All you SLEEP fans out there listen up – tomorrow, Saturday July 7th, at 1pm Pacific Time/4pm Eastern Time/20:00 GMT, creative cosmonauts David D’Andrea and Arik Roper are releasing their end-of-tour poster for Sleep’s Marijuanaut Tour, which touched down on Earth’s surface on June 5th, 2012, at the Fox Theater in Oakland. These two artists are a couple of my favorites when it comes to entering stoner fantasyland, and this poster does not disappoint. I don’t think I need to give you one of my flowery descriptions to communicate the epicness of the Marijuanaut poster – just check out the pictures below and after the jump, and you’ll know this is something you need to get your hands on! There are only 100 of these available, signed by both D’Andrea and Roper and hand-numbered, so they are going to go fast! Don’t wake n’ bake tomorrow, because you’ll have to have all your faculties to get online and pick up your poster HERE.

FULL DETAILS AFTER THE JUMP…
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Unholy fuck, CVLT Nation is way beyond hyped because WHITEHORSE is coming to Los Angeles! They have been bursting ear drums all over the country with their punishing brand of doom, and it’s finally our turn when they play The Joint at the Ear/Splitters // Ovrcast // CVLT Nation event this Friday. Our New York comrade Frank Huang captured their most recent show in Brooklyn at the Acheron. This is a message to all doom heads in the city of devils: make sure to come out this Friday to the Joint to see WHITEHORSE…Now peep them destroying Brooklyn after the jump!

Plus, CVLT Nation is giving away a pair of tickets to one lucky person who emails us at contest@cvltnation.com by this Thursday at noon!

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Photos by Pedro Roque

This year’s HELLFEST in Clisson, France was the place to be for European metal lovers! There were waaaayyy to many bands performing to name, but luckily for CVLT Nation, our photographer Pedro Roque was on hand to capture sets from Sunn O))), The Obsessed, Pentagram, Refused, Saint Vitus, Yob, Ufomammut, Big Business, Amenra, Tragedy, From Ashes Rise, Thou and Doomriders…plus many more! Check out a huge photo essay after the jump!

I can describe my Hellfest experience as a 3 days of nonstop shooting, moshing, headbanging and drinking till morning – it was a hell of a weekend!

FULL PHOTO ESSAY AFTER THE JUMP!
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EAR/SPLITTERS // OVRCAST // CVLT NATION are proud to present…Whitehorse, Sodomia, Pigeonwing & Wounded Giant at The Joint, 8771 W. Pico Blvd, L.A., CA this Friday night. This is Whitehorse’s only LA appearance on their US tour, so make sure you head out to this killer show to support. If you are into heavy fucking doom that makes your blood vessels vibrate, you will want to be here! We are giving away a pair of tickets to the show this Thursday at noon, so if you are in the LA area, send us an email to contest@cvltnation.com with “Whitehorse” in the subject line.

Text and Photos by Alan Hunter

Although Northwest summer days are long, the cold rain and darkness fell upon Seattle early last Friday. Blasphemous Organ, Addaura, King Dude, and (A) Story of Rats brought their doom and gloom to the University District’s Rat & Raven.

Unfortunately I missed [what I can imagine was] a killer, rumbling guitar-synth collaboration from Demian Johnston (Undertow, Hemingway, Great Falls, etc.) and Timm Mason (Mood Organ, Midday Veil, etc.), as Blasphemous Organ. Hopefully this will happen again soon. Following Blasphemous Organ, my dudes and dudette in Addaura destroyed the bar and everyone’s eardrums with their epic, crushing, atmospheric black metal. I’ve been a close “collaborator” with Addaura for a long time, have seen them countless times, and I always enjoy it. Candles lit, King Dude (aka TJ Cowgill of Book of Black Earth, Cross, etc.) slowed things down a bit with his awesomely ominous blend of lo-fi American blues and doomy folk, summoning the dark lord himself. I was stoked to finally see King Dude – his tunes have been on repeat at home – and he certainly did not disappoint. To finish off this epically sinister evening (A) Story of Rats – shrouded in thick candlelit fog – punished entranced viewers with their deathly soundscapes. This was the best (A)SoR set I have seen – featuring the always talented Garek Druss and his synth-wizardry, Andrew Crawshaw’s incredible drum assault, and the deep sonic alchemy of a guest string bassist. This was a truly badass display of Seattle’s real dark, heavy talent. I cannot wait to experience it all again.

FULL PHOTO ESSAY AFTER THE JUMP…
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I grew up with David Suzuki as a household name, as did many other Canadian children. A fellow Vancouverite, Suzuki taught us all to recycle, to care about our surroundings, to reduce our waste, and to be generally aware of our impact on the environment. He is a hero to my generation, and you can see his impact on the streets of Vancouver today – the city-wide recycling program, the energy-efficient hydrogen buses, the SkyTrain, the hybrid taxis, the new Amsterdam-style bike lanes and the ridiculous cost of parking and gas, all which make it much easier to do the right thing by the environment. He has made the younger generations of Canadians understand that they are responsible for the future of our planet, so its no surprise that his daughter, Severn Cullis-Suzuki, made one of the most famous environmental speeches at the 1992 Rio Summit on behalf of her group Environmental Children’s Organization (ECO), when she was only 12 years old. Right now, we are in the midst of Ri0 +20, and all of the behaviors that 12-year-old Cullis-Suzuki called the world delegates on in 1992 – the greed, the selfishness, the war-mongering – are all arguably worse than before. Living in LA, with a population of 9,830,420 people and 6,675,888 cars, the concept of making the environment a better place for the future is all but nonexistent. So watching Democracy Now’s coverage of the Rio +20 Summit, and hearing Cullis-Suzuki reflect on the lack of change, and in fact worsening conditions, of the world state is all too real and depressing for me. One thing is loud and clear – the world is ready for and in the midst of revolution, and just because we live in a bubble made by Target and Walmart, it doesn’t mean that revolution won’t be soon knocking at our own doors. We have to say fuck this system, and mean it. Soon we won’t have a choice, the Earth will say fuck us and wipe us off her surface. Check out the Democracy Now interview and Cullis-Suzuki’s inspirational speech below.

At Rio+20, Severn Cullis-Suzuki Revisits Historic ’92 Speech; Fights for Next Generation

The girl who silenced the world for 5 minutes

Text and Photos by Sofi via You’re Not Human

Once again, another absolute blinder from the All Tomorrows Parties family with this years ‘I’ll Be Your Mirror’, curated by ATP & Mogwai. Still my favourite festival, mainly because this lot really know what they’re doing. Each and every ATP event is fucking awesome, and I’m still yet to have a shitty time at one (pretty sure this will never happen).

Friday saw Slayer headline, performing ‘Reign in Blood’ in it’s entirety, with support from Melvins, Sleep, Wolves in the Throne Room, YOB and A Storm of Light. As predicted the crowd were in good spirits…I got stamped on, Emma got smacked in the mouth and bit her tongue….it’s safe to say Slayer “slayed”. Sleep were probably a personal highlight for me, with the epic ‘Dragonaut’ sounding so perfect in the almighty palace that is Alexander.

Saturday we arrived too late (we were in pain from the night before), but we caught Bill Wells & Aidan Moffat (who reduced me to tears), Dirty Three (with an astounding 10/10 show), and Mogwai who blew me away with their massive sound…’Hunted by a Freak’ christ, that track’s so beautiful. I don’t think I’d seen Mogwai for many, many years before this weekend & the last time I did I probably didn’t fully appreciate. Their set was an unexpected treat for me.
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Now this could break your neck: our comrade in heavy, Southern Lord, has curated an edition of our label mixtape series. What you have is 20 songs that will make you realize why this label is on some next level shit and it’s packed full of some extra heavy gems! The Southern Lord tour kicks off today in Seattle featuring Black Breath, Martyrdöd, Burning Love, and Enabler. The SoCal horde has it good, because our stop on the tour is a free Southern Lord/Scion Showcase (click to RSVP) happening this Saturday in Pomona…peep all of the tour posters after the jump! Read what the Lord himself has to say about this comp, and stream and download below!

2012 has been been an incredible year for us so far. We have had the amazing opportunity to work some great bands. Although its only half way through the year, I’m going to say that this is probably the best year in the entire existence of the label! From legends like Sleep, Poison Idea, High on Fire, From Ashes Rise, Pelican and Earth, to up-and-coming bloodthirsty butchers: Black Breath, Martyrdod, Burning Love and Enabler. Speaking of which…I personally booked an entire US tour myself of those 4 bands, that kicks off on June 19th in Seattle.

Why in the hell would I be crazy enough to do that? I felt it was absolutely crucial for these bands to be seen, so I took matters into my own hands. Along the way, those 4 bands encounter other Southern Lord alumni like: Poison Idea, Noothgrush, Pelican, 2 new bands from Texas were working with – Power Trip and Wild//Tribe – Dead In The Dirt, and on the East Coast, The Secret from Italy join in on the madness.

The first half of this comp. is bands from the tour, and the second half are choice cuts from other recent Southern Lord releases. CRANK IT UP!

Stream CVLT Nation Label Series Southern Lord Mixtape

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So what do we have here? Exclusive off the chain footage and live downloads of Pallbearer. I was personally witness to the unreal performance this band gave at the Profound Lore//Scion showcase, so it’s an honor to be able to share these two songs with the CVLT Nation readers, as well as a cool interview with Pallbearer. Scion and Profound Lore are releasing the full compilation to the public for free download tomorrow, which also features tracks from Wolvhammer, Loss, Atlas Moth, and Yob. Make sure to check out the upcoming Southern Lord Scion Showcase this Saturday in Pomona! Also, stay tuned for a Pallbearer Sonic Cathedrals!

Text and photos via Adam Murray

Flew out to Texas on Friday, which was Day Two for Chaos but Day One for me. Sad to miss the Thursday parties, but that’s how it goes. Austin was boasting temperatures in the low 90s when I arrived at 7 in the evening, with humidity way up around 70-80%. The air sat on me like pudding. I had never visited Texas before, only layed over. I was slightly surprised to see how Southy it was on my cab ride from the airport. Very green and pretty, but also kinda underdeveloped and slouchy in a southern swampland kind of way. Lots of ramshackle houses with eclectic collections of furniture, car parts and kids’ toys in the yards.

I checked into my hotel, unpacked my gear, charged everything for a bit, and headed out on foot toward town. It was already dark when I got to Mohawk, and I had missed all of the daytime action and some of the night. Bummer, but again – that’s how it goes. Ran around a little trying to track down my wristband. Acquired it without wasting too much time. I instantly noticed how friendly and helpful people were being – not really something I’m used to back home in Los Angeles. Snapped on my fancy gold wristband with the big “VIP” letters proudly emblazened on the outside. This sweet baby would effortlessly get me in and out of over-capacity venues throughout the weekend when I would otherwise have been totally shafted. HUGE thanks to Sean, Timmy, and the Chaos staffers who helped me track it down!
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