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The Obelisk Questionnaire: Matt Ainsworth of Trevor’s Head

Posted in Questionnaire on August 15th, 2023 by JJ Koczan

Matt Ainsworth of Trevor's Head

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: Matt Ainsworth of Trevor’s Head

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

I guess I’d call it “stoner punk”, but in recent years, that seems to have morphed into “progressive stoner punk” – an unwieldy, pretentious journo moniker if I ever heard one! It came about through years of playing together, each of us with individual tastes that overlap at certain points. When we started, it wasn’t even really what I’d call “heavy”, it was just four kids with very different tastes trying to make up their mind as to how a band should sound while also being very inexperienced with our respective instruments.

Since losing our original bassist and lead guitarist back in 2014 and gaining Aaron as a bass player, it seems we’ve gone from strength to strength musically. Roger and I weren’t able to play music as heavy or expansive or diverse as we would have liked with the old lineup, whereas Aaron has a very open mind and thinks about playing from a more technical standpoint. It’s a very collaborative effort, all three of us are involved with the writing and arranging process. It also helps that we’re not afraid to experiment as well – there’s some risk-taking that goes into the creative process, hence the hybrid of stoner rock, punk and prog that we’ve come to adopt.

Describe your first musical memory.

It’s either being in the back of my mum’s car, hearing Cyndi Lauper’s “Time After Time” and hating it or being in the back of my dad’s car, hearing “China Grove” by The Doobie Brothers and absolutely loving it. Either way, I’d have been very young, only two or maybe three years old.

Describe your best musical memory to date.

Seeing Stevie Wonder play at Hyde Park while totally tripping balls. He and his band were on fire, the whole park was radiating joy – and no, that wasn’t just the acid! My face ached afterward from smiling so much.

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

Hmm, interesting one. Can’t say that I’m able to pinpoint a specific moment where a belief of mine was tested, but I think it’s safe to say that much of the idealism I held (and for the most part still hang on to) in my early twenties seems to not have much in the way of grounding, the more I see and experience the way our species treats itself and its surroundings.

Where do you feel artistic progression leads?

To widening your scope and experimenting with forms of music or musical ideas you might not have imagined yourself playing previously. Ultimately though, artistic progression should lead to satisfaction in what you do.

How do you define success?

Achieving what you set out to achieve. So within the parameters of being in the band, making the best record we can possibly make or playing the best gig we can possibly play. If anybody else happens to enjoy what we’re doing, then that’s a bonus.

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

Man, I worked in care homes for about five years. There’s plenty of things I’ve seen that I wish I hadn’t.

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

That would be the next Trevor’s Head album, the writing of which is underway.

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

To engage with people. I’m quite socially anxious, so I find spoken communication fairly difficult sometimes, especially with people I’m not familiar with. Being in a band, I’m able to get up in front of a room full of people I don’t know and communicate directly with them, expressing myself clearly through music. The audience is able to respond to that however they wish. So to me, art is like an unspoken conversation.

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

When I started answering these questions last week, I was fucking hyped for the upcoming Venture Bros. movie. I’ve seen it now though! It was excellent. A fitting end to a masterpiece of a series. Uhhh… what next though? I’m hoping the second installment of Dune is as good as the first. I’m also looking forward to holidaying in Kefalonia for a couple of weeks in September.

https://www.facebook.com/TrevorsHead/
https://www.instagram.com/trevorshead/
https://trevorshead.bandcamp.com/

https://www.facebook.com/apfrecords
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https://apfrecords.bandcamp.com/
http://www.apfrecords.co.uk/

Trevor’s Head, A View From Below (2023)

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Quarterly Review: Bongzilla, Trevor’s Head, Vorder, Inherus, Sonic Moon, Slow Wake, The Fierce and the Dead, Mud Spencer, Kita, Embargo

Posted in Reviews on July 17th, 2023 by JJ Koczan

the-obelisk-qr-summer-2020

Well here we are, at last. A couple weeks ago I looked at my calendar and ended up pushing this Quarterly Review to mid-July instead of the end of June, and it’s been hanging over my head in the interim to such a degree that I added two days to it to cover another 20 records. I’m sure it could be more. The amount of music is infinite. It just keeps going.

I’ll assume you know the deal, but here it is anyhow: 10 records per day, for seven days — Monday through Friday, plus Monday and Tuesday in this case — for a total of 70 reviews. Links and audio provided to the extent possible, and hopefully we all find some killer new music we didn’t know about before, or if we did know about it, just to enjoy. That doesn’t seem so crazy, right?

Quarterly Review #1-10:

Bongzilla, Dab City

Bongzilla Dab City

None higher. Following extensive touring before and (to the extent possible) after the release of their 2021 album, Weedsconsin (review here), Madison, WI, canna-worship crust sludge-launchers Bongzilla return with Dab City, proffering the harsh and the mellow as only they seem to be able to do, even among their ’90s-born original-era sludge brethren. As second track “King of Weed” demonstrates, Bongzilla are aurally dank unto themselves, both in the scathing vocals of bassist Mike “Muleboy” Makela and the layered guitar of Jeff “Spanky” Schultz and the slow-swinging groove shoving all that weighted tone forward in Mike “Magma” Henry‘s drums. Through the seven tracks and 56 minutes of dense jams like those in the opening title-cut or the 13-minute “Cannonbong (The Ballad of Burnt Reynolds as Lamented by Dixie Dave Collins” (yes, from Weedeater) or the gloriously languid finale “American Pot,” the shorter instrumental “C.A.R.T.S.,” or in the relatively uptempo nodders “Hippie Stick” and “Diamonds and Flower,” Bongzilla underscore the if-you-get-it-then-you-get-it nature of their work, at once extreme in its bite and soothing in atmosphere, uncompromising in purpose. I’m not going to tell you to get bombed out of your gourd and listen, but they almost certainly did while making it, and Dab City is nothing if not an invitation to that party.

Bongzilla on Facebook

Heavy Psych Sounds website

 

Trevor’s Head, A View From Below

Trevor's Head A View From Below

Adventures await as Redhill, UK, three-piece Trevor’s Head — guitarist/vocalist Roger Atkins, bassist/vocalist/synthesist Aaron Strachan (also kalimba), drummer/flutist/vocalist/synthesist Matt Ainsworth (also Mellotron) — signal a willfully open and progressive creativity through the heavy psych and grunge melodies of lead track “Call of the Deep” before the Primus-gone-fuzz-prog chug of “Under My Skin” and the somehow-English-pastoral “Grape Fang” balances on its multi-part harmonies and loose-feeling movement, side A trading between shorter and longer songs to end with the seven-minute, violin-inclusive folk-then-fuzz-folk highlight “Elio” before “Rumspringa” brings the proceedings to ground as only cowbell might. As relatively straight-ahead as the trio get there or in the more pointedly aggressive shover “A True Gentleman” on the other side of the Tool-ish noodling and eat-this-riff of “What Got Stuck” (answer: the thrashy gallop before the final widdly-widdly solo, in my head), they never want for complexity, and as much as it encapsulates in its depth of arrangement and linear course, closer “Don’t Make Me Ask” represents the band perhaps even more in looking forward rather than back on what was just accomplished, building on what 2018’s Soma Holiday (review here) hinted at stylistically and mindfully evolving their sound.

Trevor’s Head on Facebook

APF Records website

 

Vorder, False Haven

Vorder False Haven

Born in the ’90s as Amend, turned more extreme as V and now perhaps beginning a new era as Vorder — pronounced “vee-order” — the Dalarna, Sweden, unit return with a new rhythm section behind founding guitarists Jonas Gryth (also Unhealer) and Andreas Baier (also Besvärjelsen, Afgrund, and so on) featuring bassist Marcus Mackä Lindqvist (Blodskam, Lýsis) and drummer Daniel Liljekvist (ex-Katatonia, In Mourning, Grand Cadaver, etc.) on drums, the invigorated four-piece greet a dark dawn with due presence on False Haven, bringing Baier‘s Besvärjelsen bandmate Lea Amling Alazam for guest vocals on “The Few Remaining Lights,” which seems to be consumed after its melodic opening into a lurching and organ-laced midsection like Entombed after the Isis-esque ambience of post-apocalyptic mourning in “Introspective” and “Beyond the Horizon of Life.” Beauty and darkness are not new themes for Vorder, even if False Haven is their first release under the name, and even in the bleak ‘n’ roll of the title-track there’s still room for hope if you define hope as tambourine. Which you probably should. The penultimate “Judgement Awaits” interrupts floating post-doom with vital shove and 10:32 finale “Come Undone” provides a resonant melodic answer to “The Few Remaining Lights” while paying off the album as a whole in patience, heft and fullness. Vorder use microgenres like a polyglot might switch languages, but what’s expressed from the entirety of the work is utterly their own, whatever name they use.

Vorder on Facebook

Suicide Records website

 

Inherus, Beholden

inherus beholden

Multi-instrumentalist Beth Gladding (also of Forlesen, Botanist, Lotus Thief, etc.) shares vocal duties in New York’s Inherus with bassist Anthony DiBlasi (ex-Witchkiss) and fellow guitarist/synthesist Brian Harrigan (Grid, Swallow the Ocean), and the harsh/clean dynamic puts emphasis on the various textures presented throughout the band’s debut album. Completed by drummer Andrew Vogt (Lotus Thief, Swallow the Ocean), Inherus reach toward SubRosan melancholy on “Forgotten Kingdom,” which begins the hour-flat/six-track 2LP, and they follow with harmonies and grandeur to spare on “One More Fire” (something in that melody reminds me of Indigo Girls and I’m noting it because I can’t get my head away from it; not complaining) and “The Dagger,” which resolves in Amenra-style squibble and lurch without giving up its emotional depth. “Oh Brother” crushes enough to make one wonder where the line truly is between metal and post-metal, and the setup for closer “Lie to the Angels” in the drone-plus piece “Obliterated in the Face of the Gods” telegraphs the intensity to follow if not the progginess of that particular chug or the scope of what follows. Vogt signals the arrival at the album’s crescendo with stately but fast double-kick, and if you’re wondering who gets the last word, it’s feedback. Beholden may prove formative as Inherus move forward, but what their first full-length lays out as their stylistic range is at least as impressive as it is ambitious. Hope for more to come.

Inherus on Facebook

Hypnotic Dirge Records store

 

Sonic Moon, Return Without Any Memory

sonic moon return without any memory

Even in the second half of “Tying Up the Noose” as it leads into “Give it Time” — which is about as speedy as Sonic Moon get on their Olde Magick Records-delivered first LP, Return Without Any Memory — they’re in no particular hurry. The overarching languid pace across the Aarhus five-piece’s 41-minute/seven-tracker — which reuses only the title-track from 2019’s Usually I Don’t Care for Flowers EP — makes it hypnotic even in its most active moments, but whether it’s the Denmarkana acoustic moodiness of centerpiece “Through the Snow,” the steady nod of “Head Under the River” later or the post-All Them Witches psych-blues conveyed in opener “The Waters,” Sonic Moon are able to conjure landscapes from fuzzed tonality that could just as easily have been put to use for traditional doom as psych-leaning heavy rock, uniting the songs through that same fuzz and the melody of the vocals as “Head Under the River” spaces out ahead of its slowdown or “Hear Me Now” eschews the huge finish in favor of a more unassuming, gentler letting go, indicative of the thoughtfulness behind their craft and their presentation of the material. Familiar enough on paper and admirably, unpretentiously itself, the self-recorded Return Without Any Memory discovers its niche and comes across as being right at home in it. A welcome debut.

Sonic Moon on Facebook

Olde Magick Records on Bandcamp

 

Slow Wake, Falling Fathoms

slow wake falling fathoms

With cosmic doom via YOB meeting with progressive heavy rock à la Elder or Louisiana rollers Forming the Void and an undercurrent of metal besides in the chug and double-kick of “Controlled Burn,” Cleveland’s Slow Wake make their full-length debut culling together songs their 2022 Falling Fathoms EP and adding the prior-standalone “Black Stars” for 12 minutes’ worth of good measure at the end. The dense and jangly tones at the start of the title-track (where it’s specifically “Marrow”-y) or “In Waves” earlier on seem to draw more directly from Mike Scheidt‘s style of play, but “Relief” builds from its post-rocking outset to grow furious over its first few minutes headed toward a payoff that’s melody as much as crunch. “Black Stars” indulges a bit more psychedelic repetition, which could be a sign of things to come or just how it worked out on that longer track, but Slow Wake lay claim to significant breadth regardless, and have the structural complexity to work in longer forms without losing themselves either in jams or filler. With a strong sense of its goals, Falling Fathoms puts Slow Wake on a self-aware trajectory of growth in modern prog-heavy style. That is, they know what they’re doing and they know why. To show that alone on a first record makes it a win. Their going further lets you know to keep an eye out for next time as well.

Slow Wake on Facebook

Argonauta Records store

 

The Fierce and the Dead, News From the Invisible World

The Fierce and the Dead News From the Invisible World

Unearthing a bit of earlier-Queens of the Stone Age compression fuzz in the start-stop riff of “Shake the Jar” is not even scratching the surface as regards textures put to use by British progressive heavies The Fierce and the Dead on their fourth album, News From the Invisible World. Comprised of eight songs varied in mood and textures around a central ethic clearly intent on not sounding any more like anyone else than it has to, the collection is the first release from the band to feature vocals. Those are handled ably by bassist Kev Feazey, but it’s telling as to the all-in nature of the band that, in using singing for the first time, they employ no fewer than six guest vocalists, mostly but not exclusively on opener/intro “The Start.” From there, it’s a wild course through keyboard/synth-fed atmospheres on pieces like the Phil Collins-gone-heavy “Photogenic Love” and its side-B-capping counterpart “Nostalgia Now,” which ends like friendlier Godflesh, astrojazz experimentalism on “Non-Player,” and plenty of fuzz in “Golden Thread,” “Wonderful,” “What a Time to Be Alive,” and so on, though where a song starts is not necessarily where it’s going to end up. Given Feazey‘s apparent comfort with the task before him, it’s a wonder they didn’t make this shift earlier, but they do well in making up for lost time.

The Fierce and the Dead on Facebook

Spencer Park Music on Facebook

 

Mud Spencer, Kliwon

mud spencer Kliwon

Kliwon is the second offering from Indonesia-based meditative psych exploration unit Mud Spencer to be released through Argonauta Records after 2022’s Fuzz Soup (review here), and its four component songs find France-born multi-instrumentalist Rodolphe Bellugue (also Proots, Bedhunter, etc.) constructing material of marked presence and fluidity. Opener “Suzzanna” is halfway through its nine minutes before the drums start. “Ratu Kidul” is 16 minutes of mindful breathing (musically speaking) as shimmering guitar melody pokes out from underneath the surrounding ethereal wash, darker in tone but more than just bleak. Of course “Dead on the Heavy Funk” reminds of Mr. Bungle as it metal-chugs and energetically weirds out. And the just under 16-minute “Jasmin Eater” closes out with organ and righteous fuzz bass peppered with flourish details on guitar and languid drumming, becoming heavier and consuming as it moves toward the tempo kick that’s the apex of the album. Through these diverse tracks, an intimate psychedelic persona emerges, even without vocals, and Mud Spencer continues to look inward for expanses to be conveyed before doing precisely that.

Mud Spencer on Facebook

Argonauta Records store

 

Kita, Tyhjiö

kita Tyhjio

It would seem that in the interim between 2021’s Ocean of Acid EP and this five-song/41-minute debut full-length, Tyhjiö, Finnish psychedelic death-doomers Kita traded English lyrics for those in their native Finnish. No, I don’t speak it, but that hardly matters in the chant-like chorus of the title-track or the swirling pummel that surrounds as the band invent their own microgenre, metal-rooted and metal in affect, but laced with synth and able to veer into lysergic guitar atmospherics in the 10-minute opener “Kivi Puhuu” or the acoustic-led (actually it’s bass-led, but still) midsection leading to the triumphant chorus of bookending closer “Ataraksia,” uniting disparate ideas through strength of craft, tonal and structural coherence, and, apparently, sheer will. The title-track, “Torajyvä” and “Kärpässilmät,” with the centerpiece cut as the shortest, make for a pyramid-style presentation (broader around its base), but Kita are defined by what they do, drawing extremity from countrymen like Swallow the Sun or Amorphis, among others, and turning it into something of their own. Striking in the true sense of: it feels like being punched. But punched while you hang out on the astral plane.

Kita on Facebook

Kita on Bandcamp

 

Embargo, High Seas

embargo high seas

Greek fuzz alert! Heavy rocking three-piece Embargo hail from Thessaloniki with their first long-player, High Seas, using winding aspects of progressive metal to create tension in the starts and stops of “Billow,” “EAT” and “Candy” as spoken verses in the latter and “Alanna Finch” draw a line between the moody noise rock of Helmet, the grunge it informed, and the heavy rock that emerged (in part) from that. Running 10 tracks and 44 minutes, High Seas is quick in marking out the smoothness of its low tonality, and it veers into and out of what one might consider aggression in terms of style, “with 22 22” thoughtfully composed and sharply pointed in kind, one of several instrumentals to offset some of the gruffer stretches or a more patient melodic highlight like “Draupner,” which does little to hide its affinity for Soundgarden and is only correct to showcase it. They also finish sans-vocals in the title-track, and there’s almost a letting-loose sense to “High Seas” itself, shaking out some shuffle in the first half before peaking in the second. Greece is among Europe’s most packed and vibrant undergrounds, and with High Seas, Embargo begin to carve their place within it.

Embargo on Facebook

Embargo on Bandcamp

 

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Trevor’s Head Announce A View From Below Out May 5; Preorder Available

Posted in Whathaveyou on March 21st, 2023 by JJ Koczan

Trevor's Head

The first single from the new Trevor’s Head album, A View From Below, is titled “Call of the Deep” and it also happens to be the record’s opening track. It starts off with an immediate thrust, but quickly turns into an intricate and melodic verse peppered with especially proggy plucked guitar notes and basslines before shifting into a more weighted semi-chorus, looping back through the verse, picking up into a solo and a dual-vocal actual-chorus with hints of grunge amid more intense riffing, building into a run at its finish. It does this in the span of three minutes and 20 seconds.

Not too shabby as regards covering a pretty significant chunk of ground, efficiency and scope meeting without sounding either busy-for-its-own-sake or unconsidered. The album is out May 5 through APF Records and it’s Trevor’s Head‘s fourth, so maybe not a surprise they’d approach it with a sense of command over their craft, but given the descriptions below I’m curious to hear just how far they range from what “Call of the Deep” sets forth, where they go, when, why and how it all flows together. A long way maybe of saying I’m looking forward to the release. Fine.

The PR wire has the all-important preorder link and more info besides. Song’s at the bottom of the post. You know how it goes:

Trevor's Head A View From Below

TREVOR’S HEAD ANNOUNCE NEW ALBUM ‘A VIEW FROM BELOW’

RELEASED 5TH MAY (APF RECORDS) / LISTEN TO ‘CALL OF THE DEEP’

Pre-order now – https://apfrecords.co.uk/albums/a-view-from-below

Quite possibly the most exciting thing to come out of Redhill in the last three centuries, Trevor’s Head markedly circle in three distinct orbits around stoner, punk and prog, creating a heavy, sonic vibe quite unlike anybody else out there.

Their new album “A View From Below, released on 5th May via APF Records (Mastiff, Desert Storm, The Brother’s Keg, Video Nasties) is a lean and cohesive expression of the power trio’s precision, which marks the next stage in the genre-bending and ever-evolving sound that is Trevor’s Head. For first single ‘Call of the Deep’, Roger Atkins (guitar/vocals) states,

“These last few years have been tough for us – for everyone – and I have constantly been struck by the strength I’ve seen in others. Whether battling personal loss, mental health difficulties, financial stresses, relationship troubles, whatever. This song is a nod to anyone who keeps fighting through the calm and through the storm. I have unending respect and pride in anyone who can do that, and this song is for them. Even if it didn’t go to plan for the protagonist this time.”

Following in the footsteps of their last three albums, it’s the product of the band’s fully collaborative approach to songwriting, where each member adds to the eclectic stew, creating an eccentric and unique record. Matt Ainsworth (drums/vocals) comments,

“We’re really proud of this album, it feels like the best representation of our band to date. Each track takes you on a journey and there are a ton of different musical influences, but this time we approached the writing process with a mind to make something more cohesive than our previous releases – it’s diverse, yet it still sounds like the songs were all meant to be on the same record together. You can hear how we’ve grown as musicians, too. We honestly don’t think anyone else sounds like Trevor’s Head… guess we’ll find out if that’s a good thing or not!”

Lyrically many of the songs on ‘A View From Below’, are a reflection of the hardship that many have endured over the past few years and continue to endure now. They are, according to Roger Atkins (guitar/vocals, ‘a celebration of courage, resilience and determination in the face of huge obstacles.’

Having gigged relentlessly for many years, with high points on the road being shared stages with (among others) Mondo Generator, Nebula and Colour Haze, as well as appearing at numerous stoner rock festivals across the country including Desertfest, Trevor’s Head are primed and ready to release their next album, “A View From Below”, through APF Records in May 2023.

Tracklisting:
1. Call Of The Deep
2. Under My Skin
3. Grape Fang
4. Elio
5. Rumspringa
6. What Got Stuck?
7. A True Gentleman
8. Don’t Make Me Ask

Lineup:
Aaron Strachan – bass, synth and vocals
Roger Atkins – guitar and vocals
Matt Ainsworth – drums, synth, flute and vocals

https://www.facebook.com/TrevorsHead/
https://www.instagram.com/trevorshead/
https://trevorshead.bandcamp.com/

https://www.facebook.com/apfrecords
https://www.instagram.com/apfrecords/
https://apfrecords.bandcamp.com/
http://www.apfrecords.co.uk/

Trevor’s Head, A View From Below (2023)

Trevor’s Head, “Call of the Deep” lyric video

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Ruination Festival Announces Lineup with Sergeant Thunderhoof, Fatso Jetson, Slomatics and More

Posted in Whathaveyou on January 27th, 2023 by JJ Koczan

Solid bill. More than solid, actually. I don’t think I need to argue in favor of Ruination Festival 2023’s headliners in Slomatics and Fatso Jetson, but check out the US/UK blend at the pre-show as well with Thunder Horse and Great Electric Quest with Old Horn Tooth and Oakenthrone and Gandalf the Green. That’s a good time even before you get to Sergeant Thunderhoof and Mastiff and Trevor’s Head and Ritual King and Goblinsmoker et al welcoming High Desert Queen and the aforementioned Fatso Jetson to England’s green and pleasant land.

Of course, the elephant in the room here, fest-wise, is Desertfest London, but there are arguments to be made here for the concise all-dayer/pre-show format, and if you want a curated sample of some of the best up and coming UK acts with some more established names on top, it’s a good way to go and a situation without the rampant timing conflicts that inherently happen at larger festivals. Even with two stages going, this seems doable to me and like a good way to pack in seeing a bunch of bands and not having to miss out on something you want to see.

The fest is a collaboration between Iron Boar Bookings and Riffolution Promotions, and you can see the full lineup and

Ruination Festival 2023 square

RUINATION FESTIVAL

Ruination Festival is a joint event from Iron Boar Bookings and Riffolution Promotions. Taking place on the 13th of May across 2 stages, The Underground and Als Juke Bar!

Tickets are £15.

Make sure to RVSP to stay up to date with announcements. With some of the best stoner, doom & psych on the scene, from both UK and US.

(#127482#)(#127480#)
Fatso Jetson
Great Electric Quest
High Desert Queen
Thunder Horse

(#127468#)(#127463#)
Slomatics, Sergeant Thunderhoof, Mastiff, Grave Lines, Trevors Head, Ritual King, Son of Boar, Everest Queen, Goblinsmoker, Boach, Swamp Coffin, Ironrat, Old Horn Tooth, Gandalf the Green, Oakenthrone

Tickets: https://skiddle.com/e/36191054

Event: https://fb.me/e/28SVc4C19

https://www.facebook.com/RiffolutionPromotions
https://www.facebook.com/ironboarbookings

Slomatics, Live at Doomcember Festival, Reykjavik, 2022

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Desertfest London 2023 Adds More Than 40 Bands; Yes, for Real.

Posted in Whathaveyou on December 2nd, 2022 by JJ Koczan

I mean, what can you say to this other than ‘can I come?’ I’ve known this festival was capable of some real-deal shit over the last decade, but this is absolutely epic, which is a word I do my best to avoid. And they end it by saying there’s more to come. God damn. Really. God damn.

Wow.

Here:

desertfest-london-2023-new-poster-square

Desertfest London announce over 40 bands for 2023

Friday 5th May – Sunday 7th May 2023 | Weekend Tickets on sale now

BUY TICKETS HERE: https://www.desertfest.co.uk/

Desertfest London is rounding off the year with an ear-shattering bang, announcing a mammoth 43 artists to their 2023 line-up. Joining the likes of Uncle Acid & The Deadbeats, Graveyard, Kadavar and Church of Misery, the Camden-based festival also welcomes back Corrosion of Conformity as headliners.

Pioneers of a groove-laden sound that is undeniably their own, Corrosion of Conformity have not been back on UK soil since 2018 so expect big, loud and memorable things from their appearance at Desertfest next year. Corrosion of Conformity have been due to play the event since 2020 – making their return one of the most widely requested in the event’s history.

Japan’s own avant-garde maestros of down-tuned psychedelia Boris leap over to London alongside the crushingly loud tones of NOLA’s own Crowbar. One of the most exciting bands in recent memory King Buffalo, make their long-awaited debut plus Desertfest favourites, Weedeater are back after five long years of chugging whiskey lord-knows-where.

The pace moves up a notch with New York City’s noise-rock guru’s Unsane and British punk-legends Discharge, all of whom bring a detour from the slow’n’low sounds the festival is best recognised for. Montreal’s Big | Brave will play the festival for the first time showcasing their experimental and minimalist take on the notion of ‘heavy’, whilst the doors to the Church of The Cosmic Skull are open, as they ask Desertfest revellers to join them in a union unlike any other.

Desertfest also warmly welcomes noise from STAKE, British anti-fascist black metallers Dawn Ray’d and London’s loudest duo Tuskar as well as some of the best recent stoner acts in the form of Telekinetic Yeti, Weedpecker & Great Electric Quest. Elsewhere the weekend will also see Wren, The Necromancers, Dommengang, Samavayo, Morass of Molasses, Sum of R & GNOB offer up unique live performances.

Rounding off this beast of an announcement are Acid Mammoth, Deatchant, Zetra, Trevor’s Head, Our Man in The Bronze Age, Wyatt E., Iron Jinn, Mr Bison, Troy The Band, Oreyeon, Warren Schoenbright, Early Moods, Longheads, Terror Cosmico, Thunder Horse, TONS, Vinnum Sabbathi, Bloodswamp, The Age of Truth, Earl of Hell and Black Groove.

Weekend Tickets for Desertfest London 2023 are on-sale now via www.desertfest.co.uk
with more acts still to be announced.

Day splits and day tickets will be on sale from January.

Full Line-Up for Desertfest London 2023:
UNCLE ACID & THE DEADBEATS | GRAVEYARD | CORROSION OF CONFORMITY | KADAVAR | BORIS | CROWBAR | CHURCH OF MISERY | WEEDEATER | KING BUFFALO | BLOOD CEREMONY | DISCHARGE | SOMALI YACHT CLUB | UNSANE | BIG|BRAVE | INTER ARMA | CHURCH OF THE COSMIC SKULL | VALLEY OF THE SUN | STAKE | MARS RED SKY | SPACESLUG | GRAVE LINES | GAUPA | TUSKAR | TELEKINETIC YETI | WEEDPECKER | DAWN RAY’D | WREN | GREAT ELECTRIC QUEST | THE NECROMANCERS | DOMMENGANG | ECSTATIC VISION | SAMAVAYO | MORASS OF MOLASSES | SUM OF R | HIGH DESERT QUEEN | GNOB | EVEREST QUEEN | ACID MAMMOTH | DEATHCHANT | ZETRA | CELESTIAL SANCTUARY | TREVOR’S HEAD | OUR MAN IN THE BRONZE AGE | WYATT E. | MR BISON | TROY THE BAND | PLAINRIDE | IRON JINN | OREYEON | WARREN SCHOENBRIGHT | EARLY MOODS | LONGHEADS | TERROR COSMICO | THUNDER HORSE | TONS | VINNUM SABBATHI | BLOODSWAMP | VENOMWOLF | THE AGE OF TRUTH | EARL OF HELL | BLACK GROOVE | MARGARITA WITCH CULT

http://www.desertscene.co.uk/support
https://www.facebook.com/DesertfestLondon
https://www.instagram.com/desertfest_london/
https://twitter.com/DesertFest
https://www.desertfest.co.uk/

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Return of the Riff UK Live Show Series Announced

Posted in Whathaveyou on July 8th, 2021 by JJ Koczan

return-of-the-riff-banner

Hey kid, you like live shows? Think you can get behind a three-day/20-band extravanganza spread out over a couple weeks in Bristol? Fucking a right you can. Snuff Lane presents the aptly-named Return of the Riff show series, with three nights of killer UK-native acts doing what they do in celebration of reemerging from out of the grips of the COVID-19 pandemic. My understanding is the UK is getting ready to completely open up, so hey, these shows might even happen. Pretty rad. And so are the lineups.

You can see below the headliners respectively are Desert Storm, Ken Pustelnik’s Groundhogs and Slabdragger — all worthy — but note too the inclusion of Desert Storm offshoot Wall, as well as Sigiriya and Ritual King, Cybernetic Witch Cult (who have a new lineup) and perennial favorites Chubby Thunderous Bad Kush Masters. Wren and Trevor’s Head and Ten Foot Wizard and Old Man Lizard on back-to-back nights? I won’t get to see any of it, but hell’s bells I’m glad it exists.

Info follows here, courtesy of the PR wire. If you make it to Bristol, enjoy:

return of the riff Series Poster

Return of the Riff – Bristol, July-August ‘21

To celebrate the return of live music within England, we are uncontrollably excited to have teamed up with The Crofters Rights, Bristol to host ‘Return of the Riff’.

Three events with heavily stacked line-ups, offering rare performances with some of the UK’s finest Riffslingers within an intimate setting. We are excited to finally unveil the full line-up; now boasting 20 artists, across 3-days.

Sunday 25th July now hosts Brighton born post-hardcore, sludgy post-rockers Earth Moves, (formed of members from We Never Learned To Live, Grappler, and Cloud Boat).

Sadly, due to the drummer breaking his leg, 1968 have had to withdraw from Saturday 8th July’s RotR. They are now replaced by both Bristol-based three-piece psychedelic post-rockers Mammoth Toe, and stonerpunks from the sewers of Surrey, Trevor’s Head.

20-Bands / 3-Days / 1-Venue / Whole Lotta Riff
The Crofters Rights, Bristol

Sunday 25th July ’21 ~ 16:00 – 23:30
Desert Storm + Gurt + Monolithian + Cybernetic Witch Cult + Sail Band + Earth Moves + Wall

Saturday 7th August ’21 ~ 16:00 – 22:30
Ken Pustelnik’s Groundhogs + Sigiriya + Ritual King + Suns of Thunder + Trevor’s Head + Mammoth Toe

Sunday 8th August ’21 ~ 16:00 – 23:30
Slabdragger + Ten Foot Wizard + Wren + Chubby Thunderous Bad Kush Masters + Old Man Lizard + Made of Teeth + The Malefic Grip

More Info/RSVP: https://bit.ly/3A3iOor
Tickets: http://hdfst.uk/return-of-the-riff

Bundle option is available when purchasing from any event. Limited bundle tickets remaining.

Ken Pustelnik’s Groundhogs, “Garden” Live in Norwich, UK, March 2020

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Riffolution Festival 2021 Announces Lineup

Posted in Whathaveyou on March 9th, 2021 by JJ Koczan

riffolution festival logo

The UK being the hotbed that it has been for heavy acts over the last, say, 50 years, I guess you can do this kind of two-day festival there comprised mostly if not entirely of homegrown outfits and still have it be both a show well worth seeing — think the borders will be open by September? — and the kind of thing where you could easily add another day of bands. I don’t know what social-distancing regulations will be in place in Manchester come end of summer, and to be perfectly honest with you, I don’t care. Elephant Tree and Conan headlining a two-dayer after live music has been on pause for a year and a half? That’s a gig worth watching if the floor’s made of lava, never mind whether or not you’ve been vaccinated.

People gonna be d-r-u-n-k.

I probably don’t need to tell you how refreshing I find it to see a list of logos and band names on a poster, even one with a cartoon butt. Again, I don’t care. I’ll take what I can get at this point.

Friggin’ SigiriyaChubby Thunderous? It’d be like five years’ worth of the UK-based bands I’d love to see all piled onto one bill.

Alas:

riffolution festival 2021 poster

Finally the day has come to release the line-up we’ve been so eager to share with you all.

We know it was a great disappointment not to be able to host shows in 2020, but this is set to be such a monster of a weekend to make up for it.

Special thanks to the support from our partners in Lizard King Promotions / Stonebaked Promotions / The Sophie Festival

Event page: https://www.facebook.com/events/192423792629484/

Tickets and other goodies can be found here: https://riffolutionpromotions.bigcartel.com/

Here’s our line-up:
Conan / Elephant Tree / Telepathy / OHHMS / Ten Foot Wizard / Desert Storm / Witchrider / Pijn / Tuskar / Under / Ritual King / Cybernetic Witch Cult / Chubby Thunderous Bad Kush Masters / Sigiriya / Lacertilia / Morass Of Molasses / Everest Queen / Duskwood / Deltanaut / Orbital Junction / Mother Vulture / Trevor’s Head / SODEN / Son Of Boar / Pelugion / Torus

https://www.facebook.com/events/192423792629484/
https://www.facebook.com/Riffolution/
https://riffolutionpromotions.bigcartel.com/

Elephant Tree, Live at Buffalo Studio & The Preservation Room

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APF Records Announces Showcase Lineup with 13 Bands

Posted in Whathaveyou on January 7th, 2019 by JJ Koczan

apf records amp logo

UK sludgedealer APF Records has announced the lineup for its second label showcase in Manchester, and well, it’s got almost everybody. It’s 13 of the 16 active bands on the roster, piled onto a single bill. Do you have any idea how hard that must be to make happen? The coordination involved? Imagine trying to plan lunch with a specific friend. You have to find a day, a time, a place that works. Now imagine doing what with upwards of 50 friends. It’s not just planning a party and saying “be here at this time.” There’s so much involved in making it happen, it’s a pretty clear indication of a mission at play. Kudos to APF for making it happen at all, let alone once.

The label has a busy 2019 planned to follow what was a busy 2018, and that’s fair enough. I myself have been enjoying the new Mastiff record, which will be out soon, and I’m dying to hear something new from the timely Tronald, though there’s been no confirmation of one in the works. Still, I’ve got my fingers crossed, and it seems like there’s plenty to come in the meantime as APF continues to provide the UK’s fervent and varied sludge scene the home it deserves.

Showcase announcement and links follow from the PR wire::

APF Records Showcase 2019

APF RECORDS SHOWCASE ALL-DAYER

Manchester, UK – 2nd February 2019

13 APF Records bands play a special one-off gig

APF Records is hosting a special one-off gig at The Bread Shed in Manchester UK on 2nd February, featuring all 13 of its current active signed bands playing across two stages.

Founded by Andrew Field in March 2017 APF Records has released albums, EPs and singles by Under, Diesel King, Blind Haze, Mastiff, The Wizards Of Delight, Tronald, The Hyena Kill, RedEye Revival, Ba’al, BongCauldron, Nomad, Desert Storm, Battalions and Barbarian Hermit during its first 18 months.

The label already has releases lined up for 2019 by Widows, Pist and Possessor as well as further releases from the bands mentioned above.

Due to the logistical challenges of getting so many APF bands in one place at once this is likely to be the last time so many of the APF Records roster will play in one place on one day. Thus advance tickets have been moving fast and the event (at the 400-capacity Bread Shed venue) is predicted to be a sell-out.

Doors open at 2pm with the first band performing at 2.30pm. The event will finish 9 hours later when BongCauldron headline the main stage.

Appearing at the APF Records Showcase:

Battalions
Barbarian Hermit
BongCauldron
Diesel King
Mastiff
Nomad
Pist
RedEye Revival
The Hyena Kill
Trevor’s Head
Tronald
Under
Widows

APF Records and Stonebaked Promotions presents: The APF Records Showcase All-Dayer
Venue: The Bread Shed, Manchester UK
Date: 2nd February 2018
Doors Open: 2pm
Tickets: £12.50 adv / £20 otd

Facebook Event Page: https://www.facebook.com/events/162465091142797/
Ticket link: https://www.wegottickets.com/event/430503

https://www.facebook.com/apfrecords
https://twitter.com/apf_records
https://www.instagram.com/apfrecords/
https://apfrecords.bigcartel.com/
https://apfrecords.bandcamp.com/
http://www.apfrecords.co.uk/

BongCauldron, Tyke (2018)

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