Almost Honest - The Hex of Penns Woods

 

 

Almost Honest - The Hex of Penns Woods
Argonauta Records - November 2023
Stoner, doom, hard rock
Rated: *****

New Cumberland, Pennsylvania's Almost Honest have been chugging away at their patented sexy Viking funk rock for about a decade, and each release has found them honing their craft and topping their previous outing without fail. This upward trend has shown no sign of slowing down, and on their new LP "The Hex of Penns Woods" they've added rocket fuel to whatever they've been pumping into the rock 'n roll tank. "Hex" is the product of a laser-focused, pro-shop, confident Almost Honest. They've always fucking rocked, and this is an album that says, without debate, "we know we fucking rock". The production is clear but meaty, the musicianship is top-notch, and added layers of varied vocals and surprise instrumentation create an eleven-track trip that has a twist around every bend, inducing more than one happy "WTF" aloud to myself on first listen. The opening track alone is worth taking the dive, an absolute barnburner that fires on all cylinders and welcomes you to the proceedings by melting your face off and delivering riff after sludgy riff of slamming heavy. Early Clutch and Red Fang lurk in the grooves, but this is all Almost Honest as they piledrive eardrums into oblivion. Every subsequent track is its own beast, filled with its own quirks and style without losing the signature stoner heavy at the core of the band's sound. Rather than spoil every surprise, we'll run through the highlights. Want bluesy licks and group vocals? "Laugher of the Deer Owl" has you covered. Horns going together with guitar like PB&J? Bite into "Where the Quakers Dwell". Personal favorite "Haunted Hunter" brings a riotous stomp with drum work that dazzles as it shuffles and pounds, and the funky keys are the icing on top you didn't know you needed. "Ballad of a Mayfly" is a ballad and more, bringing to mind Helmet in its harder-edged passages, and "Goliaths Lamp" cranks up the aggression with cutting riffs and grimy bass licks. Almost Honest have been on the scene for a while now, and its past due they're given recognition as cream of the crop. "The Hex of Penns Woods" catapults the gang into another league, and these Dutch country boys make no beans about it. They've become masters of their craft, and sexy Viking ones at that.

(Written by Kyle SB)

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The Fulcrum – Collide

 

 

The Fulcrum – Collide
Self released – 2023
Rock, Alternative, Punk, Nineties, Stoner, Metal
Rated: ***

Starting off with a high Supafuzz, Dave Angstrom kind of vibe, (which means you immediately have my attention!) New York fourpiece The Fulcrum opens the ball right in the middle of their narrative with title track Collide. Ten tracks sporting new album Collide then also moves towards something that has an Alien Ant Farm kind of vibe, especially on a track like Wolves. Which means the band always has a punk spirit, knows where the ear pleasing melodies tend to hide and know how to combine the two. But nineties alternative rock and metal are definite pillars for The Fulcrum as well, and with two vocalists steering the different songs, there is always a different approach to these elements waiting for you. Nostalgia for instance, sounding off towards something more eighties and even progressive, uses a different vocal style all together, sporting damn fine guitar work, as all tracks seems to do. And even though the four seem to explore all these different regions of heavy rock, their interpretation of all these styles, makes Collide completely their own. The Fulcrum makes all of it center around The Fulcrum and the pop sensible, catchiness that they have a knack for…

(Written by JK)

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

 

 

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

Ping Machines
KRPL
Duster
Kurt Vile
Within Temptation
Villanos
Autogramm
Outrun The Day
The Same River
Third Mind

The weather is exceptionally foul today… On this new Monday. The week has come and gone and we only had a few moments to spare to do some Stoner HiVe stuff. But we did manage to write something about Ping Machines, KRPL, Duster, Third Mind, AAWKS, Crash And The Void and GULA… And also managed to announce the Stoner HiVe Top 20 Countdown of 2023. You can now send your lists of favorite albums to stonerhive@hotmail.com and the deadline for this is December 13th. After which we start the countdown of best albums of 2023 according to all you lovely voters! So, far quite some lists have already arrived… The honorable Dingir Zu leader Jesse Kooker was the very first to send his list… And since we will need to put our favorite albums of 2023 in order as well, we listened to our very favorites of 2022, one of them was Weight Of The World by The Same River. And we heard from maestro Diamond PR himself that a new album will soon be recorded. Which means, 2024 is already promising to be awesome as well!

Ping Machines – Baby

 

 

Ping Machines – Baby
Self-released – 2023
Rock, Stoner, Alternative, Punk, Psych
Rated: ****

The five from Schwyz, Switzerland called Ping Machines delivered their Baby back in August of 2023. And ever since then the album has found its way back into rotation on a weekly basis. And with every time it spun; our love for it grew and our self-hatred as well. That nagging voice in my head demanding to spend more time with it and to write a few words of praise about it. But of course, it took another few spins and another spiraling towards the bottom of the bottomless pit moment before we finally found time to put their Baby on and start typing away. Founded in the same year Stoner HiVe started blogging, that’s 2009 for ya, the band delivered two EP’s before coming out with the self-titled debut full-sized album in 2017. So, Baby is their sophomore release and sports nine tracks and almost forty minutes of alternative rock, stonerrock, with a psychedelic edge here or there and definitely some punk spirit. A vocalist the offers up something eighties punk one moment, a bit spacey the next, or gritty and teeth clenching, but always with his own definite style. Fascinating how this album seems to set itself so apart from everything else in the Heavy Underground, even though it has all the same elements. Soaring leads, beautiful solo work, rough riffs, a fuzzed-out bass, grandiose drumming. It’s all there and then some, but for some reason the album feels more different than it actually might be. But this is a good thing, short and sweet stomper 1 2 Another, sits in the middle of the record and serves as a snap in the air, louder than a cannon. You will feel your blood rush during those two and a half minutes. After which things quiet down at the Cemetery, returning with the steady beat of the drums is your heartbeat, slowing down, and you will feel your extremities spasm along with those twitching vocals. In all its simplicity, it is beautifully crafted. Those highlighted chimes, that story telling vibe. And that’s after already been hooked by smash ‘n grab opener title track Baby, stoner stomper Message To The Moon and with more good stuff to come. Cause instrumental Bononantis combines both that stomp with the soar, and that cosmic touch in a mostly mid-tempo range. You in for another prize-winning song? Next up is Jolyn, eighties touched, the guitar takes this home as much as the drums, but so do the vocals.  The man must be Iggy inspired cause there are definite pinpoints across the entire song and album. Haunting and irresistible, this one track will get all your hairs on end and your blood racing around your veins. And closer Down To The Others, brings on the cold sweat, because it’s the end of the album. And a glorious one that is. And you will understand that the Ping Machines took a riff and made it their Baby!

(Written by JK)

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Duster – Remote Echoes

 

 

Duster – Remote Echoes
Konkurrent / Numero – 2023
Rock, Lo-fi, Indie, Mumblecore
Rated: ***

I’ve never been a huge listener of Duster. I do have all their albums. And definitely appreciate their version of slowcore. But I simply need to have everything Duster, Helvetia and Built To Spill because of the obsession thing. My obsession with Rancho De La Luna grew to encompass every member of every band that ever recorded in Rancho. Or actually just set foot in that magical studio in the desert. And of course, since Jason Albertini was a part of Queens Of The Stone Age in the very beginning, we need to keep track of everything Mr. Albertini does. Another reason Duster never got much playtime over here, is simply because they were largely unknown over in Europe at the moment they were truly active, back in the nineties. But after re-releasing their debut album Stratosphere for its 25th Anniversary two months ago, they obviously went through the back catalogue of home recordings and found more sketches from that time still lying about. This resulted in the fourteen pieces of music on Remote Echoes, old demo’s, obscure pieces of tracks once released on cassette, all like snapshots from a long forgotten past. The dusty atmosphere ever present, the fourteen tracks, lasting less than thirty minutes give you a glance into the messy bedroom all this was recorded in. Fragmentary, lo-fi, like a collage of incomplete memories the tracks give off that post-rocking, slow-coring, slacker, lethargic spirit with as little effort as possible. The insights given do take you back to that bedroom just mentioned, that filthy room everyone once had. Messy, and dubious stains everywhere… Or as they state themselves: cigarette bums, weed crumbs and stained coffee-cups…

(Written by JK)

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Gula – Laughing Song

 

 

Gula – Laughing Song

Laughing Song is the first single from their soon to be released album Birds Of The Apocalypse. 15th of December is that date and that’s when Rotterdam, Netherlands based psychedelic doom quartet Gula will shove their new record out into the world. Ancient and atmospheric, their doom moves slow and its not until it speeds up and the chanting begins, before you understand what Gula is about. Fusing otherworldly, very old, primal magic with that doom we all love…

From the PR wire:

The band’s sophomore album follows the footsteps of their debut in nature but expands on all fields, with the band’s signature sonics having become a fuller and more holistic experience in the composition process. Being significantly more diverse and experimental when compared to the debut – and including a broader array of synth work for an example – Birds of the Apocalypse was as customary for them, recorded live with just a few overdubs here and there. Gula’s combination of psychedelic music with doom and metal tendencies topped off with calm and atmospheric passages is a particularly organic and gripping one, and whoever finds themselves from listening to Birds of the Apocalypse, will find its hooks and textures highly enjoyable. Taking their name from the Mesopotamian goddess of healing often portrayed with a dog by her side, Gula’s lyrical content seeks inspiration from movies, literature, and philosophy, applying further weight to the already ponderous album.

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Crash And The Void – Shadow Fiend

 

 

Crash And The Void – Shadow Fiend

Out today the new single and video for South African rockers Crash And The Void. Shadow Fiend shows their alternative rock side as well as that experimental edge, and all done in that highly dynamic and infectious way. This new single is as hot as molten lava and has you longing for the full album!

From the PR wire:

Alternative cosmic rock band Crash And The Void is set to make waves in the music scene with the release of their latest single and accompanying video, Shadow Fiend. The band, known for their innovative sound and thought-provoking lyrics, is excited to unveil this transformative piece through Mongrel Records.

The track delves into the psychological concept of "the shadow self," a theme rooted in the theories of Sigmund Freud and expanded upon by Carl Jung. The narrative of the song intertwines with the Marxist theory of dialectical materialism, exploring the cyclical nature of governing systems. The track tells the tale of an individual navigating isolation and loneliness within an antiquated system, ultimately finding empowerment by embracing their repressed anger and pain.

The protagonist of "Shadow Fiend" evolves from a state of despair to one of hope, driven by the desire to dismantle the oppressive system that perpetuates their suffering. Confronting opposition with the phrase "it's just a game we play," the song highlights the use of gaslighting tactics employed by those in power to maintain control.

The lyrics vividly depict a societal divide, where some are privileged ("Silver Snakes" or lucky ones) while others are born into a struggle, fighting their way out of an "aching abyss." The struggle for survival evolves into a quest for power, glory, and dominance. "Shadow Fiend" explores the darker aspects of the human psyche, as the protagonist loses themselves to their "shadow self," succumbing to the alter ego that takes over completely.

Guitarist, vocalist, and main songwriter Marius Schutte reflects on the creative process, stating, "The bone structure for the song was written back in 2018 when I was trying to write cinematic rock music for the first time. The main approach was to use dramatic chord progressions to imitate film music but doing it using heavy guitars. The breakdown at the end of the song is new, and only written in 2021 whilst finishing the rest of the first album's writing.” When asked about the eye-catching video he adds, “The video cost us nothing to make and was largely AI generated through a complex coding system”.

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The Stoner HiVe Top 20 Countdown of 2023

 

The Stoner HiVe
Top 20 Countdown of 2023

This is a call to arms! To End of Year List making arms! The time is upon us again… You’ve seen JJ’s The Best of2023 Year-End Poll go up on The Obelisk… Which means we are already late with stating that The Stoner HiVe Top 20 Countdown of 2023 is now open for business. We unfortunately do not have a fancy poll system in place. But we’ve been doing it the old fashion way since 2009 and will this year once again, continue to do so. You can send us an email with your favorite albums of the year. The deadline for your list will be on December the 13th! And it’s of course highly appreciated if you send your list before that time…

Almost every year the amount of lists received keeps growing and we are thankful for each and every one of them. Whether you are able to list five favorite albums or fifty it is all good! You can send your list to our email and we will do all the computing and tallying… And then when the day is there, we shall start the The Stoner HiVe Top 20 Countdown of 2023! Ending, as always, with this years Number One on January 1st…

On the image above, masterfully crafted by Doktor420, you see the covers of all the Number One albums of past 14 editions. According to YOUR votes back then! Anxious to see what all of your Number One album for this year will be… 

So, cast your vote! 

 

Send your list of favorite albums of 2023 HERE!


ps. Want to read up on past editions?
Visit the blog and see posts like: The Countdown So Far...
Or the Number One Posts...

KRPL – Blei

 

 

KRPL – Blei
Kerberos Records – 2023
Instrumental, Metal, Stoner, Sludge, Psych
Rated: ****

They hail from Graz, Austria and we know them from the 2021 split with Tarlung, but KRPL has been releasing music since around 2014. Which means KRPL has surely been around for ten years now and we should be revisiting all their releases. Which, counting the new Blei album means nine releases on Bandcamp in total. And we should not just be revisiting all their release because they’ve been around for ten years and because we dug that Tarlung split release. Nope, simply because Blei is one hell of an album! Nine tracks of amazing instrumental metal. Stoner metal, sludge metal, with a psychedelic twist here or a bit of a progressive touch there; and a whole lot of force. Driving force. Like perpetual motion, like gears perfectly interlocking and making the machine go boom! Cause there’s a lot of brutal and booming energy coming from the cutting riffs and the rumbling bass work. And there are those crashing and thrusting drums, pushing the tempo and steering the riffs into ever more ingenious corners. A few soaring guitar lines in tracks like Sonnenmord and Hydra gives Blei even more of a bite and a maw. Teeth marks are left once Blaues Gift, with that ominous drum roll and jackknife guitar work. Ye gods, these mothersludgers keep going full force, without letting up, without letting go of the reigns, they propel you forward, ever forward until those last moments with Maus. Which uses a bit of groove metal, and an underlying growling, a bass that resembles a lawn mower, and not just the automated mouse kinds, no the huge ones to mow entire fields with, to make Blei come to an even grander ending. And then full stop, no prisoners, only a heart full of joy and a weird smile as if you had just gotten hit over the head by a lead pipe…

(Written by JK)

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The Third Mind – The Third Mind 2

 

 

The Third Mind – The Third Mind 2
Yep Roc / V2 – 2023
Rock, Sixties, Seventies, Psych, Folk
Rated: ****

The first time I heard the new album called The Third Mind 2, I immediately wondered if I had The Third Mind’s first album from 2020 and if I was equally enamored with that one. Which of course immediately shows, I probably didn’t. Which is weird on many fronts. And it’s tempting to therefor state the band grew closer together in the past two years and that the music matured and all that stuff. But we can probably just as easily claim that I wasn’t in the same frame of mind when that first album was released. And we should revisit. Listen to it more closely. Get some notes on paper before attempting to write something about their new album. But then Reek of STOOM stated it was the best album he heard this year. Now, if you know Reek, he claims this more than once per month. But it still means it must be good. So, instead of going back, we moved forward and kept spinning their second album. A super melodious, harmonious and musical album performed by amazing musician that all have been involved with many other great projects and bands. Shall we call The Third Mind a supergroup? This time around Jesse Sykes (acoustic guitar, vocals); Dave Alvin (electric guitar); Victor Krummenacher (bass guitar) (Cracker, Camper Van Beethoven); David Immerglück (guitar/harmonium/mellotron) (Counting Crows, Camper Van Beethoven); and Michael Jerome (drums/percussion) (Toadies, Better Than Ezra) are taking a deep cut, trip back into the psychedelic folk/rock sound of the late 1960s and early 1970s. It gives you six tracks all at least five, eight or ten minutes long, all exhuming alternative rock through every pore and laidback soul of the hippy kind. It’s the marvelous guitar work and strumming that take center stage, although the vocals by Miss Sykes also deserve the spotlight. Which is even more apparent on the only original work on the album called Tall Grass. Shall we call it a cover album? Let’s not, for in the way they delved these obscure tracks out of the great American musical history and re-invented them, makes them entirely The Third Mind. Or as our very own Reek ended his blurb on the Doom Charts Peroration of October 2023: “Atmospheric and dreamy, glossed with a rich coating of captivating vocals and delightful musicianship across the board – MUST HAVE!!” He’s right!

(Written by JK)

 

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AAWKS – The Figure

 

 

AAWKS – The Figure

We have this only slightly concealed major crush on AAWKS. Perhaps its not even concealed, and it actually shouldn't, cause we dig’m. A lot! As you might have read when we wrote about their split album The Eastern Scrolls with Aiwass or when we ranted away about their earlier album Heavy On The Cosmic. Well, they’re about to release on December 8th throught Black Throne Productions, a four track EP called Luna, and only yesterday, they hurled out into the world, the lead single The Figure… And if I had not already been totally smitten with AAWKS, I would have been after hearing The Figure… (And the rest of Luna solidifies that infatuation!) Aaaaaawww… 

 

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The band elaborates on the single: "The Figure picks up where we left off with Heavy on the Cosmic. Still heavily inspired by themes of the otherworldly, allegorical, fantastical, psychedelic and occult imagery of our first album but this time with a bit of a darker, more surrealistic twist. Heavy on the Cosmic used a Technicolor palette throughout most of our songs where the second album will play more in the darker corners of the room, in the shadows, where the candles flicker. This time we’re focused a bit more on the flights of the amygdala than distortions of the pineal. We’ve still travelled through portals to far off lands but this time will be set more in the wee hours, alone in a forest, near a swamp. This time will be more going to battle with our demons than picking mushrooms in the grove…"

And, of the album, the band shares:

"LUNA - the goddess of the moon (Roman mythology)

Cultures have been obsessed with the mysterious, magnetic wonders of the moon since the dawn of time. We’ve also been fascinated by 'the unexplained' and tried to make meaning of the messages in dreams or weird lights in the night sky. This collection of songs entitled LUNA each represent the aforementioned subjects in some way or another. We may not have the answers but we did our best to paint the feeling and thoughts one may have while walking down a path, alone in the woods at night or maybe waking up from an odd dream that left you questioning 'what did that mean?'

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

 

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

Green Lung
Massa
Lowdrive
Warcoe
Kurt Vile
Mars Red Sky
Wodorost
Untamed
Foghat
7Weeks

Monday is here again! Helldorado Festival was a wild rock ‘n roll bash once again. Preparing for a Kurt Vile interview now. So, little time to HiVe today. But we hope to get some proper HiVe stuff done on Wednesday. But the above ten artists, and their new albums, all deserve your attention. And if that’s not enough inspiration, go back to the Quick Fire Friday we did last Friday or read up on what we wrote about the awesome Doomherre or Dryland. Check’m out! Check’m all out.

Helldorado

 

 

Helldorado

Only a few hours to go till we’re off in search of all that rock ‘n roll gold… A few hours till we’re off for another adventure in legendary Helldorado! Indeed, you're not in Eindhoven, Netherlands anymore, this is something otherworldly, big and heavy! Can’t wait to get whipped into a frenzy by all those damn cool bands!

And especially can’t wait to see An Evening With Knives, Prong, Sacred Reich, Psychonaut, Blood Command, Brutus, Iron Jinn, Gluecifer and ofcourse Speedmobile and Peter Pan Speedrock! 

And you? 

Got rope? A shovel? Pickaxe? 

You joining the expedition?

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