OM, Windhand and Dopethrone among the first names confirmed for SonicBlast Moledo 2019

Well, isn’t this a nice way to start the holiday season? Last week, SonicBlast Moledo announced the wonderful surprise that its ninth edition would include a third day, but little did we know that it wouldn’t be the only surprise the festival had in store for us. You wanna know why? Well, the first names for next year are in and we’re sure you’ll be as thrilled as we are.

Starting off with a bang, the legendary OM will be one of the headliners of SonicBlast Moledo 2019. The group formed in 2003 by Al Cisneros, one of the founders of Sleep, as long been considered as one of the most important bands in the stoner scene today. Their music is often described as a spiritual journey, an almost religious experience that has to be heard to be fully understood. The band hasn’t released a new LP since 2012’s Advaitic Songs, however, that doesn’t mean there aren’t plenty of classic tracks to be played and enjoyed. 

Two bands that are also very important to today’s stoner scene are Windhand and Orange Goblin, both of which will also be a part of SonicBlast next year. The first have never been to the festival – they were forced to cancel their appearance in 2016 -, and have been gathering more and more attention from the press due to their more psychedelic approach to doom metal as evident in their latest release, Eternal Return. The latter delivered a crushing performance at SonicBlast 2017 and are back for more. Their newest release, The Wolf Bites Back, is a high-octane delivery of rock n’ roll, something Orange Goblin is well-known for.

We feel like we are repeating ourselves a bit here with the whole “important to today’s stoner scene” but it actually holds true with all the bands that have been announced. If you’re still not convinced, then allow us to tell you that Dopethrone are also coming. The Canadians play a fascinating mix of heavy doom riffs and death metal growls. Think Carcass, if they played stoner/doom. Still not convinced? Maybe The Obsessed will win you over. The band formed by Scott “Wino” Weinrich, of Saint Vitus and Spirit Caravan fame, are finally coming to Portugal. The group reunited back in 2016 and with new-found energy, released the monumental Sacred, their first record in over 20 years. They have been hitting stages around the world ever since. And if you think that’s it for the announcement, think again. We still have My Sleeping Karma and their instrumental psychedelic rock, Minami Deutsch and their looping krautrock and Zig Zags with their punk-influenced acid rock. Many more names will soon be announced, so keep your eyes peeled.

SonicBlast Moledo 2019 takes place on August 8th-10th at Centro Cultural de Moledo. Three-day passes are available for 65 euros until April 30th, after which they will change price to 70 euros. They can be purchased online via Bilheteira Online.