Text Luke Bolton // Photos Gemma Shaw
Dyse. What’s better than angular stoner rock? German duo Dyse playing angular stoner rock. The great thing about these guys is that you also get a comedy performance in between the songs, but that doesn’t mean the music is diminished or plays second fiddle to the on-stage antics. Dyse create a sound that may be just angular stoner rock, but it’s hard to describe, it’s that je ne sais quoi. But it’s great to bang your head and to party with your friends to. My favorite quote of their set: “There’s a underground band you may not have heard. They sometimes support us on our world tour, they’re called Iron Maiden. They said to us, you guys are from east Germany, so you should write songs about east Germany. So we did, this one’s called, THE NUMBER OF THE EAST!”
Stinking Lizaveta. Slamming instrumental rock, and tour buddies with Dyse, these guys and girl can shred your face off from across the floor of the Underworld. You know how some musicians widdle away on their guitars but the songs sound like crap? Well, these guys rule. I especially love the screaming into the pickups of the guitar. Passion and commitment to their craft.
Oranssi Pazuzu were unfortunately on the same time as Elder so the stoner fans fled, leaving them to play a half-full Ballroom. But what an amazing set. Dark Atmospheric, and then brutal. It’s a chin-stroking, thoughtful sound created by an exciting band. I can’t wait to hear more.
Blood Ceremony are a Canadian folk doom band. The ritual is here to conjure the gods of old. Singer Alia O’Brien’s vocals are crisp, and soar through the Electric Ballroom like a majestic eagle.
Electric Wizard. Hail the cult of the Electric wizard. They start with ‘I, The witchfinder’, ‘Dunwich’ and ‘Chosen few’ – with a massive back catalogue to choose from, it was never going to disappoint. The Koko is packed and a more than unexpected pit is going for a few songs! It’s the tightest performance I’ve heard from them for a long time. It seems as if new life has been injected into The Wizard as they cast the spell of sex, drugs and murder.
Godflesh. It all ends here with Justin Broderick’s industrial giant Godflesh. More brutal than ever and pounding into your skull, they seem to have a direct link to your brain. Forceful, intentional and downright filthy. It’s a nasty but brilliant way to end Desertfest 2016. But wait, I didn’t hear the fat lady sing? There’s one last time to party – after party. See you at the bar, mine’s a jager bomb….
DYSE
STINKING LIZAVETA
ORANSSI PAZUZU
BLOOD CEREMONY
ELECTRIC WIZARD
GODFLESH
