Posted in Whathaveyou on April 3rd, 2026 by JJ Koczan
Set to take place Jan. 28-31, 2027, in the Las Vegas Arts District, Planet Desert Rock Weekend VII has already unveiled the bulk of its lineup, with the likes of Greenleaf, Child, Carson, Humlus, Shun and others whose names are and aren’t one word. As one has come to expect from the festival and its curator, promoter John Gist of Vegas Rock Revolution, there is consideration put into every choice of who’s added, and it accordingly doesn’t feel like an accident that Mothership and Siena Root are taking part.
The Texas natives were a boon to US underground heavy throughout the 2010s, much of which the trio spent touring. They’re now nine years removed from their last full-length, 2017’s High Strangeness (review here), and I’m not sure if brothers Kelley Juett (guitar) and Kyle Juett (bass/vocals) live in the same state, which surely would put a kink in the idea of getting together for weekly or however-frequent jams. But if you’ve seen Mothership — I haven’t since they started doing shows again in late-2024 after about a two-year break, but they were at Ripplefest Texas this past Fall, if you might’ve seen them there — you know they’re something special onstage.
Siena Root have had phases in sound and a distinctive evolution over their quarter-century-plus. Their 2023 full-length, Revelation (review here), was pure heavy rock classicism, played with joy and heart in kind, in a style that was a blend of decades and ideas alike. I’ve only seen them once over the years, and it was with a different lineup, so I don’t know how applicable it will be except to incite a generally positive expectation, which, frankly, I had anyhow. This will be one to see.
From the PR wire:
Planet Desert Rock Weekend VII – Mothership & Siena Root
Vegas Rock Revolution is super pumped to announce two really cool bands that are quite different from each other but still embody what we are doing at Planet Desert Rock Weekend! Both bands are new to PDRW, with one of them being from Sweden and the other from the great state of Texas!
Mothership shall be landing in Las Vegas next January as part of the Ripple Music Showcase on Friday January 29th at The Usual Place. Mothership has been a bit quiet over the last 5 years so seemingly, and we have wanted to get the Juett brother and Judge back to Sin City. These boys have ripped up the stage at Psycho Las Vegas a few times and have even played two Vegas Rock Revolution shows at the now defunct Bunkhouse Saloon and The Dive Bar. Mothership has toured with some big bands including Corrosion of Conformity, Crobot, The Skull, Overkill, Death Angel, Crowbar, The Obsessed, Weedeater, Truckfighters, Slow Season and countless other stellar bands along the way. With four releases to their credit, they have a lot of tracks to pull from for their set and have vowed to bust out “City Nights” from their debut album! Always a ripping live band that we know will cap off a big night in Vegas!
For the 1st time ever, Siena Root from Sweden will be headed to the USA to perform! Been rocking since the late 90s with their amazing retro heavy psych style that they refer to as “Dynamic Root Rock”. Their sound pulls from classic rock signatures but expands it into a beautiful journey with each track as they mix mesmerizing rhythms , heavy riffs, beautiful solos and emotional vocals. Their catalog is deep with 10 albums spread out over the years. Their current vocalist Zubaida Solid has stepped into her role with class and elegance as heard on their live album “Made in Kuba” that came out in 2025. This is one of the semi rare times a band reached out to PDRW and we immediately felt humble to be part of their journey. For the second year in a row the mighty Hammond Organ sound will grace the stage and we can’t wait to hear them take us away! They have a ton of videos to check out and they are simply magnificent!
So that now brings us to 15 bands and only 6 more to announce! The current lineup features 8 international bands from 5 countries along with 7 bands from 7 states. We have some cool stuff we are working on now and promise to deliver a great lineup that will capture your imaginations and heart!
There are a few early bird tickets still left so if you plan on coming then snag them and save a few bucks. This year our weather was in the 60s to 70s. Many who came enjoyed seeing beautiful scenery in our nearby parks! Vegas also has some wild museums including the Mob Museum, Punk Rock Museum, Haunted Museum, Atomic Museum and we had a big group head to the Metal Blade Museum this year. Tons of cool things to do and yes marijuana is legal in Sin City. It’s going to be one helluva rock and roll party with cool cats from all over the world!
Posted in Whathaveyou on June 26th, 2025 by JJ Koczan
By-now-also-classic classic heavy rockers Siena Root have a new live 2LP, Made in KuBa — as opposed to Deep Purple‘s, which was Japan — coming out on Oct. 3, and if you think that’s an early announcement, yeah, I feel you, but July is a week away, we’re taking about very early October, and three months is kind of a standard promo cycle, especially when there is a tour involved, as there is here. Up in Smoke and Keep it Low feature on the list of dates, and the Swedish outfit will be joined by boogie upstarts Kant, who are also under the Sound of Liberation umbrella.
There’s a lot of info here, but you can handle it. The new video is at the bottom of the post, if you’re headed that way.
From the PR wire:
SIENA ROOT Announce Eagerly-Awaited New Double Live Album ‘Made In KuBa’. First Single & Video “Wishing For More (Live)” Out Now!
The ‘Dynamic Root Rock Experience’ remains the most fitting description of SIENA ROOT’s sound – and that’s exactly what the Swedish quartet’s new double live album, Made in KuBa, delivers. Out worldwide on October 3, 2025 via Perception – A Division of Reigning Phoenix Music, the album is available to pre-order now.
Recorded over three intimate nights in March 2024 at Germany’s legendary Kulturbahnhof (KuBa) in Jena, the release picks up where 2011’s Root Jam left off, cranks the tape machines even harder, and continues the band’s commitment to authentic, audiophile sound.
The band’s signature jams are all here: rich in improvisation, dynamic contrasts, and sonic storytelling. To ensure the highest analogue fidelity, long-time sound engineer Ove Noring was brought in as tape operator to record the shows and track every note, jam and thunderous applause direct to tape – no overdubs, no studio tricks, just pure stage energy. The first taste of the album, lead single “Wishing For More,” captures the soulful tension and explosive chemistry that SIENA ROOT channel so effortlessly on stage.
It’s a track that leaves listeners, fittingly and indeed…wishing for more. “‘Wishing For More’ was first recorded on the album “Far From The Sun” in 2008, as the rocking opening of the B-side. Through the years of touring we enjoyed to play the song and it developed a character of its own. The song became something more than the shuffle it originally was on the studio recording. We are so pleased to have captured this enchanted groove and energy live on tape.”
The SIENA ROOT quartet – anchored by founding members Sam Riffer (bass) and Love Forsberg (drums & percussion), and rounded out by Zubaida Solid (vocals & keys) and Johan Borgström (guitars) – welcomed guest musicians Erik Peterson on keys and Lisa Isaksson on flute to further enrich the performance on selected songs.
What sets Made in KuBa apart from other live albums is its uncompromising authenticity: a fully live, all-analogue recording with a set list crafted together with fans, featuring twelve tracks from across the band’s catalogue – none of them repeated from Root Jam. The result is not just a document of three unforgettable nights in Jena – it’s a fully immersive experience that bridges the space between stage and speaker. And this time, they’ve gone a step further: Made in KuBa was mastered at half-speed, a meticulous process that enhances the sonic depth of the vinyl version.
“Half-speed mastering is an old-school technique that vinyl lovers will recognize,” the band says. “It’s a delicate but complex process that makes “Made in KuBa” an even more three-dimensional listening experience – for you and for us.”
Wishing for more? Get it in full analogue glory. Pre-orders open today for classic black double vinyl (with artistic cut-out cover) and double digipak CD at https://sienaroot.rpm.link/madeinkubaPR
Experience the full ‘Dynamic Root Rock Experience’ live:
28.06.2025 SE Lidköping – SufferCity in Rock 25.07.2025 SE Sätila – No Excuse Festival 27.07.2025 BE Harzé – Misery Fest
“Double Live Release Tour 2025” w/ special guests KANT (*) 02.10.2025 DE Cologne – Kantine (Yard Club) * 03.10.2025 DE Bensheim – Musiktheater REX * 04.10.2025 CH Pratteln – Up In Smoke * 05.10.2025 DE Karlsruhe – Kohi * 06.10.2025 DE Dresden – Beatpol * 07.10.2025 PL Wroclaw – Klub Muzyczny Liverpool 08.10.2025 CZ Brno – Metro Music Bar * 10.10.2025 DE Munich – Keep It Low * 11.10.2025 AT Graz – p.p.c. 13.10.2025 AT Salzburg – Rockhouse 14.10.2025 IT Milan – Arci Bellezza 15.10.2025 FR Marseille – Le Molotov 16.10.2025 FR Lyon – Rock n’Eat 18.10.2025 FR Paris – Backstage By the Mill 19.10.2025 NL Breda – Mezz
Posted in Whathaveyou on September 17th, 2024 by JJ Koczan
Granted, Truckfighters are pretty fresh in the ol’ brain after seeing them this past weekend, but while ‘always deliver live’ is an essential part of their ethic as a band, the Swedish troupe behind this fifth edition of the aptly-named Truckfighters Fuzz Festival are hardly the only appeal here. 1000mods will have just released their new album a couple weeks before Fuzz Festival #5 gets underway, and Slomosa and Bottenhavet, Daevar, High Desert Queen and 10,000 Years have or will have 2024 releases under their belt as well. Not to harp on it, but I also saw Domkraft this past weekend, and they don’t have a 2024 record but would nonetheless be a significant draw in this two-nighter’s favor if I happened to live in Stockholm.
Grand Atomic, Steak, Witchrider, Goddess (who I don’t know at all, but am inclined to check out based solely on their inclusion here), Siena Root, Håndgemeng and the ever-fluid Besvärjelsen complete a strong bill for the Debaser and adjacent Bar Brooklyn, and you’ll find the full lineup and ticket link, courtesy of the band’s socials and website:
The Truckfighters Fuzz Festival is back! For the 5th time, there will be riffing in the name of fuzz at Debaser Strand and Bar Brooklyn, this year on the weekend of November 22-23! One could say that the festival has become Sweden’s answer to a company party but here it’s all about fuzz, swing, and a damn good mood. All spread across 2 stages as we combine Debaser and Bar Brooklyn into a single festival frenzy over 2 days. You will be treated to great music from 6:15 pm to midnight on 2 stages, and the evening is not over there as DJs extend the nights with cool music and we hope for a great hangout.
The Venue is located on the island of Södermalm, in Stockholm. This is a very nice area in the central parts of town. Get there with subway or bus to “Hornstull” station.
The bands on the bill are hand picked by us to ensure a great evening! All bands are good! All bands play some kind of heavy groovy rock music with a fuzzy sound! We hope to see you. Keep the fuzz burning! / Truckfighters
Stockholm! Debases & Bar Brooklyn = Fuzz Festival #5 November 22nd & 23rd! 🔥🔥🔥
The lineup is nailed, one day tickets are released now so now we go!
Lineup: Truckfighters 1000mods Siena Root Slomosa Domkraft Witchrider Steak 10,000 Years Besvärjelsen Håndgemeng High Desert Queen Grand Atomic Bottenhavet Daevar Goddess
Posted in Whathaveyou on January 3rd, 2024 by JJ Koczan
After celebrating the fifth anniversary edition in 2023, German festival Hoflärm has made known the first round of acts confirmed for its three-day stretch from Aug. 8-10. If you’re paying attention — and I know you are — that’s the same weekend that SonicBlast Fest is happening in Portugal, and Brant Bjork Trio, Wine Lips, Sacri Monti, Home Front and Poison Ruin are confirmed for that as well, so there’s going to be some driving happening that weekend across Western Europe, to be sure. Nonetheless, the initial lineup reveal for Hoflärm finds the German fest welcoming Slomatics and Siena Root in addition to the above, and from this we can glean that Brooklyn’s Castle Rat will be taking their theatrical show abroad supporting their to-be-released debut LP, and Bikini Beach, Thronehammer and Tornet round out. If this was it — and as the poster tells you, it isn’t — you’d call it three days well spent. Or I would, anyhow.
From social media:
HOFLÄRM – First Band Announcement – THE RIDE IS ALWAYS LOW
Join us 2024 for the 6th stony ride to Hoflärm! We are very happy to announce the first bands of the line-up today! We also announce the start of the presale by 01.01.2024 at 6 pm (link in bio)!
Get ready for our first Headliner @winelipsband !
Coming all the way from Canada, Wine Lips will tear down the stage with a big Mushroom Death Sex Bummer Party of their current album! If you know, you know!
Needles to say, @brant_bjork is a legend. Therefore we felt very honoured to welcome Brant, @mariolalli and Ryan Gut for the second time to the unholy woods of mary valley! Back at Hoflärm 2022 these guys visited with Stöner, in 2024 they will hit Hoflärm with a special Brant Björk set!
You wanted something new, you get something new! @poisonruin and @arewenothomefront will test you apart with their fresh sound! Poison ruin will deliver you some Infest the Rats‘Nest Vibes, while Home Front brings you the energy with their influences by Joy Division, High Vis and late 80s Post Punk.
We welcome @siena root, @slomatics and @sacri_monti_band ! These three bands are the holy trio of stoner, psych and doom!
What would be a Hoflärm Fest without our dearest Friends Sabine, Jan and Andre ? This year they will come to perform with @earthship_official
Castle Rat will be for the first time in Europe! They just played Desertfest New York with their Electric Wizard inspired Doom!
To complete this announcement we welcome @thronehammer.official , @bikini_beach_fuzz & @tornet_xvi !
Posted in Whathaveyou on November 3rd, 2023 by JJ Koczan
Behold as DesertfestBerlin launches its 2024 season with 15 bands like hey getting 15 bands in a place is no big deal. Of course, maybe it isn’t for the now-long-running German event with close ties to the Sound of Liberation booking concern, but for the rest of the planet. You’ll note Belgian post-metallers Amenra and always-hip weirdos Osees at the top of the thus-far bill followed immediately by Acid King and The Brant Bjork Trio, both of whom will also take part in Desertfest Oslo 2024 as announced yesterday. Norway’s Full Earth, an offshoot of Kanaan with a debut album coming next year on Stickman, will also be at both events, and they’re likely not the last.
So, context tells us to expect at least two weeks of touring in Europe from those three outfits. Monkey3 are on the road now, Siena Root, Dÿse and Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs — new live LP out — were recently confirmed for Bear Stone Festival 2024 in July, and it’s not unthinkable they’d be doing shows from one to the other. They’re confirmed here alongside Tuareg rockers Tamikrest, Earth Tongue from New Zealand, Thronehammer, Dirty Sound Magnet, Praise the Plague and Neànder. Sounds like a festival to me. I’m ashamed at this point to say I’ve never been.
Info came down the PR wire, courtesy of Sound of Liberation:
DESERTFEST BERLIN Announces First Bands For 2024! Tickets On Sale Now!
Desertfest Berlin friends (#129304#)
We’re delighted to finally share with you the first names of the bands that are going to play on our stage in 2024❤️(#128293#) AMENRA from Belgium are going to be one of our headliners along with the LA’s psych-punk warrior OSEES ⚡️ We’re happy to see again the great ACID KING and BRANT BJORK TRIO and welcome TAMIKREST for the first time with their mix of traditional African music and Western rock (#128165#) The Newcastle’s doom rockers PIGS x7 will play for us their new album ‘Land of Sleeper’ while MONKEY3 and SIENA ROOT will bring their instrumental psychedelic rock and bluesy hard rock to our stage. Get ready for the emotional as well as decal-laden music of DŸSE and the psychedelic rock by the trio Dirty Sound Magnet (#127786#)️ You’re going to experience the heavy psychedelic / fuzz music of EARTH TONGUE directly from New Zealand, and the epic doom of THRONEHAMMER (#128588#) The experimental Oslo based rock-quintet Full Earth will play along the black metallers PRAISE THE PLAGUE and NEÀNDER both from Berlin ⚡️
Get ready for more names very soon. We’re stoked!!
AMENRA | OSEES ACID KING | BRANT BJORK TRIO | TAMIKREST PIGSPIGSPIGSPIGSPIGSPIGSPIGS | MONKEY3 | SIENA ROOT DŸSE | DIRTY SOUND MAGNET | EARTH TONGUE | THRONEHAMMER FULL EARTH | PRAISE THE PLAGUE | NEÀNDER & MANY MORE TO BE ANNOUNCED
Desertfest Berlin May 24th – 26th 2024 Columbia Venues
Posted in Questionnaire on May 23rd, 2023 by JJ Koczan
The Obelisk Questionnaire is a series of open questions intended to give the answerer an opportunity to explore these ideas and stories from their life as deeply as they choose. Answers can be short or long, and that reveals something in itself, but the most important factor is honesty.
Based on the Proust Questionnaire, the goal over time is to show a diverse range of perspectives as those who take part bring their own points of view to answering the same questions. To see all The Obelisk Questionnaire posts, click here.
Thank you for reading and thanks to all who participate.
The Obelisk Questionnaire: Love Forsberg, Zubaida Solid and Sam Riffer of Siena Root
—
How do you define what you do and how did you come to do it?
Love Forsberg – We make root rock music. Siena Root is a dynamic root rock experience.
Zubaida Solid – I’ve been with band since 2018 and my role has expanded since joining. For me Siena Root is a band that puts great emphasis on great live shows, high quality analog recordings with roots and inspiration from different genres, from blues, dragged, Indian ragas, classic rock, psychedelic influences. All this melt in to a honey pot that has something to offer everyone.
Sam Riffer – It’s the sum of our influences, personalities and creativity in a blender haha.
Describe your first musical memory.
LF – I think this was a ’70s production that my dad played, an album called “Kåldolmar och kalsipper”, by a swedish group Nationalteatern. It was an album somewhat produced for kids, but I still enjoy it today.
ZS – My first contact with music comes from my dad, listening to old Bollywood music from ’70s on cassette tape in the car. Listening and singing along while on road trips with my family, has special place in my heart.
SR – I was 7 years old and an older kid in school played a a cassette with Kiss’ Heaven’s on Fire really loud! I was stunned :) To this day I remember that kick drum beat and the shouts, somehow it came across as something dangerous… yet appealing.
Describe your best musical memory to date.
SR – When I saw Page & Plant, 1995 in Colorado, I was 18 years old and had recently discovered Led Zep. You could easily say I was on a Stairway to… It was a magical night with lots of hippies, friends and all the rest :)
When was a time when a firmly held belief was tested?
LF – Last year when my pacifism was set under pressure by a war in Europe that I thought was unpredicted.
ZS – I learned whilst being sick in covid how fragile life is. It was quite a jarring experience.
SR – Definitely the war here in Europe, so many things I believed in went out the window. I had always thought that the so called threat from the east was exaggerated here in Sweden. That said, I never believed that our generation would walk through life with only peace around us, yet it was something I wished for of course. Still a chock when war approaches for real and we’ve taken peace for granted somehow.
Where do you feel artistic progression leads?
ZS – That’s hard to answer but I always feel that different experiences and trails in life propels me forward musically.
SR – I guess it’s rather individual, for some people it can lead to less desirable things I think but to me it’s about learning, growing and moving forward but also about spiritual calmness and maturity.
How do you define success?
LF – Success is when you are understood by others.
ZS – Success for me is a combination of things. Having music out that you can stand for and be enjoyed by others and of course is substantial enough to make an impression and last.
SR – It’s not about commercial success to me it’s only about creative and musical fulfilment or whatever you live to achieve, doesn’t have to be music of course.
What is something you have seen that you wish you hadn’t?
SR – Tough one, I have seen things that makes me sad and/or angry and of course lots of things I wish never happened or didn’t exist like violence, oppression and poverty but I shouldn’t say I wish I hadn’t seen it as much as I wish those terrible things didn’t happen or exist. If it’s part of reality I am somehow obliged to face it rather than to close my eyes.
Describe something you haven’t created yet that you’d like to create.
ZS – A big dream of mine is writing a musical. If we could ever write something like works of Webber/Rice through a “Siena Root-lens” that would be super cool.
SR – I really would like to time-travel but I guess I won’t be able to create such a machine…
What do you believe is the most essential function of art?
ZS – I think we’ve seen different examples though out history as to why art Is so important. I think that arts biggest importance lies in the emotional outlet people need, not only for the creator but the viewer/listener as well. Seeing and hearing yourself being represented or recognising something within one self.
SR – Perspectives and interpretation, it’s all in the eyes and ears of the beholder and that’s the beauty of it, in most arts there is no correct answer or prevailing conclusion.
Something non-musical that you’re looking forward to?
SR – Besides our dream of lasting world peace I really look forward to summertime.
Posted in Reviews on April 11th, 2023 by JJ Koczan
If you missed yesterday, be advised, it’s not too late. If you miss today, be advised as well that tomorrow’s not too late. One of the things I enjoy most about the Quarterly Review is that it puts the lie to the idea that everything on the internet has to be so fucking immediate. Like if you didn’t hear some release two days before it actually came out, somehow a week, a month, a year later, you’ve irreparably missed it.
That isn’t true in the slightest, and if you want proof, I’m behind on shit ALL. THE. TIME. and nine times out of 10, it just doesn’t matter. I’ll grant that plenty of music is urgent and being in that moment when something really cool is released can be super-exciting — not taking away from that — but hell’s bells, you can sit for the rest of your life and still find cool shit you’ve never heard that was released half a century ago, let alone in January. My advice is calm down and enjoy the tunes; and yes, I’m absolutely speaking to myself as much as to you.
Quarterly Review #11-20:
Siena Root, Revelation
What might be their eighth LP, depending on what counts as what, Revelation is the second from Siena Root to feature vocalist/organist Zubaida Solid up front alongside seemingly-now-lone guitarist Johan Borgström (also vocals) and the consistent foundation provided by the rhythm section of bassist Sam Riffer (also some vocals) and drummer Love “Billy” Forsberg. Speaking a bit to their own history, the long-running Swedish classic heavy rockers inject a bit of sitar (by Stian Grimstad) and hand-percussion into “Leaving the City,” but the 11-song/46-minute offering is defined in no small part by a bluesy feel, and Solid‘s vocal performance brings that aspect to “Leaving the City” as well, even if the sonic focus for Siena Root is more about classic prog and blues rock of hooky inclusions like the organ-and-guitar grooving opener “Coincidence and Fate” and the gently funky “Fighting Gravity,” or even the touch of folkish jazz in “Winter Solstice,” though the sitar does return on side B’s “Madukhauns” ahead of the organ/vocal showcase closer “Keeper of the Flame,” which calls back to the earlier “Dalecarlia Stroll” with a melancholy Deep Purple could never quite master and a swinging payoff that serves as just one final way in which Siena Root once more demonstrate they are pure class in terms of execution.
The latest and (again) maybe-eighth full-length to arrive within the last 10 years from Monterrey, Mexico’s Los Mundos, Eco del Universo is an immersive dreamboat of mellow psychedelia, with just enough rock to not be pure drift on a song like “Hanna,” but still an element of shoegaze to bring the cool kids on board. Effects gracefully channel-swap alongside languid vocals (in Spanish, duh) with a melodicism that feels casual but is not unconsidered either in that song or the later “Rocas,” which meets Western-tinged fuzz with a combination of voices from bassist/keyboardist Luis Ángel Martínez, guitarist/synthesist/sitarist Alejandro Elizondo and/or drummer Ricardo Antúnez as the band is completed by guitarist/keyboardist/sitarist Raúl González. Yes, they have two sitarists; they need both, as well as all the keyboards, and the modular synth, and the rest of it. All of it. Because no matter what arrangement elements are put to use in the material, the songs on Eco del Universo just seem to absorb it all into one fluid approach, and if by the time the hum-drone and maybe-gong in the first minute of opener “Las Venas del Cielo” unfolds into the gently moody and gorgeous ’60s-psych pop that follows you don’t agree, go back and try again. Space temples, music engines in the quirky pop bounce of “Gente del Espacio,” the shape of air defined amid semi-krautrock experimentalism in “La Forma del Aire”; esta es la música para los lugares más allá. Vamos todos.
Well, you see, sometimes there’s a global pandemic and even the most thoroughly-banded of artists starts thinking about a solo record. Not to make light of either the plague or the decision or the result experience from “Minnesota” Pete Campbell (drummer of Pentagram, Place of Skulls, In~Graved, Vulgarri, Gygax, Sixty Watt Shaman for a hot minute, guitarist of The Mighty Nimbus, etc.), but he kind of left himself open to it with putting “Lockdown Blues” and the generally personal nature of the songs on, Me, Myself and I, his first solo album in a career of more than two decades. The nine-song/46-minute riffy splurge is filled with love songs seemingly directed at family in pieces like “Lightbringer,” “You’re My Angel,” the eight-minute “Swimming in Layla’s Hair,” the two-minute “Uryah vs. Elmo,” so humanity and humility are part of the general vibe along with the semi-Southern grooves, easy-rolling heavy blues swing, acoustic/electric blend in the four-minute purposeful sans-singing meander of “Midnight Dreamin’,” and so on. Five of the nine inclusions feature Campbell on vocals, and are mixed for atmosphere in such a way as to make me believe he doesn’t think much of himself as a singer — there’s some yarl, but he’s better than he gives himself credit for on both the more uptempo and brash “Starlight” and the mellow-Dimebag-style “Whispers of Autumn,” which closes — but there’s a feeling-it-out sensibility to the tracks that only makes the gratitude being expressed (either lyrically or not) come through as more sincere. Heck man, do another.
Based in the Netherlands, North Sea Noise Collective — sometimes also written as Northsea Noise Collective — includes vocals for the first time amid the experimental ambient drones of the four pieces on the self-released Roudons, which are reinterpretations of Frisian rockers Reboelje, weirdo-everythingist Arnold de Boer and doom legends Saint Vitus. The latter, a take on the signature piece “Born Too Late” re-titled “Dit Doarp” (‘this village’ in English), is loosely recognizable in its progression, but North Sea Noise Collective deep-dives into the elasticity of music, stretching limits of where a song begins and ends conceptually. Modular synth hums, ebbs and flows throughout “Wat moatte wy dwaan as wy gjin jild hawwe,” which follows opener “Skepper fan de skepper” and immerses further in open spaces crafted through minimalist sonic architecture, the vocals chanting like paeans to the songs themselves. It should probably go without saying that Roudons isn’t going to resonate with all listeners in the same way, but universal accessibility is pretty clearly low on the album’s priority list, and for as dug-in as Roudons is, that’s right where it should be.
Philly merchants Sins of Magnus offer their fourth album in the 12 songs/48 minutes of Secrets of the Cosmos, and while said secrets may or may not actually be included in the record’s not-insignificant span, I’ll say that I’ve yet to find the level of volume that’s too loud for the record to take. And maybe that’s the big secret after all. In any case, the three-piece of bassist/vocalist Eric Early, guitarist/vocalist Rich Sutcliffe and drummer Sean Young tap classic heavy rock vibes and aim them on a straight-line road to riffy push. There’s room for some atmosphere and guest vocal spots on the punkier closing pair “Mother Knows Best” and “Is Anybody There?” but the grooves up front are more laid back and chunkier-style, where “Not as Advertised,” “Workhorse,” “Let’s Play a Game” and “No Sanctuary” likewise get punkier, contrasting that metal stretch in “Stoking the Flames” earlier on In any case, they’re more unpretentious than they are anything else, and that suits just fine since there’s more than enough ‘changing it up’ happening around the core heavy riffs and mean-muggin’ vibes. It’s not the most elaborate production ever put to tape, but the punker back half of the record is more effective for that, and they get their point across anyhow.
Steeped in the arcane traditions of classic doom metal, Nine Altars emerge from the UK with their three-song/33-minute debut full-length, The Eternal Penance, leading with the title-track’s 13-minute metal-of-eld rollout as drummer/vocalist Kat Gillham (also Thronehammer, Lucifer’s Chalice, Enshroudment, etc.), guitarists Charlie Wesley (also also Enshroudment, Lucifer’s Chalice) and Nicolete Burbach and bassist Jamie Thomas roll with distinction into “The Fragility of Existence” (11:58), which starts reasonably slow and then makes that seem fast by comparison before picking up the pace again in the final third ahead of the more trad-NWOBHM idolatry of “Salvation Lost” (8:27). Any way they go, they’re speaking to metal born no later than 1984, and somehow for a band on their first record with two songs north of 11 minutes, they don’t come across as overly indulgent, instead borrowing what elements they want from what came before them and applying them to their longform works with fluidity of purpose and confident melodicism, Gillham‘s vocal command vital to the execution despite largely following the guitar, which of course is also straight out of the classic metal playbook. Horns, fists, whatever. Raise ’em high in the name of howling all-doom.
Fuzzblasting their way out of Salem, Massachusetts, with an initial public offering of six cuts that one might legitimately call “high octane” and not feel like a complete tool, The Freqs are a relatively new presence in the Boston/adjacent heavy underground, but they keep kicking ass like this and someone’s gonna notice. Hell, I’m sure someone has. They’re in and out in 27 minutes, so Poachers is an EP, but if it was a debut album, it’d be one of the best I’ve heard in this busy first half of 2023. Fine. So it goes on a different list. The get-off-your-ass-and-move effect of “Powetrippin'” remains the same, and even in the quiet outset of the subsequent “Asphalt Rivers,” it’s plain the breakout is coming, which, satisfyingly, it does. “Sludge Rats” decelerates some, certainly compared to opener “Poacher Gets the Tusk,” but is proportionately huge-sounding in making that tradeoff, especially near the end, and “Chase Fire, Caught Smoke” rips itself open ahead of the more aggressive punches thrown in the finale “Witch,” all swagger and impact and frenetic energy as it is. Fucking a. They end noisy and crowd-chanting, leaving one wanting both a first-LP and to see this band live, which as far as debut EPs go is most likely mission accomplished. It’s a burner. Don’t skip out on it because they didn’t name the band something more generic-stoner.
Doomer nod, proto-metallic duggery and post-NWOBHM flourish come together with heavy rock tonality and groove throughout Lord Mountain‘s bullshit-free recorded-in-2020/2021 debut album, issued through King Volume as the follow-up to a likewise-righteous-but-there-was-less-of-it 2016 self-titled EP (review here) and other odds and ends. Like a West Coast Magic Circle, they’ve got their pagan altars built and their generals out witchfinding, but the production is bright in Pat Moore‘s snare cutting through the guitars of Jesse Swanson (also vocals and primary songwriting) and Sean Serrano, and Andy Chism‘s bass, working against trad-metal cliché, is very much in the mix figuratively, literally, and thankfully. The chugs and winding of “The Last Crossing” flow smoothly into the mourning solo in the song’s second half, and the doom they proffer in “Serpent Temple” and the ultra-Dio Sabbath concluding title-track just might make you a believer if you weren’t one. It’s a record you probably didn’t know you were waiting for, and all the more so when you realize “The Oath” is “Four Horsemen”/”Mechanix” played slower. Awesome.
Opener “The Air at Night Smells Different” digs into HEX-era Earth‘s melancholic Americana instrumentalism and threat-underscored grayscale, but “Fog Works,” which follows, turns that around as guitarist Florian Karg moves to keys and dares to add both progressivism and melody to coincide with that existential downtrodding. Fellow guitarist Philipp Seiler, standup-bassist Stephan Leeb and drummer Marian Waibl complete the four-piece, and Impending Bloom is their first long-player as Black Air. They ultimately keep that post-Earth spirit in the seven-minute title-track, but sneak in a more active stretch after four minutes in, not so much paying off a build — that’s still to come in “A New-Found Calm” — = as reminding there’s life in the wide spaces being conjured. The penultimate “The Language of Rocks and Roots” emphasizes soul in the guitar’s swelling and receding volume, while closer “Array of Lights,” even in its heaviest part, seems to rest more comfortably on its bassline. In establishing a style, the Vienna-based outfit come through as familiar at least on a superficial listen, but there’s budding individuality in these songs, and so their debut might just be a herald of blossoming to come.
Oh yeah, you over it? You tired of the bongslaught of six or seven dozen megasludge bands out there with ‘bong’ in their name trying to outdo each other in cannabinoid content on Bandcamp every week? Fine. I don’t care. You go be too cool. I’ll pop on “Ganjalf” and follow the smoke to oh wait what was I saying again? Fuck it. With some Dune worked in for good measure, Adelaide, Australia’s Bong Coffin build a sludge for the blacklands on “Worthy of Mordor” and shy away not a bit from the more caustic end their genre to slash through their largesse of riff like the raw blade of an uruk-hai shredding some unsuspecting villager who doesn’t even realize the evil overtaking the land. They move a bit on “Messiah” and “Shaitan” and threaten a similar shove in “Nightmare,” but it’s the gonna-read-Lovecraft-when-done-with-Tolkien screams and crow-call rasp of “Träskkungen” that gets the prize on Bong Coffin‘s debut for me, so radly wretched and sunless as it is. Extreme stoner? Caustic sludge? The doom of mellows harshed? You call it whatever fucking genre you want — or better, don’t, with your too-cool ass — and I’ll march to the obsidian temple (that riff is about my pace these days) to break my skull open and bleed out the remnants of my brain on that ancient stone.
Posted in Whathaveyou on April 7th, 2023 by JJ Koczan
Some expected names in this first announcement from Desertfest Belgium 2023 in Antwerp — Yawning Man, King Buffalo, Truckfighters who seem to be making the rounds all year, etc. — but plenty of unexpected too, with aCarlton Melton returning to Europe, Philadelphia’s Heavy Temple apparently traveling abroad for the first time (new album?), Sourvein returning to road work, REZN heading over to support their killer new record, BlackWater HolyLight, Howling Giant — maybe also their first time in Europe? — Duel getting back over and so on.
As ever, I’m curious to see which of these acts will be on tour, and which with each other, but for now Desertfest Antwerp 2023 looks like a banger in the making. Early-bird tickets sold out in like hours when they were put on sale in February — two months before this first unveiling of band names, mind you — and one expects the sale on weekend tickets to follow suit. I’m not much for the big name on the poster personally, but I recognize I’m in a minority pretty much of myself in that, and from there on I don’t see a clunker in the bunch. Call it a win.
Of course, Desertfest Belgium also helms the Ghent edition. I’m not sure if that will be earlier or later — my guess would be earlier, but maybe the Fall fests spill over to November this year; could happen, wouldn’t be terrible if it did — but for today there’s plenty to dig here as posted by the festival:
The moment we’ve all been waiting for has finally arrived! We’re beyond stoked to announce the first round of names for Desertfest Antwerp!
Confirmed for Desertfest Antwerp 2023 are Cult of Luna, Truckfighters, MANTAR, King Buffalo, The Vintage Caravan, Year of no light, Nebula, Yawning Man, Dopelord, The Atomic Bitchwax, DUEL, Siena Root, Blackwater Holylight, Howling Giant, SOURVEIN, Carlton Melton, Heavy Temple, REZN, Margarita Witch Cult.
No doubt, it is going to be another epic version of Desertfest Anywerp!
