Uffe Lorenzen - Magisk Realisme - Top 20 Push

 Top 20 of 2020 album push post!

 

As we approach that jump off date of December 13 for the Stoner HiVe Top 20 Countdown of 2020; and as we see all the lists rolling in and all those wonderfully chosen albums, we count ourselves lucky for all that participation and we count ourselves extremely lucky to see all those different and weird choices being made. It also me wonder about some albums that seem to fall off those lists at the end of the year, the ones that I assumed would end higher or are so favored by myself or the Stoner HiVe Team that I asked them if they would want to say a few words about the album they would love to see end up high or even on the number 1 position of this year’s Stoner HiVe To 20 Countdown…

To kick things off, here’s that album pusher promotion post of the honorable Doktor420!  

Uffe Lorenzen - Magisk Realisme

Uffe? WhoTheFuck is Uffe? No, I guess we all know Uffe! You might know him under the moniker Lorenzo, the mastermind of Baby Woodrose, many of his other bands or any of his solo records. He released his 3rd solo album "Magisk Realisme" in September. I like his calm voice and can also dig his acoustic Danish psych folk but what i missed, was the energy laden garage rock of Baby Woodrose. In Magisk Realisme he infused more Lorenzo vibe, so we get back my beloved Heavy Psych Folk Rock - imagine Arbouretum ate Baby Woodrose seeds. It's pure Uffe! Beside few additional instruments (cello, trumpet, pedal steel guitar), in some songs, the drummer of On Trial and frontman of Spids Nøgenhat and Dragontears played all by himself. Check this dude's bands out, if you like Monster Magnet, obviously a major influence. And check out Magisk Realisme, one of the best albums of 2020!

(Written by Doktor420)

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Distortion Ride – Burning Waves of Silence

 

Distortion Ride – Burning Waves of Silence
Electric Blood Records / Self released – 2020
Rock, Hard, Prog, Metal, Psych
Rated: ***

A hard rock, psychedelic and prog trio from France that sends out their press-kit, have an incredibly high DIY attitude and then very sneakily name-drop that the mastering was done by Andy Jackson. Yes, the Andy Jackson that has worked on so many Pink Floyd and David Gilmour albums. For me personally my discovery ride of Andy’s worked started back when I found out that the man worked on the I Don’t Link Mondays single by the Boomtown Rats, my very first musical memory. And now, he has mastered the Burning Waves of Silence album by French trio Distortion Ride. Officially released on November 13th the eight tracks meander from hardrock with metal touches to even some punk influences and all sorts of weird little dissipations. Which turns the overall feeling definitely into a bit of a proggy experience, but never in the traditional sense of that word. Cause for the most part we continue to that blues based heavy rock, with vocals that sometimes hit the spot, sometimes seems to float away, are sometimes weird and sometimes aims for the grin and the chuckle. Highly eclectic, the band shines most when they open up their sound and aim for something more soft, classic and yes more prog in the traditional sense of the word. Those are also the moments that were probably easiest mastered by Andy Jackson, cause we cannot exactly state that we can easily hear where he touched the records and where he decided to lay off. On the whole, Distortion Ride delivers one highly diverse and thoroughly enjoyable record with Burning Waves of Silence. It’s a ride alright!

(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…

Causa Sui
Starmonger
Witchwood
Wytch Hazel
Electric Hydra
Thammuz
Big Oaf
Creston Spiers
Gone Is Gone
Sun Crow

As we approach the start of the Stoner HiVe Top 20 Countdown of 2020, we will be gone for a few days. Just a day or two... No trek to the mountain or anything far; just a few days at the North Sea to try and blow away most of that annoying 2020 stuff. You know what we mean! But only that, and not one note of all those amazing albums released throughout the year. Those will stay with us forever! The November Doom Charts went live last week which colors our Most Listened Albums Last Week list. And Steve Howe and his Outlaws Of The Sun pointed us in the direction of Creston Spiers new release Brown Dwarf and he also reminded us to listen to the new Gone Is Gone album If Everything Happens for a Reason... Then Nothing Really Matters at All... A twisted release befitting the title… And all of them are equally stunning! Go check’m out, check’m all out!

Narcosis – Leap Of Faith

 

Narcosis – Leap Of Faith
Made Of Stone Recordings – 2020
Rock, Stoner, Grunge
Rated: ****

It came out around April and we listened to it a lot ever since; it even got mentioned on one of those Most Listened Albums Last Week posts. But we never got around to mentioning the new Narcosis album Leap Of Faith with a few decent words. Well, here goes nothing, cause Leap Of Faith is definitely something! There are Nirvana elements and vocals that reminisce of Cobain on certain tracks, there is stoner rock in the vein of Queens of The Stone Age and there is some intense grooving going on that you would assume Fu Manchu inserted in their bloodstream. And all those influences come together under one flag without feeling like too much like any of those bands. The Greek power trio (or foursome now) steers away from that trap with ease and powers their rockin’ vehicle with tremendous enjoyment towards their very own horizon. Excellent guitar works, gripping hooks and twisted little bass ditties all add to a majestic sound that takes no effort to thoroughly fall in love with. Don’t forget about this one when you are sending your Top 20 of 2020 to our email or any other website… We sure as hell won’t! Narcosis is forever on our minds!

(Written by JK)

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Stoner HiVe Top 20 Countdown of 2020

  

Stoner HiVe Top 20 Countdown of 2020

As we had to send in our Top 10 of favorite albums to the Dutch magazine we write for we realized we had to start getting everyone involved again on the Stoner HiVe Top 20 Countdown! The 2020 edition, will be the 12th edition. For, on the 11th of December 2009 the Stoner HiVe blog started. In honor of all the heavy music loving freaks in the HiVe. All those heavy music fiends that love the good stuff in whatever shape or form. The blog started to have a vehicle to Countdown the best 20 albums of that year. For the first years the blog never promoted itself or even featured on other social media outlets. We are still not that visible or that around. Others are way better in that part of the thing. But we continue on nonetheless. Simply because we love all those heavy albums that are being released in such amazing numbers, and yes, we still stagger backwards or fall from our chair each time we realize the total number of albums listened to in one year. And we then realize there are even more… Which we hope to continue discovering on a daily basis…

So, this is once again a call to action. Cause the Stoner HiVe Top 20 Countdown of 2020 can only exist with your help. That first year, back in 2009, the end result got deduced from only 17 lists. But it slowly grew every year. So, we implore all of you out there, the ones that already participated before to send in your lists once again. And then tap your neighbor’s shoulder and get him to send one in as well. Cause it would be cool, to reach a greater number of calculated lists once again…

The rules are simple… Send in a list of your favorite albums to our EMAIL. They should be released in 2020. (Or after December 12, 2019) Send it in before December 12! And on the 13th of December we start the countdown. You can send over a Top 5, a Top 10, a Top 20, a Top 100 or even more. You decide what the best albums are; according to you. All lists will then be tabulated into one final Top 20!

Indeed, we don’t have one of those sweet poll’s the majestic JJ Koczan has on his The Obelisk. (Be sure to enter your list there as well!) But we’ve been able to do it manually every year, even though the time and energy it takes keeps getting more and more. But hey, we love doing it!  In honor of all those heavy albums, those heavy bands and you heavy fans!

So, you’ve got your list ready for The Obelisk… You’ve got your list ready for something else?  Send it to our EMAIL as well! It is the main reason the HiVe got started to begin with… Let the countdown continue in every grander form… And it sure does have a ring to it! The Stoner HiVe Top 20 Countdown of 2020!

Send your list of favorite albums from 2020! 

HERE!  

Todd Rundgren - Flappie

  Todd Rundgren - Flappie

A famous Dutch Christmas song by comedian Youp van 't Hek which spins every year around Christmas time and is usually featured in the yearly Top 2000 countdown. And now, finally, there's a damn good English version by Todd Rundgren ... Now, let's hope he can donate some of the proceeds to Youp, since he's not been able to perform, is starving and might need to eat his Flappie once again around Christmas time...

The Doom Chart for November 2020

 

Doom Charts

“You’ll never lose you’re mind as long as you’re heart always reminds you where you left it...” ~ Mike Cooley (Drive-By Truckers)

I don’t know about you, but 2020 has made it hard to remember where we left our minds. Luckily, as evidenced by our monthly chart, the heavy underground music scene has a huge heart and maintained its focus on releasing more killer music than ever before. November finds us with 20 Doom Charts debuts and 5 repeats from month’s prior. Dig in and let us know what you love and what we missed.

The November edition of the Doom Charts went live a couple of hours ago! A few of my personal votes went out to Thammuz, KARKARA, Ruff Majik, Starmonger, Murcielago, BIG OAF, 10 Code and The Absurd! But all the others are equally amazing, gonna start playing the Doom Charts at the Number One position for a change... Sun Crow's Quest For Oblivion starts now! Just read the blurb by Patrick: "Wielding a molten take on blackened blues, high upon wings of  existential doom and proto metal, this album oozes molasses-like  sweltering groove. These contents are heady, lysergically laced and  outright otherworldly at times but with morphing elements of aggressive  density giving way to gloomy, dismal virtuosity." How can you not immediately start listening?!

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…

The Doom Chart for November 2020

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

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

Honeybone
10 Code
Magick Mountain
The Bruise Market
AC/DC
The Spyrals
Carlton Melton
Loyft
Cloud Cruiser
El Rojo

Serpent Worship - Blood & Venom

 

Serpent Worship - Blood & Venom
Nailed Nazarene Industries - November 2020
Doom, sludge, psych
Rated: ****

Following up on last year's blasphemously heavy debut, one-man Washington doom project Serpent Worship delivers more sludgy, psychedelic darkness on epic two tracker Blood & Venom. Comprised of two six-plus minute instrumental tracks, Serpent Worship's scale remains epic while adding in even more psych flavoring. First track "Seep" creeps in with spooky Western vibes, and an intro of minimalistic guitar brings to mind the Dead Weather. The project's trademark low end isn't far behind, however, as the grimy, molasses-thick bass quakes forth. Crunching stoner riffage nods forwards with crashing drums, before a shift back to subdued strings and one final, massive Iommic riff. Second track "Drugged" is no less crushing as it rolls in on waves of stoner and doom. One welcome surprise is the vicious noise rock lick that cuts in, adding a nasty edge to the proceedings. The drums are pounding, crisp but ominous beneath somber keening guitar notes. The highlight of the track, however, is the organ freakout in the second half that takes the song into even more extreme psych territory. Serpent Worship kneels at the altar of relentlessly heavy doom, and his latest is no different. Chock-full of gruesomely deep low end and new touches of Western and psychedelia,  Blood & Venom is without a doubt one of the year's top short releases. Worship the serpent.

(Written by Shasta Beast)

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Kaskadeur - Uncanny Valley

 

Kaskadeur - Uncanny Valley
Noisolution - September 2020
Prog, psych, jazz, stoner
Rated: *****

The artists formerly known as Stonehenge, newly minted quartet Kaskadeur from Germany delivers some of the year's most dynamic and bonkers prog on new album Uncanny Valley. Reflected in their name change, the foursome are moving away from their stoner rock past into weirder, jazzier territory, hints of which could be heard in their older material. After a brief instrumental intro, the fireworks begin with the title track's frantic onslaught of lightning fast guitar work. Merely calling the licks angular would do them a disservice. The riffs are bright, spastic, and ever-changing, turning on a dime with another groovy surprise around every bend. Somehow never disjointed in flow, the guitar and thrumming bass are held down by nimble, madman drumwork with a seemingly endless bag of tricksy fills. The cherry on top of all this top tier musicianship is none other than the Avatar of atmospherics, keyboardist Johannes. From classic Hammond blasts to spooky UFO blips and warbles, the keys add an extra dimension of psych and retro class that completes Kaskadeur's eclectic sound. After the initial eruption of the title track, "Flashback Fatkids" delivers lines of intricate, choppy guitar between swells of organ freakouts before a doomy, bass heavy crawl towards the finish line. (Slightly) less hectic but just as addictive is "The Death of Basic Trust",  building off a bright, punchy backbone that's almost tropical before soaring into epic bursts of keys and spidery guitar theatrics. The rest of the album should be enjoyed spoiler-free, but it has to be said the cymbal-splashing break towards the end of "The Death of Basic Trust" is just impossible not to move to. Helping to keep such a dynamic sound flowing are brief, jazzy instrumentals between the six main tracks, easing the transition from one epic to the next. Much of the album is instrumental, and Kaskadeur pull off the impressive feat of knowing when to use vocals and when to let the instruments speak for themselves, always in service to the music. Uncanny Valley is a beast of an album, fusing heavy prog, psych, and jazz in a combination of technique and groove that sounds like nothing else out there.

(Written by Shasta Beast)

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Honeybone – Spheres

 

Honeybone – Spheres
Kozmik Artifactz – 2020
Rock, Hard, Psych, Garage, Stoner
Rated: *****

Lost for words. Mind blown. Just a few of the sentences whirling through my head as I finish my first session of Honeybone’s new album Spheres! (pause, for effect here.) A few characters I entered a week or two ago, after which I stopped typing and starting listening again. And the record has been on constant and heavy rotation over here. So I guess we should quickly order the vinyl before it’s sold out and finish this mention filled with a ton of love and admiration for Honeybone’s Spheres! The three originally from Dunedin, New Zealand but now residing in Melbourne, Australia have delivered one magical hammer strike to the gods. Hard rock fueled by that golden bluesy seventies sound, crunchy garage and psychedelic overtones all wrapped up into one neat captivating, enchanting and truly addictive package. Featuring drummer and vocalist, yes drummer and vocalist, Rachel Trainor, bass and backing vocalist Peter Jermakoff and guitarist/vocalist Drew Handcock the forty two minutes of Sphere start off dreamy, leisurely and full of harmony. But once Artificial Tears dries up and we enter the world of Bruises, we slowly but assuredly creep towards something much more explosive. After which this tidal push and pull of submerged subdued and explosive continues on and culminates in the majestic Metathesiophobia track. A righteous cathedral of a song that builds and builds and warps and distorts and will mesmerize every stoner rock loving body out there! No time to pause now, not even for effect, on to order both vinyl versions of this amazing Honeybone album!

(Written by JK)

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10 Code – Ride

 

10 Code – Ride
Self released – 2020
Rock, Hard, Grunge, Stoner
Rated: *****

Been listening to this album a lot, the most and almost all the time the past weeks! Which is only logical, since they kick things off with some proper grungy hardrock and pure smash ‘n grab trucking stoner after which they continue on with some more and glorious grunge as well as more of that windswept and fast paced stoner. We’re referring to the new album Ride by Greek foursome 10 Code! Formed on the dirty streets of Athens somewhere around that foul year of our lord 2011, the four released two damn fine EP’s, a crazy good full-sized album Swiftlets and now there’s follow-up Ride. Where Swiftlets seemed to move more into the QOTSA variation of the stoner sound and the Foo Fighters stadium rock, the new release is a step into their very own dimension. It brings their love for grunge into a much purer form or light and with those speedy desert sounds it all becomes incredibly tasty. Recorded by John Voulgaris at the Electric Highway Studio 10 Code deliver nine punchy and gravelly songs that are heavy, honest and one hell of a Ride!

(Written by JK)

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Under - Training Resource #5

 

Under - Training Resource #5
APF Records – 2020 (November 13th)
Genre: Progressive, Sludge, Post-Hardcore
Rating *****

Stockport Noise-forgers Under return with a feral follow-up to last year's split 7" with KUROKUMA, this time crafting a four-track cacophonic din replete with Proggy tempo-twists, crushing Doom and Hardcore venom that really showcases the band's inventiveness and exploration. As with all corporate meetings, 'Introductions & Apologies' opens Training Resource #5 with no-nonsense intent on Business: convoluted rhythms and riffs intertwine with animalistic vocals leaving no-one in any doubt as to who's in the chair. 'Dope Loop' mangles the down-tuned entrails of a guitar with off-kilter percussion and a pace as slow and doomed as a poisoned sloth. 'Dividers In Hell' brings the Powerpoint presentation: a graphic, no-holds-barred assessment of Corporate Slavery delivered with acerbic bile and hate-fueled, spiky riffage. Closer 'My War' pummels its way into the meeting, throwing a hefty nail-bomb of hard riffs and hard attitude onto the table, scattering everyone in its wake. Under successfully manage to find an extraordinary balance of noises to further cement their reputation as one of the UK's finest explorative outfits. Four tracks is woefully inadequate... We want MORE!

 

(Written by Reek of STOOM)

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