Posted in Whathaveyou on November 8th, 2023 by JJ Koczan
Getting Masters of Reality over has been a project in the works for Desertfest London since before the pandemic, and it looks like 2024 will be the year. The band burned a few bridges over the last couple years when frontman Chris Goss took a hardline right-wing stance on issues surrounding covid and whatever else (that kind of thing will win fans as well in some cases), but their work remains the stuff of legend and any time there’s a connection to OG-era Californian desert rock — as there is with Goss, who was there in his own band and as producer for Kyuss, etc. — that’s a boon and a good get for Desertfest generally, though even if you’re not a Masters of Reality fan owing to politics or just never having gotten on board, the entire line right under them on the poster is unfuckwithable: Godflesh, Monolord, Acid King and Ufomammut. Goodness gracious. And the next name is Brant Bjork. Gonna be Desertfest, to be sure.
Warms my cold dead ‘eart to see Stinking Lizaveta and Darsombra confirmed — I’ll put Domkraft in that sentimental-favorite category as well, and check out fellow Swedes Astroqueen doing some more traveling — and I look forward to the grandiose plaudits soon to be bestowed on Warpstormer and Goblinsmoker after their respective appearances, which is something Sergeant Thunderhoof should be able to help them through. With Clouds Taste Satanic traversing the Atlantic again, and others like Pijn and Duskwood, Mantar, Maserati and Monkey3, there’s a three-day fest’s worth of acts already revealed in this first announcement and probably two or three more three-day fests’ worth of names to come. I’ll tell you outright I’d shit a brick to see this. If you’re gonna be there, know how lucky you are.
From the PR wire:
Desertfest London announces 25 bands for 2024 edition including headliners Masters of Reality plus, Godflesh, Monolord, Acid King, Ufomammut & more
Friday 17th May – Sunday 19th May 2024 | Weekend Tickets now on sale
Desertfest London have unveiled 25 bands for their 12th edition, taking place across multiple venues in Camden next May 17th – 19th.
Following their pandemic induced cancellation in 2020, Desertfest is thrilled to announce desert rock pioneers Masters of Reality for the event. It will be the band’s first UK appearance in almost a decade. Masters of Reality is the brainchild of legendary producer Chris Goss (Welcome to Sky Valley, Rated R, Blues for The Red Sun, Dust, Songs for The Deaf). Their combination of hard-rock blues with a progressive tinge makes no apologies for not sticking within the stylised box listeners would expect, yet simultaneously provides the perfect lesson in the musical ethos and story-telling of the Palm Desert scene – all led by the man who laid its foundations.
Following an unforgettable performance at the New York edition of the Desertfest franchise a few months ago, industrial trailblazers Godflesh will return to London for a masterclass in sonic brutality. UK exclusive performances come in the form of Swedish doom masters Monolord, California stoner metal legends Acid King and the long-awaited return of Italian experimentalists Ufomammut.
Further Desert Rock royalty rolls into Camden Town, as Brant Bjork Trio will treat attendees to a back-catalogue few artists can compete with. Instrumental sound shifters Maserati, hard-hitting duo Mantar, introspective visionaries Cloakroom and heavy-psych rockers Monkey3 will take the concept of genres and set them ablaze.
Elsewhere the likes of Blanket, Domkraft, Pijn, Sugar Horse, Stinking Lizaveta and Darsombra will bring a captivating change of pace to the event. Whilst the stoner rock vibes remain alive and well with Astroqueen, Wet Cactus, Sergeant Thunderhoof and Duskwood.
If that wasn’t enough to get your teeth into, Desertfest rounds of its first announcement with Goblinsmoker, Clouds Taste Satanic, Warpstormer, Sonic Taboo & Wizdoom.
Weekend Tickets for the event are on sale now via www.desertfest.co.uk with much more to still be announced!
Posted in Features, Reviews on September 17th, 2023 by JJ Koczan
09.16.23 – Saturday – Knockdown Center – Before show
First thing, got kicked out of the parking lot. “Who are you with?” Alone in the car, clearly I’m by myself. Whatever. That’s New York. “You can’t be here.” Is it okay if I exist anywhere else?
Yesterday was great, front to back. Knockdown Center has apparently gotten a new sound system since last year and I’ll confirm with my ringing ears that it is fully functional. But even aside from that, saw cool people I don’t often get to see, met some I’d never met, dared to enjoy myself amid the back and forth.
Got to bed at about 2AM, was up a bit after seven. Charged the camera batteries, phone, etc. Traffic was light on the way in, which felt like a gift, and I did find parking on the street nearby, so yeah.
What does the day hold? An intimidating amount of music. Today opens the third stage — called ‘The Ruins’ though actually it looks pretty nice — outside in back where the food trucks were last year. Brant Bjork Trio out there will be cool, as well as Clouds Taste Satanic and Mick’s Jaguar early. And both inside stages are packed, so it’s right back to it. It is my sincere hope that adrenaline will carry me through. Guess we’ll find out.
Conan loading in. Clouds Taste Satanic checking on the outside stage, where by the grace of Geezer Butler’s bass tone on Master of Reality there is a photo pit. Thank you Desertfest for that specifically. Maybe I’ll just hang out outside all afternoon. Crazy ideas you get.
Here’s the day:
—
Clouds Taste Satanic
Did not turn out to be a photo pit, just a barricade — Geezer’s bass giveth and taketh away; it’s okay though because Tomoko went in and I’m going to do the same next time — but though I went up and laid out on a picnic table before New York’s own instrumentalists Clouds Taste Satanic went on, here supporting this year’s Majestic Mountain-issued 2LP, Tales of Demonic Possession (discussed here) as they are after a first European stint this Spring, they bore the naked riffing and groove that tells you how little you need anything else when you do it right. I grabbed some photos and put myself in a shady spot. It’s a long day ahead, and especially as I’m outside in the sun, gotta hydrate. Clouds Taste Satanic, with their LSD name and raw sound, were a wakeup for me — almost literally — but there’s no arguing with their approach, they drew a good early crowd and more came as they played, and a broken kick pedal only cost about a minute before they were back at it. I’d never seen them though and I’m glad to have rectified that. Imagine sans-vocal toe-tappers, but like 15 minutes long.
—
Mick’s Jaguar
A check-in with New York-based attitude rockers Mick’s Jaguar is appreciated after the late-2022 release of their Salvation (review here) album, and their catchy, ultra-NYC take on heavy revels in a lineage that goes back actual generations, not just musical ones that are like four years or whatever. They’re the middle installment in a NYC triad opening the ourdoor stage, and their party vibe and brash swing and crash were suited to that spot, with some flow held over from Clouds Taste Satanic, but brought to a different context. There’s a narrative there, Clouds Taste Satanic into Mick’s Jaguar into White Hills, Desertfest celebrating the local sphere and its aural diversity. Other than to fill my water bottle — 16 oz. per band; I am a firm believer in radical hydration — I haven’t been inside yet, and I suppose that’s not really saying anything since there haven’t been any bands on in there yet, but the sunshine, gently autumnal breeze and buzz in the crowd were suitable accommodation for an energetic take and people were into it. I’ll say it was different being outside as opposed to when I saw them at Desertfest NY 2019 (review here), when they played the small room at The Well, which has only become smaller in my mind in the years since. Almost the opposite, really, but the fact that they owned both spaces is a unifying factor.
—
Mantar
I didn’t go in the photo pit, because jesus there’s gotta be a break somewhere and I could not envision a scenario in which somebody said to themselves “oh man he didn’t shoot Mantar — fucking poseur,” and I was all set to remain on the picnic bench where I’d been writing and hanging out, but the ultra-aggressive German two-piece drew me inside for a bit. Nasty, gnashing, pummeling and biting as they are, Mantar still groove. If that’s the crossover appeal that lets them play a fest like this, fair enough. They’ll always be an outlier, but you need that for something like this. Yesterday I called Windhand the sore thumb, and they were. That’s Mantar today, if less so with the always devastating Conan on the bill. Godflesh are mean, but it’s not the same intensity. Even punk as they are, Mantar cross that line between heavy and metal, and when you’re on one side there, it’s easy to recognize the other. They’re not really my thing most of the time, but I like that they wreck up the place, sonically speaking.
White Hills
White Hills are weirder than you, weirder than me, weirder than the fact that an electron doesn’t technically exist until something is used to measure it. The list goes on. But the stalwart NYC outfit — third of three in the noted triumvirate — seem perfectly content to inhabit their own spacial plane. Comprised of drummer/vocalist Ego Sensation and guitarist/vocalist Dave W., their persistently exploratory psychedelia — here droning, there rolling, somehow freaking out ALL THE TIME like they’re me with any kind of social obligation — is wholly immersive. Even in the great out-of-doors. Their sound bounced off the concrete wall up by where the trains go (I don’t think it’s an actual station, but could be wrong; it’d be an odd spot for one but these are odd times) and seemed to come from behind as well as in front while standing near the stage, and the effect was hypnotic. A roll you can just go with, a drift set adrift, jams for the universe. Spirals of water down a drain casting hurricane echoes and a scale at which even galaxies rotate. The sun’s out. Everything is great. Let’s be friends in real life.
—
Conan
I went outside for a bit during Conan’s set to let some air back in my lungs after they had squeezed it all out. They’re was about three entire seconds of my earplugs not being in, and I suspect that’ll be enough for me to hear their low distortion in my head when I try to go to sleep tonight. Fine. I don’t know how many superlatives are left to say it — also don’t care — but there’s no mistaking Conan as one of the heaviest bands on the planet. When I was done with pictures, I stood over by the sound desk for optimal fidelity. All hail “Volt Thrower.” Jon Davis, Chris Fielding, Johnny King — guitar, bass, drums — and if you put it on paper it’s nothing so special, but when these dudes hit it, you know damn well to whom you are listening. And if you do go see them, which you should, wear earplugs. The whole time. Sad to say, however, my foamies aren’t holding up to Conan’s volume assault — “Thronehammer” laying waste, as it will — which is probably to be expected. But against all common sense and every piece of advice one might receive from a medical professional, I stayed there and let that volume and tone just kill me. And sure enough, I was obliterated. 9 got another bottle of water though and felt better after that.
—
Dorthia Cottrell
You could hear Mondo Generator playing outside before Dorthia Cottrell — vocalist for Windhand, who played last night — started her set, playing as a three-piece with guitar and violin accompaniment. As to the metric by which I ended up inside instead of out, the math is easy. Last time I saw Mondo Generator was a month ago. saw Cottrell play solo was 2015, and Also last June. Both have new records. From hers, which is called Death Folk Country (review here), Cottrell eased quickly into the sad blues and dark folk — you might say she’s influenced by, death, folk, and country — with the breathy melody of her voice bolstered by the textures of the additional guitar (it was Leanne Martz, formerly of Heavy Temple) and fiddle. To their credit, once they started, I didn’t even know anymore whether you could still hear the noise from outside. Got lost in the mood and the ambience and and somehow it no longer mattered.
—
Godflesh
The Main Stage heft streak continues, and it turns out that what I’ve needed all day was to be churned into so much human goo by industrial metal pioneers and still-ahead-of-their-time crushbringers Godflesh. They have a new record out, Purge. I didn’t see it on the merch table earlier, but will check again to be sure. They played at least initially mostly in the dark and fog, and fair enough, but the onslaught of their beats and distortion, of guitarist Justin K. Broadrick’s gruff, barking shout and the filthy tone of G.C. Green’s bass, was consuming regardless of how visible they might or might not have been. I’ve been destroyed. Bludgeoned. Godflesh were a culmination of the progression on the main stage today that drew through Mantar and Conan; another triad. A decidedly angrier one, and if you want to hear what it feels like when your brain is running a thousand miles an hour and you don’t want it to and your entire body feels overwhelmed to the point of physical collapse — if you want to hear something that will remind you of being an insecure kid — Godflesh are here for it. I’d heard a bunch of good things about them on their current tour — mostly from Boston — and I was not misinformed. Now, about that album. Not on the table. Oh, if only someone would invent the internet so I can buy a Godflesh CD. Oh wait, sold out online too. You’ve betrayed me, circumstance! JK Flesh, one of Broadrick’s many other projects, plays NYC tomorrow. Good for him, making the most of the trip. Also, Godflesh rule. Thanks.
—
The Brant Bjork Trio
Brant Bjork, Mario Lalli and Ryan Güt are The Brant Bjork Trio, and they played songs from Bjork’s solo catalog. I don’t have any insight into the narrative of how they got together this time around, but I know that Bjork and Lalli have known each other for decades and worked together periodically over that time. Lalli played on Bjork’s 1999 solo debut, Jalamanta, so that’s about all the way back at least as far as this thing goes. And Mario Lalli and The Rubber Snake Charmers supported Bjork’s Stõner three-piece last year. On and on. Güt is a part of Stöner as well with Nick Oliveri on bass/vocals, and I kind of assumed that when Nick was ready to go back to Mondo Generator, keeping a trio configuration made sense. And crap, if there’s a chance to go on tour in a band with Lalli on bass, of course you’re gonna do that. Together, Bjork and Lalli are sculptors of desert rock, Lalli having actively participated in the forming of the style in Yawning Man and brought weird to the desert in Fatso Jetson, Bjork having played drums and contributed to the songwriting of Kyuss before joining Fu Manchu and embarking on the solo thing in various formats over the last 24 years, the latter I’d argue as his most crucial work. I could go on about this — blah blah generator parties; the horrible truth is I think the timeline is fun — but what I’m trying to say is these guys are real deal lifers, and in addition to having influenced two-plus generations of bands in a global underground that exists in part because of them, they also rock. “Cleaning Out the Ashtray” was a nice touch, and “Let the Truth Be Known.” There was a longer-maybe new song with a classic, sleek groove called “Sunshine” that broke after a couple verses into an even more languid flow, and if there’s new material, maybe this band will put out an LP. That’d be just ducky, thanks. Maybe I’d even get to tell the same story about how these guys are legends all over again! Perhaps with slight variations in the phrasing! Sweet!
—
Boris
Volume and thrust, lumber and noise. Shove. GO. Boris make it all exciting, and are somehow frenetic in their energy no matter what they’re actually playing. They drew the biggest crowd of the festival. Significant, statistically. Brant Bjork Trio finished and Djunah — of whom I saw a few minutes; knew nothing about them beforehand, turned out they were cool; a note-to-self moment — and I guess everybody who was at another stage congregated in front of Boris only to be blown back by a bulldozer of volume. Whoosh. It’s been a few years, but Boris were Boris, and that’s maybe the highest compliment they might be paid, since it actually means so many things, nearly all of them awesome. Wata, Atsuo and Takeshi took the whole building on a ride through a vortex of shred, the set becoming an assault of noise and fog with the band in the eye of their own storm, and while I could go on mixing metaphors and trying to craft suitable hyperbole for what they do on stage, the truth is that I’m really, really fucking tired and that I don’t need to hide that. Doesn’t mean I didn’t appreciate Boris, doesn’t mean I don’t think they’re an incredible band with decades of influence and legacy who also absolutely slay live. The not-even-the-end-of-the-day fatigue might’ve put Boris closer to the line between immersion and abrasion for my own experience, but hell’s bells, they’re dizzying when they want to be.
—
Ecstatic Vision
Because I’ve seen the band before, I showed up 25 minutes early to Ecstatic Vision on the Texas stage. Does it make sense to leave a band from Japan’s set to go see a band from Philadelphia when you’re in New York? It does if that band is Ecstatic Vision. Psychrippers extraordinaire. Bombast in excelsis. Willfully sliding into most of humanity’s definition of obnoxious, but hitting this crowd just right. I wasn’t the only one there early, nor first in the room. A reputation, preceding. I knew I was going to miss the Melvins — I saw them in June and as I said then, I’m not a huge fan, though they were and are good live — and somehow having Ecstatic Vision in the small room as my capper seemed just right. It goes without saying they destroyed. The sax, the guitar, bass and drums, the effects wash, the intense push inherited from Hawkwind and Monster Magnet both, cosmic heavy rock turned into a party unparalleled by anyone I’ve encountered in current US psych. They were the blowout, and as excellent as the Melvins are live (and yes I know they’ve got Coady Willis drumming in place of Dale Crover; the point stands), I knew that was how I wanted to cap my Desertfest New York 2023. Three days of heavy stuffed into a cannon and launched into the sun, and everyone in the room with it. I’d take a new record from them for sure, but I do also feel like they shouldn’t even stop playing live long enough to make one. These guys are providing a valuable service guiding all involved parties on a direct line into the supermassive black hole at the center of the galaxy.
—
I made it home from Brooklyn in under an hour. It was beautiful. Unheard of. “Magic,” as Ronnie James Dio might say. Falling asleep at the keyboard now.
That’s it for me. Thanks to Desertfest New York for coming back, to Sarika, Reece and Matte and all behind the making of the thing. Friends old and new — in the photo pit: Falk-Hagen Bernshausen (so glad you made it over), Tim Bugbee (you’re the best), Dante Torrieri (that Star Trek nerd-out turned my whole day around), Dylan Gonzalez (smartest guy in the room, also sweetest), Tomoko (thanks for the fruit offer, by the way you’re a genius), Charles (rarely do I find somebody who so much speaks the same language of sarcasm) — and everyone who came to say hi or something nice about the site. Thanks to The Patient Mrs. for the time. Thank you for reading.
Posted in Whathaveyou on March 24th, 2023 by JJ Koczan
This looks so good I’m kind of nervous about it. Monster Magnet and Godflesh join the ranks of the Melvins, Boris and Colour Haze at the forefront of the bill for Desertfest New York 2023 today, with the further additions to the lineup of Brant Bjork, Valley of the Sun, Mantar, Huntsmen, Upper Wilds and Dunes. Insert impressed-whistle here.
I guess what we’re seeing in 2023 is that version of Desertfest New York that was what they were growing toward when the festival held its inaugural edition in 2019. It’s been a long-ass time since I’ve seen Monster Magnet, and the promise of a career-spanning set makes me hope all the more it happens, but I’ll tell you outright that there are precious few acts of any genre who can match the intensity of purpose wrought by Godflesh at their best live. I assume they’ll be doing some amount of touring either a lot or a little as they support their upcoming album, Purge, which is set to release in June (info here), but no question they’ll be a highlight of the fest here, if one among many.
Shit, I still haven’t seen Castle Rat, so there’s A LOT to look forward to here. Interesting that it’s Brant Bjork playing and not Stöner, but I’ll take it for sure. You can read the rest of Desertfest New York‘s announcement below, stunning as it is, hoisted from the PR wire:
Desertfest New York reveals further artists for September event including Monster Magnet, Godflesh, Brant Bjork, Mantar & more
Leading independent stoner rock, doom, psych & heavy rock festival Desertfest announces eight new artists for their third New York edition this September. Heavy-rock legends MONSTER MAGNET make their headline return to the event, following their unfortunate 2022 cancellation. The New Jersey space rockers will join the festival for a long-awaited celebratory set, spanning their entire 30-year catalogue.
British industrial icons GODFLESH join proceedings for a rare New York performance, with Justin Broadrick at the helm GODFLESH will undoubtedly shake the Knockdown Center to its very core. If there was one set to add to your “do not miss” list for DF NYC, it’s this one.
Desert-hero BRANT BJORK rolls into the weekend to bring the very best in sun-soaked California stoner vibes. Whilst German sludge-punk duo MANTAR will offer up an ear-shattering live performance with their first New York appearance since 2016.
Elsewhere, the festival welcomes the groove of VALLEY OF THE SUN, genre-bending storytellers HUNTSMEN, psychedelic locals UPPER WILDS & U.K. based stoner rock outfit DUNES to the bill.
The globally renowned event will return to the unique space of the Knockdown Center in Queens, alongside an exclusive pre-party at heavy metal institution, Saint Vitus Bar from 14th to 16th September 2023. 3-day passes (incl. Saint Vitus pre-party) are SOLD OUT with limited 2-Day passes still available.
With more to be announced, including day splits & day tickets in early June, Desertfest is the biggest celebration of underground heavy music that the East-Coast has to offer.
3-day passes (incl. access to Saint Vitus Pre-Party) & 2-day passes (Knockdown Center only) are on sale NOW via the following link –https://link.dice.fm/Desertfest_NewYork
Full Line-Up Saint Vitus – Sept 14th | Knockdown Center Sept 15th & 16th 2023
Melvins | Monster Magnet | Boris | Godflesh | Colour Haze | Truckfighters | Brant Bjork | 1000Mods | Mantar | White Hills | Lo-Pan | Duel | R.I.P | Valley of The Sun | Ecstatic Vision | Heavy Temple | Huntsmen | Clouds Taste Satanic | Mick’s Jaguar | Castle Rat | Grave Bathers | Spellbook | Upper Wilds | Dunes
Posted in Whathaveyou on March 6th, 2023 by JJ Koczan
You’ll likely note the use of diagnostic language here in the info from the PR wire. Not calling it out to stigmatize — if you read this site on a regular basis, you’ll already know I’ve discussed the neurological experiences of myself and my kid many Fridays over — but even beyond autism and PTSD, the mention of hypersensitivity feels relevant, and looking back to 2017 when the announcement came through for that year’s Post Self (review here), there was none of it as part of the narrative, so put seems safe to guess that Justin K. Broadrick has made ‘doing the work’ a part of his life. Good for him, and I mean that sincerely. From the breakup of Godflesh the first time through the various stages of Jesu and his sundry other incarnations/projects, he’s been up front about his struggles and as someone who respects his output, this would seem only to be a new manifestation for its cathartic aspects. He did call it Purge, after all.
This is why I post press releases: because I believe it’s important contextually to know what an artist is positing as the story of their work. One way or the other a new Godflesh record is something to look forward to, and one remembers a time when such a thing seemed unlikely, so a third post-reunion full-length will do nicely. There’s no audio yet, but the info is more than preliminary, even as regards the album itself never mind the apparent backdrop against which it arrives for Broadrick personally, and while you’re carefully paying attention, don’t miss the part where it says select US dates are incoming. This is a band that, if you can see them, you should, at least once in your life, honestly whether you think of yourself as a fan or not. The historical context alone, never mind the still-forceful presence on stage or the songs, either of which would also be reason enough to show up.
The PR wire takes it from here:
GODFLESH ANNOUNCES PURGE DUE ON 9TH JUNE VIA AVALANCHE RECORDINGS
FIRST NEW GODFLESH RECORDINGS SINCE 2017’s CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED FULL LENGTH POST SELF
With the highly anticipated new album PURGE, Godflesh revisits and updates the concepts of PURE (1992), as well as bringing a whole host of new dirges and laments. Amongst the many layers of dirt, PURGE mangles 90s hip hop grooves and puts them through the Godflesh filter to create something futuristic in style – and utterly unique.
Both minimal and maximal, Godflesh deliver alien grooves that swing whilst also retaining the psychedelic, bad trip edge with layer upon layer of filth and heaviness – that Godflesh have always been known for. This is, and always has been, feel-bad music.
The title alone – PURGE – references directly how songwriter and creator Justin K. Broadrick utilises Godflesh’s music as a temporary relief from his diagnosed autism and PTSD. It’s the next stage in a journey he has been on since he began creating music, feeling alone and like an outsider in any scene or group, from childhood through to adulthood.
The music of Godflesh gives Broadrick the means to express a lifetime of feeling misunderstood and overwhelmed by hyper-sensitivity. The band is the vehicle to provide some sense of catharsis and transcendence; a way of communicating overload, as well as the constant disenchantment at the human condition, and man’s abuse of power and the systems that chain us.
PURGE references the cycle of horror that man always has and always will put us through; those in positions of power revel in the infliction of pain and horror upon individuals – in the name of their religion, their power, their money, their flags…
PURGE TRACK LISTING: 01 – NERO 02 – LAND LORD 03 – ARMY OF NON 04 – LAZARUS LEPER 05 – PERMISSION 06 – THE FATHER 07 – MYTHOLOGY OF SELF 08 – YOU ARE THE JUDGE, THE JURY, AND THE EXECUTIONER
PURGE is 8 songs, delivered in a concise fashion for fellow outsiders.
A digital only single of the opening song ‘NERO’, coupled with 3 self-remixes will be released 3rd April.
The duo of Godflesh – Justin K Broadrick and Ben Green – augmented by Machines, are seen as a pivotal entity in the world of ‘heavy’ music, impacting entire subcultures within the scene since the band’s inception in 1988.
Godflesh have been credited as being one of the first bands to cross old British industrial music with down-tuned, primitive and minimal metal, accidentally pioneering the ‘industrial metal’ sound – yet reaches far beyond the confines of the genre. The band is widely regarded as a cultural icon, and its impact can be felt across generations of heavy music, both mainstream and underground.
Godflesh will perform at select shows worldwide and key festivals, including headlining Birmingham’s Supersonic Festival, and Oblivion Fest (Austin, TX, USA) around the release date of the album. To be followed by a small string of US dates too.
Posted in Whathaveyou on March 23rd, 2022 by JJ Koczan
Wit a lineup that brooks no argument, Riffolution Festival 2022 is set for mid-September in Sheffield, UK. Note the likes of Truckfighters (whose Spring tour dates are waiting on rescheduling) and Godflesh up at the top, and a broad spectrum of subsequent heavies, from Spaceslug, Slomatics and Boss Keloid the first day to Raging Speedhorn, Slabdragger and Mastiff the second. All told it’s 37 bands on three stages — which says to me the schedule is going to be tight, but doable — over the two days, and jeez, if you happen to find yourself in South Yorkshire early this Fall, one is hard-pressed to think of heavier way to spend that time. Hell, Stubb are playing. And King Witch. Right on
This is a lineup where bands will know each other, be familiar, be friendly, be drinking. You should go, join the party. And by you I mean me. Get out into the world again. It’s time, right?
As seen on the internet:
Riffolution Festival 2022 Lineup
Riffolution Festival 2022 full line-up is here, feast your eyes on our biggest event to date!
37 bands over 3 stages, at our new venue Network in Sheffield.
Big thanks to Scarlet Dagger Design for the amazing work on the poster.
Weekend + day tickets, as well as t-shirt bundles are available through the Riffolution Promotions website, and they’re already flying out.
If you wish to play next years show, we’re happy to listen to suggestions. Submit your details on the website or even show your support by grabbing a ticket and attending.
See you in September! https://www.riffolutionpromotions.com/festival
SATURDAY: Truckfighters / Naxatras / Spaceslug / Witchrider / Ten Foot Wizard / Swedish Death Candy / AWOOGA / Slomatics / Boss Keloid / KING WITCH / Dystopian Future Movies / Hair of the Dog / Mountain Caller / Trippy Wicked and the Cosmic Children of the Knight / Stubb / Psychlona / Suns of Thunder / The Lunar Effect / Elder Druid / Regulus
SUNDAY: GODFLESH / Raging Speedhorn / God Damn / Palm Reader / Svalbard / blanket / Slabdragger / Mastiff / Dog Tired / PIST / GURT / VIDEO NASTIES / Grave Lines / BEGGAR / Battalions / Gozer / Gandalf the Green
Back to normal, such as it is, for The Obelisk Show. I did two songs in two hours last time and though it seemed to go over decently well in the chat, it was less welcomed by the station itself. Fair. I’ll readily admit that two hours of psychedelic improv is not going to be everybody’s cup of tea, even in a setting that supports extreme fare as a central ethic. I’m lucky they decided to air it. I’m lucky they let me do another episode.
In here you’ll find some more rocky stuff like Greenleaf and Formula 400. I’ve yet to really dig into the new Domkraft, so I wanted to give that a roll, and then the show gets into some heavier industrial stuff. Godflesh were talked about here last week, and Trace Amount, but some Sanford Parker and Author & Punisher too. I’ve had an itch lately that stuff has helped scratch. After that and Yawning Sons is my little homage to the Live in the Mojave Desert stream series. Mountain Tamer are on that this weekend and it’s well worth your time to search out. Of course, Earthless started that series so they’ll end the show here. Only fitting.
Thanks for listening and/or reading.
The Obelisk Show airs 5PM Eastern today on the Gimme app or at http://gimmemetal.com
Full playlist:
The Obelisk Show – 03.05.21
Greenleaf
Love Undone
Echoes From a Mass
Genghis Tron
Ritual Circle
Dream Weapon
Sunnata
A Million Lives
Burning in Heaven, Melting on Earth
VT
Sonic Demon
Black Smoke
Vendetta
Formula 400
Messenger
Heathens
Domkraft
Dawn of Man
Seeds
Kauan
Raivo
Ice Fleet
VT
Godflesh
Avalanche Master Song
Godflesh
Author & Punisher
Ode to Bedlam
Beastland
Trace Amount ft. Body Stuff
Concrete Catacomb
Concrete Catacomb
Sanford Parker
Knuckle Crossing
Lash Back
VT
Yawning Sons
Cigarette Footsteps
Sky Island
Spirit Mother
Space Cadets
Cadets
Nebula
Let’s Get Lost
Holy Shit
Mountain Tamer
Black Noise
Psychosis Ritual
Brant Bjork
Stardust & Diamond Eyes
Brant Bjork
VT
Earthless
Violence of the Red Sea
From the Ages
The Obelisk Show on Gimme Metal airs every Friday 5PM Eastern, with replays Sunday at 7PM Eastern. Next new episode is March 19 (subject to change). Thanks for listening if you do.
Posted in Bootleg Theater on February 26th, 2021 by JJ Koczan
It’s been 33 years since Godflesh released this self-titled EP, and it’s still ahead of its time. That’s utter hyperbole, right? Nonsense. The kind of fluff lazy writers throw out there when something is good and has made an impact. For sure. Until you listen to it.
Godflesh, founded by guitarist/vocalist/synthesist Justin K. Broadrick and bassist G.C. Green following a stint together in a group called Fall of Because, weren’t the first band out there to bring together the sides of electronic music and rock. Krautrock had been doing it for over a decade by then. Ministry were offering up The Land of Rape and Honey the same year, and Skinny Puppy had already been going for more than half a decade, as well as others in the darker/gothier vein. But with Broadrick and Green, the rawness of their presentation became an instrument unto itself, and the repetitive churn of the drum machine they were playing to on these tracks became in itself an emblem of the disaffection, monotony, and emotional malaise the songs were bringing to bear.
They were kids asking “what the fuck?” and this EP became their way of phrasing the question.
The rumble of “Avalanche Master Song,” the echoes and whines in “Veins,” the oh-so-very-very-very-English brooding in “Godhead” and the mechanized discordant noise of “Spinebender” — these songs have a solid emotive base under them, and for all the putoff and bombast one might hear in their crashing, it’s a fragile sound, like the duo were processing trauma as much as drum beats. The guttural dismay in “Weak Flesh” and almost punkish run that ensues there feels with the benefit of over three decades of hindsight almost singular in its expression. Godflesh might not have been the first — much as fellow Birmingham natives Black Sabbath weren’t the first to bring together blues rock and a heavier low-end underpinning — but no one had done it quite like they were doing it, and the sonic persona that comes through on the six tracks of the original Godflesh EP, still just half an hour long, are post-modernism in the form of metallic songwriting. That feeling of abandonment in “Ice Nerveshatter?” Yeah, that’s god being dead.
Lines in that song like, “I am defeated, I gotta walk away/I won’t walk away, let me see/And I needed this you watch me/I’ll bleed to death, watch me,” and the screams and concluding digital wash to which they lead bring a kind of human, personal edge to what seems so much to be a purposefully inhuman sound, Broadrick‘s shouts echoing out into nothing. There are other bands who built entire careers off trying to accomplish the same thing and not doing it nearly so organically.
True, the first sounds you hear on the EP are digitized. It’s almost keyboard grindcore behind a metronome count-in — what today might be a click track with a digital boop — and then a few seconds later, the song crashes in. And I do mean “crashes,” as in, it almost comes across as accidental. In those key first few seconds, Godflesh aren’t trying to make some grand triumphant entrance; “Here we are, you didn’t even know you’d been waiting for us.” Instead, “Avalanche Master Song” excoriates hypocrisy in working class culture — these were the Thatcher years — and unveils a perspective that is urgent, clever, and vicious, which goes on not to spare the self from its own wrath, lashing in and out alike.
Godflesh are of a caliber of band, like Sabbath, like Motörhead, where the influence they’ve had is pervasive and monumental enough that there’s really no way to fairly estimate it. At least two generations of bands across disparate genres have benefitted by learning from their work, whether it was the rise of industrial-tinged metal in the ’90s (for better or worse; some of that stuff was and remains awful), a current wave of same, or the rhythmic cues that a group like Isis took from Godflesh and made their own. Of course Godflesh — which would see reissue through Earache in 1990 with “Wounds” and “Streetcleaner 2” added, to bring the running time over a CD-era’s 50-minute span — would end overshadowed by its successor in the band’s 1989 landmark, Streetcleaner, and yeah, fair enough for the continued relevance that record and the band’s subsequent work has had. But the EP serves as a convenient, potent reminder of how just because something involves synthesizer or keyboard or a drum machine, that doesn’t mean it needs to be void of emotion.
One of the most important aspects to keep in mind when listening to the Godflesh EP — which for context I’d recommend doing without the extra tracks included in the version above, though they serve a different purpose — is how raw it is. It was recorded by the band, and it sounds like it, but that becomes essential to the character of the release. So much of the industrial that emerged in Godflesh‘s wake was chrome-polished. Godflesh sound like they’re covered in rust and oil sludge. In this way, the intervening years not only makes these songs a challenge to the chestbeating heavy metal that was coming out at the time, something that dared to find strength in its own fragility, but a further challenge to those who would cloak themselves in a mechanized veneer to remain human at the core. In 33 years, no one has managed to do this thing as well as this band.
Between 1989 and 2001, Godflesh toured the world and put out six albums, the last one of which, 2001’s Hymns, led Broadrick into his next project, the more melodic and atmospheric Jesu. Godflesh would reunite a decade later and since 2011 have continued to tour and offer releases on their own terms — the 2014 EP, Decline & Fall (review here), was followed that same year by A World Lit Only by Fire (review here), and after several more years of shows, they offered Post Self (review here) late in 2017. It remains their most recent outing, but Broadrick has been active as ever, working under his own name, his alias JK Flesh and releasing Jesu‘s Terminus (discussed here) in 2020 as their first full-length in seven years.
I should note that the above stream comes from the Earache Bandcamp page. The band also has a separate Bandcamp set up with their more recent stuff. I know the label has been involved in a number of contract disputes over the years, but can’t speak to whether or not they have one with Godflesh. I just wanted to make sure you had the link to their newer material as well.
As always, I hope you enjoy. Thanks for reading.
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I need some Advil. Hang on.
There.
I went back to the oral surgeon’s office this week because despite the fact that the molar is now gone — bye bye — the fistula on the side of my gumline was still there and needed to be drained. I’ve done two rounds of antibiotics. I’m thinking it might just be time to have my jaw replaced with a robotic one like whatshisface from The Venture Bros., and yes, I know Venture Bros. because I’m a dude of a certain age.
Anyway, it continues to be sore as well. It’s now been over two weeks but the guy who removed the tooth called the roots “stubborn,” so it’s not such a surprise given the amount of physical effort I saw on his part that, yeah, I’d feel some residual discomfort. It was the pus that sent me back to the office. I saw a different surgeon, who first congratulated me on the size of the original infection in my jaw — “that’s one for the record books” — didn’t take an x-ray, and then told me everything looked good. That was enough to get me out of the office, but on further thought it just seems too easy.
This shit was infected for the better part of 2020 and I just couldn’t do anything about it. So I lost the tooth — I won’t miss it — and had the infection scraped out and the antibiotics and the bone graft, but yeah, it all still seems not-as-complicated-as-it-possibly-could-be-and-therefore-inevitably-must-be. I have my originally-scheduled follow-up Monday afternoon, and I just imagine the guy doing an x-ray, seeing there’s still more infection underneath, and having to go back in, scrape out the first graft, tunnel deeper into the bone of my jaw, which, yes, had a gaping hole in it, and then give me yet another graft at the end of that process. Doesn’t sound likely to you? Welcome to your life not as me.
Speaking of schedules, I’m supposedly getting my first COVID-19 vaccine dose this afternoon. I’ll believe it when they pull the needle back out from my arm. The Patient Mrs. had her second shot on… Wednesday? Yeah, Wednesday. It summarily put her on her ass for the bulk of yesterday, fever, aches. She says she’s a little headachy today but otherwise alright. Seems a fair trade to avoid the ol’ firelung there.
Yesterday morning, I went to Moonlight Mile in Hoboken and recorded vocals on a demo for what might be a new project in the works. We’ll see. It was pretty brutal, and it all came together on the quick. I reached out to them with the idea I think on Monday. In less than 24 hours, there was the demo track (and two more in the works besides) waiting for vocals. I took Wednesday to get lyrics and patterns, then recorded yesterday. As a proof-of-concept, I thought it came out well, but we’ll see. They might tell me to fuck off. Always a possibility. I have never been easy to work with on really any level. You may be surprised to find out I have a habit of expressing opinions. I know, right?
Plus I’m crazy and suck at reading people. So yeah, I try to walk on eggshells, especially starting something new. I get excited and forget myself.
In any case, if nothing else comes of it, recording screams and grows on that one track I did yesterday was the most fun I ever had with a studio experience. If it goes nowhere, I’d be perfectly happy to have that as my last-ever memory of recording. Even with the jaw pain.
I put more logs on the fire in the fireplace. It’s 9AM. It’s been chilly in the mornings as I’ve been getting up, so I light a fire and at least it warms my brain if nothing else. Then I drink coffee and get overheated. Then I drink iced tea and get cold again. Then I type some. And that’s existence.
No Gimme show this week, but I turned in the playlist for the one next Friday and voice recordings. I do more talking on it, which they asked for, in shorter breaks. And most of it is shorter songs. The longest I think was Earthless at 14 minutes. Compared to last episode which only had two tracks, that’s quite a shift.
Busy week as ever. More questionnaires and reviews and streams and all this and that. I hope you have a great and safe weekend. Stay well, stay hydrated. I’ll be around if anyone needs me.
Posted in Bootleg Theater on November 20th, 2020 by JJ Koczan
By no means has Jesu been dormant, it’s just been seven years since the last time there was an album out. 2013’s Every Day I Get Closer to the Light From Which I Came occurred even as project founder, spearhead and sometimes-sole-member Justin K. Broadrick had already begun to revive and push forward with his other band, Godflesh. That wildly influential UK act would release a live album recorded at Roadburn playing the groundbreaking 1989 Streetcleaner LP in its entirety, the 2014 Decline and Fall EP (review here), and two full-lengths, 2014’s A World Lit Only by Fire (review here) and 2017’s Post-Self (review here), as well as sundry other short offerings/one-offs, in the intervening years. As Godflesh ascended to priority, the two-piece also played numerous festivals around the world — they’d eventually do 1991’s Pure in full as well — and thereby further cement their legacy with a new generation of fans.
But again, Jesu — also stylized all-lowercase: jesu, and pronounced “yay-zoo” — weren’t entirely gone. There were collaborations with Dirk Serries and Sun Kill Moon in 2016 and 2017, and a redux collaboration based on the track “Christmas” with Yang Li in 2018. An EP, Never, landed in July 2020, and the awaited full-length return of Jesu comes in the somewhat forebodingly titled Terminus, an eight-track/51-minute outing that speaks of endings and beginnings, delves into personal introspection, and ultimately finds its place emotionally and sonically drifting, floating away atop a gentle sea of heavy post-rock. Terminus brings its share of lumbering riffs in its opener “When I Was Small” and its title-track, “Sleeping In” and the later “Disintegrating Wings,” and a churning rhythm is nothing less than a sonic signature for Broadrick. But on a creative level, he’s no more held to that here than he is the barking shouts and harsh beats one might find on a Godflesh release. Jesu is simply and has (mostly) been since its 2004 Heart Ache EP and self-titled full-length a different incarnation of Broadrick‘s creative process — and it should be noted that neither is that process so delineated in terms of two manifestations. See also: JKFlesh, production and remixing work done under his own name, and various others through the years, Final, Techno Animal, and so on.
And given that is has been more than half a decade since the prior LP, Terminus‘ arrival comes with due welcome. Tracked mostly by Broadrick himself on guitar, synth, vocals and who-kn0ws-what-else with Ted Parsons on drums for “When I Was Small,” “Terminus” and “Don’t Wake Me Up,” its general atmosphere is familiar ground for Jesu in emotive explorations of past and present, lyrics looking to moments of regret, wistfulness and sometimes self-critique. At one point in “Alone,” Broadrick asks, “Am I your sight?/Or just a slight?,” even as “Disintegrating Wings” seems to make a more outward-looking assessment, “Lies are your truth/Truth is your lies,” that, as with any discussion of too-fragile objective veracity, is easy enough to place within the sphere of modern social discourse. Whether that’s Broadrick‘s intent or not, I don’t know — I’d be glad to ask; it’s been nearly a decade since I last interviewed him — as the lyrics are purposefully impressionistic in keeping with the vague outlines of the cover art and indeed the blurring between styles in the music itself, evoking the same questions the title-cut engages as to where an ending ends and a beginning begins. Maybe we’re not supposed to know, and indeed the album does close with the hypnotic instrumental “Give Up,” shoving off on a steadily fading beat that seems consumed by a wash of looped guitar and synthesized melody.
That sort of wandering course, a build up perhaps from an initial experiment or melody that pans out in a direction as it goes, is a crucial foundation for Jesu‘s work, and that holds even in “When I Was Small,” which is arguably the most straightforward of inclusions here. It’s all the more fitting, then, that the leadoff track comes immediately accompanied by “Alone,” the shortest piece at 4:19 and a near-immediate surge of melodicism and hook-making that in other hands would simply be summer-ready pop, but here has a metal-on-metal clang of a beat keeping time to Broadrick‘s dreamy vocals and winding synth. Lyrics toy with rhymes — “well, tell, hell” and “bright, light, sight, slight” in the two verses — and though clearly the song is intended to engage with pop and Britpop in particular, there is an element of twist in terms of aesthetic and it holds to the depth of mix that the opener established.
“Terminus” (9:30) and “Sleeping In” (8:39) feel paired for immersion. Once Terminus has gotten its throw-you-for-a-loop first 10 minutes out of the way in “When I Was Small” and “Alone,” it digs into its own atmospheric heart in the title-track, not departing entirely from the weight of “When I Was Small” or even the shimmer of “Alone,” but using both as elements in its own linear structure, capping with a gentle letting go and stretch of silence ahead of “Sleeping In,” which unfolds gradually, beautifully and with a patience that shifts smoothly into the cinematic post-rock of “Consciousness” with a masterful touch. That sets up the final stretch of Terminus in the relatively subdued, minimal-feeling-but-not-actually-minimal “Disintegrating Wings,” and the leaving-here last pair of “Don’t Wake Me Up” and “Give Up,” the former of which dedicates its second half to a brighter-sounding freedom, and the latter which is all the more ethereal for its lack of component verses even as it holds its beat for much of the duration.
Put together in a period between 2016 and this year, Jesu released Terminus last week. I didn’t know it was coming, but I bought it and wanted to write about it and somehow this seemed like the appropriate way to do that. I don’t know what if anything it foretells about a direction for Broadrick — if Terminus is his way of putting Godflesh to rest for the time being and shifting back toward Jesu as a primary outlet — or if that’s something that really could be known at this point, if it matters one way or the other.
What matters, of course, is the music. As always, I hope you enjoy that.
Thanks for reading.
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Yesterday I was feeling in need of an outside reminder of why I do this. I was busy chasing down The Pecan, who for the last several weeks since it started to get colder and we haven’t been outside as much, has been furiously butting heads and increasingly rigid in his demands for things to be a certain way, and I saw some email or message whatever it was come in nagging about some low-stakes shit and I very nearly texted a friend and asked what the fuck I need this for in my life at this point. I didn’t, mind you, but the fact that I even came close to doing so is out of character for me.
I’m not fishing for compliments. I’m not. I get notes from people who say thanks for doing this and that means a tremendous amount. It was just kind of a rut week, watching COVID-19 case levels rise, putting the house back on lockdown as we have, kid not napping in the afternoon anymore, my fucking body, etc. On Wednesday I took a whole xanax and fell asleep watching Daniel Tiger on the couch with The Patient Mrs. and The Pecan before the latter went to bed. Actually got some decent snuggles. It was probably the highlight of my week. That and the Grayceon record, anyhow.
I don’t know what’s going on today. I was gonna take The Pecan and do a pre-weekend grocery run to Shop-Rite, which is apparently the only store on the planet that has the right granola bars — Amy’s Organics Oatmeal Raisin, in the red box — but I don’t know about dealing with other humans, especially as it’ll be circa lunchtime when The Pecan’s bus drops him off, and that place fills up because of prepared foods, etc. There’s really no right answer at this point for leaving the house, except maybe 7 in the morning or 9 at night and I’m hopefully asleep by then.
Ah hell, kid just got up. I can hear him thumping around upstairs and he ran in his closet, which means dirty diaper coming soon into my future. Better punch out here.
Great and safe weekend. I’m gonna try and take a few minutes tomorrow to get my head together. We’ll see how it goes. Hydrate, wear a mask and all that. Much love.
