Roadburn 2017 // Coven to destroy minds & reap souls

It’s that time of the year again, where once every few weeks a bomb is dropped on us via Roadburn headquarters. To no one’s surprise, the first names confirmed for the 2017 edition are an ecletic bunch of mouthwatering prospects of bliss to come. Perhaps towering them all stand Coven. Yes, those Coven, the authors of the 1969 psychedelic rock classic “Witchcraft Destroys Minds & Reaps Souls”, a record whose influence in the sound of previous Roadburn bands cannot be overstated. The date is then set for Coven’s first ever concert in Europe, which will take place on the 013 venue on Thursday April 20

Another example of Roadburn’s uncanny ability of securing unique spectacles for their line ups is the upcoming presence of Warning, Patrick Walker‘s pre 40 Watt Sun medium for delivering emotionally charged doom metal and which has been inactive since 2009. Theirs will be a special set consisting on their 2006 classic “Watching For A Distance”, bound to happen on Saturday April 22 in the 013.

As always, it’s not only of classic names that a Roadburn line up is made of and there isn’t a better illustration of that than the confirmation of Zeal And Ardor, whose second release “Devil Is Fine” has been rightfully turning heads since last April with its mixture of old soul music, black metal and electronic. As The Ruins Of Beverast did in that same venue a few years ago, so will Zeal And Ardor have their first ever live show in the Het Patronaat. We’ll go on a limb and say that just like the aforementioned 2013 show, the Friday April 21 premier will most likely end up being on the 2017’s highlights.

Psychedelic rock, doom, the uncategorizable entity that is Zeal And Ardor and we haven’t even gotten to the curator and artist in residence yet (see below). What’s missing? A bloody synthwave party in the church, you say? All right, then, it will happen when Perturbator take the Patronaat stage on Friday. On that very same day, Basel based Schammasch are set to take that very stage to perform their new offering “Triangle” in its entirety in what is sure to be an intriguingly bleak occasion.

Further announced is this year’s curator, Baroness’ John Dyer Baizley who will be in charge of the main stage on Friday and the Het Patronaat on Saturday. As a first and quite frankly unavoidable announcement, Baizley’s band Baroness will take the main stage on Friday. Another staple of every Roadburn in recent memory is the presence of an artist in residence, an accolade which last year fell into Misþyrming to extraordinary results. This year’s artists in residence are the chameleonic entity known as Gnod. The band revolving around Chris Haslam and Paddy Shine will celebrating their tenth anniversary with four performances. The first focusing on electronics, the second on psychedelic material, the third a collaboration with other musicians willing to “abandon their safety net” and the final, during the Afterburner, as Temple ov BBV, a collaborative effort with Dutch band Radar Men From The Moon. Moreover, Haslam will have an exhibition of his artwork during the festival.

Further announcements include the returns of Les Discrets and Oranssi Pazuzu, both of whom impressed enough during their Patronaat appearances in 2013 and 2016 respectively to warrant a return to the main stage (Sunday for Les Discrets, Saturday for Oranssi Pazuzu), as well as former the new band of Agalloch man John Haugm, Pillorian, who is set to play the 013 on Sunday.

Tickets for Roadburn 2017 go on sale on October 20, see below for more information or follow this for a complete overview of today’s announcements.

“Words: Luís Pires”