Of The Trees responds to ravers claiming his sets are ‘dark and demonic’

it seems the only demonic energy lurking at Of The Trees’ sets are the ones attendees bring with them in their heads.

Of The Trees recently addressed claims that his performances have a “dark and demonic” vibe. The conversation began when fans on social media discussed unsettling experiences they attributed to his music and visuals during live sets. In response, Of The Trees (real name Tyler Coombs) took to X to set the record straight.

Tyler recounted his own psychedelic experience using it to reflect on the possibility of distorted perceptions. “I’ve taken too many psychedelics before and literally thought for a brief moment that I was on a reality TV show and my friends were controlling my reality, experimenting with me to see how I’d react,” he said. “S**t like this has happened more than once. Every time, I sobered up and went, ‘damn, chill, Tyler.’”

Of The Trees didn’t stop there. He addressed another trend of attendees blaming DJs, visuals, or environments for their strange experiences. “The fact that some of y’all get home after a festival and have bizarre experiences but continue to blame the environment, performer, visuals, etc.—but not your own perception of your individual experience—is a bit alarming to say the least.” He emphasized the importance of self-awareness in altered states.

The conversation gained traction quickly as SVDDEN DEATH chimed in and called the situation “actual insanity.” Of The Trees replied, “I am finally familiar with what you experience on the daily.” Both are advocates for how unsettling festival moments may be more about personal perception than any intentional dark energy.

A fan on X (@Hadenelizabeth_) posted a screenshot from the comment section of a TikTok video that showed users discussing Of The Trees’ performances as giving off “weird vibes.” Haden called out the comments and captioned the image, “This is the funniest thing I’ve seen. Y’all need help.”

The comments on the TikTok video detailed experiences like, “This happened at Texas Eclipse before Tipper. Was terrifying. Then again Of The Trees,” and “My bf had a crazy experience at Of The Trees LL this year and we love him but the frequencies deff affected him and we had to leave rail,” and “Crazy hearing someone else say that.” Another user chimed in, “I saw Of The Trees at Sol Fest and Sound Haven and both times the energy shifted and just felt… dark.”

The topic took another turn when dubstep DJ Eprom jumped into the mix and shared the ‘Yall need help’ post and added his own take. He mockingly described festival-goers as “Going to Ohio to rawdog square waves on the rail surrounded by adult Shrek enjoyers for 96 hours and then blaming the DJ when the vibes are a little off.” In response to a fan who thought he was throwing shade at Excision’s famous Shrek-themed visuals, Eprom clarified, “My guy, it’s a joke. Shrek is a modern masterpiece.”

If there’s one takeaway from Off The Tree’s response, it’s that the “dark and demonic” vibe people claim to feel may be less about the DJ and more about what’s happening in their own minds.

Featured image credit: Instagram/Of The Trees