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

Stoner HiVe’s

Top 10 Most Listened To Albums Last Month…

Phe

I Saw The Deep

Huntsmen

Millionaire

The Goners

Jegulja

Lord Loud

Wor Pigs

Brant Bjork

Siena Root

 

Delia Poparad – The Land of Mist

Delia Poparad – The Land of Mist

Self Released – 2020

Stoner, Psych, Doom

Rated: ****

Romanian Rock music has come a long way since the Soviet domination of the country ended, with a whole host of new and exciting talent emerging. Delia Poparad, a guitarist and songsmith from Bucharest exemplifies this resurgent talent with her excellent debut album, The Land of Mist. Engaging and well-crafted throughout, it delves deep into the vintage: solid chunks of Heavy Psych emanate from the title track, ably fuelled by strong vocals and swirling fuzz with a strong 70's vibe. "Wicked Queen" opens with heavy bass attack before the riffs kick in ponderous, slow and alluring. The guest vocalists throughout are top-notch and each provides the perfect vehicle to transport their respective songs. Poparad herself is no mean guitarist: a restrained, subtle approach to fuzz reveals an understanding and knowledge of how to use tone to great effect. "Magician Man" evokes late 70's-early 80's metal crossover where Sabbath met Diamond Head and drips with vintage feel. "The High Priestess" is catchy, doom-laced Psychedelia. Punchy riffs combat echoing percussion which bring a lysergic twist to the song. "Jack in the Box" slows down to ballad pace, once again chock-full of catchy hooks and strong vocal presence rolling into a sweetly-delivered, understated guitar solo. This motif continues with the following track, "Thee Moon", a darkly beckoning gesture from slow, crunching riffs and another precision-crafted solo, oddly reminiscent of Paul Kossof. Final track before the outro, "Reverie" again wanders the same doomed horseflesh roads to Sabbathia, blending the power and laid-back restraint to ample effect with strong fuzz overtones and soaring guitar licks. The Land of Mist is a sensational blend of Doom, Heavy Psych and vintage Metal that constantly delivers with precision and flair - brilliant!

(Written by Reek of STOOM)

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Hällas – Conundrum

Hällas – Conundrum

Napalm Records – 2020

Rock, Seventies, Prog, Hard, Psych

Rated: ****

There are those moments when you just want to swim around in that lovely pool of seventies prog. You just want to dive deep into those swirling sounds that seem to go on forever and almost make you drown. But of course much of that pool of old bands, old albums and old songs are fairly well known. Luckily there’s Hällas! On their new album Conundrum the Swedes go even more prog than before. Continuing their trip to extract the retro seventies elements out of that hardrock and psychedelic adventure they started somewhere around 2011. More room for keys and synths and less for straight riffs, more eighties elements and less heaviness. It’s actually more of a leisurely stroll or swim, since we were talking about pools here, through the natural progrock from the seventies, those folk inspired albums from bands like Rush. They sound completely comfortable with their route chosen and the intended goal. A multi-dimensional futuristic sounding retro album. And like a righteous paradox, all of that seems to work beautifully and not at all describe what you will go through when you listen to the album. But then again, sometimes it does. Quite the Conundrum…

(Written by JK)

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The Ditch and The Delta - The Ditch and The Delta

The Ditch and The Delta - The Ditch and The Delta

Sludgelord Records - April 2020

Sludge, Noise, Progressive, Post-Metal, Doom

Rated: ****

Come April, Salt Lake City's sludge outfit The Ditch and The Delta will bring their self-titled and second full-length to bear, and it's a monster. The trio combine harsh, grinding sludge with a heady mix of post-metal, noise, and prog to create a filthy sound as crushing as it is complex. There's no hand holding here either, as opener "Maim" bursts out with throaty screams, grimy low end, and titanic drums, a highlight of the band's sound. Between the ground-shaking bass drum, head spinning rolls, and twisting rhythms, the drumming is the second coming of Dale Crover, and is a driving force behind The Ditch and The Delta's unrelenting attack. Winding, discordant guitar occasionally pierces the sludge in angular stabs, particularly in cut "Aesthetics of Failure", whose violently grinding riffs bring the title's downtrodden feel to life. The following track "Molt" is an album highlight, beginning with a screeching eastern melody before shifting into an all-out avalanche of lightning fast drum fills and divebomb guitar that would make Torche proud. "Bleed the Sun" brings even more suprises, with a brilliant use of off-kilter dual vocals that feel dangerously unpredictable, and a post-metal wash to slowly end the assault. The Ditch and The Delta's latest is a showcase for melding more than a few styles into an individual sound that's both varied and cohesive, and the resulting seven tracks create an intricate experience that's jarringly heavy.

(Written by Shastabeast)

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Stoner HiVe’s Top 5 Most Listened To Albums Last Week…

Stoner HiVe’s

Top 5 Most Listened To Albums Last Week…

Phe

Jegulja

I Saw The Deep

Elder

Siena Root

The struggle continues. And it looks like it will for quite some time. But we’re gonna just go on with the Stoner HiVe show as much as possible. Even though, while most have been able to take things slower and work from home, part of mine will take me to the streets and towards all people who need help. Delivering medicine to everyone’s doorstep. Which will probably mean, HiVe time shall be limited. As it will for Madman Tony Maim, the man is on the forefront of the disease as he works in the Hospital. Much love and respect goes out to all those who work in Hospitals across the globe and to our very own Madman in special. Thanks and keep doing that magic you do! And now, we continue on with the telegram style tam tam update of the past week. Stoner HiVe’s smoke signals of the most played Top 5 records. On heavy rotation has been the new Glooming Dawn record by Phe, which shall be released on April 11th. We saw the pretty sweet drawn video for The Lion & the Snake; but the record is much better! Languid fuzz and steamy stoner, straight from the desert. Get ready for Phe! And Jegulja we ofcourse mentioned last Wednesday, their instrumental Exit Sandman record continues on where Darkest Light left us, wanting for more. And this is more on every level! So much groove, so many layers, prog, psych and everything so intensely heavy! Stunning! And yes, I Saw The Deep and their Vimana release will not stop rotating here. A gigantic slab of doom, progressive and psychedelic, deep sci-fi rock, which features power rock drumming with metal riffing and grungy vocals. A cathedral of heaviness if ever there was one! Omens, by Elder, out through Armageddon Records and Stickman Records, continues their very own experimentation and exploration of all the psychedelic genres to an incredible degree. We’ve been loving every Elder release since the HiVe got started, and this will definitely be a new one to adore and treasure. Out next month, it will have you travel through time to distant futures and flow along the sands of time and the magnetic currents. Wild and wonderful once more! The Secret Of Our Time is brought to us by Siena Root. And flows perfectly along the Elder record, giving us another side of the society medal. Out on MIG, the seventh studio release of the Swedes, celebrates all the good stuff from the golden days of rock. One can call it retro or you can call it pure solid gold. Either way, this is one that will play extremely loud and will have you dance around the room, the yard or the attic! Whatever your preference! As long as it is in your house and alone! But since all who listen will be doing it, you will not really be alone. We are with you! Dancing that same weird dance! Check’m out! Check’m all out!

Thunderchief – No Sufferance For Thy Fools

Thunderchief – No Sufferance For Thy Fools

Self-released – March 2020

Sludge, Doom

Rated: *****

The great State of Virginia continues to threaten for dominance in the US Underground with bands such as The Astral Void, Inter Arma and Windhand currently hitting the heights. RVA's own Thunderchief, however, lay waste to them all with this crushing new release No Sufferance For Thy Fools, a spine-snapping cesspit of antipathy and bile. Opener "3579" sets the table with a sumptuous, blackened scourge of vilified vocals and plunging riffs. "Lone Wolf McQuaalude" then ignites into a full-on thrasher of brutal, Death-infused sludge which is brutal and unforgiving. The stupor-inducing Doom riffage of "Saipan Death March" reeks of black-eyed malice and drags you off into it's dark lair. More decrepit doom follows in it's wake with "Oracion de Muerte": squealing feedback shrieks and dripping entrails of dark chord progressions lure you to the call. Another bruiser ,"Love Roses and a Pyrex Dish" turns up the gas once again, venomous, deadly riffage brawls with a percussive assault and hate-filled utterances. Closer, "(Dream of the) Hornworm" slows the pace again into an elastic Doom bassline smothered with a chlorine cloth of vicious, foetid tones. Thunderchief have delivered a crushing, brutal and essential exercise in Modern Dark Metal, and suffer fools they do not....

(Written by Reek of STOOM)

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Jegulja – Exit Sandman

Jegulja – Exit Sandman

Self released – 2020

Rock, Stoner, Instrumental, Prog, Metal, Psych

Rated: *****

I will of course always miss that original incarnation of that awesome Slovenian band called Carnaval. But it’s demise did spawn another damn great outfit, namely: Jegulja! With their new album Exit Sandman they have produced another fine piece of instrumental heaviness. Seven amazing tracks that seem to go an bit deeper than those that featured on their debut Darkest Light. Seminal track might be that title-track, which indeed seems to be inspired by Metallica’s Enter Sandman. But only to the degree that the main riff comes across as spin-off into a different dimension. It shows that these cats can envision entirely different worlds to every rhythm and riff. Continuing on we get treated to miniscule worldly elements that give this album exactly that right amount of extra spice and layers. In fact, it often contains so much extra in the way of groove or stomp that you sit and simply listen in awe. It’s those elements together with the prog and psych influences that swing and sway through all that heavy rock and add so much extra to the mixture. Yes, we are going over board again with the praise, but we cannot stress enough that the three Jegulja cats have once again come up with something stunning! Exit Sandman, is otherworldly good! And it is an absolute must have, hear and hoard!

(Written by JK)

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beehoover - Low Performer

beehoover - Low Performer

Self released - February 2020

Sludge, stoner

Rated: *****

Album number six from Germany's sludge veterans beehoover, "Low Performer" is a powerful and affecting experience conjured up by the two-piece bass and drum masterminds. The bludgeoning strength of their attack is made immediately apparent on opener "Goreplay" with thick, frenetic riffs and deft cymbal work building a constant sense of tension. The Buzzo-style vocals alternate between almost stately cleans and manic screams, making good on the music's promise of danger, helped by harsh tones that verge on industrial. The full impact of "Low Performer", however, is felt when the tense atmosphere is combined with the lyrics of cuts like "Weisenheimer Blues" and "Fisherman". Anguish and loss are palpable in "Weisenheimer Blues" as the line "hell is waiting without hope" is declared over the thrumming, haunting bass, but angry defiance and hope is let loose in the following yell "in the heart of this hell is paradise". "Fisherman" offers another gut punch in its pained tale of spitting in the grim reaper's face, with high and cavernous bass creating an eerie buildup toward the heartfelt story's climax:

"my last breath

save it carefully

into a plastic bag

and push it back

into my rotten body"

The lines are repeated as if, in uttering them again and again, by force of will alone the narrator can speak their second chance at life into a reality. This is just one instance of beehoover's mastery of affectingly heavy songcraft, both sonic and lyrical, in an album filled with sludge epics that manage to deliver intensely felt suffering and hope alongside irresistible groove and pummel. "Low Performer" is a beast of an album that pulls no punches, and is all the more rewarding for it.

(Written by Shastabeast)

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Stoner HiVe’s Top 5 Most Listened To Albums Last Week…

Stoner HiVe’s

Top 5 Most Listened To Albums Last Week…

I Saw The Deep

Lord Loud

Millionaire

Wor Pigs

The Goners

Another telegram style tam tam update of the past week before we head out into the sickly world! Cause the world is sick. Has been for a while. On many levels. But it is now visible to all. The plague is upon us. We will all sneeze ourselves to death. It’s still hard to believe that a new strain of the flu can already disrupt human society and the world to such a degree. What if something even more deadly or contagious hits us? Ye gods! I think everyone should start thinking about heaving a vegetable garden instead of flowers. Might be the wise thing to do… But of course in a few months time this will all have passed and we all will think fondly back at the time when the entire world almost grinded to a halt… We’ll see… But let’s not go the route of all media and start blabbing the same things over and over about the disease. Let’s focus on the things that will get us through this period! Awesome freaking music!! DeWolff streamed a show they did for an empty venue because their tour got cancelled. In my hometown there will be the Isolation Sessions. Featuring bands from the  region, like An Evening With Knives, who are now, like DeWolff unable to tour for their just released album. Those Isolation Sessions will be streamed and will become available for pay what you want purchase on Bandcamp. But that’s the future! The past week was filled with other stuff. We’ve have become totally addicted to I Saw The Deep. We mentioned their Vimana release last Friday on the Quick Fire Friday round and man, the release has rocked me to my core! It’s been on repeat the entire weekend. A gigantic slab of doom, progressive and psychedelic, deep sci-fi rock, which features power rock drumming with metal riffing and grungy vocals. A cathedral of heaviness if ever there was one! Lord Loud’s new album Timid Beast won’t be released till somewhere around September. But we have been blessed by King Volume Records and Kozmik Artifactz to get it earlier. Fuzzy, gritty garage that ticks all the right boxes, from proto to punk and from psych to power! One to look forward to! We had the pleasure to speak with Tim ‘Tipover’ Vanhamel when he released his Sciencing album in 2017. And now he’s already back with another Millionaire release Applz NOT Applz record. (Where’s the ‘not’ sign in ascii codes?) Out on Unday Records its filled with more  earworms and catchy melodies than one can handle, especially since it always turns around on itself and become weird or even insane. And those earworms, those melodies that will stick with you throughout the day do that more and more with every new listening session. Wor Pigs from France released Beasts and it is righteous animal indeed. Heavy rock! Stoner and psychedelic in abundance, bluesy and enthralling. It drags you along on an adventure from those first few notes. There is no escape! And it will get rid of the pain of being a man. And when you’re looking for some tunes to cruise with? To rev up the engine and go out looking for trouble? Check out The Goners new release Good Mourning. The Five from Sweden have delivered a tasty garage and hardrock album that has no trouble showing us all some class. Yes, we are the squares now. And we shall have to pony up the dough, they immediately give you a whiff of something you might never even knew existed. They ride and raid like marauding cavalry, and sound like they’ve punched their way out of a hundred rumbles, stayed alive with only their boots and their fists. Ah, these righteous dudes, they love to screw it on and we love to get loose! So, you’d better go and check’m out! You know you have all the time in the world now! Check’m out! Check’m all out!

Phe - The Lion & The Snake

 

Phe - The Lion & The Snake

In preparation of the full-sized album release for their new album Glooming Dawn on April 11, in the Muziekcafe, in Helmond, the three amigo's from Phe have released a first single. The Lion & The Snake! And guess what, the crazies have also managed to draw a freaking video for it... Check it out! And have yourself an A-Ha moment!

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Stoner HiVe’s Quick Fire Friday Friday!

Stoner HiVe’s Quick Fire Friday 

It's Friday!

And the plague is upon us! Could make all kinds of statements here about global population, the pseudo philosophical fallacy that we call economy, the state of the planet, the state of global pollution and we could go on and on and on. We could offer fun remarks about the moment the disease will mutate and cause the human race to turn into zombies or drooling idiots. Fuck I hate zombies. But we can also just state the obvious: it’s Friday! There is a whole lot of awesome music out there! And we should just all stay indoors and listen to as much of it as we can! And we know, we know, the albums and bands deserve more than the few words we will jot down here. More attention and more of our time! But there is so much out there and we just simply cannot ever do it all justice. So here it is. The Stoner HiVe Quick Fire Friday. And its burns hot like molten lava!

Heavy Heavy – Dead Weight and Broken Dreams

Formed early 2019 in a piss-ridden alley way somewhere in a dubious part of Berlin, Heavy Heavy consists of three members that came from all over the globe. We’ve got a Finnish cat, a Ukrainian fella and an American dawg. Inspired by bands like Royal Blood, All Them Witches, Highly Suspect, Death From Above, they set out to rediscover rock music, armed with gritty riffs and thunderous rhythms. Dead Weight and Broken Dreams is the first of many tracks soon to spawn. Mid-tempo and echoing indeed that Royal Blood love, that QOTSA infatuation and that Death From Above craze. These cats will definitely make you move. Shake those curls!

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Landing Planes – Departure

Another trio. This time originating from lovely Belgium. And yes, lovely, Liège. Don’t just drive through it, or fly over it, go into the city and visit a lovely town. And if possible catch a show by Landing Planes. Cause their four track debut EP Departures is chuck full of grit! Chuck full of riffs! Of stoner trucking and nineties grunge. There is absolutely nothing wrong with these four tracks and yes, there is a whole lot right! Self produced, self released and available for the amount you think it’s worth! Go give’m yer paycheck!

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Lynchwood – Breathe

Lynchwood, a five-piece from Colchester, England. Breathe, their debut four-track EP released on One Eyed Toad Records. Four metal tracks that venture in to hardcore, metalcore and more. Founded early 2017 the band delivers in feverous energy and aggressive punches. Raw and emotional vocals change into mob choruses as they produce ruckus that seems to swing with sledgehammers. There’s attention to detail here; and then there is that Psycho track. Damn! Somewhere in Lynchwood.. The kids are on high street…

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I Saw The Deep – Vimana

Inspired by mythology, the paranormal and classic sci-fi, I Saw The Deep crafts a wayward trademark heaviness by morphing cryptic, cinematic story lines into monolithic pillars of sound. Yeah, they do! Vimana, is a gigantic slab of doom, progressive and psychdelic and with a massive amount of heaviness. A rougher version of Orange Sunshine came to mind because of the awesome drums in that opening (title) Track. But no, this is much harder and exceptionally different. Heavy and deep sci-fi rock, which features power rock drumming with metal riffing and grungy vocals, all combined through experimental escapades. A cathedral of sound! Full of prog, space, stoner and doom. Executed to such an amazing degree with such a freakin awesome amount of heaviness. Seriously! This is stunning!  One of my absolute favorite releases of 2020 so far! A new obsession has been born!

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Lunar Swamp - UnderMudBlues

Lunar Swamp - UnderMudBlues

Self released - March 2020

Doom, blues, southern, stoner

Rated: ****

Beginning with swampy soundbytes of bog critters chirping and croaking, Italian trio Lunar Swamp quickly set the tone with a creepy, occultish atmosphere that brings to life the excellent art on their debut album "UnderMudBlues". Opener "Shamanic Owl" cuts through the swamp sounds to dive into a stomping doomy riff laden with fuzz, channeling classic Sabbath complete with guitar hammering a la Iommi. The vocals are deep and almost operatic in their devilish crooning, deepening the murky atmosphere with an added layer of menacing mystery. The icing on top of the cake, however, is the dash of southern blues thrown in with the occasional sliding lick and keening harmonica cutting through, touches that  pull together perfectly the heavy doom and melancholy blues making up the album's five cuts. Another album highlight is penultimate track "Green Swamp", which lures the listener in with slides and strums both crunchy and echoing in a sonic equivalent of the title, before lurching into a low and slow stomp with evil intent. Final cut "Creeping Snakes" lives up to its name as well as the three piece fade back into the mire with clean, morose strumming over the sounds of the bog and distant cracks of thunder. "UnderMudBlues" is a powerful debut and a lesson in atmosphere and style, melding Sabbathian riffs with a southern blues flair in total commitment to Lunar Swamp's unique and vivid vision of doom.

(Written by Shasta Beast)

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Silent Agreement – From The Amusement Park

Silent Agreement – From The Amusement Park

Self released – 2020

Rock, Hard, Stoner, Grunge

Rated: ****

It has been a while since there was a hard rock act, a stoner outfit, a grunge team that struck me the absolute right way with something so incredibly catchy and pop sensible as the German quartet Silent Agreement. A three track EP called From The Amusement Park that has a The Cult vibe and on which every track immediately drags you along on a wicked ride. It’s easy to listen to, it’s easy to like and it’s damn easy to love! Well, as you noticed we used the word easy a few times in the past sentence; but that’s only meant as a compliment, cause it is freakishly hard to come up with something so comfortable to the ear. Delivering a three-track EP of this quality promises something for the future. We can’t wait to hear a full-sized album by Silent Agreement! But for now we just keep buying new tickets From The Amusement Park!

(Written by JK)

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