Long-enough since sold out, German festival Freak Valley continues to add to its lineup one band at a time. I don’t know how long it will keep going in this fashion, but at this point I’d assume that as long as there are acts to be added, they’ll come out this way. Nothing against that process — obviously it’s worked pretty well for the fest, what with that being-sold-out and all — and in the case of a band like Toundra, it gives someone like me, who’s never heard them, a chance to get to know something new while also daydreaming about a festival that in all likelihood I’ll never be able to afford flying out to see. Fortunately, Toundra‘s music is pretty comforting.

The fest announced their taking part in the standard fashion:

Spanish Postrock wizards TOUNDRA will play Freak Valley Festival 2016

We are so proud to announce that our dear friends and almost-resident Vortex Surfer Musikclub-band Toundra will be joining this years FREAK VALLEY FESTIVAL. Bringing their experimental Postrock to birth in 2007 their talent immediately gathered attention from fans all around the globe.

With four albums out so far the Madrid based foursome has grown into one of the most exciting rock acts in Spain, selling out venues in their homeland but also conquering entire Europe with their compelling live shows. And that exactely is what it’s all about. TOUNDRAs live experience is all passion and joy packed into a dynamic rock explosion. Cheesy but true.

For the first time we found a local poster-artist for this one: Mind Collæctor

FREAK VALLEY FESTIVAL – 26th-27th-28th May 2016
www.freakvalley.de – www.rockfreaks.de

FVF 2016 is SOLD OUT!!

Freak Valley Festival: No Fillers – Just Killers
Line-up 2016:
GRAVEYARD [SW] – Vintage Rock
DEAD MEADOW [US] – Psychedelic Stonerrock
SPIDERGAWD [NO] – Post-Boogie
WHITE HILLS [US] – Fuzzed Out Motorik Psychedelic
BABY WOODROSE [DK]- Psychedelic Garagerock
LONELY KAMEL [NO]- Heavy Blues, Hardrock & Stoner
ROTOR [D] – Instrumental StonerRock/Psychedelic
MONOLORD [SW] – Doom/Sludge
MANTAR [D] – Death Metal Doom Punk
TOUNDRA [SP] – Postrock
FARFLUNG [US] – Spacerock for 21st Century Heads
BLACK RAINBOWS [IT] – Heavy Psych
THE GOLDEN GRASS [US]- Heavy/Funk//Psych/Freakbeat
SPIDERS [SW] – Hard/Glam Rock
SONS OF HUNS [US] – Heavy Riffin Rock
LÉ BETRE [SW] – Bluesy Hardrock
…more tba very soon

www.freakvalley.de
https://www.facebook.com/freakvalley
https://twitter.com/FreakValley
https://shop.ticketscript.com/channel/web2/start-order/rid/LYSQRABJ/language/en

Toundra, III (2012)

That Roman trio Black Rainbows might seem to have broken through with their fourth album, 2015’s Hawkdope (review here), is no coincidence. In addition to guitarist/vocalist Gabriele Fiori having a genuine impact on the European and US heavy underground through his work booking tours and with his Heavy Psych Sounds label, the band has continued a push with a steady stream of tours and releases over the last half-decade-plus, building this momentum from the ground up and doing right by themselves and the sphere of Italian heavy rock in the process.

The latest beneficiary of their continued efforts? Germany’s Freak Valley 2016, which will host the band at the end of May. We’re just days out from the fest’s last announcement, which was Graveyard, so if you want to take the company they’re keeping as a sign of Black Rainbows‘ work paying off, so be it.

Word from the fest went like this:

BLACK RAINBOWS will bring their psychedelic, lysergic storm of heavy space-rock to FREAK VALLEY FESTIVAL 2016

The Italian psych-fuzz trio BLACK RAINBOWS sound like the bastard offspring of ’70s hard-rock swagger and ’90s stoner-groove; hints of Black Sabbath, MC5 fuse with liberal pinches of Monster Magnet, Nebula and Fu Manchu.

Since 2007 the band have released four full-length albums, coupled with split releases and also been regulars on stages across the world having now performed over 400 gigs. Hawkdope, their last record has been one of the best acclaimed albums of 2015, the band never stop activity will bring awesome news regard spring 2016..stay tuned!

Fantastic poster by SoloMacello

FREAK VALLEY FESTIVAL – 26th-27th-28th May 2016
www.freakvalley.de – www.rockfreaks.de

FVF 2016 is SOLD OUT!!

Freak Valley Festival: No Fillers – Just Killers

Line-up 2016:
GRAVEYARD [SW] – Vintage Rock
DEAD MEADOW [US] – Psychedelic Stonerrock
SPIDERGAWD [NO] – Post-Boogie
WHITE HILLS [US] – Fuzzed Out Motorik Psychedelic
BABY WOODROSE [DK]- Psychedelic Garagerock
LONELY KAMEL [NO]- Heavy Blues, Hardrock & Stoner
ROTOR [D] – Instrumental StonerRock/Psychedelic
MONOLORD [SW] – Doom/Sludge
MANTAR [D] – Death Metal Doom Punk
FARFLUNG [US] – Spacerock for 21st Century Heads
BLACK RAINBOWS [IT] – Heavy Psych
THE GOLDEN GRASS [US]- Heavy/Funk//Psych/Freakbeat
SPIDERS [SW] – Hard/Glam Rock
SONS OF HUNS [US] – Heavy Riffin Rock
LÉ BETRE [SW] – Bluesy Hardrock

…more tba very soon

www.freakvalley.de
https://www.facebook.com/freakvalley
https://twitter.com/FreakValley
https://shop.ticketscript.com/channel/web2/start-order/rid/LYSQRABJ/language/en

Black Rainbows, Hawkdope (2015)

Sure, the fest is long since sold out, but that’s not going to stop Freak Valley 2016 from announcing its acts one at a time, giving each its proper due. In the case of Graveyard, they might as well take the next week off, because that’s a good get. The Swedish kings of the heavy ’10s have been announced as a headliner for the German fest along with Dead Meadow, and they’ll head to Netphen in support of their fourth album, last year’s soulful Innocence and Decadence (review here) on Nuclear Blast.

Freak Valley 2016 says it has more announcements to come, and I believe it, but it’s hard to look at the list of groups already taking part below and not think that if they rolled out as-is, they wouldn’t get through a weekend just fine. Here’s word from the fest:

*** GRAVEYARD will rock FREAK VALLEY FESTIVAL 2016 ***

Spread the news! We’ll give away one free 3-day pass for every 100 shares to one of you (make it sure to be ‘public’).

After FVF’15 we asked you what bands you would like to see @ Freak Valley ’16. By far most of you Freaks asked for Graveyard. Your wish is our command!

Swedish kings of vintage rock will finally play Freak Valley Festival. We are totally thrilled!!

FREAK VALLEY FESTIVAL – 26th-27th-28th May 2016
www.freakvalley.de – www.rockfreaks.de

FVF 2016 is SOLD OUT!!
Freak Valley Festival: No Fillers – Just Killers
Line-up 2016:
GRAVEYARD [SW] – Vintage Rock
DEAD MEADOW [US] – Psychedelic Stonerrock
SPIDERGAWD [NO] – Post-Boogie
WHITE HILLS [US] – Fuzzed Out Motorik Psychedelic
BABY WOODROSE [DK]- Psychedelic Garagerock
LONELY KAMEL [NO]- Heavy Blues, Hardrock & Stoner
ROTOR [D] – Instrumental StonerRock/Psychedelic
MONOLORD [SW] – Doom/Sludge
MANTAR [D] – Death Metal Doom Punk
FARFLUNG [US] – Spacerock for 21st Century Heads
THE GOLDEN GRASS [US]- Heavy/Funk//Psych/Freakbeat
SPIDERS [SW] – Hard/Glam Rock
SONS OF HUNS [US] – Heavy Riffin Rock
LÉ BETRE [SW] – Bluesy Hardrock
…more tba very soon

www.freakvalley.de
https://www.facebook.com/freakvalley
https://twitter.com/FreakValley
https://shop.ticketscript.com/channel/web2/start-order/rid/LYSQRABJ/language/en

Graveyard, “Too Much is Not Enough” official video

It hasn’t yet been a full month since it was revealed that Mantar had signed to Nuclear Blast to release their sophomore LP, Ode to the Flame, in Spring 2016, but already we’re getting a sense of how the Bremen duo will support it. They’ve been added to the lineup for Freak Valley 2016 and presumably that’s the first of many such appearances to come. Mantar got behind their 2014 debut, Death by Burning (review here), pretty hard, what with touring the US alongside Conan and all, so it’s easy to imagine Ode to the Flame will get much the same treatment. And by that I mean driven forcibly into the ears of audiences in various parts of the world.

They found a good place to start:

Hey Freaks!

We think you deserve a later but heavy X-mas present!!

Here you are: German two-piece wall of Noise and Doom MANTAR are confirmed to play FREAK VALLEY FESTIVAL 2016!!

Ugly, slimy, bumpy and brutal, yet at the same time contains some of the catchiest riffs and melodies you’ll hear this side of the Ganges. If High On Fire, ‘Bleach’ era Nirvana and Darkthrone had a meth fueled orgy this would be it’s offspring.

MANTAR manages to sound heavier than most five piece bands you may know, in spite of the fact that no bass guitar is used. Just drums and guitar set for destruction. Forget about Rock ‘n Roll. This will hurt. Flogging beats and blackened melodies meet feedback orgies and doom mayhem.

Please share this amazing cover art by Headbang Design

FREAK VALLEY FESTIVAL – 26th-27th-28th May 2016
www.freakvalley.de – www.rockfreaks.de

FVF 2016 is SOLD OUT!!

Freak Valley Festival: No Fillers – Just Killers

Line-up 2016:
DEAD MEADOW [US] – Psychedelic Stonerrock
SPIDERGAWD [NO] – Post-Boogie
WHITE HILLS [US] – Fuzzed Out Motorik Psychedelic
BABY WOODROSE [DK]- Psychedelic Garagerock
LONELY KAMEL [NO]- Heavy Blues, Hardrock & Stoner
ROTOR [D] – Instrumental StonerRock/Psychedelic
MONOLORD [SW] – Doom/Sludge
MANTAR [D] – Death Metal Doom Punk
FARFLUNG [US] – Spacerock for 21st Century Heads
THE GOLDEN GRASS [US]- Heavy/Funk//Psych/Freakbeat
SPIDERS [SW] – Hard/Glam Rock
SONS OF HUNS [US] – Heavy Riffin Rock
LÉ BETRE [SW] – Bluesy Hardrock

…more tba very soon

www.freakvalley.de
https://www.facebook.com/freakvalley
https://twitter.com/FreakValley
https://shop.ticketscript.com/channel/web2/start-order/rid/LYSQRABJ/language/en

Mantar, Live at Saint Vitus Bar, May 22, 2015

There’s about a month and a week left before Norwegian heavy rockers Spidergawd issue their third album, Spidergawd 3, on Crispin Glover and Stickman Records, but I gotta be honest with you: I’m done waiting. If the record showed up in my inbox right now, I’m not even sure I’d have the patience to download it rather than just bashing my head into the laptop screen in order to try to absorb it as quickly as possible. And I think that, otherwise, this laptop has at least another three good years left in it. It’s that kind of anticipation.

Spidergawd last week announced a European tour for immediately after the release, and it’s been all of one whole day since I last posted an announcement from Freak Valley 2016, so yeah, this seems about right. Have at it:

*** Norway’s SPIDERGAWD Will Bring Their Fuzzed Out Post-Boogie Assault to FREAK VALLEY FESTIVAL 2016 ***

The worst thing that could happen in today’s music-business: That the best bands are not the most popular, known by everyone. But if you really like rock’n’roll you will definitely love Spidergawd – a band that stands for everything we love about guitar driven music.

The Norwegian four-piece has it all: the swagger, the wildness, the danger that real rock’n’roll celebrates these days far too seldom. Helmed by Per Borten – a natural born singer with the perfect croon and a gifted guitar-player – Spidergawd has the best rhythm-section you get these days. It’s MOTORPSYCHO’s bassist Bent Sæther and drummer Kenneth Kapstad. Both lay down masterful and relentless grooves. The line-up is rounded out by baritone-saxophone-player Rolf Martin Snustad who ads a certain soulful and jazzy edge to the mix.

And the magic is surely in the mix: Spidergawd brilliantly blend old blues-styles, heavy psychedelic with improvised freak-outs, the dry-to-the-bone-grooves of Queens of the Stone Age, the soulful heavy-arena-rock of Thin Lizzy and the wild proto-punk of such Motor-City-legends like MC5 and The Stooges.

Spidergawd is the best band you might not have seen yet. They bring back the magic and fun of rock’n’roll – as they did on their marvellous debut (2014) and their even leaner and meaner follow-up II (2015). The third album will arrive in early 2016 – and it is as relentless as its predecessors!

Beautiful poster art by Krisna Ilham Heriawan

FREAK VALLEY FESTIVAL – 26th-27th-28th May 2016
www.freakvalley.de – www.rockfreaks.de

FVF 2016 is SOLD OUT!!

Freak Valley Festival: No Fillers – Just Killers
Line-up 2016:
Dead Meadow [US] – Psychedelic Stonerrock
Spidergawd [NO] – Post-Boogie
White Hills [US] – Fuzzed Out Motorik Psychedelic
Baby Woodrose [DK]- Psychedelic Garagerock
Lonely Kamel [NO]- Heavy Blues, Hardrock & Stoner
Rotor [D] – Instrumental StonerRock/Psychedelic
Monolord [SW] – Doom/Sludge
Farflung [US] – Spacerock for 21st Century Heads
The Golden Grass [US]- Heavy/Funk/Boogie/Psychedelic/Freakbeat
Spiders [SW] – Hard/Glam Rock
Son of Huns [US] – Heavy Riffin Rock
Lé Betre [SW] – Bluesy Hardrock
…more tba very soon

www.freakvalley.de
https://www.facebook.com/freakvalley
https://twitter.com/FreakValley
https://shop.ticketscript.com/channel/web2/start-order/rid/LYSQRABJ/language/en

Spidergawd, “Caereulean Caribou”

Granted, I’ve never been, but it seems to me that a group like White Hills more or less embody what a festival like Freak Valley is all about. The New York heavy psych rockers are no strangers to European shores, and they’ll be among the headliners at Freak Valley 2016 next May in Netphen, Germany. They remain underappreciated in the US, but their dedication to heavy psych and space rock is unquestionable at this point — they’ve proven time and again where their collective heart lies, up to and including earlier 2015’s Walks for Motorists full-length on Thrill Jockey, which unless they put another one out between now and then — always possible — will be the record they’ll support as they head abroad once more.

This news came out the other day, so you may have seen it, but I’m trying to keep up as much as possible with these announcements, so better late than never. Here’s word from the fest:

New York’s Fuzzed Out Motorik Spacerockers WHITE HILLS will play FREAK VALLEY FESTIVAL 2016

Constantly pushing at the boundaries of order against chaos and speaking a musical language involving fuzzed out guitars, wah-wah pedals and amplifiers turned up all the way, WHITE HILLS embody the art and spirit of psychedelic rock.

New York space rock trio White Hills are the opposite of a comet. They suck up an explosion of energy on the surface of the Earth; from the history of amplified rock music, from the weather, from spirituality, from adrenaline, from the history of synthesized electronic music, from substance use, from philosophy, from friends and enemies alike, from mother fuxxing electricity, and they focus it into a blinding beam of energy which they reflect back out into the void. And this beam is a message. It is a statement which reads: “Fu.. you. We are here. We rock, therefore we are.”

White Hills – a space rock band in the 21st Century. But perhaps it’s best to let Dave himself explain what space rock actually means to him: “Heavy psychedelic music can deliver the thinking mind through a door to the greater universe. I want people to find a space for meditation. We all are constantly barraged and beaten down with a lot of bullshit today. Personally, I find that spaced-out extreme music transports me to a very tranquil place. I hope, more than anything, our music brings others to that place of enlightenment and ecstasy.”

Amazing poster art by Jo Riou Graphic Designer
Please give him a like!

FREAK VALLEY FESTIVAL – 26th-27th-28th May 2016
www.freakvalley.de – www.rockfreaks.de

FVF 2016 is SOLD OUT!!

Freak Valley Festival: No Fillers – Just Killers
Line-up 2016:
Dead Meadow [US] – Psychedelic Stonerrock
White Hills [US] – Fuzzed Out Motorik Psychedelic
Baby Woodrose [DK]- Psychedelic Garagerock
Lonely Kamel [NO]- Heavy Blues, Hardrock & Stoner
Rotor [D] – Instrumental StonerRock/Psychedelic
Monolord [SW] – Doom/Sludge
Farflung [US] – Spacerock for 21st Century Heads
The Golden Grass [US]- Heavy/Funk/Boogie/Psychedelic/Freakbeat
Spiders [SW] – Hard/Glam Rock
Son of Huns [US] – Heavy Riffin Rock
Lé Betre [SW] – Bluesy Hardrock

…more tba very soon

www.freakvalley.de
https://www.facebook.com/freakvalley
https://twitter.com/FreakValley
https://shop.ticketscript.com/channel/web2/start-order/rid/LYSQRABJ/language/en

White Hills, “H-p1” official video

Swedish heavy blues outfit Lé Betre have a full-length, 2014’s Melas, and a 2015 STB Records split with King Buffalo (review here) under their collective belt, but the prevailing opinion by all I’ve heard who’ve encountered them one way or another has been positive. I’ll admit to having missed the boat on the debut, but the split certainly caught my attention, and they have a quiet kind of buzz heading into the New Year that seems to find them looking to break out in a bigger way. That’ll include, as we see below, an appearance at the now-sold-out Freak Valley 2016 in Netphen, Germany, where they’ll join the ranks of Dead Meadow, Baby Woodrose, Rotor and Farflung, among others.

I’ll be interested to see how many heads they turn and whether the appearance is part of larger tour plans — perhaps for a follow-up LP — or a one-off, and just where they wind up by the end of next year as opposed to where they’ll have started it. Freak Valley 2016 posted the following:

*** Hey Freaks – we are so happy that Swedish bluesy hardrockers LÉ BETRE [STB Records] will play Freak Valley Festival 2016!!

Intense blues based melody clouds the air as the tried and true vocalist scorches the microphone with a crackling bluster of infectious fury. As meaty as it is exquisite, the riffs ooze across the speakers like bacon grease spatters a master chefs apron while the aroma enlightens the hungry patrons senses. Sounding somewhat as if Bruce Springsteen grew a bigger set of balls and smoked some weed with Willie Nelson, Lé Betre capture the essence of shear rock and roll, while maintaining the stoney haze of retro blues.

– The Huntsman Amazing poster art by Alex / SkullCult!!

Please give him a like!

Freak Valley Festival – 26th-27th-28th May 2016
www.freakvalley.de – www.rockfreaks.de

FVF 2016 is SOLD OUT!!

FREAK VALLEY FESTIVAL: No Fillers – Just Killers
Line-up 2016:
Dead Meadow [US] – Psychedelic Stonerrock
Baby Woodrose [DK]- Psychedelic Garagerock
Lonely Kamel [NO]- Heavy Blues, Hardrock & Stoner
Rotor [D] – Instrumental StonerRock/Psychedelic
Monolord [SW] – Doom/Sludge
Farflung [US] – Spacerock for 21st Century Heads
The Golden Grass [US]- Heavy/Funk/Boogie/Psychedelic/Freakbeat
Spiders [SW] – Hard/Glam Rock
Son of Huns [US] – Heavy Riffin Rock
Lé Betre [SW] – Bluesy Hardrock
…more tba very soon

www.freakvalley.de
https://www.facebook.com/freakvalley
https://twitter.com/FreakValley
https://shop.ticketscript.com/channel/web2/start-order/rid/LYSQRABJ/language/en

Lé Betre, Melas (2014)

I’ve had a pretty good thing so far going staying on top of the announcements as they’ve come out for Freak Valley 2016, and I’ll go ahead and blame the fact that I was traveling last week for my having missed the news that Portland, Oregon-based RidingEasy rockers Sons of Huns will take part. Better late than never, and especially so when their addition can come coupled with the significantly fresher news that Swedish boogie specialists Spiders have also joined the lineup.

Unless they put out a new one between now and then, which is entirely possible, Sons of Huns will be abroad supporting their 2015 album, While Sleeping Stay Awake (review here). Spiders‘ latest offering is 2014’s Shake Electric as of now, but I seem to recall seeing someplace they had a follow-up in the works. Even if not, they certainly have plenty going on otherwise. This week they head out in the UK alongside Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats, and in January, they will join Graveyard on the second leg of their US tour.

Announcements follow, courtesy of Freak Valley:

*** SPIDERS & SONS OF HUNS added to Freak Valley Festival line-up 2016 ***

Sprung out of Gothenburg, Sweden, the four piece rock-outfit Spiders has since their critically acclaimed debut album Flashpoint been one of the hardest touring bands in the business. Their MC5 -inspired glampunk honours rock history in their own unique way and has taken the band multiple mile after mile around the globe, both as a headliner and as support for Kvelertak, Metallica and the friends from Graveyard.

Actually they are supporting Uncle Acid and the deadbeats on their massive European tour. Spiders are crawling in a swift pace towards the top!

The beautiful he poster by Jo Riou Graphic Designer is dedicated to Louis. He’s a 5 year old child who lost his mother (who was a friend of Jo) and his grandmother in the Paris attacks some days ago. He collected his posters in his bedroom…

We are thrilled to announce, that the Portland heavy riffin trio SONS OF HUNS are coming to Europe for the very first time to play FREAK VALLEY FESTIVAL!!

In a city like Portland, Oregon, where there are quite literally hundreds of people playing heavy music – and playing it well, at that – it takes a bold, tightly-honed punch to the crowd’s ears in order to stand out. Formed in the winter of 2009 and armed with a full stack of Orange cabs, a lifetime of experience and enough classical training to out-riff any band that dares stand in their SG-wielding path, Sons of Huns [RidingEasy Records] have consistently blown crowds away. Peter Hughes of DANAVA fame (guitar), Shoki Tanabe (bass) and Ryan Northrop (drums) have headlined shows in anywhere from tiny bars to the main stages of Portland’s biggest music festivals.

Throughout their reign in the Pacific Northwest music scene, Sons of Huns have become widely known for their ability to turn every live show into a sci-fi, psychedelic-rock party and livening the spirit of every crowd with their jokes and unforgiving volume.

Freak Valley Festival – 26th-27th-28th May 2016
www.freakvalley.de – www.rockfreaks.de

FVF 3-day tickets – only 69€ incl. camping!!

TICKETS are selling like Rock Freak Records vinlys already. Available @ www.freakvalley.de and Woolheads

Your chance: next Saturday @ Vortex Surfer Musikclub: DeWolff & Ape Machine & The Dead-End Alley Band / https://www.facebook.com/events/659536650849596/

FREAK VALLEY FESTIVAL: No Fillers – Just Killers

Line-up 2016:
Dead Meadow [US] – Psychedelic Stonerrock
Baby Woodrose [DK]- Psychedelic Garagerock
Lonely Kamel [NO]- Heavy Blues, Hardrock & Stoner
Rotor [D] – Instrumental StonerRock/Psychedelic
Monolord [SW] – Doom/Sludge
Farflung [US] – Spacerock for 21st Century Heads
The Golden Grass [US]- Heavy/Funk/Boogie/Psychedelic/Freakbeat
Spiders [SW] – Hard/Glam Rock
Son of Huns [US] – Heavy Riffin Rock

…more tba very soon

www.freakvalley.de
https://www.facebook.com/freakvalley
https://twitter.com/FreakValley
https://shop.ticketscript.com/channel/web2/start-order/rid/LYSQRABJ/language/en

Spiders, “Shake Electric” official video

Sons of Huns, While Sleeping Stay Awake (2015)