McMenamins, Portland Mercury, X-Ray and doPDX proudly present Sabertooth 2024. With its roots in Portland's Crystal Ballroom's psychedelic history, Sabertooth comes to both the Crystal Ballroom and Spanish Ballroom for two nights of psychedelic stoner rock and beer crafted specially for the event.
Visit the Sabertooth website for all info!
Elder is a genre-pushing rock band that melds heavy psychedelic sounds with progressive elements and evocative soundscapes. Formed in a small coastal town in Massachusetts in the mid aughts, the band has reinvented their sound over the course of five albums to grow from a stalwart of the stoner/doom scene into one of the most unique voices in the rock underground. Their long-scale compositions unfold as journeys, running the gamut of styles from the 70's to the present within a single song with a penchant for "sheer gatefold-era grandeur" (Rolling Stone).
By continuing to incorporate new elements to their sound, Elder's output has repeatedly set benchmarks for their peers. Beginning with 2008's Elder and 2010's Dead Roots Stirring, Elder made ripples in the stoner rock scene with their uniquely melodic approach to the genre. In 2015 they surprised again with Lore, a watershed moment in the band's career (recently crowned "Album of the Decade" by The Obelisk) which brought in elements of post-, prog- and space rock into the Elder sound. Despite several years of heavy touring surrounding the album, Reflections of a Floating World was released just two years later, earning a spot at the top of many best-of lists including Rolling Stone (#5, 20 Best Metal Albums Of 2017), Stereogum and others.
In 2019, a tour pitstop in Berlin, Germany yielded the experimental EP The Gold & Silver Sessions. Recorded live based off ideas largely crafted while on the road, the release showcased Elder's softer side; motorik beats, lush keyboards and sparse compositions replaced the usual colossal riffs and dense structure. Almost a decade and a half after the first sludgy riffs were recorded and the first demo pressed, the door for Elder stylistically remained wide open.
Elder's 2020 album Omens answered any speculation about new directions with affirmation: evolution or extinction. Lush, intricately interwoven melodies grow and dissolve into spaced-out jams; massive riffs thunder down into a churning sea of psychedelic sounds and unpredictable grooves carry away the listener. Elder paint pictures with their music, and Omens shows the band experimenting with an even more colorful palette - with good reason. After thirteen years, this was the first full-length recorded with a new lineup including guitarist Michael Risberg and new drummer Georg Edert, along with guest performances by Fabio Cuomo on Rhodes piano and synthesizers.
During the pandemic of the early 2020's, Elder continued work on new music despite having their wings clipped at the beginning of a new album release. Channeling the surreal and bizarre everyday developments into music, a body of work quickly came together that would become the band's newest album Innate Passage. Recorded and mixed at Cloud's Hill Studio in Hamburg, Germany during two sessions over the course of 2021, this new album shows the band's ever-expanding musical vocabulary and joy for sonic exploration as never before.
Hailing from Los Angeles, CA (previously Portland, OR) Blackwater Holylight has spent the majority of 2023 preparing new writings and recordings in anticipation of new works coming in 2024.
BWHL creates immersive sonic landscapes that captivate audiences worldwide. The band continues to push musical boundaries and defy limitations interweaving genres to create a truly unique sound. Their performances have been described as emotionally dynamic and hypnotic ranging from gentle and quiet to massively explosive sounds. They've accompanied bands such as Monolord, Yob, Thou, Dead Meadow and many more across the US, CA, MX and EU and UK.
With three records released on Riding Easy Records, the band's new writings are expected to be their fullest, most thought-out workings yet.
From the beginning, the purpose for this band was to incorporate our love of traditional doom metal with aheavy metal approach," guitarist Eddie Andrade says. "We wanted to show that heavy doom can becomplemented with melodies and harmonies. BlackSabbath meets NWOBHM is what we aim for, really."
The band was founded in 2015 by Andrade and vocalist/keyboardist Alberto Alcaraz after a few years ofplaying in thrash and death metal projects before the two realized that the classic doom that they'd grown upwith was what they really wanted to explore. Going through a few lineup changes while delving deeper intothe diverging influences that were calling, Early Moods arrived at the sound and lineup that grew their fanbaselocally. The band soon capturedthe attention of German label Dying Victim Productions, who released theirdebut EP,Spellboundin 2020.
Early Moods is Oscar Hernandez on lead guitar, Chris Flores on drums, Elix Felciano on bass, Alcaraz onvocals/synth and Andrade on guitar.Theband inked a deal with RidingEasy Records in 2021 and released theirself-titled masterpiece in October 2022. Since then, Early Moods has been very busy touring with the likes ofMunicipal Waste, High on Fire, Midnight, their own headlining tour and multiple festival appearances. Withtheir sophomore album on deck don't expect these guys to fade away anytime soon!
Faetooth is a three-piece "fairy doom" band originating from Los Angeles. The group is composed of Ari May as guitarist and vocalist, Jenna Garcia as bassist and vocalist, and Rah Kanan on drums. Formed in 2019, the group sought to navigate personal vulnerability and musical experimentation by delving deep into the nature of self, the beauty inherent in the natural world, and the captivating mysteries that surround us.
Drawing inspiration from doom metal, black metal, shoegaze, and sludge, the term "fairy-doom" aptly characterizes their distinctive fusion of sounds.
Rhododendron is a band from Portland, Oregon. They formed in early 2019 and have spent the last 4+ years honing in on a sound that is both a reflection of the wide array of music they love, while also being entirely their own. Their music is dense, technical and dynamic, relying on Gage Walker's dissonant basslines, Ezra Chong's noisy, effects-laden guitar and occasional shrieks and Noah Mortola's relentless, jazz-informed drumming to get their point across. Due to the encapsulating nature of their music and their intense live shows, they have built a substantial following in their local music scene and beyond. They have two releases under their belt and are currently working on new material.
Rarefaction is a 4-piece garage-rock band from Portland, Oregon with elements of psych and progressive rock.
