Set for the weekend of Oct. 18-20 and (I think?) celebrating the 10th anniversary of the first Desertfest Belgium, which was held in 2014, the 2024 edition of the Antwerp-based Desertfest has made its first lineup announcement, anchored by Fu Manchu and Russian Circles and featuring a host of others ranging in both geography and style. From the fluid textures of REZN and classic melodic prog rock of Mondo Drag to the reunited Scorpion Child, Bongzilla‘s singularly stoned crust and the expansive riffery of Stoned Jesus, whose Mother Dark complement to early-2023’s Father Light (review here) is awaited, it’s a well-rounded bill even before you account for heavy psych rockers Seedy Jeezus and bluesy ’70s traditionalists Child making the trip from Australia, the latter on the heels of Heavy Psych Sounds reissuing their catalog, the expansive sounds of Messa, and so on.

That it looks like a cool time isn’t really a surprise. Desertfest Belgium has developed a character of its own as the flagship Fall Desertfest in Europe, and while I’ve never been, I always look forward to seeing what it brings to the seasonal cohort of heavy festivals. Already we know REZN will be on tour with Russian Circles, as that was announced last week too, but it’s likely more tours will come from Mondo Drag, Ritual King and others below that haven’t been revealed yet if they’re even at this point finalized. In addition to the usual daydreaming-about-travel, I find thinking about these things and imagining tours and who might have new records out by the time October gets here to be a particular kind of nerdy joy.

The announcement, as per social media:

It’s that time of year again! It’s with great pride and excitement that we announce the first names for DF24! 👁️

Confirmed for Desertfest ANTWERP are:
Fu Manchu Russian Circles Stoned Jesus Bongzilla Scorpion Child MESSA Wolvennest Mondo Drag Seedy Jeezus CHILD REZN Ritual King The Abbey Lethvm RRRags Crouch Kara Delik

Three days of delirium and heavy delight are surely awaiting us all in Antwerp!

https://www.desertfest.be/antwerp/information/ticketing/

We’ll be back with more names very soon…🤘

http://www.desertfest.be/
https://www.facebook.com/desertfestbelgium/
https://www.instagram.com/desertfest_belgium/

Mondo Drag, Through the Hourglass (2023)

The YouTube warning that comes up is all like, ‘hey, you don’t mind witchy boobs, do you?’ So it goes. The Abbey are a new project spearheaded by guitarist/vocalist Jesse Heikkinen and vocalist Natalie Koskinen, and the pedigree in the darker realms of progressive-ish metal go beyond the two of them as well. I get a strong codified The Devil’s Blood vibe from lead single “A Thousand Dead Witches,” in terms of what’s basically black metal-style riffing born again with cultish melody overtones, but in keeping with that, I wouldn’t expect the single to speak for the whole record.

The band just signed to Season of Mist, and while they’re established players who might draw some eyes and ears on name recognition alone, there’s still a feeling of the label taking on some element of risk in pushing essentially something completely new. Given that it’s Season of Mist, who’ve by now earned audience trust for decades, that’s a prospect more exciting than quizzical, but if you find yourself feeling like there’s nothing fresh or interesting happening, here’s one that might change your mind.

No announced release date yet for their debut album, which will be called Word of Sin, but I’m kind of assuming it’ll roll out in the Spring, and given the style, I wouldn’t be surprised if they showed up in the Roadburn lineup either, though of course that’s not anything close to confirmed. For all I actually know, they might not be interested in playing live at all.

The signing was heralded thusly by the PR wire:

THE ABBEY Signs to Season of Mist, Unveils Bewitching First Single + Music Video

Season of Mist is proud to announce the signing of THE ABBEY, the emerging progressive doom metal band ft. Natalie Koskinen (SHAPE OF DESPAIR), Jesse Heikkinen (HENGET, ITERUM NATA, etc), Vesa Ranta (SENTENCED, THE MAN-EATING TREE), and Janne Markus (THE MAN-EATING TREE)! In conjunction with the announcement, the band is now revealing their bewitching first single, “A Thousand Dead Witches,” along with a chilling music video that will certainly get you in the spirit of Samhain! The clip, which was directed by Ranta, can be seen at THIS LOCATION.

THE ABBEY comments on the signing, ” We feel honored and privileged to get to write a new chapter in the history of Season of Mist – a distinguished label that has the courage and vision to do something extraordinary. We do believe that the collaboration between Season of Mist and The Abbey is going to lead us to great things.”

Regarding the single, the band adds, “Our first single has all the basic The Abbey elements: big vocals, dissonant harmonies, hauntingly beautiful melodies and tempo changes. This is The Abbey’s ode against oppression and tyranny.”

“A Thousand Dead Witches” is taken from THE ABBEY’s upcoming debut album, ‘Word of Sin,’ which will be released next year via Season of Mist! The cover artwork can be found below while more information will be revealed soon!

In the meantime, pre-save the album across all streaming services HERE: https://orcd.co/theabbeysin

The artwork for ‘Word of Sin’ was created by Alexander Reisfar and can be found below! The tracklisting and additional info will be revealed at a later date!

Lineup:
Jesse Heikkinen – Guitar, keyboard, percussions, vocals
Natalie Koskinen – Vocals
Janne Markus – Guitar
Vesa Ranta – Drums
Henri Arvola – Bass

https://www.instagram.com/theabbeyceremonial/
https://www.facebook.com/abbeyceremonial

https://www.facebook.com/seasonofmistofficial
http://www.season-of-mist.com/

The Abbey, “A Thousand Dead Witches” official video (NSFW)