Live Review: Black Sabbath @ Download Festival, Donnington Park, Saturday, June 11th 2016

By Steve Wilson

 

Setlist:

 

1. Black Sabbath

2. Fairies Wear Boots

3. After Forever

4. Into The Void

5. Snowblind

6. War Pigs

7. Behind The Wall of Sleep

8. N.I.B.

9. Hand of Doom

10 Rat Salad (with drum solo)

11. Iron Man

12. Dirty Women

13. Children of the Grave

 

Encore:

 

14. Paranoid

 

The Review:

 

After spending the first half of 2016 in a depressed state due to the fact that I wouldn't be going to see Black Sabbath on their 'The End' tour, I was given a last-minute chance to do so at this weekend's Download Festival. Needless to say, I jumped at the chance and prepared myself for what would turn out to be the muddiest Donnington festival in history (I know it's been called Download for almost twenty years, but let's be honest. It's the Donnington Monsters of Rock Festival in all but name, and always will be!).

 

I spent the daylight hours of Saturday trudging through lukewarm mud while managing to not fall over, catching glimpses of bands I'd never heard of (with notable exception of Megadeth, who were actually quite good) and grudgingly spending five pound plus a pint on beer. It took the edge off the mud and wet weather, though, and several pints later, I was ready for the main event. Please welcome live on stage: BLACK SABBATH!

 

Black Sabbath's set began, appropriately enough, with 'Black Sabbath,' the now legendary dirge that opens their iconic first album. This was my first ever Black Sabbath show, and looks like it could be my last. I was determined not to miss a second. With that in mind, I stood in the pouring rain, a pint in each hand, and paid my respects to godfathers of doom metal.

 

With the opening track out of the way, it was on to the “Paranoid” album with 'Fairies Wear Boots.' Both Tony Iommi and Geezer Bulter were in perfect sync with drummer Tommy Clufetos, who has played live with the band since 2012, despite not appearing on their last album “13.” He's not Bill Ward, as it would be impossible to replace him, but he manages to do a solid job of replicating Ward's classic grooves on this track, and throughout the set. He hits harder than Bill did on the original tracks, but retains enough of his jazz swing to sound authentic. I was impressed.

 

Next came two tracks from the band's classic third album “Master of Reality”: 'After Forever' and 'Into The Void.' Both were executed flawlessly by the band, with Ozzy turning in a surprisingly solid performance, only missing a few of the higher notes on these songs, which I expected him to do. He hasn't really hit the high notes live for some years now, although he carried off the mid section of 'Into The Void' in grand style, and if you weren't looking, he could pass for a much younger version of himself.

 

A blazing rendition of  'Snowblind' from the “Volume 4” album followed, with Ozzy making quite a show of shouting 'Cocaine' on the choruses. In fact he sounded very enthusiastic indeed and left me wondering if he ever stopped partaking of it. Whatever he's on, it's working, and he sounded great on this classic track which was topped off by a spot-on solo from Iommi, who wisely went for the album version on this song (as he did throughout the set), rather than improvising and wasting precious time.

 

'War Pigs' marked the rough halfway point in the set, which lived up to expectations, again minus the odd vocal weakness here and there from Ozzy. To be honest, most of the audience (myself included) were just grateful that he was alive and well and able to perform! We'd spent so long waiting for Sabbath to play, we were just happy to see and hear them at this point!

 

By now it was raining for real, with Ozzy comically asking “why does it always have to fucking piss it down?” The band played two tracks from the first album, 'Behind The Wall of Sleep' and 'N.I.B.' (complete with Geezer's iconic bass solo intro). This was a real treat for me. I expected the usual “War Pigs” and “Snowblind”, but to hear these early tracks live at such an emotional point in the band's career was a privilege, and they did not disappoint. Clufetos recreated Bill Ward's original mid-paced groove on 'Behind The Wall of Sleep' perfectly, locking in seamlessly with Geezer's bass.

 

Then came a return to the “Paranoid” album with 'Hand of Doom', another test for Ozzy's ageing voice. He warmed up by the mid-section and pulled of a performance every bit as satisfying as the 1970 original. This was followed by the instrumental 'Rat Salad,' with an extended drum solo which gave Iommi, Butler and Osbourne a chance to go backstage and take a break. They are almost 70 years old after all. I was tired just watching them, so I can only imagine how physically draining a full set must be at their age. They then returned to the stage for live standard 'Iron Man' (also from the “Paranoid” album), which warmed the crowd back up after the slightly over-long drum solo.

 

'Dirty Women' was a nice surprise, and the only song from the band's late '70's period. The band handled the tempo changes with ease and it sounded convincing and solid. It was nice to hear something from the “Technical Ecstasy” album, a period which was overlooked in the rest of the set, as were “Sabotage” (no 'Symptom of the Universe!' - a criminal oversight!) and “Never Say Die”.

 

“Children of The Grave” was the last song it the main set. While the song itself lived up to expectations with all original members turning in solid, convincing performances, Iommi made an almost unforgivable mistake in omitting the 'Embryo' intro. He just played a couple of notes then shrugged his shoulders and smiled before the band went into the song proper. It just looked like he couldn't be bothered, and I think it's fair to say that a band of their stature could have afforded to make the effort. Don't get me wrong, they are legends by any stretch of the imagination, but come on Tony! We love this music and all you had to do was add a minute to the set. I don't think he realised how offended some of us were by this move. As a fellow musician, I was, at least, and I'm sure others would have been too, especially the guitarists in the audience.         

 

The show was rounded off by a short pause, which gave room for the soaked but happy crowd to chant and cheer for more, before the band returned to the stage to belt out 'Paranoid.' This song never sounds that good live, but it benefited from being played by Geezer and Tony instead of the versions from Ozzy's band that I've heard in the past.

 

Gas-powered fireballs (which were surprisingly hot, even from a few rows back!) were the icing on the cake production-wise before the closing firework display above the stage, which is a Donnington staple, and came as no surprise.

 

Minor criticisms and slight flaws aside, Black Sabbath lived up to their reputation as a classic band, and arguably the most important in heavy metal history, especially for us doomsters. I was honoured to witness them live, and I will be sad to see them go, even though their farewell tour has been extended into some expensive indoor dates next year. Heavy metal being what it is, this could be The End, or it could just be their 1998 Reunion all over again. They may well be back, you never know. Never say die!     

 

Hoverfest 2014 Festival by Ben Ianuzzi

Ben from Mountain God here.

The whole purpose of this piece is to give readers a sense of what Hoverfest 2014 was like, how Mountain God got there, and how the event came together. Additionally, rather than give a minute by minute account, I’ll take the risk of getting pretty personal to show you all just what this event meant to our band.

For those of you who don’t know, Hoverfest was a single day festival held in Portland, Oregon on August 23^rd, 2014. The event included such acts as Mountain God, Holy Grove, Wounded Giant, Eight Bells, Witch Mountain, Acid King, DANAVA, and Yob. The impetus for the show was to gather bands and friends together in one setting, all of which/whom were connected by the genre of doom/sludge/stoner rock, or to brilliant amp builder Nial McCaughey of Hovercraft Amplifiers. The event was an absolute, rousing success, with huge props given to Todd from Cravedog Entertainment, the legendary Billy Anderson, as well as Nathan Carson from Witch Mountain and Nanotear Booking.

A little background….

While this piece isn’t intended to give a complete story of Mountain God necessarily, readers should have a touch of information about whom we are so as to provide context for how we got to Hoverfest (have faith, you’ll see how everything will unfold…). Mountain God’s story began in May of 2012 when Ian Murray (drums) and I (vocals, guitar) got together to jam. I had decided the previous fall that I wanted to get a doom band off the ground, and when I couldn’t find players in the suburbs I opted to make the hour trek weekly into Brooklyn, where there is fairly awesome underground scene. Ian and I found one another through craigslist and instantly hit it off, with him adding killer drums to the riffs I had written previously. The band’s lineup was finalized that August with the addition of Nikhil Kamineni (bass, engineering) and Jon Powell (keys). We put out one EP called “Experimentation on the Unwilling”, and have a second tentatively called “Forest of the Lost” ready to be mastered. While our lineup has changed due to the travails of work and schedule, Mountain God is still going strong as a three piece with the addition of Dickler Dialogue on drums. They are all such great people, past and present members alike, and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed creating music with them.

Hovercraft Amplifiers…

Right around the time MG started recording our first EP, New York was blasted by Hurricane Sandy. Our studio in Gowanus was pretty much washed away, with both Nikhil and Jon losing the vast majority of their gear. I remember looking at a pic of a collapsed wall inside the space and thinking, “we’re done”. I was devastated for them, as they collectively lost in the neighborhood of 15,000 dollars worth of gear not to mention the destruction of their facility. Many bands and studio owners had their livelihoods taken by this act of nature.

Mountain God regrouped, finding a new space in DUMBO, and temporarily using my own subpar gear that I pulled out of my apartment living room. Now, I can’t remember what particular day it was exactly, but I distinctly recall Nik uttering the word Hovercraft in response to what the hell we were going to do. He had been surfing the net and came across Nial McGauphey, who at the time had just started his company and had been putting his amps up for sale. Nik raved about the sound and talked about the innovative nature of how Nial would use recycled parts to create these beautiful, vintage sounding tube amps that easily could take on any Marshall, Orange, Matamp or Sunn.

So, Nik bought a cool looking orange Falcon for a totally affordable price and we eagerly awaited its coming. When it arrived and was fired up, we were blown away by what came out. It was no different than hearing that first chord or sound off of a great transformative album….we just sort of knew that these were the amps that were going to define our tone. For me personally, it rivaled and in many ways surpassed any head I had ever played. We got hooked across the board. Sure enough, we currently own multiple Falcons, Dwarvenauts, and a single Baltar for bass. It also doesn’t hurt that Nial is easily one of the most knowledgeable builders in the field, and incredibly fun to interact with. His passion for the craft of amp making and music in general is refreshing given our world of cookie cutter, poorly designed products and mass consumers who only want the cool, hip thing regardless of quality.

Hoverfest 2014….

This past spring, after ordering the Baltar, I was sitting on my couch in front of my laptop and randomly asked Nial if he had ever thought about holding a festival, representing all the bands that used his gear. He said yes, that it was something that he would love to work on. Having put the conversation out of my mind, I was struck a few months later when Nial and Nathan Carson followed up with our band and told us about Hoverfest. They finished by saying that they held an opening spot for us if we wanted it. I was pretty taken aback, even more so when I found out whom we would share the stage with. While it made absolutely zero financial sense, as often happens in this industry, it was decided quickly within the ranks of the band to spend a few days in Portland and play this show.

Most squares, those soulless cadavers that walk the streets each day with only thoughts of money, conformity, and keeping up with the Jones’ can’t understand this concept. I ran into a few of these types in the weeks preceding our little adventure, those mundane characters who say things like, “travel all that way for 30minutes of playing??? How do you even know anyone will be there to see you at noon???”

It’s true that the trip literally cost thousands and none of us in MG are particularly wealthy. For us, though, sharing a stage with Yob and all of the other awesome bands on the bill means far more than having a few extra bucks lying around in the old bank account. Money can be made again, but opportunity doesn’t always knock twice. It’s not everyday that someone gives a band the chance to play with genre definers like Witch Mountain and Acid King, with their wealth of experience, hard work, sweat, and devotion to music so paramount. For us, the chance to share the stage with these giants was never a real question. Not to mention meeting the man who helped MG find its sound, tone, heart, and soul through the production of the most badass amps around. Not to mention working with Billy Anderson. Not to mention meeting new, awesome people who like to go to festivals to listen to the kind of music we play and enjoy. No brainer.

The Festival….

Rather than give a blow by blow account of the whole show (which would be difficult anyway due to the great amounts of PBR’s finished with spiced rum that I drank after our set) I’d much rather hit some of the high points, to give readers an idea of what it felt like to not just play, but simply be there on the grounds.

a) The bands.

I’ve never, in my whole life of playing music, ever encountered a group of more humble, kind, and interesting people playing in so many great bands. There were no egos, no walls between artist and fan, and a sense of camaraderie that quickly shined brightly over the venue. Simply put….everyone was so fucking nice. The music was incredible all day. Yob’s cathartic, epic riffs, the serenity and power of Andrea Vidal’s voice (Holy Grove), and the virtuosity of DANAVA’s chord progressions were all things that immediately stood out. I could go on and on about every single act.

b) The venue.

The show was held in an alleyway behind Cravedog, which gave the show a very intimate feel. There was a beer garden, several food trucks doing catering, and a merch booth for people to purchase albums, shirts and other cool band related stuff. Turnout was awesome. Even when MG went on at about 12:20, there were easily 50 people in the audience, and I’d surmise that by the end of the show 400-500 people were in attendance. I also felt very taken care of by the promoters, a level of respect that was so uplifting. Todd allowed bands to hang out in the Cravedog office, which was filled with snacks and the aforementioned treasure trove of PBRs (and I believe I mentioned spiced rum?) Pizza was ordered for all of us, with bands and event organizers meeting, sharing stories, telling jokes, and talking shop.

c) The gear.

For musicians, I think it is safe to say that gear collecting can be an obsession. When we arrived at the venue, there were about 15 or so Hovercraft half stacks, each one being unique and available to play on stage. That was fucking cool. Thank you Nial!!!

d) The fans.

Everyone was in good spirits, chatting, enjoying beverages (and possibly other substances, but I’m not sure I can totally speak to that…) and quality time with other people who equally enjoy music. There was a lot of love and respect in the air, something I’ve never really felt on the same level at a rock festival.

e) Portland

….is a very cool city. Great beer, tasty food with lots of vegetarian/vegan options as well as great swathes of meat for those that choose to embrace a more carnivorous nature. I personally had never been to Portland or the west coast for that matter, so it was a fun and new experience for me.

f) Nial…

…is a fucking genius. If only the world had more people like him, artists and creators who are willing to put themselves and their art out there, society would be a far more interesting place. Our band got a chance to hang with him at his home, as he barbequed up all sorts of meats and vegetables. It was quite good, and I managed to sneak into the conversation that it would be great to have a 2x12/1x15 Hovercraft cab to go with my Emperor of the same caliber.

Final Thoughts…

For a new, underground band like ours, playing Hoverfest was a dream come true. We work pretty hard and take our music seriously, so to see everything pay off felt joyous. On a personal level, I had one singular moment that stands out more than any other. Those that are “too cool for school” so to speak may find it a bit lame, but I’m going to recount it anyway, regardless of how I’m perceived, to answer the question posed earlier by the squares, the one that goes, “why would you spend thousands to go all the way out there to play for 30minutes???

After our set I was totally shot, soaked in sweat, and frankly, unsure of how we sounded. For those people that don’t play, music sometimes can sound very different on stage than it does to the crowd, particularly when playing outside. So, as I gathered my gear and started carrying guitars back to the rental car, my mind wandered with thoughts of apprehension. If you’re an artist and not constantly thinking about whether your work is being presented accurately, you’re probably not a real artist anyway.

After throwing the gear in the car, I made a bee line back to the stage area to find the guys, my wife, and something cold to drink. That’s when Mike Scheidt came walking by on the other side of the lot. With Yob being one of my favorite bands, I waved, said hello, and was sort of leveled when he rapidly made his way over to me. Believe it or not, I really had no idea what I was going to say exactly, despite knowing for months that it was more than likely that I’d get a chance to meet him along with many other musicians. I conjured up something along the lines of, “I’m a fan” or something in that vein. Mike gave me a firm handshake and simply said, “you guys sounded great”, and went on for a few seconds about the performance. We talked for a bit and eventually shared a space in the merch booth, at which point I got to meet Aaron and Travis at different points in the day. One probably can imagine how surreal this was for me.

Lame? Maybe. Idol worship? Possibly. The way I see it….one of my favorite bands thought our little underground band was good. And ya know what? Maybe some other people at Hoverfest thought we were OK as well. And that, in closing, speaking for myself, is one of the coolest things about travelling all the way across the country on a financially ridiculous trip to share a stage with bands that you admire and respect. Cause maybe, just maybe, people will end up respecting your art just as much as you respect theirs.

So, thank you to Nial, Nathan, Billy, Todd, all of the bands, and all of the people that came out to make Hoverfest what it was. I can honestly say that playing this festival was as transformative, spiritual, and uplifting as any other experience in my life. Thank you all.

If you were at Hoverfest, I would highly recommend that you post some comments here about your experience, reach out to the bands via social media, or contact any of the people I mentioned here to stay thank you. I’m tired of so many shitty things in our society getting praise. Let’s for once praise something that deserves praise. Or if you’d rather, spend some time posting ridiculous cat videos which will get 1 million hits on You Tube. Your choice.

Written by Ben Ianuzzi

I want to thank Ben for writing this awesome article on Hoverfest. Thanks Ben.

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HEAVY DAYS IN DOOMTOWN 3 – Copenhagen 01st – 04th May 2014 by Steph LeSaux

HEAVY DAYS IN DOOMTOWN 3 – Copenhagen 01^st – 04^th May 2014

After Aguirre in 2012 and Huata in 2013, there was no french band programmed at this 3^rd edition of the HEAVY DAYS IN DOOMTOWN, still I came this year with one of the most eminent ambassador of our Doom scene in the person of Rodoplhe Beuchet –vocalist in Barabbas ! Although we didn’t fix any precise appointment, we arrive at our hostel, exactly at the same time as Ulla Roschat (the wicked lady) and her friendly husband Peter… Being given rooms 122 & 124 will make each night things easier to have a few more beers, wine and slices of cheese when getting back from the fest and share a few comments – thanx to Peter !!!

A couple of hours later, we enter the Christiania area where Loopen is located – for those who don’t know it, Christiania is the last urban hippie village of Europe and … logically the finest place to find good weed at fair prices for the week-end ! it’s good to take a sit, have a drink and roll a fat one to celebrate the imminent beginning of the hostilities  We quickly meet Clint and Sally, the Aussie doom ambassadors who make here their last step in Europe (for 2014…) after visiting Holland (Roadburn), Belgium, France (Doomed Gatherings) and Germany (DesertFest). Nice to meet the “hand of doom” himself !

A tall metalhead comes to us and says that we should hang out in a short time at Woodstock café where his band Koloss is going to play a little improvised set… HDDT’s warm-up show starts in about 1 hour, so let’s enjoy it ! Woodstock café is full of local people who are certainly used to less-heavy sounds but among us (about 10 metalheads standing up) the ambiance is I’d say “as usual” : stoned and drunk, and it’s amazing to see a single forties woman flying very high on crushing beats or a sixties couple dancing like they were at a marriage… the bass & drums duo slays some hard-hitting sludgy thrash’n roll and in this pretty surrealistic ambiance, make it a pretty memorable moment.

Loppen’s a nice venue for this warm-up show, pretty packed, there’s around 300 people and sees YURI GARGARIN opening with their up-tempo mixture of stoner and space rock. I’m not a big fan of this kind of music, especially when it’s only instrumental and above all that repetitive; a fair number of people seemed to enjoy though…

Things start to takeoff more seriously with another Swedish band called SWITCHBLADE, much more Doom related with droning wall of sounds, slow progressions towards blasting grooves… the addition of an organ to the initial guitar/Drums duo is not forceful, which is not the case of vocals presence on two songs (by a guy who just come on stage at those too brief moments) who really bring power and crushingness to the overall !

EAGLE TWIN were the headliners of the evening and they didn’t need more than a couple of minutes to justify it. Salt Lake’s City duo slayed everything with their incredible doomy sludge filled with tingy blues and a technical level that owes to multiple experiences in Jazz, Prog and Psychedelic departments ! Damn those vocals by Gentry Desley are terrific and definitely an essential instrument of the band’s unique bone shattering heaviness. Twisted, loud, epic, intimate, rebel, E.T. is a multifaceted machine with soul and guts, “snake hymn” is definitely a monster of a track, one of the heaviest of the week-end, this gig was a real highlight ! 

Friday at Ungdomshuset starts for us with the young Swedish band VIDUNDER and their bluesy 70’s style hard rock which takes pretty much influences in Witchcraft, as hundreds others of their fellow countrymen I guess but there’s no hazardous presence here, no bands is suddenly parachuted at HDDT just because their sound is sexy or their singer heavy, hahaha! There’s talent, time will probably help to make things a bit less standardized…

The infernal Irish trio DREAD SOVEREIGN formed by Primordial’s Nemtheanga (bass/voc) is maybe the most metallic band of the fest and amongst the bands I was really looking forward to. “All Hell’s Martyr” is in my Top 3 of the year so far and I doubt it’ll fall soon forgotten. I dig this band with attitude, this gloomy sound with authentic metal vibes from the 80’s, in some way they take here the place of Procession last year and will give a set as memorable ! Holy Mary, to start the set with “thirteen clergy (to the flames)”, “Cthulhu Opiate Haze” and “Pray to the Devil in Man” was undoubtedly the best thing fans could ever imagine ! “Scourging Iron” will be another striking moment, just as the amazing cover of VENOM’s “Live like an Angel, Die like a Devil” ! my only regret : not to have taken a single proper picture of this awesome band, was too busy headbanging for once, hahaha !

Shit it was impossible to miss any second of DS set, so I wasn’t that surprised not to be able to enter the smallest venue for LEECHFEAST s set which then was just listened from outside, just as a couple of others during the week-end like NOCTUM, DOPELORD, NIGHTSLUG… Experience has learnt me to prefer attend full sets from my fave bands in good conditions than trying to see each bands of the line-up partly, if I can then see a few other bands that are on my priorities - then it’s ok but no overdose of sounds, the audio-terror is still to come with that Saturday-SLUDGE (Graves at Sea, The Body, Sourvein..) and Sunday-fireworks (Goatess, Uzala, Windhand, Whitehorse…) !!!

Another name on the top of my short list was ABYSMAL GRIEF, the Italian masters of horror Doom - at their peak ! led by driving force Labes C. Necrothytus (on voc/keyb), the band delivered a magical show enhanced by red lights, candles, smokes and shadows. A great part of the songs are taken from “Feretri” even if this didn’t include my fave “sinister gleams”, with this one I think this would have been my absolute fave performance but it was brilliant, really. With bassist and drumming wearing cassocks, Labes with costume and hat, guitarist is the only one normally clothed but absolutely not in rest to pay homage to the influential masters of the early 80’s that were Death SS, Paul Chain and Black Hole. Ominous and dantesque are both words which come to mind for this unique moments of purple atmospheres…

We found hardly our way back to the fest on Saturday and missed the first bands, plus shit as I said, when we arrived, Dopelord was unreachable visually, then THE BODY gave a very strange show, it started pretty good during 2 long suffocating songs with harsh guitars and blasting drums, but things seemed to start get fucked-up with a short song (uncomplete ?) and another one with a scamped end which made it a bit disappointing for fans, finally getting a set almost half-reduced in time !

The predominance of scandinavian and american bands can explain it but WITCHSORROW was the only band representing UK this year, one can not say that it’s a default of quantity and quality and personally I’d have thought about many other bands before this one to raise high the flag… but their set was a pretty good surprise and my friend Rod who saw them in Paris a couple of years ago was quite impressed by the improvement they showed. Trad’ doom had definitely a fair purveyor with this bleak trio !

Time for the beginning of the infernal Sludge 3-hours program with GRAVES AT SEA starting on the main stage… Just as last years the guys are gonna leave ashes behind them… Incredibly intense with their hammering Grief-like Sludge, alternating between slow and burning as hell groovy parts with harsh blackened vocals and blasting chords, the set is still a pure moment of dread but for our greatest enjoyment is quite different from 2013, presenting new songs from “this planet is poison” EP and “betting on black” from upcoming split with Sourvein on Seventh Rule rds.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KUG5KdLQMyQ

I’m not able again to see NIGHTSLUG in good conditions, so I decide to have a sit in the yard and just listen (doors are open and the sound is good – as always) some ripping tunes of “dismal fucker” by Germany’s finest Sludge band ! The sound is very raw and brutal, filthy and even punkish at times too… I imagine a very tensed and sweating atmosphere inside with those thick riffs and tortured vocals enriched by terrifying and/or destructive noises; hope I’ll have other occasions to see them in the future !

SOURVEIN tour Europe this month to celebrate their 20^th anniversary… The band is among the most experimented in the Sludge scene and it’s great to see them in the actuality again three years after their last tour for “black fangs”.; T. Roy Medlin on vocals is a real frontman and the band’s music became more focused with time which make this performance fairly different from their colleagues still very intense, drenched in distortion and damage but with a special southern touch and damaging metallic soloing !

We’ll end this 3^rd day with the Danish local band DOUBLESTONE who released “wingmakers” - a very good debut last year, probably my fave album of Retro 70’s Heavy Rock along with “Abrakadavar”… the small hall is densely packed and there’s a great number of dedicated fans at our sides who sing, shout, headbang and jump all over the set… Nothing outstanding in the compositions within a style that is so much overused these days but it’s undeniable that the young trio displays songs with a refreshing energy and an extremely tight technical level… chunky riffs and chugging bass-lines are contagious, making you forget it’s already pretty late in the evening but a perfect way to end this intense day a bit more softly.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lCguzUTUxms

It looked like there was a few dozen of doomsters that went back home on Sunday or maybe was it also most of the bands playing the 3 days before that left and took on the road again ?! too bad for them cause it was, in my opinion, the best day of the fest !

Starting with WHITEHORSE, the Australian funeral Sludge/Doom band who crossed oceans for extensive tours in Europe and now the USA until the end of the month.

Very special, very impressive to say the least are those guys and their sound approach. Not just the music is monolithic and punishing but the guys themselves, with weird postures (bassist is tentacular and disarticulated) and looks (singer’s really scary) also transmit awesomely some relentless vibes of hopelessness and agony.

There’s more and more bands using additional electronics/noise elements to their music, often accompanying more than enriching, WHITEHORSE use them to layer punishing proportions and enhance the delightful discomfort they awesomely deliver. Yankees, this band is highly recommended, so don’t miss them if they happen to play close by you within the next 3 weeks !!!

There’s been quite a lot of young trios playing this week-end, PURPLE HILL WITCH is another one, this time from Norway and has so far released an EP “Alchemy”, via the almighty Church Within rds. Their set was a very good moment of doomy Heavy Metal inspired by the darkest hours of the forefathers of doom –Pentagram and Saint Vitus- and Witchfinder General with an additional raw energy taken from other early 80’s NWOBHM acts… Touring last year with Lord Vicar gave them strength and confidence and their 1^st full length - out by the end of june- should be an essential release of 2014.

Time for some GOATESS now, a much anticipated set for us little froggies ! The Swedish quatuor starts with “full moon at noon” and 1^st thing that strikes is the incredibly DENSE sound, making them sound LOUDER and HEAVIER than any other Stoner band on earth, fucking awesome ! just add the magic voice of Doom from Lord Chritus and you get a “fuoriclasse “ as say Italians…

the band’s sound is thick with regular moments of impending doom while there’s always place for some low-end groove, sonic, ethereal excursions… was a new song (apparently different from the one played at Roadburn) necessary to have high expectations towards the successor of the 1^st s/t album ? well, probably not but we smoked it up willingly and bowed down to the GOATESS !

The main venue was still pretty packed for SABBATH ASSEMBLY touring with the lady from Hammers of Misfortune for the vocal duties. Rather than the fact they were all dressed in white, the thing that disturbed me the most was the relative weakness of the vocals and the absence of real highlights in the set; but some riffs were great and I dug the tubular bells by the drummer.

THE GRAVIATORS were playing here the last date of a 2 weeks Euro-tour but didn’t seem tired at all, rather more galvanized by the event and the presence of their brothers in Goatess ! Punchy heavy-rock with bluesy riffs, burning up-tempos, wah-wah soloing and raspy screaming vocals… a very communicative energy for the sake of authentic rock n’ roll, great moments – It was a good surprise to see BABY WOODROSE in this year’s line-up, the most 60’s influenced from all bands. It shows that Lorenzo is the boss here, he has half of the big scene for just himself and the 3 other guys have the other part, hahaha ! too bad, I think the sound is fucking too loud for the style; but songs like “get what you give” or “what a burn” keep the show interesting…

That’s the magic of such a good festival , offer you a band like UZALA in the last evening, like ice on the cake  I know them for about 3 years now and have heard a lot of great reactions about their live performances, especially the excellent live transcription of Darcy Nutt’s vocals (something not that current…) and SHIT this will go beyond my expectations !

The lady is literally bewitching the whole venue and by far deserves the palm of BEST vocalist of the week-end !!! And the temperature doesn’t fall any second when Chad sings on an old song, drowning us in a rawer and nastier atmosphere. The couple from Boïse must gloat inwardly and us too, really -

Muscular riffs, heady melodies, mesmerizing vocals, UZALA finds the perfect balance between heaviness, immersive psychedelia and rising tides of feedback. “Seven Veils” and “Dark Days” are the absolute winners of theis memorable set. For their 1^st European date ever, the couple from Boïse must gloat inwardly and us too, really. BRAVO !!!

 

No injure to WINDHAND the final headliner of this HDDT, I really like this band but after Boïse’s heroes, it’s been hard to fully enjoy their set as it deserved. I saw their whole set with Pilgrim last November in Paris and judging by the 4 songs I’ve seen here, I can just approve that their ascent is totally justified and will hopefully help Electric Wizzard (with the comeback of Mark Greening) to come back to more serious things with next album !!!

I can not forget to mention the nice exposition of arts that one was able to enjoy all week-end long, the positive atmosphere between everyone, the awesome quality of the sound in general… Well, all things considered and just as last year, I can’t definitely find any negative points about this edition of Copenhagen’s finest HEAVY DAYS IN DOOMTOWN (fuck the mermaid !). Thanx so much to Daniel and all this hard-working team for having brought us all those great bands, in good conditions and at much more affordable prices than many others… you guys deserve the lights but we’ll stay willingly with you in the real underground; hope I’ll make it again next year.

That’s it Sludgelord maniacs, sorry if it was too long and kinda boring in the end, if I didn’t speak about bands you wanted or whatever but that’s just reflections on MY festival … cheers (Steph)

Written by Steph LeSaux