Posted in Bootleg Theater on September 21st, 2023 by JJ Koczan
Oxford-based heavy burl riffers Desert Storm released their sixth full-length, Death Rattle (review here), earlier this year through APF Records. This is the second video premiere I’ve done from the record — the first was with the review, which is why I’m not spamming you with the link right now — behind that for “Bad Trip,” and, well, if they asked me to do a third, I probably would.
Here’s why: Desert Storm are among the dudeliest bands I cover on this site. You hear Death Rattle or anything going back to their 2010 debut, Forked Tongues (review here) — that’s right, I’ve been writing about these guys for over 12 years now — and you have no doubt that the parties behind it are dudes. From the guttural vocals of Matthew Ryan through Ryan Cole‘s guitar, Matthew Dennett‘s bass and Elliot Cole‘s drumming, and across different lineups, they have been no less consistent in this regard than in the growing quality of their songwriting, their expanding creative reach, and their maturity as performers.
Gender issues and gender expression — the performance of gender — have come into my life recently in a way that I never anticipated, and I find I’m thinking about these things differently than I used to. What is masculine? What does femininity look like? I’ve had occasion to examine these questions from a new point of view, as a parent, as an adult, rather than being a young (or old) person trying to figure something out about myself. But I’ve never been particularly ‘manly.’ I can move furniture, because I’m big, but that’s about as far as it goes, and maybe I find Desert Storm‘s expressed hyper-dudeness as a kind of fascinating, unconscious declaration of themselves. They border on chestbeating, but I know they’re on the right side of the line there, because if they weren’t, I wouldn’t have had words to say about them for the last decade-plus. Helps when the band kicks ass, just about always.
“Salt of the Earth” crunches with force and purpose, and if you dig the clip premiering below — and I hope you do — the full Death Rattle stream is below, courtesy of Desert Storm‘s Bandcamp. The band’s Nov. live dates are in there as well.
Here you go:
Desert Storm, “Salt of the Earth” video premiere
Taken from Desert Storm’s new album Death Rattle, released by APF Records 31st March 2023.
“Salt of the Earth” Recorded and mixed at Woodworm Studios, Oxfordshire UK, between winter of 2021 and summer of 2022 by Steve “Geezer” Watkins. Mastered in September 2022 by Brad Boatright at Audiosiege, Portland OR, USA. All music written by Desert Storm. All lyrics writted by Matthew Ryan. Artwork design by David Paul Seymour. Layout by Dominic Sohor.
Desert Storm UK Tour Dates 23.09.23 | Bristol | The Gryphon 29.09.23 | Hull | Polar Bear Music Club 30.09.23 | Manchester | Riffolution Festival 05.01.24 | Southampton | The Joiners 06.01.24 | London | The Black Heart 07.01.24 | Sheffield | Corporation 23.03.24 | Oxford | Buried In Smoke Festival
Desert Storm is – Matthew Ryan – Vocals Ryan Cole – Guitars Elliot Cole – Drums & Percussion Matthew Dennett – Bass
Having marked their 15th anniversary two years ago, Oxford semi-aggro heavy rockers Desert Storm will issue their sixth album, Death Rattle, on March 31 through respected purveyor APF Records. The occasion also brought some change, as concurrent to their celebratory tour — also supporting their last album, 2020’s Omens (discussed here) — the veteran outfit swapped bassists, bringing Matthew Dennett (also of Battalions) in to replace Chris Benoist, who’d been with them at least since 2010’s debut album, Forked Tongues (review here), and probably longer, and also stripped down their lineup, moving from two guitarists to one in bidding farewell to Chris White (who also handled keys, backing vocals and some bass).
That leaves vocalist Matthew Ryan, guitarist Ryan Cole and drummer Elliot Cole (the latter two, who, yes, are twins, also of Wall and the recently-hiatus’ed The Grand Mal) as the remaining founders of a band that up till that point had managed to keep its lineup steady all the while. Longtime followers of Desert Storm may note some shift in dynamic in the direct one-to-the-other in comparing the nine-song/47-minute Death Rattle to its predecessor, but anyone concerned about some lack of impact as a result of the missing guitar need not fret — it’s called layering, as heard in the layered lead lines of “Druid’s Heath” — as there’s still heavy to spare in Desert Storm‘s sound, and perhaps a bit more flexibility around that than there’s been previously.
But the truth is even that’s more a continuation of the steady expansion of sound that’s been taking place all the while in Desert Storm rather than some radical shift brought on by a specific event. That’s not to downplay what either Benoist or White brought to the band, just to say that Desert Storm have been about more than boozy Southern-style burl ‘n’ plunder for years now and Death Rattle continues to move forward. “Master of None” provides a reassuringly weighted opening, a big swing in the drums behind the relatively straightforward, stage-ready rocker, catchy and punchy in kind in its hook and hinting in the melody of its bridge at some of the range that fleshes out beginning with second track (and lead single) “Cheyne Stoking,” also the longest inclusion at 7:46.
With no shortage of crash and thud behind in Elliot Cole‘s drumming, building tension that’s carried over from the leadoff and opening wide as it moves into its midsection, the band move fluidly through a progressive-tinged bombast, Ryan audibly pushing himself vocally to add to the melody around the three-minute mark as much as he brings to the headbanger-chugging crunch just half a minute later after the next turn. “Death Rattle” has a hook of its own and is emblematic of many of the moves Desert Storm make throughout Death Rattle, whether it’s the way the later “Insomniac” bravely lets go of its massive, intense and guttural beginning to shift into a long and relatively minimal stretch before coming back not quite at full oomph for a long march and fadeout, or the acoustic-underpinned album centerpiece “Salt of the Earth,” with its trades in volume and intertwining layers of fuzz and melody.
As “Melatone” touches on post-rock in its own floating layers of guitar — if you told me White was actually on the record alongside Ryan Cole, I’d believe you, but the point about the more open sound stands — and echoes the patient intro and subdued finish of the earlier “Bad Trip” (video premiering below), the sense that Desert Storm are perhaps letting the songs breathe a bit more becomes all the more an essential facet of Death Rattle. Even set next to, say, “The Path of Most Resistance” from Omens, the band in their maturity seem comfortable in pulling back on the onslaught factor — in places, lest we forget the frustrated mania that launches “Insomniac” or the wash of crash behind the final chorus of “Cheyne Stoking,” let alone the payoff of “Bad Trip” itself — and that also lets the distinguishing fuzz of “Melatone” and the crush/drift duality of the penultimate “Self Deprecation” have a richer context in which to unfold. Death Rattle, then, becomes not a story of what Desert Storm have lost, but the manner in which they’ve been able to stay on the path of their overarching progression despite the changes in their makeup.
Taken as a whole, Death Rattle is their most expansive offering to date, and maintains the strength of songwriting that’s been so consistent throughout their career while stepping with characteristic boldness onto new-feeling stylistic ground. If there’s a hiccup in the material from bringing Dennett in on bass, I haven’t found it, and as the record unfolds from “Master of None” into the more complex fare that follows, the band come across as well in control of both where their material is going, how it’s getting there, and — perhaps most importantly — why.
They close Death Rattle with the 2:42 instrumental “New Dawn,” which sweeps in on atmospheric guitar and percussion that still has some density of stomp behind; a desert-bluesy vibe without being blues or desert rock. Acoustic guitar returns under the electrics and there’s a vague sense of threat in the tension of its more active parts, but the guitars let it go gently at around two and a half minutes in and Desert Storm finish in a way that’s not so much unlike “Rebirth” from the last album (save for not having vocals), but more efficiently establishes its mood.
It becomes an ending representative in affect if not a total summary of how Death Rattle functions, and underscores the point that Desert Storm, at this stage in their tenure, know who they are and what they want to do as a unit, even as that idea evolves with time. One tends to make note of titles that could be interpreted as endings for the band in question, and Death Rattle — recorded and mixed by Steve “Geezer” Watkins at Woodworm Studios in Oxfordshire — certainly fits that bill, but whether or not it’s last rites for Desert Storm personally, the scope and sense of craft they bring forth is a triumph for them as a group and feels like a level of realization they’ve been working toward for years now. If they keep it going, so much the better.
The video premiere for “Bad Trip” is on the player below, followed by some comment from the band, the preorder link, tour dates and whatnot from the PR wire.
Please enjoy:
Desert Storm, “Bad Trip” video premiere
Matthew Ryan on “Bad Trip”:
“What happened quite naturally during the writing process for Bad Trip, was something just clicked. The thoughts and emotions associated just felt so familiar. It was an obvious choice at the time. This is a Eulogy about a great man who the band knew fondly. March 2023 marks the tenth year of his premature passing, and so it felt fitting to pay tribute by releasing Death Rattle this month. He was a thinker, was studying philosophy and was a self-professed psychonaut. He joined us on tour in our formative years and we loved having him on the road. We admired him and cared a lot about him, has been in our thoughts and our liner notes, but it is high time we immortalised him through song. As we get older, we think about our life experiences as well as his own that he is missing out on. Not able to join us in the journey through life, to see us wed, with families, large milestones and celebrations. He is sorely missed. The title itself refers to a particularly hairy moment in his history where we learned that the intensity of blotter acid is far easier to regulate than that of concentrated liquid acid. It was understood that a single droplet would be sufficient for an intense hallucinogenic experience, however, to mark the final trip of the bottle, somebody decided to lick the glass pipette.”
Desert Storm is a four-piece progressive metal band, which has been wielding crushing riffs and grooves into earholes around the world for the past 15 years. 31st March 2023 will see the release of their new album ‘Death Rattle’ out worldwide on APF Records (Video Nasties, Possessor, Battalions). In 2023 they will tour extensively to support the release of ‘Death Rattle’.
DESERT STORM ‘DEATH RATTLE’ EUROPEAN TOUR 31.03.23 | UK | Oxford | o2 Academy 2 01.04.23 | NL | Arnhem | Willemeen 02.04.23 | BE | Retie | Cafe Bazaar 03.04.23 | DE | Hamburg | Bar 227 04.04.23 | NL | Den Haag | Paard Cafe 05.04.23 | NL | Eindhoven | Effenaar 06.04.23 | DE | Dresden | Chemiefabrik 07.04.23 | CZ | Prague | Modra Vopice 08.04.23 | SK | Kosice | Collosseum 09.04.23 | PL | Katowice | Katofonia 10.04.23 | DE | Furth | Kunstkeller 027 11.04.23 | BE | Antwerp | Kids Rhythm n blues kaffee 12.04.23 | DE | Aachen | Musikbunker 20.05.23 | UK | London | The Dome 08.09.23 | NO | Stavanger | Checkpoint Charlie 09.09.23 | NO | Sandnes | Tribute 10.09.23 | NO | Oslo | Brewgata 30.09.23 | UK | Manchester | Riffolution Festival 17.11.23 | NL | Amsterdam | The Cave 18.11.23 | NL | Coevorden | MFC
Desert Storm is – Matthew Ryan – Vocals Ryan Cole – Guitars Elliot Cole – Drums & Percussion Matthew Dennett – Bass
Posted in Whathaveyou on February 8th, 2023 by JJ Koczan
Last year, Oxford four-piece Desert Storm celebrated their 15th anniversary, and the impending APF Records issue of their new album, Death Rattle, and the concurrent tour that starts with a March 31 hometown release show would seem to double-down on their commitment to the ideal. They’ve got a couple runs lined up throughout this year — they’ll be in Norway in September, the Netherlands in November, etc. — and that’s about right for the band, whose hard-hitting approach is reaffirmed amid a played-up progressive flourish in the new single “Cheyne Stoking,” for which you can see a fairly disturbing video at the bottom of this post.
I try not to be too superstitious generally, but my eyebrows always go up at least a little when a band inadvertently references a demise, since I tend to believe that all art is on some level about itself. There are a lot of final albums with death or departure in the title, is all. Plenty without, too, but if Death Rattle was to be the final statement from Desert Storm, the band by no means owe anyone anything. They’ve consistently put everything they’ve got into what they do, and if you can’t respect that I’ve got nothing for you. I haven’t heard the new album yet, but I look forward to doing so in good time.
Meanwhile, the PR wire has preorders, tour dates, and copious narrative, blessings and peace upon it:
DESERT STORM ANNOUNCE NEW ALBUM ‘DEATH RATTLE’
RELEASED 31ST MARCH 2023 (APF RECORDS) / SHARE FIRST SINGLE
Desert Storm is a four-piece progressive metal band, which has been wielding crushing riffs and grooves into earholes around the world for the past 15 years.
Hailing from Oxford, the city of screaming spires, Desert Storm deliver their own unique brand of heavy music. Their sound is loud, punishing and unforgiving, but also woven with elation and electrical ecstasy.
31st March 2023 will see the release of their new album ‘Death Rattle’ out worldwide on APF Records (Video Nasties, Possessor, Battalions). Vocalist Matt Ryan states, “Death Rattle is an album that leans to Desert Storm’s strengths in songwriting ability. It is cohesive and flows with each song telling an individual tale, bound by common topics throughout. Genre traversing, musically progressing from the extreme and hard to softer palettes, moments of the ethereal. The light and dark shades are synonymous with the Desert Storm sound, as that which is completely light or dark is neither truly without contrast. This is true also for the lyrics which span thematically. The core string section of two guitars and single bass are complemented by an array of other instruments throughout the album, but act as a solid foundation for heavy grooves and riffs. Death Rattle is best served loud.”
The album was recorded & mixed at the beautiful Woodworm Studios in Oxfordshire by Steve ‘Geezer’ Watkins. The studio used to be owned by legendary folk band Fairport Convention, and in recent years has seen the likes of Tony Iommi & Rob Halford recording there.
Once the album was recorded and mixed, it was sent to Portland, Oregon, USA for Brad Boatright at Audiosiege to master (Torche, Nails, High on Fire). The artwork is by David Paul Seymour & layout by Dominic Sohor.
Commenting on first single ‘Cheyne Stoking’, Matt adds, “Cheyne Stoking is about the death trip that occurs in all of us, moments before we die. As the pineal gland just straight dumps what DMT remains into the body to invoke the deepest dreamlike experience, otherwise referred to as the near-death experience. Lyrics drawing partially from ingestion of synthesized DMT and some imagination as it differs to what is reported of the actual death experience. Thoughts and memories come to the forefront of the mind, and it is reportedly like living everything all at once before the final curtain call. The lyrics are not cryptic, they quite explicitly describe what we imagine to be the experience. Cheyne stokes breathing is also known as the death rattle. This is where the breath becomes irregular and raspy in the final moments before death. This seemed a fitting title for the track and subsequently the album.”
In some towns you have a music scene to work with and in others, you have to make the scene around you. Desert Storm built the Oxford scene themselves. Launched into the world in 2007, Desert Storm’s mix of progressive metal and stoner doom was underpinned with a driving, pure rock ‘n’ roll strut. It’s a formula which makes for a reliably arse-kicking band.
After testing the waters with their 2008 self-titled EP, Desert Storm truly came into their own in time for their debut full length, Forked Tongues in 2010; a radically tighter band on said record and finally beginning to capture the force of their live shows. It’s an upward trend that carried through their two follow ups Horizontal Life and Omniscient respectively.
Perhaps that evolution in sound on record is through their consistency in touring. Always taking their wares on the road, operation Desert Storm has been in full effect on tours with the likes of Karma to Burn and Nashville Pussy, as well as when sharing the stage with bands such as Orange Goblin, Weedeater and The Atomic Bitchwax.
By the time of 2018’s Sentinels [APF011], Desert Storm had found a refined sound. More “oomph” driving the power behind the band than in any previous outing, tastier riffs and more viscidity throughout the record, it captured a band at the top of their game; road hardened and ready to get stuck in. Whether it’s the springy, stoner stomp of ‘Drifter’, or the verging on thrash moments seen in ‘Too Far Gone’ or everything in between, this was THE Desert Storm album so far.
But we didn’t bet against them topping those heights when the next album came around, and we were right not to do so. 2020’s Omens became their piece de la resistance. In 2022 Desert Storm won an HRH Award, in the Stoner Lords category, beating off stiff competition from Black Rainbows, Kadavar and Green Lung.
Unable to tour it due to the pandemic, work commenced on a new record which has resulted in ‘Death Rattle’, their greatest effort yet.
Over the years Desert Storm have been out on countless headline tours and have toured and shared the stages across the UK & Europe with many incredible bands including Crowbar, Orange Goblin, Karma To Burn, Red Fang, Corrosion of Conformity, CKY, American Headcharge, Conjurer and Raging Speedhorn to name a few. In 2023 they will tour extensively to support the release of ‘Death Rattle’.
DESERT STORM ‘DEATH RATTLE’ EUROPEAN TOUR 31.03.23 | UK | Oxford | o2 Academy 2 01.04.23 | NL | Arnhem | Willemeen 02.04.23 | BE | Retie | Cafe Bazaar 03.04.23 | DE | Hamburg | Bar 227 04.04.23 | NL | Den Haag | Paard Cafe 05.04.23 | NL | Eindhoven | Effenaar 06.04.23 | DE | Dresden | Chemiefabrik 07.04.23 | CZ | Prague | Modra Vopice 08.04.23 | SK | Kosice | Collosseum 09.04.23 | PL | Katowice | Katofonia 10.04.23 | DE | Furth | Kunstkeller 027 11.04.23 | BE | Antwerp | Kids Rhythm n blues kaffee 12.04.23 | DE | Aachen | Musikbunker 20.05.23 | UK | London | The Dome 08.09.23 | NO | Stavanger | Checkpoint Charlie 09.09.23 | NO | Sandnes | Tribute 10.09.23 | NO | Oslo | Brewgata 30.09.23 | UK | Manchester | Riffolution Festival 17.11.23 | NL | Amsterdam | The Cave 18.11.23 | NL | Coevorden | MFC
Desert Storm is – Matthew Ryan – Vocals Ryan Cole – Guitars Elliot Cole – Drums & Percussion Matthew Dennett – Bass
Posted in Whathaveyou on January 31st, 2023 by JJ Koczan
This looks utterly doable. You get into London maybe Friday morning, find your way to Hackney and the Oslo venue in time for the start, check out a few killers on Friday, then spend Saturday and Sunday fully immersed in the front-to-back, digging on the variety mostly of London’s own heavy underground, but certainly from some outside as well. I kind of feel like every time Slomatics book a show at this point I end up writing about it one way or the other — they mostly play fests, so it’s almost true — but along the top line here with them is Gnome — as seen on many 2023 lineups — Conan and Esoteric. That’s a strong argument already, but with the likes of Josiah and Desert Storm and Old Horn Tooth further down the bill there’s more to dig into than headliners to be sure. If you haven’t heard Goblinsmoker yet and want a tutorial on UK sludge, they’re glad to offer.
If I had more money than gawd and fewer responsibilities than I do, this would be the kind of thing I’d pop over to hang out at. It’s not about big bands or any kind of pretense or whatever. It’s just a killer assemblage playing out over what’ll be a good weekend for those fortunate enough to see it. Some familiar, some newer acts, just the way it should be. Nothing more to ask.
Tickets are available, and the venue’s right by Hackney Central train station and there’s a Travelodge there and a Tesco down the road, so if you’re looking to set up shop coming in from out of town, it’s doable. Full lineup follows:
We’re back in the ring to take another swing!
London Doom Collective are proud to bring you the best of the underground doom/stoner/sludge with Master of the Riff II
Posted in Whathaveyou on October 26th, 2021 by JJ Koczan
Congratulations to Oxford, UK, heavybringers Desert Storm on the impending celebration of their 15th anniversary. Looks like it’ll come with a new album too, so all the better. The band are in the studio now-ish, at least judging by the look of the pictures they posted a couple days ago on the social medias, and what will be the follow-up to 2020’s Omens (discussed here) — they’re right on target with an album on every even year — will also mark the first appearance of bassist Matthew Dennett (also Battalions) with the five-piece, who steps in for Chris Benoist. Benoist, meanwhile, is getting a send-off at the hometown show, so the transition will actually take place on stage, though if I’m not mistaken Dennett has already done a couple gigs with the band as well. In any case, it’s nice when someone can leave a band and it’s not a fight or a hard-feelings thing and they actually get a chance to say goodbye. Kudos on being civilized, you riffy bastards.
I haven’t seen a target release date for the album yet, but will keep an eye. In addition to the February and March dates, Desert Storm also play at Desertfest London and at Riff Fest in Bolton. The full slate is as follows:
Desert Storm – 15th Anniversary Tour
Pleased to announce 2022 marks the 15 year anniversary of Desert Storm. To celebrate the occasion we have some tour dates in place…
***The Oxford date will be a special show where half the set will be with our new bassist Matt Dennett and half with Chris Benoist, his last show with us, so lets give him a great send off! (Tix from o2 website) ***
We’re happy to announce Matthew Dennett to the Desert Storm family as our new bass player. He brings great power, energy and tone to the band, and we are really looking forward to having him in the band and on the next album, which we start tracking next month.
A few of you will know him as bassist of Battalions. Dennett will still be playing for them as well as Desert Storm, they are a great band and friends of ours and the last thing we wanted to do was poach him / step on their toes…
PLEASE NOTE Birmingham show subject to change…
Support on selected dates from the awesome Battalions, Suns of Thunder and Regulus
TOUR DATES –
16.02.22 | UK | Bristol | The Crofters Rights 17.02.22 | UK | Cardiff | Clwb Ifor Bach 18.02.22 | UK | Manchester | factory251 19.02.22 | UK | Edinburgh | Bannermans Bar 20.02.22 | UK | Newcastle | Trillians Rock Bar 21.02.22 | UK | Leeds | Temple Of Boom Leeds 22.02.22 | UK | Blackpool | Waterloo Music Bar Blackpool 23.02.22 | UK | Birmingham | The Victoria 24.02.22 | UK | Milton Keynes | The Craufurd Arms (Live Music Venue) 25.02.22 | UK | Bournemouth | Anvil Rockbar Bournemouth 26.02.22 | UK | Oxford | O2 Academy Oxford 25.03.22 | UK | Lincoln | The Scene Lincoln 26.03.22 | UK | Sheffield | network 27.03.22 | UK | Nottingham | Nottingham Chameleon 21.04.22 | BE | Antwerp | Kid’s Rhythm ‘n’ Blues Kaffee 22.04.22 | NL | Arnhem | Willemeen 23.04.22 | NL | Coevorden | MFC Coevorden 24.04.22 | BE | Ghent | Muziekcentrum Kinky Star 01.05.22 | UK | Lomdon | The Underworld Camden ( Desertfest London ) 25.06.22 | DE | Obernzeen | Wasted Openair 16.07.22 | IE | Dublin | Fiibber Magees 17.07.22 | UK | Belfast | Voodoo Belfast 27.08.22 | UK | Bolton | The Alma ( Riff Fest)
Posted in Whathaveyou on July 8th, 2021 by JJ Koczan
Hey kid, you like live shows? Think you can get behind a three-day/20-band extravanganza spread out over a couple weeks in Bristol? Fucking a right you can. Snuff Lane presents the aptly-named Return of the Riff show series, with three nights of killer UK-native acts doing what they do in celebration of reemerging from out of the grips of the COVID-19 pandemic. My understanding is the UK is getting ready to completely open up, so hey, these shows might even happen. Pretty rad. And so are the lineups.
You can see below the headliners respectively are Desert Storm, Ken Pustelnik’s Groundhogs and Slabdragger — all worthy — but note too the inclusion of Desert Storm offshoot Wall, as well as Sigiriya and Ritual King, Cybernetic Witch Cult (who have a new lineup) and perennial favorites Chubby Thunderous Bad Kush Masters. Wren and Trevor’s Head and Ten Foot Wizard and Old Man Lizard on back-to-back nights? I won’t get to see any of it, but hell’s bells I’m glad it exists.
Info follows here, courtesy of the PR wire. If you make it to Bristol, enjoy:
Return of the Riff – Bristol, July-August ‘21
To celebrate the return of live music within England, we are uncontrollably excited to have teamed up with The Crofters Rights, Bristol to host ‘Return of the Riff’.
Three events with heavily stacked line-ups, offering rare performances with some of the UK’s finest Riffslingers within an intimate setting. We are excited to finally unveil the full line-up; now boasting 20 artists, across 3-days.
Sunday 25th July now hosts Brighton born post-hardcore, sludgy post-rockers Earth Moves, (formed of members from We Never Learned To Live, Grappler, and Cloud Boat).
Sadly, due to the drummer breaking his leg, 1968 have had to withdraw from Saturday 8th July’s RotR. They are now replaced by both Bristol-based three-piece psychedelic post-rockers Mammoth Toe, and stonerpunks from the sewers of Surrey, Trevor’s Head.
Saturday 7th August ’21 ~ 16:00 – 22:30 Ken Pustelnik’s Groundhogs + Sigiriya + Ritual King + Suns of Thunder + Trevor’s Head + Mammoth Toe
Sunday 8th August ’21 ~ 16:00 – 23:30 Slabdragger + Ten Foot Wizard + Wren + Chubby Thunderous Bad Kush Masters + Old Man Lizard + Made of Teeth + The Malefic Grip
Posted in Whathaveyou on April 30th, 2021 by JJ Koczan
It’s good to see you again, Desertfest London. The 2022 lineup of the esteemed British edition of Desertfest brings some returning presences who were to have been at the 2020 edition, then the 2021 — both of course gone the way of corona. But we see Electric Wizard, Shellac and Witchcraft in headlining spots, while Corrosion of Conformity will bring their delayed 25th anniversary of Deliverance to Camden Town, and returning kingpins Orange Goblin will play, along with YOB, Truckfighters, Earthless, My Sleeping Karma, Mos Generator, Conan, The Obsessed, the reunited Josiah, Lowrider come for a Refractions victory lap well earned, along with Elephant Tree, Elder, Steak, Deathrite and a ton from the UK’s own ever-blossoming underground scene — Blind Monarch, The Brothers Keg, King Witch, the more established Alunah and Trippy Wicked, and so on and so many.
Note Slomosa. Note Wolftooth. I would expect both to be touring Europe around this time. Green Lung too, for that matter.
There’s no way this isn’t going to be one to remember and it is my sincere hope to be there for it. Maybe I’ll see you there. Maybe we can hug.
Kudos and thanks to the Desertscene crew — Sarika, Jake and Reece — on and for a job well done.
Here’s looking forward:
DESERTFEST LONDON ANNOUNCE FULL LINE-UP FOR 2022 ·
A DECADE IN THE DESERT CELEBRATING TEN YEARS WITH THE BIGGEST & MOST DIVERSE LINEUP YET
EXCLUSIVE UK PERFORMANCES FROM WITCHCRAFT (FIRST UK SHOW IN OVER A DECADE) and SHELLAC
As the home for all the things truly heavy, leading independent UK festival Desertfest have announced their full line up for 2022, which will take place in Camden, London from Friday 29th April – Sunday 1st May.
Celebrating their tenth year, next year’s festival promises to be their biggest and most diverse yet. Covering six venues across the heart of Camden and now including a full line up at The Roundhouse on both Saturday 30thApril and Sunday 1st May.
Founding owner of Desertfest Reece Tee comments, “Desertfest is 10 years old! I’m so proud that our independent festival has stood the test of time. What we have created is special, a decade of great bands, great friends and amazing memories. This year’s line up is a true reflection of how diverse Desertfest has become and with such a loyal audience, Desertfest can champion the underground for decades more to come.”
Headlining the Friday will be Swedish heavy rock masters Witchcraft, with a UK exclusive performance and their first UK show in over a decade. Saturday’s headliners are none other than Chicago’s Shellac, who in another UK exclusive will be bringing their experimental post-hardcore sound to the Roundhouse. Fronted by the iconic Steve Albini, Shellac are one of those bands we all need to experience live, at least once. Whilst closing the festival on Sunday will be UK doom legends Electric Wizard, whose heavy sound encompasses the spirit of Desertfest.
Other acts confirmed include the likes of Corrosion Of Conformity, Orange Goblin and Truckfighters who all played the festival in its debut year in 2012 and there are further UK exclusive performances from hardcore-punks Integrity and the Ukrainian psych space rock trio Somali Yacht Club.
The festival will also see desert legends Brant Bjork and Nick Oliveri’s new band Stoner, who will be playing the Electric Ballroom and doomed heavy metallers Khemmis making their UK debut at The Underworld.
Please see below for the full Desertfest 2022 line up / stage splits. Tickets are on sale now and are available at www.desertfest.co.uk
NEW TICKETS FOR 2022 Weekend Ticket (all venues) – £132 +fees Friday Day Ticket (all venues) – £45 +fees Saturday Day Ticket (all venues) – £50 +fees Sunday Day Ticket (all venues) – £50 +fees Saturday Roundhouse only – £35 +fees Existing ticket holders from 2020’s postponed event have a number of options as the festival is now larger, with an added Roundhouse line-up on Saturday 30th April & Sunday 1st May.
EXISTING WEEKEND + DAY TICKET HOLDERS OPTIONS Full refund Weekend roll-over to 2022 without Roundhouse upgrade (access only to Electric Ballroom, Underworld, Black Heart & The Dev) Weekend roll-over to 2022 with Roundhouse upgrade – £15 +fees Day ticket holders can upgrade to a full weekend ticket – £92 + fees – or will be issued a refund. Upgrade options only available until May 7th ’21. For any ticketing enquiries please contact sarika@desertscene.co.uk
Desertfest 2022’s artwork is hand drawn by legendary artist Arik Roper who has created illustrations for the likes of Sleep, Earth, Sunn O))), High on Fire, Kvelertak, Windhand and many more. As always, posters and other merch will be available to buy at the festival.
Posted in Whathaveyou on April 20th, 2021 by JJ Koczan
This is going to be a very heavy couple of days. Put together by the reignited Lizard King Promotions and Riffolution Promotions, the upcoming 2021 edition of Cvltfest will follow on from September’s previously announced Riffolution Festival (lineup here) in Manchester. Booked at Cafe Indie in Scunthorpe — also in the relative north of England, east of Manchester and Sheffield, bit south from Leeds, etc. — on Nov. 13 and 14, there is some spillover between the two events, as Desert Storm, Pijn, Ritual King, Ohhms and Ten Foot Wizard will play both, but hell’s bells, can you imagine complaining about that? These are festivals. Happening on Earth! Wonder of wonders!
It’s been three years since Cvltfest was last held, but part of bringing back Lizard King Promotions from out of whatever cavern was trapping it is indeed breathing new life into the event, and you can see in the lineup below, they’re not half-assing it whatsoever. This and Riffolution together are complementary beasts emphasizing just how slammed and slamming the UK heavy underground is.
Fucking a:
Cvltfest 2021 – Nov. 13-14 – Cafe Indie, Scunthorpe, UK
This is the 3rd rendition of Cvltfest having seen both Elephant Tree and Witchsorrow Headliner respectively in 2017 and 2018, 3 years have passed since including the year of the Rona.
Now after a long break break away Lizard King Promotions which turns 10 years old this May, makes a return with its most ambitious line up of riff worshiping titans ever.
Working alongside Riffolution Promotions who’ve who’ve collectively seen Riffolution Festival now fully sold out 5 months ahead of the event we now bring you Cvltfest 2021.
