This is one of the best lineups I’ve seen for a US-based heavy fest in the 15-plus years I’ve been running this site. I don’t know what else to say about it, honestly. For the fact that Ripplefest Texas is bringing Dozer over alone, let alone any of the other Euro acts involved who have, say, been to North America in the last 20-plus years, it’s astonishing. And not just bigger bands like Dozer and Truckfighters or Mars Red Sky and Belzebong, but Domkraft and Kal-El, bands you know if you’re into this thing but that haven’t been around as long and aren’t as ‘huge’ in the whatever sense that applies in underground music.

And it’s not like they’re skimping on within-US geography either. Of course the desert is well represented, and Texas has a significant presence as it invariably would, but with Gozu and Leather Lung headed out from Boston, Borracho traveling from D.C., Temple of the Fuzz Witch from Michigan, Robots of the Ancient World from Portland, Oregon, and so on, they’ve got all the corners and between pretty well covered. La Chinga coming from Canada. Demons My Friends giving Mexico a nod. It is extensive.

And quality. I don’t know that I’ll be there to see it, but I’d imagine that for most who get to be, it’ll be the stuff of legend. Congrats to Ryan Garney and Lick of My Spoon for bringing it into the world, and safe travels to all involved:

Here it is! The lineup for RippleFest Texas and the amazing art by Simon Berndt @1horsetown 🤘🔥❤️

We still have a few surprises left but this roster is stacked! Don’t miss your chance to see the world’s best heavy music at the largest family reunion of the year. Plus this is the ONLY premier festival that has absolutely ZERO OVERLAPPING so you can see every second of every band! Get your tickets now and we will see you in September!

Tier 2 tickets are almost sold out and the price increases on Monday so get your tickets now:

www.lickofmyspoon.com

DOZER
TRUCKFIGHTERS
BONGZILLA
MARS RED SKY
BELZEBONG
DOMKRAFT
LEGIONS OF DOOM
FATSO JETSON
GOZU
HOWLING GIANT
THE HEAVY EYES
HIGH DESERT QUEEN
KAL-EL
20 WATT TOMBSTONE
THE OTOLITH
TEMPLE OF THE FUZZ WITCH
LEATHER LUNG
THUNDER HORSE
HASHTRONAUT
BONE CHURCH
BORRACHO
SUN CROW
CRYSTAL SPIDERS
TIA CARRERA
ROBOTS OF THE ANCIENT WORLD
MR. PLOW
LA CHINGA
FOSTERMOTHER
BLUE HERON
TEMPTRESS
FORMULA 400
DEMONS MY FRIENDS
VERMILION WHISKEY
VIOLET RISING
HUDU AKIL
BUZZ ELECTRO
SHADOW OF JUPITER

GRAND FINALE w/ MARIO LALLI & THE RUBBER SNAKE CHARMERS “Desert Jam Session”

Plus the best light show in the business by @themadalchemistliquidliteshow

https://www.facebook.com/theripplemusic/
https://ripplemusic.bandcamp.com/
http://www.ripple-music.com/

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Mars Red Sky, Live at Rock in Bourlon 2023

This past weekend was Ripplefest Texas, and I gotta say, even having gone to a fest last friggin’ week, I was looking hard at that lineup and thinking to myself it’d be awfully nice to see a whole bunch of West Coast acts I don’t normally see. Maybe next year.

Wait, who’s thinking about next year when the festival is barely done? They are. Ripplefest Texas 2024 is bringing over Dozer and Mars Red Sky — oh I hope they tour together — and will have The Skull-offshoot Legions of Doom, Boston’s Gozu, The Heavy Eyes, High Desert Queen, Bone Church, Blue Heron, Demons My Friends and, as you might guess looking at the packed lineup that was assembled for this year’s event, many more to come.

Honestly, you had me at either Dozer or Mars Red Sky, but the appeal here goes well beyond those, and in a US festival sphere reeling without a major summer event or two this year it’s gotten pretty used to having around, Ripplefest seems to be stepping in at least to give the heavy rock end of the underground somewhere to flourish. I’ll be interested to see in the next two or three years how it will continue to grow, but also just for next year. I’d imagine there’s a whole bunch of people who’ve already made their travel plans to get to Austin. Can’t say I really blame you.

More to come as we get closer to a year from now, obviously, but they’re throwing down. Pretty sure those earlybird tickets are gone:

DATES AND FIRST BANDS ANNOUNCED FOR NEXT YEAR!

DOZER
LEGIONS OF DOOM
MARS RED SKY
GOZU
THE HEAVY EYES
HIGH DESERT QUEEN
BONE CHURCH
BLUE HERON
DEMONS MY FRIENDS

and many many more!

Only 100 Early bird tickets available so get yours now!
www.lickofmyspoon.com

https://www.facebook.com/theripplemusic/
https://ripplemusic.bandcamp.com/
http://www.ripple-music.com/

https://www.facebook.com/LOMSProductions
https://www.instagram.com/LOMSProductions/
http://www.lickofmyspoon.com/
https://linktr.ee/Lickofmyspoon

Dozer, “Rising” live at Desertfest Berlin 2023

Based in Austin, Texas, and Mexico City, heavy rocking three-piece Demons My Friends make their full-length debut on Sept. 8 through Gravitoyd Heavy Music with Demons Seem to Gather. The band have been trickling out singles leading up to the release for nearly a year, and as a singe “Inner Slay” (premiering below) follows behind “Ghosts of You,” “Bring the Night,” the closer “We Are the Resistance” and the hooky side B leadoff “Make Them Pay,” so it’s probably safe to say they’re looking to grab attention of an underground listenership, otherwise maybe five singles (so far) from your first record probably isn’t the way you’re going to go.

Taking some cues in atmosphere on “We Are the Resistance,” the crunch of “Fire Mountain” and in the ’90s creep of guitar in verse of “Your Bones” prior from Alice in Chains, the trio bring ideas together from modern emotive doom à la Pallbearer on “Inner Slay,” a broad vocal hook assuring that the vocal stands up to the riffing on display throughout, opener “The Tower Falls” having started out on solid ground rhythm-wise but found room in the mix for an Elephant Tree-style harmony in opener “The Tower Falls” before the start-stop angularity of “Bring the Night” — the chorus delivering the album’s title line — hinting at the metallic underpinning of the project while also sounding more derived from ’00s era punk and post-hardcore. Thus it is that Demons My Friends — guitarist/vocalist Pablo Anton, bassist/vocalist Lu Salinas, drummer Tarro Martinez — stave off the threat of doing just one thing, and instead lay out a creative reach that one expects they’ll continue to refine as they move forward.

While the eight-song/36-minute offering is varied in its approach, the band are consistent in tone and their willingness to veer toward more doomed ends, “Inner Slay” serving as a ready example leading into “Ghosts of You,” which caps side A and pushes further along similar lines, with a central progression to its back half that touches almost on commercial hard rock without losing its foundation in heavy riffing. The production of Duel‘s Jeff Henson assures that fullness of sound and gives the melodic complexity of some of the arrangements — looking at you, chorus-over-solo in “Fire Mountain” — a dimensionality it would otherwise run the risk of lacking, but while Demons My Friends is a new exploration and Demons Seem to Gather is a debut album from a band who as the narrative tells us (blessings and peace upon it) jammed before they were really together, the experience of the players involved assures they’re not flailing in the end product.

Instead, songwriting is at the core of Demons My Friends‘ approach, and whatever original riff-blocks these pieces were carved from, they have been shaped with care and thought, which is something that even the lines topping the apex of “We Are the Resistance” bear out, the band purposefully meeting the largesse of that moment head-on, even as they’re still unfolding it. The proverbial encouraging beginning? Yeah, pretty much. The kind of record you might see five singles released from. It’ll be interesting to hear as Demons My Friends plunge further into the places between rock and doom, the classic and modern and in-between. But one of Demons Seem to Gather‘s strengths is that it knows the field is wide open and it stakes a number of stylistic claims. Maybe they’re settling in for a longer-term evolution, thinking ahead an album, two albums, three. Some bands do that, and if Demons My Friends go that route and build on this backdrop, they’re starting out working from a high standard of craft.

PR wire info follows the player below, on which “Inner Slay” premieres. Please enjoy:

Demons My Friends is an unlikely collaboration between members of Mexican alt-metal band QBO and Washington, DC desert rockers Fellowcraft. The stoner/doom metal trio — Lu Salinas (bass/vocals), Tarro Martinez (drums), Pablo Anton (guitar/vocals)—embarked on their creative endeavor via an impromptu recording session at the SXSW music festival in Austin, TX in 2022 and have consummated the relationship with an upcoming full-length titled Demons Seem to Gather.

Demons Seem to Gather was recorded, mixed and produced by Jeff Henson at Red Nova Ranch, Austin, TX. It was mastered by Alberto de Icaza. It’s set for release on September 8 on vinyl, CD and digitally via Gravitoyd Heavy Music. In the meantime you can stream the band’s singles on all digital platforms

Tracklisting:
01. The Tower Falls
02. Bring The Night
03. Inner Slay
04. Ghosts of You
05. Make Them Pay
06. Fire Mountain
07. Your Bones
08. We Are The Resistance

Shows coming up for Demons My Friends:
October 20th at Valhalla (Austin TX)
October 21st at Black Magic Social Club (Houston TX)

Demons My Friends is:
Pablo Anton – guitar/vox
Lu Salinas – Bass/vox
Tarro – Drums

Demons My Friends on Facebook

Demons My Friends on Instagram

Demons My Friends on Bandcamp

Demons My Friends Linktr.ee

Gravitoyd Heavy Music on Facebook

Gravitoyd Heavy Music on Instagram

Gravitoyd Heavy Music on Bandcamp

The Obelisk Questionnaire is a series of open questions intended to give the answerer an opportunity to explore these ideas and stories from their life as deeply as they choose. Answers can be short or long, and that reveals something in itself, but the most important factor is honesty.

Based on the Proust Questionnaire, the goal over time is to show a diverse range of perspectives as those who take part bring their own points of view to answering the same questions. To see all The Obelisk Questionnaire posts, click here.

Thank you for reading and thanks to all who participate.

The Obelisk Questionnaire: Pablo Anton from Demons My Friends

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How do you define what you do and how did you come to do it?

I play guitar and sing for Demons My Friends, a Stoner/Doom project based in Austin TX that I founded with two close friends from Mexico City who are seasoned musicians. I’ve been playing in bands since I was 12, and I’ve been an avid extreme music collector since around the same age. I’ve always been enamored with strange sounds and obscure bands from all over the globe.

Describe your first musical memory.

My dad spinning records for me on Saturday afternoons when I was a kid. He was into progressive rock, and I distinctly remember the time he played “No Earthly Connection” for me, by Rick Wakeman. The vinyl had a distorted image in the cover that became clear if you held a mirror towards it at the right angle. For some reason that stuck with me.

Describe your best musical memory to date.

In 2018 I got a chance to perform with my former band at a metal festival near the pyramids in Teotihuacan Mexico at night, under heavy rain, right before Alice In Chains and System of a Down. That was a great night. The crowd had an energy that was unlike anything I’ve ever experience before or since.

When was a time when a firmly held belief was tested?

When I became a father. Everything I thought I wanted in life was forever changed. I always thought this was a cliché, but it turned out to be true (for me, at least).

Where do you feel artistic progression leads?

For me, artistic progression has led me to the darkest corners of my mind. It has enabled me to release and let go of traumatic memories and feelings that I had been unable to process before by other means. The more time I spend creating music, the more I get to know myself, forgive myself and heal myself.

How do you define success?

I personally define success as an artist as being able to materialize all the dreams and hopes I had for myself when I was a teenager. That’s all I’m trying to do, really. Chase the excitement and deep emotions I felt when I was 15, sitting alone in my room listening to deeply complex and emotional music from the likes of bands like Opeth, Katatonia, Borknagar and many others, and dreaming of being able to one day be at their level. All the “successful” moments that I can think of as a musician relate to moments where I’ve been able to connect with those raw emotions from my past and feel them with equal intensity again.

What is something you have seen that you wish you hadn’t?

“Two Girls, One Cup”. Eww.

Describe something you haven’t created yet that you’d like to create.

A concept album, but every time I’ve tried, I’ve struggled with stretching a plot long enough to last me for multiple songs.

What do you believe is the most essential function of art?

Art has the ability of connecting people and bounding us together, while at the same time meaning something completely different and unique to each of us. I don’t think there’s anything else that exists in this life that can achieve that.

Something non-musical that you’re looking forward to?

I always look forward to spending time with my family, whenever I am away from them.

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Demons My Friends, “Make Them Pay” official video

If you’re announcing your presence to the heavy underground, a solid hook is a good way to go about it. Thus enter Demons My Friends, situated in the perpetual hotbed of Austin, Texas, with roots that extend further south to Mexico City, the band readily straddle the line between heavy rock and heavy metal, some more aggro-style backing vocals in the chorus hinting toward an amalgam of influences to be spread across their debut album, yet untitled but set to release next year. You’ll note the production by Duel‘s Jeff Henson, and before they get there, they’ll appear at Mexico Metal Fest VI in Monterrey on Sept. 24, sharing the stage with the likes of Vader, Incantation, Bloodbath, Toxic Holocaust, Crypta, Brujeria and a vast slew of others.

Guess that’s the kind of varied company you can keep when you’re willing to cross the streams of different styles. Fair enough. The PR wire brought background and the single in question, with word given that two more standalone songs can be expected before the full-length is released:

DEMONS MY FRIENDS: stream debut single “Bring The Night”

Austin-based stoner rockers DEMONS MY FRIENDS release the first single “Bring The Night” taken from their debut album, to be released in early 2023. The band just announced an appearance at Mexico Metal Fest VI on September 24th.

Packed with hefty stoner grooves, a fine concoction of swagger-laden riffage and sharp-edged heavy metal licks, and gripping and magnetic vocals, DEMONS MY FRIENDS’ debut single “Bring The Night” fits just right in between Deliverance-era Corrosion of Conformity and the hook-laden fuzz of fellow Austin rockers High Desert Queen.

Demons My Friends – Debut single “Bring The Night”
Out now on all streaming platforms: https://lnk.to/dmfnight

Debut single “Bring The Night” was written on the spot, at Red Nova Ranch in March 2022, after guitarist and vocalist Pablo Anton had just performed at SXSW’s stoner and doom metal showcase Stoner Jam with his band Fellowcraft. Neither of the band members had been able to tour or play any shows with their other projects since early 2020 (aside from a couple of single shows in late 2021 in New York City and Mexico City), and they also separately had to battle mental health issues during the lockdowns. The opportunity to meet again in Austin after so long was cathartic, and after sharing some of their personal struggles over beers, the three musicians decided to embark on a new musical project together that would be born precisely from those bad experiences, with the purpose of putting out into the world a message that is very needed during these difficult times. “We are not alone. We are all collectively feeling the same sense of despair and loneliness… and if we are all feeling it together, then there is a way we can build ‘community’ by being open about it”. The three-day session at Red Nova Ranch, which was recorded and produced by Jeff Henson (Phil Anselmo, Spirit Adrift, Duel, Greenbeard) and mastered by Alberto de Icaza, reaped three new songs that will serve as the first three singles of the band’s debut full-length album, set to be released in the Spring of 2023.

DEMONS MY FRIENDS are planning a couple of shows in their native Mexico, a co-headlining show with The Wicked Ones in Mexico City on September 3, an appearance at Mexico Metal Fest VI in Monterrey on September 24 (with WASP, Possessed, SepticFlesh, Mayhem and more), followed by a short run of Texas shows in October, and an appearance alongside Hellfire and Screamer in Austin on October 16.

DEMONS MY FRIENDS is a Mexican stoner/doom metal trio based in Austin TX. The band is comprised by members of Fellowcraft (Washington, DC) and the well-known Mexican Nu-Metal band QBO, and was born during an impromptu recording session at SXSW 2022. The concept of the band explores the inner journey its members have embarked on since the onset of the COVID pandemic, confronting inner demons and battling anxiety, depression, self-doubt, and rage, while teaching themselves how to turn these demons into their “friends”. Hence the name of the band. Sonic influences for this project include Monolord, King Buffalo, All Them Witches and Baroness, among others. “Bring The Night” is the first single of their upcoming debut album, to be released in early 2023. The track was produced and mixed by Jeff Henson (Duel, Greenbeard, Spirit Adrift) and mastered by Alberto de Icaza.

DEMONS MY FRIENDS is
Pablo Anton – vocals & guitars
Lu Salinas – vocals & bass
Tarro – drums

https://www.facebook.com/demonsmyfriends
https://www.instagram.com/demons_my_friends/
https://demonsmyfriends.bandcamp.com/

Demons My Friends, “Bring the Night”