It was bound to happen sooner or later. Certainly by the time Oct. 13 got here and the fest actually started, but Desertfest Belgium 2017 beat that mark considerably in completing its lineup announcements for the year. Stop me if you’ve heard me say so 50 times already, but the lineup is pretty gosh darn staggering this time around, and last-minute additions of High Fighter, Dÿse, Steak Number Eight, King Hiss and A Supernaut, while not necessarily packing the star power of Graveyard or the Melvins invariably do as headliners, only make the proceedings that much fuller, giving show-goers even more exposure to some of the finest wares the heavy underground has to offer. I mean, really, look at this fricking bill.

Imagine spending three days doing this? I can’t wait to see how the schedule breaks down. Until then, kudos to the fest on rounding out the following assemblage:

DF Antwerp 2017: The Last of the Line-Up – Dyse, King Hiss & More

Our last update that completes the line-up for Desertfest Antwerp 2017 is more than just a matter of “filling in the gaps”.

We’ve always tried to offer our very international crowd a taste of what’s good and heavy right here in Belgium, so in closing we want to introduce you to three bands that have been making waves in the national scene for years now. Steak Number Eight and King Hiss are both high profile rock bands that are in high demand at the country’s clubs and festivals, yet their sound remains uncompromising and pounding as fuck. A Supernaut from Brussels serves up more of a loud boogie sound, but the influence of the melting pot town they hail from shines through regardless.

And to close off: Dÿse and High Fighter from Germany are two remarkable bands that we feel you must urgently discover, if you haven’t already.

With all the good news that has been coming, there was bound to be some setbacks as well. Luckily, this year we’ve only encountered one – and here it is: due to unforeseen circumstances, White Hills has been forced to cancel their appearance at the fest.

So there you go, we’d say we’re all set for another killer edition of Desertfest Belgium. We have the headliners, we have the scene favorites, we have the undiscovered gems… now all we need is a crowd and that means YOU! Thank you all so much for your continued support, and we’ll see you in Antwerp, just a little over a month from now!

DYSE

As intricate as Dÿse sound on record, the German noise-rock duo really shines on the stage. For almost 15 years now, Jari and André have been honing their skills and perfecting their music, never losing sight of a keen sense of humour and just the right amount of experiment. If you don’t know them yet, get ready to be surprised!

STEAK NUMBER EIGHT

One of the most respected heavy bands in Belgium, Steak Number Eight landed in the spotlight while still in their teenage years, earning first place in the country’s most notorious rock contest. A decade later, and they manage to bring postmetal and noise to a wider audience while still making no compromises on their sound. A spot at Desertfest only serves them right.

KING HISS

Another mainstay of the national underground rock scene, any Belgian who hasn’t yet seen ’em live must be living under a rock. Sold-out clubs? Check! Festivals, both big and small? Check! Features in all the relevant magazines, off- and online? Check! The new album ‘Mastosaurus’ not only revives the idea of the concept album, it is also a marvelous feat that offers no compromises, no pulling punches. Just 10 times TKO causing maximum damage.

A SUPERNAUT

What is A Supernaut? It’s Rock, it’s soul, it’s Psychedelia and it’s pure love. It’s beautiful, it shakes you up, it reminds you of ZZ Top without the beards, or GrandFunk Railroad that’s slightly derailed. But above all, it’s Brussels – city of their untamed rock ‘n roller hearts, and their music serves as a dark and magic homage to their hometown.

HIGH FIGHTER

High Fighter was formed in the summer of 2014 by former band members of A Million Miles, Buffalo Hump and Pyogenesis. They offer a volatile cocktail of heavy as hell riffs fuelled by beer and the mighty weedian riffs. Add a heavy dose of the blues as well as some deadly schizophrenic vocals, and it is clear why the band got thumbs up by John Garcia and Conan!

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High Fighter, Scars and Crosses (2016)

The new video from Belgian heavy rock progressives A Supernaut repurposes footage from Alejandro Jodorowsky‘s 1973 festival-of-weirdness The Holy Mountain, and as such, I might recommend not checking it out immediately if you, say, share a cubicle with someone or are otherwise generally employed in a place where there are other people who might walk past and not fully appreciate avant garde filmmaking, let alone the rock-thump-goes-disco pulsations of “Ice,” which is the first tune to be revealed from the Brussels outfit’s impending album, LaMenace, which is due out early in 2017. You never know who’s gonna wind up being a philistine, and I’d hate to have anybody shitcanned for checking out something on this site. Times are tough and we’re a long way — only getting farther — from post-scarcity economies. So just be careful is all I’m saying.

As you make your way through the track and subsequent bio info below, you might notice that A Supernaut — who prove beyond the shadow of a doubt that if you’re smart enough you don’t need more than a single letter to make something your own — ultimately bear little resemblance to the descriptions of their bio. It’s weird enough, especially in this context, but I wouldn’t call “Ice” particularly psychedelic. Nor would I say it sounds like ZZ Top or Grand Funk Railroad. The band underwent an overhaul early last year, becoming a trio for what seems to have been the first time, and to compare “Ice” to a song like “The Fog” (the video for which is on YouTube here), I think you can hear outright the rather significant shift in sound between the two. With the questionable relevance, you might wonder why I bothered including said info at all. Fair enough. It made sense to me in terms of acknowledging how a group’s mission can change in so short a time. You’re certainly entitled to make of it what you will.

Alright, now that we’re all duly buckled in and justified and disclaimered-out, don’t forget that LeMenace will be released in the first part of next year and please enjoy:

A Supernaut, “Ice” official video

ICE, first release from “LAMENACE” A Supernaut upcoming ALBUM (early 2017). A video footage by © Micheline Des Bois (facebook.com/micheline2000). Recorded at the studio americain (Brussels) by Mike Black and A Supernaut / Mixing and Mastering by Remy Lebbos at Rare Sound Studio (Brussels).

Bio:

Reborn in February 15, A Supernaut is a band made up of 3 Brussels bred musicians, that has been brought to the height of notoriety thanks to its heavy presence on the Brussels scene. Skinny gits rather than greedy buggers, eager socks- and-sandals wearers, branding the Atomnium tattooed in place of the heart and sporting crotch high teeny weeny shorts, the spectacle of their Brussels’ psychedelia is definitely worth the trip.

But let’s talk music, and what can one say other than it does exactly what it says on the tin. It’s Rock, it’s soul, it’s Psychedelia and it’s pure love. Some harsh rock wounded by life, psychedelia that tastes like candy apples and love that will make your head swirl faster than a rollercoaster. It’s beautiful, it shakes you up, it reminds you of ZZ Top – only without the beards – or Grand Funk Railroad that’s slightly derailed; in short it’s a kick in the face with a big ol’ cowboy boot.

But above all it’s Brussels, city of their untamed rock ‘n roller hearts, that their transporting music, oozing energy, contradictions, the fusion of what’s good and bad pays a dark and magic homage.

A Supernaut is:
Thomas Venegoni (Bruxelles (BE)) – Guitars, Vocals
Nicolas Dekeuster (Bruxelles (BE)) – Bass, Vocals
Jean-François Hermand (Bruxelles (BE)) – Drums, Vocals

A Supernaut on Thee Facebooks

A Supernaut on Twitter

A Supernaut at Vi.Be