Brought up on bands like Sonic Youth, The Jesus Lizard or My Bloody Valentine,
Bordeaux-based outfit MARS RED SKY had no idea that they were about to become
French stoner scene cornerstones when they founded the band in 2007. Yet the
heavy psychedelic trio already share many similarities and obvious connections with
the “heavy and slow” community. Free from any musical genre consideration, the
musicians build their very own style on the tracks of the underground pioneers.
Julien Pras’ ethereal and melodic voice emerges from a thick and complex rhythm,
carried by sci-fi literature’s lyricism. Almost cinematic, MARS RED SKY’s sounding
has a peculiar and unique flavor, standing out within the heavy rock scene.

To record their self-titled debut album, they shut themselves up in a remote house
in the wilderness of the Spanish desert. Hypnotic, exhilarating, heavy, the release
conquered the very select heavy family and brought the trio to the biggest
international rock and metal stages (SXSW, Hellfest, Desertfest, Roadburn,
Eurockéennes), as well as opening for major acts such as Sleep, Dinosaur Junior,
Kyuss Lives!, Killing Joke, Detroit or Gojira. On stage, they manage to recreate their
sophisticated studio atmospheres and to deliver the special sonic touch that
characterizes them. Their live shows absorb the listener, lose him into a visual and
vibrant limbo and take him into another dimension. Beyond a simple concert, it is a
real sensorial experience that is proposed.

A series of EP releases follow, including a split with post-metal sextet Year Of No
Light in 2012. In 2014, MARS RED SKY begin a collaboration with French label
Listenable Records and welcome their new drummer Matgaz to replace Benoît
Busser who decides to leave the band. Together they complete the albums
“Stranded In Arcadia” (2014), “Apex III (Praise For The Burning Soul)” (2016) and
“The Task Eternal” (2019). Matgaz’s vision and musicianship create depth in the
trio’s personality, which take a darker and more massive turn throughout these
three productions.

The band’s latest EP (out April 2023 on Mrs Red Sound & Vicious Circle) features
dark folk artist Queen Of The Meadow. The power of psychedelic heavy meets the
depth of dark folk harmonies in a complex and exhilarating flavor.

Julien Pras: vocals, guitars, harmonica, broken piano.
Jimmy Kinast: bass, drones, sound effects, lead vocals on The Final Round.
Mathieu Gazeau: drums, percussions, rhodes.

Greenbeard is a desert rock trio from Austin, TX created in 2014. Greenbeard’s sound is a sonic gathering of early British heavy metal, psychedelia, desert guitar riffs, & stoner rock.

Coyote Man is an instrumental band from Chicago Illinois. Members Augie Portugal, Ian Wheeler and Rene Rodriguez have been making noise since the early 2000’s but officially formed Coyote Man in 2015. The trio imbues powerful riffs that are haunting yet soothing, which penetrate deep into the mind of the listener. Coyote Man is a reminder that music can still be an art form not easily subjugated to cliché’s of today’s digital age. “Our aim is to make the listener more susceptible to the complexities of their own feelings and breathe new life into the established paradigms of metal music.”

Unto the Earth is a four piece metal band out of Chicago, straddling the lines between stoner, desert, doom, and sludge, with shoegaze and heavy psych influences. Formed in 2019 by guitarist Mike Yoshida and bassist/vocalist/instrumentalist Simeon Papacostas, two long-time friends who first started playing together back in the mid-90s, along with lead guitarist Jed Jacobs, the group added another longtime friend and former bandmate Brant Maze on drums to complete the lineup. Together they have embarked on a musical odyssey that combines driving drums, melodic basslines, layered guitars, and evocative lyrics, while paying tribute to the influences of their youth.

Inspired by a diverse group of influences like Monster Magnet, Fu Manchu, Kyuss, Hum, Elder, and others, as well as giants such as Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, and Pink Floyd, Unto the Earth writes songs that feature heavy riffs, soaring guitar harmonies, and droning, melodic vocals, interspersed with atmospheric interstitials and psychedelic interludes that all combine to take the listener on a cosmic journey.