Sasquatch – Fever Fantasy

 

 

Sasquatch – Fever Fantasy
Mad Oak Records – 2022
Rock, Stoner, Psych
Rated: *****

They played Stoned From The Underground yesterday. A festival I have yet to attend; but has been high on my list for ages. Our very own Doktor420 is there right now, dancing like a maniac in front of the stage at every gig. The line-up is once again one hell of excellent collection of heaviness and Sasquatch sits there on the main stage, snugly, proudly, giddy, feverish with energy and probably very hairy. And with their new album Fever Fantasy under their belt, they will surely make the crowd go wild! I wish I was there, I wish I was there to hear them opening their set with the opening track It Lies Beyond The Bay of said new record Fever Fantasy. I would have closed my eyes and I would have surely mistaken it, if only for a moment or two, for the rock version of a Nine Inch Nails we unfortunately will never know. Not sure if it is the touch of industrial that you can here in the drums, the intense use of cymbals, that double beat or because it is the color of the vocals that surely does remind of Trent Reznor here and there, more than on earlier records, that makes me think of NIN. But it’s there and it works like a charm. That touch remains throughout the record and gives Fever Fantasy a distinctly different color and vibe in comparison to the albums we mentioned on the HiVe before; we mean the 2010 III album, IV from 2013 and their last 2017 record: Maneuvers. Which might have been the starting point to deliver this new step in the Sasquatch evolution. Cause sure, we still got that damn fine gritty groove to enjoy; the abundance of hooks; thundering basswork and machinelike riffs. But the beast has grown to become a monster, one that can just as easily stomp through the desert as rampage a city. And there is no shortage of that forward motion; rioting inside a tilt-a-whirl or motoring through a towering landscape, Sasquatch can do it all and does it all, with a dense layer of fuzz, some psychedelic touches, little organ parts making it all extra colorful and a very own sound. Cause if there’s one thing we can safely say, after almost twenty years of rocking out, Sasquatch, only sounds like Sasquatch and no other band will ever be able to match that unique sound. And certainly not Nine Inch Nails...

(Written by JK)

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Monster Riff – Presents

 

 

Monster Riff – Presents

It was weird being on the other side of the mic for once. But it was definitely a pleasure meeting up with Pat Schober from Monster Riff. It felt like too big an honor to be interviewed by him about Stoner HiVe, Doom Charts and well, myself. But it did give me the opportunity to exaggerate my musical abilities and my stint with various bands. So, if you want to hear me profess my love for heavy rock, how a certain period in time cemented my love for stonerrock and hear me give a few insights about proper promo emails and nonsense about how bands can make it in our little scene. Well, you can check it out on that mean Monster Riff site! Fair warning, can’t listen to it myself, always have trouble hearing myself working out interviews as well. So, it might be some kind of pitch in my voice that will definitely mess up your day and give you nightmares… But from those little skips and moments that I did hear, I definitely do love The Same River, Sergeant Thunderhoof a lot a nd how Purple Sage PR does everything exactly right!

Thanks again to Pat from Monster Riff for bestowing this honor on me… And for all those who decide to listen to the podcast, thank you as well! And don’t say I did not warn you!

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Foot – You Are Weightless

 

 

Foot – You Are Weightless
Copper Feast Records – 2022
Rock, Alternative, Grunge, Stoner
Rated: ****

The prog rock influences have been omnipresent throughout the heavy underground of late. But there’s another genre that has been rising to the surface more and more of all that heaviness we all love so dearly. And that’s grunge. I’ve heard talk about a post-grunge genre, I’ve heard of a predicted complete reemergence of the old grunge sound. But the way Foot uses grunge on their new album You Are Weightless is the way I love to hear it! Imploring that nineties alternative and even that nineties alternative weirdly poppy approach. You know, the way the Dandy Warhols for instance did back then. Or even some of that sound, the wave of British bands of the nineties, brought with them. But don’t get me wrong, there’s also more heavy stuff here, more stonerrock and more grittiness as well. There are moments when the good boys of Alice In Chains seems to be playing along for instance. And then there’s that Yeah Yeah Yeahs’s cover, Gold Lion. Kind of taking all that we just mentioned, that British take, that weird poppy alternative nineties sound, that good old grunge, to new heights. Melbourne four-piece Foot, is spearheaded by Paul Holden, who’s responsible for all the music and lyrics. Seems to have set his goal to bring us the best grunge album possible. Drawing inspiration from Mark Lanegan for opener Bitter, Holden with his overt drawling vocals, the guitar riff, the hook, it all, once again, immediately shows the You Are Weightless colors, the ones we already mentioned. Third track Fire Dance is perhaps the heaviest of songs on the album. Groovy, dreamy, yet also incredibly choppy and edgy. And then there’s the keyboards that are used expertly where possible throughout the album. All leads us to keep re-stating what we said continuously throughout this little write-up, it’s the grunge done right, it’s the grunge done poppy and it’s the grunge done stonerized. And it’s all done so incredibly well!

(Written by JK)

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Sergeant Thunderhoof - This Sceptered Veil

 

 

Sergeant Thunderhoof - This Sceptered Veil

Spinning that awesome Sergeant Thunderhoof album... Which we reviewed a few weeks ago... Check it out HERE... And this Green /White, Avalon Edition by Pale Wizard Records looks damn good while spinning!

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Thank you!

 

 

Thank you!

We don’t do this much. I guess it’s been a year now or something like that. But, just before our little holiday we noticed we were inching towards 6000 Followers on Facebook and 5000 Likes. As well as the first 1000 on Instagram, which we are still getting used to operating. And after our return, we have surpassed that 6000 Number and have actually reached our first cool thousand on Instagram. And even though we know the numbers say little; it does look kind of cool. It does make us feel like there are a few freaks out there that dig what we do at the HiVe and feel the same way about the Heavy Underground. It’s a great cabal of zines, blogs, podcasters, youtubers and journalists that make up the press side of the Heavy Underground; and all or most do it simply because of the pure love for all that heavy music. As does Stoner HiVe! And when that love is in some way reciprocated by a cool group of followers; well, it makes it all worthwhile! We started this little hobby project back in 2009 to countdown the best albums of that year and it slowly morphed into a bit more. We went to Facebook late, joined Instagram only a year ago and still struggle to try and do it all properly. But we love doing it! Cause we love that heavy music! So, thank you all for following Stoner HiVe. It’s there because we love the Heavy Underground, that means all of you! The listeners, the fans, the bands, the artists, the record companies, the pr agencies and the press cats… We love you all! And we do Stoner HiVe because we want to profess our love for those amazing bands and albums. So thank you all! Please, continue to put out all that amazing heaviness and please everyone, keep tuning in to all that great music. Cause there’s so much out there! And well, just simply, thank you, thank you all! Truly and sincerely, thank you! 

O' and an extra special thank you to Sun Below and Silent Monolith! Cause both bands made us reach that first thousand! Silent Monolith was there first, but apparently, two followers unfollowed and then Sun Below made us reach it again! Don't stop us now! Cause we're having a good time... Ho ho ho!

10,000 Years – III

 

 

10,000 Years – III
Interstellar Smoke Records / Olde Magick Records / Death Valley Records – 2022
Rock, Metal, Thrash, Speed, Doom, Sludge Stoner
Rated: ****

We are transported back in time. Perhaps not as far back as say 10,000 Years or to the time when Megafauna roamed the earth. But at least some forty years towards that era that spawned the largest metal bands that would ever rove around the globe. That era that gave us the best of NWOBHW but also those legendary thrash metal albums and illustrious speed metal records. Indeed, we’re somewhere in the eighties and we’re listening to a track called Cult Axe. An introduction that leaves little to the imagination; the three Swedes of 10,000 Years that produce this ruckus love their metal, their hardcore and leveling the playing field with relentless riffage and fast paced guitar work. Man, what an opener! And that level of intensity continues on second track Megafauna; which implores some sludge to make the stomp and thunder even bigger, like the footfalls of those ancient beasts. And sure, third track Desert of Madness does take its metal at a gentler pace, using more proggy influences; but it’s not until fourth track The Secret of Water that things truly slow down; that we are given a moment of air and a second to catch our breath. The Secret of Water is this atmospheric little ditty that could have felt out of place; but due to the concept of this record, feels like the perfect moment to become better acquainted with the story, the environment and the danger that surrounds it all. The Green King for instance, it’s seminal track not only tells of what lies ahead, but it also heralds the coming of more stoner influences. It moves from that trustworthy tinny metal sound to a thick and rounded resonance. Which shows us once again that the story behind the album, the concept that has been going for three albums now, works brilliantly. And that The Secret of Water is here to serve even more as a divider to halt the downwards spiral, and show, that even though there is still a large dark tunnel to go through ahead of us, there shall be light at the end. Just listen to that awesome Escape From Earth track and feel its bliss, the release and the euphoria. Shit, there aren’t that many metal artists that manage to truly translate feelings like euphoria into a track, 10,000 Years are one of them and for that alone they should receive a truckload of honor, accolades, beer and whatever else they would wish for. The album truly feels like an odyssey and one that comes to a worthwhile conclusion. Now if we could only come to a worthwhile conclusion at the end of this little screed? That seems highly unlikely, so let’s just profess our love for the third 10,000 Years album and hope that even though the story surrounding the Albatross spaceship might be done, there will be more 10,000 Years metal in the future!

(Written by JK)

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

 

 

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

Valley of The Sun
Bort
Arthur Brown
Museum of Light
The Gray Goo
Achzeit
El Perro
Aptera
Freebase Hyperspace
Gramma Vedetta

The Gray Goo – 1943

 

 

The Gray Goo – 1943
Self released – 2022
Rock, Psych, Prog, Funk, Jazz, Fusion, Doom
Rated: ****

The first four tracks of the debut album 1943 by Montana trio The Gray Goo were released as a demo EP in 2021; but they pale in comparison to the sound quality and extra little explorations of the new versions. Once again, we wonder how much, master mastering engineer Tony Reed had his fingers in The Gray Goo cake. For it sounds so much more scrumptious and fuller, those four songs and the remaining three tracks, that you will be completely fulfilled by the time the forty minutes runtime is over. The over 10-minute-long opener Bicycle Day will immediately show you The Gray Goo colors, the psychedelic rock, turning into a funky and laidback ska offering on the turn of a dime and then screeching forwards to a psychedelic and jazzy extrapolation before going off into a wild freak out rock tantrum. The wild vocals enter the scene on second track Problem Child, which goes the way of the seventies psych rock and might sound like an easy ingestible rocker after those Beefheart & Zappa like beginnings. But don’t worry, cause just as you get accustomed to that golden age rock, the track starts turning a more doom metal corner. See, nothing is as it seems with The Gray Goo, or at least not for long. I mean, you can start off doing H, thinking about ‘little kids shooting marbles, where branches break the sun’, when Launch starts, but before you can nod off, you’re off into a wild Arabian tinged, kraut rocking, disco adventure. Following fourth song The Comedown, feels indeed like a comedown, to get you from the high bar into a slow-moving tilt-a-whirl or worn down couch trying to relight your cigarette. Don’t worry about those dancing clowns in the corner, they might just be your imagination, or they might be here because they heard about the amazing milkshakes you serve. Shakes And Spins takes that Comedown thing to the next level, with what comes across as spoken word vocals; slowly mesmerizing turning the dream into a nightmare; or one of those sleep paralysis states that you can’t wake up from… But in the end, the album will feel like a dream and not a nightmare; a beautiful dream you could never imagine in a thousand nods. The sound will come in heat waves, soaking through your body, out your fingertips in shafts of color, and you will know, somewhere in the world, somewhere…  

(Written by JK)

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The Swell Fellas – Novaturia

 

 

The Swell Fellas – Novaturia
Self released – 2022
Rock, Psych, Prog, Stoner
Rated: *****

I think I mentioned it before, but that prog rock touch that has been so prevalent of late, on many of the great releases, keeps getting my utmost attention. It tickles every fibre of my being and uplifts my spirt, heart and mind. I wonder if others experience that same sort of feeling, or if it’s just my warped brain. Especially the records that move towards the grandiose prog, the heavy atmospheric or the wild psychedelic avenues immediately charm their way into my soul, and guess what, the three hip cats from The Swell Fellas walk their silly walk exactly in the middle of those streets on their newest release Novaturia. Clocking only thirty-three minutes, the five tracks slowly build into this oscillating, swirling maelstrom of heavy rock. All the while painting those extremely wild and colorful vistas, the ones that will make you dream and never want to wake up from. Which probably makes it a good thing the album only lasts for thirty-three minutes. The three sound like this (s)well-oiled machine, knowing its every cog, its every gear and how they fit perfectly together. And with two of the three being brothers, it seems like a logical conclusion, but going back to their first release The Big Grand Entrance from 2020 you can hear they were still searching for that unnamable thing they did find on the new Novaturia record. The transition for instance from Wet Cement into that …Another Realm track, and how it seems to translate being overwhelmed by something in those first moments, slowly but surely accepting its ultimate beauty. And being a closing track, it also feels like a definitive conclusion, to ensure us that The Swell Fellas have found their sound, that they dare to maneuver within those set boundaries, just listen for example to all those different vocalizations in that final track, and that they will continue to push those boundaries ever wider, ever wilder and with ever more exotic touches. And to continue to search for something they cannot name…

(Written by JK)

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Valley Of The Sun – The Chariot

 

 

Valley Of The Sun – The Chariot
Ripple Music / Fuzzorama Records – 2022
Rock, Stoner, Grunge, Hardrock, Blues
Rated: *****

We’ve been listening to The Chariot for a few months now and shall continue to do so. (Why do I keep referring to myself as ‘We’? I’m certainly not royalty! I should try and remedy that… Anyway…) We shall continue to keep listening to The Chariot for years to come, definitely and for sure. Cause Older Gods and Volume Rock still spin here regularly as well. We simply dig the sound, the tones and the atmospheres that the Valley Of The Sun quartet creates. It references everything we love about grunge and does so in a way that it never becomes too grungy. It does that same thing with hardrock and stoner; leaving everything in a fine balance on a tightrope somewhere, out there, in the shimmering distance, dangling fantastically high and indeed pretty low above a desert precipice. This time around the sound has become even warmer and steamier. If this is due to the new drummer or because the band, with solo surviving founding member Ryan Ferrier, at the helm, is simply that ever evolving entity, those heavy fiends that thirst to explore every avenue available, one can only guess. Opening with a bluesy, sixties guitar on Sweet Sands that instantly goes off into a riff and hook that keeps on circling, complemented by that awesome chorus and background vocals, it makes the opening track immediately that introduction you would love when you start a new album. It also promptly shows off what Mr. Ferrier is capable and most versed in, when it comes to vocal lines, and carrying a certain gritty energy to its logical conclusion. Freedom, escape, a yearning for wide open spaces and for travelling at the right kind of speed… The speed you want. That’s what you might take away from The Chariot and that is, for me, the ultimate example of what a band of desert pirates should wish to accomplish. And signing off your record with a strong composition like, Colosseum, the way the guitars seem to shimmer like a fata morgana across your stereo, that emotional charge in the vocals and the overall sound that creates this grandiose open plain, gives the album an extra bit of shine. The Chariot… It shines and gleams under the hot desert sun…

(Written by JK)

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Museum of Light – Horizon

 

 

Museum of Light – Horizon
Spartan Records – 2022
Rock, Stoner, Doom, Grunge, Post, Prog
Rated: *****

We’ve been digging this debut album by Seattle trio Museum of Light a whole fucking lot! In fact, Horizon, together with a handful of others, were jotted down immediately as my personal top favorites for the June Doom Charts. So, I was extremely happy to see it reach the Number 17 position of the June 2022 edition of the Doom Charts. Opener Organelle, immediately induces this deep state hypnotic trance, filled with warm orange light, giving you a feeling of peace and safety… Until the pounding starts! Jogging you awake, into this totally different realm, marooned somewhere, deserted, castaway, where Waves of heaviness wash over you. Never completely drowning you, but always on the verge of. That two-track opening section is so meticulously crafted, you feel honored and grateful to be listening to it. And as the crashing Waves slowly dissipates into a lovely swell of light and air, the highly atmospheric Cal seems to move ever more into a prog and sludgy territory. Where the repeated vocal lines add an extra layer of breathtaking mystery and those keys at the end opens up the entire composition, giving you another moment of relieve, before Soft Openings comes on. Where the shivering of glee and ecstasy continues, for it seems Museum of Light have found an amazing recipe for making a surging, swelling and crashing album that not only gives you light where needed but also manages to make the dark something you want to embrace. Theres a wonderful balance here. Everything seems to interlock on a natural almost obvious way and with all the sparkling instrumentation, the ability to let it all ride, you feel the boundless love the three have for their Horizon album. And it will surely make your heart grow as well, till it almost bursts…

(Written by JK)

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The Doom Charts for June 2022

 

 

The Doom Charts for June 2022

“I play guitar because I like to make loud noises. And the guitar is the coolest way to make a loud noise.”

~ Kim Thayil

We’ll add to that thought bass, drums, vocals, keys, gongs, etc. Heavy music often requires volume cranked to 11, and we live in an age where we’re spoiled for bands ready to blow out our speakers. Beyond the waves of fuzz, gnarly low end, and brain-bashing bass drums, there’s even more modes of heavy to explore, from atmospheric crush to heavy as simply a mood. Below are 40 of this month’s top purveyors of loud noises and weighted spirit, with far more that can’t be fit into just one post. Dig in and check out the new monthly playlist! And while you’re at it, please give a warm, long overdue welcome to Rich Piva and Silvi Pearl whose impeccable taste now blesses the DC crew!

Did you see the Doom Charts of June 2022? Hope so, cause it went up some five days ago! And what a wild edition once again. This edition was published by our very own Kyle SB / Shasta Beast. Thank you for stepping in and hitting it out of the park! But of course we need to say thank you to all those Contributors, the two new ones Silvi Pearl and Rich Piva; but also all the long standing members! Cause without their votes, their energy and their love for the heavy stuff we could not publish this little thing every month again… Much love to one and all! 

Gonna be listening to all them albums in the next week in a row… Cause before we left for that little one week holiday we were sure to send our own list of favorite albums of the past month and we were happy to see many of those choices making it: Mexicoma, The Swell Fellas, Crobot, Museum Of Light, Indus Valley Kings, Phiasco, Mystery Dudes, Oreyeon, Sasquatch, Valley Of The Sun, Red Sun Atacama, AAWKS & Sergeant Thunderhoof… 

But we’ve already noticed quite a few that we haven’t even had the chance to hear yet! So, next up is Demise by Solemn Ceremony! And then, all the other June Doom Charts entries… It’s gonna get loud and heavy over here!

Welcome to Doom Charts, representing some of the finest bloggers, journalists, radio, podcasters and reviewers from the heavy underground around the globe.  Each month, our critics submit their picks for the best new doom, sludge, metal, stoner, psychedelic and heavy rock albums.  The results are compiled and tabulated into the chart below.  This is a one-stop shop for the best new albums in the world…

THE DOOM CHARTS FOR JUNE 2022

Back… From the Island…

 

Back… From the Island…

It was a wonderful week on a wonderful island… Did not get to see everything we wanted; a week is too short… But did an amazing downhill hike from Escorsa, through Torrent de Pareis to Sa Calobra… Saw a lot of the mountains, the Formentor peninsula and the entire north region till about Cala Gat. Driving around the album blasting Sergeant Thunderhoof, Phiasco, AAWKS, Mexicoma, The Same River and ofcourse the Mallorca heavies: Milana and Bisonte… A week is too short, so we did not get to meet up with Milana, who gave us some great tips for the island... But, we shall return again! And hope to do so next time!

Ofcourse; departure and the return home is always a sad moment… But especially now that delayed flights are the norm and extra hours on the airport the rule… Sigh… But returning to a nice package of vinyl sure does brighten the day! Soon, we shall commence once again with the Stoner HiVe show! We just need to sort through 400 plus emails…

Yowzah!