It’s been fun particularly over the last two years or so to really watch the two springtime Desertfests distinguish themselves as more bands are added to each lineup. Desertfest London and Desertfest Berlin 2016 will still share many bands between them, no doubt, but in seeing acts like Kaleidobolt and Desert Storm (who played London in 2015) join the roster for Berlin in 2016, alongside the newly announced Crowbar, Truckfighters and Egypt — each of whom will also play London — gradually the shape of the German fest itself becomes apparent, and likewise for its European counterpart.

To be perfectly honest, I wouldn’t mind ending up at either or, but there are some considerable arguments to be made in those steely owl eyes.

Here are the latest announcements:

Desertfest Berlin 2016 – TRUCKFIGHTERS, CROWBAR, EGYPT, DESERT STORM, KALEIDOBOLT added to the line-up!

We all love heavy music and rock concert. Needless to say that we were as shocked as everybody else about the horrible things which happened in Paris last Friday. Our thoughts and hearts are with all the people who lost family members and friends in that senseless attempt…

After such a terrible event , it´s not easy to switch back to “normal”… nevertheless we would like to announce a few more bands today for DESERTFEST BERLIN 2016. We are pleased to welcome Sweden’s phenomenal, bone-rattling godfathers of fuzz Truckfighters, New Orlean’s sludge titans Crowbar, North Dakota based doom/psychedelic/stoner Rock Pharaohs Egypt, Oxford based heavy stoner / blues metal riff hounds Desert Storm and Helsinki’s groovy 1970’s Classic/Hard Rockers Kaleidobolt.

These 5 acts join the first 8 bands previously announced Electric Wizard, Elder, Wo Fat, Monolord, Death Alley, Monomyth, Mothership and Somali Yacht Club. Happening from APRIL 28th to 30th, DESERTFEST BERLIN 2016 might be the trippiest experience of your life, so join us… take the ride and buy your ticket now! (tickets’ links below).

See you all in 162 days!

Regular HARD TICKETS or E-TICKETS can be purchased on our WEBSITE! Our ticketprices remain the same, that’s 85 Euros for all you newbies! But remember that we were sold out last time about 7 weeks ahead, and we think we may top that this year!

http://www.desertfest.de/
https://www.facebook.com/DesertfestBerlin

Truckfighters, Universe (2014)

Goodness gracious. There wasn’t really any doubt that Desertfest London 2016 meant business when it came out of the gate with Electric Wizard, Elder and Conan in the lineup, but the Camden Town festival has continued to swing hard with its next batch of adds, which includes Godflesh, Crowbar, Truckfighters, Wo Fat, Mothership, Egypt (if those last three aren’t touring Europe together around their Desertfest appearance, they should be), Monolord, Rotor and Planet of Zeus. It’s a pretty significant round two from Desertfest London 2016, which, again, wasn’t exactly struggling to make its quota of awesome to start with. If I had a bank holiday weekend, that would seem to be the way to spend it.

Tickets are on sale now. Details follow, as seen on the PR wire:

Godflesh, Crowbar, Truckfighters, Egypt and more acts confirmed to play DESERTFEST LONDON 2016!

UK’s #1 stoner, doom, sludge and psych event DESERTFEST LONDON is thrilled to announce the second wave of artists who will be taking the stage at the 2016 edition, taking place in April 29th to May 1st across multiple venues in the legendary musical hub of Camden Town…

NOLA’s sludge metal heroes CROWBAR will be heading back over seas to make ears bleed, bringing their influential slow-and-low sound to an eager, ready, and willing Desertfest. Kirk Windstein and his crew of titans haven’t graced UK revellers with their rowdy presence since 2014; and Crowbar has never played Desertfest London. Making for a truly exciting, and long over-due, addition to the already stellar proceedings next year has in store.

Desertfest are also pleased to reveal that our friends at Old Empire will once again be curating a stage, bringing an eclectic and exciting array of acts to broaden the pallet. First to be announced are industrial legends GODFLESH, who will be headlining the Old Empire offerings. Their experimental and aggressive sound has established the Birmingham-based duo as one of the most innovative bands in industrial music, cited as influencing everyone from Metallica to Faith No More.

As if all that wasn’t enough to process, there’s of course a healthy helping of doom and stoner rock goodness joining the mix for Desertfest 2016. Heavy-hitting warriors TRUCKFIGHTERS will be chucking riffs left, right and centre, alongside fellow Swedish fuzz lords MONOLORD, who will be riding easy and destroying all in one slow, hard and loud blow. Psychedelic monsters WO FAT are a welcome return, having well and truly mastered the art of trippy doom – many can do it, but few do it as well as the Dallas desert trio. EGYPT will also be heading over and hitting the bill hard to bring some Dakota doom goodness to the haze, alongside eccentric instrumental gurus ROTOR. Southern rock lovin’ PLANET OF ZEUS are bringing their raw grooves out of the Greek underground and into thirsty a London, and finally heavy rockers MOTHERSHIP will be taking fans well out the galaxy – musically speaking, of course.

– DESERTFEST LONDON 2016 –
April 29th to May 1st in Camden, London (UK)
Weekend tickets available AT THIS LOCATION

Current lineup is as follows:
ELECTRIC WIZARD
GODFLESH
CROWBAR
TRUCKFIGHTERS
ELDER
EGYPT
CONAN
WO FAT
MOTHERSHIP
MONOLORD
ROTOR
RAGING SPEEDHORN
PLANET OF ZEUS
WITCHSORROW

https://www.leedstickets.com/eventinfo/4804/Desertfest-2016
http://www.thedesertfest.com/london/
https://twitter.com/DesertFest
https://www.facebook.com/DesertfestLondon
https://instagram.com/desertfest
http://desertfest.bigcartel.com/

Truckfighters, Live at Desertfest London 2013

New Egypt is a no-brainer of awesome. North Dakota’s heaviest trio are freshly returned from their first European tour, which included a stop at Freak Valley 2015, and are looking to keep the high going as they make their way toward the release of their sophomore album, to be titled Endless Flight perhaps in honor of their having made the trip across the Atlantic on United Airlines. Whatever their motivation, I haven’t seen a solid release date yet, but if it’s that or new music, I’ll take the new music every time. While I add Endless Flight to my growing list of 2016’s most anticipated, they give a first glimpse with a rough mix of “Tres Madres.”

Here’s word from the band as well as an update to their bio (which I feel comfortable enough reworking because I’m pretty sure I wrote it in the first place), and of course the song itself:

Here is an unmastered rough mix of the song Tres Madres from our new record that will hopefully be released this summer/fall. We really hope to have the new album out soon. Hope you dig the song. Cheers everyone.

Rough mix of Tres Madres from the upcoming album Endless Flight.

More than a decade after starting out, Egypt were more active and more widely known than they’d ever been, having racked up shows alongside the likes of Dead Meadow, Jucifer, Today is the Day, Acid Mothers Temple, Weedeater, Church of Misery, and Orange Goblin.

There’s nothing happenstance about it, and in an age where word can travel faster than it ever has, Egypt have slow-burned their way to the fore of the American stoner rock underground. In 2015, they’ve expanded beyond those borders with their first European tour. Where they go from here includes a new album, titled Endless Flight, and who knows what else to come, but for a band who regrouped by popular demand and have only gathered momentum since, Egypt are just beginning to shape their empire.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Egypt-Doom/220951734668136
https://egypt1.bandcamp.com/
https://soundcloud.com/alcohawk/tres-madres

Egypt, “Tres Madres (Rough Mix)”

We’re getting close to the launch of Egypt‘s European tour with Tombstones ahead of their appearance at Freak Valley 2015 in Netphen, Germany. The run kicks off on May 23 in London at the Underworld and carries from there with shows in Switzerland, Italy, Austria, Germany, the Netherlands, France and Belgium before actually hitting the fest on June 6. First announced back in February, it will mark Egypt‘s debut on European shores.

The North Dakotan trio go supporting their 2013 split with Wo Fat, Cyclopean Riffs (review here), while Oslo’s Tombstones, now Roadburn veterans after appearing at the festival in the Netherlands last month, will tour heralding the follow-up to 2013’s Red Skies and Dead Eyes (review here). They played a ton of new material at Roadburn, so I’d expect no less for this tour.

Dates and info follow here, along with the tour poster by Kim Holm:

Tombstones (NO) & Egypt tour Europe 2015

More than a decade after starting out, Egypt were more active and more widely known than they’d ever been, having racked up shows alongside the likes of Dead Meadow, Jucifer, Today is the Day, Acid Mothers Temple, Weedeater, Church of Misery, and Orange Goblin.

There’s nothing happenstance about it, and in an age where word can travel faster than it ever has, Egypt have slow-burned their way to the fore of the American stoner rock underground. In 2015, they’ll look to expand beyond those borders with their first European tour in support of a new album, set to release this winter. Where they go beyond that is up in the air, but for a band who regrouped by popular demand and have only gathered momentum since, Egypt are just beginning to shape their empire.

Tombstones has been brewing on dirtier filth this time, and their new, third, studio album; “Red Skies and Dead Eyes” will tear holes in your ears and speakers. Norwegian doom has never been played with more confidence and style, and the riffs and grooves penetrate your soul like a demon from ancient caves.

Says Egypt’s Aaron Esterby: “We are extremely stoked to announce the dates of our first European tour this Summer with the killer band from Norway, Tombstones. We couldn’t be more excited to head to Europe. It’s been a long time coming. There are still a couple holes to fill, but for the most part the tour is fully booked. Here are the dates.”

23.05.2015 UK – London, Underworld
24.05.2015 UK – Hastings, Union Bar
26.05.2015 CH – Geneve, Kalvingrad
27.05.2015 IT – Kulturcafe Schlachthaus, Dornbirn
28.05.2015 CH – Olden, Coq D’Or
29.05.2015 A – Innsbruck, PMK
30.05.2015 A – Vienna, Arena
31.05.2015 DE – Nürnberg, K4
01.06.2015 NL – Brussel, Le Bunker
02.06.2015 F – Paris, Glazart
03.06.2015 BE – Antwerpen, AM
04.06.2015 NL – Nijmegen, Onderbroek
05.06.2015 CH – Winterhur, Helvti
06.06.2015 DE – Netphen, Freak Valley Festival

https://www.facebook.com/events/1397469780562782/
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Egypt-Doom/220951734668136
https://egypt1.bandcamp.com
https://www.facebook.com/tombstonesoslo
https://tombstonesoslo.bandcamp.com

Tombstones, Red Skies and Dead Eyes (2013)

Egypt, Cyclopean Riffs (2013)

The occasion is a slot during the final day of Freak Valley 2015, but I’m sure that whatever else it might’ve been, North Dakota trio Egypt are happy to be going to Europe for the first time since forming a decade ago. They’ll be keeping good company on the road with Oslo doom trio Tombstones, and while there are still a few gigs to be solidified, the two bands will start out on May 23 and on June 2, they hit Paris for Abrahma‘s release show for their new album, Reflections in the Bowels of a Bird.

Egypt‘s most recent outing is a vinyl reissue of their original self-titled demo (review here), but their latest studio release is the 2013 Cyclopean Riffs (review here) split they shared with Texas fuzzrunners Wo Fat on Totem Cat Records, the label that also issued Egypt‘s 2012 full-length, Become the Sun (review here). Tombstones will also appear at Roadburn 2015 and their latest album, Red Skies and Dead Eyes (review here), came out in 2013.

Tour dates and a quote from Egypt‘s Aaron Esterby follow:

Tombstones (NO) & Egypt tour Europe 2015

More than a decade after starting out, Egypt were more active and more widely known than they’d ever been, having racked up shows alongside the likes of Dead Meadow, Jucifer, Today is the Day, Acid Mothers Temple, Weedeater, Church of Misery, and Orange Goblin.

There’s nothing happenstance about it, and in an age where word can travel faster than it ever has, Egypt have slow-burned their way to the fore of the American stoner rock underground. In 2015, they’ll look to expand beyond those borders with their first European tour in support of a new album, set to release this winter. Where they go beyond that is up in the air, but for a band who regrouped by popular demand and have only gathered momentum since, Egypt are just beginning to shape their empire.

Tombstones has been brewing on dirtier filth this time, and their new, third, studio album; “Red Skies and Dead Eyes” will tear holes in your ears and speakers. Norwegian doom has never been played with more confidence and style, and the riffs and grooves penetrate your soul like a demon from ancient caves.

Says Egypt’s Aaron Esterby: “We are extremely stoked to announce the dates of our first European tour this Summer with the killer band from Norway, Tombstones. We couldn’t be more excited to head to Europe. It’s been a long time coming. There are still a couple holes to fill, but for the most part the tour is fully booked. Here are the dates.”

23-5 Underworld – London, England
24-5 TBC – Brighton, England
25-5 TBC
26-5 Cab L´Usine – Geneva, Switzerland
27-5 Kulturcafe Schlachthaus – Dornbirn, Austria
28-5 Coq D´Or – Olten, Switzerland
29-5 PMK – Innsbrück, Austria
30-5 Arena – Vienna, Austria
31-5 Zentralkafe K4 – Nürnberg, Germany
1-6 Le Bunker – Brussels, Belgium
2-6 Le Glazart – Paris, France
3-6 AMC – Antwerp, Belgium
4-6 Onderbroek – Nijmegen, Netherlands
5-6 HELP NEEDED!!!
6-6 Freak Valley Festival – Netphen, Germany

https://www.facebook.com/events/1397469780562782/
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Egypt-Doom/220951734668136
https://egypt1.bandcamp.com
https://www.facebook.com/tombstonesoslo

Egypt, Cyclopean Riffs Split with Wo Fat (2013)

After the success of 2013’s return/debut full-length, Become the Sun (review here) and their Cyclopean Riffs split with Texas’ Wo Fat (review here), North Dakotan three-piece Egypt have overseen a new vinyl issue for their original 2008 self-titled demo, which MeteorCity originally picked up in 2009 (review here). Got all that?

Good, because the reissue is out now on Doomentia Records in four different vinyl colors — blue, yellow, green and red — and each is limited to 125 copies. Egypt are also slated to play this year’s Days of the Doomed Fest with Jex Thoth, Age of Taurus and many others, and they’ll head out on tour beginning next week bringing copies along for the ride. It’s a Midwestern run, but they’re booked with some very cool acts as well, so if you’re in that part of the world, it seems like a solid way to go.

The following info was lovingly cobbled together from Thee Facebooks posts:

We are sold out of S/T reissue on bandcamp. If we have any left when we come back from our Midwest tour we’ll make them available. If you missed out on grabbing a copy of the S/T reissue from us, they are still available at the Doomentia Records webstore. Thanks again for the support. You guys are killer. Cheers.

2014 MIDWEST SUMMER TOUR
6/18 – The Aquarium – Fargo, ND – w/Go Murphy and Benefactor
6/19 – Triple Rock Social Club – Minneapolis, MN – w/Witchden, Wicked Inquistion, and Flintlock
6/20 – JB’s Speakeasy – La Crosse, WI – w/TBA
6/21 – Days of the Doomed Fest IV – The Metal Grill – Cudahy, WI – w/Tons of killer bands
6/22 – Cobra Lounge – Chicago, IL – w/Pilgrim, Fister, and Neverender
6/23 – The Firebird – St. Louis, MO – w/White Fire, Rowsdower, and TBA
6/24 – The Riot Room – Kansas City, MO – w/Hossferatu, Merlin, and Brimstone Crow
6/25 – Hull Avenue Tavern – Des Moines, IA – w/Crown King Revival and Nest of Snakes
6/26 – The Hexagon, – Minneapolis, MN – w/Nightosaur, God Came From Space, and Rat Lord

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Egypt-Doom/220951734668136
http://egypt1.bandcamp.com/album/egypt
http://www.doomentia.com/releases.html

Egypt, Egypt

With the additions of Jex Thoth and Egypt to the bill, I think it’s safe to say that Days of the Doomed IV is the biggest edition of the festival yet. Set for June 20-22 at The Metal Grill in Cudahy, Wisconsin, the lineup already boasted the likes of Blackfinger, The Mighty Nimbus, Age of Taurus, Stone Magnum, Orodruin and Devil to Pay, and it seems only to be kicking more ass as it goes along.

A witchy new logo/t-shirt design by Kathy Reeves has been unveiled as well, continuing to expand the Midwestern fest’s aesthetic reach.

Here’s the latest:

OK! You’ve seen it on the DOTD website, and I debuted this earlier on Facebook, and you all seem to dig it! So to answer your question… YES! This will be on a limited run of t-shirts available at Days Of The Doomed Fest IV! All bands will be listed on the back! Many thanks to Kathy Reeves for capturing that vintage occult/horror theme I was going for in our newest logo! Great job! Another announcement in 30 minutes!

There are certain bands that lock you in, taking you on a transcendental journey with each spin of their album. 2013’s “Blood Moon Rise” is one such album, delivering not only a collection of catchy doom ballads, but a flowing tapestry of cursed, psychedelic heavy metal. So it is with great pleasure and honor that I announce a rather rare stateside appearance at Days Of The Doomed Fest IV for… JEX THOTH!

Over the past 4 years, this band has been brought up in more than one conversation, and spoken very highly of! I am stoked that the time is finally right to bring all of you some doomed tunage from the great state of North Dakota! Days Of The Doomed Fest IV welcomes… EGYPT!

https://www.facebook.com/events/407651189366176/
http://www.daysofthedoomed.com
http://egypt1.bandcamp.com
https://www.facebook.com/JexThoth

Egypt, Become the Sun (2013)

I’ve been trying to get this one on the page for a couple weeks now — really since last year if you want to go back that far — and I finally just decided to do it. Granted, it’s already 2014, but I’m pretty used to being behind the times, so I hope you’ll indulge me on this one.

The thing is, of course we already did the Top 20 Albums of 2013, but that leaves an awful lot out in terms of quality shorter releases. Demos, singles, EPs, splits — whatever it might be — there’s a lot more to the story of a year in music than who’s putting out what full-length. That might be true now more than ever, with digital releases and artists having the ability to more or less give a song-by-song feed of new material should they so choose. Since this is the first time I’ve done this list, I’ve kept the presentation pretty basic, but there’s a lot to dig into here anyway in terms of the quality of the music and what people were able to accomplish in, in some cases, just one or two tracks.

My basis for judgment here is basically the same as with the full-albums list, and by that I mean how much I listened to something played a huge role, and it’s not just how important I think an EP or a split or a demo was that got it included on this list — though of course that stuff matters as well. Like spelling, repeat listens count. And it goes without saying these are my picks and have nothing to do with the Readers Poll, the results of which are here.

Okay, let’s do this:

The Top 20 Short Releases of 2013

1. The Machine/Sungrazer, Split
2. Dozer, Vultures
3. Mars Red Sky, Be My Guide
4. Black Thai, Seasons of Might
5. Wo Fat/Egypt, Cyclopean Riffs Split 12″
6. Young Hunter, Embers at the Foot of Dark Mountain
7. Shroud Eater, Dead Ends
8. Steak, Corned Beef Colossus
9. Geezer, Gage
10. The Golden Grass, One More Time b/w Tornado 7″
11. Trippy Wicked and the Cosmic Children of the Knight, Underground
12. King Buffalo, Demo
13. Groan, Ride the Snake
14. Crypt Sermon, Demo MMXIII
15. Stubb, Under a Spell b/w Bullets Rain 7″
16. Salem’s Pot, Watch Me Kill You Tape
17. Undersmile/Coma Wall, Wood and Wire Split
18. Second Grave, Antithesis
19. Sinister Haze, Demo
20. Olde Growth, Owl

—

Honorable mention has to go to the Fatso Jetson/Yawning Man split, C.O.C.‘s Megalodon EP, which was right on but which I didn’t really hear enough to include. The Gates of Slumber‘s Stormcrow as well.

Just a couple notes: In the case of Olde Growth, putting them last was actually more about not being sure when the official release date of Owl was than anything else. I actually listened to that quite a bit, and “Tears of Blood” remains my favorite work of the duo’s to date. In terms of demos, it was a good year for doom debuts, with Crypt Sermon and Sinister Haze both showing some malevolent classicism, and King Buffalo‘s demo grew on me almost immediately upon hearing it and right away made me look forward to whatever might come next from them.

I was a little hesitant to put a split in the number one spot, but The Machine‘s riff for “Awe” alone made it necessary. I’ve kept this disc on my person for almost the entire year and continue to have no regrets in doing so. For Dozer, yeah, it was a collection of older material, but I still enjoyed the crap out of it. Both Mars Red Sky and Black Thai signaled considerable creative growth in four-song EPs, and the Wo Fat and Egypt split more than lived up to its mission. The riff lives in bands like that, and as we get further into stylistic nuance and subgenre development, it’s those groups who are holding on to the Heavy.

Young Hunter are one of the most promising bands I’ve heard in the last three years. Flat out. Killer release. Ditto that in a much different context for Shroud Eater, whose take on heavy only got more sinister and more effective with Dead Ends. Steak emerge as tops among the five British bands — a quarter of the list! — here. Their Corned Beef Colossus also had the best title I heard all year, and though Trippy Wicked, Groan, Stubb, and Undersmile/Coma Wall (the latter earning bonus points for putting out a split with themselves) all thrilled, Steak‘s potential got them that spot. Time for a full-length, guys.

Not to leave out New York — though the geographical alignment is a coincidence — Geezer‘s Gage tapped into a jammier feel that I thought suited the band remarkably well, and The Golden Grass‘ debut single offered one of the most charming irony-free good times I’ve heard in a long while. The Salem’s Pot cassette was one of my most-listened-to tapes this year, last mentioned but not at all least, Second Grave‘s Antithesis probably would’ve clocked in higher if I’d had more time with it, but was definitely one I wanted to put in here anyway.

As I said, a lot of really astounding shorter outings, and worthy of attention in their own right. If I missed anything, I hope you’ll let me know in the comments.