dinsdag 14 januari 2020

Melt – Demo 2019


Melt – Demo 2019
Self released – 2019
Rock, Grunge, Metal, Noise, Punk
Rated: ****

Melancholia drips from your fingers and your fondle those darkened tunes that are Melt! Originally started as a duo the French foursome manage to produce something very soulful and powerful. They already released an self-titled album in 2017 but their demo from 2019 does everything a bit better. It moves, it howls and it screams itself into your heart. It has a nineties alternative vibe, but everything else sells you metal and noisy sanctuary… Furious!

(Written by JK)



zondag 12 januari 2020

Venus Sleeps - Remnants


Venus Sleeps - Remnants
Self-released - December 2019
Doom, Psych, Stoner
Rated: ****

Remnants sees Ireland's Venus Sleeps conduct a masterclass in classic, psych-tinged doom with arresting clean vocals and atmosphere laden with naked, gut-wrenching anguish.

(Written by Shastabeast)




Mxrcxl - I Love Words More Than You Can Say


Mxrcxl - I Love Words More Than You Can Say
Self released – 2020
Rock
Rated: ****

Released on the very first day of the new year,  is the new single I Love Words More Than You Can Say by Dutch outfit Mxrcxl. Mixed by Matt Bayles in Red Room Studio, Seattle (Mastodon, Soundgarden & Deftones) and mastered by Fluid Mastering, Londen (Faith No More, Therapy? & Sex Pistols) the production is ofcourse done by Marcel Janssen himself, the man behind the project. Heralding the upcoming new album All About Tomorrow and heralding a new sound! Different then what came before, remember A Laughing Matter or In Alarm?  Very fluid, very catchy and very promising! Go check out the single and get ready for the full album!

(Written by JK)









zaterdag 11 januari 2020

Six Steps Above The Earth – Step 5


Six Steps Above The Earth – Step 5
Released - October 12, 2019
Doom, Ambient, Post-Rock, Sludge
Rated: ****

Greek planet-killers Six Steps Above The Earth return with their latest episode of tone-exploring excursions into Drone Doom, Step 5: A two-tracker with the weight and gravitas of a Jovian moon. 'Part 1' seethes with wrought anxieties, corrupted through miserable atmospheres of dissonance before 'Part 2''s horse-drawn hearse of funereal cadence grimaces and grinds to it's doomed conclusion. As sombre as a State Funeral: Beautiful but hauntingly sad. Outstanding!

(Written by Reek of STOOM)





vrijdag 10 januari 2020

The Top 30 of most scrobbled albums of 2019…



The 30 most scrobbled albums of 2019… 


1.    De Staat – Bubblegum

2.    Mark Deutrom – The Blue Bird

3.    Luna Sol – Below The Deep

4.    Torche – Admission

5.    Bob Mould – Sunshine Rock

6.    Mutant Scum – Mutant Scum

7.    Melissa Etheridge – The Medicine Show

8.    Quaker City Night Hawks – QCNH

9.    Kamchatka – Hoodoo Lightning

10.    Spidergawd – V

11.    LáGoon – The Unwelcome

12.    Saint Agnes – Welcome To Silvertown

13.    Silver Devil – Paralyzed

14.    Doomed & Stoned In England

15.    Boogie Beasts – Deep

16.    Warp – Warp

17.    Chelsea Wolfe – Birth Of Violence

18.    Gone Cosmic – Sideways In Time

19.    Ulysses – On Safari

20.    Flux Amuck – The Alternate

21.    Dreckneck – Dirty Habits (Rule Us All)

22.    A Pale Horse Named Death – When The World Becomes Undone

23.    Big Business – The Beast You Are

24.    Hhoogg – Earthling, Go Home

25.    The Lunar Effect – Calm Before The Storm

26.    John Garcia – John Garcia And The Band Of Gold

27.    Lo-Pan – Subtle

28.    Perry Farrell – Kind Heaven

29.    The Grand Mal – The Grand Mal

30.    Diggeth – Gringos Galacticos

A few words of thanks…


A few posts of thanks…

A few final words of thanks… A few posts to thank all those bands out there that delivered all that awesome heavy music in 2019. We loved so much of it! It shows in the many different lists that were sent in for the Stoner HiVe Top 20 Countdown. And not just that, it shows on the Doom Charts and on the personal lists that were posted on the HiVe and the Doom Charts. And ofcourse on all the personal pages of the Doom Charts Contributors; and those are many. Thanks to all that voted for the Stoner HiVe Top 20 Countdown. Without you crazy music fiends the Countdown would not work and the heavy music scene would not be this alive! Many thanks! Keep your ears on that rumbling bass and those pounding drums; it will show you the way to those almighty riffs and majestic grooves! 

Thanks to everyone out there who were involved with heavy music. Either by listening, making or voting for it. It is once again staggering to think about the sheer encompassing amount of great music! I’ve scrobbled 2004 albums. That’s digital scrobbles. Not counting vinyl or cd’s. Or those that were labelled wrong and did not scrobble at all. And I know the members of the Stoner HiVe Team have listened to a lot of different albums among themselves. And yes, I know there are still many on my to listen to list. There are many in the Stoner HiVe inbox and there are many on the different listening platforms provided by the record companies that are still waiting to be heard… Some of which  we will get to before January is over… There is just so much! 

Thanks to all the Doom Chart Contributors, all wise in their own ways and all doing what they do for the pure love of it. Nobody is making one cent for doing this. It’s fuel is the love of the heavy stuff and the reward is seeing somebody finding an album they love because of that. And thanks to the Stoner HiVe Team. Doktor420 for remaining that immovable stalwart of stoner and space rock. He is very reluctant to do any writing for the HiVe but will forever be the original guru and has without a doubt the best ear for the unknown stoner, space, psych and kraut. Madman Tony Maim, has fired up his own Black Insect Laughter to some degree, giving us an insight to the monthly ruckus he listened to. Yes! He is there went you need a rant or two and he knows where to find the good punk, the great thrash and the lovely hardcore. We love the occasional and unprovoked burst of madness entering the HiVe inbox about a new album. And hope he will continue to do so. Reek of STOOM joined the team almost exactly a year ago! And has since then quickly climbed up to fill a void in all the sludge, doom and grime genres within the HiVe as well as the Doom Charts and Doomed and Stoned. A prolific listener that is unrivaled in the amount he listens to as well as the quality of his writing. And last addition Kyle aka Shastabeast. With us since September, the man seems to love the fuzz, the scruffy riffs and the dirty grooves as much as the doom of yore and the sludge of tomorrow. And if there is one animal that can find even more unknown heavy stoner gold than featured on the blogs, it’s Shastabeast

Thanks to you all for doing what you do and helping the HiVe give more attention to more bands! And because of that, we shall try to give a little bit of attention to some of that awesome stuff we missed during 2019 before normal broadcasting service shall commence… So, the next two weeks will be filled with posts featuring stuff that was released in 2019… After that we look forward and onwards, cause 20 20 is upon us! Thank you all! Let’s stay heavy!

dinsdag 7 januari 2020

Doktor420’s - Personal Top 20


Doktor420’s - Personal Top 20

The Stoner HiVe Team Members are all involved with the Doom Charts as well. So most of the personal lists already appeared there. But we’re reposting them here once again. Just because we like to keep things nice and tidy and up with the tradition…  And in the case of the good Doktor, his has not yet appeared on the Doom Charts. So, here it is!


Doktor420’s - Personal Top 20 (errr, Top 40)


1. Domkraft - Slow Fidelity 

2. ZQKMGDZ - Absolutely Z 

3. Monkey3 - Sphere 

4. Re-Stoned - 10π 

5. COSMOS - See The World 

6. ZOAHR - Off Axis 

7. GOLD - Why Aren't You Laughing 

8. Kadavar - For The Dead Travel Fast 

9. Deaf Radio - Modern Panic 

10. Year Of The Cobra - Ash And Dust 

11. Warlocks - Mean Machine Music 

12. Blackwater Holylight - Veils Of Winter 

13. Solace - The Brink 

14. Villagers of Ioannina City - Age of Aquarius 

15. Earth Tongue - Floating Being

16. Mars Red Sky - The Task Eternal 

17. Slift - La Planète Inexplorée 

18. Luna Sol - Below The Deep 

19. Ulysses - On Safari 

20. Black Wizards - Reflections 

21. Saint Agnes - Welcome To Silvertown 

22. White Shape - Perfect Dark 

23. Green Lung - Woodland Rites 

24. Godsleep - Coming Of Age 

25. Uffe Lorenzen - Triprapport 

26. Stone Witch - Desert Oracle 

27. Bonzai - Seeds To Roots 

28. Silver Devil - Paralyzed 

29. Zemlya-Vozduh - Demo 

30. Robots Of The Ancient World - Cosmic Riders 

31. Devil To Pay - Forever, Never or Whenever 

32. Stone From The Sky - Break A Leg 

33. Stöner Kebab - Everything Fades To White 

34. Cave In - Final Transmission 

35. Papir - VI 

36. Hippie Death Cult - 111 

37. Moon Duo - Stars Are the Light 

38. Comacozer - Mydriasis 

39. Russian Circles - Blood Year 

40. Skyjoggers - Seasons Of Uiu

Reek of STOOM’s - Personal Top 20


Reek of STOOM’s - Personal Top 20

The Stoner HiVe Team Members are all involved with the Doom Charts as well. So most of the personal lists already appeared there. But we’re reposting them here once again. Just because we like to keep things nice and tidy and up with the tradition… And crazy Reek has one more addition to the Doom Charts list... We give you number 21 as well!


Reek of STOOM’s - Personal Top 20


01 PYLAR - HORROR CÓSMYCO

02 MAMMOTH WEED WIZARD BASTARD - YN OL I ANNWN

03 WEEED - YOU ARE THE SKY

04 ELDER - GOLD & SILVER SESSIONS

05 GEIST - SWARMING SEASON

06 CLOUDS TASTE SATANIC - SECOND SIGHT

07 THE COSMIC DEAD - SCOTTISH SPACE RACE

08 BOMBAY GROOVY - ODYSSEY

09 OPIUM LORD - VORE

10 THE LUCID FURS - NO GOD, NO PROBLEM

11 YEAR OF THE COBRA - ASH AND DUST

12 SOLAR HALOS - COILED LIGHT

13 BEES MADE HONEY IN THE VEIN TREE - GRANDMOTHER

14 HIPPIE DEATH CULT - 111

15 GÉVAUDAN - ITER

16 MONARCH - BEYOND THE BLUE HORIZON

17 SCARECROW – SCARECROW

18 THE ASTRAL VOID - MANDRAGORA

19 GIN LADY - TALL SUN, CROOKED MOON

20 DR. AWKWARD AND THE SCREWS - GETTIN' OUT OF STYLE

21 CIA HIPPIE MIND CONTROL - SPECIAL PURPOSE

Tony Maim’s - Personal Top 20


Tony Maim’s - Personal Top 20

The Stoner HiVe Team Members are all involved with the Doom Charts as well. So most of the personal lists already appeared there. But we’re reposting them here once again. Just because we like to keep things nice and tidy and up with the tradition…And here, on the HiVe we list all 61 albums the Madman detailed!


Tony Maim’s - Personal Top 20 (errr, Top 61)


1. WAINGRO - III 

2. MISLEADING – MISLEADING 

3. NEBULA – HOLY SHIT

4. CLOUDS TASTE SATANIC – EVIL EYE

5. ROADSAW – TINNITUS THE NIGHT 

6. MISLEADING – MISLEADING 

7. YEAR OF THE COBRA – ASH AND DUST 

8. MONOLORD – NO COMFORT 

9. DJUNAH – EX VOTO 

10. ADMIRAL SIR CLOUDESLEY SHOVELL – VERY UNCERTAIN TIMES 

11. MAMMOTH MAMMOTH - KREUZUNG 

12. OPETH – IN CAUDA VENENUM 

13. BRUME – RABBITS 

14. BIG BUSINESS – THE BEAST YOU ARE 

15. WALLOWING - PLANET LOSS 

16. ALCEST – SPIRITUAL INSTINCT 

17. MOTORPSYCHO – THE CRUCIBLE 

18. SOLACE – THE BRINK 

19. DEATHCHANT – DEATHCHANT 

20. VOKONIS – GRASPING TIME 

21. CITY OF SPECTRES – THE CURSE OF SCIENCE 

22. BISON MACHINE – HOARFROST 

23. AVER – ORBIS MAJORA 

24. PARALYZED – HIDDEN SUN 

25. WITCHERS CREED – AWAKEND FROM THE TOMB 

26. HAZEMAZE - HYMNS OF THE DAMNED 

27. BLACK LUNG – ANCIENTS 

28. HORSEHUNTER – HORSEHUNTER 

29. RIVERBOTTOM NITEMARE – STONED AND BRUTAL 

30. VALLEY OF THE SUN – OLD GODS 

31. HIGH PRIEST – SANCTUM 

32. LOOPRIDER – OUROBOROS 

33. GOATESS – BLOOD AND WINE 

34. SPIDERGAWD – V 

35. DOOMICIDAL – SHADOW OF THE GALLOWS 

36. CONJURER – SIGILS 

37. WOLF BLOOD – II 

38. ETERNAL BLACK – SLOW BURN SUISIDE 

39. HELMS ALEE – NOCTILUCA 

40. PYRAMIDAL – PYRAMIDAL 

41. VOKONIS – GRASPING TIME 

42. RIVAL SONS – FERAL ROOTS

43. BEASTWARS – IV 

44. EL SUPREMO – CLARITY THROUGH DISTORTION 

45. GONE COSMIC – SIDEWAYS IN TIME

46. BARONESS –GOLD AND GREY 

47. FREE RIDE – FREE RIDE 

48. ARROWHEAD – COVEN OF THE SNAKE 

49. BEATEN BY HIPPIES – BEATEN BY HIPPIES 

50. DEAD ACID PEOPLE – EARTH, WEED AND FIRE 

51. LO-PAN – SUBTLE 

52. HORSE BURNER – THE THIEF 

53. HIPPIE DEATH CULT – 111 

54. BLACK WITCHES – BLACK WITCHES 

55. GOATHAWKBUFFALO – COME TO TEMPLE 

56. BLEEDING MOUNTAINS – ILLUMINATION 

57. EAGLE CLAW – VALLIS 

58. BLACK MASTIFF – LOSER DELUSIONS 

59. THE BLACK WIZARDS – REFLECTIONS 

60. SWAN VALLEY HEIGHTS – THE HEAVY SEED 

61. ROSALIE CUNNINGHAM - ROSALIE CUNNINGHAM

Shasta Beast’s - Personal Top 20


Shasta Beast’s - Personal Top 20

The Stoner HiVe Team Members are all involved with the Doom Charts as well. So most of the personal lists already appeared there. But we’re reposting them here once again. Just because we like to keep things nice and tidy and up with the tradition…

Kyle aka Shasta Beast sent a slightly different one to the HiVe. Probably because of this he had time to reflect on it and sent a different one to Doom Charts. Check out those differences here!


Shasta Beast’s - Personal Top 20


1. The Grand Mal - The Grand Mal

2. These Beasts - These Beasts

3. Earthward - By The Pound

4. King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard - Infest the Rat's Nest

5. Antarticus - The Frozen Horror

6. Hippie Death Cult - 111

7. American Sharks - 11:11

8. Stone In Egypt - Tectonic Electronic

9. Cooling Tower - Cooling Tower

10. OVEN - Couch lock

11. Colfax Speed Queen - Dirty Mirror

12. Green Inferno - Demo

13. Grim Earth - Stash of the Damned

14. Salem's Bend - Supercluster

15. Paralyzed - Hidden Sun

16. NAP - Ausgeklingt

17. Yarnspinner - A Massive Head of Steam

18. Holy Rivals - Holy Rivals

19. Jack Harlon & The Dead Crows - Hymns

20. Funeral Noise - Electric Ceremony

JK’s – Personal Top 20


JK’s – Personal Top 20

The Stoner HiVe Team Members are all involved with the Doom Charts as well. So most of the personal lists already appeared there. But we’re reposting them here once again. Just because we like to keep things nice and tidy and up with the tradition…

JK’s – Personal Top 20 (errr, Top 30)

What a year it has been once again. Rock has been declared dead so many times. Or declared a Titan Arum that bloomed for the last time around the seventies an equal amount of times. But it seems the heavy side of rock just keeps on blooming. It’s just different nowadays! Because of the internet or perhaps thanks to the internet. There are so many outlets to find the music to suit your exact taste. I personally just hope that all you crazy music fiends out there keep on trying out the other stuff as well. Cause we can all get swamped in our own little niche of danceable stoner pop, blackened doom or grimy garage sludge. But there are so many amazing album being released on a monthly basis. It is stupendous, insane and absolutely stunning. Below follows a list of thirty albums that did a lot for me on many levels. But I can just as easily name twenty or fifty more that also did a lot for me. And that’s just the heavy stuff. Looking at the thirty I sent in; I’m thinking: ‘what the hell?!’ How can you leave off Nightstalker? Or Lunar Effect? Or Ealdor Bealu? Solace? Horseburner? Emily Jane White? Or those two amazing records that were released at the very end of December 2018: Pfund and Son Cesano? It feels wrong, and it feels like I should revise the entire list again. Or even just include them all. All of the ones that I love. Well, I guess I just loved the thirty below just a tiny, almost unmeasurable, amount more. Upwards and Onwards in 2020! Let’s get heavy once again! ~ Joop


30.    Planet of The 8’s – Tourist Season

29.    Per Wiberg – Head Without Eyes

28.    ZED – Volume

27.    The Grand Mal – The Grand Mal

26.    Warp – Warp

25.    Lo-Pan – Subtle

24.    Ulysses – On Safari

23.    Gold – Why Aren’t You Laughing

22.    Cold In Berlin – Rituals of Surrender

21.    Torche – Admission

20.    Obsidian Sea – Strangers

19.    No Man’s Valley – Outside The Dream

18.    Gin Lady – Tall Sun Crooked Moon

17.    Howling Giant – The Space Between Worlds

16.    Roadsaw – Tinnitus The Night

15.    Year Of The Cobra – Ash And Dust

14.    Crypt Trip – Haze County

13.    Green Lung – Woodland Rites

12.    Spidergawd – V

11.    Luna Sol – Below The Deep

10.    Monomyth – Orbis Quadrantis

9.    Saturna – Atlantis

8.    American Sharks – 11:11

7.    Zoahr – Off Axis

6.    The Devil And The Almighty Blues – Tre

5.    Black Wizards – Reflections 

4.    Wallace Vanborn – A Scalp For The Tribe

3.    Arrowhead – Coven Of The Snake

2.    John J Presley – As The Night Draws In

1.    Kamchatka – Hoodoo Lightning

vrijdag 3 januari 2020

The Bottom Dwellers 10 of 2019!


The Bottom Dwellers 10 of 2019!

We used to be able to do a Red Lantern post about the albums from the year that passed. It entailed the album or albums that got voted for once; and only once and only on the 20th position of a sent in list. But that hasn’t been possible every year. Due to the fact that not every lists has 20 albums on it. Some have less some have more. And for some reason, every one of those lists sent in, with exactly 20 albums on it, had an album on that 20th position, which got voted for more times. So, since we wish to mention a few of those albums that had a very limited amount of votes, we invented the Bottom Dwellers post. Albums that ended up at the very bottom of the list. Which means they were still damn freaking good! Cause they got voted for! But perhaps a bit off center to the  normal HiVe heaviness. Perhaps a bit more metal? Or pop? Or punk? But it still means they are featured on a small list of only 403 albums. And to think that among the HiVe Team Members only around 3500 heavy albums were heard in 2019. And we all know there are even more out there! More great records to be discovered! Which we shall continue to do! Damn, how we love this heavy stuff! Go check out the Bottom Dwellers 10 from 2019! Who knows, it might just feature your new favorite one!











donderdag 2 januari 2020

Onwards and Upwards in 2020 !



Onwards and Upwards in 2020 !


As promised a little more data and stuff about the Stoner HiVe Top 20 Countdown of 2019. In the end 93 of the 95 lists that you lovely freaks sent in were counted. One came in a few days too late and one was sent when the Top 20 already entered the Top 10, unfortunately. The amount of albums voted for was no less than 403 albums. There were quite a few lists that came in that listed only one to three or five albums. Below we feature the Number 21 to 100, with Dommengang and their amazing No Keys album missing exactly 10 points to make it to the Top 20. And Ole English by Ole English missing almost 200 points to do the same thing. To be fair, below are the albums listed at Number 21 to 100 but a lot of those album gathered the same amount of votes. If we would really move to the 100th position down the list according to points we would end up with an extra list of  32 albums, which would give us VVLVA with their Silhouettes album at the 100th spot. But we’re sticking with the list below. And marvel at the amount of amazing freaking heavy music release this year! Once again! It’s a good time to be alive for us heavy rock fiends!


Dommengang - No Keys
Spirit Adrift - Divided By Darkness
Numidia - Numidia
Hazemaze – Hymns Of The Damned
Magic Circle - Departed Souls
Scarecrow - Scarecrow
Palace In Thunderland - The King Of The Empty Aeon
Nightstalker - Great Hallucinations
Cult Of Luna - A Dawn To Fear
Inter Arma - Sulphur English
Black Mastiff - Loser Delusions
Idle Hands - Mana
Bus - Never Decide
Parasol Caravan - Nemesis
The Red Widows - Fuzzifixion
Grotto - Lantern Of Gius
Besvärjelsen - Frost  
Nebula Drag - Blud
Mammoth Weed Wizard Bastard - Yn Ol I Annwn
Kaleidobolt - Bitter
Slomatics - Canyons
Bison Machine - Seas Of Titan
Aver - Orbis Majora
Red Beard Wall - The Fight Needs Us All
Crypt Sermon - The Ruins Of Fading Light  
Doomstress - Sleep Among The Dead
Troll - Legend Master
Rosalie Cunningham - Rosalie Cunningham
Wolf Blood - II
Monocluster - Ocean
Sandveiss - Saboteur
Old Horn Tooth - From The Ghost Grey Depths
Yatra - Death Ritual
Shotgun Sawyer - Bury The Hatchet
Lord Vicar - The Black Powder
The Black Heart Death Cult - The Black Heart Death Cult
Birdstone - Seer
Sacred Monster - Worship The Weird
Red Eye - Tales From The Days Of Yore
High Reeper - Higher Reeper
Ole English - Ole English