vrijdag 29 september 2023

We Kill Cowboys - Earth Demon

 


We Kill Cowboys - Earth Demon

They released their Live In The Studio version before they put out their studio version meant for the EP. It’s Earth Demon by We Kill Cowboys! The due to be released next year EP called Rage has already seen the release of two singles now, all somehow referring to human shortcomings. Pink Codeine, talking about addiction, was pure psychedelic punk fire, but Earth Demon takes this a notch further. Leveling their rock aim at narcissistic inclinations, this track whirls around you with furious energy and of course in part thanks to that Eastern motif starting the Earth Demon run. Can't wait to hear the rest of Rage!


South Africa's vibrant music scene is about to experience a seismic shift as Cape Town's very own Psychedelic Grunge Rock pioneers, We Kill Cowboys, announce the release of their latest single, Earth Demon, out now on Mongrel Records. The track is set to captivate audiences with its powerful message and hard-hitting sound, setting the stage for the band's forthcoming EP, The Rage, expected to drop at the end of January 2024.

We Kill Cowboys has always pushed the boundaries of musical expression, and Earth Demon is no exception. The band, known for their fearless exploration of

diverse genres, has dedicated this song to all the narcissists out there. “It's a love song, but one with a profound twist.” Says vocalist and guitarist Alex Muller. “Earth Demon delves into the complex dynamics of empath/narcissist relationships, extending beyond just romantic entanglements to encompass family bonds as well.” The lyrics take listeners on a journey, shedding light on the toxic nature of these relationships and the damage they inflict. The band refers to these individuals as “Earth Demons," a term that seems fitting for their destructive influence.

In terms of musical evolution, We Kill Cowboys is making a significant shift towards a harder sound, a transition that is evident in the new single. The track features metal beats, fuzzy bass lines, and a wall of guitars, all perfectly complemented by Alex's distinctive husky vocals. Floris Le Roux, who handled tracking, mixing, and mastering for the single, has played a pivotal role in capturing their evolving sound. The collaboration with Le Roux has not only influenced their music but also pushed the band into uncharted sonic territories, to the delight of their fans.

"Earth Demon" is just a taste of what's to come from We Kill Cowboys, as it serves as the second single from their upcoming EP, "The Rage." Fans can expect the EP to deliver a raw, unapologetic, and electrifying musical experience.


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Solar Sons – Another Dimension

 

 

Solar Sons – Another Dimension
Self released – 2023
Metal, Prog
Rated: ****

I first heard about the three from Dundee, thanks to that Pale Wizard Records release: A Tribute To Budgie - Never Turn Your Back On A Friend: 50 Years. On this damn fine album, they performed a brilliant rendition of Melt The Ice Away. And I hope you now know that this means we’re talking about Solar Sons! A Scottish trio that has been releasing music since early 2015. Indeed, they’ve been at it for almost ten years and their new album Another Dimension is their fifth full-sized album. Over one hour of progressive metal that tells a futuristic story about the invention of a sentient robot, sent out into the depths of space to find salvation for the human race. Which upon its return to earth find it in ruins, “a wasteland, ravaged by the wars and spoils of man. Is it all too late or can the fires of civilization burn bright again.” The perfect story for a progressive metal adventure, is it not! It is, and it is expertly told, not only by the vocalist, but also by intense guitar work, blistering drums and riveting bass lines. It’s progressive metal, using eighties influences and some symphonic touches. Explosive solos are as easily executed as emotive atmospheric passage, just listen to the end of Automaton and how it transitions into You Won’t Go Alone. Which turns out to be eight minutes of beautifully masterminded melodic prog rock, where the metal side of the three slowly returns and builds towards an intense end section, showcasing their talent in dynamics and diversity. Quicksilver Trail follows, which also has a video treatment, might be the most straightforward metal and prog song on the album. Yet, the power influences and the guitar solo’s lift it up and give the fluidity of it all a shiny golden edge. Edge, that’s something they toy with constantly. Giving every one of the tracks just a slightly different boundary, a touch of space rock here or seventies prog there. And even though they seem to deliver everything with ease, the compositions are complex, demanding and offer room for all of the instruments. Wayward chords, as much lightning-fast guitar as soulful solo work as needed and stylish changes in tempo, Another Dimension has it all. Solar Sons have delivered an exceptional concept album, Another Dimension will make every progressive rock fan in every dimension fall in love with this one and Hell Fire Fury will set every venue ablaze!


(Written by JK)


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donderdag 28 september 2023

Chamán – Coralillo

 

 

Chamán – Coralillo

Hey, since we found out that our Mexican comrades are one of the countries that visit Stoner HiVe the most. We cannot pass up a single Mexican band ofcourse! Especially when it comes from Mexico City, because it is the City that visits Stoner HiVe the most… Or, Veracruz, because a buddy of mine used to live there. A couple of years ago, operating Hollanda Sex Shop. So when Chamán found its way into our email, we could not help but dive deep into their six track release El Espiritu de Los Maestros! Stonerrock, hardrock, metal, punk and a lot of attitude! Released August 2022 its got style, a bluesy soul and expertly translates Latin folklore into some intense ruckus! And you can now check out their first video for opening track Coralillo!




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I Am Low – Úma

 

 

I Am Low – Úma
Majestic Mountain Records – 2023
Rock, Stoner, Grunge, Alternative
Rated: ****

I love that opening Gunman track on the new I Am Low album! But the Swedish three deliver more than just that wild opening track on their new album called Úma. Released tomorrow, it sports nine tracks that all have their dynamic energy throughout the tracks themselves but delivers even more in that respect when it comes to the album itself. Where Gunman already glides through many different sections, it still an alternative nineties reminiscent, grunge and early stoner rocking, err, rocker. Gunman has glints of Filter, Alice In Chains, Nirvana but also Queens of The Stone Age. It bursts out of the gate and will immediately take hold and won’t let go. The perfect opener, and we thank them once again for not making it a single. (As you know, we love it when an opening track is still a mystery upon actual release.) And that end section, how it seems to whirl around you like a grungy hurricane, amazing! Offering up proof for those high dynamics on the album, is the second song (and single) Dead Space. A slow grooving rocker, that has you cloud surfing in no time. Psychedelically enticing, highly atmospheric, yet also very grounded whenever the ‘space’ vocals seem to swerve around you. Following Ruins, short of two minutes, rams your like a rock’n roll, grunge, punk cyclone, battering you from all sides. Bass heavy Wake is allowed to meander before turning into a rapid filled thundering river full of waterfalls and that almost yammering touch in the vocals seems to drag you along towards a misty shore where some kind of dream seems to lie in wait. Title track Úma follows, which show cases their talent for letting loose, letting things hang, sounds slowly morph into something else, as if you are still drifting along that river from Wake, but suddenly, and for a long time it has turned into a much calmer section. The repeated vocals will not hypnotize you or put you under, there is once again that drawl, but it means something for the vocalist, and you can feel its earnest. After this halfway mark, Pigs follows and moves back towards the more direct nineties alternative and grunge touched rocking. But this time around their drums become even more choppy, the riffs edgier and the bass muddier. And those final three songs go through even more slow-moving dynamics, with Time using the guitar even more as a story telling device, Void a trance inducing cosmic stare and Release the combination of both and offering indeed, some sort of release. If only because that final guitar line and slide says so…


(Written by JK)


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International Premiere - The Silver Linings - Cosmic Excursions

 

 

International Premiere

The Silver Linings - Cosmic Excursions


We’re honored to bring you another Premiere today! Together with Mondo Sonoro in Spain, Irreversivel in Portugal and Outlaws Of The Sun in the UK we give you the new lyric video for the new single Cosmic Excursions by Malaga, Spain quintet The Silver Linings! The new single is the perfect introduction to their wild new album Pink Fish, out on  Spinda Records in October 2023! For this track is chuck full of all that good stuff that’s sprawling all over the new album, their psychedelic, seventies infused, acid rocking, space and kraut rock! It’s wild, it’s wonderful and it’s cosmic! Buy the ticket! Take the ride!




Formed in Malaga (Spain) in 2021, 
The Silver Linings’ music can be understood as a return to the origins, to those years of early psychedelia, when UFOs were still travelling through deep space and tales of tin-can robots, with their typical mechanical movements, filled our imaginations.

Jose (bass), Cati (guitar) y Javi (vocal, guitar) began their psychedelic acid trip together with Chechu (drums), but only a few months later Lolo replaced him and the band started working on their first songs. Their influences range comes from 20th century Sci-fi, the literary work of Moorcock, the illustrations of Moebius, the cinema of Tarkovski, the works of Jodorowski and beat poetry, as well as Andalusian natural landscapes such as the Torcal rocks, Gorafe desert, Bolonia dunes and the Strait of Gibraltar.

Taking their musical style and the fact that they’re based in the south of Spain into account, they can be included in the New Wave Of Andalusian Psychedelia, together with bands such as Atavismo, Híbrido, Lunavieja, Medicina, Santo Rostro, Mía Turbia, Gu Vo or DMBK, although their sound -closer to acid-psych-space-kraut rock- makes us think of Causa Sui, Hawkwind or even Can.

In May 2023, two weeks before recording their debut EP ‘
TSL’ at Hollers Analog Studio (Málaga), Marta joined the band on saxophone. Just a few days after the digital release, the band was signed up by the indie record label Spinda Records (Moura, Fin del Mundo, Moundrag…), going into the studio once again to record additional music to re-launch everything as their first full-length album ‘Pink Fish’ in October 2023.

 

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dinsdag 26 september 2023

Clocktopus – World Worry III

 

 

Clocktopus – World Worry III

Clocktopus… A new Dutch supergroup formed in the jungle of Thailand by Maarten Rischen, formerly of Shaking Godspeed. After moving there and building a ramshackle studio in the middle of the wilderness, he invited a bunch of friends to record an album. The Thailand jungle version of the Desert Sessions. And as the humidity enveloped them all like a blanket, the sound was born and the other members were clutched by the many arms of the Clocktopus. Wout Kemkens (Shaking Godspeed, Iron Jinn, De Niemanders), Tommy Ebben (Komodo), Thomas van den Berg (Amber Arcades, Alamo Race Track), Zac Chapman (Electric Company) were all unable to escape the Clocktopus reach… The full debut album will be out in March 2024, but here’s the debut single and video: World Worry III. A muggy ballad about the other side of the Thai coin…


XX

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vrijdag 22 september 2023

DesertFest NYC 2023

 

DesertFest NYC 2023

We sure as hell wished we had been there. DesertFest NYC… Seeing all those amazing bands. Catching up with my Doom Charts brothers, Scott Spiers from CleanAndSoberStoner, Remi VL - the Tallymaster and our very own Kyle SB / Shastabeast. We would have befriended a load of others there as well, cause we are all Heavy Underground loving brothers, and we would surely have become best friends with Josh Burke. Friend of Remi and Kyle, he has graced us with a review of the festival. Our very first guest writer, and yes, we would surely let him write about DesertFest NYC again… Or anything else for that matter… Great to meet you Josh

 

DesertFest NYC 2023

by Josh Burke

After some encouragement from a member of the Doom Charts, as well as Stoner HiVe contributor Kyle SB / Shasta Beast, I decided to attempt an actual write-up of the festival we all attended last weekend. Although I write a ton for my job, I don’t think of myself as a writer. As someone who tends to sum up experiences as “that was awesome”, “that was okay” or “that sucked” I have a lot of respect for people who can write a coherent and well-written review. So, anyhow, Desertfest NY 2023 was okay.

 

 

Colour Haze won the weekend.  Despite their 30-year history, they had apparently only played once in the States previously. What a special treat to have their unique brand of jazzy, psychedelic rock. Both nights were great; the band made both the intimacy of the St. Vitus bar and the grander setting of the main stage work for them. Either set would have topped my list, but I give the edge to Friday night on the main stage. It is really easy for largely instrumental and generally mellow music to be boring and self-indulgent. Colour Haze dodged both of those traps. Building up and then backing down, occasionally going all out, everything worked. Every solo mattered and added to the performance. I went into the weekend as a casual fan of this band, only owning a couple of records, and came away just stunned by how great they were, particularly drummer Manfred Merwald. I only wish they’d had merch!