Posted in Whathaveyou on January 10th, 2014 by JJ Koczan
Desertfest continues to solidify. After the huge announcement of the hyper-sludged Human Disease Promo/When Planets Collide stage a couple weeks back and the addition of Kvelertak as a headliner for both the London and Berlin installments, London has confirmed appearances from Dutch heavy rockers Swamp Machine and Scottish space-jammers The Cosmic Dead for this year, making them just the latest acts to be absorbed into the Desertfest sphere alongside Spirit Caravan, Elder, Sixty Watt Shaman, The Machine, Samsara Blues Experiment and many more. It’s good company to keep, and rumor has it there’s still more to come.
While I catch my breath, here are the announcements for The Cosmic Dead and Swamp Machine, courtesy of the Desertfest website:
***DesertFest 2014 Raise The Cosmic Dead***
Next to join The DesertFest machine are The Cosmic Dead – one of those bands who you can get a handle on just from their name; a brutal lathering of psyched-out droning, proggy, experimental goodness that infects your eardrums with pure mind-bending pleasure.
Hailing from Glasgow – via the furthest reaches of both space and your mind – this cosmonautical quartet have been flying about the universe at a rate of several thousand light-years per second, crafting the perfect vibes since 2010. Firing out three perception-warping full lengths in the last three years – each of which debuted on that almost mythical of mediums, the cassette – along with several live releases and a split with Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs, The Cosmic Dead seem committed to piping out those soul-warming tones. Having toured with Naam, Golden Void and Torche, as well as playing the hallowed grounds of Roadburn, the self-proclaimed ‘foremost Hawkwind tribute band’ leave no doubt towards their stellar live credentials either.
If you wish to travel through the 4th dimension of sound and reward your ears, don’t miss these guys when DesertFest rolls into town.
Kind Words: Tom Geddes
***Swamp Machine Switched On for DesertFest 2014***
Swamp Machine make their DesertFest debut in 2014 with their signature stoner rock. Yes, we love our stoner rock, so how do we distinguish all these wonderful bands from one another?
Well, whilst everyone has their own unique magic, these guys actually sound like a steamroller smashing through your living room. It’s heavy, it’s hard and it’s oh so sludgy.
Inspired by the swamps outside of their Dutch rehearsal studio, this Netherlands powerhouse encapsulates the very spirit of sludge – giving the listener the feeling they’re slowly sinking into the swampy marsh and loving every moment of it. They formed back in 2010, and have rocketed from strength to strength, supporting the likes of Karma to Burn, Wo-Fat, and Naam along the way.
We are honoured to have Swamp Machine really packing a punch to our 2014 line-up, and we’d implore any doom metal fan to be down the front for this one. You won’t be left high and dry.
Kind Words: Phil Davies
Below you can see a list of bands confirmed for this years festival…Still plenty of bands to be announced in the coming weeks…
KVELERTAK, SPIRIT CARAVAN, MAIN SUPPORT (to be re announced), ELDER, MASTER MUSICIANS OF BUKAKE, SIXTY WATT SHAMAN, MONKEY 3, SAMSARA BLUES EXPERIMENT, KONGH, SOURVEIN, ASG, THE MACHINE, BLUES PILLS, GRAVES AT SEA, DRAGGED INTO SUNLIGHT, THE BODY, MIDNIGHT GHOST TRAIN, ANCIIENTS, BLACK RAINBOWS, GRIME, GRANDLOOM, ARABROT, POMBAGIRA, HEY COLOSSUS, SLABDRAGGER, WAR WOLF, LIFER, SWAMP MACHINE
Posted in Whathaveyou on January 6th, 2014 by JJ Koczan
I guess sometimes we all need a little jump-up-and-down thrash in our lives, and Norwegian triple-guitar six-piece Kvelertak seem only too ready to provide. The band, which released their second album, Meir, in 2013 as their Roadrunner Records debut, will headline the Berlin edition of the 2014 Desertfest and have signed on to play London as well.
Word just came in this morning from across the Atlantic:
EXCLUSIVITY : THIRD HEADLINER… KVELERTAK (NOR)
Today is a fucking great day for DESERTFEST BERLIN (and of course for all of you who support us)! We are soooo thrilled to introduce to you our third headliner, the tripply-guitared Norwegian outfit KVELERTAK!!
KVELERTAK is the band which made sensation in 2010 with their first album out from nowhere, one-of-a-kind blend of Punk-Hardcore and Black Metal boosted with a Rock n Roll energy! Actually, at their best, KVELERTAK register as 40-plus years of aggressive-rock history crammed into one filler-free highlight reel.
In 2010, their first album stayed 30 weeks in the Norwegian charts! With such radical music, that should have been done! KVELERTAK piled-up tours with the biggest names of the underground scene : Coliseum, Converge, Toxic Holocaust, Torche and Kylesa, and finally recorded their second long-awaited album last spring!
On their second album “Meir” (which reached the 2nd rank on Rolling Stone “20 best Metal Albums of 2013”), Stavanger six-piece KVELERTAK haven’t exactly refined the formula that made their success; rather, they’ve bottled it, destroyed the recipe and knocked back gallons of the stuff like Vikings at a post-pillage feast.
To support “Meir” the Norse wild-men played more than a hundred of shows all over the world (Europe, Japan, Australia…), and ended some weeks ago a month of tour with monsters High on Fire!
Well, that is all we can say… KVELERTAK is not a band you talk about, it’s a band you see LIVE! Because you just have to bring KVELERTAK on stage to ensure the most delightful mayhem! Enjoy!
Posted in Whathaveyou on December 20th, 2013 by JJ Koczan
We already knew Desertfest wasn’t fucking around, but goodness gracious. To add Sourvein, Graves at Sea, Kongh, Grime, Pombagira, Lifer and War Wolf all at once is ridiculous. It’s like you took two already-quite-heavy fests and smashed them into each other. The Human Disease Promo/When Planets Collide stage is aptly named, if nothing else, because with acts this heavy tossed in, it adds an entirely different dimension to London Desertfest 2014 and makes its roster of bands all the more enviable.
I won’t waste time with a long intro since there’s a lot to wade through here. The following comes courtesy of the Desertfest website, with words by Staggerin’ Matt and Gareth Kelly. Dig it:
Welcome To The HDP / WPC Stage @ Desertfest 2014
Back for the third year running, human_disease_promo / when planet’s collide are teaming up once again to curate a stage of smoked-out heavy rumblings at DesertFest 2014.
Anyone who caught the crushing slab of decibel meter smashing doom that radiated from their stage earlier this year will know to expect the heaviest, loudest, most tripped out, underground sludge / doom from around the globe when The Underworld gets taken over on the final day of the festival again in April. This year will see them bringing as many variations of the theme as are out there to forge a dynamic stage including elements of pysch, prog, dark metal and crust, as well as the traditional dirty sludge and weedy doom riffs. Bring your earplugs and lose your mind as hdp / wpc draw out the festival in swampy, distorted style.
DESERTFEST DROWNS IN GRIEF WITH GRAVES AT SEA
Purveyors of the finest crust-doom nihilism Arizona’s Graves At Sea will be landing in the middle of the eye of the storm at The Underworld to bring forth a cargo laden with wretched snarls of bile and horror.
With relatively little in the way of released material G.A.S. built up a slew of interest due to the sheer grief / woe ridden intensity of the sound that they spewed forth. 2 tracks on a split with Asunder in 2005 showed the band to also possess a quality of strong dynamic ability, although it is the sheer overall nastiness of the bands squalid down-tuned sound that make their status as one of the most sought after underground dark sludge offerings fully justified. Few bands could hope to possess such varying and well laid down exorcisms (at times reminiscent of the vocal stylings of the likes of Corrupted, Burning Witch, Noothgrush, and occasionally even through to Autopsy / Abscess), draped over smoke enriched fuzzed licks and long low bass rumbles.
Many of us were disappointed when, following a long hiatus, the bands recent euro stint alongside New Zealand’s Methdrinker didn’t reach the UK mainland, so we’re totally stoked to play host to them on the human_disease_promo / when planet’s collide stage at the next installment of the festival. Get ready for a slow twisting vortex of ravenous filth throughout!
KONGH TAKE DESERTFEST THROUGH THE PORTAL
Sweden’s driving wall of darkened heaviness Kongh have been taking sludge and doomed post-metal to the next level for the best part of a decade now, destroying stages and minds worldwide with their own unforgiving barrage of dynamic noise and they are set to blast into The Underworld’s hdp / wpc curated stage for a UK exclusive show in April.
The band’s 2006 demo and the recently re-released 2007?s debut LP “Counting Heartbeats” were maelstroms of storming riffs, combining chugging sludge with other worldly ambiences to create a mesmorisingly crushing sound. Since then the trio have never looked back. Pushing forward with 2 more albums and a handfull of splits of intense grandiose tripped-out sludge noise, 2013?s Sole Creation is an accomplishment of gigantic proportions, projecting the band onto a trajectory of altering perceptions of what is possible within the realms of heavy music. Epic and monstrous guitar work layered up with pounding drums and vocals varying from trad-doom warbling to soaring harmonised melodys to crushing death-sludge roars and blackened rasps, all of this gelling together into a head-banging, brain-devouring force, it’s easy to forget sometimes that this huge sound is coming from only 3 members.
Kongh have been busy since they last hit these shores with YOB / Dark Castle in Oct 2011. As well as the album, a slew of European dates and a recent outing supporting heavyweights Meshuggah across Scandinavia have landed the band in a place ready to destroy the senses of all who can squeeze into the Underworld to catch them. Get ready to work those necks, throw claws, pound fists, and yet still be taken to a place far outside of this reality in the same process… Kongh are hitting DesertFest to liquidise your friggin’ minds!
SOURVEIN OFFER UP THE DIRGE WINE AT DESERTFEST 2014
North Carolina’s legendary dirt-sludge outfit, led by T-Roy the revered reverend of the dirty south, are set to land back on these shores to spread the gospel of hard times, turbulent troubles and violent struggles of life that they have been laying down since way back in 1993.
There are those bands that create a swamp of dirge so thick that you feel the possibility there may actually be no escape or mental resolve before the final end-time. Sourvein are not just one of those bands, they are the goddam masters! Oozing a southern drawl and nomadic mysticism that invokes images in the mind of horror and fright, and that uncertain feeling of teetering on the very edge of sanity. It’s akin to full engulfment in a THC cloud from the opening bars right through a distorted mire of torment, and whisky fueled loathing, to the bitter lasting feedback of the destructive climax. Basically Sourvein don’t fuck around, they do away with the pleasantries and get straight to the fucking point.
Following from the past appearances and incantations of the band at The Underworld on the “No Sleep Til Halloween” tour of 2006 (alongside fellow DesertFest favourites Church Of Misery), and again in 2008 with Orange Goblin, we are proud to once again welcome back T-Roy and his current outfit of NoCal’s finest filthmonger’s to this fair city of ours. Catch the sludge veterans on the human_disease_promo / when planet’s stage, preferably near the peak of your intoxication limits… and get ready to Bangleaf mother fuckers!
GRIME BRING THE FILTH TO DESERTFEST 2014
The Adriatic coast of Italy isn’t one of first places that springs to mind when thinking of the nastiest kind of down-tuned, spite-filled, blackened sludge… but that’s exactly what Trieste’s Grime bring to the table in droves.
Whether it’s the bloody history of Northern Italy’s past, or possibly the isolation of their hometown region? It’s left to be guessed, but Grime produce a sound that is most certainly dragged from the depths of despair, suffering and antipathy, crawling with venomous snarls and screeching, this is dark and heavy music at it’s best! That is not to say however that 2013’s crushing (Billy Anderson mixed) LP “Deteriorate” is lacking in soul. Far from it. In fact the band’s second offering is rich in warm tone and offers finely crafted riffmanship within interspersed chunks of head nodding weedy vibes. The overall feel of this band is a slow, brooding type of heavy that has initiated the band into doom / sludge circles with an instantly high regard. A European tour last year with Cough and shows with Steven O’Malley, Ufomammut and a Russian stint with Suma have cemented the trio as being a strongly anticipated soundtrack to a slice of post-smoke negativity when they make their UK debut on the human_disease_promo / when planet’s collide stage at DesertFest in April next year.
We can’t wait… let the bad times roll on!!
POMBAGIRA TO AMP UP SPELLBINDING SEAS OF DOOM
Few bands are capable of delivering the palpable blow to the senses than the UK’s loudest duo Pete and Carolyn Hamilton-Giles drive with sheer ease.
Huge waves of riff repetition of early releases earned the originally London based two-piece a reputation for a one-of-kind uncompromising volume experience with their live shows across the UK and Europe over the course of the last 7 years, plus a short stint on the US north west coast. A more recent move to a rural base has given rise to the massive 60 / 70’s influenced opus of 2013’s Maleficia Lamiah, the opening title track of which is currently being streamed for free on their own Black Axis Records website. With artwork by Vic Singh (also responsible for Pink Floyd’s Piper At The Gates Of Dawn cover art) Pombagira have conjured up a unique journey of modern doom-psych fusion, and this latest offering has yet to be experienced in a live setting in the capital… Until now! Expect their full backline of vintage hardware to drive home the heavy tide of a new found acid-doom drenched sound over the audience in a thick veil of hypnotic low end magnificence.
War Wolf To Howl In Camden
Hailing from England’s South coast WAR WOLF are a beastily heavy 3-piece whose credentials speak firmly for themselves, (being two-thirds ex-Dopefight, one third Sea Bastard / ex-Jovian).
This year’s debut 8 track EP “Riding With Demons” destroyed minds across the board and gave birth to a much needed balls-out band on the UK scene. Vehemently anti-Thatcher and outspoken against hypocritical catholic dogma / neo-fascism and economic plight, War Wolf blast a concentrated stream of criticism and spite into their music. But… this band also has riffs! Big gnarly riffs mixed with a giant distorted tone. Yet perfectly disjointed and stabbingly sharp to the point, owing as much to their raw talent as a general distain for all conformist ideals.
Overall, War Wolf are a blistering D.I.Y. punk-sludge force, reminiscent at times of the likes of early Cavity. Naturally in-your-face but addictively watchable, duo-vocaled , ripping riff heavy, and a welcome breath of fresh air from the mundane. A killer 3 tracks on their side of a recent split with Sob Story (self-released through drummer Ant Cole’s own Headless Guru Records label) hint towards the immanent new full length as being an important and highly anticipated record. One that will most likely carry both the unexpected as well as another leap forward into a solid standing as a modern UK export with a giant middle finger to the hypocrisy around them, echoing the crust heavyweights of yesteryear, yet with a hardcore / doom fusion that ensures their ability to remain up there with some of the heaviest bands around today.
Definitely a kick to the head not to be missed on the Human_Disease_Promo / When Planet’s Collide stage at DesertFest 2014.
LIFER TO OPEN AT DESERTFEST 2014
Coming in somewhere between Sick Of It All and the mighty Down these Welsh masters of the raging riff (ft ex-axeman of UK stoner heroes Acrimony) are due to set off the Human_Disease_Promo / When Planets Collide stage at this year’s festival.
Having played triumphant sets at the likes of Hammerfest and Bloodstock (appearing not once but twice, playing to a strong crowd on their second stage in 2013), the band have also played storming shows supporting many fellow “Lifer’s” like Viking Skull and Orange Goblin. Their debut Album ‘Curse them Out’ was released to rave reviews and with 2014 seeing them disappear back in to the studio once again we hope that this year’s appearance at DesertFest may be a good chance for them to air some brand new material too. These boys are coming from the valleys to crush your tiny minds. Do not miss out!
Posted in Visual Evidence on December 18th, 2013 by JJ Koczan
Both of these are pretty badass and I didn’t figure anyone would complain, so I thought I’d put up the posters for Desertfest next year. Both London and Berlin have come out in the last couple days — you’d almost think it wasn’t a coincidence! — and though each has its own personality like the fests themselves, I think looking at either you know you’re getting a heavy show. Maybe I’m biased.
Malleus handled the London poster, and Ammo, from Belgium, the Berlin one. For Malleus, these are pretty regular themes — their affection for redheads goes way back and here brings to mind some of the exploits of Fanny Jo Stingray, may she rest in piece — and with Ammo’s the pencil grays and insane level of detail bring to mind a black and white take on Earth‘s The Bees Made Honey in the Lion’s Skull, though obviously the color/lack thereof makes a huge difference.
Check them out and see what you think:
Desertfest London 2014 Poster by Malleus
We are pleased to be able to unveil Desertfest 2014’s awesome limited addition screen print poster, created by the equally awesome Malleus. Malleus is a poster art trio featuring Poia and Urlo of UFOMAMMUT and we just couldn’t help get them involved again. The prints will be available next week to pre order at £20 and of course will be available at the festival.
We are also excited to be announcing the Human Disease/When When Planets Collide stage on Thursday. Expect a heavy underworld line up…
We are thrilled to unveil our official poster for DESERTFEST BERLIN 2014, made by the Brussels-based guy AMMO!! We really dig it, and we hope you too!
You will discover more about AMMO through an interview that will be published soon, but meanwhile, you can check his past work onhttp://ammoamo.blogspot.fr/!
Posted in Whathaveyou on December 13th, 2013 by JJ Koczan
News continues to surface about 2014’s Sixty Watt Shaman reunion, in that in addition to putting out new music and performing at The Eye of the Stoned Goat 4 next May in Worcester, MA, the reinvigorated Maryland rockers will be joining Spirit Caravan in representing the Free State at Desertfest in London. There’s a fun bit of symmetry there, with both bands reuniting. They put out a split together in 1999, so here they are a decade and a half later. The more things change.
Riffs will be had! Find the announcement below, courtesy of the Desertfest website, with words by Rich from The Day After the Sabbath:
SIXTY WATT SHAMAN RECHARGED AND READY FOR DESERTFEST 2014
Sixty Watt Shaman are back! Back, that is, from an important time in stoner rock history when the southern rock infusions of bands like The Mighty Nimbus and Alabama Thunderpussy were ruling.
SWS started in 1996 in Maryland, quickly becoming an established name in underground rock but live have remained a growing concern since their third and final 2002 album with only very occasional live appearances.
The Shaman’s sound is characterised by soulful grooves, husky vocals and whiskey-drenched attitude, born from the collective experience of guys who know a thing or two about life and have put that wisdom into the form of swaggering riffs and swinging rhythm. Over the years they’ve toured the US with Nebula, Spirit Caravan, Black Label Society, Crowbar, Clutch, Corrosion Of Conformity, Alabama Thunderpussy and toured Europe with Karma To Burn.
Joining the original Sixty Watt Shaman line-up of vocalist/guitarist Dan Soren, bassist Rev Jim Forrester and drummer Chuck Dukehart III, Todd Ingram from King Giant is initiated into the gang as their new lead guitarist to help hone their sound to even higher levels and take them back into the studio. At DesertFest 2014 they will be delivering the goods with a set of well-proven classics, along with some new surprises to celebrate this seasoned outfit’s new burst of life.
Posted in Whathaveyou on December 10th, 2013 by JJ Koczan
Desertfest continues to take shape in London as the 2014 lineup grows. Yesterday, Blues Pills joined the lineup, and today it’s The Midnight Ghost Train, who presumably will accompany their performance by no less than 18 straight months on the road, since that’s how they do. They join a varied assemblage of acts that ranges from The Body to Spirit Caravan, so I think it’s safe to say that the 2014 installment will be the most sonically diverse yet.
The following announcements were swiped from the Desertfest website and the copy comes courtesy of Cat Jones. Dig:
DesertFest 2014 Take the Blues Pills
Blues Pills are the ultimate example of the return of pure, unadulterated blues in the modern age.
Elin Larsson, Cory Berry, Zack Anderson and Dorian Sorriaux come from three different sections of the globe: Sweden, America and France, and were drawn together over shared talent and the magic that comes along with playing the blues from the heart.
With Elin’s voice sounding like an even more powerful Grace Slick, Stevie Nicks and Janis Joplin combined mixed with warm, retro tones and knock-you-on-your-back guitar solos, Blues Pills’ new EP ‘Devil Man’ sounds akin to an amped-up Jimi Hendrix or Cream. You could even say it’s what Graveyard might sound like if they had a pair of ear-blasting female lungs at the helm. Either way, this is exactly what we need in order to keep resurrecting the heart of rock ‘n’ roll; which is, after all, what DesertFest is all about.
The Midnight Ghost Train’s wheels to screech at DesertFest 2014
Once upon a time, at the height of Tom Waits’ career, he grew weary of touring and decided to regain his strength for a bit by disappearing into the dry, tornado-ridden southern plains of the States where the women are kind and the whiskey runs rampant like a flood.
As he stumbled home on a particularly overindulgent night, he befriended a band of smiling, bearded ruffians who handed him a copy of Kyuss’ ‘Blues For The Red Sun’ plus an ounce of their finest weed and said, “Take this and call us in the morning.” Needless to say, Waits was floored by the heavy grooves and vowed to devote his life to heavy rock ‘n’ roll. And that, boys and girls, is how The Midnight Ghost Train came into existence.
Clearly none of the aforementioned is true, but with the tunes on the Topeka, Kansas natives’ new EP ‘Buffalo’ as simultaneously gravelly, heavy, bluesy and downright dirty as they are, it all might as well be. Plus, ‘Buffalo’ is a definite contender for “sexiest cover art of 2013”. And after a successful stint of European touring under their belts already this year, we have no doubt these guys will fit in perfectly at DesertFest 2014.
Posted in Whathaveyou on November 22nd, 2013 by JJ Koczan
In news you care way less about, I’ve been made a press partner with both the London and Berlin Desertfests again and I’m proud and happy to be continuing this site’s relationship with the expanding and continually impressive festivals. In news that’s a little more holy-shit-pardon-me-while-I-pick-up-my-jaw, Spirit Caravan — guitarist/vocalist Scott “Wino” Weinrich, bassist Dave Sherman and drummer Gary Isom — have reunited and will be among the headliners for both Berlin and London in 2014. I’m floored.
Rumors have been going around of a Spirit Caravan reunion for years and escalated recently, but this is the first official word of a reunion from the legendary trio, whose 1999 debut, Jug Fulla Sun, remains one of the finest American heavy rock records ever released. Keep an eye out for more to come on the reunion and more from the London and Berlin Desertfest. Other confirmed acts for Berlin are Gozu, Elder, Black Rainbows, Causa Sui, Prisma Circus, Huata and Sardonis.
The PR wire makes it official:
SPIRIT CARAVAN (USA) – EXCLUSIVE REUNION SHOWS AT BOTH DESERTFESTS
Here we are ! First headliner confirmed for both DESERTFEST LONDON & BERLIN is… the cult band SPIRIT CARAVAN, finally back after 12 years !!!
When The Obsessed folded in 1995 Scott “Wino” Weinrich moved from California to his native Maryland to create the band Shine. After a demo entitled “Powershine” and a 7″ EP “Lost Sun Dance” release during 1997 Shine became SPIRIT CARAVAN as he was joined by bass player Dave Sherman and drummer Gary Isom.
A 7″ single shared with Sixty Watt Shaman in 1999 was their first release together and several others followed : their first full-length album “Jug Fulla Sun” in 1999, a second EP intitled “Dreamwheel” later the same year, and after an extensive U.S. and European tour, their sophomore effort, “Elusive Truth” in 2001.
While SPIRIT CARAVAN’s sound isn’t drastically different from the aforementioned The Obsessed, who welded the foot-stomping organic qualities of Grand Funk Railroad with no-frills American roots punk like The Dictators, all the while observing Black Sabbath, SPIRIT CARAVAN injected a healthy dose of cryptic psychedelia to their mix. Scott “Wino” Weinrich’s guitar tone evinces the slow burning wisdom derived from many decades of hard living and touring in the underground music community.
The band received a lot of praise from the doom/stoner community but, unfortunately, SPIRIT CARAVAN split-up in May 2002… But as he showed many times in the past, Wino is like a phoenix ! And now it’s time for SPIRIT CARAVAN to be reborn !!
Let´s celebrate SPIRIT CARAVAN´s EXCLUSIVE Reunion shows at DESERTFEST LONDON & BERLIN !! Order now your tickets to attend this amazing event by sending an email atTICKETS@DESERTFEST.DE
