Heavy psych experimentalists Acid Magus unveil cathartic new single Demon Behemoth! It’s the first single of the their upcoming new album Hope Is Heavy which will be released on Mongrel Records. And yes, it’s now a five-piece rock titan with a new vocalist and a second guitarist.
“Demon Behemoth is the crushing first single from the forthcoming album. Guitarist and chief songwriter Keenan Kinnear explains, “Demon Behemoth is not only the first single but also the first track off our upcoming sophomore album, Hope is Heavy. The entire album is a concept dealing with me realizing how I am slowly becoming more cynical with age. Every song on the album, including Demon Behemoth, is a cross-section of my psyche, self-analyzed for the sake of solving the “great cynicism” I am experiencing at the moment and searching for the silver lining in what constantly seems to be an increasingly grim outlook.”
Warp – Bound by Gravity Nasoni Records – 2023 Rock, Stoner, Proto, Metal, Punk Rated: *****
I never owned a fascist pig. If I had, I probably would have bought some kind of combine harvester or huge baler vehicle and backed over it. I never owned any other pig neither btw. But we of course realize that third track Your Fascist Pigs Are Back is not about those cute pink animals, but about those fascist motherfuckers that pollute the world with their horrible thinking and worse energy. And that song is an example of the way the WARP three have delved more into what their sound entails and what the message is they want to convey. For the three dive deeper into their daily existence and how it translates to what they see, hear, and feel. They then manage to convert that to lyrics and sound. And that as it turns out is this gritty and raw and harsh take on stoner, doom and psychedelic rock, which seems logical when you realize the three are from Tel Aviv, Israel where life is never easy, even though it might be the most liberal city of Israel. The Hunger is perhaps another example of the way WARP transforms their views into more substance driven rock. But there are no qualms about moving away from the message and the content and just going off into a guitar driven spacey freak out. Which they do just as often as just riffing it all towards a homerun. The WARP three share vocal duties and by doing so give their sophomore Bound By Gravity so much depth and identity, it feels at certain moments that you are listening to a completely different record. But then there’s always some punk energy, psychedelic touch or proto metal take to bring it all together again. For that is perhaps the most alluring aspect of it all, that even though there is a lot of harshness, punk energy, there is also an intense groove going on or a cosmic escape towards the void. Bound By Gravity, it seems WARP has found a work around and used the heavy bogged down sounds to propel themselves skywards!
Elder – Innate Passage Armageddon Shop / Stickman Records – 2022 Rock, Prog, Psych, Stoner Rated: *****
Stoner HiVe was started in 2009 to count down the best albums of that year, according to the votes that were cast by followers and friends… And ever since the Dead Roots Stirring album from 2011, ELDER has been on it with every release and usually winning the poll. But ELDER has been around even a bit longer. And the band seems to be able to do the sheer unimaginable every time again. And that is to make yet another even more amazing album, when the one that came before was already unbelievably stunning. Innate Passage is their sixth studio album and is an even more progressive work of art compared to what came before. And even though some might question the vocals on this album. To me, founder, guitarist, vocalist and keyboard player Nick DiSalvo feels perfectly what every composition needed and exactly how the vocals should sit in the mix. Which is probably why Samavayo-vocalist Behrang Alavi adds his voice on two of the tracks. And all of this together makes you feel like you are listening to ELDER at its very best. Which is a feeling you will have throughout the record, just take the gorgeous guitar work on Endless Return, the beautiful keys on Coalescence or that majestic fourth track Merged In Dreams – Ne Plus Ultra with its intense tension arc, razorsharp riffs and pirouette interplay between strings and keys. It simply does not get any better than this… Well, at one point in time, ELDER will release a new album…
Helms Alee – Keep This Be The Way Sargent House – 2022 Rock, Sludge, Metal, Prog Rated: *****
The lines below appeared on the Doom Charts first, but because we want to keep track of things, we decided to repost them here as well. And hey, any extra attention for this amazing album is always a good thing! Atmospheric sludge, grunge metal, alternative everything… Whatever genres you come up with, HELMS ALEE is here to bend them, break them and turn it all into something devastatingly beautiful. It does not necessarily make sense and it definitely does not have to make sense, just take the title for instance: KEEP THIS BE THE WAY. It has a certain ring to it, a certain cadence that makes you understand it all on a totally different level. And that’s how HELMS ALEE seems to work. For me at least. It taps into something subconscious and activates all your senses. Turning all their seemingly chaotic compositions into a finely tuned clockwork of delicate grace. For even though their hardcore, noise and sludge might be brutal; whenever the wave breaks and starts the roll back, the calm, the tranquility and the expanse that opens up, immediately quenches all that mouthwatering sour with equally savoring sweetness…
There has been something brewing in Finland. Great bands are releasing amazing albums by the truckload and the three called Highwalker gave us their riff heavy four slabs of instrumental doom goodness back in July of 2022. The opening track The Burning Temple has now gotten a wild live recorded psychedelic performance video... Go check it out! Just scroll down a bit or click on the youtube link!
The exciting Finnish heavy trio Highwalker met each other in Oulo in hazy jam sessions in 2017. On their debut-album they create a wild ride into the realms of instrumental doom metal and stoner rock, balancing between the slow and heaviness mixed with the fast and groovy furious. “Highwalker” contains 4 long trippy and jammy spaced-out tracks full of massively psychedelic mindblowing instrumental rock and metal, spicing it up with distorted jazzy parts, cinematic progressive influences, low & slow drones, fuzzy tones, sludgy grooves and heavy post-rock vibes. For your never-ending journeys through the cosmos!
For fans of: Karma To Burn, Monolord, YOB, Earthless, Boris, Elder, Electric Wizard, Sleep, Pelican, Pallbearer, Isis & Monkey3.
Tracklisting:
1. The Burning Temple 2. The Hermit 3. Under The Twin Suns 4. The Final Trench Run
It ended yesterday, that run of Personal Favorites Lists from quite a few Doom Charts Contributors. It took up most of our time. But as we return to the regular schedule for the Doom Charts, we can also start doing more Stoner HiVe stuff. So, quite a few reviews are in the pipeline. Some of which are listed above and others will surely be on heavy rotation this week. But first, later today, a worldwide video premiere! So, stay tuned, check back later!
When
the weather is exceptionally foul and your mood isn’t much better;
there is usually just one option… Saturate it all with some grimy, speed
garage and low bearing doom fuzz. In this case we went with Tårn by Ruff Majik.
In a small, secluded mining town in rural South Africa, three friends
heard the call of the void, and spat fuzz back at it. Thus, Ruff Majik
was born, and the adventure of sex, drugs and mostly rock ‘n roll began.
Spinning now on transparent yellow with red splatter. Which came at us through the awesome Lay Bare Recordings; with huge fold out poster and stickers as well… Awesome release on all fronts! But we're really here to announce a new single for Ruf Majik! For their new album which will be released on Mongrel Records somewhere around April 2023...
Elektrik Ram is the new single and title track from South African stoner rock reprobates Ruf Majik’s upcoming album.
Vocalist
and guitarist Johni Holiday’s quick stint in a mental wellness facility
brought on the lyrics and structure of Elektrik Ram. “What started as a
fun ditty, emulating the sound of Siamese Dream era Smashing Pumpkins,
became a triumphant battle song chronicling the power of picking up
where you left off and trying again.” Explains Johni.
He delves deeper into the message behind the song, “Conquering
dependency on medication and machines (as a replacement for human
contact) to step out victorious. It's a song about not letting go of
rage but using it instead to break through the barriers of modern
living.”
The first gasps of air this song
took was a three-part harmony that Johni wrote using only his acoustic
guitar and a tape recorder to lay down the ideas. From there it was
presented to the other members of the band, with the idea of making a
relentless juggernaut of a song. "It should sound like a swarm of bees,
but with an uplifting crescendo" Johni said.
Lyrically,
Holiday referenced the feeling of being incapacitated on a hospital bed
and combined it with an allegory for oppressive and dogmatic religious
views, to drive the point home that "fate will not grant you any
favours, you must take them."
Bandshee – Curse Of The Bandshee Self-released – 2022 Rock, Seventies, Stoner, Prog, Psych Rated: ***
Louisville, Kentucky will always have a special place in my heart. And that spot will now also be populated by the three (or actually four) that go by the name of Bandshee. Rough around the edges, their first five-track EP, Curse Of The Bandshee holds a lot of promise, a lot of fire, and a whole lot of woodwind. Which is one of the most alluring aspects of this retro sounding release. Their use of those woodwinds gives these five tracks their very own vintage soul, and something extra. Which you can also state about those lead vocals by Romana Bereneth. Some of her vocals are so zealous and stormy, it sounds like they might at one point indeed put a curse on you. Those two elements do have the tendency to make you focus less on that damn fine drum work, and great guitars. Which is something often happens when there are razor sharp vocals at play. But everything is done with so much conviction and energy, that soon enough you are shouting along and screeching along with the Bandshee.
Zeit Driver was founded in 2022 in Berlin by Martin, Jerry, Levin, and Jelle with the goal to share their inspiring songs with the
world! They ride the flame and count themselves lucky to be amongst the torchbearers of the rock music revival movement. Right on Zeit Driver! That's the spirit!
"Our music has been described as Savage Rock, Modern Grunge, and our personal favourite: Tierisch laut."
Out since early December 2022, Warm Heart is classic sounding, seventies and eighties inspired rock, with a highly modern touch! Spirited and savage indeed! Let's hope Zeit Driver hit us with a full album soon! Cause this single alone warms our heart!
Ultracombo – Season II Self-released – 2022 Rock, Alternative, Stoner, Desert Rated: ****
Yes, we reviewed this awesome little ditty when it appeared back around June of 2022. But this time around we've got a few codes for you all... So, why not give Season II a second time around the block! Cause it definitely deserves it. The first Ultracombo release entitled Season 1 was released some two years ago and Reek of STOOM
desperately wanted to write a few words about it back then. He begged
and begged and then went on to write a riveting review about it: “Five tracks of fervent Stoner that bring the heat, the sweat and the flies of Sonora to your ears and minds.”
Was one of the sentences the good man wrote back then. And it still
seems to apply. Cause, the Italian five piece is back with Season II
and it trucks further towards the end of the road. And that’s a good
place to be, cause it just means that the road ends, and the desert
begins! High on fuzz, high on energy and high on something extremely and
maddening catchy. First single Follia was of course already out since March but hearing it full force with that crazy synth work after rough and raw opening stomper 12345 makes it even more danceable and exhilarating. And that extra edge of craziness continues on Umanotest, giving it an additional push with some krautrock reminiscent hypnotism. Specchio
turns a slightly more normal page, opting for bigger gestures and
instead of the pounce of the earlier three a more breezy approach to
stoner, desert and alternative rock. A moment of respite perhaps before
we go absolutely berserk, bonkers and barmy with closing freak out
rocker La Fine! Ending Season II properly and with an absolute cliffhanger, cause we can’t wait to hear more from Ultracombo!
Clouds Taste Satanic – Tales Of Demonic Possession Majestic Mountain Records – 2023 Rock, Acid, Doom, Psych, Stoner, Sludge, Space, Instrumental Rated: *****
Hey, Clouds Taste Satanic are back - this means jams of freakout acid guitar brilliance. They play instrumental stoner with heavy vibes and as with all instrumental projects the question has to be asked - is there enough going on to keep your attention wandering due to the lack of vocals? In this case, the answer is a resounding yes. The guitar riffs are loud and nicely fuzzed, evoking the sunbaked desert sound but with a heaviness drawn from sludge. Drones and atmospherics throb underneath the songs, bringing in some space-rock undercurrents. Hypnotic slow tracks build up with thunderous drumming until distorted guitar start to wail with wonderful psych exploration. They tread the murky path of doom, heavy psych, raw stoner with a touch of sludge riffery. Big, slow, and powerful, Clouds Taste Satanic create some almost post-metal atmospherics to devastating effect. This combination of light and shade make for the tension that is evident on this album. Tales Of Demonic Possession. This is the good shit.
As you can see from the Top 10 list above; we're starting to come to grips with the fact that it's 2023 and great new music is being released daily... Even though we are still neck deep in all those Year-End-Lists, Personal Favorites of 2022, from all those great Contributors of the Doom Charts... Making me revisit many albums, when I see them pop up on one of those lists... Loving it! As well as my most listened to album of past week, the new Soothsayer Orcherstra... The Last Black Flower will be out on Lay Bare Recordings soon... And it's a very special album! Better get ready for that one!
Zeup – Mammals Ozium Records – 2023 Rock, Stoner, Grunge, Punk Rated: ****
Gnide en and! Weird memories about Copenhagen, Denmark. But I’m sure we already spilled them beans on another post some time ago. Hey, we’re all mammals, and at one point in time we might have the inclination that we’re all here to procreate. You know the season! And to light that fire properly is Danish trio Zeup, with their debut full-sized album Mammals. On eight tracks they show their riff heavy take on hardrock, stonerrock and grunge. Add to that some sprinkles of punk and nineties alternative and you know Zeup is here to bring you some kick ass rock ‘n roll. For some reason the two instrumental tracks, Rising and Escape are the ones that grabbed me immediately. Rising with its minute Eastern touch in the master riff, and the highly dynamic seven minute long Escape that lets the guitar glide and slide and flow like sweet hot air drifting away. But we wouldn’t want you to think we are dismissing the vocals, just check out stand out track Days Go By for that slow stomping trek through the desert, with great vocals and a chorus that will boomerang through every venue they will ever play. Zeup, pure and honest hardrock, analog and cool!
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