vrijdag 29 juni 2018

Starmonger – Revelation: III


Starmonger – Revelation: III
Self released – 2018
Rock, Hard, Stoner, NWOBHM
Rated: ****

It's only a small mention. A quick prod in your general direction to make you sit up and take notice. Which is fitting in this case... For, it’s only two tracks strong this release. But two damn good ones! It’s the third release by a power trio form the outskirts of Paris, France. Starmonger is the name they go by and Revelation: III is the name of the EP. Two intense stoner truckers heavy on the fuzz, big on the riffs and with influences from hardrock to NWOBHM this will not only turn on the stoner fiends; it will cause all metalheads to sit up and take notice like the crazy meerkats that we are. A few of the influences they name themselves are Truckfighters, Red Fang, Sungrazer and Baroness. Some of which are indeed obvious, and all of them are the right influences to have! Check’m out! Starmonger! We are damn sure all of you freaks will dig the hell out of ‘em!

(Written by JK)



Ghost – Prequelle


Ghost – Prequelle
Caroline/Spinefarm/Loma Vista – 2018
Rock, Metal, Pop, Theatrical, Occult
Rated: ***

As we return to the fold after the Graspop Metal Meeting Festival, we went back to one of the mentions we wrote before we left but had not posted yet. The few words below are still how I feel about the album, but the live show has become a different sort of thing. It’s not that fun anymore when you started out making fun of the band; but now the band parodies itself. Ghost on Roadburn was weird, the way they looked did not match up with the sound. And every show afterwards, the steadily grew better into their pop musical future. Until the decline started. On Graspop the new Cardinal Copia character has turned into more of an Inspector Clouseau, who makes lame jokes and sings horribly. Which might be due to the new mask and getting used to it or something. But still. We now not just hope for something a bit more Satanic next time around, we hope for a new Pope! And quickly! 

As you all might know, we’ve been following Ghost since we were confronted with them on Roadburn 2011 and we predicted the Popestar album back in 2013. Since then much has changed in the Ghost realm. But not for their music! Of course, everyone now knows (thanks to lawsuits and a few journalists who wouldn’t play the game) who is behind the Ghost project and that it is basically a one-man project. And that he longs to translate his love for the seventies approach that Sabbath and Blue Oyster Cult had into whatever pop song magic Abba was able to tap into. We have been hearing Ghost do this on every album; and every one of those records has worked well. To a bigger or lesser degree. Well, Prequelle is no different. And therein perhaps lies the rub, the more of the same feeling and the lack of real progress. Or perhaps not, for when a track like Witch Image comes along, you cannot stand idly by. You will have to chant along and smile your lovely evil smile! There are few more of those damn catchy moments, but perhaps not quite enough. And yes, there it is, It’s A Sin! It was only logical that this would be recorded. Logical. Expected. Perhaps we would should start an incantation hymn for something a bit more Satanic next time around…

(Written by JK)



maandag 18 juni 2018

Stoner HiVe’s Top 5 artists listened to last week…


Stoner HiVe’s
Top 5 artists listened to last week…


Festival season is upon us. Wild times and a whole lot of great music! Next up is Graspop; which starts this Thursday. With big names like Guns ‘N Roses, Iron Maiden, Volbeat and Megadeth. But also, Baroness, Dool, Ghost, Kadavar, Planet of Zeus, Vintage Caravan and a whole lot of metal from every genre. Yihaw!  But we still found some time to listen to great stuff at home as well! Like Black Orchid Empire and their Yugen album. Smashing stuff! Or Lowen and their A Crypt In The Stars release. Magical from front to back! Both absolutely excellent and both of which we mentioned earlier on the HiVe. And then there was the new Jollymon album Void Walker, that suddenly appeared on the radar! Yes, Jollymon releases new stuff after eighteen years! A perfect combination of stoner metal and space rock. Less grungy than their earlier work this is one hell of a release. One that ticks all my personal boxes and I am pretty sure it shall tick everyone’s boxes! So, get on board the Jollymon spaceship and ride the endless groove through the void! The latest Arctic Monkeys is still on rotation and we wonder how it will translate on the Werchter stage where we will catch’m in a few weeks’ time. And because of the sad news of Arthur van Berkel’s passing, we played Orange Sunshine for two days straight. Remembering all the times we watched him do his magic on stage. We hope he is swirling around in psychedelic goodness and peace wherever he might be. And we implore you, if you haven’t already, to put on that Orange Sunshine magic and swirl around with him. And feel the love for his comrades from the band, all his friends and family! So, ride those waves! Ride them all!

donderdag 14 juni 2018

Lowen – A Crypt In The Stars


Lowen – A Crypt In The Stars
Self-released – 2018
Rock, Doom, Stoner, Psych
Rated: ****

A doom-trio from the twisted heart of London called Lowen has just released their 5-track effort called A Crypt In The Stars. It combines doom with stoner and psychedelic touches and drowns it all in grimy fuzz and enchanting, almost ethereal vocals. We have Nina Saeidi to thank for the amazing voice which definitely has a whole lot of world-wide influences. Which immediately becomes obvious on the opening track Ashurbanipal’s Request, where we can hear her do her magic in Persian tongue. It turns that song and all the tracks that follow into something grander and bigger then the make up of a trio should suggest. Especially since the guitarist also provides the bass duties. They’ll translate this to a quartet for the live shows? Or are in search of a fourth member? Whatever the case, the band knows how to enchant with a superb vision on how to pound the riffs home with a definite theatrical sense, offering you an fata morgana or illusion where you envision arrangements with strings, choirs and a gigantic orchestra. Man, these Lowen cats have touched upon something magical!

(Written by JK)



Black Orchid Empire – Yugen


Black Orchid Empire – Yugen
SPV/Long Branch – 2018
Rock, Hard, Alternative, Stoner
Rated: ***

The London trio Black Orchid Empire definitely know their stuff and what they love. It’s obvious they dig outfits like Tool, Queens Of The Stone Age, Biffy Clyro and Deftones. On their album Yugen you can definitely make out those influences. Very easily even, just check out Celebrity Summer or opener My Favorite Stranger and hear which is which. Right? But still, the riffs are there and the grooves are masterful. Raw and rowdy basslines and expert drums turn out a highly dynamic, aggressive but rosy colored musical ride that sounds modern in all aspects and will definitely catch your ear. If not for the endless amount of earworms that remind you of different bands, then it’s because of the fine vocals and the heavy alternative hardrock the band undoubtely turns out with grandiose delivery. Yes, check out the Black Orchid Empire, these guys have everything to turn you and the rest of the world on! Big time!

(Written by JK)




Rest In Peace... Arthur...


 Rest In Peace... Arthur...

Yesterday and today we spin Orange Sunshine only, in honor of magician Arthur! Every gig we ever had the pleasure to experience was wild and magnificent! Righteous Orange thunder! May he rest in peace...


dinsdag 12 juni 2018

Hooka Hey – War Cry


Hooka Hey – War Cry
Domino Media Agency / All Tube Records – 2018
Rock, Robot, Stoner, Blues
Rated: *****

Originally from Paris, France the boys relocated to Austin, Texas a few years ago. There they continued to carve out their sweet little slice of rock! It is indeed some good voodoo they do! Hooka Hey! The new record War Cry dances around that Queens Of The Stone Age sound, entices the old blues grandfathers and winks through dark electrified smoke at that luscious mistress called fuzz. It’s more progressive and daring then their earlier work and implores some twisted Americana to paint their stories red with blood and sizzling fire. It’s what they do so incredibly well, telling those sick and crazy tales that evoke dark dark nights and dangerous adventures. Primal and atavistic they dive head first into every perilous escapade that might suddenly appear before them. Yes, we are going over board again with trying to describe something that is either too good to describe or feels like it might only be ruined if described with mere ‘facts’. And fuck it, this is not what we do. We profess our love. And when something is this good on every level, we scream it from every rooftop we might find ourselves on; before diving head first into whatever insane venture might awaits us below. Hooka Hey! it’s a good day to die!

(Written by JK)



Orange Goblin – The Wolf Bites Back



Orange Goblin – The Wolf Bites Back
Spinefarm/Candlelight
Rock, Metal, Stoner
Rated: ****

It is record number nine and we still turn completely giddy when we first spin a new Orange Goblin record. Even though the band has been steadily releasing records that profess their undying servitude to the sloppy meat and rich gravy side of stoner metal, they have also incorporated something different every time around. Maybe not as much every time around, but always a little hint of this or that to keeps things, interesting, enticing and spicy! Well, The Wolf Bites Back might be there most diverse album to date. Experiments with blues, hardcore and prog are embraced while the doom and stoner metal command attention. And songs like In Bocca Al Lupo or The Stranger are definitely what set The Wolf Bites Back apart from the records that came before. It’s Orange Goblin alright, but almost invigorating and shiny! Add to this that Motörhead’s Phil Campbell adds a bit of his sauce to mix and you are hearing an Orange Goblin record that stands tall when looking at the records that came before. And there aren’t that many bands that we can honestly state about that the haven’t released a bad record yet and their last one might actually really be their best…

(Written by JK)

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dinsdag 5 juni 2018

The Doom Chart For May 2018


 Doom Chart
” La mota vienen en primer cajona. La coca y la rapidez vienen en segundo. La heroina en el debajo. Siempre hay que separa las drogas.”
~Mouth

And here we are again. At the beginning of June with a quick glance over our shoulder towards that wonderful month of May. A month that saw the release of so many great albums, that after the voting had stopped, the total tally exceeded the 260 mark. Amazing. And we only feature the 25 that received the most amount of votes. Which also means that there are those albums that only barely missed it. CHRCH and their LIGHT WILL CONSUME US ALL release for instance, OAK with their III album and EL ROJO with their 16 INCHES RADIAL record. It’s heavy not featuring them, but the list is what it is. A swift scan of everything we loved and will continue to love! Cause, that is ofcourse,  what consoles us all. It isn’t over and we can continue to listen to all those 260 albums for the rest of our lives!

~ Joop Konraad (Stoner HiVe)


Welcome to Doom Charts, representing some of the finest bloggers, journalists, radio, podcasters and album reviewers from the doom-stoner-heavy underground around the globe.  Each month, our critics submit their picks for the best new doom, sludge metal, stoner-psychedelic and heavy rock albums.  The results are compiled and tabulated into the chart below.  This is a one-stop shop for the best new albums in the world…



maandag 4 juni 2018

Stoner HiVe’s Top 5 artists listened to last week…


Stoner HiVe’s
Top 5 artists listened to last week…


Due to an interview with Ice-T on Fortarock Festival we listened to a lot of Body Count and some of his solo work. But I decided to skip that from the Top 5 Most Listened list of Last Week. Cause I’m pretty sure most of you freaks shall not be moving on to this highly influential artist. Which is ofcourse fine and one should always concentrate on listening what you really like. For there is so much great stuff out there. In every genre, niche or piss-ridden little musical hole nailed off by the building inspector long ago, but it is still deep enough for us winos to curl up from the sidewalk and masturbate like a chimp in a zoo-cage. Yes, we love our stinky little corners of the world. Sam Hill and their March To The Mountains album for instance. An amazing album that deserves all of our attention! Stoner rock, stoner metal, seventies inspired and touching all those bases we heavy underground addicts love! Still on heavy rotation is the new Fire Down Below album. Out on Ripple Music, the Hymn Of The Cosmic Man album continuously lets you discover more and more in their desert universe. Fuzz rulers Kaiser deliver their groovy ruckus on their new album 1st Sound. Heavy, rough, wild and high octane stoner, desert and sludge in brilliant biker fashion! Khayman releases The Gentle Art Of Self Destruction via Nooirax Records and on it they deliver a hefty mix of nineties alternative influences across a massive amount of metal and doom. Below The Eternal Sky came out on Cold Smoke/GPS/Urgence Disks/Domino Media Agency and this is Six Months Of Sun turning out the best instrumental stoner metal, sludge rock and desert groove one will hear this summer! So check it out! Check’m all out!

Stoner HiVe's Top 10 artists listened to last month...


Stoner HiVe's
Top 10 artists listened to last month...