2014 might well be dubbed the year of the more intimate, boutique festival when it comes to rock and metal (and their copious amounts of sub-genres) in the UK. Alongside the established big boys of Download, the returning Sonisphere and Bloodstock, new festivals are springing up all over the place.
One of the most enticing of these is certainly the brilliantly name Beyond The Redshift, which will take place in London in early May. Curated by post metal / drone icons Cult Of Luna, Redshift features around two dozen of the finest post metal, ambient, drone, doom and noise (along with a dash of prog) bands and artists crammed into a single day across three different London venues; Boston Music Rooms and The Dome at Tufnell Park (which are actually part of the same physical building) and The Forum in Kentish Town, where Cult Of Luna themselves will close the festival with their biggest UK performance thus far. It will truly be an epic conclusion to Beyond The Redshift, with Cult Of Luna allocated a full two hours to showcase material from across their entire career.
Flying the flag for the homegrown talent at Beyond The Redshift alongside prog rockers Amplifier (who are well worth seeing in their own right) are Bossk. Having regrouped last year after a period of inactivity lasting several years, the Bossk flame is now burning as brightly as it ever has, as evidenced by their new material such as the song Pick Up Artist (enjoy below). For fans of bands like Redshift headliners Cult of Luna and The Ocean, Bossk show that the British are just as good as anyone when it comes to post/drone metal.
More homegrown talent appearing at ‘Redshift comes in the shape of Irish natives God Is An Astronaut. With a slightly lighter flavour of post-rock than some of their fellow festival performers, yet no less impressive than their peers, God Is An Astronaut should be one of the day’s stand out performers. They will also provide something of a more relaxed experience before God Seed and Cult Of Luna take to the stage.
Anyone interested in the heavier acts of the day should be looking to catch black metal superstars God Seed, who emerged from the ashes of the Gorgoroth name dispute, as well as Belgian drone metallers Amenra and Yorkshire’s own sludge metal exponents Canaya, who have monster riffs by the barrel full.
Among the more hidden gems appearing at Beyond The Redshift are Australia’s Sleepmakeswaves. Having just released their mini album “in today already walks tomorrow” worldwide for the first time which includes the stunning lead track “one day you will teach me to let go of my fears” (which you can hear over at their Soundcloud page), they are an absolute must see for any lovers of post-rock / ambient metal. Fans of bands such as Red Sparowes and ISIS may acquire a new favourite band with Sleepmakeswaves. South Western UK outfit Thought Forms are another band fully worth paying attention to with their eclectic take on post rock.
Just to provide a few more concrete details about who is playing where across Beyond The Redshift, joining Cult Of Luna at The Forum will be God Seed, God Is An Astronaut, Jesu, Amenra and Syndrome. Every other band aside from Cult Of Luna to play The Forum will be performing for a full hour, allowing every band at Beyond The Redshift’s primary venue to offer a fully in-depth and immersive experience to the festival goers. Playing at The Dome will be Amplifier, Bossk, The Old Wind, Esben & the Witch, Blueneck and Cult Of Luna side project pg.lost, while The Boston Music Rooms will witness performances from Greg Haines, Sleepmakeswaves, Thought Forms, Dirk Serries, Hark, Further Down, Petter Carlsen, Abraham, Shield Patterns, Atlantis and Canaya.
Tickets for Beyond The Redshift 2014, which takes place on May 10th 2014, are available from Ticketmaster, as well as See, Mama Live and all the other usual online Ticketing websites priced at £30 plus booking fees (get your tickets from seetickets right here). It is a fantastic line up, and Rock Sins classes it as an event not to be missed, as you’re not likely to get a gathering of bands like this together anywhere in the UK again anytime soon.
