An already formidable bill for Desertfest Athens 2017 only becomes more so with the additions of Italian heavy psych mavens Black Rainbows and US-based heavy rock purveyors Mos Generator. The two acts join the ranks of headliners Graveyard and Saint Vitus, as well as native Greek acts like Planet of Zeus, Mahakala, Bus, Sadhus, Puta Volcano, Allchiria and Krause, who along with stalwarts Orange Goblin, Church of Misery, Stoned Jesus and Colour Haze will comprise the two-day event at Iera Odos early in October. More bands are reportedly still to be announced, so stick around.

In the meantime, Black Rainbows and Mos Generator would seem to have plenty in common at this point. Both have issued new singles this year — the former’s “The Red Sky Above” (posted here) landed as part of a Heavy Psych Sounds compilation, and the latter’s “The Dance of Red” (posted here) combining Mahavishnu Orchestra and King Crimson — and both have spent much of the last couple years banging out as many records and as many tours as possible. To wit, Mos Generator may or may not have a new full-length in the can that’s set for an early-2018 release, and though Black Rainbows frontman Gabriele Fiori is currently at work on the second LP from his offshoot project Killer Boogie, he’s been known to multitask before, and thankfully a new Black Rainbows release is never too far off. Again, stick around.

You might recall as well that Mos Generator‘s appearance at Desertfest Athens 2017 was hinted at when it was confirmed they’d support Saint Vitus‘ upcoming European tour (dates here). Nice to know for sure, either way. Announcement from the fest follows here:

BLACK RAINBOWS for their sophomore appearance at Desertfest Athens 2017!!! Do not miss them !!!

Mos Generator are coming to take over Desertfest Athens 2017!!!!

The two-day program of Desertfest Athens 2017 is:

Day1
Saint Vitus
Orange Goblin
Church of Misery
Stoned Jesus
Black Rainbows
Mos Generator
Mahakala
Bus

Day2
Graveyard
Planet of Zeus
Color Haze
Radio Moscow
Sadhus
Puta Volcano
Allochiria
Krause

Ticket prices are as follows: one-day tickets cost 30 euros and two days 55 euros until September 2.

Soon, many more names will be announced from Desertfest Athens 2017.

tickets
Single day: 30 Euro (up to 2/9)
Doubleday: 55 Euro (up to 2/9)

https://www.viva.gr/tickets/music/acro/desertfest-athens-2017/
https://www.facebook.com/events/141861139680368/
https://www.facebook.com/Desertfest-Athens-189161564797514/

Black Rainbows, “The Red Sky Above”

Mos Generator, “The Dance of Red”

Desertfest Athens 2017 continues to take shape on its own terms, adding to its quality-plus-quantity lineup with Japanese/American doomers Church of Misery, Ukrainian trio Stoned Jesus and hometown metallers Mahakala. The three acts vary pretty widely between them, as does the bill of the second Desertfest Athens overall, with the legendary doom of Saint Vitus, the boogie-thrust of Radio Moscow (who’ll have a new album out, remember), the groundbreaking heavy psych of Colour Haze, the hooch-swilling pummel of Orange Goblin and the revamped soul of Graveyard at the top of the lineup, but one could hardly accuse it of not making sense. The more the merrier, and with Greek outfits like Puta Volcano, Sadhus and Allochiria already included, it seems like the fest as a whole is only getting bigger this time around.

Which, if you’ve been paying attention for the last half-decade or so, you already know is how it goes with Desertfests. That’s been the tale of Berlin and London all along, and Belgium too. As the youngest incarnation of the festival, Athens has its work cut out for it in getting to the point where the others find themselves, but Greece has one of the most active heavy undergrounds in Europe right now and I’ve no doubt that with a lineup as strong as this one already is, they’ll absolutely get there.

Fest is set for Oct. 6 and 7. Here’s the latest:

2ND DESERTFEST ATHENS

ACRO
06-07.10.2017

Graveyard
Colour Haze
Orange Goblin
Radio Moscow
Saint Vitus
Church of Misery
Stoned Jesus
Mahakala
Sadhus: The Smoking Community
Allochiria
Puta Volcano

Stoned Jesus are back in Greece!!!! They will join this year’s edition of Desertfest Athens!! Here come the Robots!!

Mahakala, Satan’s finest, will deliver their sophomore album, “The Second Fall”, in front of the Desertfest Army!!! Beware!!

Church of Misery Official live at Desertfest Athens!!! The Japanese Doomsters are the last announcement for today, but at the same time one of the most exciting additions to this year’s line up!!!

Early-bird tickets are exhausted. Now only two-day tickets are sold for 50 euros.

https://www.viva.gr/tickets/music/acro/desertfest-athens-2017/
https://www.facebook.com/events/141861139680368/
https://www.facebook.com/Desertfest-Athens-189161564797514/

Stoned Jesus, “Here Come the Robots” official video

Hard to argue with what Desertfest Athens 2017 has put together thus far for this October. The second incarnation of the Greece-based brand extension of the Desertfest — see also London, Berlin, Antwerp and no doubt more to come; just by way of naming cities off the top of my head, Barcelona, Rome, Los Angeles/San Diego and Stockholm all seem like ripe, yet-unexplored ground that might be worth trying out — enters itself into what will no doubt become a considerable Fall fray of fests if last year was anything to go by. Successive weekends, one after the other, sometimes two on at the same time. It was sheer madness. Will it be again? Yeah, probably.

I’ll be honest, it was hard to keep up with in 2016 for what was happening when, but the good thing was it put a whole buttload of bands on tour and gave them huge shows to anchor between slews of club and theater gigs, so I can’t think it was anything but a win all around for the groups involved. You can see from the lineup so far below for Desertfest Athens 2017 that it no doubt will be as well for anyone who makes the trek out to actually see the show. Been a while since I caught Colour Haze, Orange Goblin, Saint Vitus or Radio Moscow, and golly, it sure would be awfully nice to tick all those boxes over the course of two days. Ah, to daydream.

Full lineup and latest announcement follows. I’ll be keeping up with this one going forward as best I can, so stay tuned for more:

2ND DESERTFEST ATHENS

ACRO
06-07.10.2017

Graveyard
Colour Haze
Orange Goblin
Radio Moscow
Saint Vitus
Sadhus: The Smoking Community
Allochiria
Puta Volcano

+ more names tba

The announcements from Desertfest Athens 2017 continue. After the six bands already announced (Graveyard, Color Haze, Orange Goblin, Sadhus, Allochiria, Puta Volcano), two extraordinary names are added to the line-up: the legendary Saint Vitus and Radio Moscow.

The name Saint Vitus is synonymous with doom metal, as they are among the bands that created the idiom with their recordings in the SST record label in the 1980s. Extremely influential, they remain a reference point for metal sound and feature at the major festivals of the genre.

With their famous debut (produced by Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys) released in 2007, psychedelic blues rockers Radio Moscow burned hearts. Ten years later, Parker Griggs’s prominent trio remains one of the hardest working bands in the world, with significant discography and unstoppable touring.

Soon we will be announced many names from the line-up of Desertfest Athens 2017.

Early-bird tickets are exhausted. Now only two-day tickets are sold for 50 euros.

https://www.viva.gr/tickets/music/acro/desertfest-athens-2017/
https://www.facebook.com/events/141861139680368/
https://www.facebook.com/Desertfest-Athens-189161564797514/

Saint Vitus, “Zombie Hunger” Live in Portland, OR, 10.16.16

With the final addition of Cough, the lineup for Desertfest Athens 2016 is complete. The fest is set for Oct. 7 and 8 — less than a month from now — and Cough join the bill as they’ll be on tour at the time with Elder (dates here) supporting their new album, Still They Pray (review here), which was released by Relapse.

The roster of bands they join, including Red Fang and Greek forerunners 1000mods, whose new song “The Son” you can hear below (more to come on that album), is ridiculously strong, and seems to draw from the history of Desertfest itself in various ways, Steak representing London’s incarnation, Colour Haze that of Berlin (though they’re from Munich), and really any number of these acts the Belgian edition. It’s a great mix that does well to represent its home country as well in Automaton (who’ll be joined by Dr. Space himself), Sadhus, and the aforementioned 1000mods.

Looks like a great show, and particularly as it’s the first one, I wish them all the best of luck with it.

Final announcement and lineup follow:

Doom/Sludge masters COUGH joining the bill for Desertfest Athens 2016 1st edition!

This is the full line up for the 1st ever Desertfest Athens!

Red Fang
1000mods
Pentagram
Torche
Colour Haze
Truckfighters
My Sleeping Karma
Karma to Burn
Elder
Cough
Black Rainbows
House of Broken Promises
Steak
Beggars
Sadhus
Black Hat Bones
Automaton with Dr. Space
We Own the Sky

Enjoy desert army!

After London, Berlin and Antwerp, the Desertfest franchise is keeping up its conquest of Europe by launching the very first Greek edition of the famous stoner, doom and psych festival. DESERTFEST ATHENS will take place over the second weekend of October, as a sister event of the autumnal Belgium edition.

Over the years, DESERTFEST has become one of the most popular events in Europe for everything heavy, stoner, doom and psyche. “Made by fans for the fans”, the festival gathers thousands of people from across the globe each year by hosting the finest headliners, while also constantly stretching the limits of its own niche with dozens of quality live acts throughout a weekend. Nurturing a friendly atmosphere since the very beginning, DESERTFEST is a urban festival that has won the loyalty of heavy music lovers, so expect your Greek holiday to be a unique and memorable music and human experience!

https://www.viva.gr/tickets/music/iera-odos/desertfest-athens/
www.detoxevents.gr
https://www.facebook.com/Desertfest-Athens-189161564797514/
https://www.facebook.com/events/1530177053945310/

1000mods, “The Son”

I said when the fest was first announced that I didn’t think you could have a Desertfest Athens and not have 1000mods take part. They’ve become one of the most integral Greek heavy rock bands, have toured almost relentlessly the last several years, pushing themselves to the forefront of the country’s still-underrated scene, and they have a new record in the works that, one hopes, will be out by the time Desertfest Athens 2016 actually rolls around, all the more so since they’re also confirmed (thus far) for Desertfest Belgium and Keep it Low. Do not be at all surprised when/if three weeks of tour dates are announced. That’s kind of how they roll.

They’re one of two new additions to the Desertfest Athens 2016 lineup alongside House of Broken Promises, who’ll arrive in Greece representing the actual Californina desert from whence desert rock sprang. I was fortunate enough to see the trio at Desertfest London in 2013 (review here), and they put on a stellar show, so they would seem to be well chosen for the Athenian task too. Wonder if they’ll tour.

It’s shaping up to be quite a fest:

1000mods will land their heavy riffs in Desertfest Athens!!!

Desertfest Athens is shaping up to be a hell of a fest!!!

House of Broken Promises at Desertfest Athens!!

Get your tickets now!!!

Desertfest’s early bird tickets are sold out!!!

After London, Berlin and Antwerp, the Desertfest franchise is keeping up its conquest of Europe by launching the very first Greek edition of the famous stoner, doom and psych festival. DESERTFEST ATHENS will take place over the second weekend of October, as a sister event of the autumnal Belgium edition.

Over the years, DESERTFEST has become one of the most popular events in Europe for everything heavy, stoner, doom and psyche. “Made by fans for the fans”, the festival gathers thousands of people from across the globe each year by hosting the finest headliners, while also constantly stretching the limits of its own niche with dozens of quality live acts throughout a weekend. Nurturing a friendly atmosphere since the very beginning, DESERTFEST is a urban festival that has won the loyalty of heavy music lovers, so expect your Greek holiday to be a unique and memorable music and human experience!

https://www.viva.gr/tickets/music/iera-odos/desertfest-athens/
www.detoxevents.gr
https://www.facebook.com/Desertfest-Athens-189161564797514/
https://www.facebook.com/events/1530177053945310/

1000mods, “Claws” official video

Here we are just barely a week removed from the last batch of announcements for Desertfest Athens 2016, the inaugural edition of the Desertfest‘s Greek brand extension, set to take place Oct. 7 and 8 in the birthplace of Western democracy, and already the festival has followed up with not only two more bands, but one of them as the headliner for its first night. Working quick there, Desertfest Athens. So be it. This time around, it’s Portland’s number one riffy export, Red Fang, who’ll head abroad to Europe this fall in support of a new album the title of which is still to be announced. They headline Oct. 7 at Desertfest Athens 2016, while Italian heavy psych forerunners Black Rainbows will also take part in the festivities on one day or the other.

Now, last time I put up a post from Desertfest Athens 2016, they added another band before it went live, so I’ll be keeping an eye out to see if the same thing happens this time, but even if it winds up just being these two for this round, they’re both significant additions to the bill. More to come, either way, I’m sure.

Info follows:

RED FANG will headline the first day of Desertfest Athens!!

Kids, you’re under fire!!!

BLACK RAINBOWS at Desertfest Athens!!

Get your tickets now!!!

Desertfest’s early bird tickets are sold out!!!

After London, Berlin and Antwerp, the Desertfest franchise is keeping up its conquest of Europe by launching the very first Greek edition of the famous stoner, doom and psych festival. DESERTFEST ATHENS will take place over the second weekend of October, as a sister event of the autumnal Belgium edition.

Over the years, DESERTFEST has become one of the most popular events in Europe for everything heavy, stoner, doom and psyche. “Made by fans for the fans”, the festival gathers thousands of people from across the globe each year by hosting the finest headliners, while also constantly stretching the limits of its own niche with dozens of quality live acts throughout a weekend. Nurturing a friendly atmosphere since the very beginning, DESERTFEST is a urban festival that has won the loyalty of heavy music lovers, so expect your Greek holiday to be a unique and memorable music and human experience!

https://www.viva.gr/tickets/music/iera-odos/desertfest-athens/
www.detoxevents.gr
https://www.facebook.com/Desertfest-Athens-189161564797514/
https://www.facebook.com/events/1530177053945310/

Red Fang, Live at Hellfest 2015

If you were hoping to get early-bird tickets for Desertfest Athens 2016, tough turkey — they’re gone. It didn’t take more than an initial lineup announcement to move them all out the door, so I guess if there was any question there was enough interest in Athens to warrant holding a fest under the Desertfest banner, that’s gone too. As for the first acts joining the bill, it’s an impressive assemblage, with Colour Haze, Pentagram, Karma to Burn, Beggars and Sadhus, the latter two local to Athens and supporting an international cast that’s only going to increase in scope as we get closer to October.

As noted yesterday, Desertfest Athens 2016 is part of a string of European festivals happening on successive weekends, preceded by Up in Smoke and followed by Desertfest Belgium and Keep it Low. I don’t know about you, but if ever there was a time to drop out of life and go bum around Europe for a month, this would seem to be it. If you need me, I’ll be daydreaming about same.

Just before this post went up, I noticed Greek outfits Automaton and Black Hat Bones have also newly joined the bill. Seems like it’s fair to expect Desertfest Athens will be highlighting the booming Greek heavy rock scene in its lineup, and I won’t argue with the mission. Feels like a long time coming.

Info courtesy of the fest:

First line up announcement for Desertfest Athens 2016!!!

Colour Haze
Pentagram
John Garcia
Karma to Burn
BEGGARS
Sadhus “The Smoking Community”

Automaton are the next band to be announced for Desertfest Athens!!!

Black Hat Bones join Desertfest Athens too!!!

Get your tickets now!!!

Desertfest’s early bird tickets are sold out!!!

After London, Berlin and Antwerp, the Desertfest franchise is keeping up its conquest of Europe by launching the very first Greek edition of the famous stoner, doom and psych festival. DESERTFEST ATHENS will take place over the second weekend of October, as a sister event of the autumnal Belgium edition.

https://www.viva.gr/tickets/music/iera-odos/desertfest-athens/
www.detoxevents.gr
https://www.facebook.com/Desertfest-Athens-189161564797514/
https://www.facebook.com/events/1530177053945310/

Colour Haze, To the Highest Gods We Know (2014)

The first edition of the newest Desertfest expansion, Desertfest Athens 2016, is set for Oct. 7 and 8 at Iera Odos 18-20, just down the hill from the Acropolis. No bands have been announced yet, but early bird tickets are on sale now, and it’s looking like Desertfest Athens will be a complement to Desertfest Belgium in much the same way Desertfests Berlin and London interact with each other, share certain bands and headliners while also each focusing on their own local scene.

Greece certainly has a scene worth highlighting. Again, nothing’s been made official, but I’m not sure you could have an inaugural Desertfest Athens without getting 1000mods to take part, and we know from the lineup for Up in Smoke that Elder, Yawning Man and others will be on the road in Europe around that time, so I’ll be very interested to see what shakes out in the birthplace of Western democracy for this fall.

More to come as I hear it. Until then, the PR wire brings the initial announcement and ticket links:

DESERTFEST ATHENS 2016

October 7-8th in Athens, Greece
IERA ODOS (Iera Odos 18-20)

FIRST EDITION OF DESERTFEST ATHENS TO TAKE PLACE THIS OCTOBER!

Early birds on sale now!

After London, Berlin and Antwerp, the Desertfest franchise is keeping up its conquest of Europe by launching the very first Greek edition of the famous stoner, doom and psych festival. DESERTFEST ATHENS will take place over the second weekend of October, as a sister event of the autumnal Belgium edition.

Over the years, DESERTFEST has become one of the most popular events in Europe for everything heavy, stoner, doom and psyche. “Made by fans for the fans”, the festival gathers thousands of people from across the globe each year by hosting the finest headliners, while also constantly stretching the limits of its own niche with dozens of quality live acts throughout a weekend. Nurturing a friendly atmosphere since the very beginning, DESERTFEST is a urban festival that has won the loyalty of heavy music lovers, so expect your Greek holiday to be a unique and memorable music and human experience!

Lineup to be announced shortly

Early birds on sale now.

TICKETS
Presase: 2-day tickets: 45 euros (early bird), 60 euros (until 31/08)
Ticket presale here: www.viva.gr, Public, SevenSpots, Ianos.

Ticket resellers charge booking fees.

https://www.viva.gr/tickets/music/iera-odos/desertfest-athens/
www.detoxevents.gr
https://www.facebook.com/Desertfest-Athens-189161564797514/
https://www.facebook.com/events/1530177053945310/