Deep Valley Blues – Sangue e Veleno Argonauta Records – 2024 Rock, Hard, Blues Stoner, Metal Rated: ***
My Italian is rusty. And even at times when it was all oiled and greased up, it was dubious at best. Only doable at four o’ clock in the morning in some smokey drinking hole in the shady part of town. But you guessed it, playing live on stage, right there would be the Italian fourpiece Deep Valley Blues! And with their new album Sangue e Veleno (Blood and Poison) under their belt, they would be rocking everyone still capable of standing. Shit, they would rock the ones sitting down and wake the bastards that had given up and those that had fallen face down in their own puddles. Deep Valley Blues gives you seven tracks of hard rock, the gritty kind, the bluesy kind. It’s that Diesel Blues thing again, marrying it to stoner and metal and getting you all fired up. Founded in the year of our lord 2016, they’ve already released their first self-titled EP in 2017, full-sized debut Demonic Sunset in 2019 and III in 2021. And as they’ve always shaped their albums, loosely, around a certain concept, they’ve gone that way again for Sangue e Veleno. Seven tales of people with ‘poisoned blood’, angry persons and situations involving anger, frustration and rage. For them a way to translate a bad period full of negativity into something positive. And that’s what you will walk with, a positive yet very driving force that will pull you one or push you forward. Vocally diverse, there are moments when you might think the microphone was just picked up out the gutter. English and Italian lyrics shuffle by, as do the various blues influences. And that’s definitely the best thing about Deep Valley Blues, that is there, in there blood, all that blues… And that ain’t no poison…
Hold on now. We’ve got one more thing to say about this… TOMORROW night, we are honored to host the FULL ALBUM PREMIERE for Sangue e Veleno by Deep Valley Blues! So, check out the single below and check back tomorrow for the FULL ALBUM PREMIERE!
Ramkot – Rosa V2 – 2024 Rock, Alternative, Desert, Stoner, Noise Rated: *****
These Belgian crazies started back in 2017, delivered their first four track self-titled ep RAMKOT in 2019, followed that up with What Exactly Are You Looking For in 2021 and delivered their In Between Borderlines album last year. And now, Ramkot is back! And not just back, they went to the desert and came back with a genuine jewel called Rosa! And they did not just go to any desert, hell no! They went to Joshua Tree and recorded at the fabled Rancho De La Luna, together with producer Alain Johannes. Both his touch and the magnetic Rancho are audible on the new Ramkot album and adds the exact amount of cherries to put this album on top. As most touring bands know, it’s incredibly expensive to get your own instruments into the states. Omega Sun know how to do it right and so does Ramkot. Don’t bring any! They used all the magical instruments available to make their own very danceable noise and sexy dance moves inspiring ruckus. Highly dynamic and beautifully diverse, the album features stonerrock songs, alternative rock, noise inspired, extremely atmospheric slow rock and even a piano ballad. And when the press release states that the amazing Zeppelin single was recorded in one take, one feels nothing by awe and admiration. The same goes for Alain Johannes, Rancho De La Luna and the rest of the Rosa album…
Morning! It’s the morning after the morning after Helldorado Festival. Wat a great festival once again! All bands brining their best, Baklawai and Baroness bringing even more it seemed! Wowzah! So, we’ll need a day or two to get grounded again. But we did some stuff last week which you can still check out. You know, that Quick Fire Friday round. Or the Sergeant Thunderhoof words, Starmonger, Modoki, Waffle House Of A 1000 Corpses, The Kryss Talmeth Experience, Loveworms, CCQueen and of course that FULL ALBUM PREMIERE for Acid Hags! But I’m pretty sure we can do something this week as well. Soon. And as usual, a Spotify Playlist with those ten bands listed above, if they’re on Spotify. Even with Throttlerod, and we have to thank Sunil Singh for reminding us that we needed to listen to that great band again! Perhaps you should listen to. It’s in the playlist…
It’s Friday! Somewhere! And that means we can do one of those Quick Fire Friday segments again! Last time we did it, last month, was one of the most visited ones it seems. Let’s see if this one can tickle all of your fancies as much as that one did. And we know, there’s also that Doom Charts Peroration list going live! And there’s only so much time and energy to go around, we know, we know. It’s exactly why we do this time. A few words about a few great releases. We know, they deserve more, but there’s so much good and heavy stuff, and we just simply cannot ever do it all justice. So here it is… Another Stoner HiVe’s Quick Fire Friday! And it burns hot like molten lava!
Doomherre – Eraser
Going live today! The new Doomherre single and video Eraser! The Swedish doom metal trio delivered their wild Bonegoat album last year and the new single fits their mold. But the amount of riffs and that majestic solo might break that mold as well. It’s Doomherre, they do it their own way! That’s why they have their own Skatbo Records and their own set of cards. And their new single Eraser is their ace in the hole!
del-Toros hail from Alkmaar, Netherlands and deliver heavy and experimental rock. In January 2025, they will release their new album Stainless through Down At The Nightclub Records, and Groinswab is the first single and video for this album. Their first recordings with keyboardist Dylan Does in the team, and make for some riveting ruckus, still a bit of surf in the mix, highly atmospheric, and a lot of dark and noir noise. The perfect soundtrack for an awesome video!
From the upcoming golden album Mirrors, to be released on November 22nd, through Timezone Records this is The Hole In The Wall single and video. It’s the new beast of an album by Pariahlord! Who released that amazing Vultures album back in 2022 and the Mirrors record might just be even better. The Hole In The Wall sets the scene nicely and will entice and make you hunger for the rest of the album… And moonshine whisky… And a nugget of gold..
'Màrtirs is a profound, heartfelt homage to the peoples oppressed by war, Western exploitation, and the universal human barbarism.' Which means we should all be listening to the explosive metal delivered by Vidres a La Sang. Màrtirs is the first single for the Virtut del Desencís album to be released through no less than five labels:Abstract Emotions, Nafra records, Negra nit distro, Discos Macarras and Eternal Juggernaut. Intense and brutal metal and levelling everything around you, leaving little for the aftermath... Which seems fitting, right?
We're still spinning SBARCO a lot! Their self-titled debut album came out on Argonauta Records some two months ago and stand tall and can weather every storm. The alternative progressive rock, the arc and the different pop influences make it a stunning album. And those other influences perhaps made them cover the Getting Away With It song by indie rock back James. A good version it is! And it went live... A few hours ago!
Italian garage fuzz rockers FVZZ POPVLI announce the release of their new album "Melting Pop" on February 7th through Heavy Psych Sounds, and unleash a rocking first track with "Salty Biscuits" today! Turning a more grungy and garage corner for this track it has this highly infectious punk attitude and a we're here to kick ass and all them jams out kind of vibe! Repeat button clicked!
Heavy groove driven Stoner/ Desert Rock Trio Silverships will release their debut Kingdom Of Decay, next week, on November 22, 2024 via Tonzonen Records/ Cargo. And titletrack and video came out a few months ago to entice you all. A beautiful song, that builds and transitions and changes color and becomes this slippery liquid silver kind of rocker. Did I say it was beautiful already?
I'm dead sure all of you already heard it. But it never hurts to listen to more King Buffalo! The new Balrog, feels a lot like an older song idea they started to work on once they wanted to try out the new studio they're building. And it turned out damn fine! So, gentlemen! Recording seems already possible. And we've got Balrog as proof! So, let's hope they enjoy the final leg of the tour, finish the rest of their studio quickly and get to recording the new album. Although the earlier ones are still on heavy rotation over here... How about you?
Sergeant Thunderhoof – The Ghost Of Badon Hill Pale Wizard – 2024 Rock, Stoner, Metal, Prog Rated: *****
One can trace the growth of Sergeant Thunderhoof through all the records they’ve put out since 2014. Every album again, they’ve managed to grow as a band and as individual players. And as you run your fingers through all those records, and you let your ears feast upon their songs, you will hear those smokey whisps. The guitar smears, the echoes of those songs that lead up to the majestic This Sceptered Veil album from 2022. Songs like Goat Mushroom, Afterburner and When Time Stood Still churning out those shimmering glints of the diamond that would become This Sceptered Veil. Which became one of my absolute favorite albums of 2022. And where the growth was gradual before that album, This Sceptered Veil became a gigantic leap. A highly emotional and beautiful work of art. And now, the Bath (recently turned) quintet, are back with their new one called The Ghost Of Badon Hill. And even if it might lack a tiny bit of the emotional charge that riddled This Sceptered Veil, it consolidates on everything good and beautiful that record was. The ghostly memories of early songs less pronounced, the compositions opulent, yet more concise. But that’s perhaps what you get when you write a concept album about a battle that was fought between the Britons and the Anglo Saxons in the early centuries, which was almost lost in the fog of time. Still not much is absolutely sure about the clash, but The Ghost Of Badon Hill does not deal with facts, but with the story as a backdrop for normal people, leading normal lives who are forced to do amazing things to protect themselves and their kind. Like normal musicians, forced to produce amazing records…
For The Ghost Of Badon Hill is amazing once again. The less is more principle seems to work for the songs, turning the compositions into carriers of a longer arc, a story and a history. Dismissing the extra riffs, leaving off the fills, the extra lyrics and everything that wasn’t necessary to tell the tale. The result turns their progressive side into something highly engaging and compulsive, for once opening track Badon begins, you cannot help but listen to the entire legend once again. For we’ve said it before, if you want to tell a story, it’s about setting the scene. And some bands are true masters in that respect. And with The Ghost Of Badon Hill, Sergeant Thunderhoof has become one of them. As the wind gushes around you on that fateful hill, and the acoustic medieval-touched guitar is punctuated by a forlorn whistle, you will be swept up by the mist and carried away to another time and place. That song becomes so much more though, riddled with enchanting harmonies and powerful strides. Slowly building there, with wistful vocals and a warrior’s drum march. And then that drum, like a subdued cannon blast echo from the past launching the composition forwards and into thundering metal, unhurried but so forceful. The guitars get to soar, to lift off, to fly. And so do the vocals. Which is possible due to the bass work and drums that accentuates every detailed rise minutely and in that fashion, lifts every tone to a higher plain of existence. No longer fleeting, the tones seem to linger and stay with you as the others are already washing over you…
We can talk about every song that follows at length, trying to explain what it does to us, what we hear, see and feel, but instead we skip to the end. The other song that bookends this album so brilliantly and seems to be a long lost brother to the opening track in many regards, for that is something both Badon and Beyond The Hill do in a perfect way, be brothers and bookends. It’s the longest track on the album and seems to revolve around itself as the different harmonies and melodies turn and seem to dance around each other. Almost eleven minutes long the guitar flourishes waltz with the riffs as the drums move in a stately procession. Soothing and decreasing in volume, it becomes this quiet natural flowing source before it all swells and becomes voluminous again towards the end. Fulfilling all romantic notions of arcs and storytelling. And as the sound languidly, regretfully, dies down, you hear that the wind has gone to rest and the birds are all that remain on that long lost battlefield. And I knew… From the moment I heard this album, it stays with me still. And I think I will remain here. Listening to it all. Again and again. Up on the hill…
Starmonger – Occultation Interstellar Smoke Records – 2024 Rock, Desert, Stoner, Psych Rated:
If you are reading this Stoner HiVe review, I know that we are kindred spirits with a love of the heavy underground and all the variety of acts, artists, and blends of genres it provides us. Day after day there is a buffet of new music to ingest, but occasionally, something or someone profoundly different crosses your palate. One such band would be Starmonger. They blend multiple genres that we are familiar with, but with a unique mix and sound that is all their own.
One of the reasons the band has a different sound are the vocals of vocalist/guitarist Arthur Desbois, they truly stand out and were the first thing I noticed. Here on Occultation, they span from carefully laid out medium ranged plateaus to more operatic high altitudes as he bellows out above the progressive stoner structured instrumentation. He is not the only one on vocal duty however as all members contribute to the microphone. When the extra layers of vocal harmonies hit and come together, they pierce through the atmosphere making the hairs on your arms stand up.
As far as Starmonger’s sound goes I guess you could pigeon-hole them into heavy psych, stoner, and doom, had you needed to, but there are more underlying things at play looking under the microscope. For one thing the progressive elements are undeniable, complicated structures and time changes fill Occultation, with the album being skillfully built around them. There is also an uplifting theatrical tone to the album, one that touches the very core of the listener. Combining this with the arrangements makes Occultation an album that I can only describe as epic!
With various forementioned time signatures you must have a strong- and open-minded timekeeper upon the throne, drummer Seb Antoine fills these qualifications with elaborate fills and a steady pace when need be. Bassist Mathias Friedman accompanies the heartbeat with his own complex parts, basslines that are amazing and perfectly situated, as he balances time between the rhythm section and as a rhythm part behind the guitar. Arthur is also talented at guitar, whether it is a riff, chords, or impressive lead parts. Theres also the knowledge of knowing when not to play and use the space within the progressions to allow for the bigger picture to unfold.
Starmonger has formulated a saga with multitudes of layers to be peeled and is truly a testament to what three guys, their instruments, their aspirations, and vision can accomplish. To my ears, that accomplishment is a magnificent victory with Occultation.
Modoki is probably one of the most overlooked bands in de jam rock scene and indulges itself in transgressive krautrock and heavy psych that aims straight for an undiscovered solar system trillions of lightyears removed from planet earth. And you can take that quite literally. 幻術 げん幻·じゅつ, the band's third album, is another collection of instrumental jam sessions devoid of tactics or boundaries - a psychedelic trip into worlds that will forever be unknown to mankind with all tracks recorded in one take. No fancy editing, just a big, manic, lo-fi explosion that sounds like skin being tortured by a sandpaper machine. Usually a band doesn't get away with this approach, but when you realise that the Modoki rhythm section consists of bassist Mike Vest (a.o. HaiKai No Ku, OZO and Kaliyuga Express) and drummer Dave Sneddon (a.o. Blood Robots and Oi Polloi), while Mitsuru Tabata (of Acid Mothers Temple fame) handles the non-stop, fully improvised lead guitar duties, you know something special is happening here.
Tomorrow, November 15, will see the release of the new Acid Hags album Tempora Mantatur through Olde Scratch Records. But here on Stoner HiVe we are honored to have the opportunity to let you guys hear it today and immediately. That’s right, we’re honored to bring you the FULL ALBUM PREMIERE for that wild new Acid Hags album! The Croatian three are back with their third free form exploration. Tempora Mantatur is filled with progressive instrumental goodness. Freaky and frisky, psychedelic and jazzy, the eight tracks will make you mind go walkabouts and skipping gently down that yellow brick road… And forget everything about time and place... And place and time...
Waffle House of 1000 Corpses - End of All Life Self-released - 2024 Sludge, Noise, Minimal Doom, Experimental Doom Rated: ****1/2
The country where I live is famed for its waffles. It makes for a nice visual to imagine walking into your favorite waffle shop-come-tea room and find it fully packed with corpses, enjoying that delicious treat, leaving the digested remains of butter, flour and sugar left to rot on the tiled floor. It's a befitting scene for the aptly named New Jersey combo Waffle House of 1000 Corpses and its cadaverous assault of underground sludge noise and minimal doom.
After having released a debut ep titled 'Good Suffering' in 2023, they're back at the battle front for a sharp and enigmatic slab of sonic torture with debut full length 'End of All Life'. The album cover depicts a half skeleton/half corpse hooked to large chains and being pulled apart from all angles. It's exemplary for the contents of this wondrous beast that roughly consists of two halves, the first of which feels like someone's desperate attempt to escape an imminent death. Hammering sludge noise pretends to guide the protagonist through his struggles, but in fact slyly guides him towards the inevitable with a huge grin on the face. Be it by way of a pounding, almost industrial approach in 'John Hickey's Gun', the slow to mid-tempo dark noise of 'Unconscious' (with its spoken intro sample and roaring finale), or 'Army of Me', the most accessible of the bunch with a steady beat and Helmet-like bassline. The latter tune also acts as a last, convincing argument to lure the main character to 'The Chair' - a weird, growling, abstract, feedback-drenched instrumental interlude that marks the bridge to the second half.
From there on it seems like you're roaming in a transitional world between life and death accompanied by a slow, tuned-down soundtrack of experimental minimal doom with eyes looking at you from all angles, gathering information about whether or not you're qualified and lucky enough to get sucked into the underworld with the bliss of being surrounded by the alienating sounds of 'End of All Life' for all eternity. And when you listen to dark gems like 'The Doorstopper' and 'The Rhodes (Katabasis)', you try to act as scared as possible to be granted access, because this is an impressively idiosyncratic and brutal album that demands to be played over and over again on endless repeat in an appropriate environment.
Remember those crazy three from Gdańsk, Poland called Czechoslovakia? Delivering great albums likeHVST in 2019 and A'more back in 2021. Well, two of them boys linked up a female vocalist named Kat, and another dude, turned their sound in a more postpunk, crankwave, riot grrrl, and, errr, Brexitcore, direction, renamed themselves Loveworms and have created one hell of an addictive track called Falling For It. It’s got all that right rockin attitude. And gives you the idea that Amyl And The Sniffers and The Distillers can pack their bags and head on home…
The Kryss Talmeth Experience - When The Wheels Fall Off Kozmik Artifactz – 2024 Rock, Stoner, Blues, Psych Rated:
From the very beginning of ‘When The Wheels Fall Off’, The Kryss Talmeth Experience kicks in the door with one foot of stoner rock, with the second one planted firmly in heavy blues. The lyrics to ‘Jump in the River’ state “Feel the rhythm in your soul, feel that rhythm takin’ hold.” Well, you feel that rhythm of the bass and drums, playing together and off one another absolutely tearing it up. I can imagine the rumbling of a wooden stage in a small pub somewhere, if I were so lucky to attend a live show. You also feel the soulfulness of the blues dipped vocals, dripping like thick syrup with a minor amount of grit on the back end. The blues run so deep, even the guitar isn’t safe from its influence. When it’s not knocking out chunky distorted stoner riffs on rhythm, the leads are embedded with a mixture of it and a 70’s retro feel. ‘When The Wheels Fall Off’ is a seriously feel-good album encapsulating the rock ‘n roll spirit and its bluesy origins. The wheels are tightly secured upon this well-oiled machine, so hop upon and let The Kryss Talmeth Experience take you for a ride!
With everything going on around the world. Well. You get the idea. And since we occasionally did this little segment called The Cover That Could, where we mentioned stunning cover versions of certain rock songs. And also since we love those love them French five named CCQueen. Well, and for many more reasons, we have to link you up with their version of Pink Floyd’s Another Brick In The Wall. A righteous rendition of that absolute classic!
We’re back from our hiking trip. We took with us the entire back catalogue of albums to listen to from 2024, the latest Doom Charts edition and more. But because we were away for an entire week and could not publish the Most Listened List Last Week, we do it now. Cause on the road, we’re offline from the online scrobbling station. We have a ton of work to catch up on, but the Stoner HiVe show will commence again shortly…
From swimming in lava and dancing on the edge of the volcano...
We're back from a grand week hiking around a dormant volcano. Great weather, lovely people were met and loads of impressive nature. And ofcourse the proof that the giant volcano is only sleeping and not dead puts things in perspective... Loved it! And now... Only some 600 emails to go through the various accounts... Might take a day or two, but we will be swinging for the fences again soon!
We’re off… Off grid for a week. Hiking around and learning more about volcanoes! Not active ones like the one on the drawing. But long since extinct ones. And yes, albums by Volcanova and Puta Volcano are going wiht us. But we will surely be listening to the October Doom Charts on route and whenever the starry night calls for it... I mean, that Elephant Tree / Lowrider split seems perfect for that!
Shi – Pure Disgust Self released – 2024 Metal, Doom, Sludge Stoner Rated: ***
“Bael sounds scary in a fun way…” says Dex Zealot, age 10, after hearing the new Shi album called Pure Disgust. And he isn’t wrong. He says a whole lot more which can be read on the Shi bandcamp page. Where you can also go to hear the first single and title track Pure Disgust, for the rest of the album won’t come out till November 15th. But once that date arrives, you will be blasted by doom metal, sludge toned, all bleached and blackened by those guttural snarls. The four hail from Louisville, Kentucky and call their sound Deep Fried Doom 'n Roll, and yes, there’s still a bit of old rock ‘n roll roots somewhere buried between all the horror and the grime, just as you might discover a bit of blues and southern touches. And just as you are laying down, letting their sound bulldoze over you, fourth track Creature Comforts comes on. Already displaying a different kind of tension building from the get-go, it truly becomes this disgustingly beautiful thing once the trumpet hits. Offsetting all that darkness by a soaring rise. I love it! Grating ever further we hit an interlude that puts them riffs in a corner and after that the Zichronam track starts with different vocals; immediately giving you the idea to turn the other cheek. Which will leave you bloodied and bashed and in need of a trip to the hospital for reconstructive surgery. Bad Times. No, good times, but it’s the title of the final track on the album, the battleship closer of almost six minutes, that almost feels like a blackened sludge and doom opera in many ways. The different sections hooking into each other like arias, overtures and finales. Now, let’s go back and try and find Sookie Dog, so we can give her a biscuit…
“Trick or treat, smell my feet, give me some HEAVY FREAKING RIFFS”
~ (Probably misheard quote from a trick or treater)
And such doom we have! 40 new albums,
and many more voted on by the Doom Charts crew, are here to make you
squirm with dark delight this spooky season. Don your blackest t-shirt,
load up the candy bowl, and dim the lights, for doom is upon us!
Off on a little one week holiday soon. And we will take those forty amazing albums from the October Doom Charts with us for sure. A great edition once again. Featuring a few albums I voted for. But I could have voted for all of them. As usual. But of the ones that did make it, I had on my list: Methadone Skies, Santa Planta, Grand Magus, Eye of The Golem, Bozoo, Certain Death, Acid Rooster, Deer Lord, Black Elephant, Inche Kai Che, Lowen, Your Highness, Ruff Majik, Vokonis, High Reeper and that majestic split album by Elephant Tree and Lowrider. What a month once again! What a great time for heavy music!
Albums found on the October Doom Charts, with words already written on Stoner HiVe...
Welcome to Doom Charts,
representing some of the finest bloggers, journalists, radio,
podcasters and reviewers from the heavy underground around the globe.
Each month, our critics submit their picks for the best new doom,
sludge, metal, stoner, psychedelic and heavy rock albums. The results
are compiled and tabulated into the chart below. This is a one-stop
shop for the best new albums in the world…
Jerry Cantrell – I Want Blood Double J – 2024 Grunge, Hardrock, Stoner Rated: ****
I Want Blood was on my October list for the Doom Charts. I'm sorry it did not make it. And I'm sorry for what might seem like some minor boasting in the sentence that follows. But I’ve had the honor of talking with Mr. Cantrell a few times, but unfortunately not for this amazing new album. But I recently did have the pleasure of chatting with Mr. McKagan again. Besides his Lighthouse album and all the other stuff we talked about, McKagan also mentioned he was immensely proud and satisfied with the work he had done for the new Jerry Cantrell album I Want Blood. And rightfully so! For the nine songs on this album stand tall and make from his fourth solo record I Want Blood a monolithic listening experience. As the main man for everything Alice In Chains he has been the most important cog in the sound ever since the passing of frontman Layne Staley. Not just because he was always that other voice from the band, but also because of his layered and shifting guitar parts. And those sounds are once again present on the new album. With help from the earlier mentioned Duff McKagan, Robert Trujillo, Mike Bordin, Gil Sharone, Vincent Jones, Greg Puciato and Lola Colette. The result is a complete package, one strong record that shines with emotional vocal parts, whirling guitar work and always personal and provoking lyrics. I Want Blood sounds like the best of Jerry Cantrell, and it might just be the best he’s done. Hard-hitting, cutting and with the title track I Want Blood he shows us that the stoner rock and grunge sound have always been like brothers. Brothers from another mother!
Lowrider / Elephant Tree - The Long Forever Stonerrock, Progressive, Doom Blues Funeral Recordings Rated: *****
Let us suck honey from the flowers, from the clusters in our hands… I am not necessarily a big fan of split albums, but there are always a few that defy expectations and are so perfect they become this holy grail of demonstration. Of showing off the most beautiful sides of the bands involved. Both Lowrider and Elephant Tree have done this on The Long Forever. Sprouting into different territories, wildly blossoming and turning it into one of the most gorgeous releases both bands have ever done. And that’s saying something when you realize the magical albums already released by both bands. There are seven songs on The Long Forever. Elephant Tree delivers three songs and has Lowrider add magic on final, title track, The Long Forever. Lowrider delivers four songs and has Elephant Tree pitch in on their fourth track, which sits there, in the middle of the split, as the perfect collaborative piece. It’s called Through The Rift, the Lowrider guitar tones, euphoria inducing, languid early morning grooves and vocals delivered by Elephant Tree. It takes on this entirely hazy and almost dreamy attitude, with colors that shift like the sands of time. A night sky filled with falling stars and a moon that winks. And as it winks out, you feel the wish burning in your heart… Why couldn’t it last forever…
The Hard Quartet – The Hard Quartet Matador – 2024 Rock, Alternative, Indie, Postpunk, Garage, Stoner Rated: ****
They claim it’s a band… But I fear it’s another damn fine project which will probably not live that very long. One album, one tour? Maybe two? Highly doubtful. Cause the four members involved all have their other projects as well and probably see this little ditty as a fun thing on the side. Presenting themselves as The Hard Quartet we have Stephen Malkmus, Matt Sweeney, Emmett Kelly and Jim White. A project born during the pandemic but only came to fruition later because, as we already mentioned, the four have their other bands and projects as well. Pavement, Superwolves, Chavez, The Cairo Gang, Ty Segall, Dirty Three being their main ones, but the list is much longer. On The Hard Quartet they dance between those bands and they only seem to be really ‘hard’ whenever they do some fuzz rocking in songs like opener Chrome Mess, following Earth Hater or Renegade. All three written by Malkmus and echoing other albums he’s been involved with. Probably rubbing off the most on the sound, but still, the muddle of it all has this groovy kind of punk esthetic. And when a song like Killed By Death gives off weird miniscule echoes of Oh! Sweet Nuthin', a song by another short lived project called $10,000 Gold Chain, you've got my vote. Some roots, some alternative rock and country, a bit of postpunk, some fuzz, garage and a hint of stonerrock. A jumble, a mess, loose and probably very freeing. It must have been a blast recording this album.
They struck hard! A lasting bitemark, with venomous rings spreading outwards... Ever outwards! For you remember when Denver three Cobranoid delivered their debut album right? And that Stoner HiVe got to premiere the FULL ALBUM? And you have been listening to it ever since? Well, the boys are taking their ruckus on the road! Spreading their very own speed doom sound on a little mini tour in during November. Lucky bastards over there on the other side of the pond! Here's hoping they'll make it to Europe as well one day...
"MAXIMUM DOOM" presented by Dirty Rock & Roll Dance Party w/ Sonolith (Album Release Party!) Hands Of Oblivion
PR WIRE:
After releasing their crushing self-titled debut album on August 16th,
Cobranoid are bringing the venom out of Denver and into the American
Southwest this November!
With dates in Fort Collins CO, Grand
Junction CO, Tempe AZ, and Las Vegas NV, Cobranoid will sink their fangs
into new victims as they continue their quest to spread the mighty riff
far and wide.
