donderdag 27 april 2023

Ruff Majik – Elektrik Ram

 

 

Ruff Majik – Elektrik Ram
Mongrel Records – 2023
Rock, Stoner, Garage, Punk
Rated: *****

The Devil is in the details. And of course, in whatever your regular poison might be. Combine the two for a lengthy period of time and the world will spin away from under you and at the bottom of the bottom of the bottomless pit, you will have to pay your dues. But you will, if you remember any of it, have those details. And those, when you are guitarist/vocalist Johni Holiday from the Ruff Majik foursome, can become pure gold and the way out of that dark and dirty ditch…

It might speak volumes about my mental health, or how I liked to dance on that tightrope high above the insanity abyss for quite some time. And yes from time to time, and not as often as it used to, it might still happen. But I got things under control, for the most part. Almost entirely. And we think Mr. Holiday has as well. But there are certain albums that immediately feel part of my every fiber due to a certain manic edge it might have. There aren’t that many though that strike that chord immediately and from the very first instance you hear it. The last few albums that really sparked that hyper craziness inside of me, were Blood & Fire by Eighties Matchbox B-Line Disaster and yesteryears Black Space Riders album We Have Been Here Before. Well, the new Elektrik Ram album by South African quartet Ruff Majik has it in spades, hearts, clubs, diamonds and more. And you will feel that psychotic energy, and ADHD poetry from those first moments when opening track Hillbilly Fight Song starts. Restless and like an absolute battering ram it bursts through the door and knocks it clean of its hinges. And Hillbilly Fight Song makes it feel even more like they made this album especially for me because of the simple fact that they did not use this brilliant opening track as a single. Cause yeah, I bothered you all before with my thoughts about this, but I always feel the opening track should be a total surprise. That opening sample, that guitar revving up, and then the smash ‘n grab blast off, so hungry, so thirsty… And fearless! Hillbilly Fight Song takes no prisoners and gives absolutely no fuck about the mess it leaves behind as it barrels through your life… 

 

And then they top it off with single, and second track She’s Still A Goth. Simple in delivery and even in lyrics, but you don’t mind, because they fit so perfectly, and you will be in love with the imagery before you know it. That apparent simplicity is probably its brilliance, ‘You got a Bella Lugosi shirt, you don’t mind a little dirt…’  and ‘Your favorite poet is Edgar Allan, You drink red wine by the gallon…’ Are pure adoration for rhymes and the woman it is meant for. The same thing happens with the following Mourning Wood, a road song, off to get your rocks off, sauntering down the streets looking for the next party to wreck. Fire in the nuts! Rave To The Grave, is that rave and punk inspired rock song, which turns blatantly poppy and catchy, in part thanks to the handclaps, and you really did not see it coming. That such a rough, dance punk song could turn out to be that addictive, attractive and appealing. You are four songs in, the manic, hyper energy only let up during Mourning Wood, to be replaced by some lurid swagger. But everywhere else it’s been this amazing speeding and bouncing force...

Delirium Tremors stops the energizing bunny dead in its tracks for forty seconds with a humorous skit before it gets wild and all over the place again. Which fits perfectly with the subject of the song. Which hits hard. Home. So much of this record, or all of this record, hits a homerun, yes, it really hits home. Not necessarily a fun homecoming. Those manic episodes, going off the rails entirely, where the great lady that bears witness and worries and finds you on the floor, where she, steaming with anger, asks if you had enough and then you go and answer her slurring and sly, I’ll have one more. It’s all coming back. Those weeks of no sleep, only drinks and wild times, and then crashing, having those deliriums, thinking some of it might have actually happened during those weeks, that yes, that girl you knew got molested by a Poodle and you were doing shots in an extremely filthy pool at 5 in the morning with a buddy that seemed to be floating above all that muck with a bunch of balloons. Strange memories on this sunny afternoon, while finishing a review about a wild and wonderful album. And none of those weird and twisted nights might have actually happened. Indeed, they never really happened anyway…

Cement Brain takes the tempo down and the delirious sounds further up; and we get to accelerate again once title track Elektrik Ram hits. Brilliance in its pure and fast paced delivery. Queen Of The Gorgons continues this velocity, but with a bigger groove and less delirium. A Song About Drugs (With A Clever Title) and Shangrilah Inc, give you the feeling you are working up to a different kind of ending. Both songs have this breaking tempo, this pause and action kind of tension. Keeping you on the edge of your seat or worn-down couch, where the lukewarm beer never tasted finer. And then that real ending of the album comes on with Chemically Humanized, a beautiful cry, a howl towards an endless horizon with some impressive lyrics. “I tried to steal the Devil’s note, I even borrowed David’s chord, but all the poetry I wrote, never seemed to please the Lord.” Fuck man, I wish I were dead now, because I did not write those four lines. But seriously, will this album, Elektrik Ram, hit everyone as hard as it did me. Perhaps not. It definitely deserves to. But I’m sure that was never the goal to begin with. This feels like the outpouring of a lost soul. Of a life reclaimed, of inspiration reclaimed and fulfilled with minute details. None of them out of place. And all of them really happened…



(Written by JK)


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AJEEB – Refractions

 

 

AJEEB – Refractions
Spinda Records – 2023
Rock, Grunge, Alternative, Stoner, Psych
Rated: ****

We were honored to premiere two singles of the Refractions album and we have not put the album down ever since. We’re talking about Canary Island trio AJEEB! On their sophomore release they take you on an eleven-track trip though the alternative rock and grunge landscape. With some noise, stonerrock and psychedelic influences, they excel in making it all sound sonically dense and rough. Rough in the sense that it’s all either sticky or gritty and does not seem to want to please by going the easy route anywhere. Do not expect many catchy choruses or returning ear pleasing riffs. No, this is freak out grunge, compelling or should we say compulsory overdriven guitar lead deep dives into the rabbit hole. Open track and single Hollowed Out immediately shows its colors and you will know you are not in Kansas anymore. Perhaps you might think you are in Seattle of the nineties for a moment, but second track and second single Far Enough will fast forward you to a later decade and deliver what you will come to understand as the most pop sensible track on the album. A logical single, but my love goes out to most of the other tracks and especially those four songs at the end. How about that final song Tail Chasing? A bass propelled masterpiece that slowly develops into insistent and intense freak out, that never complete explodes and seems in the way of restraint to deliver even more. AJEEB is grunge, first and foremost, but AJEEB is more. And more is always more!


(Written by JK)


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AJEEB's new album is coming out via indie label Spinda Records, in collaboration with a bunch of other Spanish labels such as Violence In The Veins, Quebranta Records, Noizeland Records, Hey Boy Hey Girl, Bandera Records, Naife and Hombre Montaña, as well as Clever Eagle Records and The Ghost is Clear Records, both from the US. The impressive artwork is by The Braves Church, based on photographies by Sara GDM and Daniel L. Fleitas.


•    150x STANDARD BLACK VINYL (all labels)
•    150x CLEAR VINYL (all labels)
•    100x COMPACT DISC (Spinda Records)
•    50x CASSETTES (Spinda Records / Clever Eagle Records)




woensdag 26 april 2023

Mars Red Sky - Mars Red Sky & Queen Of The Meadow

 

 

Mars Red Sky - Mars Red Sky & Queen Of The Meadow
Mrs Red Sound / Vicious Circle Records – 2023
Rock, Stoner, Doom, Folk, Psych
Rated: ****

Turning a doom and dark folk corner is Mars Red Sky with their collaboration with Queen of The Meadow. A partnership that is not at all strange, seeing as Mars Red Sky’s guitarist Julien Pras was always there to lend his guitar to the Queen and to let the voice behind Queen of The Meadow, Helen Ferguson, shine and enchant, and do her dark faerie, misty folk magic. And even though Mars Red Sky has always been masters in telling their story, cinematically and atmospherically, with the addition of Helen Ferguson’s voice, it manages to turn their combined narration into an ominous fantasy story. You will see in all detail the sleeping villages, rolling out across the glades before the maze takes over the entire landscape beneath the dark tower, with all its twisting staircases and bizarre turns. On her solo records Queen of The Meadow always had the ability to make you feel the dark clouds moving over head as well as those rays of light that might shine through, sober orchestrated songs and her more lavish folk songs intertwined to paint her dark folk tapestries. This time you feel the dew drops and the mist stick to your skin, due to the way her slightly masked singing and the way the guitar seems to drip behind it all. There is another side of the coin though, where you will experience moments of sweat running down your spine as a shimmering heat surrounds you. And they manage to tell their story with only two tracks, and one shorter version of the opening track. The way Maps Of Inferno starts to surge around you, as if you are in the eye of the storm, a fiery maelstrom consuming all around you, when that middle part hits, otherworldly wonderful. And then the vocals pick up again, spellbinding and a kind of widescreen experience that conjures up a convincing world and a slow treacle moving stream of doom lava. Second track Out At Large, feels less dense and less dangerous, thanks to a bit more air for the instruments, as well the vocals that are more soaring and keep climbing to syrupy heights. Radiant, the Queen does not shy away from taking center stage here and much of the song seems to be there to almost fulfill a stoner and doom chamber orchestra background. But even then, the Mars Red Sky three manage to remain mountainous and a looming shadow growing ever taller as the song goes on. The two tracks combined tell a magnificent story with every kind of color, movement, and greatness… Mars Red Sky & Queen of The Meadow, a match made in fire!


(Written by JK)


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Mudhoney – Plastic Eternity

 

 

Mudhoney – Plastic Eternity
Sub Pop / Konkurrent – 2023
Rock, Grunge
Rated: ****

The last Mudhoney album we mentioned was Digital Garbage back in 2018. And it still is one hell of a kick ass album! But then again, a lot of Mudhoney albums are still kick ass. Indeed, you can grab back to many of them and they will still feel as vital, vibrant, and vibrating with energy as when they were released back in the day. And even though Plastic Eternity definitely isn’t dull or lacking energy, it might not be the most convincing one in their thirty-five-year long history. Plastic Eternity is their pandemic album… “The recording of Plastic Eternity delivered several firsts for the band. With Maddison planning on moving his family to Australia, Mudhoney was forced to work on a deadline, booking nine days at Crackle & Pop! in Seattle with longtime producer Johnny Sangster. Since the pandemic had made it impossible for them to convene in their practice space for nearly a year and a half, this meant they were going in to make a record with an assortment of half-forgotten riffs and nascent ideas rather than fully-fledged, well-rehearsed songs.” It sort of shines through in some of the songs. When it doesn’t, they come in full force, attacking the stupidity of our western society with furious anger and kicking our asses like the Stooges did. Or riffing over some Middle Eastern rhythms and floating down some muddy psychedelic waterfall of ‘crap’… The best thing about Mudhoney might be the fact that as godfathers of grunge, instead of mellowing with age, they seem to get angrier and more politically charged. And that is something we could definitely use right about now! And when you look at it in that light, Plastic Eternity will be seeping into your bloodstream and the rest of your body like the enteral micro pieces… Mudhoney, I love’m!


(Written by JK)





maandag 24 april 2023

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

 

 

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


The Hives
High Noon Kahuna
Dødheimsgard
Samán
The Same River
Dozer
Sonic Demon
Acid King
Witch Ripper
Wyndrider

Another week in the rearview mirror. Actually listened to Axel Rudi Pell a lot as well, due to the interview last week and that is also why The Hives, (gotta love that name, grin!) is on top there. Talkin to those crazies about their new The Death Of Randy Fitzsimmons album this or next week. Dødheimsgard was suggested by Diamond PR of The Same River, stating their new Black Medium Current album was the best metal album of 2023 so far… And he definitely has a point! We got a holiday coming up in two weeks… But hope to finish quite a few reviews before we head out to Scotland… Check those above out… Check’m all out!


donderdag 20 april 2023

Witch Ripper - The Flight After the Fall

 

Witch Ripper - The Flight After the Fall
Magnetic Eye Records – 2023
Rock, Sludge, Stoner, Metal, Prog
Rated: ****

Twas early, early January when the promo for Witch Ripper’s new album The Flight After The Fall hit us hard, hard as nails, as nails being driven into our skull by a pneumatic hammer. And ever since that first spin, as the months passed by, The Flight After The Fall has been on heavy rotation. The quartet released their first self-titled EP back in 2012 and got us all hooked with their 2018 album Homestead. But The Flight After The Fall is of an entirely different level. The sludge and stoner that was perhaps more prevalent on those early releases and their transformation into much more prog and metal, is stunning and huge, huge on an epic scale. Adventurous from start to finish, much will and can be said about the closing almost seventeen-minute-long battleship track Everlasting in Retrograde Parts 1 & 2. It condenses, unpacks, launches and explodes everything they did before they got to this final track and then, when what we assume is the second part commences, decide to add this beautiful, highly atmospheric, slow gliding middle part that is minutely developed into what turns out Everlasting in Retrograde seems to be all about and perhaps Witch Ripper even more in the future. The beauty and the beast, the belle and the brute, finding the right dance, that cyclone waltz that merges all of the different elements into one natural whole and awe inspiring perfect storm. The guitar in the beginning, opening up the composition, with tone and riff, the tension building once the drums are added. Dispelled first with some prog rock meandering before the darkness comes in and the gravelly throat takes the lead, and you feel that foggy dusk descend upon you. Broken apart, clouds dispersing as the light shines through again, by way of the soaring clean vocals and the tones leaving some of the weight behind. But it also leaves behind, breathing in the dust, the four tracks that started the journey. For even though we did enjoy the adventure it took us on, the way that fifth track gleams, shimmers and radiates makes a lot of the varnish for the first four tracks come off a bit matte. And you definitely do not see that coming as you traverse through the The Flight After The Fall the first time… Or second… Or third… But after you’ve come to live with the album, the love for Everlasting in Retrograde Parts 1 & 2 will become immense and the obvious stand out track. So much so, that you will have the urge to listen to it over and over again… And even, yes even, forget about all that wonderful stuff that came before it…


(Written by JK)


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woensdag 19 april 2023

Worldwide Premiere - High Noon Kahuna – Shark Tooth

 

 

Worldwide Premiere - High Noon Kahuna

Shark Tooth


We were extremely honored to bring you the premiere for their third single and video Sand Storm back in January and we are equally honored and excited to do so for their newest video Shark Tooth! We’ve been raving about this band ever since they released their amazing Killing Spree album and you can bet your ass we will continue to do so! My very cool next door neighbors are also fan now, and not just because they were indoctrinated by hearing Killing Spree at high volume through the walls on a daily basis… No, they actually came around to ask what damn fine stuff I was listening to… To which I exclaimed with great relish: High Noon Kahuna!! Go check out Shark Tooth! And then the rest of their amazing Killing Spree Album! 


About the video: "Shark Tooth is an instrumental song from Killing Spree with no specific messaging. We thought it would go well with some savage B-Grade shark murder scenes."

High Noon Kahuna is a trio of veteran heavy music musicians based in the Mid-Atlantic U.S. region of Frederick, Maryland. With Tim Otis on guitar (Admiral Browning / Akris), Brian Goad on Drums (Internal Void / The Larrys), and Paul Cogle on Bass and Vocals (Akris / Black Blizzard). 



These three cats have been acquainted for many years and, throughout their accord, have consistently supported each other in all their various bands. At the onset of 2022, this crew found themselves with the fortunate opportunity to jam.

And jam, they absolutely did! When like-minded musicians converge, something mystical happens. By bringing years of influence and admiration for all musical genres, High Noon Kahuna has created an unusual style that disobeys the rule of music categorization. Drawing on influences from Surf, Noise, Punk, Western, Shoegaze, Black Metal, and Doom, it's hard to confine the diversity into a specific box at any given moment.

On Killing Spree, released November 18th of 2022, the band fuses a collective sound from noisy and fuzzy to clean and sparkly, with every gleam in between...

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Leanne Ridgeway Destroys Cancer (And You Help)

 

 

Leanne Ridgeway Destroys Cancer (And You Help)

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It seems this illness targets the good people first. Leanne, the tongue in cheek girl, making fun of everything in the world, herself included and first and foremost. Even now, when she’s battling cancer. You might know her from the bands she put out there through one of her spotlights: Riff Relevant, Mettle Media PR. Or just from those silly early morning pictures… She’s good people! And still can’t thank her enough for all the stuff she has done for the Heavy Underground and especially for bringing the awesome High Noon Kahuna to my attention. The honorable JJ Koczan started a GoFundMe for her… Thank you JJ and thank you Leanne for all you’ve done so far and will continue to do, for you will surely beat this thing! 



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dinsdag 18 april 2023

European premiere - We Kill Cowboys - Earth Demon

 

 

European premiere

We Kill Cowboys - Earth Demon


In conjunction with the almighty Doomed and Stoned over on the other side of the Atlantic, we’re honored to bring you the video premiere for the new We Kill Cowboys video for Earth Demon. Recorded live in the studio, the Cape Town based, four-piece, psychedelic punk rock band, ask no quarters, take no prisoners and ride that groove train all the way down to kick-ass-ville! Check it out below…




We Kill Cowboys is raw energy. We Kill Cowboys is having a good time. We Kill Cowboys is about flipping the bird to conformity while sipping on some ice-cold Lemonade...
We Kill Cowboys is a Cape Town based, four-piece, psychedelic punk rock band, the brainchild of tattoo artist and singer-songwriter, Alex Muller.

The initial project was born out of the 3-month lockdown of 2020 when Alex had the time to rediscover her musical roots and put together a collection of songs for her first solo EP, entitled Let it Burn. The EP was recorded by long-time friend and fellow musician (and legend in the Cape Town underground scene) Jon Shaban at Atomic studio CT (formerly STFD Studio). A record deal with STFD and Just Music swiftly followed and, with lockdown restrictions easing, thoughts soon turned to turning the EP into a live prospect.

While the EP had reflected the more melancholic isolation of the lockdown experience – sparse arrangements, built around acoustic guitar and Alex’s plaintive voice, a gut feeling was compelling her to seek a bigger, more electric sound. Approaches were made to good friends from years gone by in the scene and soon enough, the group gathered in the live room at the label office to spin some shapes. Things exploded from there with the band drawing on their varied influences, spanning Metal, Punk, Rock n Roll, Country, Western Classical, Indian Raga, Folk, Blues, and a host of other genres. The result was the recently released DIRTY BUSINESS EP.

With the heavier direction the band are heading in with their new material the decision was made to move to Mongrel Records, the rock and metal imprint owned by Just Music. Today’s sees the release of the video for their live in studio performance of new track Earth Demon which will form part of the upcoming studio release set to drop later this year.

Lyrically, Alex delivers a raw, uncompromising, and anti-establishment polemic, drawing directly from her lived experiences in the music scene and the world at large.

“Earth Demon, quite simply, is about narcissism. It’s about being in a relationship with a narcissist, being raised by a narcissistic parent and then it’s also a metaphor for society. It’s when the veil is lifted and you’re able to take a step back and see the truth of the situation, how toxic it is and realise it for what it is…We call them Earth Demons. And this song was written for them all.” – Alex Muller


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maandag 17 april 2023

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


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


ISAAK
King Potenaz
Sea Of Flame
Ded Elk
The Great Machine
Witch Ripper
Howlin’ Sun
Black Air
Kilmore
Vermillion Whisky

After three days of Quick Fire Fun and a great four band concert night slash disguised as a birthday bash or the other way around, we are heading into a new week. Still buzzing from seeing Oakfarm, Desert Colossus, Cannabineros and Red Sun Atacama wreaking havoc in De Onderbroek in Nijmegen. And having a late celebration for Bismut’s very own Peter Dragt! Congratulations again Peter! And can’t wait to see al those of bands live once again, cause they were on fire!

zondag 16 april 2023

Stoner HiVe’s Quick Fire Weekend

 

 

Stoner HiVe’s Quick Fire Weekend

It wouldn’t be a Quick Fire Weekend if we did not do another round of fury on Sunday! So, here’s the second part of the Quick Fire Weekend posts. You know the deal, a small amount of words to help spread the good and heavy music that’s out there. Cause we realize there’s just so much out there! There is no way we can mention it all or even a small percentage of all that heavy stuff we all love. Well, this way, we hope to spread just a tiny bit more…  And we know… There is so much out there, so much good and heavy stuff, and we just simply cannot ever do it all justice. So here it is. The second day of the first Stoner HiVe’s Quick Fire Weekend of 2023! And it burns hot like molten lava!


Vulture Neck – Mountain Giant

Vulture Neck is a power trio from Hägersten, Stockholm. Formed in 2018 they specialize in a variety of heavy genres, doom, sludge, heavy metal, hard rock and it all comes to bear listening to the two track single released in 2020, called Mountain Giant. Si, senor, an older release, but available now across the entire world wide internet thing… Which is a good thing, cause we need this classic doom rock everywhere over the globe and all at once! Go spin Vulture Neck!


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The Astral Prophets – Anywhere But Here

Anywhere But Here is a five track EP released in March. It’s the brainchild of the Calgary, Canada, five-piece The Astral Prophets. Intense grooves, passionate metal, hardrock, stonerrock, these five have it all. And they bring it all with a truckload of power, swing and style! Add those infectious vocals by Staci Allen and when you do the math, this all means, The Astral Prophets got it all! And then some! And then some more!


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Numerical Control Society – Moonshot

Released… Yesterday! The new four track EP Moonshot by Chicago quartet Numerical Control Society. Four instrumental, doom, sludge, stoner, metal goodies! And these guys take a different approach to all those genres than what you might expect, these cats go into more technical terrain. And the way these guys switch between the modest instrumentation and the louder sounds, has me extremely happy… Smiling with glee! Or should we say, completely over the moon! It’s all very refreshing!


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Malabari – Welcome To Malabari

There’s a storm brewing… And it is coming out of Norway… And it will arrive on April 28th… Malabari hails from Trondheim, features members from Reckless Souls and delivers hardrock and heavy metal, all done with very ear pleasing melodies, catchy choruses and gritty howls. Huge in gestures, the four tracks on this five track EP will surely awaken every metal beast out there. Their metal has a modern touch, often razor-sharp but even more so when it comes to thoughtful chord changes. Harmonic as well as crunching. And you can already get your first Malabari fix by checking out first single Spellbound


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Stoned Morose - Pure Hesher Doom

Already audible on bandcamp, but officially out April 20th, yet another damn fine five track EP. This one’s from the Stoned Morose trio, is called Pure Hesher Doom and delivers all those hints glaring at you from the bandname and EP title in multitudes and more! Pure Hesher Doom is doom metal, completely foggy and dusted, a tinge of black metal and a whole lot of morose brutishness! Now go squat a house that’s actually not vacant at all, hang out on their couch and be totally obnoxious and a foul-mouthed, tattooed, heavy metal-loving lout. Pure Hesher Doom!


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Lucy Kruger & The Lost Boys – Heaving

Something different for this Sunday Quick Fire Post perhaps? Alternative, psychedelic, dream, pop and folk. Electric, lucid and hazy. Lucy Kruger & The Lost Boys’s new album Heaving starts off with a track that made me think of Smoke City. Which happened a couple of times during the record, and this is a good thing. There’s always that dreamy, smokey, foggy quality, but also a definite electric current running through it all. Its that careening on the edge of an abyss, with emotional burden, melancholy and beauty doing their best to tip it all over. Surving it all, turns it into pretty ecstatic stuff in the end!


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Breaking Fuel – OUR


Our has been out since February, and it is the new two-track single by Bordeaux, France duo Breaking Fuel. And it’s the prelude to the MODGA album soon to follow. Experimental and avant-garde electro-rock, prog, garage and actually almost the entire gamut of styles that we’ve been conjuring up over the past decade. It radiates detail and minute musicianship on a miniature square inch, determination to get the most out of every note and every melody. Damn good stuff!


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zaterdag 15 april 2023

Stoner HiVe’s Quick Fire Weekend

 

 

Stoner HiVe’s Quick Fire Weekend

It’s happening! The very first Stoner HiVe Quick Fire Weekend of 2023! In fact it’s only the fourth time we are doing this Quick Fire thing for an entire weekend. Trying to get the word out on all that good and heavy stuff that’s been out there. The first Stoner HiVe Quick Fire Friday segment was done somewhere in 2014 and was started as a vehicle to get some quick words out about a handful of bands and only a small amount of words to help spread their musical prowess… Cause we realize there’s just so much out there! There is no way we can mention it all or even a small percentage of all that heavy stuff we all love. Well, this way, we hope to spread just a tiny bit more…  And we know… There is so much out there, so much good and heavy stuff, and we just simply cannot ever do it all justice. So here it is. The first Stoner HiVe Quick Fire Weekend of 2023! And it burns hot like molten lava!

Fuzz Voyage – Heavy Compass Demo

'Dar on guitar, Jeremy on bass and Ben on drums.' It’s Fuzz Voyage and their Heavy Compass four track demo. Twenty minutes of instrumental stoner and doom rock, brought to you with definite punk, surf and skater touches. Those choppy drums, attacking the skins with feverous energy during opening track South Side Moss for instance, how rad! And those shifts, from completely fuzzed out doom, to those fast paced, punk rocking freak outs, majestic! This trio got style! And lots of it!


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Sunbeam Overdrive – Crimson Stains

Soon, on Tentacle Industries, the release of the new album by French quartet Sunbeam Overdrive. It’s called Diama and Crimson Stains is the new single to entice you for the rest of the album soon to come. Scream, djent, progressive, alternative metal and all sorts of core elements come at you from all sides. Circling around you like a riff tornado, this single is but one of the many tracks that hurl you through space and time, and the storm both inside and out of you. It fits perfectly with the concept that seems to be surrounding the album…


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Redshift – Entropy

It’s the lead single and cool video for their new Laws Of Entropy album, which will be released on April 28th through the awesome Pale Wizard Records. We’re talking about Entropy by Redshift. Quirky? Prog metal fun? Jazz infused weird metal? There’s a lot of crazy stuff going on, that sort of feels like they threw some old school video games into a blender, poured all sorts of prog, metal, jazz and funk over it, shaked the shit out of it and put some eighties sounding ice cubes into it. A twisty straw and start guzzling! But since well, Entropy is a song about the absurdity and the anxiety of an existential crisis. It completely fits!


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Kilmore – From The Inside

Heavy riff rock straight out of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. It’s Kilmore and their six track From The Inside EP. Hard rock, classic rock, stoner rock, alternative rock, grunge and even some metal and prog, there’s a lot going on during these six tracks. The amazing vocals by Heather Harris are the one constant factor as the six tracks shift color and dive into whatever aspect the band felt was right for the song. Another constant is the fact that they manage to pull everything off; and what it might lack in catchy kicks, it makes up for in melody, tone and emotional charge… Tenfold.


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Blindfolded & Led to the Woods - Hallucinative Terror


Their Rejecting Obliteration album will be premiering on Prosthetic Records May 19th! Its avant-garde progressive death metal band Blindfolded & Led to the Woods and this is their lead single Hallucinative Terror. Extreme in delivery and blasting away tension, the dynamics are off the scale intense and nerve wrecking. If wasn’t for that final moment of reverie, you would surely be having daytime nightmares…


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Dead Earth – Fear No One


They’ve delivered their first full-sized album back in 2019 called Truth Hammer, followed that up with a four track EP entitled All Hail The Dark and are about to come back swinging sledgehammers and chainsaws, with three tracks on an EP called Fear No One. It’s Cleveland, Ohio’s Dead Earth. The now five piece brings you metal, with overtones of thrash, some speed and a classic heavy metal touch that sees their melodic antennas peeking and the guitar work shine with pure excellence. Brutal, aggressive and very savory!


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Shem – III

The natural follow-up to II, it’s Shem’s III. Out on Clostridium Records since April 1st, Shem is back with another highly atmospheric kraut rocking adventure. This time it takes on a very tribalistic, ritualistic, shamanistic identity. The slow but determined movement in opening track Paragate will induce a trance before the five minute mark is up; and then you still have eleven more minutes to go. The journey will take some of you inwards and others out towards the edges of the universe, or part of the infinite multiverse. And the funny thing is, part of the infinite multiverse is still infinite. And so are the dreams you might have while listening to Shem’s III. Turn on, tune in, and go places…


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vrijdag 14 april 2023

Stoner HiVe’s Quick Fire Friday

 

 

Stoner HiVe’s Quick Fire Friday

Hey you everyone! We’re here to inform you that we are doing another Quick Fire Friday today! And we might just actually do an entire weekend! That’s right! A weekend full of Quick Fire action! So, to see if this might actually come to fruition, you’d best be checking in tomorrow. Cause we will do two more days of Quick Fire heavy action, trying to spread to good word on something good and heavy! And we know… There is so much out there, so much good and heavy stuff, and we just simply cannot ever do it all justice. So here it is. Another Stoner HiVe Quick Fire Friday! And it burns hot like molten lava!

The Absurd – NOX

Out since the end of March, the NEW three track EP by The Absurd! It’s called NOX and will knock your socks off! Catchy by default and groovy as hell, the three tracks give you all you could possibly expect by The Absurd. Energy, charm and wit all spread out by absurdly tight riffs and all done wonderfully fuzzy! The Absurd is electric!


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WE ARE H – Diskonstrukt

WE ARE H is a three piece from Leverkusen, Germany dedicated to explosive stampedes and heavy atmospheres. Indeed, sludge core, hard core, post metal, and more. Eight forceful metal tracks, that will gale it’s riffs and beats down your throat with little time for you to gasp for air. Diskonstrukt is like a siren blast in the middle of the night, a shortcut through a glass labyrinth via a hammer, delivering its often depressive and drug references with screeches, screams, howls and burls. With Karakorum being one of the few moments where their post metal brilliance receives the light and time to properly shine…  


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Dope Skum – Gutter South

Exactly one week from now, and all of you will be able to enjoy the new Gutter South EP by Dope Skum as much as we already have. We already mentioned their Folk Magic single a while back and we reckoned we should also say a few words about the entire seventeen and a half minutes of Dope Skum’s Gutter South. Sludge, doom, punk that feels incredibly sweaty and grimy to the touch. But touch it you must, cause it has this most irresistible quality, like a dubious batch of murky hooch, it might burn your throat but you will get the biggest buzz you can imagine…


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Ambergris – Ambergris

It has been called the treasure of the sea and floating gold, it is produced by sperm whales and has been used for centuries, but for many years its origin remained a mystery. And it is also an instrumental sludge doom band from Providence, Rhode Island. We’re talking about Ambergris and their self-titled two track debut. They call it ‘Sonic Sludge’ and has the temporal ability to make those twenty minutes of heaviness feel like five; heavy on mood and atmosphere, a touch of something punk and a whole lot of mystery! It’s Ambergris!


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Vazum – V-

Deathgaze, darkwave, gothic, noir, new romantic and punk. V- is a greatest hits album consisting of songs from 2020-2022 re-recorded with the punk rock ethos of Vazum's live performances. Some stonerrock influences and charmingly spooky influences. “Lyrically, V- is fueled by a distaste for idol worship, social media influencers, self-righteous zealots, corporate greed and consumerism and speaks out against domestic abuse and self-harm.” And brought to you by both the members of the duo, giving you two sides of a coin. Dark chestnut and angelic light. For those not in the know about Deathgaze duo Vazum, V- is the perfect place to start…


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Solcura – I Am Weak

Alternative rock, a lot of nineties influences, grunge, metal and some prog touches! It’s the new I Am Weak single by Bournemouth, UK quartet Solcura. The first single of a new five-track EP to arrive this year. Very much in debt to the glorious days of the grunge and alternative scene, they make the sound, the tradition entirely their own. This is something that could enchant the masses and make them dominate the world…


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The Big Rip – Order of The Goat Lord

This one won’t come out till early May, but why not get all of your engines running, blood pumping and send you to their bandcamp site to check out earlier singles. Cause the new EP is even better! We are talking about Norwegian foursome The Big Rip and their soon to be released Order Of The Goatlord! The self-proclaimed fast paced stoner and scandi rock outfit starts their new EP out with a semi-acoustic and honest, Americana infused track called Nomad. Warming your soul, before the doom and stoner can take hold of you once second track Goatlord starts. Midtempo heaviness to warm your blood even further! That chugging riff, so steamingly hot. Magus, Magus starts a bit faster and will have you howling along for sure. And that guitar work, ouch, blistering! And so are the drums, scalding! Final track Mons Meg, will seal the deal! The Big Rip is big fire!  


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