The second round of announcements from the inaugural Emerald Haze festival in Dublin (presented by The Obelisk, among others) brings further intrigue and anticipation. Also doom of the highest quality, and of course by that I mean Lord Vicar are playing. The Finnish masters released the righteous Gates of Flesh (review here) last year and join a bill already heralding the likes of Dread Sovereign, Abrahma, Ten Ton Slug and Zlanatera. I am unbelievably stoked at the prospect of seeing them live.

Ditto that for Church of the Cosmic Skull, who had one of 2016’s best debut releases in their first full-length, Is Satan Real? (review here), which basked in a lush and classically progressive sensibility marked out by its vocal harmonies and generally fluid approach. Add Wild Rocket, Witchsorrow, Electric Octopus, Gorilla Pulp and Elder Druid to the mix as well and Emerald Haze 2017 already seems to be taking shape nicely as a diverse, quality bill that, once again, I’m honored to be co-presenting.

And as I said last time, I’m planning on being in Dublin to cover it, so please come and please say hi. I’m super-awkward in person, but always appreciate a chance to shake hands, put faces to names and so on. I hope to see you there.

Here’s the latest announcement from the fest:

Church of the Cosmic Skull, Lord Vicar added to line up for EMERALD HAZE

Rising stars of the UK psych scene Church of the Cosmic Skull and international doom supergroup Lord Vicar are among the bands to be added to the bill for EMERALD HAZE, Dublin’s brand new heavy psych festival on Friday 1st and Saturday 2nd September.

Church of the Cosmic Skull, Nottingham’s seven-piece multi-vocal prog/psych superstars in the making and self professed new religious movement will headline the opening night of Dublin’s inaugural EMERALD HAZE.

After gaining widespread critical acclaim with the 2016 release of their debut album “Is Satan Real?”, Church of the Cosmic Skull embarked on a a highly commended headline tour of the UK in April, and will perform at a number of European festivals over the summer including Freak Valley Festival and Desertfest Antwerp.

Lord Vicar – whose international line up includes former members of Reverend Bizarre, Count Raven and Saint Vitus – along with Dublin-based space punks Wild Rocket, U.K. doomsters WitchSorrow, Italian rockers Gorilla Pulp and two more bands from the fertile Northern Irish scene, Elder Druid and Electric Octopus have all been added to the previously announced line up of Sólstafir, Dread Sovereign, Abrahma, Ten Ton Slug and Zlatanera, with more Irish and international acts to be named in the coming weeks.

Early bird tickets are on sale now from www.tickets.ie priced at €35 + €3.50 booking fee.
Direct link: https://secure.tickets.ie/Listing/EventInformation/35248/emerald-haze-dublin

https://www.facebook.com/events/1321221147946613/
https://www.facebook.com/emeraldhazedublin/
https://secure.tickets.ie/Listing/EventInformation/35248/emerald-haze-dublin

Lord Vicar, “Birth of Wine”

Church of the Cosmic Skull, “Black Slug” official video

Proud today to announce that The Obelisk is among the presenters for the inaugural Emerald Haze festival in Dublin, Ireland. Set for Sept. 1 and 2 at Voodoo Lounge and On the Rox, the new two-day fest will be headlined by Iceland’s Sólstafir and feature native Irish acts Dread Sovereign, Ten Ton Slug, alongside Northern Ireland’s Zlatanera and other imports like Abrahma (France) and King Witch (Scotland). More groups are still TBA for the lineup, but I’ve seen the list of names, and it is formidable. Further word is expected in the next week or so, so keep an eye out.

In the meantime, this first announcement shows Emerald Haze with an immediate intention toward sonic diversity and a breadth shifting between doom, heavy rock, psychedelia and whatever you’d call Sólstafir at this point — is “sad awesome” a subgenre? — that will only continue as more groups are confirmed and announced in the weeks and months to come. Until then, earlybird tickets go on sale June 5 and it seems entirely the show will sell through, so get them while you can.

If all goes according to my evil plan, I will be there covering. Here’s the info from the fest:

EMERALD HAZE – Dublin, Ireland, Sept. 1-2, 2017

SÓLSTAFÍR to headline EMERALD HAZE, Dublin’s new heavy psych festival.

Iceland’s SÓLSTAFÍR return to Dublin for the first time since their sold out 2014 Irish tour to headline EMERALD HAZE, Dublin’s brand new heavy psych festival, on Friday 1st and Saturday 2nd September, 2017.

EMERALD HAZE takes place on Friday 1st and Saturday 2nd September 2017 over two adjacent venues – Smithfield’s Voodoo Lounge and On The Rox. Performers will be a mix of Irish and international headline acts, alongside established and emerging talent from Ireland and abroad. EMERALD HAZE is a not-for-profit venture, supported by Dublin City Council.

SÓLSTAFÍR’s unique blend of metal with beautiful melodies, psychedelic moments and a strong undercurrent of hard/classic rock comes as varied and at times appealingly bizarre as the landscapes of their native Iceland. Their latest album “Berdreyminn” was released through Seasons of Mist on May 26th 2017 and a European tour in support of the album begins on June 10th at Download, Paris.

Irish acts Dread Sovereign and Ten Ton Slug, France’s Abrahma, Scotland’s King Witch and Northern Ireland’s Zlatanera are among the first names confirmed to appear, with more Irish and international acts to be announced in the coming weeks.

Early bird tickets priced at €35 are available from Monday 5th June from www.tickets.ie

https://www.facebook.com/events/1321221147946613/
www.facebook.com/emeraldhaze

Sólstafir, Berdreyminn (2017)