https://www.high-endrolex.com/18

Psycho Las Vegas 2022 – Day 2 Notes

Posted in Features on August 21st, 2022 by JJ Koczan

Belzebong (Photo by JJ Koczan)

Early

It’s a kind of radical self-determinism. There is no rescue or guiding hand coming. The whole time I’ve been in Vegas, and really since Psycho got rolling here in 2016, I think I’m not the only one who’s been trying to understand just what the hell it’s all supposed to be about. I won’t lie, getting my head around it and seeing what Psycho has become as it’s gotten bigger and more encompassing is part of why I’m here. I acknowledge that for a good many people that’s just the wrong approach, but that’s the idea too.

You know how Americans think we don’t have a culture and that’s our culture? Well, consider a festival as a “we” experience. There is a collective of people all in the same place for a similar basic reason — this is the foundation of community. Psycho isn’t about the “we.” Certainly there are people here with fest-friends and all that, but it’s more the individualized experience. The ‘you’ in it is singular. You choose your adventure.

For the most part you can move around freely as you do so — local statutes and constabulary permitting — and what you see, who you’re with and why is up to you. Psycho isn’t about bringing everybody together in a lump and presenting a vision. It’s letting attendees handle their own curation. Between that and the brass-coated male-gaze consumerism happening all around the music, this becomes a distinctly American idea. The narrative becomes one of searching out your own way through the huge tangle of lineups, discovering where you need to be and when as you go. It’s thrilling in a way. Pioneer spirit. You’re here, you figure it out.

That is not an experience for everyone, nor is it everyone’s experience of America, but that too is a part of the culture of this country and a part of the story Psycho Las Vegas is telling about it. I don’t know if I feel like I’ve figured it out, but everybody who for years has been comparing Psycho to other fests, in Europe or not, is doing it wrong. That giant chrome ball in the middle of the mall space at Resorts World? That’s your answer. It doesn’t have to justify itself. You are here. Now go get wrecked. Psycho Las Vegas is a different animal. Use its teeth to carve out your own good time.

For many, I expect the ‘mad musical odyssey’ aspect means last night’s, or Thursday’s, party is still going. So be it. It’s eight in the morning. My alarm was set for this time, but I got up and out early. I might sit outside Starbucks in this chair until someone either shoos me away or I actually finish both these coffees, which are what they are. I imagine there are people’s whose chosen adventures lead to places outside this billions-and-billions-of-dollars hotel complex. I’m not so brave, apart from that one trip the first night to the dispensary.

Later, after coffee

Maybe I got up too early. I feel like there’s a lot of very famous hair around right now. I wonder how many other festivals are going on?

Kings Destroy (Photo by JJ Koczan)

Seeing Kings Destroy was a trip. Every time I’m anywhere those guys are, it’s a good day. A bit sentimental, but let’s be honest, I don’t have a lot of friends. That’s my own fault more than anything. They played “Green Diamonds” though, which is loved, and “Old Yeller.” “I know your people they hang out at this club.”

There is no place to sit in the Dawg House, save for $25-minimum tables. I’ve got a leaning spot and might just have to stay here for the duration, since this is where most of what I want to see is happening. Choose your adventure and I stand still and complain about no chairs. That sounds about right.

But about Kings Destroy. I’ve written a ton of shit on the subject over the last 12 years. A lot. And I feel pretty comfortable in saying that I’ve barely scratched the surface in what’s going on in that band. The two-guitar dynamic, the different personalities of the players coming through on stage. There’s a ton there, influence-wise, pulling from classic rock more than I ever have them credit for, and it’s been a minute since I put on those records, but hearing songs from Fantasma Nera had almost nostalgic vibes, even though they’re not actually that old. Oh yeah, seeing Kings Destroy. That’s a thing I used to do before the world fell apart.

Greenbeard (Photo by JJ Koczan)

And goodness gracious Greenbeard rock. That’s kind of their thing, right? Well it holds up. Even after what I’ll call an excess of coffee, I feel a bit like I’m dragging ass, but neither Kings Destroy — C-wolf and Carl in sunglasses like the Blues Brothers on either side of the stage — nor Greenbeard were in similar straits. For the best. I stayed up front for Kings Destroy, like you do, and moved back for Greenbeard, but man, the groove is statistically significant. I don’t want to say it’s a surprise, since I saw them like two and a half months ago, but it is hitting the spot vibe-wise. Belzebong after this is going to be crusty fun.

Belzebong (Photo by JJ Koczan)

Later again

I feel guilty as shit for being here. You know what my wife did today? She painted the ceiling of our fucking kitchen. After driving back from dropping the kid off in Connecticut to stay with his aunt for an overnight. God damn I’m selfish. Painted the ceiling. And what was I doing? Daring to see Blood Incantation instead of Rifflord, who I saw two days ago? Yes, look at my bold and unpredictable action. Surely worthy of my apparent station in life.

Blood Incantation (Photo by JJ Koczan)

As Tom G. Warrior tells us, “Ough.”

But I did go see Blood Incantation after Belzebong’s ultra-stoner riff onslaught, because sometimes a bit of kicking around is good for the ol’ soul, and I needed it. Nothing against Rifflord, mind you. I just needed to be where I was.

And Blood Incantation provided the shove I needed as well, that ur-groove that only death metal has. Technical but fun to watch in a look-at-what-people-can-do-with-noise kind of way. You’ll pardon me if I try and push back on the imaginary obligations I invent for myself. Occasionally.

Duel (Photo by JJ Koczan)

Duel, Blackwater Holylight, and Stinking Lizaveta (yes, again), in quick succession. It wound up I checked out Duel — ripper, duh — and went up to the Event Center to get in the photo pit for Blackwater Holylight, didn’t get my requisite email out soon enough and so didn’t get in. I took pictures from the crowd. Who cares? Like I gotta make deadline for The Daily Bugle or some shit. Heads up though, Blackwater Holylight are a prog band. And I’m pretty sure they know it. They had a violinist on stage and I guess that’s part of the impression, but what was psych bliss in their sound has evaporated and left behind a much darker exploratory ambience. Don’t let me get all critic, because I’m pretty sure that’s not in the spirit of the thing, but the turn in their sound on their last record isn’t over yet.

Blackwater Holylight (Photo by JJ Koczan)

I left there to get back to Dawg House — the security know me here now and make fun of me because I keep coming and going — and Duel were still on, so I got to watch more of their set as well as their Warriors of the World-worthy big rock finish, which, again, duh.

Stinking Lizaveta as revival music. I don’t know how many people were there to see them because I didn’t turn around but holy crap can that band play. They’re the heavy jazz of everything. Absolutely on fire, yesterday and today, and and suited to the kind of box effect of the Dawg House stage in a way not everyone has been. Interesting to think of both them and Blood Incantation as restorative in a way, but they have been, as kind of mirror set up to the anxiousness, pushing ahead if not breaking through. I don’t know. I had a couple decent conversations today with people who I have no idea why they’d want to talk to me. Amy Johnson brought me presents. Stinking Lizaveta played. Clearly things for a moment were their most perfect selves.

Stinking-Lizaveta-Photo-by-JJ-Koczan-1

I’ve been trying to avoid reviewing. Did you notice? Did you notice me failing? Doesn’t that strike you as kind of sad? Or maybe it’s what I’m here for? A not-really-all-that-druggy journey of self-discovery in the desert? Could even I be so mild and cliché? I mean, yeah, probably. Easily. Twice today, and that’s my review of the review. Shit sandwich.

Later, getting late

Ruby the Hatchet could’ve played any stage of this festival. I’m pretty sure I’ve seen them all at this point. And they’d have killed everywhere they went. Just a rock band locked in, that’s all. Seems to happen a lot today.

Ruby the Hatchet (Photo by JJ Koczan)

I hung around for a few songs, lack of water had me feeling kind of stuck; I’d lost my bottle and had yet to replace it. This would be rectified in due time, but I was in no rush whatsoever to leave Ruby the Hatchet’s set, some new, some old, delivered by a band in a continuing process of finding their sound but with veteran confidence and professionalism. It still feels like shows are a thing that used to happen, but last time I saw Ruby the Hatchet was 2019, and on the warped scale of time the last few years have wrought, that’s not all that long ago. It doesn’t make any fucking sense.

Was talking with a friend today (not namedropping) about our children, about trying to raise them to be aware of the world around them, their place in it, the changing planet and all of these generally awful things that human beings have done and continue to do to this world in which right now we’re complicit right here every day all the time, and while I agreed with him that this was the proper course of bringing up a human being to not be a complete tool, there was also a part of me that would be okay if my kid skipped the baggage that seems to come tacked onto consciousness of self, floated through life unconcerned. The trouble is you can’t do it. How’s the kid gonna know who the fascists are if he doesn’t know it used to snow in December? These things are all interconnected, and I want little more out of parenting than to not raise a fucking fascist.

Spaceface-(Photo-by-JJ-Koczan)

But thinking about time up and down had me in a good frame of mind for Ruby the Hatchet, improbably. I walked past Psychlona on my way to get another hamburger salad — no pickle, no onion, no cherry tomatoes — and they were right on, had shenanigans afoot in front of the stage. Spaceface played after them in the same spot and were on when I got back from dinner. I knew nothing about them but sat and watched about half their set ahead of Church of the Cosmic Skull and parts reminded me of spacier, young Ween, but it was the melodies that took me. They had a multicolored parachute out the crowd was playing with when I rolled in, people came and went, dancing all the while. They pre-closed with a cover of “You Sexy Thing” by Hot Chocolate, and they were pretty loyal to the original, which is a song I happen to know fairly well because that’s just who I am. Didn’t see that one coming.

Dinner was eaten, by the way, sitting in a giant egg at the breakfast place and that was a thing I didn’t expect to say when I signed on for this trip. I take back whatever I said before, eating a sans-onion salad in a cracked-egg chair is exactly the kind of adventure I would choose. Have chosen.

Church of the Cosmic Skull have a new record out. I haven’t reviewed it yet, but I will, hopefully before the adjacent-project Dystopian Future Movies put out their next album and I’m even further behind. I’d say it was guilt that kept me watching them in Famous Foods for the entirety of their set, but really it was just another extension of being where I needed to be. The tradeoff was missing Mondo Drag, who are fantastic, but Church of the Cosmic Skull got going late anyway owing to persistent technical issues and what seemed to be a general lack of mics. And when you’re a seven-piece band and just about everybody sings, that really makes a difference.

Church of the Cosmic Skull (Photo by JJ Koczan)

They got it going though. All was well. Couple hiccups, some feedback, but whatever. Even with all that, the room was on their side from before they even started playing, myself included, and once they were able to dig in, it was a perfect end to my night. They played “Everybody’s Going to Die” and the only thing that kept me from singing along was I was so choked up. They didn’t close with that, but they could have. “Evil in Your Eye” did just fine though. I eventually wound up in back with a couple of the Kings Destroy guys — not Aaron, who made his feelings known earlier in the photo above — and that brought the day to reasonable bit of full circle. At least I knew I’d been on the right path.

Tomorrow is the last day of the festival. I know that means I’ll spend at least half of it thinking about getting to the airport on Monday, because that’s my kind of neurotic, but like I’ve been rolling without a real, written-out plan, I’m gonna do my best to live in Psycho Sunday while it’s happening, because airlines permitting I’m going to be back in New Jersey on Monday evening and I’m going to have to stand under that newly painted kitchen ceiling and hold my head up to look at it. I feel like that might be easier if I’ve actually let myself have the good time I came here to have. Crazy, I know.

Thanks for reading.

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Heavy Psych Sounds Announces Fest Lineups for Berlin and Dresden

Posted in Whathaveyou on August 9th, 2022 by JJ Koczan

In a manner not dissimilar from how its California fests took largely the same expansive lineup from San Francisco to Los Angeles and Los Angeles to San Francisco, Heavy Psych Sounds is bringing a circus to Berlin and Dresden on Oct. 21 and 22. In association with Greyzone and ElbSludgeBooking, the label has assembled a lineup that includes HPS bands and others like 1000mods and Gozu, and that sense of community outreach isn’t to be understated. The synergy between booking and releasing is a big part of what has allowed Heavy Psych Sounds to become the underground nexus it is, able to do more for bands than many other outlets. The festivals in cities across Europe and now in the US as well are another extension of that.

That’s not really an insight as to the lineup here or the label’s ethic or taste — also choice — but the fact is this is Heavy Psych Sounds doing what it does. More power to them, and so on.

From the PR wire:

Heavy psych Sounds Berlin dresden 2022

HEAVY PSYCH SOUNDS FEST BERLIN & DRESDEN full lineup announcement

Heavy Psych Sounds Records & Booking will smash Berlin and Dresden with their highly acclaimed mini festival-series, the HEAVY PSYCH SOUNDS FEST!

In cooperation with Greyzone Concerts and ElbSludgeBooking, Heavy Psych Sounds has revealed the full lineup for the upcoming HEAVY PSYCH SOUNDS FEST BERLIN & DRESDEN !!!

The HPS Fest Berlin & Dresden will be taking place 21st and 22nd of October, 2022 at the Festsaal Kreuzberg and Urban Spree in Berlin and Chemiefabrik in Dresden !!!

HEAVY PSYCH SOUNDS FEST – BERLIN & DRESDEN
@ Festsaal Kreuzberg / Urban Spree, Berlin
@ Chemiefabrik, Dresden
October 21st and 22nd 2022

feat.
1000 MODS
NICK OLIVERI
BELZEBONG
BLACK RAINBOWS
ACID MAMMOTH
THE LORDS OF ALTAMONT
HIGH REEPER
SLEEPWULF
TONS
HIPPIE DEATH CULT
GOZU
OREYEON
WEDGE
MOTHER ENGINE

BERLIN TICKETS PRESALE:
https://www.greyzone-tickets.de/produkte/602

BERLIN FB OFFICIAL EVENT:
https://www.facebook.com/events/1358860387859773/

DRESDEN TICKETS LINK:
https://www.konzertkasse-dresden.de/event/heavy-psych-sounds-fest-dresden-dresden-chemiefabrik-2022-tickets-54749.html

DRESDEN FB OFFICIAL EVENT:
https://www.facebook.com/events/554544359334945

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

1000mods, Youth of Dissent (2020)

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Desertfest Belgium 2022: Wolves in the Throne Room, Belzebong & More Added to Antwerp Lineup

Posted in Whathaveyou on July 19th, 2022 by JJ Koczan

desertfest belgium 2022 dates banner

Desertfest Belgium, now in its eighth year and second to feature festivals in two cities — Antwerp and Ghent — has put day tickets on sale as of yesterday. Further, the day splits — who plays when — have been announced, so I guess if you only want to see one day’s worth of killer shit, you can do that. Honestly though, unless you have a pressing prior engagement like your own wedding or there’s a family emergency or some such, I’m not sure how you make a conscious decision to not do all three days.

Even if The Brian Jonestown Massacre isn’t your thing, or you’ve never been huge on Red Fang or Wolves in the Throne Room, look down these bills. From Gozu and Samavayo and Josh Graham‘s IIVII the first day, Naxatras and Suma the next (talk about a marriage of opposites) and Bongripper and Polymoon the third, there’s really no way you lose. Pick one? Shit, I’ll take 10.

Ghent is apparently next to be filled out, and of course there will be some crossover for bands who are tour for a couple weeks, but there’s always a bunch of acts reserved for one or the other as well. I don’t know. I like bands playing shows. I like fests. I’d like to go to Belgium one day and make up for that one time I was there only long enough to fuck up ordering coffee in French like the dipshit passthrough tourist I was. Make up for it by probably doing the same thing, that is.

Oh, and they’re not on this poster, but Cities of Mars play on Sunday.

From the PR wire:

DESERTFEST BELGIUM 2022 ANTWERP DAY SPLITS

DF 2022 ANTWERP: WOLVES IN THE THRONE ROOM, BELZEBONG, AND MORE!

Back once again, with another headbanger. This time we break out the truly deep ‘n’ heavy, from all over Europe and beyond. Please take note: the following bands will be appearing at DF ANTWERP ONLY. News on the Ghent edition to follow in short order.

Making up for last year’s unfortunate cancellation, we’re glad that WOLVES IN THE THRONE ROOM will make it this year. Let’s burn some black candles to ward off any new pandemic, shall we? We’re also very glad to welcome two doom titans from the east and the north. BELZEBONG from Poland are always a Good Bad-Ass Time with their ripping lowdown instrumentals, and Sweden’s SUMA are keen on celebrating a belated 20th birthday on stage.

In case you were wondering if there will be a no-frills blues rock fix on the bill, wonder no more! THE HEAVY EYES have us covered with their homegrown Delta boogie, while DOMMENGANG will be here to deliver a West Coast vibe.

Greece has been delivering the stoner goods for a long time now, and it is with great pleasure we announce the return of the jam-adelic NAXATRAS and the first-time arrival of HALF GRAMME OF SOMA.

We promised some deep cuts, and we got ’em. Berlin scene mainstays SAMAVAYO will be here, as well as Sweden’s Ripple Records signees CITIES OF MARS. We’re also very excited that POLYMOON will come to dish out a hefty dose of Finnish nu psychedelia.

To round things off, two Belgian bands from extreme ends of the spectrum. On the one end we got the extremely grim sludgers of HISPYN, at the other is the very goofy but equally hard-banging GNOME who despite their diminutive appearance are not to be messed with.

What’s more? This Monday 18/07 at 11:00 AM CET we will announce the day per day lineup for DF ANTWERP. This means that on Monday 18/07 separate one day tickets will go on sale for DF ANTWERP! You have been warned!

Let’s be honest here: things are looking good, and better by the minute. Your hard-earned money will be well spe.. WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU DON’T HAVE YOUR TICKET YET!! Ticket prices are still reduced now, go get ’em before we start calling ’em ‘regular’!

MESSAGE OF GENERAL IMPORTANCE: We now welcome the Day Trippers to join the Weekend Trippers, as DAY TICKETS for the Antwerp Edition (Friday, Saturday & Sunday) become available as of NOW, Monday 18 July at 11am. You can find them on our ticketing page at the price of €58 (all-in) per day.

Desertfest insiders know what’s coming next: the DAILY SCHEDULE for both festivals is also visible on our line-up page, and will be complemented with any new acts we announce from now on. This will somewhat facilitate the hard choice to make when picking a day.

But! Let’s not forget that them Reduced Combi tickets are still available, so maybe you don’t have to choose after all. Get the full monty, 3 days of Desertfest Antwerp, or even throw in a day of Desertfest Ghent as a kicker.

We’ll be back soon with another round of new names.. stay tuned!

DF ANTWERP & GHENT REDUCED COMBI: 149 Euros
(valid 4 days: 14-16/10 – Antwerp & 30/10 – Ghent)

DF ANTWERP ONLY REDUCED COMBI: 120 Euros
(valid 3 days: 14-16/10 – Antwerp)

DF GHENT ONLY REDUCED DAY TICKET: 52 Euros
(valid 1 day: 30/10 – Ghent)

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

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Heavy Psych Sounds Announces Berlin & Dresden 2022 Fall Fests

Posted in Whathaveyou on May 10th, 2022 by JJ Koczan

heavy psych sounds fest berlin dresden first logo banner

Still weeks away from hosting its two nights in Los Angeles and San Francisco, Heavy Psych Sounds has unveiled a similar strategy to take place this Fall in Berlin and Dresden. Set for Oct. 21-22, these Heavy Psych Sounds Fest 2022 editions are just beginning to take shape with this first announcement, as roughly a third of the acts and a headliner are still to be revealed, but there’s already stuff to note here. To wit, it’s Nick Oliveri touring and not Mondo Generator or Stöner. Will he play acoustic or have a full band behind him?

Also, the inclusion of High Reeper here makes me wonder if that Philly outfit won’t have a new record out by the time they go. Maybe September to get ahead of the busy Fall season? Pure speculation. After 2016’s High Reeper (review here) and 2019’s Higher Reeper, could this be the year of the highest of all reepers? Stay tuned to find out.

Whoever else ends up being included and whatever the answers to the above questions, one can continue to see Heavy Psych Sounds branching out across Europe and beyond as the foremost purveyor of underground heavy in the world. Ain’t nobody else out there putting out Nebula and OreyeonDozer reissues and Witchpit. Label owns one of the most crucial moments in the history of heavy music. It is astounding.

From the PR wire:

heavy psych sounds fest berlin dresden first poster

*** HEAVY PSYCH SOUNDS FEST BERLIN & DRESDEN ***

first bands announcement

Heavy Psych Sounds Records & Booking will smash Berlin and Dresden with their highly acclaimed mini festival-series, the HEAVY PSYCH SOUNDS FEST! In cooperation with Greyzone Concerts and ElbSludgeBooking, today Heavy Psych Sounds has revealed the first bands for the upcoming HEAVY PSYCH SOUNDS FEST BERLIN & DRESDEN !!!

The HPS Fest Berlin & Dresden will be taking place 21st and 22nd of October, 2022 at the Festsaal Kreuzberg and Urban Spree in Berlin and Chemiefabrik in Dresden !!!

HEAVY PSYCH SOUNDS FEST – BERLIN & DRESDEN
@ Festsaal Kreuzberg / Urban Spree, Berlin
@ Chemiefabrik, Dresden
October 21st and 22nd 2022

feat.
BELZEBONG
NICK OLIVERI
THE LORDS OF ALTAMONT
HIGH REEPER
SLEEPWULF
+ more TBA

STAY TUNED FOR MORE INFO COMING SOON…

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

Belzebong, De Mysteriis Dope Sathanas – Live in Oslo (2021)

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Belzebong and Nightstalker Announce March Tour Dates

Posted in Whathaveyou on December 24th, 2021 by JJ Koczan

Hey, it’s a tour, right? That’s cool. In the immortal words of Life of Agony, “let’s pretend” that 2022’s gonna be a year where stuff like this can happen — something I’ll allow myself a not-terrified-of-everything moment to do because these are two bands with two very different purposes. Belzebong and Nightstalker, together?

I’m not about to accuse Sound of Liberation of picking names out of a hat, but it’s not the most obvious pairing, considering Belzebong‘s ultra-stoned sludge ethos and Nightstalker‘s status as we-were-here-first figureheads of Greece’s modern heavy rock underground. It’s cool, don’t get me wrong. I’m into it. I’m sure the two bands will get along famously provided they can settle on a language between them, it’s just a surprise to see them sharing a bill.

So right on. I like surprises.

It’s nice not to be terrified of everything for a minute. Okay, back to it.

From Sound of Liberation on the social media:

belzebong nightstalker tour

BELZEBONG + NIGHTSTALKER 2022 TOUR

Friends, fasten your seatbelts and light up your – uh – Christmas candles of course, as we got one last smokin’ good announcement for you this year.

Are you ready for tons of evil weedian riffage under the sign of the Goat? BelzebonG drown themselves in a sea of distortion, fuzz and bottom-end and invite you to headbong and smokedive live and in colour with them.

But make no mistake, they’re not alone! Raw Rock-n-Roll simplicity, stunning riffs, and electric haze; this is Nightstalker joining the heavy-riffing train, rolling over Europe next Spring!

Sound of Liberation proudly presents:
BELZEBONG & NIGHTSTALKER
“BACK 2 SMOKE 2022 TOUR”
09.03.22 – Vienna | ARENA WIEN
10.03.22 – Dresden | Chemiefabrik Dresden (Chemo)
11.03.22 – Passau | Zauberberg Passau
12.03.22 – Jena | KuBa
13.03.22 – Wiesbaden | Schlachthof Wiesbaden
14.03.22 – Zürich | Dynamo Zürich (offiziell)
15.03.22 – Basel | Hirscheneck
17.03.22 – Paris | The Backstage Paris
18.03.22 – Brussels | Magasin 4
19.03.22 – Dortmund | JunkYard
21.03.22 – Bremen | Zollkantine
22.03.22 – Hamburg | Knust Hamburg
23.03.22 – Berlin | cassiopeia Berlin
24.03.22 – Hannover | CAFE GLOCKSEE
25.03.22 – Nürnberg | MUZclub
26.03.22 – Siegen | Vortex Surfer Musikclub

We can not wait to see this evil package fill the clubs with smoke and riffs. Get your tickets while they’re hot!

https://www.facebook.com/belzebong420/
https://www.instagram.com/belzebong420/
https://belzebong.bandcamp.com/

https://www.facebook.com/vinterrecords
https://www.instagram.com/vinter_records/
http://vinterrecords.com/

https://www.facebook.com/nightstalkerband/
https://nightstalker.bandcamp.com/
http://www.nightstalkerband.com/

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

Belzebong, De Mysteriis Dope Sathanas – Live in Oslo (2021)

Nightstalker, Great Hallucinations (2019)

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Belzebong Releasing De Mysteriis Dope Sathanas – Live in Oslo LP; Streaming Now

Posted in Whathaveyou on June 8th, 2021 by JJ Koczan

Belzebong at Hostsabbat (Photo by JJ Koczan)

I saw this set. It was fucking filthy. Belzebong‘s De Mysteriis Dope Sathanas – Live in Oslo was recorded at the Kulturkirken Jakob as part of Høstsabbat 2019 (review here), where the Polish four-piece took the stage and offered a bevvy of crustily riffed fuckall delights, unspeakably heavy and undeniably stoned. If you can’t hang with that, well, then you probably can’t hang.

That the collection is titled De Mysteriis Dope Sathanas – Live in Oslo speaks even more to the band’s middle-fingers-up righteousness, the name of the thing referring of course to Mayhem‘s 1994 debut, De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas, which is about as landmark as Norwegian black metal records get and, as narratives go, one of the most loaded metal albums of all time, what with the murder and all. The only thing that got killed when Belzebong played Høstsabbat was the riffs.

The digital version is streaming now through Belzebong‘s Bandcamp, so feel free to listen to that here. The Høstsabbat-associated Vinter Records will release the LP this Fall in what’s to be the first installment of an ongoing series of live recordings. Cool by me. This is a hell of a way to kick that off.

Social media had it like this:

belzebong de mysteriis dope sathanas live in oslo

Belzebong – De Mysteriis Dope Sathanas – Live in Oslo

VINTER RECORDS Presents: Høstsabbat Live Series Vol 1.
Recorded Live @ Kulturkirken Jakob, Oslo 05/10/2019.

420 copies on color wax only
Ordering info will follow soon

Full album stream: https://bit.ly/355XXmd

Side 6:
1. Bong Thrower
2. Diabolical Dopenosis
Side 66:
1. Pot Fiend
2. Witch Rider
3. The Bong Of Eternal Stench

Says Vinter Records: “We are super stoked to release the first edition of many to come, of the Høstsabbat Live Series! None less than BelzebonG have the honour of premiering this collaboration with Vinter Records and Høstsabbat!”

https://www.facebook.com/belzebong420/
https://www.instagram.com/belzebong420/
https://belzebong.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/vinterrecords
https://www.instagram.com/vinter_records/
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Belzebong, De Mysteriis Dope Sathanas – Live in Oslo (2019)

Belzebong, Light the Dankness (2018)

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Belzebong and SÂVER Touring Together in March

Posted in Whathaveyou on January 8th, 2020 by JJ Koczan

belzebong

Saver (Photo by Mikkel Fykse Engelschion)

This is a combination of elements I’d expect to pay dividends for all involved parties except maybe the eardrums of those who happen to fall in the tour’s path. Polish stoner metallers Belzebong and Norwegian trio SÂVER find common ground in elements of sludge, but what they do with it is vastly different. For Belzebong it’s about that weed, those riffs, and your head, smoked-out and nodding. For SÂVER, the issue is more complex. Their groove is present and accounted for, but they bring aggro post-metal and atmospheric reach to go along with their crushing, and thereby expand the mind as much as bludgeon the skull in which it resides.

But one way or another, you’re doomed. No mistake.

The shows are presented by Sound of Liberation, who greet 2020 in loud fashion. Also love the “slowly presents” on the poster below. Cleverness always gets bonus points from me:

belzebong saver tour

BELZEBONG & SÂVER – “SMOKE OR DIE“ 2020 TOUR!

From all of us at the Sound of Liberation HQ, wishes for a heavy new year and, well, a whole decade! We hope Santa Claus found you in time, cause in our case he came a bit late, hung out for a smoke and left, leaving us however with this AWESOME poster!

Ladies and gents, we sloooowly present this mighty doom metal package:

BELZEBONG + very special guest SÂVER on the “SMOKE OR DIE“ 2020 TOUR!

Fill your lungs for evil weedian riffage from Polish doom summoners BelzebonG and devastating low-end tunes from our Norwegian post-miracle SÂVER. Let yourself drown in the sea of fuzz on one of these dates:

11.03. Košice, Collosseum Club Košice (SK)
12.03. Budapest, Dürer Kert (HU)
13.03. TBA
14.03. Bucharest, Soundart Festival (RO)
15.03. Cluj-Napoca, Flying Circus Cluj (RO)
16.03. TBA
17.03. Vienna, ARENA WIEN (AT)
18.03. TBA
19.03. Hamburg, Hafenklang (DE)
20.03. Drachten, Poppodium Iduna (NL)
21.03. Cologne, Helios37 (DE)
22.03. Brussels, Magasin 4 (BE)
23.03. Paris, The Backstage Paris (FR)
24.03. TBA
25.03. Munich, Feierwerk (DE)
26.03. TBA
27.03. Leipzig, UT Connewitz (DE)
28.03. Cottbus, Zum Faulen August, Cottbus (DE)

Belzebong is:
Cheesy dude
Sheepy dude
Alky dude
Hexy dude
Boogey dude

SÂVER is:
Markus Støle
Ole Ulvik Rokseth
Ole C Helstad

https://www.facebook.com/belzebong420/
https://www.instagram.com/belzebong420/
https://belzebong.bandcamp.com/

https://www.facebook.com/saveroslo/
https://saeverband.bandcamp.com/
http://www.pelagic-records.com/
http://www.facebook.com/pelagicrecords

Belzebong, Light the Dankness (2018)

SÂVER, They Came with Sunlight (2019)

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Live Review: HØSTSABBAT 2019 Night Two in Oslo, Norway, 10.05.19

Posted in Reviews on October 6th, 2019 by JJ Koczan

hostsabbat 2019 poster square

Before the Show

Festival mode. One day bleeds into the next, sometimes into the one after. You lose time to the timetable. Basic needs become a big deal. Water. Coffee. Advil. Comfy socks. Earplugs in the top pocket of your jeans so you can be quick on the draw in a sudden burst of volume. All this shit really starts to matter.

Which I guess is my way of saying I’m tense about the day soon to unfold, as well as exhausted from last night. I expect these two energies to cancel each other out and leave a remainder of self-loathing-fueled social awkwardness, which is the standard I generally set for myself.

There was an art talk in the crypt a bit ago, followed upstairs by a live-painting session by Linda K. Røed and Trine Grimm, set to a drone session by Highrule. Not something you see every day, so I wanted to be sure to see it.

And they were painting, and droning, respectively, and I decided that while they were creating, I’d go up the balcony and do a bit of writing, so that’s where I am. Here’s the view:

Live painting at Høstsabbat

It is a significant view, but it’s worth reemphasizing that this fest is about more than just the place. Last year it found its home in the Kulturkirken Jakob, and with that task behind it, it’s begun to explore further its own personality and the varying shapes it can take. The lineup for today, already under way, sort of, speaks to that, as does the growing visual side. I’d only expect the progression to continue.

First band on in half an hour downstairs. Easily time for another coffee beforehand.

After the Show

Definitely not the same sort of brain-surge as was the ending of last night, with Ufomammut reconfirming their galaxial supremacy, but more like a spiritual cleansing, like if you could actually catch your breath in one breath. That would be Colour Haze closing out Kulturkirken Jakob for the second and final night of Høstsabbat 2019.

By then, I and everyone else in attendance had been through a ringer of ups, downs and side-to-sides of style, eight bands between the two Kulturkirken stages, five more across the street at Verkstedet, and I know I didn’t see two bands play the same kind of sound today. Even the sludge bands were different enough to be called different. It was a little staggering.

But, if there’s ever a time for a blowout, it’s the last day of the fest, and Høstsabbat made the most of the opportunity confronting it. I’m sad to say that as I’ll be traveling tomorrow morning, the inevitabilities of returning to real life — much as I have one — were burrowing into my head by about the time the third band went on, but I knuckled down and let myself enjoy being here while I’m here. Have I mentioned how lucky I am to be here?

Good. Because that’s really the lesson of the weekend. Stupid lucky.

I seem to recall the day going something like this:

Dunbarrow

Dunbarrow (Photo by JJ Koczan)

Rest assured, it was just last year that Norwegian classic doomers Dunbarrow released their second album, II (review here) on RidingEasy. It only sounds like it was 45 years ago. Opening up the crypt stage, Dunbarrow delivered their set with an energy that reminded me of catching Brutus headlining in the same space last year, Dunbarrow‘s style is even more heavy ’70s in its focus. They represented their recorded work well in that way — it wasn’t like they got on stage and came across completely different, like their vintage aesthetic is all studio tricks or something like that. There’s a lot of First Daze Here-era Pentagram at play, as there inevitably would be, and they take cues from the same cues Witchcraft took therefrom, but part of the charm of seeing them was watching them bring that spirit to life, and they absolutely did that. It’s a sound that’s not based on being the loudest or the heaviest all the time, and it can be tricky for bands to pull it off and still convey some sense of vitality. Wasn’t a problem for Dunbarrow.

Hexvessel

Hexvessel (Photo by JJ Koczan)

I know it’s trash-cliche, because experience is subjective and all that happy crap, but Hexvessel have the ability to move a room like few bands I’ve seen. As fate and silly-life would have it, this was my second time seeing them since the release of their back-to-ground forest folk fourth LP, All Tree (review here), behind a set this Spring at Roadburn (review here), and it’s proven true again that they’re absolutely transportive. The vocal harmonies, the rich arrangement elements, and now — thanks in no small part to the aesthetic sprawl of their third album, 2016’s When We are Death (review here) — the diversity of their atmospheres all come together to form a cohesive purpose. It’s a conversation and a going. Does it require some buy-in? For sure. What doesn’t? That’s where the sheer songwriting comes in, because no matter where Hexvessel might take you in a given track, record, set, etc., their method has an ultra-consistent level of craft behind it. Every melody is in its place, every swell and sway have their function toward the larger intent moving you. And so you end up in a different place than you were when they started. Every time.

Papir

Papir (Photo by JJ Koczan)

It’s a pretty good sign your lineup is absolutely bonkers when you’ve got bands like Hexvessel and Papir playing on the relatively early end of the day. I was way stoked, in the parlance of our times, to catch Papir‘s ultra-fluid instrumental jamming. They were one of the band I was most excited to see this weekend, there was zero disappointment once they got going. I was a little surprised at how mellow they weren’t. All things are relative — especially when Belzebong are shortly to hit stage upstairs and Slabdragger are next in the basement — but still, while of course they had their calm moments and the overarching vibe was serene, the Copenhagen trio of guitarist Nicklas Sørensen bassist Christian Becher and drummer Christoffer Brøchmann showed even more character in their material than I had thought was coming. The crypt stage was packed out early for them — I got there 20 minutes before they went on and still had a dude trying to push out of the way for a spot — but frankly, I couldn’t even argue with the impulse. What Papir were doing, loud or quiet at any given moment but universally hypnotic, was nothing if not an invitation.

Belzebong

Belzebong (Photo by JJ Koczan)

Kind of on the other end of a similar instrumentalist heavy spectrum were Belzebong, whose crusty, ultra-gree-heen take on stoner metal and sludge was like taking the notion of “riff-based” to what most would no doubt consider an illogical extreme. Some bands are a lifestyle, and Belzebong were a reminder of that. I don’t know how they’re received in their native Poland, but Høstsabbat certainly bid them welcome to the altar stage, and was more than willing to follow the bouncing skulls as the band headbanged in unison to each successive, massive riff. As with their recorded output — their third full-length, Light the Dankness (review here), came out last year — their live show is bent decidedly in favor of the primitive. It is stoned, and fuck you. I’ll grant that that, in itself, is an atmosphere, and Belzebong were well comfortable within it, but the whole idea was driving riffs into the brains of the willing and the converted because everyone else is probably a cop anyway. They were loud, they were huge-sounding, and they were everything you could possibly ask Belzebong to be on a Saturday night in Oslo. I’m gonna go out on a limb and guess that also includes being high. If not, it’s doubly impressive.

Orsak:Oslo

Orsak Oslo (Photo by JJ Koczan)

I didn’t get to catch more than a few minutes of their set, because I was en route from one thing to the other, but I wanted to give quick mention to anyone paying attention to Orsak:Oslo, whose dreamy-space-vibe-rock I consider my “find” of the entire festival. Again, I didn’t see a lot of it, but what I saw was excellent and made me wish I could see more. They put out a record earlier this year on Germany’s Kapitaen Platte. If I could’ve figured out how to work VIPPS without a Norwegian ID number, I’d have bought the CD from the merch area. As it was, they were well worth the momentary detour across the street.

Slabdragger

Slabdragger (Photo by JJ Koczan)

Uh, progressive? But like the progressive that might kick you? I did have to look it up, but it’s been three years since London trio Slabdragger — which includes Old Man Lizard guitarist/vocalist Jack Newnham on drums — put out their second record, Rise of the Dawncrusher (review here), and one would think that might be long enough for them to get another release together, but seeing them in the crypt for Høstsabbat, I had no trouble believing it might be longer. They were half a decade between their first and second records, and with the complexity of what they were playing, it makes sense. Extended tracks, some parts rocking, other parts outright punishing, Slabdragger brought together a thoughtful mindset with tectonic intensity in a way that was undeniably their own. You might call them sludge on some level, if only because they’re so heavy — and they are, whatever else is going on at the time — but that barely scratches the surface. Bonus points to guitarist Sam Thredder, who asked to have the lights turned up after the first song so he could see what he was playing. “I swear that’s why that song only had one note,” he told the crowd as he prepared to share vocal duties again with bassist Yusuf Tary for another round of pummeling.

The Devil and the Almighty Blues

The Devil and the Almighty Blues (Photo by JJ Koczan)

The Devil and the Almighty Blues, feeding off a hometown crowd’s energy, vocalist Arnt O. Andersen, guitarists Petter Svee and Torgeir Waldemar Engen, bassist Kim Skaug and drummer Kenneth Simonsen came out to the country-blues strains of “O Death” — as they’re wont to do — and proceeded to immediately earn the heroes’ welcome they were given by the crowd by building the ultra-catchy “Salt the Earth” from earlier-2019’s Tre (review here) from the ground up, Anderson, in robe, in utter command of the proceedings in true and classic frontman fashion, even when his arms were crossed and he stood at the back of the stage drinking a beer and nodding in approval. The band on either side of him — and behind, in the case of Simonsen — were both vibrant and tight, clearly playing up to the occasion at Kulturkirken Jakob in front of fans as well as what seemed to be friends and family. Their moody, possibly drunken sense of danger was readily on display, but they shone on a big stage in a way that underscored their touring and fest experience, and while I had to wonder what it would take to get them over to the US for a show, and if the American crowd would get it in the same way, I couldn’t help but think they’re a band my home country is missing out on by not having the chance to see live. They took what was obviously a special show for them and made it one for everyone else too.

LLNN

LLNN (Photo by JJ Koczan)

Sometimes it’s easy to forget how heavy heavy actually gets. Fortunately, for those momentary lapses, along comes a band like LLNN to absolutely slam your skull into a wall. I had only barely checked out the Copenhagen outfit’s 2018 full-length, Deads, for a few seconds before deciding they were the something I wanted to experience live, and for two days of heaviness in that basement, there might indeed have been nowhere to go after them. Superlatively heavy, extreme post-metal, with atmospherics to push the air out of your lungs and tone to make sure it stays gone. Brutal, chaotic, whatever else. It was all of that churn and physical force behind the music, as well as being less about a cathartic expression — as was, say, SUMA, who opened the crypt yesterday — than a reveling in disaffection and alienation. So much weight brought to bear, and not all of it coldly or unemotionally. Their performance was no less ferocious than their sound, with the lights low and the strobe going and everything set to convey a sense of being overwhelmed, which was a standard they met easily. Not the kind of thing you’d put on for a dinner party — unless your dinner parties are awesome — but probably the kind of thing that should be played in art galleries as well as church basements. Pelagic released that album, so clearly I have some digging back to do in further investigation. Maybe a bit of recovery first though.

Colour Haze

Colour Haze (Photo by JJ Koczan)

There was some technical difficulty at the outset — one of drummer Manfred Merwald‘s stage monitors didn’t seem to be putting out anything for a while there — but while that delayed their start a couple minutes, once Colour Haze got going for their headlining set at the second night of Høstsabbat, and whatever came before, the feeling of peace was palpable. It radiated from all corners of the stage, even from Merwald, who make no mistake is a madman behind the kit. That’s something that has become all the more visible since he’s turned the drums sideways to allow room for organist/synthesist Jan Faszbender on the stage; Faszbender being the fourth member who’s worked with the band for years on arrangements, recording, etc., but only really started to play shows with them for the last couple years, joining the trio of Merwald, bassist Philipp Rasthofer — he of the classiest bass tone I’ve ever heard — and guitarist/vocalist Stefan Koglek, whose hippie spirit on stage does nothing to undercut the precision and concentration behind his playing. They’ve been celebrating the 25th anniversary of the band since the Spring, and have more tour dates lined up this year, but I was lucky enough to see them in this configuration in London in May 2018 (review here), and they’ve only gotten more fluid as a four-piece, adding nuance in between-song transitions and Faszbender‘s contributions to older material. They opened with “She Said” from the 2012 album of the same name (review here) and they jammed and jammed and jammed, with some new material thrown in for good measure. The record is called Life, and it’s slated for CD/DL release in November, so here’s hoping. In the meantime, “Aquamaria” and “Transformation” were glorious, and the warmth that Colour Haze exuded from the stage was such that not even the October night in Oslo could stand up to it. Seriously, I took off my hoodie. They’re not a band I’ll ever pretend to be remotely objective about, but what they do is singularly beautiful. Another 25 years would be just fine, thank you very much. And then some.

The Next Morning

Hi from Oslo International. I’ll be honest with you, I don’t know what the hell value Høstsabbat sees in inviting me to this festival, but holy crap it’s appreciated. The hospitality I’ve been shown this year and last year (and two years before that, as well) is sincerely humbling, and while I’m happy to come here and write as long as they’ll have me, I can’t say it makes any sense why they’d want me here.

As such, I’m not going to say anything about “next year.” Because, you know what, maybe Høstsabbat will do what’s well within their rights and tell me to get lost (which I did walking from the train station to the hotel on Thursday, same as last year). I feel like it would be reasonable.

So instead of talking about Høstsabbat 2020, which I’m sure will be excellent whether or not I’m here to see it, I’m going to take 2019 and breathe it in for a minute and appreciate what I’ve just spent the last two days doing for the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity it was. How many chances am I going to have to see a band like Orsak:Oslo play in a tiny bar? Or Ufomammut and Colour Haze in a cathedral setting? Whatever does or doesn’t happen in the future, I was lucky to be here.

Special thanks to Ole and Jens, as always, and thanks to Stefan Koglek, The Patient Mrs. and most of all to you for reading.

Now, if you need me, I gotta go get on a plane. More pics after the jump.

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