Stoner HiVe’s Top 10 Most Listened Albums Last Week

 

 

Stoner HiVe’s 

Top 10 Most Listened Albums Last Week

Mojave Lords
Hypernaut
Foo Fighters
Dozer
Miss Lava
Spelljammer
Vokonis
Starified
Komatsu
Around The Fire

Hypernaut – Ozymandias

 

 

Hypernaut – Ozymandias
Self released – 2020
Rock, Grunge, Alternative, Stoner, Metal, Punk
Rated: ****

When the Peruvian Hypernaut released their new record Ozymandias all those months ago, back in December 2020 we noticed all the different Doom Chart Contributors mentioning the album on their perspective websites, blogs and social media channels. We took notice and knew something cool would be going on, on those nine tracks. But since December is taken up by the Stoner HiVe Top 20 Countdown; we jotted the name down on a list of many to listen to once the Countdown would be done. And we have been doing that ever since! Man, what an album! Ozymandias starts off with a proper smash ‘n grab, action packed track called Panic Attack. It’s a prelude to all the speedy grunge and thrashy stoner that is coming your way on the other eight tracks. There is more Nirvana and Kyuss here than ever heard before in one place and all that mixed with some eighties metal influences and nineties alternative. Sublime melodies and punk-thick fuzz finish off any lingering resistance to this king of kings release. Listen to Hypernaut’s works, oh weirdos, and despair; for once the grand title track finale had dissipated into the sands of time; you will realize there is little as raw and as real as this out there. And to think this is only a debut…

(Written by JK)

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Wormhog – Yellow Sea

 

Wormhog – Yellow Sea
Self released – 2020
Rock, Prog, Metal, Stoner, Proto
Rated: ****

Today the origin of the universe is explained by proposing a big bang, a single event that instantly brought into being all the matter from which everything and everyone are made. The ancient Greeks had a different idea. They said that it all started not with a bang, but with chaos. Was chaos a god? A divine being? A simple state of nothingness? Whatever it was, I don’t know, I wasn’t there. I was there however for another kind of big bang! For they burst forth from that ancient democracy called Greece and took the December Doom Charts by storm. We’re talking about four-piece Wormhog and their first self-released full-sized album Yellow Sea. Recalling the early metal years with ease and infusing it all with loads of proggy elements and a majestic groove; the eight tracks on Yellow Sea use the fuzz to melt form into their compositions filled with hardrock and stoner riffs; swirling melodies and churning guitar lines. Rich, varied and with megalithic grace the tracks all fuse together to become this one entangled feeling of: ‘this is as good as it gets’. And like all ancient Greek heroes they will have known, in their bones for the past five years as they were working on this album that it was destined for greatness. Wormhog is the new star in the heavy cosmos... 

(Written by JK)

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Stoner HiVe’s Quick Fire Friday

 

 

Stoner HiVe’s Quick Fire Friday

It’s time for another Quick Fire Friday round! As mentioned before; we continue to glance backwards during January as well as moving forward. Cause there was still so much released last year we never got around to mentioning. Well, we’re gonna try and get some of that done today! And we know, we know, the albums and bands deserve more than the few words we will jot down here. More attention and more of our time! But there is so much out there and we just simply cannot ever do it all justice. So here it is. The Stoner HiVe Quick Fire Friday! And its burns hot like molten lava!

 

Lenin – FUCK IT Part 1 - Times Have Been Worse...

It is done. He is gone. We are finally looking towards a future where there is once again a small glimmer of hope. And just as that happens, we get thrown into the insanity that is Lenin and their Fuck It, Part 1 – Times Have Been Worse release. “This is your postscript roadmap to the (first four?) years of the Trump-branded zeitgeist of late-capitalism.” And that it indeed is! How fitting! Grimy punk poetry and sludgy madness with industrial and core influences. Yes, this is the lunacy of the past four years translated into garage prose! And when Smoked Cheese Records is involved one knows the punk will be hectic, weird and strangely addictive!  

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 Druida – Druida

We can be fairly short about this one man intensely atmospheric ambient doom drone project from Barcelos, Portugal. It’s good and it’s meditative! It's Druida! Check it out and check out for a big half hour…

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Inferous – Somos La Noche

Inferous is a three-piece stoner doom formation from Argentina. On their debut full-sized release Somos La Noche, the ten tracks majestically weave heavy psychedelic influences through all the darkness and the haze. And the album is a continues play; which in gives the record an extra trippy effect. A wild ride into the night!

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Lost Relics – Unrealistic Cause

The four hail from Denver, Colorado and deliver some incredibly heavy stoner and sludge with some doom infused. On their new single and video Unrealistic Cause they look at the world through Reduce Viewer and turn the binoculars on the indifference and capitalist system. And we could not applaud the four from Lost Relics more. Let’s just hope that one day we can do away with all the bullshit, world wide and live in harmony. Which in turn might be unrealistic hope…

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Mather – This Is The Underground

Out through the Violence In The Veins label is the debut album by Greek four-piece Mather. It’s called This Is The Underground and it is heavy prog and heavy atmospheric goodness. It soon becomes a sort of healing affair, bristling with invention the compositions switch between heavy riffs and a delirious cacophony of groove and crazed keyboards. These guys know how to thrill!

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 Seum / Fátima split 7'

In need for something even more grimy, gritty or grungy? Check out the new Seum / Fátima seven inch split record. Seum, the doom and bass trio from Montreal deliver the pure screamo, twisted and dark take on heavy doom. It’s certainly a racket and there’s little color in their world of shades; but sometimes we all need the darkness to swallow us whole. Fátima delivers the grunge, the garage, the thrashy guitars and the curiously addictive Nirvana-esque melodies. And guess what, they’re both covering each others tracks! What a wild and wonderful idea! Hey guys, how about a bigger EP or album of this?

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Komatsu - Rose of Jericho

 

 

Komatsu - Rose of Jericho
Heavy Psych Sounds - February 2021
Sludge, stoner, blues
Rated: ****

Now on their fourth full-sized LP, Dutch sludge rockers Komatsu deliver their most mature and nuanced record yet with "Rose of Jericho". Their trademark grinding, quaking tone and low end are still very much alive, but added to the mix is a greater sense of melody and a touch of the blues. Leading cut "Stare Into The Dawn" delivers the goods without delay in a serpentine riff. The expansive, crushing tone abates in quieter moments, however, that highlight the crisp and confident vocals, one of the album's many strengths. Follow-up "Solitary Cage" then doses a shot of adrenaline, churning out a seething, chugging attack over relentless drums of war. From front to back, "Rose of Jericho" spans a range of heavy, allowing Komatsu to show off their songcraft and ability to pulverize and hypnotize in equal measure. Case in point, the minimalistic "Son of Sam" bounces along with dirty, straightforward blues, before the title track then veers into instrumental territory. A heady mix, the track is rife with eerie Western stylings and fiery guitar leads. The best is saved for last, however, with the penultimate "Call Of The Wolves". A lurking tune that patiently builds, the vocals and drums menacingly spell out a looming sense of danger before the cathartic, crashing chorus arrives. Komatsu have yet another rock solid album on their hands with "Rose of Jericho", still maintaining the savage power of their debut while flexing a knack for songcraft and atmosphere.

(Written by Shasta Beast)

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Stoner HiVe’s Top 10 Most Listened Albums Last Week

 

 

Stoner HiVe’s 

Top 10 Most Listened Albums Last Week

Hvalross
Komatsu
Miss Lava
Starified
Croak
Mojave Lords
The Swell Fellas
Karma Sutra
The Ginger Faye Bakers
Gaffa Gandhi

Hvalross – Cold Dark Rain

 

 

Hvalross – Cold Dark Rain
Self released – 2020
Rock, Hard, Metal, Prog, Stoner, Alternative
Rated: ***

Despite Hvalross meaning Walrus in Norwegian the four-piece band hails from the south of the Netherlands and actually partly from my neck of the woods. The four have already earned their spurs together in bands such as The Lower Lifeforms, Oker and The Astral Travellers. Where they always used heavy rock as their guide, but with all kinds of different influences. Indie, Prog and even Pop should therefor all be coursing through their veins; but of those its mostly the Prog love that’s still highly audible in the new incarnation Hvalross and their debut album Cold Dark Rain. On which they incorporate, this time around, hardrock, stoner, metal and even some sludge. There is no wrestling with limits of a certain genre here; they just incorporate them all. It’s the melody, harmony and the choirs that stands out most when first listening to the entire album, before you get caught up in the heavy side and their nudges towards something epic. Their love for everything metal shines through and with productional aid of Walter Poppelaars from that little old band called Otis it all sounds intensely precise and elegant. We hear where they are coming from, love what they’re doing and we hear what’s still a bit submerged. Part of the destiny that seems to be lying in wait for these guys seems not that completely pronounced yet, but there is definitely a gigantic beast just beneath the surface and if the boys drink the poison and make that Faustian deal; there next record will definitely be the best of that year!

(Written by JK)

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Howls From The Hollow is turning into a tsunami of wails…

 

Howls From The Hollow 

is turning into a tsunami of wails…

Our very own Reek of STOOM went on to write for Doomed & Stoned and the Doom Charts as well before turning his own august taste into a weekly playlist called Howls From The Hollow. He has now after joining the HiVe some two years ago turned his shrieks, his screams and his cries into even more Howling. Cause as of yesterday Howls From The Hollow also has a wixsite that provides you will all the necessary link and more importantly; will feature all kinds of crazy writing by Reek. First up is a review of the new Ripple Music released Starified album Fat Hits! He wrote about their earlier release Feathers back when he had only joined the HiVe for a few months. Fat Hits is bigger, bolder and grandiose! Or as Reek says: “Then comes the first single release, "Don Loco", a story of descent into madness replete with Vadim's powerful vocal delivery captures Starified's sound implicitly: Heavy, groovy and catchy.” Go visit the Hollow, read up on Starified and get lost in its echo chamber of heaviness! 

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Stoner HiVe’s Quick Fire Friday

 

 

Stoner HiVe’s Quick Fire Friday

It's Friday somewhere right?! The first Quick Fire Friday of 2021! We continue to glance back at 2020 for the duration of January or most of January that is. Before going forward into this hopeful year of 2021. So yeah, let’s get crackin’ cause there is still so much out there that should have been mentioned earlier, sooner and with more words. So, we will have to make due with some fast action. Some Quick Fire Friday action! So here we are! And we know, we know, the albums and bands deserve more than the few words we will jot down here. More attention and more of our time! But there is so much out there and we just simply cannot ever do it all justice. So here it is. The Stoner HiVe Quick Fire Friday! And its burns hot like molten lava!

Boveda Del Sol – Traveler Between Worlds

The two-track release Traveler Between Worlds came out in the middle of December and give you almost fifteen minutes of adventurous space doom and experimental sludge. All of it done under the moniker Boveda Del Sol and by one lone ethereal cowboy from Barcelona, Spain called Jordi Vaquero. Earning his spurs in the Mindust band, his new project retains that colossal and monastic atmosphere and opens everything up to more drone and more exploration. The two track heralds the coming of more; and we cannot wait to hear more!

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Strider – The Unfallen

Italian metalcore using thrash and symphonic influences and more. Black, death and more. We’re mentioning an album called The Unfallen here by Italian six-piece Strider from Perugia. It is not exactly the kind of genres we usually mention or listen a lot to; but there is something quirky here that has us sitting up and paying attention. We think it’s the symphonic part; giving the grime and filth something beautiful and giving it all enough air to breath. And the vocals are pretty eccentric as well, not just your normal almost indecipherable roars, no, all kinds of different effects used. In need for something different? Check out Strider!

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Ikitan – Twenty-Twenty

Bella zio! More Italians on the loose! We’re listening to Ikitan’s twenty minutes and twenty seconds lasting instrumental prog rock and post metal adventure called Twenty-Twenty. The three from Genua make this a very special debut ride! Formed out of a spontaneous jam session the track delivers grade a tension arc’s and auditory orgasms! Ikitan, celebrate the mystical by delivering something that sounds like it’s capturing the enormousness of the universe. Simply stunning!

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Necromancers DeathTrip – Bad Weather Rituals

Coming from some dark and twisted forest in Sweden; the Necromancers DeathTrip project cultivates their anonymity as much as their lo-fi doom metal sound. It’s orphic atmosphere exhumes an animalistic haze of moon-lit nightmares. Beware for the Bad Weather Rituals!

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Dunbarrow – Basement Tapes

Listening to the three-track Basement Tapes December release by Dunbarrow we came to realize we never mentioned this awesome band before. And this majestic seventies inspired proto-doom band from Norway has been releasing great stuff since 2012! These tracks are bandcamp only and were written prior to their self-titled 2016 album. Both "Into the Crypt" and "In the Shadow of a Misty Haze" were written around 2011 being one of the first Dunbarrow songs ever made. More riff driven they all remain Dunbarrow heavy, dark and beautiful!

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The Mushroom Injection Project – Mushroom Magic

The first single of this upcoming Greek release is immediately one hell of a fireball! Scheduled to arrive somewhere in 2021 Mushroom Magic serves as the perfect almost two minute teaser of the heaviness The Mushroom Injection Project will bring to the table! Will it be in soup form? Tea? Or just munching it all to a pulp and make sure all the magic juices are swirling inside your inner space!

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Ersta Hårdrock - Ta Mig Med Ner till Hel

It hails from Sweden and it sounds like evil personified. It’s doom and it’s rock, it’s metal and it’s proto and it’s damn good. Err, I mean, it’s damn evil! It's Ersta Hårdrock and it's their single: Ta Mig Med Ner till Hel. Sure; it’s an ode to Bathory’s Hammerheart but it will tear you away from whatever you are doing nonetheless and drag you off and straight into hell! You will be reading the Book Of Revelation in no time, as you hear this track, for it mirrors the purity of the madness that governs it perfectly; and turns it all into music!

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Psyhoes – Typhoon Trip

 

 

Psyhoes – Typhoon Trip
Piranha Music – 2020
Rock, Stoner, Alternative
Rated: ****

Incredibly fuzzy, gritty and distorted, yet also extremely pop sensible, catchy and melodic. We’re talking about the debut four-track release Typhoon Trip by the four from Warsaw called Psyhoes. Gnarly vocals, gnarly guitars, gnarly bass and fast drumming all complement each other perfectly while we hear this eighties or early nineties inspired melody conjure up memories in the background. This makes it all sound like a perfect gob of loud, bubblegum power pop sticking to a pair of filthy stoner and alternative punk skater shoes. And a new blend of crossover, well sort of, seems to have been born, an unchallenging but effervescent confection of irresistibly catchy and outgoing rock songs that will turn every radio rock loving crazy into a heavy head and vice versa. At the moment its only available in digital form; and on cd... Maybe vinyl will follow? As we say in Dutch: it will knock all the money out of your pants! Psyhoes, it’s in the name?!

(Written by JK)

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King Chiefs – Flying Into The Void

 

 

King Chiefs – Flying Into The Void
Roosevelt Row Records – 2020
Rock, Stoner, Alternative, Prog, Grunge
Rated: ***

The December Doom Charts kind of passed us by because we were concentrating on the Stoner HiVe Top 20 Countdown of 2020. But we did get to write a little thingy about that little album that ended up just below Wormhog on the December list. And trust me, there’s nothing little about the sound we find on Flying Into The Void! The Four from California deliver some tasty stoner, desert and hard rock on their new album Flying Into The Void. But that is ofcourse only the main line; the main line covered in a thick layer of fuzz! But the rock is fluid and the influences a plenty. Prog touches, grungy hooks and nineties affection. Something incredibly catchy lingers here, highly dynamic and melodic the nine tracks all have their own identity and yet all sounds like the King Chiefs. Cause that’s what they do best, conjure up an atmosphere through melody and narrative. And then to think that most of the chiefs is just one man operation! A chief he is! And chiefs they are! King Chiefs in fact!

(Written by JK)

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Wall - Wall

 

 

Wall - Wall
APF Records - January 2021
Sludge, doom
Rated: ****

At this point, it's just a fact that the Cole twins are a prized possession of the UK heavy scene. First the long running standard-bearers Desert Storm, then the undeniable groove of 2019's The Grand Mal, and now yet another gift of heavy is granted in the form of Wall. A product of quarantine, the Coles' creative juices never stopped flowing, and they emerged as an instrumental duo laying down pummeling sludge and doom as only they can. The self-titled debut EP has all the best parts of the Cole sound, from the razor sharp, angular riffing to the sledgehammer drums, combined into a dark and relentless five tracks. Opener "Wrath of the Serpent" stomps forward with lumbering doom, each blast of distortion echoed by equally thunderous drums. The low and slow eventually takes a turn, shifting gears to a swirling, thrashy onslaught reminiscent of High on Fire, accompanied by lightning fast fills to dizzying effect. The trade-off between plod and adrenaline continues throughout the EP, and is showcased again in the seamless transitions between the somber noise and winding stoner guitars of "Sonic Mass". "Obsidian" brings the slogging doom in an unstoppable march of drums and grumbling bass, while "Legion" chugs forward before diving into an avalanche of tumbling riffs. To top it all off is the closing cover of Sabbath's "Electric Funeral", a devoted rendition with Dave-O, of The Grand Mal and Mother Corona, doing Ozzy justice with his top notch sneer. The heavy underground has been blessed with another creation from the Coles, and Wall's bludgeoning power will leave battered ears asking for more.

(Written by Shasta Beast)

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Murcielago – Casualties

 

 

Murcielago – Casualties
Self released – 2020
Rock, Hard, Stoner, Grunge, Desert
Rated: ****

Released at the end of October and jumping to the eleventh spot of the November Doom Charts, it's the four riders of Murcielago and they sound like they came straight out of the desert and rode their machines like devilish brutes. Yes, out of a filthy little hole in the ground where they secretly grew into a gigantic beast of a band. There is undoubtedly a big stonerrock edge to their hardrock and grunge sound. But there’s so much more and so much more cool. The nine tracks of their newest release Casualties have this magical kind of reverberation; it will make the walls of your house shudder, stir and shake a little. And you will feel it all and tremble along. It’s a like an earthquake on the move! I was sort of hoping Murcielago would remain the big and heavy secret of the underground; but when the sound is this amazing, there is no possible universe where that could ever happen!

 

(Written by JK)

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