Posted in Whathaveyou on June 25th, 2025 by JJ Koczan
The lineup for next year’s Masters of the Riff V is out, as the event from the London Doom Collective is set to return Feb. 27-March 1, as you can see on the battlevest-poster below. That’s a cute idea. I haven’t seen it before.
I was at Freak Valley last week in Germany, and while there, ran into Jan and Sabine from Grin. I had about 30 seconds to talk, which is how it goes sometimes, but I made sure not to miss the chance at nerding out for their latest offering, Acid Gods (review here), in-person, which I try to not make embarrassing for myself. So anyway, as they’re here, obviously I’m going to say hell yes, go see Grin. I’ve been fortunate enough to do that as well in the past and it’s a stage you want to be in front of when they’re on it.
Of course, in light of Domkraft canceling what had been their soon-to-start West Coast US tour due to an unspecified health issue in the band, I’m glad to see them topping the thus-far bill for Masters of the Riff V, as their making plans for the future speaks well of a timeline to return. On the off-chance someone from the band sees this, I continue to wish them all the best. Not that, you know, the rest of the bands playing can screw off or anything like that, just that I’m happy to see the name here.
Got that Bear Bones tape, for example, and that’s a good time too.
From socials:
“Beginth thine riff already, won’t you,” said Tony, sipping from a freshly brewed ale. To his surprise, the riffith commenced almost immediately. Quite, thought Tony.
We’re exceptionally excited to announce the first wave of bands for next year’s Masters of the Riff Festival at @oslohackney
So have a butchers and behold this fine bunch of gorgeous legends from the underground scene, joining us for the fifth (damn) iteration of the festival!
Please feel free to raise one’s drink of choice accordingly. 🍻
PRAISE THE RIFF!!!
It means ever so much to us that the bands, breweries, amp wizards, fans, and all those in between trust us to curate this festival each year.
We’re honoured to be a small part of the great doom machine in the Sky, and we’re definitely looking forward to this epicus metallicus weekend (our livers, perhaps, less so).
There’s loads more incoming over the next few weeks and months, so keep your 👀 peeled.
Head over to @dicefm to grab your early bird tickets init!
Posted in Whathaveyou on January 30th, 2025 by JJ Koczan
I don’t know what you say about Desertfest London beyond I wish I was going. That’s all I’ve got. It’s a beautiful thing the Desertscene crew put together for 2025. A thing to admire. Whether you look at it with Elder‘s ascent to headliner status alongside Zeal & Ardor and Earth, all representing an expanded-style mindset, or are stoked for the likes of Stoned Jesus, Lowrider, Maha Sohona (who told me on Facebook they have a new album completely done; sadly there was no follow-up with “…and here it is so you can hear it”), Josiah, Dopelord, Bobbie Dazzle and Slift, or if you’re just happy Elephant Tree are getting back out, or that 10,000 Years are getting a look, or Black Willows who are so fucking heavy, or maybe you’re me and you’re just happy for a couple killer American bands set to make the trip: Kind, Hippie Death Cult, Worshipper, Rickshaw Billie’s Burger Patrol, Castle Rat. I could go on here, but the point is there’s a lot to like. I won’t be there to see it, but knowing it’s a thing that’s happening on the same planet where I live is some comfort.
Oh, and yeah, like the headline says, day splits happened and Lowrider, Dopelord, Khan and a slew of others have joined the bill, which I guess is done now? We’ll see. Here’s what came down the PR wire:
DESERTFEST LONDON ANNOUNCES DAY SPLITS, DAY TICKETS & 15 NEW ARTISTS FOR 2025
Desertfest London have announced day-splits along with 15 more bands for 2025 in a line-up that promises to take its audience on a cosmic trip across the heavy realms this Spring in the heart of Camden Town.
The latest artists to join the 2025 fold include French celestial psych-metal trio Slift, seminal Swedish stoner rock trailblazers Lowrider, and Polish doom smokers Dopelord, making a long-awaited return to the Desertfest stage since their last appearance in 2018.
Elsewhere, Melbourne, Australia’s Khan will bring their hazy psychedelia back to the UK, while Norwegian quintet Dunbarrow have been summoned to bring their brand of proto-doom, played the old way, in a new age.
These latest additions join festival headliners Zeal & Ardor, returning to London to headline the Roundhouse after a triumphant sell-out of Shepherd’s Bush Empire on the heels of their critically acclaimed 2024 release ‘GREIF’.
Sunday sees Seattle drone legends Earth make their Desertfest debut, headlining the Electric Ballroom. This show marks their first appearance on UK soil in 6 years. Meanwhile, Friday headliners Elder will usher in the festival’s 13th edition with their progressive psychedelic sounds as they celebrate 10 years of ‘Lore’ at its rightful home on the Desertfest stage.
Desertfest 2025 Day Splits FRIDAY 16TH MAY 2025 ELDER STONED JESUS | LOWRIDER THE DEVIL & THE ALMIGHTY BLUES | ELEPHANT TREE | HIPPIE DEATH CULT SERVO | KIND | 10,000 YEARS | BLACK ELEPHANT | DEVILLE VOLCANOVA | YETTI | ERRONAUT | FREE RIDE | DRESDEN WOLVES
SATURDAY 17TH MAY 2025 ZEAL & ARDOR AMENRA | PALLBEARER | CONAN PLANET OF ZEUS | AVON | SONS OF ALPHA CENTAURI MAHA SOHONA | SCOTT HEPPLE & THE SUN BAND | TORUS GREEN MILK FROM THE PLANET ORANGE | JOSIAH EL MOONO | FROGLORD | WORSHIPPER | LONGHEADS BARBARIAN HERMIT | LUST RITUAL | WITCHORIOUS | VERMINTHRONE
SUNDAY 18TH MAY 2025 EARTH SLIFT | CHÖD | DOPELORD CASTLE RAT | KHAN | RICKSHAW BILLIE’S BURGER PATROL | DUNBARROW MR BISON | THE HAZYTONES | BOBBIE DAZZLE | BLACK WILLOWS KING BOTFLY | SLUMP | THIS SUMMIT FEVER
Posted in Whathaveyou on March 31st, 2023 by JJ Koczan
A full 16 bands will play Doomlines VIII this July in Sheffield, UK, with France’s Slift and the heavy-meets-aggro Heriot headlining and support from the not-slouching-either-in-the-pissed-off-department Slabdragger and Bismarck (making the trip from Norway), as well as Ba‘al, Gozer, Volcanova (from Iceland), among others. It’s an all-dayer, and I’m not sure it’s actually possible to watch 16 bands in a span of 10 hours, even across two stages, but don’t quote me on that because some crazy bastard might just do it. Given the acts involved, it would be fun to try.
I know these days aren’t exactly short on fest news — this isn’t even the only post today about a festival lineup adding bands — but in addition to having that little foot kicking the back of my brain to force the memory of live-music-less lockdown out of the corner into which I’ve repressed it, I’ll say too that these events are worth celebrating because they show how much heart and passion goes into supporting this music.
Even ‘successful’ festivals can be a non-lucrative nightmare to book, and pretty much the only reason ever to engage the process of putting something like this together is because you believe deeply in it. So yeah, while there’s about a zero percent chance I’ll be there to see Doomlines VIII in July, I’m glad to support the support. And hey, it’s a big internet. Maybe you’re somewhere on the planet where buying a ticket makes sense, be it in or around Sheffield or in a place from which you might be up for traveling.
Tickets are on sale, and here’s the announcement from the fest:
DOOMLINES 2023 – 23rd July
Doomlines enters its eighth year with our biggest lineup yet – the only place to be for fans of heavy during Tramlines 2023.
We have stunning international talent alongside the best of the Sheffield and wider UK underground, covering doom, sludge, stoner, psych and more. Without further ado, feast your eyes on:
Psych rock titans, SLIFT (France) perform their only Northern UK date of the year. Alongside them witness meteoric British newcomers, Heriot. That’s on top of Slabdragger, Bismarck (Norway), The Infernal Sea, Thank, Longheads, Crepitation, ATVM, Volcanova (Iceland), Ba’al, Lowen, Gozer, Bodach, Chapel Floods and Le Menhir.
Doors open at 12:30 on the Sunday of Tramlines (23rd July), meaning wall to wall bands across two stages until 10:30pm, no clashes, no BS. With food stalls (plant-based options included) and merch, you won’t need to leave Corporation for anything. Situated within walking distance of Sheffield’s train and bus stations, we look forward to welcoming fans from outside the city. If visiting, it’s recommended to book accommodation ASAP.
We also have the Warm Up Show on Friday (21st July) featuring Diploid (Australia), Dead In Latvia, Casing and Void Maw. Damn son.
Posted in Whathaveyou on December 2nd, 2022 by JJ Koczan
I mean, what can you say to this other than ‘can I come?’ I’ve known this festival was capable of some real-deal shit over the last decade, but this is absolutely epic, which is a word I do my best to avoid. And they end it by saying there’s more to come. God damn. Really. God damn.
Wow.
Here:
Desertfest London announce over 40 bands for 2023
Friday 5th May – Sunday 7th May 2023 | Weekend Tickets on sale now
Desertfest London is rounding off the year with an ear-shattering bang, announcing a mammoth 43 artists to their 2023 line-up. Joining the likes of Uncle Acid & The Deadbeats, Graveyard, Kadavar and Church of Misery, the Camden-based festival also welcomes back Corrosion of Conformity as headliners.
Pioneers of a groove-laden sound that is undeniably their own, Corrosion of Conformity have not been back on UK soil since 2018 so expect big, loud and memorable things from their appearance at Desertfest next year. Corrosion of Conformity have been due to play the event since 2020 – making their return one of the most widely requested in the event’s history.
Japan’s own avant-garde maestros of down-tuned psychedelia Boris leap over to London alongside the crushingly loud tones of NOLA’s own Crowbar. One of the most exciting bands in recent memory King Buffalo, make their long-awaited debut plus Desertfest favourites, Weedeater are back after five long years of chugging whiskey lord-knows-where.
The pace moves up a notch with New York City’s noise-rock guru’s Unsane and British punk-legends Discharge, all of whom bring a detour from the slow’n’low sounds the festival is best recognised for. Montreal’s Big | Brave will play the festival for the first time showcasing their experimental and minimalist take on the notion of ‘heavy’, whilst the doors to the Church of The Cosmic Skull are open, as they ask Desertfest revellers to join them in a union unlike any other.
Desertfest also warmly welcomes noise from STAKE, British anti-fascist black metallers Dawn Ray’d and London’s loudest duo Tuskar as well as some of the best recent stoner acts in the form of Telekinetic Yeti, Weedpecker & Great Electric Quest. Elsewhere the weekend will also see Wren, The Necromancers, Dommengang, Samavayo, Morass of Molasses, Sum of R & GNOB offer up unique live performances.
Rounding off this beast of an announcement are Acid Mammoth, Deatchant, Zetra, Trevor’s Head, Our Man in The Bronze Age, Wyatt E., Iron Jinn, Mr Bison, Troy The Band, Oreyeon, Warren Schoenbright, Early Moods, Longheads, Terror Cosmico, Thunder Horse, TONS, Vinnum Sabbathi, Bloodswamp, The Age of Truth, Earl of Hell and Black Groove.
Weekend Tickets for Desertfest London 2023 are on-sale now via www.desertfest.co.uk with more acts still to be announced.
Day splits and day tickets will be on sale from January.
Full Line-Up for Desertfest London 2023: UNCLE ACID & THE DEADBEATS | GRAVEYARD | CORROSION OF CONFORMITY | KADAVAR | BORIS | CROWBAR | CHURCH OF MISERY | WEEDEATER | KING BUFFALO | BLOOD CEREMONY | DISCHARGE | SOMALI YACHT CLUB | UNSANE | BIG|BRAVE | INTER ARMA | CHURCH OF THE COSMIC SKULL | VALLEY OF THE SUN | STAKE | MARS RED SKY | SPACESLUG | GRAVE LINES | GAUPA | TUSKAR | TELEKINETIC YETI | WEEDPECKER | DAWN RAY’D | WREN | GREAT ELECTRIC QUEST | THE NECROMANCERS | DOMMENGANG | ECSTATIC VISION | SAMAVAYO | MORASS OF MOLASSES | SUM OF R | HIGH DESERT QUEEN | GNOB | EVEREST QUEEN | ACID MAMMOTH | DEATHCHANT | ZETRA | CELESTIAL SANCTUARY | TREVOR’S HEAD | OUR MAN IN THE BRONZE AGE | WYATT E. | MR BISON | TROY THE BAND | PLAINRIDE | IRON JINN | OREYEON | WARREN SCHOENBRIGHT | EARLY MOODS | LONGHEADS | TERROR COSMICO | THUNDER HORSE | TONS | VINNUM SABBATHI | BLOODSWAMP | VENOMWOLF | THE AGE OF TRUTH | EARL OF HELL | BLACK GROOVE | MARGARITA WITCH CULT
UK heavy psychedelic rockers Longheads release their new EP, Mars Doesn’t Feel Like Home Anymore, on Nov. 2 through their own Longreel Records label, and with it present 31 minutes of space-faring lysergic adventures, immersive enough to ensnare tired, older acid freaks and fresh and progressive enough in its delivery to draw next-generation let’s-go-hiking-in-the-cosmos types as well. In the New Dawn of Weirdo Psych, propelled into the stratosphere by the likes of King Gizzard, Slift, even Earthless to a point, Longheads‘ five-songer is a left turn enough to not sound directly like any of them — though shred is a common factor, and well accounted for here in the guitar work of Al Bishop and Benjamin Reeve — with the declarative vocals of “Glossolalia” coming through like a mellow Hawkwindian ritual, too cool to be stoned, too stoned to care.
The narrative (blessings and peace upon it) is that the five-piece of Reeve (also vocals) and Bishop, bassist/lead vocalist Sam Mitchell, drummer Nick Oakes and synthesist Mitchell Corrigan recorded in an old theatre in South London, in which they lived at the time, having set themselves up under the ‘Guardianship scheme,’ which in my limited understanding I think is like what would happen if ‘squatters rights’ both actually existed and went legit. When you get evicted under guardianship of a property? You have a month to leave. In the US, they just run your ass over with a steamroller. Must be nice to be civil in that way.
Maybe that’s true, though if you’re thinking it’s going to make the drums sound cavernous, that’s not really the case. There’s plenty of room in the sound, to be sure, but Longheads‘ sound is more concentrated on blending the dreamy and the drifting, groove and trip. They begin with “One Step Further,” on which the synth demonstrates that just because the guitars are doing frenetic runs over the jazzy drums and bass that doesn’t mean it’s going to get lost in the mix. A bit of organ there for good measure as well. “Glossolalia” is a little more on solid ground, structurally, and makes a focal point of its bright-toned solo, with fair reason, and ends in a push of low-key multilayer madness.
That is to say, there’s more going on in the track than the overarching flow makes it appear, and it should be no surprise that the same applies to the manner in which “Longheads” takes a classic stoner rock riff, strips it down to its rhythmic strum, and uses it as the foundation of an eight-minute, going-and-not-coming-back exploration, some highlight dual-vocals and ’70s-epic synth dropped along the way like they just happened to bump into krautrock on their way to Pluto. You or the music: who digs whom?
If you catch it, “Longherder” has a break at about 4:50 where it basically stops and starts its finishing build from near-silence. That’s enough to make me wonder if the piece wasn’t born out of two song ideas put together, and if so, it’s all the more a credit to the band for following that particular whim. By the time they’re done, they’ve left scorch marks on the edge of the universe, and come on, guys — you know you can’t just buff that out. Check the bass though. Still kind of rumbling out that initial riff? Yeah, there’s a plan at work here. Thinky-thinky. Clever. Not as all-the-way-gone as it might seem on first blush, and there’s nothing wrong with that so long as you don’t mind when somebody steers the spaceship.
A twist arrives with the acoustic/synth interplay of the penultimate “In the Beginning,” a shorter turn at 3:13, with a vague hint of Britfolk via Zeppelin, that’s probably mostly intended as an interlude to put some distance between “Longherder” and the finale title-track, which tops nine minutes, but on a record that’s so much about vibe and atmosphere anyway, it’s not at all unwelcome as it leads directly into the closer, which leans harder into classic space rock as it emerges from its gradual beginning into more fervent thrust, not quite motorik, but maybe what motorik would be if it cared less about the rules. If you’re waiting for the part where I tell you about the big finish, yeah, there is one, but I dig the stretch before, with the two guitars having a chat over some tense let’s-go-already drums and steady bass, the kind of noodly calm before the ion storm.
It shows Longheads are thinking about live performance at least in the recording if not the actual writing process — I also don’t know how much of parts like this were made up on the spot, but I suspect some — and makes the payoff all the more satisfying when they get there in their own time. I wouldn’t call it patient, but it’s not trying to be. They’re establishing both ends of a dynamic that was nascent on last year’s Higher Than Bacteria, which also had a nine-minute capper, and feeling their way into planetary alignment, and that’s where they should be. But if you can’t hear the potential in these tracks for developing a vital space boogie, I can’t help you, because it’s all right there in the songs themselves. If this band tours hard, you’re going to want to watch out.
All of which is to say I hope you enjoy the stream. PR wire info follows, as well as a live set the band played at Longreel Studios, the aforementioned theatre space they had while the getting was good.
Mars Doesn’t Feel Like Home Anymore follows the release of 2021’s debut EP Higher Than Bacteria. The new EP has seen the band take a much looser approach when it came to both writing and recording, incorporating improvised jam sections and capturing the band’s incredible live energy to the songs on record.
“When gigs started happening again last year we found ourselves in a position where we needed to write songs to fill up the space in our set. Because of this we started playing the new songs live as soon as they were finished and we continued to change and refine them based on how they went down.” Comments guitarist Al Bishop.
Originally hailing from Norfolk the band who are completed by Sam Mitchell (lead vocals & bass), Nick Oakes (drums), Benjamin Reeve (guitar & vocals) and Mitchell Corrigan (synths) are now based in South London where a few of the members live in the Guardianship scheme occupying various sites and spaces across London. This is where they recorded the EP at their very own ‘Longreel Studios’ in October last year, which was a space the boys had set up in an old theatre opposite the oval cricket ground.
Here the space of their surroundings allowed them to dive deep in writing with no limits and a week after they had finished all the live tracks they were handed their one month notice and had to dismantle the studio.
Now to celebrate the release of the forthcoming EP, they will be headlining the Black Heart on November 24th with tickets available here:https://linktr.ee/longheads
Tracklisting: 1. One Step Further 2. Longherder 3. In The Beginning 4. Mars Doesn’t Feel Like Home Anymore 5. Glossolalia
Longheads are: Sam Mitchell (lead vocals & bass) Al Bishop (guitar) Benjamin Reeve (guitar & vocals) Mitchell Corrigan (synths) Nick Oakes (drums)
