That’s a heavy night in June at the 2026 Västerås Doomfest, put on at least in part by members of hometown pummellers 10,000 Years and highlight the brasher side of Sweden’s heavy underground. If you’re gonna do that, you probably want Firebreather on the bill. Oh, and Spelljammer. Oh, and, yeah, 10,000 Years too. I could keep doing this if you want. Never mind.

You may have noticed Hästspark also played the Norwegian Tundra and Lightning festival, and they also played Truckfighters Fuzz Fest in 2023. Their 2025 video for “Sounds of Her Nature” reveals that the recording was helmed by Johan Rockner (Dozer) and that Robert Lamu (Skraeckoedlan) mixed. No wonder the song sounds so good. Maybe more to come in the New Year?

From socials:

VÄSTERÅS DOOMFEST 2026

Death Valley Productions presents in partnership with Merchprint and O’Learys Västerås:

FIREBREATHER

Sweden’s number one riff gods. Created from Matt Pike’s ribs, they thunder over Sweden, Europe and the world and put everything under ruins. Now it’s finally time to Västerås to get a taste of the car and we are very happy to announce Firebreather as the headliner for Västerås Doomfest 2026!

SPELLJAMMER

Lead-heavy and desert dusty riffdoom custom tailored for cosmic travel

HÄSTSPARK

Modern sounding stoner rock that delivers up to its name, straight in solar plexus

10,000 YEARS

Västerås own stonermetal heroes

HEXJAKT

Classic stonerdoom in updated blackfair gun

KLASTOS

Dirty chopper sledge with the fists in the highest chop

DARK OCEAN CIRCLE

Stoner-turned fuzz rock that always offers to dance

Tickets: https://billetto.se/e/vasteras-doomfest-2026-biljetter-1648277

Event: https://www.facebook.com/events/800990962617566/

https://linktr.ee/vasterasdoomfest
https://www.facebook.com/p/V%C3%A4ster%C3%A5s-Doomfest-61551903774974/

Firebreather, Dwell in the Fog (2022)

Hästspark, “Sounds of Her Nature” official video

With Slomosa‘s global takeover of the heavy rock underground well underway, there’s probably nobody better to have sitting at the top of the poster for the inaugural edition of the Tundra and Lightning Festival, set for this Oct. 3-4 in the band’s hometown of Bergen, Norway. They’re hardly alone, as the lineup revealed today shows they’ll be joined by Orange Goblin for what will be their last Norwegian show as they wrap their 30-year career arc, as well as The Good the Bad and the Zugly, Spidergawd, Audrey Horne, Thulsa Doom (oldschool, good pick), and a slew of upstarts further down the bill.

It’s a first-year, feel-it-out kind of two-dayer, but they’ve got the aesthetic and concept on lock, as well as the lineup, and for something that’s just months away from happening for the first time, that’s not nothing. With Begen as an epicenter for a rising generation of heavy rockers throughout Norway and Scandinavia more broadly, and festivals happening everywhere all the time throughout Europe, in Fall or otherwise, this just makes a lot of sense to me. Will be cool to see how it builds over the next few years as well.

From social media:

Tundra and Lightning Festival October 3 – 4 2025!

Ticket link: https://www.ticketmaster.no/event/344497371

Bergen Live and USF Verftet are joining forces to present a brand new rock festival in Bergen on the first weekend of October 2025. Tundra and Lightning is the festival that Bergen needs. The festival will make full use of the entire USF venue and will grow each year in line with the development of the USF Cultural Quarter.

Lineup:
⚡Slomosa
⚡The Good The Bad And The Zugly
⚡Orange Goblin (UK)
⚡ Audrey Horne
⚡ Thulsa Doom
⚡ Spidergawd
⚡ Heavy Lungs (UK)
⚡ Phantom Fire
⚡ Sklitakling
⚡ Last Hounds (UK)
⚡ The Clumps
⚡ Morax
⚡ Hästspark (SE)
⚡ Of All Things

For more info and tickets visit tundraandlightning.no.

See you in Bergen!

Event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/636105766049216/

https://www.facebook.com/tundraandlightning/
https://www.instagram.com/tundraandlightningfestival
https://tundraandlightning.no/

Slomosa, live at Regency Theater, Los Angeles, CA, Feb. 28, 2025

Following up on a first announcement that brought confirmations for Valley of the Sun, Khan making the trip from Australia, Kaiser, Dark Ocean Circle and Tidal Wave, Sweden’s Truckfighters have added three more bands to the bill for this Fall’s Truckfighters Fuzz Festival #4, to be held Nov. 10 and 11 at Debaser Strand and Bar Brooklyn — they’re part of the same building; it’s a cool setup — in Stockholm.

First among the newcomers is Skraeckoedlan, who this past weekend announced their new single “The Vermillion Sky” would be released on Aug. 17 as the first glimpse of their fourth record to be issued sometime presumably on the earlier end of 2024. The band’s last full-length was 2019’s Eorþe (review here), and they’ve begun to drop hints about concepts and storylines flowing through and between the records, so yes, I’m very much looking forward to hearing it. Sometimes waiting is hard.

Saint Karloff, the Norwegian doom rockers who issued their Paleolithic War Crimes (review here) sophomore long-player in June through Majestic Mountain, will also play, and Sweden-based heavy rockers Hästspark, who are new to me, round out the announcement. Hästspark re-released their 2020 debut, Jötunn, last year with their new drummer.

I put that record down at the bottom of the post for you to check out if you haven’t — I know you’re cooler than I am, but nobody can hear everything — and will of course keep an eye for more word from the fest as we get closer. Another announcement, maybe two, and they should be set, and November will be here before you know it.

From the PR wire:

NEW BANDS ANNOUNED FOR TRUCKFIGHTERS’ FUZZ FESTIVAL!

The festival takes place on Nov 10 + 11 in Stockholm, Sweden at Debaser + Bar Brooklyn.

Tickets from TICKSTER or FUZZORAMASTORE

Once again we welcome our favorite ‘mostly singing in Swedish’ band SKRAECKOEDLAN. New music will be out on your streaming platform for the first time in four years. They will be hot, cool and very much alive!

We welcome the grooviest band of Norway SAINT KARLOFF who will show us how Norwegians do it!

We welcome HÄSTSPARK from Sweden who are young, heavy and also very groovy. Don’t miss!

https://facebook.com/events/s/truckighters-fuzzfestival-4-10/634595348488406/
http://www.truckfighters.com/festival/

Hästspark, Jötunn (2022)