Notes From Desertfest New York 2024: Night One

Posted in Reviews on September 14th, 2024 by JJ Koczan

High on Fire (Photo by JJ Koczan)

Before Show

Doors aren’t for a while yet, and I’m sitting out the back of the Knockdown Center as far out of the way as I can put myself and still be here. It’s good to be here. I crashed hard after the pre-show last night, and it wasn’t painful when the alarm went off at 8AM, unless of course you count the various old-rocker ailments that hit me alongside consciousness. There’s a reason I bring ibuprofen to these things.

I’m staying with Tim Bugbee — a photographer and one of those people who proves you can be both insanely talented and kind — in an AirBNB down the way, and it was about five minutes by car from a to b. Coming into town, I did not travel light. Big suitcase, laptop bag, camera bag; I felt as though all my belongings were compressed to a maximum extent coming back from Budapest last month. This is hardly the same kind of trip, but I wanted to spread out a little. I brought a pack of seltzer, some leftover chicken. I can be comfortable while doing a thing. It’s allowed. I stopped short of bringing a coffee pot, but should have. I’m not usually much for Keurigs, but it was functional. My grinds can come home with me.

This was basically the mellow morning before two days of go. Fine. I sat in my car for an hour and a half from 11:30AM-1:00PM so it didn’t get ticketed or towed because alternate side parking — it didn’t — and hung around in air conditioning because it’s hot in the sun. The whole weekend is supposed to be gorgeous weather, warm and sunny, but the light is Fall. Can’t climate change the Earth’s orbit, I guess. Angles of the light and all that.

Seemingly random, but sitting off to the side in the main venue space, I just saw Amy Tung Barrysmith from Year of the Cobra checking bass and vocals with Amenra. It was a surprise; wouldn’t have been if I kept up with the band’s social media. No drama. Their bassist couldn’t make the trip, so she’s filling in. They announced it a few days ago. I wonder what the connection is there, but I’ll take it either way. I’ve never been huge on Amenra on a personal-listening level, but I’ve yet to hear Amy Tung Barrysmith play on a thing and not like it more for her involvement. Should be an interesting set. Cool. It will be the eighth one of the total 10 sets played today. I hope to see at least part of everybody. Will keep you posted how it goes.

To that end:

Guhts

Guhts (Photo by JJ Koczan)

My first time seeing Guhts, which is a thing worth remembering. Their first album, Regeneration (review here), is my one to beat for best debut of 2024, if that matters. More to the point, they were fucking great. Obviously I dig the record too, but at full volume and assault, it was just the right combination of expansive and oppressive. They had the laptop going the whole time with keyboard parts and various electronic atmospherics, and with the four of them up there, it was pretty clear ever were giving 100 percent of everything to the performance. The passion came through raw, and actually, having the backdrop and transitional drones happening apart from the band, emphasizing the ferocity of the delivery when they let loose. As they did. Righteously. If that had been the end of the night, the day would be a win.

Blackwater Holylight

It had been a couple years and, admittedly, there was the contextual weirdness of it being Psycho Las Vegas — that’s not a dig; their whole thing was absurdity — last time I saw Blackwater Holylight, but the sinister sound of 2021’s Silence/Motion (review here) came to life as part of an ambient pastiche. It was more immersive than a lot of heavy bands are willing to be, and I guess you could call that ‘gaze of some variety or other, but that almost implied a kind of laziness and Blackwater Holylight were as much fuzzy progressive grunge metal as they were languid nod, with keyboards adding to the texture of the melodies, some toward psychedelic but clearly mindful of place and time. And maybe they riff out for a while too. How is that anything but awesome?

Abrams

Among the bands I haven’t seen before, I was most curious and what Abrams would bring. The Denver heavy rockers are ultra-reliable somgwriters, and they’ve always had a clarity of purpose in their arrangements and structures that is underrated by exponents, but in the Texas room it was more about hitting hard and representing the scope of their craft. Some emo in there, or at least the punk of the aughts. In any case, they were dynamic and leaned into the impact of their heavier stretches. At the same time, they weren’t void of mood at all, and guitarist/vocalist Zach Amster is the charismatic frontman he has always seemed to be. Dude can sing. I stood in the back for most of the set, and I could feel my earplugs shaking in my ears. People had their fists up. I’m not shitting you. And seeing them live, maybe part of why they’re undervalued is they’re a bit between styles. They’re a heavy rock band, but that’s not it. They’re metal, prog, punk and a few besides. Practiced but not at all dry in their delivery, I have to wonder if Abrams ever plays a show without making a new fan.

Primitive Man

Brutal turn of vibe. You know on paper what you’re getting with also-Danver’s Primitive Man — punishment; sounds no less likely to consume you having just bludgeoned you into oblivion — but the reality of the thing is even more destructive. Caustic doom as a genre? Crushing doom? Those sound like words that could be things. Doesn’t matter. Also from Denver, the trio were a vision of aural misanthropy, extremist in purpose and volume. There have only been like three bands today, so it doesn’t mean a ton to call them the heaviest as even their quiet parts had a rumble beneath that you could feel in your chest, but they were the heaviest of the fest so far and it would take a lot of noise to beat. Frequencies as weapons. Malevolence and probably a truckload of dry ice. I wouldn’t call myself well adjusted by any measure — if I was, I’d have stopped doing this years ago — but even on a level of catharsis, Primitive Man are a lot to take. Which, wait for it, is the point of the thing. If dystopia’s coming, they’re ready. And brutally sad. I didn’t know any of the songs. Mostly they were terrifying. And it was astonishing that it could still be daylight while they played. If Khanate are hacking you to pieces, Primitive Man are pulling concrete blocks on your chest until you can’t breathe anymore.

Spirit Mother

About as fresh in my mind as they possibly could be since the album they put out today was streamed here yesterday. They played a good deal of Trails, and brought a heap of noise to the prior single “Locust,” and were thick in vibe while still keeping the songs moving. A fill-in violinist/vocalist held down that role without question, and Armand Lance pushed his vocals into screams and was still able to carry the melody alongside said violinist when the guitar and bass dropped out and it was vocals and ride cymbal only for a few measures in “Wolves.” Some aspects of Young Hunter, All Them Witches, but Spirit Mother are very much their own thing on the balance, and their songs are getting darker, more expansive, and better. My second time seeing them, and I’m extra glad to have seen them play the Trails material. I’ll look forward to the next one.

Belzebong

Riff-forward instrumental stoner sludge metallers Belzebong came all the way from Poland to elicit crusty vibes in fog that I couldn’t tell if it was theirs or leftover from Primitive Man. Surely they’re used to haze, one way or the other. Big nod, ‘Bong Fire Death’ — because Bathory, god damnit! — in the backs of the bass and guitars, amd an absolute lock on tone, there was precious little to not like. You would not call them subtle and neither are they trying to be. Doom. Fucking. Riffs. Black. Fucking. Sabbath. You get the idea. Like their countrymen worshipers in Dopelord, they wear their love of weed on their collective sleeve, and I get it. And “it” in this circumstance means stoned. But the reason it works is because the music and their performance of it is as much a celebration as anything else, and they’re not trying to convince anyone they invented Sleep riffs. They’re the kind of band that, if you’re in this thing, make complete sense, and would confuse the shit out of normal people. It’s a very specific idea of fun. Always a pleasure to see them.

Deathchant

I crossed paths with Deathchant in June at Freak Valley (review here), so not quite topping Spirit Mother for being in my head, but not terribly far off either. They were going to be a ripper on stage and they were. Thin Lizzy and Motörhead and Sabbath and DRI or whoever; they own records. But volume and energy and shove were the order of things, however much the two guitars might veer into NWOBHM-type harmony on the way. I was late getting in to take pictures, but that’s okay. I don’t really like taking pictures most of the time, and I do like talking to friends, so if I’m not in front of the stage for everything, fine. I was on the side. Still enough perspective to know Deathchant were the start of the party for a lot of the heads in the room, which was later-in-evening crowded, and fair enough. The West Coast skate thing doesn’t always translate in New York, but some things hit just right. I’d never seen them before last August at SonicBlast (review here) — to which they returned this year — now it’s three times in 13 months. Maybe I’m a fan.

Amenra

Sure enough, Amy Tung Barrysmith on bass. They’re not a casual band, Amenra. They’re not the kind of thing one might put on in the background of an otherwise quiet afternoon. And it’s all so very important-feeling, very solemn, whether a given part is loud and screamy or subdued and melodic. It’s a genre trope — partly in Amenra’s wake, I think — for pprt-metal to take itself seriously. So they do the thing where Colin H. Van Eeckhout bangs the sticks together while kneeling at the start, and there’s the strobe matching the heft of tone and emotional immediacy with its own kind of sensory overload. They have a lurch and an undulating waves of distortion that’s their own, and it’s not a hot take they’re incredible at what they do, but I’ve never managed to get fully on board. My loss. It was a blast to watch Amy from Year of the Cobra playing with them, though, and just because they may not be a band I put on all the time doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate what they do and the influence they’ve had. It just means I’m probably going to be early for Domkraft.

Domkraft

And so I was. A band worth being early for. I spent most of the set right in the front, obnoxiously so, I’m sure, and kind of let go and nodded out for a bit. I didn’t fall asleep while Domkraft were playing or anything close to it. But it’s not a conscious thing when that riff hits you just right anyhow. I have to think the moshers know what I’m talking about. Starting out on a nine-day US run, the Swedish three-piece indeed were a culminating force from the Texas Stage, riffs bouncing off concrete walls and back again, creating that much more presence in the sound. There was a technical issue with the guitar, but it wasn’t actually that long in fixing, and they were right to restart “Whispers.” They’re are a lesson in the difference a great drummer can make, but they’re also a lesson in the difference a great everything can make. The lesson I learned was that I don’t appreciate their guitar solos enough, and the way I learned it was by being fortunate enough to be on the planet at the same time as the band.

High on Fire

The band who taught the world to shred riffs. Last met at the beginning of July in Croatia for Bear Stone (review here), though certainly they’ve been elsewhere since then, and they continue to hold their own standard. There was some not-fun-kind feedback intermittent early on, but it was a High on Fire set, like they wouldn’t deliver? They’re returning headliners at Desertfest New York, having played in 2022 (review here), and I don’t have a ton to say about them that didn’t apply two months ago, but to sum up they’re one of the best heavy-anything bands of their generation. I continue to dig the way they’re able to vary tempo in the live show while keeping the balance toward intensity on an LP. Of course they’re headlining. Hopefully it won’t be the last time they do. This forever will be the time that somebody was blowing bubbles during “Rumors of War,” however.

Unless they want to make it tradition or something. Which would be okay too, for sure. Hashtag Bubbles of War.

On that happy note, good night. I’ve been writing all day at the fest, and I’m ready to call it an evening. Tomorrow brings Dozer, Spaceslug and sundry other delights. There are more pics after the jump, and as always, thank you for reading.

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Desertfest New York 2024 Makes Second Lineup Announcement

Posted in Whathaveyou on June 7th, 2024 by JJ Koczan

Desertfest New York 2024 banner

A righteous dose of lineup additions to Desertfest NYC 2024 today puts High on Fire and Amenra at the top of the bill thus far along with the previously announced Russian Circles, and unveils the bands who’ll play the pre-party as The Skull-offshoot Legions of Doom, Tee Pee Records‘ house classic heavy proggers Mirror Queen, the revamped Satan’s Satyrs, and Mustafina.

All well and good, don’t get me wrong. Killer, all the way through. For me though, the personal highlight here is Spaceslug coming from Poland to play, hopefully on the main stage at the Knockdown Center. Not only is their new album the latest in a string of immersive heavy psych semi-metal explorations, but right around the end of last year, I was angling trying to get myself out to Vegas to see them at Planet Desert Rock Weekend, where they featured this past January. The thought of seeing them in Brooklyn takes some of the sting out of missing their first US appearance, and as that will occur among the likes of Primitive Man, Blackwater Holylight and Spirit Mother, so much the better.

If you’re not from New York and have ever thought about traveling there, take a gander at the following:

DESERTFEST NEW YORK ANNOUNCES HIGH ON FIRE, AMENRA, PRIMITIVE MAN, BLACKWATER HOLYLIGHT, SPACESLUG + MORE FOR 2024 EDITION

🎟️ https://link.dice.fm/desertfest2024 🎟️

Performing at the Knockdown Center please welcome…
↠ High On Fire
↠ Amenra
↠ PRIMITIVE MAN
↠ Blackwater Holylight
↠ Spaceslug
↠ Spirit Mother

Who will all be joining the likes of Russian Circles, Acid King, GREEN LUNG, Truckfighters, Dozer, BelzebonG for the 4th edition of our independent East Coast venture, celebrating the best in underground heavy music! With more still to announce, including day splits – which will be released in July.

We are extremely proud of this line-up and the amount of EU bands we are able to bring over to you!
Plus we are thrilled to welcome doom metal super-group Legions of Doom (ft. members of Trouble, Saint Vitus, The Skull & COC) to headline our SOLD OUT pre-party, hosted by TeePee Records alongside the return of Satan’s Satyrs, plus local heroes Mirror Queen & Mustafina!

Will we see you there?? Check out more info at www.desertfestnewyork.com

Desertfest New York 2024 will take place September 12th – 14th. 3-Day Festival Passes (incl. pre-party access) and 2-Day Festival passes are available now via https://www.desertfestnewyork.com & https://link.dice.fm/desertfest2024

https://facebook.com/Desertfestnyc/
https://www.instagram.com/desertfest_nyc/
http://www.desertfestnewyork.com

Spaceslug, Out of Water (2024)

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Northwest Terror Fest 2024 Announces Lineup; Early Bird Tickets on Sale

Posted in Whathaveyou on November 14th, 2023 by JJ Koczan

Some crossover here, admittedly, in acts like Messa, Amenra, Blackwater Holylight, the Giant Squid reunion (nice), Mother of Graves, Body Void, and so on. Immortal Bird, whom I’ve spent the last 15 years feeling like I should be writing about, etc., alongside the extremity of grindcore pioneers Repulsion and plenty of other noise of varying harshnesses. I’ve covered the fest before, but if you’ll note the first word of the post, it’s “some” crossover, and that’s true here too. Even some bands, like Sumerlands or Mother of Graves, I can’t decide if they fit here or not. I like that about them, and I like that about Northwest Terror Fest 2024, which has early bird tickets on sale as of 1PM Eastern yesterda.

But while there’s badassery in the bill and that’s not at all a surprise, the dual-prong motive for posting is sharing the GoFundMe link for Northwest Terror Fest (and Southwest Terror Fest) founder David Rodgers, who has a rare form of cancer detailed below. I remember working with David about a decade ago when he had his band Godhunter (still ahead of their time) going and his label Battleground Records, both of which seem to take a back seat ultimately to the success of the festivals, and fair enough. He’s someone who’s done excellent work to move aesthetic forward, in his own artistic output and in terms of supporting the work of others, and if you can help, you should. This country has shit for medicine and doesn’t care if you live or die. Would in many ways prefer you dead. All we as humans have is each other. No one’s coming to save us.

From the PR wire:

northwest terror fest 2024 tix on sale

Northwest Terror Fest Announces 2024 Line-up; Early Bird Tickets On Sale Monday November 13, 10am PST

NORTHWEST TERROR FEST, the Pacific Northwest’s only destination extreme music festival, will make its triumphant return for its 6th year, in Seattle, WA.

A limited number of early-bird tickets go on sale Monday, November 13, 2023 at 10am PST.

The inclusive extreme music festival will take place over three days – May 9th to May 11th – at two of Seattle’s premier music venues, Neumos and Barboza, located in Seattle’s historical Capital Hill neighborhood.

Over three days of NORTHWEST TERROR FEST – which is sponsored by the highly revered heavy metal site NO CLEAN SINGING, – the festival will showcase extreme metal, hardcore punk, and experimental music from 36 acts from the heavy metal underground and beyond. The festival packs a powerful lineup with Washington/Oregon exclusive performances by Daeva, Eternal Champion, Forbidden, Giant Squid (reunion performing Metridium Fields), Repulsion, Spiritual Poison, Sumerlands, and Weekend Nachos!

About the festival, The Northwest Terror Fest Planning Committee shares:

“We’re excited to once again bring three days of diverse and devastating music to Seattle in May, 2024. This year’s lineup features many of the most exciting new bands in metal, a handful of long-awaited reunions, excursions into industrial and darkwave, and a showcase of young and ambitious bands keeping underground music alive in the Pacific Northwest. Team NWTF is eternally grateful for the support of Washington and Oregon’s extreme music community – Northwest Terror Fest will always be for you. We’re looking forward to seeing you all in the pit. Until then, leave no cross unturned!”

Northwest Terror Fest VI 2024 Full Line-up
May 9-11 2024 | Seattle, WA
Neumos & Barboza

Abyssal
Amenra
Ascended Dead
Blackwater Holylight
Body Void
Brat
Colony Drop
Cystic
Daeva (WA/OR Exclusive)
Deathgrave
Diabolic Oath
Disimperium
Eternal Champion (WA/OR Exclusive)
Foie Gras
Forbidden (WA/OR Exclusive)
Giant Squid performing Metridium Fields (WA/OR Exclusive)
Grave Infestation
Habak
Hemorrhoid
Immortal Bird
Kömmand
Messa
Mother of Graves
MVTANT
Nox Novacula
Physical Wash
Primitive Man
Repulsion (WA/OR Exclusive)
Slow Crush
Spiritual Poison (WA/OR Exclusive)
Sumerlands (WA/OR Exclusive)
Ulthar
Undergang
Undulation
Warp Chamber
Weekend Nachos (WA/OR Exclusive)

NWTF TICKET LINK WILL BE LIVE MONDAY NOVEMBER 13, AT 10AM PST

https://www.axs.com/events/509507/northwest-terror-fest-tickets?skin=neumos

PLEASE TAKE A MOMENT TO READ BELOW

david northwest terror fest

David, a founder of Southwest Terror Fest and Northwest Terror Fest, has unfortunately been diagnosed with an incurable form of cancer called Multiple Myeloma cancer. The cancer can only be treated, with the goal of entering a remission state that will allow David to live longer. Without treatment, his life expectancy would be two years, at most. The end of his life would be on a dialysis machine. David’s family has decided to throw everything they have at this and fight it with chemotherapy and stem cell replacement therapy. His doctors are hopeful that these treatments will push the cancer into a dormant state. They believe that this will give David nine years, or more.

Anything that you can give will help David and his family greatly. If you are unable to financially support the fundraiser, simply sharing the Gofundme page on the internet would be immensely appreciated: https://www.gofundme.com/f/xuvgvh-davids-cancer-fund.

https://www.facebook.com/northwestterrorfest/
https://www.instagram.com/nwterrorfest/
https://www.threads.net/@nwterrorfest
https://linktr.ee/northwestterrorfest

Giant Squid, Metridium Fields (2006)

Northwest Terror Fest 2024 teaser

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Roadburn 2022: Festival Curators, Artists in Residence & Initial Lineup Announced

Posted in Whathaveyou on October 26th, 2021 by JJ Koczan

It’s good to know the pandemic has not dulled the ambitious nature of Roadburn Festival. Earlier this year, the long-running Netherlands-based festival held Roadburn Redux and set a high standard for the notion of a “virtual event” could be. Whether or not Roadburn 2022 will have an online component as well, I simply don’t know, and frankly, I can see arguments either way. On the one hand, it sure was nifty for everyone who couldn’t travel to a real-life Roadburn to be involved in that special community. On the other hand, for next year that’s production effort and budget that could probably otherwise go to an actual stage.

The initial lineup for Roadburn 2022 contains a broad mix of styles, as one would expect/hope, including a few carryovers from 2020/2021 and some newbies. Familiar faces and not. The recently robbed Russian Circles, whose subsequent GoFundMe was super-heartening. I hope conditions in the world are such that I can be there to see them and all their new gear.

Anyway, love this. All love. Warms my heart. I don’t know all these artists. Doesn’t matter. All love.

From the PR wire:

Roadburn 2022 redefining heaviness

ROADBURN 2022: first names announced including curators and artist in residence

Redefining heaviness

Roadburn Festival has today made its first line up announcement for the 2022 edition, which will take place between April 21-24 in Tilburg, The Netherlands. The majority of tickets to the festival have already been sold, but a limited number will go on sale today (October 26) at 7pm (CEST) via Ticketmaster.nl.

Roadburn’s artistic director, Walter Hoeijmakers comments:
“After two years of not being able to host a physical festival, we’re extremely excited to actually return in 2022. Given the circumstances, everything about this has been a real challenge, but we wanted to make sure that next year’s Roadburn will be a stronghold for the forward-thinking artists we all love so much – whether genre-defining established acts or young, up-and-coming artists. We really want to reconnect them with our international community – artistically, musically and physically – and to see them do what they do best: be on stage. We want to give them a platform in front of a live audience again, as it’s time to celebrate the music they’ve written over the past two years, or the much acclaimed albums that helped us through these strange, unprecedented times.

“It’s equally exciting to have Milena Eva and Thomas Sciarone as our 2022 curators; their commissioned music project for Roadburn Redux, This Shame Should Not Be Mine, elevated GGGOLDDD to a whole new level, as it made such a huge impact – musically, emotionally, and spiritually. The intimate connection felt by everyone online will be greatly amplified at Roadburn 2022, and we could think of no one better than Milena and Thomas to get us all reconnected.”

Line Up Information

ULVER will be performing a special set to mark their return to the live arena, focussing on their most recent release, Flowers of Evil. Their headlining performance will be a continuation of Ulver’s unpredictable yet thrilling career arc and of the passion for innovative music that fuels Roadburn.

Roadburn’s 2022 curators are Milena Eva and Thomas Sciarone of the Dutch band GGGOLDDD; as well as hand-picking elements of the festival line up, they will join the rest of the band to perform the commissioned music they wrote for this year’s Roadburn Redux event – a piece entitled This Shame Should Not Be Mine.

As part of the curated element of Roadburn, LITURGY – the avant-garde black metal band – will be performing their 2019 album H.A.Q.Q in full, as well as bringing to life their 2020 album Origin of the Alimonies, performing it as an opera on the main stage in sync with a film created by Hunter Hunt-Hendrix, accompanied by a chamber orchestra. Milena and Thomas will also present the European debut of BACKXWASH – the celebrated artist fuses rap and metal, and will perform two special sets at Roadburn – and performances from DIVIDE AND DISSOLVE, and MIDWIFE.

Further commissioned projects – originally planned for 2020 – will finally see the light of day as JAMES KENT (PERTURBATOR) joins forces with JOHANNES PERSSON (CULT OF LUNA) to perform Final Light. Cellist JO QUAIL will perform her commissioned piece, entitled The Cartographer, and VILE CREATURE and BISMUTH will unite to perform A Hymn of Loss and Hope.

Elsewhere on the bill Roadburn welcomes back some familiar faces such as RUSSIAN CIRCLES and PRIMITIVE MAN, whilst also inviting some new and mysterious members to the Roadburn family, such as underground black metal bands LAMP OF MURMUUR and KOLDOVSTVO. For full details of what has been announced so far, please see the links below. Stay tuned for more line up announcements in the coming weeks.

ALCEST – performing Écailles de Lune

BACKXWASH – performing two special sets; European debut

BIG BRAVE

BLAK SAAGAN – performing Se Ci Fosse La Luce Sarebbe Bellissimo

DIVIDE AND DISSOLVE

DÖDSRIT

FACELESS ENTITY

FULL OF HELL – Artists in Residence, performing four sets

GGGOLDDD – performing commissioned music, This Shame Should Not Be Mine

GREEN LUNG – performing Black Harvest

HELMS ALEE

JAMES KENT & JOHANNES PERSSON – performing commissioned music, Final Light

JO QUAIL – performing commissioned piece, The Cartographer

KOLDOVSTVO – performing Ни царя, ни бога

LAMP OF MURMUUR – European debut

LILI REFRAIN

LITURGY – performing H.A.Q.Q and Origin of the Alimonies

MIDWIFE

MILENA EVA & THOMAS SCIARONE – Roadburn 2022 curators

NOTHING

PRIMITIVE MAN

RUSSIAN CIRCLES

SÓLSTAFIR – performing Svartir Sandar

SPIRTUAL POISON

THE HOLY FAMILY

TRIALOGOS

ULVER

VILE CREATURE & BISMUTH – performing commissioned music, A Hymn of Loss and Hope

https://www.facebook.com/events/964112394348925
https://www.facebook.com/roadburnfestival/
http://www.instagram.com/roadburnfest
http://www.roadburn.com

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Psycho Las Vegas 2021 Announces Lineup

Posted in Whathaveyou on May 24th, 2021 by JJ Koczan

If you’re looking for insight into the Psycho Las Vegas 2021 lineup, I have precious little to offer. What started out being accused of being an American answer to Roadburn has become a spectacle unto itself, operating at a scale that’s more in competition with the likes of a heavy metal Riot Fest or Coachella, and has likewise developed a community of its own. As for what catches my eye here, Cephalic Carnage for sure, as well as a few carryovers from what would’ve been 2020, and the likes of The Sword, who I guess are back together now? Fair enough. Oh, and the GZA, for good measure. Katatonia and Mercyful Fate and Elder and a couple others aren’t making the trip, but there’s certainly plenty here to occupy your weekend. If the Vegas-in-August heat don’t melt your brains, the riffs surely will.

What’s a guy gotta do to get invited to do a DJ set at Psycho Las Vegas? I’m gonna send Nate Carson an email and see if he’s got any tips.

Ty Segall next to Satyricon. Fatso Jetson and Profanatica. Immolation and Dengue Fever. The Flaming Lips and Cannibal Corpse. If you’re asking for it to make sense, you’re doing Psycho wrong. This is an event that defines its own parameters.

Approach thusly:

psycho las vegas 2021 banner

PSYCHO LAS VEGAS 2021 Lineup

America’s rock n’ roll bacchanal returns to Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino August 20th through August 22nd, with another resort-wide casino takeover unlike any of its kind.

Now approaching its fifth year in the swirling neon decadence of Las Vegas, PSYCHO will feature over seventy artists across four stages including the world-class Events Center, the iconic House Of Blues, Mandalay Bay Beach, and the vintage Vegas-style Rhythm & Riffs Lounge in the center of the casino floor.

PSYCHO LAS VEGAS 2021 will continue to redefine America’s conception of what a festival can be.

Psycho Swim “The Official Psycho Las Vegas Pre-Party”
Old Man Gloom, Bongzilla, Death Valley Girls, Polyrhythmics, The Skull, Blackwater Holylight, Here Lies Man, DJ Scott Seltzer

PSYCHO LAS VEGAS 2021 Lineup:
Emperor, GZA, Mayhem, Obituary, Ty Segall, Satyricon, Watain, Paul Cauthen, The Sword, Cephalic Carnage, Health, The Bridge City Sinners, MGLA, Intronaut, Exhorder, Pinback, King Dude, Khemmis, Mothership, Toke, Lord Buffalo, Psychlona, Claude Fontaine, Hippie Death Cult, Foie Gras, ALMS, Mother Mercury, DJ Ethan MCCarthy, DJ Scott Seltzer, DJ Nate Carson, DJ Painkiller, Danzig, The Flaming Lips, Thievery Corporation, Cannibal Corpse, Dying Fetus, Red Fang, Cursive, Pig Destroyer, Poison the Well, Eyehategod, Primitive Man, Death by Stereo, Curl Up & Die, Boysetsfire, Fatso Jetson, Profanatica, Adamantium, Silvertomb, Frankie and the Witch Fingers, Withered, Flavor Crystal, Highlands, Vaelmyst, Black Sabbitch, The Tim Dillon Comedy Hour, Down, Exodus, High on Fire, Osees, Amigo the Devil, Drab Majesty, Crippled Black Phoenix, Weedeater, Full of Hell, Midnight, Repulsion, Cult of Fire, Zola Jesus, Tsol, Black Joe Lewis & the Honeybears, Guantanamo Baywatch, Immolation, Dengue Fever, Creeping Death, Kanga, Warish, Glacial Tomb, Relaxer, Vitriol, DJ Scott Seltzer, “Ask Doc” Q&A with Doc Mcghee

https://www.facebook.com/events/2513255765662644/
http://www.vivapsycho.com
http://www.facebook.com/psychoLasVegas
http://www.instagram.com/psycholasvegas

Psycho Las Vegas 2019 aftermovie

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Roadburn Redux: Primitive Man, Mizmor, Inter Arma, Maggot Heart and More Added

Posted in Whathaveyou on March 4th, 2021 by JJ Koczan

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In some ways, it’s comforting to see an announcement coming from the camp of Roadburn Festival — this year putting forth the virtual Roadburn Redux owing to circumstances that need not be recounted here for the thousandth time — and to find it completely overwhelming. Roadburn, in years past, has meant hard choices. You can only be in one place at one time. Do you leave in the middle of one set to catch the beginning of another? Do you REALLY need to take a break for dinner? Certainly not. Such human weaknesses.

I don’t know how Roadburn Redux will be organized/presented. Is it an artsy-looking website with a bunch of streaming embeds or links? A sort of choose-your-own-adventure excursion into a weekend of mindbending screentime? I am deeply curious to find out, and I suspect I’m not alone in that. My ignorance, however, isn’t preventing me from looking forward to the thing, which in festival tradition is set for next month. There will be a Weirdo Canyon Dispatch, the daily ‘zine. I was instructed to work on a new name for it. Might go with ‘Dispatch Redux,’ we’ll see.

Here’s the announcement from the PR wire:

roadburn redux lineup poster

ROADBURN REDUX: New additions for 2021 edition

Redefining heaviness with exclusive performances and premieres – wherever you are in the world.

Following on from last month’s announcement launching Roadburn Redux, this month sees another line up of exclusive performances and commissioned music. Always seeking to redefine heaviness and champion bands from a multitude of interconnecting underground scenes, Roadburn Redux will deliver cutting edge content available to be experienced digitally from anywhere around the world.

Artistic Director, Walter Hoeijmakers, comments: “I’m delighted to be able to continue our relatively new tradition of commissioned music this year. Having already heard some of what’s in store – I can confidently say that there are going to be many reasons to tune in for Roadburn this year, with unmissable performances and exclusive new music premiering across the weekend. We may be apart this year, but the spirit of Roadburn is alive and well!”
Roadburn Redux will take place online between April 16-18. Roadburnredux.com for more information.
New Additions

COMMISSIONED MUSIC: Mizmor presents Wit’s End
We were due to welcome Mizmor back to Roadburn in 2020 – a reunion and a celebration of this wonderful and ever-evolving creative outlet for one of our favourite, forward thinking musicians. But life had other plans and that got put on ice. However, we’re delighted to announce that A.L.N agreed to work on a specially commissioned piece of music that will premiere during Roadburn Redux.
Titled Wit’s End, this brand new, fifteen minute track will make its debut accompanied by an original video made specially for the release by Zev Deans. The track will make an appearance on an upcoming Mizmor release via Gilead Media later this year, but for now details of that remain under wraps.

COMMISSIONED MUSIC: Primitive Man
We’re thrilled to announce that we commissioned Primitive Man to compose and record all-new, original material to make its debut during Roadburn this April. Having made their mark in such an unforgettable way with each release so far, we have no doubt that the material we have the honour of presenting this April will follow suit.

Primitive Man’s Ethan Lee McCarthy comments:

“We have spent the last year writing these songs in spite of everything that has been going on. We have no other choice but to be tougher than the darkness that surrounds us. And these songs reflect not only times of extreme darkness but the need to persevere. Long live extreme music, long live friendship and long live Roadburn.”

COMMISSIONED MUSIC: Many Blessings
As well as fronting the formidable Primitive Man, Ethan Lee McCarthy has another outlet for his creativity in the form of Many Blessings. Understandably sharing much of the same DNA as Primitive Man, Many Blessings offers a goosebump-inducing ominous atmosphere.Always hungry for more of those foundation-shattering creations, we commissioned Ethan to create new Many Blessings material that will premiere during Roadburn Redux.

PARADOX PRESENTS: AUTARKH III
Having already announced an Autarkh performance for Roadburn Redux, we’re thrilled to announce a second, very different performance from this up and coming Tilburg-based band, under a slightly different guise: Autarkh III. The trio consists of Autarkh-members David Luiten (vocals / guitars), Michel Nienhuis (vocals / guitars) and Tijnn Verbruggen (live electronics) and aims to represent an alternative timeline of Autarkh’s debut album Form In Motion.

Gallops
Back in 2018, Gallops made their debut at Roadburn Festival – the Welsh trio brought the party to Het Patronaat with a late-night showcase of pulsating electronica and sweeping experimental rock. Now they’re back for Roadburn Redux, and will be beaming their out-there beats to wherever you are in the world with a virtual live performance.

SVART SESSIONS: Haunted Plasma
Teased last month we can now reveal the secret project that will be part of the Svart Sessions at Roadburn REDUX. The phantoms at the beating nucleus of this unearthly machine are Juho Vanhanen (Oranssi Pazuzu, Grave Pleasures), Timo Kaukolampi (K-X-P, Op:l Bastards) and Tomi Leppänen (Circle, Aavikko, K-X-P), transmitting a music form evolved from a life of redefining sonic boundaries in their respective projects. Also featuring guest vocals from Mat McNerney (Hexvessel, Carpenter Brut, Beastmilk) and Ringa Manner (Ruusut, The Hearing) Haunted Plasma promises an extraterrestrial experience from some of the foremost contemporary musicians at the heart of the Finnish heavy and avant-garde musical underworld.

Inter Arma Covered in the Compound: Live at Chesterfield East
Being fans of Inter Arma in any and every guise, we’d booked them to perform Sulphur English in full for the ill-fated Roadburn 2020 – and now we’ve asked them to perform a covers set at Roadburn Redux. Although we’ll not be able to experience it up close and personal, if anyone can communicate an after-party vibe through the airwaves and in pixel form, it’s these guys.

Maggot Heart
Maggot Heart made their Roadburn debut back in 2018, and despite only having one EP, 2017’s City Girls, to their name at the time, they drew in the masses who were eager to see what this exciting new project had in store. Maggot Heart didn’t disappoint – getting the packed-out Green Room grooving to their raucous late-night show. Latest album, Mercy Machine, will provide the material for their Roadburn Redux set, filmed at Urban Spree in Berlin; we can’t wait to welcome Maggot Heart back to Roadburn in this digital format.

Offermose
Craving tidal waves of shape shifting sounds that open wide the hidden portal of the mind and the twisted trails to the distant light within thyself? Look no further – from the bottomless depths of murky forest lakes to the unfathomable reaches of primordial cosmos, Offermose will rise with yet another dark ritual of sacrifice, this time exclusively for Roadburn Redux.

ALBUM PREMIERE: Regarde Les Hommes Tomber performing Ascension
There’s no denying that Regarde Les Hommes Tomber’s Ascension left a mark on us and the wider Roadburn community. We’re thrilled that they’ll be performing the whole thing for us in its entirety, their intoxicating amalgam of genres brought to life especially for Roadburn Redux.

ALBUM PREMIERE: The Devil’s Trade performing The Call of the Iron Peak
A little way outside of Budapest you’ll find the Tárnok Quarry – a place that has been the source of many fruitful and historic endeavours over many centuries. Now this magical location will host The Devil’s Trade – for a very special performance of The Call of The Iron Peak recorded specially for Roadburn Redux. We’re thrilled to be the conduit for such an evocative and unusual performance.

Wayfarer
Wayfarer will be making an appearance at Roadburn this year with a virtual live set, where the Denver-based quartet will perform tracks from their latest album A Romance With Violence for the very first time. Wayfarer’s Shane McCarthy comments:
“We are honored to be invited by Roadburn to take part in this event. We’ve been eager to bring material from ‘A Romance With Violence’ to the stage, and as the insanity of the world rolls on there is no better place to do so than here. Roadburn have always set a high water mark for creativity, innovation and connection through music – and it is great to see them continue to do so even as this whole industry is in tumult. We look forward to kicking off the performing cycle for ‘Romance’ on your screens this April.”

TICKETS & INFO
Roadburn Redux will be available to access between April 16-18 with a full programme of content online for free (or pay what you like).

Already announced is commissioned projects from Die Wilde Jagd, Dirk Serries, GOLD, Jo Quail, Neptunian Maximalism, Of Blood And Mercury, Radar Men From The Moon, Solar Temple, TDC Inc, and The Nest, plus album premieres from Autarkh, Die Wilde Jagd, Emptiness, Plague Organ and Wolvennest, and a series of sets recorded under the banner of The Svart Sessions – highlighting the best of the Finnish label’s roster.

Roadburn Redux has been made possible due to the support from Brabant C, Gemeente Tilburg, Fonds Podiumkunsten, Provincie Noord-Brabant, Bavaria 8.6, Ticket to Tilburg.

https://www.roadburnredux.com/
https://www.facebook.com/events/1081424195382564/
https://www.facebook.com/roadburnfestival/
http://www.instagram.com/roadburnfest
http://www.roadburn.com

Inter Arma, Garber Days Revisited (2020)

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The Obelisk Show on Gimme Metal Playlist: Episode 40

Posted in Radio on August 21st, 2020 by JJ Koczan

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I frontloaded this one with heavy. Heavy heavy heavy heavy. Heavy enough across the first three that by the time you get to Wren having already made it through JupiterianHymn and Primitive Man, their crushing post-metal feels like a break. I felt in putting the playlist together like I wanted to kind of wash away the last two weeks. “Sonic catharsis” is how I put it in the voice track I recorded the other day. That’s still as good as anything else I can come up with to explain it.

From there, we rock and trip out a bit, going from Athens-based Honeybadger into Nashevillian psych rockers Oginalii ahead of the hypnotic riffs of Slow Green Thing and Black Helium and the ever-moody experimental neo-folk of Neurosis‘ own Steve Von Till, whose new record, unsurprisingly, is gorgeous. The show closes with AXIOM9, a newer Madrid-based psych-jam outfit I got put onto last week and have been digging. That’s a 45-minute sample-laced ride right there, but no regrets for including it. Sometimes I like weirding out the Gimme listenership. People are usually pretty open-minded about it.

This is the 40th episode of The Obelisk Show, so let me give my heartfelt appreciation to Gimme Metal/Gimme Radio for continuing to give me time on their bandwidth to do this silly thing. And of course, thank you for listening if you can.

The Obelisk Show airs 5PM Eastern today on the Gimme app or at http://gimmeradio.com

Full playlist:

The Obelisk Show – 08.21.20

Jupiterian Mere Humans Protosapien*
Hymn Exit Through Fire Breach Us*
Primitive Man Consumption Immersion*
Wren Chromed Groundswells*
VT
Honeybadger The Wolf Pleasure Delayer*
Oginalii Scapegoat Pendulum*
Slow Green Thing Dreamland Amygdala*
Black Helium Death Station of the Goddess The Wholly Other*
Steve Von Till Shadows on the Run No Wilderness Deep Enough*
VT
AXIOM9 The Space Bong Witch The Acid Wizard and the Space Bong Witch*

The Obelisk Show on Gimme Metal airs every Friday 5PM Eastern, with replays Sunday at 7PM Eastern. Next new episode is Sept. 4 (subject to change). Thanks for listening if you do.

Gimme Metal website

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Primitive Man to Release Immersion Aug. 14; “The Lifer” Video Posted

Posted in Whathaveyou on June 18th, 2020 by JJ Koczan

I don’t honestly believe you give a royal fuck about anything I might have to say about Primitive Man‘s ultra-dense, ultra-aggressive, ultra-punishing noise doom, so let me not waste your time or mine.

It’s a little ironic though that as they unveil “The Lifer,” which purports to deal with the challenges of being a band who tours as hard as Primitive Man do, it comes at a time when owing to conditions outside themselves and their realm of control, they pretty much can’t tour. Either way, the harshness suits.

The album is called Immersion and it’s got six tracks on it and “The Lifer” opens and it’s out Aug. 14 on Relapse. There, that’s all I’ll say.

Details from the PR wire:

primitive man immersion

PRIMITIVE MAN To Release Third Full-Length Immersion August 14th Via Relapse Records; “The Lifer” Now Streaming + Preorders Available

PRIMITIVE MAN returns after three years with the extreme, terrifying, and confrontational new album, Immersion, set for release August 14th via Relapse Records.

True to the band’s ethos, every moment of Immersion is overwhelming; from the sonic pummeling of the album opener “The Lifer” to the brooding, unnerving guitars whirring throughout “Entity,” Immersion builds and builds. The tension throughout the record is palpable. Hair raising tracks such as “Menacing” push and pull constantly, shifting from passages of harsh doom to an endless corridor of horrid screaming, blast beats, and a formidable low end.

Adding to the album’s darkness, a pervasive lyrical anxiety erodes throughout the record. A stark look at a mirror, Immersion’s themes tackle sobering views on existential crises, a general distrust among another, and the current state of the world. Frontman Ethan McCarthy elaborates, “Souring your view on your existence and everything you had worked towards… allowing yourself to become possessed by the darkest parts of your mind that you have carried around your entire life and not dealt with.”

True to these dark times, PRIMITIVE MAN’s Immersion is an introspective look into ruin and undoing. As McCarthy explains, Immersion dives into the point of no return. “Now you’re a grown man and you’re fucked.”

In advance of the release of Immersion, PRIMITIVE MAN shares “The Lifer.” McCarthy comments, “‘The Lifer’ is about being cursed with and unable to shed the desire to create. The lack of financial security that comes with that. It is also about the ever present on-the-road psychosis touring musicians get as well as the enemies you meet along the way.”

Immersion will be released on CD, LP, cassette, and digital formats via Relapse. Physical preorders are available HERE. For digital downloads and streaming services go HERE.

Immersion Track Listing:
1. The Lifer
2. Entity
3. Menacing
4. ?
5. Foul
6. Consumption

PRIMITIVE MAN:
Ethan Lee McCarthy – guitars, vocals
Jonathan Campos – bass
Joe Linden – drums

http://www.primitivemandoom.com
http://www.facebook.com/primitivemandoom
http://www.relapse.com
http://www.relapserecords.bandcamp.com
http://www.facebook.com/RelapseRecords

Primitive Man, “The Lifer” official video

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