We are now on part IV of our coverage of the first Roadburn announcements for the 2022 edition, having previously covered the curatorhsip (here), commissioned pieces and Full of Hell residency (here), and the black metal connection (here). Among the remaining names, quite a few are making their return to Tilburg (we are not counting those who appeared remotely at Roadburn Redux), some of them for quite special performances.

This has been quite the year for the Montreal based experimental doom trio BIG | BRAVE, as they not only released their fifth full-length by way of the fantastic «Vital», but also a collaboration with the mighty The Body, «Leaving None But Small Birds». The band had previously been confirmed for the 2020 edition and the guitarist Mathieu Ball explains that “the thought of reuniting for a European tour and a performance at Roadburn is what has kept us going throughout these past months.” You can read more of the announcement here and, if you haven’t, check out «Vital» here and «Leaving None But Small Birds» here.

Seattle based Helms Alee had also been invited for the 2020 edition, they were part of the Emma Ruth Rundle curatorship. Thankfully, they have been invited again for the 2022 edition, which means that they’ll perform at the festival for the first time since releasing «Noctiluca», arguably their finest record to date. The band’s Roadburn appearance will be part of a long European tour with Russian Circles, whose other dates you can find at this location. You can listen to «Noctiluca» here and read more about the announcement here.

Back in 2015, Primitive Man levelled the festival’s Green Room with one of the heaviest shows we have seen at a festival that is famous for its heavy shows. That in itself says something most of you already know, that there’s very few bands out there like this Denver trio, which somehow manages to always be their most blistering selves regardless of playing at a doom event, a death metal gathering, or a grindcore festival. No matter what, it’ll be unpleasant and, come April, we’re all fucked. Read more about their upcoming appearance at Roadburn here.

Had things gone according to plan, Russian Circles would have appeared at Roadburnfor the third time in 2020, continuing a five year cycle started in 2010 and continued in 2015. As things stand, they’ll return in 2022 to play material from 2019’s great «Blood Year» (this one), as well as potentially present material from as of yet unannounced follow-up release. Read more about their confirmation here.

No strangers to Roadburn, Iceland’s Sólstafir are set to return next year for a rather special performance. Ten years ago, on October 18, they released the highly acclaimed double album «Svartir Sandar», an album they will perform in its entirety at next year’s edition. As the festival’s Becky Laverty puts it here, “We’re thrilled to not only welcome them back to Roadburn – it will have been six years since they last performed – but to also revisit this cherished part of their history together. To share an album as expansive and emotional as this with our friends, both on and off stage, after such a long absence from each others’ company.”

Formed all the way back in 1993, Ulver told one of the best stories of lo-fi creativity in the early black metal scene, died in 1997 and was reborn, returning the following year with their fist album as an electronic oriented band, «Themes from William Blake’s The Marriage of Heaven and Hell». Next year will mark the 25^th anniversary since that first demise and rebirth, a cycle they’ve endlessly repeated throughout their career. For the special occasion, they will perform their 2019 opus «Flowers Of Evil» (you can revisit it here), explaining about their choice that “we are very excited to finally be getting back in the saddle, after all this time, the cancelled tour of 2020, and our last album, «Flowers of Evil», which we have yet to present live. And what better place to kick it off, a new cycle, than the exact same place we kicked off «The Assassination of Julius Caesar» on stage back in 2017.” You can find the full announcement here.

Roadburn 2022 is set to take place in Tilburg between April 21 and 24. You can find tickets at this location.