It hasn’t exactly been graceful so far, this Quarterly Review, but it’s gotten to where it’s needed to go across a tumultuous first two days, and I’ll take that as a positive sign of things to come. We’re in the thick of it now, with day three, and it’s a good day to dig in, so I won’t delay further except to say I hope you find something in here that you enjoy.

Quarterly Review #21-30:

Vinnum Sabbathi, Intersatelital

Mexico City instrumentalists Vinnum Sabbathi have been plenty busy in the five years since their 2020 split with Comacozer (review here), whether it was collaborating with Rezn, touring multiple times in Europe, putting out a live record, etc., but the three-song Intersatelital EP is a welcome standalone studio return for the band just the same. Issued to coincide with their Summer ’25 Euro run, the 19-minute outing basks in 20th Century-era space exploration, with Spanish-language samples recounting the launch of early communications satellites for a kind of positive-future manifestation as the intro “Centro de Control Especial” flows into “Sistema de Satelites Morelos” and the 11-minute finale “Rodolfo Neri Vela,” which is both heavy enough to pay off the entire procession of the release and intense enough to convey escape velocity. The short version: Vinnum Sabbathi deliver again.

Vinnum Sabbathi on Bandcamp

Vinnum Sabbathi on Instagram

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Crop, S.S.R.I.

Past the medically-noisy intro “Flatline,” Crop‘s S.S.R.I. — the Lexington, Kentucky, sludgers’ second LP, named for the class of antidepressants — builds a massive wall of harsh-shout-topped sludge metal with “Formaldehyde,” big tones and big riffs resulting in big impact. Nothing to complain about, and I’m not complaining, but neither is that all they have to offer. A midsection break with vocals that if you come back in a decade will probably be clean hints at complexity in the composition, and sure enough, even the lumbering largesse of “Godamn” or the closer “Break” give hints of melody somewhere (the latter also some double-kick), and by the time they get to “10-56,” they’ve established their context enough that the dynamic will be apparent for those willing to hear it. That makes “Alone” less of a surprise with a more progressive reachout in its second half, followed by the echoing guitar interlude “Breath,” after which “Break” buries itself and everything else in lurching distortion and takes just a quick breather before the last and most vicious onslaught. They sound like they’re on a path of growth, but to be sure they’re also flattening everything on that same path.

Crop Linktr.ee

Third House Communications on Bandcamp

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Bloodsports, Anything Can Be a Hammer

Bloodsports are no more beholden to the post-grunge melancholy of “Rosary” than the outright crush of “Rot” just before or the willfully choppy succession of “Trio 1” and “Trio 2” that open its respective sides or the penultimate strum and cello of “A River Runs Through,” and their first album, Anything Can Be a Hammer envisions an intimate volatility. “Come, Dog” and the daringly straight-ahead “Calvin” find the Brooklynite four-piece (maybe sometimes a trio?) casting their lot with individual perspective almost as a side-effect of the personal expression the nine component tracks seem to convey, but also rock, and while at full-bore, the six-minute closing title-track is a forceful push revealing a prog-hardcore metal (Converge, Oathbreaker) influence somewhere in the band that provides a roiling payoff. It gets chaotic and they let it, so bonus points for all that noise. A lot will depend on whether or not they tour, but there’s a take developing in Bloodsports‘ sound that isn’t like much else out there. If they can hit it hard and tour, the potential is there to be realized.

Bloodsports Linktr.ee

Good English Records on Bandcamp

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Eyes of the Oak, Tripping Through Neon Skies

Swedish heavy progressive psychedelic rockers Eyes of the Oak follow 2024’s sophomore LP, Neolithic Flint Dagger (review here), with the three-tracker Tripping Through Neon Skies, which pairs two originals in “Temple of Hallucinations” (5:08) and “Hitchhiking From the Mescaline Moon” (11:49), the latter drifting into a cosmically declarative crescendo that calls to mind Samsara Blues Experiment in its sweep, with a duly spaced-out take on AC/DC‘s “Hell’s Bells” that admirably balances loyalty to the original (why else would you cover it?) with the band’s will to make it their own in melody and reach. “Hitchhiking From the Mescaline Moon” is more of a voyage, of course, but “Temple of Hallucinations” casts itself out in vivid colors with a proggy hook and swells of vocal melody that add a light, not-unwelcome touch of the grandiose. It’s a big sound, and a big universe, and with these songs, Eyes of the Oak continue to carve out their place in it.

Eyes of the Oak website

Eyes of the Oak on Bandcamp

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Pygmy Lush, Totem

So here’s my story. Not knowing much about Virginia’s Pygmy Lush beyond their being well recommended and sharing members with Pageninetynine, I showed up to their set at this year’s Roadburn Festival, and found their punk-rooted, sometimes-loud Americana engaging enough that I knew I wanted to check out their first album in 14 years, Totem. Year goes on, blah blah, summer, blah blah everything is terrible, and I finally get around to the album and Totem blindsides with a post-hardcore swing and angularity, somewhat thinky-thinky-smart-dude in pieces like “Algorithmic Mercy (Prayers Printed Directly Into a Shredder),” and unhinged in the general impression in that way that sounds like it’s about to trip over itself the whole time but never actually does. Kind of a surprise, but it’s done well and I ain’t mad about it. I’m sure there’s a narrative to the whole thing that’s been rephrased however many times over by critics more erudite than I could or would ever be, or maybe the band is just dynamic (gasp!). They quiet down for “Nonsensical Whisper” at the end, too, so it’s not all shove, even if that does define the record in large part.

Pygmy Lush store

Persistent Vision Records website

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Sheev, Ate’s Alchemist

The second album from Berlin’s Sheev, Ate’s Alchemist, purports a theme of dark emotions and their ethereal origins, and I’m not entirely sure how that translates into the odd-timed chuggery that bookends “Elephant Trunk,” but the progressive metal/rockers make a showcase of scope across the eight cuts/49 minutes of the album, veering into and out of various microgenres, whether it’s the doomly overtone of “Cul de Sac” or the imagine-thrash-but-soaring of “Martef” after the intro “The Alchemist.” Clearly a band who’ve worked on their sound, who believe in what they do, and who have paid attention in class when it comes to fostering a unified feel across disparate sounds. There’s nowhere the album goes that finds Sheev out of place, and while the level of engagement for a given listener will depend on their ability to meet the band where they’re at, the arguments for doing so are myriad. There are about eight of them, actually. Funny how that’s the same number of songs included, right? Stick around for the mathy wash at the end of “Sabress.”

Sheev on Bandcamp

Ripple Music website

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Lähdön Aika, Mustalle Maalle

I mean, you might think you’re ready for what’s coming on Lähdön Aika‘s fourth full-length, Mustalle Maalle, but you’re probably wrong about that. Just because they’ve been a band for over 20 years doesn’t mean the atmospheric post-sludge extremists can’t still bash your skull with the throatripper-topped jabs of “Et enää mitään” or the speedy crusher “Paina pääsi alas” later on, the rawness of the vocals only one example of the levels on which the Finnish outfit make their sound an assault. As they make their way toward the 10-minute capper “Ihmishaketta,” “Teuraaksi Kastettu” delves into a post-metal that makes Amenra sound like Oasis and the lumber of “Viilto” becomes a downward march only after it’s already lowered the whole quarry onto your person. Physical oppression through music, is what I’m talking about. A grim world awaits you if you think you can handle it, but again, these guys are experienced. They know what they’re doing as they bask in the wanton slaughter of “Ikeestä.” It’s not an accident. There’s method to it. That makes the album feel even more dangerous.

Lähdön Aika website

Lähdön Aika on Bandcamp

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Fuzz Thrower, Fuzz Thrower

Some of the early vibes on “Beam” or “Stonewall Angel” on Fuzz Thrower‘s self-titled debut — on CD thanks to Off the Record Label imprint, PowerWax Records — remind of Sungrazer‘s mellow heavy psych circa 15 years ago, and certainly the drifty interlude “Waves” backs that up, but Netherlands-based multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Tjeerd de Jong (also of Phantom Druid) grunges out in the march of “Nowhere,” gets more Sabbath-doomed for “Drooler” and the penultimate “Pictures of the Moon,” hints toward goth metal in “Ocean in the Sky,” and rounds out the nodder riffing of “Soon We Roam” with a sampled poetry reading, so no, things are not so easily accounted for in a single comparison point. So much the better. Across the album’s 29 minutes, de Jong presents a strong sense of trying out ideas — the way the vocals rest on top of “The End is Open,” for example — that might bring progression to subsequent releases, but there’s already depth to spare in the songwriting of this first outing. If/when he buys a keyboard, watch out.

Fuzz Thrower on Bandcamp

Off the Record Label store

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Moths, Septem

It’s a secondary element, but don’t discount the synth work of drummer Daniel Figueroa on Moths‘ Septem EP, and if you’d like an example of why, check out “Pride.” The seven-track/26-minute offering takes each of its titles from the alleged seven deadly sins, with a full prog-metal brunt behind vocalist Mariel Viruet‘s noteworthy, growl-inclusive range as a singer. Guitarists Omar González (rhythm) and Jonathan Miranda (lead), bassist Weslie Negrón and Figueroa vary tempo and aggression to suit a given mood, and the keys are a bigger part of that than they might at first seem. Don’t tell the guitarists. The affect is definitely metal in pieces like “Gluttony” and “Greed,” while “Lust” lets the bass lead the groove, and “Wrath” — as good a place to end as any — pushes deeper into poised extremity with a blasting finish, the overarching density calling for nothing so much as repeat listens.

Moths on Bandcamp

Moths on Instagram

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Greenhead, Subherbia

Pairing aggro, low-throat growl sludge with jammier takes, psychedelia, proggy riffing and a resolution in Iommic swing, the 28-minute “Subherbia” from Greenhead‘s debut album of the same name encapsulates on its own the kind of range one might expect (hope) for from a newcomer band, but the Washington D.C. trio don’t end there. Side B brings “Indigo,” “All Seeing Eye,” “Nature’s Pyramid” and “Purple God,” riding the blurred line between modern stoner largesse and classic doom riffing cohesively, letting “Nature’s Pyramid” punk up its chorus a bit as a precursor to the gang shouts of “Purple God.” I don’t know what genre you call it and I don’t care. I’m just happy to hear a new band mashing styles together to see what sticks and coming out it with a first LP that practically smacks you in the face with its ambition. What comes of it or doesn’t, whatever. I’ll take Subherbia as-is, thanks, and hope I’m lucky enough to see them do it live at some point.

Greenhead Linktr.ee

Greenhead on Bandcamp

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The Obelisk Questionnaire is a series of open questions intended to give the answerer an opportunity to explore these ideas and stories from their life as deeply as they choose. Answers can be short or long, and that reveals something in itself, but the most important factor is honesty.

Based on the Proust Questionnaire, the goal over time is to show a diverse range of perspectives as those who take part bring their own points of view to answering the same questions. To see all The Obelisk Questionnaire posts, click here.

Thank you for reading and thanks to all who participate.

The Obelisk Questionnaire: Mike Taylor of Pygmy Lush

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How do you define what you do and how did you come to do it?

Most everything I do is inspired by the spirit of punk rock in some way, shape or form, an artist independence free from what’s normal for most people. But doing what speaks to us no matter what it is or what you call it. We got here because other people did everything before us and now we’re doing our own mutant version of sound.

Describe your first musical memory.

My first musical memory is being in the basement of our new Sterling, Virginia, home, post-basement wedding, dancing to a Madonna 45, I believe the track was “Angel.” I’m still obsessed with Madonna.

Describe your best musical memory to date.

I’ve said this one before but Pygmy Lush played to absolutely no one in Billings Montana, on a huge outdoor stage. The sound guy was packing up while we played almost everything we had for an hour and a half! It was the most cathartic, life affirming experience I’ve ever had. We played as the sun was setting, sounds felt like they stretched into infinity. It answers the question, if a tree falls in the forest and no one is there to hear it, does it make a sound? Someone’s always listening. The night was beautiful, we camped in a car junkyard behind the stage by a campfire.

When was a time when a firmly held belief was tested?

That’s a great question. I think beliefs are tested constantly as the years go by and I feel like they should be in order to grow as a person.

Where do you feel artistic progression leads?

Artist progression should lead to new challenges, new discovery? And if you’re good, empty rooms!

How do you define success?

A happy, healthy and harmonious balance in all things in your life.

What is something you have seen that you wish you hadn’t?

Anything I wish I hadn’t seen I am ultimately glad I’ve seen because they inform me or move me in some way. Positive or negative.

Describe something you haven’t created yet that you’d like to create.

A horror film score.

What do you believe is the most essential function of art?

To inform and inspire people, create positive change in our world. I believe that.

Say something positive about yourself.

I’m confident I can make good soup.

Something non-musical that you’re looking forward to?

A true vacation with my wife and family that has nothing to do with music.

https://pygmylush.bandcamp.com/
https://pygmylush.bigcartel.com/
https://www.instagram.com/pygmylush/
https://www.facebook.com/pygmylush

https://persistentvisionrecords.com/
https://persistentvisionrecords.bandcamp.com/
https://www.instagram.com/persistentvisionrecords/

Pygmy Lush, “February Song”

Pygmy Lush, Totem (2025)

Don’t let me come in here trying to be all like ‘Oh yeah this is definitely a band I knew existed three months ago,’ because yeah, no. However, I was lucky enough to rend my pitiful physical form such that it was in front of the Koepelhal stage while Pygmy Lush were playing at Roadburn last month (review here), and that was an encouraging enough first impression that here we are. The Virginian grunge-infused Americana/dark-folk troupe will release the recorded-in-2016 Totem album on July 11 through Persistent Vision Records. If preorders are your thing, they exist.

I’m not sure if they played “February Song,” which is the first streaming track from Totem — pick your player below — but the song rules either way in that addled-at-night-someplace-open kind of way. There are at least four different bands I wish had evolved to this kind of sound, among them Nirvana.

From the PR wire:

Persistent Vision Records announces the July 11th release of Pygmy Lush’s TOTEM.

Recorded and mixed by Converge’s Kurt Ballou in 2016, the album has remained unreleased for nearly a decade. Active again now after a long hiatus, the revitalized band has made the decision to unearth this lost masterpiece.

Pre-order the album, here: https://persistentvisionrecords.com/products/pygmy-lush-totem

Pygmy Lush was founded in Northern Virginia in the mid-2000s by brothers Chris Taylor and Mike Taylor as an experimental offshoot of their band Pageninetynine. Beginning with the debut album, Bitter River, released on Robotic Empire in 2007, Pygmy Lush’s output ranged from Pageninetynine-caliber screamo, to fragile Americana; from the basement show to the campfire and back again, the songs all hit with equal conviction.

Following the release of 2011’s Old Friends album on Lovitt Records, Pygmy Lush faded from view, reemerging in 2024 to many fans’ surprise and delight. Reentering the limelight by way of an NPR Tiny Desk Concert in August 2024, the newly reignited band was a standout of the inaugural Dark Days Bright Nights festival in September of that year, and went on to wow the crowd at this year’s Roadburn.

With an appearance at Toronto’s Prepare the Ground festival booked for May, and shows in the works with the likes of Young Widows, Pygmy Lush now prepares to reveal the long-buried TOTEM. Mike Taylor explains why this nine-year-old masterpiece has not yet seen the light of day: “Frankly, we lost momentum shortly after recording the album. It was a very transitional time for Pygmy Lush where we were trying hard to figure out what this group wanted to do.”

He describes the upcoming 2025 release of TOTEM as a necessary step in Pygmy Lush’s progression toward its next phase: “I personally have wanted to release TOTEM as a document of this era of the band, in order to continue moving forward.”

While TOTEM’s belated release might give the Taylors a sense of closure on the past, it is more than a snapshot of bygone days. It is a monumental work of art that feels absolutely fresh and vital in 2025. A feast for the ears and the heart, TOTEM is an engrossing display of musical freedom, backed by authentic emotion. There are songs that rage, songs that rock, and songs that cruise hypnotically. From bruising noise rock, teetering on the edge of hardcore, to meditative refrains that roll along like trains through moonlit valleys, it moves in its own ways, unhindered by genre.

“The album became a bridge between the two completely different sounds of the band, the quiet and the loud,” states Mike Taylor. “It was very collaborative. We were all trying out as much stuff as we could. It’s a very eclectic album.” He offers up Born Against, PJ Harvey, and Brian Eno as three reference points. First single “February Song” is a heavy, haunting lullaby that ravages, serenely, evoking the quieter moments of Sonic Youth and Pavement alike.

The common denominator beneath TOTEM’s songs is the urgency, the realness, fueling every note and lyric. Chris Taylor states: “The lyrics desperately look for answers that aren’t there, and deliberately mock themselves. We sing and we write and we play, as the world becomes more and more obviously horrific. We admire, or argue over, the patterns of our battle flags while the fort is burning.”

Furthermore, TOTEM’s rich, warm production unites the disparities into one whole. With longtime collaborator Kurt Ballou overseeing the recording and mixing at his hallowed GodCity Studio, mastering was handled by the great Carl Saff (Bambara, Bonnie Prince Billy).

The cover art, created by Paul Nitsche, consists of hand sculpted organic elements and mixed media collage, photographed using traditional tintype photography and darkroom methods. Nitsche is known widely for his artwork for Dazzling Killmen’s Face of Collapse album.

With TOTEM set to be released to the world on July 11th, the path is cleared for whatever Pygmy Lush chooses to do next. “Yes, we will be writing new music ASAP,” declares Mike Taylor.

Tracklist:
1) House of Blood (Butch’s Monster)
2) It Wasn’t a Compliment (Martial Law Blues)
3) A Little Boy and His Bulldozer
4) Algorithmic Mercy (Prayers Printed Directly into a Shredder)
5) A Famous Jock (The Rest of Us)
6) February Song
7) Band-Aid on a Bullet Wound
8) The Puppeteer
9) Post-Punk in the Wrong Hands
10) Artistic Blood / Blanket Out the Sun (in a world of better things)
11) Nonsensical Whimper

Upcoming shows:
May 30 – Toronto, ON @ Prepare the Ground (w/ Baroness, Yob)
June 8 – Richmond, VA @ The Warehouse (w/ Young Widows)

TOTEM recording lineup:
Chris Taylor – vocals, bass
Mike Taylor – guitar
Mike Widman – guitar
Erin McCarley – bass, vocals
Andy Gale – drums

2025 lineup:
Chris Taylor – guitar, vocals
Mike Taylor – guitar
Mike Widman – guitar, bass
Johnny Ward – guitar, vocals
Andy Gale – drums

https://pygmylush.bandcamp.com/
https://pygmylush.bigcartel.com/
https://www.instagram.com/pygmylush/
https://www.facebook.com/pygmylush

https://persistentvisionrecords.com/
https://persistentvisionrecords.bandcamp.com/
https://www.instagram.com/persistentvisionrecords/

Pygmy Lush, “February Song”

Pygmy Lush, Totem (2025)

By virtue of the most solid eight hours of sleep I’ve had in the last six months, I was reborn. My first thought this morning when Lee’s alarm went off at nine was “now we’re talking.” Okay, Roadburn. I’m here.

That was a fortunate position to be in, because as will happen in Tilburg each Spring, today was packed. Showered, coffee, a couple crucial changes made, like my pants. Went to the 013 office with Lee for blurbing for the app and such, back to the room, ate an apple that I’d grabbed from the breakfast downstairs, got myself together and ready to jump back into it.

The sun came out as I waited on the line outside The Engine Room. I was glad to have traded purple hoodie for wizard flannel back at the room. 1PM would be an early start to the day with the Throwing Bricks and Ontaard commissioned piece ‘Something to Lose.’ I knew/know precious little about either band, but had heard exciting things, and when you’re here, the commissioned pieces are part of why. An ongoing series of maybe-once-in-a-lifetime performances and collaborations — among the ‘special sets’ that I’ve seen at Roadburns over the years, they’ve been some of the most special — and word was that the two young Utrecht bands, had gone all-in on the project. Something I’d never seen and something, two bands I’d never heard and I’d probably never be able to see otherwise. I don’t take it for granted how par-for-course that is at is at Roadburn.

Barring disaster between now and the end, Thursday will have been the hardest day for me at Roadburn 2025. Usually Friday is pretty rough because I’m through the initial adrenaline of getting here and have to sort of coast on momentum, but that sleep and some food did me good. Lesson learned? Probably not. With the busier schedule of today, though, I was happy for how it worked out.

Even more after Ontaard and Throwing Bricks went on, because the moisture level in the room shot up immediately and it was all snuggles in the tight photo pit. It was too early in the day for me to smell that bad, so I grabbed the shots I could and ended up making my way around the entire room (apologizing to everyone crunched in in the space as I passed excuse me I’m sorry excuse me I’m sorry excuse me I’m sorry I was born, etc.) to get my camera bag from the other side of the photo pit. In hindsight, this was a dumbass move, but I underestimated how many people there would be, despite having waited on line with them outside. I don’t have an excuse. Just a moron. Sorry.

I do hope somebody had the good sense to record ‘Something to Lose,’ though, because it struck me as an effort worth preserving, and it would be cool to hear the depth of the atmospherics against all that bashing away, blast and plod and nod, but if it’s a one-shot and that’s it, take it as a reminder to be present the moment as much as you can. Genre lines rendered as meaningless as they ultimately are, they were cohesive and purposeful as players came and went from the stage, vocalists trading out, spoken word over drones, all leading to a grand finale of upwards of 14 of them on the stage. Quite a thing to behold. Then you get to the music, which was likewise divergent and devastating. I watched from the back, stank but out of the way, and if you believe in Roadburn’s vision of ‘underground futurism,’ in terms of being forward thinking about things to come in heavy anything, it was right there on stage. Consuming.

There was a box of tapes for me at the backstage entrance — not at all aberrant; for years I’ve had all my mail forwarded through the 013 office (not true) — and I had walked down toward the Hall of Fame and seen no end to the line for Midwife, so I booked it up grab that box, dropped it off at the room, drank water and ate a protein cookie, washed up a bit — didn’t shower for a second time, but the thought occurred to me — and changed the now-smelly tshirt I had on for a fresh one. Wouldn’t save me the rest of the day as it was sunny and warmer than Thursday, but one does what one can. I popped in somewhat casually to check out a few minutes of De Mannen Broeders, which is Colin H. van Eeckhout from Amenra and Broeder Dieleman, both also performing solo at some point in the weekend, I believe. Well, Eeckhout definitely was, since his double-duty solo set was next after De Mannen Broeders finished, in the same room.

Before either Dieleman or van Eeckhout came out, a choir sang. I stuck around long enough to see them depart and the two principals, as well as a piano player on a baby grand, take up the vocal duties. It was moody and introverted, but still ‘folk’ in the way of folk music as human expression of humanity. Accordingly, somebody farted. All told, I was there for maybe 15 minutes, and then I realized Messa was on in a few over at the Main Stage, about to bring their new album, The Spin (review here), to life before an anxious throng of an audience.

In the interest of honesty, it was the photo pit of the weekend I was most dreading and I was right. But that’s why I’ve been carrying around the big lens this whole time. Messa came out after their intro and dove into the record with poise and flow, and as it was my first time seeing them — not the fault of any lack of touring on their part, mind you — to witness the charisma and performance first-hand, never mind the stylistic innovation of the songs themselves, they left no question as to how Metal Blade Records got on board for the release. They sounded like an idea whose time had come. It was heavy, lovely, sad and bold in kind, and though The Spin had only been out for a week, the room was ready for it.

Standing in the hallway, I ran into Lee. We had a quick debate about whether Messa were metal or not — I’m in the ‘pro’ camp — and eventually landed on a kind of goth metal. I might throw the word progressive in there, if only to account for the stupid amount of talent in the band. I went in the back downstairs for the end of Messa and had a little break before I needed to be anywhere, which I used to sit on ass and look at the rest of the day. I knew I wanted to finish out with Gnod and White Hills up the road at Koepelhal, so I decided to make my way there and settle in. I’d been back and forth already, but was in no rush. Found a sun-adjacent shady spot and parked for a few to watch the world go by.

I brought my sunglasses on this trip, but the trouble is I like them and I don’t think I’ve ever worn a pair at a festival anywhere on the planet and had that pair make it from beginning to end. To live in the now, or to squint. That was the (dumb) question.

The tradeoff for being awake was antsiness. I had a really good spot, but after about 10 minutes, I started getting itchy, got up and left. Where was I headed? To food, it turned out. I had thought I was going to go the photo pit for Envy on the 013 Main Stage, but my body took me downstairs for some chicken instead. Pounded that in all of three minutes, downed and refilled my water bottle, and by then Envy were on. The photo pit was going, but on a whim I decided to revert to my original intention, which was to see Pygmy Lush at The Engine Room, back up the block at the Koepelhal. So I got my back and forth in, but also food, which was solid strategy because I missed lunch. There was still a lot of day to go.

I didn’t know Pygmy Lush at all, either personally or musically, but the Virginian outfit are friends of a friend and I think mostly if not entirely comprised of members from pg.99, who were also on the bill, so on a day where nothing I’d thus far seen I’d ever seen before — that’s Ontaard and Throwing Bricks, De Mannen Broeders, Messa and Envy — it made sense to keep the thread going. Not even one of them I’d seen. I’m not trying to paint myself like generally I’m Mr. Watchedeverybandever, because I’m not and I haven’t, but such days for me are rarer than not at a festival.

Not lost on me that that thread occurred to me while I stopped for the first time today to really take a purposeful break, as I did sitting and waiting for Pygmy Lush l. It gave me a frame in which to place the day, and even though my one remaining must for Roadburn Friday — Gnod and White Hills — was comprised of two acts I’d seen individually, their ‘Drop Out’ collaboration would give me a chance to appreciate their work in a new way, and was something that had never happened on stage before. So, close enough for me. A whole day of musical first exposures. What a gift to get.

Pygmy Lush were not without tonal presence, but we’re coming from a mellow place in terms of spirit, and with three guitarists, two with vocals, the songs had texture and melody and were thoughtful in the delivery of both. Not uptempo, but affirming in a fragile way. They had no merch and said so, warned the crowd when there were two songs left, and were laid back on the stage, which made it all the more human as they unfurled contemplative Americana with intermittent fuller breakouts that filled the space otherwise purposely left open in the sound. A little shuffle, a little push, but I’m the era of vibes, they were one, and I was glad to have made the walk back to Koepelhal. They finished about as loud as they got and the place went off. I watched the whole set.

This morning, back at the office of the 013, we put a headline on the blurbs that went out with the day’s picks. I had a few, Lee, the esteemed José Carlos Santos, whose bibliography is intimidating but who is decidedly not a dick, Walter, and Dan Pietersen, who writes for Lee. Too many dudes by any measure, but it was sort of a last-minute thing anyway. The headline we ended up going with was, ‘The Sonic Journey Continues,’ and absolutely that’s kind of corny. We knew that when we went with it, but being here, especially the way my Friday had panned out, the cliché feels pretty well earned, and I’m not sure I would want to say it another way. Because there is a certain amount of buying in you have to do as an audience member. If you’re going to stand there cross-armed and cynical, you’ve already missed the point of coming to Roadburn. Shit yeah, be on that sonic journey. At the end of this weekend we’re all going to go back to lives, jobs, families and/or situations that involve various combinations of all of the above. This time is precious and scant. Why let yourself miss it?

Yeah, said the guy who had eight real-life hours of sleep last night. I know. But let part of my holding onto the moment be appreciating that as well as part of what’s made my experience of the day possible. Surely I wouldn’t have the energy for all this navelgazing if I was poorly rested.

In the years since Roadburn started putting bands at the Koepelhal — there is a part of me for whom it’s still a novelty, but it’s been a while by now — you’ve been able to cross from the Engine Room to The Terminal without leaving the building, and the merch was set up between. This year it’s under construction. Merch is elsewhere right down the sidewalk, and you walk outside and around the corner of the building to get to The Terminal. I have to think that makes lines easier to manage, but it can be surprising to walk out into bright daylight. I guess my inner goth was shocked after Pygmy Lush. Spoiler though: there is no inner goth.

Said the robot voice: “Thank you. It is time to take you to paradise. It is a cold, black paradise. Thank you.” This was how Zombie Zombie introduced the penultimate song they would play. They were killer. Total switch in spirit from Pygmy Lush into krautrocking weirdo psychedelic techno with live drums — sometimes two of the three members would be playing them on opposite sides of the stage, and a bit of cosmic sax early, but an unrepentant danciness at the heart of it all. You could tag them as experimental in form, since that’s almost certainly part of what they do, but their songs, though largely instrumental but for the what came through the robo-effect mic, and that was fine, because while space is dark and endless, it’s also constantly in motion in all directions at once according to the math.

Zombie Zombie weren’t quite ‘dark energy’-level powernerds, but the movement was essential just the same. The earlier dance party gave way to more of a build as they moved through their 50-minute set — loaded with temporal distortions as it was — and I went to stand next to the soundboard to take it all in, the throb of bass in wub wub wub thud thud thud, the video behind them raining code like The Matrix used to do. With a higher synth drone and low pulsing beat, a pickup on the drums and strong notion of being all-in for the far-out, and they had people dancing the entire time. It wasn’t aggressive and it wasn’t threatening unless you’re the genre status quo, but they were heavy in a different way than anything I’ve seen this weekend if not ever, and no less so for all that fun.

There was any half an hour before Human Impact went on, and I did find a way between the two rooms from the back of The Terminal. Easy enough. Sat in the photo pit for a quiet few, fell down a hole on my phone and wrote while the band did a line check. They’ve been around at least since the pandemic — I’m not a huge noise rock guy, but I don’t know if you get to be into underground heavy anything in the New York metro area (where I live) and not respect the shit out of Unsane, and Chris Spencer’s involvement in Human Impact was what first grabbed my attention about the band. I haven’t covered everything they’ve done, but with Eric Cooper from Made Out of Babies on bass, who I remember going to see play in Brooklyn the better part of 20 years ago, Cop Shoot Cop’s Jim Coleman on keyboard and Jon Syverson from Daughters on drums, I don’t think I’d be the first to call them super in the group sense, but onstage the impression was far different from the egotism that designation implies.

A bleak, not-inaccurate portrayal of now in music, Human Impact fused noise rock and industrial sounds and atmospheres, were vivid in message and heft, sometimes raging but not all the time, and when the keys and riffs diverged, they seemed to hit that much harder upon coming back together. Cooper mostly backed Spencer’s vocals, but with some input from Coleman as they pushed toward the dark noise apocalypse that was promised but never materialized in the ’90s when some of the same formula was put to much worse use by far too many bands. In Human Impact, the clash of organic and inorganic was resonant, and the aggression seethe was palpable on stage, in no small part because they threw it at you from there and it would be hard to miss. The finish — I didn’t know the title but did recognize the crush — was like grim concrete.

My night would close as planned, with Gnod and White Hills at The Terminal. At a fest this broad, you can make your own way, find your sound and your people. Ideally, anyhow. Gnod Drop Out With White Hills was the official billing, with the ‘Drop Out’ in reference to the collaborative album NYC’s preeminent psych freaks and Gnod, from Salford, UK, who surely are keeping themselves busy these days saying no to the psycho right-wing capitalist fascist industrial death machine, as they once put it. I was there for the line check and even that was hypnotic. Chat Pile were about to go on for a secret show I saw in the TMSQR app, but nah.

With Ego Sensation’s persistent tom and snare as the beating heart of the proceedings, Gnod and White Hills didn’t so much drop out as they did force one to question whether they were ever in to begin with. I did my best with the camera in the lights and fog early in the set — photographic evidence of alien life would be quite a coup for a middle-aged blogger — but whatever. I was honestly more concerned with watching them than taking pictures. Crazy, I know.

Builds of synth along with the guitars of Dave W. and Gnod’s Paddy Shine gave a sense of expanse with the bass crying the groove alongside the drums, and by the time vocals came in, it was a genuine churn, with a depth of mix that came through even by the side of the stage, let alone over in back. Entrancing heavy psych from masters of the form, in a collab that goes back at least a decade, tearing holes in the universe together on stage for the first time. Something special. I don’t know how many times I even said that today, but start to finish, that’s what it was. Careening and cascading, the joint project rode my day out on a chariot with a wizard painted on the side, and scorched the ground beneath them like rockets at takeoff. I’ve done a lot of really stupid shit in my life. I’m not a particularly good person. I’m not kind. But I had to look around me as the one where they kept going “unified…” hit its comedown and understand that whatever I’ve made worse about the planet during my time on it, I’d done something right if I was standing there.

I went back to the room to finish out the night, sort photos, etc. I had done more back and forth than I’d intended throughout the day and was exhausted with work to do, but no regrets whatsoever for how Friday panned out. Hard to believe there are two more days of Roadburn left.

Thanks for reading. More pics after the jump.

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Heyo, just a word here as Roadburn does that Roadburn pre-holiday thing and announces a butt-ton of acts for next year’s festival before things get (outwardly) quieter for the next month or so. I know the narrative as regards the festival is that they’ve expanded from their beginnings, let go of the stoner rock stuff and all this, and to a certain point, that’s probably true. But among these almost-30 bands and artists, check out just how much heavy, psych, space and generally-out-there shit there is. Like, a ton.

Gnod & White Hills — who just announced a new collaborative album today — and Messa (I haven’t seen that album announcement but assume it’s coming unless I just missed it; it’s apparently called The Spin) playing full LPs, Coilguns, Smote, Thou, Zombie Zombie, Pothamus who I recently got put onto — some of it is spaced out and some of it is trippy, but if you’re looking for tonal presence, I don’t think it’s going to be in short supply.

That they also happen to be open-minded around this, such that Dødheimsgard and Chat Pile can exist on the same bill with Cinder Well, Faetooth and a Kylesa reunion, I don’t think is a weakness. At least it doesn’t seem to be looking at the new poster art, which I’ll just say flat out I prefer to 2024’s. I got to attend Roadburn earlier this year for the first time in five years, and it was magic and emotional both. I don’t know that I’ll be invited back for 2025 — because, really, why would I? — but this announcement does nothing at all to uncross my superstitious fingers.

The PR wire brought the latest:

Roadburn adds 29 new names to the 2025 lineup including envy, Oranssi Pazuzu, Thou, Gilla Band, Midwife, Steve Von Till and more

Roadburn has announced a further 29 names for the 2025 edition of the festival. Among the artists confirmed are several who will return to Roadburn – such as Thou, Messa, and Oranssi Pazuzu – and many who will be making their Roadburn debut – such as Envy, Tristwych y Fenywod, and Curses. Steve Von Till and Midwife have also been announced as artists in residence, both performing multiple times over the course of the festival. Roadburn 2025 will take place in Tilburg, The Netherlands between April 17-20.

Roadburn’s artistic director Walter Hoeijmakers comments:

“This announcement shows the broad scope of heaviness at Roadburn 2025. There are artistic, musical and emotional boundaries being pushed, and we are hosting up-and-coming acts making their festival debuts alongside longstanding luminaries. We are looking to the future, to our roots, and in all directions in the present to find those defying the perceived limits of genre in the underground. We know there are no limits.”

The new names added to Roadburn 2025 are as follows:

Bambara: brooding post-punk from New York

Big Brave performing their latest, critically acclaimed album A Chaos of Flowers

Blind Girls will make the trek from Australia to bring their frenetic screamo to Roadburn

Buñuel’s off-kilter noise rock will be presided over by enigmatic frontman Eugene S. Robinson

CHVE is the intense and intimate outlet for the solo work of Amenra’s Colin H. van Eeckhout

Coilguns will perform their new album Odd Love in its entirety.

Curses (Live) are set to deliver their neon-lit post-punk/electro hybrid

Dødheimsgard will bring their iconic combination of progressive black metal and avant-garde industrial as they perform their latest album, Black Medium Current

envy will make their long awaited Roadburn debut, performing A Dead Sinking Story in full as well as a modern era/Eunoia set

Gilla Band will revisit the Early Years with a noise-rock set that throws back to their roots

Gillian Carter hail from Orlando, Florida and will bring their distinctive brand of screamo to Tilburg in April.

Glassing head to Europe for just the second time to showcase their post-everything sound and bristling live energy.

Gnod & White Hills unite to perform their legendary Gnod Drop Out With White Hills II album

Great Falls fuse noise rock and hardcore in a discordant, emotion driven sonic purge

Messa return to Roadburn to play their upcoming new album, The Spin, in full.

Michael Gira and Kristof Hahn (SWANS) will present an intimate set of new and rarely heard compositions.

Midwife (Artist In Residence) – Madeline Johnston AKA Midwife will return to Roadburn – this time as an artist in residence – where she will perform three times, including a set with Vyva Melinkolya and a commissioned performance of her new album, No Depression In Heaven

Oranssi Pazuzu return to the festival with a very special performance of their latest release, Muuntautuja

Pothamus have just announced a brand new album, Abur, which they will perform in full at Roadburn 2025.

Pygmy Lush will play their first show in Europe at Roadburn, bringing their dark Americana to Roadburn.

Smote will expand to an eight-piece ensemble to perform their latest album, A Grand Stream

Steve Von Till (Artist In Residence) – we have invited Steve to be an artist in residence to honour his incredible musical legacy and shine a light on his future creative endeavours; he will perform two full sets and unite with artist Thomas Hooper for a collaborative audio-visual exhibition.

Thou will perform their latest album, Umbilical, in full on the main stage.

Tristwch Y Fenywod bring their folky Welsh-language incantations to Tilburg.

Violent Magic Orchestra blend black metal and electronics to dizzying effect

Vuur & Zijde feature members of Laster, Silver Knife, Terzij de Horde and more – and will make their live debut performing their album, Boezem

Vyva Melinkolya will play her first show in Europe, bringing her emotionally heavy dreamgaze to Roadburn.

Witch Club Satan rip up the rule book of black metal, embracing the feminine and the theatrical along the way.

Zombie Zombie combine groovy electronics and trippy motorik rhythms in their psychedelic sound

More information on these artists can be found HERE: https://roadburn.com/line-up/

They will join a slew of previously announced artists including Chat Pile, ØXN, Sumac, Altin Gun, and Kylesa.

All ticket and accommodation options for Roadburn are now on sale. For all information including tickets, please visit www.roadburn.com

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Thou, Umbilical (2024)