Recently shot and developed two rolls of Kentmere 400 35mm b&w film, using a Minolta X-570 SLR. There are thick black bands of various sizes cutting vertically across my negatives. They seem to happen in sets of two or three, and they seem to be randomly distributed across the film. The last time I developed film from this camera was years ago, but I never experienced this problem.
Here's a photo of a set of three (there's a very faint band to the right of the two more prominent ones): 
https://goo.gl/photos/keSkmfBnW9nTyBPJ7
What is causing these bands and how can I prevent them in the future?
Answer
It appears you have an intermittent light leak that is reaching the film while it is wound tightly on a spool, possibly the take up spool inside the camera. The distance between the bands in your sample and the differences in intensity look like the same event caused all three at a time when the area with the darkest band was on top and the areas with the medium and lightest bands were layered directly underneath.
If your camera was sitting up for a while be sure to check all of the light seals around the back cover and be sure the felt or other material hasn't rotted. For any rubber components be sure they haven't turned into a nasty goo.
If you develop your own film also check the changing bag and developing tank for possible light leaks. And though I doubt it is the source of your trouble here, be sure to remove a watch with luminous hands before inserting your arms into the changing bag.
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