I just finished writing the below announcement for Freak Valley 2022. It’s Tuesday night, and I’m pretty sure this announcement goes live tomorrow. I only found out about it today, and I’m pretty sure the festival itself only confirmed it today, but when I sent Jens Heide — follow him on Instagram for enviable pics of heavy ’70s vinyl — and asked about it, he said he didn’t want to bother me on such short notice. Well. Maybe if I hadn’t spent a good portion of my morning talking to Tony Reed about his work ethic, I might’ve let that slide, but not today.

So here we are. The ones in this paragraph, I think, will be the last sentences I write today, and if they’re coherent at all I assure it has nothing to do with my level of consciousness, which is minimal. It was long day. Tomorrow is another one. But I’m happy I got this done. It means something to me to be able to do that. Tomorrow morning I’ll get up and start it again. Obligation and elation.

Here’s the announcement I wrote, as posted by the fest:

Buckle up, beloved Freaks!

Today brings confirmation of one of heavy-anything’s most legendary bands — MONSTER MAGNET — will play Freak Valley Festival!

Not only them, but VILLAGERS OF IOANNINA CITY and GEEZER will both make return appearances on our stage!

More info:

MONSTER MAGNET

Why the hell would Monster Magnet need an introduction? More than 30 years on from their start, the legacy of Monster Magnet is simply unmatched. Not only were they among the first bands to tap into classic ’70s hard rock, psych and space rock in a new generation of Satanic-drug-thing-you-wouldn’t-understand attitude, but with frontman Dave Wyndorf as the core presence in the group, they gave us a singular weirdo icon as well as a catalog full of hits, tripouts, slam-home riffs and rock and roll from another dimension entirely. There are 7.75 billion or some such people on this wretched planet and still only one Monster Magnet. They’re a must-see every night they’re on stage, and we’re honored to welcome them to Freak Valley for the first time ever.

VILLAGERS OF IOANNINA CITY

Having last joined us in 2016, Villagers of Ioannina City come back to Freak Valley Festival following their second album, 2019’s ‘Age of Aquarius.’ The Napalm Records release brought new spaciousness to the Greek outfit’s style, and as they look to celebrate their 15th anniversary in 2022, we can’t wait to find out what the years since we last saw them have seen them become on stage, especially as ‘Age of Aquarius’ did so much to expand their sound. Whether you were there six years ago or not, this is a return you will not want to miss. If you want a preview of what you’re in for, check out their 2021 live album, ‘Through Space and Time (Alive in Athens 2020).’

GEEZER

The Kings of Kingston, NY, first came to Siegen in 2017 and psych-blues-jammed their way right into our freaky hearts. Early last year, they joined forces with Italy’s Heavy Psych Sounds and released ‘Groovy’ in Spring 2020. Not a great time for shows, as you might remember. Still, in hard times, Geezer’s vibe was full-on and their easy-rolling spirit, embodied in the whiskey-vox of guitarist Pat Harrington, was a safe haven where one could go and make everything feel right again. With as much love as Geezer put into what they do, let alone the party that results, there was no way we weren’t going to bring them back.

We’ll have another announcement for our Wednesday lineup and more on tickets and all that, but before we go, thank you, thank you, thank you for your support of Freak Valley Festival. We’re putting together something truly special for 2022, and it wouldn’t be possible at all without your passion inspiring our passion. It means the world to us to be able to bring you this fest, and now more than ever, it’s crucial we don’t take that for granted. Thank you. 

Still many more announcements to come!

Lineup Freak Valley Festival 2022:
MONSTER MAGNET
FU MANCHU
HIGH ON FIRE
WITCHCRAFT
THE MIDNIGHT GHOST TRAIN
VILLAGERS OF IOANNINA CITY
GEEZER
+MORE TBA!

Freak Valley Festival // No Fillers – Just Killers

Freak Valley Festival 2022 IS SOLD OUT.

June 15-18 2022

https://www.facebook.com/events/2434350453469407
https://www.facebook.com/freakvalley
https://www.instagram.com/freakvalleyfestival/
https://twitter.com/FreakValley
http://www.rockfreaks.de/
http://www.freakvalley.de/

Monster Magnet, “Solid Gold Hell” (The Scientists cover) lyric video

Tickets are on sale as of today for Desertfest Berlin 2022, which will be headlined by Electric Wizard, Kadavar playing a hometown show and Witchcraft. The rest of the lineup is a thrilling combination of mainstays — which somehow feels extra comforting — and upstarts, plus Stöner, who are kind of both, I guess, being a new band but with Brant Bjork and Nick Oliveri at the helm thereof. You’ll note Lowrider and Orange Goblin — the latter celebrating their 25th anniversary, delayed of course — and Elder and Ufomammut (debuting their new lineup), 1000mods and Truckfighters and My Sleeping Karma. Could hardly get more Desertfest than that. Like a reaffirmation of the festival’s core mission. Plus YOB, for extra life-giving vibes.

And with those, you get acts like Slomosa, Slift, Polymoon and Villagers of Ioannina City, underground celebrants like Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs and Samavayo and Dhidalah and MaidaVale and 24/7 Diva Heaven as well as Love Machine, Los Bitchos and Huntsmen. There’s reportedly more to come — and by that I mean that’s what it says on the poster below — but for real, if this was the four days, I can’t imagine wanting to see any less than all of it.

Announcement follows as per the PR wire:

Desertfest Berlin – 26-29 May 2022

www.desertfest.de

LINEUP:
Electric Wizard
Kadavar
Witchcraft
Orange Goblin
YOB
Truckfighters
Elder
1000mods
My Sleeping Karma
Ufomammut
Stöner
Lowrider
Villagers of Ioannina City
SLIFT
MaidaVale
24/7 Diva Heaven
Samavayo
Slomosa
Los Bitchos
PigsPigsPigsPigsPigsPigsPigs
Dhidalah
Polymoon
Enigma Experience
Huntsmen
Love Machine

+ more to be announced

After two years without our beloved Desertfest happening, we need you more than ever. We can’t wait to see you all again to party, have some drinks and enjoy the finest of stoner, psychedelic, doom and heavy rock music!

Thank you so much for your continuous support and for holding on to your tickets. We want to give a little something back to you…

Existing weekend passes (3-days tickets) from 2020 will remain valid for the full 4 days in 2022 automatically. Yes, you will be granted access to ONE MORE FESTIVAL DAY ON TOP, FOR FREE!

We hope you’ll understand that there are logistical changes to the original 2020 line-up. Due to these challenges, existing 2020 single day ticket holders will be refunded for their chosen day. More info about our ticket-policy: www.desertfest.de/information

https://www.facebook.com/events/520164272080736
www.desertfest.de
www.facebook.com/DesertfestBerlin
www.instagram.com/desertfest_berlin

Desertfest Berlin 2019 official aftermovie

Big update from Desertfest Belgium 2021. After recently unveiling some cancelations and following up with a list of the precautionary measures being taken to deal with happening during a pandemic, the Antwerp and Ghent-based editions of the festival both receive a round of lineup additions. Greece’s 1000mods will take part in both, while the likes of Electric Moon and Stoned Jesus join Ghent, and Monkey3 and Slift and Temple Fang confirmed for Antwerp. I’m not sure ultimately how many acts the two Desertfest Belgiums — Belgii? — will share between them, but with Ghent happening on one day and Antwerp happening across three, there’s bound to be significant variation. Looks like that’s happening here already, and take note of Ohio’s Frayle making the trip for Ghent. Hope they can get out of the US to make it in time, or that the EU hasn’t banned our infectious asses by then.

It’s nice to think about these things every day, isn’t it? Doesn’t it just feel like the way humanity was meant to live? Not at all a drain on one’s entire being.

I digress. Constantly. Here’s info from the PR wire:

DFBE21: A MASSIVE 20 NEW NAMES FOR ANTWERP & GHENT!

1000MODS playing both events, Monkey3, Stoned Jesus & much much more

Strap in folks, because this is going to be a ride.. after all the hassle with COVID and cancels, let’s have some great to even greater news about both festivals shall we? We have a whole slew of names for you and if we may say so ourselves: we’re positively STOKED about all of these. Scene favourites, new and upcoming acts, local gems to discover.. we have it all. Here we go!

First of all: the Greek stoner sensation 1000MODS will be playing Antwerp as well as Ghent. We love ‘em, you love ‘em, their mother loves ‘em – everybody loves ‘em, okay! They need no further introduction so let’s move on to another favourite that will grace the stage in Ghent: STONED JESUS is coming to town, and you all know what that means. Killer grooves and a mighty good time. We’re also extremely excited to have DELVING on board which is the new project of ELDER frontman Nick DiSalvo. This will be one of their first shows after the album dropped in June, and we can already tell you this one’s gonna be something special.

ALL NEW NAMES FOR DF GHENT: 1000MODS, STONED JESUS, DELVING, LILI REFRAIN, ELECTRIC MOON, NERO DI MARTE, HEMELBESTORMER, FRAYLE, IGNATZ, MODDER

Moving on to Antwerp, we’re looking forward to revisit the audiovisual extravaganza of MONKEY3 who completely killed it at our last edition. For more spaced-out craziness, YURI GAGARIN is always a safe choice so let’s go with that. With VILLAGERS OF IOANNINA CITY we have the second Greek band on the bill, with a more leftfield sound but no less essential.

ALL NEW NAMES FOR DF ANTWERP: MONKEY3, VILLAGERS OF IOANNINA CITY, 1000MODS, YURI GAGARIN, SLIFT, ALKERDEEL, ATOMIC VULTURE, TEMPLE FANG, DAILY THOMPSON, BISMUT, FAKE INDIANS.

We still have a few names up our sleeve, but we hope this whopper list goes a long way to get you stoked. Please remember that we have installed a COVID info page on our websites, where you can check what to do in order to come fully prepared to the festival. We’re updating it as we go, and we try to help out our non-EU visitors as well. Make sure to read it to avoid disappointments at the entrance.

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

1000mods, “Pearl” official video

Greek heavy psych rockers Villagers of Ioannina City had a pretty busy 2019 and it’s looking like they’re going to have a busy 2020 as well. Having put out their latest album, Age of Aquarius, on their own last Fall, the band subsequently inked deals with Sound of Liberation for booking and Napalm Records for label-ing (?) and has already begun showing signs of next-levelry to match the progressive intentions of the record itself. As the Greek scene gains long-since-deserved broader recognition across Europe’s underground, the folk-laden style of Villagers of Ioannina City seems to put a positive face on what’s happening in a sonically diverse and still-booming sphere.

And as the faces of the “innocents” featured in the band’s new video for “For the Innocent” from Age of Aquarius begin to flash and meld and come together and all the eyes seem to become one, the message is not lost, even as the camera speeds through a tunnel amid silhouettes of the group themselves, didgeridoo and all. The song itself gives some indication of the scope of the record as a whole, without necessarily spoiling the linear entirety for anyone who has yet to take it on — and if not, go right ahead, it’s streaming in full and has been for months now — but as they get introduced to new audiences via Napalm‘s broader distribution and promotional reach, “For the Innocent” certainly offers a welcome sampling of what Age of Aquarius is all about.

They’ve already announced a Spring tour to coincide with the April 3 arrival of the physical pressing, and they’ll make a stop at the pre-show for Desertfest Berlin as a part of that. I would only expect more to come as we move through the Summer and Fall. Villagers of Ioannina City are stepping up in a big way, and accordingly, it’s going to be a busy year.

Enjoy the video. Credits and tour dates follow:

Villagers of Ioannina City, “For the Innocent” official video

Pre-order “Age of Aquarius” here: https://smarturl.it/AgeOfAquarius-NPR

VILLAGERS OF IOANNINA CITY on “For the Innocent”:
“We are really really happy to present to you our new video clip! Dedicated to all the dreamers, the deviants, the immigrants of life and the wanderers of mind! To all the innocent ones!”

Concept:
Villagers of Ioannina City, Stathis Mitsios

Director, Editor:
Stathis Mitsios

Video Shootings:
Stathis Mitsios, Zissis Tsoumpos, Eleftheria Kalpenidou, Yorgos Dellis, Spiros Andromaneskos , Dimitris Zarkadas

Photo Shooting:
Eleftheria Kalpenidou

Assistants:
Georgia Nikoletou, George Asteris, Mitsaki Racoon, Thomas Papathomas, Rosemary Kourouni, Despoina Gazi, Lefteris Mitsios, Magda Togkouri

Starring:
All the innocents

Recorded by Asteris Partalios at Magnanimous Studio, Thessaloniki, GR
Mixed by Keith Armstrong at Pietown Sound, Los Angeles, CA
Mastered by Justin Shturtz at Sterling Sound, Nashville TN

Listen on Spotify and all digital platforms here: https://orcd.co/vic_ageofaquarius

AGE OF AQUARIUS | SPRING TOUR 2020
02/4 – Bucharest (RO) – Quantic
03/4 – Cluj Napoca (RO) – FORM Space
05/4 – Krakow (PL) – Klub Za?cianek
07/4 – Warsaw (PL) – Klub Hydrozagadka
08/4 – Poznan (PL) – Klub u Bazyla
09/4 – Dresden (DE) – Beatpol
11/4 – Jena (DE) – Kulturbahnhof Jena
15/4 – Paris (FR) – GLAZART
16/4 – Aachen (DE) – Musikbunker Aachen
18/4 – Rotterdam (NL) – Podium Grounds
22/4 – London (UK) – The Dome, Tufnell Park
23/4 – Manchester (UK) – Night People & The Twisted Wheel Club
25/4 – Nantes (FR) – La Scène Michelet
29/4 – Hamburg (DE) – Knust Hamburg
30/4 – Berlin (DE) – Lido Berlin
01/5 – Wiesbaden (DE) – Schlachthof Wiesbaden
02/5 – Munich (DE) – Feierwerk
03/5 – Zurich (CH) – Rote Fabrik
05/5 – Zagreb (HR) – Klub Mo?vara
07/5 – Vienna (AT) – ARENA WIEN
09/5 – Novi Sad (RS) – Ritam Evrope
10/5 – SOFIA (BG) – “Mixtape 5”

VILLAGERS OF IOANNINA CITY are:
Alex (guitar/vox)
Akis (bass)
Aris (drums)
Kostantis (clarinet, winds)
Kostas (bagpipe)

Villagers of Ionnina City, Age of Aquarius (2019)

Villagers of Ioannina City on Thee Facebooks

Villagers of Ioannina City on Instagram

Villagers of Ioannina City on Bandcamp

Napalm Records website

Well this looks fucking awesome. No question that the rise of the Greek heavy rock scene over the course of the last decade has been a boon to the European underground. Greece can now stand toe to toe with Germany, Sweden or any of the other continental hotbeds of heavy, and along with Italy, has become essential the character worldwide of heavy rock and roll. The feature-length documentary Greek Rock Revolution puts this emergence in the context of the country’s social condition, the effect that austerity and rampant unemployment has had on the art being made, as well as the prejudice of those outside not caring about the scene or the important work being done there by bands covered in the trailer at the bottom of this post like 1000mods, Tuber, Naxatras, Puta Volcano, Villagers of Ioannina City, Planet of Zeus and the elder statesmen in Nightstalker. There seems to be plenty of concert and interview footage, and yeah, it looks fucking awesome. I’d spend 95 minutes watching this thing, happily. I hope I get to review it.

As a side note while we’re on the topic of Greek heavy, I’ve got a track premiere for BUS going up tomorrow from their new album that marks their debut on RidingEasy Records, so that release will be another fascinating instance of a Greek band reaching a wider international audience.

Greek Rock Revolution is directed by Miguel Cano. Here’s the press release that came with the trailer:

The official trailer for the upcoming Greek Rock Revolution movie is now live! The documentary film will have a length of 95 minutes, featuring 1000mods, Tuber, Naxatras, Puta Volcano, Villagers of Ioannina City, Planet of Zeus & Nightstalker
In the recent years these bands have gained a massive support in Greece and global recognition elsewhere, with circles in Europe and North America starting to speak very seriously about the Greek Rock Scene.

Last September, Spanish Film Director Miguel Cano interviewed all bands and filmed their live concerts and rehearsals in Thessaloniki, Chania, Serres, Athens, Patras, Chiliomodi and Ioannina. The Filmmaker sees in Greece resemblances with historical cultural momentum in Mississippi back when the blues was born or in Seattle when the grunge flourished: a long-lasting unstable social situation boosting artistic expression through a common feeling of non-conformity.

As the Director of Metal Hammer Greece, Kostas Chronopoulos states in the film, “it’s not easy to fight all for your own, you need to feel part of something which is there for you. And rock ‘n roll is here for us.”

Greek Rock Revolution is now on its last phases of post-production and it is expected to be released in March of this year. The goal is set first on screening the film in International Film Festivals, and then bring it to the wide audience in TV, cinemas and online platforms.

https://www.facebook.com/GreekRockRevolutionMovie/
http://mrchallengefilms.com/documentaries/Greek-Rock-Revolution

Greek Rock Revolution trailer

What do you even say at this point about Desertfest Belgium 2018? “Uh, it’s in Antwerp and we should go?” I’m at something of a loss. The festival has gradually put together one of the most solid lineups I think I’ve ever seen, with High on Fire, Amenra and now Orange Goblin headlining, and performances from the likes of YOB, Enslaved, Crowbar, Elder, My Sleeping Karma, Wo Fat, Acid King and Dead Meadow— any of whom, if you told me they were headlining, I’d be like, “Wow that’s awesome and totally deserved.” Plus there are a bunch of bands down on the bottom of the poster I don’t know, which I also love and another whole bunch in between who also kick ass, so yeah, you mean you’ve got Naxatras, Castle, Child, The Skull and Sasquatch all kicking around the same place on the same weekend? Who the hell wouldn’t want to be there?

Madness. Sheer madness. Witness:

Let’s start with the final headliner for our festival. A true mainstay of the stoner circuit, Orange Goblin have spent the last few years since ‘Back From The Abyss’ (2014) touring the world and harvesting souls. The result of this tireless work ethic? ‘The Wolf Bites Back’ released late spring of 2018, considered to be one of the best albums in their career. They’ve truly earned their place at the throne, and DF Belgium will receive them as true kings of the stoner community.

Of course, the same could be said of My Sleeping Karma, another band that has built its reputation by shutting up (literally) and playing the music, night after night after night for years and years. Their 2017 concert album ‘Mela Ananda’ proved once again that a sweaty stage is the best place to experience them, so we’ll gladly provide it.

We fill out the holes in our schedule with a couple of inspired leftfield choices. How about some heady Greek post-rock with traditional folk influences? Villagers of Ioannina City (V.I.C. in short) is a truly undefinable band that will sure surprise quite a few of our fellow Festers. The same can be said of Jozef Van Wissem – are you ready for some heavy experimental drones… on a medieval lute? Jozef will redefine your notions of what is psychedelic music.

Back to more traditional territory, Earth Ship from Berlin will hit you hard with some serious monolithic doom. With Kraków (No) and Domkraft (Sw), we bring you a couple of esteemed riff peddlers from the North.

And what more fitting end to this final announcement, than to round off with a trio of fine Belgian brews for you to taste and savour? Lethvm, WYATT E. and Goddog are three exponents of the local scene that we want you to discover.

http://www.desertfest.be/tickets
https://www.facebook.com/desertfestbelgium/
https://www.facebook.com/events/364607267372737/
https://twitter.com/DesertfestBE

Orange Goblin, “The Wolf Bites Back” live at Stonefree Festival, June 16, 2018

Easy come, easy go. Freak Valley 2016 has announced that Greek heavy psych rockers Villagers of Ioannina City have been added to the lineup and that Windhand have dropped off. The two events occurred in that order, so when the fest speaks below about finding a replacement for Windhand, they don’t necessarily mean Villagers of Ioannina City as that replacement. What does that tell us? That Freak Valley 2016 still has not completed unveiling its full lineup. The festival is set for the end of next month in Netphen, Germany, and has been sold out for I don’t even know how long. Long enough.

Announcements and the full to-date lineup for Freak Valley 2016 — though I say that knowing that as soon as this post goes live they’ll put another band on the bill; keeping up is a challenge — follow here for your perusal, including some comment from Windhand, whose entire European tour has been canceled:

Greek Experimentelle Psychedelic-Folk Rockers V.I.C (Villagers of Ioannina City) will play FREAK VALLEY FESTIVAL 2016!!

Hey Freaks!! Today we have a very special announcement for you!!

V.I.C (Villagers of Ioannina City) is an experimental psychedelic/rock band from Ioannina City (Greece). They play a kind of post rock with a big dose of greek-folk traditional music from Epirus. The region’s musical tradition is characterized by polyphony and the use of clarinet. The band’s sound fuses traditional music into modern psychedelic forms, creating a unique sound.

They formed in 2007 and since then they had played in a numerous of shows all over the country in many different venues and festivals.

Unfortunately WINDHAND are having to cancel all their European plans for this year. The reason is Very valid and unfortunately they have no choice in the matter.
During the last days we worked very very hard to find a cool replacement. And we can tell you that we are thrilled it worked out. We will do the announcement very soon!

Here’s the official statement from Windhand:

“It’s with a very heavy heart that we regretfully must announce the cancelation of our 2016 European tour. Family, health, and personal life is always our number one priority, and due to a series of serious, unforeseen circumstances, we will not be able to make the journey abroad this June. Our sincerest apologies to all our friends and fans who have supported us so much over the last several years. We were very much looking forward to seeing all of you this summer. We would also like to apologize to all the promoters, venues, road crew support, and festival organizers that worked so hard putting the tour together for us. This is a very unfortunate situation and very much out of our control. Again, please accept our sincerest apologies and we promise to see everyone again very, very soon. Thank you again and take care. – Windhand”

FREAK VALLEY FESTIVAL – 26th-27th-28th May 2016
www.freakvalley.de – www.rockfreaks.de

FVF 2016 is SOLD OUT!!

FREAK VALLEY FESTIVAL 2016: No Fillers – Just Killers
Line-up 2016:
GRAVEYARD [SW] – Vintage Rock
ORANGE GOBLIN [UK] – Heavy Metal
DEAD MEADOW [US] – Psychedelic Stonerrock
SPIDERGAWD [NO] – Post-Boogie
WHITE HILLS [US] – Fuzzed Out Motorik Psychedelic
THE SHRINE [US] – Psychedelic Violence Rock and Roll
BABY WOODROSE [DK]- Psychedelic Garagerock
LONELY KAMEL [NO]- Heavy Blues, Hardrock & Stoner
ROTOR [D] – Instrumental StonerRock/Psychedelic
MONOLORD [SW] – Doom/Sludge
MANTAR [D] – Death Metal Doom Punk
TOUNDRA [SP] – Postrock
FARFLUNG [US] – Spacerock for 21st Century Heads
BLACK RAINBOWS [IT] – Heavy Psych
THE GOLDEN GRASS [US]- Heavy/Funk//Psych/Freakbeat
SPIDERS [SW] – Hard/Glam Rock
V.I.C (Villagers of Ioannina City) [GR] – Post/Stoner/Folk/Rock
GIÖBIA [IT] – Acid Rock
THE DEVIL AND THE ALMIGHTY BLUES [NO] – HeavyBluesRock
THE SONIC DAWN [DK] – Psychedelic Rock
JEREMY IRONS & THE RATGANG MALIBUS [SW] – Space Rock/Stoner/Psychedelic
GOMER PYLE [NL] – Psychedelic/Rock/Stonerrock
MOTHER ENGINE [D] – Stoner/Rock/Psychedelic
BUSHFIRE [D] – Heavy Blues Rock

…more tba very soon

www.freakvalley.de
https://www.facebook.com/freakvalley
https://twitter.com/FreakValley
https://shop.ticketscript.com/channel/web2/start-order/rid/LYSQRABJ/language/en

Villagers of Ioannina City, “Zvara”