Posted in Whathaveyou on May 19th, 2023 by JJ Koczan
Two bands left to announce, huh? Well, having been in Baltimore earlier this month to see them, Holy Fingers would sure as shit be a welcome addition to this bill, and if Heavy Temple are back from Europe by then (and I’m not sure they will be), they’d be my other pick, though certainly Heavy Psych Sounds wouldn’t be out of line to tap either Ecstatic Vision or Ruby the Hatchet for those spots, again pending their availability.
Whoever remains to be added, it’s already a pretty sick bill for Heavy Psych Sounds Fest 2023 in New York and Baltimore. Bongzilla‘s new record will be out by then, The Golden Grass put out a banger this year, that Gozu album is a beast, so yeah, toss in Lüger from Montreal and The Atomic Bitchwax who are always welcome, add even more cool bands, and it’s a Heavy Psych Sounds Fest. At the Saint Vitus Bar. I remember a time when nobody went to heavy rock shows in New York. Not a label from Italy is hosting a festival in Brooklyn. Time is very, very weird.
I’m gonna say that’s enough since you probably stopped reading anyhow, skimmed the lineup and clicked off, either to buy tickets or elsewhere. Safe travels, either way.
From the PR wire:
Heavy Psych Sounds Fest New York & Baltimore to take place on November 10-11th with Bongzilla, The Atomic Bitchwax and more; tickets on sale
In cooperation with Saint Vitus Bar and Savage Party, Heavy Psych Sounds Records take over the East Coast with the first edition of Heavy Psych Sounds Fest New York & Baltimore, to take place respectively at Saint Vitus Bar and Metro Gallery on November 10-11th, 2023. Ten bands are already confirmed, don’t wait to get your tickets!
“We are stoked to organize one of our HPS Fests on the US East Coast for the very first time! After conquering the West Coast in March, we are ready to rock the East Coast too!” says Rajko Dolhar from Heavy Psych Sounds.
Heavy Psych Sounds Fest New York 2023 Saint Vitus Bar – 1120 Manhattan Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11222 BUY TICKETS
Heavy Psych Sounds Fest Baltimore 2023 Metro Gallery – 1700 N Charles St, Baltimore, MD 21201 BUY TICKETS
With BONGZILLA THE ATOMIC BITCHWAX HIGH REEPER THE GOLDEN GRASS GEEZER BLACK LUNG WITCHPIT COSMIC REAPER GOZU LÜGER + two more bands TBA
Posted in Whathaveyou on August 11th, 2022 by JJ Koczan
True, most of the lineup for Up in Smoke 2022 — set for Sept. 30 through Oct. 2 in, as ever, Pratteln, Switzerland — was previously announced, and some of it goes back to what the fest would’ve been in 2020, but I’ve got two reasons for posting it now. First, it’s a new announcement and the festival’s social media has fallen into some kind of digital chasm I don’t and couldn’t hope to understand, and second, that lineup is perfect.
Seriously, they say there are more bands coming. Don’t on my account. This’ll be just fine. There was one band on this poster with whom I was not immediately familiar by name, and that was Midnight Deadbeats, who released their debut album, Moonshine Carnival, in late 2020 on Sixteentimes Music. You can stream it below. To me it sounds like earliest Dozer and if you think I’m about to complain about that you’re out of your mind. And everybody that surrounds on this bill is someone I’d like to see, whether I’ve seen them before or not. Fu Manchu and Slomosa. Irist and Orange Goblin. Naxatras and Echolot. Stoned Jesus and Sasquatch and Mars Red Sky and The Heavy Eyes. Greenleaf. Somali Yacht Club, High Reeper and Hippie Death Cult. Fucking a.
I won’t get there — these Fall fests are perennially out of my reach — but god damn what a show this weekend will be. Sound of Liberation is handling the promotion and that’s where to go for social media at this point. They just made the announcement that follows:
UP IN SMOKE FESTIVAL: LINE-UP ANNOUNCEMENT
Hey friends,
Today we’re absolutely stoked to present you the majority of bands for our beloved Up In Smoke Festival!
Get ready for three days of heavy psychedelic, stoner rock and doom at the Z7 Fabrik in Pratteln, Switzerland!
Already (re-)confirmed for 2022:
FU MANCHU – ORANGE GOBLIN – ELDER – STONED JESUS – PALLBEARER – GREENLEAF – SASQUATCH – NAXATRAS – MARS RED SKY – SOMALI YACHT CLUB – ELECTRIC CITIZEN – SLOMOSA – MOTHER ENGINE – IRIST – HIPPIE DEATH CULT – HIGH REEPER – THE HEAVY EYES – CARSON – ECHOLOT – MIDNIGHT DEADBEATS
More bands to be announced!
Tickets: https://www.sol-tickets.com
Tickets + 3 Day Sleepover Ticket: http://www.z-7.ch
Posted in Whathaveyou on August 9th, 2022 by JJ Koczan
Yeah, totally. High Reeper and Hippie Death Cult, from Philly and Portland, Oregon, respectively, have both previously been announced for a bunch of Fall fests in Europe. You can see the names below. That’s had me pretty much waiting for this announcement, though I’ll admit I hadn’t pegged that they’d be out together, just that they’d be out. Full volume and safe travels to all.
I was lucky enough to see High Reeper at Desertfest New York in May, and bet your ass I’ll be front and center for Hippie Death Cult at Psycho Las Vegas, as both are the kind of band who, years from now, I’ll be bragging about having seen, not because I expect they’ll be playing arenas — though weirder shit has happened — but because they’re quality acts participating in a generational boom of heavy rock. And if you recognize the moment you’re fortunate to be living in, then all you can really do is do your best to show up and see it happen in person, because the terrifying truth is, it’ll happen even if you’re not there. Shudder at the thought.
Dates came down the PR wire from Heavy Psych Sounds. There are open slots, so if you can help, do that:
HEAVY PSYCH SOUNDS announce HIGH REEPER-HIPPIE DEATH CULT FALL TOUR 2022
We are proud to announce a super doom combo coming in Europe this Fall:
HIGH REEPER and HIPPIE DEATH CULT !!!
!!! DON’T MISS THEM !!!
HIGH REEPER – HIPPIE DEATH CULT EUROPE FALL 2022 WE 28.09.2022 IT BOLOGNA FREAKOUT TH 29.09.2022 IT TREVISO ALTROQUANDO FR 30.09.2022 OPEN SLOT SA 01.10.2022 FR ENSISHEIM WOOODSTOCK GUITARES SU 02.10.2022 CH PRATTELN UP IN SMOKE TU 04.10.2022 OPEN SLOT WE 05.10.2022 OPEN SLOT TH 06.10.2022 OPEN SLOT FR 07.10.2022 DE ULM HEXENHAUS SA 08.10.2022 DE MUNICH KEEP IT LOW SU 09.10.2022 NL LEUUWARDEN INTO THE VOID FEST TU 11.10.2022 UK WE 12.10.2022 UK TH 13.10.2022 UK FR 14.10.2022 UK SA 15.10.2022 UK SU 16.10.2022 BE ANTWERPEN DESERTFEST TU 18.10.2022 OPEN SLOT WE 19.10.2022 DE KIEL SCHAUBUDE TH 20.10.2022 OPEN SLOT FR 21.10.2022 DE DRESDEN HPS FEST SA 22.10.2022 DE BERLIN HPS FEST SU 23.10.2022 OPEN SLOT MO 24.10.2022 PO WROCLAW KLUB AKADEMIA TU 25.10.2022 AT WIEN VIPER ROOM WE 26.10.2022 OPEN SLOT TH 27.10.2022 CH MARTIGNY SUNSET BAR FR 28.10.2022 OPEN SLOT SA 29.10.2022 IT CECINA SCUOLA RITMI FUZZ’NROLL SU 30.10.2022 IT NIMIS LUPUS IN FABULA
HIGH REEPER is: Shane Trimble- guitar Zach Thomas- vocals Pat Daly- guitar Tyler Yoder- bass Justin Di Pinto- drums
HIPPIE DEATH CULT is: Eddie Brnabic – Guitar Laura Phillips – Vocals / Bass Ryan Moore – Drums
Posted in Whathaveyou on August 9th, 2022 by JJ Koczan
In a manner not dissimilar from how its California fests took largely the same expansive lineup from San Francisco to Los Angeles and Los Angeles to San Francisco, Heavy Psych Sounds is bringing a circus to Berlin and Dresden on Oct. 21 and 22. In association with Greyzone and ElbSludgeBooking, the label has assembled a lineup that includes HPS bands and others like 1000mods and Gozu, and that sense of community outreach isn’t to be understated. The synergy between booking and releasing is a big part of what has allowed Heavy Psych Sounds to become the underground nexus it is, able to do more for bands than many other outlets. The festivals in cities across Europe and now in the US as well are another extension of that.
That’s not really an insight as to the lineup here or the label’s ethic or taste — also choice — but the fact is this is Heavy Psych Sounds doing what it does. More power to them, and so on.
From the PR wire:
HEAVY PSYCH SOUNDS FEST BERLIN & DRESDEN full lineup announcement
Heavy Psych Sounds Records & Booking will smash Berlin and Dresden with their highly acclaimed mini festival-series, the HEAVY PSYCH SOUNDS FEST!
In cooperation with Greyzone Concerts and ElbSludgeBooking, Heavy Psych Sounds has revealed the full lineup for the upcoming HEAVY PSYCH SOUNDS FEST BERLIN & DRESDEN !!!
The HPS Fest Berlin & Dresden will be taking place 21st and 22nd of October, 2022 at the Festsaal Kreuzberg and Urban Spree in Berlin and Chemiefabrik in Dresden !!!
HEAVY PSYCH SOUNDS FEST – BERLIN & DRESDEN @ Festsaal Kreuzberg / Urban Spree, Berlin @ Chemiefabrik, Dresden October 21st and 22nd 2022
feat. 1000 MODS NICK OLIVERI BELZEBONG BLACK RAINBOWS ACID MAMMOTH THE LORDS OF ALTAMONT HIGH REEPER SLEEPWULF TONS HIPPIE DEATH CULT GOZU OREYEON WEDGE MOTHER ENGINE
BERLIN TICKETS PRESALE: https://www.greyzone-tickets.de/produkte/602
BERLIN FB OFFICIAL EVENT: https://www.facebook.com/events/1358860387859773/
Posted in Whathaveyou on July 15th, 2022 by JJ Koczan
I have said so many times in the past, but of all the festivals throughout any given ‘normal’ year in the sphere of Sound of Liberation‘s booking itinerary, I always wanted to go to Keep it Low in Munich. Yeah, part of that is because Colour Haze regularly shows up — kind of the house band — and any opportunity you can take advantage of to see them in your life is a thing worth doing, but also the general vibe of the artwork, what seems like kind of a laid back feel and intention. At this point it’s been going on long enough (without me in attendance) that I’m sure a community of familiar faces has been built up, and as the first lineup announcement for Keep it Low 2022 on Oct. 7 & 8 comes out, I’m in the same boat as ever thinking that if this was the complete festival, done, one shot, blamo, then you’d say it was looking to be a killer couple days in Germany.
That Friday lineup is unstoppable, and Saturday is more populated but right behind it with Fu Manchu and Unida at the top of the bill so far and a reunion slot for The Great Escape (feat. members of My Sleeping Karma), as well as US imports like The Heavy Eyes, High Reeper and Hippie Death Cult (waiting for that tour announcement any minute now). Maybe they’ll all go together and call it the Triple-H tour, thereby proving that they too remember pro wrestling in the mid-1990s.
Alright, maybe not. Either way, with more to come, here’s what the fest has to say about its own badass doings:
KEEP IT LOW – LINE-UP NEWS & SINGLE DAY TICKETS ON SALE
Dear Keepers,
today we’re happy to reveal the first bands for our upcoming Keep it Low festival 2022! Additionally, Single-Day Tickets are now on sale!
It was raining last night when I left the Knockdown Center. Pouring, actually. I had parked in the venue’s lot, which I may or may not be allowed to do, but no one said no, so there it is. Two cars were parked in tight formation behind me and on either side.
Got that picture? Looking at it from above, you had two cards that were like the top of a Y, but straight, and I was the bottom. I walked out behind two dudes and asked them for the massive favor of guiding me out of that spot, which they did, in the rain. I don’t think I’ll ever forget it. Completely above and beyond. They stood there in the rain and made sure I got out without hitting either of the other cars. If it was you, and you’re reading this, get in touch, because I can’t even tell you how much that meant to me. Nothing says community more than shit like that.
Slept an extra hour or so this morning, though my body still thinks 6:30 is sleeping in even though it was nearly 2AM by the time I went to bed. Coffee, shower, shave the nascent neckbeard, water, protein bar, try to feel human. As refreshing as it’s been to live music for a couple full days, I don’t feel out of line saying I’m exhausted and will appreciate the earlier finish tonight. I finished the macadamia butter yesterday, but ground up a bunch of hazelnuts and brought that in some tupperware for the car, had a few bites on the way in. Life-giving. No salt, no nothing. Just dry roasted nuts, smoother than not — enough to bring out the oil — but still with a bit of natural texture. Beautiful.
It’s summer today. Sun’s out, it’s hot, and I’m sitting outside at the Knockdown Center by the food trucks, kind of half in the shade. I managed yesterday to hydrate really well. Today that will be even more important. I woke up this morning with a sorer throat than I expected, gave myself two covid home tests, both decidedly negative. Nice to know for sure.
Doors in about 20 minutes, first band an hour after that.
Greenbeard
This might be the perfect weather for a Greenbeard show. Sun’s out, it’s warm and humid enough to sweat but not totally overbearing, and up from Austin, the four-piece were an immediate rager. Their new record has a good mix of melodic and harder-driving stuff, riff-led but branching out in the way of desert-style heavy and soul, and they brought some of that to what was a pretty quick set, but along the way had time to list “some of their favorite things” in “Don’t Get Too Desperate,” including queso in a list that would do “Feel Good Hit of the Summer” proud. The party vibe was immediate, really even before they went on, but when they hit it, there was no warmup, no give-it-a-minute-and-see-where-it-goes. Greenbeard play heavy rock and roll like it’s this crazy new thing they just made up and you need to hear it right now. And it felt good to recognize songs from their new album, Variant, even if they were considerably rawer live.
—
Left Lane Cruiser
Other than a few basic factoids like they’re signed to Alive Records and they’re from Indiana and having seen their name around a bunch, I knew very little going into Left Lane Cruiser’s set. I expected bluesy, given the chair on stage and the low drums. Washboard, slide guitar, dude rambling between songs most unintelligible. So yes, bluesy, in a hard-boogie kind of way. Fiery energy, light on frills but with a marked lean into cultural appropriation. Maybe just not my thing, but I felt like guitarist/vocalist Fredrick “Joe” Evans IV laid on the Bayou banter a little thick. Wabba dabba baggle clabby. They hit it though, and I’ll give respect to both the energy and the washboard, which was soon enough used to crash through cymbals on the drum kit. It was what it was, and maybe I’ve got race on my mind because of that terrorist shooting in Buffalo, but for as much as they burned, I was left kind of cold. It’s a packed weekend. They aren’t all going to resonate.
—
Mother Iron Horse
These guys jumped from Electric Valley Records to Ripple Music for last year’s ‘Under the Blood Moon,’ and very much compatriot to Leather Lung in my mind perhaps because I saw the two together in 2019 at the much-missed Ode to Doom in Manhattan. Maybe they’re friends. Maybe they hang out on weekends, I don’t know. Even their soundcheck drew people in though, and that crowd did not dissipate when the actual set started. The band plays both kind of music, sludge and rock, and they’re unrepentant in their aggression. They made it easy though to get down with that in the side room, which grew more and more crowded as the set went on, until, finally, the heat reminded me that I very much needed to refill my water bottle. They introduced themselves though by saying, “We’re Mother Iron Horse and a woman’s body is her own fucking business.” Both true, even if the latter was less immediately relevant to the set. I have to think Samuel Alito probably wouldn’t get it had he shown up for Desertfest, but fuck him anyway. Good to know where Mother Iron Horse stand though, and more heavy bands need to be unafraid to say shit like that.
—
Big Business
On the other hand, Big Business started their set by asking who was ready for a pizza party. Duh, everyone. A very West Coast foreshadow of Red Fang to come. I couldn’t tell you the last time I saw Big Business live, but it was probably a Melvins show, if that gives you a general idea. Jared and Coady — which I call them because they’re buds; we talk sometimes, and no that is not at all true — have their thing, and they’re veterans, and they played like it. I was dragging ass, admittedly, but I don’t think I’ve heard Big Business in the last decade and not felt like I need to listen to them more. Today is no different, and thinking of bands who came up around the same time in the early to mid ’00s, they’ve held up better than many and remained true to their ethic. You got an awesome bassist and an awesome drummer and if the central thesis is that’s all you need, well, there are probably a few two-guitar acts in this lineup who’d argue, but I wouldn’t, especially not after watching them play. Good band. Maybe a bit taken for granted, but they’ve only busted their ass for the last 20 years.
—
Stinking Lizaveta
The band I was most looking forward to today. Knew what I was getting, have seen them on multiple prior occasions, and was still astonished. They played as a four-piece with Paul Webb on second guitar, which let Yanni Papadopoulos shred and bounce and move wherever the very precise plan that’s in a language no one else quite understands called for him to go. They’re instrumental, but he, bassist Alexi Papadopoulos and drummer Cheshire Agusta all got on mic at some point between songs. Beyond that, the only vocals were through Yanni’s pickups and various woops and shouts while they played, and they were unreal. Radiating joy all the while, they proceeded to shred common concepts like what’s a song and which way is up and who’s rock and roll anyhow like they were so much fog from the smoke machine, each of them a genuine hero on their instrument and so tight together and so dynamic that each change brought new wonders. The word is unfuckwithable, and that is what they are. Not a single second was misspent, and they were so fucking good and their energy was so infectious that by the time they were done I wasn’t even tired anymore.
—
Dead Meadow
Feels wrong to think of Dead Meadow as the kings of mellow psych, if only because I doubt mellow psych is a monarchy. Whatever system of government the genre might be and whether you tag them as shoegaze or heavy psych or drift psych or anything else that might apply to a given languid measure, they’re masters of it. They eased their way into the proceedings with a jam and had some sound issues — bass cut out early, was fixed quickly — but they got into it with their trademark style, a kind of fascinated serenity set to groove. It’s still daylight, which feels weird somehow, and the weather remains gorgeous, but the crowd filed in once they got going and it was dead quiet in between the songs (after the applause, etc.) as those in front of the stage eagerly awaited the next dose of sweet fuzz that would emanate from it. Another act who’ve stood time’s test by understanding who they are and what they want to do in stage and in their songwriting. Mostly they want you to chill the hell out. And to aid in that cause, Dead Meadow are totally willing to close with “Sleepy Silver Door,” which is only right and proper. A band you always expect to be kind of a wreck based on how they sound but who are sneaky reliable. And oh, that jam…
—
High Reeper
If the phrase “fucking a” was a band, it’d be High Reeper. My first time seeing them live, and they were nastier than on their records but that’s certainly not a problem at this point in the weekend. A good kick in the ass is certainly justified. Crazy one two three to this part of the day, with Stinking Lizaveta, Dead Meadow and High Reeper, who play heavy rock but have a metal middle finger in the air just the same. Hot and humid in that room even with the door open and that suited High Reeper well, as one of my earplugs came partway out and the result was immediately painful. They’re of a whole cohort on Heavy Psych Sounds — see also: Duel, maybe Hippie Death Cult who signed around the same time — and you can hear their point of view taking shape in their sound. That is to say, it has taken shape and while “refine” isn’t the right word for something so brazen, after seeing them I’m left with no doubt they’ll continue to push themselves deeper into the emergent definition of their approach. If Greenbeard were the party — and they were — then High Reeper were the fight that breaks out after everyone is smashed.
—
Red Fang
Two and a half pandemic years later, you can still set your watch by Red Fang’s ability to kick ass. They launched their set with a barrage from across multiple albums and even when they “settled” into it they were explosive. Like Torche, High on Fire still to come, like Big Business earlier, this is an established act, professional, and they put on a professional show. They played “Number Thirteen,” which even with “Wires” and the requisite closer “Prehistoric Dog” would’ve been enough for me on its own, and the place went off. Of course it did. Not at all a surprise, but a definite reaffirmation of their place, which has always been on a stage. I don’t mind telling you that on an existential level, I am very much feeling the early finish tonight, but even so, having Red Fang on right before High on Fire on the main stage makes sense in a way the world hasn’t made sense in what feels like even longer than it actually has been. They’re a band that indoctrinated people into this sound in the first place, and as veterans, they reminded me at least of what a force they can be at their best.
—
Telekinetic Yeti
Oh my. You like tone? Telekinetic Yeti has some tone, and I’m fairly certain it was coming through three Orange full stacks. Statistically significant weight in those riffs. Obviously that’s the idea, and the Midwestern duo, who had an ugly split after their first record that seems to have abated with the addition of a new drummer, play it chunky style. They’re signed to Tee Pee, so there’s a New York connection, and they brought flood lights to counter the encroaching night. I’ve heard a lot of heavy shit this weekend — a lot — but beyond Torche’s bomb string, I’m not sure there’s much to stand up to Telekinetic Yeti in terms of sheer heft. Gonna need a forklift for those riffs, bro. New album in July will be one to dig into. If they managed to capture half of what they used to fill that side room for their headlining spot, it’ll be the kind of thing that’ll blow your speakers. “Stoned & Feathered,” man. Frickin’ “Abominable.” Goodness.
—
High on Fire
There is likely no hyperbole left that has not been said at some point in their more-than-20-year career. They are a juggernaut, they are marauders, they are both the unstoppable force and the immovable object. They are the single axe swing that takes your head off clean, first time. Speaking of first time, I’d yet to see them with Coady Willis on drums. I was always a Des Kensel fan. Dude had a style of play that was all his own. Willis, though, is a fucking monster. He not only handles the older parts but owns them, makes them his own, and executes the material with a vitality that pushes into aerobics. He and Jeff Matz as a rhythm section are well matched and crushing in kind. And what of Matt “For President” Pike? He is the master of ceremonies at the Red Wedding. High on Fire were so intense they were in a league completely of their own. Genre doesn’t matter. Nothing matters. Their volume was consuming — loudest of the day, I think, which may be by design — and their ferocity unmatched. As extreme as Desertfest got with some of the more death metal-style stuff, I feel like High on Fire added extra blast to their attack tonight and it was every bit as glorious as one could hope. The perfect ending in that nothing could hope to follow it.
—
Other Random Observations:
– Good music makes life better. Great music makes life great.
– The Yankees have been away all weekend and I suspect that’s made the drives in from NJ easier. Fortunate.
– Lunar eclipse tonight. Feels about right.
– I think I might end everything I ever write about Dead Meadow from here on out with an ellipses.
– Counted no fewer than four Obelisk shirts today, including one on Yanni from Stinking Lizaveta, which was truly humbling. Sleeveless, no less.
– Thanks for reading.
I did get to watch some of that eclipse on my way home. Imagine that for a second. Incredible. More pics after the jump.
Gadzooks! You’d almost think I planned these things out in advance. Please rest assured that this 84th episode of The Obelisk Show on Gimme Metal is as conceptually haphazard as usual — I’d say it’s as haphazard in execution as well, but Dean Rispler does a banger job putting it all together, editing, etc. — so it’s really just my end that’s a wreck. In any case, today begins Desertfest New York 2022 proper at the Knockdown Center in Brooklyn, and I’m thrilled to have this playlist as a selection from among the bands playing it.
Some are New York or area natives — Geezer, King Buffalo from Upstate, Somnuri from Brooklyn itself — but whether it’s WarHorse coming down from Boston to play or High on Fire, Brume, Red Fang, Dead Meadow, Sasquatch and others coming from the other side of the country to Orange Goblin making the trip from the UK, it’s a rager. The playlist is killer because the fest is killer. Simple as that.
I won’t be in the chat this time because, well, I’ll be at the fest, but I’ll check in if I can. Thanks if you listen, and thanks for reading.
The Obelisk Show airs 5PM Eastern today on the Gimme app or at: http://gimmemetal.com.
Full playlist:
The Obelisk Show – 05.13.22
Corrosion of Conformity
Deliverance
Deliverance
Torche
Mentor
Torche
High on Fire
Hung, Drawn & Quartered
Surrounded by Thieves
VT1
John Garcia
Chicken Delight
John Garcia & The Band of Gold
Sasquatch
It Lies Beyond the Bay
Fever Fantasy
Dead Meadow
Sleepy Silver Door
Live at Roadburn 2011
Brume
Despondence
Rabbits
Red Fang
Number Thirteen
Murder the Mountains
Somnuri
Watch the Lights Go Out
Nefarious Wave
King Buffalo
The Knocks
The Burden of Restlessness
Orange Goblin
They Come Back (Harvest of Skulls)
Healing Through Fire
VT2
Inter Arma
A Waxen Sea
Sulphur English
WarHorse
Lysergic Communion
As Heaven Turns to Ash
Yatra
Terminate by the Sword
Born Into Chaos
Valley of the Sun
The Chariot
The Chariot
Druids
Path to R
Shadow Work
High Reeper
Plague Hag
Higher Reeper
Greenbeard
Diamond in the Devil’s Grinder
Variant
VT3
Geezer
Atomic Moronic
Stoned Blues Machine
Howling Giant
Nomad
The Space Between Worlds
The Obelisk Show on Gimme Metal airs every Friday 5PM Eastern, with replays Sunday at 7PM Eastern. Next new episode is May 27 (subject to change). Thanks for listening if you do.
Posted in Whathaveyou on May 10th, 2022 by JJ Koczan
Still weeks away from hosting its two nights in Los Angeles and San Francisco, Heavy Psych Sounds has unveiled a similar strategy to take place this Fall in Berlin and Dresden. Set for Oct. 21-22, these Heavy Psych Sounds Fest 2022 editions are just beginning to take shape with this first announcement, as roughly a third of the acts and a headliner are still to be revealed, but there’s already stuff to note here. To wit, it’s Nick Oliveri touring and not Mondo Generator or Stöner. Will he play acoustic or have a full band behind him?
Also, the inclusion of High Reeper here makes me wonder if that Philly outfit won’t have a new record out by the time they go. Maybe September to get ahead of the busy Fall season? Pure speculation. After 2016’s High Reeper (review here) and 2019’s Higher Reeper, could this be the year of the highest of all reepers? Stay tuned to find out.
Whoever else ends up being included and whatever the answers to the above questions, one can continue to see Heavy Psych Sounds branching out across Europe and beyond as the foremost purveyor of underground heavy in the world. Ain’t nobody else out there putting out NebulaandOreyeon, Dozer reissues and Witchpit. Label owns one of the most crucial moments in the history of heavy music. It is astounding.
From the PR wire:
*** HEAVY PSYCH SOUNDS FEST BERLIN & DRESDEN ***
first bands announcement
Heavy Psych Sounds Records & Booking will smash Berlin and Dresden with their highly acclaimed mini festival-series, the HEAVY PSYCH SOUNDS FEST! In cooperation with Greyzone Concerts and ElbSludgeBooking, today Heavy Psych Sounds has revealed the first bands for the upcoming HEAVY PSYCH SOUNDS FEST BERLIN & DRESDEN !!!
The HPS Fest Berlin & Dresden will be taking place 21st and 22nd of October, 2022 at the Festsaal Kreuzberg and Urban Spree in Berlin and Chemiefabrik in Dresden !!!
HEAVY PSYCH SOUNDS FEST – BERLIN & DRESDEN @ Festsaal Kreuzberg / Urban Spree, Berlin @ Chemiefabrik, Dresden October 21st and 22nd 2022
feat. BELZEBONG NICK OLIVERI THE LORDS OF ALTAMONT HIGH REEPER SLEEPWULF + more TBA
