It’s a posh place, Edinburgh’s Queen’s Hall. A proper little theatre, with stalls and a balcony, and the floor space laid out with cabaret tables. With candles!

The stage tonight is almost empty – a mic stand, a couple of chairs and an electric piano. A few little monitors. No stacks of Marshall cabs. No pyros. For tonight is not a rock’n’roll night.

Tonight, within the Festival but not, I think, part of it, we have a couple of guests from the West coast, former Delgado Emma Pollock and the amazing RM Hubbert (hereafter referred to as ‘Hubby’).

Ms Pollock opens the show, and she’s feeling mischievous tonight. Maybe it’s the spirit of the Fringe. She gives us a mix of her own solo material and older Delgados songs (I think. To be honest, I’m not a Delgados expert...) re-arranged for acoustic guitar and piano, several never before played live. A couple of false starts are impishly described as entirely deliberate, ‘performance art’ pieces for the Festival. We all believe her. Of course we do.

But we don’t mind, because it’s all gorgeous stuff. She sings stories of life, love and loss, sometimes cheery, sometimes sombre, always lovely. Her voice is warm, smoky and soulful. Her pal Graham Whose-surname-I-can’t-remember-because-my-pencil-broke accompanies her on piano and occasional second guitar, and she is briefly joined for some mock-bitchy banter and a rendition of ‘Monster in the Pack’ by our headliner tonight, Hubby.

There’s a brief wait for a quick stage tidy-up – shift the piano, move the chair, adjust the mics – and then it’s Hubby time. Those of you who know him will know what to expect. He walks on, says nothing, sits down and plays. A gentle, mournful wordless ballad. In his own words, a ‘wistful, flamenco-inspired acoustic song’.

Hubby is a story teller as much as he is a musician. He will tell us stories of loss, depression and death, and will make us laugh. He says he will play a sad song and a happy song, sad song, happy song, and immediately breaks his rule with a heartbreaking version of ‘The False Bride’, an old Scottish folk song he started performing when his ex-wife left him, years ago. It hurts to listen, but it’s perfect.

He will tell us of his terrible chronic depression, and how he uses his public performance as a kind of therapy. He will tell us how he learned to talk to his loved ones about his depression. He will tell us how he writes music for loved ones who have died, not in a morbid way, but just to remind himself to remember them, and dedicates ‘For Joe’, originally about his ex father-in-law, to a man, a close friend very recently passed away, who gave him his first job in the music industry.

It may seem that this is a gloomy gig, all misery and woe, but it’s really not. Hubby tells his stories with a self-effacing Glasgow humour which lightens the mood. And not all of his stories are of bleak things. He will tell us of his boy, ‘D’, his constant companion of ten years, and how, on his first day, Hubby could hold him in a single hand, and on the second day, he stood on him. He will combine this story with an unusual pitch for merch sales – records and other shit available in the bar area after the show.

He will tell how he has only ever written three love songs, and how they usually end badly, leaving us with the image of a dead Hubby lying on the bathroom floor with a.... no, I think I’ll leave that one there.

And he will tell of his move from Glasgow to Troon, how he ended up living next door to the only night club in the area and how he discovered the formula for the local cocktail of choice, Buckstasy.

He will leave us in no doubt as to his position on the Independence referendum.

And he will swear a lot, but we Edinburghers will forgive him for that. After all, he’s from Glasgow.

All of these stories, the happy/funny ones and the sad/funny ones, are interspersed with his wonderful songs, mostly instrumental, often deeply moving. He will sometimes play with his eyes closed, cheek laid on his guitar as if on the head of a lover or a child. His playing isn’t flawless – he will wince at the occasional dropped note – but it is damn’ near perfect. And when he is joined by Ms Pollock for their version of the 15th century Italian folk song ‘Mo Ve’la Bella Mia Da Muntagna’, it’s simply stunning.

Hubby says “Thank”, and heads off, to return almost immediately to pick up the water bottle he has ‘forgotten’. The audience calls out for more. “Are you fuckin’ trying to tell me whit to do?”, he demands, with mock Weegie aggro, belied by an obvious grin. He sits down again and leaves us with two last songs. A song of hope – Daniel Johnson’s ‘True Love Will Find You In The End’ - and a song of, I think, escape – ‘Car Song’, written with, and for the voice of, Aiden Moffat. Hubby carries it off beautifully all on his own tonight.

And there you go. It’s done. It hasn’t always been an easy listen, but it’s been a joy. Joy and pain and humour. I’ve seen Hubby before when he has been barely able to function, losing his battle with depression –although always able to play beautifully – but tonight he was on top form.

Hubby’s out and about in the next couple of months, here at home in Scotland, and away in England and Eire. If you can make it along to one of his gigs I urge you to do so. He needs you. Go be his therapist for an evening. He’s a lovely man. Listen to his stories. Listen to his music. You will be rewarded, and he might be able to fight off his illness for another day.

Note: For who is interested to read more about music and depression, please have a look at our musical therapy section, which you can find here.

So what do you do when you've put on pretty much the finest celebration of post rock the world has ever seen? Apparently you go out & book Mono, Russian Circles, This Will Destroy You, Ef, team up with Sargent House and pack the undercard with wonderful rising talent like Rumour Cubes, Codes In The Clouds, Karhide, Lost In The Riots & Wicket; bands that readers of these pages may well be familiar with but a wider audience will get the pleasure of for the first time. 

(((o))): On the scale of 7-10 - how excited are you to be performing at this year’s ATG (let’s be honest, anything below 7 won’t be acceptable)?

I’m currently about a 9! I can’t wait until the end of August so I can see so many ace bands and friends all in one place.

(((o))): How have you been preparing for this year’s performance and what can we expect from your show?

For Arctangent I have taken a step back and looked at the Karhide tracks for all the releases and I’m going to have bits from all the releases plus there maybe a cover thrown in but that will be a surprise.

(((o))): If you went last year (whether as a band or privately) - what were your highlights?

I didn’t get to go last year because I was away on a stag do but I was very jealous of everyone that went!

(((o))): What are you most looking forward to at this year’s festival - musically and in general (I can’t wait to try a cactus burrito for example)?

I’m really looking forward to finally getting to see God Is An Astronaut live. I keep missing them every time they tour and they should be great on the main stage.

(((o))): If you were to chose two bands to play next year, one headliner and one local, who would it be and why?

The band I would choose to headline are Shellac and the local band would be Signals who are great live.

(((o))): If you were given the chance to DJ one of the silent discos, give us a 5-song playlist of what you’d make us jump around to

1000 Homo DJs - Supernaut
Big Black - Jordan Minnesota
Refused - New Noise
Helmet - In the Meantime
Nine Inch Nails - The Hand That Feeds

(((o))): One of the best memories from last year was the always swarmed merch stand. What are you getting prepared for the ATG fans merch-wise? Any exclusives?

don’t think I’m going to have anything new back in time for Arctangent but I should have lots of the Field Records releases with me.

(((o))): The great thing about last year was the parade of awesome band t-shirts. Which band t-shirts will your band be sporting?

I’m not sure yet I have a silly amount of band tshirts so it might or might not be my Boards of Canada tshirt.

(((o))): Where will we be most likely to bump into you on site?

I would like to say the bar but I think it’s going to be the merch stand.

(((o))): Who’s on your ‘en route to ATG’ playlist? And who’s your designated driver?

I’m going to be my own driver and crew and at the moment I’m listening to the new EP by Lesser Key loads!

The final day was upon us as the last hike from the hotel to the festival area started with us trying to catch a bus, but we were granted no mercy in the scorching sun. We had to make a stop at the pharmacy, because of reasons. Now remember kids, never wear skinny jeans that you converted into shorts with holes over your inner-thighs, chafing is a bitch. We also managed to get some energy drinks and our excuse for breakfast at the supermarket, which at this point was a daily ritual.

We managed to get to the festival area only half drenched in sweat and in time for the first band, which was Behind the Cemetery Wall,who brought their own thrash/grind hybrid interpretation in the vein of Carcass, early Napalm Death and Groinchurn’s Every Dog Has Its Decay, which was pretty tasty to say the least. I wasn’t too concerned with the rest at that point as merch shopping was the main aim before I got completely sidetracked by Nuclear.

I’ve been looking forward to seeing Nuclear for a while now and the Chilean thrashers did not leave anything to any doubt, they were here to thrash us into oblivion. It was all about smashing trends and they showed no compromises to their brutal interpretation of thrash, in a true South America style. Their intensity along with their skull crushing guitar sound led the crowd into quite the frenzy and I had front row seats on the side of the stage to see the massacre unfold. Riff upon riff of bone crushing thrash metal, what more could you want? They absolutely blew me away, what an incredible performance and one that would take some beating on the day.

Nuclear

The next band I was keen on was Radiolokátor, whom started off pretty positive and I kind of got what they were doing and respect their music, but I feel it was lacking that killer punch, especially after seeing Nuclear tear it up. I felt that if they played before the Chileans or on another day I would have gotten into them a lot more, but they were a bit overshadowed by the above mentioned, which was a pity. Still, good honest old school thrash metal sound and riffs, but I was left wanting at the end of it.

Next up was the much-anticipated Acion Mutante,which was raved about by my good mate Grinder back home. So of course, I had to scope them out. I was blown away by the rawness and filth ridden riffs that made up their crustcore sound. The double vocals were a first for me, live anyway, but they executed it so well and it was full on crustcore from start to finish. The old mates had a lot of energy left in their bones as the wolfpack tore into the crowd with no remorse. As far as crustcore goes and my limited experience with seeing crustcore bands live, they were incredible and I was thoroughly impressed with the performance.

Finally I got to see Turbokrieg again, whom blew me away at two other shows a few days ago. They killed it and they were sure to do it again. The rather expressive front man was up to his old tricks as he added a humorous twist to the seemingly serious music and crowd watching the band. From heckling with the crowd to heckling his band mates, it was quite funny and in good spirit. They didn’t fuck around when it came down to doing business as the Houston based Ultra-core maniacs ripped into obscene at 300mph. It was almost too good a performance, the kind that makes you feel inept as a musician, never mind a human being. This is what one would expect from a band that consists of members whom have been in some pretty killer bands from Houston over the years. It was like taking the best musicians from bands like War Master, Mindboil, Insect Warfare, Peasant and Pretty Little Flowerto name but a few. This aside, it was killer, from the bass guitar, which I have never seen being played as fast, with such precision, to the drumming, which was like watching a man sit in an anti-aircraft gun during a bomb raid to the incredible guitar solos from the man with the white axe. Take all of this and add killer vocals and shenanigans to it and you’ve got yourself killer Ultra-core from Houston, Texas.

I managed to catch up with the lads from Turbokrieg at the OEF after partyfor an interview you can listen to here.

Turbokrieg 

I was pretty gutted with the news that Macentazo cancelled, but sometimes there’s just nothing you can do about it and I thought that this was well handled by the Obscene Crew and appropriate steps were taken by them to ensure there was never silence. So, the next band I was looking forward to seeing was Cripple Bastards, as I ran into Giulio the Bastard at his record label FOAD’s stand earlier that week and bought some stuff.

It was finally time to see the might Cripple Bastards and they did not disappoint. The legendary grindcore punks got on stage and let their presence be felt making sure the whole festival and probably the rest of the world who watched in on YouTube know that they were still relevant. It was an incredible display of what grindcore is about. No bullshit, no compromises, just straight up fucking grindcore. Their intensity and energy was out of this world and you could see it on the band members’ faces. There wasn’t any fucking around either; it was like an endless bombardment of grindcore, song after song, with merely an introduction to the next before blast-off once more. Probably the most intensity from any band at the festival and the way the band handled their instruments were out of this world and Giulio has such an incredible stage presence, it was rather intimidating at times. I expected nothing less from Cripple Bastards, but this was just on another level completely.

I managed to catch up with Giulio after their set for an interview, which you can listen to here.

Cripple Bastards

The next band I was really keen to see was DOOM and this was to be the hat trick of OEF performances this year, by being one of the only bands that played all 3 obscene fests this year, which included Australia, Japan and now Czech Republic. It would be hard to imagine an Obscene Extreme without some or at least one of the filthiest crust bands around and well; DOOMhas to be at the very top of that list. They struck me as the typical crust band from first view, but as soon as they started playing it was apparent to me that they were not just another crust band. My personal experience of crust bands, from various festivals are basically the drunkest most musically inept morons at the show, but as long as they have a good time who cares? Not DOOM as these guys blasted off and had an almost grind approach to their music; fast, furious and super pissed off, with political and social motivated lyrics and titles, it hit me hard that they were the real deal. Seeing them live is definitely a lot different from listening to them on a record or on your computer. There was a track they played and just before the chaos ragged, the vocalist said “Pornogrind is fucking stupid” and that to me was probably the quote of the festival in many respects. They were absolutely incredible from start to stop, on the dime, in time and just brilliant in every aspect of their performance.

DOOM

It was that time again and it was farewell to Obscene Extreme once more. It was an incredible experience being able to meet new people and hang out with old and new friends. It’s like one big freak family and one can feel right at home in an incredible atmosphere, second to none.  A special shout out to everyone who let me interview them and special thanks to Curby and the OEF Crew for an unforgettable experience. From myself and the Ech(((o)))es and Dust team, until next time.

Nuclear

Nuclear

Turbokrieg

Turbokrieg

Cripple Bastards

Cripple Bastards

Cripple Bastards

DOOM

DOOM

So what do you do when you've put on pretty much the finest celebration of post rock the world has ever seen? Apparently you go out & book Mono, Russian Circles, This Will Destroy You, Ef, team up with Sargent House and pack the undercard with wonderful rising talent like Rumour Cubes, Codes In The Clouds, Karhide, Lost In The Riots & Wicket; bands that readers of these pages may well be familiar with but a wider audience will get the pleasure of for the first time. 

(((o))): On the scale of 7-10 - how excited are you to be performing at this year’s ATG (let’s be honest, anything below 7 won’t be acceptable)?

I think its safe to say we are definitely a 10 on this scale! Three of us went to ATG last year and the instant we got back in the rehearsal space as a band it was clear that the general consensus was 'we HAVE to play that festival one day!' We were incredibly pleased to be approached to play this years festival; ATG is fast becoming the Mecca for bands of the post and math-rock persuasion and this years line up is bordering on the ridiculous!

(((o))): How have you been preparing for this year’s performance and what can we expect from your show?

This years work has been all about writing, recording, releasing and touring for our second album Move On, Make Trails. The album has been demanding of our time (and wallets!), so we have recently taken a month off from playing live to let the album settle and to gather our strength and wits in order to go nuts at ATG. We will hit the rehearsal space a few times soon to hash out a set we think will work for the ATG crowd and that sells us best.

As far as what to expect: a generous smattering of loud riffs, a bit of enthusiastic foot stomping, a healthy dose of head banging, a large amount of dancing, plenty of gurning from the 6 stringers, toplessness and excessive head movement from the 4 stringer and (potentially) a rock solid drummer in a brown cassock.

(((o))): If you went last year (whether as a band or privately) - what were your highlights?

Jim: Cleft playing early on to a packed tent, damned good pizza, Andy drinking pints of wine, knowing so many faces of band members and promoters, laying on my back half-cut listening to TTNG, ASIWYFA blowing my socks off.

Adam: Seeing ASIWYFA for the umpteenth time and still being in awe of how good they are live. Bumping into and hanging out with a ridiculous amount of friendly faces.

Andy: Lots of bands being ridiculous, including Cleft, Polymath, ASIWYFA, Tall Ships, and Public Service Broadcasting. Drinking the odd bit of wine every-now-and-then. Strolling around dressed as a monk for a day - still feeling moderately accepted into the post-rock/math-rock community.

(((o))): What are you most looking forward to at this year’s festival - musically and in general (I can’t wait to try a cactus burrito for example)?

Jim: Three Trapped Tigers, Mutiny on the Bounty, Russian Circles, AMTP, ASIWYFA.

Adam: BATS, Enemies, Tall Ships, Alarmist, Samoans for the first time. Topping up my Three Trapped Tigers, TTNG, Lite, Russian Circles, ASIWYFA quotas. Seeing our friendlings in other bands playing excellent music and inevitably making us look bad.

Andy: Enemies and Alarmist are two bands that I've always wanted to see. I'm also very excited to have my first live Russian Circles experience. The new Alpha Male Tea Party material is pretty ridiculous - I'm very excited to see it/smell it in the flesh having had time to absorb it. Three Trapped Tigers - Adam Betts (drums) cannot be human. Maybeshewill as always.

(((o))): If you were to chose two bands to play next year, one headliner and one local, who would it be and why?

Jim: headliner - Cloudkicker, local - Miroist

Adam: This is way too difficult to answer.

Andy - headliner - Balmorhea, local - Patchwork Natives

(((o))): If you were given the chance to DJ one of the silent discos, give us a 5-song playlist of what you’d make us jump around to

A few select cuts from recent and upcoming Lonely Voyage Records DJ sets have featured the following mixed bag of audible goodness:
Vasquez – Low To Be Heavy
Propagandhi – Status Update
Cleft - Gulch
American Football - Never Meant
Totorro - Chevalier Bulltoe
Town Portal – Chronoceros

(((o))): One of the best memories from last year was the always swarmed merch stand. What are you getting prepared for the ATG fans merch-wise? Any exclusives?

Whilst touring in Europe in June we completely sold out of t-shirts and copies of our EP and we've not had the collective funds to get any t-shirts printed up in time for ATG. However, the merch stand will be stocked with copies of our first album Stranger in the Alps and our new album Move On, Make Trails. We're also crossing every appendage to have copies of the new album on double gate fold, coloured vinyl with us too...

(((o))): The great thing about last year was the parade of awesome band t-shirts. Which band t-shirts will your band be sporting?

Jim: This year I will be mostly wearing a Mastodon or Miroist t-shirt

Adam: An array of band and non-band-related t-shirts and if you're lucky, nothing at all (nothing at all... nothing at all...).

Andy: No T-shirts required - the monk outfit has come back from the dry cleaners ready for a repeat of last year's appearance (although it might come with extra customisations this year).

(((o))): Where will we be most likely to bump into you on site?

You'll probably be able to bump into us just after we get off stage as we hurdle over the barriers to be front and centre for Bats. Failing that you'll find us moseying between stages to catch as many bands as we can or at the bar getting an intoxicating beverage of some kind.

(((o))): Who’s on your ‘en route to ATG’ playlist? And who’s your designated driver?

No designated driver as we are all coming separately for one reason or another! En route playlists will probably consist of a selection of bands playing this years ATG to thoroughly drench our collective whistles.

Friday kicked off with a rather early morning breakfast and well, some rather colourful shorts from my Swedish partner in crime, who looked and still is a complete lady killer. This being said we had to hike another 3KM’s to the festival grounds, but first we needed to make a pit stop at the supermarket. I managed to buy a chocolate, energy drink and some bread, because nutrition is what I am all about.

With utter disregard for any traffic signs and rules we finally managed to drag our sweaty arses to the festival area, which was filled with people, living and half dead. Kruger kicked off proceedings rather early, so the hangover amongst the majority of the crowd was very present. Mad props to them, as these crusters didn’t let that discourage them from laying waste to the population of hung-over-ville. The d-beat crust commandos did their thing as the local band that’s given a chance to show off their skills at OEF and man, they didn’t disappoint.

At this point it was time to grab something cold to drink and I dragged myself to the bar and got a mixed slushy, which was basically the best decision of the day. I then rallied more troops and we headed off to see the Brazilian equivalent of Disclose and Framtid as Deaf Kids took the stage, whom I was in a fortunate position to write a review about last year as they released I am the Sickness, which blew my mind. It’s safe to say the raging distortion storm could be felt in every bone in my body as they plagued into us with fast, harsh and relentless distorted d-beat crust, which had some incredible tempo changes. It was by no means one dimensional, which is always my criticism of d-beat/crust bands. Their own brand of unadulterated noise filth, buzz-saw d-beat crust really did kick off the party. It was truly appreciated by those whom were fortunate enough to experience it.

I managed to make my way to the grind market again, inevitably, and picked up some sweet cassettes and shirts as I made my way down to where the bands put up their merch tables. I did this about once an hour to ensure I got someone special a EyeHateGod t-shirt, but no luck. It was time for another one of those slushy things as the heat intensified.

Made my way back to the stage after seemingly losing everyone I was with for Idiot Ikon, who treated us to the Swedish interpretation of d-beat/crust, a line-up consisting of members from Splitter, Thinner, Shades of Grey and Raised Drunks. We have a winner! They didn’t fuck around and got stuck in from the get go as the crowds started getting bigger at the front of the stage and the beer was flowing, they were truly entertaining and just a lot of fun to watch.

The next band I was keen to see was Gutslit from India and the first Indian band to ever play Obscene Extreme and there couldn’t have been a finer debut. Their brand of super fast brutal death metal had my ears prickling and the old head bobbing back and forth with a huge smile on my face. The rhythms were also out of this world and the put on such a performance, it was like they were Obscene Extreme veterans and the crowd responded in kind.

Gutslit

The next band to see was Warcollapse, but first I was pleasantly surprised by Besta from Portugal who had a horror/gory inspired feedback hardcore punk meets old school grindcore culmination going, which made the old ears prickle once more as they put on quite a show and I was surprised I’ve never heard of them before. So it was a pleasant afternoon surprise for those of us looking forward to other bands in the late afternoon and evening.

It was finally time to see the mighty Warcollapse as all the crusters flooded to the stage, including some of the Swedish crew I spent some time with. It was expecting something completely mind blowing and the music was exactly what I expected. The harsh, feedback ridden, d-beat medium tempo crust reigned supreme, but there was just something lacking for me. I feel that the stage was too big and that a smaller venue would have suited Warcollapse better, especially with the energy and intensity we experienced from the other bands. This being said, musically, they were as tight as I expected and as good, if not better than their records, but in terms of performance it was rather boring in my personal opinion and I struggled to sit through their set.

Warcollapse

For the first time in my life I missed a band I truly wanted to see in Vitamin X, but did manage to catch their last song and the atmosphere was absolutely incredible, they seemed to have fucking killed it and I managed to get some merch from them at least. This put behind me, I sat down to watch the very much-anticipated performance of legendary death metal act Nunslaughter from the USA. An awesome culmination of old school thrash metal riffs and death metal that has never been compromised throughout all their releases got the crowd into a hair-whipping frenzy from the get go. The Christ crushing image went a long way, but if felt at times they were too kvlt and well, I found some of it pretty funny, but all and all an excellent performance.

Nunslaughter

Right, so the evening was starting to draw to a close, but not before a triple-header, which included the legendary Brutal Truth, Possessed and EyeHateGod in probably the heaviest few hours of the fest.

It kicked off with Brutal Truth and Dan Lilker’s last ever Obscene Extreme as the band is set to call I quits after his birthday in October. It was business as usual for one of the custodians of grindcore as they ripped into us at 100miles an hour. As I stood on the side of stage with many of the other bands and crew members in awe, the crowd were losing their shit like nothing I’ve seen this far at this instalment of Obscene Extreme. Losing your mind to pornogrind or whatever is one thing (which I still don’t understand) and seeing a crowd lose it to a proper grindcore band was something that will live long in my memory. Beach balls, stage diving, screaming and just losing their fucking minds as the crowd gave Brutal Truth a proper send off. It was absolutely unforgettable. The guys seem to enjoy themselves during the set and once a band enjoys itself, the crowd really does feed off that. One of the best parts was seeing the drummer Rich Hoak and the legendary “face of a million expressions” as my buddy Carl so elegantly put it. It was something to behold as a whole and that only occurred to me properly after their set as I was just absolutely blown away.

Brutal Truth

Next up were legendary death metallers Possessed and I was a bit excited to finally get to see them as I firmly believe in the saying “Seven Churches on vinyl or fuck off”. This was a dream come true for me personally and I am sure a lot of people will agree with me that Possessed are undoubtedly one of the fathers of death metal as a heavy metal sub-genre. After fading away in obscurity, they’ve reformed around the front man Jeff Becerra and man did they put on a show? It was crushing from the first to the very last; reminding these tech death metal morons that sometimes overcomplicating something doesn’t really make it better. Slow, heavy and absolutely pulverizing from start to finish as we were treated to one of the best death metal acts I have seen in a very long time. The San Francisco death metal cult was truly back in full force and word on the street is that they’re even writing new material, so I’ll leave you with that.

Possessed

Eyes were getting heavy, but I wasn’t exactly sure if I was tired or if it was something in the air, because EyeHateGod were up next to tune low and play slow, well kind of anyway. After seeing Jimmy Fallon earlier that day to enquire about merch and being informed they’ve misplaced/lost it along the way I was even more excited to see them and maybe film some of it on my GoPro as a momento. Yeah, I get all sentimental, so what? Back to business… the New Orleans lads ripped everything to shit and well, Trutnov was the new Vietnam. It was a sludge/punk barrage of muddy riffs blended together with some eerie and grim rhythms that left a trail of destruction in its wake. The noise and feedback factor was next level and the machine just rumbled on into the night. It was one of the longest shows, but felt so short, everyone was getting into it and the most interesting thing was watching people who are usually bombarded with fast music react to EyeHateGod’s music as a whole. It was an ugly affair and yet I fell in love with a band all over again.  I don’t think Obscene Extreme has ever witnessed something this disgustingly muddy, murky and slow in its existence and it was like watching a piece of history being made.

EyeHateGod

After the rather sludgy affair, I spent the rest of the evening in a trance like state before finally calling it a night after Demonical as we’d have to be up early for the final day with heaps of bands still to play and awesome times to be had. It got to a point where the punk inside us gave in and we took a cab to our accommodation. It’s understandable, especially after the day we had.

Dan Lilker of Brutal Truth

Brutal Truth

EyeHateGod

Gutslit

Nunslaughter

Possessed

Possessed

Warcollapse

So what do you do when you've put on pretty much the finest celebration of post rock the world has ever seen? Apparently you go out & book Mono, Russian Circles, This Will Destroy You, Ef, team up with Sargent House and pack the undercard with wonderful rising talent like Rumour Cubes, Codes In The Clouds, Karhide, Lost In The Riots & Wicket; bands that readers of these pages may well be familiar with but a wider audience will get the pleasure of for the first time. 

(((o))): On the scale of 7-10 - how excited are you to be performing at this year’s ATG (let’s be honest, anything below 7 won’t be acceptable)?

Off the scale excited.  It is, without doubt, our highlight of the year… we’re very excited and feel extremely privileged to play alongside so many amazing acts, most of whom we have happily paid good money to go see in the past.  Being on that poster just makes us giddy.

(((o))): How have you been preparing for this year’s performance and what can we expect from your show?

We’ve just finished recording our first album, so we’ve been writing a lot of new material and polishing our performance for the set. You can expect lots of delay, dynamics and some DIY visuals too.

(((o))): If you went last year (whether as a band or privately) - what were your highlights?

Either spilling all the red wine whilst dancing erratically to This Town Needs Guns, or falling asleep next to that giant bonfire near the main stage.  Also, seeing quite a few of the bands walk around the site and having the opportunity to have a chat/pester them was fantastic.

(((o))): What are you most looking forward to at this year’s festival - musically and in general (I can’t wait to try a cactus burrito for example)?

Number one is definitely playing at such an awesome festival – the line-up is just stacked and we are really pleased to be involved.  Number two, seeing This Will Destroy You again and hearing their new material.

(((o))): If you were to chose two bands to play next year, one headliner and one local, who would it be and why?

We’re big fans of Explosions in the Sky – they killed it on their last tour over here.  That’d be cool.  We play a lot with Nanook of the North in Cardiff – they rock and deserve to be up there next year too.

(((o))): If you were given the chance to DJ one of the silent discos, give us a 5-song playlist of what you’d make us jump around to

Craig David – 7 Days

Tangled Hair – Forty Winks

Them The Sky – Fall

Enemies – Indian Summer

Waking Aida – Glow Coin

(((o))): One of the best memories from last year was the always swarmed merch stand. What are you getting prepared for the ATG fans merch-wise? Any exclusives?

We may have some sort of taster of our debut album together, maybe a Wicket tank-top too.

(((o))): The great thing about last year was the parade of awesome band t-shirts. Which band t-shirts will your band be sporting?

Danny will no doubt have his Zep t-shirt somewhere.  Raurie – an Oceansize one.  Spud will, no doubt, be wearing nothing.

(((o))): Where will we be most likely to bump into you on site?

Wherever the wind takes us.  We’ll probably be attempting to cram in as many bands as possible, frantically running from stage to stage.

(((o))): Who’s on your ‘en route to ATG’ playlist? And who’s your designated driver?

We’re going to be in separate cars this year, but that means Danny and Raurie can get away with listening to Led Zepplin or ACDC. Spud will be listening to the Lion King OST guaranteed.

Melbourne’s Fritzwicky have released songs in dribs and drabs over the last few years and their latest EP was launched last Friday night at The Bendigo Hotel in the city’s inner North, with support from The Keiths, Bear the Mammoth and Cat or Pillar. Like so many small gigs the line between garage party and pub gig was pretty well blurred and in some ways the show never found its identity, but despite tending toward a get-together of friends, the music was good, the bands gave it all they had, and the Skull Lager was cheap.

The line-up itself was a bit odd but I thought it worked well, breaking up the genres to explore four distinctive and different progressive sounds. After all, even the most devoted fan can find four similar acts a bit much. The Keiths play progressive hip hop with loads of funk and the combination of singer and rapper over some free flowing and interesting rock from guitar drums and bass does more than simply take from the Chilli Peppers. Playing with bags of energy they belted out a nine-song set punctuated with a fair bit of talk with a couple of friends in the crowd including members of the main act. 

Bear the Mammoth

Bear the Mammoth hit the stage next with four longer tracks covering their debut EP, their split with Xenograft and Kettlespider, and their newly released first album. More business-like in their approach than the openers they got on with their dynamic crescendocore with little interaction as they left the more proggy tracks at home for the night in favour of some traditional post rock tremolo playing the ying to the thunderous explosions of yang. The new tunes 'What’s Yours Was Mine Is Never Leaving', with its two distinct parts, and 'Cloverlea' worked well alongside 'Rain' and 'Sea Caesar'. I’d like to see them turn some attention to tidying up transition between songs, but their sound keeps marching forward each time I see them.  

Cat or Pillar

This was my first chance to see Cat or Pillar live, and they were as good as I’d hoped. Vocals returned to the night’s menu care of Luke Dickinson’s strong clear pipes, opening their set of fast-moving progressive rock with a couple of my favourites from their debut full length; 'Helios' and the longer 'Entwined' with its crescendo building to screaming vocals before dropping back down. There’s hints of Muse and Radiohead sprinkled throughout their performance and after a couple more from the album they close not with a long epic track, but the sprightly 'Cigarette' from their EP - a good choice.

Fritzwicky

No one could accuse Fritzwicky of taking themselves too seriously, despite the complexity and diversity of their progressive rock. In fact it’s pretty hard to find their music online and the new EP is  only available “from all good Fritzwicky members”, and if you get it forget trying to work out what any of the songs are called. Describing the feel of the songs is tricky, other than to say they like to crank out tunes that make you want to dance but are often almost impossible to dance to. Still the small crowd has a fair crack and there’s plenty of vocal support from the floor for the guys during and between songs.

Fritzwicky

They play a longish set with ten songs in a bit over an hour and at one stage a combination of the mood, the music and perhaps some other contribution sees things get a bit weird as a friend of the band in the crowd takes singer Steve de Niese’s guitar from him when not in use, and soon starts strumming along, obviously wanting to feel more connected. The fact he’s playing in a different key and a different song is noticed, but the band elect to keep going till it’s finished before recovering the instrument. It didn’t fuck up the song but I’d hate to see this become a thing.

The last two songs each seem to go forever (perhaps they did play longer than I thought), and the closer sees Steve jump down from the stage and add a verse or two lying on his back before he leaps to his feet for the last refrains. It’s a good set and their energy and musicianship shines. Fritzwicky could be more popular if they took some aspects of being a band more seriously, but then that would just as likely upset the heavily skewed balance of art and promotion that sees them come up with the music they do and rob from the fun they’re having. And when it’s this good it’s the music that counts.

Seattle band He Whose Ox is Gored blew our minds last saturday at The Tower Bar in San Diego, together with the metal band BhorelordE from San Diego, and San Francisco based postrockers Glaciers.  The Tower has been a San Diego landmark since 1932.  This dive bar can host live music any night of the week and the atmosphere is cozy and welcoming.  When I arrived I met the guys of He Whose Ox Is Gored just outside the bar next to a line of people getting in to attend the show. Unfortunately my taxi arrived too late so I lost the occasion to see BhorelordE, but I got the chance to see the trio from San Francisco and they were really great.  They are a more than decent brand of postrock band, and they played transmitting to us their joy to be there.  I didn't know that much about them before this night, but enjoyed their show so much that I started diving into their music – I'm on And the Sea Won the Battle these days.  I asked someone about the performance of the previous band and I heard positive things.  Both bands seemingly brought bags of energy with them and two very different music styles.

When the turn of He Whose Ox Is Gored came, the venue was packed full of excited people gawping at Brian, Lisa, John and Mike setting their instruments up.  When the doomgaze band from Seattle started playing, the sound flowed like a river through tranquil spots before  it crashed like a waterfall over rocks.
 The band's live performance is a rhythmic experience.  Their timbre and chord sequences are powerful as well, but their masterful control of tempo and shocking entry and exit points are perhaps their most prominent feature.  Their breakdowns don’t only kill with brute force, but often catch you off guard when they fly in from the side.

‘Oathbreaker’ from the upcoming full length The Camel, The Lion, The Child opened the set, and it was everything that the band represents: power-laden chords, heavy guitar riffs, explosive crescendo, dynamics, and that awesome space from drums and bass.  The band completely blew our minds with 'Buried Twice', the second track from the upcoming EP Rumors, and they made the crowd happy as fuck. They really were on form from the get-go, with a quality of sound that immediately took the evening to the next level.  Everything about this quartet is classy - from the way in which guitarist and spokesperson Brian provides a physical counterpoint flanked by bassist Mike, to the way in which they take crescendos through a series of perfectly-timed movements to draw out maximum emotion.

It came then the turn of 'Alpha', 'Magazina' and 'Cairo', and as the set progressed the crowd became increasingly delighted as was clear by the howls of appreciation after each captivating track.

The sense of camaraderie was palpable as the crowd made the most of the superfluous expression from a band on fire and loving their art.

Do what you can to catch any of their remaining shows.  God speed and long live He Whose Ox Is Gored!

So what do you do when you've put on pretty much the finest celebration of post rock the world has ever seen? Apparently you go out & book Mono, Russian Circles, This Will Destroy You, Ef, team up with Sargent House and pack the undercard with wonderful rising talent like Rumour Cubes, Codes In The Clouds, Karhide, Lost In The Riots & Wicket; bands that readers of these pages may well be familiar with but a wider audience will get the pleasure of for the first time. 

(((o))): On the scale of 7-10 - how excited are you to be performing at this year’s ATG (let’s be honest, anything below 7 won’t be acceptable)?

10. ArcTanGent is the most fun you can have as a post-rock fan. Closely followed by Nice Weather For Airstrikes Festival.

(((o))): How have you been preparing for this year’s performance and what can we expect from your show?

Well, last night at practice we messed about playing a bunch of really, really old stuff. Even songs we used to do with a singer. Complete waste of time as we won’t be playing any of it. What we will be playing are songs spanning the last 10 years - each from a different release, plus one new one.

(((o))): If you went last year (whether as a band or privately) - what were your highlights?

65daysofstatic and dancing about like a child on a sugar high at the silent disco.

(((o))): What are you most looking forward to at this year’s festival - musically and in general (I can’t wait to try a cactus burrito for example)?

Some nice guilt-free morning drinking, as our set is at 11:25am and its only fair to have a couple before playing. In terms of bands probably Mono, I Like Trains, Year of No Light and Fen. We’ll have a lot of friends and bands we know at the festival so I’m looking forward to lots of sitting about in the sun and catching up with old mates.

(((o))): If you were to chose two bands to play next year, one headliner and one local, who would it be and why?

If the organisers could work their magic and get A Genuine Freakshow, They Don’t Sleep and Double Handsome Dragons to reform I’d be very, very happy. While they are sprinkling fairy dust around, Oceansize reforming to perform Effloresce would be a treat.

If they can’t resurrect the dead, then Godspeed for headliner and Kasper Rosa, ...And The Earth Swarmed With Them, Obe and Eschar for locals.

(((o))): If you were given the chance to DJ one of the silent discos, give us a 5-song playlist of what you’d make us jump around to.

Soulfly - Jump Da Fuck Up

Van Halen - Jump

Brand Nubian - Punks Jump Up to Get Beat Down

Kriss Kross - Jump

Bob & Earl - Harlem Shuffle (to trick people into thinking I was playing Jump Around)

(((o))): One of the best memories from last year was the always swarmed merch stand. What are you getting prepared for the ATG fans merch-wise? Any exclusives?

It is good. Last year I picked up limited editions of UpcDownC’s first two albums. We’ve got some nice hand-printed t-shirts which hopefully people will like.

(((o))): The great thing about last year was the parade of awesome band t-shirts. Which band t-shirts will your band be sporting?

Pelican, What The Blood Revealed, UpCDownC, Obe, Sleepmakeswaves - whichever ones are clean when I pack.

(((o))): Where will we be most likely to bump into you on site?

If you mean literally, then either in the pit for ASIWYFA or running between stages to catch bands.

(((o))): Who’s on your ‘en route to ATG’ playlist? And who’s your designated driver?

Luckily it’s not me, so I’ll be in the back drinking and obnoxiously shouting the wrong directions. I’ve been wise not to get a drivers licence so I can’t ever be the sober responsible one. As for tunes, Spinal Tap will have to come on when we go past Stonehenge. Plus, of course the new Cheery Wave album - available from all wi-fi connected computers now - https://acheerywavefromstrandedyoungsters.bandcamp.com 

So what do you do when you've put on pretty much the finest celebration of post rock the world has ever seen? Apparently you go out & book Mono, Russian Circles, This Will Destroy You, Ef, team up with Sargent House and pack the undercard with wonderful rising talent like Rumour Cubes, Codes In The Clouds, Karhide, Lost In The Riots & Wicket; bands that readers of these pages may well be familiar with but a wider audience will get the pleasure of for the first time. 

(((o))): On the scale of 7-10 - how excited are you to be performing at this year’s ATG (let’s be honest, anything below 7 won’t be acceptable)?

100000000000000000000000 / 10 obviously… who isn’t?

(((o))): How have you been preparing for this year’s performance and what can we expect from your show?

This is our first full band show in a year - we’ve got new members, more members, and new songs to début! Preparations have been full of panic, stress and then adulation.

(((o))): If you went last year (whether as a band or privately) - what were your highlights?

I missed out last year unfortunately. Big regret. Polymath would have obviously been the huge highlight though!

(((o))): What are you most looking forward to at this year’s festival - musically and in general (I can’t wait to try a cactus burrito for example)?

Musically it’s This Will Destroy You for me...it’ll be the first time seeing them live. Obviously every act I’m looking forward to, but especially these guys by a whisper…

Non musically..this all night bar sounds pretty interesting, I’m not sure I’m going to bother bringing a tent. Every lucky person who went last year has told me that this is their actual favourite festival - regardless of it’s postrockness - so the whole experience I’m really looking forward to. Just the vibe and how carefully everything has been put together, laid out and planned really. Also I’m looking forwrad to more inter-postrock-band 5aside football. MBMR hold the record incase you were wondering. 6-1 thrashing over Flies Are Spies From Hell. FYI.

(((o))): If you were to chose two bands to play next year, one headliner and one local, who would it be and why?

Ahhh. Well it’s Godspeed / Silver Mt Zion for me. Let’s make this happen.

Locally..there are so many! Off the top of my head (and apologies to those I’ve missed!) I’d definitely say Lucy Claire, Phoria, Patchwork Natives, He Was Eaten By Owls, 52 Commercial Road….there are so many.

(((o))): If you were given the chance to DJ one of the silent discos, give us a 5-song playlist of what you’d make us jump around to.

I think I’d get the graveyard shift. Put me after last orders and I’ll sober everyone up ok?

(((o))): One of the best memories from last year was the always swarmed merch stand. What are you getting prepared for the ATG fans merch-wise? Any exclusives?

There may well be some limited edition ATG vinyls on their way...you’ll have to wait and see!

(((o))): The great thing about last year was the parade of awesome band t-shirts. Which band t-shirts will your band be sporting?

I’m hoping it’s going to be so hot that the majority of us are semi-naked throughout the weekend. But if not, then I think it’s shirts for us I’m afraid! Someone has to bring some sophistication to the postrock world. As long as no one wears those silly wooly hats that someone invariably wears at festivals despite it being 35+ degrees then all is fine.

(((o))): Where will we be most likely to bump into you on site?

Walking briskly between stages I expect! There’s so many of us that you’re bound to bump into one of us everytime you look up.

(((o))): Who’s on your ‘en route to ATG’ playlist? And who’s your designated driver?

We’re going to bring back the mix tape. A bit of everyone playing, maybe a few from last year...I’m in an iLiKETRAiNS mood...so let’s start with Terra Nova and see how we get on...

Thursday the 17th started off with a rather cumbersome hike back to the festival ground from our hotel, but we managed to make it a bit earlier than we initially thought, stopping at the supermarket for some electrolytes and rehydration amongst other things.  We managed to make it to the festival area all sweaty, meeting up with some mates before making our way to the Grind market, to see what was up. For the most part the stands were still being set up, but it was good seeing some familiar faces, especially the lads from Power It Up records.

After many a consideration and deliberation within my own psyche, I managed to pick up some merch before heading down to see which of the artists arrived. The lads from ACxDC were setting up and I managed to speak to front man briefly before the first act started.

Implore were the first act of the day and opening to a rather hung-over Obscene Extreme isn’t the easiest thing in the world let me tell you. Being relatively new to the game as a band, which only formed last summer they did a spectacular job in kicking of proceedings with their blend of grind, crust and hardcore, which was very refreshing. They pretty much killed it and the few stranglers that weren’t hung over made it to the stage for a thoroughly enjoyable set.

Implore

The afternoon was pretty relaxed with the bands that I was keen on seeing only playing way later, so I managed to get to talk to some of the bands who arrived and set up some interviews with the lads from Chiens, ACxDC and Whoresnation.

It was finally tome to see Norwegian metallic crust act Livstid who managed to get the crowd going as a lot more people poured to the stage to see an incredible combination of crust, metal and sometimes black metal elements being chalked up and mixed up for our enjoyment.   Aggressive, fast, rhythmic and kind of melodic melodies at certain intersects of the above mentioned. They put on a thoroughly enjoyable performance that set up the rest of the afternoon and evening nicely.

Next up it was Chiens, whom have been described as the fastest band in Europe by some and I am kind of leading that way as well. As the 3-piece grindcore/fastcore inferno took the stage, they kicked off their set, which felt like a swift kick to the genitals if nothing else. It wasn’t all speed as there were hints of powerviolence elements in the more rhythmic section throughout the set. Their on stage presence is absolutely incredible as the front man has the ability to jump and run around on stage, tirelessly, getting the crowd into a frenzy. It was aggressive, energetic, on point and well executed from start to finish, as Obscene Extreme didn’t really know what hit it until after. This performance had it all, incredible riffs, fastest drumming, vocals and just the atmosphere made it all come together in one big punch to the face, incredible set from the French grinders.

Chiens

Dark Horse had the seemingly impossible task of following up their French predecessors, but with true Aussie grit and fighting spirit they brought their own to the party and man did it go hard as fucking nails. The combination of metallic crust and hardcore punk was ruthless and awe inspiring with a no bullshit attitude to their music. It was short, sweet and neck breaking all in one, excellent live performance from the Aussie geysers.

It was time for another French grindcore act in Whoresnation, whom I caught by chance last year in Prague after Obscene Extreme and they absolutely blew me away, so I knew exactly what they had in store of the crowd. Ripping into us at breakneck speeds, the power and rawness of it all is where their charm lies. No bullshit, straightforward grindcore whose sole purpose is to pulverize you into oblivion. The 4-piece grindcore marines truly ripped Obscene Extreme a new one. I had an absolute blast! An amazing performance by the lads and they’re the coolest guys you’ll ever meet! Be sure to catch them later this year as they’ll be performing in some spots. They toured with Chiens, which made for a truly deadly combination. French grindcore is the future my friends.

Whoresnation

I managed to get my interview with the lads from Whoresnation after their set and I wasn’t sure who was more nervous, them or me, incredible bunch of guys and super friendly as well. It was a massive cluster fuck, but you can listen to below. After that I managed to catch up with Sacha and Jubs from Chiens, which went a lot smoother and you can listen to below.

I managed to make it back to the front of the stage as ACxDC were about to kick off, probably one of the most anticipated acts of the festival for me personally as I can identify with the straight edge nature of the lyrics. It was a hurricane of powerviolence, which was fast, rough, raw and relentless. That they could play that fast and be so tight with regards to their instruments was truly inspiring. It was shorts burst of machine gun fire as they just finished song after song, round after round of powerviolence. The crowd of course responded in kind, even if they were a bit awe struck right at the start. They had the most energy and most incredible atmosphere for a band that wasn’t doing some derivative of pornogrind at the festival for sure, which brought a huge smile to my face.

ACxDC

I managed to catch up with the whole band after their show down at the grind market and you can listen to below.

Berns meets ACxDC

Finally it was time for Japan’s very own Final Exit, who was on their maiden tour outside of their homeland. The masses didn’t really mess about with this one as we stood as far back as the festival ground allowed us. Their set-up was an interesting one, being a 2-piece, they lined up facing off to one another, guitars and drums. You could sense the anticipation and atmosphere in the air as the duo introduced themselves to the crowd in a rather humorous fashion, which was incredibly well received by all involved. They didn’t stand of ceremony as they let rip and the speed and the intensity was counter balanced by the shortness of the songs, each of which was met with a roar of applause from the crowd.

Final Exit

After their short but incredible set the crowd of course demanded more, so they did a Cripple Bastards cover, as Giulio The Bastard appeared and did vocals; the crowd at this point erupted in applause and whistles. It was a truly special set by a special band. It was an honour and a privilege to see these guys perform live and it was just out of this world, an all-round performance from start to finish.

The bands were starting to run out on the first full day of Obscene Extreme 2014 as those noisy Aussie bastards The Kill took the stage, with one objective, to rip you a new fuck hole. They did exactly that as the 3-piece in somewhat humorous manner got things kicked off with hells fury. Unrelenting grindcore madness was unleashed and they did what Captain Cleanoff  did last year, if no one knew who they were before, they sure as fuck did now. Ears began to prickle as the set raged on and people started gathering to the sweet sounds of Aussie grindcore ringing throughout the night sky. The nailed it and the crowd responded in kind like only an Obscene Extreme crowd can.

The Kill

I managed to catch up with Nik from The Kill a few days later at the after party for a quick interview, which you can listen to below.

The rest of the night’s line-up featured Master and Inhumane, but I was an absolute wreck and head off to bed after Master did their ting as per usual. The energy started dying about midway through the Master show, for me anyway as I headed on my 3KM long walk back to my hotel to grind another day.

ACxDC

Chiens

Chiens

The Kill

Whoresnation

After about a week and a bit in the Czech Republic, meeting some very interesting people, going to some incredible gigs, it was finally time for the big one. I slept on the floor for a weekend so this time around I decided to book myself a fancy as fuck hotel on the outskirts of Trutnov. Not that this at all dampened the experience, it made it more of a mission, cause walking there every night was basically an impossible task, especially with all the friends and atmosphere on the campsite, but it happened regardless. Obscene Extreme Festival was so close I could taste it!

We arrived in Trutnov around mid-day on the 16thof July and dropped our stuff off at the hotel. We took our time in walking to the Festival area, as it was an absolute scorcher of a day. Carl, Thiago and myself eventually made it to the festival site and got our tickets and wristbands. There was a bit of confusion to where I was to go for my press pass, which was mostly my own fault, but all went smoothly, as is generally the case at Obscene Extreme. Upon entrance, the freak fest was in full swing as the dumpster racing was as enthralling as it was entertaining. I spent the rest of the afternoon hanging out and going back to my accommodation in order to fetch my voice recording equipment and some jumpers, just in case I got to interview someone.

Italian hardcore night was the theme and I couldn’t be more pumped about some old school hardcore punk if I tried. I was given the heads up by some of my Italian friends and the line up was apparently supposed to be incredible. Well, let’s just say sometimes having friends in different countries, despite language barriers, is still one of the best things ever. The night kicked off with ED bringing forth their own style of hardcore punk that ripped into the unexpected and probably very drunk crowd at that point and well, stage diving and slamming in the pit was the name of the game as we all got stuck in for some incredible hardcore punk.

This was followed by legendary hardcore punk rockers EU’s Arse, brandishing their own filthy style with a lot of d-beat influences. These lads have been around since the early 80’s and man oh man, they were so tight and intense as the Trutnov battlefield raged on for the entirety of their set. It was quite an experience seeing a part of hardcore punk history perform before my very eyes and I enjoyed every minute of it.

The final act of the night was Raw Power and I’ve heard nothing but good things about these guys and as they took the stage I knew we were going to be in for a rollercoaster ride. The longest running hardcore band from Italy started off with their blistering hardcore punk and it was full of aggression, energy and intensity, which really set the atmosphere for the rest of the set. One doesn’t simply get paid homage too by bands like Cripple Bastard, Napalm Death, Kreator and Hellnation amongst others on that very long list. They didn’t disappoint either as they did their thing, as they have been for years and years. It was truly a treat and they were probably my favourite out of the lot.

It was time to take the battered and bruised bodies to be for the night as the party raged into the darkness and beyond. The Italian hardcore night was a massive success in my opinion and I got to see bands I’d never seen before or thought I’d ever get to see in the first place. Massive shout out to all involved in making this possible. This is why Obscene Extreme Festival is one of my favourite festivals worldwide. 

So what do you do when you've put on pretty much the finest celebration of post rock the world has ever seen? Apparently you go out & book Mono, Russian Circles, This Will Destroy You, Ef, team up with Sargent House and pack the undercard with wonderful rising talent like Rumour Cubes, Codes In The Clouds, Karhide, Lost In The Riots & Wicket; bands that readers of these pages may well be familiar with but a wider audience will get the pleasure of for the first time. 

(((o))): On the scale of 7-10 - how excited are you to be performing at this year’s ATG (let’s be honest, anything below 7 won’t be acceptable)?

75!

(((o))): How have you been preparing for this year’s performance and what can we expect from your show?

Well, we’ll have just released our new album (out on 18th August) so you can expect a lot of tracks from that. Terry’s managed to write some parts that are quite hard to play and dance to at the same time, so he’s been practising his co-ordination. We’ve also been thinking very hard about which band t-shirts to wear, and auditioning complete strangers to provide the between-song banter as it’s something we’re all pretty terrible at!

(((o))): If you went last year (whether as a band or privately) - what were your highlights?

I (Hannah) went last year and quite simply it was the best thing ever. The whole thing was one huge highlight, but if I really had to select a few standout moments: Charlie Barnes playing the PX3 tent, ASIWYFA doing what they do oh so well, 65daysofstatic, Team Echoes & Dust, Chilli tequila, disposable cameras and sunshine.!

(((o))): What are you most looking forward to at this year’s festival - musically and in general (I can’t wait to try a cactus burrito for example)?

MONO. For the love of God, MONO. Although Jay is flying to America on Sunday and, heartbreakingly, may have to miss them. Terry’s looking forward to seeing iLikeTrains for the 800th time. A chance to view Joe in his natural habitat is always fun. Local beer (Is there local beer?). Cleft, Russian Circles, Monsters Build Mean Robots, Alpha Male Tea Party, Theo, Charlie Barnes, ASIWYFA. Everyone and everything, essentially!

(((o))): If you were to chose two bands to play next year, one headliner and one local, who would it be and why?

I’d absolutely love to see Vessels play again. Terry says he’s not going unless Burt Bacharach headlines, but we hope he’s joking. Eugene Quell are definitely noisy enough and would go down a storm. Sigur Ros headlining, perhaps? That’d be pretty special.

(((o))): If you were given the chance to DJ one of the silent discos, give us a 5-song playlist of what you’d make us jump around to.

Teeth of the Sea – Responder
New Order - World in Motion
Wham! - Club Tropicana
Arcade Fire – Haiti
Blues Brothers Medley

(((o))): One of the best memories from last year was the always swarmed merch stand. What are you getting prepared for the ATG fans merch-wise? Any exclusives?

Our new album! And maybe autographed bananas (says Terry).

(((o))): The great thing about last year was the parade of awesome band t-shirts. Which band t-shirts will your band be sporting?

Oooooh, that’s a tough one. Four of us have Signals t-shirts after supporting them in Southampton recently, so I imagine at least one of them will make an appearance! Other ace t-shirts we’ve picked up recently include He Was Eaten By Owls, Bad Owl Promotions, Lost In The Riots, Sean McGowan & Alcopopalooza. Terry says he’ll likely wear his Strange Death Of Liberal England t-shirt. Adam only has 2 t-shirts, a red one (called “red”) and a blue t-shirt (called “blue”). I imagine Joe will be wearing his Cleft t-shirt at some point, but probably not while Cleft are playing as that would just be silly.

(((o))): Where will we be most likely to bump into you on site?

Underneath the Echoes and Dust flag or in the queue for the bar. Essentially, wherever there’s ale and cider!

(((o))): Who’s on your ‘en route to ATG’ playlist? And who’s your designated driver?

Good question! We’re currently in the process of sorting out transport, but we may well be using Tom Lattimer (recommended for any bands in the London area, he’s an awesome guy with a splitter van. But you can’t have him for ArcTanGent!). Our playlist? Probably all of the bands on the line-up on shuffle! Although we do listen to a lot of Flaming Lips, and once we’ve all fallen asleep in the van Jay tends to put on The National.

(((o))): On the scale of 7-10 - how excited are you to be performing at this year’s ATG (let’s be honest, anything below 7 won’t be acceptable)?

Roughly 9.4291ish

(((o))): How have you been preparing for this year’s performance and what can we expect from your show?

Our preparation has mainly involved stealing Monsters Build Mean Robots' singer, so you can expect a new face and some new instrumentation that we've been experimenting with.

(((o))): If you went last year (whether as a band or privately) - what were your highlights?

We couldn't make it but YouTube has been kind to us. 65 and Tall Ships looked great!

(((o))): What are you most looking forward to at this year’s festival - musically and in general (I can’t wait to try a cactus burrito for example)?

Apart from performing, seeing TWDY and MONO is always something to look forward to. Apart from that just exploring the festival and finally proving that Codes in the Clouds are the best 5-a-side football team in post rock.

(((o))): If you were to chose two bands to play next year, one headliner and one local, who would it be and why?

Mogwai to headline and Call To Mind to keep things pretty.

(((o))): If you were given the chance to DJ one of the silent discos, give us a 5-song playlist of what you’d make us jump around to.

Kyary Pamyu Pamyu - Pon Pon Pon.
Dr Hook - When You're in Love With a Beautiful Woman.
Rival Consoles - I Left The Party
Ben Kweller - Wasted & Ready
Tubelord - Night of the Pencils

(((o))): One of the best memories from last year was the always swarmed merch stand. What are you getting prepared for the ATG fans merch-wise? Any exclusives?

We should have some new t-shirts in time for the festival and if you see us around the site we'll give you a free badge

(((o))): The great thing about last year was the parade of awesome band t-shirts. Which band t-shirts will your band be sporting?

By contractual obligation at least one of us will be sporting a Monsters Build Mean Robots t shirt. Other wardrobe staples: The Smiths, Lost in the Riots, Mice, The Shaking Sensations, The Walkmen and a lovely Take That hoody.

(((o))): Where will we be most likely to bump into you on site?

It's always bumpin at the first aid tent! (But seriously, Jack does get a lot of nose bleeds.)

(((o))): Who’s on your ‘en route to ATG’ playlist? And who’s your designated driver?

Joe feels uncomfortable looking our limo driver in the eye, so we never actually found out his name. As for the playlist:

Bernard Cribbins - Hole in the Ground,
Bernard Cribbins - Gossip Calypso,
Bernard Cribbins - Right Said Fred,
Right Said Fred - Deeply Dippy,
The National - Bloodbuzz Ohio.