Diaries of Doom

Desertfest London is a bit like Christmas for British people of a certain musical persuasion. It comes once a year, and you spend most of it drunk with the family. Instead of music about decking the halls or reindeer, though, you're more likely to catch someone singing ‘N.I.B.’ or claiming to be Iron Man after hours at The Black Heart. And instead of a traditional roast dinner, you've got virtually the entire world's cuisine within a stone's throw in the Camden markets. I first went in 2017 for the day to see Sleep, then started doing the full weekend every year from 2022 onwards. By now, it's booked into the calendar as soon as the dates are announced. This year will be my second time covering the event for Diaries of Doom and my third time as an artist (more on that later), which I'm very grateful for. If you see something on the merch table that catches your eye, consider doing without the next couple of beers and grabbing it there and then. It's one of t...

Desertfest London is back in Camden this week! Today I've got an article with a few bands that can't be missed at the festival. The lineup is strong enough that every band on the bill would be a worthy mention on here, but unfortunately, I'm on a time constraint and no one would read to the end of it anyway. I've gone with ten because it's a nice, round number. Come say hello if you're going and you see me there.  1. Electric Wizard (the Roundhouse, Sunday, 21:45) The main attraction at The Roundhouse on the Sunday. As far as I can see online, it's their first show in about two and a half years. Do they need an introduction? No.  2. Dvne (the Roundhouse, Sunday, 15:00) If you've got one of those coveted Sunday Roundhouse tickets, do yourself a favour and get down early for Dvne. The Scottish prog metallers are going from strength to strength at the moment and you wouldn't bet against them eventually being revered in the same way that this festival...

50 years ago, something magical happened. Utterly beyond the realms of what was thought possible or probably, four blokes from Aston, Birmingham, were set to change the world forever. Reeling off of the energy of a debut album that introduced a fresh face of musical evil to the world, Bill Ward, Geezer Butler, Ozzy Osbourne, and Tony Iommi set about writing what would become an inimitable cornerstone of music culture. They took an honest look at the world around them, and committed their feelings to record. The result is an album of devilishly ferocious highs, and brooding, often insidious lows, with expertly crafted songs weaving through lyrical themes of drug use, and a strong anti-war sentiment. Paranoid, the album that is beloved by the everyone: elitist doom metal drones, the old guard who can remember the year 1970 (we're a young writing team), and everyone in between. Is it doom? Is it Dad Rock? Yes. It's nothing short of brilliant. Join us (Matt, Joe, and Jack) as we pi...

If you’ve ever spoken to a musician for any amount of time, you’ll be painfully aware that they’re shockingly low down on the list of potential recipients for accolades rewarding organisational skills, punctuality, reliability, sobriety etc. It should come as no surprise to you, then, that some bands seek to cut as many liabilities as possible by including as few musicians in their band as they can. For your consideration: terrific two piece bands.   1. Big Business Big riffs + big hooks + big bass tone + big drum = Big Business. Starting as a sort of opening act for, but also members of Melvins around 2006, the duo of Jared Warren and Coady Willis have carved their own identity in the ever expanding face of rock and roll.  I saw them support Mastodon on the Once More Round the Sun UK tour, and they blew a crater into poor, unsuspecting Birmingham. 2. Tuskar   A truly gruesome twosome (that’s the first and last time, I swear) hailing from the UK. It's hard to believe a si...

Today marks the 40th Anniversary of one of Rock’s most astounding achievements: AC/DC’s timeless album, Back in Black. What’s so special about the album is not just the quality of the songs on display, but the circumstances under which it was created. It’s a true phoenix risen from the ashes moment. 1980 was a year of great change in Rock music, though, as a new breed of Heavy Metal began to rear its head and left the old guard needing to adapt or die. To celebrate, Diaries of Doom have a look back at three bands who released important albums with a bit of a direction change in this momentous year:   Black in Black - AC/DC The start of the 1980s had been about as kind to AC/DC as the start of 2020 has been to the rest of the world. Having released perhaps their greatest commercial album to date, Highway to Hell, a year earlier, Bon Scott and the boys looked to be on the precipice of world domination with their rough and ready, bar brawling Rock ‘n’ Roll sound. It was not to be...

Today marks the 10 year anniversary of the sad day on which the metal world lost a true legend: Ronnie James Dio. His trademark voice and fantasy lyrics have left a lasting impression on the Metal community and have influenced countless metal musicians. To pay tribute to a true icon, Ben and Matt have come up with a list of the Top 20 Dio Classics:  20. The Last in Line Dio goes into epic territory for The Last in Line, an incredibly well-executed semi-ballad. The title track from his sophomore album, it curiously won a Grammy for Best Metal Performance 31 years later when Tenacious D covered it. MN 19.   Starstruck If you’re aware of the performance of this song from Dio’s 1983 set at Donnington, you’ll know exactly why I had to include it. If you’re not aware, best you watch the video below... BP 18.   Long Live Rock'n'Roll Well said, sir! Have a place in this list. 17. Double the Pain Is this the heaviest riff fr...