woensdag 8 juli 2020

Urzah – Urzah


Urzah – Urzah
Self released – 2020
Rock, Metal, Sludge, Stoner
Rated: ****

Hailing from the dark and twisted streets of Bristol, UK comes Urzah. A four piece metal outfit that knows exactly how to implore those crusty tunes and take cues from the sludge and stoner landscape. The three tracks on their self-titled debut EP hit hard, hit heavy and will leave a dent on your brain and a hole in your heart. They are new masters of the massive sound, of the humongous energy and the titan gesture. There’s a tiny prog or post edge to it and that seems to make all the difference. At heart there is a lot of melody here, there is pure sense of dynamics and all that is delivered with a heavy, noisy and abundant sauce of aggression. And then that final track Allure Adrift; it comes on slow, and then zang! Wowzah! This new Urzah (new, cause their are a bunch of other outfits with the same name) does not only show promise, it shows you their colors, their character and their ability! They’ve got my vote!

(Written by JK)




16 – Dream Squasher


16 – Dream Squasher
Relapse Records – 2020
Rock, Metal, Sludge, Doom
Rated: ****

I recently noticed Leanne Ridgeway, fellow contributor to the Doom Charts, the dark haired princess from Mettle Media PR and Riff Relevant listening to 16 and suddenly remembered, shit, I still have Dream Squasher laying around and have forgotten to get back to listening to it. I had it on a couple of times and then different stuff got in the way, which is almost an insult for these pioneers of the doom and sludge metal scene. They’ve been around for thirty years and even though they always take their breaks between albums every one of them always seems to hit even harder than the one before. And Dream Squasher is no different! With their slow and determined approach to translate their anger and frustration to something kinetic and aggressive, they managed once again to deliver their mountainous sound. A few fast-paced metal tracks interspersed throughout the album give it that much needed diversion of what we already knew for the past thirty years, 16 are masters of the doom and sludge metal universe!

(Written by JK)



maandag 6 juli 2020

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


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

16
Eyes Fly
Fox 45
Stargo
Cuarzo
Kryptograf
Mothers Of The Land
Pale Divine
Voidian
Andromeda Space Ritual

 

zondag 5 juli 2020

Crash Cuddle – Changing Faces


Crash Cuddle – Changing Faces 

From the 2017 album Klaxon here is the all new trippy video for the Changing Faces single! Crash Cuddle! That crazy duo that delivers some tasty melodic, groovy and catchy instrumental noise that bops and weaves like a beat-poet on speed. The video definitely spurred me to check out the entire album again! 




Pale Divine – Consequence of Time


Pale Divine – Consequence of Time
Cruz Del Sur Music – 2020
Rock, Hard, Seventies, Doom, Fuzz
Rated: ****

We love our Doom Charts brethren, all those completely insane heavy music fiends, those crazy contributors that send in their favorite albums each month and of that list of around 300 different albums we publish the Top 25. But then, and I’m sure I’m not alone, we scour through that total list to find even more gold. That gold delivered to us by those heavy underground miners! Ïnïtïatïon by Wirbelsaule for instance or Of Toads, Foxes And Wolves by Plomo. Awesome records both and discovered thanks to the Doom Charts comrades that voted for them. And yes, they could easily have ended up higher in my opinion. But higher up on the list we do find Consequence of Time by Pale Divine, and we were honored to write a little blurb for the June edition of the Doom Charts. Pale Divine started all the way back in 1995. And ever since that time, their doom sound has travelled even further back towards the start of hardrock and metal. The new release Consequence of Time gives us a languid and a syrupy approach to seventies rock. High on fuzz the eight tracks wash over you like veneer, slow, creeping and smothering. There is still a decent amount of doom present and with dual vocals and an ominous undercurrent the consequence of this new record is that it adds so much to what Pale Divine was, is and will be. See what we did there… And go listen to what Pale Divine did, cause Consequence of Time deserves every available moment you have!
(Written by JK)



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donderdag 2 juli 2020

The Doom Chart for June 2020


Doom Chart

“Despite everything, no one can dictate who you are to other people...”  ~ Prince

Not sure what’s going on in the world right now, but with the lack of consistency in our day to day lives, we sure are kicking ass in the heavy underground. There seems to be a continuity of killer vibes coming within our music community. June brings our biggest month to date in terms of contributor engagement, competitive edge, and new albums domination. The top 8 albums all scoring in the triple digits each barely edging out the next. Music continues to find a way to keep us positive in a time where negativity is trying its best to take us down. High praise to the riff, and all hail the community we’ve amassed. The Doom Charts are here to stay!!

What a list once again! We voted for only a few of them. Can you imagine? And it’s a first for me, cause it is the first time I haven’t had the time to listen to the Number One of this months Doom Chart yet. Wow. But if my compadres vote it the best of last month, we sure as hell know we need to remedy that real quick and we sure as hell know that we are in for a good time! Temple Fang’s live album Live At Merleyn is spinning as we type this; but afterwards it on to Bonehawk and their new Iron Mountain record! 

Welcome to Doom Charts, representing some of the finest bloggers, journalists, radio, podcasters and album 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…

Dendrites – Grow


Dendrites – Grow
Ikaros Records / Vinyl Monster – 2019
Rock, Hard, Southern, Metal, Stoner
Rated: ****

The album saw its release almost an exact year ago but we never got around to mentioning it, even though the record has been spun many a times over here. And now with a new video for the Throwing Rocks single going live on the 666MRDOOM Youtube channel and the fact that a year old celebration is as good as any to revisit the album finally heralds a mention for the Grow album by Greek fourpiece Dendrites. The ten tracks rage through the southern metal landscape like a monster on edge looking for revenge. There is an intense sharp and venomous taste to album that starts out with a proper bang in the form of the 2.46 minutes speedball Get The Fuck. It sets things up nicely for all the heaviness to come, slowly growing into something with more groove, grit and guts. Aggressive and punchy; the sound implores just the right amount of touches of the all abundant stoner influences. But it is mostly going for a Pantera approach to the Southern style, using bits of grunge to keep it groove even more airy. Talking about air, we need to mention closing track I’m Gonna Fly, which implore the use of a saxophone and will make you fly indeed. What a luscious, slow and lazy final track! Dendrites definitely struck a nerve!

(Written by JK)



woensdag 1 juli 2020

Buffalo Trio - Unconscious


Buffalo Trio - Unconscious
Self released - May 2020
Stoner, punk, blues
Rated: ****

Australia has become a gold mine for talent in the heavy underground, and Sydney-based Buffalo Trio are the latest rising stars of the scene. Three song EP Unconscious nis the long-awaited follow up to their 2015 debut album "Variable Choke", and the wait was worth it. Building off of their first effort's grunge and stoner vibes, Buffalo Trio keeps their garage punk rawness but amps the aggression way, way up. And it fits like a glove. "Haunted By The Sun" kicks the doors down with a classic Sabbath riff drenched in gritty fuzz, dragging listeners down below while ripping amps to shreds. The standout vocals are just as uncompromising, all raw punk sneer and spit in throat-shredding yells. The straight ahead and headbanging attack sounds like a rawer Whores, and it's just as heavy. Slowing down to an ominous, murky riff, some doom is thrown into the mix as well, to great effect in contrasting with the caustic vocals. Second cut "Day to Pay" doesn't let up to either, bringing bouncy, bluesy desert licks with a gravel grinding guitar tone and kit bashing drums. The chorus is maddeningly catchy as well, while losing none of the trio's relentless attack. Third and final track "Sour Man" then throws any  remaining caution to the wind, ripping into a filthily distorted stop-start riff broken up by screeching feedback. As the EP makes its jarring stomp to the finish line, it's clear that Unconscious is a result of Buffalo Trio zeroing in on a sound and stepping up their already impressive game. They've found a style they're viciously good at, dealing out bluesy stoner riffs with punk vitriol to spare.

(Written by Shasta Beast)




Stoner HiVe’s Top 10 Most Listened Albums Last Month…


Stoner HiVe’s
Top 10 Most Listened Albums Last Month…

zondag 28 juni 2020

LMI – Excess Subconscious


LMI – Excess Subconscious
Handstand Records / Maniyax Records – 2020
Rock, Punk, Core, Scream, Noise, Stoner
Rated: ***

LMI stands for Lazy Middle-class Intellectuals. If you did not know that, you do know. If you already knew, you know what LMI will do to you! Their new album Excess Subconscious just came out through Handstand Records and Maniyax Records and will blow all the dust, anger, paranoia and angst out of your brain in one fell swoop. The screamo, hardcore, punk noise that blasts through your head during eleven short and concise tracks gets just enough of the earlier stoner treatment to not only turn your mind inside out but also your body. The manic rhythm changes and the stomp and pounce of the drums is just pure insanity. Impossible to sit still with this one. No easy listening here. No wonderous trip through the universe. No, no, no, this is not for the feeble or the faint of heart. This is music for those of us who are on the end of their tether. The ones that dipped one to many times into the cup o’ crazy or attended a few to many of the gin tasting sessions down the road. The evil shrieks, snarls and screams translating all those wicked emotions and all those toxic vapors and dangerous recesses of the subconscious mind. LMI, three lunatics, three maniacs, three insane individuals that have delivered some damn powerful stuff with Excess Subconscious

(Written by JK)



zaterdag 27 juni 2020

Lowtone - LOF


Lowtone - LOF
Self released - June 2020
Doom, blues, stoner
Rated: ****

From the first notes of their debut two-tracker LOF, French trio Lowtone make it clear their name's as much a mission statement as it is a warning. The sheer weight of the riffs and seismic bass steamrolls unprepared listeners, dealing out Wo Fat levels of heaviness across two long cuts of bluesy doom. Lead track "LANDS OF FIELDS" sets the stage with a mammoth stomp, grumbling along with Sabbath swing in what could easily be an excellent instrumental, until the vocals introduce themselves as the surprise cherry on top. Like a gruffer Chris Cornell, the clean singing is both forceful and emotive, complementing the bouncing beats and delivering ear worm hooks. Lowtone show off an extensive arsenal throughout "LANDS OF FIELDS", including a highlight Iommi-worshipping break that sees the guitar and quaking bass trade off creeping licks. The second track "LUDIVINE" takes a slightly different direction, trading low and slow doom for an upbeat, bouncing blues riff that loses none of the previous weight, and somehow introduces an even grimier bass tone. The drums are driving and rock steady, offering perfectly placed fills left and right. A solo straight from a 70s guitar hero jam tops it off, and Lowtone stand triumphant at the end of their short but sweet first slab of heavy. Repeat listens are simply a necessity for this crushing one-two of bluesy doom, and more tunes from the trio can't come soon enough.

(Written by Shasta Beast)




donderdag 25 juni 2020

Kingnomad - Sagan Om Rymden


Kingnomad - Sagan Om Rymden
Ripple Music - July 2020
Progressive, space, psych
Rated: ****

Swedish progressive wizards Kingnomad return with their third album, Sagan Om Rymden, on Ripple Music, and hold nothing back as they dive even deeper into their otherworldly sound. Flush with sci fi 70s organ, bright guitars, and dreamy vocals, the band weaves their way through an unapologetically proggy space rock journey. Sagan Om Rymden hits the ground running with the undeniably fun retro synth riff of "Omniverse", throwing the listener into a world of B movie lasers and cosmic adventure. "Small Beginnings" brings a heavier crunch with its insistent chug, and the heft of tunes makes for a poignant contrast with the floating, dreamy feel of songs like the epic "Tillabakablick/The Usurper King" and the hypnotizing "The Creation Hymn". Underneath the sweeping strings and keys is rock solid drumming, firmly holding down the beat and driving the music forward with a satisfying punch. The excellent battery is especially apparent on highlight track "Multiverse", whose razor sharp guitar tones wind through the drumming in a tense Eastern rhythm. Kingnomad's musical curiosity only continues to build throughout the rest of the record, from the medieval acoustic guitar of "The Fermi Paradox" to the snaking, funky bass of closer "The Unanswered Question". Sagan Om Rymden is an ambitiously progressive record that pulls it off with ease, delivering a mystical, spacey sound that's joyously inventive and retro at the same time.

(Written by Shasta Beast)



woensdag 24 juni 2020

Harry Cloud – The Pig And The Machine


Harry Cloud – The Pig And The Machine
White Worm Records – 2020
Rock, Indie, Doom, Sludge, Shoe-Gaze, Art
Rated: ***

There are those instances when you immediately know you are dealing with someone who never wanted to color between the lines. And then there are those instances when you immediately know that this is a cat who never even noticed there were lines. Harry Cloud is without any doubt one of those last ones and has been releasing artful and insane music under his own name, Cops, Single Mothers and many other monikers for awhile now. We love the fact he approaches every album once again as a different cul de sac to trash or a empty canvas to burn. There are no lines, all the colors you can imagine and there are definitely no rules! Unpredictable and highly erratic, the new album The Pig And The Machine hop, skips and jumps all over the place, turning noisy and sludgy one moment and then all indie and artistic the next. As if you are staring at Who's Afraid of Red, Yellow and Blue four hours on end together with Harry Cloud and a bunch of dancing dwarfs threatening to throw shit at the painting if you dare look away. How can a piece of musical art instill so many different feelings, intense glee, paranoia, schizophrenia and release? The many many heads of The Pig And The Machine will bite and chew and rip and tear and leave you wondering where all those feelings went. Leaving you weary and at the end of your tether…

(Written by JK)