Friends, a moment of your time to hear the good word of lysergy. Based out of the terrestrial common dimension in Leipzig, Germany, the instrumental trio Acid Rooster might actually on some other plane still be recording Sebastian Väth‘s guitar for “Moon Loop.” And on into perpetuity drifts the 2019 self-titled debut from the mellow space rocking outfit comprised of Väth, bassist/synthesist/sitarist Max Leicht and drummer Steffen Schmidt — whose kick drum circa four minutes into said 11-minute instrumental loopy-do takes on a life of its own and seems very much to enjoy the sunshine that outward shimmer of guitar is providing, thanks. The band are more active at the start of the record with the cooool swirl running down in “Oculatus Abyss” only to come back up with the initial twisting solo. This was a pandemic album for a lot of people, I know. I was there, at home, but didn’t hear Acid Rooster until later. Remember, I never said I was good at any of this.

“Oculatus Abyss” screams in two layers as it moves through the second half of its five minutes, one fierce on the wah, the other differently fierce on the wah. It’s like that. There are threads of synth and effects and it all kind of blurs together, but Leicht and Schmidt are committed to the groove, and they keep it together all throughout the record. In that way, Acid Rooster function not unlike a classic heavy rock power trio — the rhythm section is that, though I’ll point out that neither the basslines nor the character of the percussion want for melodiousness — with the guitarist all the more able to range with the bass and drums locked into the central procession beneath. They put it to wondrous use, and production by Frank Oberländer and Jan Werner, who also mixed and plays 12-string on “Moon Loop” and closer “Äther,” at Zentralantiquariat Leipzig lets that flourish come through with a balance between organic performance-capture and sonic clarity. Following “Oculatus Abyss,” “Moon Loop” does get raucous for a time — it also features the album’s only vocals in guest throat-singing by is Patrick Schönfeld — but the core of the song is the flow in the guitar, bass and drums, the subtle play happening in the background of the mix, and the way everything seems always to be in order even as the order changes measure by measure. A malleable mix. Notable. Bernhard Götz mastered.

The inevitable motorik stretch happens at the beginning of “Sulfur,” and the riff laid on it at first is duly jet-engine, offset by more of a bounce but sure enough headed back around. “Sulfur” burns but does not stink, and for the full breeze-through-predator-feathers effect, a tenor sax guest spot by Christopher Kunz does just fine. My wife doesn’t like sax in psych. To each their own. I’m with her if it gets to wankery, but that’s not the case here. Acid Rooster‘s Acid Rooster might be melted and drippy and drink-it-with-a-straw-to-see-stars, but it’s still class.

All that scorch feels like it’s bound to leave blisters when the fuzz hits later in “Sulfur,” but fair enough for the jazz in the low end as they wind it down. Side A wraps like “Sulfur” is being dragged down a tunnel — which it is; so are you; guest synth by Bodo Hansen (see also “Focus”) — but it blasts back and ends clean to let the post-rock float of “Time Lapse” take hold as smoothly as a digital listen warrants aside from the concerns of a 12″-flip. The proceedings are hypnotic enough to make me wonder if that’s what the band named the song after, but either way, you might lose time. I did. If you find it, just throw it away. Echoing guitar becomes a kind of resonant hum, wobbling, but the bass and drums are there and offer comfort and warmth while the light dances. They threaten to lose it for a minute in “Time Lapse,” but the sax comes back and I don’t know if Schmidt ever actually broke a sweat. They realign and finish, letting the drone be the last to go.

That’s where “Focus” picks up, with birdsong-via-effects and a resulting pastoralia that feels like something of a shift from “Time Lapse,” which was more ethereal. Likewise true to its name, “Focus” is arguably the most straightforward piece on the six-song LP, but it’s nonetheless an eight-minute tripfest with a slow unfurling bliss and a scope that feels open, like really, genuinely open, to the possibilities of its own instrumentation. But Väth provides a standout twisting lead line that becomes a kind of hook unto itself, playful and able to take flight when so directed. There is a build in “Focus,” and it brings about a more active thrust in the spirit if not the exact modus of “Sulfur,” honing a kind of urgency at the same time as the guitar taps into a broader melody. That combination, and Väth riding the groove as he comes to do, gives the album a sweet crescendo that’s almost wistful in its own aftermath, a sentimentality shown as that guitar-twist flickers in again before it all goes away.

At five minutes, “Äther” brings a darker feel earlier on. Its drone is lower, the bass is more forward, maybe. The drums hitting harder definitely becomes a factor, and that might be part of it, but something in the mood has shifted after “Focus,” and the backdrop isn’t empty but feels starker. Schmidt plays a significant role in the apex of the finale, as noted, but Väth and Leicht are dead on in following. Willful repetition doesn’t always work to evoke a sense of place or time or allow for other elements of a piece to develop and/or dissipate, but Acid Rooster add gracefully to “Äther” as they bring it to a head, and close as a live set might with a wash of cymbal, a few last wisps of guitar, and the residual hum of synth.

Like I said earlier, I was late to the party on this one, so if you were too, don’t feel bad. Good music doesn’t get stale. If you’re new to it, through this and dying for more, Acid Rooster put out the full-length Hall of Mirrors (review here) in October. Bliss abounds. As always, thanks for reading.

—

Coming to you live from Queens, New York, where in a couple of hours I’ll go inside TV Eye and see King Buffalo and Sun Voyager, and that’ll be good. I got here crazy early because I didn’t want to stress out sitting in traffic and never find a parking spot and just be a dick at home anyway because show-anxiety and so on and so forth so I just left early and I can sit and write in the car and that’s fucking fine with me. I wouldn’t say the Chevy Malibu is the most comfortable car I’ve ever sat in — my wife’s first car was a 1988 Ford Taurus and it was like driving a couch — but I could do certainly do worse.

Also it’s Thursday. So I’m breaking my own routine a bit and writing the Friday Full-Length a day early. Tomorrow, it won’t make a difference. To me, sitting stoned in the car on the laptop, yeah.

You get the point.

I’m looking forward to the show, and to hopefully sleeping until whatever time The Pecan gets up tomorrow. Though sleep has been pretty rough the last couple weeks. Either Tuesday or Wednesday, I was up at like 3:45 and never got back to sleep, and last night, I was tossing and turning from like 11-3 and finally conked out at 4:30 to get up two hours later. This isn’t ideal. The kid hasn’t been going to bed well this week, and that’s part of it — nothing like yelling at your kid to go to bed to make everyone end the day feeling like garbage, every day — but The Patient Mrs. has been up too. Her semester starts in a week, which means all of our semester starts in a week. It’s been nice having her around the house. She is a joy. She takes good care of me.

Next week, huh? The notes have We Are Impala premiering a track Monday, plus there’ll be the King Buffalo review from tonight. No, I’m not doing both shows. It’s too long a drive and two nights out of the house in a row is a lot to ask when I’m going to a four-day festival in Vegas at the end of this very cold month. Also a release announcement for Earl of Hell and a tour post for Inter Arma, who I thought were headlining over River of Nihil because I have no idea who River of Nihil are. Never too old to learn a thing. Fortunately I found that out before I wrote the post. Not always so lucky.

TO THAT END — thank you, from the depths of my wretched middle-aged heart for everything everyone does to keep this site clean. By that of course I mean not being assholes in comments, that’s a big one. I had one prickish social post to contend with in the 2024 year-end coverage, and I feel like that’s getting off light. Thank you for correcting my mistakes when they happen, which they absolutely do. Thank you for being a part of this with me. It would lonely otherwise, and if I’m honest, probably wouldn’t be here anymore.

Wow, sidetracked.

So, Monday, We Are Impala and King Buffalo review. Tuesday, Wednesday, I don’t know yet. I wanna review a thing, so probably that. Thursday is double-booked with video premieres for All Are to Return and Peacebone, but the vibes are different enough that it should be fun, and next Friday I guess I’ll have the roundup of Ripplefest Texas adds for the week, an announcement from Esbjerg Fuzztival in Denmark, and who knows what else. I was thinking I might close the week with Yajaira, but if you have any requests, I’m all ears.

Otherwise, have a great and safe weekend. If you’re at the show tonight, hi. If not, this is the internet, hi anyway. Have fun, don’t forget to hydrate, and I don’t know, maybe drop a text to your mom just to say hi? That’s it. I’m all out of good advice.

FRM.

The Obelisk Collective on Facebook

The Obelisk Radio

The Obelisk merch

 

This is the last day of the Fall 2024 Quarterly Review. Day 11 of 10, as it were. Bonus-extra, as we say at home. 10 more releases of various kinds to underscore the point of the infinite creative sphere. Before we dive in, I want to make a note about the header above. It’s the same one I used a couple times during the pandemic, with the four horseman of the apocalypse riding, and I put it in place of the AI art I’d been using because that seems to be a trigger for so many people.

In my head, I did that to avoid the conversation, to avoid dealing with someone who might be like, “Ugh, AI art” and then a conversation that deteriorates in the way of people talking at each other on the internet. This saves me the trouble. I’ll note the irony that swiping an old etching out of the public domain and slapping an Obelisk logo on it is arguably less creative than feeding a prompt into a generative whathaveyou, but at least this way I don’t have to hear the underground’s moral panic that AI is coming for stoner rock.

Quarterly Review #101-110:

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Chat Pile, Cool World

Chat Pile are two-for-two on living up to the hype in my mind as Cool World follows the band’s 2022 debut, God’s Country (review here), with a darker, more metal take on that record’s trauma-poetic and nihilistic noise rock. Some of the bassy jabs in songs like “Camcorder” and “Frownland” remind of Korn circa their self-titled, but I’m not sure Chat Pile were born when that record came out, and that harder, fuller-sounding impact comes in a context with “Tape” following “Camcorder” in bringing together Meshuggah and post-punk, so take it as you will. Based in Oklahoma City, Chat Pile are officially A Big Deal With Dudes™, but in a style that’s not exactly known for reinvention — i.e. noise rock — they are legitimately a breath of air that would be ‘fresh’ if it weren’t so desolate and remains innovative regardless. There’s gonna be a lot of mediocre riffs and shitty poetry written in an attempt to capture a fraction of what this record does.

Chat Pile on Facebook

The Flenser website

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Neon Nightmare, Faded Dream

I guess the anonymous project Neon Nightamre — who sound and aesthetic-wise are straight-up October Rust-and-later Type O Negative; the reason the album caught my eye was the framing of the letters around the corners — have gotten some harsh response to their debut, Faded Dream. Critic-type dudes pearl-clutching a band’s open unoriginality. Because to be sure, beyond dedicating the album to Peter Steele — and maybe they did, I haven’t seen the full artwork — Neon Nightmare could hardly do more in naked homage to the semi-goth Brooklyn legends and their distinctive Beatles/Sabbath worship. But I mean, that’s the point. It’s not like this band is saying they’re the first ones doing any of this, and in a world where AI could scrape every Type O record and pump out some half-assed interpretation in five minutes, isn’t something that attempts to demonstrate actual human love for the source material as it builds on it worth at least acknowledging as creative? I like Type O Negative a lot. The existence of Neon Nightmare doesn’t lessen that at all, and there are individual flashes of style in “Lost Silver” — the keyboard line feels like an easter egg from “Anesthesia”; I wondered if the title was in honor of Josh Silver — and the guitar work of “She’s Drowning” that make me even more curious to see where this goes.

Neon Nightmare on Facebook

20 Buck Spin website

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Astrometer, Outermost

Brooklyn-based instrumentalist five-piece Astrometer present their full-length debut after releasing their first demo, Incubation (review here), in 2022. The double-guitar pairing of Carmine Laietta V and Drew Mack and the drumming of Jeff Stieber at times will put you in mind of their collective past playing together in Hull, but the keys of Jon Ehlers (Bangladeafy) and the basswork of Sam Brodsky (Meek is Murder) assure that the newer collective have a persona and direction of their own, so that while the soaring solo in “Power Vulture” or the crashes of “Blood Wedding” might ring familiar, the context has shifted, so that those crashes come accompanied by sax and there’s room for a song like “Conglobulations” with its quirk, rush and crunching bounce to feel cosmic with the keyboard, and that blend of crush and reach extends into the march of closer “Do I Know How to Party…” which feels like a preface for things to come in its progressive punch.

Astrometer on Facebook

Astrometer on Bandcamp

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Acid Rooster, Hall of Mirrors

An annual check-in from universe-and-chill molten and mellow heavy psych explorers Acid Rooster. It’s only been a year since the band unfurled Flowers and Dead Souls, but Hall of Mirrors offers another chance to be hypnotized by the band’s consuming fluidity, the 39-minute four-songer coming across as focused on listener immersion in no small part as a result of Acid Rooster‘s own. That is, it’s not like you’re swimming around the bassline and residual synth and guitar effects noise in the middle of the 14-minute “Chandelier Arp” and the band are standing calm and dry back on the beach. No way. They’re right in it. I don’t know if they were closed-eyes entranced while the recording was taking place, but if you want a definition of ‘dug in,’ Hall of Mirrors has four, and Acid Rooster‘s capacity for conveying purpose as they plunge into a jam-born piece like “Confidence of Ignorance” sets them apart from much of Europe’s psychedelic underground in establishing a meditative atmosphere. They are unafraid of the serene, and not boring. This is an achievement.

Acid Rooster on Facebook

Cardinal Fuzz webstore

Little Cloud Records website

Tonzonen website

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Giants Dawrfs and Black Holes, Echo on Death of Narcissus

Five years on from their start, Germany’s Giants Dwarfs and Black Holes present Echo on Death of Narcissus as their third full-length and the follow-up to 2023’s In a Sandbox Full of Suns (review here) as the four-piece bring in new guitarist Caio Puttini Chaves alongside vocalist Christiane Thomaßen, guitarist Tomasz Riedel (also bass and keys) and drummer Carsten Freckmann for a five-track collection that has another album’s worth of knows-what-it’s-about behind it. Opener “Again,” long enough at eight minutes to be a bookend with the finale “Take Me Down” (13:23) but not so long as to undercut that expanse, leads into three competent showings of classic progressive/psychedelic rock, casual in the flow between “Soul Trip” and the foreboding strums of centerpiece “Flowers of Evil” ahead of the also-languid “December Bloom.” And when they get there, “Take Me Down” has a jammy breadth all its own that shimmers in the back half soloing, which kind of devolves at the end, but resounds all the more as organic for that.

Giants Dwarfs and Black Holes on Facebook

Sireena Records website

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Oryx, Primordial Sky

Oryx‘s Primordial Sky threads a stylistic needle across its four songs. Delivered through Translation Loss, the 41-minute follow-up to the Denver trio’s 2021 offering, Lamenting a Dead World (discussed here), is no less extreme than one would expect, but to listen to 13-minute opener/longest track (immediate points), 13-minute capper “Look Upon the Earth,” or either of the seven-minute cuts between, it’s plain to both hear and see that there’s more to Oryx atmospherically than onslaught, however low guitarist Thomas Davis (also synth) pushes his growls amid the lurching grooves of bassist Joshua Kauffman and drummer Abigail Davis. This is something that five records and more than a decade on from their start their listeners know well, but as they refine their processes, even the outright sharp-toothed consumption of “Ephemeral” has some element of outreach.

Oryx on Facebook

Translation Loss Records store

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Sunface, Cloud Castles

Heads up on this record for those who dig the mellower end of heavy psych, plus intricacy of arrangement, which is a number in which I very much count myself. By that I mean don’t be surprised when Sunface‘s Cloud Castles shows up on my year-end list. It’s less outwardly traditionalist than some of the heavy rock coming out of Norway at this point in history, but showcasing a richer underground only makes Cloud Castles more vital in my mind, and as even a shorter song like “Thunder Era” includes an open-enough sensibility to let a shoegazier sway enter the proceedings in “Violet Ponds” without seeming incongruous for the post-All Them Witches bluesy sway that underlies it. Innovative for the percussion in “Tall Trees” alone, Sunface are weighted in tone but able to move in a way that feels like their own, and to convey that movement without upsetting the full-album flow across the 10 songs and 44 minutes with radical changes in meter, while at the same time not dwelling too long in any single stretch or atmosphere.

Sunface on Facebook

Apollon Records website

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Fórn, Repercussions of the Self

While consistent with their two prior LPs in the general modus of unmitigated aural heft and oppressive, extreme sludge, Fórn declare themselves on broader aesthetic ground in incorporating electronic elements courtesy of guitarist Joey Gonzalez and Andrew Nault, as well as newcomer synthesist Lane Shi Otayonii, whose clean vocals also provide a sense of space to 11-minute post-intro plunge “Soul Shadow.” If it’s the difference between all-crush and mostly-crush, that’s not nothing, and “Anamnesis” can be that much noisier for the band’s exploring a more encompassing sound. Live drums are handled in a guest capacity by Ilsa‘s Josh Brettell, and that band’s Orion Peter also sits in alongside Fórn‘s Chris Pinto and Otayonii, and with Danny Boyd on guitar and Brian Barbaruolo on bass, the sound is duly massive, tectonic and three-dimensional; the work of a band following a linear progression toward new ideas and balancing that against the devastation laid forth in their songs. Repercussions of the Self does not want for challenge directed toward the listener, but the crux is catharsis more than navelgazing, and the intensity here is no less crucial to Fórn‘s post-metallic scene-setting than it has been to this point in their tenure. Good band actively making themselves better.

Fórn on Facebook

Persistent Vision Records website

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Gravity Well, Negative Space

Big-riffed heavy fuzz rock from Northern Ireland as the Belfast-based self-releasing-for-now four-piece of vocalist/synthesist Fionnuala McGlinchy, guitarist Tom Finney, bassist Michael McFarlane and drummer Ciaran O’Kane touch on vibes reminiscent of some of Mammoth Weed Wizard Bastard‘s synth-fused sci-fi doom roil while keeping the material more earthbound in terms of tone and structure, so that the seven-minute “The Abstract” isn’t quite all-in on living up to the title, plenty liquefied, but still aware of itself and where it’s going. This mitigated terrestrialism — think Middle of Nowhere-era Acid King — is the source of a balance to which Negative Space, the band’s second album, is able to reshape as required by a given song — “Burning Gaze” has its far-out elements, they’re there for a reason — and thereby portray a range of moods rather than dwelling in the same emotional or atmospheric space for the duration. Bookending intro “As Above” and the closer “So Below” further the impression of the album as a single work/journey to undertake, and indeed that seems to be how the character of “The Forest,” “Delirium” and the rest of the material flourishes.

Gravity Well on Facebook

Gravity Well on Bandcamp

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Methadone Skies, Spectres at Dawn

Romanian instrumentalist heavy psych purveyors Methadone Skies sent word of the follow-up to 2021’s Retrofuture Caveman (review here) last month and said that the six-songer Spectres at Dawn was the heaviest work they’d done in their now-six-album tenure. Well they’re right. Taking cues from Russian Circles and various others in the post-heavy sphere, guitarists Alexandru Wehry and Casian Stanciu, bassist Mihai Guta and drummer Flavius Retea (also keyboards, of increasing prominence in the sound), are still able to dive into a passage and carry across a feeling of openness and expanse, but on “Mano Cornetto” here that becomes just part of a surprisingly stately rush of space metal, and 10-minute closer “Use the Excessive Force” seems to be laying out its intention right there in the title. Whether the ensuing blastbeats are, in fact, excessive, will be up to the individual listener, but either way, Methadone Skies have done their diligence in letting listeners know where they’re headed, and Spectres at Dawn embodies that forwardness of ethic on multiple levels.

Methadone Skies on Facebook

Methadone Skies on Bandcamp

—

New Acid Rooster coming up. The Leipzig, Germany, psych rockers released their Flowers and Dead Souls LP, and I whiffed on reviewing that, but I’m hoping that Hall of Mirrors will be my chance to really engage with their work, because while I did manage to dig into their 2022 LP, Ad Astra (review here), my big takeaway therefrom was “hey this is pretty good I’d like to hear more if it.” Sometimes life happens and you don’t hear every record, or even every cool record. That’s why I do year-end polls — so I can spend the next half-decade trying to catch up with whatever I missed in a given year. Acid Rooster featured on a number of lists from last year’s poll, so they fit the bill nicely there.

This is the part where I tell you there’s no audio from Hall of Mirrors posted yet, and while that’s true at least so far as I can find, my suggestion is you check again around the time preorders start — that’s Sept. 15 ahead of an Oct. 25 release — and whether you’re in the applied region of one or the other labels behind the album or purchasing from the band itself, the odds should be better. In the meantime, in case you’re like me, the 2023 album streams in full at the bottom of this post. And I know I don’t need to say that, that you can find it, but I remember a time before all music was immediately accessible all the time once it was released, and that’s a novelty that may never actually fade for me.

So, enjoy. Album announce and live dates follow from social media:

We are thrilled to announce our new studio album „Hall of Mirrors“ !!

It was recorded on two off days during our UK-tour in 2022 at Dystopia Glasgow and mixed at Fuzzface Studio by Jason Shaw. Mastered by Joe Carra at Crystal Mastering. Artwork by Marco Heinzmann aka Super Quiet.

Presale starts on september 15th via Tonzonen, Cardinal Fuzz, Little Cloud Records and our bandcamp page.

Official release is on october 25th!

Acid Rooster live:
14.09. Berlin, Future Fest
01.10. Weimar, C.Keller
03.10. Leipzig, Ilses Erika + Datashock
04.10. Nürnberg, heizhaus + Datashock
05.10. Würzburg, Immerhin + Datashock

Tickets: http://www.elborrachobookings.com/artist/acid-rooster/

https://www.facebook.com/acidrooster/
https://www.instagram.com/acidrooster_band/
https://acidrooster.bandcamp.com/
https://linktr.ee/acidrooster

https://www.facebook.com/CardinalFuzz/
cardinalfuzz.bigcartel.com/

https://www.instagram.com/littlecloudrecords/
https://www.facebook.com/littlecloudrecords/
http://littlecloudrec.com/

https://www.facebook.com/Tonzonen/
https://www.instagram.com/tonzonenrecords/
https://www.tonzonen.de

Acid Rooster, Flowers and Dead Souls (2023)

When I started this post, Poland’s Red Smoke Festival had just unveiled the first names for its 2024 edition, set for this July 12-14. That was Domkraft, Coogans Bluff, Earth Tongue and Narbo Dacal. You know how it goes, you get caught up with stuff, a couple days go by, and now there’s four more adds in Acid Rooster, Kanaan, Perilymph and Tuskar, so it’s safe to say the event is taking shape at a fairly good clip. I don’t know the announcement schedule or anything like that, but if you’re in Poland or thinking of making the trip, I imagine you also don’t need me to suggest following their socials, etc. Even if you don’t, I believe you are capable.

So does the festival, which admirably dispenses with some of the social-media-era hoopla around these things by making a slogan out of ‘The Less You Know the Better.’ They might be right, or at least there’s a philosophical argument waiting to be made there. Either way, there were YouTube and Facebook links for the bands, but again, I believe in your power to dig and would encourage you to do so. I only took them out because it looked funny on the page and this site does weird things with YouTube hyperlinks. Certainly all parties involved have online presences and audio, which even 30 years later kind of makes the internet feel like a miracle. Not to mention it’s how I know this fest exists in the first place.

Even so, I don’t know much more than this, so I suppose I’m doing alright in that regard:

First announcements for RSF2024

COOGANS BLUFF – Horns Rock’n’Roll Dance From Germany

Domkraft – Riffs Riffs Riffs Repeat From Sweden With Love

Earth Tongue – Odd But Gold Heavy Psych Fuzz From New Zealand

Narbo Dacal – (Be)Witching Metal From Poland

Acid Rooster – Endless Trippy Kraut Experience from Germany

Kanaan – Blazing Freeform Psychedelic Rock From Norway

Perilymph – Beautiful Psychedelic Sounds From Germany

Tuskar – Heavy Doomed Hammer From UK

Event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/1316543752328569/

Save the date 12-14.07.2024

The Less You Know The Better

https://www.facebook.com/RedSmokeFest
https://instagram.com/redsmokefest
https://redsmokefestival.pl/

Domkraft, Sonic Moons (2023)

Acid Rooster, Flowers and Dead Souls (2023)

You might recall last year when German psychedelic instrumentalists Acid Rooster released their Ad Astra (review here) LP, the hype around it was thick enough to swim in. The music itself was prone more to drift, as it happened, but with the narrative behind it of being recorded live in an outdoor space during the pandemic, a small gathering put to tape at a singularly desperate moment, the gorgeousness of its two extended tracks took on a depth not often granted to improv-based psych. Three labels have lined up to release Flowers and Dead Souls, the new full-length from Acid Rooster, on Aug. 25.

They’re listed below along with the territories being covered between the UK, Europe and the US — that’s Cardinal Fuzz, Tonzonen and Little Cloud, respectively — while there’s no audio yet, I wouldn’t necessarily be surprised if when the album arrives, it isn’t also a two-songer with “Flowers” on one side and “Dead Souls” on the other. Not saying I know that — because I don’t — but given the context of Ad Astra it’s certainly possible, and the thought of more explorations from this particular outfit is enticing given the patience and breadth they demonstrated last time out.

I assume what happens next is the album details, maybe one of the songs — or more, if there are more — streamed ahead of time through an outlet likely much cooler than this one, and preorders, etc., but Acid Rooster also have a couple gigs coming up including a stop at Krach am Bach, a swing through the Other Side Festival in London, and a slot supporting Dopelord in Nijmegen, the Netherlands.

Album cover and particulars, as per socials:

NEWS FROM ACID ROOSTER

‘Hey fellows, we are over the moon to finally share the news and announce that our second studio album will be released on august 25th via Tonzonen (EU), Cardinal Fuzz (UK) and Little Cloud Records (US) !!

Check out the artwork for „Flowers and Dead Souls” by our friend and genius Marco Heinzmann aka @superquiet.

We have some more exciting things coming up, so stay tuned and save the date !

Pre Order starts soon !’

Acid Rooster live:
Aug 04 Krach am Bach Beelen, Germany
Oct 14 The Victoria, Dalston London, UK (Other Side Festival)
Oct 21 Doornroosje Nijmegen, Netherlands (w/ Dopelord, Bismut)

https://www.facebook.com/acidrooster/
https://www.instagram.com/acidrooster_band/
https://acidrooster.bandcamp.com/

https://www.facebook.com/CardinalFuzz/
cardinalfuzz.bigcartel.com/

https://www.instagram.com/littlecloudrecords/
https://www.facebook.com/littlecloudrecords/
http://littlecloudrec.com/

https://www.facebook.com/Tonzonen/
https://www.instagram.com/tonzonenrecords/
https://www.tonzonen.de

Acid Rooster, Ad Astra (2022)

Day two of the Fall 2022 Quarterly Review brings a fresh batch of 10 releases en route to the total 100 by next Friday. Some of this is brand new, some of it is older, some of it is doom, some is rock, some is BongBongBeerWizards, and so on. Sometimes these things get weird, and I guess that’s where it’s at for me these days, but you’re going to find plenty of ground to latch onto despite that. Wherever you end up, I hope you’re digging this so far half as much as I am. Much love as always as we dive back in.

Quarterly Review #11-20:

Fu Manchu, Fu30 Pt. 2

Like everyone’s everything in the era, Fu Manchu‘s 30th anniversary celebration didn’t go as planned, but with their Fu30 Pt. 2 three-songer, they give 2020’s Fu30 Pt. 1 EP (posted here) the sequel its title implied and present two originals and one cover in keeping with that prior release’s format. Tracked in 2021, “Strange Plan” and the start-stop-riffed “Low Road” are quintessential works of Fu fuzz, so SoCal they’re practically in Baja, and bolstered by the kinds of grooves that have held the band in good stead with listeners throughout these three-plus decades. “Strange Plan” is more aggressive in its shove, but perhaps not so confrontational as the cover of Surf Punks‘ 1980 B-side “My Wave,” a quaint bit of surferly gatekeeping with the lines, “Go back to the Valley/And don’t come back,” in its chorus. As they will with their covers, the four-piece from San Clemente bring the song into their own sound rather than chase down trying to sound like Reagan-era punk, and that too is a method well proven on the part of the band. If you ever believed heavy rock and roll could be classic, Fu Manchu are that, and for experienced heads who’ve heard them through the years as they’ve tried different production styles, Fu30 Pt. 2 finds an effective middle ground between impact and mellow groove.

Fu Manchu on Facebook

At the Dojo Records website

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Valborg, Der Alte

Not so much a pendulum as a giant slaughterhouse blade swinging from one side to the other like some kind of horrific grandfather clock, Valborg pull out all the industrial/keyboard elements from their sound and strip down their songwriting about as far as it will go on Der Alte, the 13-track follow-up to 2019’s Zentrum (review here) and their eighth album overall since 2009. Accordingly, the bone-cruncher pummel in cuts like “Kommando aus der Zukunft” and the shout-punky centerpiece “Hektor” is furious and raw. I’m not going to say I hope they never bring back the other aspects of their sound, but it’s hard not to appreciate the directness of the approach on Der Alte, on which only the title-track crosses the four-minute mark in runtime (it has a 30 second intro; such self-indulgence!), and their sound is still resoundingly their own in tone and the throaty harsh vocals on “Saturn Eros Xenomorph” and “Hoehle Hoelle” and the rest across the album’s intense, largely-furious-but-still-not-lacking-atmosphere span. If it was another band, you might call it death metal. As it stands, Der Alte is just Valborg, distilled to their purest and meanest form.

Valborg on Facebook

Prophecy Productions webstore

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Sons of Arrakis, Volume I

2022 is probably a good year to put out a record based around Frank Herbert’s Dune universe (the Duniverse?), what with the gargantuan feature film last year and another one coming at some point as blah blah franchise everything, but Montreal four-piece Sons of Arrakis have had at least some of the songs on Volume I in the works for the better part of four years, guitarists Frédéric Couture (also vocals) and Francis Duchesne (also keys) handling recording for the eight-song/30-minute outing with Vick Trigger on bass and Eliot Landry on drums locking in tight grooves pushing all that sci-fi and fuzz along at a pace that one only wishes the movie had shared. I’ve never read Dune, which is only relevant information here because Volume I doesn’t leave me feeling out of the loop as “Temple of the Desert” locks in quintessential stoner rock janga-janga shuffle and “Lonesome Preacher” culminates in twisty fuzz that should well please fans of Valley of the Sun before bleeding directly and smoothly into the melodic highlight “Abomination” in a way that, to me at least, bodes better for their longer term potential than whatever happenstance novelty of subject matter surrounds. There’s plenty of Dune out there if they want to stick to the theme, but songwriting like this could be about brushing your teeth and it’d still work.

Sons of Arrakis on Facebook

Sons of Arrakis on Instagram

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Voidward, Voidward

Voidward‘s self-titled full-length debut lands some nine years after the Durham, North Carolina, trio’s 2013 Knives EP, and accordingly features nearly a decade’s worth of difference in sound, casting off longer-form post-black metal duggery in favor of more riff-based explorations. Still at least partially metallic in its roots, as opener “Apologize” makes plain and the immediate nodder roll of “Wolves” backs up, the eight-song/47-minute outing is distinguished by the clean, floating vocal approach of guitarist Greg Sheriff, who almost reminds of Dave Heumann from Arbouretum, though no doubt other listeners will hear other influences, and yes that’s a compliment. Joined by bassist/backing vocalist Alec Ferrell — harmonies persist on “Wolves” and elsewhere — and drummer Noah Kessler, Sheriff brings just a hint of char to the tone of “Oblivion,” but the blend of classic heavy rock and metal throughout points Voidward to someplace semi-psychedelic but nonetheless richly ambient, and even the most straightforward inclusion, arguably “Chemicals” though closer “Cobalt” has plenty of punch as well, is rich in its execution. They even thrash a bit on “Horses,” so as long as it’s not another nine years before they do anything else, they sound like they can go wherever they want. Rare for a debut.

Voidward on Facebook

Clearly Records on Bandcamp

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Indus Valley Kings, Origin

The second long-player from Long Island, New York’s Indus Valley Kings, Origin brings together nine songs across an expansive 55 minutes, and sees the trio working from a relatively straightforward heavy rock foundation toward more complex purposes, whether that’s the spacious guitar stretch-out of “A Cold Wind” or the tell-tale chug in the second half of centerpiece “Dark Side of the Sun.” They effectively shift back and forth between lengthier guitar-led jams and more straight-up verses and choruses, but structure is never left too far behind to pick up again as need be, and the confidence behind their play comes through amid a relatively barebones production style, the rush of the penultimate “Drowned” providing a later surge in answer to the more breadth-minded unfurling of “Demon Beast” and the bluesy “Mohenjo Daro.” So maybe they’re not actually from the Indus Valley. Fine. I’ll take the Ripple-esque have-riffs-have-shred-ready-to-roll “Hell to Pay” wherever it’s coming from, and the swing of the earlier “…And the Dead Shall Rise” doesn’t so much dogwhistle its penchant for classic heavy as serve it to the listener on a platter. If we’re picking favorites, I might take “A Cold Wind,” but there’s plenty to dig on one way or the other, and Origin issues invitations early and often for listeners to get on board.

Indus Valley Kings on Facebook

Indus Valley Kings on Bandcamp

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Randy Holden, Population III

Clearly whoever said there were no second chances in rock and roll just hadn’t lived long enough. After reissuing one-upon-a-time Blue Cheer guitarist Randy Holden‘s largely-lost classic Population II (discussed here) for its 50th anniversary in 2020, RidingEasy Records offers Holden‘s sequel in Population III. And is it the work for which Holden will be remembered? No. But it is six songs and 57 minutes of Holden‘s craft, guitar playing, vocals and groove, and, well, that feels like something worth treasuring. Holden was in his 60s when he and Randy Pratt (also of Cactus) began to put together Population III, and for the 21-minute “Land of the Sun” alone, the album’s release a decade later is more than welcome both from an archival standpoint and in the actual listening experience, and as “Swamp Stomp” reminds how much of the ‘Comedown Era’s birth of heavy rock was born of blues influence, “Money’s Talkin'” tears into its solo with a genuine sense of catharsis. Holden may never get his due among the various ‘guitar gods’ of lore, but if Population III exposes more ears to his work and legacy, so much the better.

Randy Holden on Facebook

RidingEasy Records store

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The Gray Goo, 1943

Gleefully oddball Montana three-piece The Gray Goo remind my East Coast ears a bit of one-time Brooklynites Eggnogg for their ability to bring together funk and heavy/sometimes-psychedelic rock, but that’s not by any means the extent of what they offer with their debut album, 1943, which given the level of shenanigans in 10-minute opener and longest track (immediate points) “Bicycle Day” alone, I’m going to guess is named after the NES game. In any case, from “Bicycle Day” on down through the closing “Cop Punk,” the pandemic-born outfit find escape in right-right-right-on nods and bass tone, partially stonerized but casting off expectation with an aplomb that manifests in the maybe-throwing-an-elbow noise of “Problem Child,” and the somehow-sleek rehearsal-space funk of “Launch” and “The Comedown,” which arrives ahead of “Shakes and Spins” — a love song, of sorts, with fluid tempo changes and a Primus influence buried in there somewhere — and pulls itself out of the ultra-’90s jam just in time for a last plodding hook. Wrapping with the 1:31 noise interlude “Goo” and the aforementioned “Cop Punk,” which gets the prize lyrically even with the competition surrounding, 1943 is going right on my list of 2022’s best debut albums with a hope for more mischief to come.

The Gray Goo on Facebook

The Gray Goo on Bandcamp

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Acid Rooster, Ad Astra

Oh, sweet serenity. Maybe if we all had been in that German garden on the day in summer 2020 when Acid Rooster reportedly performed the two extended jams that comprise Ad Astra — “Zu den Sternen” (22:28) and “Phasenschieber” (23:12) — at least some of us might’ve gotten the message and the assurance so desperately needed at the time that things were going to be okay. And that would’ve been nice even if not necessarily the truth. But as it stands, Ad Astra documents that secret outdoor showcase on the part of the band, unfolding with improvised grace across its longform pieces, hopeful in spirit and plenty loud by the time they get there but never fully departing from a hopeful sensibility, some vague notion of a better day to come. Even in the wholesale drone immersion of “Phasenschieber,” with the drums of “Zu den Sternen” seemingly disappeared into that lush ether, I want to close my eyes and be in that place and time, to have lived this moment. Impossible, right? Couldn’t have happened. And yet some were there, or so I’m told. The rest of us have the LP, and that’s not nothing considering how evocative this music is, but the sheer aural therapy of that moment must have been a powerful experience indeed. Hard not to feel lucky even getting a glimpse.

Acid Rooster on Facebook

Sunhair Music store

Cardinal Fuzz store

Little Cloud Records store

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BongBongBeerWizards, Ampire

A sophomore full-length from the Dortmund trio of guitarist/synthesist Bong Travolta, bassist/vocalist Reib Asnah and (introducing) drummer/vocalist Chill Collins — collectively operating as BongBongBeerWizards — Ampire is a call to worship for Weed and Loud alike, made up of three tracks arranged longest to shortest (immediate points) and lit by sacred rumble of spacious stoner doom. Plod as god. Tonal tectonics. This is not about innovation, but celebrating noise and lumber for the catharsis they can be when so summoned. Willfully repetitive, primitive and uncooperative, there’s some debt of mindset to the likes of Poland’s Belzebong or the largesse of half-speed Slomatics/Conan/Mammoth Weed Wizard Bastard, but again, if you come into the 23-minute leadoff “Choirs and Masses” expecting genre-shaping originality, you’ve already fucked up. Get crushed instead. Put it on loud and be consumed. It won’t work for everybody, but it’s not supposed to. But if you’re the sort of head crusty enough to appreciate the synth-laced hypnotic finish of “Unison” or the destructive mastery of “Slumber,” you’re gonna shit a brick when the riffs come around. They’re not the only church in town, but it’s just the right kind of fun for melting your brains with volume.

BongBongBeerWizards on Facebook

BongBongBeerWizards on Bandcamp

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Mosara, Only the Dead Know Our Secrets

Any way you want to cut it with Mosara‘s second album, Only the Dead Know Our Secrets, the root word you’re looking for is “heavy.” You’d say, “Oh, well ‘Magissa’ has elements of early-to-mid-aughts sludge and doom at work with a raw presentation in its cymbal splash and shouted vocals.” Or you’d say, “‘The Permanence of Isolation’ arrives at a chugging resolution after a deceptively intricate intro,” or “the acoustic beginning of ‘Zion’s Eyes’ leads to a massive, engaging nod that shows thoughtfulness of construction in its later intertwining of lead guitar lines.” Or that the closing title-track flips the structure to end quiet after an especially tortured stretch of nonetheless-ambient sludge. All that’s true, but you know what it rounds out to when you take away the blah blah blah? It’s fucking heavy. Whatever angle you’re approaching from — mood, tone, songwriting, performance — it’s fucking heavy. Sometimes there’s just no other way, no better way, to say it. Mosara‘s 2021 self-titled debut (review here) was too. It’s just how it is. I bet their next one will be as well, or at very least I hope so. If you’re old enough to recall Twingiant, there’s members of that band here, but even if not, what you need to know is that Only the Dead Know Our Secrets is fucking heavy. So there.

Mosara on Facebook

Mosara on Bandcamp

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What, you thought because Roadburn was going virtual this year it wouldn’t find a way to be completely overwhelming? Behold 55 new additions to Roadburn Redux, set for just over two weeks from now — shit I need to get on WCD copy — and staggering in its scope as Roadburn consistently manages to be. Find me checking out Steve Von Till, Body Void, Astrosoniq, Doctors of Space, Nadja, Year of No Light, SÂVER and a ton of others, and yeah, fucking a. You know it’s Roadburn when all you can really do is throw your hands up and give in to it.

The full announcement follows here. I don’t even know what to say anymore.

From the PR wire:

ROADBURN REDUX: Steve Von Till, Aaron Turner and 53 more names confirmed

Redefining heaviness with exclusive performances and premieres – wherever you are in the world.

Roadburn Redux has confirmed an enormous 55 new names that will be participating in the online event taking place between April 16-18. They will be joining the already-announced line up that includes Hexvessel, Die Wilde Jagd, Inter Arma, Mizmor, Primitive Man, Wolvennest and many, many more.

Artistic Director Walter Hoeijmakers comments: “Roadburn has always been a gathering of kindred spirits; shining a light on varying creative corners of our beloved underground and beyond. This year is no different. We’re beyond elated to announce that a vast number of inspiring bands and artists – from Roadburn luminaries such as Steve Von Till and Aaron Turner to young, to upcoming hopefuls like Knoll – have been added to our final, virtual lineup. We’re honoured to provide a platform in these trying times, whether they will bring you exclusive sets or present their debut albums. Together they will give us hope, inspiration, and most of all, the opportunity to reconnect with each other and keep our thriving community going for bands and fans alike. Despite the fact that Jo Quail and several musicians working with her on ‘The Cartographer’ can’t make it to Tilburg due to the travel restrictions – she’ll still be a part of the festival this year, whilst the commissioned performance will take place in 2022. Such is the communal vibe of Roadburn, and we can’t wait to welcome you to Roadburn Redux – wherever you are in the world.”

Roadburn Redux will take place online between April 16-18. Roadburnredux.com for more information.

New Additions

STEVE VON TILL presents A Remote Wilderness
Steve Von Till has performed at Roadburn as part of Neurosis, as a curator, as a solo artist, and a guest musician – and now he will be performing for us within a digital realm as part of Roadburn Redux.

Filmed and recorded live at the legendary Robert Lang Studios in Seattle, we’re delighted to be able to present to you a Steve Von Till performance titled A Remote Wilderness. Joined by a dynamic group of Seattle based musicians Von Till will perform his latest album, No Wilderness Deep Enough, in its entirety – with a few older songs woven throughout.

PERFORMANCES
As well as Steve Von Till’s amazing contribution to Roadburn Redux, we’re thrilled to bring a huge swathe of exclusive, specially recorded performances to Roadburn audiences, including a special solo set from Aaron Turner, a short set from Jo Quail to tide us over until The Cartographer performance next year, the unveiling of two new Dawn Ray’d songs via an exclusive performance video, a very special improv set from Blanck Mass, a psychedelic freakout courtesy of Doctors of Space and much more. Click the artist names below to find out more about each of their performances.

Aaron Turner
Amulets
Svart Sessions: Doodswens
Blanck Mass
Body Void
Dawn Ray’d
Doctors of Space
Drowse
Jo Quail
Jonathan Hulten
Knoll
Nadja
Nero Di Marte
Sula Bassana
Wesenwille

COMMISSIONED:
Also performing for us will be two further artists commissioned specifically by Roadburn for the occasion.

BADA
BADA was created in 2019 by Anna Von Hausswolff and fellow Gothenburg musicians David Sabel, Gianluca Grasselli, Filip Leyman and Hannes Nilsson – some of whom also perform as part of Von Hausswolff’s solo project. Through cinematic drone, tribal rhythms, heavy distortions and a shared desire to “reunite the essential bonds between music and physical worlds”, BADA is a captivating and constantly evolving force of creativity that demands to be witnessed.

TAU PRESENTS DREAM AWAKE
Tau are bringing their transcendental visions to Roadburn Redux, with an exclusive two-part set entitled Dream Awake, that will include a special guest appearance from Clannad’s Pól Brennan. Led by Dubliner Seán Mulrooney, Tau’s hypnotic neo-folk transports listeners on a meditative voyage, taking in shamanic chants, psychedelic flourishes and traditional folk elements, from Irish to Mongolian.

PELAGIC PRESENTS
We’ve joined forces with Germany’s Pelagic Records to showcase artists on the label’s roster under the banner ‘Pelagic Presents’. With no indication of slowing down, this positively prolific label is churning out stellar release after stellar release, even during the last twelve challenging months. Join us as we team up to bring you an exciting collection of premiers, exclusive performances and we’ll even be unveiling some brand new signings to the label over the Redux weekend.

The following artists will be participating in the Pelagic Presents showcase:

Blessings
Briqueville
Crown
Johan G. Winther
LLNN
Lustmord & Karin Park
Oslo Tapes
Psychonaut
Sâver
SOM
The Ocean performing Phanerozoic II: Mesozoic | Cenozoic
Year of No Light

ALBUM PREMIERES
In addition to already announced full album premieres, we’re delighted to confirm three more – including Spill Gold performing their album Highway Hypnosis, broadcast live from the 013 venue.
Might performing Might
Spill Gold performing Highway Hypnosis
Trialogos performing Stroh Zu Gold

THE SONGS OF TOWNES VAN ZANDT
The installment of The Songs of Townes Van Zandt is on the horizon during Roadburn Redux the artists involved with the latest album will be unveiled. With previous participants including John Baizley, Scott Kelly and Mike Scheidt, the pedigree of the artists is in no doubt. To find out more click here – and tune in April 16-18 for the big reveal. Click here for more info.

AUDIO/VIDEO PREMIERES:
Roadburn Redux will also be the proud host of a number of audio and visual premieres over the festival weekend. Ranging from previously recordings from previous editions of the festival through to brand new a material from upcoming albums, there’s a feast for both the eyes and ears planned this April courtesy of the following artists:

Acid Rooster
Algiers
Alora Crucible
An Autumn For Crippled Children
Astrosoniq
Blodet
Emma Ruth Rundle & Thou
Hand Model
Hante
Kayo Dot
Midwife
Noctule
Obsidian Kingdom
Of Wolves
Sunrot
Talea Jacta Meets Electric Moon
Tesa
Thy Catafalque
Witch Mountain
Wolf King
Wolves In The Condo

VIRTUAL PIT STOP
We are partnering up with a brand new as yet un-released to public virtual social gathering platform called Bramble to bring you a daily place to hang out with fellow Roadburners virtually – just like the real life Pit Stop in Tilburg.

Anyone who has ever played video games will feel right at home in Bramble, where conversations happen inside of a psychedelic venue. Guests walk around a trippy world as an avatar – connecting with your long lost community. As you move your avatar around, the people you see and hear change depending on who you’re close to, like moving around a physical space.
There will be four separate spaces – The Grass Company, 8.6 Bar, The Weirdo Canyon, and The Skate Hall – open from 5pm CET til 3am CET each day of Roadburn Redux.

Bramble was invented by Artery, a global community for intimate culture and social infrastructure. Its unique gathering platform has been used for everything from open-mics to an album listening party celebration, as well as birthday parties, family gatherings and dozens of companies establishing virtual spaces for their remote workforce.

TICKETS & INFO
Roadburn Redux will be available to access between April 16-18 with a full programme of content online for free (or pay what you like).

Already announced is commissioned projects from Mizmor, Primitive Man Die Wilde Jagd, Dirk Serries, GOLD, Jo Quail, Neptunian Maximalism, Of Blood And Mercury, Radar Men From The Moon, Solar Temple, TDC Inc, and The Nest, plus album premieres from Autarkh, Die Wilde Jagd, Emptiness, Plague Organ and Wolvennest, and a series of sets recorded under the banner of The Svart Sessions – highlighting the best of the Finnish label’s roster.

Roadburn Redux has been made possible due to the support from Brabant C, Gemeente Tilburg, Fonds Podiumkunsten, Provincie Noord-Brabant, Bavaria 8.6, Ticket to Tilburg.

https://www.roadburnredux.com/
https://www.facebook.com/events/1081424195382564/
https://www.facebook.com/roadburnfestival/
http://www.instagram.com/roadburnfest
http://www.roadburn.com

Steve Von Till, A Deep Voiceless Wilderness (2021)

As ever, there’s a lot going on in this announcement for Roadburn. It’s only the second one from Roadburn 2020 and already the festival seems to be setting its course to once again be bigger than ever as it continues to redefine itself and broaden its outlook on the underground. Two curators for the first time was announced last time around, now it’s two artists in residence, and oh, by the way, they’ll also collaborate for a set, because it’s fucking Roadburn and that’s just how it has to be. Lingua Ignota‘s set at the skate park at this year’s edition of the festival was the talk of the weekend — at least until Thou did those Misfits covers — and Full of Hell aren’t exactly strangers to Roadburn either. It’s going to be a busy and all over the place kind of Roadburn, I expect. Who would have it any other way?

If you haven’t, I can only urge you to check out Dool, who’ve also been added, and I’ve included the stream of Acid Rooster‘s 2019 self-titled debut below because its dreamy tones are sitting just right this afternoon.

Dig it:

ROADBURN 2020

– For the first time, Roadburn Festival will have two Artists In Residence

– First announcements for curated events including HIDE and BOY HARSHER

– Tickets on sale September 24

ARTISTS IN RESIDENCE

Every edition of Roadburn has an Artist in Residence who will perform multiple times across the four days of the festival – each time showcasing a different facet of their creativity. Much like with other aspects at Roadburn 2020, this year we’re mixing things up a bit; for the first time there will be two Artist In Residence positions…

ARTIST IN RESIDENCE: FULL OF HELL

With 30+ releases – EPs, splits, full lengths and more – there’s rich pickings to pull together material for four distinctive sets at Roadburn 2020. Full of Hell will perform Weeping Choir in full, as well as sister album Trumpeting Ecstasy. Also on the slate is a set comprising of their early material including songs from Roots of Earth Are Consuming My Home, as well as early 7” releases – and perhaps even a couple of covers thrown in for good measure.
The twist in the tale is that for one of their four sets they will collaborate with fellow Artist In Residence Kristin Hayter AKA Lingua Ignota.

ARTIST IN RESIDENCE: LINGUA IGNOTA

Performing four times over the course of the festival weekend, Kristin Hayter will peel back a layer of the Lingua Ignota form, shining a light in a dark corner. Performing alongside our other Artist In Residence, Full of Hell, some dark forces are sure to be summoned by the unholy noise they’ll make collaboratively. In addition to that, there will be an extremely special covers set (the details of which we will keep under wraps for now) and a performance comprising entirely of ALL BITCHES DIE material. The centrepiece of Kristin’s residency will be a grand re-imagining of CALIGULA – pulled apart and elegantly pieced back together in a new way.

EMMA RUTH RUNDLE’S- THE GILDED CAGE CURATED EVENT

HIDE

The first artist to be confirmed as part of Emma Ruth Rundle’s curated event is HIDE. An uncompromising duo who have a message that alone deserves to be heard, but the accompanying pulse of grit-flecked industro-slickness is what makes HIDE an essential booking for Roadburn. Demonstrating that heavy music doesn’t need a guitar to be crushing, HIDE are dragging ‘heaviness’, kicking and screaming, in their wake.
Emma commented: “I’m very happy to announce HIDE as the first band in my curation. No one else is touching on all the subjects that really twist the blade in my being the way they can. Their work is brutal, visceral, painful and poignant in all ways. From their videos, albums, lyrics, uniquely sourced samples and undeniably intense live performance- HIDE not only transcend – they absolutely destroy.”

JAMES KENT’S CURATED EVENT

BOY HARSHER

Boy Harsher’s minimal synths, beats and fuzzed up vocals have been in our eyeline for a while now – and we’re thrilled that our intentions line up with those of our curator.

He comments: “Boy Harsher brings a kind of visceral darkness through their minimal electronic beats that is extremely fascinating. The whispering-like vocals mixed with detuned-synths and old drum machines always felt to me like an invitation to a forbidden yet alluring world.”

HEALTH

HEALTH has plenty of sharp edges; jagged, pixelated, and raw. The complex layers of synths and samples coagulate into a hypnotic, pulsating mass – perfect for those who find comfort in the claustrophobic confines of noise and synthwave.

James comments: “Health are amongst my favorite acts out there at the moment. Their unique sound blending heavy electronics, pop vocals and aggressive noise will make for a perfect addition to the festival.”

SHE PAST AWAY

As part of James Kent’s curation for Roadburn 2020, we are thrilled to announce that modern Turkish darkwave legends She Past Away will be joining us to share this year’s Disko Anksiyete in its entirety. Over the course of their prior albums, the band built a strong identity rooted in genre classics yet carving its own path rather than merely following in the same well trodden gothic footsteps.

Also announced…

DOOL

As the band gear up for the release of their as-yet-unnamed second album, we’re thrilled to announce that Dool will be premiering their new material at Roadburn next year. We may have to wait a little longer for the juicy details of the release, but much like it was in 2016 when they first debuted at Roadburn, our faith in them delivering the goods is unwavering.

BADA

BADA is another vessel for the Gothenburg-based musicians Anna Von Hausswolff, David Sabel, Gianluca Grasselli, Filip Leyman and Hannes Nilsson (some of whom also perform as part of Anna Von Hausswolff’s solo project) to channel their creativity.
BADA’s output is a cinematic drone – sliced through with abrasive noise passages and ominous darkness. Fans of Dead Magic might have to adjust their receivers to be able to detect the Anna they’re most familiar with, but through the layers of static something special will still shine through.

ACID ROOSTER

Though Acid Rooster have flown their freak flag high for many moons, the band only released their impressive S/T debut very recently. And not to exaggerate — Acid Rooster is one of the best contemporary psych records around, hence inviting them for Roadburn 2020.

ROADBURN 2020 TICKETS

Tickets to Roadburn 2020 will go on sale on Tuesday, September 24. More details will be made available in the coming weeks.

Already announced for Roadburn 2020 is: Emma Ruth Rundle and James Kent as curators, commissioned projects from James Kent & Johannes Persson, Jo Quail, and Vile Creature & Bismuth, and the return of Julie Christmas.

https://www.facebook.com/events/1081424195382564/
https://www.facebook.com/roadburnfestival/
http://www.instagram.com/roadburnfest
http://www.roadburn.com

Acid Rooster, Acid Rooster (2019)