04.11.19 – 00.23 CET – Wednesday night – Hotel

Just like that, Planet Roadburn aligned to the hew-mon visible spectrum with the newly-relocated and rebranded pre-show, Ignition. Once upon a Roadburn or three ago, the Sunday was called the Afterburner. Now it’s just another day of the fest. Next year, maybe Ignition will be two stages. Then four. Then six. Then Roadburn will just be a week long. Then a month. Until, at last, three centuries from now, it will always be Roadburn and Roadburn will never not happen, and if our shitheel species is lucky enough to witness it, it’s as close to utopia as we’d ever be likely to get.

Spilled beer on the camera bag. The wafting smell of dudefart. Volume the likes of which vibrates the shirt you’re wearing. Pro-shop everything. It’s fucking Roadburn, children. Get on your goddamned feet. Yes. This.

Three bands held sway at the 013 — there’s construction at Cul de Sac; a revamp, but it will reportedly return — and it was Temple Fang, Great Grief and Hellripper to cast a spectrum of light, dark and blood across the Green Room for the faithful in attendance to bear witness. Was that you? It probably should’ve been.

Boogie oogie oogie:

Temple Fang

I was as impatient to see Temple Fang live as I am now for them to put out an album. The Amsterdam four-piece of bassist/vocalist Dennis Duijnhouwer and guitarist/sometimes-vocalist Jevin de Groot, guitarist Ivy van der Veer and drummer Jasper van den Broeke collided kraut and space rock visions with an even-heavier underpinning thanks to Duijnhouwer‘s formidable Rickenbacker tone. He and de Groot shared a tenure in hyper-underappreciated cosmic doomers Mühr, and Duijnhouwer featured in Death Alley as well, so there’s pedigree there as far as I’m concerned, but if Temple Fang had eyes for anything, it was only the silveriest of futures. I don’t know the name of a single song they played, but woof, they held it down in glorious fashion for the assembled masses. By the time they were done, I wanted to shout at the stage for them to immediately get in the studio and get something together. I’ll hope that while they do that, they also mix and master this live set so I can relive the magic in smug ground-floor fashion. They were the first band who played, and there’s no doubt in my mind that by the end of this weekend, I’ll still consider them a highlight. And sadly, they won’t have an album out by Monday either, so I’ll probably still be complaining about that too.

Great Grief

Good grief, Great Grief. Roadburn‘s years-since-established fetish for the Icelandic underground in its many forms — yet seemingly not all that many people in the actual bands — continued with the heart-on-sleeve hardcore four-piece, who brought issues of diversity and coping with mental health struggles to the fore in their set, even as frontman Finnbogi Örn batted some dude’s beer out of his hand, and subsequently broke a beer bottle on stage (which was swept up afterward) and cut up his forehead with the shards. I’ve never been huge on hardcore, but I’m not about to take away from the fact that Örn, guitarist Gunnar Ágúst, bassist Fannar Már and drummer Leifur Örn were unreal in how tight they were despite also putting on a show energetic enough to be called visceral. They even had a little mosh going in the Green Room, which thankfully involved no kicking that I saw or felt. It wasn’t even until after their set that some dude dumped his beer on me trying to get a drumstick from Leifur, who was packing away his gear at the time. Up to that point, they very simply put everything they had into their material and the delivery thereof, and while I wouldn’t call myself a convert to the style, I readily acknowledge the convincing argument Great Grief made.

Hellripper

For as long as Roadburn has had a pre-show, there’s been thrash. Hellripper, from Scotland, might’ve been the youngest dudes in the room, but the kind of no-nonsense, balls-out thrash. fucking. metal. they played is best meted out as a beating from a young person. They stripped the genre to its two-guitar essentials and charred it with an edge of rudimentary black metal and were nothing less than a total blast. Through such family-friendly hits as “Vomit on the Cross” and “All Hail the Goat,” which opens their newly-issued EP, Black Arts and Alchemy, the Aberdeen extremists lost none of their ferocity for also being a really good time, and they were a reminder that although Roadburn-proper over the next four days will unfold in a manner bound to no creative limits and celebrate artistry in multiple media sonic and otherwise, sometimes it really does just need to be about losing your mind and headbanging to a killer speed metal attack. Hellripper were only right to make the point, and their message was well received. By the time they were halfway through the set, Ignition was achieved, and it was Roadburn all the way. Let the vibe begin.

—

Usually, I’d get to the hotel, put my stuff down and sleep for a bit before the pre-show. Not this year. I’m jetlagged like a bastard and the alarm is set for a sadly few hours from now to get up tomorrow and put the finishing touches on the first issue of the Weirdo Canyon Dispatch, so with photos after the jump, I’m going to punch out and get every second of sleep I possibly can. Tomorrow is Roadburn. Let me take a second and breathe that in.

Thanks for reading.

Read more »

So, Roadburn 2019 has moved the pre-party from Cul de Sac — which was always packed — to the 013 proper, where it will be held in the Green Room for the first time. I’d expect that to fill up as well, as Temple Fang, Hellripper and one more band still to be announced take the stage to kick off the festival. It’s just one more example of how Roadburn keeps getting bigger. Sunday used to be the Afterburner, with fewer stages. Now it’s a full-blown fest day. The pre-party used to be two bands, then three, now a new venue. Pretty soon Roadburn is just going to be a full week long and will take over the entire town of Tilburg each April. You won’t hear me complain when it happens.

I’m thrilled to say I’ll be back in the Netherlands for Roadburn 2019 this April, once again serving as the editor of the Weirdo Canyon Dispatch daily ‘zine. I am honored and humbled to one again have the opportunity to be there and to do that work — I need to get an email out to the writing staff like yesterday, which is typical — as it’s a project I believe in deeply and an opportunity to work with a group of writers, photographers, graphic artists and others I deeply respect. Thank you to Walter and the 013 for having us back for another go. It’ll be fun.

With day schedules and the occasional TBA act still to come, I doubt this will be the last Roadburn 2019 announcement before April gets here, but the lineup is officially complete, so here’s how it rounds out. See you in Tilburg:

Final bands announced for Roadburn 2019

-Tomas Lindberg adds CRAFT to his curated event
-Roadburn’s pre-show party gets a new home
…and more!

Roadburn’s artistic director, Walter Hoeijmakers comments:
“Whilst this is our final band announcement for the 2019 festival, we’re still working on various other things behind the scenes which we’ll bring to you in due course, including the side programme and of course the day schedules. Once again, we’re delighted to have sold out the festival before Christmas and our gratitude to all those Roadburn supporters is unwavering. We’re extremely happy to be adding some true cult bands to the festival with this announcement.”

TOMAS LINDBERG’S THE BURNING DARKNESS

CRAFT
Rounding out the announcements for Tomas Lindberg’s The Burning Darkness curated event is the cult Swedish band, CRAFT. As ever, we hand over to our esteemed curator to tell us why this was such an essential pick for him…

“Craft was one of the first bands that I contacted for my announcement. I have been a big fan for a long time, and with the release of the astounding ‘White Noise and Black Metal’, it was a no brainer to include them.”
Read more here.

BOSSE-DE-NAGE
With each member initially only known by an initial, as though mere spectres channeling this labyrinthine music from some other galaxy, BOSSE-DE-NAGE have navigated the last decade expertly, creating five incredible records, of which last year’s Further Still is the culmination so far. Melding black metal, shoegaze, post rock and screamo, we’re prepared for a mind-melting experience when BOSSE-DE-NAGE take to the stage at Roadburn.

STREET SECTS
Check out any STREET SECTS album artwork, and you’ll feel like you’ve plunged into the gritty, harsh world of a hardboiled crime novel, a genre famous for its unflinching realism and toughness. Adjectives that can well be applied to the music this duo from Austin, Texas creates, as well. Music is often described as escapism, but when Leo Ashline hollers, shrieks and proclaims hard truths over Shaun Ringsmuth’s pounding, pulsing rhythms, it’s the absolute opposite – it’s as if someone’s forcing your eyes wide open, Clockwork Orange-style, to stare at the ugliest and harshest realities this world has to offer.

GLERAKUR
Founded by Icelandic composer and sound designer Elvar Geir Sævarsson in order to perform his contemplative yet titanic score for Fjalla-Eyvindur & Halla – a production by The National Theater – GLERAKUR (Icelandic for ‘Glass Field’) is currently one of the most important cornerstones of the country’s thriving music scene.

GLERAKUR’s debut album, The Mountains Are Beautiful Now – the soundtrack to the aforementioned play – is very impressive, and won Iceland’s prestigious Kraumur Award in 2017. Though the band’s cinematic take on Godspeed You! Black Emperor and Swans really comes to life over a full set, as we experienced at last year’s Eistnaflug. With two drummers, and four guitarists, GLERAKUR multiplied their hypnotic waves of dreamlike-atmospheres and harmonic feedback into such an overwhelming and mesmerising performance that we simply had to invite them for the 2019 festival.

MJ GUIDER
Melissa Guion will be at Roadburn performing as part of the Thou Artist In Residence extravaganza, which we are already breathlessly anticipating. However, we’re thrilled to announce that she will also be performing her own set – aided and abetted by live collaborators – under the moniker, MJ GUIDER.

If you’re unfamiliar with the hypnotic fayre of her 2016 release, Precious Systems, then the good news is that there’s just about 11 weeks before Roadburn to get yourself up to speed. Immerse yourself in the swirling landscapes and enchanting melodies on offer; lay back in the stream of lush instrumentation and let it wash over you. MJ GUIDERs output is a multilayered offering, and yet remains delicately sparse at times.

L’ACÉPHALE
Never the most prolific of bands, nor the most well-known, nevertheless L’ACÉPHALE have offered some of the most intelligent blackened folk music throughout the years. While this decade has only witnessed a few small releases – after Malefeasance and Stahlhartes Gehäuse, their only full-lengths, punctuated an unusually productive period in 2008 and 2009 – they have all been remarkable, and once we were made aware that the band was getting ready to become more active, we saw the perfect opportunity to satiate our hunger for more L’ACÉPHALE. With the announcement of their self titled, 74-minute album coming this April on Eisenwald, what better time to explore the abyss than now?

GREY AURA
As well as participating in the Maalstroom commissioned performance, GREY AURA, hailing from Utrecht, The Netherlands, will also bring their conceptual Black Metal to Roadburn 2019 on Sunday, April 14. GREY AURA are using their playful yet sometimes schizophrenic take on this genre (like some of the others participating in Maalstroom) as a vehicle to expose and explore the darker side of the mind.

ROADBURN’S PRE-SHOW PARTY: IGNITION
With a new home (the 013’s Green Room) and a new name, Roadburn’s pre-show party, Ignition, is primed and ready to get the festivities off to a killer start. Featuring TEMPLE FANG and HELLRIPPER – a third band will be announced in due course – Ignition is the perfect way to kick off your Roadburn on Wednesday, April 10 – and sticking with tradition, it will be free to attend.

Though there’s no release yet, TEMPLE FANG – featuring of Death Alley alumni, Dennis Duijnhouwer and Jevin de Groot – are currently making quite a name in the Dutch underground by way of hypnotic and overwhelming live shows. Channeling the spirit of Grateful Dead, Hawkwind, Blue Öyster Cult and Captain Beyond, some fuzzed-out rawk comes to the forefront of their sound as well!

While TEMPLE FANG will bring the psych and expand your mind and your senses, HELLRIPPER will be the perfect antidote for all that! If anything, the Scottish kings of old-school dirty black/speed nastiness will contract your mind into a tiny and super dense ball of steel! Formed in 2014 by backwards visionary James McBain under the spiritual guidance of Venom, Sabbat or Kreator, they’ve since expanded into a full live band and are now ready to tear our head off while thrashing like maniacs.

TICKETS & ACCOMMODATION
Roadburn Festival 2019 is SOLD OUT. Accommodation options remain in Tilburg and further afield – please check the website for more details.

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Temple Fang, Live at 013, Tilburg, the Netherlands, June 19, 2018