Florist – Adrift

 

 

Florist – Adrift
Threat Collection Records – 2025
Rock, Metal, Stoner, Doom, Prog, Psych
Rated: *****

When the honorable Rich Piva from Musipedia of Metal, FuzzDoomRip, Rich & Turbo’s Heavy Half Hour and of course the Doom Charts keeps raving about the new Florist album, you know you are going to need to revisit that album and come to grips with the fact that you might have missed something elemental there! And after having Adrift on repeat for the better part of the past week we can safely state we get where Rich is coming from! And where the Florist four are coming from! 

The first thing that hits me is the low-end rumble, the universal hum, the 432Hz, the frequency of cosmic truth. The Tampa four open Adrift by tuning the room, my brain and maybe the solar system itself. And just like that, I’m gone! Blasting through the stratosphere on riffs thick enough to bend gravity itself, a rhythm section pounding like war drums in zero-G and a madman behind a synth and theremin rig flicking switches like he’s trying to signal for contact on a distant planet! 

Man, this is serious! They know exactly what they are doing. Pushing familiar doom, psych, stoner, space rocking tropes through a wormhole and pulling out something so alive, so incredibly fun, it feels a little dangerous! Another Moon hits like a second track should, firing on all cylinders and making my neurons shift gear and lose grip on reality! The sound of four lunatics in perfect synch, bashing their way through a black hole with nothing but their smiles to keep them from losing their collective minds. 

Adrift is only six songs and only a half hour long, but who cares about numbers and who cares about time, when the walls seem to be melting all around you? We’re nearly in the fourth dimension. And feel like a brightly burning ball of light! Cause the entire release, despite the crazy grins, the incredible amount of enjoyment, moves with surprising grace. Final track Adrift (Part B) floats into orbit, with a majestic groove, shimmering, weightless, free. Like colliding galaxies the different layers wrap around each other, as the bassline’s gravitational field pulls it all together. Impacted by the meteor drums. Only a swallowing sun could become large enough to engulf these tracks and return them to the stardust form whence they came… 

Made from stardust, this star chasing space ship has every note soaked to the maximum with some  yet to be invented kind of rocket fuel. High, space rocking, psych trucking energy that benefits from volume levels that might cause another big bang somewhere beyond our own existence. In the end, the sheer exuberance and euphoria felt while listening to Adrift is the only way to know for sure that I wasn’t hallucinating. Florist have cracked open the frequency of cosmic truth and found some golden interstellar vein of groove. I’m hooked. 

(Written by JK)

Homepage

Bandcamp

Facebook

Instagram

Howling Giant – Crucible & Ruin

 

 

Howling Giant – Crucible & Ruin
Magnetic Eye Records – 2025
Rock, Prog, Metal
Rated: *****

Somewhere… At the very edge of creation, a novice god shapes a new world. Fragile, glowing, pulsing, imperfect. Below, a civilization rises from the dust that slowly settles, searching for meaning under the celestial skies. And far beyond the reach of this puny civilization, chaos stirs, twisting their fate in unseen ways. Further outwards, in the deepness of the void, a cosmic archivist watches with pen in hand, chronicling it all… Every triumph… Every fall… 

And even though Stoner HiVe has been jotting down words about Howling Giant ever since that first EP back in 2015, I am not that archivist. No, he or she is part of the universe created by the Howling Giant four on their brand new concept album, Crucible & Ruin. And it turns that cosmic myth into molten rock, burning riffs and flowing melody. The Nashville quartet, cause they are four now, since guitarist and synth player Adrian Lee Zambrano joined, have turned another corner in widening their scope. This time they’ve created an entire universe and lore to accompany it… 

It's been ten years since that first EP and they’ve kept delivering those beautiful tunes ever since. With The Space Between Worlds from 2019 and Glass Future from 2023 being absolutely stunning. That last one even coming as close to perfection as you can possibly want as a rock outfit. And now, only two years later, they’re back with Crucible & Ruin! Out this Friday, the 31st of October through Magnetic Eye Records. 

It all begins with Canyons, a storm of riffs and whirling melody. Born as the different members where demoing new material, the song instantly became a favorite among them. And it’s easy to see why. The guitars roar like tectonic plates shifting under divine hands, triple vocal harmonies soar and take the composition skywards. Canyons feels like the sound of creation itself, vibrant but so volatile, dangerous and so alive. 

The opener has a dizzying effect and plunges the listener into the turbulent heart of its universe. Following Hunter’s Mark and Archon up the ante with more aggression, channeling the chaos of gods at war, thunderous riffs, sharpened by all the clashes. A riff foundation from which the civilization might once again be built, dynamic and o’ so heavy, rumbling like ancient engines of creation. And then as we pass into the eye of the storm, moments of glistening beauty surface. Lesser Gods drifts like starlight through the debris, a melancholic instrumental, that shows the band’s softer side, offering a different story telling arc. The perfectly named Archivist, feels like a cosmic journal entry, a slow building of melody and texture that eventually erupts into a wild revelation. 

The cosmic puppet master is felt even more during the two finales that are Beholder I: Downfall and Beholder II: Labyrinth. It pulls the threads together in an epic display of scale and scope. The classic riffs giving way to spiraling guitar lines, winding and gliding, the narrative reaching its apocalyptic crescendo as gods and mortals meet their fates. Without any doubt, the addition of Adrian Lee Zambrano has been a master move, it reshapes their sonic DNA and offer even more layers and textures. Offering more interplay between the guitars, lush synth backdrops and the precise delivery of every riff. The sound of a band expanding ever outwards and inwards. Knowing their forte and exploring boundaries by dipping their toes over the edge… 

And where their former Glass Future album might have felt like a voyage through nebulae, Crucible & Ruin is there at the moment of creation, inside a star being born. Production that glows with clarity and composition that burn with severe purpose. Their newly created lore is a myth made through heaviness, that balances grandeur and harmony with aggression. And the result is heavy enough to shake the heavens and intelligent to stir every soul. Crucible & Ruin is a cosmic parable told with a shake and a rumble. And somewhere, in the deepness of the void, that celestial archivist must be smiling… As he or she listens to this symphony for the gods… 

(Written by JK)

Listen to the first three Crucible & Ruin singles right now... 

And come back for more Howling Giant this Friday, October 31st! 

Bandcamp

Facebook

Instagram

Magnetic Eye Records

 

Howling Giant – Howling Giant EP Review 

 

Howling Giant – The Space Between Worlds Review

 

Number 13 on the Stoner HiVe Top 20 Countdown of 2019

 

Number 5 on the Stoner HiVe Top 20 Countdown of 2023 

 

Pink Fuzz – Resolution

 

 

Pink Fuzz – Resolution
Permanent Teeth Records / Self-released – 2025
Rock, Stoner, Desert
Rated: ***

I’ve been following everything Alain Johannes touches for quite a few years now and have had the absolute honor of meeting up with him a couple of times. And whenever another project he’s involved with comes by, I sit up straight and get my Alain ears on. It’s the kind of ears that always  seem to open the heart, cause whatever Mr. Johannes touches, there is always this very honest and heartfelt quality to it all. 

And that can once again be said by the stoner pop three that go by the name of Pink Fuzz! A Denver sister/brother led trio that sweats heavy stoner rock, marries this to a bit of shoegaze, garage and implores that Palm Desert vibe to make it all gleam with pop sensible sparkles. That’s Resolution for ya, the new Pink Fuzz album and it’s resolute in showering you with stoner rocking fun.

There’s this dust-kicked, late night energy running through the album. The long-awaited second full-sized album by siblings LuLu and John Demitro with Forrest Raup on drums. They seem to channel the kind of desert born chemistry that feels equal parts instinct and atmosphere and seems to constantly nod at a certain era in the desert. It’s a record that hums like the old tube amps under the Mojave stars.

Their first album in some seven years, and Resolution comfortably picks up where their Vitals EP left off. But the sound is wider, richer and a tad more sunbaked. The ghost of certain influences might be fleeting, but the shadow of Queens Of The Stone Age looms big over quite a few tracks and riffs. Yet, Pink Fuzz turns those influences inside out and folds them inwards with a bit of shoegaze shimmer, doom weight and fuzz drips. 

The ten tracks offer loads of fun and even the most urgent ones never lose their looseness. Trigger,  Long Gone and Coming For Me move with that low slung desert strut, confident, unhurried and heavy in all the right places. Am I Happy? might start as that lonely voce in the canyon but then erupts into a sun-flare of guitars. And No Sympathy and Worst Enemy both bring sharp melody and raw nerve into the mix. 

Talking about the mix, this was done by Alain Johannes. Although we get the distinct impression he could not hold off on adding a few minor links and touches here and there. But we might be wrong about that. Even so, the album, produced by Kevin McKeown, captures a live-room warmth and ever snare hit, and fuzz pedal crackle feels tangible, like the band set up in the middle of nowhere and let the desert itself breathe through the mics. Like the old guard used to do. Like de Rancho De La Luna crew still does… 

And that spirit seems present, even though it wasn’t recorded there, but in 5th Street Studios in Austin, Texas, the album still feels so rough-edged, soulful and gloriously human. The three sound unfiltered, alive and have managed to turn fuzz into feeling and melody into motion. A record that will put a smile on your face, and an extra kick on your gas pedal as you drive off into the endless horizon…

(Written by JK)

Homepage

Bandcamp

Instagram

Linktree

Zhaat – Other Prophets

 

Zhaat – Other Prophets
Noisolution – 2025
Rock, Stoner, Psych, Kraut
Rated: ***

From the shadowed alleyways of Leipzig’s underground rises Zhaat. A band that breaths their sound in a ritualistic summoning. You've just put on their debut album Other Prophets and you feel the atmosphere that their wild hybrid of stoner rock, doom, post hardcore and middle eastern psychedelia conjures, a sound that hums with danger, mysticism and explosive catharsis. 

It all starts with Ramses, a song that drifts like a desert wind, slow, shimmering and scented with ancient smoke. Soon the ground cracks, the tempo swells and the vocals tear through the calm, shifting from whispered incantations into blood and fire screaming. They claim their stake on tension immediately, and they don’t build with it, they wield it, like a scimitar… 

And that splicing, that whirling, turns into a showcase of their art of contrast. With tracks like The Seer and Tikal being even grander examples of that art, flowing between hypnotic grooves and explosive breakdowns. Feeling that eerie melodic drone underneath, something that will forever resemble those Sufi ceremonies that went rogue. The pulsing heartbeat is delivered by the rhythm section and those shimmering mirages are brought to you by the guitars distortion and delicacy. 

Even at its heaviest, there is still that, the trance like pull drawing you into the sound of Zhaat. The chaos of Kante, the ritual frenzy of Divine Command deliver that heaviness as well as those parching visions. Vocals, sparse and often textural, echoing those ancient voices that fell from the walls of caves and are still the ghosts among the ruins. Often, you will feel like you are listening to the sounds of an ancient and forgotten rite. Played from found sonic glyph carvings on cracked clay tablets. For all of you that crave the spiritual side of heaviness, the ritual by riffs, Zhaat is the prophet you should follow…

(Written by JK)

Homepage

Instagram

Facebook

Bandcamp

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

 

 

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

Honeybadger
The Bateleurs
Shedfromthebody
Zhaat
Daytripper
Dërro
Motorpsycho
Moundrag
Dreams of Maya
Danakil Heat

For a moment there I had hoped last week would have had more time for HiVe stuff, but in the end we managed to do just a little bit. Same goes for upcoming week we fear. But we did a few cool write-ups and a rad Premiere. Did you check out that Full Album Premiere by Daytripper? We hope so, cause it’s damn great. And we also wrote a few words about their The Alchemist release of course. And besides that we mentioned Honeybadger, The Bateleurs and Moundrag. And then we had to head off into the storm. We’re back now, in one piece, and hope to send you into the right direction of some cool albums this week. But if you just go ahead and check out all of the ones listed above, we are pretty sure you won’t be disappointed! We love’m all! 

Honeybadger – Let There Be Light

 

 

Honeybadger – Let There Be Light
Sodeh Records – 2025
Rock, Stoner
Rated: ***

You will be getting momentary, minute or weird flashbacks from time to time to Red Fang, courtesy of a vocal melody, Queens Of The Stone Age because of some tones and riffs & Them Crooked Vultures cause of the breaks and groove. Shit, there are more of those muscle memory instances for different bands and albums as well. But does this hinder you loving the new album Let There Be Light by Greek quartet Honeybadger, hell no!

It's been five goddamn years since  their former album Pleasure Delayer and only now the Honeybadger four have managed to stumble out of the desert like an outlaw that saw the light. Did they know this was the way to go and the path out of the wasteland? Not sure, but they decided to bottle it anyway. Let There Be Light is their redemption, grungy yet clean, stoner yet catchy and loud enough to rearrange your dental work! 

The band and producer Alex Bolpasis have captured the sound with crystal clarity, yet all tightly wrapped in chaos. The twin guitars crash like locomotives and the bass is the rumble underneath. Offering the drummer the ability to hammer the demons out of town. Trumpet and trombone appear suddenly, like a mariachi band lost in the desert. 

Vocalist Dimitris Vardoulakis doesn’t sing as much as he prophesizes, half preacher, half coyote. His voice breaks across the horizon, carrying the dust of Kyuss, the swagger of Clutch and the sneer of Queens Of The Stone Age. And you remember that grunge we mentioned, it’s always there, like the dirt and grime underneath his fingernails. All smeared and angry, like that nineties alternative energy that makes you want to punch the gas and speed off into the sunset. 

And with many tracks the throttle will be wide open, although some will hit you like an i.v. laced with acid, turning your head into kaleidoscopic hangover mirage. And always, there’s exorcism by fuzz pedal and salvation through distortion. Wild? Yes. Heavy? Certainly. Catchy? You bet your ass! It often shines and sounds sophisticated, but you will feel this is that stonerrock gospel for the sinners. No cheap beers for this lot, but wine and port, and the lust to hear their poetry on hot nights, as the desert power lines hum somewhere in the distance. Every riffs feels like a confession and every groove grabs you like heat stroke. This is the kind of hallucination that punches back! 

(Written by JK)

Homepage

Bandcamp

Facebook

Instagram

Youtube

 Read about Pleasure Delayer HERE

 

FULL ALBUM PREMIERE Daytripper – The Alchemist

 

 

FULL ALBUM PREMIERE

Daytripper – The Alchemist

Did you notice what we announced this afternoon?! That’s right! We’ve got another FULL ALBUM PREMIERE for you all! Thanks to Good Boy PR we can hit you all up with the four track, almost thirty minute long EP The Alchemist by Phoenix, Arizona five-piece Daytripper! Out, Friday October 24th, through Glory Or Death Records, this is ritualistic Doom you have been waiting for! Well, the wait is over! Press play on The Alchemist and hear all that mystical gold! 

And you can read that little write-up we did by scrolling down or clicking HERE! 
 

PR Wire:

Daytripper conjures earth-crushing desert stoner doom from the sands of Phoenix, Arizona. Last year, the release of their debut LP, “Book I: The Trip”, beckoned to doom worshipers worldwide with infectious riffs and mystifying lore. Their upcoming project, “The Alchemist”, evolves and progresses the doom palette while further illuminating the backstory of a core character from Book I. The new EP steeps Daytripper’s doom core in a concoction of psychedelic locrian modes, enchanting synthesizers, and nod-inducing sludge.

Title track “The Alchemist” tantalizes listeners with the most iconic components of the new Daytripper sound. Accompanying the single is a narrative music video that transports onlookers into the smoke-filled study of the Alchemist, summoning all to bear witness to his forbidden experiments.

2025 has been the most dynamic chapter for Daytripper. The year began with a welcoming of the band’s newest sages: The Seer and Warrior Sage. The Seer Sage’s ethereal vocals and hypnotic synthesizer tones with the Warrior Sage’s pummeling grooves behind the kit elevated this new era of Daytripper. This year also saw the sages bring their ritualistic live performance beyond the Sonoran Desert with two tours.

In Spring, the Trippers joined Denver’s Green Druid on a tour of the Southwest. Then the sages embarked on a Summer Pilgrimage to rumble the foundations of Maryland Doom Fest’s final, triumphant year. New sages, new audiences, and an expansive new sound carve a path towards the beginning of a new era.

Daytripper - The Alchemist

EP out October 24th, 2025
Self-released (Digital, CD)
Phoenix, Arizona, US
FFO: Windhand, Bell Witch, Slower, YOB

Tracklist:
1. The Alchemist (6:16)
2. A New Leaf (5:14)
3. Ruinous Opus (8:13)
4. Hubris (8:59)

"The Alchemist" music video out now

Daytripper is:

The Scribe Sage - Vocals, Guitar, Violin
The Pírate Sage - Guitar
The Rogue Sage - Bass
The Warrior Sage - Drums
The Seer Sage - Vocals, Synth, Guitar

Bandcamp

Facebook

Instagram

Linktree

Glory or Death Records 

 

Daytripper – The Alchemist

 

 

Daytripper – The Alchemist
Glory or Death Records – 2025
Metal, Doom, Sludge, Stoner
Rated: ****

We are honored to present to you, in a few hours… The FULL ALBUM PREMIERE for Daytripper’s The Alchemist! Out on October 24th through Glory Or Death Records we thank Good Boy PR for the opportunity to share this shimmering doom beauty with you all today! 

For with these four The Alchemist tracks, Daytripper transmutes raw elements into sonic doom gold. Not a mere collection of songs, but a ritual. Four incantations forged in the crucible of Doom, Sludge and Stoner Metal. Enriched by blackened essences and hallucinogenic, weedian vapors. 

Opening rites The Alchemist and A New Leaf immediately make clear the band has moved beyond earthly genre conventions. Harsh, infernal vocals clash with hauntingly clean ones. The Scribe Sage conjures guttural growls from deep down in the abyss, while The Seer Sage channels ethereal harmonies, like a mystic invoking the aether. The voices, alchemical opposites, bind the light and shadow into one volatile compound. 

The way the mix sonic reagents is definitely daring. Proto-metal, Prog, Jazz and Drone get mixed through the swirl in a cauldron filled to the brim with doom, sludge, fuzz and feedback. Strange sound drift on its gaseous bulbs, like arcane relics, enriching the otherworldly textures and enhancing the spiritual journey. 

As we progress through Ruinous Opus and Hubris, the music descends deeper into the dark. Lead heavy riffs rumble like ancient incantations and all of it vibrates with seismic force. But even amid this sinking, flashes of psychedelic energy spark like philosopher’s fire, and hand you momentary revelations in the gloom. 

Even with its mere thirty minutes, The Alchemist feels like a fully realized magnum opus. Every note, every passage comes across as the perfect transmutation of sound into something powerful. Chaos turned to order, all focused on bringing you the perfect doom atmosphere. Sonic alchemists indeed, how they turn the base influences into something transcendent. Daytripper has completed their ritual, the legendary substance found and with it turned their sound into nothing short of gold… 

(Written by JK)

Bandcamp

Facebook

Instagram

Linktree

Glory or Death Records 

The Bateleurs – A Light In The Darkness

 

 

 

The Bateleurs – A Light In The Darkness

Discos Macarras Records – 2025

Rock, Blues

Rated: ***

There’s something wild and uncontrollable about the Portuguese blues rock warriors The Bateleurs. Uncontainable since they dropped their The Immanent Fire back in 2018. But still, it still feels like their sound has been rumbling underneath the earth, building and waiting, for the right time to explode. The full-sized debut The Sun In The Tenth House felt like a punch in the gut, but the new A Light In The Darkness pins you against the wall and demands you complete attention. 

Ten tracks of raw, yet o’ so soulful, blues rock swagger. Thick riffs that grind like leather, basslines that throb deep in your chest, and drums that crack like a whip. But their ace in the hole, their secret weapon is without a doubt the beautiful voice of Sandrine Orsini. A touch of smoke, fierce, proud, hypnotic and commanding. Able to whisper sweet nothing into your ear one moment and then leading the army into battle like a roaring banshee. There aren’t many that have that gift. 

Riffs a plenty and solo work so beautiful you would love to hear it continue for another wild minute. All courtesy of the new guitarist Ricardo Galrão, who has sounding like a razorblade down to an art. And then there are those tracks that implore the aid of the Hammond, wailing and grooving, slide guitars crying over it and a rhythm section that becomes the heartbeat of that party in your ears. 

And at the moment you get comfortable and bask in the glory of their blues rock you arrive at the final, bonus, track of the album. Before The Morning Is Done shows The Bateleurs at the most fragile, delivering something satin, like an acoustic ghost of a song, with Irish flute and violin weaving through Orsini’s barely-there breath of a vocal. The calm after the storm, for stormy it is. The entire album, tempestuous and thundering, uncut blues rock power. The Bateleurs aren’t just playing the blues, they are living it and once they’ve gotten hold of you, they won’t let you go. They don’t need to twist your arms; they’ve got that blues rock gold. They’ve got A Light In The Darkness… 

(Written by JK)

Bandcamp

Linktree

Instagram

Facebook

Moundrag – Deux

 

 

Moundrag – Deux
Spinda Records – 2025
Rock, Prog
Rated: ***

There’s a certain electricity that pulses through Deux. The kind of spark that feels untamed, theatrical and completely alive. Which immediately takes its cue from the opening, welcome to the circus, kind of drum intro called Stormdrummer. And with nothing but drums and organ, Moundrag, the French brother duo, create an extremely and almost complete full-bodied sound that seems to defy the simplicity of their setup. Their second full-sized album is a wild and danceable plunge into world built from swirling melodies, thunderous rhythms, pop-sensible hooks and a fearless commitment to their sonic vision. 

Stormdrummer opens the curtain to their strange and vivid dream, explosive and practically glowing. And that sense of showmanship continues on following The Cavemen, seventies and proggy, it strikes with immediate energy and enjoyment, the grand gestures turning into  something set for the biggest stages. Continuing on Changes and going even more operatic once Limbo hits. Pulling the listener through elaborate passages of light and shadow, tension and release. The band doesn’t shy away from excess, in fact, they revel in it. Their sound is ornate, dense, and unapologetically flamboyant, often bordering on the surreal.

And there is so much show of control, tight arrangements, razor-sharp musicianship. And the seemingly instances of chaos, are all created in their own august taste and careful design. Even the album’s most outrageous moments, there is always that clear purpose, a sense that every swell, shift or dramatic pause is intentional and deserved. 

But as always, this maximalist take might not be for everyone. Over the top? Perhaps. At times, the album’s bombastic style and sweeping dynamics might feel overwhelming. Even with the two, the sheer intensity of it all might drown it all out. But for those willing to embrace the ride, it can be spectacular, for these are the qualities that bring Deux to life. Softer moments are there to show that the Moundrag two can do even more, that they aren’t just performers of grand spectacle, but also artists with range, depth and sensitivity. 

Moundrag’s Deux is bold and a celebration of musical imagination and dramatic flair. They don’t play it safe, they go all out. Proudly. Built from vintage tones and thespian energy, they evoke a sense of wonderment that feels rare and is without any doubt refreshing. For some it might serve as the perfect palate cleanser. It might leave you awestruck or just a bit dazed. Either way, you will be thoroughly entertained. 

(Written by JK)

Bandcamp

Instagram

Facebook

Spinda Records

 

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

 

 

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

Shit The Cow
Cardiacs
War
Cosmic Reaper
Anna von Hausswolff
Khan
Pink Fuzz
Dozer
Triptonus
Danakil Heat

Monday again! And another week where we only had a limited amount of time to HiVe! But those few posts were goddamn special, in my humble opinion! That wild Quick Fire Fridday segment by our very own Ronny Dijksterhuis. We wrote about that damn doomed and delightful Danakill Heat release. And di no less than two Full Album Premieres! I hope you dug into the scorching War album VeniVidiWar and that beautiful album Bentrees called Silver Veins!? We wrote a few words about it a week before and we read some gorgeous words about the album by Stephanie ‘Doomcakes’ Zalta at Screaming From The Heavy Underground as well! Go check’m out and all of the albums listed above! You might just dig’m?! I know I do! 

Stoner HiVe’s Quick Fire Friday

 

Stoner HiVe’s Quick Fire Friday 

Welcome to another very special Friday... And a very special Quick Fire Friday! For it is dilligently delivered by our very own heavy rock poet: Ronny Dijksterhuis. That's right! Below you will find nine of his tips, hits and addictions. A handful of words to entice you to listen to that single, EP or Album! So here it is… Ronny's second ever Stoner HiVe’s Quick Fire Friday! And it burns hot like molten lava!

...

Because we like to stay busy here at Stoner Hive and want to give you as much directions to to the unholiest of the unholy from the deepest pits of hell, we've cooked you up another edition of Stoner HiVe’s Quick Fire Friday. Packed to the brim with goodies that you might not have heard yet or aren't highlighted enough according to our weird and twisted brains that have been dipped in drums, bass and guitars for much, much longer than even we can remember. By now, you've probably all heard that fantastic, heavy psych knockout punch that's Australian power rock trio EMU's new single 'Yowie's Gold'. (LISTEN HERE) No need to highlight that one here, but if you haven't heard it yet, make sure to check it out. And now, without further ado, let's fire on all cylinders and prolong our quest of adding interesting releases to an ever expanding ritual of trying to landscape those things that don't want to be defined in this godforsaken world. It's Quick Fire Friday time, baby! 

 

Haal - Tomorrow

After an ep and a single Singapore band Haal are in the process of making an album. Recently they released two songs as a double single package through their Bandcamp page (NYP). With an organic mix of NWOBHM, Sabbathian doom, Hellacopters-style Scandinavian rock and a raspy throat to match, they show they mean business and immediately grab your attention. That album is definitely one you should all be looking forward to. 

Bandcamp

Instagram

 

Gros Coeur - Montréal

Belgian exotic psychedelic rock outift Gros Coeur is set to release its second album on November 21st through Jaune Orange, Le Cèpe Records, Spinda Records and Stolen Body Records. 'Montréal' is the first single that starts as a mellow pychedelic rock song, infused with exotic sounds that can be placed somewhere halfway Turkish traditional music and West-African blues, before it goes into an all out heavy psych frenzy. For fans of Altın Gün and Buzz' Ayaz.

Bandcamp

Facebook

Instagram

EndrE - demo_4

The description of EndrE on their Bandcamp page is as 'inviting' as they come: "A bit weird but not so crap." Well, let's check it out then. And indeed, it's a bit weird and hard to put into one box or another. So that part is 100% true. But we can't support the second bit, as the fourth demo of this Hungarian band is not only not so crap, but actually really good with influences ranging from stoner rock, grunge and modern alternative rock to new wave and even some dream pop. How it works once those influences are put together in a blender remains a mystery, but it does work. Put on your melancholy shoes and start immersing yourself in Endre's dark, esoteric, yet surprisingly heavy sound.

Bandcamp

Instagram

Killer Wives - Velvet Inferno

Killer Wives is a stoner rock duo, hailing from Utrecht, The Netherlands. On their new ep 'Velvet Inferno' they fire three new songs at you in just over 10½ minutes. A short, compact and melodic clash between heavy stoner rock grooves and nineties noise rock that makes the name Helmet pop into our eargasmic brains. Great stuff that's not only melodic, but also highly energetic and utterly addictive.

Bandcamp

Facebook

Instagram

Barbarian Hermit - Redux

Barbarian Hermit's 'Redux' release came to fruition because drummer Gaz had to record and mix a full song for a University course in music production. While they were at it, they decides to re-record not one, but two older songs with the current line-up. The end result is nothing less than stunning. The execution and production are fantastic and give the songs 'Del Toro' (before recorded as 'Beyond the Wall') and 'Burn the Fire Redux' an extra oomph that'll run over you like a horde of Wildebeasts on an rampage - a mix of thunderous, head-nodding stoner/doom, sludgelike passages and an undercurrent of postrock goodness. Raw vocals with a guttural edge and captivating guitar leads make the picture complete and should make you click the link below before you can even finish reading th....

Bandcamp

Facebook

Instagram

 

Dungeön - Hypnosis / A Ritual

On this one it's classic doom in the vein of Electric Wizard and Sons of Otis ringing those hypnotic bells destined to spice up even the most notorious Satanic ritual known to the undead who roam this earth. With mostly slow, rupturing riffs, cooked to perfection in a cauldron tucked away deep inside their bewitched dungeon, this aptly named British three-piece knows how to make you freaking lose your mind with frightening sounds, yet still draw you into the weird and twisted world they create with the two tracks on this almost 20 minute long ep. One advice to close this little blurb: ingest with care, else you might as well buy a one way ticket to the underground, because you'd definitely need it.

 

Bandcamp

Facebook

Instagram

 

 

 
Barren Heir - Meddling Body

'Meddling Body' is the opening track and first single of Barren Heir's upcoming (third) full length 'Far From', with a projected release date of November 7th 2025. It's a brutal slab of technical sludge metal with a bit of high-octane noise rock and some hardcore thrown in for good measure. Really superb and a good reason to mark the aforementioned date in your calendar. Or, better still, pre-order the album if you dare.

Bandcamp

Facebook

Instagram

 

 

Wizard Master - Scorpio Rising

Italian melodic stoner/doom band Wizard Master are working on a new album titled 'Vitriol' and released a first appetiser at the end of August. 'Scorpio Rising' is a track with an undeniable groove. The obvious early doom influences are there (Black Sabbath, Trouble, The Obsessed), but somehow Wizard Master manages to let that famed Southern European heat and brightness come in from various angles to give it a slightly more upbeat feel without really speeding things up.

Bandcamp

Facebook

Instagram

 Can Your Machine Do This? - Fuck You Daniel Ek

If you want to do some charity work, than click the link to this song. It's gritty stoner/sludge with vocal screams that roam somewhere between hardcore and black metal, while the entire thing is being approached with a true punk attitude. 'Fuck You Daniel Ek' is only one minute and twenty seconds long, but nonetheless the ultimate stand against Spotify's warmongering puppet master. That alone makes this a must to check out.

Bandcamp

FULL ALBUM PREMIERE - War – Venividiwar

 

 

FULL ALBUM PREMIERE

War – Venividiwar

Surprise! Another FULL ALBUM PREMIERE coming at you today! We’re talking about the totally awesome and completely powerful Venividiwar album by Leipzig, Germany three War! Insane time signatures, stoner rocking, doom trucking, math core touches, progressive, shoegaze and so many different vocals and vocal layers you will be envisioning hundreds of War members! Eight tracks that maul you and caress you, and chop your head off! Surprise! 

Venvidiwar, War’s second full-length album, is a noisy, sludgy rollercoaster through a chaotic landscape of Doomgaze, Stoner, Fuzz, and genre-hopping madness. It sounds like someone threw Screamo, Punk, Hardcore, and a bag of distortion pedals into a blender.. And forgot to put the lid on! It's everywhere! Look at that ceiling! Who's gonna clean that up? The raw, DIY production makes everything feel deliciously unpolished, like your favorite ripped-up band shirt, torn asunder from too many pits. From the opening track, there’s an industrial hum lurking beneath the riffs, like a hyperactive robot on quaaludes trying to join a doom band. Despite the sonic chaos, War manages to sneak in emotionally heavy moments, with vocals that shift from a scream to a soul-crack in seconds. Lyrically, it’s part political shout, part diary entry from a particularly loud thunderstorm. The album finishes with a sludge-soaked bang, the final three songs rumble like angry ogres with guitars. Venvidiwar is weird, wild, and wonderfully warped, a headbang-worthy punch to the feels! 

PR Wire:

VENIVIDIWAR

WAR is back. And they're bringing a record that comes with more shades of distortion than your social life. VENIVIDIWAR – an emotional, genre-blending beast drawing from Shoegaze, Doom, Screamo, Stoner, Math Rock and Prog. Back in the day, when things were still mainstream, people might have called it Alternative – in a fair world, we'd simply call it Doomgaze. After their 2023 debut, which also featured six tracks from their side project Deibel on the B-side, the trio from Leipzig opens a new chapter. Their sound stretches from melancholic soundscapes to raw, catchy energy, all the way to crushing heaviness. Caught between political darkness and personal grief, their lyrics cut deep into the fractures of our time. Condensed world-weariness. The anger simmers beneath the surface, but now and then, a glimpse of hope breaks through. All delivered with an intensity that lingers in your gut.

Bound by a love for sheer volume and complex rhythms:

Arvid (Lingua Nada & Oat), Fred (Trecker) and Tim (Nikita Curtis). For those who crave loud music, odd time signatures and the beauty of controlled chaos.

Instagram

Facebook

Linktree

Bandcamp

Good Boy PR

FULL ALBUM PREMIERE - Bentrees - Silver Veins

 

 

FULL ALBUM PREMIERE 

Bentrees - Silver Veins 

 

Here we are! And absolutely psyched and honored to present you all with, the FULL ALBUM PREMIERE for the brand new Bentrees! It's called Silver Veins and will be out on Argonauta Records this Friday, 17th of October! A grand album that takes the listener on an adventure, on a journey inwards. The stoner-psych duo from Iglesias on the Italian island of Sardinia have created a beautiful album that will leave you breathless on many levels. Get comfortable, sit down, lie down, get those headphones out. Press play and close your eyes...

Read the Full Review for Bentrees - Silver Veins HERE 

 

PR Wire:

After a short hiatus from the studio, Sardinian stoner/psych duo Bentrees are back with a brand new single, “The Sky Never Dies”, out now via Argonauta Records. The track marks a powerful return for the band and offers the first glimpse into their upcoming full-length album Silver Veins, which will be released later this year.

Known for their intense and soulful blend of 70s-inspired hard rock and 90s/2000s-style stoner vibes, Bentrees once again deliver a song that fuses heavy, fuzzy riffs with psychedelic textures, introspective lyrics and a raw, earthy energy rooted in their native Sardinia.

The band, formed in Iglesias in 2012 and restructured as a duo in 2014, is composed of Riccardo Podda (guitar, vocals) and Mauro Cocco (drums). Over the years, their reputation has grown steadily thanks to electrifying live performances and a unique sonic identity that draws from both desert rock tradition and a more personal, atmospheric storytelling approach.

They have shared the stage with genre pillars such as Yawning Man, Black Rainbows, The Cosmic Dead and The Spacelords, leaving a mark with their compelling presence.

“The Sky Never Dies” is more than a comeback. It is a statement of artistic growth, a bridge between the band's previous acclaimed album Two of Swords (2021, Argonauta Records) and what promises to be a daring new chapter.

Further details about Silver Veins, their third studio effort, will be announced soon. In the meantime, “The Sky Never Dies” is available on all major platforms and serves as a compelling invitation to step back into the vast sonic universe of Bentrees.

For fans of Yawning Man, Colour Haze, Brant Bjork, and psychedelic desert rock with a soul.

Bandcamp

Instagram

Facebook

Argonauta Records

Grand Sounds PR