’ll be at The Electric Highway — though it’d be fun — but I’m glad to support this fest with this site and dig into some of the finest in heavy that the Great White North (and maybe a few American bands by the time they’re done; you’ll recall last year Sasquatch headlined) has to offer.

The PR wire puts it thusly:

the electric highway poster

The Electric Highway Festival (Calgary, AB) Announces First Round of Bands For 2024 Lineup

w/ Anciients, Dead Quiet, Empress, Flashback, Buffalo Bud Buster and more!

April 4- 6 – Dickens Pub

Festival passes are available at https://theelectrichighway.ca/festivalstore/

Event info: https://www.facebook.com/events/327207160030277

The Electric Highway Festival is excited to announce the first round of bands for the 2024 edition of the festival being held in Calgary, AB on April 4, 5, and 6 at Dickens (1000 9 Ave SW).

Canadian Juno Award-winning Vancouver band Anciients will headline the whole festival. They will be joined by various Western Canadian bands including Dead Quiet, Empress, Flashback, Buffalo Bud Buster, and more.

Anciients (Vancouver)
Dead Quiet (Vancouver)
Empress (Vancouver)
Buffalo Bud Buster (Calgary)
Flashback (Calgary)
Pharm (Kelowna)
Owls & Eagles (Calgary)
Gnarwhal (Yellowknife)
Solid Brown (Calgary)
The Getmines (Vancouver)
Tebby And The Heavy (Edmonton)
Musing (Calgary)
Blacksmith & Brewer (BC Sunshine Coast)
Stone Spear (Kelowna)
Black Daggers (Red Deer)
Atomic Yeti (Saskatoon)
Conjure Hand (Victoria)

Limited Early Bird passes are on sale for $65 until the rest of the bands are announced or the early bird passes sell out. Regular advance passes will be available at that time. There will also be a variety of single-day tickets available as well as 2-day passes.

www.facebook.com/ElectricHighwayFestival/
www.instagram.com/TheElectricHighway
www.TheElectricHighway.ca

Owls and Eagles, Live at The Electric Highway 2023

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Video Premiere: Dead Quiet, “Of Sound and Fury”

Posted in Bootleg Theater on June 24th, 2021 by JJ Koczan

dead quiet

While the hard data tells us that Vancouver is located in British Columbia, tucked neatly on the northern side of the US/Canada border along the Pacific Coast, you might be forgiven for watching/listening to Dead Quiet‘s “Of Sound and Fury” and assuming the band is Swedish. The five-piece issued their third long-player, Truth and Ruin (discussed here), on the tail end of last year’s lost summer, and if they’re looking to remind listeners of the record’s sundry strengths — the Scandi-esque fluidity with which they bring together classic heavy rock sounds and modern production and tonality among them, as heard here — “Of Sound and Fury” is a righteous place to start.

Maybe it’s the organ, or the subtle underpinning of precision in delivery that tips hand to the players’ roots in more aggressive fare, but these two are elements working decidedly in favor of “Of Sound and Fury” and Dead Quiet more generally across Truth and Ruin‘s seven component tracks, weaving in and out of classic metal and various other microgenres en route to the sweeping nine-minute capper “Cold Grey Death,” dropping earworm hooks all the while that bring substance as much as style behind them. Hey kid, you like rock and roll? Here’s some. And they got t-shirts.

I say this as someone who’s had “Of Sound and Fury” on repeat in my stuck-in-my-head mental jukebox for the last couple days: no regrets. The song is honestly enough of a sell in itself, but you’ll see too in the video the five-piece seem to arm up with various weaponry, and I think they might be enacting socialist revolution? One of the dudes they take down looks like Grover Cleveland and the other looks like not-Patrick Bateman from American Psycho, and the back-room dealings of capitalism would seem to be what’s being conveyed as they play games with people’s lives. Legit. Their Jeff Bezos lookalike must have been in space that day, lest we forget our modern-day robber barons.

In any case, the best part is when they’re all standing around at the end and it’s just a second or so, but they’re like, “Okay, now what?” Indeed, gentlemen. With sincerity in my heart, I wish the members of Dead Quiet good luck in forming a new provisional representative government. My understanding is that shit gets tricky.

Enjoy the clip:

Dead Quiet, “Of Sound and Fury” video premiere

Forming in 2014, Dead Quiet established themselves quickly with the release of their debut self titled record in 2015. By the time writing commenced for their follow up record, Grand Rites in 2017, Dead Quiet had found their perfect line up in Kevin Keegan (Barn Burner), Brock MacInnes (Anciients), Mike Grossnickle (Hashteroid) and Jason Dana. The release of Grand Rites on Toronto’s Artoffact Records was followed by two European tours, one of which being direct support for John Garcia (Kyuss), as well as numerous festival appearances including Desertfest Belgium and Into the Void (NL), further cementing the band as one to watch out for.

After a rigorous year of touring, the band had no intention of slowing down and swiftly entered the studio to record their third record: Truth and Ruin. Again teaming up with Artoffact, Truth and Ruin saw the addition of Mike Rosen to the band and further broadened the already keyboard laden sound they’d established on previous efforts. Truth and Ruin proves that work ethic and chemistry can truly refine a band’s sound to what they had always been striving for: heavy instrumentation combined with rich melody and uniquely personal lyricism, making Dead Quiet one of the hottest, must-see bands on the Canadian landscape.

Lineup:
Kevin Keegan – vocals, guitar
Brock MacInnes – guitar
Mike Grossnickle – bass
Mike Rosen – keyboards, backing vocals
Jason Dana – drums

Dead Quiet, Truth and Ruin (2020)

Dead Quiet on Thee Facebooks

Dead Quiet on Bandcamp

Dead Quiet on Spotify

Artoffact Records on Bandcamp

Artoffact Records on Instagram

Artoffact Records website

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Dead Quiet Premiere “Truth and Ruin” Lyric Video; New Album out Sept. 11

Posted in Bootleg Theater on August 13th, 2020 by JJ Koczan

dead quiet (Photo by Milton Stille)

Vancouver’s Dead Quiet will release their third full-length, Truth and Ruin, on Sept. 11 through Artoffact Records. With the advent of “Truth and Ruin,” the title-track of the album, premiering in the video/lyric video below — it’s like a regular video, but also lyrics! — there are now three songs public from the upcoming offering, and they each present some different personality facet of what shape the record might take. To wit, “Forever Unsung” offers organ-laced heavy blues met with post-hardcore crush and a sneaks-into-your-brain hook before they Iron Maiden-out a solo section in classic dual-guitar fashion and turn back skillfully to the verse/chorus to finish. Clever track, and it uses every second of its 4:50 runtime to make its point.

Later in the proceedings comes the six-and-a-half-minute “The Sign of a Sealed Fate”; more spacious in its initial verse, but with an underlying dead quiet truth and ruinrhythmic tension — double-time hi-hat, and so on — that teases the volume push to come. And of course it does come, followed by a surprising keyboardy prog break and huge-sounding, shout-topped, organ-laced shove that leads to a finish of residual guitar and far-back vocals that finish. I’m not sure I’d call it patient since it’s still plenty brash, but there’s a definite loosing of the structural reins happening.

That brings us around to “Truth and Ruin” itself, which again offers a broader beginning, but has a more melancholy feel. The accompanying video takes us through a day in the life of a werewolf as lyrics like “To be alone is to be myself” highlight the alienated impression presented by the visuals. As outwardly arrogant as Dead Quiet might seem at times with Kevin Keegan‘s vocals up front, Truth and Ruin‘s title-cut effectively flips that on its head, shifting with Solace-like efficiency into a thrashier chug and thrust after some quick shouts, tearing into one and then another solos before returning to the hook. So maybe a bit of each of the other two tracks come together in Truth and Ruin, plus metal, plus a bit of downer vibing offset by instrumental triumph. It ends, of course, with a touch of violin, as it would.

Keegan, formerly of Barn Burner, says in the PR wire quote below that he loves a good hook. That affinity serves him and the band well on Truth and Ruin if what they’ve shown off thus far is anything to go by.

Video and more info follows here. Preorders are of course available.

Please enjoy:

Dead Quiet, “Truth and Ruin” lyric video premiere

DEAD QUIET – Truth And Ruin
Title track of Dead Quiet’s third full length album, on Artoffact Records.
Available everywhere September 11, 2020.
Preorder here: https://deadquiet.bandcamp.com/album/truth-and-ruin

From Vancouver, Canada, comes Dead Quiet. The third full-length album, Truth and Ruin, shows the band at its peak, delivering its arena-ready, proto-metal bacchanal with power and flair. Dead Quiet’s dramatic, organ-heavy songs are saturated with respect for the hard rock and heavy metal titans of the late ’70s and early ’80s – there are traces of blazing Deep Purple jams and hellbent Judas Priest bangers – but the band rocks with a prowess all its own. Dead Quiet respects its elders while fully owning its own craft. It is a fine balance, which brings to mind Ghost, among others.

Of new album Truth and Ruin, frontman Kevin Keegan states: “We just wanted to make a record that was relentless. On Grand Rites we took our time and meandered quite a bit but with Truth and Ruin it was more about ‘point and shoot,’ always keeping us and the listener on their toes. I love a good hook. I like the idea of a song that rips but also gets stuck in your head like a good pop song.”

Truth and Ruin was engineered and mixed by Jesse Gander (Japandroids, White Lung) at Rain City Recorders in Vancouver, BC. It was mastered by Alan Douches (Mastodon, Chelsea Wolfe) at West West Side Music in Hudson Valley, NY.

Tracklist:
1) Atoned Deaf
2) Forever Unsung
3) Of Sound and Fury
4) Truth and Ruin
5) Partial Darkness
6) The Sign of a Sealed Fate
7) Cold Grey Death

Lineup:
Kevin Keegan – vocals, guitar
Brock MacInnes – guitar
Mike Grossnickle – bass
Mike Rosen – keyboards, backing vocals
Jason Dana – drums

Dead Quiet, Truth and Ruin (2020)

Dead Quiet on Thee Facebooks

Dead Quiet on Bandcamp

Storming the Base website

Artoffact Records

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Desertfest Belgium 2018: High on Fire Headlining, The Devil and the Almighty Blues, The Well, Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovell, The Oscillation, Dead Quiet and Frayle Join Lineup

Posted in Whathaveyou on August 14th, 2018 by JJ Koczan

The story here is pretty short: ‘Really good lineup gets better.’ The end.

I’m not sure what more one could reasonably as of Desertfest Belgium 2018 that it isn’t already delivering. I mean, seriously. Just look at the names. Festivals happen all the time in Europe — hell, for the last couple years there’s been one through just about each successive week in October, somewhere, in some country, usually with a lot of the same bands. But even with that factored in, how could you look at the names below and not know it’ll be something special?

Even just the circumstances of timing. So many of these bands will have or already have new records out, from High on Fire themselves to YOB, AncestorsThe SkullEagle Twin, CastleSonic WolvesDopethrone, on and on. To have all these groups come together at the same time can only be a win. You know they’ll be fired up, and even those who aren’t directly plying their wares on new records still have stuff recent enough or coming — or, like Acid King, a new lineup — so yeah. It looks absolutely unreal. If you get to go, I’m jealous.

Here’s the latest announcement:

desertfest belgium 2018 poster

HIGH ON FIRE HEADLINES DESERTFEST 2018

The Devil & The Almighty Blues, Oscillation & 4 more

And so the cat’s out of the bag, so to speak… High On Fire is headlining Desertfest 2018 and we couldn’t be more thrilled. In fact, you might call it a fever dream come true! Especially since the band recently announced their new album cum Lemmy tribute ‘Electric Messiah’ to be released just 1 week before the Fest, so we can expect a freshly hot live set.

But of course, the good news doesn’t stop there. We still have a hefty load of names to drop unto you, and we start with The Devil And The Almighty Blues. The Norsemen have made it their mission to follow all the strains of blues that run through the history of rock’n’roll, and we’re totally on board for their killer blues trip.

Replace the blues by the psych, and you could end up with The Oscillation. For ten years Demian Castellanos and his cohorts have made their mark with their unique brand of psychedelic rock that points to everything from krautrock to new wave disco, all drenched in that sweet sweet echo chamber feedback that you love.

Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovell are on board once more with their time machine into a mythical past when hardrock was only just turning to doom, and denim bell-bottoms were not frowned upon in society. From that time they bring along The Well, another keeper of the flame that sparked many a toke in the bonehead freak era.

If you can take a slightly more epic take on the genre, Dead Quiet will fit the bill. Their ‘Grand Rites’ album from end of last year was certainly a trip in many exciting directions. And finally, make sure you don’t miss the unique sounds of Frayle, occult blues with a female lead that draws comparison to anything from Sleep to Portishead.

We’re nearing the finishing line, so all you casual Festers screaming for day tickets will soon get their fill. But of course, there’s nothing like getting the full 3-day fix! So if you can make it, there’s still some combi tickets left at a reduced price – although how long they’ll last, we can’t tell for sure!

http://www.desertfest.be/tickets
https://www.facebook.com/desertfestbelgium/
https://www.facebook.com/events/364607267372737/
https://twitter.com/DesertfestBE

High on Fire, “Electric Messiah” lyric video

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Calgary 420 Fest Lineup: Wo Fat, Black Mastiff, Anciients, Chron Goblin, Mammoth Grove and More to Play

Posted in Whathaveyou on April 6th, 2017 by JJ Koczan

wo fat necro blanca photography

Appropriately enough, the Calgary 420 Fest starts on April 20 and will feature a host of stoner and other heavy types of acts across its three-day stretch. Among the notables is Wo Fat (above), who’ll be making their debut appearance in Canada as headliners for the final evening, along with Black Mastiff and Anciients on the nights preceding, and a slew of native Canadian bands to go along with, from Mammoth Grove and Chron Goblin to the sludgy likes of Lavagoat and the classic heavy rock of La Chinga. There’s also a bunch of weedian whathaveyou going on as a part of it, as the PR wire details below, food trucks and a beard contest, so seems like a good time on any number of levels.

Details follow:

calgary 420 fest lineup

Calgary’s 420 Music & Arts Festival Announce Concert Line Up w/ Wo Fat, Anciients, Black Mastiff and more!

April 20, 21, 22 @ Distortion
3828 MacLeod Trail S., Calgary, Alberta T2G 2R2

Big Rock Brewery & METALHEADS UNITED Presents the 420 Music & Arts Festival at Distortion – Live Music Venue in Calgary, AB, Canada, April 20, 21 and 22, 2017.

The 420 Music & Arts Festival is a three day celebration featuring 22 Stoner Rock, Desert Rock, Doom & Sludge Metal and Fuzzy, Kick Ass Rock n Roll bands surrounding the culture that is 420. Headlining this inaugural year all the way from Dallas, TX for their first Canadian performance, stoner legends WO FAT, Vancouver’s ANCIIENTS and Edmonton/ Vancouver based BLACK MASTIFF.

In addition to all the rad music, festival attendees will have the opportunity to view and purchase the work of select local artists, artisans and craftsman at the 420 Expo, Saturday, April 22 at Distortion from 10am-4pm. Interspersed with vendors of interesting and eclectic wares will be information on medical marijuana and hemp products and even more 420 enthusiasts. Select vendors, artists and marijuana related companies will be available in the evenings at the festival as well. NORML (National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws) will be in attendance to answer questions.

You will be able to indulge your desire for munchies with a variety delectable culinary creations from some of Southern Alberta’s best food trucks. If that isn’t enough, each night of the festival there will be an opportunity to show off your glorious facial hair in our beard contest. Celebrity judges will decide who moves onto the final round on the last night of the festival where one beard will rule them all!

* Big Rock Beer is exclusive beer for the 420 Music & Arts Festival

* 420 Music & Arts Festival will be the very first Canadian performance by Dallas, TX stoner rock legends Wo Fat

Festival Lineup:

Overall Festival Event Link (Main Link) www.facebook.com/events/226953177757584/

Wednesday, April 19 – Pre-Fest – FREE SHOW + Advance Pass Pick Up

Ten Dead Crow
Terminal Human Condition

Thursday, April 20
FB Event www.facebook.com/events/240616399708945/

Black Mastiff (Edmonton, AB/Vancouver, BC)
HighKicks (Calgary, AB)
La Chinga (Vancouver, BC)
The Electric Revival (Calgary, AB)
Buffalo Bud Buster (Calgary, AB)
Hypnopilot (Calgary, AB)
Set & Stoned (Crossfield, AB)

Friday, April 21
FB event www.facebook.com/events/1702426476734012/

Anciients (Vancouver, BC)
Dead Quiet (Vancouver, BC)
Lavagoat (Saskatoon, SK)
Orbital Express (Regina, SK)
ChronoBot (Prince Albert, SK)
Lordosis (Calgary, AB)
Hunted By Ravens (Red Deer, AB)

Saturday, April 22
FB event www.facebook.com/events/795080193963870/

Wo Fat (Dallas, Texas, USA) First ever appearance in Canada
Chron Goblin (Calgary, AB)
Cowpuncher (Calgary, AB)
Mammoth Grove (Calgary, AB)
NVGR (Nikki Valentine & Gypsy Riders) (Calgary, AB)
Black Thunder (Regina, SK)
Brown Dwarf (Red Deer, AB)
Bazaraba (Calgary, AB)

Ticket links:

Available at http://www.420musicandartsfestival.ca/store-2/ and on FB page on the festival store https://store10885031.ecwid.com/.

https://www.facebook.com/events/226953177757584
http://www.420musicandartsfestival.ca/
http://www.twitter.com/420FestivalYYC
http://www.facebook.com/420MusicAndArtsFestival
http://www.instagram.com/420MusicandArtsFestival

Wo Fat, Midnight Cometh (2016)

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