Posted in Whathaveyou on December 31st, 2025 by JJ Koczan
I don’t know when the lineup for Ruination Festival 2026 was actually announced. It could’ve been November. It could’ve been December. It could be tomorrow. In the words of the Bajoran prophets, “it is not linear.” Let’s just assume that, like all things in all realities, it always is, was, and will be, and the only reason time matters to us is we’re scared to die. Oops, I said the thing.
But all of that is a long way of saying if you’ve seen this lineup already, this is probably what you’ve seen. But I hadn’t seen it until the press release showed up on the PR wire and, well, I not only make it an apparent policy to post for every show Slomatics play outside their hometown, but can appreciate the notion of seeing that Belfast trio at the top of a bill also boasting Alunah, Old Horn Tooth, Famyne, Witchsorrow and the others you see below. Note as well the pre-show with Gods of Hellfire, 1968, and so on.
It’s Jan. 30-31, so coming up, but if you happen to be in or near West Yorkshire, it looks like a winner of an evening. Dig it:
RUINATION FESTIVAL @ THE UNDERGROUND, BRADFORD
SAT 31ST JANUARY 2026
Bradford, UK in 2026, Underground Doom festival Ruination Festival returns in 2026, bringing a full day of doom, sludge, and heavy riff worship to The Underground, Bradford. Featuring an expansive line-up led by Belfast’s Slomatics, who recently released their new album “Atomicult”. Hailing from London Old Horn Tooth, a doom/stoner trio, known for heavy, slow, hypnotic riffs and a crushing, fuzz-laden sound that draws comparisons to genre leaders like Monolord, Conan and Electric Wizard. And Witchsorrow who draw influence from the likes of Black Sabbath, Saint Vitus, and Pentagram, have carved out a reputation for uncompromising heaviness and powerful live performances.
The 2026 line-up includes: Slomatics, Old Horn Tooth, Witchsorrow, Famyne, Nowt, Warpstormer, Alunah, Tuumanduumband, Dark Fighter, and Whiskeyhead.
With tickets priced at just £20 for the day, Ruination Festival continues its mission of making heavy underground music accessible while spotlighting both established names and rising bands from across the scene.
In addition, Ruination Festival ticket holders can gain discounted £7 entry to Night Of Ruin (Friday 30th Jan), a warm up event celebrating the darker side of heavy music, simply show your festival ticket on the door for the discounted rate.
Set in the heart of Bradford’s live music circuit, The Underground provides an intimate, highimpact venue perfectly suited to Ruination’s raw and uncompromising ethos. Ruination Festival is fast becoming a fixture of the UK doom and heavy underground calendar, known for strong curation, community atmosphere, and unbeatable value.
Tickets: £20 Venue: The Underground, 9 Duke St, Bradford BD1 3QR Date: Saturday 31st January 2026 More info:
Posted in Whathaveyou on October 7th, 2025 by JJ Koczan
Am I crazy (granted) or are we a little early arriving at the place where Desertfest throws down 20-someodd bands — in this case 28 — added all at once to the lineup? I mean, 28 bands, even for a four-day festival, would be a festival lineup. So Desertfest London 2026 is basically showcasing an entire fest’s worth of fest as just part of its broader lineup, the first announcement for which came out just a little over a month ago. I’m not worried about the promo plan or anything, you understand. They know what they’re doing. But I usually think of this kind of thing coming in winter as a hopeful portent of spring. Here in the backwater US, we haven’t even changed the clocks yet.
But can you blame them for being excited? If I had Hermano, Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs, Solace, Causa Sui, High Desert Queen, Steak, Abrams, Alunah, Moundrag, Bismut and the rest of this cohort — Dandy Brown pulling double-duty between Hermano and Lorquin’s Admiral; nice — locked in, I might splurge too. And hopefully I’ll have more to say on this subject, but Solace‘s booked return to the UK has me convinced their new album will be out by the time they go. Do me a favor and don’t prove me wrong.
There’s a lot to like here, and also just a lot for what’s a relatively straightforward list of names. Read ’em and weep:
OUR SECOND ANNOUNCEMENT IS HERE! We’ve got 28 juicy additions to our 2026 edition and this announcement one is truly one for the DF OGs right here: desert legends HERMANO will headline the Electric Ballroom at Desertfest 2026.
Back to show us all how it’s done, John Garcia and the California cult icons will be playing their first UK show in almost two decades and we know that they’ll receive the homecoming they deserve at Desertfest London.
↠ Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs – returning to Desertfest stage for the first time in 8 years.
↠ Danish heavy psych heroes turned instrumental wizards Causa Sui make their Desertfest London debut!
↠ New Jersey stoner-doom veterans Solace playing their first UK show in over a decade.
And that’s not all, folks! We’ve still to announce our final headliner for our second stint at the Roundhouse, but in the meantime we’ve prepared a mighty offering that we know you’ll love in our latest round of artists set for 2026:
HERMANO Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Causa Sui Zig Zags Steak Band Solace Deaf Club Witchsorrow High Desert Queen MOUNDRAG KOMODOR Alunah CULT OF OCCULT Forlorn LORQUIN’S ADMIRAL OMO ALPHAWHORES Abrams Bismut Okay You Win UK Ironrat Kannabinõid MOLTEN SLAG HASHTRONAUT ISAK SUPERNAUGHTT Teiger Nomadic Reign
Posted in Whathaveyou on June 25th, 2025 by JJ Koczan
The lineup for next year’s Masters of the Riff V is out, as the event from the London Doom Collective is set to return Feb. 27-March 1, as you can see on the battlevest-poster below. That’s a cute idea. I haven’t seen it before.
I was at Freak Valley last week in Germany, and while there, ran into Jan and Sabine from Grin. I had about 30 seconds to talk, which is how it goes sometimes, but I made sure not to miss the chance at nerding out for their latest offering, Acid Gods (review here), in-person, which I try to not make embarrassing for myself. So anyway, as they’re here, obviously I’m going to say hell yes, go see Grin. I’ve been fortunate enough to do that as well in the past and it’s a stage you want to be in front of when they’re on it.
Of course, in light of Domkraft canceling what had been their soon-to-start West Coast US tour due to an unspecified health issue in the band, I’m glad to see them topping the thus-far bill for Masters of the Riff V, as their making plans for the future speaks well of a timeline to return. On the off-chance someone from the band sees this, I continue to wish them all the best. Not that, you know, the rest of the bands playing can screw off or anything like that, just that I’m happy to see the name here.
Got that Bear Bones tape, for example, and that’s a good time too.
From socials:
“Beginth thine riff already, won’t you,” said Tony, sipping from a freshly brewed ale. To his surprise, the riffith commenced almost immediately. Quite, thought Tony.
We’re exceptionally excited to announce the first wave of bands for next year’s Masters of the Riff Festival at @oslohackney
So have a butchers and behold this fine bunch of gorgeous legends from the underground scene, joining us for the fifth (damn) iteration of the festival!
Please feel free to raise one’s drink of choice accordingly. 🍻
PRAISE THE RIFF!!!
It means ever so much to us that the bands, breweries, amp wizards, fans, and all those in between trust us to curate this festival each year.
We’re honoured to be a small part of the great doom machine in the Sky, and we’re definitely looking forward to this epicus metallicus weekend (our livers, perhaps, less so).
There’s loads more incoming over the next few weeks and months, so keep your 👀 peeled.
Head over to @dicefm to grab your early bird tickets init!
Posted in Whathaveyou on October 19th, 2018 by JJ Koczan
Well, you know I’m a sucker for a good all-dayer, and Cvltfest 2018 hits that mark with a super-sludged lineup of UK-based acts including BongCauldron, Mastiff, PIST and Witchsorrow, among a slew of others slated to appear. The fest is Nov. 10 — one day only — and will include a staggering 13 acts to pummel those fortunate enough to be in attendance into the hard ground of Scunthorpe’s Cafe INDIEpendent. I looked and that’s just over two hours by train from King’s Cross in London, but if a full day of sludge thrown in your face isn’t worth the trip, then I don’t know what is.
Info and ticket links follow for those up for the journey:
CVLTFEST 2018
One day. 13 heavy bands. Scunthorpe, UK
Scunthorpe is the United Kingdom’s largest steel processing centre, also known as the “Industrial Garden Town”. Other than that, it’s an unremarkable small town where the Wacky Warehouse is listed as one of the 5 best places to visit.
It would be fair to say, then, that Scunthorpe isn’t ready for the musical bombshell which will be dropped on it on Saturday 10th November. At the Café INDIEpendent – which is a coffee house during the day and an arts venue at night – 13 of the UK’s noisiest, gnarliest riff machines will be plugging into obscene amounts of amplification and giving the sleepy northern town a good hiding. Welcome to Cvltfest!
Lizard King Promotions have secured WITCHSORROW, Candlelight Records recording artists and one of doom metal’s most happening propositions, as headliner. There are six bands performing from the up and coming APF Records roster including Oxford’s stoner rock legends DESERT STORM, northern sludge titan’s BONGCAULDRON, riff juggernauts DIESEL KING, Hull sludgecore merchants MASTIFF, Bury drunks PIST and Manchester’s BARBARIAN HERMIT, who are launching their new album “Solitude And Savagery” in November. Also appearing are sludge metal trio EVEREST QUEEN, Grimsby stoner doom crew CHURCH OF LIES, blues rockers RITUAL KING, psychedelic stoners DELTANAUT, French doom sludge marvels CRACKHOUSE and the massive noise rock duo TUSKAR from down south.
If all goes to plan, there will be no Scunthorpe on Sunday 11th November. It will lie in ruins.
Lizard King Promotions proudly presents CVLTFEST 2018
On November 10th, 2018 @ Cafe INDIEpendent, Scunthorpe
You have prayed to the God’s of Tone, and the Lizard King will deliver once again!
LINEUP: Witchsorrow Desert Storm PIST BongCauldron Diesel King Barbarian Hermit Everest Queen Ritual King Church of Lies Deltanaut Mastiff Tuskar CRACKHOUSE
Posted in Whathaveyou on March 15th, 2018 by JJ Koczan
Preorders are up now for Hexenhammer, the fourth full-length from UK doom trio Witchsorrow and the follow-up to their 2015 offering, No Light, Only Fire (review here), which will be released on May 25 via Spinefarm Records. The three-piece were a doomly thrill to catch last September at the inaugural Emerald Haze fest (review here), and I can only say I’ve been looking forward to hearing new stuff from them ever since. As it happens, they have a track streaming right now called “Demons of the Mind,” and I’ve included it at the bottom of this post. I can’t actually make the stream work because I’m running wifi off my phone because — well, because life is fucking complicated sometimes — but needless to say I’m planning on checking it out as soon as I’m able.
The PR wire brought news to make it all official:
WITCHSORROW TO RELEASE FOURTH ALBUM HEXENHAMMER VIA CANDLELIGHT RECORDS ON MAY 25
FIRST TRACK “DEMONS OF THE MIND” AVAILABLE NOW
Hampshire doom metal maniacs Witchsorrow will release their fourth studio album, Hexenhammer on May 25 via Candlelight/Spinefarm Records.
Written during a hermetic period following an intense run of live shows, and recorded at Skyhammer studio in Cheshire with longtime co-conspirator Chris Fielding (Conan, Primordial, Electric Wizard), and mastered at the legendary Orgone studios by Jaime “Gomez” Arellano (Ghost, Paradise Lost), the seven featured songs find Witchsorrow continuing to explore the darker corners of doom, illuminating them with the blinding light of sheer heavy metal forged of the strongest steel. It’s an almost anthemic soundtrack to the end of the world lyrics.
“I’ve always been obsessed with the end of the world,” explains vocalist/guitarist Necroskull. “On previous albums, I’ve been wanting it to happen, because I was caught in a very dark place. On No Light, Only Fire, I was almost angry that it hadn’t happened. Now, it’s a massively confusing time where we’re basically staring at it and waiting for it. I have no solutions. There are none to be had.”
If 2018 needs a soundtrack to its madness, Witchsorrow have provided it. Heavier, darker, doomier, and more metal than ever before, with a title relating to “Malleus Maleficarum” (“The Hammer of Witches”), a famous fifteenth century treatise, perfectly captured in the artwork by legendary Italian metal artist Paolo Girardi (Diocletian, Inquisition, Bell Witch), one of doom’s leading lights have made the perfect album for our times.
Digital and physical pre-orders for Hexenhammer are now live HERE.
Posted in Features, Reviews on September 3rd, 2017 by JJ Koczan
09.02.17 – 00.15 – Saturday night/Sunday morning – Sid’s house
Yesterday was not short. Today was notter-shorter. The bummer news as of last night was that Mother Mooch would have to pull out because of a schedule conflict between the after-party and the venue. I had been looking forward to seeing fest-organizer Sid Daly‘s band as a part of Emerald Haze 2017, but he had to cut someone, and decided it was better to cut himself than anyone else, and that’s the noble thing to do so it’s hard to fault him. I was still hopeful this morning they’d be able to pull it out and make it happen.
There was, however, plenty going on even with 14 bands instead of the original 15. A packed day, to be sure. Like yesterday, it was a lot of back and forth between The Obelisk Stage downstairs and the Mother Fuzzers Ball Stage upstairs, but I had a pretty good idea of what to expect after the first night, so when things got rolling in the afternoon, I felt at least a little bit prepared for what was coming. Vaguely. A smidgen. Okay, not really, but still. I did my best.
It went like this:
Gourd
They were the first duo of the weekend and inarguably one of the nastiest acts who played at any point of Emerald Haze, though by the end of today, Gourd would have some pretty stiff competition in that regard. Still, ultra-crawling, ultra-lurching, fuckall-laden extremity was the order of the opening salvo on the downstairs stage at the Voodoo Lounge, and Hick and Ray, who released a self-titled EP last year that seems to be their only offering to-date, brought drone to blackened-to-a-crisp extremity in that already-dead, post-Khanate fashion that’s just as much at home in arthouse as in a dank, mold-stenched basement with a shitty P.A. and a couple disaffected hangers about for a crowd. As it was, they did pretty well filling the bigger space at Emerald Haze with volume — this too would be a running theme for the evening — and they served as an immediate signal that today’s mission was going to be much, much different from yesterdays. And so it was.
Korvid
I didn’t even see a window to look out of, but if I had, I probably would’ve been surprised it was still daylight. Just as my brain was beginning to process the onslaught that was Gourd, I clomped upstairs to check out Belfast five-piece Korvid, who would set in motion the Mother Fuzzers Ball Stage with their own brand of extreme sludge, two guitars riffing out with cupped-mic-and-crazy-eyes standalone vocals cutting through, screaming, growing, the whole nine. The humor was good though. I mean, how many times in your life are you going to hear a lead singer say, “This one’s called ‘Zombie Sludge Groove’?” Six? Maybe seven? For most people, probably not more than three. In any case, for all the pummel they brought, vocalist Jonny Gault, guitarists Thomas Carmichael and Alex Keys, bassist Theo Gordon-Boyd and drummer David Malone didn’t forget to have a good time doing it, and while that put them in immediate contrast with Gourd, still misanthroping away downstairs, their own brand of sludge was light neither on tone nor aggression. Plus a zombie apocalypse happened. That’s always bleak in its own way.
Ten Ton Slug
If Emerald Haze had a quota for burl, Ten Ton Slug filled it. In about the first three minutes of their set. The Galway five-piece have a new EP to follow-up last year’s Brutal Gluttonous Beast (review here) from which they aired “Slug Grinder,” but that was right in the mix with the rest of their attack, which centered around densely-packed chugs and metallic growls and screams. It felt early for something so dudely — didn’t I just finish my coffee? — but Ten Ton Slug had their own agenda, and as the downstairs room started to fill up, they beat the living crap right out of it for a half-hour solid. No-letup sludge metal that handed out punishment the way one thinks of construction equipment as vigorous in its purposes. As they played, I wrote the words “very heavy” in my notebook and wondered how many more times throughout the day I’d wind up using that exact phrase. To say the least, several. They closed with “Siege” and yet more testosterone oozed from the stage in voluminous form. That new EP was reportedly recorded at Dead Dog Studio in Drogheda, and one can’t help but look forward to how Ten Ton Slug‘s tones might come out of that process. My advanced, thinking man’s critically-minded guess? “Very heavy.”
Vulpynes
Riot grrl comparisons are bound to ensue when you’re a ’90s-influenced two-piece like Dublin’s own Vulpynes, comprised of vocalist/guitarist Maeve Molly and drummer Kaz, but to my ears they were rawer in their presentation than the likes of Babes in Toyland and more punk than L7 seemed interested in being most of the time. There was still a definite air of post-grunge, however, so I suppose in the world of ready-made genre classifications, riot grrl works just as well as anything else. It’s more concise than “raw and semi-aggro heavy garage punk rock,” at least, even if that’s more what Vulpynes seemed to be up to to me. The rawness is worth emphasizing though, especially since that seemed to be half the point and since it suited them so well. They were nowhere near as mosh-ready as Ten Ton Slug back downstairs, of course, but neither did they want to be, and though the afternoon/evening was just getting going, Vulpynes were already a refreshing change of pace from the viciousness that had thus far been served. Nice to be reminded that not everything needs to crush to be effective — though of course that’s plenty of fun too.
Iron Void
Doom! File Iron Void under “hell yes I’ll have more of that please” in being the Emerald Haze night two’s first representation of oldschool doom righteousness. Fair perhaps to think of the UK trio, who toured this Spring alongside Indianapolis-based The Gates of Slumber offshoot Wretch, as a preface to Lord Vicar still to come, but that only made them more welcome in my book, and while they played, I went out to the merch area to buy a copy of their 2015 outing, Doomsday and its 2012 predecessor, Spell of Ruin. No regrets there, but as I was on my way back into the venue proper, I got stopped by Rando-Dude-Who-Works-at-the-Venue who told me my backpack — aka my camera bag, which I’d had on my person all along — wasn’t allowed in and would need to be checked. As it also held my laptop and I’d carried it with me the entire night before without word one from anybody, my position was hell no I’m not checking this bag, and no shit, dude wound up manhandling me and kicking me out of the venue. Out of fucking nowhere. Felt pretty fucking special to get kicked out of a show I was supposedly helping to present, let me tell you. The bummer was that while I was dealing with his completely needless bullshit, I was missing Iron Void back inside. I didn’t check it, but left it with Sid‘s girlfriend Olga who was working the door and was kind enough to come to my rescue outside, and yeah, I eventually got back in well in time to see Iron Void finish their set with “The Devil’s Daughter” from Doomsday, but I’ll readily admit that one threw me for a loop and it was a while before I was able to really get my head back into the show the way it should’ve been all along. Moral of the story? Fuck you, Rando Dude. Either do your job all the way and round up every backpack in the place, including mine the first night, or don’t bother. And either way, fuck you twice as hard when there’s killer doom to be had.
Crowhammer
Maybe had I not been so thoroughly distracted by that just-discussed unfortunate bit of whatnot I’d have had an easier time getting a handle on Crowhammer‘s sound, but somehow I doubt it. It was my first exposure to the Dublin trio — who also boasted the weekend’s first singing drummer, though not the last of the day — and they played the sort of part-psych weirdo rock that’s probably best described as “progressive” and left at that, though that’s hardly a summary of the willfully bizarre krautrocking chicanery that was actually on display during their set. Again, I was all out of sorts and didn’t get to see nearly as much as I would’ve liked to otherwise, but while they seem to just have a single out that was released in 2013, there was no doubt Crowhammer were in a niche of their own among the rest of the Emerald Haze lineup, and that would come to kind of be the message of the day from the Mother Fuzzers Ball Stage: strange things will ensue. And for sure they did for what I caught of these guys.
Witchsorrow
I recalled digging Witchsorrow‘s 2015 outing, No Light, Only Fire (review here) when I heard it, as well as their prior sophomore full-length, 2012’s God Curse Us (review here), so to see them in the flesh back downstairs in the larger room was something of a treat. They had more NWOBHM-style gallop than I remembered, but that might’ve just been a proximity comparison to Iron Void, who rolled pretty steadily for the duration, though drummer Dave Wilbraham (also of Twelve Boar) had plenty of double-kick behind the riffs of guitarist/vocalist Nick “Necroskull” Ruskell and the basslines of Emily Witch to act as a means of propulsion. That lent Witchsorrow a deceptively uptempo feel for how thick they were tonally, but though I was still kind of looking around the room and playing my own private game of ‘Count the Backpacks’ — there were many to be found — it was still easy to appreciate the underlying motion cutting through all that heft. They’ll be out in the UK and Europe with The Moth later this Fall and they seem like they’re about due for a new release. Maybe in 2018? If so, it would be one to watch out for.
The Magnapinna
Say, is your name a dick joke? Nothing wrong with that, said Obelisk Guy. Things got off-kilter quick with Cork fivesome The Magnapinna, who were all dressed up with ties and whatnot and unleashed a barrage of hard-alt-rocking strangeness somewhere betwixt Mr. Bungle and a multi-singer early incarnation of System of a Down — aggressive at their core, but still definitely with an experimentalist edge. They had some pretty significant depth of arrangement the vocal department between their frontman and the guitarist, bassist, and drummer, but the pervasive everything-weirder-than-everything-else ethic that seemed to infiltrate every move they made remained the dominant flavor of their set on the Mother Fuzzers Ball Stage, and like Crowhammer before them, they served notice that not only is the Irish scene rich when it comes to sludge and heavy rock, but that there are groups legitimately pushing stylistic boundaries as well. The Magnapinna — dick joke or not — were a vastly different kind of freakout from everyone else who played this weekend at Emerald Haze, and since standing out was apparently the top priority, I can only call their efforts at not fitting in a success. Nicely and strangely done.
Death the Leveller
A break downstairs essentially funneled everyone who wasn’t going to eat dinner up to the Mother Fuzzers Ball Stage to see Death the Leveller. Fair enough. The Dublin four-piece are new — as in I think this might’ve been their fifth show — but it was clear they had roots somewhere, and one finds them in Cursed Earth and Mael Mórdha. One of those bands almost too much on lockdown to actually be newcomers. There was no question they knew what they were doing, no question about their sound — goth-tinged doom; healthy sense of drama to the show, and very much a show, but not at all half-hearted or insincere for that — and they owned the room in a way that completely undercut the fact that they only have one EP out and are still waiting for the vinyl to be pressed. No substitute for experience, in other words, and Death the Leveller, while fresh, had a professional presentation and a professional presence that brought the upstairs room to a different level and once again represented another, darker but still nuanced side of what Dublin and the greater Irish underground has to offer those who’d investigate. I wondered looking around the room for how many of the attendees this set was their first exposure to Death the Leveller, and I suspect the answer is at least a few apart from myself, but watching the band take charge of that space, it was hard to argue they didn’t absolutely deserve to be the focal point that the scheduling made them. Tons of promise there. Gotta chase down that EP at some point in the near future.
Dread Sovereign
Speaking of presence: there’s only one Nemtheanga. Also known as Alan Averill, the vocalist of premier Irish post-black metallers Primordial and arguably one of the country’s key underground figureheads can hold down a stage like few frontmen I’ve ever seen, and while he also handles bass in Dread Sovereign — his tone might be the most “dread” element of all in the band; the downstairs floor at Voodoo Lounge shook with each note he hit — he still was very much at the helm alongside shred-prone guitarist Daniel “Bones” Holohan, drummer Johnny “Con Ri” King and a synthesist/noisemaker who may or may not have been Nemtheanga‘s cousin, Gareth Averill filling out the wash. I picked up a copy of their 2017 sophomore long-player, For Doom the Bell Tolls (review here), without further incident, and considered that a win, and while the vibe of their time onstage definitely leaned toward the oldschool — they nestled into a partial cover of Black Sabbath‘s “Black Sabbath” for a minute there and it felt earned — they were lung-collapsingly weighted in tone, and flattened the room like an early headliner or, at the very least for me, a highlight of the weekend. It wasn’t my first time seeing them — though it was my first time seeing them with synth, which worked well — so I wouldn’t call what they were doing a surprise, but it was a tooth-rattling, grim-of-spirit, trod-all-over-your-soul joy in any case.
Gorilla Pulp
Things got kind of complicated when it came time for Gorilla Pulp to play upstairs. The Italian four-piece were originally slated to close out the downstairs stage after Sólstafir, but when Mother Mooch dropped off the bill, it was basically to give their time slot to Gorilla Pulp so they could still have a showcase. Fine, but no question the speedy, upbeat, almost-metallized heavy rock with psychedelic flashes — also a theremin! — that Gorilla Pulp brought forth was a departure from what Mother Mooch would’ve been doing, and the simple fact of the geographic shift was also noteworthy in that they were the only band not from Ireland or Northern Ireland to play all day on that stage, including Nomadic Rituals, who followed and closed it out. I guess sometimes when you put together an event like this, adjustments have to be made, and to Gorilla Pulp‘s benefit, the context in which they appeared, following Death the Leveller, The Magnapinna, Crowhammer, Vulpynes and Korvid, had already touched on so many different styles that by the time they got around to also being all over the place, the door was wide open for them. Their next show? A wedding later this month. Because of course it is. They may not have been Irish natives, but they only wound up adding to the variety of the day’s presentation on the Mother Fuzzers Ball Stage, and even as downstairs continued to thunder with Dread Sovereign‘s lumbering, Gorilla Pulp did well in offsetting that darkness with a bit of a stylistic challenge that was only more fun to try to keep up with once they got that theremin warmed up. Good times.
Lord Vicar
And then sometimes you just have to bow your head and realize you’re in the company of masters. Watching Kimi Kärki play doom riffs while Christian “Chritus” Linderson fronted Lord Vicar, yeah, that was definitely the way it went. The former Reverend Bizarre guitarist and the former Saint Vitus/Count Raven vocalist — both of whom have been involved in a slew of projects over the years and decades from Orne and solo work for Kärki to Goatess and Terra Firma for Linderson — were hands-down a focal point for attention from the crowd, which packed in as tightly as I’d seen all weekend to watch them in the downstairs space, but as is universal for quality doom, the contributions of the rhythm section were not to be overlooked. With relative newcomer bassist Rich Jones and founding drummer Gareth Millsted providing the groove behind them, Kärki and Linderson flourished, leading the way through cuts from last year’s Gates of Flesh (review here) like a jammy take on “Birth of Wine” complete with last-measure boogie shuffle, or “The Green Man” and “Leper, Leper,” leaving a particularly resonant extended finale for “The Funeral Pyre” from their 2008 debut, Fear No Pain, which I can only say was flat out awesome from the second it started to the second it brought the house down at the end. Line of the weekend also has to go to Linderson who said from the stage atsome point between songs, “We have a new album out. It’s called British Steel.” Cheers sir. Seeing Lord Vicar — the kind of thing that someone in my position never really thinks is going to happen — only underscored how stupid lucky I am to be in Dublin at all for this weekend, and the proceedings only got more righteous as they warmed up and dug further in. Like I said, the company of masters.
Nomadic Rituals
I had checked out Nomadic Rituals‘ 2017 release, Marking the Day — I also bought a copy of 2013’s Holy Giants — and knew they were something I wanted to behold for myself. The final band on the Mother Fuzzers Ball Stage upstairs, the Belfast trio might’ve also been the heaviest, as they conjured a tectonic wash of low end and noise driven by synth and geared toward maximum abrasion. Guitarist Peter Hunter and bassist Craig Carson both contributed screams and growls to the proceedings while Mark Smyth plodded away behind them, and with as much as this second and final day of the inaugural Emerald Haze had already had to offer in terms of sludgy extremity, Nomadic Rituals — their moniker not at all to be confused with the name of the Yawning Man record from 2010, which was Nomadic Pursuits — still managed to distinguish themselves through the ferocity of their volume and the unmitigated slow-motion violence of their assault. Rightfully so, they seemed to be an apex point for the Mother Fuzzers Ball Stage– pushing that space, that soundsystem and the eardrums of those standing in attendance to an absolute limit — no place left to go or to run away from their all-consuming post-sludge. Even when I stumbled back downstairs to catch the end of Lord Vicar and get a spot up front for Sólstafir, I could still hear Nomadic Rituals living up to the savagery implied. They were nothing if not thorough in that endeavor.
Sólstafir
Timing, of course, is everything, but even before Icelandic overlords of melancholy Sólstafir took the stage downstairs — took The Obelisk Stage, god damn it — to the cap on Emerald Haze 2017, it occurred to me that I watched at least some portion of every single band that played this weekend. Two stages, two days; a total of 24 acts between the 10 yesterday and the 14 today. And you know what? If Mother Mooch had played, I’d have watched them too. Gladly. Accordingly, seeing Sólstafir do the title-track from 2014’s golly-that’s-still-brilliant Ótta (review here) and cuts from this year’s worthy follow-up Berdreyminn (review here) was like a victory lap, and as much as the crowd was pressing in, and as much as my back hurt, and as much as I miss my wife and as much as I haven’t had a meal in the last two days that wasn’t comprised either of protein powder, a protein bar or a three-ounce package of vacuum-sealed salmon I brought with me, Sólstafir were magnetic onstage as I knew they’d be. I’d only ever caught them before at Roadburn, so to watch them play at a venue of the size of even the downstairs space at the Voodoo Lounge felt really special, and it was. It was. It was one last reminder that, whatever else was a part of this experience, I’m so unbelievably fortunate to have been in Dublin this weekend, and if it comes to it, I’ll absolutely play the role of the tourism council: FUCK YES. COME TO IRELAND. There’s rock and roll here from within and without, and while Sólstafir fall into the latter category, they received a hero’s welcome just the same. There were afterparties to be had when they were done, and for the take-themselves-way-too-seriously/no-fun blogger types, writing to do, so I hightailed it sooner or later and made my way back up the road, but not before taking a final lap through Emerald Haze, trying to imprint it all on my memory, where I can only hope it will stay for a duration much longer than this trip will actually be by the time I fly out of the country tomorrow afternoon.
—
Holy shit, did I really just say “tomorrow afternoon?”
Turns out, yes.
I’ll have a post up to close out this series probably Monday, but before I turn you over to the photo gallery, I just want to extend a quick preliminary thanks to Sid Daly, Olga, Fiona and everyone else I met at the Voodoo Lounge (with one noteworthy exception), as well as all the bands who took part in this weekend. It was truly an honor to be involved in this event in the minuscule, didn’t-actually-contribute-anything way I was, and whether or not they decide to bring my ass back again, I hope they keep it going into perpetuity.
More to come. Pics follow here. Thanks for reading and as we get on toward three in the fucking morning, good night.
Can I be brutally honest for just a second here? Just a second — won’t take long. I’m not worthy.
I’m sorry. I’m just not. I look at the lineup that’s come together for the first Emerald Haze on Sept. 1 and 2 in Dublin, I see this site’s name on a stage that will be shared by the likes of The Cosmic Dead, Abrahma, Lord Vicar, Sólstafir, Iron Void, Blaak Heat, Church of the Cosmic Skull, Elder Druid, Gourd, WitchSorrow, Gorilla Pulp and Ten Ton Slug, and I have to just shake my head. I’ve done nothing to deserve to be so honored as to be associated with these people. Nothing. I didn’t earn this. I’m not worthy. Seeing a logo for The Obelisk on the posters below, I feel like I’m getting away with some kind of scam.
Again, I’m sorry, but that’s how I really feel about it. This show is so god damn sick. They need me as a part of it the way they need a hole in the head. If you had told me eight-plus years ago when I started this site (1:) that I’d still be doing it in eight-plus years and (2:) that I’d be co-presenting shows in places like Dublin, Ireland, I’d have immediately and rightly told you to screw off. There’s unbelievable and then there’s absurd, and from where I sit, this falls definitively into the realm of the latter.
My flight’s booked. If you’re going, I’ll see you there. Please let me know if you’d like me to tell you all of this in-person, because I am 100 percent ready and willing to do that at any point. What I can’t do is even begin to properly express how grateful I am to be involved in this.
Okay. That’s my piece.
Full schedule for Emerald Haze 2017 follows here:
Emerald Haze 2017 – Full Schedule
Friday, Sept. 1 Doors – 6.00
The Obelisk Stage 7.00–7.30 Elder Druid 7.45–8.15 Blaak Heat 8.30–9.00 Abrahma 9.15–10.00 The Cosmic Dead 10.30–11.20 Church of the Cosmic Skull
MFB Stage 8.00–8.30 Zlatanera 8.45–9.15 Mount Soma 9.30–10.10 King Witch 10.25-11.05 Electric Octopus 11.20–12.20 Wild Rocket
After Party DJs Til Late – On The Rox
Saturday, Sept. 2 Doors – 2.30
The Obelisk Stage 3.30 – 4.00 Gourd? 4.15 – 4.45 Ten Ton Slug? 5.00 – 5.45 Iron Void? 6.00 – 6.45 Witchsorrow? Break 7.20–8.00 Dread Sovereign 8.15–9.15 Lord Vicar 9.45–10.45 Sólstafir 11.00-11.40 Gorilla Pulp
After Party DJs Til Late – Voodoo Lounge
MFB Stage 3.45–4.15 Korvid 4.30–5.00 Vulpynes 5.15–5.45 Crowhammer 6.00–6.30 The Magnapinna 6.45–7.15 Death The Leveller Break 8.00–8.30 Mother Mooch 8.45–9.40 Nomadic Rituals
EMERALD HAZE takes place on Friday 1st and Saturday 2nd September 2017 over two adjacent venues – Smithfield’s Voodoo Lounge and On The Rox. Performers will be a mix of Irish and international headline acts, alongside established and emerging talent from Ireland and abroad. EMERALD HAZE is a not-for-profit venture, supported by Dublin City Council.
Posted in Whathaveyou on July 3rd, 2017 by JJ Koczan
It says something about the adventurous nature of the inaugural Emerald Haze festival — set for Sept. 1-2 in Dublin, Ireland and co-presented by The Obelisk — that it will be headlined by Sólstafir and Church of the Cosmic Skull. The former, a genreless Icelandic outfit, specialize in a highly individualized brand of melodic melancholia. The latter are an almost brand new UK outfit whose debut, Is Satan Real? (review here), came out last year and was rife with proggy flourish in keys and vocal arrangements. Both are legit choices, but neither is quite what you’d expect for a festival centered around heavy psych and rock, and as someone fortunate enough to be involved in the fest in the tiny, infinitesimally small fashion I am and who will also be fortunate enough to be there to cover it, I appreciate that unexpected nature of the goings on.
And as I’m pretty sure I’ve said in every single post about Emerald Haze 2017, I’m really, really looking forward to it.
Here’s the breakdown, courtesy of the fest:
EMERALD HAZE ANNOUNCE DAILY LINE-UPS
EMERALD HAZE, Dublin’s brand new heavy psych festival has announced the daily line-ups for the inaugural edition which takes place on Friday 1st and Saturday 2nd September.
Friday will see main stage headliners Church of the Cosmic Skull joined by The Cosmic Dead, Wild Rocket, Abrahma, Blaak Heat, Electric Octopus, Elder Druid, King Witch, Mount Soma and Zlatanera while Saturday sees Sólstafir, Belzebong, Lord Vicar, Dread Sovereign, Bad Boat, Nomadic Rituals, Gorilla Pulp, WitchSorrow, Electric Taurus, Ten Ton Slug, Iron Void, Mother Mooch, Death the Leveller, The Magnapinna, Vulpynes, Gourd and Korvid across two stages in Voodoo Lounge and On The Rox.
EMERALD HAZE takes place on Friday 1st and Saturday 2nd September 2017 over two adjacent venues – Smithfield’s Voodoo Lounge and On The Rox. Performers will be a mix of Irish and international headline acts, alongside established and emerging talent from Ireland and abroad. EMERALD HAZE is a not-for-profit venture, supported by Dublin City Council.
