GRAVE SPEAKER - Rays of the Emerald Sun review

 

GRAVE SPEAKER - Rays of the Emerald Sun

Electric Valley Records

Irony is my door step in life. Case in point I was talking with a worker (bartender / waiter) at my restaurant the other day about music. This young guy is getting into non modern music. According to him his parents were turning him onto a lot of 70's Hard Rock, Prog Rock and Psych. I mentioned the term Stoner Rock and he said yeah I'm into that. So I named a few bands aka: SLEEP & ELECTRIC WIZARD and he didn't know about em. But he said he'll check em out. 

So with that said welcome to the second full length by GRAVE SPEAKER. This is a one man Stoner Doom project by John Steele who hails from Massachusetts. John Steele is / was the guitarist of the band HIGH N' HEAVY who are also on this label. Musically speaking here's where the above mentioned irony comes in. GRAVE SPEAKER weighs heavy on influences by SLEEP and ELECTRIC WIZARD worship. But not the whole way through.

Now be that as it may I'm not gonna shit on this for two reasons. The first reason is that ELECTRIC WIZARD hasn't released a good album in twenty years. Also is SLEEP really a band anymore? I mean if you just get together to play festivals without releasing new music then you're not in a band anymore. 

The second reason I'll give this release it's fair due is because it just sounds cool as fuck. At least John Steele can write some off beat songs that are not of the cliche above mentioned style like "Sword of Life". To me that's the outlier track on here. Add to that the Psych mania of "Tower" which combines great classic 70's Hammond organ with thunderous bass, decent drum work and bluesy guitar lead work. 

In the end if you're a connisuer of Stoner Doom then here ya go. This is right up your alley with six cuts worth passing the bong around to friends under the light of a lava lamp. I guess that's a Spencer's Gifts reference. Damm I'm old, you people don't even know what a bong is. Oh well get this release you're like it a lot. 

https://www.electricvalleyrecords.com/\

LISTEN HERE:

https://evrecords.bandcamp.com/album/grave-speaker-rays-of-the-emerald-sun

SONIC WOLVES - III review

 

SONIC WOLVES - III

Argonauta Records

This fucker rocks! Ya know every once in a while when I'm checking out an album and I'm smiling on the first play hell fuckin yeah. The tagline on this band is Stoner Doom and Rock. Well yeah I guess that's cool. But honestly this platter is pure 70's hard rock and plenty of psych elements for you stoners. 

So some history for ya. The SONIC WOLVES are a power trio from Italy who've been around since 2015. The band members are vocalist / bassist Kayt Vigil, guitarist Nico Nigro and on drums is Vita (aka: Gianni Vitarelli) who use to be in UFOMAMMUT. Together they are a head banging rockers who will also take you onto a cosmic trip. Oh yeah and just for the record Kayt Vigil and Gianni Vitarelli are married. 

So where do we start? Alright not only is Kayt Vigil a fuckin great bass player (she brings the thunder) but she has some savage vocals. Then there's Gianni Vitarelli who spent twenty years behind the kit for UFOMAMMUT, nuff said there. Finally Nico Nigro's guitar work is amazing. The guy kicks in with great groove laden riffs and adds either blues or psych inspired solos. 

Musically this is like an explosion of MUDHONEY, UFOMAMMUT and ORANGE GOBLIN. Yeah that does sound kinda cool and rocking. This is my first time hearing this band so I have no clue what their sound was prior to this. All I can say is that these eight cuts on here are worth your time and money to check out.  

https://www.argonautarecords.com/

LISTEN HERE:

https://sonicwolves.bandcamp.com/album/iii

CHURCH OF MISERY - Born Under a Mad Sign review

 

CHURCH OF MISERY -  Born Under a Mad Sign

Rise Above Records

I got into Japan's CHURCH OF MISERY mid-way through their career. Houses of the Unholy from 2009 was the second album I picked up from em. And to this day I'll still say it's not only their best album but it's their one release which placed them on the mountain of Stoner Doom. After that I picked up their early recordings as well as newer releases. That Live at Roadburn 2009 release, which actually came out in 2010, is the shit. Since I've never seen the band perform live then that release is the closest I'll evewr get to the band's heyday. And then after all of that everything got not so good.

So the band's next couple of albums, aka: 2013's Thy Kingdom Scum and 2016's And Then There Were None, were not winners in my book. I chalk it all up to line-up changes which doesn't change too much for a band like this. But toss in uninspiring song writing and that leads to boredom. I mean any clown can check out a stoner doom release and be blown away by it. But if you've heard all of the SABBATH-ian bands from the past you kinda want more than smoking some pot and worshipping the riff dude.

 

Which brings me to this latest one from Japan's leaders in the slow SABBATH touch. Honestly it took me five fucking listens to this CD in order to appreciate it. But for openers it's another line-up change thing. Bassist Tatsu Mikami, the band's spengali, is still leading this thing. He brought back Kazuhiro Asaeda, the band's original vocalist (?). As far as guitar and drums go we see the newcomers Fumiya Hattori and Toshiaki Umemura. 

Once again the excitement of what CHURCH OF MISERY once was takes a few songs to kick in. Both "Beltway Sniper" and "Most Evil" are boring and way too long. It's when the third cut "Freeway Madness Boogie" kicks in that the real CHURCH OF MISERY comes to life in 2023. In fact it's this point where the album becomes a winner. 

It's the fuckin boogie jams, the added keyboards and the upbeat excitement. Toss in Fumiya Hattori's blues rock soloing as well as riff frency and Toshiaki Umemura cutting loose on the drums. I mean hell fuckin yeah! I'll never be sold on Kazuhiro Asaeda as a vocalist. In fact I like it better when he's not singing. But in the end (aka: five out of seven songs) this pretty damm good.

https://riseaboverecords.com/

LISTEN HERE:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pjINA7jSZFs

DAEVAR - Delirious Rites EP review

 

DAEVAR - Delirious Rites EP

The Lasting Dose Records

Ironically the other day I was just wondering whatever happened to the stoner doom act WINDHAND from the US. Then I find this release sent in for review and now I know. The band relocated to Germany, became a three piece act and changed their name. 

OK that's not true at all but in all honesty DAEVAR sound exactly like WINDHAND. Starting off with the vocals which are of that psych atmospheric, ghostly witchery siren style. Musically it's straight up fuzzy, sludgey, stoner doom which is about as original as a bologna sandwich. 

Now don't get me wrong. I actually like this type of stoner doom and have a huge stack of CDs of similar female fronted sounding acts to prove it. DAEVAR, on this their debut release, are not breaking new ground. Instead they're keeping with a cool sounding tradition. Therefore if you like a similar sounding act which hasn't put anything out in say five fuckin years then here's the alternative. 

Then I'll put it another way, DAEVAR are the new face of this style of stoner doom. The band is a three piece act featuring Pardis Latifi on vocals and bass, Caspar Orfgen is the guitarist and Moritz Ermen Bausch is their drummer. Together this trio create a huge fuzzed out mid-paced doom sound. Caspar Orfgen does deliver some cool psych tinged solos. Bausch's drum work is decent with some adequate fills. Of course the bass sound is fuzzed out. 

Delirious Rites is five songs in around thirty-three minutes. I think it's an EP but some will say it's a full length. Whatever, I like how this band brings forth both a dark sound as well as some headbanging SABBATH-ian bong smoking, heavy as fuck doom. And then that's what we all want. 

LISTEN & BUY IT HERE:

https://thelastingdoserecords.bandcamp.com/album/delirious-rites

PURPLE DAWN - Peace & Doom Session Vol. II review

 

PURPLE DAWN - Peace & Doom Session Vol. II

Electric Valley Records

So when you think about stoner rock / doom from Europe a lay-person would think England or Sweden as it's main purveyors of the heavy and slow. Technically you would be right to think that. But over the years I've found far more interesting acts from the genre in countries like Poland, Italy and now one from Germany. 

PURPLE DAWN are a fairly new three piece act who hail from Germany and are totally into a non cliche style. Sure they love SABBATH but they are so much more into the whole doom meets rock meets jamming side of the genre. This is obviously part of a series for the band. Their debut which is the same title which came out in 2020 but as volume one was recorded live. Now we have this one.

Obviously if your a fan of stoner rock/doom or even modern era sludge metal you'll hear snippets of some other acts while listening to this. To me that's fine because it's the whole package which is more important. PURPLE DAWN re-works that package into a blend. When they're in a sludge mode they'll go full on psych. Or in a stoner groove time they'll move into an atmospheric break which is kind of a trip. 

In the end you get a lot of hard fuckin rock vibes from the 70's plus some more modern takes. The bottom-line is versatility which is why I consider this interesting beyond the cliche take many other bands in the stoner rock framework do. I'm not a snob. I'm just particular about my music especially from a genre that suffers from originality. PURPLE DAWN break on through with a great seven song release.

https://www.electricvalleyrecords.com/

LISTEN HERE:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sonn9u8Upnk

NOISECULT - Seraphic Wizard review

 

NOISECULT - Seraphic Wizard

Metal Assault Records

This release came in under the pretense of being stoner rock. I was like cool, pass the bong I think I'm Ozzy. Then after hearing a couple of songs I was like forget the bong, pass me the Jim Beam. So NOISECULT is a four piece act that hails from Nashville, Tennessee. I've got a younger brother who lives there. I sent him a message asking about this band. 

But anyways after a few listens I really like this band. I can imagine em pulling up to a club, all four band members on Harleys followed by a pick up truck with a Uhaul trailer full of their equipment. Yeah there needs to be a video of that. I mean look at these guys. 

The audience of some out of the way club, like one I worked at years ago, would think oh cool they're gonna be Southern Rock but instead it's Southern SABBATH. And yeah it's that and also a cool dose of 80's metal. NOISECULT can do the whole SAB 4 thing well but add some MAIDEN-esque touches on a cut or two. 

For me it's what this band does not do which is what I like. I know that sounds crazy (it might be the Jim Beam) but bare with me. The guitarist has a Iomni style but is not a copycat. The vocals come off as whiskey soaked. The rhythm section is total Master of Reality in sync. Yeah in the end this is damm good.

https://metalassaultrecords.com/

LISTEN HERE:

https://noisecult.bandcamp.com/album/seraphic-wizard

GOBLINSMOKER - Toad King EP review

GOBLINSMOKER - Toad King EP

Sludgelord Records




Ah those English, they just love their ugly, fuzzy and haunting doom. Much like some of their classic horror films that don't have a traditional monster of legend. But instead it's something either not of this world or from it and we wanna put it back where it belongs.


With that said here we have GOBLINSMOKER a two piece English act who on this their debut EP have melded their love of stoner doom with the creepy harshness of black metal. Call this fuzzy and ugly which crawls along at a pace that would tire out a turtle.


Toad King is only three semi long tracks but with this style of molting goo edging it's way into your conscientiousness why would you need more. As far as the heaviness goes it's nothing new so it's the harsh vocals as well as gripping atmosphere which makes this well worth listening.


https://thesludgelord.bandcamp.com/album/toad-king

https://www.facebook.com/Goblinsmoker/

BLACK WIZARD - Livin' Oblivion review

BLACK WIZARD - Livin' Oblivion

Listenable Records

This Canadian stoner doom outfit has been around for almost a decade now. At first, as in on their 2010 eponymous debut, they were semi strict genre stalwarts. But over the years through further releases they've developed into a band that likes to keep one foot in the genre. While the other foot steps into unknown territory or other genres in order to do some stretching. 

On their last studio full length, 2016's New Waste, they played on the traditional stoner doom side for some of the album. But they also dabbled in some proggy PINK FLOYD-ism stuff as well as thrash. On this new one they've gone more with the thrash add ons to their heavy sound. Plus some traditional 80's metal crunch with a few throbbing rhythms and some cool guitar soloing. 

Of course there's a few other doom acts of late expanding or experimenting in this way. What sets BLACK WIZARD apart is how it all sounds effortless and natural. Whereas some other acts sound forced in their interpretations. Since the thrash and stoner genres are in a new state of "copy what others make work" mode then a band like this shines.

http://www.listenable.eu/

https://listenable-records.bandcamp.com/album/livin-oblivion

https://www.facebook.com/blackwizardband/

WINDHAND - Eternal Return review

WINDHAND - Eternal Return

Relapse Records



Well for at least a year now I've written about a half dozen stoner doom acts from around the world who have used this Richmond, Virginia band's style. Call it homage or bandwagon jumping, whatever, all I can say is thankfully the real thing has finally presented itself with this their fourth full length.


Now some quick history for ya. I've been a fan of this band ever since I wrote about their two song demo back in 2010. I thought their debut album was fantastic. Their second album was very good. I liked the early split releases they did as well. But I didn't care too much for their third full length. It's wasn't all bad. I liked two songs on it but the rest seemed like rehash from the previous two slabs. But that was then.


I think it was a month ago that Relapse dropped a video for a song off this album. I forget which one but after hearing it I thought ok this is cool. So here we have Eternal Return, an aptly titled album to say the least. Now WINDHAND hasn't changed who they are but basically they've sharpened up a few areas to push them beyond an average stoner rock act. And there are many examples on here.


First and foremost Dorthia Cottrell's vocals, she's actually singing and it's clean and clear sounding. Sure she still has that haunting air to her vocal style. But now she's not overwhelmed by the heavy handed sound the band pummels away at. If you ever heard Dorthia Cottrell's solo album, which by the way you should, then you know she has an amazing voice. In fact there's a cool cut on here, "Pilgrim’s Rest", which reminds me of her solo work but on here it's an amazing break from what you'd expect on a WINDHAND album.


Next up, about that pummeling sound well guitarist Garrett Morris and bassist Parker Chandler have reined in some of their heaviness in favor of melody, a slightly upbeat in rhythm and more psych. Someone (producer Jack Endino?) injected some 90's grunge into em as well. With drummer Ryan Wolfe laying in more fills the band is not sounding so much like a hippy metal stoner jam band. Yeah WINDHAND's a four piece act now minus guitarist Asechiah Bogdan. Obviously the loss has made them sound tight as well as exciting.


The bottom line, well in my not so humble opinion their debut full length will always rank up there with some of the greatest doom albums of all time. But as far as this one goes it's probably their best album so far in their career. Their last one, Grief’s Eternal Flower, touched upon what they created here and maybe that's why I didn't care so much for it. Eternal Return is easily one of the best albums of 2018. Nuff Said.


https://store.relapse.com/

https://windhand.bandcamp.com/

https://www.facebook.com/WindhandVA

DRUG CULT - Self Titled review

DRUG CULT - Self Titled

Ritual Productions




It is said that imitation is the greatest form of flattery. Then again in terms of music trends we call it jumping on the bandwagon. But hey let's face it, when it comes to extreme metal we the fans like stuff that sounds like stuff we already like. Don't give me that phony story about wanting your music to be challenging. That's a crock of shit because if that were reality then there would not be a genre called Doom. SABBATH would be it's mile marker and there would be no need to repeat.


So for all of you grounded in honesty then this might be to your liking. If you just need some more music that sludgey, fuzzy and with female vocals then here you go. No I'm not talking about WINDHAND but an Australian version shall we say. This is the debut full length by DRUG CULT an aptly named four piece act from down under. This release is nine tracks, with a running time of around 42 minutes, of doom in a drug haze. Pick the downer of your choice of course.
  

DRUG CULT give it all as far as being heavy psych and hypnotic dirge with vocalist Aasha Tozer being the witch conducting this ceremony. And they throw a few twists at ya as in short cuts that won't have you nodding off after five minutes of repetition. Basically it's a great release and much better then the contemporaries they emulate, as far as those band's recent outputs go. Ah nuff said. Pass me the bong I think I'm Ozzy.


https://www.ritualproductions.net/

https://drug-cult.bandcamp.com/

https://www.facebook.com/drugcult

BONGCAULDRON - Binge review

BONGCAULDRON - Binge 

APF Records



This stoner sludge trio from Leeds, England really like Matt Pike. Not only do they channel plenty of HIGH ON FIRE on this their debut full length but they also pipe in some SLEEP on part of the title track. I'm certainly not going to slag em for that. Now if this came out ten years ago it would be a different story.

BONGCAULDRON have been around since 2011 and in that time they've put out plenty of small format releases. To be exact they've got three singles and two EPs to their credit. As far as this one goes you've got plenty of the heavy pummeling riffs with a decent rhythm section beating up those on the perimeter.

Most of the cuts are mid-paced and lumbering like opener "Devil" or my favorite "Bury Your Axe In The Crania Of Lesser Men". Other times there's a nice spacial balance of aggression and subdued listening pleasure aka: "Bigfoot Reigns" and the a fore mentioned title cut. Hey it's a decent release, if you're into the homage.

http://www.apfrecords.co.uk/

https://bongcauldron.bandcamp.com/

https://www.facebook.com/bongcauldron 

ELECTRIC WIZARD - Wizard Bloody Wizard review

ELECTRIC WIZARD - Wizard Bloody Wizard

Spinefarm Records




The problem with over-hype is when it catches up even the faithful leave you holding a bag of shit. That's the case for present day ELECTRIC WIZARD in a nutshell. There's no denying their early greatness but they did peak out with Dopethrone in 2000. Since then they've tried to stay relevant whether it's been through line-up changes, experimenting with their sound or just going back to the basics. 


They got lucky in 2007 with Witchcult Today not because it was a fantastic album. It was because that's the year hipster-ism broke into the metal scene. So you have that plus a friendly mainstream metal media which likes to reward mediocrity while overlooking this band's contemporaries who these past ten years have been doing a better job. Hell I still laugh at Decibal Magazine who in 2010 included Black Masses in their best of the year listing even without hearing the release. So much for their credibility.

Which brings us to Wizard Bloody Wizard, OK nice album cover. I'm sure they'll sell plenty of t-shirts on their next tour. But musically, well if you thought the last couple of ELECTRIC WIZARD albums were piss poor then this one won't surprise you. Frankly I have no idea where they were going or thinking when they recorded this. The opener (which came out early as a single) "See You in Hell" is a bluesy load of crap. The second cut, “Necromania”, is more upbeat with a 70's rock and groove structure. It's a decent song, now if I can only think of the band they stole it from, LED ZEP?

It's not till the third cut, "Hear the Sirens Scream", where the band breaks away from the typical to something unexpected albeit still unoriginal or creative. I give props to the rhythm section on this one. No need to mention their names because they'll be ex-members in a year or two. "The Reaper" had promise with it's use of Hammond organ sounds and Mid-Eastern 60's psych guitar but it was merely a throwaway instro or worse the opening intro to the truly bad "Wicked Caressness". 

Actually this release has one good cut and it's the very last song on the album "Mourning of the Magicians". It's more like the band simply sticking to what it has recycled for years now. It's slow, plodding psych induced doom. In the end all I can say is that EW should've titled this one We Suck because that's about it. Maybe in a few years they'll just drop their name and go by Oborn & Buckingham. All that's left now is to see if Spinefarm has enough cash in their advertising budget to pay off some media scribes in order to get this coaster into some end of year best of lists. Before anyone of em hears it of course.

http://www.spinefarmrecords.com/

https://www.facebook.com/electricwizarddorsetdoom