You know what it means when I put a post up that says “on tour now” in the headline? It means I’m probably behind on shit. Such is most definitely the case when it comes to the fact that High Fighter, who’ve been around Europe a few times now supporting their 2016 debut LP, Scars and Crosses (review here), which was released by Svart Records, are out with Downfall of Gaia and Hexer on a run that’s already done two nights in Germany and is in Switzerland this evening, which, frankly, sounds lovely. In any case, to answer something personal you’ve never wondered about me: yes, I am exactly the type of guy to take it to heart and cry a bit when I don’t get an email, but this one came through the second time around, so it was a quick emotional turnaround. Quite a rollercoaster.

The PR wire has it all like this:

DOWNFALL OF GAIA TO KICK OFF EUROPEAN TOUR WITH HIGH FIGHTER & HEXER THIS WEEK!

Only a few days left until Post-Black & Sludge Doom Metal outfit DOWNFALL OF GAIA will kick off the second leg of their ‘Atrophy’ European tour this week. Again the band has teamed up with friends and special guests HIGH FIGHTER, which they already toured with back in March 2017. Support will be coming from atmospheric Doom & Black Metal stonerheads HEXER!

With their dark wall of sounds, DOWNFALL OF GAIA are moving forward relentlessly, enveloping the listener, absorbing one’s spirit to take one into the realm of the band’s potent sound. Founded in 2008, and although the group’s roots lie within the DIY / Crust scene, they have become more closely associated with a sound that rather corresponds to the impact of an avalanche made from black earth, rock, and dirty sludge, while their lyrics poetically describe the dark side of living.

The band never intended to stagnate, and naturally their sound underwent significant changes: Nowadays DOWNFALL OF GAIA drifted away from fast crust punk, which influenced their early work, towards longer and more intense material that became the more massive with black metal, doom and sludge elements. DOWNFALL OF GAIA hit the studio in June 2016 and released their recent and critically acclaimed record ‘Atrophy’ via Metal Blade Records in November 2016, followed by numerous shows and tours all over Europe to support the album live. Teaming up with very special guests HIGH FIGHTER and HEXER will round of DOWNFALL OF GAIA’s ‘Atrophy Tour’ perfectly:

„Today we are glad to announce the second leg of our European Tour for April and we are very happy to announce that for this time we will have our very good friends in High Fighter and Hexer as special guests with us!“ DOWNFALL OF GAIA comments. „The straight forward sound from High Fighter and the atmospheric walls of sound from Hexer will make this one a diverse and interesting package. We’re really glad to have them on board and hope to see you in April! Looking forward to this one!“

With HIGH FIGHTER on the bill, DOWNFALL OF GAIA will not just meet old and close friends, but also a band that already left its stamp in the current Stoner, Doom & Sludge Metal scene. Formed in 2014 as a total new project by former band members of A Million Miles, Buffalo Hump and Pyogenesis, this band is a volatile cocktail of heavy as hell riffs fuelled by beer and the mighty weedian riffs. Add a heavy dose of the blues and these deadly schizophrenic vocals and HIGH FIGHTER offer something new to the Sludge, Stoner, Doom & Metal Scene.

After their critically acclaimed debut EP ‘The Goat Ritual’ released end of 2014, followed by numerous shows all over Europe and the UK, including festivals such as Wacken Open Air, Desertfest Berlin & Antwerp, Stoned from the Underground, Summer Breeze & many more, as well as having shared the stages with bands like Ahab, Mammoth Storm, Crowbar, Corrosion of Conformity, Conan, Downfall of Gaia, Greenleaf, The Midnight Ghost Train, Brant Bjork or Earth Ship, HIGH FIGHTER released their first full length album ‘Scars & Crosses’ in the summer of 2016 with Svart Records.

HEXER is a four-piece outfit from Germany, combining doom, black and stoner with oriental tunes, repetetive riffs, drone and atmospheric soundscapes. Weird tuned strings and heavy low end, create a meditative yet ominous atmosphere. After recording a live EP in late 2015, HEXER played shows all over Germany and released their full length debut ‘Cosmic Doom Ritual’ in April 2017 on Berlin-based label Vendetta Records. Their live performances are loud and dark rituals, covering the audience in sub-bass,incense and black light, the artists fully painted in shamanic body paint.

06.04.18 CH – Winterthur / Gaswerk *Downfall of Gaia ONLY
06.04.18 DE – Darmstadt / Knabenschule **High Fighter + Hexer ONLY
07.04.18 CH – Luzern / Treibhaus
09.04.18 IT – Milano / Circolo Svolta
10.04.18 AT – Graz / Explosiv
11.04.18 AT – Salzburg / Rockhouse
12.04.18 CZ – Prague / 007 Strahov
13.04.18 CZ – Brno / Kabinet Múz
14.04.18 DE – Leipzig / UT Connewitz

www.downfallofgaia.com
www.facebook.com/DownfallofGaia
www.highfighter.de
www.facebook.com/highfighter
www.hexerdoom.bandcamp.com
www.facebook.com/hexerdoom

High Fighter, Scars and Crosses (2016)

Conan‘s third album has taken them around the world. They’ve done Europe, North America, Australia. Have they been to Japan yet? If not, they’re sure to go at some point, and early 2016’s Revengeance (review here) is a powerful vehicle to propel them, showcasing the raw assault that’s always been and one suspects will always be at the core of their sound while also emphasizing growth within their aesthetic that’s an underrated but ever-present facet of what they do. They’ve got a good track record by now of releases in even years, so I wouldn’t necessarily expect to hear something new from them in 2017 at least in terms of a complete LP — though one never knows — but when they get around to their fourth outing, look out.

They’ll continue to support Revengeance into the New Year, as the PR wire brings word of another European run, this one headlining alongside Downfall of Gaia, Hark and High Fighter. Dig it:

CONAN – To Tour Europe In March 2017!

England’s heaviest and finest doom export CONAN never stands still. After their 3rd successful studio release ‘Revengeance’ (2016, Napalm Records), it seems the 3-piece band is constantly touring the world, and for a good reason, already left their stamp in nowadays doom and metal scene. Now CONAN have announced an extensive European headlining tour for March 2017! They will be joined by special guests DOWNFALL OF GAIA, Welsh progressive-power-sludge band HARK as well as Hamburg’s finest sludge, heavy stoner and doom outfit HIGH FIGHTER!

“We are looking forward to getting on the road again to cast forth a swarm of riffs at mainland Europe! Allied with our friends in Hark, Downfall of Gaia and High Fighter we will defeat all of your end of level bosses.“ CONAN comments about the upcoming tour.

A tour steamroller which will indeed make every doom heart and beyond its genre beat faster. Make sure to catch this exciting and heavy band package live and on the following dates!

CONAN, DOWNFALL OF GAIA, HARK & HIGH FIGHTER LIVE:
08.03.2017 DE, Wiesbaden – Schlachthof
09.03.2017 DE, Weinheim – Café Central
10.03.2017 CZ, Prague – 007
11.03.2017 PL, Warsaw – Poglos
12.03.2017 DE, Dresden – Puschkin
13.03.2017 DE, München – Feierwerk
14.03.2017 HU, Budapest – Durer Kert
15.03.2017 AT, Vienna – Arena
16.03.2017 CH, Olten – Coq D’Or
17.03.2017 FR, Lyon – TBA
18.03.2017 ESP, Barcelona – TBA
19.03.2017 ESP, Madrid – Caracol
20.03.2017 FR, Toulouse – Rex
21.03.2017 FR, Nantes – Le Ferrailleur
22.03.2017 FR, Paris – Boule Noire
23.03.2017 NL, Rotterdam – Baroeg
24.03.2017 DE, Köln – MTC
25.03.2017 BE, Brussel – Magasin 4
26.03.2017 NL, Arnhem – Willemeen

www.hailconan.com/
www.facebook.com/conandoom
http://conanusamerch.bigcartel.com/
napalmrecords.com

Conan, “Throne of Fire” official video

Just in case you thought Roadburn 2015 might be done, the fest has gone and added a fifth stage. I never actually got around to making the list that would’ve expressed the sentiment, but seeing Netherlands-native droners Mühr at Cul de Sac was one of the high points of my entire 2014 in terms of live shows. It’s a separate club from 013, but basically right across the street in Weirdo Canyon, still very much within the fest’s purview. I can’t imagine it will remain standing after Goatwhore play, but it was nice while it lasted.

Other lineup additions for Roadburn 2015 today from Mount Salem, Downfall of Gaia, Fistula, Minsk and more. By way of a cheap plug, if you click the links to the info for Fistula and Minsk, I wrote those. Nonetheless, it all came down the PR wire like such:

New additions and fifth stage confirmed for Roadburn Festival 2015

Roadburn Festival is pleased to kick off the new year with a handful of new confirmations, plus the addition of a fifth stage. Tickets for the 20th edition of the festival are on sale now.

Minsk, Mount Salem and Worm Ouroboros have been added to the line up at the 013 for Thursday April 9. Having previously performed at the 2009 edition of the festival, Minsk return to Roadburn, bringing their trademark atmospheric, meditative ambience, offset by raging thrust. Look out for plenty of canyon-sized riffs, trippy sounding keyboards and enchanting vocals when Mount Salem conjur a crushing windstorm to blow through Roadburn, whilst Worm Ouroboros will be spinning their diaphanous webs of the most delicate chamber doom.

For more information on these bands please click HERE for Minsk, HERE for Mount Salem, and HERE for Worm Ouroboros.

New Orleans heavyweights, Goatwhore lead the charge, followed by Germany’s Downfall of Gaia, noise-hardcore trio Cortez, and a dual-pronged sludge attack from both Fister, and Moloch as the first bands announced for the intimate Cul de Sac venue. As with the 2014 edition, Roadburn’s fifth stage will be at Cul de Sac – small music café located across from the 013 venue at 48 Heuvel, which is the street lined with bars and restaurants (also affectionately known as “Weirdo Canyon”). Four bands will perform at Cul de Sac on each day of the festival, Thursday – Sunday. Entry to these shows is sure to be in high demand, so attendees are advised to arrive early to secure access.

Fister, Cortez, and Moloch will perform on Thursday April 9. For more information please click HERE.

For information on Goatwhore click HERE, and Downfall of Gaia click HERE, both will perform on Friday April 10.

With regret, we have to announce that Lord Mantis will no longer be performing at Roadburn 2015. Having witnessed their incredible performance at the 2011 festival, we at Roadburn HQ were all really excited to have them perform at our 20th edition this coming April. Sadly, the band are unable to make it over to Europe due to personal reasons; as a result their performance at Roadburn and any shows around that will be cancelled. The vacant slot on the line up will be taken by Ohio sludge titans, Fistula who will bring their perfect blend of blasphemy and assaulting volume to Het Patronaat on Saturday April 11.
For more information on Fistula, please click HERE.

In December, day tickets were released on sale alongside the remaining weekend and Afterburner only tickets. To view ticketing options for Roadburn Festival click HERE.

Minsk, Live at Roadburn 2009