Various Artists - Weedian; A Trip To Wales

If there’s one thing you can count on from the mysterious curators behind Weedian, it’s a love of riffs — big, warm, fuzz-drenched riffs that roll like thunder across the landscape. Over the past few years, the collective has mapped the globe through their sprawling Trip to… compilations, unearthing hidden gems from Greece to Poland, Italy to England. Now, with A Trip to Wales, Weedian turns its heavy gaze westward — to our mountains, coasts, and post-industrial valleys that have long reverberated with distortion and defiance.

Clocking in at 35 tracks, A Trip to Wales is nothing short of a love letter to the Welsh heavy underground. From the swirling psychedelia of Wrexham's Mammoth Weed Wizard Bastard to the molten groove of Sigiriya, from Dope Smoker’s monolithic fuzz to the punk-doom hybrid chaos of Made of Teeth, this compilation doesn’t just showcase a scene — it charts a geography of sound.

The tagline on Bandcamp puts it perfectly: “Where the riffs roll like the hills and the amps sound like thunder on the coast.” It’s a fitting description for a record that feels carved from the same granite that defines Snowdonia.

Each band contributed a track with full blessing — some new, some deep cuts — creating an anthology that feels both curated and communal. It’s a snapshot of Welsh heaviness in 2025, but also a reminder that the country has been nurturing this energy for decades.

As a country, we have long punched above our weight in the world of heavy music. From the early days of Taint and Acrimony, through the experimental metal of Hark, to the cosmic sprawl of newer outfits like Goat Major, Warklockhunt and Estuary Blacks, the Welsh scene has always blended noisy sludge with grandeur.

A Trip to Wales stitches those threads together, offering both history and prophecy. You’ll find legendary names alongside underground up-and-comers, often on the same sonic wavelength — proving that the fire that once burned in the bars and rehearsal rooms of Swansea, Cardiff, and Wrexham still rages on.

For those unfamiliar, Weedian isn’t a label in the traditional sense — it’s more like a curatorial collective and celebration of heavy culture. Each Trip to… release serves as a sonic travelogue, guiding listeners through the underground of a particular region. Previous entries like Trip to Greece, Trip to England, and Trip to Poland II gathered over a hundred tracks apiece.

This time, Wales gets its own dedicated volume — a tighter, leaner, but no less potent compilation that feels distinctly personal. The artwork, by illustrator Silvester Wisnu, captures that mix of mysticism and magnitude: a land where ancient myth meets modern amplifier worship.

There's a sense of connection running through the whole compilation. There’s no hierarchy here, no big-label gatekeeping — just a shared devotion to the almighty riff, whether it’s delivered from a bedroom in Bangor or a studio in the South Wales valleys.

For longtime followers of the Welsh scene, this compilation feels like validation. For newcomers, it’s a revelation — a reminder that while the world’s attention might flicker elsewhere, the spirit of Welsh underground music remains defiantly alive.