donderdag 30 juli 2020

Stone Deaf - Killers


Stone Deaf - Killers
Coffin & Bolt Records - August 2020
Stoner, desert, punk
Rated: ****

Colorado's Stone Deaf return with their potent mix of stoner and punk on third full length Killers, due out August 14. Wearing their early QOTSA influences on their sleeves, the trio amp up the energy of their desert vibes with a sneering swagger and a healthy dose of weird. Opener "Cloven Hoof" comes out swinging with the group's secret weapon - crisp, driving drums a la "You Think I Ain't Worth A Dollar...". A snappy, dizzying riff combines with venomous vocals, before morphing into a maddeningly catchy chorus. "Death Ray" is a particular highlight, starting off with tongue-in-cheek haunted house effects, that somehow fit perfectly with the swinging drums and vocals to make for a stylish groove. A surfy solo with Eastern melodies is even thrown into the mix, and it  feels just right. A sneak peek is then given into the slightly snotty vocals' inspiration, with an excellent cover of Violent Femme's "Gone Daddy Gone". Beefed up with thick distortion and harsh dual vocals, it's a winning take on a classic. More twists and turns are found throughout the rest of Killers, particularly the metallic, doomed stomp of slow burn epic "Snake Oil". A well-placed departure from the toe-tapping grooves of the rest of the record, it proves Stone Deaf to be a skilled chameleon of heavy. As essential as QOTSA is to the sound of Killers, the trio's varied and mischievous sound more than shines through, making for an album of infectious energy and surprises around every corner.

(Written by Shasta Beast)





Stoner HiVe’s Top 10 Most Listened Albums Last Month…


Stoner HiVe’s
Top 10 Most Listened Albums Last Month…



Stargo – Parasight


Stargo – Parasight
Self released – 2020
Rock, Stoner, Psych, Metal, Space
Rated: ****

Sometimes you come across a record that seems wholly unremarkable and yet continues on being spun, continues on tuning you in and continues on turning you on. That seems like a paradox and the first part even as a disqualifying quality. But what we mean is that the album turns out to be that long lost friend. That furry creature that used to give you head jobs below the knee and who you have been missing all those years. Stargo’s album Parasight is just that! The album you never knew you needed. And needed very badly. The German three piece gives us a free form album of stoner rock, metal, psychedelics and space. There are all these different forms on energy floating around that don’t clash, but seem to work together to provide this completely healing and warm environment. By the time the fourth track Nemesis rolls around your deep into their universe and going with their flow. It is simply put, a record that feels like a home! A gigantic mansion you can roam around in and discover new things every day again. The fire is crackling and the Parasight record is spinning; and there is nothing more you need…

(Written by JK)



donderdag 23 juli 2020

Demo Double Dose




Demo Double Dose - Oceanlord & Heave

Amid the mountain of excellent new June releases, two demos from different corners of the heavy spectrum stood out as promising as any established band's EP. Hailing from Melbourne, Australia is the psychedelically doomed Oceanlord, and Albuquerque, New Mexico spat forth the sludge onslaught that is Heave.



Oceanlord's two track demo shows a band with range, opening with the somber, melodic "Come Home" and ending with the crunching groove of "Isle of the Dead". "Come Home" is a patient, hypnotizing number, beginning with an eerie, echoing intro that winds its way under ethereal vocals. A rumbling low end eventually creeps in, bringing with it waves of distortion. Follow up "Isle of the Dead" shifts into a different heavy gear, laying down an irresistible rolling groove with crunch and a dark, gothic flair. What sounds to be a tambourine is the well-placed cherry on top.





Heave's demo is another beast altogether, two cuts of doomed sludge aptly dubbed "swamprock". First track "Foundational Descent" is an avalanche of thick, buzzing distortion, hammering out a pulsing riff atop drumming of an intensity that's audible in every swing of a stick. Evil, throat tearing vocals amplify the caustic assault, which shows no signs of relenting as Heave move to the second track. "Defiant" wields a straight ahead, stomping chug that feels physically unstoppable. A soaring solo makes an appearance as well, tying in well with the doomier riffs throughout the cut.



Covering very different aspects of the heavy underground, Oceanlord and Heave's demos showcase two bands with loads of potential. With already well-honed sounds and exciting takes on their genres, there's no question they're ones to keep a close eye on.

(Written by Shasta Beast)

zondag 19 juli 2020

Cosmic Club – Aurora


Cosmic Club – Aurora
Self released – 2020
Rock, Hard, Stoner, Metal, Grunge
Rated: ****

The French foursome Cosmic Club released their first EP Aurora almost two months ago. And after it found its way into my ears it turned into this exclusive listening session where those four tracks went on repeat and repeat and repeat. It’s their take on riffs, wild on one track, repetitive on the next, easy going or even funky. It’s got soul, it’s got heart and it has four musical animals that definitely know how to convince with their inspiration. It once again has some very own takes on the blues and hardrock roots and there’s definitely a alternative nineties and grunge vibe as well. But also that all good stoner vibe and even some metal twists. Metal twists that for some reason also give off this wink towards Metallica. But that might be due to the vocalist, who has that cool Hetfield ‘yeah’ vibe every so often. And that second track Wine Orgyrin, man, so addictive! But I guess that’s only logical with cosmic good French wine!







Sloper – Sloper EP


Sloper – Sloper EP
Suburban – 2020
Rock, Blues,
Rated: ****

A new band with two drummers. And not just any drummers. No no no, the legendary Cesar Zuiderwijk from the Golden Earring and the equally stunning Mario Goossens from Triggerfinger. Together with Pete Shoulder (The Union, Winterville, Silverthorne) and guitarist Fabio Canini they formed a band whose names and deeds will be retold throughout history: Sloper! At least that is what we hope. Cause this first four track EP brings forth that classic heavy rock in all its glory. Steeped in the blues this has golden classic written all over it. A punch of psychedelic and a lot of free rock feeling. Soulful, warm and intense! Can’t wait for the full-sized album!

(Written by JK)



woensdag 15 juli 2020

Sky Pig - Hell Is Inside You


Sky Pig - Hell Is Inside You
Transylvanian Tapes - July 2020
Sludge, doom, psych
Rated: ****

I was hooked on Sacramento sludge trio Sky Pig's 2018 debut Three Way, and two years of hoping for more have paid off with their second EP Hell Is Inside You. The group have taken their sinister, psychedelic mixture of doom and sludge to another level across four tracks of crushing noise. Opener "Gimp" immediately lays waste to eardrums with its weighted low end and grinding guitar, doling out a trudging, impossibly heavy riff. Sky Pig's sound is massive, a dense wall of distortion and leaden tone that's almost industrial in its ruthless assault. The caustic shouted vocals and bashing, rock solid drums complete the picture, creating an ominous atmosphere that makes good on its threat. Following track "The Scag" is a standout, leading in with chilling spoken word and chugging, bottomless low end. The build-up of tense anticipation would be right at home in a horror movie, and is released by a monstrous churning riff. The second half of the EP leans further into the doom aspect of Sky Pig's sound, with "Save Yourself" bringing the low and slow with eerie, warped effects and cavernous singing that turns into an ear-splitting roar. Closing epic "The Strain" slows it down even more, drifting and pummeling over nine minutes of psychedelic and crushing nod. Hell Is Inside You is a powerful statement from a band who, with just two EPs, have made themselves a unique and menacing force to be reckoned with in the world of heavy. Take the dive and get lost in Sky Pig's dark, sludgy world.

(Written by Shasta Beast)




vrijdag 10 juli 2020

Stoner HiVe’s Quick Fire Friday


Stoner HiVe’s Quick Fire Friday

We’ve not had much time of late to do much HiVing, and we’ve longed for a moment to do a Quick Fire Friday round… (Man, the last time was somewhere around May...) But unfortunately due to other obligations there are quite a few days where my ability to HiVe have grinded completely to a halt. And Friday is one of them… But then, on this bright moment of full light on the end of the tunnel, we found a moment of freedom! So here we are! And we know, we know, the albums and bands deserve more than the few words we will jot down here. More attention and more of our time! But there is so much out there and we just simply cannot ever do it all justice. So here it is. The Stoner HiVe Quick Fire Friday. And its burns hot like molten lava!


Pedro Salvador – Traste

As a solo artist this crazy Brazilian plays every instrument on his new EP Traste. But Pedro Salvador is also part of heavy psychedelic trio Necro. We unfortunately do not speak the Brazilian version of Portuguese so understand little of the anti-Bolsonaro lyrics this EP is sporting. But the knowledge that it is against that fascist and racist waste of human existence is enough for me. I hope he has contracted Covid-19 for real, but I reckon its just a ploy, so he can claim he got better quick and it’s just a flu. There are a few more rulers in power around the globe that should be eradicated, but this might be the most horrible one. Anyway, Traste can be translated as scum, trash, stuff of no value, which the Brasilian president definitely is. So the EP is good! And you should all grab an handful and hold it to your ears!







Cold Beaches – Drifter

Effortlessly shifting between garage, surf and psychedelic pop the new Drifter album by Cold Beaches has everything to become a household favorite for lazy summer afternoons sipping cocktails and lounging in the sun. The brainchild of Sophia Nadia, this album is high energy one moment and dreamy haze the next, and it will give you an awesome buzz to just slowly rock the day away on your sunbed…





Planet Of The Sun – Downtown Momma

There are two Planet Of The Sun singles out for you to peruse; and both Downtown Momma and Mistress Of The Animals deserve every moment of your time. A nineties alternative rock vibe, grungy and with stoner vibes burst out of the speakers and give off a wholesome feeling. This could easily also go up and out on the airwaves, for it has that elusive vibe of catchiness and addictiveness. There’s a lot of promise here!





Lewis and The Strange Magics - Eva in St. Tropez / Cluttered Room

Another double single out there, comes from Lewis and The Strange Magics. It’s from the upcoming album The Gloomy Corner and if these two tracks show us what direction we are looking at, it is definite languid, slow, saddening and enchanting. They already enchanted us ofcourse with their Melvin’s Holiday album and after hearing only that gentle Eva in St. Tropez track we can’t wait for the entire record. Dawdling psychedelic in a dream state with a highly emotive atmosphere and all made for an artistic motion picture in soft colors that we now long to see…




10,000 Years – 10,000 Years

This trio hails from Sweden and produces some sweet and addictive sludge and stoner with an enormous groove. It’s gonna be released TODAY through Death Valley Records and these five tracks will hit you like a true hammer of the Gods. This self-titled debut by 10,000 Years sounds like they have been around for forever. And we definitely hope they will be! Cause these five tracks are freakishly good!




Balthazar And The Boys - Metaphors For Strange Attractors

A full album by Balthazar And The Boys that will completely envelop you with its instrumental improvisation. All done by crazy cat Gavin Miller, this one man operation implores influences ranging from light psych to jazz inspired fusion to ambient to heavy rock and metal. Indeed, Metaphors For Strange Attractors sports them all and then some!


woensdag 8 juli 2020

Urzah – Urzah


Urzah – Urzah
Self released – 2020
Rock, Metal, Sludge, Stoner
Rated: ****

Hailing from the dark and twisted streets of Bristol, UK comes Urzah. A four piece metal outfit that knows exactly how to implore those crusty tunes and take cues from the sludge and stoner landscape. The three tracks on their self-titled debut EP hit hard, hit heavy and will leave a dent on your brain and a hole in your heart. They are new masters of the massive sound, of the humongous energy and the titan gesture. There’s a tiny prog or post edge to it and that seems to make all the difference. At heart there is a lot of melody here, there is pure sense of dynamics and all that is delivered with a heavy, noisy and abundant sauce of aggression. And then that final track Allure Adrift; it comes on slow, and then zang! Wowzah! This new Urzah (new, cause their are a bunch of other outfits with the same name) does not only show promise, it shows you their colors, their character and their ability! They’ve got my vote!

(Written by JK)




16 – Dream Squasher


16 – Dream Squasher
Relapse Records – 2020
Rock, Metal, Sludge, Doom
Rated: ****

I recently noticed Leanne Ridgeway, fellow contributor to the Doom Charts, the dark haired princess from Mettle Media PR and Riff Relevant listening to 16 and suddenly remembered, shit, I still have Dream Squasher laying around and have forgotten to get back to listening to it. I had it on a couple of times and then different stuff got in the way, which is almost an insult for these pioneers of the doom and sludge metal scene. They’ve been around for thirty years and even though they always take their breaks between albums every one of them always seems to hit even harder than the one before. And Dream Squasher is no different! With their slow and determined approach to translate their anger and frustration to something kinetic and aggressive, they managed once again to deliver their mountainous sound. A few fast-paced metal tracks interspersed throughout the album give it that much needed diversion of what we already knew for the past thirty years, 16 are masters of the doom and sludge metal universe!

(Written by JK)



maandag 6 juli 2020

Stoner HiVe’s Top 10 Most Listened Albums Last Week…


Stoner HiVe’s
Top 10 Most Listened Albums Last Week…

16
Eyes Fly
Fox 45
Stargo
Cuarzo
Kryptograf
Mothers Of The Land
Pale Divine
Voidian
Andromeda Space Ritual

 

zondag 5 juli 2020

Crash Cuddle – Changing Faces


Crash Cuddle – Changing Faces 

From the 2017 album Klaxon here is the all new trippy video for the Changing Faces single! Crash Cuddle! That crazy duo that delivers some tasty melodic, groovy and catchy instrumental noise that bops and weaves like a beat-poet on speed. The video definitely spurred me to check out the entire album again! 




Pale Divine – Consequence of Time


Pale Divine – Consequence of Time
Cruz Del Sur Music – 2020
Rock, Hard, Seventies, Doom, Fuzz
Rated: ****

We love our Doom Charts brethren, all those completely insane heavy music fiends, those crazy contributors that send in their favorite albums each month and of that list of around 300 different albums we publish the Top 25. But then, and I’m sure I’m not alone, we scour through that total list to find even more gold. That gold delivered to us by those heavy underground miners! Ïnïtïatïon by Wirbelsaule for instance or Of Toads, Foxes And Wolves by Plomo. Awesome records both and discovered thanks to the Doom Charts comrades that voted for them. And yes, they could easily have ended up higher in my opinion. But higher up on the list we do find Consequence of Time by Pale Divine, and we were honored to write a little blurb for the June edition of the Doom Charts. Pale Divine started all the way back in 1995. And ever since that time, their doom sound has travelled even further back towards the start of hardrock and metal. The new release Consequence of Time gives us a languid and a syrupy approach to seventies rock. High on fuzz the eight tracks wash over you like veneer, slow, creeping and smothering. There is still a decent amount of doom present and with dual vocals and an ominous undercurrent the consequence of this new record is that it adds so much to what Pale Divine was, is and will be. See what we did there… And go listen to what Pale Divine did, cause Consequence of Time deserves every available moment you have!
(Written by JK)



\

donderdag 2 juli 2020

The Doom Chart for June 2020


Doom Chart

“Despite everything, no one can dictate who you are to other people...”  ~ Prince

Not sure what’s going on in the world right now, but with the lack of consistency in our day to day lives, we sure are kicking ass in the heavy underground. There seems to be a continuity of killer vibes coming within our music community. June brings our biggest month to date in terms of contributor engagement, competitive edge, and new albums domination. The top 8 albums all scoring in the triple digits each barely edging out the next. Music continues to find a way to keep us positive in a time where negativity is trying its best to take us down. High praise to the riff, and all hail the community we’ve amassed. The Doom Charts are here to stay!!

What a list once again! We voted for only a few of them. Can you imagine? And it’s a first for me, cause it is the first time I haven’t had the time to listen to the Number One of this months Doom Chart yet. Wow. But if my compadres vote it the best of last month, we sure as hell know we need to remedy that real quick and we sure as hell know that we are in for a good time! Temple Fang’s live album Live At Merleyn is spinning as we type this; but afterwards it on to Bonehawk and their new Iron Mountain record! 

Welcome to Doom Charts, representing some of the finest bloggers, journalists, radio, podcasters and album reviewers from the 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…

Dendrites – Grow


Dendrites – Grow
Ikaros Records / Vinyl Monster – 2019
Rock, Hard, Southern, Metal, Stoner
Rated: ****

The album saw its release almost an exact year ago but we never got around to mentioning it, even though the record has been spun many a times over here. And now with a new video for the Throwing Rocks single going live on the 666MRDOOM Youtube channel and the fact that a year old celebration is as good as any to revisit the album finally heralds a mention for the Grow album by Greek fourpiece Dendrites. The ten tracks rage through the southern metal landscape like a monster on edge looking for revenge. There is an intense sharp and venomous taste to album that starts out with a proper bang in the form of the 2.46 minutes speedball Get The Fuck. It sets things up nicely for all the heaviness to come, slowly growing into something with more groove, grit and guts. Aggressive and punchy; the sound implores just the right amount of touches of the all abundant stoner influences. But it is mostly going for a Pantera approach to the Southern style, using bits of grunge to keep it groove even more airy. Talking about air, we need to mention closing track I’m Gonna Fly, which implore the use of a saxophone and will make you fly indeed. What a luscious, slow and lazy final track! Dendrites definitely struck a nerve!

(Written by JK)



woensdag 1 juli 2020

Buffalo Trio - Unconscious


Buffalo Trio - Unconscious
Self released - May 2020
Stoner, punk, blues
Rated: ****

Australia has become a gold mine for talent in the heavy underground, and Sydney-based Buffalo Trio are the latest rising stars of the scene. Three song EP Unconscious nis the long-awaited follow up to their 2015 debut album "Variable Choke", and the wait was worth it. Building off of their first effort's grunge and stoner vibes, Buffalo Trio keeps their garage punk rawness but amps the aggression way, way up. And it fits like a glove. "Haunted By The Sun" kicks the doors down with a classic Sabbath riff drenched in gritty fuzz, dragging listeners down below while ripping amps to shreds. The standout vocals are just as uncompromising, all raw punk sneer and spit in throat-shredding yells. The straight ahead and headbanging attack sounds like a rawer Whores, and it's just as heavy. Slowing down to an ominous, murky riff, some doom is thrown into the mix as well, to great effect in contrasting with the caustic vocals. Second cut "Day to Pay" doesn't let up to either, bringing bouncy, bluesy desert licks with a gravel grinding guitar tone and kit bashing drums. The chorus is maddeningly catchy as well, while losing none of the trio's relentless attack. Third and final track "Sour Man" then throws any  remaining caution to the wind, ripping into a filthily distorted stop-start riff broken up by screeching feedback. As the EP makes its jarring stomp to the finish line, it's clear that Unconscious is a result of Buffalo Trio zeroing in on a sound and stepping up their already impressive game. They've found a style they're viciously good at, dealing out bluesy stoner riffs with punk vitriol to spare.

(Written by Shasta Beast)




Stoner HiVe’s Top 10 Most Listened Albums Last Month…


Stoner HiVe’s
Top 10 Most Listened Albums Last Month…