Stoner Metal

Lucid Grave – Cosmic Mountain Review

By Carcharodon on July 19, 2022 in Reviews, Psychedelic Rock, Stoner Metal, 22 comments

“I have recently come to the conclusion that it is sometimes a good exercise to deliberately review two records of the same genre back to back. Not to directly compare the two but to get one into the right mindset and to think about makes a great record in this particular field. And so it is that I find myself reviewing two stoner metal records in consecutive weeks. It’s lucky that I am not trying to compare them, however, as Copenhagen, Denmark’s Lucid Grave could not be more different—within the confines of stoner metal, anyway—from last week’s Holyroller.” Where the mountain meets the desert.

HolyRoller – Swimming Witches Review

By Carcharodon on July 13, 2022 in Reviews, Psychedelic Rock, Stoner Metal, Stoner Rock, 19 comments

“The stoner rock / stoner metal scene is one littered, perhaps more than many sub genres, with tepid mediocrity. One where the utterly forgettable bands seem to massively outnumber both the outstanding and the awe-inspiringly awful acts. While the likes of Clutch, Monster Magnet and Red Fang stand head and shoulders above most in the genre, I have begun to wonder whether there is something intrinsic in the style that leads to so much tediousness. Can North Carolina quartet HolyRoller buck this trend and avoid the apparent pitfalls that trap so many of their baked brethren to deliver something truly interesting with debut Swimming Witches?” Don’t witches just sink?

Gramma Vedetta – The Hum of the Machine Review

By El Cuervo on May 27, 2022 in Reviews, Progressive Rock, Stoner Metal, 20 comments

“It’s been some time. A devastating trifecta of moving homes, work fuckery and family shit closed down my writing faculties for a little while, but I’m very pleased to return to this lovely little blog. Perhaps as a regression to each writer’s humble beginnings, I asked Steel Druhm to assign me a promo of his choice for my restoration. I suspect that Gramma Vedetta’s new album called The Hum of the Machine was his interpretation of a homecoming gift, leaning into my strong preference for progressive music.”

Blue Heron – Ephemeral Review

By Kenstrosity on May 26, 2022 in Reviews, Doom Metal, Stoner Metal, 15 comments

“With their sound palette sorted, the most difficult challenge Blue Heron faces is one of momentum. Stoner doom is inherently relaxed and fuzzy, seemingly tailored for casual listening with or without accompanying recreational substances. Ephemeral appears to be perfectly content inside this mold, and as a direct consequence lacks the kind of excitement that more interesting bands like Wizard Rifle offer.” Desert winds, blue birds.

Pyreship – Light Is a Barrier Review

By Maddog on April 26, 2022 in Reviews, Doom Metal, Post-Metal, Stoner Metal, 10 comments

“Post-metal and stoner rock both struggle to escape the shadows of their forebears. Nothing gets me off like a well-developed soundscape, but countless bands claim to be the next Neurosis or Kyuss while bringing nothing to the table but fuzzy minimalism. This Melvin can attest firsthand that the Melvins already exist, and imitating them is a losing battle. So I approached the sophomore release from Houston’s sludgy post-metallers Pyreship with high hopes and a raised eyebrow.” Riding posts.

End Boss – They Seek My Head Review

By Holdeneye on April 8, 2022 in Reviews, Doom Metal, Stoner Metal, 47 comments

“I’m not gonna lie, I grabbed this one based on the band name alone. While I don’t consider myself to be a hardcore gamer, I’ve still played enough to have the name End Boss give me an immediate feeling of nostalgic mental arousal. The name makes me want to head to the nearest merchant to stock up on healing potions, buffing elixirs, and specialty arrows before listening. But who am I kidding? I’m lazy. You know perfectly well that I Instacarted the hell out of that shit.” All your head are belong to us.

Desert Clouds – Planexit Review

By GardensTale on March 28, 2022 in Reviews, Stoner Metal, 24 comments

“When Britain left the European Union, nearly every country in the Union had a populist party or two stand up and shout: “Now it’s our turn!” Variations on the name Brexit were the hippest hashtags for a fortnight, including Nexit for the Netherlands, the unwieldy Italexit for Italy, and the strangely upbeat Fixit for Finland. With a wry smile and knowing wink, London-based quartet Desert Clouds decided to base these political kerfuffles in a more cosmic scenario. What kind of union is the titular planet exiting though? And who would be the equivalent of Boris Johnson in this allegory?” Space erase.

Kryptograf – The Eldorado Spell Review

By Maddog on March 1, 2022 in Reviews, Doom Metal, Psychedelic Rock, Stoner Metal, Stoner Rock, 11 comments

“With that album cover, you know exactly what you’re getting. You’ve heard it before – a bunch of musicians who smoked one too many joints in high school, and then one too many joints in college, and decided to share their boundless love for early Black Sabbath with the world. Norwegian four-piece Kryptograf is relatively new to the overcrowded stoner rock scene, but they made a splash with their self-titled 2020 debut, which melded vintage doom, hard rock, and psychedelic jams.” Loving the leaf.

Seremonia – Neonlusifer Review

By GardensTale on February 13, 2022 in Reviews, Psychedelic Rock, Stoner Metal, 14 comments

“If I have to attach a motto to Seremonia’s style, it would be ‘no school like old school.’ Old school here means raw psychedelic rock straight from the 70’s, its DNA profile demonstrating a direct descendancy from Hawkwind. There are two sides to this particular coin. One’s the rollicking hard rock with which the album bursts from its stable, where the deliberate lack of polish is particularly noticeable in the static-laden crunch and fuzz of the rambling riffs. The other is slow and experimental psych jam.” Jam the fuzz.

Kyning – Ān [Things You Might Have Missed 2021]

By GardensTale on December 21, 2021 in Reviews, Stoner Metal, 31 comments

“Vocals are almost always a focal point in modern music of any type. Pop music is practically exclusively about vocalists, hip-hop is defined solely by its vocal style, and so on. Metal vocals oftentimes attempt to buck the trends, whether they’re unintelligible, buried beneath the music, or simply a mediocre afterthought. The latter option is more common in stoner metal, and that is where our path leads today.” Wabbit season.