REVIEWS ROUND-UP: ft. Church of Misery, Witchskull, Altar of Oblivion, Wytch Hazel, Yawning Man, and Tigercub


 

Nearly thirty years of diving headfirst into the void, and Church of Misery are back with Tatsu Mikami once more giving worship to the Blackest of Sabbath’s, acolyte to ‘The Riff’ and servant to the retro groove once more on Born Under A Mad Sign (Rise Above). Joined once again after a twenty-five-year absence by original vocalist Kazuhiro Asaeda, there is a fine sense of anticipation about the Japanese doom merchants seventh full-length.

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Desertfest Berlin Announces Final Day-Splits for The Upcoming 2023 Festival


 

As May approaches, Desertfest Berlin has revealed the final day-splits for their 2023 edition! Desertfest Berlin will take place between May 19 – 21, 2023 at Columbiahalle and Columbia Theater, with additional outdoor space & stage, suprise acts, DJ specials, the beloved Desertfest karaoke and much more. Tickets for the warm-up party at Cassiopeia on May 18th, are sold out. Better be quick to grab your weekend or day pass for Desertfest Berlin 2023, featuring an eclectic line-up of bands such as Mantar, Uncle Acid & The Deadbeats, The Obsessed, King Buffalo, Crowbar, Dozer among many more high-class live acts.

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Desertfest London 2023 Adds Corrosion of Conformity, Boris, Crowbar, King Buffalo, Weedeater, Dawn Ray’d, and More


Desertfest London announces over forty more artists for 2023 line-up, including Corrosion of Conformity, Boris, Crowbar, King Buffalo, Weedeater, and more. Taking place 5th of May – Sunday 7th May 2023. Weekend tickets are now on sale at the link below.

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Desertfest London 2023 Books Uncle Acid And The Deadbeats, Graveyard, Kadavar, Church of Misery, and More!


Events Center, Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas, NV 8/18/19

 

Desertfest has announced its dates and first bands for 2023 for its Desertfest London event. Taking place Friday 5th May – Sunday 7th May 2023, weekend tickets are on sale now at the link below. Initial headliners include Uncle Acid & The Deadbeats, along with Graveyard, Kadavar, Church of Misery, Somali Yacht Club, Blood Ceremony, Inter Arma, Grave Lines, Valley of The Sun, Spaceslug, Mars Red Sky, Gaupa, Ecstatic Vision, Celestial Sanctuary, High Desert Queen, Plainride, Everest Queen, Venomwolf and Margarita Witch Cult. Buy tickets and see the first poster here:

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REVIEWS ROUNDUP: Lucifer, Shi, Crop, and The Lucid Furs


Lucifer Lucifer IV

With Lucifer releasing albums of a consistent style at a workman’s pace, it’s easy to overlook the underlying trajectory that’s been gradually in motion. There’s not much of those Occult Doom roots left on Lucifer IV (Century Media Records) as the band has seemingly completed their transformation from female-fronted Uncle Acid to what sounds like Karen Carpenter singing over KISS riffs. Fortunately, it’s hardly a drastic change as Johanna Sadonis’ sultry croon and the freerolling grooves remain as common denominators.Continue reading


ALBUM REVIEW: Sonic Flower – Rides Again


Japan’s Sonic Flower began in the early 2000s as an offshoot of Church of Misery. They released one self-titled album in 2003 and then broke up in 2005 following some aborted recording sessions. Reforming briefly in 2007, only to break up again the same year, Sonic Flower lay dormant for 14 years until they finally reformed again in 2019. A full-length album with a new lineup including a vocalist is scheduled for later in 2021. To whet their fans’ appetite in the meantime, the band are first releasing Rides Again (Heavy Psych Sounds Records), which consists entirely of tracks recorded in 2005 from the aforementioned aborted sessions.

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Sonic Flower and Church Of Misery Members Stream New Single – “Earthquake”


Japan’s leading psychedelic rock outfit Sonic Flower has collaborated with members of Church Of Misery to unleash a new song taken from their upcoming sophomore album “Rides Again”, set for a January 22nd release on Heavy Psych Sounds. This new single is a cover of Larry Graham’s Graham Central Station track “Earthquake”. Jam it our right now!

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CONCERT REVIEW: Church of Misery – Truckfighters – Valley of The Sun and More: Live at The Kingsland


We were back at the Kingsland for a night of epic Doom Metal and Stoner Rock shenanigans. The place was packed in with heshers and hesherettes early. I was running around doing interviews so I dipped in and out of the main room and caught a little of openers Forming the Void and Black Wizard. Between those two bands, you have almost a perfect word cloud for Doom bands. Both bands rep beefy riffs worth getting wrecked over, so smoke ’em if you got em when you see these guys. Continue reading


Church of Misery – Atomic Bitchwax – Toke: Live at The Middle East


Walking into The Middle East in Cambridge, Massachusetts, I realized I was unintentionally about to bookend a month-ish long tour by attending both the first date (at Maryland Deathfest) and last date of the U.S. run of Japan’s doom masters, Church of Misery. For this, the final show, the supporting bands were The Atomic Bitchwax from New Jersey and Toke, minus their very recently axed drummer, from North Carolina.Continue reading


Desertfest London 2019: Live At Various Venues


It’s spring bank holiday in the UK, which can mean only one thing; a long weekend of headbanging in London’s dingiest venues. 2019 marks the eighth edition of London’s Desertfest; a festival dedicated to the slow, the slower, and the heavy. With a healthy dose of bong and Satan worship thrown in for good measure. Continue reading