Number 15

 

Number 15

It’s time to move another twenty points from Paralyzed at Number 16 to reach the Number 15 album on this years Top 20 Countdown! An album, we must confess we did not listen to all that much since it was released in October. But luckily the fact it is now here on Number 15 remedied that fact. Votes trickled in throughout the voting period, but during the final night, it suddenly soared. And rightfully so, for they have returned in flawless form with their new self-released album. A bass-heavy occult doom blues triumph if ever there was one. Smooth yet powerful grooves, haunting vocal harmonies, and precision-crafted riffs reward every listen. Hooks across the board. Catchy, subtle, and devastatingly heavy, it’s a top level release packed with standout tracks and undeniable legacy power. And you know it’s gonna be this good from that first eerie tick tock tick tock… 

On Number 15 we find: 

BRIMSTONE COVEN - THE LIGHT SHINES NOT FOR THEE 

Bandcamp

Facebook

Instagram

 

Kozmik Artifactz

Number 15

 

 

Number 15

We climb only six points from Mr. Bison on Number 16 to reach Number 15 today. Which is album number nine for this band. The man behind the band has enlisted a new drummer and the new incarnation of the trio seems determined to bring that massive rumble that heralds the coming of a huge storm. Their sludge metal means business, and interspersed with a few Eastern melodies, instrumentation and coloring, turns the whirling riffs and thundering drums into something entirely windswept and scorching. Heat emanates from every string pulled and every riff delivered, and that intensity is constant and becomes louder with every listening session. Yes, the constant, the cadence, hammering its searing noise home. Whether the tracks and this album become as memorable as all those other eight that came before remains to be seen. But one surely must conclude that with a bonafide legend at the helm, an album will always be legendary… Like a hundred-year-storm…

According to all of your votes, on Number 15 we find: 

High on Fire - Cometh the Storm

Bandcamp

Facebook

Instagram

MNRK Heavy

Number 15

 

 

Number 15

Ritual King took the Number 16 spot (again, they did so in 2020 as well, we realized today) and today we move almost thirty points to a band that is one of the most prolific artists out there, made the Stoner HiVe Top 20 Countdown once before (back in 2019, with an album situated in the same genre) and was actually getting votes for another album this year, just released, as well. But this one is that album with the longest album title ever. The one that uses thrash metal to convey concerns about the state of the world. The one that dips into prog and psych if needed, but mostly just blasts through the seven tracks with relentless gatling energy and sun dappled exuberance. Cause even though the message on the album is bleak, the way the songs move and make you move, does instill a glimmer of joy in your body. It might even be that this glimmer, that energy is the hope you might continue to feel as the album ends. It grew on me during the year. And I’ll be damned if this is not an album that will grow on everyone as humanity dances and bops from conflict to disaster to fear and hate and great tv, always forwards, towards the annihilation of their home world…

On Number 15 we find…


King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard - PetroDragonic Apocalypse; or, Dawn of Eternal Night: An Annihilation of Planet Earth and the Beginning of Merciless Damnation

Homepage

Bandcamp

Facebook

Instagram

Number 15

 

 

Number 15

 

Number 15 is up today! An album we must confess we had not completely expected to make the Top 20 Countdown. Not because it isn’t good, hell no, it’s fucking awesome! And we even mentioned it when it was released back in May. But mostly because you crazy followers out there tend to vote more for Hardrock, Psychedelic, Progressive, Stoner and pure Doom albums. This one swings the balance the other way and rips your soul in two with Sludge, Metal and Hardcore! So, we jump, twenty-four points from Early Moods on Number 16 to reach Number 15. Where we find a band that has been around since 1995 and for a moment their 2019 album seemed like it might be the last one, due to the horrible events, the terrible loss of the bass-player, a year prior. But they drafted a new one and decided to move forward. Heavy, harsh, and full of unbridled aggression the album sees only a few very limited moments of cessation. A few moments where the listener might take a breath of air and enjoy that small ray of sunlight. The title track is one of those moments; slower, calmer, and melodic it might be viewed as one of those tracks that sets an album apart. Cause for the most part the album is a hardcore, mothersludge approach to metal that will flatten everything in its path…  On Number 15 we find!

 

Cave In – Heavy Pendulum

 

Bandcamp

Facebook

Instagram

Out on Relapse Records

On to Number 14!

Number 15

 

 

Number 15

Number 16 brought us to that distant planet of Dune… Dvne and their Etemen Ænka album controlled the spice there and reigned supreme. But today, for Number 15, we jump twenty points to find ourselves treated to yet another sandy, shamanistic doom metal exploit. In fact; another album hailing the God Emperor of Dune in fact. One could almost see it as a slower, less brutal sister to the Dvne album. This one more psychedelic, more transient, more hypnotic and more an album you can use whenever you want to perform some ancient ritual on a sacrificial slab. Released in February the six track release even offers up some grunge elements, fierce songwriting burning with intensity and face melting, kraut influenced, rhythm progression combined with hallowed soul shivering Gregorian style vocals. A highly unique album that definitely deserves to be on everyone’s end list; so it’s logical so many of you voted for this album. Are you ready for your trip? On Number 15...

Sunnata – Burning in Heaven, Melting on Earth

 

Bandcamp

Facebook

Instagram

Number 15

Number 15

How about those three bands on Number 16! All of them delivered a majestic album this year and it’s almost a sin to go on to Number 15 today! But we do it anyway, cause the Top 20 Countdown is relentless! We jump 26 points to reach Number 15 and a band that has been delivering amazing albums since their conception but has never actually made the final Top 20 list of the yearly Stoner HiVe Countdown for some weird and probably insane reason. But now they have! For their fifth album got voted one massively by all you crazies out there. It arrived in January through Stickman Records / Crispin Glover Records and it quickly became a household favorite with many. It’s still their golden post-boogie, swinging seventies, approach to heavy rock. The album starts out with a glorious and filthy sax. And then quickly follow eight tracks with their take on how a monstrous and moving rock song should be made. Tracks filled with amazing licks, vocals and melodies, all produced so crisp and choppy it almost feels like a pop record! On Number 15 we find!

Spidergawd – V

Homepage

Facebook

Number 15

Number 15

It was the grand Castle and their Deal Thy Fate album we banged our heads to on Number 16 and we now jump a mere two points to reach Number 15. Where we find a band that by some freaky coincidence also made the list on the exact same 15th position back in 2014. Released through Small Stone Records this year’s album not only features a name change, it also heralds a change in sound. The Swedes implore more metallic and more progressive touches on their blazing psychedelic heaviness this time around. Even more grand and grandiose than before the sound seems to simply explode into the vast universe that surrounds us. Bold, beautiful and breathtaking. On Number 15 we find…

JIRM - Surge Ex Monumentis  

Number 15

Number 15

After spending time with the tasty tones from the very last album (they're calling it quits) of The Flying Eyes on Number 16 we have arrived at the final album that only had few points more than the three we found occupying Number 20. It’s an album that has gotten as much flak as it has gotten love. Flak because the band will always be remembered for that legendary album they released many years ago and love because that legendary album has also gotten them fans for life. Our Madman Tony Maim wrote a fine piece about the album and the legendary stuff just mentioned. But it will forever be your choice on which side of the fence you are on. But of course, these cats found their way onto the Stoner HiVe Top 20 Countdown before. Their 2014 album reached Number 11 back then and in 2010 they reached the Number One spot. Their signature attitude towards doom ever prevalent; they move into different territories with every album without ever losing that 'garage' and 'ugly' feel to their beautiful doom. Many of which drag you down in a whirling electric cesspool full of blood, sex and death!

Electric Wizard – Wizard Bloody Wizard

Number 15

Number 15

After the amazing Baby Woodrose and stunning Mars Red Sky albums featured on Number 16 we once again find two bands on Number 15. One of which was definitely not expected! So, let’s start with that one first. For we definitely recognized its glory and merit, it’s just that this kind of metal isn’t featured a lot on the HiVe. Sure, one could always claim this French band to be a weird kind of lovechild of bands such as Meshuggah, Neurosis and Mastodon. And that the band has been drifting ever forward towards its own sound. A strange amalgam of prog, death and math metal. And all of that, in a very open and hopeful way. And listening to this record again, while writing this, it immediately proves why all you freaks out there voted for it. It is universally good and an album that transcends boundaries. The Italians however, who received the same amount of points for the 2016 Top 20 Countdown are ofcourse definitely meant to be on it. Expected even, probably. Right? For every one of us heavy rock lovers dug their former album. The one released last year and which ended on Number 5 of the Top 20. This time around the trio aim their fuzzy electric blues for the stars and riff out a new prophecy for themselves. Much more esoteric and grandiose and less meant to this earth or this time. This is meant for the ages and to live on forever!

Gojira – Magma

&

 

Black Rainbows – Stellar Prophecy

Facebook

Homepage

Bandcamp

Facebook

Number 15

Number 15

“Sunshine Cake is just a fun hobby thing. That's about it.” ~ Krist Novoselic

We climb another two points to find an album that has not just made the list of many heavy rock lover; but also lists of every other kind of music fiend. This album has been championed by lovers of rock, metal, pop and musical theater maniacs. Yes, we are ofcourse referring to those cats in robes that know what Blue Oyster Cult was all about, as well as ABBA. And on all those moments that they rock hard and sound good you are enjoying the hell out of yourself. But on those almost pompous, dramatic moments of overtures, you know this is what these robed freaks do best, turn the theatrical into something catchy and addictive. So yes, above Number 16, above the amazing Clutch, The Sword and Freedom Hawk we find on Number 15…

Ghost – Meliora

Homepage

Number 15

Number 15

“Colour: Gold. Nose: Not much lower strength. Raw, spirits, inexpressive, a little cardboard, grass, leaf… And a few floral tones. But an unlovely bouquet. Mouth: Very nice, a lot of caramel, corn syrup, then coffee and, just like in the blend, a little sawdust. Finish: Medium length, with a bitter side. Some varnish in the aftertaste. A mix of two distinct highland malts, the blended malt of Usquaebach is an acquired taste.”

We climb eight points after visiting the majestic Colossus album by Lo-Pan and head off towards a late comer this year. Not one, but two actually. A definite collector’s item and a gang of underappreciated actor lovers. One of them got together about five years ago and the other has been rocking the world for ten years. One of them is responsible for an incredible proto-metal, classic hardrock and trucking stoner record that leers back towards that golden seventies era. And the other one provided us with a psychedelic rock offering that rivals any of the greats. It is low soaring and high riding and cuts you like a knife. Ann Arbor, Michigan and Stockholm, Sweden together on position Number 15.

Blue Snaggletooth - Beyond Thule

Jeremy Irons & The Ratgang Malibus - Spirit Knife

Facebook

Bandcamp

Full review

Homepage

Facebook

Number 15

Number 15

 

"Hop-15 Ale starts with a smooth hop bitterness that is followed up by a bite of bitterness on the finish. The hops flavor is primarily spicy with a touch of pine. The citrus does not come out in the taste but I taste a little pineapple with the sweetness from the malt. It has a nice roasty and malted barley sweetness that smooths out the bitter hops that are jam packed into this beer. Although there is a lot of alcohol in this beer, this beer is not harsh and lacks astringency."

With one point more that Number 16 and eight points over the Number 20 position we are treated to some occult riffing on today’s Number 15. A group that also made it to the Stoner HiVe top 20 back in 2011 where they occupied the Number 12 position. Earlier this year I asked the man behind the band if it troubled him that the veil of mystery had been lifted. But he concluded that even though the music still has the same obscure feel to it the group has already evolved to an entirely different entity. Which sums up quite nicely what this album entails in comparison to the one that came before and made the group explode. Still creepy and still catchy the boys move a few small steps away from the too obscure and occult and towards sixties heavy pop and polyphonic refrains. This is heavy on an entirely different scale. And still every song works as a hypnotic ritual and creates visions. Hallucinations that make your mouth water with thick blood and lust… And they control your every action…

 

 

Uncle Acid and The Deadbeats – Mind Control

Facebook

Number 15

Number 15

“For dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return...” Genesis 3:19

So here it is. The other part of the psychedelic doom metal adventure into tonal space. And as we listen to the sounds building and cascading and erupting and imploding we hear the Italians making every single tone count and hear them execute with extreme precision a highly intense journey where every sonic touch seems to be a stroke of genius. They balance beautifully on a chessboard of dynamics and never seem to want to go for the easy way out. Without any hesitation they sacrifice their queen and knights; and make the simple pawn their chief attacker in the audio assault. There is no doubt that this years Opus is a definite checkmate; and it does not seem to matter at all that the albums were released months apart and that one has gotten more votes than the other…

Ufomammut – Oro: Opus Primum

Homepage

Number 15

“Look into the puppy eyes! Look into the puppy eyes!”

Number 15

In 2009 these guys were the runner-up to OM who were considered by 18 peeps who sent in their lists that year to have delivered the number one album with their release God Is Good. This year that number two released their fifth studio album, which was less experimental as their former but still remains as heavy and thunderous as a massive crack in the sky. More concise and to the point and with a catchy-ness that might turn more people on to them. It might miss a bit of drive like Leviathan or Blood Mountain, it might lack the progressive adventure feel of Crack The Skye or perhaps the surprise of Remission. But all that is just nitpicking, seeking for little bitty thingies in a puddle of water, and hunting for a needle in the hay…

Mastodon – The Hunter

Number 15

Number 15

At last we see a representation from good ol’ Europe. These French freaks start their album off with some chirping and crickets to get it annihilated first by some car-stereo blasting heavy basses before going back to those wonderful nature sounds once again. And while Blazing a doobie outside the car at Dusk the extraterrestrials decide to visit. After which the music takes form and we are taken away on a deep, raw stoner rock adventure. Driven along by Fu Machu, Slo Burn and Kyuss references you end up in a desert full of aliens and other space scum. These young guns rock their asses of in a pure naive understanding that righteous rock will always prevail over alien scum… “So it’s time to kick ass and chew bubblegum; and we’re all out of gum…”

Wheelfall - From The Blazing Sky At Dusk

Myspace

Numero 15

Numero 15

With contributions from Davis Scott Stone (Melvins, Slug), Sera Timms (Black Math Horsemen) and cellist Ramiro Zapata these Los Angeles rockers have delivered us a stunning album both glowing in atmosphere and in slow doomriff. Even though there is some hard-hitting stuff on the album most of the songs and passages are sluggish. It sounds like these guys are trying for some weird kind of progressive doom/stoner sound. Its cohesive, its adventurous and above all, highly entertaining!

Ancestors - Of Sound Mind

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=4PD5G3M0