Høstsabbat 2023 Adds Elephant Tree to Lineup
Oh what fun this will be. I was fortunate enough to be in Oslo when London melodic heavy rockers Elephant Tree played Høstsabbat in 2018 (review here), and in addition to being the proverbial ‘buncha nice guys,’ they absolutely brought the house down starting off a day on the main altar stage of the Kulturkirken Jacob that also included Electric Moon and Asteroid before culminating with Amenra. Their being added to the 2023 edition of the festival, alongside Spaceslug and Black Rainbows, Bongripper and The Chronicles of Father Robin, reveals more of the character of the 10th anniversary edition of Høstsabbat, and as Elephant Tree are heading toward the release of a split with Lowrider as part of Blues Funeral Recordings‘ PostWax subscription series — for which, full disclosure, I do the liner notes; no, I haven’t heard the split yet and I’m not even sure it’s recorded — it’s all the more exciting to see them return here and imagine them back on that stage filling the tall cathedral ceiling with their particular take on laid back, increasingly progressive heavy. As Bender tells us: “it’s gonna be fun on a bun.”
That Elephant Tree have emerged as one of the foremost purveyors in one of the foremost regional heavy undergrounds in the world (i.e. the UK) is nice too, but I look forward to seeing them in-person, hope to get the chance to catch up and have a couple laughs like actual human beings as well before being subsumed in their breadth and fuzz. Høstsabbat doesn’t owe me any favors — I feel perpetually indebted, actually — but I kind of feel like I’ve just been done one all the same.
The fest posted the following on socials a bit ago, as is their Friday wont:
HØSTSABBAT 2023 – ELEPHANT TREE
Finally Friday!
The best day of the week. Announcement day!
As our anniversary approaches, you will notice some familiar names on the lineup. The occasion itself gives us the opportunity to reminisce in some of the moments we think stood out the most over the years. What a joy!
The first flashback comes from the British shores. If anyone recalls the marvelous appearance from Elephant Tree back in 2018, we surely hope you agree with us, in inviting the lads back.
They gave us something special: a strong feeling of unity in riffs, rhythms and goosebumps. They blew us away basically.
Elephant Tree operates in galaxy far far away from the average stoner/doom band. They have a special way around their arrangements.
Their shimmering yet laidback output is both intriguing and soothing at the same time. Their subtle heaviness combined with their beautiful harmonies might draw comparison to the grunge legends in Alice in Chains even.
We are already counting the days.
Please welcome Elephant Tree to Høstsabbat 2023.
TICKETS
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SPOTIFY PLAYLIST
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