With all the events the team is involved with around the world this year, I want to make you didn’t miss the news that we have just announced our line-up for Doomed & Stoned Festival. Our flagship festival, organized by Executive Editor Melissa Marie in Indianapolis is now in its third year and I couldn’t be more excited. Each year, we aim to bring you both familiar and lesser known bands that we’re especially excited about.

The 3rd Annual Doomed & Stoned Festival we are excited to announce overseas guests VOKONIS from Sweden (an EXCLUSIVE North American appearance) and Cardinals Folly from Finland! They’ll be joined by a stellar cast of doom metal and stoner rock bands, including (and I’m so excited about this line-up, guys): the legendary BANG! – along with Astral Mass, Black Road, BoneHawk, Cruthu, Doomstress, Faces of the Bog, High Reeper, Hollow Leg, Mos Generator, Moonbow, Pale Horseman, Shroud Eater, The Judge, War Cloud, Wiccans, Wolftooth, and the return of a fest favorite: Youngblood Supercult!

The big meet-up takes place at Indiana City Beer on Friday, October 5th and Saturday, October 6th. Brought to you by Ripple Music, Black Arts Toneworks, Indy Metal Vault, and Electric Beard Of Doom!

Nate Vaught of Brainvault Illustration did a great job on our poster for Doomed & Stoned Festival. Looking forward to meeting up with bands and fans alike in Indy for a third straight year! By plane, train, or automobile, get yourself to Indianapolis this fall.

Night of the Shred!

Words & Photos by Elizabeth Gore (D&S California)

Interviews by Frank Heredia (Editor at Large, D&S West)

On All Hallows Eve, a horde of doom fans arose and gathered for the annual Night of the Shred at Brick by Brick in San Diego, California, an evening made possible by Thief Presents. As a fog was poured forth, Night of the Shred, hosted by Thief Presents, would be nothing short of spectacular. With a wicked line-up of Bang!, Black Bombaim, Danava, Elder, Monolord, The Great Electric Quest, The Shrine, Windhand, and Wo Fat we were at their mercy of thundering and spell of virtuosity. Quite a few people got into the Halloween spirit, as there were plenty in costume, as well as the sponsored token of the PBR mascot prancing around the venue. Aside from the spirits and phantoms, Night of the Shred was accompanied by a projector cycling ‘Creepshow,’ ‘Night of the Living Dead,’ and other macabre favorites whilst the bands rampaged on.

AND…while you enjoy the sights, check out our special pre-show radio broadcast, featuring songs from each of the bands who attended Night of the Shred!

BANG!

Fueled by the musings of Frank and Frankie, this heavy metal trio Bang! has a wide history of influence on the doom scene. With their clear influences from 70’s doom and rock and roll, blended with their groovy and goofy melodies, they were a joyous band to observe. Both Frank’s and their drummer Mr. Leger, jammed through their older releases such as “Death of a Country,” and their self-titled album, ‘Bang’ (1971), flawlessly transporting us to a performance that would have been of original inspiration. Their instrumentation of their later works, “Return to Zero,” and “The Maze,” were also quite refreshing to hear live, and to see the audience grooving to their funky madness. For the performance Bang presented, they expressed the same energy as their peers, if not in a more whimsical way.

Doomed & Stoned is proud to bring you this exclusive interview with Bang! Frank Heredia, our editor at large on the West Coast, catches up with this classic band making their huge comeback on Night of the Shred!

BLACK BOMBAIM

You say this band came all the way from Portugal? Gadzooks! “Coming from the unexpected musically prolific small city of Barcelos,” their bio states, “Black Bombaim are three guys that grew up together exchanging records, amidst bucolic landscapes of Portuguese countryside and excessive drug experiences, playing outer-space jams, from planets yet to be discovered.” Thief Presents brought them to Brick by Brick and I think all of us were pleasantly surprised with how deftly these three jammed!

DANAVA

Frank Zappa graced the stage…no wait…that was Mr. Blackwell! Danava was the first band of the night, image-wise, to appear to be from a past era of doom, based out of Portland. They highlighted their new one, “At Midnight You Die,” which seemed like a fitting song for the theme of the night, but luckily was not a forecast for the Red Death to appear. Judging from their older material, Danava’s sound was quite different because their set did not feature synthesizers, but the material seemed to have the same depth as originally intended, infused with creative fills. Danava had a solid crowd gathered at their feet, chanting away, whilst a pit filled with parading Halloween characters carried on the frivolity of the night.

ELDER

The trio began their set in what can only be explained as a cacophony of sound. Elder slapped us right in the balls and kept on going with smooth intent with unstoppable, high-geared songs from the stunning new album 'Lore,’ as well as classic from 'Dead Roots Stirring.’ The crowd cheered them on through their occasional tuning, and it was wonderful to see that they wanted nothing but a perfect full set for the crowd to enjoy. The variety in their set was fantastic due to the revolving tempo between compositions and contrasting textures. Elder certainly isn’t afraid to venture into a more heavy metal type of jam and slam straight back into their doom influences. With the progression in their set list, we could appreciate and revel in Elder’s quest to take us on a journey through their own evolution.

THE GREAT ELECTRIC QUEST

Hailing from their hometown of San Diego, The Great Electric Quest really set the tone for night, warming up the crowd with what is the epitome of doom and shred. Dingvell and Donner left no portion of the stage untouched as these warriors were frenetic. The set was supercharged with “Madam Elbib,” “Electric Savior,” and “1901.” “Egypt” especially left a lasting presence on the audience, as we were able to appreciate the unique approach behind the literal and methodical composition of slaves of labor rallying for freedom against their oppressors. The Great Electric Quest, with their chuggy riffs, mid-tempo pace, and clean yet raw vocals lit up the house and laid the foundation for the night.

MONOLORD

Taking the stage next were Monolord to bring us the new and improved sound of Gothenburg doom. Monolord rang out into the night, and their psychedelic riffs jolted our nerves. It was as though every note played by each member was felt completely through and made to settle in-between the air molecules. The air was dense with their fuzz while they ran through their arrangements between their albums 'Empress Rising’ and 'Vænir’ (must-haves for any doom collector!). Much like when an audience watches Earth, they would agree that there is nothing lethargic about Monolord because of the atmosphere they set. I can also say I was quite impressed with the amount of head banging and swaying they were accomplishing without their headgear flying off. Quite masterful.

Check out Frank Heredia’s exclusive interview with Monolord on Night of the Shred!

THE SHRINE

Landau and Murphy were both in costume for the night. Landau was certainly the more “risqué,” of the two, wearing a dress, lips smeared with rouge; his noggin was adorned with his helmet. Not to say these warriors don’t take their music seriously, but this was obviously going to be the grand finale of the entire party. They peeled out their blistering shred and the crowd got riled up within seconds. With “Rare Breed” just making its debut, they laid down their quickest jams, whipping all around on stage, tongues out and grimaces galore. The mayhem of their well-crafted stoner doom/melodic rock & roll and punk attitude felt like it would carry on until the sun rose. Landau’s wild and wailing leads and solos, even for their older material they played from “Bless Off,” and “Primitive Blast,” are well controlled and do not give off the vibe of improvisation (don’t let them fool you!). It was also a treat to see Murray taking a part in the folly with his own eccentric expression and instinctive fills. All in all, The Shrine is just always a blast to see, and there’s always something new to be discovered by watching and listening to their performance. They were the destined heavy hitters for closing Night of the Shred.

WINDHAND

The quintet gathered on the stage. The incense was lit. Morris began the chug, and the swaying and rocking began. Out of many of the doom metal bands I have seen for the first time, I would say Windhand is the most intense, emotionally speaking. Windhand seemed to hide their grand personalities within the music, which is a translation for their self-expression, and I wondered what more they would choose to release/bear to the audience. Windhand brought perfection to their thundering doom metal, with Morris and Bogdan, along with Cottrell’s vocals on reverb creating this bewitching groove. The band created an immediate unique experience, and the deafening sonic waves synchronized between Chandler and Wolfe destroyed the crowd within minutes. We were hypnotized, and drawn into their tumultuous abyss with tunes from 'Soma,’ and their latest release, 'Grief’s Infernal Flower.’ This was a performance that was going to be hard to beat.

Our big, big concert report continues with this exclusive interview with Windhand from Night of the Shred!

WO FAT

You know what they say about Texas. Everything is bigger, even the riffs. Before their set, Wo Fat broke the conduct of typical stage arrangement, and drug Mr. Walter to the forefront to jam alongside bassist Chris Ayala. Wo Fat gave the show the solidity that it needed for stoner doom with their hazy uber-fuzz. Wo Fat had a hefty set that included pieces from 'The Conjuring,’ 'The Black Code,’ and a mélange of older material. As with any doom band that composes mainly for instrumental pieces, the vocals were sporadic, but their well-placed melodies carry the lengthy and intricate phrasing. There was something hypnotic about Wo Fat’s conduct, knowing their compositions awaken a brilliant balancing act of hammering harmonies and technical drum fills.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Big announcement coming December 21st about next year’s PSYCHO fest! It’s going to be bigger and badder than ever before and will certainly be the must-attend festival of 2016. We can hardly hold it in! But we will. Stay tuned to Doomed & Stoned and Thief Presents for the HUGE line-up reveal…coming soon!

That’s right, Doomers & Stoners….the Zombies just didn’t want to come out for Day of the Shred this year, but you know what? We’re going to have a better party. BETTER I TELL YOU! You know why? Because, look at this freaking line-up at Brick By Brick in San Diego (3 pm to 2 am) this Halloween, are you kidding me???? I’m having a kind of ghoulish orgasm shuddering through my undead veins as I contemplate the list that is NIGHT OF THE SHRED:

Windhand! Elder!
Monolord!
DANAVA!
BANG!
Wo Fat!
The Shrine!
Black Bombaim!

Our own Liz Gore will be there to snap pics and Frank Heredia (King Ravën) will be helping out with interviews. Thief Presents, you’ve pulled it off again, you devil, you.

Also brought to you by Vol4 and Pabst (and we’re in there somewhere, if for nothing else than providing moral support to get your butts down to SoCal for Halloweeeeen!)