Richard HolmesSince its launch in Rotherham back in ’21, Tonehenge has been flattening towns and cities across Britian with doom, sludge and stoner rock, while shining a spotlight on emerging talent.
Nottingham, Birmingham, Bradford, Chatham, Sheffield and Aberdeen have all been levelled by this mini-fest.
And on Saturday November 1, it will be Newcastle’s turn, as a slew of acts hit The Lubber Fiend for a downtuned all-dayer.
Here’s our guide to the line-up, as Tonehenge becomes Toonhenge for the first time… and Tyneside prepares to worship the riff!
Dead Monarchs
Missed Dead Monarchs at last year’s Byker Grave Festival? Well, here’s your chance to get down to some good ‘ol Yorkshire riff ‘n’ roll.
2024’s debut album Titan, was a UK stoner gem, akin to Orange Goblin jamming with Matt Pike… on Mars. Packed with planet-splitting tunes such as Galactic Blast and Immaculate Deception, the record was born to be played at ear bleeding volume in dark, sweaty venues… so The Lubber Fiend is a perfect fit.
And if you want to know what the boys have been up to this year, check out The Retributor, a killer single in more ways than one. It’s sure to be on the setlist, come November 1.
Dunes
Dunes are on a roll. The trio (pictured top) have put in the hard yards over the last few years, hitting London’s Desertfest, Malmö’s Fuzzfest, Esbjerg Fuzztival and boozers and breweries the length and breadth of England. The graft is paying off, as their growing fanbase shows.
Dunes’ gritty desert rock also caught the attention of Californian label Ripple Music (home of The Obsessed, Hermano, Wo Fat et al), who signed the Newcastle band for their third album, Land Of The Blind.
Recorded in an old church in rural Northumberland, it bagged our Record of the Week back in January, and trust us, the likes of Northern Scars and Fields of Grey hit hard.
Goblinsmoker
How the fuck do you smoke a goblin? We haven’t got a clue. You better ask this Durham trio, whose tales of bong-toting amphibians are woven across five slabs of sinkhole doom, bearing songs so heavy they’ll threaten to bring down half of Newcastle.
The final part of the band’s ‘Toad King’ trilogy, The King’s Eternal Throne, dropped back in June. And like the rest of Goblinsmoker’s work, it reeks of Electric Wizard, Eyehategod, Sleep and Conan: which let’s face it, is quite some reek.
Bring your earplugs and hold on to your bowels, this could get nasty.
Waheela
Waheela are firmly embedded into Newcastle’s DIY scene. They’ve played shows in alternative spaces such as The Newbridge Project and Star and Shadow Cinema, brought the likes of Nadja and Palehorse to the city via their Great North Amplifier Worship (GNAW) fest, and put out a host of underground releases since the 2010s.
Their live shows are sporadic, but often unforgettable. Performances are semi-improvised jams seemingly shaped by primal instincts, and their enveloping noise ebbs and flows over hypnotic rhythms, topped by Adam Potts’ caustic vocal eruptions.
Waheela are impossible to pigeonhole… and impossible to ignore.
This Summit Fever
This Summit Fever originally formed as a lockdown project by guitarist/vocalist Andy Blackburn. But since the pandemic ended, they’ve been blossoming into a potent live force, gracing the likes of Bloodstock, Stoomfest, and Desertfest, and sucking new fans into their deep, Melvinsesque grooves.
April saw the release of the duo’s self-titled debut via Majestic Mountain Records, a veritable monument of fuzz, and we’re expecting the likes of Currents and Hooks to shake The Lubber come November 1.
Purple Kong
Dwelling in a sonic space somewhere between Fu Manchu and The Sword, Purple Kong first surfaced in 2016 with a self-released EP. However, it wasn’t until 2023 that we got to hear the Londoners’ debut album, Blood Lightning: and what a debut it was.
Gargantuan riffs were wrapped in cosmic psych, as the trio brought some super sharp songwriting, and some serious blues feel, to the doom table – manifesting most impressively on the title track and Cocaine Pentagram.
Leaving Earth, their side of a split with Connecticut’s Afghan Haze, followed last year, and again, the Kong crushed it.
Hijack Mantis
Hitting that sweet spot between grunge and desert rock, Newcastle’s Hijack Mantis made their live debut last December, and they’ve swiftly made their mark on the Tyneside scene.
June saw the band make the final of Bloodstock Metal 2 The Masses, and they’ve been beavering away, supporting the likes of Dunes and Tiberius.
Check out their latest EP live EP: Court of Mantis – Issue 2, if you want a taste of the Mantis ahead of Tonehenge.
Tonehenge Newcastle info
Tickets are still available for Tonehenge Newcastle at The Lubber Fiend, 81 Blandford Street, Newcastle they’re available here. The venue is just a short walk from Newcastle Central Station.
For more info on Tonehenge, visit the Facebook page.