Stoner HiVe

woensdag 11 mei 2016

Doom Chart for May 2016

Doom Chart

“There’s bands on this month’s list that I didn’t even know about. So it’s a learning curve for me to broaden my musical horizons. You know the drill now how the Doom Charts Work. List of contributors are at the bottom. Though it’s the bands we have to thank for releasing such awesome music that we get to review and feature on our respective sites. Thanks must go to you fine folks for visiting and spreading the word about the Doom Charts.” ~ Steve Howe (Outlaws of The Sun)

Welcome to Doom Charts, representing some of the finest bloggers, radio and podcasters and album reviewers from the doom-stoner underground around the globe. Each month, our critics submit their picks for the best new doom-sludge metal and stoner-psychedelic 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.

Last weekend it suddenly was out there. Once again. The all new, May edition of, the Doom Chart. The amazing Steve Howe did the dirty work this time around and we are now feasting our eyes and ears on 25 brilliant heavy records. With a new Number One appearing out of nowhere. So head on over to the Doom Chart and check out the new Number One, the 7 other new entries and the seventeen we all have been loving for at least two months now. It’s the Doom Chart! Yes, we love this kind of music so much, we make lists about it!

Doom Chart for May 2016

woensdag 4 mei 2016

Methadone Skies – Colosseus

Self released – 2016

Metal, Psych, Prog

Rated: ****

It's raining wafers, hallelujah it's raining wafers from Romania, we've got the outfit Methadone Skies with their third release Colosseus. A follow-up to the debut from 2012, Enter The Void and the 2014 record Eclectic Electric. These guys bring it all instruments all the time. Lying somewhere between psych, stoner, metal and progressive the band sets themselves apart from the more doomish side of the instrumental spectrum. The title track being my favorite cut is all encompassing of the aforementioned styles. There is something haunting yet beautiful about Colosseus. The band is killer but I have to give extra shouts to the guitarists, especially Casian for bringing the banjo. I myself fool with a 6 string banjo and feel more bands should incorporate instruments outside their realm of normalcy. The rest of the synthetic opiate outfit would be Wehry on the guitar, Mihai on Bass, and none other than Retea behind the mighty kit and extras. In closing Methadone skies rule their airspace with a different brand of stoner metal. Haha, I'm listening to the final cut on the record as I’m writing this. Listen to the 6:50 mark of masters of convulsions alone and try and tell me these fellas don't rule!!! Thanks guys! Peace.

(Written by Charlie Tooth)

dinsdag 26 april 2016

King Goblin – Cryptozoology

Bonten Record – 2016

Rock, Metal, Doom, Seventies, Punk, Black, Death

Rated: ***

You can still hear some of that grind and death in the new tracks featured on Cryptozoology by Japanese freaks King Goblin. But then there is so much more, cause they’ve pulled out all the stops and have let all their influences run free. Giving us this weird new album full of crazy tracks that move into whatever direction you can come up with. It’s all there. Sludge, Psych, Surf, Stoner, Doom, Metal, Seventies, Punk, Garage and every other genre that ever got pigeonholed. Which is exactly what King Goblin refuses to be. So what to do with these seven tracks featured. Take’m on and roll’em out. Definitely not for the weak or the feeble, but for the weird and the one of a kinds. Put the third track Prophet on repeat and you will start seeing halos everywhere and a Mike Patton dancing like crazy while Buzz Osborne is ranting in your ear. Following song 2020 is like a huge and orange moon that looms in the darkening violet swim of the sky, like a crashing planet. Garadama is one of those hawkers trying to get rid of a sackful of screaming souls on a deserted crossroad, with behind him an orange light radiating from a small crashed meteor that seems to flame like hellfire. And King Goblin’s take on Mississippi Queen by Mountain, renamed in this case as Birmingham Queen is nothing but a radioactive gem meant to be played with all levels up and extremely loud. So yes, after a hesitant start at the beginning, the boys have won over yet another soul. Another lost Pilgrim marching on together with the King Goblin…

(Written by JK)

maandag 25 april 2016

Soom – Night On Meadow

Robust Fellow – 2014

Doom, Noise, Metal, Drone, Atmospheric

Rated: ***

Originally released two years ago the boys from Robust Fellow Productions thought it was about time to bring their home country band Soom back under everyone’s attention. Ukraine is their stomping ground and Kharkov their home town. And the three-piece bring forth some unholy noisy doom metal on Night On Meadow. Dark and evil sounding atmospheres inducing nightmarish visions. They go all out experimenting with lavish structures and weird electronic droning almost static waves of clamor; with excess cymbal use and floating vocals, tracks like The Stone soon become this oppressive blanket that doesn’t sooth or keep you warm but in fact chills your bones. The effect of all ten tracks is cumulative. It is a sound you can get used to. But only if you want your brain scraped. It gets into your teeth as well as your ears. It vibrates in the knot of nerves behind the breastbone and seems to eat at the damp and delicate tissue behind your eyes. Most of all though, it gets into your head, telling you that everything you’ve ever been afraid of, is waiting, just behind the next curve of the trail or that pile of tumbled rock, waiting, to snake out of its place and get you…

(Written by JK)

vrijdag 22 april 2016

Superhalo – Bang!Bang

Vintage Records – 2016

Rock, Grunge, Stoner, Desert

Rated: ****

Next up is a Polish quintet from a little village called Porażyn not far from Poznan. They’re called Superhalo and released their second album Bang!Bang a few months ago. On it they explore the universe of grunge, stoner and desert rock. Often coming across as the Polish answer to Queens Of The Stone Age. And guess what, they do this riposte to the Palm Desert motherfuckers damn good. Perhaps missing a bit of gravitas or pizzazz, they definitely aren’t without style or blatant 100 percent copies. Although some tracks or openings do mirror certain Queens songs in a big way. But in fact, after a few times around the bend songs like Soma, Danger!Poison, Catching Tides and God Awaits Me Across The River worm their way into your head and refuse to leave it. Highly robotic and full of quirky little cul de sacs these songs show their definite love for the road paved by Josh Homme. Lyrics in both Polish and English combined with the big wave sound make the Bang!Bang record one hell of a ride. A speedy voyage through a Polish desert filled with a new take on everything we love from that hot place on the other side of the ocean. Check out Superhalo and be amazed by cirrus like glares and sunny rock flares that is Bang!Bang…

(Written by JK)

La Chinga – Freewheelin’

Small Stone – 2016

Rock, Seventies, Stoner

Rated: ****

On Freewheelin’, the sophomore release by Canadian trio La Chinga, we can definitely do the dirty dance with the ghost of Zeppelin. Cause without a doubt and even more so than on their self-titled debut album, where the groove and the boogie seemed to come more from the stoner rock scene, it’s those mad and powerful years of heavy rock that La Chinga nods to now. We can hear them move towards AC/DC here, ZZ Top there and Thin Lizzy or MC5 on occasion, but the ghost of Zeppelin is everywhere. For instance when Mountain Momma explodes out of the speakers there is no escaping it. Robert Plant and the fellas would be jealous! But they most like already were seeing green during the funky Mother Of All Snakeheads, with the Plant-like exhales of singer/bassist Carl Speckler and the mighty Page-like guitar work of Ben Yardley. And indeed, the stomping drums of drummer Jason Solyom, who unfortunately left the band after the recordings of Freewheelin’, would even make Bonham cry tears of happiness. Its Freewheelin’ thunder down thunder road, accelerating maniacs out to serve you highly spirited rock ‘n roll and make your head explode!

(Written by JK)

Birth of Joy – Get Well

Suburban – 2016

Rock, Psych

Rated: *****

Wow man, what an opening and what a first track. Blisters, the intro to the new album Get Well by Dutch trio Birth of Joy definitely gets the blood racing. After which the entire record just keeps you smiling and running through all your favorite spots in your mind. With an ever growing own style they manage to effortlessly combine heavy rock with psychedelic outburst, bluesy lamentations and krautish experimentations. And after the whirlwind opener comes that second ditty called Meet Me At The Bottom, bluesy, easygoing, raw and rowdy all in one and highly convincing once again. And those amazing tracks aren’t even the best on the album. Cause for that you need to listen to everything else. And get absolutely stunned by the seventies Choose Sides, sultry Midnight Cruise, racing Carabiner and battleship title track of the record: Get Well. Which leave us with no other option that to conclude that this is their best and most riveting album yet!

(Written by JK)

Carnaval - Singing Colors

Carnaval - Singing Colors

And yet another new song by the amazing Carnaval! Are you ready for Big Fish? The new EP which will be released next month...

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Carnaval - No Warranty

Carnaval - No Warranty

A new song by the amazing Carnaval! Are you ready for Big Fish? The new EP which will be released next month...

vrijdag 15 april 2016

Fabrik Royale – The Same Machine

Festering Chunks – 2016

Rock, Grunge, Stoner

Rated: ****

The name rang a bell, but I couldn’t concentrate. All around me desperate stoner melodies fought for attention. Suddenly it dawned on me. The band hailed from the south of the Netherlands and did some recording under guidance of Pieter Kloos at his The Void studios, or something like that. After checking out Fabrik Royale we found out, their first release One Eyed Idiot was mastered by Kloos and recorded at the lovely PopEi in Eindhoven back in 2003. After which the band split up only to find each other again many years later. So now, The Same Machine, only older, is the new five track EP by this Dutch quartet. A highly grungy and melodic stoner effort that convinces in songwriting and arrangement. But lacks the punch here and there to truly break into your heart. Or so it seems on a first casual listening session. But then when your focus returns on the second one, the jumble of kindling that seemed like the remains on a couple of chairs after a bar fight, suddenly catch fire and burst ablaze. And you’re heart burn with it. You will feel like a torch! The wavering vocals, which at first seemed hesitant and unconvincing, will become charming. The bass, perhaps a bit too distant, starts rumbling more and more, like a thunderstorm on approach. And the guitars become increasingly the focus point that they should be, with majestic riffs and damn fine colors. And as every cog counts, let’s not forget about the drums, expert fills and even more important, leaving the right amount of space for the rest when needed. It might be The Same Machine, but it’s definitely different and it’s definitely delicious!

(Written by JK)

Black Mountain – IV

Jagjaguwar/Konkurrent – 2016

Rock, Hard, Psych

Rated: ***

Black Mountain. Everybody loves these Canadian crazies. Well, almost everybody. And the amazing Lucas belongs to the small percentage that doesn’t. Which makes his screed on his Paranoid Hitsophrenic one hell of sweet read. Even though I might not completely agree with Lucas and even though my testosterone level is definitely on par with most music fiends and homeless guys selling off their last testicle behind the supermarket, I am not the guy that will keep spreading the Black Mountain joint around. And I am definitely not the one to Bogart it and smoke it himself. Sure, the Canadian fellas released three good records, which for some reason didn’t get as much airtime over here as all the other psychedelic rock albums released in the same time period. There must be a reason. And while it might be too easy to state that the rest was simply better, I do think there must have been some truth to that simple fact. On their new release they opt to use a more spacey vibe and this definitely suits singer Amber Webber. And less of a sideshow and more a shared spotlight with singer/guitarist Stephen McBean, it is this unit of two that propels the new album IV. Where propel might be the wrong word chosen, since most of the jams are slow and arduous. Wilderness Heart made it to Number 17 of the Stoner HiVe Top 20 Countdown of 2010. It would be strange to see them make it that high this time around. But then again, who can complain about opener Mothers Of The Sun; where Black Mountain sounds charmingly old-fashioned and old-fashioned good. Cause even though there’s nothing new under the sun or on the other side of the mountain, there is also nothing wrong with doing everything that has been done before on your own terms and for your own ears. And if you dig the opener, with its wild one riff and its floating synthescapes, you’re in for one hell of a trip with closer Space To Bakersfield. A fine drift-off it is…

(Written by JK)

donderdag 14 april 2016

Moon Circle – Moon Circle

Self released – 2016

Stoner, Fuzz, Psych

Rated: ****

The French are coming! The French are coming!! Oh, that's not what Arnold said? Well, he should have, because the French outfit Moon Circle is dressed in black and ready to attack!! Their self-titled LP is blazin' and served up hot for everyone to enjoy. This album is heavy stoner with guitar sounds that are very pleasing. Only a guess here, but it sounds like the guitarist is playing through an orange. Either way the guitar work is tasty, clean yet fuzzy all at once. The guys bring a mostly instrumental game and play to that end of the stoner spectrum nicely. The Sabbath crowd should be able to latch onto this one no problem. I found myself bobbing my head at those groovy riffs even though I'm more of a Zeppelin guy. Oh my God!! That's right. I said it. If asked the question Sabbath or Zeppelin I would get the Led out almost every time. That's how much these guys impressed. Very black yet very much digging it. Hahaha, there it is. Then the track Cum Together starts and I'm thinking there's the more bluesy shit I can really sink my teeth into, hell yeah!!! Thanks Moon Circle, you guys are the shit!

(Written by Charlie Tooth)

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