Torche

Howling Giant – Glass Future Review

Howling Giant – Glass Future Review

“Last we met Howling Giant they were dueling with Somerset’s Sergeant Thunderhoof in groovy stoner split Turned to Stone Chapter 2: Masamune & Muramasa, which deserved a word, not a numerical score, to describe its quality. Howling Giant strung together a fun-loving single track with multiple movements, their meat-and-potatoes approach slightly outdueling da Hoof’s bombastic and flashy performance.” Howling at stones.

My Diligence – The Matter, Form and Power Review

My Diligence – The Matter, Form and Power Review

“Allow me to be contrite for a moment. Three and a half years ago I casually dropped a 3.5 rating on My Diligence’s second album, Sun Rose. I’m not too proud to tell you that, after circling back to the album many times since, I definitely had my overrating cap on. At best Sun Rose was a 3.0, more likely closer to a 2.5. But I was somehow smitten at the time and threw caution to the wind. I’ll admit it now: I was too enamored of the strong songs, and ignored the chaff. Now here we are with The Matter, Form and Power, and I am determined to approach this stoner-prog platter with open eyes and an even keel.”” Doom Diligence.

Howling Giant / Sergeant Thunderhoof – Turned to Stone Chapter 2: Masamune & Muramasa Review

Howling Giant / Sergeant Thunderhoof – Turned to Stone Chapter 2: Masamune & Muramasa Review

“Last year, I had the privilege of contributing a TYMHM review of Nashville stoner trio Howling Giant, with their album The Space Between Worlds. Jampacked with Torche worship and other catchy, fuzz-revering stoner metal greats, it distinguished itself with how it balanced impressive songwriting and performances with a fantastic sense of levity. While it’s hard to take stoner genres seriously in general, Howling Giant just sounds like three dudes at a jam session having the time of their lives, and that energy is infectious. Less than a year later, and we’re graced with a split!” Stones and swords may break your bones, but riffs are where it’s at.

Lo-Pan – Subtle Review

Lo-Pan – Subtle Review

“It’s not easy to stand apart these days, especially when it comes to stoner metal. You can change up vocal styles as much as humanly possible, throw as many outside musical influences that your songs can handle, and go off the deep end lyrically to the point of needing either a severe dry-out period or even a full-on intervention from friends, family, and various loved ones. The fact remains that stoner metal, when you take a good, hard look at it, hasn’t evolved much, and it’s getting harder and harder to do something new. Which is fine, because we kinda like it like that.” Stones don’t evolve.

My Diligence – Sun Rose Review

My Diligence – Sun Rose Review

“One of these days, I’m going to have to visit Belgium. You see, not only did this fine little country spawn my favorite album last year, but it is spitting out a couple more interesting bands in 2019, starting with the horribly-named My Diligence. Honestly: I don’t mean to start a review on such a negative note, especially when the music far surpasses the name, but it’s just not a great moniker. That aside, what My Diligence bring to the table is an intriguing progressive stoner mix influenced by a few solid bands. Think of the harmonious stoner-pop sensibilities of Torche, the progressive leanings of Elder, and a dash of Queens of the Stone Age’s quirkiness, and you’ve got an idea of what this band’s second album, Sun Rose, is all about.” Stone the Sun.

Summoner – Beyond the Realm of Light Review

Summoner – Beyond the Realm of Light Review

“When Boston’s Summoner came into being back in 2009, they were originally known as Riff Cannon. Made up of members of black metal bands Plagues and Deafheaven, Summoner is clearly a vehicle for these fellas to shed their black metal overcoats and give some love to the Baroness/Kylesa/Torche side of the bill.” Black does sludge.

Adrenechrome – Tales from Adrenechrome Review

Adrenechrome – Tales from Adrenechrome Review

“When I hear ‘sludge,’ I have a very specific sound in mind. I want wretched vocals, whiskey-soaked guitar riffs, and lyrics about living at the absolute nadir of human existence. I want it to live up to its name, flooding the sonic landscape with riffs that sound like they were written in an abandoned warehouse during an opium binge. Thus, I was a bit disappointed when first researching Ontario’s Adrenechrome and finding that the ‘sludge’ tag often used to describe them is, alas, very loosely applied.” What’s wrong with happy-go-lucky sludge?

Bad Guys – Bad Guynaecology Review

Bad Guys – Bad Guynaecology Review

“As loyal AMG readers might have noticed by now, I am a sucker for awesome song and album titles. This weakness occasionally factors into which bands I choose to review. As far as band names go, Bad Guys is pretty fucking weak (and definitely not to be confused with Bad Dudes). However, if that is the name your band is stuck with, you can’t possibly top Bad Guynecology as an album title. It’s brilliant. Sign me up.” Mr. Fisting signs up for a lot of things on impulse. Remember that “make your own pruno” class? That should have learned him.