the 10 bands not to be missed in the Valley> Desert-rock> News

As every year, Hellfest has published its stunning line up, with more than 150 groups. And a few days ago, the festival confirmed the addition of some cool bands on the poster (Mastodon, Rival Sons …). Even if we can see a decline in the number of stoner formations, having to share its precious Valley with more and more transverse styles (and sometimes qualitative, let’s not be closed), we wanted to highlight 10 stoner formations ( or almost) that we strongly advise you to see live during the Clissonaise mass in June.

• 10 / Electric Wizard (Friday): We will not bully you to introduce Electric Wizard here, if the group is unknown to you it is that you got lost. But it would be a lie to say that the entire discography of the Wizard is equal, or to proclaim loud and clear that their concerts are always unforgettable. So you will have to cross your fingers a bit and hope for old titles and a moment of magic from these legends of doom UK.

• 9 / OM (Friday): OM live is not necessarily for everyone and the (real) moments of grace have sometimes given way to long periods of boredom. It’s that the group’s drone cannot hide a possible drop in speed behind an avalanche of distortion. See what it will be like for this live at Hellfest.

• 8 / Greenleaf (Friday): Have you ever been disappointed with Greenleaf live? We neither. So a good dose of pure groovy stoner is to be prescribed and this from Friday. If anyone tells you otherwise, say you have a word from the doctor.

• 7 /The Picturebooks (Saturday): percussive and noisy blues duo with obvious stoner connections (in addition to their debut at Riding Easy we feel here all the worship of the 70’s and this relentless desire to make noise), The Picturebooks seems constantly on the road. However, their visits to France are rare (outside Paris, only two dates in the east in 2017), while their live performances are still just as recommendable.

• 6 /Ecstatic Vision (Friday): Funny trajectory than that of Ecstatic Vision. Indeed, the Philadelphia group exploded in 2015 with Sonic Praise, an album that brings together the best of Hawkwind and the more current psychedelic madness of Earthless. Signature at Relapse Records, anthology concerts at Roadburn then a bit of anything before a serious but more humble return at Heavy Psych Sounds in 2019. Still, the stage is the best place to discover Ecstatic Vision, a group that doesn’t has another objective than that of making you take off.

• 5 / ASG (Friday): 5 years that ASG has not set foot on the festival. And 2015 was their only participation (since they had to cancel their visit in 2012). ASG is and will always seem to be the unloved of the scene, the one who will never have the little boost of fate that will make it pass a level. And yet. And yet whether it is live or on album, their music, both heavy and bright, approaching the best of Red Fang or the most melodic of Mastodon, is of exceptional quality. It’s time that we were, a lot, but then MUCH more people realize the happiness than it is to listen to ASG.

• 4 / Duel (Saturday): What a bunch of impatient these Texans. No really. After releasing a superb first album in 2016, accumulations of swarming ideas for years, and faced with the beautiful critical reception they received, Duel hastened to beat the iron while it was hot by publishing two other albums (2017 and 2019) which frankly could have made a very good one instead of two correct ones. As a result, the hype that surrounded the group fell somewhat. The fact remains that their best titles are the ones they play in concert (the opposite would be absurd) and that their mixture, calling as much Pentagram as Thin Lizzy, is extremely effective. This is undoubtedly the revelation of Hellfest 2020 for followers less informed than Desert Rock in terms of stoner rock.

• 3 / Abrahma (Sunday): a little lonely on Sunday (with Hangman’s Chair), Abrahma will FINALLY be able to show the festival what doom they heat up with. It is that the group, in constant musical evolution (and delicacy of line up) took time (almost 10 years) to find its public. But today, strong with a third album pushing to the bottom the not very optimistic precepts dictated by Paradise Lost or Type O Negative, the group has solid arguments to put forward and is rewarded with some precious dates in festivals. A group too rare to be snubbed.

• 2 / Elder (Friday): Elder is the stoner group of this decade. We are not the only ones to think so, the Obelisk site has officially awarded them the title. Authors of a near faultless whether on album or live, Elder enchants with each passage and has, let’s be clear, all the attributes of a future Valley headliner. Missing their concert is unthinkable, especially since they should come with some new songs from their album to be released this year.

• 1 / High On Fire (Saturday): A Matt Pike concert, no matter how many toes, is and will be the best thing that can happen to you in your life. So get ready to take nions and spin them.

Bonus: It’s not stoner but it takes place under the Valley and it would be a shame to miss it:

• Envy : Envy’s concerts are among the strongest things that can be experienced. Do yourself a favor, don’t miss it.
• Killing joke : Quite simply one of the best bands in history.
• Hangman’s Chair : clearly gone on other shores than the sludge / doom of their beginnings, Hangman’s remains today the group which best embodies Paris in the darkest and depressed sides.

For all the info, go to https://www.hellfest.fr/ and subscribe to their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/hellfest