Heyo, just a word here as Roadburn does that Roadburn pre-holiday thing and announces a butt-ton of acts for next year’s festival before things get (outwardly) quieter for the next month or so. I know the narrative as regards the festival is that they’ve expanded from their beginnings, let go of the stoner rock stuff and all this, and to a certain point, that’s probably true. But among these almost-30 bands and artists, check out just how much heavy, psych, space and generally-out-there shit there is. Like, a ton.

Gnod & White Hills — who just announced a new collaborative album today — and Messa (I haven’t seen that album announcement but assume it’s coming unless I just missed it; it’s apparently called The Spin) playing full LPs, Coilguns, Smote, Thou, Zombie Zombie, Pothamus who I recently got put onto — some of it is spaced out and some of it is trippy, but if you’re looking for tonal presence, I don’t think it’s going to be in short supply.

That they also happen to be open-minded around this, such that Dødheimsgard and Chat Pile can exist on the same bill with Cinder Well, Faetooth and a Kylesa reunion, I don’t think is a weakness. At least it doesn’t seem to be looking at the new poster art, which I’ll just say flat out I prefer to 2024’s. I got to attend Roadburn earlier this year for the first time in five years, and it was magic and emotional both. I don’t know that I’ll be invited back for 2025 — because, really, why would I? — but this announcement does nothing at all to uncross my superstitious fingers.

The PR wire brought the latest:

Roadburn adds 29 new names to the 2025 lineup including envy, Oranssi Pazuzu, Thou, Gilla Band, Midwife, Steve Von Till and more

Roadburn has announced a further 29 names for the 2025 edition of the festival. Among the artists confirmed are several who will return to Roadburn – such as Thou, Messa, and Oranssi Pazuzu – and many who will be making their Roadburn debut – such as Envy, Tristwych y Fenywod, and Curses. Steve Von Till and Midwife have also been announced as artists in residence, both performing multiple times over the course of the festival. Roadburn 2025 will take place in Tilburg, The Netherlands between April 17-20.

Roadburn’s artistic director Walter Hoeijmakers comments:

“This announcement shows the broad scope of heaviness at Roadburn 2025. There are artistic, musical and emotional boundaries being pushed, and we are hosting up-and-coming acts making their festival debuts alongside longstanding luminaries. We are looking to the future, to our roots, and in all directions in the present to find those defying the perceived limits of genre in the underground. We know there are no limits.”

The new names added to Roadburn 2025 are as follows:

Bambara: brooding post-punk from New York

Big Brave performing their latest, critically acclaimed album A Chaos of Flowers

Blind Girls will make the trek from Australia to bring their frenetic screamo to Roadburn

Buñuel’s off-kilter noise rock will be presided over by enigmatic frontman Eugene S. Robinson

CHVE is the intense and intimate outlet for the solo work of Amenra’s Colin H. van Eeckhout

Coilguns will perform their new album Odd Love in its entirety.

Curses (Live) are set to deliver their neon-lit post-punk/electro hybrid

Dødheimsgard will bring their iconic combination of progressive black metal and avant-garde industrial as they perform their latest album, Black Medium Current

envy will make their long awaited Roadburn debut, performing A Dead Sinking Story in full as well as a modern era/Eunoia set

Gilla Band will revisit the Early Years with a noise-rock set that throws back to their roots

Gillian Carter hail from Orlando, Florida and will bring their distinctive brand of screamo to Tilburg in April.

Glassing head to Europe for just the second time to showcase their post-everything sound and bristling live energy.

Gnod & White Hills unite to perform their legendary Gnod Drop Out With White Hills II album

Great Falls fuse noise rock and hardcore in a discordant, emotion driven sonic purge

Messa return to Roadburn to play their upcoming new album, The Spin, in full.

Michael Gira and Kristof Hahn (SWANS) will present an intimate set of new and rarely heard compositions.

Midwife (Artist In Residence) – Madeline Johnston AKA Midwife will return to Roadburn – this time as an artist in residence – where she will perform three times, including a set with Vyva Melinkolya and a commissioned performance of her new album, No Depression In Heaven

Oranssi Pazuzu return to the festival with a very special performance of their latest release, Muuntautuja

Pothamus have just announced a brand new album, Abur, which they will perform in full at Roadburn 2025.

Pygmy Lush will play their first show in Europe at Roadburn, bringing their dark Americana to Roadburn.

Smote will expand to an eight-piece ensemble to perform their latest album, A Grand Stream

Steve Von Till (Artist In Residence) – we have invited Steve to be an artist in residence to honour his incredible musical legacy and shine a light on his future creative endeavours; he will perform two full sets and unite with artist Thomas Hooper for a collaborative audio-visual exhibition.

Thou will perform their latest album, Umbilical, in full on the main stage.

Tristwch Y Fenywod bring their folky Welsh-language incantations to Tilburg.

Violent Magic Orchestra blend black metal and electronics to dizzying effect

Vuur & Zijde feature members of Laster, Silver Knife, Terzij de Horde and more – and will make their live debut performing their album, Boezem

Vyva Melinkolya will play her first show in Europe, bringing her emotionally heavy dreamgaze to Roadburn.

Witch Club Satan rip up the rule book of black metal, embracing the feminine and the theatrical along the way.

Zombie Zombie combine groovy electronics and trippy motorik rhythms in their psychedelic sound

More information on these artists can be found HERE: https://roadburn.com/line-up/

They will join a slew of previously announced artists including Chat Pile, ØXN, Sumac, Altin Gun, and Kylesa.

All ticket and accommodation options for Roadburn are now on sale. For all information including tickets, please visit www.roadburn.com

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http://www.roadburn.com

Thou, Umbilical (2024)

This was fun. I asked the other day on the ol’ social medias for requests and wound up getting a whole playlist’s worth. It was a genuine surprise, but hell’s bells, there’s some good stuff here, and as I’m normally so focused on trying to fit as much new music as humanly possible into the two hours, the chance to revisit some oldies but goodies from Saint Vitus, Sleep, Mos Generator, and Throttlerod was great, not to mention the chance to shine light on new stuff from Steak, Weedevil, Kurokuma and Lark’s Tongue, the latter of which, I admit, was my own request.

I included the names in the playlist so I could do oldschool radio-style shout-outs, which was fun in the voice breaks, and I appreciated the chance to hear stuff I wouldn’t have otherwise, like Wallowing or Buñuel, the latter whose new album is out today on Profound Lore and is pretty wild heavy stuff. Maybe I’ll do this kind of thing from time to time. Next show I might just load up on psych tunes and let it ride. Ha.

If you listen, or you see these words, thanks.

The Obelisk Show airs 5PM Eastern today on the Gimme app or at: http://gimmemetal.com.

Full playlist:

The Obelisk Show – 02.18.22

Wallowing	Earthless (for Matt McCartney)	Planet Loss
Kurokuma	Smoking Mirror (for Vesper Munkvold & Shasta Beest)	Born of Obsidian
Weedevil	Underwater (for Matheus Jacques)	The Return
Author & Punisher	Incinerator (for Dan Blomquist)	Kruller
VT
Obsidian Sea	The Long Drowning (for Martin Petrov)	Pathos
Saint Vitus	The Psychopath (for Steven Melson)	Saint Vitus
Lord Vicar	The Temple in the Bedrock (for Fabrizio Monni)	The Black Powder
Throttlerod	Never Was a Farmer (for Raul Stanciu)	Turncoat
Snail	Fractal Altar (for Steve Janiak)	Fractal Altar
Ruff Majik	Heart Like an Alligator (for Warren Gibson)	The Devil’s Cattle
Buñuel	When God Used a Rope (for Jasper Hesselnik)	Killers Like Us
Steak	Papas Special Custard (for John Gist)	Acute Mania
10,000 Years	Dark Side of the Earth (for Alex Risberg)	II
Lark’s Tongue	The Novelty Wears Thin (for me)	Eleusis
VT
Sleep	Leagues Beneath (for Steven Melson)	Leagues Beneath
Mos Generator	Outlander (for Jessie Avery)	The Firmament

The Obelisk Show on Gimme Metal airs every Friday 5PM Eastern, with replays Sunday at 7PM Eastern. Next new episode is March 4 (subject to change). Thanks for listening if you do.

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