Heavy Psych Sounds Records

Mondo Generator – Fuck It Review

By Carcharodon on February 21, 2020 in 2020, American Rock, Hard Rock, Heavy Psych Sounds Records, Punk, Reviews, Stoner Rock, Hard Rock, Punk, 23 comments

“It’s hard to say why I grabbed Mondo Generator’s subtly titled Fuck It from the promo bin but, if you’re putting me on the spot, I think excitement probably got the better of me. Not, I should be clear, excitement because I love Mondo Generator – I do not – but simply the excitement of seeing a band I had actually heard of, which had not already been snapped up by one of the nimbler reviewers. The brainchild of Nick Oliveri – and sometimes also known as Nick Oliveri’s Mondo Generator – of Kyuss, Dwarves and Queens of the Stone Age fame (among others), Mondo Generator has been around for quite a while.” Bad attitude.

Giobia – Plasmatic Idol Review

By Emya on February 7, 2020 in 2020, Heavy Psych Sounds Records, Italian Metal, Psychedelic Rock, Reviews, 8 comments

“”3, 2, 1, 0…All engines running. Liftoff!” The first arpeggiated synth of Giobia’s new album Plasmatic Idol rings out and jettisons me into space. In keeping with the space theme, the title of the opening track, “Parhelion,” refers to the shimmering spot in the sky which appears on either side of the sun as a result of the refraction of sunlight through ice crystals in Earth’s atmosphere. Giobia are definitely not n00bs to the space rock genre.” Starry eyes.

Big Scenic Nowhere – Vision Beyond Horizon Review

By Cherd on January 31, 2020 in American Metal, American Rock, Hard Rock, Heavy Psych Sounds Records, Psychedelic Rock, Reviews, Stoner Metal, Stoner Rock, Psychedelic Rock, Stoner Metal, Stoner Rock, 28 comments

“I don’t think of desert rock as an especially active genre when it comes to innovation. Brant Bjork God knows it can be self referential to a fault, conjuring with each release the same core components of fuzzy, jammy riffs, psychedelic woo woo vibes, earth tones and a gritty dryness worthy of the California landscape that hatched it. The creative peak that launched its best known bands is easily a few decades in the rearview mirror, yet this old conversion van keeps driving the same dusty highways, pot smoke and 70’s rock worship rolling out it’s open windows.” Big empty.

Acid Mammoth – Under Acid Hoof Review

By Steel Druhm on January 19, 2020 in 2020, Doom Metal, Greek Metal, Heavy Psych Sounds Records, Reviews, Stoner Metal, Doom Metal, 15 comments

“We’re up to our ears in stoner rock and stoner doom most months. There’s an unusual quantity of it cascading through the AMG sluice and pouring to the promo cesspool. We can’t cover it all, but we try to dent the stone. Greek stoner doom crew Acid Mammoth are part of the endless tide, with Under Acid Hoof being their second platter of fuzzy, bong-friendly madness.” Feel the tusk.

Ryte – Ryte Review

By Twelve on January 16, 2020 in 2020, Doom Metal, Heavy Psych Sounds Records, Psychedelic Rock, Reviews, Doom Metal, 13 comments

“New year! New you! Oh, how I hate that creed. At midnight on New Year’s Eve, I was sound asleep and alone, joyously flaunting my disregard for this most nonsensical of global traditions. I made no resolutions for the new year either. Yes, this edgiest of numbers started the year in unbearably cool style, so much so that the Master of Muppets itself will be admitting to knowing me any day now. I entered the Field of Desolate Promos with confidence… and somehow, I left with Ryte, the self-titled debut of Ryte, a doom-inspired psych rock/metal project from Austria.” New year, bad attitude.

Alunah – Violet Hour Review

By El Cuervo on October 14, 2019 in 2019, British Metal, Doom Metal, Heavy Metal, Heavy Psych Sounds Records, Reviews, Doom Metal, Heavy Metal, 17 comments

“Those more tenured readers may recall that I was rather taken with Alunah’s Awakening the Forest, a folksy, beforested homage to Black Sabbath featuring exemplary female vocals to carry its tunes. 2017’s Solennial fared less well as I queried the limitations of the style and less memorable song-writing. 2019 has rolled around and with it the succeeding album called Violet Hour. Violet Hour is the first Alunah full-length release (following last year’s EP called Amber & Gold) without founding member and singer Sophie Day. Their sound is hardly one challenging boundaries or progressing its scene but this shake-up to a core component had the potential to change the band more widely. Has it?” Going through changes.

Ecstatic Vision – For the Masses Review

By Carcharodon on October 6, 2019 in 2019, American Metal, American Rock, Heavy Psych Sounds Records, Psychedelic Rock, Reviews, Psychedelic Rock, 18 comments

“Many years ago now, I caught a gig by a personal favorite, The Mars Volta. They had just released Frances the Mute and were touring in support of that great record. Sadly, this ranks as among the worst gigs as I’ve ever been to. The band themselves appeared to be off their faces and played only one discernible song over an hour into the jam session, at which point I left. I have similar feelings about For the Masses.” Fit for mass consumption?

Gorilla -Treecreeper Review

By Steel Druhm on June 20, 2019 in 2019, English Metal, Heavy Psych Sounds Records, Reviews, Stoner Metal, Stoner Metal, 29 comments

“The AMG promo sump is stuffed to the rafters with glowing PR spin about how this band redefines genre X and that band takes sub-genre Y into realms hitherto unheard. Most of it is utter crap and as accurate as your average public access channel psychic reading. Not so with the debut full-length by U.K.’s Gorilla however, who describe their sound as “F*ck the safety net heavy rock n’ roll.”” Ape cake for all.

Glitter Wizard – Opera Villains Review

By Cherd on April 15, 2019 in 2019, American Metal, Hard Rock, Heavy Psych Sounds Records, Non-Metal Metal Things, Psychedelic Rock, Punk, Stoner Rock, Hard Rock, Psychedelic Rock, Stoner Rock, 45 comments

“The AMG higher-ups fancy themselves benevolent despots. That’s because they allow us relative freedom to choose our own promos and surprise us with pizza and hobo wine office parties now and then. Occasionally they’ll even offer tepid praise after our reviews are published. Sure, the quarterly beatings leave marks, but they rarely break the skin. Then again, if they see us getting too comfortable, they’ll assert their authority by assigning reviews that leave us just enough rope to hang ourselves. They might make brutal boi Kronos review symphonic power metal, or give our morose Muppet a jaunty pirate metal sing-along. For reasons beyond my understanding, they saw the words Glitter Wizard in the promo sump and thought, “Now there’s a stop-bang pooper doop if we’ve ever seen one, and we know just the writer for the job.”” Feel the opera.

Dead Witches – The Final Exorcism Review

By GardensTale on February 21, 2019 in 2019, British Metal, Doom Metal, Heavy Psych Sounds Records, Reviews, Stoner Metal, Doom Metal, Stoner Metal, 55 comments

“The years have not been kind to Electric Wizard. After the monumental fuzz-fest Dopethrone, the band’s quality has slowly scooted downhill, owing allegedly to drama behind the scenes causing the band to coast endlessly. Drummer Mark Greening left after a high-strung tour in 2003 and, though he briefly rejoined in the early 2010s, in the end he decided to follow his heart to greener pastures. This quest ended with the founding of Dead Witches, whose sophomore slab of burly stoner-doom lands this month.” Which witch?