Festival Preview: Yellowstock


yellowstock-2015summer2

Sometimes small festivals catch big fish, and Yellowstock in Geel, BE seems to have caught a very big one indeed. The summer edition of this twice a year intimate festival of everything psychadelic and 70’s this year is headlined by none other than Hawkwind. This in itself is enough reason to have a look at the cosy country of Belgium, where the fest is held, and see for ourselves.

Apart from the esteemed Hawkwind who are one of the founding groups of the psychrock scene, bands of interest at this 5th edition are the expansively instrumental My Sleeping Karma, the hypnotic three-piece Radarmen From The Moon who played the Roadburn – party last year, and the exotic Terakraft, who will bring us to the musical equivalent of the 1001 nights tales!

So for all lover of psych, space, the summer of love or some general summer mind expansion, and able to make it to Geel Belgium this Saturday, August 8th, there is 400 of 1000 tickets reserved for door sale only, and with a line-up like this they’re bound to sell fast! Maybe we will see you there, and otherwise there is always next year!

SUSANNE A. MAATHUIS


Terminal Fuzz Terror – Vol. 0: In the Shadow of the Mountain


terminal-fuzz-terror-vol.-0-in-the-shadow-of-the-mountain

Describing themselves as “the sound of the apocalypse coming,” Seattle, WA based Terminal Fuzz Terror provides a pretty fun soundtrack to the end of days. Their upcoming release, Vol. 0: In the Shadow of the Mountain (Robotic Empire), is an interesting trip to the past in at just under forty minutes. Like many other bands to walk the path of psychedelic rock and roll, the band has a retro vibe with vocals that sound like you’re listening to someone sing inside of a tin can. I dig that.

My favorite track off of this album is easily the fast and heavy hitting ‘Megalodon’. I can see this becoming a pit favorite when it comes live performances. It’s the second shortest song on the album but still manages to be a cascade of energy and noise with a touch of punk influences. I might have to make this my beach party anthem for 2015. Bonus Pro Tip: Women love giant sharks. Trust me, I’m a lady.

‘Cycles’ is another fantastic song and I quickly found myself intrigued. The same few notes hypnotize you for the first three minutes of the song before things change over to buzz, fuzz, and distant vocals before eventually fading away. You hit that sweet spot where you can just kick back and get a little fuzzy yourself. You know you’re in the zone when you feel it in your temples; mine are tingling.

I didn’t mean to use the word fuzz so much, given the bands name, but that’s just what it is. While not perfect, Vol. 0: ITSOTM is worthwhile addition to any rock fan’s collection. This becomes truer if they happen to lean more towards the psychedelic side of things. This is a band we’ll all want to keep an eye on and I believe that there will be some truly great things in store for us down the road.

7/10

ALEIDA LA LLAVE