Stoner HiVe: februari 2016

Wolfmother – Victorious

Universal – 2016

Rock

Rated: ****

To be honest. I had actually and probably unfairly written Wolfmother off completely. Even though sophomore release Cosmic Egg (2009) and their third record New Crown (2014) definitely had some merit. But for some reason they just couldn’t grab me enough. But after listening to the new album Victorious I reckon we should revisit those earlier releases. Sure, we can all agree that Wolfmother is a one-man-project. It is vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Andrew Stockdale that pulled the strings for the earlier records and decided to do everything himself on the new one. Or well, almost everything, cause Mr. Josh Freese (Nine Inch Nails, A Perfect Circle) was contracted to do the drums as well as Joey Waronker (Beck, REM). Wolfmother’s live bassplayer Ian Perez delivered some wild organ sounds and Brendan O’ Brian did the production and some extra instrumentation here and there. All in all, we could assume that this would lead do an album that would probably sound like studio work and not a real band. This is not the case even though the lead high pitched vocals and screeching guitars by Stockdale are definitely center focus, the rest isn’t just background filling. And this leads to a highly entertaining album that draws its strength from a bit of psych and hardrock, steadied by that wild seventies sound. Perhaps it is just the case of whether Stockdale’s inspiration soared high enough to capture an albums worth and perhaps there was just not as much off the muse around on Cosmic Egg and New Crown as on the new one. Cause Victorious comes as a damn pleasant surprise, with enough damn fine truckers and sweet working ballads to make sure the following tour will become one big victory lap. I’m on board and shall cheer them on! Hooray! Hooray!

(Written by JK)

zaterdag 27 februari 2016

Celophys – Ammonite

Robust Fellow / Iron Hamster – 2015

Metal, Doom, Sludge

Rated: ***

Celophys is a Ukrainian duo that takes the blackened sludge approach to its doom. Two men that take a sledgehammer and completely level everything in sight. On their newest release, Ammonite, they will wreak havoc on your ears and mind within the space of seven tracks. No need for a bass, their guitar only produces that low-end growl. And it soon turns into a droning river of ancient madness. Slow is the operative word here or should we say glacial. For the guys never speed up and just relentlessly keep pounding that ashen anvil. Accompanied by screams and growls there seems to be little light anywhere. Which makes you wonder what produced those funny looking titles like Spaceburger and the faster paced Charlie The Bandit. The Celophys world is definitely one of their own. A world where there is no need for speed or anything resembling grace. No, this is a world for the slow beasts lumbering towards there inevitable demise. And sometimes… We all feel like that…

(Written by JK)

Spidergawd – III

Crispin Glover – 2016

Rock, Hard, Stoner

Rated: ****

The Spidergawd whirlwind continues! Delivering albums by the year seems to be their adagio and that is something we can only cheer for. Since we definitely loved their debut and second record. And before putting the needle down we can already be sure that we will definitely dig III as well. But to what degree? Still powered by the Motorpsycho rhythm section bassist Bent Saether and drummer Kenneth Kapstad it is the guitarist/vocalist Per Borten that seems to have truly come into his own on the opening track No Man’s. And what a wild and whirling track it is! Damn, what an opener. It has you grooving and boogying within seconds. And this does not stop until the final track. Which is also the biggest change compared to the earlier releases. No pulling back, no room for nothing but the heart of rock. They aim for the heart of the sun and blaze through the sky full throttle with no quarter asked and none taken. They shift into top gear and never shift back and whenever an extra boost is needed they turn to Martin Snustad and his baritone sax; which blows every doubt about the excellence of this record immediately out the window. Another year, another Spidergawd, a damn well excellent Spidergawd, maybe the best to date. What does that mean for 2017?

(Written by JK)

donderdag 25 februari 2016

Ethereal Riffian – Youniversal Voice

Self released / Robust Fellow – 2016

Rock, Prog, Stoner, Psych,

Rated: *****

The very lovely packaged cd version of the new live album Youniversal Voice by Ethereal Riffian arrived last week. Ever since that we’ve been in a different state of mind. Their 2014 album Aeonian already delivered a mind altering experience, Youniversal Voice definitely tops that. The incantation starts slowly, this hallowed voice draws you in, and underneath a very earthy percussion slowly builds as a guitar starts its repetition and a freaky digeridoo breaths it all to life. Hell yes, we are in for a complete experience; one that will take care of your entire mind, body and soul. And it just become bigger and more majestic with every moment that passes. Their heavy psychedelics induce a higher state of cosmic sense and their overt ritual approach is one that is heady and wild and will leave you breathless on many occasion. An album recorded live and comprised out of tracks from 2014’s Aeonian and 2011’s Shaman’s Visions that melt together so perfectly, it feels like one grand adventure. In short, there is absolutely nothing wrong with Youniversal Voice and everything right. Just like you heart and mind after listening to the album. Hell, everything feels right… If only for that short moment before you step into the ‘real’ world again…

(Written by JK)

Monster Truck – Sittin’ Heavy

Mascot – 2016

Rock, Hard, Stoner, Southern

Rated: ****

Ever since they ran me over with their debut album Furiosity back in 2013 I’ve had a particular love for that Canadian quartet called Monster Truck. It’s one of those infatuations that stem from the obvious. Just like their name. You know you’re in for a good ol’ time when you hear a bandname like Monster Truck. No nonsense, straight up bourbon, beer guzzling good ol’ time. Its low hung, down tuned guitars, growling vocals and truckin’ tempos that you expect from a band like Monster Truck, and they delivered that laced with pure gold on that damn fine debut album. And now, two years later, they return to deliver the good stuff once again. It is the dead of winter over here, but when Sittin’ Heavy started its rotation I pulled the barbecue out of the shed and raced through my fridge full of imported brews. Damn, these guys know how to show you a good time and damn it sounds like they had a great time themselves when they recorded this record. Snarling and grating and pounding and stomping and sometimes taking the clean road when the dirty path seems to full of misers and all of that within an amazing array of top quality songs. There is not one that blunders. Even if, lyrically, they do choose the easy road here and there. Shit, but when you’re on the straight line, you can just as easily crack open a beer, put your feed up and steer the truck with your heels! Sittin’ pretty!

(Written by JK)

donderdag 18 februari 2016

Telstar Sound Drone – Magical Solutions To Everyday Struggles

Bad Afro Records – 2016

Rock, Psych, Space, Drone, Garage, Kraut

Rated: ****

Those blurry memories of those wild nights in Copenhagen. Man, what I wouldn’t give to be able to recall all of those weird and twisted times. Did they actually really happen? Did we bite those girls in their arms and convinced them it was the hip way to say goodnight? What was that three story apartment building club thing called again? Did we end up at some kind of weird reggae bar completely out of our minds? And did the Stubnitz really have a Johnny Cash night? Or did we just think so and did we never actually end up on stage? Putting on the new album Magical Solutions To Everyday Struggles by the five-piece Telstar Sound Drone does not remedy the holes in those memories, but it does seem to transport me back to that time. For some strange and possibly insane reason. Cause their space rock extravaganza is filled with huge psychedelic layers and intense droning backgrounds. The band, featuring three Baby Woodrose members, one (two actually) from Spids Nøgenhat and vocalist Sean Jardenbæk, mix up their hard rocking psychedelic garage with laidback space and almost blasé drones. But the intense guitar sounds, effect colors and crashing drums accompanying the searing and scaring vocals are what take the cake here. They are simply put, out of this world amazing! The gigantic wall they pull up with their truckload of reverb, fuzz, feedback and tremolo outbursts feels like solid concrete one moment and an unholy mirage the next. It’s a trip and will surely have you reliving all those great memories of all that stuff that never really happened anyway. Or did it? The boys from Telstar Sound Drone have the solution, just put this album on repeat!

(Written by JK)

maandag 15 februari 2016

Them Filthy Robots – Them Filthy Robots

Self released – 2016

Rock, Alternative, Stoner

Rated: ****

You take a perfectly aged bottle of Rage Against The Machine and mix it with some dried out strands of desert foliage. You spice it up a few drops of stoner surf and some atmospheric keyboard work. And then you let it stew and pray the gods of thunder can fry it up with a bolt of lightning. It is the perfect recipe for a dish best served extremely loud! Them Filthy Robots! A new Dutch five-piece rock force coming your way full speed! On their debut demo EP they sport three tracks filled to the brim with great ideas and a definite feel for the nineties. And mainly due thanks to the breaks in volume and rhythm and the use of vocals that the RATM connotation pushes itself relentlessly forward through your mind. But the underlying groove and those deep dark rumbles is what convinces the most. It makes it all come across as something highly dangerous. As if they walking tightrope across this gargantuan abyss. It takes some time getting used to the vocals, but the guitarwork and pounding drums will push you along and will see you on the other end… Them Filthy Robots will cause a revolution…

(Written by JK)

Youtube

zaterdag 13 februari 2016

The Dabs – The Dabs

Self released – 2015

Rock, Stoner, Grunge, Metal, Punk

Rated: ***

We received the debut album from The Dabs a while back. Just before the HiVe Show had to stop for a small period actually. But that gave us the time to truly absorb the album. Cause you can rest assured, we took it with us everywhere, cause we love pictures of toasted slices of bread! The Edmonton, Alberta, Canada trio has got this intense grunge thing going and spice it up with stoner rumblings and metal explosions. Sure, they grab your attention with the those two slices of bread on the cover, but soon you feel transported to a dark smoky drinking hole covered with yellowed posters, stickers and filthy taglines somewhere in the early nineties. One of the reasons you can warp back again is the fact that there is never any sulky angst but always this highly juicy gravy filled with humor and gleeful aggression. And when stoner stompers like Empire Margarine run you over, the desert is always just one corner away. They follow that track up with Into The Void where they dare to use their vocals in a different manner and to a damn fine degree! They should do that more often! Why haven’t we found out about The Dabs sooner? And now that the trio has added a fourth member on keys we can only look to the future and wonder what that will do to their sound… But surely, the debut by The Dabs will definitely butter you up!

(Written by JK)