Off to the hospital...

Off to the hospital...

 

Off to the hospital to get cut open and pieced back together... Seeya'll on the flipside! Whenever that may be...

Supercruel – Devil With A Gun

Supercruel – Devil With A Gun
Self released – 2013
Rock, Alternative, Stoner
Rated: ****

 

Well well well, what have we got here? Some tasty alternative groove rock and stoner excellence! Supercruel was named after a song by Monster Magnet and formed in Austria in 2008. Plagued by multiple line-up changes the guys found a stable formation for a small period of time in 2012, but long enough to record and release their debut album: Devil With A Gun. Sporting no less than twelve driving stoner tracks that sound a bit like Kyuss and a lot like Queens of The Stone Age with some Truckfighters and even Foo Fighters bits and pieces. And all of them songs have this awesome ‘Go With The Flow’ feeling to it. Add to this a dune boogie swagger that demands for drunken swaying and dancing skirts. And you know you’ve got your hands on something catchy, poppy, a bit sleazy and extremely tasty. Too bad the band is once again looking for a vocalist and bass player to complete the formation. Let’s hope they find some soon; because these riffs and rhythms should be played live and played a lot!

 

(Written by JK)

 

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Burning Full Throttle – No Man’s Land

Burning Full Throttle – No Man’s Land
Self released – 2013
Rock, Hard, Stoner
Rated: ****

 

I’ve been burning bridges and tearing life a new hole in Budapest many times. But for some reason the guys from Burning Full Throttle have always been able to escape my attention and havoc wrecking actions. Even though they’ve also been around for a long time. Founded in the foul year of our lord 2005 somewhere in a dirty basement in Kõbánya, Budapest the band quietly dissolved again for quite some years only to be resurrected again in 2010. And after the recording of their debut album No Man’s Land the guitar player left and was replaced by Csaba Mundi from Düne. Which is highly interesting since bassist and vocalist Vincze András has a highly gruff and grimy growl in him; but some extra vocal coloring like they do in the Downtown Paradise, Hellhound and Why tracks could add to the beauty of the songs and since Csaba did the vocals for Düne; who knows, right? On other fronts the high speed sandy compositions exhume a dry desert heat and a punky attitude. There’s this wonderful exact choppiness to the drums and riffs which will not let you catch your breath. You have to keep up with their pace and go along with the ride. Hot, scorching and growling in the beginning; steamy, blistering and sweet in the middle. And with a fine mix of their two sides in the end. Just the way we like it!

 

(Written by JK)

 

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Richie Dagger – Jaded Man

Richie Dagger – Jaded Man
Quadrofoon Records – 2012
Rock, Punk, Psych, Garage
Rated: ****

 

Named after a song by The Germs. Founded by surviving members from the incredible Dutch formation Hooghwater and the fine Belgian punks The Reactionaires back in 2011. Richie Dagger is actually a reformed and renamed version of Restless Youth, who quickly recorded a fine selection of demo songs called Area51 Sessions in the Eindhoven skate park with the same name. And only a few months after that the time was ripe to record a full-sized debut; which they entitled: Jaded Man. Ten fast paced punk songs that hold their love for the sixties psychedelic garage front and center. With an intense drive and a funky groove these riff powerhouses whirl around you and turn you upside down. And don’t worry; there is still a hint of the Hooghwater beauty in there as well. This is criminally good!

 

(Written by JK)

 

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Duskhead – Thousand Eyes

Duskhead – Thousand Eyes
Rising Magma Records – 2014
Rock, Stoner, Blues, Southern
Rated: ****

 

The release date for the second EP Thousand Eyes by Dutch formation Duskhead is approaching fast. And for those of you who have been unaware of said band. The formation is made up out of Jochum van Weert and Rogier Berben who make up the rhythm section of instrumental stoner metal riff monster Tank86. Together with guitar player Joerie Dekker from Sofia Nero and drummer Lars Spijkervet from Horseshoe Sharkattack they released their first self-titled debut in 2013. A ramshackle collection of rowdy rockers. On a Thousand Eyes the boys take a few steps forwards and one or two back. For their highly soulful sound with that extreme accessible take we loved on their debut has been replaced for something much bluesier and rawer. The southern gentleman charisma is still there but changed into something much more swaggering. It starts off with a biker mentality hitting the road looking for some action and continues down the highway full speed. But it’s on Life In A Nutshell they show their prowess best with damn tasty guitar moves and very bad ass worms. And they end with this funky blues bopper that just keeps demanding that foot stomp like you’re down in the bayou somewhere. There’s no escaping the fact: after hearing the new EP; everyone turns into a Duskhead…

(Written by JK)

 

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Off to the hospital…

Off to the hospital…

My fever has gone down just in time. For I will be off to the hospital for reconstructive surgery soon. Which means I will be out of commission for at least three to five days. After which the pain should be down to a bearable level and I should be able to at least get some Stoner HiVe action before getting back to the battleground to earn me some rent. Which will not be possible for at least another week. But; before I’m off to get cut open and pieced back together… Here is an HiVe update or two!

Accident

Accident

 

Got in a bit of a tumble and rumble with a minivan… So I’m out of commission for a couple of weeks… Hope I’m able to get back into action soon… But typing with one hand and a massive headache isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be… Weird...

Muffler Men - March Of The Elephant

Muffler Men - March of The Elephant

 

The new single March of The Elephant from the fast approaching new album by the Belgian trio Muffler Men. And since we already dug their debut album Trigger And Fly, we can't wait to hear this one!

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By Maker - I, Frankenstein (OST)

 

By Maker – I, Frankenstein (OST)
Lakeshore Records – 2014
Rock, Stoner, Industrial, Metal
Rated: ***

 

Ever wondered what happened to Daniel Davies? The amazing vocalist from Year Long Disaster and even Karma To Burn for a brief moment. Well, he of course released that damn fine EP Hidden Faces back in 2011. But he now resurfaced in a new band called By Maker also featuring Geno Lenardo from Filter. Their first feat of arms is the soundtrack for the movie I, Frankenstein featuring ten of their songs. A few of them are in the vein of what Davies did before and others move more towards a metal and industrial approach, which is surely the influence of Lenardo. But tracks like Misgiving, Trouble and even 1 By 1 and After All to some extent, have that definite Davies signature. But even the other industrial minded songs have this uncanning ability to captivate; once again mostly due to that magic color in Davies’s voice. By Maker, let’s see where this project leads…

 

(Written by JK)

 

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I, Frankenstein Music

By Maker - Trouble

By Maker - Trouble

 

Second track from the I, Frankenstein soundtrack by new band By Maker, featuring Geno Lenardo from Filter and the amazing Daniel Davies from Year Long Disaster and Karma To Burn!

By Maker - Misgiving

 

By Maker - Misgiving

 

First track from the I, Frankenstein soundtrack by new band By Maker, featuring Geno Lenardo from Filter and the amazing Daniel Davies from Year Long Disaster and Karma To Burn!

Ogre – The Last Neanderthal

Ogre – The Last Neanderthal

Minotauro Records 2013

Doom Metal, Traditional Doom 

Rated: ****

Ogre, hailing from Maine, have been chumming the doom metal waters since the early 2000s. After a brief breakup in 2009, the power trio reunited, toured a bit, hit the studio, and churned out a traditional doom showcase in The Last Neanderthal. Ogre are a classic example of all-things-70’s worship. Nothing on The Last Neanderthal is groundbreaking, but then, it doesn’t try to be. Heck, even the title of the album gives us a hint at what Ogre are, three brutes who hold strong to a Neolithic (well, at least in Rock’s timeline) form even as today’s music grows ever so modern. The album is composed of upbeat, boogie rockers (“Nine Princes in Amber”, “Soulless Woman”) and sludgy doom marches (“Bad Trip”, “Warpath”, and the colossal ten minute closer “The Hermit”). Yours truly can be quite guilty of making too many vocal comparisons to Ozzy, yet this time there’s really no better comparison you could make to singer Ed Cunningham who channels that classic nasally croon aptly. Ogre are at their most interesting when they sprinkle bits of psychedelia into their doom formula a la “Warpath” and “White Plume Mountain”, as well as when guitarist Ross Markonish is able to create fire with his guitar. Much like cold beer, The Last Neanderthal hits the spot no matter how many you’ve chugged down before.

(Written by Matthew McGarity)

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Six Months of Sun – And Water Flows

Six Months of Sun – And Water Flows

Domino Media Agency/GPS Prod/Urgence Disk/Self released – 2013

Rock, Stoner, Instrumental, Metal

Rated: ****

Released at the end of 2013 the debut effort And Water Flows by the Swiss formation Six Months Of Sun is an awesome instrumental stoner groove album that rivals anything put forth by the legendary Karma To Burn. Made up from members that polished their art in bands like Colossus Fall and Lilium Sova these cats know exactly how to rattle their snake and punch their roll. Cause when the bass starts rumbling and the drums start pounding, the riffs start to take a life of their own. They have you cruising through the desert at high velocity just to try and cool everything down. But once you see the paranoid coyote; you know it’s no use. The wind is warm and any moment now; the peyote will kick in. Only thing left to do is to park your car, take of your shirt and stroll up on those dunes over there and see the sun set and freak out; cause this heat will last for another six months…

(Written by JK)

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Back… From the mountains…

Back… From the mountains…

 

Three days of snowfall and mist only weakens the feeble and slows down the ones without any sort of nerves. And when those hazardous days are complemented with a few sunny and stunningly hot ones; the heat is definitely on! So we might have only barely survived this time around; well… There’s always next time that might end otherwise… And now for something more important… Let’s continue on with the Stoner HiVe show!

 

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