This, right here, is why I don’t bother to guess who Roadburn might add to their lineup on any given year. Because all of a sudden they break out Napalm Death doing a set of slow stuff. Napalm Death, who might as well have invented grindcore, but yeah, they’ll do the slower songs. Fucking brilliant. Along with them and a slew of classic prog added to Mikael Åkerfeldt‘s curated day, there are a few other announcements snuck in, including The Old Wind, which features Karl Daniel Lidén (ex-Greenleaf among others) on drums. The complete update follows, dutifully hoisted from the Roadburn website:

Napalm Death: The Slow, Painful, Dirgy Elements of Napalm at Roadburn Festival 2014

Legendary Grindcore veterans Napalm Death will be crashing into Roadburn 2014 with a set highlighting the more experimental moments of their extensive back-catalogue on Thursday, April 10th at the 013 venue in Tilburg, The Netherlands.

Frontman Mark ‘Barney’ Greenway has this to say: ”The common currency of Napalm is clearly the fast and the furious, but as Roadburn likes to peel away the layers to find the quirks in its performers, we have decided to attempt bringing to the fore the slow, painful, dirgy elements of Napalm that sometimes get partially obscured by the speed factor.

We have a number of songs, you could say, from the ‘no-wave’ stable heavily dripping in the sounds of Swans / Coil / My Bloody Valentine et al and will yank those out of the archives to try and construct something resembling a set.

Then, just as the audience are about to jump off the nearest building amidst the abject despair, we’ll probably machine-gun it all with a few bursts of dependable speed. Job done.”

Seminal Progressive Rock Pioneers Magma Confirmed For Mikael Åkerfeldt’s Curated 2014 Roadburn Event

We’re ecstatic, nearly speechless, to announce that seminal progressive rock pioneers Magma, Italy’s horror soundtrack masters Goblin, and psychedelic folk legends Comus have been confirmed for Mikael Åkerfeldt’ curated 2014 Roadburn event on Friday, April 11th at the 013 venue in Tilburg, The Netherlands.

”My ”arrogance” and ”cockyness” seems well documented these days, and while it’s not completely untrue I have a definite trust in Opeth’s musical delivery I have accepted stage-defeat countless times. Playing with Morbid Angel in 1996 and playing alongside Magma in 2013 comes to mind”, says Mikael Åkerfeldt.

”Magma’s music is such an exhausting emotional rollercoaster I can’t liken them to anything I’ve ever heard or seen before ever.

While the band takes the term jazz-rock to a new level, there’ so much more to the story. I’m not sure the band themselves are aware of how much ‘death metal’ they have in their music. It’s just downright evil sounding at times. Bizarre chord progressions, time signatures that make you vomit from confusion and an emotional musical delivery that puts virtually all other bands to shame.”

Goblin To Bring Legendary Horror Soundtracks To Mikael Åkerfeldt’s Curated 2014 Roadburn Event

We’re extremely excited to announce that Italy’s horror soundtrack masters Goblin, led by Claudio Simonetti, have been confirmed for Mikael Åkerfeldt‘s curated 2014 Roadburn event on Friday, April 11th at the 013 venue in Tilburg, The Netherlands.

”The legendary Italian masters led by the unmistakeable keyboard wizard Claudio Simonetti will grace us with their presence at Roadburn 2014”, says Mikael Åkerfeldt, ”How insane is that?”

”I don’t know how many pints of lager I’ve downed while air drumming to ‘Roller’. It’s been a constant tour party record for Opeth, but their discography as a whole is beyond impressive, almost intimidating. ‘Profondo Rosso’, ‘Zombi’, ‘Suspiria’, ‘Tenebre’ and the superfly ‘Squadra Antigangsters’ are just a few of their legendary soundtrack scores.”

For me to be the instigator of having Goblin play alongside Opeth just makes me insanely chuffed. Would never have dreamed of this to happen, but it will. I can’t wait. I almost resent the fact that we have to play ourselves as I want to prepare myself mentally for the emotional outburst to come. This will be amazing! Trust me.”

Psychedelic Folk Legends Comus Confirmed For Mikael Åkerfeldt’s Curated 2014 Roadburn Event

We’re beyond thrilled to announce that psychedelic folk legends Comus have been confirmed for Mikael Åkerfeldt‘s curated 2014 Roadburn event on Friday, April 11th at the 013 venue in Tilburg, The Netherlands.

”Hymen hunter, hands of steel, crack you open and your red flesh peel”. ”Is it a death metal lyric?”, says Mikael Åkerfeldt, ”No it’s psychedelic folk. Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the eerie yet beautiful world of Comus!”

”You’ll never be the same again.”

”I personally hold Comus debut LP ‘First Utterance’ as the pinnacle release of the genre. It’s just utterly amazing and has rubbed off on me musically in so many ways.

A timeless masterpiece, if anything. Their debut record from 1971 is like a family friend by now and their 1974 follow-up ‘To Keep From Crying’ is an underrated gem that deserves your attention. This was their swansong for many years until we saw their glorious return a few years back both as a live band as well as top of the range recording artists with their amazing ‘Out Of The Coma’ LP.

I’m extremely happy to announce the return of Comus to the main stage of the 013 venue in Tilburg and the Roadburn festival. I’m salivating myself. I’ve witnessed them live once and I fucking cried! Happy tears, I might add! I simply cannot wait to experience the magic that is Comus again next year. Hope you’re just as excited as me.”

The Old Wind (ft. Tomas Liljedahl and Robin Staps) To Bring Primal, Savage Post-Hardcore To Roadburn Festival 2014

The Old Wind , featuring not only Tomas Liljedahl of legendary Swedish cult noise crew Breach but also The Ocean‘s Robin Staps, will bring their primal post-sludge / hardcore, as savagely captured on the band’s massive debut album Feast On Your Gone to Roadburn Festival 2014 on Friday, April 11th at Het Patronaat in Tilburg, The Netherlands.

Tomas Liljedahl comments: “TOW started growing in my mind when I was in need of theraphy. I ?ve had a couple of really dark years, and I needed to project the hard times through something… and I found that writing words and music were the best way to get these demons out of my system.”

Originally incepted as a studio project, Liljedahl soon realized that these rough, abrasive songs needed to be performed live, with a real band. And so he teamed up with his former BREACH band mates Niklas Quintana (guitar) and Kristian Andersson (bass guitar), added drummer Karl Daniel Liden to the lineup and asked Robin Staps of Pelagic Records & The Ocean to join on third guitar.

Regarde Les Hommes Tomber To Bring Devastating Sludgy Post-Black Metal To Roadburn Festival 2014

France’s Regarde Les Hommes Tomber will be bringing their devastating, sludgy, post-black metal to Roadburn Festival 2014 on Thursday, April 10th at the 013 venue in Tilburg, The Netherlands.

The band is currently making waves in the European underground with their S/T debut album, creating monumental opuses that intersperse huge, hypnotic but also harsh walls of black metal suffused with harsh vocals and menacingly delicate interludes. Their overall sound is definitely black metal oriented but with song structures and moods reminiscent of Neurosis’ and Amenra’s punishing brutality.

However, showing the versatility of the band, Regarde Les Hommes Tomber also deliver deliberately building progressions more closely related to traditional slugde metal, alongside their intense, full blasts of power, showcasing a knack for less speed as well without sacrificing any of their wrath, restlessness and hateful anger.

Destroying this year’s Hellfest back in June, Roadburn 2014 will be next. Proceed with caution.

The Great Old Ones To Bring Lovecraft-Inspired French Black Metal To Roadburn Festival 2014

Taking H.P. Lovecraft’s Cthulhu Mythos as their template, France’s The Great Old Ones draw stylistically from contemporary black metal folded around post-metal structures suffused with dark ambient atmosphere on their stunning debut album, Al Azif.

Formed in 2011, The Great Old Ones aren’t your typical French black metal band that operates in the same unorthodox, dissonant area as Blut aus Nord or Deathspell Omega. No, the band is definitely carving a niche of their own as they weave ethereal harmonies with unconventional song progressions, breaking up their chaotic, blackened majesty with atmospheric interludes and slower doom-laden anthems.

The Great Old Ones will send you over the edge at Roadburn Festival 2014 on Thursday, April 10th at the 013 venue in Tilburg, The Netherlands.

Roadburn Festival 2014 will run for four days from Thursday, April 10th to Sunday, April 13th 2014 at the 013 venue inTilburg, The Netherlands.

The Old Wind, “In Fields” from Feast on Your Gone (2013)

So you’re telling me that if I’m fortunate enough to be able to get my ass to Roadburn 2014, I can see Graves at Sea and Noothgrush? Well Jeebus, Roadburn, why don’t you just fulfill all of my West Coast sludge wishes? The already-badass continues to get more and more badass, and as somebody who’s caught Bong at Roadburn before, I’m happy to say that once you get indoctrinated into that cult there’s really no getting out.

Here’s the latest, courtesy of the Roadburn website:

Shamanic Leaders of Psychotropic Doom Excursions Bong To Return To Roadburn Festival 2014

Shamanic leaders of psychotropic doom excursions to the farthest reaches of lysergic space and time, Bong return to Roadburn in 2014!

Exploring the outer reaches of raga-like doom /psychedelia, Bong are meant to be experienced in a live setting and we are ecstatic to have them back to Roadburn, playing on Thursday, April 10th at the 013 venue in Tilburg, The Netherlands. Strap into the cockpit of your own private space ship and prepare to experience the inexorable journey to the darkest corners of the doomiverse.

Electric Wizard gave us doom-mantia, and Bong stretch that concept out into doom-mantra… a sound where space and time are suspended, and drone, doom and sitars wash over you while you depart this space-time continuum to become suspended in distortion, propelled by slowly mutating drum patterns toward doom enlightenment.

Join us as we turn Roadburn over to Bong‘s mystic vision quest to the molten center of doom.

Roadburn Festival 2014 will run for four days from Thursday, April 10th to Sunday, April 13th 2014 at the 013 venue in Tilburg, The Netherlands.

Bay Area’s Noothgrush To Rumble The Foundations of Roadburn Festival 2014

Utilizing Iommi guitar tone, huge drums awash in wide open cymbals, and sludge / hardcore vokills with heavy political / social lyrical content, Noothgrush are the crushing essence of modern doom, the Bay Area’s answer to Corrupted and early Boris.

They are masters of dynamics, not afraid to get quiet and minimal to create space and contrast for the enormous riffing that follows. Roadburn is extremely happy to to welcome them to the 2014 festival where they will be rumbling the foundations of the 013 venue on Saturday, April 12th in Tilburg, The Netherlands.

Noothgrush stretch back almost 20 years, but took a 10 year hiatus and reformed in 2011. They have a guitar sound that is firmly rooted in classic doom, but the drumming and vocals put them stylistically in the modern doom camp. Contemporaries of Eyehategod, Grief and Cavity, Noothgrush did their fair share to drive the sound of U.S. doom lower and slower.

Their vengeful, harrowing doom also incorporates some psychedelic elements as well — evidenced by them covering tracks from Pink Floyd‘s Ummagumma — along with lots of space to give the vocals and guitar maximum impact.

Roadburn Festival 2014 will run for four days from Thursday, April 10th to Sunday, April 13th 2014 at the 013 venue in Tilburg, The Netherlands.

Bong, Idle Days On The Yann (2013)

Straight out of the “Fucking A” file comes the news that Brooklyn post-sludgers Hull have joined the lineup for Roadburn 2014. One can only hope that by the time April rolls around the now-foursome will be supporting a follow-up to 2011’s triumphant sophomore outing, Beyond the Lightless Sky (review here) — they’ve been playing new material live for a while — but even if not, it’s awesome to see them on the bill for Roadburn, where they’re almost certain to lay waste to what and whomever should stand in their path at the 013.

News has also come out in the last couple days that Boston funeral doomers Morne and CA sludge mainstays 16 have been added to the fest. Updates follow, courtesy of the Roadburn site:

Hull: Brooklyn Sludge Rock Alchemists Added To Roadburn 2014 Lineup

Brooklyn, New York sludge rock alchemists, Hull have been confirmed for Roadburn Festival 2014 on Thursday, April 10th at the 013 venue in Tilburg, The Netherlands.

Hull will be performing alongside a jaw-dropping lineup that already includes Opeth, Yob, Triptykon, A Storm Of Light, Crowbar, Graves at Sea, Lord Dying, and so many more.

Comments guitarist Nick Palmirotto, “Hull is absolutely elated to be a part of the vastly diverse lineup that will be gracing the stages of Roadburn 2014. Having had the tremendous experience of performing bass guitar duties for Jarboe in 2010, it is an honor for Hull to be a part of one of the most unique and unprecedented festivals in the world of heavy music. Our gratitude speaks no bounds, we shall forge onward through the barren lands, beyond the lightless sky.”

Hull released their monolithic Beyond The Lightless Sky full-length via The End Records in 2011. Commended by The Village Voice (NYC) its “motorcycle-revving D-beat, bog-trawling doom, sinister black metal, Neurosis drum-offs and hypnotic passages that gnash like a venom-dripping cousin to the final Isis album,” Beyond The Lightless Sky features guest appearances by vocalist Jarboe, keys/ambiance by Fade Kainer (Batillus / Jarboe / Inswarm) and has reaped critical acclaim internationally for its delicate balance of staggering heaviness and poetic grace.

Hull materializes as a massive entity storming stages and immersing their audiences in a blanket of grandiose down-tuned compositions. A shifting fault line of decibel heavy harmony, this collective force converges in a collision of thrash, doom, classic rock, and formal orchestral works.

Hull commands their listeners through each riff with incredible precision, as a seafarer guides vessels through ominous waters. Submerged in cosmic soundscapes, Hull challenges the mind with flowing, off-time fugues and powerful, dynamic movements.

Brace yourself for an onslaught of eruptive force as a new world of music is formed in the deafening clap of thunder that is Hull.

Roadburn Festival 2014 will run for four days from Thursday, April 10th to Sunday, April 13th 2014 at the 013 venue in Tilburg, The Netherlands.

Boston’s Morne To Bring Outsider Funeral Doom To Roadburn 2014 Afterburner

Boston’s Morne has everything you could ever want in an outsider funeral doom band. Their sound, revolving around guitarist / singer Milosz Gassan, shifts from crushing bombast to dark psychedelia, from crumbling, downtuned riffage to lumbering drone and from post rock to gothic gloom and metallic crust. They traverse this wide range of sounds without dwelling in trendy post-metal circles or being part of the seemingly never ending enclave of Neurosis adepts.

On their latest album, Shadows (out on Profound Lore), Morne even delves into classic rock and 70s prog, which drives the band onwards though a darkened wasteland of melancholy and menace, fueled by bleakness, airily textural progressions, moody melodies and a fierce, riffy, but also straightforward chug.

Morne, huge favorites of Darkthrone’s Fenriz and Nocturno Culto –who incorporated the Morne logo into the artwork of Circle The Wagons, will bring their vulnerable slabs of despair to the 2014 Roadburn Afterburner on Sunday, April 13th at the 013 venue in Tilburg, The Netherlands.

Roadburn Festival 2014 will run for four days from Thursday , April 10th to Sunday, April 13th 2014 at the 013 venue in Tilburg, The Netherlands.

-(16)- To Bring Jagged Blocks of Buzzing Sludge To Roadburn Festival 2014

Over the last two decades, Califorian veterans -(16)- have been pioneering heavy-as-hell, ill tempered sludge metal, alongside fellow luminaries Buzzov*en, Eyehategod and Crowbar (among others).

Despite all the anguish, pain and countless lineup changes that 20 years brought, -(16)- remained a dependable source of gutsy, misery infested, torturous sludge, captured on albums like Drop Out, Zoloft Smile and Deep Cuts from Dark Clouds (out on Relapse Records).

Whether its the band’s mid tempo, aggressive metal assault, their sludgy dissonance or aggro-punk-hardcore filth, -(16)- spits it out with hateful, jaw-punching glee – thriving on chugging guitars, grinding bass and growling vocals that drive home the point like a blast of scuzzed-up vitriol.

We’re looking forward to get punched in the gut, and smacked in the face as well by -(16)-‘s jagged blocks of buzzing sludge on Saturday, April 12th at the 013 venue in Tilburg, The Netherlands. Nope we won’t mind it abit, as we’ve been waiting for so many years for this to happen!

Turn up, tune down, give up…

Roadburn Festival 2014 will run for four days from Thursday, April 10th to Sunday, April 13th, 2014 at the 013 venue in Tilburg, The Netherlands.

Hull, Live at St. Vitus Bar, Brooklyn, Feb. 10, 2013

I was fortunate enough to catch Triptykon‘s debut live performance at Roadburn 2010 — guitarist/vocalist Tom G. Warrior (interview here) curated that day — and let me tell you, they were fucking bleak. I mean, I’ve seen the main room at 013 in Tilburg go pretty lightless, but they were a singularity absorbing light, let alone giving any off. Warrior‘s first outing after leaving Celtic Frost, Eparistera Daimones (review here), gave some inkling of what to expect, but live it was even darker. Challenging to say the least.

Triptykon are currently at work on the follow-up to their debut, and the plan seems to be for the album to hit right around the time of their return to Roadburn in 2014. Hope it works out. Triptykon released an EP called Shatter late in 2010 that rounded out the sessions that produced their album, and as Warrior moves further beyond Celtic Frost and into this new collaboration, I’m looking forward to hearing what kind of devastation might ensue.

Here’s the announcement, courtesy of Roadburn:

Triptykon Returns To Roadburn Festival 2014

We’re extremely honoured to report that Triptykon will return to Roadburn Festival on Sunday, April 13th at the 013 venue in Tilburg, The Netherlands.

There’s a significant bond between Roadburn and Triptykon founder Tom Gabriel Warrior (already legendary for his work as a founding member of Hellhammer and Celtic Frost). Not only did he curate the 2010 Roadburn Festival, personally inviting the lineup for his highly acclaimed ‘Only Death Is Real event,’ Triptykon also played their first official live show at the festival in support of their then newly-released debut album, Eparistera Daimones.

The stunningly dark and deeply personal Eparistera Daimones showed an inspirational rebirth for Tom Gabriel Warrior after the riotous days of Celtic Frost, and placed Triptykon squarely in the vanguard of avant-garde metal. Many stunning shows followed, but Roadburn is proud to have brought them to the stage for that very special first performance. Their return to Roadburn will herald the release of their long-awaited new full-length album.

We’re very proud about our continued collaboration with Tom Gabriel Warrior and Triptykon, and can’t wait to welcome them at the 2014 festival. Coming heavily armed with crushing new material, the band is sure to plunge Roadburn back into a dark abyss of all-consuming heaviness.

Tom Gabriel Warrior: “Roadburn is very likely the most extraordinary, daring, and vigorous festival in what has otherwise largely become a blandly repetitive and overly commercialized heavy rock scene. Moreover, anybody who has ever attended Roadburn can confirm that no other festival exudes such a unique feeling of radiance and creativity among audience and performers alike. Triptykon’s return to Roadburn in 2014 signifies yet another truly unique chapter in a long affiliation with the festival, dating back to the riotous days of Celtic Frost. I am deeply grateful to Roadburn’s artistic director Walter Hoeijmakers for his extraordinary friendship and his continued faith in the path we are pursuing with Triptykon. In return, we shall duly transform Roadburn into a church of darkness.”

Roadburn Festival 2014 will run for four days from Thursday, April 10th to Sunday, April 13th, 2014 at the 013 venue in Tilburg, The Netherlands.

Triptykon, “Procreation (of the Wicked)” Live at Wacken Open Air 2011

Huge news out of the Roadburn camp today for the 2014 lineup. In addition to a pre-sale party for tickets that features New Keepers of the Water Towers and SardoniS, YOB will headline the Afterburner playing 2009’s The Great Cessation in full, and Sourvein, Graves at Sea, Crowbar, ASG, Lord Dying, A Storm of Light and Anciients have been added to the bill, ensuring that however much psychedelia has been announced and may yet still come, Roadburn 2014 won’t lack for crushed skulls either.

Oh, and in case you missed it, let me just repeat: Graves at Sea. Graves at fucking Sea. So yeah.

Here’s the latest:

Roadburn announces ticket prices and pre-sales party; Crowbar, Sourvein, Yob and more added to the line-up

Roadburn Festival 2014 Ticket Pre-Sales Start Friday October 11th 2013 at 21:00 CET; Pre-Sales Party at the 013 venue (NL) with New Keepers of the Water Towers and Sardonis.

Yob to Headline Roadburn Festival 2014 Afterburner; Crowbar, Yob, Sourvein and Graves at Sea among others added to 2014 Roadburn Festival Lineup.

As previously announced, tickets for Roadburn 2014 will go on sale on Friday, October 11th 2013. Set your alarm and get ready to score your tickets at 21:00 CET!

The majority of Roadburners live outside The Netherlands, which is why ticket pre-sales will start at 21:00 CET. This should be convenient for most time zones. Apologies to our friends in Oceania who will have to wake up early (or just stay up late)!

We are pleased to report that there will be NO price increase this year. Three-day tickets will be available for 165 euros; four-day tickets will cost 185 euros. Afterburner-only tickets will cost 32.50 euros. Please note that one-day tickets are not available for the Thursday, Friday or Saturday Roadburn dates. Online buyers can order a maximum of four tickets.

For everyone in the Netherlands and Belgium: we are aware that your local ticket outlets will not be open when pre-sales start, which is why we are throwing another pre-sales party at the 013 venue in Tilburg (NL). From 19:00 CET – 20:30 CET you will be able to purchase a maximum of two paper tickets for Roadburn Festival 2014. Guaranteed!

In addition to making it easy to get tickets, the pre-sales party is going to be a blast! This year, we have invited Sardonis and New Keepers of the Water Towers to provide the soundtrack. Both bands have been on the Roadburn radar for quite a while and this is the perfect opportunity for Belgium’s Sardonis to share their riff-heavy explorations and Stockholm heavyweights New Keepers of The Water Towers to take us on a progressive psychedelic trip. The live music part of the evening starts at 20:30 CET.

Roadburn’s artistic director/promoter Walter Hoeijmakers will be on hand to share the latest festival updates, too.

Get ready to score your tickets and kick off the official countdown to Roadburn 2014! More info on tickets for Roadburn 2014 here: http://www.roadburn.com/roadburn-2014/tickets/

Roadburn favorites Yob will be making a highly anticipated return appearance in 2014, playing two crushing sets of their unique doom. They will play The Great Cessation for their album set on Saturday, April 12th, and headlining the Roadburn Festival Afterburner on Sunday, April 13th at the 013 venue in Tilburg, The Netherlands.

Yob founder Mike Scheidt says, “Coming back to Roadburn for a third time… to play our fifth and sixth sets total at this festival… it is difficult to come up with words to adequately express our feelings. We have made it very clear how much we love the spirit of the Roadburn Festival. It is an unparallelled experience encompassing everything we embrace as both artists and fans. We will bring what we hope to be the best we have ever done in both of our sets of music. Playing The Great Cessation live in entirety will be a YOB first. For our 2nd set, we will perform songs covering our entire discography, including something new as well. To be able to play, to be in attendance as fans, and to once again to walk the streets of Tilburg and live in the soul that is Roadburn is something we are very grateful for. April 2014 is too far away.” More info on Yob here: http://wp.me/p1m0FP-8aX

From deep in the earth you can feel massive vibrations… soon they become audible — huge distant riffs growing louder and turning into a sonic assault with a familiar feel and groove. Suddenly you realize… NOLA is in the house! Roadburn 2014 welcomes legendary New Orleans riffmasters Crowbar to the 013 venue main stage on Thursday, April 10th. With ties to Down, Eyehategod, Acid Bath and Pantera, Crowbar will definitely provide Roadburners with a perfect cure for their New Orleans metal jones in 2014. More info on Crowbar here: http://wp.me/p1m0FP-8aZ

Sludge legends Sourvein will be ratcheting up the sheer brutality of their damaged, blackend misery by playing all three of the band’s much acclaimed EP’s, Emerald Vulture, Ghetto Angel and Imperial Bastard, in their entirety exclusively at Roadburn Festival 2014. “We’re beyond excited to return to the mighty Roadburn Festival on our 20th anniversary tour” says T-Roy Medlin, “and this year we have a very special set prepared just for the Roadburn crowd. We will be doing our trilogy live, all three EP’s back to back and some songs off the first record that we’ve never done live… So we really look forward to this being an awesome time. See you at Roadburn 2014.” More info on Sourvein here: http://wp.me/p1m0FP-8b3

Underground favourites Graves at Sea will bring their crushing brand of slow, sluggish despair to Roadburn Festival 2014 on Thursday, April 10th at the 013 venue. More info on Graves at Sea here: http://wp.me/p1m0FP-8b1

Roadburn 2014 just got a whole lot heavier: Anciients, ASG, A Storm of Light and Lord Dying have been confirmed for Roadburn Festival 2014 as well.

Holland’s very own Roadburn Festival has become Europe’s leading festival for psychedelic, avant-metal, doom, heavy 70s or any other variation of leftfield sonic pleasures that push the boundaries of music.

Roadburn Festival 2014 (including Mikael Åkerfeldt’s curated event, Opeth and Loop) will run for four days from Thursday April 10th to Sunday April 13th, 2014 at the 013 venue in Tilburg, The Netherlands.

For more info: www.roadburn.com

Graves at Sea, Live at Heavy Days in Doomtown 2013

Of all the batches of Roadburn 2013 audio that have thus far come to light, this one might be both my favorite and the most comprehensive. From Pallbearer‘s morose doom to Elder‘s heavy psych righteousness, the progressive metal of The Ocean and Spiritual Beggars‘ classic heavy rock, seething black metal from A Forest of Stars, with post-metal from Process of Guilt, blues doom from Witch Mountain and prog from Camera and Astra between — that’s not to mention the genreless freakout of Seremonia — it’s a series as varied as the fest itself.

Please enjoy the Roadburn 2013 streams on the players below and kiss your afternoon goodbye. As you make your way through, don’t forget to check the news below about The Shrine, Papir and Glitter Wizard being added to the Roadburn 2014 lineup, as that continues to impressively take shape.

Thanks as always to Walter and the Roadburn crew:

A Forest of Stars – Live at Roadburn 2013

Astra – Live at Roadburn 2013

Camera

Elder – Live at Roadburn 2013

Pallbearer – Live at Roadburn 2013

Process of Guilt – Live at Roadburn 2013

Seremonia – Live at Roadburn 2013

Spiritual Beggars – Live at Roadburn 2013

The Ocean – Live at Roadburn 2013

The Ruins of Beverast – Live at Roadburn 2013

Witch Mountain – Live at Roadburn 2013

As noted above, Roadburn 2014 has continued this week to add bands to its already considerable lineup. Here’s the latest, courtesy of the fest:

LA’s The Shrine To Bring Some Heavy, Psychedelic, Riff Based Rock n’ Roll To Roadburn Festival 2014

Grab a six pack! It’s time for some high energy, rock ‘n roll action when Los Angeles’ The Shrine hits the stage on Thursday, April 10 at the 013 venue in Tilburg, The Netherlands. We’re feeling inspired… should we put up a skate ramp at Roadburn 2014?

No, let’s empty some pools, and conquer these concrete bowls! Right here, right now, as the hairy dudes in The Shrine could easily have been part of the 1970s Zephyr skateboard team. Or at least, they would have put up their big ass amps (draped with an American flag, of course) next to the pools, and crank some drug addled, SoCal primitive blast to get it all going, pure and simple!

Denmark’s Papir To Transcend Heavy Psych Territory at Roadburn Festival 2014

We here at Roadburn are on our own path and we ensure that when booking the festival it encompasses everything we like – from krautrock through post rock to heavy psych.

Papir, hailing from the suburbs of Copenhagen, are definitely kindred spirits, as this fascinating instrumental three piece have created their own extraordinary type of semi-improvised psychedelic rock by transcending the usual labels – something we immensely admire. Thus we simply can’t wait to dive headfirst into the band’s richly textured sound on Saturday, April 12 at the 013 venue in Tilburg, The Netherlands.

Take A Trip Way Back Into The Future With Glitter Wizard at Roadburn 2014

In our ongoing quest to exhume every artifact of 60s and 70s proto metal, we recently stumbled up on San Francisco’s Glitter Wizard. For a moment, it seemed that we unearthed a forgotten gem, as Hunting Gatherers, the band’s sophomore album, could be easily mistaken for a long lost album from the early 70s.

In our hazy minds’ imagination, the band shared the stage with Steppenwolf, Bloodrock, Black Widow, The Stooges or Iron Butterfly, but Glitter Wizard‘s trippy, swinging sound — replete with catchy riffs, amusing lyrics and space-age keyboards, sax and flutes — isn’t some kind of Nuggets discovery, they are here and now.

Don’t get behind the times when the devil worships Glitter Wizard at Roadburn 2014 on Saturday, April 12 at the 013 venue in Tilburg, The Netherlands. They will take you into future through a doorway hidden in the past.

With Loop as the headliner, Mikael Akerfeldt as the curator and previously announced performances from The Heads, Conan, Freedom Hawk, True Widow, Gozu, Windhand, Inter Arma and more, Roadburn continues to inspire. Today four more acts (unless, like last week, I’ve missed a shit-ton of other news, though I think I got it) have been announced. Sula Bassana, Aqua Nebula Oscillator and The Cult of Dom Keller are sure to add to the already super-trippy side of the bill, while Scorpion Child preach a gospel of classic riffing and bluesy swagger.

Here are the announcements, courtesy of Roadburn:

During recent editions of the Roadburn Festival, Dave Schmidt aka Sula Bassana graced the stage with Electric Moon to explore an unknown distant psych galaxy through hallucinatory spacerock. We at Roadburn HQ are drawn to his mesmerizing music like a swarm of tripped-out moths to a flame. Whether he is jamming with Weltraumstaunen, Liquid Visions, Krautzone, Sudstern 44, Zone Six, Interkosmos or Electric Moon, there is simply no one who can channel the krautrock vibe like Schmidt.

Dave and his myriad bands are well-known for their fantastic far out live performances, but Sula Bassana shows have been a rare occurrence indeed, never mind performances with a full band under his solo moniker. As you can imagine, we are elated to announce that Dave Schmidt has agreed to play Roadburn Festival 2014 exclusively as Sula Bassana on Saturday, April 12th in Het Patronaat in Tilburg, The Netherlands.

Backed by a full band – Komet Lulu (bass), Marcus Schnitzler (The Spacelords, Electric Moon / drums), Rainer Neeff (The Pancakes, Zone Six, Krautzone / guitar) – Sula Bassana (guitar / synthesizers) will propel us through hyperspace, taking us on an utterly absorbing and surreal journey into the captivating and colorful sounds of the cosmos.

Vintage proto-metal lovers rejoice! Scorpion Child, hailing from Austin, Texas, will bring their killer heavy rock to Roadburn Festival 2014 on Friday, April 11th at Het Patronaat in Tilburg, The Netherlands. With their blues and krautrock-influenced heavy psych rock, the band fits right in with the likes of Graveyard, Kadavar and Witchcraft, while adding their own twist to the good times, good vibes and catchy hooks found on the great records of the 1970s.

When it comes to straight up, kickass hardrock, Scorpion Child delivers! Do yourself a favor and don’t miss ‘em at Roadburn 2014.

We at Roadburn HQ have become obsessed with The Cult of Dom Keller‘s druggy bliss lately, as the Nothingham (UK) four piece channels the lysergic spirits of 13th Floor Elevators, Stooges, Black Sabbath, Spaceman 3 and Acid Mothers Temple into full blown, third-eye transcendentalism.

You can almost hear the trippy, kaleidoscopic flashbacks through hazy clouds of obscurity, flashing strobes and glowing smoke through the band’s chemical feast of fuzzy, psychedelic madness, part shimmering feedback explorations, swamp-infested blues bastardizations, and part mind expanding stoner rock manipulations.

The Cult of Dom Keller will document our delirious, collective hallucinations by gathering on Thursday, April 10th at the 013 venue in Tilburg, The Netherlands, and the band’s captivating, tranced out sounds will definitely echo through the deepest valleys of your mind.

It was only a matter of time until French droned out psych-space wranglers Aqua Nebula Oscillator found their way to Roadburn Festival.

The band’s super charged, heady collision between extended Hawkwind freakouts and the raw, metallic swagger of the Stooges is a perfect fit, and we’re excited to announce that Aqua Nebula Oscillator will appear at the 2014?s Afterburner on Sunday, April 13th at the 013 venue in Tilburg, The Netherlands.

The Cult of Dom Keller, The Cult of Dom Keller (2013)

Hot damn! Nothing like starting off the week with good news, and the announcement below that Gozu will play Roadburn 2014 certainly qualifies as that. The Boston natives will travel to the Netherlands to play the 013 venue on April 12 as part of the four-day fest from April 10-13. Earlier this year, Gozu released The Fury of a Patient Man (review here) on Small Stone and most recently, they demolished the stage at The Eye of the Stoned Goat 3 in Brooklyn (review here). Kudos to the band, who are going to kill it in Tilburg.

Here’s the latest:

Gozu to Play Roadburn Festival 2014

Following the instant critical success of their sophomore recording, Locust Season in 2010, Boston’s Gozu continues to go deep into stoner chug territory on their latest album, The Fury of A Patient Man. Dropping colossal bombs of pure rock fury, Gozu thrive on fuzzed-up guitars, tight motorik drumming, sharp melodies that a lot of bands would die for, and the magic ingredient – pure downright soul!

From the swaggering glory of ‘Bald Bull’ to the 12 bar buzzing boogie of ‘Salty Thumb’ and the upright yet dark guitar crunch of ‘Disco Related Injury’, Gozu will totally raze Roadburn Festival 2014 when they take the stage on Saturday, April 12th at the 013 venue in Tilburg, The Netherlands.

On their first ever European tour, Gozu will take no prisoners and leave no room to breathe, cuz the band’s stripped down highly infectious riff rock is as mountainous as it is undulating — Gozu will throw us a rocking bone and fight it out to the end! Hell, we didn’t even mention the band’s ability to bust out a loose yet structured jam like on ‘The Ceaseless Thunder Of Surf’, which sees Gozu invoking the spirit of Neurosis.

Roadburn‘s ready, bring it all on!

Roadburn Festival 2014 will run for four days from Thursday, April 10th to Sunday, April 13th, 2014 at the 013 venue in Tilburg, The Netherlands.

Gozu, The Fury of a Patient Man (2013)