The statistics of COVID-19 change with every news cycle, and with growing numbers, stay-at-home isolation and a near-universal disruption to society on a global scale, it is ever more important to consider the human aspect of this coronavirus. Amid the sad surrealism of living through social distancing, quarantines and bans on gatherings of groups of any size, creative professionals — artists, musicians, promoters, club owners, techs, producers, and more — are seeing an effect like nothing witnessed in the last century, and as humanity as a whole deals with this calamity, some perspective on who, what, where, when and how we’re all getting through is a needed reminder of why we’re doing so in the first place.

Thus, Days of Rona, in some attempt to help document the state of things as they are now, both so help can be asked for and given where needed, and so that when this is over it can be remembered.

Thanks to all who participate. To read all the Days of Rona coverage, click here. — JJ Koczan

Days of Rona: Marco Nieddu of 1782 & Electric Valley Records (Sardinia, Italy)

—

Marco Nieddu – Owner of Electric Valley Records & Vocals, Guitars, and Bass of 1782 (Stoner/Doom from Ossi (Sassari), Sardinia, Italy)

How are you dealing with this crisis as a band/label? Have you had to rework plans at all? How is everyone’s health so far?

We had to rework the plans of both. With 1782 we had to cancel the April European tour, there would have been 18 dates in six countries. London’s Desertfest and Electric Valley Festival have also been canceled.

With the label, I had to move the releases of April to May/June, the factory that produces the records is temporarily closed due to the virus.

Fortunately, we are all fine, we are respecting the rules, we have been in quarantine since the beginning of March.

What are the quarantine/isolation rules where you are?

We can only leave the house for grocery shopping, for work, and for health reasons. We can take the dog for a walk but within 200 meters, not more than that.

Personally, I can’t complain, I’m taking advantage of it to write new songs for 1782, I’m listening to records and I’m fixing the backlog of the label. But anyway, I cannot wait for everything to end.

How have you seen the virus affecting the community around you and in music?

Here there’s a lot of fear, but despite this, there are some people who still do not respect the rules, and despite the sanctions, people continue to leave the house without valid reasons.

As for the music instead, I noticed that there is a lot of support from the fans and between the bands themselves, it is a really beautiful and important thing. Unfortunately, the most important thing was blocked, that is the concerts, but over time those too will return, we must be patient and hope that this virus will disappear as soon as possible.

What is the one thing you want people to know about your situation, either as a band, or personally, or anything?

I want people to know that 1782 will come back stronger than before. We are working on new songs and we cannot wait to record and play live. The same thing for Electric Valley Records, there are some interesting releases in the pipeline, and I’m looking forward to announcing and releasing them.

Said this… Stay Stoned, Stay Doomed, and Stay Home!

https://www.facebook.com/1782doom
https://www.instagram.com/1782_doom
https://1782doom.bandcamp.com
https://open.spotify.com/artist/18HomXPmmtzcpTwaPQ0lFe

http://electricvalleyrecords.com
https://www.facebook.com/electricvalleyrecords
https://www.instagram.com/electricvalleyrecord
https://evrecords.bandcamp.com

Another week, another city succumbs to the temptation of hosting a Heavy Psych Sounds Festival. This time around it’s Winterthur, Switzerland, and I ask you, how long before franchises are set up in all major urban centers throughout Europe and beyond, and each weekend is a different Heavy Psych Sounds Fest on a constantly-rotating schedule?

And wouldn’t that be kind of awesome?

Of course it helps when you have a heavily touring label roster, but you’ll notice Elder headlining this Swiss edition are not a Heavy Psych Sounds label band, and they’re not the first to take part, but either way, it’s still a good base to draw from. As the HPS and HPS Fest empire expands, the way the different sides work off each other is incredible. In the corporate world they’d call it synergy. In music I think “right on” will probably suffice.

So, right on:

HEAVY PSYCH SOUNDS Announces First Festival Edition In Switzerland! With ELDER, BLACK RAINBOWS, DUEL

Fuzz rock label and booking institution, Heavy Psych Sounds, who specializes in presenting us the best artists of the global heavy psych, doom, fuzz blues and space rock realms, has announced its first festival edition in Switzerland!

While the first HPS Fests were held in Italy, the label has since extended its live reach into the UK, Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, Austria and even the USA: The underground cult label is not only THE address for all heavy rock record collectors, but has also become an important live and festival contender; with a brisk participation from heavy music fans all over the world.

After the recent HPS Fests in Berlin and Dresden, Germany, that took place in the end of 2019, were sold-out and once again the label festival-caravan is about to take over the Netherlands, Belgium, France and the UK this March, Heavy Psych Sounds is proud to announce their first Swiss edition! Taking place in the early summer on June 5th & 6th 2020 at the Gaswerk in Winterthur, as usual Heavy Psych Sounds is triumphing with an outstanding line-up: Prog-rock overlords ELDER, BLACK RAINBOWS, DUEL, ECSTATIC VISION and many more high class acts will be turning the Swiss edition of the HPS Fest into a psychedelic and heavy sounds wonderland! Tickets and more infos are now available at THIS LOCATION!

Switzerland lineup:
Elder
Black Rainbows
Duel
High Reeper
Ecstatic Vision
Deadsmoke
Oreyeon
1782
No Mute
Hellroom Projectors
Ryte

Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/2625951321025276/

Get ready for a heavy as hell 2020, as the label’s festival series will also take place at the following dates and cities this March, with MONDO GENERATOR, BLACK RAINBOWS, GIÖBIA, DEAD WITCHES & many more:

05.03.2020 FR – Paris / Glazart
06.03.2020 BE – Antwerp / Trix
07.03.2020 UK – London / Underworld
08.03.2020 NL – Deventer / Burgerweeshuis

heavypsychsoundsrecords.bandcamp.com
www.heavypsychsounds.com
https://www.facebook.com/HEAVYPSYCHSOUNDS/

Duel, Valley of Shadows (2019)

Even apart from how it relates to the other festivals under the Desertfest banner — Berlin, Belgium, New York — Desertfest London set an extremely high standard for itself last year, and it was obvious coming into Desertfest London 2020 that they’d have their work cut out for them in reaching those same heights. Their lineup isn’t finished yet, and of course we’ll see how it all looks when the day-schedule is fully unveiled, but bringing Lowrider on board to support their first release in 20 years, Refractions, is nothing if not significant — they played there in 2013 and were fantastic — but they’ll also be the the UK debut for Khemmis from the US and at least the first time at Desertfest for MaidaVale from Sweden. They’ve pretty much lost their minds and added 20 bands in a single shot here, so there’s plenty to dig into, but you’ll note King Witch, who are frickin’ awesome, as well as The Hazytones, Alunah and the slew of others taking part. They’re building a desert empire in Camden Town.

Has it been nine years already? I may have to start planning my return for year 10 if they’ll have me.

From thee social medias:

DESERTFEST ADDS 20 NAMES TO LONDON LINE-UP, INCLUDING GRAVEYARD AS NEXT HEADLINER

Tickets – https://dice.fm/festival/desertfest20

Desertfest is thrilled to be kicking off the new year in style with the apt number of 20 names added for our 9th edition this May. Sweden’s most beloved export of hard rock, the impeccable Graveyard will bring their unique bluesy tones to London as headliners of Desertfest London 2020. The Swedish family reunion continues as we welcome back one of the most synonymous desert rock (and Desertfest) bands, the iconic Lowrider return with not only a rare live performance, but their first record in almost two decades. A masterclass in the melting pot of genre fluidity comes from two-man powerhouse Big Business, whilst psychedelic stoner rock trio Somali Yacht Club will make the trip from Ukraine to play Desertfest for the first time.

Speaking of debuts we’ll play host to the first UK show for Denver melancholic doom outfit Khemmis and Sweden delivers once again with rock’n’roll four-piece MaidaVale. Elsewhere on the bill we are thrilled to welcome Your Highness, Hexis, FIREBREATHER, The Hazytones, Opium Lord, King Witch, GURT, Alunah, 1782, Tides Of Sulfur, Doomicidal, Under, A Gazillion Angry Mexicans and Dunes.

As you may have noticed, The Picturebooks have unfortunately had to cancel their performance at Desertfest due to a schedule conflict out of our control. However with more acts still to be unveiled, plus day tickets on sale soon there’s much more to come for our 9th edition.

Weekend tickets are on sale now via this link – https://link.dice.fm/desertfest20

Artwork by Piotr w. Osburne

https://www.facebook.com/events/464163361105416/
http://www.desertfest.co.uk/
https://www.facebook.com/DesertfestLondon
https://www.instagram.com/desertfest_london/

Lowrider, Ode to Io Deluxe Edition (2017)

Remember like a very, very short time ago — maybe last week? — when I was talking about how Heavy Psych Sounds was taking over the world, one band, tour and festival at a time? Well here we are with the announcements for four nights in Germany this December that one assumes — but never knows for sure — will round out a busy 2019 for the Italian label/booking agency/one-stop-shop. Monolord, The Sonic Dawn, Wedge, Gorilla and 1782 are thus far announced with apparently more to come. No big surprise they’re not done, as it seems increasingly like they’re never done. Did you see the pictures from the West Coast Heavy Psych Sounds package tour? It looked pretty amazing.

I guess that’s what happens when you put everything you have into what you do and what you do kicks ass.

From the PR wire:

HEAVY PSYCH SOUNDS announces BERLIN + DRESDEN FEST; featuring MONOLORD, THE SONIC DAWN & more!

Headquartered in Rome, Italy, Heavy Psych Sounds specializes in presenting the best artists in the global heavy psych, doom, fuzz blues and space rock realms, and their Festival- series will be no exception, spotlighting the ever-growing label’s dedication to its craft. While the first HPS Fests were held in Italy, the label has since extended its live reach into the UK, Belgium, Netherlands, Austria and even the USA: The underground cult label is not only THE address for all heavy rock record collectors, but has also become an important live and festival institution; with a brisk participation from heavy music fans all over the world.

Now, Heavy Psych Sounds is set to bring the ROCK to Germany: Dresden and Berlin with the just-announced special shows taking place this December! Each stop of the traveling festival tour will feature diverse line-ups including both genre leaders and fast-rising acts, all ready to prove their place among the world’s best. In cooperation with Greyzone Concerts and ElbSludgeBooking, Heavy Psych Sounds has just revealed the first bands featuring heavy doom weights MONOLORD, psychedelic rockers THE SONIC DAWN and more:

[ artwork by Branca Studio ]

Taking place December 6th and 7th 2019 in Berlin and Dresden, the tickets are now on sale at:

BERLIN
Event: www.facebook.com/events/328145071206018/

DRESDEN
Event: www.facebook.com/events/658161097944810/

https://www.facebook.com/HEAVYPSYCHSOUNDS
http://www.heavypsychsounds.com
https://heavypsychsoundsrecords.bandcamp.com
www.greyzone-concerts.de
www.facebook.com/Elbsludgebooking

Monolord, Rust (2017)

[Click play above to stream 1782’s self-titled debut in its entirety. Album is out May 24 on Heavy Psych Sounds.]

If you go and look up the year 1782 in Wikipedia, you’ll find a rundown of what are considered the noteworthy events that happened across that 12 months. It’s a lot of war and governmental action, people being born, people dying — basically the stuff you’d expect when you think of who was keeping records in the 18th century. None of it is the story Italian doomers 1782 are telling however. The Roman two-piece of Marco Nieddu (vocals, guitar, bass) and Gabriele Fancellu (drums, backing vocals) are focused on the later witch trials in Europe, in particular the case of Anna Göldi, who indeed was tortured and eventually decapitated by the Swiss state in 1782 as a witch after she allegedly put needles in the milk of the child of the family for whom she was working as a maid. In 2007-2008, the Swiss government acknowledged it as a “miscarriage of justice,” so better late than never, but Göldi is considered the last witch to be executed in Switzerland if not wider Europe and her story — including an affair and child with the head of that household, who was married and had her arrested — is emblematic of the treatment of women at the time.

The two-piece don’t take an outwardly critical stance on the subject matter, but neither are they glorifying chopping ladies’ heads off, which is something of a relief. The eponymous “1782,” which appears as the last original cut of the eight inclusions ahead of closer “Celestial Voices,” a Pink Floyd cover with guest vocals and organ, is instrumental, but in “She Was a Witch” and the slow rolling subsequent track “Black Sunday,” they seem nonetheless to be passing judgment of their own on the reasoning of centuries past; fair enough given the enduring spirit of masculine entitlement to control over a woman’s body and life. More than direct commentary, though, 1782‘s self-titled debut — which runs eight songs and 39 minutes delivered through Heavy Psych Sounds with a guest appearance from label honcho Gabriele Fiori (also of Black Rainbows, Killer Boogie and The Pilgrim) on guitar for the aforementioned “She Was a Witch” — prefers to stake its claim in dense-fog doom and nodder groove.

Nieddu‘s vocals are pushed low and echoing in the spirit of true post-Electric Wizard witch doom, and as a result, the tonality surrounding feels all the more viscerally massive. The recording’s overarching rawness — the album was produced by Alfredo Carboni at RKS Studios in Sardinia — only bolsters the bleak aesthetic and makes moments like the chanting toward the end of “The Spell (Maleficium Vitae)” come across as especially resonant ahead of the wah-bass finish. The album begins, suitably enough, with the ringing bell of “Intro (…To the Church)” and moves quickly into the riff-led “Night of Draculia,” a shorter and quicker leadoff that may or may not tie into the witchy thematic but makes a rousing introduction to the sound of the record more generally, with Fancellu‘s drums thud and crash backing the thick guitar and bass tones and Nieddu‘s vocals left to cut through that swamp of low end. The later, hooky “Oh Mary” is more angular, but still something of a complement in terms of overall approach, with the vocals particularly blown out at the forefront of the mix.

That leaves the trio of “The Spell (Maleficium Vitae),” “She Was a Witch” and “Black Sunday” as the doomed heart of 1782, as well as the point of the switch between sides A and B, but the latter seems to be less of a concern for the band than a linear flow from front to back. As they push deeper into the villainous fuzz and damned melodicism, the sense of plunge is palpable, and their take on doom, well informed by the likes of Saint Vitus and of course Black Sabbath, nonetheless holds a modern edge in its willingness to cast off the trappings of frill in favor of the most straight-ahead-into-the-abyss vibe possible. Small turns here and there like Fiore‘s guitar solo in “She Was a Witch,” or the already-noted chanting in “The Spell (Maleficium Vitae),” or the organ showing up in the second half of “1782” in order to tie it more fluidly to the capping Floyd cover, do much to distinguish individual pieces, but clearly 1782 are thinking in terms of their first offering as a whole experience.

And it is their first offering. They are a new band, formed in Dec. 2018 and hit the studio this past February. Nieddu and Fancellu have worked together previously in the band Raikinas — whose vocalist, Alfredo Carboni, sings on “Celestial Voices” while Nico Sechi adds Hammond beneath — and that prior experience helps stave off some of the formative feel that might otherwise typify an effort from a group so nascent, but there’s little doubt in listening that 1782 are doing the work here of finding their sound and their place in the sphere of doom, discovering what they want to say with their sound and how they want to go about it. There are moments where the album feels disjointed, as in the jump from “Oh Mary” to “1782,” but the band make clear their foundation in these tracks, and as an initial connection, it still proves largely cohesive thanks in part to its conceptual basis and tonal consistency.

It is one to grow on, and listening to the hint at vocal harmony in the second half of “She Was a Witch,” 1782 give hints of their intention to do just that. In the meantime, their debut under the banner of obscure history gives them an immediately distinguishing place from which to grow. They’re neither strictly traditional doom nor cult rock, stoner riffing nor retro-style throwback, but there are of course elements of all of them at play and more besides. Where 1782 might lead them, I’d expect natural progression around what they’re doing here, with a mindset toward craft coming forward in kind with the clear purpose in their overall sound. They may stay this raw and they may not, but it works for them here.

1782 on Thee Facebooks

Heavy Psych Sounds on Thee Facebooks

Heavy Psych Sounds website

Heavy Psych Sounds on Bandcamp

Together, Marco Nieddu and Gabriele Fancellu served as the rhythm section of the heavy rock outfit Raikinas, who issued their last album, Arkadia, in late 2016 through H42 Records. Signed to Heavy Psych Sounds under their newfound moniker 1782, the duo will release their self-titled debut full-length in May, and are streaming the song “Oh Mary” to mark the occasion of the album announcement. Unlike some of the tracks you can see listed below that feature a range of guests — including Heavy Psych Sounds label head and Black Rainbows/Killer Boogie guitarist/vocalist Gabriele Fiori and their Raikinas bandmate Alfredo Carboni, who contributes vocals — “Oh Mary” is just the duo on their own, so should give a decent impression of where they’re headed with their sound on the whole.

Oh maybe it doesn’t, I don’t know. Haven’t heard the record. Fuck it. Riffs are cool. Have some.

PR wire says:

1782 SIGN TO HEAVY PSYCH SOUNDS + PREMIERE WITCH HAUNTING SINGLE FROM UPCOMING DEBUT ALBUM

Due out May 24th 2019!

It was a cold December day in 2018, when Marco Nieddu and Gabriele Fancellu formed a Doom band called 1782, in honor of all the “witches” murdered by the bigoted minds of many generations. Just a month later, the band entered the studio to record the single “She Was A Witch”, released by Electric Valley Records in within the same month. Only a few days after its release, the single turned out to be a great success, especially on social media and by listeners of the genre. On February 8th, 1782 started recording their homonymous debut album with Alfredo Carboni at the RKS studios in Ossi, Sardini, and inked a worldwide record deal with the leading cult & fuzz rock label Heavy Psych Sounds Records!

May 24th 2019 will see 1782 release their self-titled debut of a doom metal masterpiece, dedicated to a lady called Anna Göldi, who was condemned, tortured and killed, in one of the last witchcraft trials happened in Europe. 1782 deal with macabre themes: from spells to ruthless torture, from the pleasure of sex to the most perfidious revenge. This record got seven tracks of pure Doom Metal sounds with mega-riff Stoner Doom intervals, accompanied by a rhythm section of powerful drums, intense bass and super-fuzzy guitars. The band’s first full-length album also features high class guest musicians such as BLACK RAINBOWS ‘Gabriele Fiori shredding a blistering guitar solo in ‘She Was A Witch’, guest vocals by Alfredo Carbon of RAIKINAS or Nico Sechi on Hammond.

Today 1782 are proudly sharing with us a first single to the track ‘Oh Mary’! Says the band: „The lyrics of this song tell the story of a woman, who really existed and joined the circle of Sardinian legends. Maria, forced to marry an old man and pointed out by the women of her village because she was pregnant, decides to kill herself by throwing into a well. According to the myth, Maria kidnapped the children of all the women who had humiliated her, while taking them to her grave to feed on their bodies.“

Preorder here: https://allthatisheavy.com/collections/pre-orders-1?view=list

Tracklist:
1. Intro (…To the Church)
2. Night Of Draculia
3. The Spell (Maleficium Vitae) [feat. Alfredo Carboni]
4. She Was A Witch [feat. Gabriele Fiori]
5. Black Sunday
6. Oh Mary
7. 1782 [feat. Nico Sechi]
8. Celestial Voices [Pink Floyd cover, feat. Alfredo Carboni & Nico Sechi]

Coming May 24th with Heavy Psych Sounds, the album will be available in the following album formats:

– TEST PRESS
– ULTRA LTD GOLD
– RED BACKGROUND SPALTTER Black-Blue-White-Gold
– BLACK VINYL
– CASSETTE via Electric Valley Records
– DIGIPAK
– DIGITAL DOWNLOAD

To Pre-Order your album copy, visit:
www.heavypsychsounds.com/shop.htm#HPS106

1782 is:
Marco Nieddu – Guitar, Bass and Vocals
Gabriele Fancellu – Drums and Backing Vocals

www.facebook.com/1782doom
www.heavypsychsounds.com