https://www.high-endrolex.com/18

Desertfest London 2023 Adds Another 20 Bands; Lineup Complete

Posted in Whathaveyou on February 1st, 2023 by JJ Koczan

desertfest london 2023 final banner

Staring at the poster of the finished lineup, there’s nothing more to do than congratulate the Desertscene crew on Desertfest London 2023. You could spend an entire day at any single stage in any single venue and call it front-to-back a good time. I’ve been posting festival lineups for Desertfest since it started in 2012 and this is the biggest and best it’s ever been. If you’re going, I’ll tell you flat out I’m jealous. It looks like it will be an amazing experience, and right up to the last lineup announcement, it’s quality as much as quantity when it comes to who is playing, on what stage, and when. It is the heavy festival ideal; a lineup that crosses generations and geographies to give those fortunate enough to be there something they’ll never forget.

So that’s it. Go if you can. Here’s the reportedly final update:

desertfest london 2023 final poster

Desertfest London announces final bands and day splits for 2023, including Nebula, Dozer, Fatso Jetson + more

Friday 5th May – Sunday 7th May 2023

Weekend and day tickets on sale now via www.desertfest.co.uk

Desertfest London have announced the final bands and day-splits for 2023’s line-up, which will be taking place across Camden from Friday 5th to Sunday 7th May and promises to be heavier than the King’s coronation crown.

The final few bands to join the already stellar line-up includes the heavy groove rocking trio Nebula, Sweden’s stalwarts of stoner Dozer and the godfathers of the Desert Fatso Jetson. French post-metallers Year Of No Light will also be playing their first London show since 2013.

Also joining the line-up is Antwerp’s Gnome who will bring their dirty riffs, anarcho-punks Bad Breeding to get everyone fired up and acclaimed virtuoso Cellist Jo Quail to bring another dynamic to proceedings.

Electric Funeral will also be keeping the party going with a Sabbath covers set at Friday night’s after party and the festival is completed with Elder Druid, Kurokuma, Firebreather, Earth Moves, Untitled With Drums, Graywave, Mountains, Rosy Finch, Lowen, Homecoming, Wall and Death Wvrm.

Weekend and day tickets are available via www.desertfest.co.uk

The final additions join festival headliners and cult heroes Uncle Acid & The Deadbeats who will be playing the Roundhouse for the very first time. As one of the most widely-requested bands in the Desertfest-sphere, Uncle Acid’s trippy and melodic riff-driven hard-rock is uniquely original, yet an utterly timeless beast and will close Desertfest 2023 in a mystical cloud of doom and awe.

Friday’s headliners are none other than Swedish heavy-blues maestros Graveyard who will draw out raw emotion with their lyrical prowess & introspective compositions whilst Saturday welcomes back Corrosion of Conformity who have not been on UK soil since 2018 so expect big, loud and memorable things from their appearance at the festival!

Full Line-Up for Desertfest London 2023:

FRIDAY 5TH MAY
ELECTRIC BALLROOM
GRAVEYARD
KADAVAR
CHURCH OF MISERY
VALLEY OF THE SUN
SPACESLUG
ELECTRIC FUNERAL (AFTER PARTY)

UNDERWORLD
DISCHARGE
BAD BREEDING
DAWN RAY’D
KUROKUMA
TERROR COSMICO

POWERHAUS
YEAR OF NO LIGHT
SUM OF R
EARTH MOVES
WYATT E
IRON JINN

BLACK HEART
ECSTATIC VISION
PLAINRIDE
LONGHEADS
VINNUM SABBATHI
GNOB
MARGARITA WITCH CULT

THE DEV
DOMMENGANG
UNTITLED WITH DRUMS
MOUNTAINS
TROY THE BAND
DEATH WVRM

SATURDAY 6TH MAY
ELECTRIC BALLROOM
CORROSION OF CONFORMITY
CROWBAR
WEEDEATER
DOZER
FASTO JETSON

UNDERWORLD
UNSANE
INTER ARMA
GRAVE LINES
STAKE
TUSKAR
WREN

POWERHAUS
CHURCH OF THE COSMIC SKULL
TELEKINETIC YETI
THE NECROMANCERS
DEATHCHANT
EARLY MOODS

BLACK HEART
SAMAVAYO
HIGH DESERT QUEEN
MR BISON
OUR MAN IN THE BRONZEAGE
TREVOR’S HEAD
TONS

THE DEV
ELDER DRUID
OREYEON
ROSY FINCH
LOWEN
HOMECOMING

SUNDAY 7TH MAY
ROUNDHOUSE
UNCLE ACID & THE DEADBEATS
BORIS
KING BUFFALO
NEBULA
BLOOD CEREMONY

UNDERWORLD
SOMALI YACHT CLUB
GAUPA
MARS RED SKY
GNOME
WEEDPECKER
ACID MAMMOTH
GREAT ELECTRIC QUEST (AFTER PARTY)

POWERHAUS
BIG|BRAVE
JO QUAIL
ZETRA
EVEREST QUEEN
GRAYWAVE

BLACK HEART
CELESTIAL SANCTURY
MORASS OF MOLASSES
WARREN SCHOENBRIGHT
VENOMWOLF
BLOODSWAMP
BLACK GROOVE

THE DEV
THUNDER HORSE
FIREBREATHER
THE AGE OF TRUTH
EARL OF HELL
WALL

http://www.desertscene.co.uk/support
https://www.facebook.com/DesertfestLondon
https://www.instagram.com/desertfest_london/
https://twitter.com/DesertFest
https://www.desertfest.co.uk/

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The Obelisk Show on Gimme Metal Playlist: Episode 78

Posted in Radio on February 18th, 2022 by JJ Koczan

the obelisk show banner

This was fun. I asked the other day on the ol’ social medias for requests and wound up getting a whole playlist’s worth. It was a genuine surprise, but hell’s bells, there’s some good stuff here, and as I’m normally so focused on trying to fit as much new music as humanly possible into the two hours, the chance to revisit some oldies but goodies from Saint Vitus, Sleep, Mos Generator, and Throttlerod was great, not to mention the chance to shine light on new stuff from Steak, Weedevil, Kurokuma and Lark’s Tongue, the latter of which, I admit, was my own request.

I included the names in the playlist so I could do oldschool radio-style shout-outs, which was fun in the voice breaks, and I appreciated the chance to hear stuff I wouldn’t have otherwise, like Wallowing or Buñuel, the latter whose new album is out today on Profound Lore and is pretty wild heavy stuff. Maybe I’ll do this kind of thing from time to time. Next show I might just load up on psych tunes and let it ride. Ha.

If you listen, or you see these words, thanks.

The Obelisk Show airs 5PM Eastern today on the Gimme app or at: http://gimmemetal.com.

Full playlist:

The Obelisk Show – 02.18.22

Wallowing Earthless (for Matt McCartney) Planet Loss
Kurokuma Smoking Mirror (for Vesper Munkvold & Shasta Beest) Born of Obsidian
Weedevil Underwater (for Matheus Jacques) The Return
Author & Punisher Incinerator (for Dan Blomquist) Kruller
VT
Obsidian Sea The Long Drowning (for Martin Petrov) Pathos
Saint Vitus The Psychopath (for Steven Melson) Saint Vitus
Lord Vicar The Temple in the Bedrock (for Fabrizio Monni) The Black Powder
Throttlerod Never Was a Farmer (for Raul Stanciu) Turncoat
Snail Fractal Altar (for Steve Janiak) Fractal Altar
Ruff Majik Heart Like an Alligator (for Warren Gibson) The Devil’s Cattle
Buñuel When God Used a Rope (for Jasper Hesselnik) Killers Like Us
Steak Papas Special Custard (for John Gist) Acute Mania
10,000 Years Dark Side of the Earth (for Alex Risberg) II
Lark’s Tongue The Novelty Wears Thin (for me) Eleusis
VT
Sleep Leagues Beneath (for Steven Melson) Leagues Beneath
Mos Generator Outlander (for Jessie Avery) The Firmament

The Obelisk Show on Gimme Metal airs every Friday 5PM Eastern, with replays Sunday at 7PM Eastern. Next new episode is March 4 (subject to change). Thanks for listening if you do.

Gimme Metal website

The Obelisk on Facebook

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The Obelisk Questionnaire: Joe E. Allen of Kurokuma

Posted in Questionnaire on January 18th, 2022 by JJ Koczan

Joe E Allen of Kurokuma

The Obelisk Questionnaire is a series of open questions intended to give the answerer an opportunity to explore these ideas and stories from their life as deeply as they choose. Answers can be short or long, and that reveals something in itself, but the most important factor is honesty.

Based on the Proust Questionnaire, the goal over time is to show a diverse range of perspectives as those who take part bring their own points of view to answering the same questions. To see all The Obelisk Questionnaire posts, click here.

Thank you for reading and thanks to all who participate.

The Obelisk Questionnaire: Joe E. Allen of Kurokuma

How do you define what you do and how did you come to do it?

I play drums in Kurokuma and handle a lot of what happens aside from the music.

Jake and I met at a show here in Sheffield a while back. It was my old band playing and he asked if I wanted to play drums in a project he was thinking of starting. I couldn’t at the time but we stayed in touch and eventually ended up living pretty close to each other. We used to meet up, eat space cakes and listen to Electric Wizard and watch Akira. Around then I think we both felt the time was right to start something heavy that included other influences, basically encompassing the music we both enjoyed at the time.

Describe your first musical memory.

I remember my mum took me to a play group just down the road from where we lived. We’d all sit around on a big mat in some lady’s living room and take turns on various instruments. I guess they were mainly percussion instruments, as I can’t imagine we’d have been much good on anything else.

I haven’t thought about this memory for a long time.

Describe your best musical memory to date.

What springs to mind is seeing Dengue Dengue Dengue in Manchester after I’d just smoked some bud called Blue Venom. DDD are from Peru and we only found out they were playing after we’d played a gig in Manchester ourselves. It was serendipitous.

When was a time when a firmly held belief was tested?

Something I was thinking about the other day that seems related…

Moving to Japan during the third year of my Japanese language course at uni. I thought I knew how to speak the language to an extent, but being faced with the reality of raw Japanese, unlike the stuff I’d learned in the classroom, showed me how little I truly did know. It was a shock, a very steep learning curve and one of the best years of my life. Fortunately, by the end of it I’d picked up a lot, so the year had served its purpose.

Where do you feel artistic progression leads?

I feel what you’re enjoying at the time tends to dictate your path – your changing inspiration. But as you go on, you refine and tune your output so it’s more streamlined and ergonomic – you learn how to say more with less, or at least be more direct with what you write, but I think something is probably lost in this process too. Like how band’s debuts are often their most popular material.

I think the machinations of being involved in a scene, or the music industry, or wanting to evolve from a certain scene, are a force to be reckoned with. I think for some bands this can easily lead to a more mainstream sound. I don’t necessarily hold that against people, but I have the utmost respect for anyone who can maintain a genuineness and integrity throughout their career. I think it becomes harder and harder as you go on.

It’s an ever-changing journey until you want to get off.

How do you define success?

For me it’s about mastering a talent or field during our short time on earth, living contentedly and doing it all without losing your integrity.

What is something you have seen that you wish you hadn’t?

I remember I once saw a receipt from a sex shop in our house growing up, that I can only assume belonged to one of my parents.

Describe something you haven’t created yet that you’d like to create.

For quite a while I wanted to start a project that feels something like “The Pink Room” from Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me. Dirty, dark, atmospheric alt-country type stuff. I had brief discussions with Matt from Under, as he’s written a load of similar songs, but it never got off the ground. Then this very blog introduced me to Olson, Van Cleef, Williams, which wasn’t a million miles away from what I had in mind. Maybe I’ll get around to it one day. I feel this is a band I could do even after getting old so there’s probably no rush.

What do you believe is the most essential function of art?

It’s got to be different for every person, but for me it would probably be related to expansion of the mind/transporting you to another point of view, or to another dimension, maybe away from mundane reality. I like the idea that many realities and multiple levels of consciousness exist, you’ve just got to get there somehow, and I think art is a pretty direct vehicle for it, accessible by many.

Something non-musical that you’re looking forward to?

I just moved house after a trying few months, so I’m looking forward to getting to know the local area and its history, and going for plenty of walks in nature.

https://www.facebook.com/kurokumauk/
https://www.instagram.com/kurokumauk/
https://kurokumauk.bandcamp.com/

Kurokuma, Born of Obsidian (2022)

Tags: , , , , ,

Kurokuma Set Feb. 4 Release for Born of Obsidian

Posted in Whathaveyou on December 27th, 2021 by JJ Koczan

Kurokuma

Fair to say that a Kurokuma full-length has been in the works for some time. The band has been together for not quite a decade, but, you know, sometimes this shit takes a while. Some bands, they form and have a record out six months later. That’s fine too, don’t get me wrong — at least depending on the band — but I also kind of respect the approach of an act taking their time, workshopping their sound across shorter releases for however long and getting to where they want to be sound-wise before putting together an entire album. I guess you might feel more pressure that way, letting it build up over time rather than getting it over with, but listening to the first single from Kurokuma‘s upcoming Born of Obsidian, they certainly at least seem to have their shit together and know what they’re going for.

I’ve dug into various stuff they’ve put out over the years, though, looking back, most of what I’ve posted about them has been tour dates, so given that they have done a respectable amount of road work, I’ll look forward to hearing how it all comes through in the material. Also fascinating that they brought Sanford Parker to record, but I guess when you’ve waited so long, you do it right.

Feb. 4 is the release date, and the copious background below came down the PR wire:

Kurokuma Born of Obsidian

KUROKUMA ANNOUNCE DEBUT ALBUM ‘BORN OF OBSIDIAN’

RELEASED 4TH FEBRUARY / LISTEN TO ‘JAGUAR’ NOW

Equal parts primitive brutality and mind-bending psychedelia, Kurokuma will bring a fresh dose of exotic heaviness to the extreme music scene in 2022 with their debut album ‘Born of Obsidian’, set for release on 4th February.

Recorded in London with Sanford Parker (YOB, Eyehategod, Indian) at Narcissus Studio, the Sheffield-based psychedelic sludge trio have been sharpening their mantra-like songwriting since forming in late 2013, finally culminating in a debut album that melds their expansive ideas and abrasive influences together perfectly. The band comment,

“After years of silent gestation, our first full length will finally emerge into the blinding light of corporeal existence. The five songs that make up this album stand both unified and distinct, creating an edifice that transcends the moment and speaks to the raw nature of the universe. So turn your back on the madness; seek this column of unseen truth and elevate yourself from the primordial chaos in which you dwell.”

Always ones to avoid the traditional tropes of the doom and sludge metal scene, Kurokuma have often embraced different elements into their ‘heavy’ sound. This includes the worlds of Latin rhythm, kraut-rock and electronica, most recently evident in 2019 when they became the first artist to put out a metal release on legendary underground electronic music label, Off Me Nut with an EP titled, ‘‘Sheffield’s Best Metal Bands Vol.1’.

‘Born of Obsidian’ traverses various subgenres of metal while maintaining a unified atmosphere all of its own. Thematically it digs deep into the ancient history of major Mesoamerican civilisations; concepts range from Aztec deities, such as Tezcatlipoca and human sacrifice to the god of sun, Huitzilopochtli, to priests’ use of seeds and mushrooms in divine religious ceremonies. Tracks like lead single ‘Jaguar’ also reference the Olmec culture, which preceded the Aztecs, with the band adding,

“This one was written as more of an incantation than a standard song. The jaguar was the most powerful creature for the Olmecs. There were Olmec shamans who, it was believed, could transform into a jaguar, and this piece is meant to provide the soundtrack for such a ceremony.”

Listen to ‘Jaguar’ now – https://kurokumauk.bandcamp.com/track/jaguar

Obsidian itself is a naturally occurring volcanic glass which these civilisations used to create tools, ornaments, scrying mirrors and other instruments of dark magic. ‘Born of Obsidian’ is Kurokuma’s heavy metal-inspired take on bygone Mesoamerican eras, breathing life into these ancient cultures that treasured this igneous rock as an integral resource.

The trio was formed in late 2013 by guitarist/vocalist Jacob Mazlum and drummer Joe Allen in Sheffield, England. George Ionita was soon brought into the mix following the departure of their original bassist, and the die was cast.

The band spent a year crafting their nascent sound before releasing a self-titled demo in the Autumn of 2014, quickly garnering them attention and earning support slots with the likes of KEN mode, Samothrace and Skeletonwitch. Their first EP, ‘Advorsus’ followed in September 2016 on Medusa Crush Records.

Grinding their way through 2017 and starring in the indie documentary film ‘The Doom Doc’, Kurokuma hit 2018 hard with a tour of Japan supporting Conan, followed by a 4/20 show in Reykjavik, Iceland.

Summer 2018 saw the release of the much-anticipated ‘Dope Rider’ concept EP, along with an Eastern European tour over which the band played eight countries and appeared at the notorious Brutal Assault festival in the Czech Republic. Successful UK tours with Friendship from Japan and Boss Keloid finished 2018 for them.

Their 2019 EP was quickly followed up by an appearance at Desertfest London, and while COVID slowed things down in 2020, Kurokuma became the first metal band in the world to launch their own cannabis seed after partnering with NemeSeeds on KuroKush.

Originally scheduled to fly out to Chicago to record their debut album at Sanford Parker’s studio, the pandemic caused these plans to be amended, and towards the end of the year Parker agreed to fly out to London instead, making this the first record he has ever produced in the UK.

Kurokuma returned to the live circuit in 2021 with a crushing performance at Bloodstock Festival and more live shows planned for 2022.

‘Born of Obsidian’ is released digitally and on CD/tape on 4th February with vinyl to follow later in the year. Pre-order now: https://kurokumauk.bandcamp.com/album/born-of-obsidian

https://www.facebook.com/kurokumauk/
https://www.instagram.com/kurokumauk/
https://kurokumauk.bandcamp.com/

Kurokuma, Born of Obsidian (2022)

Tags: , , , , ,

Kurokuma & Under to Release Kurokunder Split 7″ Nov. 15

Posted in Whathaveyou on October 21st, 2019 by JJ Koczan

I played the crap out of the original Ecco the Dolphin on Sega Genesis in 1992, but I don’t recall ever picking up the sequel, Ecco II: The Tides of Time, when it came around two years later in ’94. No doubt I was too busy reveling in the easy access to porn and bootlegged software provided by America Online on my dial-up, finding beta versions of Windows 95 that invariably destroyed whatever Pentium PC I was using. Oh, also solitaire. Played a lot of solitaire. I was a pretty lonely kid.

What were we talking about?

Ah yes. Apparently the second Ecco installment made an impression on the dudes from Kurokuma, as their inclusion on a new split 7″ with Under is a cover of the soundtrack to the game, so hey, that’s fun. Under, meanwhile offer the eight-minute “Abyssal Gigantism,” which leaves one to wonder how they’re even fitting it on a 7″ platter. Science, I guess. The future is wow.

There’s a trailer below with a kind of atmospheric snippet taken from what’s been cleverly dubbed Kurokunder, and info follows from the PR wire as well. Have at it:

kurokuma under split

KUROKUMA / UNDER SPLIT 7″ EP RELEASE – ASTRAL NOIZE RECORDS

NOV 15th 2019 – VINYL / DIGITAL – AN 016

Two of the weirdest bands from the UK heavy underground, KUROKUMA and UNDER join forces to each release a brand new song for this 7″ vinyl exclusive through ASTRAL NOIZE RECORDS. Available to pre-order here.

Kurokuma follow from the success of their latest EP release Sheffield’s Best Metal Bands, Vol.1, keeping up their love of unlikely cover songs with a doomy rendition of the theme music from retro gaming classic Ecco The Dolphin: The Tides of Time. The song builds patiently around a swirling arpeggio, slowly escalating into a pulverising and trippy doom riff, leading to one of Kurokuma’s most melodic and grandiose songs yet.

Under push their craft further forward with their lengthiest composition to date, Abyssal Gigantism. Sonically and compositionally, this track branches further from their dense and eerie sophomore album Stop Being Naive. Abyssal Gigantism is a multi-faceted nightmare, taking the listener through unsettling twists and turns. Their signature use of harmonised vocals and unconventional time signatures are intact, but with a much more daring exploration of erratic tempo changes, recalling the wild ebb and flow of The Dillinger Esc. Plan.

Pairing Kurokuma and Under for this exclusive 7″ vinyl release makes perfect sense. Both are unique and talented acts that think outside the box and stand tall amongst their contemporaries. The two bands have already toured together and share a dark and twisted sense of humour, absurd lyrical themes and a daring desire to experiment and challenge listeners.

TRACKLIST
A. Kurokuma – The Tides of Time [5:32]
B. Under – Abyssal Gigantism [8:03]

CREDITS
ANR 016. Artwork by Mullet. Mastered by John Simm at Hidden Colour Audio.
‘The Tides of Time’ written by Attila Dobos, Andras Magyari, David Javelosa and Andy Armer.
Performed by Kurokuma. Recorded and mixed by Tich.
‘Abyssal Gigantism’ written and performed by Under. Recorded and mixed by Rian Gamble.

KUROKUMA
Joe E Allen – Drums
George Ionita – Bass
Jacob Mazlum – Guitar

UNDER
Matt Franklin – Bass & vocals
Simon Mayo – Guitar & vocals
Andy Preece – Drums & vocals

https://www.facebook.com/kurokumauk/
https://www.instagram.com/kurokumauk/
https://kurokumauk.bandcamp.com/

https://www.facebook.com/understockport/
https://www.instagram.com/under_ist_krieg/
https://understockport.bandcamp.com/

https://astralnoizeuk.com/
https://www.facebook.com/astralnoizerecords/
https://www.instagram.com/astralnoize/
https://astralnoize.bandcamp.com/music

Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Desertfest London 2019 Adds 29 Bands to Complete Lineup; Madness Ensues

Posted in Whathaveyou on February 5th, 2019 by JJ Koczan

What am I even supposed to say here other than ‘yes please?’ As Desertfest London 2019 rounds out its lineup and once again demonstrates its willful growth year after year, I’ll tell you this: there are a lot of bands listed below, and a lot of good bands. And if you’re reading this and you’re in London or you’re fortunate enough that you’re going to be in London for this festival, I know you’re hip to where it’s at. I get that. But seriously, if you don’t know, there re a few really must-see bands here, and it’s not all Amenra headlining. That’s great, and I’m sure it’ll be super-intense and very cool and all that.

But I’m telling you: don’t sleep on seeing High Priestess, BlackWater HolyLight, Worshipper, Salem’s Bend, Skraeckoedlan and Great Electric Quest. Some of those names are kind of buried near the bottom of this announcement, but really, you’d only be doing yourself a favor if you caught them. Let’s put Zed in that category too, and when they’re done, tell them I said hi. You probably already know all this, but I just wanted to highlight the point, since there’s a lot here and it’s easy to get overwhelmed. I get that too.

Kudos to the Desertscene team for focusing on what matters — the music — even amid pulling double-duty in putting together the first-ever Desertfest NYC, the lineup for which is still in progress. This fest looks amazing and I wish I could say I was going. Quite simply, it’s been too long.

Here’s the announcement:

desertfest london 2019 final announcement

Amenra to headline Saturday at DESERTFEST LONDON 2019 + day tickets and 28 more bands announced!

Showcasing the best of what the underground has to offer is at the core of DESERTFEST LONDON and this year’s line-up is the most eclectic, yet satisfying to date by ticking those “wish-list old school desert rock” boxes with Fu Manchu and Witch at The Roundhouse, whilst pushing the boundaries of heavy with the likes of HHY & The Macumbas and Grave Miasma. Year after year it’s about offering up a diverse bill that allows for discovery, whilst celebrating the musical foundations of the festival, and the final Saturday headliner and remaining 28 acts do just that.

DESERTFEST LONDON /// 3-5th May, 2019 in London
Weekend and day tickets on sale at this location

Desertfest are honoured to reveal that the incomparable AMENRA will celebrate their 20-year anniversary across the London weekend this May, bringing their uniquely atmospheric sound as headliners of Saturday’s mainstage and, for the first time in the UK, an even more intimate side of the band takes place at The Underworld on Sunday with solo performances from CHVE & SYNDROME. We would be proud to have Amenra headline Desertfest on any year, but to have them on the year they celebrate their 20th anniversary makes it all the more special for us and also the band themselves.

Desertfest are also pleased to announce a stage takeover from the mighty Riding Easy Records, the righteous west coast label will not only bring the sun (we hope) but a hefty dose of fuzzed out riffs from their roster. Headlined by rock’n’rollers ELECTRIC CITIZEN who refuse to be pigeonholed with a 70s proto-metal sound that chimes into psychedelic realms. Street-doom killers R.I.P will hit the UK for the first time and vocalist Fuzz is ready to bring it hard and loud. Completing the stage showcase are 80s punk heavy metal hybrids ZIG ZAGS, hazy Swedish doom newcomers ALASTOR and the low and slow psych goth-rock sounds of BLACKWATER HOLYLIGHT.

If that wasn’t enough Desertfest also adds thunderous space-rock psychedelic masters MONKEY3 to upcoming proceedings, the unforgiving primitive metal sounds of THE SECRET and LA party starters THE SHRINE, who haven’t graced DF with their amped up stoner-skate vibes for well over 5 years.

We also welcome back our long-time partners Human Disease Promo/When Planets Collide for another takeover of The Underworld on Saturday. Topping the bill, the riff muscle of Savannah, Georgia is brought back to The Underworld by the mighty bruisers BLACK TUSK. Dropping in straight underneath we’re living the doom dream of olde with Chicago legends in THE SKULL. Glasgow gives us two offerings this year in the form of explosive riff n roll filth-party heads ACID CANNIBALS, and to lower the tone whilst severely twisting some melons we also welcome their fellow city dwellers HEADLESS KROSS. As ever we chose to open up with a cataclysmic attack, hence why we’ve invited Brighton’s bleak hardcore oblivionists KALLOUSED to set the day into fittingly venomous motion. Bring your ear plugs, it’s gonna be a floor shaker!

And finally, Desertfest round off with the brilliant SKRAECKOEDLAN, BLANKET, SALEMS BEND, SURYA, HIGH PRIESTESS, ZED, KUROKUMA, GREAT ELECTRIC QUEST, PSYCHLONA, VIDEO NASTIES, ONE FOR SORROW, WORSHIPPER, MOUNTAIN CALLER & 1968 all added to the monumental 2019 line-up.

DESERTFEST LONDON /// 3-5th May, 2019 in London
All tickets on sale at this location

http://www.desertfest.co.uk/
https://www.facebook.com/DesertfestLondon
https://www.instagram.com/desertfest_london/
https://twitter.com/DesertFest

BlackWater HolyLight, BlackWater HolyLight (2018)

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The Obelisk Presents: Kurokuma and Blind Monarch UK Tour

Posted in The Obelisk Presents on December 31st, 2018 by JJ Koczan

kurokuma

blind monarch

This is a pretty good example of how I regularly conduct business with this site. I’m dicking around looking at Star Trek memes on social media and Jon Davis from Conan gets in touch and tells me he’s got a new management thing going called Blackskull Services and do I want to present a tour with Kurokuma and Blind Monarch? My responses: Awesome, and yes. Done. I did not at that point have to turn anything over to a lawyer, there were no deals made, money did not exchange hands. It was, even in the stale form of typed communication sent across long distances — telegraph by any other name — remarkably human. Three minutes later, I was back to Trek memes.

And nifty as they are, even niftier is the two Sheffield outfits getting together to kick ass, destroy minds, harvest souls, and so on. I’ll admit this run is my first exposure to Blind Monarch, but their story checks out with their eponymous demo posted last year, a dense glob of sludge clocking in at 12 minutes of head-stomper riffing plus a bit of chanting that’s its own excuse for being. Kurokuma, it just so happens, released their two-songer Dope Rider EP in July on Doom Stew and hit the road in Eastern Europe this past summer to support it. If you haven’t heard, it’s the good kind of cavernous and can be streamed in full on the player at the bottom of this post.

Proud to be involved in the small way I am with a run of shows that’s sure to be just an absolute wash of beer and noise. If you’re in their path, be in their path.

Info follows from the PR wire:

kurokuma blind monarch tour

KUROKUMA AND BLIND MONARCH ANNOUNCE UK TOUR

Blackskull Services are proud to announce the addition of Blind Monarch as the main support for Kurokuma who are hitting the road in Feb/March in one of the few UK tours Kurokuma they will be doing in 2019!

Please keep an eye on the Blackskull Services and Blind Monarchs event tabs on our pages for ticketing info and other supports as announced.

27th Feb – Newcastle, Trillians w/ Goblinsmoker
28th Feb – London, The Black Heart
1st March – Nottingham, Soan w/ Bismuth
2nd March – Bristol, The Gryphon
3rd March – Coventry, The Phoenix

In association with The Obelisk and Off Me Nut Records.

Blind Monarch commented, “As the frosts thaw, the Blind Monarch begins a pilgrimage from beneath the shadow of the Dark Peak. To spread a dismal gospel across a land of despair, all that hear the word shall fall under that terrible shadow.”

Kurokuma further commented “We’ve been wanting to do a run of shows with Blind Monarch for a long time. They have some serious gear and tone and we played plenty of times here in Sheffield with ’em so now it’s time to take it on the road. It’s gonna be our last tour for a while. Come and watch us get topless in late February, early March.”

https://www.facebook.com/kurokumauk/
http://kurokumauk.bandcamp.com/
https://www.facebook.com/blindmonarchband/?
http://blindmonarch.bandcamp.com/

Kurokuma, Dope Rider (2018)

Blind Monarch, “Blind Monarch (Demo)”

Tags: , , ,

Kurokuma Announce Eastern European Tour; New EP Dope Rider Due in August

Posted in Whathaveyou on June 29th, 2018 by JJ Koczan

kurokuma

Good word from the UK in that sludge rockers Kurokuma will release a new EP, titled Dope Rider, on vinyl in August through Doom Stew Records. The three-piece have a string of Eastern European tour dates booked in order to celebrate the impending two-songer, which is based around a comic series of the same name. They showed influences psychedelic and tribal on their prior outing, 2016’s Advorsus, which is streaming at the bottom of this post, and since that release, they’ve toured with the likes of ConanDVNE, among others. I wouldn’t necessarily predict how the new release will sound — and I can’t pretend not to have heard it while talking about it, because, hey, I actually haven’t heard it — but I wouldn’t be surprised if their road experience translates into an even broader scope.

We’ll find out when we get there, of course, but in the meantime, shows in Romania, Slovakia, Hungary, Poland, Germany, Lithuania and Latvia should bring them to the attention of that region’s passionate underground and help their cause generally. The extremity they brought to Advorsus was visceral in its three-track rollout, and as they center around a narrative structure, there’s an opportunity to bring new progressive sensibility to the proceedings.

So proceed. The following came in hot on the PR wire:

kurokuma eastern europe tour

Kurokuma Eastern Europe Tour 2018

UK psychedelic sludge band, Kurokuma slash their way through Eastern Europe this August, hitting up Rockstadt Festival in Romania and Brutal Assault in Czech Republic along the way. Playing alongside the likes of Obituary and Converge, this is their first time in mainland Europe. There will also be a performance at Berlin’s independent cinema, ZUKUNFT am Ostkreuz, in conjunction with a screening of The Doom Doc.

The tour is in support of their Dope Rider EP which comes out on vinyl, CD and cassette through San Fran’s Doom Stew Records in the same month. The EP contains two lengthy tracks in tribute to Dope Rider, a graphic fiction story originally printed in High Times starting in the 1970s. The release features artwork by the strip’s creator, Paul Kirchner; the vinyl version especially features a whole Dope Rider story on the insert. The EP was recorded at The Cro’s Nest by Slabdragger’s Sam Thredder and mastered at Skyhammer Studio by Chris Fielding.

4/8 Rockstadt – Brasov, Romania
5/8 Revolver Sound Studio – Budapest, Hungary
6/8 Garaze – Bratislava, Slovakia
7/8 Bar Pod Hodinam – Kolin, Czech Republic
8/8 Brutal Assault – Jaromer, Czech Republic
11/8 Zukunft am Ostkreuz – Berlin, Germany
12/8 Chmury – Warsaw, Poland
13/8 Carpenter Inn – Olsztyn, Poland
14/8 XI20 – Vilnius, Lithuania
15/8 Melno Cepurisu Balerija – Jelgava, Latvia

https://www.facebook.com/kurokumauk/
http://kurokumauk.bandcamp.com/
@kurokumauk
https://www.doomstew.com/

Kurokuma, Advorsus (2016)

Tags: , , , , ,