Well, we know Roadburn works in extremes, and we know Becky loves her some Cave In, so seeing them lead the pack here along with the likes of Imperial Triumphant and White Ward seems like fair game. It is, as ever, an off-the-wall, all-over-the-place lineup announcement from Roadburn for 2023, bringing 18 different acts total in just about 18 different styles. This might be the last announcement of the year for the fest, but it will by no means be the last overall. Saturday tickets are sold out, and one expects the rest of the tickets for the four-day fest will go too. Then you’ve got the pre-show, side-programme, maybe the odd entire jazz festival on the side. You never really know except to say there’s more coming.

So hey, there’s more coming. “Redefining heaviness” is hard work but somebody’s gotta do it.

To wit:

Roadburn announces 18 new names – including Boy Harsher and Cave In

Roadburn has added 18 new names to the 2023 line up today, including the Roadburn debut of dark electro duo Boy Harsher, the return of Cave In for two special shows, a new commissioned performance, and the first Artist in Residence. Roadburn will take place between April 20-23, 2023 in Tilburg, The Netherlands. Tickets are on sale now.

Roadburn Artistic Director, Walter Hoeijmakers comments:

“We’re grateful that ticket sales for Roadburn are off to a good start and we are equally happy that the line up is shaping up very nicely as well. As we welcome Roadburn luminaries we are also focusing on bringing new and exciting acts into the fold – all of whom will push boundaries and defy genre expectations. We have also invited several bands to perform multiple shows over the weekend, showcasing different facets of their artistry. It’s our intention to make sure Roadburn 2023 all about exploration and creativity.”

—
New Line Up Additions

Darkwave connoisseurs, BOY HARSHER have been confirmed for two sets at Roadburn 2023 – one is a full live performance, and the other is a DJ set with live elements. Making their Roadburn debut, anticipation is high for when they take over the stage (and turntables) for these special performances.

CAVE IN will return to the main stage at Roadburn for two sets in April. The first carries the title Interstellar Mixtape – the contents of which will remain largely a mystery until they take to the stage. The second set will be a front to back run through of their latest studio album, Heavy Pendulum.

WHITE WARD were scheduled to appear at Roadburn 2020, but fate intervened. Now they will head to Tilburg to perform their latest album, False Light in full..

Also pulling out the stops for an album performance will be IMPERIAL TRIUMPHANT. They will be performing Spirit of Ecstasy in full, with additional accompanying musicians.

WAYFARER will perform two conjoined, career spanning sets titled A High Plains Eulogy. The sets will dive into their back catalogue, as well as preview brand new as-yet-unreleased material.

CIRCUIT DES YEUX will make their Roadburn debut. The project of musical mastermind Haley Fohr, CIRCUIT DES YEUX will return to Europe on the back of the stunning album, -io.

JERUSALEM IN MY HEART will also make their first appearance at Roadburn – the core duo of producer and multi-instrumentalist Radwan Ghazi Moumneh, and film-maker Erin Weisgerber will bring their audio visual display to Tilburg.

Following on from the release of the spellbinding album for you who are the wronged KATHRYN JOSEPH will perform at Roadburn, bringing her sparse and ethereal missives that detail both intimate vulnerabilities and the strength of the human spirit.

The Netherland’s own BROEDER DIELEMAN will perform, putting a distinctive liturgical twist on Americana-style storytelling.

PUPIL SLICER will make their Dutch debut, bringing the promise of chaotic energy and the potential for new material with them.

AD NAUSEAM will perform Imperative Imperceptible Impulse in full, presenting their take on death, black and experimental metal.

The Dutch underground will be thoroughly represented by OSSAERT, SHAGOR and DEATHLESS VOID who will each bring their own take on extremity to Roadburn.

JUDASZ & NAHIMANA will bring their atmospheric, ceremonial performance to Roadburn as they present their album Récits d’outre-monde.

ARTIST IN RESIDENCE:

The first of Roadburn’s artists in residence to be announced for 2023, SANGRE DE MUÉRDAGO will be performing three sets over the course of the festival, highlighting different elements of their creativity. This collective of musicians channels their Galician heritage into immersive folk music of the most distinctive kind, and will do so with additional musicians and their usual flair.

COMMISSIONED MUSIC:

Trounce performing The Seven Crowns and Arias of the Empty Room

Roadburn has been commissioning artists to create and perform original compositions at the festival since 2018. 2023 will see an array of such commissioned projects – this year with a particular focus on giving a platform to underground artists.

Our second commissioned project to be announced is rooted in the Swiss underground – specifically the scene that has blossomed around Hummus Records (home to Coilguns, Rorcal, Emilie Zoé and more). Uniting several artists connected to the label under the banner of TROUNCE, this collective of musicians will bring the best of their homegrown underground to Roadburn.

More information on these artists can be found HERE. They join previously announced artists including Deafheaven, Wolves In The Throne Room, Giles Corey, Chat Pile and more.

Tickets for Roadburn 2023 are already on sale; Saturday tickets are sold out, but weekend tickets, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday tickets remain. 4-day tickets will be priced at €244, 3-day tickets at €214, and single day tickets at €79 (all costs inclusive of fees and service charges). Accommodation options are also available to purchase. All information can be found on Roadburn.com

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White Ward, False Light (2022)

Ukrainian progressive black metallers White Ward announce the June release of their third album, False Light, through Debemur Morti Productions. The record is the follow-up to 2019’s righteous Love Exchange Failure (listed here), and the 13-minute opener and first single “Leviathan” has more scope than most bands’ careers. And no, I’m not just saying that because there’s sax and clean singing.

At what is no doubt the beginning of a longer journey, the Odessa five-piece pair squibblies, screams and angular turns with atmospherics more in line with post-metal than charred rippers. Then they have charred rippers too. It is extreme in its purpose but no less driven toward individualism than ferocity. I haven’t heard the full thing yet, but if the rest of the record follows suit — or maybe better, if it doesn’t — it will be a noteworthy realization of who they are as a group. In any case, heads up.

And while we’re here, war. Anyone wanting to give financial support to Ukraine can do so here: https://linktr.ee/HowToHelpUkraine2022

From socials and the PR wire:

WHITE WARD – NEW ALBUM ANNOUNCEMENT

We are excited to announce our new album called “False Light” which will be released on June 17!

This full-length record is our most important release at this point. It took more than two years to complete this solid piece. And despite everything that is happening now in our country and beyond, we decided to share it with the world. We believe that music helps people in difficult times. We know how powerful its healing abilities are. That’s why we can wait no longer. “False Light” will be released via Debemur Morti Productions on various formats, including CD, Vinyl, Tape, and Digital.

You can already listen to the first single named “Leviathan” on Youtube and Bandcamp!

You can find it here: https://linktr.ee/whiteward

The album is already available for preorders!
Bandcamp: https://whiteward.bandcamp.com/
EU Webstore: bit.ly/whitewardEU
US Webstore: bit.ly/whitewardUS

The ever-inventive Ukrainian Black Metal band WHITE WARD unleash their defining third full-length “False Light”, a grand work of exploratory depth and a remarkable expansion upon all that made 2019’s acclaimed “Love Exchange Failure” such a triumph.

Always surprising and never less than captivating, from a base of rhythmically creative, furiously melodic Black and Death Metal the band shape-shift through a vivid suite of songs-as-journeys: seamlessly utilising hues of brass-led darkjazz and stately post-rock, foregrounding the evocative contributions of guesting clean vocalists in passages redolent of gothic Americana/post-punk and integrating virtuosic guitar leads, textural electronics and atmospheric sample-work.

Heavily conceptual and rich with meaning, the 8 dystopian tracks use overarching inspiration from “Intermezzo”, a 1908 impressionistic novel by the Ukrainian author Mykhailo Kotsubinsky – in addition to works by Beat-writer Jack Kerouac and psychoanalyst Carl Jung – to explore government-sanctioned murders, imminent environmental catastrophes, police brutality, domestic abuse, the psychic emptiness of cities, falsity of modern mainstream culture and ill-effects of overconsumption.

“False Light” is a multi-layered success story – perfectly balancing tension and traction, restraint and resurgence, fatalism and focus into an indispensable record from a stunning band at the top of their game.

Tracklist:
1. Leviathan
2. Salt Paradise
3. Phoenix
4. Silence Circles
5. Echoes In Eternity
6. Cronus
7. False Light
8. Downfall

– Core Line Up –
Yurii Kazarian : Guitars, Vocals
Andrii Pechatkin : Vocals, Bass, Lyrics
Mykola Previr : Guitars
Ievgen Karamushko : Drums
Dima Dudko : Saxophone

– Guest musicians –
Vitaliy Havrilenko : Clean Vocals on Leviathan, Phoenix, Silence Circles & Cronus
Jay Gambit : Clean Vocals on Salt Paradise
Adam Symonds : Clean Vocals on False Light
Jerome Burns : Trumpet
Yaroslav Tovarianskyi : Doublebass
Mykola Lebed : Piano, Rhodes Piano

“False Light” was recorded at Jenny Records, LipkyZvukoZapys, and our homes.
Mixed and mastered by Alex Sedin (Ghostalgy Prods).

Artwork Photography by Lucas DeShazer.
Layout concept by El Chulito.

https://www.facebook.com/whitewardofficial
https://www.instagram.com/whitewardofficial
https://whiteward.bandcamp.com/
https://linktr.ee/whiteward

https://www.facebook.com/debemurmorti
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https://dmp666.bandcamp.com/
https://www.debemur-morti.com/en/

White Ward, False Light (2022)

This show’s actually really cool. A couple weeks ago I put up a post on Thee Facebooks asking for recommendations of young heavy bands, and by young I meant under 30. I’ve felt like it’s a lot of dudes who look like me: headed to or past 40, grey in the beard, showing more hairline and gut than they’d probably prefer. Anyway, I got a ton of awesome suggestions from people and decided to put together this whole show based on those suggestions. You’ll see there are groups from all over the US and Europe, plus Nor from Nova Scotia, which I particularly dug, and there are a range of styles covered as well from straight up heavy rock to sludge to post-metal and jams.

And I’d love to talk more about how great that is and how wonderful it is that even in these shit-tastic, things-are-only-getting-worse-every-single-day, times in which we live creativity can flourish among disaffected youth — gotta have something when you’re about to enter an even worse job market than I did — but I can’t talk about any of it. Because the dog is whining in the kitchen and all I can think about is how fucking obnoxious she is. Can’t stand this fucking dog.

Anyway, I hope you enjoy the show.

The Obelisk Show airs 5PM Eastern today on the Gimme app or at http://gimmemetal.com

Full playlist:

The Obelisk Show – 09.18.20

Saola (Portland, OR)	Red Witch	Saola
Double Horse (Spain)	Highlands	Highlands*
Loud Silence (Athens)	Flow With It	Elements*
VT
Merlock (Spokane, WA)	Prolapse	That Which Speaks*
MAG (Poland)	Pragnienie	MAG*
Magnatar (New Hampshire)	The Melting Skin of My First Born Son	The Trail
SEED (Boston, MA)	Hole	Hole*
Faerie Ring (Indiana)	Heavy Trip	The Clearing
Liquid Signal (Kouts, Indiana)	Rush Limbaugh	Neuronicae
Mother Root (Seattle, WA)	Stranger Neighbor	The Baker Demos
Nor (Halifax, NS)	Ruby Pin	Ruby Pin
Adam (Perama, Greece)	Enter: Oblivion	Sun*
Misleading (Portugal)	Karmemoto	Misleading
Sugar Honey Ice Tea (Germany)	Heat’n Up – C	Tea Time*
VT
White Ward (Ukraine)	Uncanny Delusions	Love Exchange Failure
Gandalf the Green (UK)	A Billion Faces	A Billion Faces

The Obelisk Show on Gimme Metal airs every Friday 5PM Eastern, with replays Sunday at 7PM Eastern. Next new episode is Oct. 2 (subject to change). Thanks for listening if you do.

Gimme Metal website

The Obelisk on Thee Facebooks

This announcement went out yesterday from Roadburn 2020, and as we in the United States celebrated Thanksgiving — one of our least morally reprehensible holidays until one examines it in any sort of historical context whatsoever — I was extra grateful for the fact that I found out this week that the Weirdo Canyon Dispatch, the daily festival ‘zine for which I’ve served as editor for the last six years, will run again. It’s always a fingers-crossed scenario as to whether there will be the budget for such a thing — it’s not like I could begrudge them making the right choice if it was “who needs the money, David Eugene Edwards or WCD?” — but I am of course beyond thrilled to say that I will be at Roadburn Festival for the 11th year in a row in 2020. If you’re going, I’m the guy with the cosmic backpack dorking out during Patrick Walker‘s solo set.

Which, by the way is a thing that’s happening. That was added along with Inter Arma playing their latest LP, Sulphur English, in its masterful entirety, Dommengang, Darsombra, two sets from Alcest, 40 Watt Sun doing The Inside Room in full, and Kungens Män and a whole bunch of others. I’ll look forward to feeling completely overwhelmed by it all as I try to cover as much as possible — like always.

Thanks from the bottom of my heart to Roadburn for having me back. This festival has changed my life.

Here’s the update:

Today’s announcement for Roadburn Festival 2020 includes the only band where our two curators cross over: Alcest, who will play a special set titled ‘Visions du futur’, focussing on their last two albums. James Kent (AKA Perturbator) also added OKKULTOKRATI to his curation, whilst Emma Ruth Rundle added INTER ARMA (playing Sulphur English in full), 40 Watt Sun (playing The Inside Room in full) and a solo Patrick Walker set, Helms Alee and FACS.

Elsewhere we added Algiers, Richard Dawson, Dynfari (playing The Four Doors Of The Mind), BAD BREEDING, White Ward, Dommengang, Kungens Män, darsombra and TAU and The Drones Of Praise.

With 97% of weekend tickets now gone, and day tickets on sale on December 10 – we’re looking forward to seeing you all in Tilburg in April: roadburn.com/tickets

EUROPEAN FESTIVAL AWARD NOMINATION

Roadburn has been nominated in the best small festival category (less than 10,000 visitors) at the European Festival Awards 2019. Votes can be cast HERE. Votes and spreading the word are appreciated as it would be a huge honour for us to win such recognition.

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