Photos: SOMERGLOOM – DAY 1: SWAMPHEAD, THE OUTLOURDES, THROUGH A GLASS DARKLY, & MAGNATER @ Deep Cuts (Medford, MA) – 2026/08/06
Since beginning in 2021, Somergloom has been Boston’s summer loud and sad-time fest filled with doom and gloom. Keeping to the festival’s roots in always highlighting local talent while bringing in acts from all over the country, this year’s lineup featured a stellar cast spanning four days, two nights at Deep Cuts in Medford, MA., and two at The Crystal Ballroom in Somerville, MA.
To kick off the first night, SWAMPHEAD, THROUGH A GLASS DARKLY, MAGNATAR, and THE OUTLOURDES would take the stage at the most awesome Deep Cuts, a bar and deli that houses a pinball room and record shop, along with a 200+ person venue.
Photographs by @bananamasher.
Mucky and sinister, SWAMPHEAD left the Hockamock to cast spells and riffs upon all those who face the stage. For fans of dark sludge-riddled doom with intense vocals, booming bass, and crushing riffs. The band released their third album, Nightfall, last year. They recorded with Chris Johnson (Cave In, Worshipper, Leather Lung) at New Alliance in Cambridge, Massachusetts, who also mixed, mastered, and provided backing vocals on the track “Downpour.”
SWAMPHEAD:
Bandcamp | Instagram
Texas-based doomgaze collective, THROUGH A GLASS DARKLY would entrance the audience with a powerful and provocative performance reminiscent of drifting off into the sea… Dreadful… Beautiful. Calmingly violent. The band emerged with their self-titled debut offering in 2017, nearly a decade later, the band would return with Speramvs Meliora // Resvrget Cineribvs, a continuation into the depths of sound, noise, and emotion.
THROUGH A GLASS, DARKLY:
Website | Bandcamp | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube
This installment of Somergloom would feature the first appearance in four years for the New Hampshire droney high-amplification riff crusaders MAGNATAR. Apocalyptic and atmospheric, cascading and gritty. The band’s last offering came in 2022 with the album ‘Crushed.’
MAGNATAR:
Bandcamp | Facebook | Instagram
THE OUTLOURDES would once again instigate a ruckus with their sonic spells. Vocalist and drummer Deb Dire would come out from the kit, taking full center stage – and even bouncing around in the crowd to start a moshpit – during the last songs with guest drummer Anthony Medaglia taking the throne. The gruesome sludge outfit released their third full-length, Humanity Is Killing Us All, in 2025.
THE OUTLOURDES:
Bandcamp | Facebook | Instagram
