Posted in Whathaveyou on April 16th, 2025 by JJ Koczan
With five bands, Bergen Doom Collective‘s Enter the Void Vol. 1 is starting out manageable with their inagural edition. Set for May 31 in Bergen, Norway, the lineup is mostly crushing, with Morpholith making the trip from Iceland to join forces with Old Horn Tooth (UK) and native Norwegian destroyers Dwaal and Bismarck. Holy smokes. That is four outfits who make a point of their heaviness. You want to be obliterated by volume? Bismarck into Dwaal into Old Horn Tooth into Morpholith. By the time they’re done, you’ll be little more than thankful goo on the floor.
But don’t forget Gjenferd! It’s a different sound and intention, but the up and coming rockers released their self-titled debut (review here) and are also set to appear at Desertfest Oslo a few weeks prior. They bring a sense of movement to the bill for Enter the Void that’s like your departure point as you make your way into the consuming darkness of the following four acts. They’re a counterintuitive fit on paper, but it’ll work on stage to set up a flow from one into the next until Morpholith finally capture the heat death of the universe and everyone goes home to sleep it off. Glorious.
Info from the PR wire and social media:
Enter the Void vol.1: A Sonic Journey into Darkness
Bergen Doom Collective, in collaboration with Kulturhuset in Bergen, Worship Bookings from Iceland, London Doom Collective, and Helvetes Indre Kretser, presents Enter the Void vol.1 – the first edition of an intense mini-festival that takes you deeper into the sonic abyss. A festival dedicated to promoting heavy underground music across multiple genres!
On May 31st, Kulturhuset in Bergen will be the epicenter of a sonic storm, where some of the most uncompromising bands from the underground scene will perform their mesmerizing rituals. Expect crushing riffs, psychedelic atmospheres, and a total experience that challenges both senses and mind.
The lineup consists of handpicked artists representing some of the finest within heavy underground music. This is not just a mini festival – it is a journey through the void, an echo from the abyss.
• Morpholith (IS) – Crushingly heavy, riff-driven, and atmospheric doom!
• Old Horn Tooth (UK) – Slow, melodic, and psychedelic doom!
• Dwaal (NO) – A raw fusion of doom and post-metal, resulting in a sonic storm!
• Bismarck (NO) – Bone-crushing doom, sludge, and post-metal with esoteric soundscapes!
• Gjenferd (NO) – Hard-hitting riffs, highly catchy vocal harmonies, and a sonic explosion of delicious ’70s rock.
Tickets are limited, so secure your spot before darkness falls!
Sponsored by @orangeamplifiers Poster by @hypnotistdesign
This Friday, UK longform doomers Old Horn Tooth will release their second album, Mourning Light, via Evil Noise Recordings (tape) and their own London Doom Collective imprint. Prefaced by the 2021 standalone 21-minute-long single, “True Death” (review here), the four-song/68-minute sophomore outing gazes unflinchingly into the void of its own construction — a dark, densely humid weight of tone and purpose likewise realized in terms of the fervency of its riff worship and its downerism — and follows 2019’s debut, From the Ghost Grey Depths, with a strong, plodding and declarative step forward. Through “Precipice,” “No Salvation,” “Mourning Light” and “Invisible Agony,” the three-piece of guitarist/vocalist Chris Jones, bassist Ollie Isaac and drummer Mark Davidson (also credited with “griefcase,” which I’m going to assume is a laptop or some other kind of synthesizer apparatus) present themselves as monolithic but not monotonous and extreme in their approach but not without melodic accessibility or emotional resonance. That is to say, yeah, it’s a slog, but it’s very much the slog they intended it to be.
At nearly 17 minutes long, “Precipice” begins with a whole-album ambient intro before giving over to its first distorted rumblings and the march counted slowly in by Davidson‘s ride cymbal. The immediate touchstone in terms of modus is Monolord, but Old Horn Tooth carve their own niche in mountainous sounds as Jones‘ vocals echo in the mix’s deceptively broad space with a sense of longing that calls Warning to mind, and that continues to serve as a defining aspect of what they do as one verse gives way to the next, the trio departs to a more meditative instrumental stretch anchored around Isaac‘s bassline and lumber toward and through a suitable crescendo, fading to silence before the comparatively immediate impact of “No Salvation” arrives, quickly nestling into a grueling and punctuated roll topped with mournful lead guitar as preface for the condemnation narrative of the lyrics. By the time a few more minutes have passed, they’ve gone even further in this grim and consuming plunge, and as “No Salvation” nears its midpoint, the wash of distortion recedes and the drums momentarily depart, leaving a clean line of morose ambience soon given tension through kickdrum lubdubs.
It’s less a build than a setup for a burst, but whatever gets you there. At 9:22 into its total 14:38, “No Salvation” blows its own top (again) and renews the roll. Vocals come and go again in the unmired-but-engrossing nod, which culminates pretty much when they decide to let it come apart, having already given the repetition its due. The title-track follows, with a similar runtime and a smooth shift from its first-minute intro to the melancholic riff that earns the record’s title. “Mourning Light” holds the emotive crux for the album, and doubles as the catchiest of the four inclusions, with room for organ in its mix but an orthodox approach that keeps to some notion of being straight-ahead in its guitar-bass-drums-vocals arrangement despite the fact that nothing on Mourning Light is under 14 minutes long. Maybe it would’ve been too much, since part of what makes “Mourning Light” so effective is how it feels tied to classic and modern doom as Old Horn Tooth mold their niche within the genre. As if to say, “Nothin’ too fancy here, folks. Just some e’eryday dudes bangin’ out lengthy slabs o’ massive riffery.” Likewise humble and flattening.
“Mourning Light” ends quiet on guitar and so the drummed start of 21-minute closer “Invisible Agony” feel duly stark in their setting out before the guitar joins. As they have all along, the band bring a sense of patience to the finale — fairly sure if they weren’t willing to take their time, this music wouldn’t exist at all; the name of the game is ‘gradual’ — but when the bass starts rumbling the threat is clear. Right as they hit the six-minute mark, long after the hypnotic effect has been achieved, the lurch takes its full-toned form, still based around the flowing progression of the drums, but given heft through a semi-drone of low end and the self-assured course led by Jones‘ guitar. The verse starts eight minutes in and becomes part of that same movement, which pushes into a depressive swirl in a bleakly semi-psychedelic conclusion. It’s someplace they haven’t gone yet, so fair enough, but as with the launch of “Precipice,” the ending of “Invisible Agony” feels applied to the entire 2LP as much as to itself. And like much of what precedes it, it is vibrant in its misery without tipping over into actual melodrama or goofy posturing, finding a balance along its own deeply immersive wavelength.
Mourning Light streams in its entirety below, followed by more from the PR wire. Please enjoy:
Last heard slinging low slung fuzzed-out doom on their 2019 album, From the Ghost Grey Depths, this July will see the official worldwide release of Mourning Light, the brand-new studio album from London-based trio, Old Horn Tooth.
For any fans of the genre that have stalked the capital in recent years, chances are London Doom Collective has supplied you with ample opportunity to sample some of the finest underground bands in a live setting. Since 2020 – Ollie, Chris Jones, Mark Davidson, and Sean Durbin – have flexed their DIY muscle as friends, promoters, and three-quarter members of Old Horn Tooth to devastating effect. Now, with the band’s new album on the horizon, they finally turn their hand toward a new endeavour, releasing music on vinyl.
“Putting out a record ourselves through London Doom Collective is our own personal statement of independence,” explains bassist, Ollie Isaac. “It’s a testament to the power of the underground and a direct connection with the scene, people and international doom community that has supported, guided and helped us grow.”
Live Dates 24th August – Cambridge (w/The Grey) 25th August – Cosmic Vibration Fest, Sheffield 28th September – Riffolution Fest, Manchester 16th November – Tonehenge, Kent
Posted in Whathaveyou on June 4th, 2024 by JJ Koczan
There’s a special category for the kind of music Old Horn Tooth play; I like to call it “very, very heavy.” The UK trio’s new album, Mourning Light, imagines Warning and Monolord come together, and the doom that ensues is of marked impact. Comprised of just four tracks, it nonetheless runs 68 minutes, and is an immersive, righteous slog of a one-song-per-side 2LP, with as much thought given to the atmospheric stretches that offset the churning weight as to that weight itself. Literally and figuratively, there’s a lot to like about it.
July 5 is the release date, and preorders are up through London Doom Collective — in which the band I guess are involved; I’m not sure if I knew that or not — and Evil Noise Recordings, whose tapes rule. You’ll find the title-track streaming at the bottom of this post, and I’m sure there’s another single coming soon, like six minutes after this is posted because that’s 100 percent how it goes sometimes. One way to find out — by posting it.
So here goes:
Old Horn Tooth | London-based Doom Trio Usher in New Album and Single
The men behind London Doom Collective summon their heaviest and most fuzzed out riffs yet on follow-up to their 2019 debut…
Last heard slinging low slung fuzzed-out doom on their 2019 album, From The Ghost Grey Depths, this July will see the official worldwide release of Mourning Light, the brand-new studio album from London-based trio, Old Horn Tooth.
For any fans of the genre that have stalked the capital in recent years, chances are London Doom Collective has supplied you with ample opportunity to sample some of the finest underground bands in a live setting. Since 2020 – Ollie, Chris Jones, Mark Davidson, and Sean Durbin – have flexed their DIY muscle as friends, promoters, and three-quarter members of Old Horn Tooth to devastating effect. Now, with the band’s new album on the horizon, they finally turn their hands toward a new endeavour, releasing music on vinyl.
“Putting out a record ourselves through London Doom Collective is our own personal statement of independence,” explains bassist, Ollie Isaac. “It’s a testament to the power of the underground and a direct connection with the scene, people and international doom community that has supported, guided and helped us grow.”
Often drawing comparisons to the likes of Conan and Monolord, Old Horn Tooth are a stirring colossus that offer up hypnotic, megaton grooves of slow heavy riffage in thrall to the cosmos.
New single and the title track for Mourning Light is a perfect case in point. Serving as an epic fifteen-minute jaunt into the sinister undertones of doom it’s the centrepiece to a startling collection of new songs. All of which navigate the complexities of grief and the resilience of the human spirit.
“This particular song explores the bittersweet memories and hidden sadness accompanying loss, while also offering glimpses of potential hope in the ‘mourning light’. Through its journey from bleak despair to the final acceptance, it encapsulates a shared sorrow and solace in vulnerability.”
LIVE DATES: 24th August – Cambridge (w/The Grey) 25th August – Cosmic Vibration Fest, Sheffield 28th September – Riffolution Fest, Manchester 16th November – Tonehenge, Kent
Posted in Whathaveyou on February 6th, 2023 by JJ Koczan
Based in Seelbach, Germany, the Hoflärm Festival will host its fifth edition this August, as seemingly every weekend of Europe’s Spring and Summer fest season seems to increasingly have something going on somewhere at sometime. A glut of cool events is nothing to complain about for anyone who remembers a couple years back when there was nothing — which, as much as one tries to repress those particular memories, I still do — and the lineup here is right on in terms of vibe with Acid King, Mars Red Sky, Messa and Elephant Tree so far at the top of the bill with Rotor, Swan Valley Heights, Mondo Generator, Grin, Black Lung, Eremit, Madmess, Old Horn Tooth and Kvinna rounding out and a few black boxes on the poster like the rest of the lineup has been redacted for the purposes of protecting classified information.
And I won’t argue with Hoflärm adding another six or seven bands, but, I mean, this is already pretty killer on first blush. You’ll note this takes place over three days, so spreading the 20 bands out over that long, it seems like a pretty laid back kind of deal — at least until Mondo Generator starts ripping into Kyuss tunes, but that’s fun too — and not necessarily as overwhelming as some multi-stage fests in Europe and elsewhere. This is the five-year anniversary of the fest, and to see Acid King and Mars Red Sky alone, it’s already got me daydreaming, so I take that as a win.
Details follow as per Hoflärm‘s socials:
Hoflärm – 5th Anniversary – GO FOR THE RIDE
Join us this year for the 5th stony ride to Hoflärm 2023! We are very happy to announce the first bands of the line-up today! We also announce the start of the presale for 05.02.2023 at 5 pm!
Started in 1993, we are more than proud to welcome Acid King! The band around Lori S. looks back on 30 years of band history and will bring their new Album to Marienthal in August.
Mars Red Sky and Elephant Tree will drive you into the sunset with their all time classics like Strong Reflection or Wither! We’re already feeling the vibe around the yard!
A very special highlight we are looking forward to is Messa. The Italian doom band combines the raw and rough sides of doom with the warm summer evenings of the Hoflärm.
Just last year, stoner legend Nick Oliveri visited us with his band Stöner. Nick liked it and had reason enough to come knocking on our door again in 2023. We are looking forward to Mondo Generator, Mr. Oliveri!
We also have visitors from Berlin again, on the one hand we are happy to welcome Rotor, our tractors are running at Vollast! But on the other hand also Grin! We can’t imagine a Hoflärm without Jan, Sabine and Andre! In 2021 the three played with Earth Ship, in 2022 with Slowshine. This year, however, only Sabine and Jan will be on stage, Andre will mingle with the audience while Grin plays their crushing riffs.
Black Lung and Madmess will bring you through our hot afternoons with their heavy psych rock!
Doom over Marienthal: Eremit and Old Horn Tooth will be blasting the darkest riffs into your ears! Live Slow Die Old!
Last but not least, we are happy to welcome 2 bands that have played at the Hof in the past! Swan Valley Heights and Kvinna! Kvinna was the band that opened the first Hoflärm, who of you was there and can remember?
Stay tuned for even more announcements! We have more Bands, as well another Headliner & Co Headliner to announce!
Posted in Whathaveyou on January 31st, 2023 by JJ Koczan
This looks utterly doable. You get into London maybe Friday morning, find your way to Hackney and the Oslo venue in time for the start, check out a few killers on Friday, then spend Saturday and Sunday fully immersed in the front-to-back, digging on the variety mostly of London’s own heavy underground, but certainly from some outside as well. I kind of feel like every time Slomatics book a show at this point I end up writing about it one way or the other — they mostly play fests, so it’s almost true — but along the top line here with them is Gnome — as seen on many 2023 lineups — Conan and Esoteric. That’s a strong argument already, but with the likes of Josiah and Desert Storm and Old Horn Tooth further down the bill there’s more to dig into than headliners to be sure. If you haven’t heard Goblinsmoker yet and want a tutorial on UK sludge, they’re glad to offer.
If I had more money than gawd and fewer responsibilities than I do, this would be the kind of thing I’d pop over to hang out at. It’s not about big bands or any kind of pretense or whatever. It’s just a killer assemblage playing out over what’ll be a good weekend for those fortunate enough to see it. Some familiar, some newer acts, just the way it should be. Nothing more to ask.
Tickets are available, and the venue’s right by Hackney Central train station and there’s a Travelodge there and a Tesco down the road, so if you’re looking to set up shop coming in from out of town, it’s doable. Full lineup follows:
We’re back in the ring to take another swing!
London Doom Collective are proud to bring you the best of the underground doom/stoner/sludge with Master of the Riff II
Posted in Whathaveyou on January 27th, 2023 by JJ Koczan
Solid bill. More than solid, actually. I don’t think I need to argue in favor of Ruination Festival 2023’s headliners in Slomatics and Fatso Jetson, but check out the US/UK blend at the pre-show as well with Thunder Horse and Great Electric Quest with Old Horn Tooth and Oakenthrone and Gandalf the Green. That’s a good time even before you get to Sergeant Thunderhoof and Mastiff and Trevor’s Head and Ritual King and Goblinsmoker et al welcoming High Desert Queen and the aforementioned Fatso Jetson to England’s green and pleasant land.
Of course, the elephant in the room here, fest-wise, is Desertfest London, but there are arguments to be made here for the concise all-dayer/pre-show format, and if you want a curated sample of some of the best up and coming UK acts with some more established names on top, it’s a good way to go and a situation without the rampant timing conflicts that inherently happen at larger festivals. Even with two stages going, this seems doable to me and like a good way to pack in seeing a bunch of bands and not having to miss out on something you want to see.
The fest is a collaboration between Iron Boar Bookings and Riffolution Promotions, and you can see the full lineup and
RUINATION FESTIVAL
Ruination Festival is a joint event from Iron Boar Bookings and Riffolution Promotions. Taking place on the 13th of May across 2 stages, The Underground and Als Juke Bar!
Tickets are £15.
Make sure to RVSP to stay up to date with announcements. With some of the best stoner, doom & psych on the scene, from both UK and US.
(#127482#)(#127480#) Fatso Jetson Great Electric Quest High Desert Queen Thunder Horse
(#127468#)(#127463#) Slomatics, Sergeant Thunderhoof, Mastiff, Grave Lines, Trevors Head, Ritual King, Son of Boar, Everest Queen, Goblinsmoker, Boach, Swamp Coffin, Ironrat, Old Horn Tooth, Gandalf the Green, Oakenthrone
I hadn’t necessarily planned on doing a tribute to Desertfest London 2022. Not that it doesn’t deserve it, just that it didn’t occur to me until last week’s lineup announcement happened to hit at the right moment for my brain to connect the two things: the show and the fest. Sometimes you get these impulses and it’s a good idea to follow.
In the voice tracks here I mumble a couple times about doing a second installment because this is so packed and there’s still so much more that got left out because the show is only two hours long. I may get around to doing a second one, or I might do a Berlin one, a New York one, or a Freak Valley one, Krach am Bach, Stoned From the Underground, etc. There are many, many options, and that’s not to mention Roadburn, which is also happening in two weeks.
But god damn the lineup for Desertfest London 2022 is sick, and I’m happy to report that the playlist below follows suit accordingly.
Thanks if you listen, thanks if you’re reading. Thanks in general.
The Obelisk Show airs 5PM Eastern today on the Gimme app or at: http://gimmemetal.com.
Full playlist:
The Obelisk Show – 04.01.22
Witchcraft
No Angel or Demon
Witchcraft
Electric Wizard
The Chosen Few
Witchcult Today
Greenleaf
On Wings of Gold
Echoes From a Mass
Josiah
Malpaso
Josiah
VT
Elephant Tree
Sails
Habits
Steak
Papas Special Custard
Acute Mania
YOB
Quantum Mystic
The Unreal Never Lived
Conan
Eye to Eye to Eye
Existential Void Guardian
King Witch
Under the Mountain
Under the Mountain
VT
Earthless
Gifted by the Wind
Black Heaven
Green Lung
Reaper’s Scythe
Black Harvest
MaidaVale
Another Dimension
Madness is Too Pure
Bongzilla
Free the Weed
Weedsconsin
VT
Old Horn Tooth
True Death
True Death
1782
Bloodline
From the Graveyard
Lowrider
Sernanders Krog
Refractions
The Obelisk Show on Gimme Metal airs every Friday 5PM Eastern, with replays Sunday at 7PM Eastern. Next new episode is April 15 (subject to change). Thanks for listening if you do.
Posted in Whathaveyou on March 25th, 2022 by JJ Koczan
Desertfest London 2022, has concocted the kind of lineup that you daydreamed about for the last two years. Adding 1000mods, Greenleaf, DVNE, Ritual King, Shooting Daggers, Old Horn Tooth and Personal Hell doesn’t hurt in that regard, and even at the cost of C.O.C. and others, I still can’t imagine anyone is gonna look at this lineup and call bullshit. Josiah headlining The Black Heart? YOB at the Roundhouse? Orange Goblin after Earthless at The Electric Ballroom? Holy mackerel. What more could you possibly want?
And if you say C.O.C., you’re missing the point.
It doesn’t look like I’m going to be there, as I was hoping to be, but if you are, you have my jealousy. If you’ll pardon me, I need to go change a diaper. Life.
From socials:
***1000MODS, GREENLEAF, DVNE + MORE ADDED TO DESERTFEST LONDON ’22***
Due to circumstances well beyond our control, the following artists are no longer able to perform at DF London ’22: Corrosion of Conformity, The Obsessed/Wino, Khemmis, Somali Yacht Club, Mos Generator, URNE, Shuck.
We know this news comes as a disappointment however, all is far from lost as we are thrilled to be welcoming 1000mods, Greenleaf, DVNE, Ritual King, Shooting Daggers, Old Horn Tooth & Personal Hell to the bill!
We hope you understand that touring is still extremely difficult to navigate during these times, with a lot of decisions taken out of our hands. But your continued support of independent live music means everything to us. We cannot wait to see you in a little over a month!
If you are still after a weekend ticket, the best thing to do is sign up to the DICE waiting list. Or you can nab yourself a Saturday + Sunday (Non-Roundhouse access) combo ticket here – https://link.dice.fm/Jb083c2cefc7
More info regarding after-parties, merch + a very exciting reveal of what’s going to be on offer down on Greenland Place is all to come.. stay tuned!
