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Presenting up to date news, reviews & interviews for riff addicts around the world.
This is 'Liberation through Amplification.'
It is with great
excitement that we're revealing the second headliner to walk the DESERTFEST LONDON stage
next April 29th in Camden, with America's coolest volume dealers CORROSION OF CONFORMITY and
no one but their historical frontman Pepper Keenan at the helm! Icing on this
greasy cake: their sludgy brothers in arms CROWBAR will co-headline the night, for
a "southern special" Friday at Desertfest!
UK's forerunner stoner/doom/psyche gathering DESERTFEST couldn't
reach the milestone of their 5th edition without having cult acts on the bill.
And who could open this special weekend better than one of America's most
inspiring and outstanding bands of musicians in heavy music, CORROSION OF CONFORMITY,
reuniting with their iconic guitarist and frontman Pepper Keenan (also
well-known for founding leading southern metal unit Down). With the recent news
of COC's signing on Nuclear Blast Records and
recording of a new album due out in the fall of 2016, there is no doubt that
this fifth Desertfest London will go down in history
As previously announced and to make it even more
special, NOLA's sludge metal heroes CROWBAR will co-headline the Friday along
with COC, bringing their influential slow-and-low
sound to the masses. Once again this is a first, as Kirk Windstein and his crew
of titans have never played any Desertfest before. A
night dedicated to US sludge and rock heavyweights!
I found myself at DB’s in Utrecht again last
night. The poster on the door read “Mars Red Sky + Howart,” so I went inside.
Beer could be ordered in the back and to my surprise they had some nice ones
imported from Germany on the ready. With my head still at Desertfest Berlin, I
laid down some coins, got beers in exchange and went inside the venue where it
was warm like my grandparents’ house on Christmas Eve.
Support for the stoner-psych headliners took the
form of a local band named Howart. They played a set that felt like the
shortest thing I’ve ever seen, but once the band left the stage and I looked at
the clock, it turned out I was sorely mistaken. They played dreamy passages of
psychedelic pop that passed a baton back and forth from hard and slow to spacey
and even slower. The sound of the drums filled up most of the space, resembling
an arena sound without being cheesy, and kept the songs grounded as the
guitars, samples, and even harmonicas tried to detach themselves and float
away. The music completely enveloped my being, distorting my sense of time and
space.
It didn’t take long after Howart’s set before
Mars Red Sky came on. There wasn’t much of a crowd to speak of, at most forty
people, so I guess the band felt that there was no sense in making us wait.
This informal environment worked in the band’s favor; the tickets were priced
right to avoid any unreasonable expectations and the small crowd kept things
laid back. Mars Red Sky aren’t one of the front runners in the scene and
probably won’t be found on a larger stage in Holland anytime soon, but that’s
more our fault, the listeners of music, than theirs as professional mind
blowers. Personally, I think that Julien Pras and his cronies deserve a
larger setting to give their heavy, fuzzy tones the room they need to breathe.
They have their sound worked out to the finest detail and certainly in these
small venues, it‘s just bursting at the seams. So when Mars Red Sky opened
their set with wah-filled conviction and intricate interplay which made me
think, “Oh, that’s how they do that,” it was all the more rewarding.
The instrumental opening served its purpose, but
I was there for the songs with singing in them. For me that meant that the set
really got going once “Hovering Satelites,” the leadoff single from “Stranded
in Arcadia,” kicked in. Though I thought Pras shared vocals with bassist Jimmy
Kinast on this song, such vocal harmonizing was left out of their live
execution. Instead, Julien opened his throat wide and let the notes soar as he
sang “we’re but hovering satellites, stuck and high on some blinding light.”
What came as a surprise, however, was the reticent vocal harmony that Pras and
Kinast pulled out of their pockets for “Marble Sky.” This was a thing of sheer
psychedelic bliss; from stage right the lower register delivered with swing and
from stage left the higher notes coming in like Pras was sharing a secret with
us.
All secrets aside, there was nothing subtle
about the band’s set. They were heavy from beginning to end, even in the quiet
snare roll part of “Strong Reflection.” Mars Red Sky put their control of sound
on display and defined being quietly heavy. Whether it was the recurring
Beatles-like interlude in “Join the Race,” the push and pull of “Holy Mondays”
or the slow trudge of “The Light Beyond,” the band exhibited a set which
encapsulated the draw of Mars Red Sky. They were in a flow and took us on a joy
ride through space. There was only one downside and that was that I had to
leave early to catch my last train home. I did so with lead in my shoes, so let’s hope they come
back soon.
Thanks to the band for letting me take some
blurry photographs and also thanks to Claire from Purple Sage for getting me on
the list
Paris-based
heavy psych outfit ABRAHMA just unveiled more details on their
sophomore record "Reflections In The Bowels Of A Bird", due
out mid-May on Small Stone Records.
"Reflections In
The Bowels Of A Bird" will be ABRAHMA's second full-length on
Small Stone Records, and features prestigious guests such as Ed
Mundell (Monster Magnet, The Atomic Bitchwax), as well as Thomas
Bellier (Black Heat Shujaa) as its co-producer. Its fabulously
coloured artwork was created by Barcelona's artist Jalónde Aquiles.
The band released a teaser that displays
all album details as well as the release date for their upcoming
video "An Offspring To The Wolves".
Forcefully ascending from the depths of Paris rock underground, it only took ABRAHMA one album to emerge as one of the torchbearers of French heavy rock on the international scene. Released in late 2012 on renowned North American label Small Stone Records, "Through The Dusty Paths Of Our Lives" unveiled an incredibly mature songwriting, while showcasing the band’s sombre and complex music realm. With this first full-length, they laid the foundations of their peculiar stoner aura adorned with the darkest riffage of the Seattle sound, and drew the attention of the international press. 2015 will see the Parisian foursome release their second album to date, due out this spring on Small Stone Records.
UPCOMING SHOWS:
09.04 - STRASBOURG (FR) Mudd Club 10.04 - LICHTENFELS (DE) Paucnhy Cats Inn 11.04 - MUNSTER (DE) Rare Guitar 12.04 - TILBURG (NL) Roadburn Festival 13.04 - France TBA 14.04 - MONTPELLIER (FR) Black Sheep 15.04 - MADRID (SP) Maravillas Club 16.05 - BARCELONA (SP) Rocksound 17.05 - VITORIA (SP) Helldorado 18.04 - NICE (FR) Le Volume 19.04 - Italy TBA 20.04 - SAVIGNANO SUL RUBICONE (IT) Sidro Club 21.04 - MUNICH (DE) Orange House 22.04 - DRESDEN (DE) Ost-Pol 23.04 - BERLIN (DE) Desertfest Berlin
