That’s a wrap on the lineup for Up in Smoke 2018, and it’s a doozy. Up and coming acts like Messa, Humulus and Glanville meet with established purveyors in Acid King, The Well, Elder and Sasquatch, newbie psych lords Naxatras, scumriffers Dopethrone and a slew of others across a stylistic swath that should be well enough to hold even the most fickle of feet in place over the two-day stretch in Switzerland. Plus Ancestors are gonna be there. And Farflung. Looks like a solid way to spend a weekend and then some.

Sound of Liberation, which puts on this fest and numerous others, has a last batch of bands added in one more round, and it’s Witchcraft near the top of the bill as well as the aforementioned Glanville, Farflung, The Well and The New Death Cult, the latter of whom I know absolutely nothing but who seem to be on the right page mission-wise.

Announcement came down the PR wire:

UP IN SMOKE 2018 – WITCHCRAFT & 4 MORE BANDS COMPLETE THE LINE-UP!

Yes, it’s true, you read it right, and we are very excited to share this great news with you all today!

UP IN SMOKE, Switzerland’s annual and finest Stoner, Fuzz, Doom and Heavy Psychedelic Rock Festival, has announced the final bands for 2018! The following highclass acts have just been added to close this year’s festival edition:

Sweden’s Heavy Rock legends WITCHCRAFT will perform an exclusive show at UP in SMOKE at Z7 in Pratteln! The band has barely played any live shows in the last years, so it’s more than a great honor to have them at this year’s UP IN SMOKE Festival VOL VI next month!

Some more sweet acts are added to the bill as well:

The outstanding spacerock cult band FARFLUNG, Texas finest heavy psych blues combo THE WELL and heavy hard rockers GLANVILLE will join Switzerland’s most heavy rocking party of the year. Last but not least UP IN SMOKE has added another surprise act! THE NEW DEATH CULT is here to crush hate, injustice, environmental destruction and greed with universal peace & love. Join the cult at UP IN SMOKE!

The line-up is now complete and features 20 amazing bands! Day Split will be unveiled within 10 days, but you should grab your 2-day pass while you still can! Taking place at the famous Z7 in Pratteln, Switzerland, between October 5 – 6th 2018, tickets are available HERE!

Join the cult at UP IN SMOKE FESTIVAL VOL VI.

The line-up is now complete and features 20 amazing bands! Day Split will be unveiled within 10 days, but you should GRAB YOUR 2-DAY PASS while you still can!

www.upinsmoke.de
https://www.facebook.com/UpInSmokeIndoorFestivalInZ7/
https://www.sol-tickets.com/produkte
https://soundofliberation.com

Witchcraft, “The Outcast”

As noted yesterday, John Garcia has postponed his Fall tour of Europe, and that included a stop at Up in Smoke 2018. No doubt Mr. Garcia is a significant presence as a part of an lineup in which he features, and accordingly, Up in Smoke has gone ahead and added five bands in the wake of his cancellation, including Berlin three-piece Kadavar, who will take over his headlining spot. Needless to say, you could do much worse, and with Elder, Whores., Villagers of Ionnina City and Six Months of Sun also joining the lineup, there will definitely be plenty to see in Garcia‘s absence. Plus, there’s always Keep it Low 2019 to think about. Well, not “always,” but at least for the next year or so. Ha.

The following confirmations came down the PR wire:

UP IN SMOKE 2018 – KADAVAR & 4 MORE BANDS CONFIRMED!

Smokers,

You may have seen that JOHN GARCIA cancelled his October/November tour yesterday. It’s with great sadness that we have to say it consequently includes his appearance at Up In Smoke 2018… But no worry! We found another amazing act to headline our Friday night, one of the biggest names in the scene whose sound can be recognized by a single guitar strum: the berlin-based power trio KADAVAR! We’re pretty thrilled about that, aren’t you?!

We are also psyched to announce the 4 following bands:

ELDER (USA) – Elder is the definition of a work in progress, as the group continues to meld the familiar sounds of Sleep‘s colossal riffage with their ever-evolving vision of soaring melodies and sonic soundscapes. Listeners will find themselves locked into the trio’s lengthy epics, which toe the line between the chasms of classic stoner metal and mindblowing psychedelia.

WHORES (USA) – Founded in 2010 in Atlanta, Georgia, Whores has established themselves as one of the most successful and motivated bands in the genre today. Through intense, cathartic live performances and the perfected aggressive tenacity present on their recordings, the band has gained a fervent following sure to do nothing but grow in the years to come. October 2016 saw the band’s first full-length album “GOLD”, and Whores is currently recording the next one.

VILLAGERS OF IOANNINA CITY (GR) – The experimental heavy rock band Villagers of Ioannina City (VIC) comes from the mountains of Epirus – Greece. Their unique sound fuses traditional music into heavy psychedelic rock. The band uses a wide range of instruments, such as low tuned guitars and bass, hammond and rhodes, along with traditional instruments such as clarino, bagpipe, kaval, didjeridoo and others. Currently they are recording their long awaited new album “Age of Aquarius” which will be released in September.

SIX MONTHS OF SUN (CH) – Six Months Of Sun are based in Geneva, Switzerland and released their debut album called “And Water Flows” in 2013. The band served on Stoner Rock sound and offers us instrumental compositions with strong influences from bands such as Karma To Burn, Black Sabbath, Goatsnake, Orange Goblin, Graveyard and Clutch. They released their excellent second album “ Below the Eternal Sky” barely 2 months ago!

www.upinsmoke.de
https://www.facebook.com/UpInSmokeIndoorFestivalInZ7/
https://www.sol-tickets.com/produkte
https://soundofliberation.com

Kadavar, “Die Baby Die” official video

Very cool that Electric Wizard are headlining Up in Smoke 2018. Very cool. Not saying it isn’t. And right on that Dopethrone, Messa, Child, Humulus — have to wonder if they’ll bring their own beer — and Giant Sleep are playing too. Awesome. The name I want to focus on here, however, is Ancestors. The returned/reactivated Los Angeles unit will have their new album out on Pelagic Records by the time they head to Europe to play Up in Smoke presumably as part of a larger round of touring, and I’m pretty sure I’ve said this already, but watch out for that fucking record. Really. It’s a stunner.

2018 has already seen a fair share of righteous outings — I’d list them here, but you know, stolen laptop — and a couple real landmarks are still to come, but don’t let the new Ancestors get by you just because it’s been a while since they put anything out. I’ll have more to say about it, I’m sure, because it’s the kind of record about which one doesn’t easily shut up, but yeah. Take it as an(other) early heads up.

Here’s Up in Smoke‘s announcement:

UP IN SMOKE 2018 – ELECTRIC WIZARD & 6 MORE ACTS CONFIRMED!

GET YOUR CHANCE TO WIN A WEEKEND PASS!

Up In Smoke Indoor Fest 2018 has just announced a bunch of new bands, including their second headliner: The almighty ELECTRIC WIZARD, bringing their new album “Wizard Bloody Wizard” to make Pratteln tremble once again! Also confirmed:

DOPETHRONE (CAN) – The riff comes in many forms. Sometimes it’s clean and elegant… sometimes it’s filthy, grimy and about as elegant as a sledgehammer to the sternum. “Dopethrone are the kind of humans that eat the blues for lunch and wash it all down with a giant jug of crust punch! This is one of those bands that will have the crusty punks head banging right next to the stoners, both united under the bad sign of doom.” (CVLT NATION) The Canadian trio released their new album “Transcanadian Anger” few days ago!

ANCESTORS (USA) – Ancestors formed in 2006 and instead of “choosing between prog rock or heavy rock,” merged the styles to create music rife with atmosphere, tension and raw human emotion. They create mighty, modern music that dovetails innovative arrangement, crushing primordial riff interplay and melodic instrumental passages with textural atmospherics. They will release their long-awaited new album this summer via Pelagic Records.

MESSA (IT) – Messa play evoking doom metal with a dark jazz twist. Deliciously haunting female vocals, rhodes piano and 70’s fuzz guitars combine to conjure a sound that is all of their own. With influences as diverse as Windhand, Bohren Und Der Club Of Gore, The Devil’s Blood, Jex Thoth, Angelo Badalamenti, Bellwitch, John Coltrane and Aluk Todolo, the band has moved from the droning occult doom of their first LP “Belfry” to a new, darker and more atmospheric approach clearly showcased in their new record “Feast for Water”, released in March!

CHILD (AUS) – Hailing from the urban wilds of Melbourne, Australia, Child combine the heavy emotion of the blues with the tone and raw power of hard rock to create a visceral musical experience that reaches right into the chest of listeners. Since the release of their runaway self-titled debut in 2014, Child have continued to develop their unique brand of heavy blues through constant writing and extensive touring. The band released their latest EP “I” a few months ago!

HUMULUS (IT) – Humulus is a Psych-Stoner power trio from Brescia/Bergamo (Italy), formed in 2009. Their first self titled album was released by Go Down Records in December 2012. The ten tracks of this first work fully reflect the stoner attitude of the band and their aggressive sound that is best expressed during their live shows. Their latest LP “Reverently Heading Into Nowhere”, more psychedelic and heavier than ever, came out in the Spring of 2017.

GIANT SLEEP (GER/CH) – Giant Sleep are five guys from Germany and Switzerland, worshipping the power of the riff. The sound of the quintet penetrates the worlds of the subconscious and incomprehensible with no regard for genres nor boundaries. Modern post- and prog-rock elements meet the classic sound of the 70s; an original mixture of lively and creative music. On their second album “Move A Mountain” Giant Sleep takes you on a journey through rock history and beyond.

Taking place October 5th & 6th 2018 at Z7 in Pratteln, Switzerland, highclass acts such as JOHN GARCIA & THE BAND OF GOLD, ACID KING or SASQUATCH have already been confirmed with many more to come. Tickets for Up In Smoke are available HERE!

SHARE & WIN: To get another chance to win a weekend pass for Up In Smoke 2018, please visit the Facebook page for more info!

www.upinsmoke.de
https://www.facebook.com/UpInSmokeIndoorFestivalInZ7/
https://www.sol-tickets.com/produkte
https://soundofliberation.com

Ancestors, “Gone”

With the inclusion of Sweden’s Troubled Horse, the lineup for Up in Smoke 2017 is finished. A total of 21 bands will play the two-day festival in Pratteln, Switzerland, as part of a busy Fall festival season across Europe, and Troubled Horse join the likes of Graveyard, Saint Vitus, Brant Bjork, Orange Goblin, Lowrider, Church of Misery, Toner Low, Stoned Jesus, Beastmaker, Ufomammut and Radio Moscow — among others, obviously — as they step out to support their sophomore outing, Revolution on Repeat (review here), released earlier this year by the venerable Rise Above Records.

Info on how the lineup is split over the two days is due out any second now (will probably go live about two minutes after this post, which is my usual luck with such things), but here’s the announcement for Troubled Horse as posted by the fest:

Happy summer to all of you “Up in Smokers” !!!

Before leaving the office for a small August break, we are happy to announce today one more great band for our event. Troubled Horse, the swedish Pioneers of Heavy-Garage-Rock are joining the UP in SMOKE indoor festival in Z7. With this last name, our line up is now complete.

The daily split of bands and the daytickets will be announced this Thursday at 6 pm /18 H.

Due to the fact that we plan improvements on the stages,the outdoor area, the line up and the general higher costs every year for staff, infrastructure, etc. we hope for your understanding that the ticket price for the 2 day pass will raise a bit from August 10 th on. So if you don´t have your 2 Days Pass yet, take your chance and grab it now for the still reduced price.

More information also for the much demanded “sleep over” situation is coming along with the posting of the day split of the bands/day tickets on thursday. Our outstanding line up will now feature 21 bands on 2 days. The bands are playing on 2 big stages ( indoor and outdoor) with no overlapping set times.

Presales for UP in SMOKE 2017 are very good, the last year edition was sold out, so don´t hesitate any longer to get your ticket and go Up In Smoke with us.
The 2 Days Passes are available here:

http://www.z-7.ch/event.php?eventid=130

https://www.upinsmoke.de/tickets
http://www.z-7.ch/event.php?eventid=1306
https://www.facebook.com/UpInSmokeIndoorFestivalInZ7
https://www.facebook.com/events/466424317082118/
https://www.upinsmoke.de/

Troubled Horse, “Track 7”

Up in Smoke 2017 continues to make a compelling case for travel plans by adding the likes of Lowrider, Church of Misery, My Home on Trees, Jack Slamer and The Necromancers to its was-already-formidable bill featuring Graveyard, Saint Vitus, Brant Bjork, Orange Goblin, Toner Low, Stoned Jesus, Beastmaker, on and on. Seriously, I don’t even know why I feel like I need to write an intro for this post. Just look at the list of names in the poster. Isn’t that really all you need to know about the entire thing? What more is there to say? If you can get there, get there. Duh.

Honestly, just look at this thing. Can you believe this shit happens like every weekend in Europe this Fall, going from country to country, badass lineup to badass lineup? It’s wild. Fucking Lowrider are showing up.

Check it out and be jealous:

Here we go! We are thrilled to add 5 more bands to this year’s UP in SMOKE indoor festival in Z7 line-up!

Lowrider (Exclusive CH show)
Church of Misery Official (Exclusive CH show)
MY HOME ON TREES
Jack Slamer
The Necromancers

This 5th edition of the festival features now 20 bands!

Get your tickets on https://www.upinsmoke.de/tickets as soon as you can (they are selling fast) or share this post (public) to try to win another 2-day pass (probably the last for this year)!

IMPORTANT: the daily split of bands, the daytickets and the address to reserve your sleep-over/breakfast will be announced on August 1. Stay Tuned!

Located Pratteln, in Switzerland’s best rock venue, Z7 Konzertfabrik, only a few kilometres from the German and French borders, Up In Smoke is an indoor festival for fans of Heavy Rock – Doom – Psych – Stoner… easily reachable by plane via the Euro-Airport (Basel/Muhouse) or by public transportations (train, bus) via Basel Main Station. There are plenty of affordable Hotels and Hostels located in Basel and for “budget savers” we are also offering to sleep over + breakfast (Coffee and bread rolls) in the venue for a small fee!

How does this work? After the last concert of the day, we ask everybody to step out of the venue for a few minutes. During that time, the venue and toilets are cleaned and the floor covered with a plastic sheet. (people have to bring their sleeping bags and air mattresses)

https://www.upinsmoke.de/tickets
http://www.z-7.ch/event.php?eventid=1306
https://www.facebook.com/UpInSmokeIndoorFestivalInZ7
https://www.facebook.com/events/466424317082118/
https://www.upinsmoke.de/

Lowrider, Ode to Io Deluxe Edition (2017)

I was fortunate enough to see Toner Low once in my life, and though it sounds greedy to even think I’d like to do so again, yeah, that would be pretty frickin’ awesome. At least that’s how it went last time around. Theirs is just one of the considerable names added to the Swiss-based Up in Smoke 2017 festival in this update, and one finds the Netherlands trio in the company of desert legend Brant Bjork, doom legends Saint Vitus, and YouTube legends Stoned Jesus, as well as Beastmaker — one assumes they’re soon to announce a full European tour for this fall — Usnea and Finland’s Kaleidobolt. All told it’s seven new bands for Up in Smoke 2017, which wasn’t exactly hurting before, with the likes of Orange Goblin and Graveyard, Ufommamut, Windhand and so on.

Bottom line? Awesome bill. Here’s the latest:

Up In Smoke 2017 – 7 New Bands : Brant Bjork (with Special Guest Sean Wheeler), Saint Vitus, Stoned Jesus & more added to the bill!

We are thrilled to announce 7 new bands confirmed for Up In Smoke 2017! BRANT BJORK (coming with Special Guest Sean Wheeler), SAINT VITUS, STONED JESUS, TONER LOW, BEASTMAKER, USNEA & KALEIDOBOLT! Our 5th edition will feature at least 20 bands on two stages with no overlapping set times, to guarantee you two days of Volume Worshipping!

BRANT BJORK (USA)
SAINT VITUS (USA)
STONED JESUS (UKR)
TONER LOW (NL)
BEASTMAKER (USA)
USNEA (USA)
KALEIDOBOLT (FIN)

Located Pratteln, in Switzerland’s best rock venue, Z7 Konzertfabrik, only a few kilometres from the German and French borders, Up In Smoke is an indoor festival for fans of Heavy Rock – Doom – Psych – Stoner… easily reachable by plane via the Euro-Airport (Basel/Muhouse) or by public transportations (train, bus) via Basel Main Station. There are plenty of affordable Hotels and Hostels located in Basel and for “budget savers” we are also offering to sleep over + breakfast (Coffee and bread rolls) in the venue for a small fee!

How does this work? After the last concert of the day, we ask everybody to step out of the venue for a few minutes. During that time, the venue and toilets are cleaned and the floor covered with a plastic sheet. (people have to bring their sleeping bags and air mattresses)

https://www.upinsmoke.de/tickets
http://www.z-7.ch/event.php?eventid=1306
https://www.facebook.com/UpInSmokeIndoorFestivalInZ7
https://www.facebook.com/events/466424317082118/
https://www.upinsmoke.de/

Brant Bjork, Live at Desert Generator 2017

Up in Smoke 2017 has made its first lineup announcements for this October. It’s the fifth anniversary of the Swiss-based fest put together by Sound of Liberation, and they’re immediately giving it due ceremony by putting word out that the just-broke-up-oh-wait-they’re-back-together-again Graveyard will headline. Will they have a new record out? Who will play drums? These are questions still to be answered, but there are seven months between now and then, so fair to expect it’ll all be worked out in the interim.

Along with Graveyard, putting the formidable likes of Orange Goblin, Radio Moscow (who will have a new album out), Ufomammut (who just might as well), Windhand and their tourmates in Satan’s Satyrs, as well as Swiss acts Zatokrev and Sons of Morpheus on the bill certainly doesn’t hurt it any either. Eight bands in the first batch to be announced and I’m already looking forward to the second. We’re not even really into the Spring season yet and Fall is starting to rear its head.

Festus fugit, my friends.

From the PR wire:

Up In Smoke 2017 – First 8 Bands confirmed: GRAVEYARD to Headline!

We are now finally ready to unveiled the official Up In Smoke 2017 poster, and the first bands confirmed for this outstanding 5th edition! Located as usual in Switzerland’s best rock venue, Z7 Konzertfabrik, only a few kilometres from the German and French borders, our festival will feature about 20 bands on two stages with no overlapping set times, to guarantee you two days of Volume Worshipping!

So mark October 6th & 7th in your calendar, and get your 2-pass as soon as you can here or here! Up In Smoke 2016 was sold out, so better be quick, and to help you make your decision, we are proud to give you the first 8 bands we have confirmed!

GRAVEYARD (SWE)
ORANGE GOBLIN (UK)
RADIO MOSCOW (USA)
UFOMAMMUT (I)
WINDHAND (USA)
SATAN’S SATYRS (USA)
ZATOKREV (CH)
SONS OF MORPHEUS (CH)

Up In Smoke is an indoor festival for fans of Heavy Rock – Doom – Psych – Stoner… easily reachable by plane via the Euro-Airport (Basel/Muhouse) or by public transportations (train, bus) via Basel Main Station. There are plenty of affordable Hotels and Hostels located in Basel and for “budget savers” we are also offering to sleep over + breakfast (Coffee and bread rolls) in the venue for a small fee!

How does this work? After the last concert of the day, we ask everybody to step out of the venue for a few minutes. During that time, the venue and toilets are cleaned and the floor covered with a plastic sheet. (people have to bring their sleeping bags and air mattresses)

https://www.upinsmoke.de/tickets
http://www.z-7.ch/event.php?eventid=1306
https://www.facebook.com/UpInSmokeIndoorFestivalInZ7
https://www.facebook.com/events/466424317082118/
https://www.upinsmoke.de/

Graveyard, “The Apple and the Tree” official video

Orange Goblin, Live at Freak Valley 2016

The final addition to the lineup for Up in Smoke 2016, which starts this Friday at Z7 in Pratteln, Switzerland? Camping space. Namely the floor of the venue, which will be cleaned after the last band finishes each night so that fest goers can grab their sleeping bags and bed down for the night, only to find breakfast waiting when they roll back to consciousness the next morning. I’ve never slept on a venue floor before. That would be a new one. But provided they get the beer/other fluids up, which I’ve no doubt they’ll be able to do because it’s Switzerland and things like that increase the likelihood that anyone gives a shit about what they’re doing, it seems like a cool way to achieve total immersion in a festival atmosphere. I’ve never gone camping either, though, so don’t necessarily take my word as an expert or anything.

With the festival’s most massive lineup yet, Up in Smoke 2016 kicks off this Friday. A new trailer for the fest with some 1000mods in it has been posted and you can find that under the camping info and complete billing below:

SOUND OF LIBERATION and Z7 KONZERTFABRIK PRATTELN proudly present the 4th edition of UP IN SMOKE INDOOR FESTIVAL on September 30th and October 1st 2016! Musical Highlights include Electric Wizard, Yob, Truckfighters, Pentagram and many many more.

Many of you asked for the chance to sleep over in the venue, like we offered in the last editions. Here´s the procedure:

After the last band is done playing, we will go on partying with Dj music for another hour. Then afterwards, we will ask everybody to step out of the main hall for a few minutes. The floor will be cleaned and covered with a sheet so that the place gets clean for all our “in site – campers”. If you want to sleep over in the venue, you should bring your sleeping bag and camping mat. Upon your arrival on the festival site you can store your belongings in the wardrobe and get it back for the night.

In the morning, we will offer you a nice breakfast with coffee/tea, bread and breadrolls, meat and cheese and sweet stuff to get you in shape for the next festival day! The price for sleep over and breakfast is 15.- CHF per person/night. There´s no option of separate bookings like ” only sleep over and no breakfast” or “only breakfast”.

Up in Smoke 2016 Final Line Up
Electric Wizard
Pentagram
Truckfighters
YOB
Elder
Greenleaf
Monkey 3
Cough
Black Cobra
1000mods
Yawning Man
Fatso Jetson
Dyse
Wucan
Desert Mountain Tribe
Giobia
High Fighter
Mother’s Cake
Ephedra

Also not to forget: No overlapping set times, sleep over/breakfast possibiity in the venue + some more specials to be announced soon to sweeten you the “TWO NOT TO BE MISSED DAYS OF VOLUME WORSHIP” !!! Grab your ticket (2-day passes) right now on our website, on www.z-7.ch and on our Facebook (tab ‘Buy Tickets’). If you prefer to buy an original, real hard-ticket, our partner Woolheads is selling them!

http://woolheads.com/cms/shop-2/festivalmerchandise/up-in-smoke-the-indoor-festival-vol-iv-ticket/
http://www.upinsmoke.de/eventinfo-indoor-festival
https://www.facebook.com/UpInSmokeIndoorFestivalInZ7
https://www.soundofliberation.com

Up in Smoke 2016, festival trailer