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Aug 02, 2023 By James Thornhill Photography by Marko Lopac Web Exclusive

Mind-altering sounds, nestled in some natural idyll, surrounded by beautiful people fuelled by the vibe of the place - that was always the hippie festival ideal, wasn’t it? Monterey, Woodstock, Pilton Pop, all those events that we still can’t move in from over 50 years later!

Well Croatia’s Bear Stone Festival, delivers the same vibe, just with music derived from the heavier end of the spectrum, if still as psychedelic and “far out” MAN! It revels in the riffs and crushing ambience of stoner and space rock - it’s like all that survived hippiedom was Hawkwind (and that is no bad thing).

And it does this from within a screened canyon on the Mrežnica River, a safe haven for music fans to truly lose themselves in the immersive experience that this new festival is making its calling card. Swim in clear waters, under waterfalls and while the music plays get drawn into the psychedelic light trip provided by Sector 7G who deliver classic and mind-altering visuals that elevate the band’s performances and make the made sculptures around the ground dance in the light.

Bear Stone is truly a festival that inhabits a special place, so far removed from the corporate, money-grab in a damp field that is the majority of UK festivals. It is an event that is a “happening”, an experience - who doesn’t want that?

But enough of the hype about the site and vibe, it is after all a music festival - was the music up to scratch?

In short yes! In the world of stoner rock, you’re not going to get much better than headliners Orange Goblin and Monster Magnet. Veterans of stoner rock and doom metal, Orange Goblin paid tribute to their roots with a career-spanning set that showed why they are considered as legends in the metal scene, infusing elements of Southern rock and punk energy into the classic metal riffage. Throughout their hour, Ben Ward looked to be having the time of his life, thanking the crowd and urging on their moshing. Some delightful deep cuts like “Time Travelling Blues” made this a worthy headline set.

Monster Magnet are classic in a different way. Traditionally out of step with what was happening at the time, their headline set proved why their polished rock with stoner and space rock influences has always made such an impact. The crowd lost it to classics like “Powertrip” (which was pivotal in 1998 in turning them into a big name in rock) and “Space Lord”. Captain Dave Wyndorf steered the Magnet ship around their 30-year-career via cuts like “Crop Circle”, “Tractor”, “Negasonic Teenage Warhead”, with a serious focus on older material. The stoner rock lords took their rightful place as legends of the scene in psychedelic swirls of lights and sound.

But what made Bear Stone great is they were not reliant on the big names to peg the festival on. The festival on the whole was lovingly and knowingly curated with the best of the scene from across Europe. Napalm Records stalwarts, the UK’s Conan was a case in point as a fuzz-juggernaut at the top of their game. They destroyed everything in its wake. The three-piece crushed the audience with merciless distorted density, pounding beats and waves of riffs.

Bear Stone also wasn’t scared of playing on the central theme with variations on the stoner sound. You had Zagreb’s Malady Jane with their desert rock wall of layered noise and rhythmic pulse, with the pain vocals of post-grunge angst, the sheer ferocity of Sweet Deville, who pummel all expectations of traditional doom and stoner into a pulp and the blues-ladden fuzz of Mr. Bison. All different but all carefully slotted into the carefully curated vibe of the festival.

Even when the bookings veered off into strange territory, it worked. The vibe for British seven-piece (and wonderfully named) Church of the Cosmic Skull is completely different - “Putting the Abba in Sabbath” as their spiritual slogan suggests. Adorned in white robes, they preached a vibrant psych-pop gospel in a haze of lights and propelled by a whirling organ, that perfectly offset the guitar riffage. This is a church that can convert metalheads to their polyphonic ways, and one of the standouts of the weekend.

Another act that set a high benchmark from out in leftfield was Croatia’s Seven The Spells, who channeled psych-rock through classic German kosmiche musik to deliver motorik drive underneath the swirling guitar hurricane. Ultimately, they delivered an intoxicating, meditative repetition that was hard to escape, finding harmony in discord. This was trance music in its most obvious and primal manner.

Everything from this year’s Bear Stone Festival seemed to work - the music, the setting and the vibe. This is only the start and in years to come it should be one of Europe’s top “must attend” festivals for rock fans, and if people don’t pay attention it will be one of the continent’s events for those in the know - the lucky few. Either way, you really want to be at Bear Stone.