Got to the festival grounds early even for the yoga, but it was mellow and fine. You can always find a spot to sit before doors open. I didn’t quite have my whole wardrobe with me — actually I packed one tshirt too few for the trip and needed to buy one to fly home in; mandatory merch; I took care of it early — but I had my raincoat, my hoodie, my warm hat, my brimmed hat for the sun and my sunglasses, all in my camera bag, which with the camera as well made it pretty tight. So it goes. I felt like I was ready for whatever the day was going to bring, at least weather-wise.

Knowing that I’d already be at the airport in 24 hours put the day into a different kind of focus, but there was still a lot of Freak Valley to go and I wanted to take it in as much as possible while I could. You know how it is. Let me get through one thing before I start getting nervous about the next. Rare luxury, I suppose. I was beat, of course, but that didn’t matter yet either listening to the birds and somebody soundchecking drums.

It has to be noted that the Rockfreaks family — the kind, generous and passionate people who put on this festival, call the Vortex Surfer in Siegen home, and so on — lost a member this April with the passing of Ralf Stötzel. Ralf was a steady presence at the check-in counter every year here, and beloved.

In my experience, I never heard an unkind word from or about him, and he was important to this community. There were tributes set up backstage — a shot and a beer out by photos the food tent — in his memory, and prior to the Tranquonauts set, Jens Heide, who runs the thing, and the crew got onstage and paid homage as well, with no less than Bill late of Bushfire on the mic. Ralf is and will continue to be missed.

The yoga was banger and well needed again — thank you, Judith — and that led basically into the start of the day with Upupayāma, and then it was back to it from there.

Here’s what I saw:

Upupayāma

The Italian psychedelic joybringers have a new album out, but I only learned about it like 12 hours before making the trip to Freak Valley — this ain’t Pokémon; you’re never gonna catch ’em all — but while I hadn’t heard Honesty Flowers yet, I very much enjoyed The Golden Pond (review here) in 2022, and I was looking forward to seeing them. First flute and first sitar of the weekend, and those made the band’s loose swinging trippy shuffle even more engaging, alongside the keys, additional drums/percussion, and so on. I think Super Jet Kinoko had more people on the stage, but it was a party anyhow, in that very specific lysergic-jam-nerd kind of way, which I’m almost always down for at this point. I mean, there was literally a child skipping to the flute out in front. That kind of magic. They got it going, built up momentum over their time, but were still mellow-vibes, and I think that resonated well with the hungover contingent as well as those coming in fresh to the day. I’ll do my damnedest to hear that record, but they’re not a band I ever expected to see, and though I’ve said that many times in my life, each one makes me feel the same: lucky to be here. That feeling was a great way to kick off the afternoon, not the least after yoga.

BB BlackDog

Were entirely new to me. Two basses, one four-string, one five, and the four was played high on the neck with a lot of wah for a sound that was full in its fuzz but still gave a character distinct from the other supply of low end running concurrent. Then you get to the drummer, with a setup elaborate and weird enough that I wondered if he did the machining himself. High dose quirk, but the songs were there and as I soon learned in the merch, 2026 marks their 20th anniversary. So maybe I’m late to the party on the self-billed steampunkers from the UK, but it was a learning experience I was glad to receive as they crossed from heavy rock into funk, psych and other dug-in oddness. Maybe this year is more costumes, more willfully individual, though there was certainly that here last year as well. I don’t know, but the day before as well, I had been struck by the minute-ness of it all, how there’s music that makes complete sense to you if you have the background, the context for it, and if not, I’d imagine it leaves you scratching your head. BB BlackDog, which I’m pretty sure is how you write it, were one of those bands. I would say it must be nice for a band to be someplace like this, where they can be understood in a different way even than a regular show, but the truth is I know exactly how it feels because it happens to me too, and it’s fucking awesome.

Sergeant Thunderhoof

They put on a show, do Sergeant Thunderhoof. Their particular take on heavy prog rock, topped with the classically metal soaring vocals of Daniel Flitcroft was known to the Freak Valley crowd, and that in itself was cool to see. I caught Sergeant Thunderhoof in early ’25 at Planet Desert Rock Weekend in Vegas (review here) — they’ll be there again next January — and, well, it’s not like the wheels have come off as they’ve continued to support 2024’s The Ghost of Badon Hill (review here), so it was cool to see them again, even as darker clouds started rolling in and the wind picked up. Foreboding? A bit, but so was Sergeant Thunderhoof’s brooding melodic take, heavy and bleeding a bit where I stood with the second stage soundcheck, but my impression this time only confirms what I thought after the last one: they know what they’re about, they’ve grown consistently and steadily over time, and the songs stay with you. Pro-shop. Classy on sonic terms, but still probably a band who’d pound a beer with you if you hit them up. You should do that, maybe.

Fuzz Sagrado

Obviously it was good to see Christian Peters take the stage and play songs from his time in Samsara Blues Experiment. Of course it was, and I’m not going to pretend to be impartial about something that made me so personally happy. But having dug into his subsequent work under the banner of Fuzz Sagrado, which on record has been almost entirely solo, it was extra cool to hear those songs too with a full band bringing them to life. And the not-exactly-opposing-anyhow sides bled together with a flow that made the two entities make more sense side-by-side, that progressive character in Peters’ songwriting being the tie in terms of sound, with the performance aspect part of that as well as he and the members of Black Box Massacre have gelled as a lineup on their current tour, which as I understand it won’t be their last. So does the full Fuzz Sagrado band do a record? I hope so, but for sure I’d take ‘Live at Freak Valley’ for a start. Fingers crossed on that one. Only candy-striped drumkit of the fest, and put to wondrous use riding out the big groove at the finish, Peters on synth adding texture to the build happening on guitar, bass and drums. This was the last show of their tour, which The Obelisk co-presented, and that was another appeal, but really, I think the last time I saw Peters onstage was 2013 — he and I both had long hair — and it felt really, really good to watch him play. Dude has been on a journey to get to where he’s at, and Fuzz Sagrado onstage felt like a due celebration. Sure enough, someone in the front threw confetti at the end.

Håndgemeng

Hell yes, headbangers. Get it. You just knew listening to Satanic Panic Attack (review here) last year that Norway’s Håndgemeng were going to be a shove onstage, and so they were, running a line between party thrash and heavy rock without being retro either, going hard and giving every impression of not giving the slightest of fucks while also being impeccably tight. The rain had stopped by the time Fuzz Sagrado were done, and so there was little to stop the mosh for Håndgemeng, and that felt right. The kind of band who, if they don’t yet have a beer brewed in their honor surely will sooner or later, and they might have already, now that I think about it. They did slow down some, nestle into a bluesier roll for a bit, but the volatility didn’t just disappear, and their brashness hit at just the right point in the day for me, even as the came back in some force. I missed seeing Håndgemeng at Desertfest Oslo on the outside stage (too crowded for me; I do the best I can) and consoled myself knowing they’d be here. They had new material in the set as well, which was expectedly furious, and if they hit the studio with the same intensity they had onstage, it’ll be one to look for. No bullshit but drunken bullshit. To normies I bet they’d sound angry. Here people crowdsurfed. Do you understand what a precious thing that is?

Tranquonauts

I was there at the airport when Tony Reed and Isaiah Mitchell met, like, for the first time. This was Tranquonauts first gig ever, the band being the two of them and the cats from Seedy Jeezus: Lex Waterreus, Mark Sibson and Paul Crick. They had rehearsal on Thursday and I assume yesterday as well even though Seedy Jeezus played a set, but they’ve made now-three records together working remotely, so it’s as good a time as any for a first gig. They might’ve been nervous, but you’d be hard-pressed to find a more supportive crowd than Freak Valley’s and in addition to the band’s original jams — because again, they have a catalog at this point — they covered UFO’s “Space Child” with Mitchell on vocals. That’s three powerhouse guitarists, so don’t be surprised when I tell you it was heavy on the solos, but they seemed to be having a good time basking in all that shred, and the same was true of the people out front. There were residual big feelings following the tribute to Ralf, but Tranquonauts were so sincere in their revelry, that the emotion kind of fed into it, and at the end, with Reed and Crick leaning back to back on each other and the rampant shred — I think Mitchell would’ve kept going on that last solo — they all stood together on the stage, thanked the crowd, thanked Ralf and still had people cheering as they broke down their gear. I wondered when and where their second show would be.

Kylesa

I saw Kylesa 14 months ago at Roadburn (review here), and this was the second date on a run of summer fests split up between this month and end of July/August, so I was curious to check in with guitarist/vocalists Laura Pleasants and Philip Cope, and their ringer rhythm section of bassist John John Jesse and drummer Roy “Now You Don’t Need Two Drummers Anymore” Mayorga and see where the last year had brought them. Quite literally, to Germany from Barcelona, Spain, the day prior, but it wasn’t like they weren’t going to kill it. It’s Kylesa. There’s never been anyone better at what they do because nobody did what they do before them. And somehow they’re still a punk band. It’s kind of mind-boggling, but just because you see the train coming doesn’t mean it isn’t about to run you over. Watching them, obviously I started to wonder if they’re thinking new album yet, if they’ll take that next reunion-band step, but obviously they have more touring ahead of them and in a genre that needs headliners, they’re ready. With chug, and crush, and Roy fucking Mayorga. Monster band. And the legacy is what it is — that material still slays, speaking from personal been-slayed experience — but I mean Kylesa right now. They pulled what looked to me like the biggest crowd of the weekend, and then flattened it.

Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats

Their new single “Don’t Let it Control You” (posted here) heralds a return to more straightforward Uncle Acid craft after 2024’s cinematic conceptual Nell’ Ora Blu (review here), but I’ll take it however it comes, honestly. The UK garage doom progenitors are more than 15 years tenured at this point, and they’ve offered more than one masterpiece in that time — arguably the last record counts there as well — and since the first time I saw them in 2013, their evolution as a studio and a stage act has fleshed out all that potential their at-that-point-one-of-a-kind eerie melodies, irresistible cultmaking hooks, harsh-produced riffs and grit-tooth vibing had in their earlier days. I don’t know when their album is coming out, whether it’s tomorrow or next month or next year, but I know that when it lands, it will be welcomed far and wide. At Freak Valley, it was all there in that immediately identifiable fuzz. They opened with “Mt. Abraxas,” and if you weren’t headbanging, you were probably already back at the campsite. Special band, and a perfect capper for a weekend of music for, of and by the underground.

—

I leave to go to the airport in about an hour and a half, which should give me time to finish packing and maybe slam some of the scrambled eggs downstairs at the Hotel Ewerts before my ride comes. I think.

Thank you for reading.

Thank you to Jens Heide and the Freak Valley/Rockfreaks family. Thanks Alex, Marcus, Pia, everybody backstage. Thanks Judith for the yoga, and Pete for being my yoga buddy once again. Ralf would’ve been proud. Thanks Bill for making it out on Sunday. Thanks Tim for meeting early for breakfast yesterday so I could stll have time to sort photos.

Thanks to The Patient Mrs. as always, and to my mother and sister. It’s only been a few days, but I look forward to getting back home and seeing my family, even if it means another flight between now and when I can do so.

This is a special fest, in a special place, put together by special people. The crowd is familiar faces, smiling. I was glad to be back. Next year, if I’m so lucky again, a note to myself to bring the big lens.

More pics after the jump.

Read more »

The upcoming Blue Moon Festival will be the fourth edition of the Cottbus, Germany-based heavyfest, and it’s been tagged ‘metamorphosis.’ Well, I’ve read a bit about butterflies in my time, and if it’s intended to mark the moment where, having spent the last three years getting their feet under them, likely learning lessons hard, easy, important and silly along the way, and standing ready to declare themselves among the European summer fest circuit — as opposed to the Spring one earlier or the Fall one that follows — so be it. Of course, the backing of Sound of Liberation always helps, and as you can see in the lineup, whatever the tagline is intended to convey, they’re not screwing around.

The first announcement brought most of what you see below on the poster; Fu Manchu, 1000mods, Dead Meadow, Sons of Arrakis, Acid Sitter and so on. They follow-up by continuing to branch out stylistically, with Kylesa and Wolves in the Throne Room, The Tazers and From Yuggoth joining the ranks. I don’t know much about where the fest is held, but there are camping options if that’s your thing, and you’ll note it’s three days and not four, so if you’re the type to worry about abandoning your family for a week so you can screw off at a music fest and have a good time while they continue the normal days’ drudgery, perhaps this is an easier sell than some. If that happens to be your situation.

This came from socials:

The cycle continues.

With our second band announcement, Blue Moon Festival 2026 further unfolds its theme Metamorphosis. More heavy and psychedelic sounds are added to the lineup, expanding the constellation for three days of riffs, atmosphere and underground culture.

Line-Up:

Fu Manchu
Kylesa
1000mods
Wolves in the Throne Room
Dead Meadow
Mephistofeles
Sons of Arrakis
Green Milk From The Planet Orange
Skyjoggers
Zerre
The Tazers
Cursed to Occult
Narbo Dacal
Acid Sitter
From Yuggoth

More bands will be announced soon.

Join us July 31 – August 2, 2026 at Strombad Cottbus for the next chapter of Blue Moon Festival.

https://www.bluemoonfestival.de/
https://www.instagram.com/blue_moon_festival
https://www.facebook.com/bluemoonfest

Kylesa, “Tired Climb / Don’t Look Back” live at Hellfest 2025

Branca, killing it again with the SonicBlast Fest poster art. Year after year, that partnership continues to flourish.

I was lucky enough to be invited to Portugal for SonicBlast Fest in 2023, and it was a great time from the pre-show through the end of the last night. I’m sick as a dog at the moment, so thinking of breathing the fresh air on the Atlantic Coast is perhaps a little more vivid in my mind, as much as I can smell anything right now or keep my head up while I’m typing or stay awake, etc. I took some DayQuil and I’ll go lie down in a bit.

The assemblage here is rad. You don’t need me to tell you having Turbonegro, High on Fire, Elder, Kylesa, Conan and Dead Meadow on the same bill is going to result in a good time. It’s something of a given. Cool to see Necrot included though. I like a bit of riffy death metal, and SonicBlast hasn’t been shy in years past about reaching outside the heavy rock umbrella for punk and hardcore — note The Casualties here — so an extension of that makes sense. Note also industrial punker N8noface and Early Moods. Both of those I believe are managed by Daniel from RidingEasy Records, so I can’t help but wonder if they might be touring together next summer. Guess we’ll find out eventually.

Also Jon Davis from Conan pulling double-duty with an Ungraven set, and more still to come. The following comes from social media:

Get ready for the 14th edition of SonicBlast Fest ⚡️

We’re thrilled to announce the first confirmed bands:

Turbonegro
High On Fire
Chat Pile
Deafheaven
Kylesa
The Casualties
Midnight
Frankie And The Witch Fingers
Snapped Ankles

Elder
Levitation Room
Dead Meadow
Conan
N8noface
Adult.
Necrot

Margarita Witch Cult
Early Moods
Primitive Ring
Goya
Hög
Ungraven

Tickets are already on sale at Bol and Masqueticket

https://garboyl.bol.pt/

https://www.masqueticket.com/en/entradas/sonicblast-festival-portugal-bilhetes-tickets-2026

Artwork by @branca_studio

https://sonicblastfestival.com/
https://www.instagram.com/sonicblast_fest
https://www.facebook.com/sonicblastmoledo/

Elder, Liminality/Dream State Return (2025)

The Marienthal, Germany-based Hoflärm festival has made its initial lineup announcement for August 2026, putting it ahead of some of the summer’s events in Europe while giving a sense of who’s going to be touring when. Dead Meadow, Kyesa and Caste Rat spending time on the road next year will be continuing on from active 2025s for each, ditto Conan on that. Add to that Kadavar at the top of the bill, who released two albums this year, and you can see the beginnings of another killer weekend even before you get to the thread of punk here or the prospect of more announcements to come.

I’m always interested to see who’s playing where, but if you’ve ever caught pictures or video from Hoflärm, it looks like a vibe’s vibe. The festival’s announcement from socials follows here, along with the ticket link and such:

Hoflärm 2026 – First Bands + Pre Sale Start – Habt ihr Bock oder was ?

We’ve been holding this back for a while, and now it’s finally time. The first wave of bands for the 2026 Hoflärm Festival is here. Tickets are live through: https://hoflaerm.ticket.io/yozKZeOt/?

Kadavar x Hoflärm – It’s one of those things that just has to happen in life, just like Fries and Mayonnaise. Berlin’s heavy rock powerhouse is going to come to Marienthal. Get ready to see Kadavar in a one-of-a-kind setting on our farm. You know this is going to have a truly special vibe. We’re really excited to welcome the four Berliners in 2026!

Kylesa A mix of sludge, psych, and raw energy. A band that always pushes their sound forward. We’re truly honored to welcome this iconic band to our place.
True to their name, Midnight will unleash a special anniversary performance of Satanic Royalty at… you guessed it, midnight Blackened speed metal in its purest form. Fast, dirty, and unapologetically wild.

Dead Meadow Heavy, dreamy, and hypnotic. A blend of psych rock and hazy desert vibes.

Conan Crushing, slow, and loud. Doom metal distilled down to its heaviest essence. Bring your Axe for Caveman Battle Doom!

Meatbodies Garage rock twisted with psych and noise. Catchy, chaotic, and full of character.

Castle Rat Dark, theatrical, and riff-driven. You know what you get, this will be a true battle on the fields of marry valley.

Suck High-energy punk rock with no frills and no breaks. Sharp, fast, and fun. We cant wait for Gabba Gabba.

Cardiel A two-piece from Mexico that mixes punk, psych, and surf with serious intensity.

Mother Bear Dark, immersive, and just a little untamed. Mother Bear’s music drifts in like a storm you didn’t see coming. You have to check this band, its probably one of the most underrated german underground bands.

There’s plenty more on the way! We have additional headliners and co-headliners, plus some truly special up-and-coming bands. But this is just the start of 2026. Tickets are available now via the link in our bio.

As every year: Heinzelmännchen Hofcafe, Freida Bar and FatStreetBoyz will serve you cool drinks and delicious food 🖤

https://www.hoflaerm.de/
https://instagram.com/hoflaerm/
https://www.facebook.com/Hofcafe.Hoflaerm

Kadavar, Kids Abandoning Destiny Among Vanity and Ruin (2025)

Hard not to get excited at the prospect of covering Freak Valley again next year. I’ve been four times now, and at the risk of honesty, I’ll tell you it’s beginning to feel a bit like a home away therefrom. A first lineup announcement for 2026 brings Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats, Kylesa, Tranquonauts (that’s Seedy Jeezus with Tony Reed and Isaiah Mitchell), Stoned Jesus, Coltaine, Håndgemeng, The Neptune Power Federation, Ratsalad and BB Blackdog, and if that’s not enough to get you to mark your calendar, it probably should be. If nothing else, Freak Valley has become a regular quick-sellout, so if you’re hemming and hawing, probably best you don’t.

They’ve got local ticket sales starting this weekend and online sales to follow. I could sit here and recommend the experience (which I do, heartily), but if you want to check out the coverage of this year’s Freak Valley, that’s here as well. The following was posted on socials just a bit ago:

FREAK VALLEY FESTIVAL 2026 – FIRST BAND ANNOUNCEMENT!

It’s that time again, Freaks – the first wave of bands for @freakvalleyfestival 2026 is here, and it’s already looking massive!

Leading the charge:

@uncleacidband – the masters of vintage doom and twisted psychedelia are finally coming to Freak Valley! Expect pure darkness, fuzzed-out riffs, and that unmistakable cult vibe.

@kylesa_band – sludge, groove, and heavy energy straight from Savannah! Their return to the stage is something we’ve all been waiting for.

Tranqonauts – a true supergroup featuring @tony_reed2112 , @isaiahmitchellsounds (@earthlessrips ), and members of @seedyjeezus ! You know what that means: cosmic jams, heavy riffs, and deep space energy.

Also joining the Freak Valley family in 2026:
@stonedjesusband , @theneptunepowerfederation , @coltaine , @handgemeng , @we_are_ratsalad & BB Blackdog!

Get ready for another wild ride through the worlds of heavy psych, stoner, doom, and everything in between. 🤘

🎟️ TICKET INFO:

This Sunday at the @vortex_surfer_musikclub in Siegen, everyone attending the @fomiesband show can buy up to 2 Freak Valley 2026 tickets before the online sale starts! So if you’ve got a ticket for Sunday, you’ve got early access – no waiting, no stress. 🤝🏻

See you in the valley, Freaks!

Design: @branca_studio

http://www.freakvalley.de/
http://www.rockfreaks.de/
https://www.instagram.com/freakvalleyfestival/
https://www.facebook.com/freakvalley

Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats, Live in San Francisco, CA, 02.21.25

Not too much wandering for today, but I did check out the Archiving Heaviness showcase downstairs at the 013 full of the cultural detritus of past editions. There were even a couple old Weirdo Canyon Dispatch issues in there. It’s nice to think of that as being a part of this whole thing when it was. It was a ‘zine in the truest sense of being a labor of love, and apart from the fact that it was about the fest, I think that’s what tied it most into the fold of Roadburn.

I missed the opening of the art gallery by minutes, but got to see Walter say a few words to the first-timers meeting, welcoming them to the festival and encouraging them to interact with each other, go off schedule and wander, and so on. I also signed the guestbook. The meeting was downstairs at the 013 at the bar near the Archiving Heaviness displays. Walter’s right, of course, about all of it, and it’s the most Roadburn thing ever that the guy who started the fest would take time 25-plus years later to greet the people who’ve never been here before. Roadburn is a lot. It can be overwhelming. Walter radiates a warmth and kindness few people know. When he welcomes you, you stay welcomed.

Xiu Xiu were going on up at the Koepelhal, on the The Terminal stage, but I hadn’t had endnote half a meal since Tuesday, so I grabbed a few slices of kaas and some greens for nutritional reconciliation. Lee and I had come to the office this morning to put some shortb text in the TMSQ app that has the schedule and all that info, and that went quickly enough that I’d gone back to the hotel to sit quietly for a bit, nod off, answer email, etc. I was dragging before food. Headache, a little nauseous. But the thing about Roadburn is no matter how crowded it gets, there are always pockets and places where you can be. If it feels like the whole world is in one place and the line’s out the door and it feels like too much, all you ever have to do is step back, realize that, and find a corner, or a chair, or a bench, whatever it is, and take the minute you need.

For me, that’s usually up on the balcony of the 013, though of course there are times where that’s packed as well. You make it work.

In the main hall, Costin Chioreanu’s animated film ‘The Hunter’ screened to open the day. Oranssi Pazuzu were soon to go on to perform last Fall’s Muuntautuja in its entirety. The one led very well into the other. I remember when Oranssi Pazuzu were here last, circa 2012 or thereabouts — Archiving Heaviness has a wall outside Koepelhal with all the years’ lineups printed on it; I should check that — they were at Het Patronaat, and it was a very big deal. Line down the block. Good to know the ensuing decade-plus hasn’t dulled the reception. I took one song’s worth of pictures in the photo pit, and made my way up to the balcony, because when engaging with intermittently furious groundbreaking cosmic experimentalist black metal, I’ll take the bird’s eye view anytime.

No doubt I was in the minority among the room for not knowing the album, but I was fine hearing a thing for the first time and appreciating the unexpected twists that have helped the band become a generational presence, like the intro to the first song sounding like Nine Inch Nails’ “Mr. Self-Destruct,” or how prone they were to locking in a bigger groove when not channeling dissonance or shred, or, more likely both. I don’t know that they’ll ever be my ‘thing’ as far as that goes, but that didn’t keep it from being awesome.

Spent a few minutes in my own head sitting upstairs on the balcony. Shit self-talk, just tearing myself down because I worry about THINGS and it’s a terrifying moment. Thinking of seeing Dool on the big stage last year, feeling that empowerment resonating, was restorative. Oranssi Pazuzu are on a different trip entirely, and I didn’t expect the same experience twice because I’ve been to Roadburn before and I know better, but there was a sense of freedom conveyed alongside so much catharsis, and I tried my best to home in on that. Also this weird thing had been happening where every time I sat in a place for more than five minutes, no matter what else was going on or its volume level related to human tolerances, I started to fall asleep. I assure you that’s not a dig on the set.

Oranssi Pazuzu finished droned out and fair enough. I thought about popping over to the Next Stage for Toby Driver’s new trio, Alora Crucible, but there was a line outside the room by the time I got there, so I broke off downstairs for a water and then was back up to the Main Stage for the coming of Kylesa. I don’t know how many times I saw them during their ‘original run’ in various lineups and constructions of the band, mostly because I was drunk and it was a long time ago (having a archive of nearly every show I’ve seen in the last 16 years has its advantages in not relying on my memory; Kylesa and my affection for their work pre-date this site), but with Phillip Cope and Laura Pleasants reigniting the band now completed by journeyman metaller Roy Mayorga (Ministry, Stone Sour, Soulfly, etc.), who hits hard enough to remind you Kylesa once had two drummers, and NY-based artist John John Jesse (Nausea) on bass, they were a must-see for me. Something of a silly feeling, being nostalgic for the aughts, but it was 20 years ago. Brains are ridiculous.

Kylesa were last at Roadburn in 2010, but I missed them because volcano. One assumes the irony of “Keep moving/Don’t look back” as a signature hook at a reunion show isn’t lost on Kylesa, but never mind that shit, here comes Mongo, and in this case, Mongo is the guitar tones of Pleasants and Cope at the forefront of this band. And hey, sometimes a path brings you somewhere you’ve been before. With punk in their metallic hearts as it always was, Kylesa renewed their individual blend of elements, influences and craft, dug into some of the rawer ends of their catalog as well as the later and proggier fare, and though it was their first Euro show in more than a decade, I don’t think it took long for them to remind the room who they were and what they were about. That space was packed and rightly so. Kylesa was always just a little different than everybody else, sound-wise. Cope and Pleasants sharing vocals was always part of it, for sure, but for me it goes to the shape of their riffing and their ability to take what seem like straightforward ideas like “here’s a fuggin’ thrash riff in your face,” and beat them into more complex shapes.

As to what their going-forward plans might be, I haven’t a clue, but there’s life in them, and where I can think of an act like Jesus and Mary Chain, who were here for a reunion last year — different band and context, but still — and it felt pretty hollow. Kylesa, on the other hand, were always about the soul and the charge put into their songs, and they remain so. And the lineup, in the parlance of 2023, is fire. But of course it is. Nodding heads front to back. A mosh opened up. Dudes were dancing on the balcony. Hail hail.

They closed with “Running Red,” which, yes. I lurched my sad physicality up to Koepelhal when they were done to catch Faetooth at The Terminal. The Los Angeles three-piece self-tag as ‘Fairy Doom,’ and I wouldn’t argue if I could. Bringing together doomed nod, sludge nod and, indeed, some more nod, their dual-vocal approach moved between harsh and cleans, and the songs didn’t want for dynamic, but the overarching impression was heavy and dug-in. I think this is their first time in Europe? I don’t know that, so don’t quote it, but yes I just checked and it’s true. Quote away, I guess. In any case, they drew a massive crowd to bask in the largesse of fuzz, and the darker shoegaze side of what they were doing was balanced by both the screams and the tonal heft. They didn’t look like a band to fuck with. Someone yelled out they were beautiful before they played and I was embarrassed to be a dude. Cringe shit.

Speaking of, walking back to the 013 after Faetooth, there was a street preacher in a tshirt with a cross on it yelling about god in Dutch. He started in on me and I let him go a few seconds before I told him I didn’t even speak his language and to fuck off. He switched to English to thank me and say god bless you, to which my shouted reply was “only if he gives me a handjob first — again, fuck you.” I could live a thousand years and there would be no time in my life for that fucking garbage. I was completely lucid. I didn’t hit him.

An abrasive noise wash after that kind of adrenaline spike turned out to be just the thing, and after breaking a kick drum pedal right off the bat, like, with the first kick, The Body and Dis Fig tapped electronic and organic malevolence. I knew it would be heavy. But feeling the bass wub in my chest was nonetheless affecting. There was a big part of me that was ready to call it a night — arguably it was still evening — but I was scared to go back to the hotel and crash too hard, lest I sleep then instead of overnight. I had screwed up Wednesday so much in how I did and didn’t sleep that I’d been feeling it all day, but the lonely conscious fragment of my mind knew the room was a trap. Brutal noise, drone, thud and melodic-vocal cutthrough it is. Roadburn means I’m lucky to be alive. I can sleep later. I hope.

I hid my face in my arms at one point to get away from the strobe. They were droning at the time and yeah, I kinda nodded off. That’s how it was today. Adrenaline and lots of coffee were a help, likewise good music, but at no point in the day did I feel like I was at my best or even functioning beyond the basics and yelling at that jeezaroo. I know that’s not rock and roll. It’s not cool. It’s not positive. It’s not hey I’m here and let’s be an influencer and here’s some content isn’t it contenty? It’s real life. If you’re going to be a lifer at this shit or anything else, including just life itself, some days are going to be easier than others. Did not the Ben Ward sayeth, “Some you win, some you lose?” Well I won today outright, even if I had to pull myself by my collar to do it.

Back at the room afterward, I put in a video call to home, got to talk to The Patient Mrs. and The Pecan, which was a treat, I’d gotten myself one more espresso from the machine in the lobby of the hotel, of which I drank about half in a single sip and poured out the rest. Yes, absolutely for all my Nespresso homies. You know who you are, you classy bastards.

Sorting photos and finishing the writing were precursors to screwing off and going to bed, so that was the order of it. Tomorrow and Saturday nights are more packed for me, so resting while I can while my body gave me fewer and fewer choices in the matter anyway made sense. In the end, I slept like a bastard for like nine hours, which I very much hope brings me closer to whatever vision of ‘caught up’ might apply.

Thanks for reading. A couple more pics after the jump.

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Well would you look at the time. Europe’s busy Fall festival season hasn’t yet gotten underway — that’ll be later in September through October into November — but Roadburn has always kept its own calendar anyhow. And as the venerated Tilburg, Netherlands, festival unveils the first three acts for its 2025 lineup as a Kylesa reunion, Chat Pile and Altın Gün, their multi-pronged focus of underground futurism that honors past and present would seem to be embodied. Take your pick as to which is which there, I guess.

I’m stoked on the prospect of Kylesa coming back, of course. Laura Pleasants has had her post-punk project The Discussion, and that aspect was there in Kylesa as well, but in a pastiche that included sludge and noise too at its most vicious and went on to become more melodic and progressive by the time of their final-to-date LP, Exhausting Fire (discussed here), which — how about that — turns 10 next year. How many drummers do you think they’ll have?

Joining them are Chat Pile, whose new album Cool World is out Oct. 11 on The Flenser, and Altın Gün, who bring Turkish roots and Dutch progressive indie together and will play a set focused on their more psychedelic-leaning early material. Something special, something ultra cool and something I haven’t heard before. Behold Roadburn, roadburning.

More to come (duh). Here’s what I’ve got for today:

Chat Pile, Kylesa and Altın Gün announced for Roadburn 2025

Roadburn has announced the first three names for the 2025 edition of the festival, which will take place between April 17-20 next year. Noise rock champs Chat Pile will return to Tilburg, and be joined by reunited sludge heroes Kylesa. Altın Gün will bring their psychedelic folk to Roadburn for the first time. Weekend tickets for the festival are on sale now.

Roadburn’s artistic director, Walter Hoeijmakers, comments:

“With this announcement comes a first glimpse of what the Roadburn universe will be like in 2025. For this edition, we will look to the horizon of the underground and beyond, exploring the present and discovering the future along the way, while always honouring the past as well.

“The idea of redefining heaviness remains at the heart of Roadburn, and we will keep striving to galvanise our entire community, from artists to attendees, staff and everyone in between.”

Chat Pile have today announced a new single taken from their upcoming sophomore album, Cool World. Amidst continuously growing enthusiasm for the Oklahoma four piece, their return to Roadburn will mark their first show in Europe following the release of Cool World.

Nine years after announcing an indefinite hiatus, Georgia’s Kylesa will return to the live arena, and Roadburn will host their return to European soil. Led by Laura Pleasants and Phillip Cope, the influential sludge band will no doubt be welcomed with open arms by the Roadburn community.

Altın Gün are set to make their Roadburn debut with a tailor-made set that focuses on the darkest, most psychedelic seam of their work. The Grammy-nominated group have dazzled audiences around the world and now they’ll bring their contemporary Turkish folk to Roadburn.

More bands for the 2025 edition of Roadburn are due to be announced in the coming weeks.

Weekend tickets are on sale now, with further ticketing and accommodation options to follow.
For all information including tickets, please visit www.roadburn.com

https://www.facebook.com/roadburnfestival/
http://www.instagram.com/roadburnfest
http://www.roadburn.com

Altın Gün, On (2018)

Chat Pile, “Masc” official video

Kylesa, “Don’t Look Back”

Guitarist Bob Balch would seem to be on something of a creative binge, between an impending Fu Manchu 2LP and recent releases from Yawning Balch and Big Scenic Nowhere, and with Slower he presents a manifestation of the ultimate beer-drunk band idea. “What if, like, you took Slayer, and slowed it down?”

That’s what Slower is on paper. The songs of seminal Californian thrashers Slayer, played slower. The reality of Slower, which is the Balch-led project’s Heavy Psych Sounds-delivered debut album, is a selection of five covers that offers a richer experience than the math of the band’s purpose might lead one to believe. The Slayer originals they’ve chosen to rework — “War Ensemble,” “Blood Red,” and “Dead Skin Mask” from 1990’s Seasons in the Abyss, “The Antichrist” from 1983’s Show No Mercy and, to close, the title-track of 1988’s South of Heaven — are classics within the sphere of metal, and are treated with due respect even as they’re rearranged and turned into something pointedly not what they originally were.

This is done with care and love of the source material, and a sense of curation that is all the more resonant with the lineup Balch assembled for the project. Drummer Esben Willems (of Monolord; he has a solo album coming in addition to appearing here) in Gothenburg, Sweden, vocalist Amy Tung Barrysmith (Year of the Cobra) in Seattle, and bassist Peder Bergstrand (Lowrider) in Stockholm comprise the ‘main band’ on the record, developing a persona of their own even on covers through means of the rearrangement process. That is, they took the songs and reworked them. No one here is inexperienced or incapable. If you believe in supergroups, Slower‘s pretty damn super even before you get to Laura Pleasants (The Discussion, ex-Kylesa) and Scott Reeder (currently Sovereign Eagle, ex-Kyuss, The Obsessed, Goatsnake, needs to do another solo record, etc.) swapping in on vocals and bass, respectively, for “South of Heaven” at the finish. A goofy, fun idea for a band/album as Slower might be, the end result is pointedly not bullshit where it very easily (perhaps with different personnel) could have been.

Underlining the point: Slower is not a tossoff. It’s not a joke band. While indeed the songs are largely reduced in tempo, there is an aspect of the project that feels a bit like the impetus behind it was Balch wanting to take on playing both the Kerry King and Jeff Hannneman (from whose 2013 death the band never really recovered) solos, which he does with all suitable respect for the personalities of Slayer‘s two guitarists, whammy squeals and speed enough to speak to thrash. If that was the case, fair enough for the homage. It’s just a thing not everyone could do at the level it’s done here. Some of those shredfest ripper solos are no less iconic than the lyrical declarations of the choruses to “War Ensemble” or “Dead Skin Mask,” and they are put on a pedestal along with a treasure trove of groove that was lurking beneath the furious intensity of the originals. “War Ensemble,” opening here as it does on Seasons in the Abyss with some transposed urgency, unveils its central riff as a righteous nodder with Bergstrand bringing new tonal presence to the verse, Willems‘ casual double-kick giving an easy ride into the stop, and Barrysmith in immediate command.

The five-minute original becomes the 10-minute cover (it is both opener and longest track; immediate points), and as a lead-in for “The Antichrist,” “Blood Red” and “Dead Skin Mask,” “War Ensemble” blends the familiar — it was one of Slayer‘s many landmarks and a live-set feature for decades before the band ‘ended’ (never say never) in 2019 with 12 records and enough influence to make a project like this happen across microgenres — the surprises it holds and affirmations it makes are crucial to what follows. One doesn’t necessarily think of Slayer as an atmospherically-minded band, though they were at times (and perhaps a second Slower LP could honor Slayer and Sabbath both in opening with the storm at the start of “Raining Blood”; uniting worlds or at least disparate ends of the same one), but Slower dig into “The Antichrist” and find a gritty slog that becomes insistent in a chorus that takes the already-doubled vocals and adds backing tracks to emphasize a depth that is Slower‘s own in a song that, being a deeper cut — as opposed to a Slayer ‘hit,’ I guess? they did used to play their music videos on the tee-vee sometimes — allows Balch (who trips out the midsection admirably taring toward psychedelia), Barrysmith, Bergstrand and Willems to flesh it out and find a new path to the rotted-soul ascension of its title figure.

The melody emergent in “The Antichrist” is expanded upon in “Blood Red,” the centerpiece of the CD and presumed side B opener on the LP, as the verse riff becomes a strut and the chorus opens to a breadth Slower have been holding in reserve. It’s an un-pop singalong, complete with backing ‘oohs’ for “You cannot hide the face of death/Oppression ruled by bloodshed/No disguise can deface evil/The massacre of innocent people,” which are lines that sadly retain their relevance these 34 years after the fact, and are more sinister for the sweetness of Barrysmith‘s delivery. With “Dead Skin Mask” and “Seasons in the Abyss” still to come, “Blood Red” has a harder road making an impression, and that was true with Slayer‘s version as well in 1990, but amid the forward roll and chug of the verse and the arrival-point feel of the hook, it is the vocals even more that distinguish it as an unexpected highlight.

And I know Slayer have a ton of iconic tracks, from the prior-mentioned “Raining Blood” through “Disciple,” “Angel of Death” — maybe better to leave that one alone? — and “Piece by Piece,” but especially the first and maybe only time out, pairing “Dead Skin Mask” and “South of Heaven” at the end of Slower‘s Slower feels natural. The latter came before the former, and is arguably the most ‘doom’ Slayer ever got, where “Dead Skin Mask” showed up on the next album and refined those very purposes. Both are the kinds of songs dudes get tattoos of, but as they have all along, Slower tread carefully in terms of balancing respect for where the songs came from and taking them where they want to go. Not to be understated is the subversive element of a woman delivering the lyrics to “Dead Skin Mask,” which was never explicit but strongly implied misogynist violence, and Barrysmith resounds in the chorus, where “Dance with the dead in my dreams…” becomes a chant and all the more consuming for that. While I wish they repeated that finish four or five more times, I’m happy to take what I can get.

As noted, “South of Heaven” brings a lineup switch, Reeder stepping in for Bergstrand — the inclusion of those two speaks as well to Balch wanting to bring a new sense of presence to the low end; he could easily have handled bass himself as an afterthought; as is, bass becomes an essential part of the character of the band in a way Slayer‘s Tom Araya probably wouldn’t have expected — and Pleasants taking over for Barrysmith. Dark toned, Balch begins on guitar and Reeder and Pleasants soon join for the opening build, ending of course with the line “Before you see the light” stretched to fill the new spaces in the riff before the guitar, bass and drums stop cold to let Pleasants croon the second part of the lyric: “You must die.”

Shit, I’m ready. Let’s go. If you could get audio tattooed on your person, that moment might be worth carrying around for the rest of your life but it’s already ingrained in the heads of Slayer fans, so take that as you will. Pleasants toys with the verse arrangement somewhat, perhaps covering some awkwardness in the patterning born of the change in pace with effects and layering, but it’s nothing that feels out of line with the mood or atmosphere Slower bring to “South of Heaven,” the stinkface-inducing stomp of Willems‘ drums glorious in manifesting a sense of methodical aggression over the chaos referenced in the chorus — “Chaos rampant/An age of distrust/Confrontations, impulsive habitat (or ‘sabbath’)” before they got right down to it, “On and on, south of heaven” — as Balch likewise digs deeper to find a nastiness of tone that is undeniable. It ends, as it invariably would, with shred given over to noise and a tease of the thuds at the end of “Postmortem” that, on 1986’s Reign in Blood, mark the transition into “Raining Blood” itself. The message seems to be: maybe next time.

Generally speaking and across a wide range of contexts, I suck at fun. Accordingly, I was a little apprehensive in taking on Slower because I felt like maybe it would be a party and I wouldn’t really be able to get my head into the right space for it. That’s not how it went, either in terms of the atmosphere of the record or my listening experience with it. I don’t know that Slower will or won’t do more — certainly no one involved lacks other projects to focus on — but I hope they do, and as a love letter to Slayer, the execution of these songs and the obvious heart and thought put into them, Slower resonates, however familiar you may or may not be with the originals.

Slower, Slower (2024)

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