Posted in Whathaveyou on March 5th, 2026 by JJ Koczan
Hard not to appreciate a fest not only celebrating its 30th anniversary, but doing so in part with the same lineup that played the first edition. The second night of Doom in Bloom Festival will feature Astral Rising, Dawn of Winter, Mirror of Deception and Naevus; indeed the same bill as back in ’96. Think about that for a minute, because it’s pretty gosh darn special.
Bands like Naevus and Mirror of Deception, Ahab and Petrified have done shows and offshoot events and Doom in Blooms before, so one expects this jubiläumsausgabe to have a strong family-reunion aspect, which is an added appeal if you get to go. Certainly that second day will be emotional — and doomed — and with Aptera‘s thrashier take and Ahab‘s deathly cast, there’s some room to expand around the core tenets of the genre as well.
Get ready for two days dedicated to the celebration of Doom.
We’ve chosen a location that carries a heavy legacy: The @chapelkrypta in Göppingen.
To mark the 30th anniversary of the Doom in Bloom Festival, a two-day anniversary edition will take place in Göppingen Doom City on 10 and 11 April 2026.
All the bands from the first edition are still active and will share the stage again 30 years later. The venue will be the venerable Chapel in Göppingen, where the legendary Doom Shall Rise (RIP) once took place.
Line-up on day one:
AHAB APTERA PETRIFIED WELL OF SOULS
On the second day, the original line-up from 1996 will be on stage:
ASTRAL RISING DAWN OF WINTER MIRROR OF DECEPTION NAEVUS
If you’re the type who’s sensitive to flashing lights — I get a headache; I’m not mocking anyone, I promise you — you might want to forego the full six minutes of Aptera‘s video for the new single “Hellbender” below in favor of the audio stream down by the bottom of the post. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not that the strobe effects and bright-dark contrasts of “Hellbender” aren’t suitable to the song’s atmosphere, born largely out of darkthrash and black metal, but with an edge of psychedelia showing through in its middle.
Like Aptera‘s 2022 album, You Can’t Bury What Still Burns (review here), it is uncompromising metal born out of a honed songwriting process. It calls to mind early thrash at its root — when the tape hiss of the end product seemed to be a part of the recording itself — but takes a progressive view of genre, finding angles of attack as each part unfolds.
I do not know if “Hellbender” is a harbinger of a new Aptera album or what, but the band was on tour in Europe this past Fall still behind the 2022 release, so it seems likely that if/whenever a follow-up arrives, it too will be well supported. As in, you’ll hear about it. Some songs are made to be hammered into the listener’s consciousness.
On that merry note, enjoy the video:
Aptera, “Hellbender” official video
Music by Aptera Video by Tekla Valy
Recording by Alexander Meurer, Stella Sesto Mix & Master by Marcus Ferreira at @nomastersvoice1899No Master’s Voice Studio Photos: Javier S. Sañudo
“The song Hellbender takes inspiration from the eponymous movie by Toby Poser (2021), where the Hellbenders are an all-female, matriarchal clan of supernatural beings: “a cross between a witch, a demon, and an apex predator.” Their magic is rooted in fear, particularly the fear of death, which a Hellbender absorbs when she eats a living thing.
The video was directed and shot by Finnish visual artist Tekla Valy in the woods near Berlin, partially at night during the so-called “hour of the wolf,” as referenced in the lyrics. This is the hour between night and dawn, when most people die, sleep is deepest, and nightmares feel most real. It is the hour when the sleepless are tormented by their worst anguish and when ghosts and demons are at their most powerful. It is also the hour when most babies are born.”
APTERA is Michela Albizzati – guitar, vocals Celia Paul – bass, vocals Renata Helm – guitar Sara Neidorf – drums
Posted in Whathaveyou on September 30th, 2024 by JJ Koczan
Berlin classic thrash/heavy metalliers Aptera know from whence they come. The four-piece tore it up in tape-trader style on their 2022 album, You Can’t Bury What Still Burns (review here) — which is a handy way to remember to put your beach fires all the way out before you cover them in sand; no, I don’t think that’s what they were going for — and they’ll head out this Fall in continued support of the record. Backed by Sound of Liberation, they’ll be at Keep it Low in Munich alongside the likes of Monolord, Greenleaf and Fu Manchu, and then in November, they take off for a round of shows mostly in Germany, but also making a stop in Belgium for a night.
It’s neither the most nor the least extensive tour I’ve seen set for the season about to unfold, but in addition to seeming to dig being the sore-thumb of aggro impulses on heavyfest lineups — there are definite advantages — the club shows will no doubt be rippers. I don’t know the status of new material, but obviously the name of the tour references the last album instead of any next one, so maybe, maybe not. Maybe you go see them and let me know if they had any new songs in the set. Great.
Dates from socials:
We are happy to announce that we will be back on the road very soon for a bunch of shows⚡
A big thanks goes to Sound of Liberation for setting this up!!
Here’s where you can catch us next:
12/10 Münich Keep It Low – Festival 8/11 ERFURT Bandhaus 9/11 HANNOVER @Faust (Mephisto) 10/11 HAMBURG Monkeys Music Club 11/11 DÜSSELDORF Pitcher – Rock’n’Roll Headquarter Düsseldorf 12/11 BRUXELLES @La Source 13/11 OSNABRÜCK @Bastard Club 14/11 BREMERHAVEN @Shiva
Posted in Whathaveyou on December 29th, 2023 by JJ Koczan
If you’re the type who likes to take care of things early, well, you’re apparently in good company with the Munich-based Keep it Low Festival. The two-dayer fest, which is one of many under the umbrella of Sound of Liberation booking, is held annually in October, and that’s when it’s set to take place in 2024 as well, at Backstage in Munich on Oct. 11-12. Tickets, however, are on sale almost 10 full months early.
Why? I’m not sure, but I have a definite answer in “why the hell not?,” and I find that when I try to answer that question, I come up blank. So yeah, it seems like that’s really early, but on the other hand, why not put tickets for next year on sale while people are at the fest this year? It’s different, I don’t know if it’s been done before, but doesn’t that just make it a new idea, and is that something so terrible to be chasing down in a climate where live music is trying to draw people out of the entertainment hotbeds we’ve built in our homes?
I’ve gotten sidetracked from this lineup announcement, which came out the other day from Sound of Liberation and hints toward Fall 2024 European tours for at least Fu Manchu, Monolord, Truckfighters, Greenleaf, Messa and Psychlona, but I like to keep an eye for how things evolve from year to year and for all I know, Keep it Low has been doing this every year for the last decade (happy 10th anniversary, by the way) and I’m just picking up on it now because, well, I’m kinda slow sometimes, but it stood out to me as something you might not see all the time. And maybe you like to make early travel arrangements. I know I do.
From social media:
KEEP IT LOW 2024 – ⚡️FIRST BAND ANNOUNCEMENT & TICKETS ON SALE!⚡️
Hey Keepers,
we are super excited to present you the first bands for next year’s edition of the Keep It Low festival!🔥
Please welcome:
FU MANCHU TRUCKFIGHTERS MONOLORD GREENLEAF MESSA WOLVENNEST PSYCHLONA APTERA DJIIN ZERRE HECKSPOILER MINDCRAWLER & MANY MORE!
Posted in Whathaveyou on December 22nd, 2023 by JJ Koczan
Am I taking this entire Desertfest Berlin 2024 announcement as an excuse to put on Ruff Majik‘s Elektrik Ram yet again even though I was playing it approximately 40 hours ago while writing the best-of-2023 post? You bet your ass I am. 40 hours is about as long as I’ve made it all year. Less if you count hearing the songs in your head when the music isn’t actually on.
Elsewhere here, check out Masters of Reality confirmed for both flagship Desertfests. Another record might be too weird for planet earth, but I’m not sure that’s a bad thing. And I’ll note that this is the first I’m hearing of a farewell tour from Pentagram to take place in 2024/2025, but apparently that’s going to be a thing. Call it a low-level surprise? Nobody’s gonna say Bobby Liebling didn’t put in his time, even if you only count since the band got going again in 2009, never mind the better part of four decades prior.
I’ll be expecting tour announcements from Mondo Generator and Ruff Majik — maybe they’ll be out together; that would kind of rule as a pairing — Daevar, Pentagram, Arthur Brown, etc., and will post accordingly when I see what I see.
From the PR wire:
DESERTFEST BERLIN confirms PENTAGRAM, MASTERS OF REALITY, MONDO GENERATOR & many more new band names for 2024!
Desertfest Berlin has announced new names for their eclectic 2024-edition, and confirms iconic PENTAGRAM (last Berlin show ever!), MASTERS OF REALITY, THE CRAZY WORLD OF ARTHUR BROWN, MONDO GENERATOR, RUFF MAJIK, DAEVAR, APTERA, ZAHN, ZERRE and EINSEINSEINS! Get ready for THE riff party of the year – aside a wild and high-class blend of finest psychedelia, stoner rock, doom, desert punk blues, sludge and all that is metal, this is also going to be your last chance to see PENTAGRAM live in Berlin on their final Farewell Tour in 2024/2025!
Desertfest Berlin will take place between May 24 – 26, 2024 at Columbiahalle and Columbia Theater. Tickets, that would also make some perfect Xmas gift, are on sale at: www.desertfest-tickets.de
AMENRA | OSEES | PENTAGRAM MASTERS OF REALITY | ACID KING | BRANT BJORK TRIO THE CRAZY WORLD OF ARTHUR BROWN | TAMIKREST PIGS PIGS PIGS PIGS PIGS PIGS PIGS | MONDO GENERATOR MONKEY3 | SIENA ROOT | DŸSE |EARTH TONGUE DIRTY SOUND MAGNET | THRONEHAMMER | RUFF MAJIK | FULL EARTH NEÀNDER | APTERA | ZAHN | DAEVAR | ZERRE EINSEINSEINS | PRAISE THE PLAGUE & MANY MORE
Posted in Whathaveyou on March 28th, 2023 by JJ Koczan
Cheers to Berlin-based (I guess?) heavy thrashers Aptera on getting out. The four-piece released their debut album, You Can’t Bury What Still Burns (review here) last June through Ripple Music and considering the world we live in, eight months after the fact isn’t so bad, especially since they were originally going to go in April 2020 rather than April 2023. I’ll just assume you know the story there in terms of what is at least behind the bulk of that delay, but if not, hit me up direct and we’ll talk about the plague, generational trauma, capitalist exploitation of disaster scenarios, and so on. I’d say it’ll be a fun chat, but yeah, probably not.
Perhaps the better thing to do would just be to dig into the record on the embed below, since Aptera is both more articulate and more concise than I might hope to be in that explanation, and the aggression of their delivery is part of the point it’s underscoring. To be perfectly honest, while I’m glad Aptera are going to tour and I hope this leads to more road-time, and so on, I was just as happy to see them announce the string of shows since it gave me an excuse to post the album again for anyone who might’ve missed it happening by. If that’s you, right on. If not, well, maybe you’ll go to a show. And if that’s not where you’re at either, it’s cool. Always next time.
Dates and whatnot from socials:
APTERA – Spring Tour
Finally!! After waiting for 3 long years… it’s happening!! We are going on tour in 10 days!!!
We started to organize our first tour at the end of 2019 and by February of 2020 we had planned a one-week tour for April of the same year.. then we all know what happened..
But we kept our heads up and here we are!!!
Beyond excited to hit the road soon and play with so many great bands & friends!!!
Thanks to everyone who helped us & booked us so far!
Posted in Questionnaire on October 27th, 2022 by JJ Koczan
The Obelisk Questionnaire is a series of open questions intended to give the answerer an opportunity to explore these ideas and stories from their life as deeply as they choose. Answers can be short or long, and that reveals something in itself, but the most important factor is honesty.
Based on the Proust Questionnaire, the goal over time is to show a diverse range of perspectives as those who take part bring their own points of view to answering the same questions. To see all The Obelisk Questionnaire posts, click here.
Thank you for reading and thanks to all who participate.
The Obelisk Questionnaire: Sara Neidorf of Sarattma & Aptera
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How do you define what you do and how did you come to do it?
As for me: I play drums, whatever the occasion calls for. I don’t feel very bound to style, though metal was such a big part of my upbringing that it finds its way into a lot of what I do. Also music with a lot of pathos and/or a lot of idiosyncrasy. I don’t like music that’s too cool for school. It has to interact with some brooding and possibly also some autistic part of me. I came to drumming when I was around 10 because it helped me to focus and relax, and also because it was a way of connecting with people, and I kept doing it for that reason, as well as because it helps me connect with myself, to feel grounded, to feel like I’m doing something meaningful and honest.
As for Sarattma: We push each other, try to lock in and lock out, try to explore different trajectories, to create some shit that we’d enjoy hearing, but which we don’t feel has been done a bunch already. We came to play together because we came up in the same music community in Philly and had some of the same music mentors. Eventually one of our mutual friends/teachers, Yanni Papadopoulos from Stinking Lizaveta, said he thought it would be rad if we formed a band, and we did, and we’ve been linking up and doing that over the past 10 years whenever I’m Stateside visiting friends and family. (I’ve been based in Berlin since 2012.)
Describe your first musical memory.
I remember singing the song “Breakdown” by Tom Petty with my mom in the car when I was 4 or 5, getting many of the words wrong and coming up with my own lyrics phonetically. Or singing the song “Montana” by Frank Zappa with my dad in the car around that same age, knowing each word by heart. “I don’t care if you think it’s silly, folks. I don’t care if you think it’s silly folks.” Drumming out the fives in that phrase on my lap, enjoying the rhythmic puzzles in the breaks without consciously knowing they were odd. I also knew how to sing every guitar solo on Metallica’s Black Album when I was 5 or 6. Not their hottest album, I know, but luckily you don’t care about such things when you’re on your way to kindergarten.
Describe your best musical memory to date.
This is honestly impossible to answer because there have been so many occasions that felt like pinnacles, from live performances I’ve witnessed, to shows where I performed in front of dancing, hyper-engaged crowds, to recording sessions that felt fluid, free, and perfectly aligned, to albums I blasted and sang along to with my mother in the living room as a teen, to songs shared with my partner in intimate moments, to jam sessions in a basement or rehearsal space where everything just meshed so seamlessly… I really can’t come up with a hierarchy among these moments. Music is consistently bringing me new joys, new highs and groundings, new reasons to keep pushing forward.
When was a time when a firmly held belief was tested?
This is a toughie. Perhaps it was when I did my biggest tour to date as a session drummer, that my ideas of success were definitely thrown into question. It was also the best paid gig I’ve ever had. I guess I believed that it would feel like ‘success’ or ‘arrival’ but it actually tore me down in a lot of ways, destroyed my short term memory for a couple of years due to prolonged emotional distress, basically traumatized me. I learned that recognition ain’t worth shit if you’re not happy. Otherwise there have been lots of other times, involving friendships or relationships, where my ideas about love, commitment, and loyalty have been tested and thrown into turmoil.
People giving me what I felt I always needed most, turning out to be manipulative and abusive, people I thought I’d have forever dying or leaving me in different ways, not knowing at first if I could live without these people, but then finding my way through it. I think the pandemic has also taught me a lot about how to slow down, especially about accomplishment-based things — to not put a ton of importance or emphasis on something and to think that something has to be perfect or has to happen in a certain way or within a certain timeframe. It all might be called off at any moment. Just do what you can; appreciate the present more.
Where do you feel artistic progression leads?
I hope it just continuously leads to new places you can’t anticipate or know until you’re there. It’s exciting to me that this really doesn’t have a destination, just further journey, travel, discovery. New ways of articulating. It also fosters connections with new people and places, and also more pathways within.
How do you define success?
I’m still figuring that one out. For sure it involves making work that feels true to me. Releasing that work and having that work recognized and enjoyed (and yes, paid for) by others is also still important to me, though I aim for that to be less of a priority. Of course, it’s not about quantity; it’s about the quality of the interaction. My general experience is that a show in front of 50 really tuned-in people is way more fulfilling than a super distant-feeling one in front of 2,000. Sharing your life with people who are good to you and who understand you, and vice versa, is also a big part of success. A mindset of abundance, generosity, freedom, ease, and exchange.
What is something you have seen that you wish you hadn’t?
I wish I hadn’t seen my mother in so much pain in her final year of life. I am still haunted by some images I will not recount here. It’s a relief to know that she isn’t suffering anymore, but I miss her every minute of every day.
Describe something you haven’t created yet that you’d like to create.
I’d like to collaborate on creating the soundtrack to a film. I’d like to start by doing some live scoring for some silent horror films, which I’m beginning to do with a new project I’ve started playing with in Berlin, Pausa a Pausa. I’m excited to explore combining my love of music with my love of cinema. I’d also like to eventually write a sort of memoir, a collection of short stories or essays.
Other than that, also looking forward to recording and releasing more work with my projects Mellowdeath, Choral Hearse, and Aptera.
What do you believe is the most essential function of art?
It needs to keep pushing us to new places, presenting us with new images that test our imaginations, lead us to question systems of power, push us to feel uncomfortable sometimes but with an intentionally devised frame to make that discomfort productive, and to create affective environments in which we can reflect and experience things in personal ways.
Something non-musical that you’re looking forward to?
I’m looking forward to visiting my grandmother for her 95th birthday this September. I’m excited to attend Fantasia Film Fest in Montreal next summer, which I’m currently sad to be missing. I’m stoked for the next edition of the feminist horror film fest I co-organize each February, Final Girls Berlin Film Fest, which is just a lovely community of artists and film nerds. Lots of little things too — I’m excited to meet an old friend for dinner later.
We are now less than a month out from the June 17 release date of Aptera‘s debut album, You Can’t Bury What Still Burns (review here), and the new single from the record is “When the Police Murder.” Fair enough and timely. Certainly there’s no shortage of audio-visual evidence to back up the Berlin-and-then-some-based four-piece’s central thesis, between body cameras, bystander cellphones, closed circuit footage, etc., and we’ve all seen those clips, usually of some Black or Brown person scuffling, running away, and being cut down, shot in the back. They go viral, like fucking cat videos.
In the wake of the racist, terrorist Buffalo, New York, shooting this weekend, the president of my country yesterday referred to white supremacy as a “poison.” He’s not wrong in terms of general destructive force, but as is his wont, he’s also playing it safe. The truth of white supremacy in America is that it’s more than a poison — something introduced from outside to do harm — it is the very marrow in the bones of the US as a nation, embedded since the land I’m sitting on right now, which I ostensibly own, was stolen from the original inhabitants. The fucking White House, first, is called the “White House,” and second, was built by slaves. Jesus Christ, knock it down already and build something else. I don’t care if it looks exactly the same, just make the god damn gesture. Systemic change will take centuries, but every bit counts.
Credit to Aptera for calling out injustice, and since the lineup of the band is multinational, it’s crucial to remember this isn’t just about the US, even if proliferation of guns here aids in making America such a stark example. But if you’re looking to finish the sentence “When the Police Murder,” the rest might be, “they usually get away with it.” Or “maybe they lose their pension.” And even if the video isn’t brazenly political, the song is and is given due urgency in its crunch despite a slower tempo than some of the more heavy thrash-informed material on You Can’t Bury What Still Burns. I suppose you could listen to the track and not think about this stuff, if you’re really committed, but even if you don’t engage with the subject matter directly in the way the band seems to want you to do, perhaps then at least step back and ask yourself why not.
Here’s the track, followed by more from the PR wire:
Aptera, “When the Police Murder” visualizer
Sara Neidorf on “When the Police Murder”:
“We’re so bombarded with images and video of police brutality that we don’t particularly want to reproduce or sensationalize it in a video montage. So we hope that we can catch people’s attention with the song, its lyrics, the urgency and ongoing relevancy of its message.”
With members hailing from Brazil, Italy, Belgium and the US, APTERA joined forces in Berlin in 2018 to deliver their merciless and fist-raising blend of classic heavy, thrash, doom and punk metal chock-full of epic multi-layered guitars, shapeshifting tempos and fierce vocals. Their upcoming debut “You Can’t Bury What Still Burns” reframes timeless feminist struggles through mythology while deconstructing established ideals of women’s roles in modern society.
New single “When The Police Murder” unfolds a politically-charged topic, and while the vocal duo of Michela Albizzati and Celia Paul creates a haunting spiral that matches perfectly their pounding sludgy riffs, the songwriting on display is nothing short of epic.
APTERA is Michela Albizzati – guitar, vocals Celia Paul – bass, vocals Renata Helm – guitar Sara Neidorf – drums
