With Desertfest Berlin announcing its first batch of 2024 bands just last week, sister event, Desertfest London, has followed suit. Taking place May 17th – 19th, the UK festival has kicked off its lineup with Masters Of Reality, Godflesh, Monolord, Acid King, Ufomammut, Brant Bjork Trio, Goblinsmoker, Mantar, and more. Find the full update of artists in the article below.
Arctangent Festival is closing in on a sellout for their comeback festival later this month. The fest has now added new acts such as Scalping, Famyne, Outlander, Sergeant Thunderhoof, Cryptic Shift, Ogives Big Band, to the weekend. The fest already features headliners Opeth, Cult of Luna, and TesseracT as headliners, and has now added the updated festival map and clashfinder for fans to make use of!
Splits are a pretty great tool for cross-promotion with the power to introduce different bands to each other’s audiences, but they can also foster a competitive spirit. While such intentions are normally limited to fans debating which band is better, Ripple Music intentionally fans the flames with the second chapter in their Turned To Stone series. This particular split sees two rising stars Howling Giant and Sergeant Thunderhoof putting their Stoner Prog Metal skills to the test on Turn To Stone Chapter 2, as they depict a battle of wits between two legendary Japanese swordsmen. It’s certainly one of the more intriguing ideas for a split I’ve seen in a good while, reminding me of a similar treatment that Thorr-Axe and Archarus gave The Hobbit in 2017.
Like the noble slice of pizza, a cover song, if done well, can be amazing. And if it’s not, it’s still pretty good. It’s tough to cover well-known songs and albums by famous bands because music becomes our lexicon and fans know every little nook and cranny of a track. This is the case with Pink Floyd and their iconic double album The Wall. Luckily Magnetic Eye Records and their incredible “Redux” series is here, and they always do a bang-up job of assembling the talent. Covering the entirety of The Wall seems both ambitious and a little crazy too. While The Wall is lower on my personal list of Floyd favorites, it’s as important as it is beloved by the masses. Continue reading