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Freak Valley 2017: Conan, Elephant Tree, Maserati and Wand Join Lineup

One of 2017’s great mysteries as I see it is whether or not Conan will have a new album. They’ve given hints toward a next batch of material, but it would be quick since their Revengeance (review here) came out last year, and they seem to have an awful lot of touring in the works, so I don’t know how that balance will shake out over the next 12 months. Earth-destroying riffs aren’t built in a day, you know. They are, however, going to grace the stage at Freak Valley 2017 this June in Germany. The fest has announced that Conan have signed on to play alongside Elephant Tree, Maserati and Wand as the first lineup additions of the New Year.

If you missed it — and I know you didn’t — Elephant Tree‘s 2016 self-titled debut (review here) was among last year’s finest first albums. They’ve made a few 2017 announcements, including Desertfest London and Psycho Las Vegas, and it’s hard to imagine more won’t follow before the year is out. To wit, they’ll have a tour update on Monday, so keep an eye out for that.

As for L.A.’s Wand, they released their 1,000 Days album in 2015, and Georgia’s Maserati offered up Rehumanizer that same year. They join and add to an increasingly ridiculous lineup, the entirety of which you can see below.

Freak Valley put it like this:

Welcome to 2017 Freaks!!

It’s the first freaky friday this year and we have 4 new bandnames for you!!

Conan [UK] – Doom/Sludge Metal
MASERATI [US] – Postrock
WAND [US] – Psychedelic Rock
Elephant Tree [UK] – Rock/Blues/Doom/Stoner

CONAN are as heavy as interplanetary thunder amplified through the roaring black hole anus of Azathoth. A three piece, in the grand tradition of many amazing fabulous three pieces that hold a tight line and an iron-grip command over the uber-synchronised chord changes and tempo-shifts of the holy trio of bass, drums and guitar. Hear the roar of battle. Smell the stench of split blood. A thousand heads piled high like a grim mound of suffering- a blasphemy to nature. Hail Conan!

Formed at the edge of the new millennium, MASERATI is as sleek, sexy and sophisticated as the legendary Italian sports car it takes its name from. It is fitting, then, that the band has dragged the glory years of psychedelic arena rock kicking and screaming into the 21st Century, with the pomposity (and vocals) carefully removed. In its place are white hot flashes of light pulsing to an unstoppable rhythm that makes us want to punch air and drive really fast in a car with wings instead of doors.

California psych band WAND will make us slaves to the rhythm!! “Pitchfork” favorably compares them to The Zombies and the krautrock of Neu!. They will satisfy fans’ appetite for heavy, psych-inspired landscapes with thick, garage guitars and an energetic, melodic core.

Wand combines elements of shoegaze, psych rock, desert rock, and sludge metal. Equally reminiscent of icons like Kyuss and contemporaries like Ty Segall (Fuzz), Wand’s sound is a fresh take on psychedelia; it avoids the dated nostalgia that has plagued some of the recent psych-rock acts. The band names a variety of influences, including Melvins, Crass, Talking Heads, and Pink Floyd.

ELEPHANT TREE are a relatively new band who, after cutting their teeth in the London metal scene, have established a place within the current growing Stoner Metal genre. Having moved down and taken in many many gigs and shows the guys have been influenced to start making their own music.

While the style is difficult to class under any one particular sub-genre of Metal it has been most likened to Doom Metal and Stoner Rock however many people have their own classifications ranging from Blues to Prog.

FREAK VALLEY FESTIVAL – 15th-16th-17th June 2017
www.freakvalley.de www.rockfreaks.de

Freak Valley Festival 2017: No Fillers – Just Killers

Line-up 2017:
Slo Burn, Pentagram, Conan, Elephant Tree, Maserati, Wand, UFOMAMMUT, Greenleaf, The Brew, Salem’s Pot, MaidaVale, Geezer, Kikagaku Moyo, Vodun, Orango, The Black Willows

www.freakvalley.de
https://www.facebook.com/freakvalley
https://www.facebook.com/events/150965291977635/
https://twitter.com/FreakValley

Elephant Tree, Elephant Tree (2016)

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