zondag 31 juli 2022

The Same River – Ancient wisdom, universal truths, and heavy rock…

 

 

The Same River – Ancient wisdom, universal truths, and heavy rock…


“We just put the words in the right order, so it forms a proper sentence, so the listener can understand, and for the rest, we just want to feel the flow and have the energy carry us wherever it may go…”


They will never make another album like the Weight Of The World. Simply because you can never make the same album twice. The sounds will not be the same. For the band will not be the same. It is what The Same River is all about. A name taken from vocalist Diamond PR’s favorite pre-Socratic philosopher Heraclitus explains it all: “No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it's not the same river and he's not the same man.”

Another reason is the fact that the album was recorded during the lockdown of the Covid Pandemic. Which meant they all recorded their parts in separate studios or, well, mostly in their homes converted to studios. Driving themselves and the people they live with slowly… But surely… Insane…

“It was a struggle. I felt isolation, it felt like a weird nightmare. It often felt like a prison for me. I converted the room next door into a vocal booth. I went in there, night after night, while every other person was asleep or almost going to sleep during the lockdown and my girlfriend was watching television in the living room. She would have headphones on, so she would not disturb my recordings. But also, because she was slowly going insane and getting headaches from hearing the same lines being repeated over and over and over again. Haha. And I felt that pain. I can laugh about it now, but at the time, it was hard. It was also the pain of having to make decisions myself. We are a band. We started being a band right before the pandemic. And then we had these songs. We wanted to record. But I could not ask for their advice constantly. So, I had to record vocal lines a certain way, make a rough mix, send them over to the others and wait for them to respond. But the way they responded, and how we all helped each other with phone calls, emails, text messages, it really was heartwarming. It made us better friends, a stronger band and I can honestly say that I love those guys even more now.”


Stoner HiVe is talking with vocalist and guitarist Diamond Pr, responsible, together with bass player Dimitris Georgopoulos for starting The Same River. “We had both played in Cyanna Mercury together. And our musical vision for a new band really coalesced, you know how it works. Sitting in bar, drinking, philosophizing over music and starting a new band. But this time, we both felt the urge to get it done. I said to Dimitris that I knew a very good drummer and that’s how Fivos Katsifloros from One Man Drop got involved. As we started jamming as a trio, Fivos then suggested getting another guitar player involved, one he knew well and of which he knew was searching for something new. We said, well, invite him, let’s jam. We’ll see how it turns out. Theodore Ntilgeris from The Great Black Shark came in, we jammed one time; loved how we all clicked, got together a second time, and immediately started writing new songs together. So, we all fit together perfectly!”

And all that happened back in 2019. You know. The time before the world stopped turning. Those first four songs were written so quickly, and the flow was so natural, that when the pandemic hit and ensuing lockdown started, they were all feeling the pain of not being able to play their first live gigs. Instead, they went in and recorded their Live At The Blackbox EP at Blackbox Studios, mixing and mastering live on the spot. “Of course, we would have loved to play live shows first. But recording it all live and direct like we did, it was a great experience and made us more comfortable as a band and with the songs we had. We felt, for instance, instinctively that The Same River and Voyage\\The Great Sea were meant for bigger things. Why we did not feel the same way for After Life and Phoenix is a mystery to me. We did not really discuss that; it just was the natural way of things.”

“I don’t think my music will change anything about that. On the other hand, it is what I am destined to do and what I feel I must do.”


Natural way of things. Flowing like a river. Its how everything that Diamond PR does nowadays seems to work. Earlier bands like Cyanna Mercury, the Shewreck duo with the Cyanna Mercury vocalist Spyreas Sid for a short movie called Amaltheia or his black metal band Heretic Cult Redeemer were all much more thought out and discussed. Growing older, made him wiser and more in touch with what he wants to do. “No, I don’t think that’s completely true. For I’ve always been an old wise soul in a young man’s body, as my mother always claimed. Hahaha. It’s just, I don’t want to waste any more time with things that do not matter. The world, human condition, society, and civilization is not doing well. I don’t think my music will change anything about that. On the other hand, it is what I am destined to do and what I feel I must do.” All the songs on Weight Of The World have a deeper meaning and most of the lyrical content: ‘carries the band's philosophical concerns about the decadence of human society filtered through the fears of an unknown world after this pandemic ends. Heraclitus, Albert Camus, Sigmund Freud and many mythological aspects of our heritage (with a deeper meaning), such as Sisyphus and Prometheus, blend in a way and fulfills in rhymes what our vision for this world is about; solidarity, peace and understanding.’ 


But the smiling guy on the other side of the video chat looks good natured, happy, and hopeful. “I don’t see it really changing, but I have to be, my daughter is six months old, I worry for her future. But when I look at her, I see the beauty of the world, I do not feel the weight of the world. I struggle to still feel all that hope inside that at one point humanity must eventually find the way forward. The way we distribute wealth cannot continue. The way we deplete our mother earth cannot continue. It might not be politically correct so say these things, but Western Civilization really messed things up in the past. You know, with how we invaded the entire world, colonization and all the wars we started. And now that a lot of world is laboring under the same kind of economic and political system. Well, most at least. Well, now the world is starting to fight again, over who will be the boss, in the end. And if nothing dramatic changes, it’s hard to see a good future. With climate change, economy collapse, wars, sure, we had it before. But this feels different. And that is a feeling everyone I talk too shares. Or most everyone. Which is strange. Cause when you talk to the people who lived through the second world war or other conflicts around the globe, they all had a feeling, this will end, we will see better days. Now, everyone feels and says, this will only get worse, and worse every day, and we can only hope that eventually it will get better. That difference is huge and almost tangible. And by going back to the universal truths the old philosophers taught us, we try to speak to everyone, and touch upon something everyone can take with them…”



Big words for an ‘old soul’ in a ‘young man’s body.’ But listening to the Weight Of The World album you can hear, nay feel, that they mean what they say and that the album, not just lyrically, is made to touch everyone that hears it. Using all that prog and psych offer for the heavy rock scene, they distinctly move into All Them Witches territory and one can also hear all sorts of different influences that must have come from musical loves from the past. Madrugada for instance. “It’s strange that you mention Madrugada, I loved that band quite a lot and I will see them again soon when they play the old Panathenaic Stadium in Athens. But I cannot claim that I hear what you mean that you hear those influences in The Same River.” When I start talking about the end of the song The Same River, the way that guitar slows down and the way the vocals repeat in a certain rising fashion; he immediately lightens up. “Oh, yeah, now I know what you mean. I hear it in my head now. That’s indeed, something Madrugada does as well. But I think it’s also something Theodore (Ntilgeris, Guitar) does often as well, he can change up the time signature, slow down, carry a note, and tell you more with that one note than certain players do with an entire song, just like the great Robert Buras (Madrugada) did. And to hear those guitar parts come in for the first time, man, that was so great.” Cause as we mentioned earlier, they all recorded their parts separately and in their (home) studios. “The biggest surprise was when the drum parts came in. Recorded down in a converted basement, I feared they might sound to hollow. But when I heard them for the first time, I was blown away. I mean, I already knew how good Fivos (Katsifloros, drummer) was, but I did not know for sure how good he would be in recording his own drums in that basement. It sounded so awesome, even before the album got mixed and mastered. That was perhaps the most euphoric moment surround this entire album. Although, of course, when everything was mixed, by Nikos Trialonis, who plays in Chaos Eternal and now also in Heretic Cult Redeemer, and we heard the complete album, well, that was pretty emotional as well… I mean, sometimes it feels like everything worked towards this moment. I went to the mathematical side of education in Greece and then to sound engineer school, so I knew how to do all that. And now I suddenly had six months to produce our own record. Cause there was nothing else to do.”


“And suddenly I realized that while the music was playing in the background, I could really keep my focus and learn. So, it became a ritual.”


And now, what are the plans for The Same River? “Well, we hope to start playing live of course. We will play Ziria Festival in Greece on August 26th. And we are already talking about a new album. Cause even though we all loved the outcome of our pandemic album, I think we will do things differently next time around. It did show us that all of us are able to mic things up and record stuff, pretty well. So, we’ve been thinking about going out into the Greek countryside somewhere and rent an old house and convert that to a working studio for a month. It will show us if we really do have the skill to record properly and if we can also do that for a certain period as a proper band. It’s all about the process, of becoming better players, of learning and of teaching. For as I told you earlier, music for me, is not just about enjoyment. It’s about expression, it’s about love, it’s about learning. It has been totally ingrained in my life and as my life learning. Cause when I was a little boy I did not have the concentration to read or study, but then one day while I was studying at my grandmother’s house, she had music on. And suddenly I realized that while the music was playing in the background, I could really keep my focus and learn. So, it became a ritual. I always had music on when I wanted to read or learn. And since I love readying and learning, I love music. It became a need. Cause I do see it as a gift, for people to express themselves. It’s what everyone should do, I think Steve Vai said that as well. If everyone tries to express themselves through the universal language of music, instead of words, everyone will understand. And I keep falling in love with new aspects of music daily. I started playing music myself when I was twelve years old. Drums. Only drums. And I switched to guitars only seven years ago. Which was like falling in love all over again. And now it’s singing. Discovering my voice. Cause I’ve only been singing for three years now, since we started with The Same River. In the beginning, we thought both Dimitris and me would sing, but after a little while, he said, he’d rather not sing. So, it was up to me to do it. And yes, like most vocalists, I did not really like my own voice. But as I said, I love learning. So, I sat down, and started rehearsing and studying my voice. And now, that I know to control my voice a little, I don’t think about that anymore and just do it. And well, I’ve always written lyrics. As a teenager. Which means, I guess, as well, that I was always planning to sing at one point. Haha.”  


Going back again to the apparent paradox of the man sitting across from me on the screen, smiling, gushing over his love for music, for The Same River and for the music they make. And then the dark subject of the album. “It is our lockdown album. It was written, recorded, and produced during the lockdown. We already talked about the heavy state of the world earlier on. But of course, the heavy state of ourselves during that lockdown also plays a factor. We all had to deal with the fact that we suddenly weren’t free anymore and that suddenly nobody knew what the world would look like when the pandemic ended. People already forget now, how those first weeks felt. But it was strange. Scary even. And we realize or have to realize we are not the center of the universe; we are not even the reason why the world turns. We need to respect the world, the plants, the animals. And as I said, I play music to learn and to express myself. But also to teach, so when you hear me singing about old philosophies, it’s us trying to say: ‘hey, think about this for a minute, it might help you see things a different way.’ And hopefully we do this in a way the listener can dig, you know. And don’t get me wrong, we are not here to become the schoolteachers. We just put the words in the right order, so it forms a proper sentence, so the listener can understand, and for the rest, we just want to feel the flow and have the energy carry us wherever it may go… Cause that is the only way to get our music out there as well as the message…”


donderdag 28 juli 2022

Swörn – Keshan

 

 

Swörn – Keshan
Dotto / I Dischi Del Minollo – 2022
Rock, Stoner, Desert, Psych, Metal, Post, Prog
Rated: ****

Back in 2019 Kyle SB / Shastabeast reviewed their self-titled debut album and now, three years later Italian power-trio Swörn is back with their sophomore record Keshan. And where the sound of their first release might have walked a lot through the Palm Desert, this one has changed direction quite a bit. Using much more emotive metal touches, the six tracks on Keshan are multi layered and highly dynamic, causing the listener to meander through post metal, prog rock and psychedelic stoner landscapes and to dream of multicolored tapestries filled with images of ancient gods and goddesses. And taking cues from the ancient ones, first track, named after the Aztec god of water of rain and of blood, immediately ascends towards the heavy metal heaven, building and building, until the knife finally and unavoidably enters your body. Once again we here an album carefully crafted, with more in mind than just riffing away. And if opener Tlaloc wasn’t the perfect testament to that fact, than surely following track Seito Kara Kyōshi-e is. Going for the post rock doorway, opening up the sound, the landscape and the slow build towards a more rocking end, the track expertly tells a tale of a teacher having to battle its student. It’s their destiny and always has been. Just as Swörn’s destiny will be to keep repeating the mantra to invoke the coming of Rabarama, the hypnotic fourth track will surely put you into a hazy state of being; dreaming of a female goddess dancing her seductive dance to the ever building, ever more mesmerizing sounds. Keshan is an expertly woven sound cloth displaying all you need in spellbinding stonerrock colors, captivating post and prog rock approaches and magnetic psychedelic rock. Swörn will seduce you!


(Written by JK)


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woensdag 27 juli 2022

Formation Ritual – The Shifting Dust

 

Formation Ritual – The Shifting Dust
Self released – 2022
Rock, Stoner, Metal, Psych, Prog, Doom
Rated: ****

The hombre behind Formation Ritual and its debut album The Shifting Dust is multi-instrumentalist Jason Tapia. Responsible for forming the band, writing the album and delivering guitar, organ, Moog synth, Mellotron and awesome vocals. He asked his friend Jose Perez to help produce this little diamond as well as deliver the drums. And another buddy called Joe Mora, from House Of Broken Promises, is the bass player on duty. Together they produced an album that uses every little aspect of proto metal, classic hardrock and the psychedelic doom of yore. And those influences shall be apparent from the first track on. And opener It Summons You and subsequent second track Coming Of The Tide will charm all you heavy rock loving fiends without any doubt in my mind. It’s third track Second Rate Gods though, that will set both the band and the listeners on a different plain altogether. It reveals that Mr. Tapia feels in every fiber of every one of his bones that he is a storyteller and needs to get his visions out. Second Rate Gods starts out a like a slow cowboy song to accompany one as he and his trusty horse treks across the prairie, onwards, towards a battle with a magical gunslinger or indeed a Second Rate God. Shifting color later in the track only helps paint a darker blood red sky. It feels like a hymn for a barbarously and apocalyptic mythology we are still unaware of. And longing to know more about… But Formation Ritual simply continues after that awesome track going ever more into that vintage, full of rust colors, the blues of the olden days and the classic rock. And every one of those tracks that follow is heavy and heavy is good! Even sixth track Oleander, which implores a bit more folk and space influences, will tune you in and turn you on! Oleander will often feel like a that magic hour at sunrise, when those first rays summon daybreak and slowly draws the curtains on the other dimensions once again more… Formation Ritual might have been formed due to the pandemic, the lockdown that followed and Tapia’s other band throwing in the towel; but if The Shifting Dust is the result… Well, we might just need to have ourselves another lockdown…


(Written by JK)


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Altered Buffalo – Altered Buffalo

 

 

Altered Buffalo – Altered Buffalo
Off The Record – 2022
Rock, Folk, Americana, Psych, Country
Rated: ****

Something different today. But by someone we dig and mentioned quite a few times! I mean, we’ve been following all that Tjeerd De Jong has done in the passed and will continue to follow him for all his future project. We love his work with Stone In Egypt, Doomsday BC, Phantom Druid and Demon Lodge. Currently he’s got a new project going called Horsepower O.D. but back in April he released a self-titled album by another one of his projects called Altered Buffalo. A duo he formed with René van den Belt, who you might know from acts such as True Grit, Black Flowers and Not Dark Yet. All americana, roots and folk-rock outfits. Combine the two and you would expect a dark folk, americana doom album perhaps? But no, they’ve kept it folk and completely americana. Well, with some more country rock approaches and a few psychedelic influences. Darker moments are sparse, but perhaps the end of the lovely You Were The One can be seen as noir. But the ten tracks are mostly here to celebrate the song; and show off the abilities of both players. Sometimes it feels like they’re here to pay homage to Neil Young at other times Gram Parsons seems to have been the biggest inspiration. But at all times, the love for the song, the light melancholy and the melancholy light shines through. Traditional songs that work best when the vocal harmonies twirl and circle each other; when the music feels as fragile as that vague little ray of sunlight that breaks through the clouds…  


(Written by JK)


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zondag 24 juli 2022

Les Nadie - Destierro y Siembra

 

 

Les Nadie - Destierro y Siembra
Self released – 2022
Rock, Stoner, Desert, Doom, Metal, Psych
Rated: ****

Starting out as a slow-moving doom avalanche the opening track Grito El Indio comes across as a sparsely and carefully composed soundtrack for an arduous trek through a sandy wasteland, where thirst and hunger induced hallucinations will make you see female apparitions move like wraiths and make ghostly noises before an eerie little laugh sends shivers up your spine and somewhere in the back of your mind you hear someone or something calling you… It’s the opening track of debut album Destierro y Siembra by Argentinian duo Les Nadie. An album so meticulously crafted, audible in every little nook and cranny of each song; that one must suspect the duo actually being the product of one man’s demented and deranged little mind. Those little ethereal almost ritualist touches that howl across the compositions like a mad wolf on the prowl. Or that vaporous ending track Venenauta, where you seem to have accepted your fate and you give in; and let your life slowly drain away. Poisoned, and no medicine to stop it. Throughout the album you hear that fatalistic atmosphere; even in the much lighter sounding fourth track Helledén; which gets lifted by the soothing vocals. Soothing in color and tone, but you can feel the brooding underneath. Or the labyrinth that is Babas d’allah; immersing you ever deeper into their heavy, charged and hallucinogenic universe. Destierro y Siembra is an amazing debut album, that paints you cloudy skies where the rain goes up again and where the moon disappears in the middle of the night. And even though you hear Les Nadie wants to let it all fall down; it remains… Taunting…


(Written by JK)


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zaterdag 23 juli 2022

Silent Monolith – Empty Kingdom

 

 

Silent Monolith – Empty Kingdom
Self released – 2022
Rock, Hard, Metal, Doom, Stoner, Southern
Rated: ****

Been listening to Empty Kingdom by Nashville power-trio Silent Monolith for about a month now, constantly picking up on different things this little shifting sand of a record seems to offer up. Or as Doktor420 said to me when we were discussing this album, “there’s not a bad track on this album; but I did have to start over on a few tracks cause I lost focus. I felt I needed to confirm I was still listening to the same track.” And I think I can understand where he came from, cause the band has a knack for doing a lot in any given track. Recorded with a different line-up than the power three they are now, the eight tracks give you a whole lot of metal. Surely we can all hear some Metallica, some Corrosion of Conformity, Down and Clutch in their sound and yes, once again, the vocals. But there’s also something more in the region of Audioslave. And then there’s also a down tuned stoner edge we can surely call ancestral and awesome! As is that atmospheric opener Terrible Day Of The Lord; the way the guitars flow and drift and the vocals warn us about the coming Terrible Day Of The Lord, while the drums keep puncturing those slow-moving guitar waves, turning it all into a doom-tinged calling card. Moving immediately into track two Burn, giving you eighties metal, chainsaw riffs mixed with guitar hooks that will send you off into the air. With that extra touch of southern rock, southern metal, it rises the temperature a lot, which of course is very fitting for track called Burn. Title track Empty Kingdom starts off like a southern stoner metal, hard riding, gritty trucking, explosive riff monster! And guess what! It stays that way! What a track. Sin-Eater on the other hand is there to sooth even the most savage of beasts. Doktor420: “The Sin-Eater ballad calms me down. Well, until it rises and goes into stadium rock territory that is.” All The Same might be off-center again to what you thought Silent Monolith was all about; you might be hearing more Audioslave here or maybe that’s just me. Instrumental stoner metal pinball Qui Decipitur will not deceive you at all but for the break that starts at about two thirds of the track, instead it will move you after the break and rock you ferociously before it. Together with All The Same the most stand-out tracks on the record. Closer Lost Hope moves back into the territory Silent Monolith moves most comfortably in, southern, stoner, metal, and a lot of powerful high energy grooving. Empty Kingdom might be a transitional record, judging from all the different metal we’ve been served and the fact that they are now a power trio; but even so, Empty Kingdom stands tall like a pillar of majestic rock, a very loud guitar honoring monument. A Monolith!


(Written by JK & Doktor420)


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donderdag 21 juli 2022

Paralyzed – Heavy Road

 

 

Paralyzed – Heavy Road
StoneFly Records – 2022
Rock, Seventies, Hard, Blues, Stoner
Rated: *****

We never got around to mentioning their 2019 debut album Hidden Sun or their self-titled 2021 second album. An incredible oversight on our part and we prostrate ourselves humbly before the band and beg their forgiveness. But it’s only been a year since that last damn fine album was released and the four German crazies from Paralyzed are already back with their third album Heavy Road! So, now we can make amends and glorify their take on seventies rock! Steeped in that classic blues sound the band obviously takes many a cue from the golden age of rock. It will take a lot of effort not to hear The Doors in most of the songs and even Jim Morrison’s timbre in a lot of the vocals. Which is never a bad thing! Opener Devil’s Bride opens the ball and gives you the atmosphere they are going for in full force. Coming out in full swing, in diesel blues groove and with this incredibly live feel to it. That live feel continues throughout the album and will give you a truckload of hints of what it will surely be like catching these cats live on a stage somewhere. Following Orange Carpet will undoubtedly become many listeners favorite track as well as Pilgrim Boots which followers later on. And since I personally have an Orange Carpet in my war room; this went on repeat for quite some time. Impossible to sit still while listening to this hard rocking blues stomper. It’s groovy, it’s colorful and it’s got some great keywork. Actually, we hear some wonderful keywork throughout the album which might just as easily put Jon Lord in your mind as well as Ray Manzarek, but it’s all done so marvelous, and yet almost veiled among the luscious guitarwork, that you might start to think they were unsure of the actual beauty of it all. And the way the vocals are almost declaimed during that highly atmospheric and riveting Coal Mine, shows that even though those raw gutter blues vocals are incredibly present on this album; they do switch in urgency, in cadence, tempo and rhythm whenever the track calls for it. Vibrating at the perfect energy level this retro, vintage, seventies, classic, heavy hard rocking blues outfit called Paralyzed keeps on delivering the goodness. The good and sweetness, the heaviness. This Heavy Road is something you will surely dig. You dig?


(Written by JK)


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dinsdag 19 juli 2022

Supasonic Fuzz – Cobracadabra


 

Supasonic Fuzz – Cobracadabra
Orzorock Music – 2022
Rock, Stoner, Desert, Garage
Rated: *****

Sometimes the weather is so incredibly hot, everything around you seems to self combust... Or it might be that due to that wild music you hear! Sometimes an album comes along that immediately explodes its way into your heart from the first moment you hear it. Cobracadabra is such an album! Cobracadabra is the sound of danger. Of lighting a piece of dynamite and finding out your hand is glued to it. No way of escaping; so, you are hypnotized by that ever-shorter fuse, that sizzling little spark and your impending doom. And even though we love to think that there are many albums that are this explosive, the truth is that there are only a few that will blow you and the world around you to a million little pieces. The three Italians from Supasonic Fuzz deliver an album that marries manic garage to stoner riffs and desert freak outs. It’s a perfect hit and a proper rock ‘n roll battering ram! Detonating drums, swirling guitars deliver as much freakiness as you can handle as well as punch you in the gut whenever they attack with that feverish kamikaze energy. And then there are the vocals, sounding like a savage wild man, making it all turn even more into a gothic, psychotic, rock noir and punkish stonerrock extravaganza, with a menacing atmosphere and an intense bite. The crazy fire burns like molten lava here and we cannot control ourselves, we need to dive in headfirst. And you will not bop to the surface before third track Pork Chop Express begins; and you will only have a minute before it all becomes frantic and frenzied again. Fourth track Echoestorm is their most desert, stonerrock outpouring, and out it pours, with those phantasm like vocals, giving it all once again a deranged vibe. Of course, the closing eleven and half minute long battleship called Black Ivy Ghost also comes along to give you that hard trucking stoner sound. But due to the pause, and the secret voodoo outro at the end, it sort of becomes this spirited unholy incantation, that makes you forget all the dangers you have been exposed to during the past forty-five minutes. Sometimes an album comes along that immediately explodes its way into your heart from the first moment you hear it. Cobracadabra is such an album!



(Written by JK)


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zondag 17 juli 2022

Oreyeon – Equations For The Useless


 

Oreyeon – Equations For The Useless
Heavy Psych Sounds – 2022
Rock, Stoner, Psych, Metal, Doom, Grunge, Prog
Rated: *****

The mind is a weird and wonderous thing, and yes, something might be wrong with me. But for some strange and possibly insane reason, the fourth track, If, took me back in time to somewhere around 1994 when Belgian rock outfit dEUS released their Suds & Soda single. Sure, If, brings out that back and forth, staccato rhythmic approach as well, but that’s about it, there is absolutely no reason why that awesome If track on the new Equations For the Useless album by Italian quartet Oreyeon should remind me of dEUS. But it does anyway. It’s also very odd that I keep returning to If, over and over, and it does not feel fair to the rest of the album. For this third Oreyeon album is stunning, from opening track It Was Time to final song The Protocol. Imploring much more progressive touches to their doom grunge, the album touches on subjects like depression and dealing with all aspects of living. Even though opening track might feel a bit muddy or a bit too crowded, it sets you up perfectly for all the atavistic stoner riffage, the grunge tones to come and that amazing second track Pazuzu. Imploring more use of vocals, and letting them shine from front to back, that second track builds its sound like a proper cathedral of heaviness. Within the space of only four minutes, they will see you from here to the end of your tether. Where demons will dance around your mind like a twisted whirlwind. Luckily there’s the atmospheric opening of almost ten-minute-long title track Equations For The Useless to settle you down, give you air and open your psyche for the manic doom and grunge to come. That impressive basswork, those soaring vocals giving it all a more huge and cosmic quality, turning ever more towards a darker desert edge as the track progresses. And then comes If, once again, staccato riffage, hooked in your brain before you can say, If. The drums slowly bringing it all home, home to a desert generator party that is. And that dripping, slippery basswork before the final push towards the end of the song, is as steamy as it is sexy. Perhaps, If, has warped my brain so much, that Downward Spirals comes across as the track that morphed into something else a bit too often, losing some of the initial punch the song might have had at the moment of conception. Therefor the later shift in approach, when the break slowly meanders on, returning to the same tempo, burying the wandering guitars under immense layers of grunge, and breaking it all down again, spiraling slowly upward, before finishing like a throbbing pulse of energy, feels like the proper setting for Oreyeon’s Downward Spirals. Stately, imposing, The Protocol ends the album, with a bass heavy fade out that begs you to start over. If it weren’t for If…  



(Written by JK)


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zaterdag 16 juli 2022

Sasquatch – Fever Fantasy

 

 

Sasquatch – Fever Fantasy
Mad Oak Records – 2022
Rock, Stoner, Psych
Rated: *****

They played Stoned From The Underground yesterday. A festival I have yet to attend; but has been high on my list for ages. Our very own Doktor420 is there right now, dancing like a maniac in front of the stage at every gig. The line-up is once again one hell of excellent collection of heaviness and Sasquatch sits there on the main stage, snugly, proudly, giddy, feverish with energy and probably very hairy. And with their new album Fever Fantasy under their belt, they will surely make the crowd go wild! I wish I was there, I wish I was there to hear them opening their set with the opening track It Lies Beyond The Bay of said new record Fever Fantasy. I would have closed my eyes and I would have surely mistaken it, if only for a moment or two, for the rock version of a Nine Inch Nails we unfortunately will never know. Not sure if it is the touch of industrial that you can here in the drums, the intense use of cymbals, that double beat or because it is the color of the vocals that surely does remind of Trent Reznor here and there, more than on earlier records, that makes me think of NIN. But it’s there and it works like a charm. That touch remains throughout the record and gives Fever Fantasy a distinctly different color and vibe in comparison to the albums we mentioned on the HiVe before; we mean the 2010 III album, IV from 2013 and their last 2017 record: Maneuvers. Which might have been the starting point to deliver this new step in the Sasquatch evolution. Cause sure, we still got that damn fine gritty groove to enjoy; the abundance of hooks; thundering basswork and machinelike riffs. But the beast has grown to become a monster, one that can just as easily stomp through the desert as rampage a city. And there is no shortage of that forward motion; rioting inside a tilt-a-whirl or motoring through a towering landscape, Sasquatch can do it all and does it all, with a dense layer of fuzz, some psychedelic touches, little organ parts making it all extra colorful and a very own sound. Cause if there’s one thing we can safely say, after almost twenty years of rocking out, Sasquatch, only sounds like Sasquatch and no other band will ever be able to match that unique sound. And certainly not Nine Inch Nails...


(Written by JK)


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Monster Riff – Presents

 

 

Monster Riff – Presents

It was weird being on the other side of the mic for once. But it was definitely a pleasure meeting up with Pat Schober from Monster Riff. It felt like too big an honor to be interviewed by him about Stoner HiVe, Doom Charts and well, myself. But it did give me the opportunity to exaggerate my musical abilities and my stint with various bands. So, if you want to hear me profess my love for heavy rock, how a certain period in time cemented my love for stonerrock and hear me give a few insights about proper promo emails and nonsense about how bands can make it in our little scene. Well, you can check it out on that mean Monster Riff site! Fair warning, can’t listen to it myself, always have trouble hearing myself working out interviews as well. So, it might be some kind of pitch in my voice that will definitely mess up your day and give you nightmares… But from those little skips and moments that I did hear, I definitely do love The Same River, Sergeant Thunderhoof a lot a nd how Purple Sage PR does everything exactly right!

Thanks again to Pat from Monster Riff for bestowing this honor on me… And for all those who decide to listen to the podcast, thank you as well! And don’t say I did not warn you!


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donderdag 14 juli 2022

Foot – You Are Weightless

 

 

Foot – You Are Weightless
Copper Feast Records – 2022
Rock, Alternative, Grunge, Stoner
Rated: ****

The prog rock influences have been omnipresent throughout the heavy underground of late. But there’s another genre that has been rising to the surface more and more of all that heaviness we all love so dearly. And that’s grunge. I’ve heard talk about a post-grunge genre, I’ve heard of a predicted complete reemergence of the old grunge sound. But the way Foot uses grunge on their new album You Are Weightless is the way I love to hear it! Imploring that nineties alternative and even that nineties alternative weirdly poppy approach. You know, the way the Dandy Warhols for instance did back then. Or even some of that sound, the wave of British bands of the nineties, brought with them. But don’t get me wrong, there’s also more heavy stuff here, more stonerrock and more grittiness as well. There are moments when the good boys of Alice In Chains seems to be playing along for instance. And then there’s that Yeah Yeah Yeahs’s cover, Gold Lion. Kind of taking all that we just mentioned, that British take, that weird poppy alternative nineties sound, that good old grunge, to new heights. Melbourne four-piece Foot, is spearheaded by Paul Holden, who’s responsible for all the music and lyrics. Seems to have set his goal to bring us the best grunge album possible. Drawing inspiration from Mark Lanegan for opener Bitter, Holden with his overt drawling vocals, the guitar riff, the hook, it all, once again, immediately shows the You Are Weightless colors, the ones we already mentioned. Third track Fire Dance is perhaps the heaviest of songs on the album. Groovy, dreamy, yet also incredibly choppy and edgy. And then there’s the keyboards that are used expertly where possible throughout the album. All leads us to keep re-stating what we said continuously throughout this little write-up, it’s the grunge done right, it’s the grunge done poppy and it’s the grunge done stonerized. And it’s all done so incredibly well!



(Written by JK)


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Sergeant Thunderhoof - This Sceptered Veil

 

 

Sergeant Thunderhoof - This Sceptered Veil

Spinning that awesome Sergeant Thunderhoof album... Which we reviewed a few weeks ago... Check it out HERE... And this Green /White, Avalon Edition by Pale Wizard Records looks damn good while spinning!

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Thank you!

 

 

Thank you!

We don’t do this much. I guess it’s been a year now or something like that. But, just before our little holiday we noticed we were inching towards 6000 Followers on Facebook and 5000 Likes. As well as the first 1000 on Instagram, which we are still getting used to operating. And after our return, we have surpassed that 6000 Number and have actually reached our first cool thousand on Instagram. And even though we know the numbers say little; it does look kind of cool. It does make us feel like there are a few freaks out there that dig what we do at the HiVe and feel the same way about the Heavy Underground. It’s a great cabal of zines, blogs, podcasters, youtubers and journalists that make up the press side of the Heavy Underground; and all or most do it simply because of the pure love for all that heavy music. As does Stoner HiVe! And when that love is in some way reciprocated by a cool group of followers; well, it makes it all worthwhile! We started this little hobby project back in 2009 to countdown the best albums of that year and it slowly morphed into a bit more. We went to Facebook late, joined Instagram only a year ago and still struggle to try and do it all properly. But we love doing it! Cause we love that heavy music! So, thank you all for following Stoner HiVe. It’s there because we love the Heavy Underground, that means all of you! The listeners, the fans, the bands, the artists, the record companies, the pr agencies and the press cats… We love you all! And we do Stoner HiVe because we want to profess our love for those amazing bands and albums. So thank you all! Please, continue to put out all that amazing heaviness and please everyone, keep tuning in to all that great music. Cause there’s so much out there! And well, just simply, thank you, thank you all! Truly and sincerely, thank you! 

O' and an extra special thank you to Sun Below and Silent Monolith! Cause both bands made us reach that first thousand! Silent Monolith was there first, but apparently, two followers unfollowed and then Sun Below made us reach it again! Don't stop us now! Cause we're having a good time... Ho ho ho!


dinsdag 12 juli 2022

10,000 Years – III

 

 

10,000 Years – III
Interstellar Smoke Records / Olde Magick Records / Death Valley Records – 2022
Rock, Metal, Thrash, Speed, Doom, Sludge Stoner
Rated: ****

We are transported back in time. Perhaps not as far back as say 10,000 Years or to the time when Megafauna roamed the earth. But at least some forty years towards that era that spawned the largest metal bands that would ever rove around the globe. That era that gave us the best of NWOBHW but also those legendary thrash metal albums and illustrious speed metal records. Indeed, we’re somewhere in the eighties and we’re listening to a track called Cult Axe. An introduction that leaves little to the imagination; the three Swedes of 10,000 Years that produce this ruckus love their metal, their hardcore and leveling the playing field with relentless riffage and fast paced guitar work. Man, what an opener! And that level of intensity continues on second track Megafauna; which implores some sludge to make the stomp and thunder even bigger, like the footfalls of those ancient beasts. And sure, third track Desert of Madness does take its metal at a gentler pace, using more proggy influences; but it’s not until fourth track The Secret of Water that things truly slow down; that we are given a moment of air and a second to catch our breath. The Secret of Water is this atmospheric little ditty that could have felt out of place; but due to the concept of this record, feels like the perfect moment to become better acquainted with the story, the environment and the danger that surrounds it all. The Green King for instance, it’s seminal track not only tells of what lies ahead, but it also heralds the coming of more stoner influences. It moves from that trustworthy tinny metal sound to a thick and rounded resonance. Which shows us once again that the story behind the album, the concept that has been going for three albums now, works brilliantly. And that The Secret of Water is here to serve even more as a divider to halt the downwards spiral, and show, that even though there is still a large dark tunnel to go through ahead of us, there shall be light at the end. Just listen to that awesome Escape From Earth track and feel its bliss, the release and the euphoria. Shit, there aren’t that many metal artists that manage to truly translate feelings like euphoria into a track, 10,000 Years are one of them and for that alone they should receive a truckload of honor, accolades, beer and whatever else they would wish for. The album truly feels like an odyssey and one that comes to a worthwhile conclusion. Now if we could only come to a worthwhile conclusion at the end of this little screed? That seems highly unlikely, so let’s just profess our love for the third 10,000 Years album and hope that even though the story surrounding the Albatross spaceship might be done, there will be more 10,000 Years metal in the future!


(Written by JK)


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zondag 10 juli 2022

The Gray Goo – 1943

 

 

The Gray Goo – 1943
Self released – 2022
Rock, Psych, Prog, Funk, Jazz, Fusion, Doom
Rated: ****

The first four tracks of the debut album 1943 by Montana trio The Gray Goo were released as a demo EP in 2021; but they pale in comparison to the sound quality and extra little explorations of the new versions. Once again, we wonder how much, master mastering engineer Tony Reed had his fingers in The Gray Goo cake. For it sounds so much more scrumptious and fuller, those four songs and the remaining three tracks, that you will be completely fulfilled by the time the forty minutes runtime is over. The over 10-minute-long opener Bicycle Day will immediately show you The Gray Goo colors, the psychedelic rock, turning into a funky and laidback ska offering on the turn of a dime and then screeching forwards to a psychedelic and jazzy extrapolation before going off into a wild freak out rock tantrum. The wild vocals enter the scene on second track Problem Child, which goes the way of the seventies psych rock and might sound like an easy ingestible rocker after those Beefheart & Zappa like beginnings. But don’t worry, cause just as you get accustomed to that golden age rock, the track starts turning a more doom metal corner. See, nothing is as it seems with The Gray Goo, or at least not for long. I mean, you can start off doing H, thinking about ‘little kids shooting marbles, where branches break the sun’, when Launch starts, but before you can nod off, you’re off into a wild Arabian tinged, kraut rocking, disco adventure. Following fourth song The Comedown, feels indeed like a comedown, to get you from the high bar into a slow-moving tilt-a-whirl or worn down couch trying to relight your cigarette. Don’t worry about those dancing clowns in the corner, they might just be your imagination, or they might be here because they heard about the amazing milkshakes you serve. Shakes And Spins takes that Comedown thing to the next level, with what comes across as spoken word vocals; slowly mesmerizing turning the dream into a nightmare; or one of those sleep paralysis states that you can’t wake up from… But in the end, the album will feel like a dream and not a nightmare; a beautiful dream you could never imagine in a thousand nods. The sound will come in heat waves, soaking through your body, out your fingertips in shafts of color, and you will know, somewhere in the world, somewhere…  


(Written by JK)


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vrijdag 8 juli 2022

The Swell Fellas – Novaturia

 

 

The Swell Fellas – Novaturia
Self released – 2022
Rock, Psych, Prog, Stoner
Rated: *****

I think I mentioned it before, but that prog rock touch that has been so prevalent of late, on many of the great releases, keeps getting my utmost attention. It tickles every fibre of my being and uplifts my spirt, heart and mind. I wonder if others experience that same sort of feeling, or if it’s just my warped brain. Especially the records that move towards the grandiose prog, the heavy atmospheric or the wild psychedelic avenues immediately charm their way into my soul, and guess what, the three hip cats from The Swell Fellas walk their silly walk exactly in the middle of those streets on their newest release Novaturia. Clocking only thirty-three minutes, the five tracks slowly build into this oscillating, swirling maelstrom of heavy rock. All the while painting those extremely wild and colorful vistas, the ones that will make you dream and never want to wake up from. Which probably makes it a good thing the album only lasts for thirty-three minutes. The three sound like this (s)well-oiled machine, knowing its every cog, its every gear and how they fit perfectly together. And with two of the three being brothers, it seems like a logical conclusion, but going back to their first release The Big Grand Entrance from 2020 you can hear they were still searching for that unnamable thing they did find on the new Novaturia record. The transition for instance from Wet Cement into that …Another Realm track, and how it seems to translate being overwhelmed by something in those first moments, slowly but surely accepting its ultimate beauty. And being a closing track, it also feels like a definitive conclusion, to ensure us that The Swell Fellas have found their sound, that they dare to maneuver within those set boundaries, just listen for example to all those different vocalizations in that final track, and that they will continue to push those boundaries ever wider, ever wilder and with ever more exotic touches. And to continue to search for something they cannot name…


(Written by JK)


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