Desertfest 2017 Programme by Desertscene

THANKS This programme has been put together by Louise Brown (Iron Fist Zine) and Claire Bernadet (Heavy Chronicles/Purple Sage PR). Thank you so much to Jake Farey and Reece Tee for letting us, and thank you to our right-hand dude, Tom Geddes of Riffipedia and The Desertscene Podcast for all the thankless hard work behind the scenes pulling together the write-ups for the website in the run up to the festival. Now, go enjoy the weekend. We also wanna give mad props to: OUR DESIGN TEAM Dan Capp (www.DanCapp.com) Malleus for the amazing cover (www.MalleusDelic.com) OUR PR QUEEN AND ADVERTISING GURU Sarika Rice OUR WRITERS J Bennett, Pete Green, Jimbob Isaac, Jim Martin, Tom McKibbin, JJ Koczan, Alastair Riddell, Jess Shaw, Richard Sheppard and Angela Davey for running all over London for our Doom Heroes section - you’re our hero, Davey! OUR PHOTOGRAPHERS Falk-Hagen Bernshausen, Jessy Lotti, Thanira Rates, Christian Ravel, Antony Roberts, John White and videographer extraordinaire, James Sharples. OUR WRECKING CREW Staggrin’ Matt, Gareth Kelly, Luke and John from The Quietus, Theo, Big Poppa Griz, Rich Harris, Rory McGregor, Christina Shannon, Sam Dermo and Joey Pearson of Smokin Bones Club

Photo by John White

Let’s not forget our sidekicks Gaël Mathieu, Lucy King, Jeremy Miller, Denise Dunstan and Aleanna Shaughnessy. And thanks to Miranda Yardley of Terrorizer Magazine, Lee from The Sleeping Shaman. Not to mention Josh, Jon, Sploote and Patrice and everyone from the venues and our crew.

Thanks Jessy Lotti, Thanira Rates, John White and all our photographers for the memories

WELCOME TO DESERTFEST 2017 Desertfest weekend is here, motherfuckers! Welcome back you wonderful people and thanks again for making this festival what it is today, without you we are nothing so have a blast this weekend knowing that you guys are part of something very special. Six years, four countries, thousands of bands and trillions of beers and still going strong, the Desertfest train continues to rumble on and 2017 is set to be Desertfestâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s biggest year to date. Adding the iconic Roundhouse as our main stage Sunday is a dream come true for us and no band better symbolises how far we have come than the true underground pioneers Sleep headlining the historic venue. So do what you gotta do, see who you gotta see and drink everything you canâ&#x20AC;Ś Desertfest 2017 is underway. Reece Tee and the Desertfest crew 4

Welcome

performing at the roundhouse on sunday at 21:15

“Every band I’ve played with is just guys trying to get their feelings out through loud distortion so they don’t end up as serial killers.”

SLEEP HOW DID YOU FIRST GET INTO DOOM? “The same way I got into metal: I started playing it. It just seemed to come natural. I got into Sabbath, Saint Vitus, Celtic Frost, Melvins. I started to get into everything that was dark and slow. Doom is a dirge, you know? It’s a funeral mass. But I don’t want to be categorised as doom or stoner, every band I’ve played with is just guys trying to get their feelings out through loud distortion so they don’t end up as serial killers.” HOW WERE SLEEP PERCEIVED WHEN YOU FIRST STARTED IN 1999? “It was weird. We were just playing the kind of music that other people didn’t want anything to do with. We were taking Black Sabbath and making it for our own time. Kyuss was doing the same thing, I gotta give them credit. We were like two weird twins that gave birth to this whole thing.” WHAT WERE THOSE EARLY SLEEP SHOWS LIKE? “They sucked! No one was there. Then we quit for ten years, now it’s like we’re the biggest band in the world or something. It’s lame, but people don’t think for themselves at the right time. They don’t explore things.” DO YOU REGRET BREAKING UP? “I think we broke up at the most perfect time, because it left people wanting more. ‘Jerusalem’ came out and people were like, ‘What the fuck?’. People were asking why we broke up, and the answer is that everyone was lame. Nobody gave us a listen before that album. The music business tore us apart.” HOW DO YOU WANT TO BE REMEMBERED? “When I die, I can say I was a real motherfucker. I didn’t invent the Irish saxophone or anything, but I played guitar like a son of a bitch.”

Sleep headline the Roundhouse on Sunday Interview with Matt Pike by J Bennett from the 2012 Terrorizer’s Secret History of Doom Metal. Kindly reprinted with permission from Terrorizer and the author. Photo by Jessy Lotti.

Sleep

The Black Heart, The focal point of the festival, is the place to be if weird and wonderful beer is your thing. Its grotty, backstreet atmosphere and black panelled walls host an array of independently sourced artwork, alongside that infamous neon cross beckoning you in off the street. As well as housing a Willy Wonka-esque booze selection, this hideaway plays headquarters to dream team Josh Retallick (venue manager and head of Old Empire) and Sarika Rice (PR extraordinaire for Old Empire and Desertfest).

MEET THE DOOM DUO AT THE HEART OF DESERTFEST’S BACK ALLEY HANGOUT “The Black Heart hasn’t always been the hard rocking place you see today, when I first took over there was still a strong ‘Camden’ vibe and no live music,” Josh explains. “Seeing there was a gap for musicians who actually play instruments and radio unfriendly music we decided to jump through the hoops of getting a music licence. The reason The Black Heart is special is we are inclusive, we don’t care if you are an indie band or a pornogrind band wanting to make it in a world of commercial bollocks, as long as you make music, then we are interested.” This description goes some way in explaining the line-up you can expect from The Black Heart across the weekend, and with everyone from Zombi to Venomous Maximus gracing the small stage, punters are bound to find something they love, alongside a pint of lycheeflavoured ale. It’s not just the booze and bands that make this gem of a venue special either – it packs a community atmosphere that’s difficult to find anywhere else in London and has quickly become an integral part of the Desertfest vibe. “Since we’ve had Greenland Place exclusively for the use of festival attendees, I’ve gotta say that’s probably one of my favourite things,” reveals Sarika, who is head of PR for Desertfest and often found propping up the bar. “If you want to see what Desertfest is all about, just grab a beer and stand out there for 15 minutes!” While a lot of rock and metal bars in the capital can feel a little intimidating, The Black Heart is open to everyone and welcomes boozehounds from all walks of life. “We have certainly had our share of ace musicians through the doors, but I don’t mind,” says Josh. “As long as you like it loud and you aren’t a dickhead then the door is always open”.

FUZZORAMA RECORDS

CLOTHING AND A TOTAL OF OVER 150 MERCH

ITEMS IN THE OFFICIAL SHOP - WWW.FUZZORAMASTORE.COM

TRUCKFIGHTERS - V

Tr u ck “S fight Trip uper L ers P le g ate ” fold

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Words: Angela Davey

The Black Heart

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to light up the Electric Ballroom once more. With the promise of new fuzz alongside classic stoner hooks, you’ll be lucky if you have a neck left by Slo Burn. [TG]

STONED JESUS It’s been half a decade since this heavy Ukrainian three-piece issued their second full-length, ‘Seven Thunders Roar’, and it would be hard to imagine they had any idea the audience it would find or how deeply it would resonate. With over one million plays on YouTube, the record’s reputation continues to grow even now and is making its way toward being a classic in the genre. To mark the five-year anniversary of ‘Seven Thunders Roar’, Stoned Jesus – who put out their third album, ‘The Harvest’, early in 2015 – will arrive at the Desertfest on the heels of a first official vinyl release for the sophomore outing, to perform a set that includes the five tracks played front to back in all their massive, jamming glory. “It may look like we’re hopping on this hype train with the whole playing-their-‘legendary’-record-from-A-to-Z

What a difference a couple of years can make. Back in 2013, everyone’s favourite rock bastards from Chiliomodi hit Desertfest for the first time, playing the pre-show at The Black Heart with our buds in Enos. They hadn’t yet released their second album, ‘Vultures’, which would propel them to wider acclaim across Europe and beyond. In 2017, 1000mods come back to the Desertfest as conquering heroes of heavy riffs. They’ll be supporting their fantastic third full-length, ‘Repeated Exposure To…’, which came out in September and reminds us of everything we’ve ever loved about desert rock. The Electric Ballroom on Friday welcomes 1000mods as the foremost representatives of Greece’s fertile underground scene, having organically grown a passionate and loyal fanbase through hard touring and kicking ass. As their ascent continues, we can’t wait to hear what they have in store for us this time around. [JK]

PONTIAK

thing,” says band founder and guitarist Igor Sidorenko, “but truth is loads of people haven’t heard these songs live – apart from ‘I’m The Mountain’, which we play every show. Revisiting your own material that stood the test of rapidly changing trends is also something that may help us with our fourth record.” [JK]

Lowrider / Stoned Jesus

1000 Mods / Pontiak

Pontiak are a psychedelic trio from Virginia, made up of three brothers, Jennings, Van and Lain Carney. Their pounding blend of shoe-gazing trances, psychedelic grooves and heavy, blues-infused indie hymns draw elements from over a notably wide palette of styles and makes their eleven-strong catalogue of releases a sprawling buffet for the ears. Originating in the Blue Ridge Mountain area in 2004, the brothers have toured with the likes of Earthless, Golden Void and Wovenhand. When you hear Pontiak you can’t help but revere at how prevalent their vocals are. During their high energy, thumpingly heavy live performances they manage to maintain the soaring vocal harmonies that notoriously dominate their music and lay the foundations for their sound, resulting in a hypnotising experience when witnessing them live. You’d have to lose your mind for the day to miss this performance; catch them opening the Electric Ballroom stage on Friday to set you up perfectly for the weekend. [JS]

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Back in April 2012, when Desertfest was but a child, Lowrider were one of those bands buried before their time. 2000’s ‘Ode To Io’ was, seemingly, the Stockholmdwelling band’s final farewell; before many even had a chance to discover how special the Swedish band were. As mouthwatering an idea as it was, it seemed unlikely we’d hear those huge, distorted riffs blaring out from a stage. Luckily, Desertfest had other ideas. Lowrider were resurrected in 2013 to grace the stage at the second Desertfest. That night at the Electric Ballroom still goes down for many as the greatest moment in our first five years. With the dust settling on their triumphant Desertfest set, Lowrider decided they had unfinished business, and not only on stage. With a sophomore full-length currently in the works, we thought it was the perfect time to invite Lowrider over

1000 MODS

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lowrider

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If there’s one shared hero among the thousands of people gathering in Camden this weekend, it’s Tony Iommi. But there isn’t one shared hero, there are two; Iommi and John Garcia, according to Desertscene’s Tom Geddes…

john garcia There are many dutiful prophets, but this is the Godtier of the stoner rock scene. We’re lucky to have the voice of desert rock, John Garcia, walk among us this weekend, scaling the Electric Ballroom to offer a sermon not once but twice. This second coming of Garcia - after initially playing with Unida at Desertfest in 2013 - brings not one but two of his perfect creations. First, on Friday, he rides in on the newly reincarnated Slo Burn, whose sole release, ‘Amusing The Amazing’, is one of the holy relics our scene is built upon.

Whilst the instrumentals alone would make Kyuss a force to be reckoned with, Garcia’s vocals - somewhere between gravel and treacle - completed perfection. His voice became an iconic part of the scene in the years that followed, but back at the beginning, all anybody knew was that it, and Kyuss as a whole, were a huge shot in the arm for heavy music. Those first four Kyuss albums - theorised from the artwork to represent earth, fire, air and water respectively - were the right

Photo by Jessy Lotti

On Saturday he rises again, walking alone through the Desertfest, offering up his latest testament to the hungry pilgrims. But whilst he is ascendant now, his beginnings are humble. Surviving many days and nights in the Palm Desert, like any disaffected teen growing up in a small town he worshipped the Old Gods of The Stooges, The Cult and even Sabbath, not knowing he would one day reach their level; not knowing he would be a creator of something eternal. Standing on the shoulders of giants, with three more horsemen beside him, he let forth a shout and the world knew Kyuss was born - and with it, so was stoner rock.

OBELYSKKH_advert_desertfest2017.pdf

elements to, not only preserve the legacy of the band, but also inspire a musical movement. When Kyuss returned to the void in the mid-‘90s, John Garcia would not be content to sit back and let the scene fend for itself. No, Garcia is an active God, a fulltime creator sharing with us the divine gifts of Slo Burn, Unida, Hermano, Vista Chino and even now his solo work, proving he is a deity not adverse to evolution. No mere mortal can find himself at the forefront of so many great bands. Only a God can command such reverence. Or maybe he’s just a dude with a great voice and a love of riffs. Worship at the altar of Garcia twice at this year’s Desertfest.

John Garcia

02.04.2017

13:34:22

VODUN Described as “hard-charging afro-psych” and “dangerous, thought-provoking, weird and otherworldly”, it’s safe to say that Vodun’s arrival caught people off-guard. When critics left, right and centre have to start making up new genres to describe a band that has blown them away, you know something important has happened. Vodun have been one of the fastest-ascending newcomers to hit the London scene, but they are no flash in the pan. Those that remember the equally ground-breaking trio Invasion will already be aware of the chemistry between incendiary drummer Zel and soulful-voiced singer Chan. Joining them is NZ-born guitarist Linz whose nimble-fingered fuzz sculptures underpin the dynamic shifting rhythms and passionate vocals. If you aren’t already under the spell of Vodun’s exotic magic, surely you will be by the time they wreck The Underworld on Saturday. [RS]

The Picturebooks

play in front of five people, give everything we have, let the word of mouth do the rest, come back and fill the damn place. I think this is the only way to do this, people want to discover bands on their own again.”

DEATH ALLEY

The Picturebooks headline The Underworld on Friday Interview by Louise Brown, kindly reprinted from Iron Fist Magazine

ERTFES

DOOM HEROES: DARK ARTS COFFEE

We get it, you’re two days into beer for every meal and it feels like your brain is going to fall out of your arsehole. Allow Dark Arts Coffee to cure what ails you. Based just off of Homerton High Street, the team serve up HE ROES the best breakfast burrito in all of London, alongside coffee that’s blacker than the blackest black. Managing director Brad tells us what to expect; “good food, good coffee and staff on a comedown who look like they want to kill themselves. Oh and spooky shit on the walls and broken down motorbikes in the way”. [AD] www.DarkArtsCoffee.co.uk

The Picturebooks Vodun / Death Alley / Dark Arts Coffee

Vodun / Death Alley

You want to know the dirty secret of Amsterdam’s Death Alley? Well, no doubt they have a few, but here’s a good one: the balls-out, all-go rockers who made such a raging debut in 2015 with the ‘Black Magick Boogieland’ album have new material in the works. They’ve been playing it at shows. It exists. If you’re lucky, they might even play some of it when they come to The Underworld this Friday night. Actually, that’s pretty much guaranteed, as is the excellent time the band (which features former members of Gewapend Beton, Mühr, In Solitude and The Devil’s Blood) bring to every stage on which they step. In the span of just a couple years, they’ve become one of Europe’s most essential live acts, and whatever cliché you want to insert here about reminding audiences that rock ‘n’ roll should be both dangerous and fun, they’ll make sure it’s thoroughly applied in the shape of a bootprint on the Desertfest crowd’s collective ass. Simple advice: DO NOT MISS DEATH ALLEY AT DESERTFEST 2017. Or anywhere, for that matter. Ever. [JK]

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“Philipp and I met in the skatepark in our hometown about 10 years ago,” Fynn explains. “We were pretty much the only ones listening to this kind of music. We were skating all day and didn’t know what to do afterwards and came up with the idea to make a band. But we didn’t how to play any instrument so we just went for it.” Conjuring the road-tripping vibe of bands like Steppenwolf and Spooky Tooth, The Picturebooks keep it low and slow in their music, but fast as hell on four wheels (skateboards) or two (vintage motorbikes). “We forbid ourselves to listen to music for over two years when we were writing our album,” Fynn says. “We didn’t want to get inspired by other bands. We wanted to create a sound of our own. Although we are pretty bluesy we gotta admit that we hate blues! At least what became of it. If you listen to the early stuff, it sounds raw and real, but the modern blues bands suck.” On playing fests like this one, Fynn says “people have started going to concerts again, started collecting vinyl and that’s great. We’re best friends, doing what we love to do, we get to see the world and enjoy every second of it. We play our asses off, go to a town the first time,

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The Picturebooks hails from Gütersloh, Germany and are a two-piece consisting of Fynn Claus Grabke on vocals and guitar and Philipp Mirtschink on drums.

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the well

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grave lines Boasting talents from Dead Existence, Sea Bastard, Throne and Casual Nun, new South-England collective Grave Lines were never exactly going to be all tambourines, flower power and Allman Brothers covers now were they? But with all that said, there’s a refreshing swing and a constantly regenerating set of dynamics rebounding between the foursome on debut record ‘Welcome To Nothing’ that few would perhaps have expected. Julia Owen and Staggrin’ Matt’s earthy, rhythmic undertow is topped neatly with the lingering, misanthropic baritones of vocalist Jake Harding and Oliver Irongiant’s hellish

Get yourself to up and out early on Friday, if massive riffs and sophisticated melodies are your thing. Austin-based power trio, The Well, will be tearing up the stage with their progressive take on heavy rock. Expect solid grooves and reckless tribal beats aplenty, with a sinister psychedelic edge. The band draw comparisons to the likes of Black Sabbath and Uncle Acid due to their daunting rhythms and heavy guitars. For those not already captivated by The Well, latest release ‘Pagan Science’ is sure to make its way into regular circulation on your stereo after hearing the mystical dual vocals of Graham and Alley. The Well inject an intoxicating dose of raw adrenaline into a fatigued genre. Their nostalgic reverence and modern expression put them at the forefront of today’s heavy rock. You’d have to be very silly to miss this (or maybe just watching something else). [AD]

guitar work. The album itself brings the skull-denting sludge of ‘Cronus Chain’ and ‘Extinction Pill’, but sets them in deep contrast to the more post-metal inspired surrounding of ‘Blind Thamyris’ and ‘Drug Cold’. If your favourite bands include Old Man Gloom, Warning and Noothgrush, then you’ll no doubt enjoy watching Grave Lines smash them together likes flies on a windscreen at The Underworld on Friday. [PG]

ERTFES

DOOM HEROES: PARLIAMENT TATTOO

“Make tattooing scary again” reads the sticker on the wall of Parliament Tattoo - a tongue-in-cheek joke, but one that’s not far from the truth; a notion that this North London studio is looking to dispel. “I just wanted HE ROES to create a space that’s relaxing,” says owner, tattooist and doom obsessive, Scott Move. “Hopefully people don’t feel too weird or intimidated when they come in.” As well as boasting a friendly vibe, the studio’s resident artists have a long wait list, so be prepared to book now if you want to get tattooed at Desertfest 2018. However, know that what you’ll walk away with is one of a kind! [AD] www.ParliamentTattoo.com

The Well / Grave Lines / Parliament Tattoo

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Steak have been all over the shop spreading their desert stoner vibe from the snowy peaks, to the urban sprawls, to the actual desert itself over the last few years. Staggrin’ Matt slung the shit with guitarist Reece Tee to find out why you most definitely should venture to The Underworld to catch them on Friday evening

steak You’re back at Desertfest for the third time this year, how have the last appearances at treated you? Desertfest has been very good to us, we were signed by Napalm Records directly after a very sweaty gig at The Black Heart, so we owe a lot to this fest. It’s a great opportunity for the British bands to get some worldwide exposure and it’s great to see friend’s bands doing so well. The whole scene is blowing up in London in my opinion. Your journey from playing on the smaller stages and after-shows to being right up there on the second stage of the fest has been colourful. What are your best memories and how could this top them? Yeah it’s a nice step forward playing The Underworld, it’s such an iconic venue and a brilliant atmosphere to play when the room is full. I guess we could be a bit of an after-party sort of band, but we are pumped for bringing that energy to the Friday evening. We have some iconic stoner bands playing on our day so it’s a milestone for us. My favourite Desertfest performance was the after-party in 2015 when we played after Sleep; pretty crazy gig. What sets a Desertfest crowd apart from a regular club show? People are just crazy for riffs. It’s the anticipation, you

Photo by Thanira Rates

can feel it hanging in the air before you take the stage and it all adds to the excitement of getting on and playing. People are just so up for it. Fans come from all around the world, it can be such a rare opportunity for people to see us and for us to play to a whole new bunch of people. What’s your favourite part of the festival? The friendly atmosphere and the insatiable hunger for live music. Every show is rammed and that’s great to see. People are here for the music and to hang with friends, there no pretentious bullshit. With John Garcia appearing on your album ‘Slab City’ and other bands you’ve toured with appearing across the weekend, you have many friends here. Who else are you most looking forward to catching? Obviously Slo Burn is a big one for us, I wore that album out years ago. It’s a good ole stoner rock day on Friday and we are in good company. We have played on stage with Garcia’s guitarist Ehren a couple of times before so I’m sure he will gatecrash the party during our set! What track are you most looking forward to smashing out and why? Personally I love one of the new tracks ‘Overthrow’ from our forthcoming album. It shows our progression as a band, it’s riff-driven but has some nice changes and there’s a good balance to the song as a whole. It’s definitely where I want to be musically, it’s heavy but has some space to breath and a killer vocal. Actually the track features on a Desertfest 7” split with Greenleaf so you can grab a copy at the fest.

Steak

DYSTOPIAN FUTURE MOVIES

Head to the Dev on Friday and get weird with Nottingham’s Dystopian Future Movies. Taking a Sonic Youth approach but arriving at some dark place between Neurosis and Chelsea Wolfe, DFM have crafted a unique combination of discordant layers, atmospheric swells and colossal heaviness. If that’s not a soundtrack to spill your pint to while dancing like a troubled ghost, then we don’t know what is. [AD]

CLOSET DISCO QUEEN

Swiss band Closet Disco Queen are a two-piece who play a heavy as all balls noise/blues rock fusion. Both are current members of Coilguns and formerly of The Ocean Collective, so you should prepare for a loud and heavy set. Closet Disco Queen pack a serious punch, proving you can be do more with just a set of drums and a guitar than many a band can with a higher instrument count. [TG]

LEDFOOT

If there’s one act you won’t have heard of but definitely need to check out, it’s Ledfoot. The American singer/songwriter will be bringing his acoustic take on gothic blues to The Dev this Friday, providing the perfect atmosphere to sink 10 whiskies and a packet of Malboro Reds before getting stuck into the rest of the weekend. Expect sombre moods and pensiveness aplenty as Ledfoot strums on his 12-string, accompanied by steel finger picks and stomp box. It’s set to be a truly miserable time and The Dev isn’t especially roomy, so get down nice and early and bring your best melancholy expression. [AD]

Apey and the Pea / Closet Disco Queen / Dystopian Future Movies / Ledfoot

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The Devonshire Arms

One of Hungary’s most popular stoner/sludge bands, Apey & The Pea are winning fans throughout Europe; and with good reason. Formed at the end of 2008 by members of the Pantera tribute band, Remembering The Steel, Apey & The Pea’s groove-driven sound can turn on a hairpin into raw, guttural energy. Having shared stages with Saint Vitus, Dopethrone, Weedeater and more, if you haven’t heard Apey & The Pea yet, you’re in for a treat. [TG]

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Photo by Jessy Lotti

“People can expect to witness some real up and coming talent from the UK and Europe, in an intimate setting,” Patrice tells us. “All the bands bring something different from each other but remain complementary to the Desertfest vibe. I try not to do stoner heavy line-ups for my stage as I love a bit of juxtaposition!” The Big Smoke’s most famous alternative venue is worth popping into over the weekend purely for the atmosphere too; it’s a safe haven away from the hustle and bustle of the High Street and gives a flavour of what original rock culture in Camden was really all about. “The Dev is a little local haunt in Camden, away from the tourists and hasn’t changed much over the decades,” Patrice says. “It’s a taste of real Camden, where you can bump into the local bar staff from other venues, local musicians, etc. The beer is cold and cheap and the music is great. The walls are adorned with upcoming Camden gig posters and there’s a sense of authenticity about the place, which is getting harder to find in the area.” As much as big names such as Sleep and Candlemass are going to rule, it’s worth remembering that Desertfest is a weekend of opportunity with many smaller bands to discover and fall in love with – it’s the underground vibe that makes the festival what it is, after all, and Patrice attests to this: “I really hope people come and check out the smaller bands on the smaller stages, as some of these guys may be headlining one day,” she exclaims. “Some of the best shows I’ve ever experienced were surprises, bands I hadn’t known before. It’s nice to be able to look back and say you saw a band before they outgrew the underground venues.” So, if you do decide to stray onto the path less trodden and check out some of the smaller bands, who’s the band you ought to see? “I can’t wait to see Apey & The Pea winning over new fans this year,” says Patrice. [AD]

APEY AND THE PEA

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THE DEV DESERTFEST’S NEWEST FAMILY MEMBER - BUT LONDON’S OLDEST!

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The Hobgoblin, the Devonshire Arms, whatever you wanna call it; it was London’s first, and now the oldest “goth pub”. It’s now also host to Desertfest’s free stage. The line-up is curated by Nightshift Promotions’ Patrice Lovelace, who takes pride in offering punters something a little different to what you’ll find in the other venues.

Pretty much the closest thing the UK has right down to a bona fide guitar god in the tradition of Japanese legends like Keiji Haino and Makoto Kawabata, Mike Vest has created a fearsome back catalogue of audial drifts into the ether over the last decade or so, in a variety of guises including Bong, Lobster Priest, 11Paranoias and Lush Worker, yet always with an aura of the other and fuzz pedals set to stun. His power trio Blown Out (also utilising the services of Pigsx7 men John-Michael Hedley and Matt Baty) is perhaps his most way-out of all - rescuing the jam band setup from one black hole of muso boredom yet hurling it straight back into another one, of THC-addled small-hours revelation.

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BLOWN OUT

BRUXA MARIA

Until recently Gill Dread was best known as the van driver of choice for the creme de la creme of underground tinnitus-terrorizers across the UK, yet she’s moved swiftly on to forming a band who can give most of those she’s ferried around a run for their money. Equal parts Amphetamine Reptile gnarl, hardcore spite and ear-spitting noise, yet overlaid with Dread’s bloodcurdling caw, last year’s debut ‘Human Condition’ was a blowtorch of angry riff-driven rancour fit to strip the paint job from your Transit.

Quietus Stage / Blown Out / Bruxia Maria

KHUNNT

For well over ten years now, Khunnt have been doing their level best to make living in Newcastle sound like absolute hell. Featuring luminaries from that area’s fertile underground scene including revered solo star Richard Dawson, they’ve taken the template laid out by audial crypt-dwellers like Corrupted and Khanate, fed it six cans of Special Brew and Gaffa-taped it to a chair in a room full of TV sets playing Jeremy Kyle on a loop, thus arriving at a fearsome and blood-curdling assault of excruciating pain and suicidal abjection fit to challenge the most intrepid avant-gardener.

ZOMBI

Bask / Khunnt / Terminal Cheesecake / Zombi

Existing in a parallel dimension of cathode ray catharsis and VHS mania, the duo of Steve Moore and AE Paterra have undergone over a decade of summoning celluloid-style thrills, with vintage synthesis and progressive rock as their tools on a timeless voyage through space. The spectres of Goblin, Tangerine Dream, Trans Am and Giorgio Moroder may be audible through these jaunts through the analogue netherscape, yet this duo - recently seen in the UK on tour with Ghost - are about more than mere nostalgia or retro reverie, rather a mighty blast of drama and dread fit to have horror fans and heavy heads alike quaking in their Converse. Warp factor twelve, cap’n.

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Fearless iconoclasts, chroniclers of the weird and wonderful, and still the UK’s greatest underground music website after pushing a decade of kicking against the pricks, The Quietus once again bring

North Carolina’ Bask are proponents of a beatific style that combines mighty heaviosity with earthy transcendence - as adept at summoning the sundown ‘60s rapture of Assemble Head In Sunburst Sound as the flarewearing truckstop rock of Bad Wizard, they channel a very American vista of psyched-out satisfaction, and with equal parts style and grace - a rare glimpse of positivity on a bill otherwise dominated by ne’er-do-wells, with no shortage of balls or inspiration to offer into the bargain.

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their own warped perspective to the Desertfest bill, arriving at a hinterland whereby the furthest extremes of the psychedelic experience waltz in the ether with good old-fashioned excess. Here Jim Martin, tQ scribe and member of Teeth Of The Sea – who took the stage by storm last year describes the diabolos-dealers they’ve drafted in for the proceedings for 2017…

BASK

performing at the black heArt on saturday at 18:45

the quietus stage

Spawned originally into life from the noisier and more mildew-ridden realms of the ‘80s underground, Terminal Cheesecake were nothing less than the British answer to the full-throttle mania of Butthole Surfers, charting a course from here to drug-crazed oblivion via over cranked amps and an approach of reckless experimentation with nary a care for their own marbles. Their comeback post-2013 started as manna for a particular kind of veteran drug casualty, yet - aided and abetted by sometime Gnod vocalist Neil Francis - has now resulted in them reclaiming their throne as the clown princes of UK noiserock, if their potent and pulverising riff-outs and mindmelts of new album ‘Dandeion Sauce Of The Ancients’ are anything to go by. Buckle up in their clown car of dementia and devastation.

performing at the black heArt on saturday at 20:15

TERMINAL CHEESECAKE

Black Spiders are a five-piece from Sheffield, Yorkshire, and they’ve got balls. They were formed in 2008 by Pete Spilby (The Spider), Andrew Lister (The Owl), Mark Thomas (The Dark Shark), Si Atkinson (The Tiger) and Adam Irwin (The Fox). Encompassing cheeky humour and occasionally provocative lyrics into their classic rock style, these Steel City rockers are sure to bring the party to The Electric Ballroom on Saturday. Hook-laden belters such as ‘KISS Tried To Kill Me’ and ‘Just Like A Woman’ saw them land support slots with the likes of Airbourne, The Wildhearts and Monster Magnet. They were named “Best Underground Metal Band” in 2010 by Metal Hammer and the band’s second album, ‘This Savage Land’, entered the UK Album Chart and hit #59. The North is heading South, “taking over this country one finger at a time”, so come and see what all the fuss is about as they blow the roof off during their Desertfest debut. [JS]

OUT

Just when you thought the Desertfest’s lineup was complete, we snuck a few extras your way. Top-billed of those additions were Ken Pustelnik’s Groundhogs, who bring that ‘70s heavy blues swagger in spades. Forming in 1963 and spanning several incarnations, Groundhogs were around right at the peak of British rock ‘n’ roll dominance, even so far as supporting The Rolling Stones by request in the early ‘70s. It’s no surprise they found themselves on such a bill though, with their assured classic album; ‘Split’ deserving a place among the many hidden treasures of the burgeoning rock scene in that decade. Huge riffs, assured solos and powerful vocals, Groundhogs will bring a hurricane of classic blues rock when the open the Electric Ballroom on the Saturday of Desertfest. [TG]

AVON

Avon might be a relatively new band to the scene, but the members have been a part of the California desert rock scene for years. So, if you haven’t seen them yet they are definitely one to watch. Drummer Alfredo Hernandez, infamously known for his contributions to Kyuss and QOTSA to name but a few, is joined by James Childs and Charles Pasarell. Let Avon show you how it’s done when they bring their raw, psychedelic California wisdom this Saturday. [JS]

Black Spiders / The Groundhogs / Avon

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OUT

GROUNDHOGS

performing at the electric ballroom on SATURDAY at 16:00

performing at the electric ballroom on saturday at 17:30 performing at the electric ballroom on friday at 14:30

BLACK SPIDERS

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performing at the underworld on saturday at 21:00

Bongzilla are set to play TWICE here at Desertfest 2017. Firstly a selection of older tracks from the likes of ‘Apogee’, ‘Methods For Attaining Extreme Altitudes’, and the now classic album ‘Stash’ on Saturday night as headliners of the Underworld’s HDP/WPC Stage, before a main stage set at the legendary Roundhouse with a packed bowl of bongy classics spanning all their albums on Sunday afternoon.

bongzilla There have been many imitators, but none come close to the boggy, dope-driven riff allure that Wisconsin weed legends Bongzilla command. True Iommi riff harbingers for the super skunk generation, the band are heading back to infuse London with a cascade of hazy riffs for their first shows in the capital in 14 years! We invited a cross-section of Bongzilla superfans, Desertfest regulars, and bands to offer up their most toketastic track(s) and give an insight as to why the smoked-out sludge heroes are not to be missed at their two performances at this year’s fest.

“Here we sit/in the circle of death/the five-pointed leaf/ drops the powder of life”. That riff, man. It gets me every time. ‘Keefmaster’s not pretty, it’s not clever, it’s to the point. It’s got swagger for days and it makes me want to shake my ass and punch faces at the same time. If you see me Sunday when that intro kicks in, run for cover! Mitch Barrett - BelowBeyond/V The Hierophant I love all of their back catalogue, but the tune I’m most stoked for has to be ‘Grim Reefer’ from ‘Apogee’. It holds a special place in my heart. I never thought I’d see Bongzilla live, a band I’ve hero-worshipped for a decade or so. I finally got to see ‘Grim Reefer’ in 2015, high as fuck with my bros and it will forever be the greatest moment of my life. Such a nasty swagger to it. Muleboy sounds like some possessed human nug. Adam Swarbrick - Boss Keloid Bongzilla were a huge influence for our band. Our favourite song is ‘666lbs Bongsession’, which we covered on our first EP ‘One’. Years later we would play a show with Bongzilla only to be informed that due to a record misprint we were actually covering ‘Trinity Gigglebush’, but it will still always be ‘666lbs…’ in our hearts. Heaviest ending ever. Simon Walker - Monolithian/Rash Decision I remember how I’d ride my bike around town listening to ‘Gateway’ going “Fuck me this is nuts”. It had that awesome Malleus cover art with that massive daemon sitting on that huge throne with a gigantic smoking bong with plumes of smoke everywhere; the absolute bollox. ‘Stone A Pig’ is slow and massive at first. As a young drummer I remember just being blown away by Magma’s playing, and I know I’m not the only one to think that. The last time I saw them was about 14 years ago, and they blew my brains out. Can’t wait to see them again. Tom Fyfe - Stubb

Bongzilla

Photo by Christian Ravel

As one of the first ‘zilla tracks I ever heard, ‘Sacred Smoke’ instantly knocked me for six. The riff kicking back in after the breakdown gets me every fuckin’ time. “Fire rips at their lungs… Holy mountain take us away”. Boom! Heavy, grubby, discordant, hazy… the overall essence of the THC vibes taking hold will forever be associated with this track for me, along with it’s successor on ‘Stash’, the slowly intensifying visceral waves of ‘American’. It’s been a long bloody time and I’m charged to see ‘em take London sky high again! Staggrin’ Matt - Grave Lines/Dysteria

“Load bongs, not guns” from ‘Bud Gun/T.H.C.’ has to be the ultimate stoner pig mantra of all time. Slacker core to the max. “If you wanna blow sky high/take another hit/let’s fly”. What more needs to be said? I remember first hearing ‘Stash’ and thinking my headphones were broken or the CD was fucked. What a disgustingly twisted sound that still puts a shit eating grin on my face to this day! Steve Horne - Crobar

Previously we’ve focused to a degree on specific threads of brain-mushing sounds with the bands we have been blessed to host. From Bongripper, Conan and Cough; the nihilistic strain of Noothgrush’s first ever UK show; the noteworthy monolithic set by London’s own Slabdragger in 2012; the dynamically astute intensity of Eagle Twin’s 2014 slot matching the head swirling sludge drawl of Sourvein and Graves At Sea earlier in the day; through to the much awaited return of blackened doom heroes Unearthly Trance in 2016 striding onto the stage after the likes of Monarch, Fleshpress and Counterblast; there are simply too many mind-crushing memories to fit into these pages alone. This year however we have chosen to incorporate an all-encompassing mix of what we consider to be some of the heaviest bands from across the spectrum of underground heavy music. A cacophony of brutal noise, bringing in various takes on the soundtrack to oblivion, we’ve taken great delight in pushing this year off in opposing directions but still held together under the cohesion of heavy-as-fuck, ass-kicking, headslamming, sky-shattering, earth-rumbling riffs. First of all, it must be said that the HDP/WPC Stage wouldn’t be complete without a nod to the UK underground. As many of us involved with Desertfest also play in various bands we’re lucky enough to consistently find ourselves surrounded by some of the

THE HUMAN_ DISEASE_PROMO / WHEN PLANETS COLLIDE STAGE vastly talented individuals that are to be found upon this wretched isle. These people, sounds, productivity and drive serve as an inspiration and therefore naturally leaves us passionate about sharing some of these. Along this sentiment this year we’re stoked as hell to be bringing a duo of magnificent annihilation, the killer MONOLITHIAN. With a barrage of riffs ready to slay the senses of anyone present, the Cornish two-piece have spent a wealth of time criss-crossing the UK shores to hone their beastly melee of dangerously furied death-sludge attack. We’re made up to have them representing what the UK is capable of when it comes to sonically heavy destruction. BRUME are then set to cruise in all the way from San Fran to offer up a seductive hallucinogenic journey of crooning doom mastery. Featuring a familiar face to those in the UK’s heavy underground in Jamie MaCathie, former guitarist of dinosaur party sludgesters Gurt, the trio are hitting Old Blighty together for the very first time, and will bring with them tracks from their imminent Billy Anderson produced debut LP, ‘Rooster’, released on When Planets Collide Records on 4/20!! Frantic post-metal neigh-sayers CELESTE are poised to plunge the Underworld into darkness (quite literally) for their epic, expansive, dark and doomy wall of sound. Expect an all-engulfing destructive experience that will most certainly remove you from your body and mind as the French quartet cross the channel to melt some mental perceptions and slice the main frame to shreds! The mind-blowing combination of succulent sound that emulates from psych-doom titans INTER ARMA will likely leave the Underworld revelling at the sheer mastery with which they mix almost every dynamic, concept and approach that is possible to absorb, from gorgeous prog build-ups to full on demon-summoning doom, blackened chants and rumbling cavernous expanses. This is one that we’re truly psyched for! We urge you to delve headlong into the unknown! Another band returning to the fold and hitting the HDP/

Photo by Falk-Hagen Bernhausen

Here were are! Year six of celebrating all that is heavy, downright filthy, and that which is supercharged with THC-fuelled riffs of a disgustingly abundant nature. Human_Disease_ Promo and When Planets Collide have always strived to bring the gnarliest and most epic downtuned filth to our stage and 2017 is no exception.

WPC stage at full-throttle are the mighty groove-riff heroes SCISSORFIGHT! Back with a new line-up and ready to crack heads with their pissed-off, alco-fuelled, gnarly agro-rock, the New Hampshire bruisers still have all the swagger and balls that anyone could wish for. The band’s much-anticipated return sees them raucously rolling back into town for their first London show in over a decade. Expect old favourites and new smashers alike throughout an hour of tongue-in-cheek heavy mountain groove. Their last appearance here in Camden was one hell of a party… Finally, as special sets go, from a personal standpoint as well as for the wider experience, we’re ecstatic to be hosting weed-riff legends BONGZILLA as they bring us a set jammed full of nuggets from their early years, focusing on the releases ‘Stash’, ‘Methods For…’ and ‘Apogee’. This is a chance to catch the Wisconsin weed troupe in a more intimate setting, harking back to their last appearance here all the way back in 2003, before they head off to light it up at much roomier Roundhouse stage for a full set of fuzzed out classics the following afternoon. As a final treat we’re chuffed to bring you the late addition of SONIC GYPSY to open the day’s proceedings on the HDP/WPC Stage! A hell-billy blues jam teetering on the edge of madness, this crazed

punked blues outfit will serve as a sure-fire way to brush off those hangover cobwebs and ease you into the stride for the day ahead with a foot-stomping, howling, hoe-down from beyond. Get down early to witness something out of the norm and we assure you won’t be left disappointed! Sonic Gypsy will storm the stage at 1.15pm, straight after The Underworld’s doors are thrust open. Lastly from us we wanna shout a brief cheers to everyone involved with making Desertfest what it is and what it has been so far over the last number of years. There are so many individuals that come together each year to take over the heart of Camden and create something stupendously special, with some of the best vibes from any place of heavy music happenings. We have been involved since the start and have watched the festival flourish into the monolithic beast that it has become. Long may it continue! So get ready to roll down into the depths of the Underworld on the Saturday of this year’s festival for what is quite possibly our most ragingly heavy bill to date. We can’t promise that you won’t emerge somewhat altered from when you ventured in, but we’re certain that your thirst for the hugest, deepest, skull caving riffs will be fully satisfied. The heaviness is beckoning… Staggrin’ Matt

The Human_Disease_Promo / When Planets Collide Stage

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Here at Desertfest HQ, we love the bands who don’t quite fit. Heavy riffs are awesome, but something really special happens when Berlin’s Samavayo step up and put their own stamp on the heavy rock we all know and love. The progressive-tinged trio released their fifth album ‘Dakota’ in 2016 and brought forth a fluid blend of driving riffage, Middle Eastern influences, and sharp-impact prog metal that remained distinct among everything else we heard last year. Expect the unexpected when these veteran individualists take the Black Heart on Saturday. [JK]

BRULE

London’s recently-formed Brule come with a great pedigree and a space truck full of riffs to deliver. Including members of London favourites Dusteroid (bassist Tjay Tarantino), Age Of Taurus (guitarist Alastair Riddell) and Pig Iron (singer Johnny Ogle), they haven’t had long to prove their mettle but are well on the way. With a sound that is self-described as “heavy metal rock ‘n’ roll, rocking the classics like Pentagram, Skynyrd, The Who and Deep Purple”, you can expect a heady combination of those things and more. Prepare yourselves for the onslaught that is heavy metal this Saturday over at The Black Heart. As true as the spears thrown by their namesake, Brule the Spear-slayer. [RS]

Earth Ship / Samavayo / Brule

MAMMOTH WEED WIZARD BASTARD

The name on the poster that’s had all those not in the know thinking they’d get to see two bands called ‘Mammoth Weed’ and ‘Wizard Bastard’ – it’s one band, four names, split across two lines – infinitely more bang for your buck and even more riffs for your ears. The Welsh five-piece will be hitting up the Black Heart on Saturday to hypnotise Desertfesters with their cloying riffs and ethereal vocals from latest release ‘Y Proffwyd Dwyll’. What’s in a name? That which we call Mammoth Weed Wizard Bastard, by any other name would sound as heavy. Graig ar (or rock on, whatever works for you). [AD]

STUBB

Formed in 2003 by guitarist and singer Mike Cummings as a way to channel his combined loves of Black Flag, Black Sabbath and Neil Young, Backwoods Payback play unadulterated melodic rock ‘n’ roll. Fans of Kyuss, Elder and Down will find it impossible to resist. A four-piece for most of their 13-year journey, the Philly-based band are now a power trio and we’re delighted their European tour will bring their riffnado to the Black Heart this Saturday. [JK]

Theirs is the sound of the late ‘60s to early ‘70s heyday of rock ‘n’ roll. Theirs is the live experience of a bluesy power trio hard at work and they’re roaring back to The Black Heart. Stubb was born of a love for a warm, vintage guitar sound long lost but never truly forgotten. Kicking out their first jams in 2006, they showed great promise, but the debut Stubb line-up just wasn’t to be. Reactivating the band around 2010 with two thirds of Trippy Wicked, Stubb began to truly flourish. Now Stubb Mk. III are back and armed with the blissful, psychedelic panoramas of the ‘Cry Of The Ocean’ LP. If you like to boogie and you like to groove, don’t miss out on seeing Stubb this Saturday. [PG]

Iron Witch / Backwoods Payback / Mammoth Weed Wizard Bastard / Stubb

performing at the black heArt on saturday at 20:15

SAMAVAYO

year’s ‘Hallowed’. Another brutal band at the forefront of Germany’s sludge/black metal hybrid dominance alongside Desertfest alumni Mantar and Iron Walrus - Earth Ship are a band who excite with every release and every performance. You don’t know what you’re going to get, but you know it’s going to make your neck ache. Make sure you squeeze into the Black Heart when Earth Ship dock at Desertfest. [TG]

Liverpool’s answer to Eyehategod, Iron Witch have been through multiple shifts in line-up and circumstance over the last couple of years and have come out swinging each and every time. Rocking their strongest (and hopefully final) formation to date, the five-piece blew the roof off of Temple of Boom at Ritual Dreadfest back in February, debuting newest addition on drums Jay Austin (Coltsblood, Black Magician). London is always pleased to host their scouse favourites, so make sure you get down to The Black Heart on Saturday to give Iron Witch the heavy welcome back to the Smoke that they deserve! [AD]

performing at the black heArt on saturday at 17:45

Berlin’s Earth Ship are one of the heaviest bands you’ll see all weekend. Bold claim, we know, but we reckon they can back it up when they headline The Black Heart on Saturday. It seems whatever way you describe the band, you’re missing most of their sound. Some would call them sludge, but that ignores the rich vein of black metal running through their centre. Those who call them black metal aren’t giving credit to the progressive breakdowns which underpin the wall of noise they send your way. Earth Ship’s tone could perhaps best be described as Crowbar and Pantera filtered through Mastodon and Kylesa, but even then, it’s not the whole story. Even their albums offer divergent descriptions of a band scarcely content to settle in one place. But once again, they all come back to that word ‘heavy’; the support around which the band are moulded. At their darkest, Earth Ship present the bleakest of the bleak, but not at the cost of groove which pierces through all, as seen in the astounding ‘Conjured’ from last

BACKWOODS PAYBACK

performing at the black heArt on saturday at 19:00

IRON WITCH

performing at the black heArt on saturday at 16:15

earth ship

DEAD LETTUCE

Despite their name suggesting otherwise, Dead Lettuce bring the freshest, crunchiest stoner fusion this side of anywhere. Slow, deliberate and absolutely drowning in fuzz, Dead Lettuce scratch all the right stoner itches; meandering jams, liberal distortion and killer riffs. Vocally, however, the band have mixed in the raw energy of early grunge. It’s a combination not often seen in this scene, but works a treat. The band’s debut EP, 2015’s ‘Booze And Blues’, documents an almost primal sound. Be sure to make Dead Lettuce one of your five-a-day at The Dev on Saturday night. [TG]

performing at the devonshire arms on SATURDAY at 20:00

Back in 2013, Canadian stoners Chron Goblin found their way on the Desertfest bill via a competition. They impressed us so much they’re now here on personal invitation. Drizzled in fuzz, their signature stomp has elements of punk which brings an unfiltered energy. Chron Goblin will ensure the party keeps going. So grab yourself a few more beers, force your way to the front and welcome ‘em back to Desertfest in the most raucous way possible. [TG]

WELCOME BACK DELTA

performing at the devonshire arms on SATURDAY at 17:15

performing at the devonshire arms on SATURDAY at 22:00 performing at the devonshire arms on SATURDAY at 18:30

CHRON GOBLIN

MONSTERTONE

Gloucestershire’s Welcome Back Delta are nothing if not a good time. In that proud tradition of British stoner, they don’t take their public image all too seriously. But that’s not to say they can’t riff. Welcome Back Delta’s stoner-edged hard rock is rife for getting your head a-bangin’ and your feet a-stompin’. Held together by Joe Kelly’s vocals, somewhere between gravel and tarmac, WBD pack a fair punch without straying too far from the bluesy groove that brings out everybody’s dancing shoes. Make sure you’re there to welcome ‘em to The Dev on Sat. [TG]

Self-described as “three dudes with a fetish for 70’s rock ‘n roll riffage”, you already have an idea of what you’re in for with Monstertone. The Netherlands-based power trio worship the riff, be it Sabbathian or Kyussian or Fu Manchian. Bridging the gap between the hard rock of decades gone by and the stoner of today, Monstertone have no secret agenda or hidden subtext; they just exist to play balls out heavy music. What more reason do you need to tune into Monstertone at The Dev on Saturday night? [TG]

Chron Goblin / Welcome Back Delta / Dead Lettuce / Monstertone

Matt from Human Disease Promotions has been working with Desertfest since day one, curating a stage that delves into the extreme edges of doom, from misery maestros Walk Through Fire to blackened doom heroes Unearthly Trance to the crushing Spider Kitten and everything in between alongside his partner in crime, Gareth kelly from World Planets Collide Records.

THE PROMOTER! How long have you been involved in Desertfest? Since the very start, six years now and counting. Feels like forever in some ways, although each year is still as enticing as ever, especially once everything starts coming together so we treat each time like it’s the first to some extent. What do you love about Desertfest? The vibe, it’s hands down one of the friendliest and raddest bunch of people attending a festival ever. Everyone is generally a genuine music fan, and up for having a great weekend watching some great bands. There seems to be a mutual respect around the place which is unparalleled in the larger festivals, which is

furthered even more by the bands themselves often wanting to find time to hang out at the bars and meet the festival goers. It just always feels very inclusive to me. If ANY band came in with a high and mighty attitude I think they’d instantly seem like the odd ones out at Desertfest. The festival is driven on a passion to create a platform for good, heavy music, and nothing more. What do you do at Desertfest? Bit of this, bit of that, fingers in pies etc! Aside from curating our stage with Gareth, I’m involved with numerous aspects of the process across the festival each year from the initial meetings right through to the final day, so it’s an all-engrossing thing. You never really stop thinking about it to be honest. If only you could see the scraps of paper that ideas etc have been scrawled down on whilst pissed somewhere at 5am! A lot of those have ended up happening, and some… have not… thankfully! It all starts to make sense at some point although you wouldn’t think it to look at it! What are your favourite Desertfest memories? There are too many to mention! Seeing the heads nodding and widened eyes of the audience whilst any band is smashing their way through a set is always ridiculously rewarding. Working with bands you’ve been listening to for decades is also a killer thing, especially when (as everyone has been so far) they’re down to earth, awesome people to boot. The sense of satisfaction each year, once the thing is all done and dusted, is somewhat euphoric as well. That 2am beer at the final aftershow, that’s the one that always tastes the goddam best! Who would be your dream bookings for Desertfest? Since it’s a dream; Zappa, Abandon, Butthole Surfers (circa 1991), and Snap!... at The Black Heart… in that order. Staggrin’ Matt (far left) with friends. Photo by Jessy Lotti

Human Disease Promotions

FRIDAY TIME

THE ELECTRIC BALLROOM

THE UNDERWORLD

THE BLACK HEART

THE DEVONSHIRE ARMS

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PPC412

GUITAR CABINETS “I’m just using massive mounds of Oranges and I use all of them! I have no dummy cabs”

Matt Pike - Sleep orangeamps.com

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INTER ARMA 18:10-19:05

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BLACK SPIDERS 17:30-18:30

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SAMAVAYO 13:45-14:15 SONIC GYPSY 13:15-14:00

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YURI GAGARIN 20:00-21:00

CHUBBY THUNDEROUS BAD KUSH MASTERS 20:30-21:15

20:00 19:30 19:15 18:45 18:30 18:15 18:00 17:45 17:30

WEAR YOUR WOUNDS 17:00-17:45

17:15 17:00

BOSS KELOID 16:15-17:00

BONGZILLA 15:15-16:15

19:45

19:00

PIGS PIGS PIGS PIGS PIGS PIGS PIGS 18:30-19:30

MAMMOTH STORM 17:45-18:30

SAINT VITUS 16:45-17:45

20:30 20:15

WUCAN 19:15-20:00

WOLVES IN THE THRONE ROOM 18:15-19:15

20:45

16:45 16:30 16:15 16:00

ELEPHANT TREE 15:30-16:15

15:45 15:30

VENOMOUS MAXIMOUS 14:45-15:30 HARK 14:15-15:00

15:15 15:00 14:45 14:30 14:15

WIZARD FIGHT 13:30-14:15

14:00 13:45 13:30 13:15

Got some time between bands, grab a beer and try these mind-melters out on your mates, courtesy of London’s newest and cultest record shop CRYPT OF THE WIZARD. If you have time this weekend, pop down to 324C Hackney Road, London, E2 7AX and check out their vinyl feast and grab a cup of Dark Arts coffee. You can catch the train to Hoxton from Camden Road...

Happy Tom of Turbonegro grew up with which black metal band? a) Deafheaven b) Sarcofago c) Mayhem

One of John Garcia’s pre-Kyuss bands was called Katzenjammer, which is the German word for what ailment? a) Being hungover b) Sand in your eyes c) Tinnitus

Steve Moore from Zombi was in a band called a) Gamma Rays b) Microwaves c) Wireless LAN Protocols

Who headlined the Sunday of Desertfest London 2014? a) Boris b) Orange Goblin c) Sleep

7 8

Sleep’s ‘Jerusalem’ is how long? a) 52.08 b) 58.02 c) 82.05

The Groundhogs took their name from a song by which artist? a) Van Morrison b) Cream c) John Lee Hooker

CRYPT OF THE... QUIZARD

Former Candlemass frontman Messiah Marcolin was in a band called a) Grace b) Mercy c) Repentance

How many singers has Saint Vitus had? a) Two b) three C) four

Avon are called Avon because... a) It’s a nod to Edward Scissorhands b) Guitarist James was born there c) They’re Shakespeare nerds Wear Your Wounds features Converge’s Jacob Bannon, what was the name of their first album? a) Halo In A Haystack b) Wings In A Windmill c) Lute In A Landfill

Answers on the Crypt of the Wizard’s Facebook page!

ERTFES

DOOM HEROES: CRYPT OF THE WIZARD

Crypt Of The Wizard is a dedicated heavy metal record shop located in East London, that stocks new and used records and cassettes carefully tailored to the discerning heavy metal maniac, working with smaller labels, HE ROES distros, and bands so they can stock records that no one else would touch as well as some classics and the next big thing. They welcome all Desertfesters to come and meet the Wizard, especially as they have “good coffee for hangovers and enough records for all.” Big fans of the fest, they say Desertfest “is the only festival in the world bold enough to present a huge cross section of heavy music and bring it all together under one banner. Where else can you see classic doom bands like Vitus and Candlemass on the same bill as London noise rockers Bruxa Maria, and Terminal Cheesecake?” As for who they would book? “Convince Reverend Bizarre to reform and headline, but they would have better luck getting Elvis to play. More realistically I think R.I.P would be a great booking, and I had hope Grief would make the bill. Dreams can come true…” [LB] www.CryptOfTheWizard.com

distributed by

Crypt of the... QUIZARD

Limited 7" available and shipping via www.shatteredplatter.bandcamp.com

NOT READY FOR SLEEP YET? WE’VE GOT SOME PARTIES PLANNED TO KEEP YOU DANCING UNTIL THE EARLY HOURS…

AFTER PARTIES On FRIDAY night, we know you want to preserve your energy for the weekend ahead, but come help us officially kick off the weekend at the DESERTSCENE OPENING PARTY, hosted by DJ Harris. He’ll be spinning party-starters and doom and stoner classics from 11.15 until late over at THE DEV.

… Remember, get home safe!

Right after SLO-BURN ring at their last chord at the ELECTRIC BALLROOM, DJs Anna Dumpe and Mel Clarke will open the doors on the SUICIDEGIRLS hosted BALLROOM BLITZ, so come dance to glam metal bangers, and massive ‘90s metal singalongs, while perusing the burlesque, aerial, fire-breathing, freak show wonders they have in store. It’s £6 in but FREE with a Desertfest wristband. Or, you could head over to THE BLACK HEART where THE QUIETUS will continue their own freak show after ZOMBI, where they will play avant, out-there, experimental, stoner mind-melters, where you can drink and zone out until the early hours. On SATUDAY, right after EARTH SHIP, stick around at THE BLACK HEART for SHE’S SO HEAVY. Created by Julia (Grave Lines/Casual Nun) as a night to celebrate Women in Rock, she’s joined by Harriet and Fed (Black Moth) and Jessika (Psychomagik). Powered by a shared love of massive riffs and the desire to spotlight female musicians, they spin heavy grooves, classic bangers, electric psych incantations and fist-pumping party jams. And then on SUNDAY, when you think you’ve heard your last riff and think you’ve slammed your last shot of Jägermeister, DJ HARRIS returns to THE BLACK HEART to atone for crimes committed at the opening party. This is your last chance for revelry and he’ll be joined by special guests a-plenty. Your last chance to party Desertfest style until 2018 rolls around.

*ALL AFTERPARTIES ARE FREE TO WEEKEND TICKET HOLDERS AND RELEVANT DAILY WRISTBAND HOLDERS. BALLROOM BLITZ IS ALSO OPEN TO NON-WRISTBAND HOLDERS FOR £6 ENTRY. After Parties

Photo by Bjørn Cato Flatekval

performing at the electric ballroom on saturday at 20:30

Turbojugend united kingdom! get Your Scandinavian leather ready, Desertfest have tempted the Norse sexgods back to Camden, for their first London show in almost five years. We caught up with apocalyptic bassdude, Happy Tom to find out what kept them so long, and what tuck shop treat he wants on his rider...

turbonegro Welcome back to London, what kept ya? Well, come on, Turbo has always been on and off. We had a few years where we would tour a lot, but now, some of us are pushing 50 and everybody has families now. Plus we always had extra jobs on the side, I’ve been working in television for 20 years. Rune Rebellion [guitars] is a big CEO at Universal. Euroboy [guitars] is a sociologist. We have these side jobs that aren’t very connected to our stage personas. It’s not like Euroboy is a cowboy, that’s not his actual job. It’s not like The Duke [vocals] is a street hustler. Well, he kinda is... Yeah. Look. we just can’t go on six week tours anymore. We’re lucky if we can play one show in England. Last year we went to North America for five days and that was a big ordeal just to make it fit in the calendar. That’s the way 40-something rock and roll animals. We forgive you. Have you always felt like Turbo had a home here in the UK? Of course. We’re such pop rock culture history nerds. We love going to England. Just driving from the airport you drive by the Battersea power station from the Pink Floyd album cover. It’s always fun being in London. We have good friends there, I mean The Duke started Turbojugend in England so for us it’s coming back to those days too. That’s the rock and roll myth, the superfan joining the band.

I know. It’s great. It’s a dream come true for the both of us, for all of us. It’s weird being in England, it’s just so different from Norway even though it’s so close. We’re going to have mulligatawny, we’re gonna have some tea, and we’re going to have some of that spread, the yeasty stuff? Bovril. You like that? Oh, it’s the nectar of the Gods! It’s disgusting, it’s what old men eat. Yeah, but Gods are old men. They like that stuff. We’ll make sure it’s in your dressing room! What else is on your rider? Sherbet Dip Dab. That’s all? That’s easy. I saw a documentary about this British journalist who went undercover with some football hooligans. He had a hidden camera in a car with a bunch of hooligans going to another town, and they’re on the cellphone with their other hooligan friends. The conversation went

something like “We’re doing great, we’re swigging lager, snorting charlie and eating sandwiches”. So basically that sums up what I wanna do when I’m in England. They’re good, decent English hobbies. So, are you excited to play Desertfest? Yeah, we heard it was a big deal. Rune said hey, we’re gonna play Desertfest and the other guys were like, “Wow, that’s awesome”. I didn’t know what it was, but Rune said it was a big deal and whatever Rune says, like I said, gods are old men and Rune is up there. Just in case you get the wrong idea, there are no deserts in England, but the vibe is very chilled out. Hey, you know what I heard? Up in the Palm Desert they have these generator parties like Kyuss used to have back in the early ‘90s. They’ll set up generators and have shows in the middle of the night for stoner rock tourists! That’s pretty wild, hey did you know John Garcia is playing right before you? I know, I just saw, that’s awesome. The last time I saw

him he was wearing a Turbojugend jacket, so maybe there’s a secret link there. Oh man, maybe he could join the band too? Well, we can’t wait to see you guys again. Maybe they won’t let us in after Brexit. Fuck, that’s true. Maybe Desertfest could be the party before the apocalypse. Hey, you’re wrong when you say that England doesn’t have any deserts because there’s a garbage dump somewhere around London where Mötorhead took the ‘Ace Of Spades’ cover shots so maybe we can go have a generator party out there. I like your style! IF ALLOWED IN AFTER BREXIT, TURBONEGRO WILL HEADLINE THE ELECTRIC BALLROOM ON SATURDAY Interview by Louise Brown

Turbonegro

performing at the roundhouse on sunday at 19:45

“In my humble opinion, Candlemass are one of the few essential bands in doom metal, along with Saint Vitus, Pentagram, Trouble, The Obsessed and Witchfinder General. Black Sabbath may have invented doom but the aforementioned bands took that blueprint and defined the genre, in addition to pioneering the sound and lyrical themes even further during the halcyon days the ‘80s. Candlemass also singlehandedly invented a new subgenre, epic doom metal with the release of their debut, ‘Epicus Doomicus Metallicus’.”

iron void on candlemass... “...Without Candlemass, bands such as Solitude Aeturnus, Solstice and Sorcerer, to name a few, would never have existed! The debut album and my personal favourite, ‘Nightfall’ are untouchable, classic records which have not only stood the test of time but still influence newer bands to this day, myself included! The depth of emotion to be heard on ‘Samarithan’ is sublime and almost tangible, a rare feat which many have tried (and failed) to emulate since! The band has weathered several different line-ups over the years but remain a live force to be reckoned with, miss them at your peril! Jonathan ‘Sealey’ Seale, Iron Void Iron Void play the Desertfest pre-show on Thursday Their album ‘Doomsday’ is out now on Doomanoid Records

Candlemass

performing at the roundhouse on sunday at 18:15

After lying low in recent years, conjurers of atmospheric black metal Wolves In The Throne Room are back on the warpath!

WOLVES IN THE THRONE ROOM The Weaver Brothers, founding and constant members of WITTR, have recently hit the road and invited the talents of guest singers, guitarists and keyboardists to assist in realising the complex vision of their studio works. Since starting their own record label, Artemisia, they have taken total artistic control of their music The last LP ‘Celestite’ was a deeper exploration into ethereal synthesizer-driven domains, taking a departure from the dark and dirty soundscapes of earlier records. The recent three-guitarist line-up sounds huge and mesmerising, transporting audiences to the cursed forests and domains in which these roaming wolves reside. Jim Martin spoke to Aaron Weaver about their return to the Big Smoke. It’s been three years now since ‘Celestite’, what’s been happening? We spent about a year building doing a build-out for a recording studio at Nathan’s house in Olympia. I spent a lot of time outside swimming and walking in the woods just soaking up some energy and inspiration. Getting ready for the next phase. The band’s been going for 14 years now, how d’you feel your outlook on your music has changed over that period? It’s a feeling that’s hard to put into words. Right now, when I listen to our music and close my eyes it conjures this wonderful, very dark imaginal landscape. And it has always been inhabited by the same energies and entities. Years ago this mythic space felt murky and indistinct but now things are drawn in sharper relief. It’s easier to navigate and it seems more beautiful to me. Do you still see your role to reflect your surroundings and the natural world, as was often talked about in the band’s early days?

My source of inspiration has evolved to become more specific. Our first record ‘Diadem Of 12 Stars’ was inspired by this tormented love for the wild mountains and forests. I’ve come to the realisation that much of my musical energy comes from our band’s home soil. We live right at the southernmost tip of the Salish Sea. There is a lot of creative energy here. What other influences have affected you musically? It’s our intention to remain true to a certain pure vision that has inspired our band for so many years. Black Metal, goth, crust, some old death and doom, medieval influences; that’s our sound. What should we expect from the show at Desertfest? We strive to create an atmosphere by manipulating the confines of different venues to our collective will. The work we put forth in altering the spaces, physically and psychically, is almost always well received by our audience. The environment changes and the viewer is, hopefully, immersed beyond the norms of a typical show experience. We are looking forward to the European shows as we have not been there for five years! Words by Richard Sheppard and Jim Martin

Wolves in the Throne Room

performing at the roundhouse on sunday at 16:45

“For me personally, Saint Vitus have been as influential as Black Sabbath, and in many ways they are more of an influence in that when I was starting to play guitar I found that I could learn Dave Chandler’s riffs much more quickly than Tony Iommi’s.”

WRETCH ON... saint vitus “...His lyrics resonate with me too. Geezer had a lot of high-minded and beautiful poetry, but Chandler let it go and it was all straight ahead. It doesn’t matter if you’re talking about the occult and the weirdness of the first two records, or the shift to the street level tales of depression and drugs that ‘Born To Late’ brought in. It was never about being flowery. I think that applies to the totality of their sound too: you have to go a long way to find a band heavier than Saint Vitus, and should you find that band you might want to think long and hard about making any statement about who’s heavier ‘cos Vitus really can’t be trifled with. Over the years a few people have slagged me off by saying I was just a Saint Vitus wannabe. Hey, that’s the best compliment ever! Karl Simon, Wretch Wretch play the Desertfest pre-show on Thursday Their self-titled debut album is out now on Bad Omen Records

Saint Vitus

Tom Geddes is the brains behind the Desertfest website, but when he’s not posting about the latest addition to our jam-packed bill, he’s building brand new website, Riffipedia.

THE WEB GURU “A work in progress,” according to Tom, Riffipedia is “essentially, an attempt at making a Wikipedia-type site anybody can add to that covers everything in the stoner, doom, sludge and psych scene.” It’s a massive undertaking - we’ve decided Tom must be either devoted to doom, or mad, which one is it? “Oh it’s most certainly rooted in a deep seated mental illness,” he laughs. Being a predominantly stoner site, it’s slow going but Tom says “I want an up-to-date page on there for everything that’s contributed in any way to this scene. I want people to stay on the site for hours clicking around finding new music. It could be our scene’s online home.” What do you do at Desertfest? I write for Desertscene; all the band and hype pieces, news and such. I also help look after the websites and social media. I’ve been doing this stuff properly for a year, but I’ve helped out with the odd writing piece since the first year. I honestly don’t know how I’ve weaselled my way into the outer-inner circle.

Tell us about the Desertscene Podcast? It’s where three nobodies play music and insult each other. It started last year, but we carried it on as we want to promote as many cool bands from this scene as possible. It’s me, Rich Harris and Rory McGregor. You can find it on the Desertscene Website, Hand Of Doom and Grip Of Delusion Radio and all the currently popular social media sites. If you could curate a stage at Desertfest would you pick? I’d invite eight psych bands, maybe Cosmic Dead, Radar Men From The Moon, Bong and so on. Then I’d have a continuous improvised set where a rotating lineup of members from those bands drop in and out to play. It’d be amazing or an absolute disaster. Tom Geddes is constantly looking for paid writing work. He’s easy to find on Facebook! www.Riffipedia.Wikia.com

ERTFES

DOOM HEROES: COOKIES AND SCREAM

For those jonesin’ for a sweet treat to cure their hangover, look no further than Cookies And Scream! Born from the ashes of heavy metal and punk PR/booking agency, Positive Nuisance, Cookies And Scream HE ROES serves a variety of gluten free vegan goodies from their market stall in Camden as well as their shop in Holloway. “It’s not so much your quiet read a book in the corner kinda place,” says owner, Chrissie. “More like hang out before a show, listen to good music, watch a movie and chat to any of the Cookie crew”. We recommend the Zombie Scream Shakes. [AD] www.CookiesAndScream.com

The Web Guru

performing at the underworld on sunday at 22:30 performing at the underworld on sunday at 20:00

time they’ve graced a stage at Desertfest London) so you know it’s going to be a party atmosphere, albeit one where you turn on, tune in, and drop out. So, whether we’ll be treated to selections from a forthcoming album or any number of mind-altering jams from records past, one thing’s for sure: Samsara Blues Experiment will be bringing their notoriously trippy show when they close down The Underworld on day three this weekend. [TM]

YURI GAGARIN If you’re going to explore space, who better to explore it with than Yuri Gagarin? Gothenburg’s heavy psych five-piece have been jettisoning minds to Alpha Centauri since their inception in 2012. Their 2013 self-titled debut invaded record collections with its raw, interstellar voyages, bringing to mind Hawkwind, but probing deeper with a heavier tone. Yet another notch on Sweden’s domination of the wider stoner rock scene alongside Asteroid, Graveyard and Truckfighters, Yuri Gagarin are on another planet.

Rocket out into the unknown with them at The Underworld on Sunday. [TG]

If you’ve in any way kept in touch with the latest and greatest of the UK’s doomy underground of late, then you can’t have failed to notice the canopy-scraping heights that Elephant Tree have already ascended. Somehow managing to intertwine the colossal grandeur of Sleep with the intoxicating lullabies of Dead Meadow, the London-based trio have received little but unanimous admiration so far..

So head on down to jam out with your yam out alongside Elephant Tree at The Underworld this Sunday. You’ll either get caught in their web or washed away with their homely groove, but a titanic set is always guaranteed with these masters of the heavy vibe. [PG]

HARK

them with layers of noise, hypnotic riffs and discomforting holler. Two sold-out releases and a series of mindblowing festival appearances are testament to the band’s chaotic appeal and we’re looking forward to hearing them slay at Desertfest with cuts from their forthcoming album ‘Feed The Rats’. [TM]

Samsara Blues Experiment / Yuri Gagarin / Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs

HARK were formed by Jimbob Isaac after 16 years of fronting the dearly-beloved (and much-missed) Welsh rockers Taint. With that musical pedigree it’s little surprise that their debut 7” ‘Mythopoeia’ quickly sold out, thanks in part to tours with buddies Red Fang and Clutch. Their debut album followed in 2014. Combining sludge, face-melting technical guitar-work, angular rhythms, and Isaac’s powerful vocals, ‘Crystalline’ introduced HARK as a fully-formed riff-machine, with the album finding its way onto many end-of-year

Wear Your Wounds / Elephant Tree / Hark

lists and into the hearts of the underground. Now the band is preparing to release their second album ‘Machinations’ which, luckily for us, means they will be stopping by DesertFest to lay waste to the Underworld on Sunday. Diolch yn fawr! [TM]

performing at the underworld on sunday at 14:15

the likes of Godflesh, Pink Floyd and Amon Duul into a blender of electronic, sample-strewn might, who knows how this will truly play out live on stage. One thing’s for sure though, if the intensity of Converge’s live shows and the beautiful, yet sinisterly uneasy chemistry distilled by Supermachiner (another Bannon pastime) are anything to go by, this isn’t a performance you’ll be wanting to pass up in a hurry. [PG]

ELEPHANT TREE

PIGS PIGS PIGS PIGS PIGS PIGS PIGS These indelible noise primitives will be unleashing their raw power to transfix minds and dissolve psyches at The Underworld. Formed in 2012 and comprised of members of Ommadon, Blown Out, and Khünnt (among others), Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs combine motorik rhythms, psychedelic swagger, and doom overtones to entrance audiences before pummelling

A once one-off project for Converge’s Jacob Bannon, Wear Your Wounds has been somewhat of a slow burner. Until now... Emotionally gripping, yet intricately crafted, Bannon’s latest musical visions are brought to life with the aid of Kurt Ballou (Converge), Mike McKenzie (The Red Chord), Chris Maggio (Trap Them, Coliseum), and Sean Martin (Hatebreed). Mashing the contemplative, thought-provoking, yet sonically vast soundscapes of

performing at the underworld on sunday at 15:30

performing at the underworld on sunday at 18:30

We’re delighted to be welcoming German psych heroes Samsara Blues Experiment back to Desertfest to whisk us away to the lysergic land in our minds with their fuzz-powered grooves. Formed in 2007, Samsara Blues Experiment don’t need much introduction, suffice to say that they’re one of the finest psychedelic stoner bands in the world right now. Indeed, 2017 is going to be a special year as it marks the band’s 10th anniversary (not to mention the third

WEAR YOUR WOUNDS

performing at the underworld on sunday at 17:00

SAMSARA BLUES EXPERIMENT

Malleus is an Italian visual art collective who have collaborated with the likes of Iggy Pop, Eyehategod, Monster Magnet, Sonic Youth, Mogwai and, of course, Desertfest, producing once again our official artwork and the cover of this programme. Grazie mille! Jimbob Isaac, frontman of Hark - who play on Sunday at The Underworld - and fellow visual artist spoke to Urlo, Poia and Lu, of the threeheaded dog that is Malleus to find out what inspires them… So, you’re collective, not one person, as some people presume. How do you work together in harmony? Urlo: Yes, we are three, it’s better than being alone. We are never alone. Poia: This way we don’t feel sad U: Always happy [laughs]. But we feel like we are one. Malleus is one single entity with three heads, like a monster. P: We try to have a discussion for a standard of work, so we can say that every work is the result of brainstorming and we try to adjust things if it makes sense, changing things and checking possible changes or mistakes some of us have done,so we like to cooperate on every work. As a young boy, I used to copy drawings from newspapers, comics and movies. What were your earliest movements to become artists? U: We don’t consider ourselves artists, we prefer to consider ourselves as craftsmen. We prefer to consider ourselves as people doing stupid things. P: Sometimes the word art is too much, as Urlo said. We prefer to stay in a word-limbo, I don’t know what it is but it makes sense to us to consider ourselves as

MALLEUS artisans or craftsmen. But yeah, comics are, of course, within our influences. We have many, many artists that we consider as part of our inspirations and I’m thinking about Mœbius, Mike Mignola, there are so many. We like to explore every side of visual representation, so also photography or movies or old paintings. U: Another thing is that we come from a country that is filled with heart, so we look around and there are plenty of paintings, sculptures, so it’s difficult to say there is only one influence for us. But also Spiderman did his job! [laughs] Music is also a big influence, right? Was it a natural progression to mix the two? U: It all came together because we started in doing graphics when we were younger and playing in another band. We started doing little covers of the demo tapes and some posters for our gigs and so on, so we discovered it was nice to put together these two activities. So little by little, both of them grew and now we are doing what we like to do, painting, silkscreening, album covers with Malleus and playing with our band Ufomammut. I think we have been very lucky and we never stopped following our passions. Tough question. Could you list your top five album favourite album covers? I will go for: Metallica ‘Ride The Lightning’, Sepultura ‘Arise’, Santana ‘Abraxas’, Miles Davis ‘Bitches Brew’. P: Personally, I love ‘Atom Earth Mother’ by Pink Floyd. It’s just a photograph but it’s the greatest cover art of all time and I think it’s a masterpiece. It’s very simple but at the same time it’s so mysterious. U: And it inspired a poster we did, with the cow dressed like Gene Simmons! For me, I think that the first time I was attracted by a graphic was when I was eight or nine and I saw for ‘Meddle’, by Pink Floyd, again. It was a mysterious thing that I couldn’t understand. It still remains one of the best, even if it’s a photograph. Lu: For me, ‘Appetite For Destruction’, the censored cover. It was very, very shocking for me because I was very young, and to see this, wow. It was very strong for me, very beautiful. U: If we speak about posters, the first posters that impressed me a lot were the ones of Rick Griffin. Probably the Grateful Dead ones, I thought wow, this is amazing, how can this guy do all this detail? This was a very powerful influence for me.

L: And we went to an exhibition last year of Mucha. That was so beautiful, to see how he was working on posters and the way he was printing, it was very amazing, even if it was early last century. What forthcoming projects do you have for 2017? U: We’re doing a lot of things, we are trying to survive through a storm of work [laughs]. On the music side there is a new album coming, so Ufomammut is keeping us busy and then there are a lot of projects and posters and we are working on something with an American gallery, but for now it’s a secret. Also something for an English gallery, but that’s a secret too, sorry. Then there are some cover arts for bands, or posters, but again, secrets. There are a lot of secrets. We love a bit of mystery, okay, who would you love to work with? U: A lot of the people I would like to work with are gone now, both in the music industry and the art world. P: We wanted to do a poster for Motorhead for instance, and we never had the chance. We feel sorry about that. U: It would be good to do something for Pink Floyd, but not not after the last album [laughs]. P: And the Beatles also. There are so many artists of the past we would love to work with. L: I wish to be able to meet and be able to work with David Lynch. He’s an artist, a filmmaker, he’s just a great mind, I think. It would be very interesting to work with him. Or Kenneth Anger! www.Malleusdelic.com

Jimbob has also produced a series of four-posters for Desertfest London, Berlin, Antwerp and Athens. They’re all limited to 100, are hand-screen printed and available at the festivals. www.JimbobIsaac.com

Malleus

Claire from Purple Sage PR is, in her words a “rifffiend”. Our resident reinedoomhas been our European publicist for four happy years now and has told us “I am so proud and grateful to be part of the Desertfest family. Working with these rad people has been one of the funnest and most fulfilling experiences I’ve had since I started doing PR.”

the pr What are your best Desertfest memories? “So many, actually! C.O.C with Pepper Keenan was a dream come true for everyone – our dear promoters included – since the festival’s inception. Also, Dopethrone in a packed, dripping Underworld in 2015 was crazy; the mighty Elder delivering their dreamy anthems inside the spectacular Koko venue was something too. And Unida, because Desertfest wouldn’t be Desertfest without its dose of stoner rock legends.” If you could book any dream band, who would you pick and why? “I’m sure there isn’t a single of my fave bands that the festival hasn’t already booked!” Who are you looking forward to this year (and why)? “Definitely Slo Burn: such a rarity, and what better place than Desertfest to celebrate their comeback! Also, I’m much looking forward to party hard (and spill some beer!) with Turbonegro, being on cloud nine thanks to Samsara Blues Experiment’s unrivaled heavy psych-ness… And Steak, because the crowd always get out of control every time they take the stage at Desertfest!” Last year our merch dude got married at Desertfest, and now this year our PR can’t make it for the first time as she spent last week extending the Desertfest family. Weddings and babies... we’re at that age, we guess. Congrats, mama of doom!!!

DOOM HEROES: DO.OM YOGA T SER FES

E Started by Sanna Charles and Kamellia McKayed, DO.OM Yoga takes place once every month at Miranda in Shoreditch (weekly classes will be starting soon). So what recommendations do the instructors have for how to limber up before and after Desertfest? “I think Shavasana would HE ROES come at the very end of the night, for when people are drunk and would just collapse anyway,” laughs Kamellia. Sessions are suitable for all abilities – being able to touch your toes is NOT a requirement – with the key focus being passive, static postures held to the beat of guttural funeral doom. Clear some floor space during Sleep and give it a whirl! www.Facebook.com/DoomYinYoga

Purple Sage PR / DO.OM Yoga

wucan Wucan are a prog-head and retro rocker’s dream. Powerfully soulful vocals, flute that can be delicate and funky in equal measure and Hammond organ/guitar battles that reek of well-used bong water permeate the air surrounding this Dresden four piece. Hard rock, folk, space rock and Eastern mysticism weaves a tapestry of delights that honours the progressive rock heroes of yore while still possessing undeniable character of its own. Wucan are one of the essential new bands keeping the flame burning for classic rock, sounding like Jethro Tull jamming with King Crimson and Captain Beyond. Don’t

subtle, of traditional metal in the mix. Whilst the band is heavily inspired by these genres, the mix they’ve produced is fresh and exciting. On record they’re great, but live Mammoth Storm are next level. A pure wall of crushing doom. Sure to be one of the heaviest experiences of the weekend, why not bring your ears out of extinction with Mammoth Storm at Desertfest 2017! [TG]

miss them at The Black Heart this Sunday. [RS]

DOOM HEROES: CROBAR

ERTFES

When the venues turf out at 11pm and you’re still keen for the sesh, there’s Soho’s beloved Crobar, which will be pouring whisky till 3am on Friday and Saturday. In a West End that’s being razed to the ground by HE ROES gentrification and CrossRail developers, Crobar is still defending the faith. Flying the flag for Red Stripe and heavy metal, the tiny bar welcomes everyone, which owner, Steve, is particularly proud of. “Some people moan about the size, but if it was a bigger place then it wouldn’t have that intimate vibe,” he says. “You can’t come to the Crobar and not chat to people.” [AD] www.Crobar.co.uk

Sweden’s Mammoth Storm are bringing their humongous sound to The Black Heart on Sunday! The doom/drone hybrid began in 2012 and has been growing ever since. After quickly gaining a reputation both in the homeland, Sweden and the rest of the world, Mammoth Storm caught Napalm Records’ attention. The first release, 2015’s ‘Fornjot’ is an outstanding debut. A complex epic that spans from their droning core out into hints of the edges of black metal. There are even hints, though

BOSS KELOID

performing at the black hearton sunday at 22:30

they’ve gained notoriety for their tip top performances that encompass that all-important Thin Lizzy, AC/DC and Judas Priest obsessive fever. If you’ve not had chance to catch them yet, don’t let history repeat itself. Or do let history repeat itself, if the case may be, as Dead Lord, take you back to when you first heard those old rockers you know and love. [JS/LB]

Dead Lord / Wucan / Crobar

Having released one of the best albums of 2016, Wigan’s finest are bringing their gargantuan riffs to The Black Heart on Sunday. Combining the raw power of sludge with a decidedly technical edge, Boss Keloid are a band that have gone from strength to strength since 2010’s ‘Angular Beef Lesson’. In 2013 the band released their debut proper, ‘The Calming Influence Of Teeth’, but it was last year’s monumental ‘Herb Your Enthusiasm’ that saw ‘em take a huge step forward in terms of songwriting,

Mammoth Storm / Boss Keloid

craft, and prominence in the UK scene. Propelled by some furious riffing, Boss Keloid are also blessed with a fantastic vocalist in Alex Hurst whose impressive pipes are capable of both ear-splitting screams and soaring melodies (and if you keep a keen ear out, you’ll hear Conan’s Jon Davis and Chris Fielding pop up with occasional harmonies on the latest album). So, come get your smoke on and bow down to the riff. [TM]

performing at the black heart on sunday at 16:15

performing at the black heart on sunday at 19:15

Stockholm residents Dead Lord are returning to the UK to show you how they rock with no regrets. The band have been stirring up interest since their formation four years ago, and have found themselves taking their double-denimed, high-voltage, rock ‘n’ roll energy across Europe with the likes of Danko Jones, Kvelertak, The Vintage Caravan and Honeymoon Disease. They’ve had two album releases, the first, ‘Goodbye Repentance’, released in 2013 was followed by 2015’s ‘Heads Held High’, which charted in Germany as well as seeing the band on the bill at some mighty festivals including Krach am Bach and Stoned From The Underground. Since then

performing at the black heart on sunday at 17:45

MAMMOTH STORM

dead lord

performing at the black heart on sunday at 20:30

Sup bros and sisters! Here’s a little guide to Camden Town… London’s unofficial home to the riff… the weird… the different… the lost… and the found.

Chubby Thunderous Bad Kush Masters It’s a different place to what it was ten years ago but if you search hard enough beneath its dirty belly you can still find some of the best bars, venues, cafes and the most genuine, interesting people in the city… the kind that Hunter S, Thompson would describe as “too weird to live, too rare to die”. A good place to start is the market area around the top end of Camden High Street. I would recommend eating a few Brownies first for cruising this part of town. Here you will find all your everyday needs from tie-dye tees, giant rolling papers, cannabis ice lollies, incense sticks, tattoo studios, food markets, topless rave buskers, bad acid and bong shops. For rad vinyl stores check out Out On The Floor Records on Inverness Street, Massive International by Camden Lock Place, and my personal favourite All Ages Records on Pratt Street, Camden’s independent punk and HC record store. Nick who runs it also stocks a decent selection of stoner/doom classics and new releases on vinyl… and Thrasher magazine! Mega City Comics on Inverness Street is the perfect place for tripping balls with the sickest artwork covering every square inch of the place. Just make sure you can find your way out again. If you’re into ripping bowls you might also be into ripping skate bowls. Cantilowes skatepark on Camden Road has its own street section, bowl and grass park outside for chilling. Nearby Three Amigos skateshop is like a museum to skating with an epic collection of ‘70s and ‘80s boards, magazines and merch.

Regents Canalside is one of the best spots to hang out in the sun with beers and smokes. It’s right beside the canal, just a little off the beaten path from the busy market. Bring your bandanas and acoustics, and play some Bongzilla! For the music shredders I would check out Camden Guitars for their collection of weirder and less common axes, The Bass Gallery for lovers of the brown note, and also Ray Man for its crazy range of world instruments. Nothing better than jamming sitar with a blunt on the go. When your munchies get the better of you then my favourite eating places have got to be The Diner for proper Dopesmoker-sized burgers and breakfasts, the Camden Lock Market for its hot food stalls, Poppies chippy, or my all-time favourite kebab house, The Woody Grill, right next to Camden Town tube station. Always killer kebabs at this place ‘til 3am. After a day of mind-altering, ear-melting hedonism you’ll probably decide a tattoo is a sweet idea. Something to remember the festival by or maybe you just want a tatt of Matt Pike across your back. Check out Hell To Pay Tattoos, it’s a super sick studio with some of the best artists in London. Most of all though…have a killer time over the weekend and if we cross paths then we will definitely light one up. Party on and be excellent to each other! by ‘The Camden Goth’ from Chubby Thunderous Bad Kush Masters Chubby Thunderous Bad Kush Masters play The Black Heart on Sunday

Chubby Thunderous Bad Kush Masters

Venomous Maximus combine intense, unabashed metal riffing that locks into heavy rock grooves featuring interjected dual leads and surprisingly darkened atmospheres. Add to it the distinctive voice of towering front man Gregg Higgins and his unorthodox, unsettling tone, and unholy sinister laugh and you have an act that’s sure to set hearts racing and fists pumping at The Black Heart on Sunday. Good times are guaranteed from ragers such as ‘Give up the Witch’ and the Texan four piece will provide the ultimate heavy metal respite for those feeling a bit

fuzzed out from the previous two days. Probably best avoided if you don’t like having fun. [AD]

WIZARD FIGHT Named after the classic Weedeater song, this Hastings-based trio make no bones about where their NOLA-influenced filth comes from. Simple but effective, no-frills gutter crawling sludge is the name of the dastardly game. With some heritage from black metal (Luke Bolton of ROTS) and stoner rock/psych (Dan Kinsey formerly of Steak and George ‘Bungle’ Cobbold formerly of Enos) you also can expect a few other ingredients in there to taint the decrepit broth. This is the second invite that Wizard Fight have had to Desertfest, cementing an impending return with a packed Black Heart performance in 2014. Now in their

fifth year, some heaving shows sharing the stage with the likes of Tombstones and Dopethrone under the belt, and a brand new EP ‘Grave Lurker’ in the pipeline, they’ll continue to provide the soundtrack to audience’s neck-testing melancholy at The Black Heart on Sunday. You eyeless hordes will not be disappointed with the creeping cacophony that results! [RS]

DOOM HEROES: BELOWBEYOND

ERTFES

performing at the black heart on sunday at 14:45 performing at the black heart on sunday at 13:30

VENOMOUS MAXIMUS

If you find yourself south of the river with an urge to go crate digging, the driving force behind South of The River Record Fair, BelowBeyond, has got you covered. Mitch Barrett masterminded this venture, with the HE ROES intention of making record fairs more accessible. “I am a huge vinyl nerd and have been to numerous vinyl fairs but have always felt the majority have a very ‘old guard’ feel with sellers who have been doing the circuit for years,” he tells us. Should you find yourself at one of Mitch’s events prepare to walk away with “an empty wallet, ringing ears and an impending hangover.” [AD] www.Facebook.com/BelowBeyond

Venomous Maximus / Wizard Fight / BelowBeyond

Griz has been our man behind the merch table since 2013, but he’s been involved in the stoner and doom community for so many years, he won’t admit them to us. He’s been a stalwart of the Desertscene crew since they started putting on shows and has been seen slinging merch for many bands in our family, including Orange Goblin.

THE MERCH GUY! What do you love about Desertfest? The community and ‘family’ vibe. All that’s missing from Camden is a fuck ton of sand (and maybe a bit more sun). It doesn’t feel just like a load of venues having bands on under a festival banner. It really does feel like any other festival. And the fact that it’s a tube journey away to get home, that’s a bonus! What do you do at Desertfest? I’m the festival Merchandise Manager. So I run a team of sellers and we sell the band’s merch for them. I do a lot of advancing work, contacting the bands, arranging delivery of their merch, coordinating printing and supply of shirts for bands that can’t bring them over. Over the

HIGH SPY THE DESERTFEST DRINKING GAME TAKE A SHOT (OR SCORE YOURSELF A POINT) EVERY TIME YOU SEE * A SLEEP PATCH * AN ORANGE GOBLIN T-SHIRT * A TATTOO OF A WIZARD * ANY ITEM OF CLOTHING WITH A MOCK BLACK FLAG LOGO ON IT * DOUBLE DENIM

weekend I liaise with the bands and managers and generally run around like a crazy person ensuring all the venues have stock and all the merch teams have beer! I’m also involved with our own festival merch creation as well. What are your favourite Desertfest memories? Getting married on the Saturday of last year’s festival and having Niklas from Truckfighters surprise announce it/us (all secretly arranged by Reece and Jake) during their set to a packed out Electric Ballroom! I mean, how cool is that! Who would be your dream bookings for Desertfest? Coven, if we could get their first ever festival appearance in the UK, that would be ace. Clutch would be a great headliner for us to have and Orange Goblin (again, every year) although I am a bit bias with regards to those boys, I’m their merch manager too. I’d love to have a New Wave dark synth prog stage. We have Zombi this year and had Zoltan a couple years ago, but my choices would be Umberto, Goblin, Carpenter Brut, Perturbator and S U R V I V E (two of them created the ‘Stranger Things’ soundtrack). It’s not what you would call Desert Rock, but it totally fits in with the Desertscene and I know a lot of people who listen to this kind of stuff.

* AN ITEM OF CLOTHING WITH A HEMP LEAF ON IT * A KYUSS T-SHIRT * A T-SHIRT WITH A WOLF ON IT * A TURBOJUGEND JACKET * SOMETHING TIE-DYED * A BLACK METAL PATCH THAT YOU CAN’T EVEN MAKE OUT THE NAME OF Desertfest and our sponsors please remind you to drink responsibly and if you don’t, then get home safe. Someone from any of our venues will point you in the direction of a good, licensed mini cab company. Enjoy. And drink lots of water before you go to bed! Stay safe!

The Merch Guy / Merch Bingo

Brule’s Alastair Riddell, who has also been guitar tech for Orange Goblin, Witchcraft and Firebird, digs into the history of that brightly-coloured tangerine dream and ask why our sponsors, Orange, became synonymous with the stoner and doom sound

at full power, accompanied by some seriously trippy psychedelic visuals. A trawl YouTube turns up the likes of Free, Ike And Tina Turner, Lucifer’s Friend, Jethro Tull, Amon Duul 2, Edgar Broughton Band, Captain Beefheart and MC5 blasting some of the finest music known to man/womankind, all using the in-house Orange amps. And perhaps the most important appearances happened in May and September of 1970 when Beat Club hosted probably the greatest band of all time. For the only time in the ‘70s, the original Black Sabbath line up was filmed without their trademark Laney backline. Was this why, back 1992, a bunch of pot-addled kids from California added a request to the liner notes of their second album asking if anyone could sell them Orange amps? Hit the Roundhouse on Sunday and you’ll see that the request on ‘Holy Mountain’ has been answered by the truck load. Brule play The Black Heart on Saturday at 3.00 www.OrangeAmps.com Photo by Jessy Lotti

They say two things would survive a nuclear blast; cockroaches and Orange Cabs. Built like tanks and as loud as a Howitzer, the classic British manufacturer, with its distinctive colours and design have been synonymous with stoner rock and fuzzed out riffing for decades; but why? As the mid ‘60s British Invasion shook the world, amps started to get bigger and bigger. Jim Marshall, over in West London, launched the amps that would carry his name and with the invention of the stack would come to define both the sound and look of rock music. In Denmark Street – once the focal point of sound technology – Sound City followed suit after hooking up with the fledgling Hiwatt. Just around the corner in Old Compton Street, Orange Music’s Clifford Cooper decided that his music shop also needed to offer amps too. Teaming up with Mat Mathias of Radiocraft (now better known as Matamp) they produced the first Orange amp, the OR100 and then the OR120 and OR50 amongst others. With more grunt and dirt than Hiwatt, and with a low-mid growl that was voiced lower and darker than Marshall, Orange amps lent to powerful bluesy sounds some Britain’s greatest ever bands – Wishbone Ash and Peter Green’s Fleetwood Mac. Combined with the heavy duty cabs, these were amps that could bring the thunder and, better still, loved fuzz pedals and boosts. Whilst Orange have found an audience with indie kids and more mainstream metal bands recently, an often overlooked but key moment for the appeal of Orange amps in Desertfest’s world was when a small TV show, in what was then West Germany, bought a backline of the original Matamp-built Orange amps. Beat Club was far cooler and more exciting than any British music show, with an amazing line up of bands performing

behind the wall of sleep...

Orange Amps

WIZARD FIGHT!!!! MATT PIKE

ZEL BATERISTA

DAVE CHANDLER

SPLIFF LENGTH: 2 PAPERS

SPLIFF LENGTH: 9 PAPERS

SPLIFF LENGTH: 4 PAPERS

SPLIFF LENGTH: 2 PAPERS

VOLUME: 8

VOLUME: 11

VOLUME: 7

VOLUME: 9

WIZARDING LEVEL: 8

WIZARDING LEVEL: 4

WIZARDING LEVEL: 6

WIZARDING LEVEL: 10

SHIRT OFF FORECAST: 6

SHIRT OFF FORECAST: 10

SHIRT OFF FORECAST: 3

MULEBOY

JOHN GARCIA

KEN PUSTELNIK

JACOB BANNON

SPLIFF LENGTH: 10 PAPERS

SPLIFF LENGTH: 7 PAPERS

SPLIFF LENGTH: 0 PAPERS

VOLUME: 8

VOLUME: 4 (A NOD TO IOMMI)

VOLUME: 3

VOLUME: 7

WIZARDING LEVEL: 7

WIZARDING LEVEL: 9

WIZARDING LEVEL: 100

WIZARDING LEVEL: 4

SHIRT OFF FORECAST: 4

SHIRT OFF FORECAST: 3

SHIRT OFF FORECAST: 0

SHIRT OFF FORECAST: 8

Photo by Jessy Lotti

THE DUKE OF NOTHING

When you have a band called Wizard Fight on your bill, it gives you ideas. Hereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a game you can play with your friends between bands. Pick a musician and battle each other Top Trumps style

Photo by Falk

Wizard Fight

DESERTFEST IS NOW DONE FOR ANOTHER YEAR. HOW ARE YOU FEELING? DON’T WORRY, SOME OF OUR BANDS HAVE GOT YOUR BACK

hangover tips “If you’re feeling sluggish from too much partying and experiencing the post-festival blues, follow Chron Goblin’s recipe for success! Gently combine two parts Black Sabbath records, one jazz cabbage cigarette, one Alka Seltzer, four cups of water, and the greasiest burger you can find! You’ll be feeling great in no time!” CHRON GOBLIN “For hangovers try chocolate milk, which helps you recover pretty fast. And a large pizza with lots of fatty meat and greasy sauce. Or just keep on drinking. For comedowns, Benzos usually do the trick. Just make sure that you don’t take too many so that you don’t drive off the road on your way home.” YURI GAGARIN “Wake and bake. Sugary brew. Subway. Vinyl and moisturiser. In that order.” BOSS KELOID “Do an hour of meditation, put on a rom com, and get some cuddles from your bestie.” ELEPHANT TREE “Take a paracetamol before sleeping! The next morning, have a nice, fatty breakfast including scrambled eggs, bacon and lots of water! To get a nice kick for the rest of the day, we suggest a double shot espresso shaken with ice, the way we do in Greece!” 1000MODS “Listen to Nikhil Banerjee. Simple as that.” SAMSARA BLUES EXPERIMENT

Hangover Tips