Posted in Whathaveyou on April 16th, 2025 by JJ Koczan
Is it Høstsabbat announcement season already? Awesome. The rightly-lauded Oslo festival takes place every October, and I’ve been lucky enough to go a handful or so of times. This year, like last, they’ve nestled themselves into the weekend of Oct. 25, which is my daughter’s birthday, so that pretty much settles the issue for me.
That said, it’s still fun to keep up with who will be able to make the trip to Norway this Fall, and Høstsabbat is opening strong. The yet-unannouced YOB European tour that I’m hoping against hope coincides with a new album release either this summer or September (mind you, I know nothing) will make a stop through, and Swedish psych-noise riff masters Domkraft, as well as the nautically-themed death-doom extremists Ahab and, in keeping with the festival’s continued affinity, some hardcore-tinged whathaveyou from Denmark’s New Money.
That’s the first four and you get a decent sense of variety, which will of course increase as more acts are added. It’s been a few years since I’ve seen YOB, and it’s been seven years since they put out a record, so with the increase in fest activity for the Fall, it makes me think maybe they’re doing it up for an occasion. They don’t need the excuse, and if they did, it’s 25 years since the demo — they have a tape of it out for that — but still, playing a bunch of Eurofests seems like a long way to go for a tape reissue of your demo. Fingers crossed.
Hopefully by the time Høstsabbat takes place, we’ll know more about that, and obviously the rest of the lineup. You keep an eye and I’ll do the same. Here’s how it starts:
Sabbathians! ⛪️🔥
Easter is upon us, and we have a special easter egg to share with you all.
We are beyond excited to share the first four bands for Høstsabbat 2025!
Please welcome the doom-legends from Eugene, Oregon, the magic powertrio that is Yob!
Also, the hard hitting, whale-hunting trailblazers from the coral tombs, AHAB comes to rattle the Church!
Danish dynamite from the underground Copenhagen scene, mixing Hardcore and Noise Rock, 𝐍𝐄𝐖 𝐌𝐎𝐍𝐄𝐘!
And lastly, the hashtronauts from outer space, the sonic jackhammer that is Domkraft!
Posted in Whathaveyou on April 16th, 2025 by JJ Koczan
Yes, I know this was announced last week. I don’t care if it was announced last year — it’s friggin’ Domkraft and friggin’ Howling Giant touring together. Can you imagine the banger show that must be? Howling Giant, who I think will be playing as a four-piece again, hitting the road after recording their next full-length (oh I’m so nervous for it), and Domkraft making the most of the US visa that brought them Stateside this past Fall to be at Desertfest New York (review here), which they just about rolled into a little ball and tucked into their pocket to save for later. They were incredible.
Getting this post ready yesterday, I put on 2023’s Sonic Moons (review here) again and at the risk of spoiling your own revisit for you, yup, it still destroys. Their massive lurch and Howling Giant‘s careening, hooky uptempo shove should mesh well, and one hopes a second tour puts Domkraft somewhere in the realm of breaking even as regards the cost of artist visas. If you go, buy a shirt. Buy 10.
And I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that Howling Giant are in my neighborhood (literally) this week for a show. I can’t attend as I’m traveling, but I’m sending The Patient Mrs. for a rare guest review. I’ll post it next week probably. Will be fun. There’s precedent, but I’ll have more on that later.
Here are Domkraft and Howling Giant dates, as per the announcement on socials:
Here we go! The second and final leg of our US tour starts in June and we will be joined by none other than our ace label mates @howlinggiant. See you in the audiodomes!
Domkraft & Howling Giant West Coast USA tour: 6/26 San Diego, CA – Brick by Brick 6/27 Las Vegas, NV – The Griffin 6/28 Garden Grove, CA – The Locker Room 6/29 Palmdale, CA – Transplants Brewing 6/30 San Luis Obispo, CA – Dark Nectar 7/1 San Francisco, CA – Bottom of the Hill 7/2 Eureka, CA – Savage Henry Comedy Club 7/3 Eugene, OR – John Henry’s 7/4 Portland, OR – The High Water Mark 7/5 Vancouver, BC – Lanalou’s 7/6 Seattle, WA – The Funhouse
Line-up Martin Wegeland – vocals, bass Martin Widholm – guitars Anders Dahlgren – drums
Posted in Whathaveyou on September 17th, 2024 by JJ Koczan
Granted, Truckfighters are pretty fresh in the ol’ brain after seeing them this past weekend, but while ‘always deliver live’ is an essential part of their ethic as a band, the Swedish troupe behind this fifth edition of the aptly-named Truckfighters Fuzz Festival are hardly the only appeal here. 1000mods will have just released their new album a couple weeks before Fuzz Festival #5 gets underway, and Slomosa and Bottenhavet, Daevar, High Desert Queen and 10,000 Years have or will have 2024 releases under their belt as well. Not to harp on it, but I also saw Domkraft this past weekend, and they don’t have a 2024 record but would nonetheless be a significant draw in this two-nighter’s favor if I happened to live in Stockholm.
Grand Atomic, Steak, Witchrider, Goddess (who I don’t know at all, but am inclined to check out based solely on their inclusion here), Siena Root, Håndgemeng and the ever-fluid Besvärjelsen complete a strong bill for the Debaser and adjacent Bar Brooklyn, and you’ll find the full lineup and ticket link, courtesy of the band’s socials and website:
The Truckfighters Fuzz Festival is back! For the 5th time, there will be riffing in the name of fuzz at Debaser Strand and Bar Brooklyn, this year on the weekend of November 22-23! One could say that the festival has become Sweden’s answer to a company party but here it’s all about fuzz, swing, and a damn good mood. All spread across 2 stages as we combine Debaser and Bar Brooklyn into a single festival frenzy over 2 days. You will be treated to great music from 6:15 pm to midnight on 2 stages, and the evening is not over there as DJs extend the nights with cool music and we hope for a great hangout.
The Venue is located on the island of Södermalm, in Stockholm. This is a very nice area in the central parts of town. Get there with subway or bus to “Hornstull” station.
The bands on the bill are hand picked by us to ensure a great evening! All bands are good! All bands play some kind of heavy groovy rock music with a fuzzy sound! We hope to see you. Keep the fuzz burning! / Truckfighters
Stockholm! Debases & Bar Brooklyn = Fuzz Festival #5 November 22nd & 23rd! 🔥🔥🔥
The lineup is nailed, one day tickets are released now so now we go!
Lineup: Truckfighters 1000mods Siena Root Slomosa Domkraft Witchrider Steak 10,000 Years Besvärjelsen Håndgemeng High Desert Queen Grand Atomic Bottenhavet Daevar Goddess
Posted in Reviews on September 14th, 2024 by JJ Koczan
Before Show
Doors aren’t for a while yet, and I’m sitting out the back of the Knockdown Center as far out of the way as I can put myself and still be here. It’s good to be here. I crashed hard after the pre-show last night, and it wasn’t painful when the alarm went off at 8AM, unless of course you count the various old-rocker ailments that hit me alongside consciousness. There’s a reason I bring ibuprofen to these things.
I’m staying with Tim Bugbee — a photographer and one of those people who proves you can be both insanely talented and kind — in an AirBNB down the way, and it was about five minutes by car from a to b. Coming into town, I did not travel light. Big suitcase, laptop bag, camera bag; I felt as though all my belongings were compressed to a maximum extent coming back from Budapest last month. This is hardly the same kind of trip, but I wanted to spread out a little. I brought a pack of seltzer, some leftover chicken. I can be comfortable while doing a thing. It’s allowed. I stopped short of bringing a coffee pot, but should have. I’m not usually much for Keurigs, but it was functional. My grinds can come home with me.
This was basically the mellow morning before two days of go. Fine. I sat in my car for an hour and a half from 11:30AM-1:00PM so it didn’t get ticketed or towed because alternate side parking — it didn’t — and hung around in air conditioning because it’s hot in the sun. The whole weekend is supposed to be gorgeous weather, warm and sunny, but the light is Fall. Can’t climate change the Earth’s orbit, I guess. Angles of the light and all that.
Seemingly random, but sitting off to the side in the main venue space, I just saw Amy Tung Barrysmith from Year of the Cobra checking bass and vocals with Amenra. It was a surprise; wouldn’t have been if I kept up with the band’s social media. No drama. Their bassist couldn’t make the trip, so she’s filling in. They announced it a few days ago. I wonder what the connection is there, but I’ll take it either way. I’ve never been huge on Amenra on a personal-listening level, but I’ve yet to hear Amy Tung Barrysmith play on a thing and not like it more for her involvement. Should be an interesting set. Cool. It will be the eighth one of the total 10 sets played today. I hope to see at least part of everybody. Will keep you posted how it goes.
To that end:
Guhts
My first time seeing Guhts, which is a thing worth remembering. Their first album, Regeneration (review here), is my one to beat for best debut of 2024, if that matters. More to the point, they were fucking great. Obviously I dig the record too, but at full volume and assault, it was just the right combination of expansive and oppressive. They had the laptop going the whole time with keyboard parts and various electronic atmospherics, and with the four of them up there, it was pretty clear ever were giving 100 percent of everything to the performance. The passion came through raw, and actually, having the backdrop and transitional drones happening apart from the band, emphasizing the ferocity of the delivery when they let loose. As they did. Righteously. If that had been the end of the night, the day would be a win.
Blackwater Holylight
It had been a couple years and, admittedly, there was the contextual weirdness of it being Psycho Las Vegas — that’s not a dig; their whole thing was absurdity — last time I saw Blackwater Holylight, but the sinister sound of 2021’s Silence/Motion (review here) came to life as part of an ambient pastiche. It was more immersive than a lot of heavy bands are willing to be, and I guess you could call that ‘gaze of some variety or other, but that almost implied a kind of laziness and Blackwater Holylight were as much fuzzy progressive grunge metal as they were languid nod, with keyboards adding to the texture of the melodies, some toward psychedelic but clearly mindful of place and time. And maybe they riff out for a while too. How is that anything but awesome?
Abrams
Among the bands I haven’t seen before, I was most curious and what Abrams would bring. The Denver heavy rockers are ultra-reliable somgwriters, and they’ve always had a clarity of purpose in their arrangements and structures that is underrated by exponents, but in the Texas room it was more about hitting hard and representing the scope of their craft. Some emo in there, or at least the punk of the aughts. In any case, they were dynamic and leaned into the impact of their heavier stretches. At the same time, they weren’t void of mood at all, and guitarist/vocalist Zach Amster is the charismatic frontman he has always seemed to be. Dude can sing. I stood in the back for most of the set, and I could feel my earplugs shaking in my ears. People had their fists up. I’m not shitting you. And seeing them live, maybe part of why they’re undervalued is they’re a bit between styles. They’re a heavy rock band, but that’s not it. They’re metal, prog, punk and a few besides. Practiced but not at all dry in their delivery, I have to wonder if Abrams ever plays a show without making a new fan.
Primitive Man
Brutal turn of vibe. You know on paper what you’re getting with also-Danver’s Primitive Man — punishment; sounds no less likely to consume you having just bludgeoned you into oblivion — but the reality of the thing is even more destructive. Caustic doom as a genre? Crushing doom? Those sound like words that could be things. Doesn’t matter. Also from Denver, the trio were a vision of aural misanthropy, extremist in purpose and volume. There have only been like three bands today, so it doesn’t mean a ton to call them the heaviest as even their quiet parts had a rumble beneath that you could feel in your chest, but they were the heaviest of the fest so far and it would take a lot of noise to beat. Frequencies as weapons. Malevolence and probably a truckload of dry ice. I wouldn’t call myself well adjusted by any measure — if I was, I’d have stopped doing this years ago — but even on a level of catharsis, Primitive Man are a lot to take. Which, wait for it, is the point of the thing. If dystopia’s coming, they’re ready. And brutally sad. I didn’t know any of the songs. Mostly they were terrifying. And it was astonishing that it could still be daylight while they played. If Khanate are hacking you to pieces, Primitive Man are pulling concrete blocks on your chest until you can’t breathe anymore.
Spirit Mother
About as fresh in my mind as they possibly could be since the album they put out today was streamed here yesterday. They played a good deal of Trails, and brought a heap of noise to the prior single “Locust,” and were thick in vibe while still keeping the songs moving. A fill-in violinist/vocalist held down that role without question, and Armand Lance pushed his vocals into screams and was still able to carry the melody alongside said violinist when the guitar and bass dropped out and it was vocals and ride cymbal only for a few measures in “Wolves.” Some aspects of Young Hunter, All Them Witches, but Spirit Mother are very much their own thing on the balance, and their songs are getting darker, more expansive, and better. My second time seeing them, and I’m extra glad to have seen them play the Trails material. I’ll look forward to the next one.
Belzebong
Riff-forward instrumental stoner sludge metallers Belzebong came all the way from Poland to elicit crusty vibes in fog that I couldn’t tell if it was theirs or leftover from Primitive Man. Surely they’re used to haze, one way or the other. Big nod, ‘Bong Fire Death’ — because Bathory, god damnit! — in the backs of the bass and guitars, amd an absolute lock on tone, there was precious little to not like. You would not call them subtle and neither are they trying to be. Doom. Fucking. Riffs. Black. Fucking. Sabbath. You get the idea. Like their countrymen worshipers in Dopelord, they wear their love of weed on their collective sleeve, and I get it. And “it” in this circumstance means stoned. But the reason it works is because the music and their performance of it is as much a celebration as anything else, and they’re not trying to convince anyone they invented Sleep riffs. They’re the kind of band that, if you’re in this thing, make complete sense, and would confuse the shit out of normal people. It’s a very specific idea of fun. Always a pleasure to see them.
Deathchant
I crossed paths with Deathchant in June at Freak Valley (review here), so not quite topping Spirit Mother for being in my head, but not terribly far off either. They were going to be a ripper on stage and they were. Thin Lizzy and Motörhead and Sabbath and DRI or whoever; they own records. But volume and energy and shove were the order of things, however much the two guitars might veer into NWOBHM-type harmony on the way. I was late getting in to take pictures, but that’s okay. I don’t really like taking pictures most of the time, and I do like talking to friends, so if I’m not in front of the stage for everything, fine. I was on the side. Still enough perspective to know Deathchant were the start of the party for a lot of the heads in the room, which was later-in-evening crowded, and fair enough. The West Coast skate thing doesn’t always translate in New York, but some things hit just right. I’d never seen them before last August at SonicBlast (review here) — to which they returned this year — now it’s three times in 13 months. Maybe I’m a fan.
Amenra
Sure enough, Amy Tung Barrysmith on bass. They’re not a casual band, Amenra. They’re not the kind of thing one might put on in the background of an otherwise quiet afternoon. And it’s all so very important-feeling, very solemn, whether a given part is loud and screamy or subdued and melodic. It’s a genre trope — partly in Amenra’s wake, I think — for pprt-metal to take itself seriously. So they do the thing where Colin H. Van Eeckhout bangs the sticks together while kneeling at the start, and there’s the strobe matching the heft of tone and emotional immediacy with its own kind of sensory overload. They have a lurch and an undulating waves of distortion that’s their own, and it’s not a hot take they’re incredible at what they do, but I’ve never managed to get fully on board. My loss. It was a blast to watch Amy from Year of the Cobra playing with them, though, and just because they may not be a band I put on all the time doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate what they do and the influence they’ve had. It just means I’m probably going to be early for Domkraft.
Domkraft
And so I was. A band worth being early for. I spent most of the set right in the front, obnoxiously so, I’m sure, and kind of let go and nodded out for a bit. I didn’t fall asleep while Domkraft were playing or anything close to it. But it’s not a conscious thing when that riff hits you just right anyhow. I have to think the moshers know what I’m talking about. Starting out on a nine-day US run, the Swedish three-piece indeed were a culminating force from the Texas Stage, riffs bouncing off concrete walls and back again, creating that much more presence in the sound. There was a technical issue with the guitar, but it wasn’t actually that long in fixing, and they were right to restart “Whispers.” They’re are a lesson in the difference a great drummer can make, but they’re also a lesson in the difference a great everything can make. The lesson I learned was that I don’t appreciate their guitar solos enough, and the way I learned it was by being fortunate enough to be on the planet at the same time as the band.
High on Fire
The band who taught the world to shred riffs. Last met at the beginning of July in Croatia for Bear Stone (review here), though certainly they’ve been elsewhere since then, and they continue to hold their own standard. There was some not-fun-kind feedback intermittent early on, but it was a High on Fire set, like they wouldn’t deliver? They’re returning headliners at Desertfest New York, having played in 2022 (review here), and I don’t have a ton to say about them that didn’t apply two months ago, but to sum up they’re one of the best heavy-anything bands of their generation. I continue to dig the way they’re able to vary tempo in the live show while keeping the balance toward intensity on an LP. Of course they’re headlining. Hopefully it won’t be the last time they do. This forever will be the time that somebody was blowing bubbles during “Rumors of War,” however.
Unless they want to make it tradition or something. Which would be okay too, for sure. Hashtag Bubbles of War.
—
On that happy note, good night. I’ve been writing all day at the fest, and I’m ready to call it an evening. Tomorrow brings Dozer, Spaceslug and sundry other delights. There are more pics after the jump, and as always, thank you for reading.
Sweden’s Young Acid release their debut album, Murder at Maple Mountain, this week through Majestic Mountain Records. And while there’s a reference to “Wasted Again” perhaps winkingly worked into “Bigger Little Man” and songs like “Fightmaker Street” and “The Kids of Rumble Village” realize the declaration of purpose one finds in the blue text’s self-applied tag “punk rock band” below, that’s a fraction of what’s going on across the energetically heavy rocking 10-songer’s deceptively varied 34 minutes themed around the work of Swedish children’s book author Astrid Lindgren (TheTomten, Pippi Longstocking, what’s translated to English as The Children of Noisy Village, and so on). By which I mean, if you read that and think to yourself, “ugh stoner punk nah I’m good,” you’re going to miss it.
I don’t know when or how the assemblage came together, but Young Acid boasts the lineup of vocalist Arvid Hällagård(Greenleaf, Sleep Moscow, etc.), guitarists Alex Stjernfeldt (Grand Cadaver, Skrckvldet) and Andreas Baier (Besvärjelsen, Vorder, etc.), bassist Martin Wegeland (Domkraft) and drummer Svante Karlsson (The Moth Gatherer), and between the mostly divergent arcs these players have respectively walked in different bands and styles, it’s only fair Murder at Maple Mountain should be and do more than one thing sonically. But for a world gone mad, there is something escapist in Young Acid‘s sometimes-careening course; a drive toward simplicity that comes through in the straightforward structure of opening track “Into the Depths” and the also-sub-three-minute “Fightmaker Street,” but even there, the melody is more rich than raw as Hällagård lands in a falsetto and the guitars correspondingly layer flourish on fuzz. Maybe it’s just that the songs are short and catchy?
Because they are that. The longest of the bunch is closer “2002” at 4:10, which arrives with a quiet intro of guitar with a line of piano accompanying and, like a lot of Murder at Maple Mountain, is quick into its verse. Slow and spacious, with dramatic chug and heavy post-rock atmospherics on guitar coming together to bolster the emotive vocal and the roll of drums in the brief but resonant finish. Side A’s nodding capper, the 3:43 “Woodshed Blues,” picks up from the shuffle-into-the-crescendo “PV 444” with a surprisingly massive groove, full in tone and the embellishments of lead guitar in and around the verses, with a smooth transition to the chorus to echo the momentum of the preceding four tracks even as it finds its own way. “Woodshed Blues” doesn’t hold to its tempo pullback in the way of “2002,” but it’s not supposed to.
A janglier strum launches “The Crust” at the start of side B, but if it was marketed as desert rock à la earlier Queens of the Stone Age, one wouldn’t argue the point as it twists through the push of its hook, vital but poised. “The Kids of Rumble Village” and “Shortcomings and Longstockings” follow in succession, the former with a bridge that could just as easily be black metal if you key in on the sharper guitar but that’s still fueled by the punkier edge around which Young Acid‘s focus centers, if not exclusively — if you told me it was one of the earlier songs that came together for the record, I’d believe it — and the latter emphasizing the you-can’t-tell-us-what-to-do attitude of the song before it with its own fuzz-drenched urging, which is given further kick from the snare count-in of the penultimate “Run Boy Run” (premiered here).
And even that, driving as it is in the spirit of “Fightmaker Street”‘s Stooges-y leanings fleshed out with echoing slide guitar and Hällagård‘s e’er bluesy croon, is more than the sum of its parts in terms of aesthetic, putting expanse on top of a sure, dead-ahead rhythmic underpinning before “2002” leans more into melancholy sway for the goodbye. Between the complexity with which Murder at Maple Mountain unfolds, its thematic nuance, its melody, its breadth of tone from Wegeland‘s anchoring low end to the highest reaches in Baier and Sternfeldt‘s guitars, its cohesion of songwriting despite the range and being nobody’s “main band” at this point as well as the first Young Acid release, and its cast of characters in a five-piece who’ve all adopted the first-name Mio for the project, it’s easy to see where perhaps a simple idea was gradually built into something that reaches further in concept and execution.
In ways both toxic and stupid, the broader cultural expectation of learning — at least in the US — is that at some point you give up picture books for chapter books. The books that helped you learn how to feel empathy, that introduced you to character, to stories, to the beauty and rhythm of language are suddenly off limits for not being grownup enough. I won’t decry the value of novels and other words-only collections as either instructive works or art, but this is ridiculous and it divorces the human brain from engaging with art on a personal level in a way that people spend the rest of their lives trying to correct either through their own creative work — and perhaps that’s the case here to some extent; seeking refuge in reengaging with Lindgren — or not, to their own maybe-unrealized detriment.
One doubts Young Acid set out with the direct intent of celebrating kids books as a primary motivator, but among its other accomplishments in craft and sound, Murder at Maple Mountain reminds that our ability to imagine worlds didn’t just happen out of nowhere, and that some of the most meaningful statements are made with plain language, whether it’s “I love you,” or “there’s a bee on your shirt.” Given that everybody in the band belongs to at least one concurrent outfit, it’s difficult to guess how often a Young Acid record might show up if another one ever does, but for the unexpected intricacy and magnitude of the work they do here, it seems only fair to say Murder at Maple Mountain lives up to the scope of its foundations.
The album streams in its entirety below, followed by the tracklisting and more info from the PR wire.
Please enjoy:
Youth Acid, a punk rock band based in Vimmerby, brings together members from various underground institutions to form a garage rock alliance. With raw guitar riffs, intense energy, and a rebellious spirit, they pack a punch.
1. Into The Depths 2. Bitter Little Man 3. Fightmaker Street 4. PV 444 5. Woodshed Blues 6. The Crust 7. The Kids Of Rumble Village 8. Shortcomings And Longstockings 9. Run Boy Run 10. 2002
Recorded at Welfare Sound, CrookedTeeth and Midlake Production Mixed by Per Stålberg & Kalle Lilja at Welfare Sound Mastered by Johan Reivén (Audiolord)
Posted in Whathaveyou on April 8th, 2024 by JJ Koczan
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:
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
Posted in Whathaveyou on March 21st, 2024 by JJ Koczan
The message here is clear: Desertfest is all-in on New York. Begun in 2019 and resurfacing in 2022 at a new venue, The Knockdown Center, somewhere in the nebulous border region between Brooklyn and Queens, and a corresponding pre-show at the Saint Vitus Bar, which one hopes will reopen well in advance of this September, Desertfest New York 2024 is vivid in taking it to the next level.
It’s nothing less than a generational event to bring Dozer from Sweden to NYC (they toured the US circa 2000, I’m pretty sure), and for that alone, Desertfest earns your weekend ticket price today. Never mind that at the same time they’re celebrating legends like Dozer and Acid King, they’re also extending their reach to up and coming bands. Green Lung will play — gotta be the main stage, right? isn’t their sound too big for anything else? maybe outside at night? — coming over from the UK to do so, and West Coast outfits Kadabra, Abrams, Deathchant (who at this point I count as a secret being a little too well kept) and Hippie Death Cult complement well Acid King near the top of the bill, where you’ll also find instrumentalists Russian Circles, presumably a headliner, and fair enough. Oh yeah, and Truckfighters just in case anyone gets tired and needs a bit of a cardio pick-me-up.
Guhts from New York, Domkraft from Sweden, Belzebong from Poland and an awaited appearance from Boston’s Gozu round out this initial announcement, with more to come. It’s on my calendar. You might think about putting it on yours as well:
Desertfest NYC announces Russian Circles, Acid King, Green Lung, Truckfighters, Dozer & more for its 2024 lineup.
For their return to the Knockdown Center this September, Desertfest NYC has unveiled its first artists set to take the stage for their fourth edition, announcing post-metal giants RUSSIAN CIRCLES as their first headliner. Joining them will be California stoner metal legends ACID KING and London occult metal sensations GREEN LUNG, making their US debut. After they were unable to perform at DF 2022, the festival is thrilled to finally be hosting them stateside.
Swedish rockers and long-time Desertfest friends TRUCKFIGHTERS will return for their first New York performance in four years, along with fellow countrymen and stoner devotees DOZER.
Joining the party will be Poland’s instrumental ‘dudes’ BELZEBONG, Swedish psychedelic hypnotizers DOMKRAFT, and a healthy dose of rock n roll arrives courtesy of Los Angeles quartet, DEATHCHANT and Boston mainstays GOZU.
Elsewhere we’ll be treated to some psychedelic swagger from Pacific Northwesterners KADABRA and HIPPE DEATH CULT, and some heavy gazin’ with Denver’s ABRAMS and NY locals GUHTS.
Posted in Whathaveyou on February 19th, 2024 by JJ Koczan
When I started this post, Poland’s Red Smoke Festival had just unveiled the first names for its 2024 edition, set for this July 12-14. That was Domkraft, Coogans Bluff, Earth Tongue and Narbo Dacal. You know how it goes, you get caught up with stuff, a couple days go by, and now there’s four more adds in Acid Rooster, Kanaan, Perilymph and Tuskar, so it’s safe to say the event is taking shape at a fairly good clip. I don’t know the announcement schedule or anything like that, but if you’re in Poland or thinking of making the trip, I imagine you also don’t need me to suggest following their socials, etc. Even if you don’t, I believe you are capable.
So does the festival, which admirably dispenses with some of the social-media-era hoopla around these things by making a slogan out of ‘The Less You Know the Better.’ They might be right, or at least there’s a philosophical argument waiting to be made there. Either way, there were YouTube and Facebook links for the bands, but again, I believe in your power to dig and would encourage you to do so. I only took them out because it looked funny on the page and this site does weird things with YouTube hyperlinks. Certainly all parties involved have online presences and audio, which even 30 years later kind of makes the internet feel like a miracle. Not to mention it’s how I know this fest exists in the first place.
Even so, I don’t know much more than this, so I suppose I’m doing alright in that regard:
First announcements for RSF2024
COOGANS BLUFF – Horns Rock’n’Roll Dance From Germany
Domkraft – Riffs Riffs Riffs Repeat From Sweden With Love
Earth Tongue – Odd But Gold Heavy Psych Fuzz From New Zealand
Narbo Dacal – (Be)Witching Metal From Poland
Acid Rooster – Endless Trippy Kraut Experience from Germany
Kanaan – Blazing Freeform Psychedelic Rock From Norway
Perilymph – Beautiful Psychedelic Sounds From Germany
