04.11.15 — 01.17 — Fri. Night — Hotel

The curated day is a Roadburn tradition going back to David Tibet of Current 93, who was the fest’s first curator in 2008. This year, the hallowed duty was bestowed on Enslaved guitarist Ivar Bjørnson and Wardruna multi-instrumentalist/vocalist Einar “Kvitrafn” Selvik, and their day took on the title “Houses of the Holistic.” I don’t know who picked what individual band for what stage, or if the two agreed on everything or what the situation was, but I know the results were pretty magical, particularly on the Main Stage, which hosted — in order — Virus, Sólstafir, Fields of the Nephilim, Warduna and Enslaved, who joined forces for the final set of the evening to perform Skuggsjá, a Norse-minded work originally commissioned to honor the 200th anniversary of the Norwegian constitution and first performed at the Eidsivablot festival last fall. To my knowledge, Roadburn 2015 is the second time it’s ever been played in public.

I did some wandering, as one will, but the day started with Virus, who played Roadburn in 2012 and were among the most talked-about bands that year. I knew I didn’t want to miss them again, so I got to the main hall well in time for their start, which unfolded quickly in a technically intricate post-black metal from the lineup of guitarist Carl-Michael “Czral” Eide, bassist Petter “Plenem” Berntsen and drummer Einar Sjursø. They came highly recommended, and while I heard The Black Flux, their second album, when it was released in 2008, that was also seven years ago and it seemed reasonable to expect they would’ve progressed even further along their dissonant path. Sure enough, while they dipped back to their debut, 2003’s Carheart, for “Be Elevator,” it was the material from 2011’s The Agent that Shapes the Desert that most stood out to me, “Chromium Sun,” which appeared early in the set, and “Dead Cities of Syria,” which followed soon after, as well as the new song that served as their closer, “Rogue Fossils,” which Eide teased as being included in their to-be-recorded fourth record, calling it “atonal.”

A challenging start to the day, but Virus‘ avant twists weren’t impossible to track. “Rogue Fossils” was downright catchy,” and the turns of “Lost Peacocks” from The Black Flux weren’t so sharp as to go off the rails. Obviously that’s a credit to the trio, whose sound is individualized enough that it could only have grown organically. If you were to start a band and say, “Okay, we’re going to sound like this,” wherein “this” is Virus, it would fall flat. Some things just need to grow on their own. It was an impressive showing, but I also wanted to catch Ivar Bjørnson‘s ambient project, BardSpec, which was making its debut on Stage01, the smallest of the rooms at the 013. Easy enough to wander over, and I managed the rare feat of getting in before it was too packed and found Bjørnson‘s experimental side in full display, a table set up on the stage with mixing boards, guitars — Enslaved‘s Arve “Ice Dale” Isdal sat in on guitar, and I mean “sat” literally; he was behind the table, largely hidden from view, sitting on a monitor wedge — a laptop and no doubt two or three other swirl-making doodads obstructed from view.

Decked out in a shirt the homemade-seeming designs of which reacted with the blacklights in the room to look like they were glowing in the dark and glasses with lights in them, Bjørnson soundscaped and built on waves of drone from Isdal‘s guitar, manipulating a live mix while video played on the screen behind. Formative, maybe, but ambitious, and Enslaved bassist/vocalist Grutle Kjellson showed up to watch as well. With a primary focus on atmospherics, it was maybe more of something you’d put and close your eyes to than something to watch on stage, but I almost always find the live creation of droning sounds interesting, to think of that as part of a performance. I stayed for a while and went back and forth to watch Virus finish their set, waiting for Icelandic four-piece Sólstafir to take the Main Stage, which they did — in force, by storm, or however else you want to say it. Like Virus, they played in 2012 and were much heralded, though they also played yesterday doing the live soundtrack to the Icelandic film Hrafninn Flýgur (“Flight of the Raven“), so either way, the Roadburn crowd was familiar with their wares.

Even after playing yesterday, though, Sólstafir drew what was at that point the biggest crowd I’d seen so far at the Main Stage. There were many Sólstafir shirts in the audience, and it didn’t take long for the band — who’ve had the same lineup since the turn of the century with guitarist/vocalist Aðalbjörn Tryggvason, guitarist Sæþór Maríus Sæþórsson, bassist Svavar Austman and drummer Guðmundur Óli Pálmason — to demonstrate how they earned such loyalty. Supporting last year’s fifth LP, Ótta (review here), they played “Dagmál,” album-opener “Lágnætti” and the title-track right off the bat, Tryggvason a consummate, emotive and charismatic frontman, wielding an e-bow for his guitar as if it was powered by his heart, but the whole band just dead on, through and through. I had been looking forward to seeing them for a while, and they more than justified the anticipation. The ending of “Ótta” alone was worth standing there, but I stayed put for just about the entire set and was treated to “Kukl” and the title-cut from 2011’s double-album, Svartir Sandar, as well as “Rismál” from Ótta, which was a highlight, and “Goddess of the Ages” from 2009’s Köld.

The latter showed off some blackened roots, but there was strong sense of performance running through the whole set, and as far back as Sólstafir dipped into their catalog, that tied the show together. A dynamic band, strong in mood and consistent in their songwriting, they also held down that stage, no questions whatsoever. In their energy and their presence, they owned it. Another album or two to follow-up Ótta and I would not at all be surprised to find Sólstafir return to Roadburn in a couple years even higher on the bill. I won’t get to see them on their US tour, which begins April 22 (dates here), but at least now I know what I’m missing. I can’t imagine what they’d be like in a smaller space — Reggies in Chicago, Red 7 in Austin, etc. — if Tryggvason would go into the crowd as he did for “Goddess of the Ages” before climbing back on stage to end out with more e-bow. They’re something special, and I got the vibe from their set that they’d likely be something special whatever the context in which one happened to be seeing them.

There was a break in between Sólstafir and Fields of the Nephilim, so I shuffled over to the merch area and picked up a couple odds and ends — mostly Live at Roadburn releases; Papir, Papermoon, Sula Bassana, and I had my eye on a YOB, The Unreal Never Lived Live at Roadburn 2012 LP that I might have to make mine on the morrow — and ran back to the hotel to drop off the goods, getting back in time for the legendary UK goth rockers to hit the Main Stage, carrying with them a host of classics I’m woefully out of my depth discussing, having never really followed vocalist Carl McCoy or the band. They were something unknown to me, which has an appeal on its own, and particularly following Sólstafir, it was easy to read a Fields of the Nephilim influence in retrospect, in headwear and style. I never gothdanced, but there were some shimmying shoulders to be seen for “Dawnrazor,” “Moonchild” and others, though with Dutch prog legends Focus shortly on in the Green Room, the Main Stage attendance thinned out noticeably, Fields of the Nephilim having gone on about 15 minutes late. They’re back tomorrow as the headliners on the Main Stage.

As I understand it, that’s because Walter is a huge fan, which is probably the best reason you’re ever going to see a band playing Roadburn. They don’t have a new record out, they’re not touring, but they’re here doing two sets because Walter, who is the head, figurehead and face of the festival, loves them. Who could argue? I’m not sure I’m a convert, but it gave me a chance to get some dinner, watch Focus through the door for a bit — I’d done similar with Icelandic black metallers Svartidauði earlier, and found them satisfyingly ripping — and still get back in time for the start of Wardruna, about whom I had zero preconceptions. Before they went on, two tiers were added to the stage, making room for the Norwegian outfit’s range of percussion, vocalists, and so on.

Very much led by Selvik — he was the only one on the lowest level of the stage while they played — they were nonetheless an orchestra. Atmospheres so thick you could swim in them, harmonies rang out in Norwegian, telling Viking tales of a history to which I can’t relate but set me off wondering what it might be like to be from a place with a traditionally homogeneous culture; how it might be to have a “team” in terms of nationality. Americans divide. That’s what we do. I don’t have any experience with a history like that into which Wardruna seemed to be tapping, Selvik with a variety of traditional instruments at hand. It’s easy to respect it, and the performance, if you’ll pardon my saying, was splendid. Soulful, rich, immersive and as complex and beautiful as anything I’ve heard at Roadburn in my seven trips here. But even “Americana” discounts entire portions of my nation’s population, so outside the language barrier, I had a bit of cultural wall standing between me and Wardruna‘s Viking paeans, though by the time they got around to the memorable dirge “Helvegen” from 2013’s Runaljod – Yggdrasil, I was ready to set sail on whatever hand-carved ship they might’ve had parked outside the 013. One could almost hear the lapping waves of the Norwegian Sea.

Over in the Green Room, it was a different kind of traditionalism playing out. Oslo-based trio Tombstones riffed loud, riffed early and riffed often — their tones a dense, earplug-vibrating lumber that grooved on vicious roll. I knew I liked that band from 2013’s Red Skies and Dead Eyes (review here), but I didn’t realize quite how much I liked that band. Guitarist Bjørn-Viggo Godtland and bassist Ole Christian Helstad shared vocal duties atop their own punishing low-tone and drummer Markus Støle‘s swinging crash, and with a hooded statue of Death on either side of the stage, they played some material I didn’t recognize — might be new? — but slammed home their sonic tonnage as though it was a thing to be directly hammered into the assembled skulls before them and headbanged with true doomly fuckall abandon. I hadn’t seen a band be heavy like that all day, so Tombstones were more than welcome, and the savage heft likewise. They were an act I was very, very glad to have seen at Roadburn.

Coming out of their set, I felt I had a better understanding of what they were about. Not that the album didn’t paint a coherent picture, but to actually see Tombstones made me better appreciate the intensity of their approach. “Intensity” would prove an operative word back in the main hall as well, with Enslaved getting ready to go on. Drummer Cato Bekkevold — buried, as ever, behind his kit — and keyboardist/vocalist Herbrand Larsen had already had their gear positioned in the back row, the highest of Wardruna‘s tiers, in anticipation of the Skuggsjá set still to come, but this was a special gig as well. Dubbed “House of Northern Gods,” it found Bjørnson, Kjellson and Isdal down front of the stage, leading the way through a setlist spanning all the way back to 1993’s Hordanes Land EP, with “Allf?ðr Oðinn” one of the several cuts chosen to represent Norse deities or their archetypes as the band tore through their discography with spoken samples between each song, and runes appearing and disappearing behind them on the Main Stage projection screen along with animations by the artist Costin Chioreanu.

No doubt there were many in attendance who’ve seen Enslaved more than I have, but I’ve seen Enslaved six or seven times by now — including at Roadburn — and this was hands-down the best show I’ve ever watched them give. Also the best setlist. For how tight they were, for the fact that after opening with “Frøyas Smykke” from 2000’s Mardraum (Beyond the Within), they launched into “Fusion of Sense and Earth” from 2006’s Ruun. Kjellson‘s rasp was in top form, and all five of them were raging full-on. It was, yes, intense, and it only became more so as “Fenris” from 1994’s Frost led into the more chorus-centered “The Watcher,” the closer from 2008’s Vertebrae, a one-two that brought to mind not only Enslaved‘s intended focus on Norse mythology for the set, but the progression they’ve undertaken in their 24 years together. For his part, Larsen now sounds better live singing the clean parts on a song like “The Watcher” or “Path to Vanir,” which followed, than he sounded in the studio when they were recorded, his confidence and prowess as a vocalist an ever-increasing factor in Enslaved‘s growth.

Put it this way: I saw Enslaved in New York about three weeks ago. Not only did I stay put for the entirety of their “House of Northern Gods” set, but I’m planning on watching them again tomorrow as well. They wrapped by bringing out an acoustic guitar for “Axioma,” which seemed intended to serve as a transition to Skuggsjá, though there was a changeover necessary and one of Selvik‘s stringed instruments had some technical trouble, so there was an added delay there too, the members of Enslaved and Wardruna both on stage at their appointed start time of 00.15, or thereabouts, but not actually getting going until after 00.30.

When they did start, Skuggsjá was both modern and deeply rooted. With Bjørnson and Selvik at the front of the stage, and a total of 11 people participating, they blended elements from both bands as well as some experimentalism and grand choruses into something beautiful and unique unto itself. I’m keeping my fingers crossed it gets released as a Live at Roadburn album, because it deserves it. To describe the bare parts doesn’t really do justice to what was happening on stage. It was a moving late-night performance that, knowing it was a once-in-a-lifetime chance, I was glad to stick around and see.

With the second day down, there’s still plenty of Roadburn 2015 to come. More tomorrow, but until then, there are some more pics as well after the jump.

Thanks for reading.

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04.10.15 — 13.37 — Fri. Afternoon — 013 Office

The office is mostly quiet now, the ‘zines folded and sent out and just about everyone else off doing something while I’m still here at the desk, doing my best to pretend this is my existence and not some aberration that I’ve been fortunate enough to encounter along an otherwise discouraging “professional” path. You re-remember the details, things like the smell and taste of the coffee from the machine in the office, the way the lights in the hallway outside the Main Stage room seem to come from nowhere, the wub-wub sound of a soundcheck from up here, the ink on my fingernail from folding the day’s issue, and so on. Onions cooking in the food tent, cigarettes and other smokes. This morning on my walk here, Weirdo Canyon had a sharpness to its smell that was easily identifiable as vomit. It wore it like a scar from last night, no doubt to be opened anew in a few hours.

I managed to get last night’s review up by around 03.00, which felt pretty good, and Skyped with The Patient Mrs. for a minute or two before trying to crash out. Trying and failing, I should say. It was closer to 06.00 than not by the time I actually fell asleep, the extra hours I’d saved by trying to work efficiently all day leading up to actually putting the post together squandered as I lay in the dark, my eyes closed, a pillow over my head, unable to actually let the day go. You ever not been able to sleep and get mad about it, and then being mad keeps you awake even more? It was like that, only I was too tired to be mad. More resigned, really. And then the alarm went off at 09.00 to come to the office and finalize the second issue of Weirdo Canyon Dispatch with Lee, and I was awake again. Still feels like Wednesday, never mind Thursday. If not for the schedule on the back cover of the ‘zine or the fact that I saw Wovenhand last night, I’d have no idea which day this was.

If you’d like to check out today’s issue, by the way, it’s online here. Paul Verhagen contributed the live photos from yesterday and Terrorizer‘s José Carlos Santos did the review. I’m humbled to be in such esteemed company.

No dinner last night, nor time for it, which is something I’ll rectify today, but with Enslaved and Wardruna and Virus and Sólstafir and so on, there’s still a lot to see. Some less running around than yesterday, about which you won’t hear me complain. Beat, but looking forward to it. Roadburn only comes once a year. You pound more coffee, take your ibuprofen four at a time, grab a bottle of water whenever you can and get your ass back out there, or you spend the rest of the next 12 months wishing you had. I’m already kicking myself for missing SubRosa yesterday, who have become the talk of the fest. Finger way off the pulse. Up my nose, figuratively speaking. Excellent vibe all around though, with a lot of familiar faces and some new ones too. The people at the 013 are fantastic. It’s work to do, and maybe easy for me to idealize coming from somewhere else, but I can’t imagine better work or a better place to do it.

04.09.15 — 23.37 — Thurs. Night — Hotel

Some good Roadburn‘ll cure what ails you. Especially if what ails you — it’s what ails all of us, really — is the fact that the rest of your life isn’t Roadburn. Today was my busiest day, and it felt like it. A lot of back and forth. My dogs, such as they are, are barking. It was an early start and a late-enough finish, though it’s worth noting that the finish could’ve been even later. One has to find balance in these things. It’s a four-day fest. This was day one.

I sat on the backside of the photo-pit barrier before Sólstafir went on. They were opening the fest at 15.00, the same time Bell Witch were taking the stage at Het Patronaat — Roadburn means hard choices, always. I sat there, early, alone, tilted my head back and closed my eyes, took a breath in through my nose and let it out through my mouth. My last quiet moment, you see. I let it go, and a short time later, the Icelandic outfit took the stage, performing a live soundtrack to the 1984 film, also Icelandic, Hrafninn Flýgur (translated: When the Raven Flies). It would be my first time seeing them perform, and my first time seeing the movie, so I was probably at a significant disadvantage to some in the crowd, but essentially I was glad to be seeing the band at all, and knowing they’ve got a regular set scheduled for tomorrow, I went in with a pretty open mind. Whatever they were going to do, I was happy to be watching Sólstafir play. Not the most impartial of attitudes, but I dig the band.

Interestingly, a lot of what they did to accompany the movie, was rework their material as instrumental or atmospheric rock. Parts from last year’s Ótta (review here), the back end of the title-track — a landmark for the album if there ever was one — was distinct as the film went on, subtitles in English at the bottom of the big screen behind the band, who were spread out in a manner almost orchestral on the Main Stage. Maybe not surprising, but their sound fit pretty well with images of revenge-seeking Viking-types on horseback, distant mountains, stone weapons and the like. I’m still not entirely sure what was going on, but even to catch Sólstafir playing parts of their songs, I was glad to see it, and it made me look forward to their regular set. They took a bow when they were done, after the credits had rolled, and it seemed like they earned it. Over in the Green Room — the middle-size space, smaller than the 013‘s Main Stage or Het Patronaat, bigger than 013‘s Stage01 or the back of Cul de Sac where the stage is (got all that?) — Salem’s Pot were setting up for a buffet of riffs soon to unfold.

Swing, swing, swing. Swing like madmen, and they dressed the part too, all in masks, one in a dress and fishnets, like a troop of droogs gone stoner cult. The Swedish five-piece released their …Lurar ut dig på prärien debut LP (discussed here) last year on RidingEasy Records, and they had a new song for the Roadburn crowd as well as stuff from the album, which was more than solid in that heavy but kind of familiar way, but took on a different character live. Even apart from the theatrics, I guess so much on …Lurar ut dig på prärien was down to the rhythm, but on stage, the songs had different off-kilter melodies in the guitars, the dual vocals worked more dynamically, and the synth and effects swirl was a major factor in how it all came together. “Creep Purple” and “Nothing Hill” were rolling-groove highlights, and the shorter “Ego Trip,” released as the A-side of a 7″ last fall, was right on as well. I hate to think I had dismissed them, but in presence and performance, Salem’s Pot exceeded my expectations and not only had swing, swing, swing working in their favor, but a more complex approach overall than I saw coming.

A pleasant surprise, then, even though I kind of knew what they’d get up to. In the next room, the Main Stage was being set up for Floor. Now, I’ve seen Floor a few times at this point, and even since they put out their long-awaited studio comebacker Oblation (review here) about a year ago, and my general rule for Roadburn is that the bands I’ve already seen get low priority. Lower, anyway. The difference with Floor was that I’d been hearing all along about how excited people were to see them. I’m not 100 percent, but I think that until this tour, the trio of guitarist Anthony Vialon, drummer Henry Wilson (also of House of Lightning) and guitarist/vocalist Steve Brooks (also of Torche) had yet to play Europe since getting back together half a decade ago. That would make them, if nothing else, due.

The bomb-toners lived up to what one might’ve hoped for on the big stage. As it will, their 2002 self-titled featured prominently in the set, starting off with the one-two-three of “Scimitar,” “Return to Zero” and “Downed Star,” Brooks and Vialon pushing out now-classic riffs as Wilson seemed to drum with his whole body behind the kit. The guitarists kept a more quiet presence, Brooks here and there on stage, moving with the music but hardly thrashing about, and Vialon more or less still in a zen-through-volume kind of fashion, but the thrust of those songs is undeniable, and as they moved into “Dove” and “Night Full of Kicks” and Oblation cuts like “Trick Scene” and “Find Away” and “The Key,” they kept their momentum, fast or lumbering. “Tales of Lolita” is always a good time, and it worked well next to the thudding “The Quill,” and closing duo “Loanin'” and “Triangle Song” wrapped up to ensure that no bases were left uncovered. They weren’t, and yeah, I’ve seen Floor before, but there was no question doing so again was the right choice.

That said, there was no way in hell I was missing Spidergawd. Largely unknown in the States, and I think known mostly to those in Europe who’ve heard their two Stickman/Crispin Glover Records LPs to date — 2014’s Spidergawd (review here) and 2015’s Spidergawd II (review here) — because of their affiliation with Norwegian prog magnates Motorpsycho, whose bassist, Bent Sæther, and drummer, Kenneth Kapstad, double in the more boogie-oriented outfit alongside saxophonist/vocalist Rolf Martin Snustad and guitarist/vocalist Per Borten, who is related to but not to be confused with a former Norwegian prime minister of the same name. Spidergawd were a must-see for me. One of several, but a must-see all the same, and they delivered all the way in the energy and upbeat feel of their songs. By the time they got down to “Fixin’ to Die Blues” from the new record, maybe three songs in, they had Het Patronaat eating out of their hands.

And rightly so. I saw a lot of music today and I’ll see a lot more before this weekend’s out, but I don’t know if anyone will give off a genuinely-happy-to-be-here vibe as much as Spidergawd did, still managing to both groove and be heavy while enjoying themselves. Their spirit was infectious, as are their hooks, and though it was hot in the church — damn hot — they had no letup, Snustad, Kapstad and Borten up front on the stage while Sæther played behind in a curious configuration, but one that obviously works for them. They’re a band more people should know, based solely on the merit of what they play and how they play it, never mind anyone’s pedigree or anything like that. They lit that room up, closing with the Thin Lizzy-style “Sanctuary” from Spidergawd II as if to portend even better things to come. They’ve been working quickly over the course of their first two records, and hopefully it’s not long before a third surfaces as well. The more the merrier.

I stopped by to see some of Primitive Man through the door of the Green Room before they finished. Unsurprisingly they were punishing as fuck. Floor had started something of a bang-bang-bang for the rest of my night, one to the next to the next, and I had planned on catching a bit of Uzala in the Green Room and moving on to the next set, but once they went on, the Boise, Idaho, three-piece held me in place. I didn’t know it at the time, but they were just what I was looking for. Guitarist Chad Remains, guitarist Darcy Nutt (also running her guitar through a bass rig, for extra low-end) and drummer Chuck Watkins had a new song in tow called “The Gallows,” and that moved a little faster than some of their more plodding material from 2014’s righteous Tales of Blood and Fire, songs like “Dark Days” and “Seven Veils,” but wherever they headed, they were just the right blend of beat-you-over-the-head heaviness in Remains and Nutt‘s tones, melody and lurching groove that I couldn’t have left even if I’d wanted to. They were not to be missed, in other words. Vocals were a little low, at least up front where I was standing, but Nutt has a powerful voice and as dense as those tones got — seriously, there were parts where they sounded like a machine grinding to a halt; I wondered how they’d restart it for the next measure — she cut through with little trouble and palpable soul.

Their set was a highlight of the day for me, all the more because I’d seen them before, knew what I was getting into and they still managed to surprise with how switched on they were. Remains shredded his solos in top form and had some technical trouble along the way that was fixed so promptly by the Green Room crew that I’m not even sure he noticed. Only complaint? No “Tenement of the Lost.” The closer from Tales of Blood and Fire that begins with a wash of feedback and culminates in one of the sweetest minimalist doom ballads my ears have heard in the last five years — it’s my go-to sad song — would’ve certainly been welcome, but honestly, I think the maximum-volume approach they took was probably a more practical call given the room. I could’ve gone to see Russian Circles on the Main Stage, or Thou at Het Patronaat, or Moaning Cities, whose merch I later looked for and could not find, in Stage01, but Uzala kept me where I was. They were a thrill to watch.

Somewhere in there, it would’ve made sense to have dinner. I did not. No time. Wovenhand would be on the Main Stage shortly, and I knew that was where I wanted to be. It was a return appearance for them and the second time I’d have seen them at Roadburn — never seen them anywhere else, come to think of it — but as I consider the set they played in 2011 a personal landmark, as in, “before I saw it” and “after I saw it,” I’d been very much anticipating their arrival. They were headliners this time along with Eyehategod, who’d play the Main Stage afterwards, but Wovenhand had the longer set, and put their 80 minutes to use in the most dynamic manner I saw all day, frontman David Eugene Edwards far to the left side of the stage while drummer Ordy Garrison had the middle, and guitarist/backing vocalist Chuck French and bassist Neil Keener anchored the right. Edwards is among the more charismatic stage presences I’ve ever seen, and though he said before they ended that they knew they were “out of their league” in coming back to Roadburn, I felt more like I was out of mine watching them.

Last year’s Refractory Obdurate (review here) featured prominently in their set, which opened with “Hiss,” arguably their heaviest work to-date. Ultimately, it would be a much different kind of intensity they brought than four years ago, when Edwards, seated, laid bare a deeply spiritual — religious, Christian — neo-folk, worldly in its arrangements and deeper than the eye could follow. Standing, the vocalist/guitarist still had a feather in his hat and still taunted or teased the audience in a kind of war-whoop, but he also softshoed while he played, and Wovenhand this time around was a much more stripped-down, rawer, meaner-toned outfit. Garrison‘s drums, aided now and then by some extra percussion by French, were a driving force, and the seething energy of their rhythm could be felt throughout the main hall, whether they happened to be raging at the time, as in “Hiss,” or engaged in a more quiet brooding, à la “Closer” from 2012’s The Laughing Stalk (review here). Opener “Long Horn” from that album was also a highlight, and I was amazed what a few years could do for band like that progressing in unexpected ways and pursuing different avenues of sound. “Good Shepherd” lacked nothing for its melody, but even that had a coinciding element of pummel.

It was to the point where, I knew I wanted to see Monolord. I’d wanted to see Monolord all along, and they were playing Het Patronaat at the same time Wovenhand were on the Main Stage — Roadburn giveth and Roadburn scheduleth conflicteth. I left Wovenhand and went down the block to the other venue just as Monolord were going on. How heavy were they? They were superlatively heavy. A monumental sonic impact that seemed to hit all at once, as though the guitar and bass were also kick drums. It was ridiculous, and the line outside the Patronaat was backed up the longest I’d seen it yet to get in, but as I stood there and watched them, I couldn’t take the fact that Wovenhand were playing Roadburn and I wasn’t in the same room where it was happening. Monolord slayed the place, absolutely. I saw people coming out of there when they were done and they looked even more in a daze than usual. But me, I had to back and watch Wovenhand finish. They were too good to let it pass. And when they were done, they came back out and did an encore. Fucking a.

My evening was more or less done and I knew it, but when Wovenhand finished their encore, I swung back to Het Patronaat to watch some of Kandodo, who are led by guitarist Simon Price of The Heads and were doing a special set with Robert Hampson of Loop sitting in as part of The Heads‘ residency. I didn’t know what that collaboration might bring, but it brought a fervent run of heavy psychedelia that was perfect for me to close out the night. They started in the dark, Price and Hampson on guitar on opposite sides of the stage, bassist Hugo Morgan (also The Heads) and drummer Wayne Maskell (also also The Heads) between, but the lights gradually came up as they jammed their way through a first song — read as “Kandy Rock” on the setlist — and into the next. Watching them made me want to buy many albums, I’ll say that, but time was getting on and I had a review to write, so I cut out after a bit and made my way back to the hotel. It was a mindbender of a first day, but I know there is still much more to come over this weekend.

More pics after the jump.

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04.08.15 — 23.32 — Wed. Night — Mercure Hotel, Tilburg

I was early to Cul de Sac, which was something I didn’t realize until I was already there that I had done last year. Same thing, too. I had it in my head that the Hard Rock Hideout — the free, official Roadburn pre-show — was an earlier night to lead the way into the fest proper, which starts tomorrow. Wrong-o. Hardly the worst fate in the world. I watched Antwerpen thrashers Bark, who’d share the evening’s bill with ripping countrymen Prematory, soundcheck, and sit for a bit to gather my head and make some attempt at conscious thought — a notion that, though the night was dedicated to headbang-ready thrash, made up for any doomed quota that one might’ve set.

That make any sense? I don’t even know anymore.

Didn’t seem it to me, since I’d been sitting there a while, passing the time chatting as coherently as I was minimally able with Pete Green and Lee Edwards, both from The Sleeping Shaman, both cohorts on the Weirdo Canyon Dispatch daily ‘zine, and both good dudes through and through. I moved down to the front, also early, and waited there for Bark to kick off the night. If this was clickbait, I’d say something like, “you won’t believe what happened next,” but it was a fucking show. The show happened. Use common sense.

Here’s how it went down:

Bark

Kudos to whatever perceptive individual decided to call this band Bark. In vocalist Ron‘s shouting approach and in the quick, bursting nature of their songs, it made an awful lot of sense. Less ’80s in their style than Prematory, they were more metal, drawing my mind to some of the early, rawer moments of The Haunted, but any number of other comparisons from that era just before the genre went full-on retro would probably fit better, plus just a touch of what of course sounds to my ears like New York hardcore. They don’t have a record out yet, but they managed a set of 13 songs. Highlights were “Roll the Dice,” “Voice of Dog” — which is apparently the title of their forthcoming full-length debut — and the bigger groove of “Day of the Witch.” As a five-piece, their two guitars, provided by Rui and Martin, were raging and tight in leading the charge, and the rhythm section of bassist Jorn and drummer Ward was propulsive, but Ron took command of the stage early and did not relinquish. I’m not the hugest thrash cat in the world — this site would be a lot different if I was — but I’d have a hard time arguing against a delivery like that if I was remotely interested in doing so. Fortunately, I’m not. If the idea behind the Hard Rock Hideout is to launch Roadburn at full-speed, Bark were a boot to the ass to get the show on the road.

Prematory

Hard to tell if Leuven’s Prematory were young or if I’m just old, but they killed it with sustained windmill-headbang energy anyway, their riffing owing more to hardcore punk than they probably realize. Shades of more extreme metal showed themselves in a turn here or a move there as they ran through tracks mostly taken from their 2014 sophomore outing, Corrupting Influence, heads banging through razor-sharp punishment on “Toxic Experiment” and “Evil Perfection,” the latter from 2010’s full-length debut, Suiciety. Comprised of guitarists Joeri Van de Schoot (lead) and Jonas Van De Sande (rhythm), vocalist Simon Duson, bassist Alain Hulsbosch and drummer Thomas Wuyts, it was pretty clear they were drawing their own crowd to Cul de Sac; a few friends stood up front along with your more standard show-goers, the room by then was packed out. Prematory were dead on, metal thrashing mad and all the rest, and though I felt like I was going to fall over and pass out on the floor, I think that’s more my lack of sleep than any fault of theirs, considering the reactions of those around me. Again, it’s not really my thing, stylistically, but the appeal is writ large all over the fiery presentation and the intensity and immediacy of what they were doing.

A couple more pics after the jump. Thanks for reading.

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04.09.15 — 00.49 — Wed. Night — Hotel

I’d nodded off for I don’t know how long in the van from Schiphol Airport to Tilburg, but when I woke up, it was Lady Gaga on the driver’s radio. I was sitting up front, and in back were Arik Roper — who has a gallery show in town in collusion with Roadburn and with whom, coincidentally, I shared a ride last year — as well as Bongripper bassist Ron Petzke and his wife, Cath, who had both been on my connecting flight from Dublin. Pretty easy to pick out who’s headed to Roadburn by the time you get to Amsterdam. But go ahead and take a second and let the image soak in of that van ride, with “Poker Face” as the soundtrack. Maybe it was the lack of sleep, but I thought it was god damn hilarious, especially since I’ve never encountered that song without thinking of the Cartman version from South Park. Life is strange, but I was so happy to be back in the Netherlands that I was taking pictures of dirt by the side of the road. It’s a different color!

As it has eluded me on both flights, the second of which sat for an hour at the gate before taking off — because fuck you, existence — there wasn’t even a choice about sleep when I got to the hotel, around 15.00. I fell out not quite immediately but not far off from it and woke up at 7. The four hours bought me maybe three of energy, and I hit a wall pretty hard by the time Prematory were going onstage at the Cul de Sac, the Hard Rock Hideout going ultra-thrashy this time around. Last year I saw Death Alley there and that was a blast. Strange how things evolve sometimes.

Tomorrow, the above-mentioned Lee Edwards and I start work putting the final versions together of the Roadburn ‘zine, the Weirdo Canyon Dispatch. I’m very much looking forward to that. This year’s ‘zine seemed to come together exceptionally smoothly — I blinked and the issues were full; we have an expanded staff, and I’m thrilled to say everyone turned in their stuff — and while that could mean a printer breakdown or a piano falling on my head or whatever tragedy it might be is in the offing (my offing, in the case of that piano), I’m quite pleased with how it has turned out and I’m looking forward to sharing it, both at the fest and in this space.

So I’ll set the alarm to get up and go to the office at the 013 venue to do that, and then Roadburn happens. To say I’m looking forward to it is understatement, but it’ll have to suffice because I’m too beat to come up with anything else. Ha.

Don’t forget those show pics are after the jump.

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Time to get out those highlighters: the Roadburn 2015 running order has been revealed. And it is gorgeous.

Sólstafir into Salem’s Pot into Floor into Spidergawd into Uzala, Eyehategod into Tombstones into Enslaved, Enslaved into The Heads into Undersmile, Lo-Pan into Abrahma into Anathema into The Golden Grass — as ever, this year’s Roadburn is full of hard choices and can’t-miss moments. And then there’s Wovenhand. And Skuggsja. Goodness gracious. It’s almost too much for one boy to take.

While I plot my route to and from the 013 to Het Patronaat and the Cul de Sac, here’s a load of info off the PR wire about the running order and the plethora of other stuff going on at Roadburn 2015 besides the music:

ROADBURN FESTIVAL – Running order announced, plus final details inc. side programme

With just a couple of weeks to go before Roadburn 2015 kicks off, ticket sales are still going strong. Friday single day tickets and 3-day tickets (Thu, Fri, Sat) are almost entirely sold out, which will just leave Thursday and Saturday single day tickets remaining. To view ticketing options, please click HERE.

RUNNING ORDER
The long-awaiting running order for Roadburn Festival 2015 has been announced. These can be viewed on the Roadburn website HERE as a .jpg or HERE as a .pdf.

HARD ROCK HIDEOUT
As we’ve done in previous years, we’ve made sure that there’s something for Roadburn visitors to do on the Wednesday evening. So, people arriving in Tilburg on 8 April, need look no further for evening entertainment.

Following our focus to showcase the cutting edge of Belgium’s finest Roadburn-related bands, Prematory will have us feverishly thrash-until-we-crash. Their relentless neck-wreckers are nostalgic, yet fresh and energetic! Bark is leading the new pack of Antwerp stray dogs of extreme sound. Infectious, dirty riffs and a voice that will tear you apart – Bark serve their tunes raw, unpolished, gritty and dark!

Hard Rock Hideout takes place at Cul de Sac, entry is free, and it all kicks off from 8pm. For more info click HERE.

SIDE PROGRAMME
Due to the success of our side programme in previous years, we have once again lined up a good mix of non-musical entertainment to keep brains busy throughout Roadburn.

On Friday 10 April we’ll host our Music Industry panel where record label representatives and other key industry figures will be debating exactly what it is that a record label looks for in the bands that they sign these days. Click HERE for more info. Following that, we’ll have a very special Q&A session hosted by Noisey’s Editor-in-Chief, Fred Pessaro, who will be talking to Jimmy and Mike from Eyehategod before a screening of the 2014 Noisey documentary NOLA: Life, Death and Heavy Blues from the Bayou. Click HERE for more info

Saturday will see the return of Record Collectors Anonymous – an open invitation to join your fellow crate rattlers and bargain hunters as stories are swapped and confessions aired. Click HERE for more info. We will also have a fascinating panel discussion hosted by noted journalist Harald Fossberg who will be joined by Ivar and Grutle from Enslaved as they delve into the origins of Norwegian black metal and the impact it’s had on today’s musical landscape. Click HERE for more info.

Roadburn has always had a strong leaning towards art and creativity; over the years people have come to know that art – in all forms – is integral to the festivals signature aesthetic. Continuing along those lines, this year – in association with SEA Foundation – we have invited Arik Roper to exhibit at Project Space Tilburg – Gust van Dijk. We will present Brilliant Shadows: Selected Works by Arik Roper – which will be open throughout the festival and continue into May. For more information on the exhibition, click HERE.

Further artworks will be on display from CAVUM, Kim Holm and William van der Voort throughout the festival.

http://www.roadburn.com/
https://www.facebook.com/roadburnfestival
https://twitter.com/roadburnfest

Bongripper, Satan Worshiping Doom Live at Roadburn 2012

Holy shit, Roadburn. Where the hell are you putting all these bands?

I knew there were a few more adds to come from Roadburn 2015, but to get another 20-plus in a single shot is something of a surprise. Take it as a reminder of the scale of this thing and of the beast that Roadburn 2015 has become and how, with five stages across three venues, it seems ever more on the march to consume the whole town center of Tilburg in the Netherlands. To call it astounding feels like underselling it.

Today, in addition to posting this massive round of adds to Roadburn 2015, I’m happy to announce that I’ll be covering the festival for the seventh time and, for the second year in a row, serving as editor of the in-fest ‘zine, the Weirdo Canyon Dispatch, working with The Sleeping Shaman’s Lee Edwards as in 2014 to bring a daily publication to life for each day of the fest. I’m thrilled to be involved in the Roadburn crew in this small way again and can’t wait to get to work again with Lee and a host of writers way more talented than myself at putting this thing together. In fact, I think I’ll get started now.

While I do that, here’s the latest from Roadburn. If you’re wondering why I grabbed the Moaning Cities Bandcamp stream for the bottom of the post out of all the bands added today — Abrahma, BardSpec, Death Penalty, Robert Hampson of Loop, the entire nation of Belgium, etc. — it’s because every year there’s one band at Roadburn that I wind up kicking myself in the ass for missing, and going by what I’ve checked out so far of Moaning Cities‘ Pathways through the Sail, I don’t want it to be them. Call it a reminder to myself.

Okay, here’s that info:

New additions announced including ‘Roadburn Festival Introduces’ act, and artists for curated event

Roadburn Festival is pleased to announce new additions to the 20th edition of the festival. The festival will take place April 9th-12th in Tilburg, The Netherlands. Both day tickets and weekend tickets are currently on sale.

More details confirmed for curated event

Roadburn 2015’s curators Wardruna’s Einar “Kvitrafn” Selvik and Enslaved’s Ivar Bjørnson have almost completed the line up for their event on Friday April 10. Loop main man, Robert Hampson and Swedish psych heroes, Agusa will both perform alongside Focus, Death Hawks, Sólstafir and others. BardSpec – the Ambient project/band from Enslaved composer/guitarist Ivar – will also perform at the event. Einar will present a workshop which will delve into his approach to music and the extensive creative concept behind Wardruna´s ongoing ‘Runaljod’ trilogy as well as his approach and study of the runes and other Norse esoteric arts. He will demonstrate a selection of the oldest Nordic instruments, play fully accoustic Wardruna music and there will also be time for questions from the audience.

For information on Robert Hampson, CLICK HERE
For information on Agusa, CLICK HERE
For information on BardSpec, CLICK HERE
For information on Einar Selvik, CLICK HERE

‘Roadburn Festival Introduces’ & Belgium focus

This year, ‘Roadburn Festival Introduces’ will focus on Belgium. Over the years, Belgium has become a hotbed of musical creativity, ranging from indie to garage rock, and virtually everything in between. Whether it’s a dark, psychedelic slant, an insatiable need to worship thee riff, or even developing a cult of their own, only to lure us into their spiraling-netherworld… there’s something about these bands that embodies the spirit of Roadburn.
The mysterious and yet bizarre Belgian band, Briqueville, will connect with the Roadburn community at the 013 on Saturday, April 11th.

In keeping with the Belgian theme, Brussels-based Moaning Cities, will bring their fuzzed-out, and sitar-driven psychedelia to Stage01 on Thursday, April 9th.
In collaboration with one of Belgium’s foremost bookings agencies, RuffStuffMusic, we offer Your Highness, King Hiss, Tangled Horns, Ashtoreth, and Miava an outlet in front of the receptive and open-minded Roadburn crowd on Saturday, April 11th at Cul de Sac. These up and coming talents richly deserve their place in the Roadburn line up and we’re thrilled to host such exciting, cutting edge bands as these alongside Roadburn’s established acts.

For more information on Briqueville, CLICK HERE
For more information on Moaning Cities, CLICK HERE
For more information on RuffStuffMusic: Your Highness, King Hiss, Tangled Horns, Ashtoreth, and Miava, CLICK HERE

New Additions to Line Up

The lineup for for Cul de Sac, the intimate music cafe, and Roadburn’s official fifth stage, located across from the 013 venue, is shaping up very nicely. We’re aiming to present four to five bands on each of the four days, Thursday through Sunday.

It is with enormous pride that Roadburn gets to announce a truly unique performance as Gnaw Their Tongues will bring their groundbreaking noise/doom/black metal assault to the festival on Sunday April 12th. Joining them will be torchbearers of French heavy rock, Paris-based Abrahma, Tilburg’s very own IZAH, and high octane Swedish rockers, Hypnos.

Today, we’re also excited to report that Verbum Verus, the Dutch black metal band, known for their intense live performances, will shroud Roadburn Festival in darkness with their hymns of praise on Thursday, April 9. We’re very pleased to announce that Big Naturals, Salope, City of Ships and Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovell will complete the Friday lineup at Cul de Sac. And, given how fond we are of Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovell, we’ve invited them to do two performances; they will also play the Green Room on Sunday, April 12.

Back over at the 013, we will have the riff-heavy Death Penalty playing on Saturday, April 11th – featuring ex-members of Cathedral and Serpentcult, this is going to be one show you don’t want to miss.

For more information on Gnaw Their Tongues, CLICK HERE
For more information on Abrahma, IZAH & Hypnos, CLICK HERE
For more information on Verbum Verus, CLICK HERE
For more information on City of Ships, Big Naturals etc, CLICK HERE
For more information on Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovell, CLICK HERE
For more information on Death Penalty, CLICK HERE

http://www.roadburn.com/
https://www.facebook.com/roadburnfestival

Moaning Cities, Pathways through the Sail (2014)

Just in case you thought Roadburn 2015 might be done, the fest has gone and added a fifth stage. I never actually got around to making the list that would’ve expressed the sentiment, but seeing Netherlands-native droners Mühr at Cul de Sac was one of the high points of my entire 2014 in terms of live shows. It’s a separate club from 013, but basically right across the street in Weirdo Canyon, still very much within the fest’s purview. I can’t imagine it will remain standing after Goatwhore play, but it was nice while it lasted.

Other lineup additions for Roadburn 2015 today from Mount Salem, Downfall of Gaia, Fistula, Minsk and more. By way of a cheap plug, if you click the links to the info for Fistula and Minsk, I wrote those. Nonetheless, it all came down the PR wire like such:

New additions and fifth stage confirmed for Roadburn Festival 2015

Roadburn Festival is pleased to kick off the new year with a handful of new confirmations, plus the addition of a fifth stage. Tickets for the 20th edition of the festival are on sale now.

Minsk, Mount Salem and Worm Ouroboros have been added to the line up at the 013 for Thursday April 9. Having previously performed at the 2009 edition of the festival, Minsk return to Roadburn, bringing their trademark atmospheric, meditative ambience, offset by raging thrust. Look out for plenty of canyon-sized riffs, trippy sounding keyboards and enchanting vocals when Mount Salem conjur a crushing windstorm to blow through Roadburn, whilst Worm Ouroboros will be spinning their diaphanous webs of the most delicate chamber doom.

For more information on these bands please click HERE for Minsk, HERE for Mount Salem, and HERE for Worm Ouroboros.

New Orleans heavyweights, Goatwhore lead the charge, followed by Germany’s Downfall of Gaia, noise-hardcore trio Cortez, and a dual-pronged sludge attack from both Fister, and Moloch as the first bands announced for the intimate Cul de Sac venue. As with the 2014 edition, Roadburn’s fifth stage will be at Cul de Sac – small music café located across from the 013 venue at 48 Heuvel, which is the street lined with bars and restaurants (also affectionately known as “Weirdo Canyon”). Four bands will perform at Cul de Sac on each day of the festival, Thursday – Sunday. Entry to these shows is sure to be in high demand, so attendees are advised to arrive early to secure access.

Fister, Cortez, and Moloch will perform on Thursday April 9. For more information please click HERE.

For information on Goatwhore click HERE, and Downfall of Gaia click HERE, both will perform on Friday April 10.

With regret, we have to announce that Lord Mantis will no longer be performing at Roadburn 2015. Having witnessed their incredible performance at the 2011 festival, we at Roadburn HQ were all really excited to have them perform at our 20th edition this coming April. Sadly, the band are unable to make it over to Europe due to personal reasons; as a result their performance at Roadburn and any shows around that will be cancelled. The vacant slot on the line up will be taken by Ohio sludge titans, Fistula who will bring their perfect blend of blasphemy and assaulting volume to Het Patronaat on Saturday April 11.
For more information on Fistula, please click HERE.

In December, day tickets were released on sale alongside the remaining weekend and Afterburner only tickets. To view ticketing options for Roadburn Festival click HERE.

Minsk, Live at Roadburn 2009

I guess I hadn’t seen the full day-by-day breakdown of Roadburn 2015 all in one place yet, but it’s fairly staggering. With a few bands still to be added here and there, the fest has put together yet another astonishing weekend, topped off by special flourishes like a career-spanning Anathema set on Sunday, The Heads as artists-in-residence, Enslaved and Wardruna‘s Skuggsja collaboration, two sets from Bongripper and a live soundtrack by Goblin for Dawn of the Dead. If those things I just listed alone were the festival, you’d have to call it a win, but they’re barely the start of it.

Since as even the fest will tell you the lineup for Roadburn 2015 is all over the place, they’ve made tickets for each of the four dates available separately. Notification came in via the PR wire, and you can click the posters below to pop up the lineup for each day:

Roadburn Festival: Day Tickets Now On Sale

Roadburn Festival is pleased to announce that – for the first time since 2007 – day tickets will be available to purchase for the 2015 edition of the festival. For the last few years entrance to Roadburn has been sold as either a three day ticket, or a four day ticket which includes the last day of the festival, known as The Afterburner (with single day tickets available for The Afterburner too). The twentieth anniversary edition of the festival will allow visitors to purchase tickets to individual days of the festival as well as the usual combination tickets.

Roadburn director, Walter Hoeijmakers commented: “We’re really excited to re-introduce day tickets for the 2015 event – it’s going to give festival attendees more flexibility than ever before. Over the years the festival has been constantly evolving and has picked up a lot of die hard fans along the way; as ever, we welcome those Roadburn pilgrims back with open arms. But this year, we’ve had a lot of enquiries from people who would like to attend for just one day – this diverse nature of Roadburn means it appeals to a lot of different pockets of these weird and wonderful subcultures we inhabit, and some days strike a chord with some people more than others.

“Part of the beauty of the festival is that over the three or four days you’re sure to discover a new band to fall in love with alongside your long term favourites – but we also know this is possible to do in just one day. We are aware that time and money are important factors in people’s decision making about whether to attend a festival. We hope this will make it simple and straight forward to decide whether you will join us for just one day of musical bliss, or get your hands dirty with the usual four day extravaganza!”

The below tickets are currently on sale and available to purchase HERE:
Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday (3 days full festival + Afterburner) – €185
Thursday, Friday, Saturday (3 days full festival) – €165
Thursday OR Friday OR Saturday (one day festival ticket) – €59
Sunday (The Afterburner) only – two stages of artists only- €32.50

All tickets are subject to service fees.

The twentieth edition of Roadburn Festival will be headlined by Fields of the Nephilim, and will also see a special show by Enslaved and Wardruna performing Skuggsjá, Artists in Residence – The Heads, Anathema performing their career-spanning Resonance set, plus performances from Eyehategod, Russian Cirlces, Floor, Messenger, Wovenhand and dozens of other artists, with even more still to be announced. For a guide to visiting Roadburn 2015, click HERE.

For a breakdown of which artists play on Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, click on the appropriate day.

http://www.roadburn.com/roadburn-2015/thursday-april-9th/
http://www.roadburn.com/roadburn-2015/friday-april-10/
http://www.roadburn.com/roadburn-2015/saturday-april-11th/
http://www.roadburn.com/roadburn-2015/sunday-april-12th/
http://www.roadburn.com/roadburn-2015/

Goblin, Dawn of the Dead OST (1978)