Three bands deep and already DesertFest London — which from here on out I’ll be presenting with the capital ‘f’ in accordance with their own stylization and in contrast to years past; I’m tired of feeling like I’ve got it wrong — has an enviable lineup. Sleep was already confirmed shortly after this year’s fest, and they’ll headline Koko, a place about which I know nothing but assume is sizable, as Orange Goblin celebrate their 20th anniversary. Not bad shakes. I’ve seen both of those bands, and they destroy, but I’ve never seen My Sleeping Karma and they’re on my wishlist at this point, their last several records having been so very, very good.

While I consider the finer points of starting an NPR-style pledge drive in order to cover travel expenses (no, not really), check out the announcement from the PR wire:

DESERTFEST LONDON 2015 : Sleep, Orange Goblin and My Sleeping Karma confirmed

European stoner/doom/psych festival DESERTFEST LONDON just unveiled the first batch of bands to be part of its fourth edition, taking place on April 24-26th, 2015 in Camden. Tickets are on sale now, so it’s time to make plans for next spring!

First bands confirmed are:

SLEEP (headlining Koko’s on Sunday 26th)
ORANGE GOBLIN
MY SLEEPING KARMA

For the fourth year running, Camden’s finest venues will be hosting one of the most exciting stoner/doom/sludge/psyche gatherings in Europe, for a full weekend of fuzzed-out tunes, psychedelia and partying. After they announced their long-awaited return a few weeks ago, American stoner rock pioneers SLEEP will be treating the Desertfest crowd to their twenty minutes long smoked-out sonic odysseys, with an exclusive headlining set at London’s famous venue Koko’s on the Sunday. Camden’s ground is set to tremble once again this year, with UK metal heavyweights ORANGE GOBLIN delivering their fiery metal anthems, for a one-off 20th anniversary special performance. This first announcement couldn’t be complete without a cosmic touch (because it wouldn’t be DESERTFEST if we weren’t sonically high at least once), brought to you by German psych trio MY SLEEPING KARMA.

Keep an ear to the ground as more bands will be announced really soon!

DESERTFEST LONDON
April 24-26th 2015 in Camden Town
Koko – Electric Ballroom – The Underworld – The Black Heart

3-day tickets (£99.50) available at THIS LOCATION

More infos on www.thedesertfest.com
http://instagram.com/desertfest
https://twitter.com/DesertFest
https://www.facebook.com/DesertfestLondon

Sleep, “Sonic Titan” Live in Boston, Aug. 24, 2014

I guess sometimes we all need a little jump-up-and-down thrash in our lives, and Norwegian triple-guitar six-piece Kvelertak seem only too ready to provide. The band, which released their second album, Meir, in 2013 as their Roadrunner Records debut, will headline the Berlin edition of the 2014 Desertfest and have signed on to play London as well.

Word just came in this morning from across the Atlantic:

EXCLUSIVITY : THIRD HEADLINER… KVELERTAK (NOR)

Today is a fucking great day for DESERTFEST BERLIN (and of course for all of you who support us)! We are soooo thrilled to introduce to you our third headliner, the tripply-guitared Norwegian outfit KVELERTAK!!

KVELERTAK is the band which made sensation in 2010 with their first album out from nowhere, one-of-a-kind blend of Punk-Hardcore and Black Metal boosted with a Rock n Roll energy! Actually, at their best, KVELERTAK register as 40-plus years of aggressive-rock history crammed into one filler-free highlight reel.

In 2010, their first album stayed 30 weeks in the Norwegian charts! With such radical music, that should have been done! KVELERTAK piled-up tours with the biggest names of the underground scene : Coliseum, Converge, Toxic Holocaust, Torche and Kylesa, and finally recorded their second long-awaited album last spring!

On their second album “Meir” (which reached the 2nd rank on Rolling Stone “20 best Metal Albums of 2013”), Stavanger six-piece KVELERTAK haven’t exactly refined the formula that made their success; rather, they’ve bottled it, destroyed the recipe and knocked back gallons of the stuff like Vikings at a post-pillage feast.

To support “Meir” the Norse wild-men played more than a hundred of shows all over the world (Europe, Japan, Australia…), and ended some weeks ago a month of tour with monsters High on Fire!

Well, that is all we can say… KVELERTAK is not a band you talk about, it’s a band you see LIVE! Because you just have to bring KVELERTAK on stage to ensure the most delightful mayhem! Enjoy!

https://www.facebook.com/DesertfestBerlin
https://www.facebook.com/DesertfestLondon

Kvelertak, Live at Øyafestivalen 2013

Both of these are pretty badass and I didn’t figure anyone would complain, so I thought I’d put up the posters for Desertfest next year. Both London and Berlin have come out in the last couple days — you’d almost think it wasn’t a coincidence! — and though each has its own personality like the fests themselves, I think looking at either you know you’re getting a heavy show. Maybe I’m biased.

Malleus handled the London poster, and Ammo, from Belgium, the Berlin one. For Malleus, these are pretty regular themes — their affection for redheads goes way back and here brings to mind some of the exploits of Fanny Jo Stingray, may she rest in piece — and with Ammo’s the pencil grays and insane level of detail bring to mind a black and white take on Earth‘s The Bees Made Honey in the Lion’s Skull, though obviously the color/lack thereof makes a huge difference.

Check them out and see what you think:

Desertfest London 2014 Poster by Malleus

We are pleased to be able to unveil Desertfest 2014’s awesome limited addition screen print poster, created by the equally awesome Malleus. Malleus is a poster art trio featuring Poia and Urlo of UFOMAMMUT and we just couldn’t help get them involved again. The prints will be available next week to pre order at £20 and of course will be available at the festival.

We are also excited to be announcing the Human Disease/When When Planets Collide stage on Thursday. Expect a heavy underworld line up…

https://www.facebook.com/DesertfestLondon

Desertfest Berlin 2014 Poster by Ammo

We are thrilled to unveil our official poster for DESERTFEST BERLIN 2014, made by the Brussels-based guy AMMO!! We really dig it, and we hope you too!

You will discover more about AMMO through an interview that will be published soon, but meanwhile, you can check his past work on http://ammoamo.blogspot.fr/!

https://www.facebook.com/DesertfestBerlin

Today, Clutch join the previously-announced Spirit Caravan reunion as headliners for the 2014 Desertfest in Berlin. No word yet on whether they’ll be playing London as well, but if nothing else, the fact that two of the central bands playing in Berlin shows just how far the reach not only both of these acts, but Maryland heavy rock in general, really have. Clutch have been touring hard pretty much since Spirit Caravan disbanded, and before that as well, and they’re among the world’s foremost purveyors of groove, so it’s not really a surprise that they’d be asked to play, but to have two Maryland-based acts at the top of a festival bill like that of Desertfest gives a little East Coast pride in realizing just how much both groups have contributed to the heavy rock underground over the years.

In any case, it’s a big “right on” in terms of the fest lineup and on general principle. Here’s the announcement from Desertfest:

CLUTCH (USA) – EXCLUSIVE SPRING SHOW IN MAINLAND EUROPE

Here we go with our second headliner announcement ! Well, we are proud to present to you the legendary quartet CLUTCH !!!

Formed in 1990 in Germantown, Maryland (USA), CLUTCH have released not less than 10 studio albums, several rarities and live albums, each one marked by a distinct and cohesive sound, migrating from heavy metal and hardcore punk to hard rock, integrating strong funk-blues influences and clever out-of-this-world lyrics, the whole with a taste that only they can provide !

Playing music for the music’s sake for more than 20 years, they have built up a straight-up solid reputation and have accumulated a devoted cult following through constant gigging (performing more than one hundred shows a year), unleashing all over the world their damn good waves of pure rock fury with a devastating excellence…

2013 was the year for these stalwarts of groove to return with a new pure piston-pumping juggernaut uppercuts, nearly four years since their last issue, an impeccably structured 44-and-a-half-minute collection of 11 tracks rightly named “Earth Rocker.”

They will join the DESERTFEST BERLIN in April 2014 for an EXCLUSIVE SPRING SHOW in MAINLAND EUROPE !!! We are so excited about that, and we hope you are too !!

************************************
24th, 25th, 26th April 2014 : DESERTFEST BERLIN
************************************
SPIRIT CARAVAN* Asg* Black Rainbows* Causa Sui* Cojones* Elder* Gozu* Huata* Master Musicians Of Bukkake* Prisma Circus* Radar Men From The Moon* Sardonis* and many more tba !

DESERTFEST BERLIN’s LIMITED HARD TICKET (3-day pass) can be ordered for 85€ (+ taxes) on desertfest.tickets.de or by sending a mail at TICKETS@DESERTFEST.DE. As X-mas special offer, by ordering 3 or more tickets, we offer you a free CD (our choice) ! This offer is valid until DECEMBER 20th 2013.

DESERTFEST BERLIN 2013 was sold out, so better be quick to be part of 2014’s unique 3 Days & Nights Heavy-Rock-Psycho-Doom Mayhem !!

Stay Tuned…

Clutch, Earth Rocker (2013)

Hot off their tour and split release with like-minded countrymen Sungrazer, Lebowski-loving Dutch fuzz jammers The Machine have been added to take part in London’s Desertfest next month. Native to Germany, the genre-defying duo Dÿse will bring new material and an experimental edge to Berlin’s own Desertfest, which they’ll play ahead of the release of a new album later in 2013.

As ever, here are the announcements courtesy of the London and Berlin Desertfest websites:

Welcome To The Machine

Welcome to The Machine……..a three-piece from Rotterdam who specialise in extended jams and improvisation. The best way to describe them is to go into detail on their live skills as that is really what they are all about. Using the base of their album tracks, every Machine show becomes a brand new experience and it’s own entity. Even though their sound is rooted in modern stoner rock, they channel the spirit of the late 1960s and as you sink into the performance you get some idea of what feelings may have been aroused in a tripping hippy standing aghast at The Grateful Dead on one of their acid-fuelled excursions.

David Eering is shamanistic in his position as the frontman, he dials-in the controls with his pulsating riffs and astronomic solos. The rhythm section of Davy Boogaard and Hans van Heemst are right behind supplying the propulsion to David’s showcase and together the band weaves a seamlessly holistic experience.

Since their conception in 2007 they have released 4 albums, the last two on the esteemed Elektrohasch label, and played at many of Europe’s premier psych festivals including a captivating performance at last year’s DunaJam. They have just completed a successful European tour with Sungrazer, and you are invited to explore new psychedelic realms with them at Desertfest 2013, you won’t forget it.

Words Courtesy of Rich After Sabbath

Desertfest Berlin – Dÿse (GER)

Hi Guys ! We are pleased to welcome the German noise rock duo Dÿse at DESERTFEST BERLIN !!

Formed in the spring of 2003 and named after the Dysecatmotel in Amsterdam where they first met, DYSE began as a fun, drunken side project for Jari and André to try new things with music they enjoyed, writing songs with no limitations or expectations from anyone.

The main compositional feature of their sound is alternating sections of heavy, metallish guitar-laden rock and quiet, doodling, rhythmic writing. The vocals are delivered in a mixture of virtually-shouted German and English, and the listener is challenged by the compositional changes and the different sonic textures.

In 2004, the first in a trilogy of 7 inch singles was released called “Honig” (Honey), followed by dozens of gigs as they perfecting their live show and became tighter than tight. The second single “Aga Ragnag” came out in 2005, followed by the third and final instalment “Houthakkertje” in 2006. To promote the completion of the 7 inches, Jari and André booked themselves a gruelling four-week tour across Europe and the UK. The response to each show was overwhelming as audiences everywhere were blown away by this unique, energetic and incredibly entertaining duo.

When they returned home from the tour, the band were approached to join the Exile on Mainstream Records family. June 2007 saw the release of DYSE’s self-titled debut album, which was followed in 2009 by their second one “Lieder Sind Brüder Der Revolution”.

At this year’s DESERTFEST they are proud to present their new single “Sag Hans zu mir” (You can call me Hans), which will be a teaser for their new album which you can expect by the end of this year !

“Radical as punks, clever as the avantgarde, loud as a hellicopter and fast as Michael Schumacher racing money to Switzerland” DYSE have hits in the bag and a reputation as one of Europe’s best live duos, so don’t miss them !!

I may have mentioned it once or twice, but I’ve had several “holy shit” moments as regards the lineup for Desertfest 2013 in London. From Unida to Dozer (oh my god I’m so fucking psyched to see Dozer) to Lowrider to Yawning Man/Yawning Sons and Colour Haze, Mars Red Sky to Toner Low, well shucks, I just feel like the luckiest guy on the block to be able to see it. Then you throw in Truckfighters and Ufomammut and Conan and my only worry is scheduling conflicts and the inevitable hard choices that are going to have to be made once the timetable is released. I’m nervous, I won’t lie.

The DesertScene folks unveiled a new Desertfest trailer last night and it’s got me nerding out all over again. Dig it:

Anticipation is ramping up for the spring and summer festival season, and the latest check-in comes from Desertfest in London, which announced earlier that Norwegian doomers Tombstones have joined the 2013 lineup. Seems it’s all I can do these last couple weeks to keep up with fest news, but I’ve yet to come across one announcement that didn’t make me more stoked on the event, whatever it might be.

More on Tombstones below, courtesy of the Desertfest website:

NORWEGIAN HEAVINESS CONFIRMED FOR DESERTFEST

For the first time ever in the UK, Desertfest presents the ultra-heavy Norwegian three-piece; TOMBSTONES.

Although Norway is more famous for its beastly blasting Black Metal, TOMBSTONES turn this musical concept upside down: slow, downtuned, stoned and buzzed out doom is on the menu. TOMBSTONES have two albums under their belt. “Volume II” was released in 2010 by Transubstans Records, and their latest piece “Year of the Burial” was dropped spring 2012 by Soulseller Records. The norwegian doomsters toured Europe with their new album last fall, and have played Mudfest, Death Doomed The Age and Robustfest.

This time it’s Camden and Desertfest who will shiver from their loud and crushing, trance-indulging heaviness. Light you your bongs, and worship the riff!

Talk about a good get. Sweden’s Lowrider are the archetypal stoner rock band who never got their due. In their time together, they released just one EP (one day it will be mine) and the full-length Ode to Io, but their impact on both their native scene and the international underground in Europe and beyond is not to be underestimated. And today it’s announced they’ll be playing a special one-off gig at next year’s Desertfest in London, which runs from April 26-28.

One can only assume this announcement precedes many more to come, but the fact of the matter is there’s only ever been one Lowrider and a lucky few people will finally get the chance to experience the band live come next April.

**DESERTFEST EXCLUSIVE – LOWRIDER ANNOUNCED**

So the first announcement is here and we are beyond proud to announce that after much work LOWRIDER are reforming for and exclusive Desertfest performance. It’s a dream come true for us to have Lowrider play, which we didn’t really think was possible. You can check out the official announcement along with an interview with Peder from the band on our new website www.thedesertfest.com which will be live this morning.