Day three. Yesterday had its challenges as regards timing, but ultimately I wound up where I wanted to be, which is finished with the writing. Fingers crossed I’m so lucky today. Last time around I hit into a groove pretty early and the days kind of flew, so I’m due a Quarterly Review where it’s a little more pulling teeth to make sentences happen. I’m doing my best either way. That’s it. That’s the update. Let’s go Wednesday.

Quarterly Review #21-30:

Godzillionaire, Diminishing Returns

Tell you what. Instead of pretending I knew Godzillionaire at all before this record came along or that I had any prior familiarity with frontman Mark Hennessy‘s ’90s-era outfit Paw — unlike everything else I’ve seen written about the band — I’ll admit to going into Diminishing Returns relatively blind. And somehow it’s still nostalgic? With its heart on its sleeve and one foot in we’re-all-definitely-over-all-that-shit-from-our-20s-by-now-right-guys poetic moodiness, the Lawrence, Kansas, four-piece veer between the atmospherics of “Spin Up Spin Down” and more grounded grooves like that of “Boogie Johnson” or “3rd Street Shuffle.” “Unsustainable” dares post-rock textures and an electronic beat, “Astrogarden” has a chug imported from 1994 and the seven-minutes-each capstone pair “Common Board, Magic Nail,” which does a bit of living in its own head, and “Shadow of a Mountain,” which has a build but isn’t a blowout, reward patient listens. I guess if you were there in the ’90s, it’s god-tier heavy underground hype. From where I sit, it’s pretty solid anyhow.

Godzillionaire website

Ripple Music website

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Time Rift, In Flight

In Flight is the second full-length from Portland, Oregon’s Time Rift, and it brings the revamped trio lineup of vocalist Domino Monet, founding guitarist Justin Kaye and drummer Terrica Catwood to a place between classic heavy rock and classic metal, colliding ’70s groove and declarative ’80s NWOBHM riffing — advance single “The Hunter” strikes with a particularly Mob Rulesian tone, but it’s relatable to a swath of non-sucky metal of the age — such that “Follow Tomorrow” finds a niche that sounds familiar in its obscurity. They’re not ultimately rewriting any playbooks stylistically, but the balance of the production highlights the organic foundation without coming across like a put-on, and the performances thrive in that. Sometimes you want some rock and roll. Time Rift brought plenty for everyone.

Time Rift on Bandcamp

Dying Victims Productions website

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Heavy Trip, Liquid Planet

Canadian instrumentalist trio Heavy Trip released their sophomore LP, Liquid Planet, in Nov. 2024, following on from 2020’s Burning World-issued self-titled debut (review here). A 13-minute title-track serves as opener and longest inclusion (immediate points), setting a high standrad for scorch that the pulls and shred of “Silversun,” the rush and roll of “Astrononaut” (sic) and capper “Mudd Red Moon” with its maybe-just-wah-all-the-time push and noisy comedown ending, righteously answer. It’s easy enough on its face to cite Earthless as an influence — instrumental band with ace guitarist throwing down a gauntlet for 40 minutes; they’re also touring Europe together — but Heavy Trip follow a trajectory of their own within the four songs and are less likely to dwell in a part, as the movement within “Astrononaut” shows plainly. I won’t be surprised when their next one comes with label backing.

Heavy Trip website

Heavy Trip on Bandcamp

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Slung, In Ways

An impressive debut from UK four-piece Slung, whose provenance I don’t know but who sound like they’ve been at it for a while and have come into their first album, In Ways, with clarity of what they want in terms of sound and songwriting. “Laughter” opens raucous, and “Class A Cherry” follows with a sleeker slower roll, while “Come Apart” pushes even further into loud/quiet trades for a soaring chorus and “Collider” pays off its early low-end tension with a melodic hook that feels so much bigger than what one might find in a three-minute song. It goes like that: one cut after another, for 11 songs and 37 minutes, with Slung skillfully guiding the listener from the front of the record to the back. The going can be intense, like “Matador” or the crashing “Thinking About It,” more contemplative like “Limassol” and “Heavy Duty,” and there’s even room for a title-track interlude before the somewhat melancholic “Nothing Left” and “Falling Down” close, though that might only be because Slung use their time so well.

Slung website

Slung on Bandcamp

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Greengoat, Aloft

Madrid-based progressive heavy rockers Greengoat return on a quick turnaround from 2024’s A.I. (review here) to Aloft, which over 33 minutes plays through seven songs each of which has been given a proper name: the album intro is “Zohar,” it moves into the grey-toned tension of “Betty,” “Jim” is moody, “Barney” takes it for a walk, and so on. The big-riffed centerpiece “Travis” is a highlight slog, and “Ariel,” which follows, is thoughtful in its melody and deceptively nuanced in the underlying rhythm. That’s kind of how Greengoat do. They’ve taken their influences — and in the case of closer “Charles,” that includes black metal — and internalized them toward their own methodologies, and as such, Aloft feels all the more individually constructed. Hail Iberia as Western Europe’s most undervalued heavy hotspot.

Greengoat website

Argonauta Records website

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Author & Punisher, Body Dome Light

If it seems a little on the nose for Author & Punisher, modern industrial music’s most doom-tinged purveyor, to cover Godflesh, who helped set the style in motion in the first place, yeah, it definitely is. That accounts for the reverence with which Tristan Shone treats the track that originally appeared on 1994’s Selfless LP, and maybe is part of why the song’s apparently been sitting for 11 years since it was recorded in 2014. Accordingly, if some of the sounds remind of 2015’s Melk en Honig (discussed here), the era might account for that. In Shone‘s interpretation, though, the defeated vocal of Justin K. Broadrick becomes a more aggressive rasp and the guitar is transposed to synth. One advantage to living in the age of content-creation is stuff like this gets released at all, let alone posted so you can stream or download as you will. Get it now so when it shows up on the off-album-tracks compilation later you can roll your eyes and be extra cool.

Author & Punisher website

Relapse Records website

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Children of the Sün, Leaving Ground, Greet the End

It’s gotta be a trap, right? The third full-length from Arvika, Sweden, heavy-hippie folk-informed psychedelic rockers Children of the Sün can’t really be this sweet, right? The soaring “Lilium?” The mellow, lap-steel-included motion in “Come With Us?” The fact that they stonerfy “Whole Lotta Love?” Yeah, no way. I know how this goes. You show up and the band are like, “Hey everything’s cool, check out this better universe we just made” and then the next thing you know the floor drops out and you’re doing manual labor on some Swedish farm to align yourself with some purported oneness. I hear you, “Starlighter.” You’re gorgeous and one of many vivid temptations on Leaving Ground, Greet the End, but you’ll not take my soul on your outbound journey through the melodic cosmos. I’m just gonna stay here and be miserable and there’s nothing you or that shiver-down-the-spine backing vocal in “Lovely Eyes” can do about it. So there.

Children of the Sün on Instagram

Children of the Sün on Bandcamp

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Pothamus, Abur

While the core math at work in Pothamus‘ craft in terms of bringing together crushing, claustrophobic tonality, aggressive purposes and expansive atmospherics isn’t necessarily new for a post-metallic playbook, but the melodies that the Belgian trio keep in their pocket for an occasion like “De-Varium” or the drone-folk “Ykavus” before they find another layer of breadth in the 15-minute closing title-track are no less engrossing across the subdued stretches within the six songs of Abur than the band are consuming at their heaviest, and the percussion in the early build of the finale says it better than I could, calling back to the ritualism of opener “Zhikarta” and the way it seems to unfold another layer of payoff with each measure as it crosses the halfway point, only to end up squeezing itself through a tiny tube of low end and finding freedom on the other side in a flood of drone, the entire album playing out its 46 minutes not like parts of a single song, but vivid in the intention of creating a wholeness that is very much manifest in its catharsis.

Pothamus on Bandcamp

Pelagic Records website

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Gentle Beast, Vampire Witch Reptilian Super Soldier (…From Outer Space)

Gentle Beast are making stoner rock for stoner rockers, if the cumbersome title Vampire Witch Reptilian Super Soldier (…From Outer Space) of the Swiss five-piece’s sophomore LP didn’t already let you know, and from the desert-careening of “Planet Drifter” through the Om-style meditation of “Riding Waves of Karma” (bonus points for digeridoo) ahead of the janga-janga verse and killer chorus of “Revenge of the Buffalo,” they’re not shy about highlighting the point. There’s a spoken part in the early going of “Voodoo Hoodoo Space Machine” that seems to be setting up a narrative, and the organ-laced ending of “Witch of the Mountain” certainly could be seen as a chapter of that unfolding story, but I can’t help but feel like I’m thinking too hard. Go with the riffs, because for sure the riffs are going. Gentle Beast hit pretty hard, counter to the name, and that gives Vampire Witch etc. etc. an outwardly aggressive face, but nobody’s actually getting punched here, they’re just loud having a good time. You can too.

Gentle Beast website

Sixteentimes Music website

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Acid Magus, Scatterling Empire

Metal and psychedelia rarely interact with such fluidity, but South Africa’s Acid Magus have found a sweet spot where they can lead a record off with a seven-minute onslaught like “War” and still prog out four minutes later on “Incantations” just because both sound so much in their wheelhouse. In addition, the fullness of their tones and modern production style, the way post-hardcore underlines both the nod later in “Wytch” and the shoving apex of “Emperor” is a unifying factor, while the bright-guitar interludes “Ascendancy” and “Absolution” broaden the palette further and contrast the darker exploration of “Citadel” and the finale “Haven,” which provides a fittingly huge and ceremonious culmination to Scatterling Empire‘s sense of space. It’s almost too perfect in terms of the mix and the balance of the arrangements, but when it hits into a more aggressive moment, they sound organic in holding it together. Acid Magus have actively worked to develop their approach. It’s hard to see the quality of these songs as anything other than reward for that effort.

Acid Magus on Bandcamp

Mongrel Records website

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Perhaps some extra interest in seeing how the lineup for Desertfest Belgium 2025 takes shape over the next few months considering how heartwrenching the bill for 2024 was. They have not gone small to answer that question in this first reveal — you can see the names for yourself on the poster below — which covers a range of styles and has an according geographic reach. Note New Mexico’s Blue Heron taking part, supporting their rightfully-well-received 2024 LP, Everything Fades (review here), and note Lowrider because it’s notable anytime they play anywhere. Go them both, along with the rest, if you can.

As regards “the rest,” the names are their own best argument, I guess. Desertfest Belgium has become an integral part of the Fall underground touring circuit, a nexus point where various individual tours converge and split off again, so I’ll be interested to see, say, who The Obsessed will be out with, or how many times in your life you might be able to say you saw Colour Haze and Lowrider on a bill together in 2025. Just for examples.

So yeah, good start. Take their word for it in the “much more to be announced” part too. From socials:

FIRST NAMES! GRAVEYARD, BONGRIPPER, MASTERS OF REALITY & MORE!

Hi Desertfans,

Are you ready to rip it up? Here are the first names for Desertfest Antwerp 2025!

We’re very excited to welcome this divine & dangerous bunch to our stages:

Graveyard 🌑 BONGRIPPER 🌑 Masters Of Reality 🌑 Oranssi Pazuzu 🌑 The Obsessed 🌑 Bongzilla 🌑 monkey3 🌑 Lowrider 🌑 Colour Haze 🌑 Mars Red Sky 🌑 Psychlona 🌑 NEGATIVE BLAST 🌑 Alber Jupiter 🌑 Hedonist 🌑 Blue Heron

If you are as delighted as we are then head over to our ticket page below and grab a weekend pass for a guaranteed three days of sonic delirium 🪐

https://www.desertfest.be/antwerp/information/ticketing/

Hasta la vista!
The Desertfest Belgium team

http://www.desertfest.be/
https://www.facebook.com/desertfestbelgium/
https://www.instagram.com/desertfest_belgium/

Bongripper, Empty (2024)

A quick and heartfelt congratulations to Amy Tung Barrysmith. Last week, her band Year of the Cobra released one of 2025’s best records and yesterday it was announced she’ll take on bassist duties in a full-time capacity for Amenra in Belgium. You might recall at Desertfest New York last year, Barrysmith was in the lineup for Amenra‘s set (review here), and while I’m not sure how it’ll all work with Amy in Seattle and Amenra in Belgium as regards “rehearsal space adventures,” I’m happy to see Amy-ra become a thing.

The band made it official on social media. Amenra have two EPs out later this month on Relapse, a five-night residency March 26-30 at Ancienne Belgique in Brussels, and are confirmed for Desertfest London, SonicBlast Fest in Portugal, a bunch of Euro shows in April where Amy will pull double-duty as Year of the Cobra support, and almost certainly a slew of others. That and darkness is how they do.

Their post:

We are overjoyed to finally announce that our friend Amy Tung Barrysmith will be joining AMENRA on bass.

We have known each other for almost a decade now and really had a great time on our East coast tour together. We are looking forward to more adventures on the road, studios worldwide and our rehearsal space right here. We are blessed to have you aboard 🖤

She just released a new record with her band @yearofthecobra – go give it a spin!

Here are some words from Amy herself :

“I am so incredibly honored and excited to announce that I will be joining Amenra. Having this opportunity to play and create art so powerful and moving is very humbling and I look forward to the beautiful music and memories we will make for the many years to come. Thank you, Colin, Mathieu, Lennart, and Bjorn and to all of the Amenra fans for your immense trust and love.”

photographs by the magnificent @afcortes
taken in his studio in Brooklyn NYC

www.ritualofra.com
https://amenra.bandcamp.com/
https://www.instagram.com/amenra_official/
www.facebook.com/churchofra

http://www.relapse.com
http://www.relapserecords.bandcamp.com
http://www.facebook.com/RelapseRecords

Amenra, Live at Desertfest NYC 2024

Belgium atmospheric heavy noise rockers Dorre will issue their second album, Fortress, on Friday through Lay Bare Recordings. It is a first full-length some years in arriving as the band follow their 2019 debut, Fall River (review here) with a sound that’s changed enough to show just how much time has passed.

The band itself is mostly the same — three-fifths, and having a fifth is new — as lead guitarist Erik Heysns (who also recorded and mixed here), rhythm guitarist Adriaan De Raymaeker, and drummer Wolf Overloop return. But first appearances from bassist Jan Greveraars and vocalist Brecht De Rooms and a generally-upped quotient of twisting noise rock in the songs, a due quotient of crunch laid over progressivism such that the post-Earth psychedelic-leaning outset of “Two Crawled Up the Mountain” feels spacious but not over-the-top in terms of effects wash. As they make their way up that mountain, they’ll find extra push from a earliest-Tool-style shove, and where the only vocals on Fall River were featured on one track in a guest capacity, De Rooms feels like essential personnel on Fortress as the album establishes its mood, somewhere between the Melvins and the regular universe, but with a little niche carved out for itself there.

“Two Crawled Up the Mountain” isn’t screwing around trying to evoke a journey. It becomes one, and the march-into-burst of “Ender” bookending on the record’s B-side reveals a hidden strength in a drinking-song-style chorus and some later melodic outreach in the guitar. Since it’s lumbering, let’s call it a hardcore influence, but not really, and especially not when “Ender” lumbers its way from its noisier, scream-topped finish to swing jazz, somehow inevitably. “Human Condition” and “Carbonite” are shorter and might inherently give a more direct impression than the longer songs, but the truth is more complex and still plenty weird. At 5:29, “Human Cyborg Relations” goes full-Melvins jab in the verse, but there’s Voivodian unreast in the sound as well as it moves to and through the chorus, and when they get to the big riff-out before they tear it down and stomp out a more aggro ending, the sense of space is palpable. Hmm, a reord that ebbs and flows willfully, not in telegraphed hackneyed post-metallic volume trades, but with intention beyond genre and individualized nuance of tone and rhythm? No, I’m not surprised I think it’s good either.

But how Fortress sounds — the overall affect of the thing — is something of a surprise. Certainly Fall River had its more intense stretches, but this is something that Dorre have refined to a point of weaponization. “Human Cyborg Relations” ends shouty and mathy and turns right to the chug of “Carbonite,” with Greveraars proffering highlight bass runs alongside and a take that’s like art rock without the component of takes-itself-too-seriously that defines that designation. “Carbonite” also spaces out in the middle, and pushes into broader atmospherics in its second half, seeming to chase a thread farther and farther away from where the song started until at last you just get to an ending of kinda-pretty hits on a long fade before Overloop sets the pattern at the start of “Ender,” guitars soon to join. Like the rest of Fortress, the finale both is and isn’t expansive in its presentation, and even when it’s time for the hep cats to come in daddy-o because this is the whim we’re following right now, momentum remains on Dorre‘s side. If it’s not the kind of party you expected it would be, I think that’s on purpose.

The thing of it is, though — of course it’s a performative choice being made when and how “Ender” ends. That’s part of the idea. But even that moment, which is a whole different kind of far out than goes “Carbonite” or the Sabbathian roll later in “Two Crawled Up the Mountain,” Dorre aren’t pushing past what the scope of their material can accommodate. That is to say, none of the weirdness that’s pervasive in various forms throughout this long-player is unjustified, and given the multifaceted nature of said weirdness, that’s not nothing. In light of the new lineup configuration, it might not be inappropriate to file Fortress in your mind as their second debut, but there’s no question that Dorre‘s clarity on what they want to be doing has benefitted from the progressive course of their their tenure to this point. This isn’t first-album chemistry, in other words, but it is newly refined in its focus. And kickass besides.

To find that out for yourself, you’re invited to listen to Fortress in its entirety ahead of the release Friday. It goes places, but you can make the trip. I believe it. You should too.

Please enjoy:

Dorre, Fortress album premiere

Embed for Fortress

Dorre’s latest album, Fortress, set for release in February 2025, showcases their most ambitious work yet. Dorre sounds like if ISIS were to be reanimated by The Necromancers, combining heavy riffs with a haunting, psychedelic edge. Evolving from an instrumental duo to a quintet with vocals, Dorre has maintained their distinctive style and creative growth. Prepare yourself for Dorre’s latest sonic odyssey: Fortress, a masterpiece of psychedelic post-metal infused with crushing riffs and atmospheric soundscapes.

LP preorder: https://laybarerecordings.com/

Digital preorder: https://dorre.bandcamp.com/

Tracklisting:
1. Two Crawled Up The Mountain (9:38)
2. Human Cyborg Relations (5:29)
3. Carbonite (7:49)
4. Ender (10:40)

Produced and performed by Dorre
Recorded and mixed by Erik Heyns
Mastered by James Plotkin
Artwork by Giliam Schroyen
Vinyl release by Lay Bare Recordings.

Doore:
Adriaan De Raymaeker – Rhythm guitars
Wolf Overloop – Drums
Erik Heyns – Lead guitars
Jan Greveraars – Bass
Brecht De Rooms – Vocals

Dorre on Facebook

Dorre on Instagram

Dorre on Bandcamp

Dorre website

Lay Bare Recordings website

Lay Bare Recordings on Facebook

Lay Bare Recordings on Instagram

Lay Bare Recordings on Bandcamp

Check out Down the Hill 2025 bringing in a few classic proggers. Gong, Focus? Seven That Spells are playing too. Being no slouches in the heavy prog department themselves, I bet those guys are gonna freak out to see Gong. I get it.

This is the full lineup for Down the Hill this year. The Belgian-based fest did two, and so everybody is included here to best of my knowledge. I don’t know about you, but I look at the poster, who’s gonna be there with bands like Monkey3, Skyjoggers with Sula Bassana sitting in on guitar, Travo, Neptunian Maximalism and The Bevis Frond alongside The Atomic Bitchwax and Pendejo and Godsleep and I think you get an immediate sense of vibe in and out of progressive and psychedelic and driving heavy rock and roll, a bit of sludge snuck in.

I don’t imagine I’ll be there to see it, but it looks good from here. I’ve been in Belgium once, just long enough to transfer trains and screw up ordering coffee. Perhaps redemption someday:

🔥 DOWN THE HILL – FINAL BAND WAVE UNLEASHED! 🔥

You thought it couldn’t get any crazier? You thought the first wave was intense? Buckle up, because we’re about to send seismic shockwaves through the valley!

THE FINAL WAVE OF BANDS IS HERE!

Modder – Crushing sludge that will swallow you whole!
Astodan – Cinematic post-rock to lose yourself in.
Atonia – A musical force defying borders and genres.
Neptunian Maximalism – NNMM – Psychedelic doom-jazz from another dimension.
Pendej0 – Horn-fueled stoner madness straight from the gutter.
The Atomic Bitchwax – New Jersey’s high-octane rock ‘n’ roll power trio!
Tangled Horns – Dirty, dark and dangerously addictive.
RONKER – Belgium’s own speednoise wrecking crew!
Sula Bassana & Skyjoggers – A cosmic trip like no other.
Focus the band – Prog legends bringing timeless rock mastery.
Hedvig Mollestad Trio – A jazz-rock firestorm you can’t escape.
Gong – The psychedelic pioneers return to take you on a cosmic ride!

But wait, let’s not forget the first wave of killer acts that have already been announced!

Apex Ten – Hypnotic, space-infused krautrock madness.
Capitan – Heavy-hitting rock that grabs you by the throat.
Godsleep – Greek stoner grooves set to shake the earth.
Hemelbestormer – Cosmic post-metal that bends time and space.
Motorikofficial – Krautrock propulsion at its finest.
TRAVO – Fuzzed-out psych sounds that hypnotize.
Wheel of Smoke – Riff-driven journeys through sonic dimensions.
Seven That Spells – The masters of high-energy psych explosions.
monkey3 – Swiss instrumental rockers taking you to the stars.
The Bevis Frond – Legendary psych-rock brilliance from the UK.

🔥 DOWN THE HILL 2025 is set to be the most explosive edition yet! 🔥

🎟 Tickets are moving FAST! Don’t miss your chance to witness this lineup LIVE! 🎟

www.downthehill.be/tickets

https://www.facebook.com/DownTheHillFestival/
https://www.instagram.com/downthehillfestival/
http://www.downthehill.be/

Gong, Unending Ascending (2023)

There are some powerful performers here between the likes of Croatian progonauts Seven That Spells, the fury-prone heavy rock/metal wrought by Godsleep and the classic classy class class class (plus charm) of watching The Bevis Frond on stage, but both that and the aural variety are to be expected from Down the Hill, which with this announcement reveals the first of its 2025 lineup. Set to take place over two days in Belgium this August, the festival has yet to give any word on who’ll be headlining this year’s edition, but with Swiss psych-prog instrumentalist mainstays Monkey3 and the aforementioned The Bevis Frond at the top of the poster-thus-far, you couldn’t really call the initial reveal lacking. Good on Travo getting out, too.

Early-bird tickets — as opposed to the super-early-birds, which, yes, were a thing, and I believe are sold out — go on sale as of today. The Frédéric Genêt poster (with more names to come) and announcement text follow here, as per the ol’ social medias:

A New Year and the First Wave of Bands!

The wait is over! We’re thrilled to unveil the first 10 bands that will electrify our stages. From psychedelic legends to rising stars, this year’s lineup promises an unforgettable mix of powerful performances, mind-blowing riffs, and immersive soundscapes. Whether you’re here for the heavy grooves or dreamy melodies, there’s something for everyone. Let’s dive into the first wave of confirmed acts:

monkey3

Prepare to be mesmerized by the Swiss masters of instrumental psychedelia. Monkey3 delivers immersive, cosmic journeys that blend stoner rock with progressive elements. A guaranteed mind-expanding experience you don’t want to miss!

The Bevis Frond

With over three decades of psychedelic rock brilliance, The Bevis Frond remains a cult favorite. Nick Saloman’s timeless melodies and fiery guitar work will transport you to another dimension. A must-see for fans of classic psych-rock.

Hemelbestormer

Belgium’s own post-metal titans, Hemelbestormer, craft massive, cinematic soundscapes that are equal parts heavy and atmospheric. Their live shows are an intense, hypnotic experience. Prepare to be overwhelmed in the best way possible.

Seven That Spells

Croatia’s psychedelic warriors, Seven That Spells, are known for their explosive and experimental live performances. With a fusion of krautrock, prog, and heavy psych, they deliver music that defies boundaries. Expect chaos, energy, and pure sonic magic.

Godsleep

Hailing from Greece, Godsleep brings thunderous stoner rock grooves infused with bluesy riffs and soulful vocals. Their high-energy performance will have the crowd moving from the first note to the last. Get ready to rock out!

Apex Ten

This up-and-coming band is a force to be reckoned with in the alternative rock scene. Apex Ten combines intricate melodies and dynamic arrangements for a fresh, modern sound. Don’t sleep on this rising star!

Wheel of Smoke

A hidden gem from Belgium’s underground rock scene, Wheel Of Smoke delivers a unique blend of space rock and psychedelia. Their atmospheric jams and groovy rhythms will take you on a sonic journey. Let them light your fire!

Travo

Travo’s gritty, blues-infused rock ‘n’ roll is raw, intense, and utterly captivating. Their sound pays homage to classic rock while carving out its own rebellious identity. A perfect addition to this year’s lineup.

MOTOR!K

Dive into the hypnotic world of Motor!k, a Belgian band that channels the spirit of krautrock legends. Pulsating rhythms, repetitive grooves, and a touch of modern flair create an entrancing live experience. Perfect for fans of Neu! and Can.

Capitan

This promising new act is making waves with their fresh take on alternative rock. Capitan blends catchy hooks, introspective lyrics, and powerful instrumentation to create a sound that sticks. A band to watch as they rise to the top!

Stay tuned for more lineup announcements, and grab your tickets tomorrow at 5PM!

www.downthehill.be/tickets

It’s going to be a weekend to remember.

We’re thrilled to unveil our 2025 artwork, crafted by the incredibly talented Frédéric Genêt! 🎨✨ His unique style and impeccable attention to detail bring our vision to life in the most stunning way.

https://www.facebook.com/DownTheHillFestival/
https://www.instagram.com/downthehillfestival/
http://www.downthehill.be/

Monkey3, Welcome to the Machine (2024)

Welcome to the Quarterly Review. Oh, you were here last time? Me too. All door prizes will be mailed to winning parties upon completion of, uh, everything, I guess?

Anywhazzle, the good news is this week is gonna have 50 releases covered between now — the 10 below — and the final batch of 10 this Friday. I’m trying to sneak in a bunch of stuff ahead of year-end coverage, yes, but let the urgency of my doing so stand as testament to the quality of the music contained in this particular Quarterly Review. If I didn’t feel strongly about it, surely I’d find some other way to spend my time.

That said, let’s not waste time. You know the drill, I know the drill. Just don’t be surprised when some of the stuff you see here, today, tomorrow, and throughout the week, ends up in the Best of 2024 when the time comes. I have no idea what just yet, but for sure some of it.

We go.

Quarterly Review #1-10:

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Gnome, Vestiges of Verumex Visidrome

Some bands write songs for emotional catharsis. Some do it to make a political statement. Gnome‘s songs feel specifically — and expertly — crafted to engage an audience, and their third full-length, Vestiges of Verumex Visidrome, underscores the point. Hooks like “Old Soul” and “Duke of Disgrace” offer a self-effacing charm, where elsewhere the Antwerp trio burn through hot-shit riffing and impact-minded slam metal with a quirk that, if you’ve caught wind of the likes of Rickshaw Billie’s Burger Patrol or Howling Giant in recent years, should fit nicely among them while finding its own sonic niche in being able to, say, throw a long sax solo on second cut “The Ogre” or veer into death growls for the title line of “Rotten Tongue” and others. They make ‘party riff metal’ sound much easier to manifest than it probably is, and the reason their reputation precedes them at this point goes right back to the songwriting. They hit hard, they get in, get out, it’s efficient when it wants to be but can still throw a curve with the stop and pivot in “Rotten Tongue,” running a line between punk and stoner, rock and metal, your face and the floor. It might actually be too enjoyable for some, but the funk they bring here is infectious. They make the riffs dance, and everything goes from there.

Gnome on Instagram

Polder Records website

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Hermano, When the Moon Was High…

The lone studio track “Breathe” serves as the reasoning behind Hermano‘s first new release since 2007’s …Into the Exam Room (discussed here), and actually predates that still-latest long-player by some years. Does it matter? Yeah, sort of. As regards John Garcia‘s post-Kyuss career, Hermano both got fleshed out more than most (thinking bands like Unida and Slo Burn, even Vista Chino, that didn’t get to release three full-lengths in their time), and still seemed to fade out when there was so much potential ahead of them. If “Breathe” doesn’t argue in favor of this band giving it the proverbial “one more go,” perhaps the live version of “Brother Bjork” (maybe the same one featured on 2005’s Live at W2?) and a trio of cuts captured at Hellfest in 2016 should do the trick nicely. They’re on fire through “Senor Moreno’s Plan,” “Love” and “Manager’s Special,” with Garcia, Dandy Brown, David Angstrom, Chris Leathers and Mike Callahan treating Clisson to a reminder of why they’re the kind of band who might get to build an entire EP around a leftover studio track — because that studio track, and the band more broadly, righteously kick their own kind of ass. What would a new album be like?

Ripple Music on Facebook

Ripple Music website

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Stahv, Sentiens Eklektikos

Almost on a per-song basis, Stahv — the mostly-solo brainchild of multi-instrumentalist/vocalist Solomon Arye Rosenschein, here collaborating on production with John Getze of Ako-Lite Records — skewers and melds genres to create something new from their gooey remnants. On the opening title-track, maybe that’s a post-industrial Phil Collins set to dreamtime keyboard and backed by fuzzy drone. On “Lunar Haze,” it’s all goth ’80s keyboard handclaps until the chorus melody shines through the fog machine like The Beatles circa ’64. Yeah that’s right. And on “Bossa Supernova,” you bet your ass it’s bossa nova. “The Calling” reveals a rocker’s soul, where “Plainview” earlier on has a swing that might draw from The Birthday Party at its root (it also might not) but has its own sleek vibe just the same with a far-back, lo-fi buzz that somehow makes the melody sound better. “Aaskew” (sic) takes a hard-funkier stance musically but its outsider perspective in the lyrics is similar. The 1960s come back around in the later for “Circuit Crash” — it would have to be a song about the future — and “Leaving Light” seems to make fun of/celebrate (it can be both) that moment in the ’80s when everything became tropical. There’s worlds here waiting for ears adventurous enough to hear them.

Stahv on Facebook

Ako-Lite Records on Bandcamp

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Space Shepherds, Cycler

I mean, look. The central question you really have to ask yourself is how mellow do you want to get? Do you think you can handle 12 minutes of “Transmigration?” Do you think you can be present in yourself through that cool-as-fuck, ultra-smooth psychedelic twist Space Shepherds pull off, barely three minutes into the the beginning of this seven-track, 71-minute pacifier to quiet the bad voices in your (definitely not my) brain. What’s up with that keyboard shuffle in “Celestial Rose” later on? I don’t know, but it rules. And when they blow it out in “Got Caught Dreaming?” Yeah, hell yeah, wake up! “Free Return” is a 15-minute drifter jam that gets funky in the back half (a phrase I’d like on a shirt) and you don’t wanna miss it! At the risk of spoiling it, I’ll tell you that the title-track, which closes, is absolutely the payoff it’s all asking for. If you’ve got the time to sit with it, and you can just sort of go where it’s going, Cycler is a trip begging to be taken.

Space Shepherds on Facebook

Space Shepherds on Bandcamp

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King Botfly, All Hail

It is all very big. All very grand, sweeping and poised musically, very modern and progressive and such — and immediately it has something if that’s what you’re looking for, which is super-doper, thanks — but if you dig into King Botfly‘s vocals, there’s a vulnerability there as well that adds an intimacy to all that sweep and plunges down the depths of the spacious mix’s low end. And I’m not knocking that part of it either. The Portsmouth, UK-based three-piece of guitarist/vocalist George Bell, bassist Luke Andrew and drummer Darren Draper, take on a monumental task in terms of largesse, and they hit hard when they want to, but there’s dynamic in it too, and both has an edge and doesn’t seem to go anywhere it does without a reason, which is a hard balance to strike. They sound like a band who will and maybe already have learned from this and will use that knowledge to move forward in an ongoing creative pursuit. So yes, progressive. Also tectonically heavy. And with heart. I think you got it. They’ll be at Desertfest London next May, and they sound ready for it.

King Botfly on Facebook

King Botfly on Bandcamp

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Last Band, The Sacrament in Accidents

Are Last Band a band? They sure sound like one. Founded by guitarists Pat Paul and Matt LeGrow (the latter also of Admiral Browning) upwards of 15 years ago, when they were less of an actual band, the Maryland-based outfit offer 13 songs of heavy alternative rock on The Sacrament in Accidents, with some classic metal roots shining through amid the harmonies of “Saffire Alice” and a denser thrust in “Season of Outrage,” a rush in the penultimate “Forty-Four to the Floor,” and so on, where the title-track is more of an open sway and “Lidocaine” is duly placid, and while the production is by no means expansive, the band convey their songs with intent. Most cuts are in the three-to-four-minute range, but “Blown Out” dips into psychedelic-gaze wash as the longest at 5:32 offset by comparatively grounded, far-off Queens of the Stone Age-style vocalizing in the last minute, which is an effective culmination. The material has range and feels worked on, and while The Sacrament in Accidents sounds raw, it hones a reach that feels true to a songwriting methodology evolved over time.

Last Band on Bandcamp

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Dream Circuit, Pennies for Your Life

Debuting earlier this decade as a solo-project of Andrew Cox, Seattle’s Dream Circuit have built out to a four-piece for with Pennies for Your Life, which throughout its six-track/36-minute run sets a contemplative emotionalist landscape. Now completed by Anthony Timm, Cody Albers and Ian Etheridge, the band are able to move from atmospheric stretches of classically-inspired-but-modern-sounding verses into heavier tonality on a song like “Rosy” with fluidity that seems to save its sweep for when it counts. The title-track dares some shouts, giving some hint of a metallic underpinning, but that still rests well in context next to the sitar sounds of “Let Go,” which opens at 4:10 into its own organ-laced crush, emotionally satisfying. Imagine a post-heavy rock that’s still pretty heavy, and a dynamic that stretches across microgenres, and maybe that will give some starting idea. The last two tracks argue for efficiency in craft, but wherever Dream Circuit go on this sophomore release, they take their own route to get there.

Dream Circuit on Facebook

Dream Circuit on Bandcamp

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Okkoto, All is Light

“All is Light” is the first single from New Paltz bliss-drone meditationalist solo outfit Okkoto since 2022’s stellar and affirming Climb the Antlers and Reach the Stars (review here), and its seven minutes carry a similar scope to what one found on that album. To be clear, that’s a compliment. Interwoven threads of synth over methodical timekeeping drum sounds, wisps of airy guitar drawn together with other lead lines, keys or strings, create a flowing world around the vocals added by Michael Lutomski, also (formerly?) of heavy psych rockers It’s Not Night: It’s Space, the sole proprietor of the expanse. A lot of a given listener’s experience of Okkoto experience will depend on their own headspace, but if you have the time and attention — seven-plus minutes of active-but-not-too-active hearing recommended — but “All is Light” showcases the rare restorative aspects of Okkoto in a way that, if you can get to it, can make you believe, or at least escape for a little while.

Okkoto on Instagram

Okkoto on Bandcamp

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Trappist Afterland, Evergreen: Walk to Paradise Garden

Underscored with a earth-rooted folkish fragility in the voice of Adam Geoffrey Cole (also guitar, cittern, tanpura, oud, synth, xylophone and something called a ‘dulcitar’), Melbourne’s Trappist Afterland are comfortably adventurous on this 10th full-length, Evergreen: Walk to Paradise Garden, which digs deeper into psych-drone on longest track “Cruciform/The Reincarnation of Kelly-Anne (Parts 1-3)” (7:55) while elsewhere digs into fare more Eastern-influenced-Western-traditional, largely based around guitar composition. With an assortment of collaborators coming and going, even this is enough for Cole and his seemingly itinerant company to create a sense of variety — the violin in centerpiece “Barefoot in Thistles” does a lot of work in that regard; ditto the squeezebox of opener “The Squall” — and while the arrangements don’t lack for flourish, the human expression is paramount, and the nine songs are serene unto the group vocal that caps in “You Are Evergreen,” which would seem to be placed to highlight its resonance, and reasonably so. As it’s Trappist Afterland‘s 10th album by their own count, it’s hardly a surprise they know what they’re about, but they do anyway.

Trappist Afterland on Facebook

Trappist Afterland on Bandcamp

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Big Muff Brigade, Pi

For a band who went so far as to name themselves after a fuzz pedal, Spain’s Big Muff Brigade have more in common with traditional desert rock than the kind of tonal worship one might expect them to deliver. That landscape doesn’t account for their naming a song “Terre Haute,” seemingly after the town in Indiana — I’ve been there; not a desert — but fair enough for the shove of that track, which on Pi arrives just ahead of closer “Seasonal Affective Disorder,” which builds to a nonetheless-mellow payoff before its fadeout. Elsewhere, the seven-minute “Pierced by the Spear” drops Sleepy (and thus Sabbathian) references in the guitar ahead of creating a duly stonerly lumber before they even unfurl the first verse — a little more in keeping with the kind of riff celebration one might expect going in — but even there, the band maintain a thread of purposeful songcraft that can only continue to serve them as they move past this Argonauta-delivered debut and continued to grow. There is a notable sense of outreach here, though, and in writing to genre, Big Muff Brigade show both their love of what they do and a will to connect with likeminded audiences.

Big Muff Brigade on Facebook

Argonauta Records website

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You can check it out — I’d encourage it, in fact — but the terrible truth here is this one is here just for me. Pothamus come from Belgium, and though their name has appeared on this site exactly once before — in a lineup confirmation for the 2021 edition of Down the Hill Festival in the band’s home country — I’d never actually listened to them before the snap decision to put on the new single “Savartuum Avur.” Needless to say, I don’t regret it or this post probably wouldn’t be here, but this week I feel like has mostly been familiar faces in terms of what’s covered — I guess that’s not really true except for Monday, but it feels that way anyhow — and it’s refreshing to have something I’ve never heard before come along and stomp my brain back into its proper gooey state.

Abur is the band’s second album and it’s out Feb. 14 on Pelagic, who issue disgustingly-heavy forward-thinking shit all the time like it’s no big deal. I should go back to the 2021 Down the Hill lineup and see what else I missed. Ha. I’m always a couple floors up from the ground on this stuff. Late to the party and such. Was it the phrase “COSMIC SLUDGE JUGGERNAUTS” in all caps that caught my eye? Could be. But I thought the track sounded cool — it reminded me of hearing Minsk for the first time 20 years ago — and maybe you need eight solid minutes of expanse brought down on your head too.

If so, to the PR wire:

COSMIC SLUDGE JUGGERNAUTS POTHAMUS HERALD SOPHOMORE ALBUM, ‘ABUR’

BAND SHARE GRIPPING PERFORMANCE VIDEO FOR RITUALISTIC LEAD SINGLE ‘SAVARTUUM AVUR’

Belgian psychedelic sludge-metal trio Pothamus have announced their second full-length album, ‘Abur’, set for release on February 14th, 2025 via Berlin’s Pelagic Records.

The heavily anticipated spiritual successor to their 2020 debut ‘Raya’, ‘Abur’ finds the band honing an already formidable sound and widening their distinct musical palette in order to create truly original and staggeringly heavy music that steers them ever further away from well-trodden post-metal paths. Based in Mechelen, Belgium, Mattias M. Van Hulle, Michael Lombarts and Sam Coussens formed Pothamus in 2013 and have been enthralling audiences with their breathtaking command of hypnotic riffage, floating drones, tribal percussion, and abrasive bass lines for over a decade.

‘Abur’ sees Pothamus’ signature ritualistic sound elevated by the haunting sounds of the Surpeti, a drone instrument originating from the Indian subcontinent traditionally used for mantra singing, whilst drummer Van Hulle adds his voice in harmony with guitarist Coussens’ to create an astounding richness and depth. Capturing Pothamus at this creative zenith was musical contemporary and close friend Chiaran Verheyden (Psychonaut, Hippotraktor) who recorded, mixed and mastered the album.

Lead single and the first piece written for the album, ‘Savartuum Avur’ is an uncompromising invitation to cast away the preconceived beliefs and social constructs that lure us away from a sense of spiritual unity. Building as one like a gathering storm, ‘Savartuum Avur’ is Pothamus embracing chaos as the generative force behind creation; unleashing their unmistakable cosmic sludge metal in an exhilarating statement of intent. The stark, monochrome performance video that accompanies ‘Savartuum Avur’ not only mirrors the in-the-moment, chaotic energy of the track but also serves as a reminder of the transcendental experience that is Pothamus performing live.

A 44-minute pilgrimage through nature, animism and the depths of the human soul, ‘Abur’ is Pothamus’ answer to the big, existential questions that keep us all awake at night. Titanic, all-consuming heaviness is met with ethereal, airy beauty as the band contemplates the interconnectedness of all things, creating a singular sonic universe balanced perfectly between cosmic creation and absolute destruction.

‘Abur’ is released on February 14th, 2025. ‘Savartuum Avur’ is out now.

Pothamus on ‘Savartuum Avur’:

“This track is layered with a brooding atmosphere that evokes a sense of elemental energy, possibly tied to the forces of nature. As the first piece written for the new record, it serves as a transitional bridge between past and present, making it a fitting choice for the album’s first single, capturing both familiar and ever evolving sonic landscapes. With lyrical references to ‘Raya’ it creates a thematic link to the band’s previous work, grounding the song in continuity while marking the start of a new creative chapter.”

Tracklisting:
1. Zhikarta
2. Ravus
3. De-varium
4. Savartuum Avur
5. Ykavus
6. Abur

Produced & mixed by Chiaran Verheyden
Recording assistance by Victor Jacobs
Recorded at MotorMusic Studio, Mechelen & GAM Studios, Malmedy
Mastering by Chiaran Verheyden at MotorMusic Studio, Mechelen
Lyrics & concept: Mattias M. Van Hulle
Artwork & design: Iljen Put

Pothamus is:
Mattias M. Van Hulle – Drums, Vocals, Surpeti
Michael Lombarts – Bass
Sam Coussens – Guitar, Vocals

https://www.facebook.com/Pothamus
https://www.instagram.com/pothamus
https://pothamus.bandcamp.com/

http://www.pelagic-records.com/
http://www.facebook.com/pelagicrecords
http://www.instagram.com/pelagic_records

Pothamus, Abur (2024)

Pothamus, “Savartum Avur” official video