Richard HolmesNewcastle’s Druidess will be weaving their way across the UK this week in support of stoner metal troupe Morag Tong. But what’s behind the band who are bringing saxadoom to the masses? And where does Herbie Hancock fit in? Rich Holmes found out…
“We always laugh and say, ‘Black Sabbath songs start slow and get to the party halfway through’. We’re the party at the end of the Black Sabbath song.”
Experienced Druidess live? Then you’ll probably agree with guitarist Danny Downing, who founded the band with vocalist/bassist Shonagh Brown during the Covid-19 lockdown.
We first encountered Druidess back in ’24, when the Tyneside act were supporting prog minstrel Rosalie Cunningham at Newcastle’s Cluny venue. It was one of the first gigs of their fledgling career, and saw Danny and Shona joined by keyboard player James Hill and drummer Sam Armstrong. “Tales of twilight folklore, blended with low end boogie and infectious riffery,” was how we described their set. They got “asses shaking”, according to one eloquent scribe.
It was clear back then that Druidess weren’t some po-faced, heads-down doom band. Yes, says James, their Hermits and Mandrakes EP was marketed as “Iommi worship”. Yes, Downing’s riffs are thick with Sabbathian fuzz. But they’re here bring the party, much like touring buddies Margarita Witch Cult.
“The feedback we get is that we all look like we’re having fun,” says James, who also performs in Newcastle proggers Kylver. “The songs are played fast and live, it’s quite loose. There’s a lot of movement. It feels very cliché to say there’s a ‘punk energy’, but it’s not far from the truth.”
Punk? When Danny dons his shades, and swaps his guitar for a saxophone on A Witches’ Sabbath or Trip Meadow, we’re thinking jazz…
Indeed, catch Druidess live and you’ll see jaws drop as Sam launches into a pattering jazz funk groove and Danny’s brass tones dance soar along with it. You’ll see them drop even further when the band switch effortlessly into a cosmic, psych doom odyssey. Given that Trip Meadow – their debut album’s title track – centres on a hallucinogenic trappist beer spiked by a mischievous monk, it’s a fitting musical freakout.
“Many bands in our ‘genre’ are influenced by Sabbath and then 10 other bands that sound like Sabbath,” Danny suggests, sipping a (non-hallucinogenic) pint in Newcastle’s hip Ouseburn Valley. “But the starting point for Trip Meadow was Herbie Hanock’s Head Hunters, which isn’t your typical influence for a band like us!”
But that approach is typical of an act whose tastes are expansive and diverse, and whose music reflects that. James talks of designated driver Shonagh being blasted by a playlist of Aphex Twin, Venetian Snares and “all sorts of horrible noises”, as Druidess motor around the UK.
Heritage-era Opeth made its way into Trip Meadow, along with old Herbie.
Genesis are on the Druidess radar too.
“Too much jazz does make me want to die, so obviously, being friends with Danny, that’s a big challenge,” laughs Shonagh. “Yes, the way we think about playing something might be different, but we always find the common ground, and that’s what makes the songs interesting.”
James adds: “We don’t all like each other’s influences and we push and pull against each other, but we’ve been able to incorporate a lot more of the bits that set us apart… the parts that aren’t just straightforward. Generally the songs come about from a catchy hook and chorus first, and then the weirder bits get melded into them.
“I think it does actually work. When we’re coming in with these ‘out there’ ideas, and throwing these different aspects into the songs, there’s enough of a pushback in the band that when we go too far, we can pull it back in.”
Blending pop sensibilities with more left-field urges is a challenge. Give the four members free rein, James says, and they’ll come back with something long and convoluted… and not necessarily a ‘song’ in the strictest sense of the word.
Compromise has been essential to their creative process.
“Knightingales became absolutely massive,” recalls Shonagh. “But we managed to get it down into a five-minute song. It’s still weird, but it’s also very accessible, which is hard to do.”
For Danny, “Sabbath is the canvas” and the band are “adding colours”.
Shona’s take? “It’s cheerful doom.”
Lyrically, Druidess’s tales mirror their vivid songcraft, as they play with English folklore and mythology.
The Hermit of Druid’s Temple is inspired by the 200-year-old Druid’s Temple near Masham in Yorkshire, a folly based on Stonehenge where the ‘hermit’ was kept as a pet by the landowner.
Mandragora draws from the superstitions and rituals surrounding mandrake harvests.
The story of Descended from Giants was sparked by Shonagh’s family connections to Hollinside Manor, a 13th century ruin in the Derwent Valley (which Danny discovered on a cycling trip).
And The Forest Witch’s Daughter? “At its heart, the song tells the story of a girl whose mother lived near the forest,” Shonagh explains. “But through the villagers’ eyes, she becomes “the forest witch’s daughter” – a label born from fear, misunderstanding, and the stories people choose to tell. For centuries, independent women, healers, and thinkers were branded as witches, their knowledge feared and their lives often cut short. The song’s character comes from this lineage of women who understood the natural world, passing down plant lore and quiet wisdom through generations. Their only ‘crime’ was curiosity and autonomy.”
Fans of doom, stoner and ‘occult rock’ have been beguiled by Trip Meadow’s songs and stories, since its release in June. The album has brought Druidess mainstream press coverage. The word is getting out.
So what’s next for Druidess?
With Trip Meadow featuring many reworked songs from 2024’s Hermits and Mandrakes, the band are itching to work on new material.
“We want to do more sax, and we’re experimenting with how that could work,” says Shonagh.
Danny adds: “We’re just going to write the music and figure out how we are going to do it live later, it’s kind of the opposite direction of what we did with the first one!
“I think with the second album, we can be more free with it.”
Catch Druidess on tour with Morag Tong on the following dates: September 30, The Black Heart, London; October 1, Prince Albert, Brighton; October 2, Scruffy Murphys, Birmingham; October 3, Moor Beer, Bristol; October 8, The Lubber Fiend, Newcastle; October 9, Hidden, Dundee; October 10, La Chunky, Glasgow.