It’ll be a win if they don’t post another update to the bill before this gets posted. If you’ve been keeping up on social media, Oslo’s Høstsabbat has come roaring back after a pretty quiet summer to continue to flesh out its 10th anniversary lineup ahead of taking place late next month, and it seems like I fell behind quickly. But honestly, doing the adds in a bunch like this reinforces in my mind the variety on offer in Høstsabbat 2023 and the fact that the festival is reaching farther than they ever have to work in different sides and styles to the weekend, which boasts Bongripper, Yawning Man and LLNN alongside Spurv, Iron Bra, Aiming for Enrike, Elephant Tree, Sigh and a host of others.

‘Heavy’ is a common thread for a lot of it, but I don’t think Høstsabbat are even limited by that at this point. Electronic music, singer-songwriters, extreme metal — it all seems like a fit when the minds behind the thing are this open.

I don’t know how much more there is to be revealed, but I’ll do my best to keep up. I’m sad to say I won’t be there this year, but I do know from past experience it’s an incredible time. If you go, have one.

From socials:

HØSTSABBAT 2023 – MANDALAI LAMAS

The announcements we have left might be few, but the sheer quality of the remaining bands is nothing but total fire!

The band of the day is a homegrown treasure. They are hard to pinpoint to any specific genre,or subgenre for that matter, but they have the ability to please any fan of guitars, drums and bass – so narrowing them down just doesn’t feel right.

It would be unfair to both our audience and the band.

Mandalai Lamas explore the depths of rock n´roll with a swagger impossible to ignore, and of course, even harder to dislike. The swing and flow these gentlemen provide has no boundaries. It takes you from coast to coast, finding elements that are fundamental, and always have been fundamental, for an output as lush as the sound of Mandalai Lamas. Classic, but fruitful rock with an extraordinary groove if you will

It feels timeless, but still fresh and new. That’s a thing you don’t see every day.

Please welcome Mandalai Lamas to Høstsabbat 2023!

HØSTSABBAT 2023 – LEONOV

Maybe some of you caught the fairly rare experience of seeing Leonov live in the church last fall, as they supported Ufomammut?

If you did, you know what to expect. If you didn´t, here it comes: There is hardly a more cinematic band suited for the aesthetics of Høstsabbat than Leonov.

They take their appearance to another level, while co-existing with delightful video projections, a black and white magic channeling sorrow and hope, accompanied by ethereal vocals, atmospheric arrangements and razor sharp riffs. Their execution is pure class, and a joy to witness

The meditative post-metal coming from this five piece is very well composed and has an earthly, organic and heart felt feeling to it.

Leonov has the ability to create their own realm, and you get totally lost.

Please welcome Leonov to Høstsabbat 2023

HØSTSABBAT 2023 – REAPING FLESH

It´s Monday, and the only right thing to do, is to kick the week off with what could possibly be the biggest wake-up call of this year’s lineup.

Reaping Flesh is cut directly from the northern punk & hardcore tribe, and includes members from legendary Kollwitz, The Spectacle and Gabriel, giving us a fair idea of how this rather new band would sound like.

The sonic devastation of Reaping Flesh is the raw, in-your-face kind of metal found at the back of your memory, being the key figure to why you still go to shows and start moshpits out of instant buzz and excitement! It triggers all the buttons.
It´s a rare and fantastic thing, to be able to present a band as a mixture between black, death, thrash, punk and hardcore, knowing it is actually true.

That mixture is Reaping Flesh – and they will come to destroy!

Please welcome Reaping Flesh to Høstsabbat 2023!

TICKETS
https://bit.ly/HS-festivalticket23

SPOTIFY PLAYLIST
https://spoti.fi/3tkuMZl

NEWSLETTER
https://bit.ly/HostsabbatNews

https://www.facebook.com/hostsabbat/
https://www.instagram.com/hostsabbat/
http://hostsabbat.no/

Høstsabbat Spotify Playlist

Norwegian atmospheric doomers Leonov are getting ready to release their sophomore collection, Wake, on Oct. 26 through Fysisk Format. “I am Lion, I am Yours” is the leadoff among the included five tracks, and in its haunting melodic echoes and cacophonous wall of sound, it speaks to a duality that plays out across what follows in loud/quiet tradeoffs and patient builds. There are stretches of marked intensity and reaches where minimalism holds sway behind the vocals of Tåran Reindal, which remind a bit of what Sera Timms brought to Black Math Horseman in terms of effects and ambience. Still, through the crunching “Eucharist” with drummer Jon-Vetle Lunden rolling out a nod marked by the low end of bassist Morten Kjelling and the spacious guitars of Ole Jørgen Reindal and Rune Gilje, and into the 10:50 “Shem,” Leonov demonstrate a fluidity in their transitions that smooths out the noted juxtaposition. They’re not any more jagged in a given turn than they want to be.

Part of that is the aforementioned bass, which ties together a lot of the material along with Reindal‘s vocals, but part is the expectation of drift set up in “I am Lion, I am Yours.” That’s brought to fruition in “Shem,” which in its second half marches toward what at first seems to be an apex and turns out instead to be a deconstruction and looped static, and even more so in 15-minute closer “Wake,” but between the two is “Oceanode,” which follows a more distinctly post-metal direction and opens up after about a minute and a half into more a more churning riff that in the second half of the song comes to a head in the most prevalent wash of the record. The title-track follows a more experimentalist but ultimately linear course, offering a highlight vocal performance and subtlety of keys and percussion that bring tension leading to Wake‘s mountainous finish. The depths and heights, however, are clearly foretold in the opener, as is the wash, and Leonov execute their charge with a graceful balance between heft and space. Their methodical delivery seems to have grown in the four years since they made their self-titled debut, and Wake offers sonic spiritual catharsis in its heavier stretches and an otherworldly presence in its quieter moments.

If you’ve got an aversion to high-contrast or flashing lights, you might want to hold the screen out or step back before you hit play on the video below, because there’s definitely some of that going on and I’m not looking to give anyone a headache (honest.). Otherwise, you’ll find “I am Lion, I am Yours,” directed by Simen Skari, on the player immediately following, with some more release info courtesy of the PR wire afterwards, including the preorder link.

Hope you enjoy:

Leonov, “I am Lion, I am Yours” official video premiere

I am Lion, I am Yours is taken from Leonov’s 2018 effort ‘Wake’ out on Fysisk Format October 26th. Pre-order the album here: https://smarturl.it/IamLion

Ever since its formation in 2010, Leonov has found inspiration for its celestial doom in the existential, the darkness and affliction, as well as the curiosity and hope in things beyond our reach and comprehension.

“Wake” is an album that contends with life’s great journey in the face of these forces, from cradle to grave. From the childlike and fundamental quest for belonging, acceptance and affirmation – to the mature recognition that we are ever coming up short and are not in control of our existence, and as a summary, the titular song “Wake” conveys the melancholy and nostalgia over what has been found and lost. The song encloses a celebration of life and a grief over the things left behind, a pain that everything ends and at the same time a hope that death is not final.

Recorded at Taakeheimen Lydrike, with the exception of “Eucharist” recorded at Malabar Studio with Christoffer Gaarder, the band’s second album was later mixed and co-produced by Morten Øby at Taakeheimen.

Leonov is:
Ole Jørgen Reindal – Guitar
Rune Gilje – Guitar
Morten Kjelling – Bass
Tåran Reindal – Vocals/Synth
Jon-Vetle Lunden – Drums

Leonov on Thee Facebooks

Leonov on Bandcamp

Fysisk Format website