Especially in light of last year’s bill for Down the Hill, which included the classic-prog likes of Gong and Focus, it’s awesome to see this year’s edition featuring UK ’70s-heavy originals Atomic Rooster along with the rest of its first lineup announcement. No way that won’t be a fun set, and the statesmen o’ riff find suitable complement in MaidaVale, who’ve done more to modernize classic boogie than they’ve ever gotten credit for, presumably because they’re women.

From there, it continues to vary. Pothamus are heavy as a punch to the sternum, while Black Flower and on down from there in the text below, everybody has their own stylistic trajectory. I don’t know Belgium’s Aufhebung well, which is to say at all, though this isn’t the first time their name has appeared on this site (I looked), but I just put on their 2021 album Chasms and it’s killer and crushing, so thanks for the nudge on that one, Down the Hill. Not sure how I would’ve heard it except seeing their name in something like this, though the world has its ways.

Tickets are on sale now for Down the Hill 2026, and I’ve never been, but neither have I, in the five years I’ve covered the festival’s lineups, seen anything that would make me not want to be there. So, here’s this from socials. I’m not pretending it’s brand new news or that I’m at all competent in any way at keeping up with anyone’s anything ever. Thanks for understanding:

Down the Hill 2026

WOW! Already 20% SOLD in the first weekend, and still a big load of bands to announce! Here is our poster, so you get an idea where we are going this year.

Thank you so much for your trust! We won’t let you down 😉. Still 12 names to announce, keep your eyes open on our socials and website in the next few months.

Get ready for another incredible musical journey this year. Here are the first bands joining our stages:

• Atomic Rooster – Legendary British prog-rock pioneers featuring that iconic, heavy Hammond organ sound.

• MaidaVale – Heavy psychedelic rock from Sweden that pulls you into a hypnotic, fuzzy groove.

• Pothamus – Mesmerizing post-metal and sludge; a deep, atmospheric wall of sound.

• Black Flower – A vibrant, cosmic blend of Ethio-jazz, afrobeat, and oriental psychedelica.

• GROS COEUR – Belgian psych-rock from Liège that is as melodic as it is danceable.

• Aufhebung – Raw, experimental noise and industrial textures that push every boundary.

• WASTE – Energetic and uncompromising; the absolute cutting edge of modern noise-punk.

• The Moondig – Local favorites delivering the perfect mix of psychedelic and reverb-soaked vibes.

Much more to be announced!

Don’t miss out! Grab your tickets on our website from Januari 2, 17h!

www.downthehill.be/tickets

http://www.downthehill.be/
https://www.instagram.com/downthehillfestival/
https://www.facebook.com/DownTheHillFestival/

Atomic Rooster, “Devil’s Answer” live in the UK, 08.10.23

Aufhebung, Chasms (2021)

Los Angeles rockers Deathchant release their second album, Waste, today on RidingEasy Records. As a follow-up to their 2019 self-titled debut, which came out through King Volume Records and Kozmik Artifactz — kudos to the band on their associations to-date; these are good backings to have — it is a seven-track outing full of arguments in its own favor. Be it the dirtied up proto-thrash of “Holy Roller” or the manner in which opener “Rails” — let’s assume they’re big fans of locomotive infrastructure — evolves from and devolves to psychedelic noise, galloping and bouncing in between like it ain’t no thing because in the end the universe gonna eat us all up anyhow, so here’s a hook while we can, the four-piece led by guitarist/vocalist T.J. Lemieux (who’s also worked with the revitalized Psychedelic Speed Freaks) bring cassette worthy skate-vibes to “Black Dirt” without saying a word about it, and after unleashing their inner Buzzo later in “Holy Roller,” they make a centerpiece of “Gallows,” with John Belino joining Lemieux in winding lead work — count bassist George Camacho in as well, at least at the start — while Colin Fahrner brings the propulsion on drums. Shove, shove, shove. Move forward. There’s no time to… what’s the word again?

“Waste” — which follows “Gallows” in leading off side B — answers back to “Holy Roller” in its metallic bite and mastery of urgency-born-of-stretched-noise duality, and “Plague” is a Lizzyian victory lap of harmonized lead guitar set to a backdrop of modern West Coast stonerism, echoed shouts calling to mind Saviours, Red Fang and any number of others who, if you invited them to your house, would probably wreck up the place, apologize for doing so, and then keep doing it. Like “Rails” before it, “Waste” also gives itself over to noise, this time harsher feedback from which “Plague” bursts, and its own crashout comes with a shorter stretch of noise in front of closer “Maker.”

I don’t know if those elements are what Lemieux is talking about in emphasizing the band’s reliance on improv — there’s no shortage of live feel throughout, and if some of these solos and stuff like that were off the cuff, that’s easy enough to believe — but Deathchant largely hold to the basic tenets of verse/chorus across Waste, and even in the instrumental finale, there’s a sense of plot to the procession of movements. Whether that’s made up at the time it was recorded or not, it exists, and it’s to the band’s credit that one way or the other their material comes with a sense of the spontaneous along with perhaps more considered elements, even if that consideration came in overdubs afterward.

That’s a question of process, and while we’re giving credit to Deathchant on presentation, it’s worth including that the actual listening process of Waste invites precious little consideration of how it’s made beyond any dude-how’d-they-get-that-tone musings. This is heavy rock and roll, classic edged and coated in grit, no pretense, touching on metal but not hewn to aggro tenets. Not so much playing to style as stylistically playing. Fucking cool, man. If Deathchant were on the fest, you’d want to show up. They’ve got a killer half-hour set right here, and they only sound willing to bash you over the head with it if called upon to do so.

Right on.

“Black Dirt” video premieres below.

Deathchant, “Black Dirt” official video premiere

Waste will be available on LP, CD and download on June 25th, 2021 via RidingEasy Records.

Though you wouldn’t be able to tell by the concise structures and well-crafted songs, a lot of Deathchant’s music is improvised, both in the studio and live. That’s not to suggest their songs are jammy — they’re very tightly organized compositions. But the four musicians have that special musical telepathy that allows them to keep the song structures open-ended.

“Improv is a huge thing for us and always has been,” singer/guitarist T.J. Lemieux says. “The musical freedom to look at the other dudes in the band and be able to take things wherever we want to go is magical. I like the feel of flying off the hinges.”

Likewise, the band itself is similarly amorphous in its membership. “We run the band with an open door. No lineup is definitive,” Lemieux explains. On Waste, the lineup is: Lemieux, George Camacho on bass, Colin Fahrner on drums, and John Belino on second guitar.

Waste was recorded live in a rented cabin in the mountains of Big Bear, CA. “We packed a big-ass van and set up in the living room and kitchen,” Lemieux says. “Tracked it live, with overdubs after.” The whole album was recorded over two separate weekends, engineered by Steve Schroeder, who also recorded the band’s 2019 self-titled debut album.

Artist: Deathchant
Album: Waste
Label: RidingEasy Records
Release Date: June 25, 2021
01. Rails
02. Black Dirt
03. Holy Roller
04. Gallows
05. Waste
06. Plague
07. Maker

Deathchant on Bandcamp

Deathchant on Instagram

RidingEasy Records website