#stonerrock — Public Fediverse posts

🔴 LIVE NOW ON VORTEX
📻 Vortex Indie 🎸 (Indie pop, indie rock, classic rock)
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🎵 Queens Of The Stone Age - I Sat by the Ocean

▶️ Écouter / Listen : VorteX [Radio]
https://lesonduvortex.net

💬 Join us on Discord:
https://discord.gg/d82hJZBeDE

#VortexWave #QueensOfTheStoneAge #StonerRock #AlternativeRock #2000s

🔴 LIVE NOW ON VORTEX
📻 Vortex Sessions 🎧 (Indie pop, synth-pop, alternative rock)
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🎵 Queens Of The Stone Age - Easy Street

▶️ Écouter / Listen : VorteX [Radio]
https://lesonduvortex.net

💬 Join us on Discord:
https://discord.gg/d82hJZBeDE

#VortexWave #QueensOfTheStoneAge #StonerRock #AlternativeRock #2000s

🔴 LIVE NOW ON VORTEX
📻 Vortex Indie 🎸 (Indie pop, indie rock, classic rock)
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🎵 Uncle Acid & The Deadbeats - House By The Grave

▶️ Écouter / Listen : VorteX [Radio]
https://lesonduvortex.net

💬 Join us on Discord:
https://discord.gg/d82hJZBeDE

#VortexWave #UncleAcid #PsychedelicRock #StonerRock #2010s

In the proliferating bustle of the AMG promo bin, citing Elder, King Buffalo, and Slift as comparable artists will absolutely grab my attention. Hence, I seized The Curse of Nephtar, the third album from French psych-rockers Pelegrin, with much excitement. Thus Spoke, however, tempered my enthusiasm with her Mixed review of the band’s previous outing. While Thus enjoyed Ways of Avicenna (2023) for its groovin’ riffs and hooky choruses, she found these to be fleeting moments on an incoherent album.1 In their press sheet, Pelegrin promise that The Curse of Nephtar ups both the catchiness and heaviness factors. Meanwhile, the album’s narrative arc—an allegory about the tragic influence of fossil fuels on the Middle East and the world at large—suggests attention to cohesion.

The aforementioned acts sonically capture The Curse of Nephtar, though a hint of originality comes through. Here’s the elevator pitch: Pelegrin sounds like Elder, King Buffalo, and Slift collaborating on the Dune soundtrack. The latter two bands stand as especially apt comparables, seeing as Pelegrin is also a power trio. In his role as guitarist, François Roze deals in mixed-mode melodies, metal-adjacent chuggery, and psychedelic solos (“Eons”). Bassist Jason Recoing possesses a rattling tone that initiates grooves (“Sun and Blood”) and builds bridges (“Price to Pay”).2 Rounding out the trio, drummer Antoine Ebel establishes the album’s chill vibe, propelling the heavier riffs with a peppery swagger when needed (“Plenty”). Seasoning Pelegrin’s Middle Eastern tonalities with what they describe as ‘a dash of Arabian spices’ are guest vocals from Halima Joy and sound effects from Mathieu Houeix. Couched in organic, airy production, Pelegrin submits a unique enough entry into the contemporary pantheon of heavy psych rock with The Curse of Nephtar, even if the album isn’t as heavy as the band wants it to be.

In his role as vocalist, Roze vacillates between vibe-setting and hook-sinking on The Curse of Nephtar. His voice sits in a lower-to-upper middle range, sinking into the musical sand and then surfacing to attack. On standout song “In the Company of Stars,” Roze amplifies tasty psych grooves and key shifts with a catchy chorus, powered by bluesy undertones and riveting high notes. Other verses and choruses on The Curse of Nephtar, however, fail to reach these heights. Sometimes, it sounds like Roze is searching for a stable hook and not quite finding one. Because the music of Pelegrin isn’t overtly proggy, or heavy, or jammy, the vocals need to carry more memorability than they do. Still, Roze’s is not a bad performance by any means—his voice fits the psychedelic aura Pelegrin is going for.

Like its vocals, The Curse of Nephtar’s narrative generally satisfies while leaving this listener wanting more. That striking black orb on the equally striking album cover is Nephtar itself, ever-so-slowly surfacing from a prehistoric ocean to subdue all living things on earth (humans included). Initiating the narrative, “Eons” overlays voiceovers that collide with the harmonization of the irresistible main riff, conveying a sense of grandeur.3 The shift from the upbeat “In the Company of Stars” to the doomier “Drawn to Nephtar” nicely veers the narrative into sinister terrain. Meanwhile, some songs don’t live up to their narrative station. “Price to Pay” serves sweet melodies, heavy riffs, and proggy tempo shifts, but Roze doesn’t quite convey the unleashing of chaos with his vocals. The same can be said for the epic closer, “Break the Omen”; it deals out delectable riffs and wah-wah solos, but Roze doesn’t vocally bring it home. The Curse of Nephtar clocks in at a somewhat svelte 43 minutes, which is a good and bad thing here. Pelegrin should be applauded for broaching a timely eco-political concept in a timeless, economical manner. Still, a little more time and space would suit this eons-in-the-making narrative.4

In the end, The Curse of Nephtar counts as a positive step forward for Pelegrin. The band has struggled on past efforts with the meandering temptations of psych rock, but their third album feels more immediate and impactful. Still, it’s hard not to hear Pelegrin’s latest as more potential than payoff, especially in the vocal department. In a year where Elder and Slift5 have released high-quality albums,6 The Curse of Nephtar sits below these stalwarts. But Pelegrin possess the tools for greatness, and I’ll definitely be keeping tabs on them.

Rating: 3.0/5.0
DR: 8 | Format Reviewed: 320 kbps mp3
Label: Ripple Music
Websites: Instagram | Facebook
Releases Worldwide: September 4th, 2026

Songs For The Deaf

#queensofthestoneage #songsforthedeaf #rock #stonerrock #alternativerock #heavymetal #hardrock #desertrock #alternativemetal #davegrohl #rock #rockmusic #music #musicsky #musiciansky #joshhomme QOTSA release their 3rd album on August 27, 2002 featuring a damn powerhouse lineup -- Dave Grohl on drums, front-man Josh Homme, bassist Nick Oliveri and Mark Lanegan on vocals. Both the critics and fans loved the album -- a conceptual road trip from Los…

https://robinbannks.com/2026/08/27/songs-for-the-deaf/

DJ Ricardo Wang #guesthost Guitar Shop #radio on #FreeformPortland

90.3 FM & 98.3 FM #ontheradio in #portlandoregon

#GuitarRock #ExpunkimentalMusic #heavypsych #noiserock #protometal #protopunk #postpunk #postmetal #garagerock #stonerrock #spacerock #AvantGarage #postrock #classicmetal #freedomrock #freemusic #freeformradio #freeform

#archive (#listen anytime!):
https://whatsthiscalled.net/2026/08/16/guest-host-of-guitar-shop-radio-16-august-2026

Monolithic riffs, hypnotic grooves, and immersive live visuals—we are hitting the road to take you on a cinematic journey through heavy soundscapes and shadow.

Mark your calendars and join us live:

🎬 Sep 19, 2026 – Kino Center, Weißenburg (Cinema Live Show)
📽️ Sep 26, 2026 – Filmcenter, Dillingen (Cinema Live Show)
🎙️ Oct 10, 2026 – Kultur im Alten Kino, Bamberg (w/ King Father Baboon)
🪩 Nov 21, 2026 – Kulturgewächshaus Birkenried, Gundelfingen (w/ Jewelled Moon)
🏛️ Jan 23, 2027 – Tempel Festival @ Feierwerk (Kranhalle), Munich

🔗 More details & music: fogdriver.de

#Concerts #PsychedelicRock #StonerRock #PostRock #InstrumentalRock #HeavyPsych #VisualArts

Today is #BandcampFriday and a band I really love is #TheMachine from the #Netherlands, they make very good #stonerrock / #heavypsych / #spacerock:

https://the-machine.bandcamp.com/album/another-sun-european-version

#Bandcamp

Giöbia // B.L.O. Kantine Berlin (support: Icarus Burns)

B.L.O. Kantine, Monday, September 7 at 07:00 PM GMT+2

East Side Delta, Swamp Conspiracy, Lockkunst e.V. & Heavy Psych Sounds present: GIÖBIA

The neo-psychedelic acid rock band from Milan returns to Berlin with the latest LP “X-AEON”. Support by ICARUS BURNS, visual live performance by SECTOR 7G.

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> Monday, 7 September, 2026

> B.L.O. Kantine (Kaskelstr 55, 10317 Berlin)

> Doors 19:00, start 20:00

> Presale via TixforGigs (until 7 Sept at 4 pm, tix as well at the door): https://www.tixforgigs.com/Event/73819

*********************************

GIÖBIA

The history of the band starts in the mid 2000 in Milan, a path through mesmerizing neo-psychedelia, space rock and acid rock. With the 9th album “X-AEON”, released in fall 2025 via Heavy Psych Sounds records, Giöbia push their signature into uncharted territory. Echoes of the ’70s meet a bold, forward-looking vision, shaping an album that feels timeless. Each track offers a glimpse into a parallel reality, a plunge into a new era brimming with tension and mystery. The band has missed a proper club show for almost 10 years, it is time to welcome them as they deserve!

https://giobiagiobia.bandcamp.com

https://youtu.be/_F914AT9bL4

https://youtu.be/VZCTrMucz4Q

ICARUS BURNS

When the riffs hit, they burn. When the melodies soar, they sear. This is Icarus Burns.

The band's debut S/T album dropped in Feb 2025 to great reception, and with live gigs across various stages across Germany and Europe.

http://icarusburns.bandcamp.com

https://youtu.be/IvczVkHngxU

SECTOR 7G

The extra boost of the BLUES BUMPS series! By fusing cutting-edge techniques with vintage-inspired visuals, this visual collective pushes concerts way beyond the boundaries of sound.

https://youtu.be/_9DqQwewj_A

https://s7g.show

The event is aka the 2nd warmup for the Berliner Swamp Fest (10-12 Sept at Neue Zukunft): https://www.swampconspiracy.org/10-12-september-2026-berlin-swamp-fest

https://berlin.askapunk.de/event/giobia-blo-kantine-berlin-support-icarus-burns-1

Free download codes:

Buzzard (Doom Folk Metal) - Crushing Burden of Despair

"Both soulful and sarcastic, this bluesy, doomy stomp pulls zero punches with its social commentary."

https://getmusic.fm/l/hBaFCC

#doom #stonerrock #stoner #bluesrock #stonerdoom #protestsongs #music

♬️ Just announced: Tue Sep 29, 7pm: KAL-EL
https://www.dnalounge.com/calendar/2026/09-29d.html?utm_source=sp_ma
#dnalounge #kalel #goya #volume #sludgemetal #doomrock #stonerrock #metal #livemusic #concert #sanfrancisco

#stonerrock post-Kyuss era. Ο John Garcia ήταν ο μόνος από τους πρώην Kyuss που συνέχισε στο είδος (ο Homme έγινε τεράστιος με τους QOTSA, o Bjork και ο Hernandez το πήγαν σε πιο cool #desertrock, o Oliveri αγκάλιασε την #punk πλευρά του με τους Dwarves), και πάντα κρατώντας τον πήχυ ψηλά, αρχικά με τους Unida και στη συνέχεια με τους Hermano (που μας λείπουν πολύ). To #blastfromthepast σήμερα έχει το ντεμπούτο (και μοναδικό επίσημο άλμπουμ τελικά) των πρώτων που κρατάει όλη αυτή τη heavy stoner νοσταλγία των late '90s.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVZZ7NGtVaw

#stonerrock post-Kyuss era. Ο John Garcia ήταν ο μόνος από τους πρώην Kyuss που συνέχισε στο είδος (ο Homme έγινε τεράστιος με τους QOTSA, o Bjork και ο Hernandez το πήγαν σε πιο cool #desertrock, o Oliveri αγκάλιασε την #punk πλευρά του με τους Dwarves), και πάντα κρατώντας τον πήχυ ψηλά, αρχικά με τους Unida και στη συνέχεια με τους Hermano (που μας λείπουν πολύ). To #blastfromthepast σήμερα έχει το ντεμπούτο (και μοναδικό επίσημο άλμπουμ τελικά) των πρώτων που κρατάει όλη αυτή τη heavy stoner νοσταλγία των late '90s.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVZZ7NGtVaw

#stonerrock post-Kyuss era. Ο John Garcia ήταν ο μόνος από τους πρώην Kyuss που συνέχισε στο είδος (ο Homme έγινε τεράστιος με τους QOTSA, o Bjork και ο Hernandez το πήγαν σε πιο cool #desertrock, o Oliveri αγκάλιασε την #punk πλευρά του με τους Dwarves), και πάντα κρατώντας τον πήχυ ψηλά, αρχικά με τους Unida και στη συνέχεια με τους Hermano (που μας λείπουν πολύ). To #blastfromthepast σήμερα έχει το ντεμπούτο (και μοναδικό επίσημο άλμπουμ τελικά) των πρώτων που κρατάει όλη αυτή τη heavy stoner νοσταλγία των late '90s.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVZZ7NGtVaw

Good memories from Spliff'n'Riff at Neue Zukunft.

Can't wait until we're playing again! Luckily that's on Friday already, yay!

22.05.2026
@ Drugstore (Rockhaus in Lichtenberg)
Doors: 20:00
Doom: 21:00

Photos by Khaled 🖤
https://khaledalshannan.wordpress.com/

#band #concert #PsychDoom #StonerDoom #PsychedelicRock #DoomMetal #PsychedelicDoom #Sludge #StonerRock #HeavyRock

This Saturday! Or better, Saturdoom!
We are so stoked. See you there! 🖤

Event link: https://berlin.askapunk.de/event/in-the-garden-of-unearthly-delights-2026

#Berlin #Concert #OpenAir #Festival #Doom #Sludge #PsychedelicRock #HeavyRock #StonerRock #StonerDoom #PsychedelicDoom #NoiseRock #Metal #DoomMetal #PsychDoom #Crust #Drone #SaturDoom

Trip on this groove for 13 minutes ✌️

I'm The Mountain #StonedJesus

https://youtu.be/IBs7k7Jfi_A

#tunetuesday #stonerrock #fieldsmountainsvalleys

For nearly two decades, Desert Storm has stood at the cornerstone of England’s fuzz-drenched underground. One can imagine my surprise, then, to find that I claim the first review of their catalog here. The group’s maturation has been a process of trial and error, evolving from smoky, blues-soaked stoner and southern rock roots into a heftier, sludgy, doom-infused form. Despite the unevenness of the Oxford outfit’s earlier efforts—Forked Tongues and Horizontal Life—Desert Storm’s more recent output (specifically Sentinels and Omens) found that sweet spot where sludge, doom, and stoner rock collide. While 2023’s Death Rattle saw these lads largely revisiting their old psychedelic ways, their seventh record, Buried Under the Weight of Reason, reverses course with a Saharan surge of down-tuned, resonant grooves and explosive riff drops poised to shatter many a bong.

As the opening notes of “Newfound Respect” hit, Buried Under the Weight of Reason reveals itself as a blunter, more dynamic beast than its predecessors. The guitars have thickened into a sludge/doom/stoner hybrid of epic proportions, blending Boss Keloid-like phrasing (“Rot to Ruin,” “Newfound Respect”) with Baronessian textures (“Twelve Seasons,” “Law Unto Myself”) and even the occasional djenty chug (“Cut Your Teeth,” “Rot to Ruin”). Huge, low-slung riffs drive Desert Storm’s definitive songwriting pattern. Songs lurch between stampeding verses and clean, crestfallen bridges, often featuring playful bass flourishes and blues refrains. Elliot Cole’s drums hit with massive, tom-forward authority. Each booming strike fuses with new bassist Andrew Keyzor (ex-Beard of Zeuss), carving deep pockets on tracks like “Woodsman” and “Shamanic Echoes.” By the time the first few tracks roll by, it’s obvious that Buried Under the Weight of Reason finds Desert Storm operating squarely in their wheelhouse.

DESERT STORM – Buried Under The Weight Of Reason by HEAVY PSYCH SOUNDS Records

Desert Storm commits to a single mission on Buried Under the Weight of Reason: delivering crushing, irresistible grooves from start to finish. Though lesser bands often bail on a great hook too early, Desert Storm has the confidence to lock in and let a sequence breathe like a fine wine, avoiding the common pitfall of over-complicating a riff before it reaches its zenith. Their controlled songwriting approach shines on the “Woodsman” and “Shamanic Echoes,” where the group adds nuance through minimalist, hook-heavy phrasing that feels both exciting and fresh. “Rot to Ruin” and “Cut Your Teeth” utilize spacious, bluesy transitions to reset the listener’s palate before building toward massive payoffs. The latter succeeds because the quartet holds back, patiently waiting for the precise moment to strike with a mammoth closing riff. The album closes with “Twelve Seasons,” a standout track that balances technical complexity and eccentricity with Desert Storm’s conviction to mine every ounce of a groove’s energy until it runs bone-dry.

Matthew Ryan’s vocals have historically been Desert Storm’s hollow point, but on Buried Under the Weight of Reason, they arrive with a newfound polish and reliability. Hitting with a grizzled, Crowbar-like growl, Ryan provides a solid—albeit largely safe—foundation that underpins Desert Storm’s low-frequency bulk. While Ryan’s vocals struggle to elevate the plethora of high-caliber riffs, they sit comfortably in the mix, serving their purpose without overreaching. Inconsistencies surface, however, on “Woodsman,” where mechanical chanting feels like a unique angle tripped up by its own peculiarity. More jarring is “Dripback,” where Ryan’s barking cadence feels a bit too unhinged, overshadowing an otherwise great groove. Beyond the vocal performance, the compressed mix masks the finer nuances—like the cowbell on “Twelve Seasons”—and the quartet’s commitment to the almighty riff sometimes results in songs feeling overextended. While Desert Storm’s “groove-first” philosophy is surely their strength, it leads to some bloat on the record’s longer cuts (“Rot to Ruin,” “Shamanic Echoes”). Additionally, the inclusion of the interlude “Carry the Weight” feels pointless in the context of the album’s flow.

But for Desert Storm, Buried Under the Weight of Reason is a cause for celebration. By knowing and staying largely within their established limits, the group has created not only a good record, but easily their best to date. While it occasionally oversteps its bounds or struggles to maintain its momentum, the songwriting and groove are infectious enough to have every head in the club bobbing in unison. Their sharpest effort to date, with enough weight to kill an elephant, Buried Under the Weight of Reason is a damn good time and a reminder that sometimes, that’s all a record needs to be.

Rating: Very Good!
DR: 5 | Format Reviewed: 320 kb/s mp3
Label: Heavy Psych Sounds
Websites: desertstorm.bandcamp.com/music | desertstormband.com | facebook.com/desertstormuk
Releases Worldwide: March 6th, 2026

IRREVERSIBLE MECHANISM (Bielorússia) presenta nou àlbum: "Graviant" #IrreversibleMechanism #ProgressiveDeathMetal #ProgressiveMetal #StonerRock #Desembre2025 #Bielorússia #NouÀlbum #Metall #Metal #MúsicaMetal #MetalMusic

Aktuell in meiner #heavyrotation #Dopesmoker mit #HVNTXDDXWN: https://song.link/d/3429435411
#stonerrock #doom #hiphop

your daily fuzz dose by #Demonauta from #Chile 🇨🇱
https://demonauta.bandcamp.com/track/caminando-en-la-luna-2
#music #ERisNowPlaying #heavyRock #stonerRock #μουσική #παίζειτώρα #βαράτε_βιολιτζήδες #nowPlaying #psychedelicRock

Howling Giant – Crucible & Ruin Review

By Dear Hollow

Howling Giant occupies such an odd place within its scene. The Nashville collective is stoner metal and psych rock to the core in an energetic way that recalls the down-and-dirty acts like High on Fire or Mastodon, but layers of melody and creative chord usage feel progressive a la Intronaut or Baroness and the triple vocal harmonies are catchy yet evasive, not unlike Torche or Helmet. They also don’t take things too seriously, with a solid sense of humor and a relatable relationship with fans to bring their formidable technical skill to earth.1 Now a release removed from the formidable debut full-length The Space Between Stars and even more from the Black Hole Space Wizard suite, Howling Giant proves their worth once more.

To address the elephant in the room, Glass Future saw Howling Giant’s progressive tendencies flying their freak flag too much. While attempting to keep the stoner murk and reconcile it with aptly crystalline melody, the band lost what is so great about them: solid songwriting. It’s completely contrary to what gave them the edge over genre mates Sergeant Thunderhoof in their dueling split – their head-first dabbling in more elusive chord progressions felt like a more stoner-inclined dime-store version of Intronaut’s Habitual Levitations. This is what makes third full-length Crucible & Ruin so refreshing:2 it’s everything you love about the Nashville now-quartet – and more. The template of killer riffs, soaring choruses, searing solos, and stoner haze is amplified by new guitarist/synth player Adrian Zambrano – adding layers and textures to Howling Giant’s already winning formula.

Howling Giant feels reinvigorated with Crucible & Ruin. Songwriting prowess on full display, the kitchen sink of riff, solo, melody, and catchiness has never looked so clean. While some remnants of Glass Future hang around in more evasive chord structures and emphasis on melody (instrumental “Lesser Gods”), the tracks shift from the anthemic to the kickass, rounded out by the understated Helmet-esque triple-vocal attack – a potentially divisive element of Howling Giant’s sound –3 and that warm stoner haze. Chunky riffs dominate and add a jolt of energy (“Hunter’s Mark,” “Beholder I: Downfall”), while anthemic choruses and transcendent chord progressions take listeners to a psychedelic heaven (“Archon,” “Archivist”). Southern fried bluesy vibes a la All Them Witches also grace the vibe with a backwoods atmosphere (“Beholder II: Labyrinth,” “Melchor’s Bones”), paying homage to their home state of Tennessee. All assets culminate in the two parts of “Beholder,” the Phrygian key giving them a more epic and grandiose feel.

With the addition of Zambrano, Howling Giant has never felt so fleshed out. Compared to the flashy vocals and melodies of Sergeant Thunderhoof, Howling Giant has always been a meat-and-potatoes type of band, but Crucible & Ruin finds the band building upon this template using more versatility in its musical arsenal. Layers of melodic overlays grace rhythmic punch a purpose and intensity (“Canyons,” “Scythe and Scepter”), the tasteful balance between the melodic and the skronky add intrigue and madness (“Hunter’s Mark,” “Archon,” “Beholder I: Downfall”), and ethereal atmosphere is built atop and duels with more downtuned riffs and bass (“Lesser Gods,” “Archivist,” “Beholder II: Labyrinth”). The dueling guitars add a much-needed and ridiculously tantalizing dimension that takes Howling Giant’s already solid sound to new heights.

Howling Giant’s vocal approach of hyper harmonies will remain a divisive element, the central riff and spoken word of “Melchor’s Bones” can get a bit repetitive, and instrumental “Lesser Gods” is a bit questionable, but don’t let that distract you from the fact that it’s the band’s best album to date. Crucible & Ruin distills everything that makes Howling Giant great and beefs it up, weaponizing their already formidable songwriting with Zambrano’s melodic and textural synth and fretwork. Featuring riffs upon riffs with complex songwriting that doesn’t fly over listeners’ heads, relatable vocals that don’t lose their punch, and new guitar work that takes the band to new heights, across a forty-eight-minute runtime that zips by, it’s hard not to bob your head. While comparisons to Mastodon, Baroness, and Anciients are fair, Howling Giant is its own beast, an intersection of stoner haze, riffy intensity, and melodic taste. Crucible & Ruin caught me by surprise in the best way, and is sure to appear at year-end.

Rating: 4.0/5.0
DR: 6 | Format Reviewed: 320 kb/s mp3
Label: Magnetic Eye Records
Websites: howlinggiant.bandcamp.com | howlinggiant.com | facebook.com/howlinggiant
Releases Worldwide: October 31st, 2025

Show 3 footnotes

1. Even their artwork was created by guitarist/vocalist Tom Polzine’s mother, Susan M. Davies, who has contributed artwork in the past. ↩
2. Fourth full-length if you count Black Hole Space Wizard, Part 2 in its qualifying length. ↩
3. Their ubiquitous harmonies remind me of the post-hardcore band Cry of the Afflicted. ↩

#2025 #40 #AllThemWitches #AmericanMetal #Anciients #Baroness #CrucibleRuin #CryOfTheAfflicted #Helmet #HighOnFire #HowlingGiant #Intronaut #MagneticEyeRecords #Mastodon #Oct25 #PsychedelicRock #Review #Reviews #SergeantThunderhoof #StonerDoomMetal #StonerMetal #StonerRock #Torche

Stuck in the Filter: August 2025’s Angry Misses

By Kenstrosity

The heat persists, but now the humidity comes in full force as storm systems wreak havoc upon the coasts. I hide in my cramped closet of an office, lest I be washed out once again by an unsuspecting deluge. However, I still send my minions out into the facility, bound by duty to search for those metallic scraps on which we feast.

Fortuitously, most all of those imps I sent out came back alive, and with wares! BEHOLD!

Kenstrosity’s Galactic Gremlin

Silent Millenia // Celestial Twilight: Beyond the Crimson Veil [August 26th, 2025 – Self-Release]

Have you ever seen such a delightfully cheesy cover? Probably, but it’s been a while for me. I bought Celestial Twilight: Beyond the Crimson Veil, the second raw symphonic black metal opus from Finnish one-man act Silent Millenia, on the strength of the artwork alone. Little did I know that what lay beyond this crimson veil was some of the most fun melodic black metal this side of Moonlight Sorcery. The same low-fi roughness that personifies Old Nick’s work grounds Silent Millenia’s starbound songwriting as it traverses the universe with an energetic punch reminiscent of Emperor or Stormkeep (“Awaken the Celestial Spell,” “Daemonic Mastery”). To help differentiate Silent Millenia’s sound from that of their peers, a gothic atmosphere ensorcells much of this material to great effect, merging eerie Victorian melodies with galactic adventurism in an unlikely pair (“Enthrone the Spectral”). Swirling synths and sparkling twinkles abound as well, creating blissful moments of interest as frosty tremolos and piercing blasts take full advantage of the false sense of security those entrancing clouds of synthetic instrumentation create (“Benighted Path to Darkness Mysterium,” “Reign in Cosmic Majesty”). Simply put, Celestial Twilight is an unexpected gem of a symphonic black metal record, bursting with killer ideas and infinite levels of raw, unabashed fun. You should hear it!

Kronos’ Unexpected Unearthments

Street Sects // Dry Drunk [August 15th, 2025 – Self Release]

Dry Drunk sticks to your inner surfaces, draining down like cigarette tar along paralyzed cilia to pool in your lungs until the cells themselves foment rebellion. Once it’s in you, you feel paranoid, wretched, and alone. So it’s the proper follow-up to Street Sects’ visionary debut, End Position. Like that record, Dry Drunk plumbs the most mundane and unsavory gutters of America for a cast of protagonists that it dwells in or dispatches with a mixture of pity and disgust, with vocalist Leo Ashline narrating their violent crimes and self-hatred in a mixture of croons, shrieks, and snarls that cook the air before the speakers into the scent of booze and rotten teeth. And like that record, Shaun Ringsmuth (Glassing) dresses the sets with a fractal litter of snaps, squeals, crashes, gunshots, and grinding electronics, caked in tar and collapsing just as soon as it is swept into a structure. And like End Position, Dry Drunk is a masterpiece. The impeccable six-song stretch from “Love Makes You Fat” through “Riding the Clock” ties you to the bumper and drags you along some of the duo’s most creative side-roads, through the simmering, straightjacketed sludge of “Baker Act” to the chopped-up, smirking electronica of “Eject Button.” Swerving between addled, unintelligible agony and unforgettable anthems, Dry Drunk, like End Position before it is nothing less than the life of a junkie scraped together, heated on a spoon, and injected into your head. Once you’ve taken a hit, you will never be quite the same.

Thus Spoke’s Frightening Fragments

Defacement // Doomed [August 22nd, 2025 – Self Release]

There’s music for every vibe.1 The one Defacement fits is an exclusively extreme metal flavor of moody that is only appreciable by genre fans, made tangibly more eerie by their persistent idiosyncratic use of dark ambient interludes amidst the viciously distorted blackened death. Audiences—and reviewers—tend to disparage these electronic segments, but I’ve always felt their crackling presence increases the analog horror of it all, and rather than being a breather from the intensity, they prolong the nausea, the sense of emptiness, and the abject fearfulness of head-based trauma. This latter concept grows more metaphorical still on Doomed, where the violence is inside the mind, purpose-erasing, and emotionally-detaching. The ambience might be the most sadly beautiful so far (“Mournful,” and “Clouded” especially), and the transitions into nightmarish heaviness arguably the most fluid. And the metal is undoubtedly the most ambitious, dynamic, and magnificent of Defacement’s career, combining their most gruesome dissonance (“Portrait”) with their most bizarrely exuberant guitar melodies (“Unexplainable,” “Unrecognised”). Solos drip tangibly with (emotional) resonance (“Unexplainable,” “Absent”) and there’s not a breath or a moment of wasted space. Yes, the band’s heavier side can suffer from a nagging sense of homogeneous mass, but it remains transporting. While I can appreciate why others do not appreciate Defacement, this is the first of their outings I can truthfully say mesmerised me on first listen.

ClarkKent’s Heated Hymns

Phantom Fire // Phantom Fire [August 8th, 2025 – Edged Circle Productions]

While I waded through the murky depths of the August promo sump, Steel implored me to take the eponymous third album from Phantom Fire. “The AMG commentariat love blackened heavy metal,” he said. I disregarded his advice at my peril, and while I ended up enjoying what I grabbed, it turns out this would have been solid too. Featuring members from Enslaved, Kraków. Hellbutcher, and Aeternus, Phantom Fire play old school speed metal that harks back to the likes of Motörhead and Iron Maiden’s Killers. Thanks to healthy doses of bass and production values that allow the instruments to shine, each song is infused with energetic grooves. The music sounds fresh, crisp, and clear, from the booming drums to Eld’s “blackened” snarls. Early tracks “Eternal Void” and “All For None” show off the catchy blend of simple guitar riffs and a hoppin’ bass accompanied by energetic kit work. While placing a somewhat lengthy instrumental track in the middle of a record usually slows it down, “Fatal Attraction” turns out to be a highlight. It tells a tragic love story involving a motorcycle with nothing but instruments, an engine revving, and some police sirens. The second half of Phantom Fire gets a bit on the weirder side, turning to some stoner and psychedelia. There’s a push and pull between the stoner and Motörhead speed stuff on songs like “Malphas” and “Submersible Pt. 2,” and this blend actually works pretty well. It turns out that they aren’t phantom after all—these guys are truly fire.

Burning Witches // Inquisition [August 22nd, 2025 – Napalm Records]

With six albums in eight years, Swiss quintet Burning Witches has really been burning rubber. While such prolific output in such a short time frame generally spells trouble, Inquisition is a solid piece of heavy/power metal. Burning Witches dabbles in a mix of speedy power metal and mid-tempo heavy metal, often sounding like ’80s stalwarts Judas Priest and Def Leppard. With Laura Guldemond’s gruff voice, they produce a more weighty, less happy version of power metal than the likes of Fellowship or Frozen Crown. While the songs stick to formulaic structures, tempo shifts from song to song help keep things from growing stale. We see this variety right from the get-go, where “Soul Eater” takes a high-energy approach before moving into the more mellow “Shame.” There’s even a pretty solid ballad, “Release Me,” that grounds the back half of the record. Songs of the sort that Burning Witches write need catchy choruses, and fortunately, they deliver. “High Priestess of the Night” is a particular standout, delivering a knock-out punch in its delivery. It helps that the instrumental parts are well-executed, from crunchy riffs to subdued solos to booming blast beats. Anyone looking for a solid bit of power metal that’s not too heavy on the cheese will find this worth a listen.

Deathhammer // Crimson Dawn [August 29th, 2025 – Hells Headbangers Records]

Celebrating 20 years of blackened speed, Deathhammer drop LP number six with the kind of energy that exhausted parents dread to see in their children at bedtime. This is my first foray with the band, and I am in awe of the relentless level of manic energy they keep throughout Crimson Dawn’s 39 minutes. If science could learn how to harness their energy, we’d have an endless source of renewables. The two-piece out of Norway channels classic Slayer on crack and even has moments reminiscent of Painkiller-era Judas Priest. They play non-stop thrash cranked to 11, with persistent blast beats and some dual guitar parts that leave your head spinning from the rapid-fire directions the riffs fire off in. The heart of the mania is singer Sergeant Salsten. His crazed vocals are amazing—snarling, shouting, and shrieking in a way that took me back to the manic pitch Judge Doom could reach in Who Framed Roger Rabbit? He sings so fast that on the chorus of “Crimson Dawn,” it sounds like he says “Griffindor,” which had me searching confusedly for the Harry Potter tag. This was probably my favorite song, not just because of the Griffindor thing, but because that chorus is so catchy. Either way, it’s tough to pick a standout track because they all grip you by the throat and don’t let go. Crimson Dawn is a ton of fun and a must listen if you like your music fast.

Grin Reaper’s Bountiful Blight

Kallias // Digital Plague [August 14th, 2025 – Self Release]

Machine gun drumming, spacey synths, Morbid Angel-meets-Meshuggah riffing, Turian-esque barking and Voyager-reminiscent vocal melodies…what the fuck is going on here? The only thing more surprising than someone having the moxie to blend all these things together is how well they work in concert. Kallias doesn’t hold back on sophomore album Digital Plague, and the result is a rocket-fueled blast through forty-four minutes of eclectic, addictive prog. The mishmash of styles keeps the album fresh and unpredictable while never dipping its toes in inconsistent waters, and staccato rhythms propel listeners through eight tracks without losing steam. As with any prog metal worth its salt, Kallias brandishes technical prowess, and their cohesion belies the relatively short time they’ve been putting out music.2 The mix is well-suited to spotlight whoever needs it at a given time, whether the bass is purring (“Exogíini Kyriarchía”), the drums are being annihilated (“Pyrrhic Victory”), or a guitar solo nears Pettrucian wankery (“Phenomenal in Theory”). The end result is three-quarters of an hour filled with myriad influences that fuse into a sound all Kallias’s own, and it’s one I’ve returned to several times since discovering (also, credit to MontDoom for his stunning artwork, which helped initially draw my attention). Check it out—you’ll be sick if you avoid this one like the Plague.

Luke’s Kaleidoscopic Kicks

Giant Haze // Cosmic Mother [August 22nd, 2025 – Tonzonen Records]

Whereas many of my colleagues are bracing themselves for cooler conditions and harsh winters to come, in my neck of the woods, things are warming up. While my own wintry August filter proved scarce, there was one particular summery gem to lift moods with burly riffs and fat stoner grooves. Unheralded German act Giant Haze seemingly emerged out of nowhere during a random Bandcamp deep dive. Debut LP Cosmic Mother channels the good old days of ’90s-inspired desert rock, featuring grungy, doomy vibes via a groovy batch of riff-centric, hard-rocking and uplifting jams, evoking the nostalgic spirit of Kyuss, Fu Manchu, Clutch and perhaps even a dash of Danzig. Punching out raucous, groove-soaked hard rockers with skyscraping hooks (“Geographic Gardens Suck,” “King of Tomorrow,” “Panic to Ride”), summery, funk–psych jams (“Sunrise”), and bluesy, punk-infused fireballs (“Crank in Public,” “Shrink Age”) Giant Haze get a lot of things right on this assured debut. The songwriting is deceptively diverse and punchy, bolstered by solid production, tight musicianship, and the swaggering, ever so slightly goofy vocal charms and powerful hooks of frontman Christoph Wollmann. Inevitably, a few rough spots appear, but overall Cosmic Mother showcases oodles of budding potential, an impactful delivery, cheeky sense of humor, and infectious, feel-good songcraft.

Spicie Forrest’s Foraged Fruit

Bask // The Turning [August 22nd, 2025 – Season of Mist]

Last seen in 2019, Bask returns with fourth LP, The Turning, a concept album following The Rider as she and The Traveler traverse the stars. They still peddle the unique blend of stoner rock and Americana Kenstrosity reviewed favorably in 2019, but 2025 sees them looking up for inspiration. The Turning incorporates a distinct cosmic bent (“The Traveler,” “The Turning”) and post-rock structures (“Dig My Heels,” “Unwound”). These augmentations to Bask’s core sound are enhanced by the masterful pedal steel of new official member Jed Willis. Whether floating through the firmament or tilling earthly pastures, Willis creates textures both fresh and intensely nostalgic. The infinite shifting vistas of The Turning’s front half coalesce into singular timeless visions on the back half, supporting its conceptual nature in both content and form. Like a combination of Huntsmen and Somali Yacht Club, Bask weaves riffs and melodies heard across the plains and through the void above with an unguarded authenticity felt in your soul.

Dolphin Whisperer’s Disseminating Discharge

Plasmodulated // An Ocean ov Putrid, Stinky, Vile, Disgusting Hell [August 1st, 2025 – Personal Records]

Stinky, sticky, slimy—all adjectives that define the ideal death metal platter. Myk Colby has been trying to chase this perfect balance in a reverb-wonky package with projects like the d-beaten Hot Graves and extra hazy Wharflurch, but vile death metal balance is hard to achieve. However, An Ocean ov Putrid, Stinky, Vile, Disgusting Hell contains a recklessly pinched Demilichian riffage, classic piercing whammy bombs, and spook-minded synth ambience that places Plasmodulated with an odor more pungent than its peers. With an infected ear that festers equally with doom-loaded, Incantation-indebted drags (“Gelatinous Mutation ov Brewed Origin,” “Trapped in the Plasmovoid”) and Voivod-on-jenkem cutaways to foul-throated extravagence (“The Final Fuckening”). An air of intelligent tempo design keeps An Ocean from never feeling trapped in a maze of its own fumes, with Colby’s lush and bubbling synth design seguing tumbles into hammering deathly tremolo runs (“Such Rapid Sphacelation”) and Celtic Frosted riff tumbles (“Drowning in Sputum”) alike, all before swirling about his own tattered, trailing vocal sputters. Steady but slippery, elegant yet effluvial, An Ocean ov Putrid, Stinky, Vile, Disgusting Hell provides the necessary noxious pressure to corrode death metal-loving denizens into pure gloops of stained-denim pit worship. Delivered as labeled, Plasmodulated earns its hazardous declaration. We here at AMG are not liable for any OSHA violations that occur as a result of Plasmodulated consumption on the job, though.

#2025 #Aeternus #AmericanMetal #Americana #AnOceanOvPutridStinkyVileDisgustingHell #Aug25 #Bask #BlackMetal #BlackenedDeathMetal #BurningWitches #CelestialTwilightBeyondTheCrimsonVeil #CelticFrost #Clutch #CosmicMother #CrimsonDawn #Danzig #DarkAmbient #DeathMetal #Deathhammer #DefLeppard #Defacement #Demilich #DigitalPlague #Doomed #DryDrunk #DutchMetal #EdgedCircleProductions #Emperor #Enslaved #Fellship #FinnishMetal #FrozenCrown #FuManchu #GermanMetal #GiantHaze #Glassing #Hardcore #HeavyMetal #Hellbutcher #HellsHeadbangersRecords #HotGraves #Huntsmen #Incantation #Inquisition #IronMaiden #JudasPriest #Kallias #Kraków #Kyuss #MelodicBlackMetal #Meshuggah #MoonlightSorcery #MorbidAngel #Motörhead #NapalmRecords #NorwegianMetal #OldNick #PersonalRecords #PhantomFire #Plasmodulated #PowerMetal #ProgressiveDeathMetal #RawBlackMetal #Review #Reviews #SelfRelease #SilentMillenia #Slayer #Sludge #SludgeMetal #SomaliYachtClub #SpeedMetal #StonerRock #Stormkeep #StreetSects #StuckInTheFilter #StuckInTheFilter2025 #SwissMetal #SymphonicBlackMetal #TechnicalDeathMetal #TheTurning #TonzonenRecords #Turian #Voivod #Voyager #Wharflurch

Das war mal wieder ein wunderbares #SwampFest, mit vielen Perlen aus dem #Sludge #Doom und #DeathMetal – nur in's Kino hab ich's schon wieder nicht geschafft. 😅

Und hier eines meiner Highlights:
https://skraeckoedlan.bandcamp.com/album/ppeltr-det

Viele Grüße aus dem Sumpf!

#radio27 #music #festival #metal #punk #MetalPunk #DoomMetal #Grindcore #WarMetal #SpeedMetal #BlackMetal #StonerRock #Dungeon #Wave #Art #Graffiti #Cinema #Horror

Das war mal wieder ein wunderbares #SwampFest, mit vielen Perlen aus dem #Sludge #Doom und #DeathMetal – nur in's Kino hab ich's schon wieder nicht geschafft. 😅

Und hier eines meiner Highlights:
https://skraeckoedlan.bandcamp.com/album/ppeltr-det

Viele Grüße aus dem Sumpf!

#radio27 #music #festival #metal #punk #MetalPunk #DoomMetal #Grindcore #WarMetal #SpeedMetal #BlackMetal #StonerRock #Dungeon #Wave #Art #Graffiti #Cinema #Horror

Das war mal wieder ein wunderbares #SwampFest, mit vielen Perlen aus dem #Sludge #Doom und #DeathMetal – nur in's Kino hab ich's schon wieder nicht geschafft. 😅

Und hier eines meiner Highlights:
https://skraeckoedlan.bandcamp.com/album/ppeltr-det

Viele Grüße aus dem Sumpf!

#radio27 #music #festival #metal #punk #MetalPunk #DoomMetal #Grindcore #WarMetal #SpeedMetal #BlackMetal #StonerRock #Dungeon #Wave #Art #Graffiti #Cinema #Horror

Das war mal wieder ein wunderbares #SwampFest, mit vielen Perlen aus dem #Sludge #Doom und #DeathMetal – nur in's Kino hab ich's schon wieder nicht geschafft. 😅

Und hier eines meiner Highlights:
https://skraeckoedlan.bandcamp.com/album/ppeltr-det

Viele Grüße aus dem Sumpf!

#radio27 #music #festival #metal #punk #MetalPunk #DoomMetal #Grindcore #WarMetal #SpeedMetal #BlackMetal #StonerRock #Dungeon #Wave #Art #Graffiti #Cinema #Horror

Regina – Liminal Space Review

By ClarkKent

At the end of each year, Angry Metal Guy likes to boast of the diverse coalition of readers who flock to these halls from all over the world, including the lone visitor from Vatican City. Just as important as the diverse readership is the diversity in the bands we review. So when Dolphin Whisperer excitedly brought to our attention a promo that would, if reviewed, be our first Uruguayan metal tag, I decided to take up the mantle as explorer to this uncharted frontier. Liminal Space is the debut album from Uruguayan alt-metal act Regina. The quartet first released an EP, Apology, back in 2019, but COVID paused work on any further material until 2024, when they started recording Liminal Space. Of course, music often transcends national boundaries. For one, musical influences are global in reach. For another, as in this case, the making of an album itself can escape borders. While Regina did their recording in Uruguay, the mixing and mastering followed drummer Nicolás Martín as he moved to Canada. That said, let’s see what Uruguay has to bring to the table.

One look at their Bandcamp page reveals that Regina dabbles in a variety of styles, but the nu-metal tag might stick out as a turnoff for many readers. While there are a few brief spoken/rapped sections, concerned readers can rest assured that Liminal Space leans stoner and grunge above anything else. They don’t play the blasting, riff-tastic stoner of High on Fire or Sergeant Thunderhoof, but a hazy, atmospheric version that relies on reverb and ample bass grooves. It’s almost a tale of two halves, with the front half leaning stoner and the back half grunge. Early on the songs have a much more freestyle form to them, such as the dreamy, sometimes psychedelic “S.M.E.G.M.A..” It’s not until “Age of Aquarius” that they really attempt any sort of riffs. The later grunge-y stuff like “Would You Like Some Fries With That?” and “Rot” have a more punky vibe with clearer traditional song structure. Closer “Rot” is a particular standout, sounding like a crossover between Nirvana and Tragic Kingdom-era No Doubt.

A charismatic lead is a must when going the alt route, and Regina has one in Sofia May. She fluctuates her voice seamlessly from chill to punk, bringing a poetic, stylistic interpretation of the lyrics. When she reaches higher notes she sounds an awful lot like Gwen Stefani and might have you on the lookout for spiderwebs (“Of Dicks and Whores,” “Dethroned,” “Whiteout”). On closer “Rot,” she channels not only the Hollaback Girl but also a mumbling Kurt Cobain—and I don’t mean that in a negative way. While her voice tends towards the gritty, she also softly chants and croons in a dreamy manner that reminded me of another band I reviewed earlier this year, the psychedelic doom outfit When the Deadbolt Breaks (“Hollow Crown,” “Sweet Embrace”). The diversity of May’s vocal delivery is a major asset on Liminal Space.

While Liminal Space is a very pleasant listen in the moment, the lack of hooky or melodic guitar riffs means that many of the tracks don’t quite stick. Regina relies almost too heavily on reverb, to the point that songs can be difficult to grasp, even as you might enjoy the detours the musicians take. The bassist does make up for this to an extent, often serving as the lead with a deft groove attack. Bassist Agustín Sogliano makes a particularly strong impression in the final minutes of “Rot” with some gnarly riffs. Fortunately, Liminal Shroud boasts clear production values that ensure no one instrument drowns out another. While the middle portion of the 48 minute album sags a bit, the surrounding music is enjoyable enough to recommend at least a few listens.

With the spunky Regina as its AMG representative, Uruguay is off to a good start. True, it might be a little uneven, but I also found their diversity to be a strength. From atmospheric psychedelic stoner to more punky grunge, Liminal Space has something for fans of either genre. And Sofia May proves to be a strong front woman. She helps carry the minimalist, piano-driven “Open Cage,” proving that Regina can make almost anything work as long as she’s leading the charge. This holds promise for future outings where more songwriting experience should lead to more cohesive, stronger compositions. Now that Uruguay has a band reviewed on AMG, I’m eagerly awaiting Vatican City to send in their promo.1

Rating: 3.0/5.0
DR: 8 | Format Reviewed: ALAC
Label: Self-Released
Website: Bandcamp | Facebook | Official Site
Releases Worldwide: September 12th, 2025

#2025 #30 #AltMetal #Grunge #GwenStefani #HighOnFire #LiminalSpace #Nirvana #NoDoubt #PsychedelicRock #Regina #Review #Reviews #SelfReleased #Sep25 #SergeantThunderhoof #StonerRock #UruguayanMetal

Зі швидкістю ноти | Музика на хвилях піратського Радіо 390 | Tito & Tarantula | After Dark: https://open.spotify.com/track/6CvoLme4xu7hBmZi79rvR2 #music #chicanorock #bluesrock #latinrock #alternative #hard #rock #stonerrock #best #top

Blue Heron – Everything Fades Review

By Carcharodon

Albuquerque, New Mexico’s Blue Heron dropped their debut record, Ephemeral, in 2022. I remember briefly listening to it at the time, but it didn’t leave much of an impression. Dipping in again now, I think that was very much a Me Problem because Ephemeral was a solid slab of desert stoner rock, tinged with both blues and grunge. And I slept on it. Stoner is a genre mired in mediocrity but, for me, when a band hits its stride, it’s so goddamned satisfying. Bands like Kyuss, whom we’ll be hearing more about below,1 had this ability to just carry me away, born on the languid desert winds. Now back with their sophomore record, Everything Fades, whatever sort of journey Blue Heron wants to take me on, it’s one I’m determined not to sleep on!

On Everything Fades, Blue Heron picks up where they left off. And why not? They set themselves a great base to build on and have done so in every respect. Most of the material falls slap bang in the middle of a sand-swept bridge, leading between the lands of Kyuss and Sleep. Huge, distended guitars from Mike Chavez (ex-Spiritu) rumble and flow across a world drowning in reverb and languid melodies, while Steve Schmidlapp’s bass thrums its way through the open dunes. There’s also more than a bit of early Clutch (opener, “Null Geodesic”) and Orange Goblin (closer, “Flight of the Heron”) infusing the smoky sound on show. Not satisfied with the desert, however, Blue Heron skilfully weaves in Dirt-era Alice in Chains (particularly on “Swansong”), adding extra depth to their songwriting. The star of the show, however, is singer Jadd Schickler (also ex-Spiritu), who shows himself to be hugely versatile. His vocals range from a beautifully rich, bourbon-drenched husk that evokes Sleep’s Al Cisneros and early-career Neil Fallon, to a delicate bluesy style, which was uncannily familiar.2

Everything Fades truly kicks off the moment that Schickler’s gritty voice is first unleashed. After that, Blue Heron never looks back. The Kyuss worship is both clear and very well done (“Dinosaur” and “Trepidation”) but there’s a lot more going on than that. Both Jam Room-era Clutch and the rougher edge of early Down, or even Neurosis, shine through in places. It’s the title track that showcases Blue Heron’s absolute best, as the song glides effortlessly from Kyuss’ desert blues, Ricardo Sanchez’s drums awakening slowly from a sun-drenched daydream, to kick off into big, Orange Goblin stoner territory. At the three-minute mark, Schickler drops down from his coarse bellow, which perfectly tweeters on the verge of cracking, to a delicate croon, which reminded me most of Mark Lanegan.

Coming in at a tight 38 minutes, there is very little fat on Everything Fades, which is a welcome surprise for a stoner record.3 Indeed, Blue Heron show themselves to be very talented songwriters, with nearly everything they try coming off, feeling fluid, organic, and crucially, effortless. It has to be said that “Clearmountain” feels a bit light on ideas and notably weaker than the rest of the songs, with Schickler’s normally stellar voice also feeling like it’s straining. However, the lyrics for that track properly got me for some reason, as Schickler husks “Don’t stand upon my grave and weep, I am not there; I do not sleep, I am the thousand winds that blow.”4 That slight misstep apart, the thing that really holds back Everything Fades is the production. At a shocking DR2, it often sounds shallow and crushed, with the drums eating up the space that should be available for the guitars (see “Bellwether” and “Flight of the Heron,” in particular). This is a real shame as Sanchez’s work behind the kit is solid and I love Chavez’s guitar tone, which sounds mellow and organic.

With Everything Fades, Blue Heron has improved on Ephemeral, showing themselves to be skilled songwriters. The songs flow and the album is at that perfect length where each time the last notes of “Fight of the Heron” fade out you’re left wanting just a little bit more. Undoubtedly a very good record, if Everything Fades had better production, it could easily have been a great one.

Rating: 3.5/5.0
DR: 2 | Format Reviewed: V0 VBR mp3
Label: Blues Funeral Recordings
Websites: blueheronabq.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/blueheronabq
Releases Worldwide: September 27th, 2024

#2024 #35 #AliceInChains #AmericanMetal #BlueHeron #Blues #BluesFuneralRecordings #Clutch #Down #EverythingFades #Grunge #Kyuss #MarkLanegan #Neurosis #OrangeGoblin #Review #Reviews #Sep24 #Sleep #StonerMetal #StonerRock

Blue Heron – Everything Fades Review

By Carcharodon

Albuquerque, New Mexico’s Blue Heron dropped their debut record, Ephemeral, in 2022. I remember briefly listening to it at the time, but it didn’t leave much of an impression. Dipping in again now, I think that was very much a Me Problem because Ephemeral was a solid slab of desert stoner rock, tinged with both blues and grunge. And I slept on it. Stoner is a genre mired in mediocrity but, for me, when a band hits its stride, it’s so goddamned satisfying. Bands like Kyuss, whom we’ll be hearing more about below,1 had this ability to just carry me away, born on the languid desert winds. Now back with their sophomore record, Everything Fades, whatever sort of journey Blue Heron wants to take me on, it’s one I’m determined not to sleep on!

On Everything Fades, Blue Heron picks up where they left off. And why not? They set themselves a great base to build on and have done so in every respect. Most of the material falls slap bang in the middle of a sand-swept bridge, leading between the lands of Kyuss and Sleep. Huge, distended guitars from Mike Chavez (ex-Spiritu) rumble and flow across a world drowning in reverb and languid melodies, while Steve Schmidlapp’s bass thrums its way through the open dunes. There’s also more than a bit of early Clutch (opener, “Null Geodesic”) and Orange Goblin (closer, “Flight of the Heron”) infusing the smoky sound on show. Not satisfied with the desert, however, Blue Heron skilfully weaves in Dirt-era Alice in Chains (particularly on “Swansong”), adding extra depth to their songwriting. The star of the show, however, is singer Jadd Schickler (also ex-Spiritu), who shows himself to be hugely versatile. His vocals range from a beautifully rich, bourbon-drenched husk that evokes Sleep’s Al Cisneros and early-career Neil Fallon, to a delicate bluesy style, which was uncannily familiar.2

Everything Fades truly kicks off the moment that Schickler’s gritty voice is first unleashed. After that, Blue Heron never looks back. The Kyuss worship is both clear and very well done (“Dinosaur” and “Trepidation”) but there’s a lot more going on than that. Both Jam Room-era Clutch and the rougher edge of early Down, or even Neurosis, shine through in places. It’s the title track that showcases Blue Heron’s absolute best, as the song glides effortlessly from Kyuss’ desert blues, Ricardo Sanchez’s drums awakening slowly from a sun-drenched daydream, to kick off into big, Orange Goblin stoner territory. At the three-minute mark, Schickler drops down from his coarse bellow, which perfectly tweeters on the verge of cracking, to a delicate croon, which reminded me most of Mark Lanegan.

Coming in at a tight 38 minutes, there is very little fat on Everything Fades, which is a welcome surprise for a stoner record.3 Indeed, Blue Heron show themselves to be very talented songwriters, with nearly everything they try coming off, feeling fluid, organic, and crucially, effortless. It has to be said that “Clearmountain” feels a bit light on ideas and notably weaker than the rest of the songs, with Schickler’s normally stellar voice also feeling like it’s straining. However, the lyrics for that track properly got me for some reason, as Schickler husks “Don’t stand upon my grave and weep, I am not there; I do not sleep, I am the thousand winds that blow.”4 That slight misstep apart, the thing that really holds back Everything Fades is the production. At a shocking DR2, it often sounds shallow and crushed, with the drums eating up the space that should be available for the guitars (see “Bellwether” and “Flight of the Heron,” in particular). This is a real shame as Sanchez’s work behind the kit is solid and I love Chavez’s guitar tone, which sounds mellow and organic.

With Everything Fades, Blue Heron has improved on Ephemeral, showing themselves to be skilled songwriters. The songs flow and the album is at that perfect length where each time the last notes of “Fight of the Heron” fade out you’re left wanting just a little bit more. Undoubtedly a very good record, if Everything Fades had better production, it could easily have been a great one.

Rating: 3.5/5.0
DR: 2 | Format Reviewed: V0 VBR mp3
Label: Blues Funeral Recordings
Websites: blueheronabq.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/blueheronabq
Releases Worldwide: September 27th, 2024

#2024 #35 #AliceInChains #AmericanMetal #BlueHeron #Blues #BluesFuneralRecordings #Clutch #Down #EverythingFades #Grunge #Kyuss #MarkLanegan #Neurosis #OrangeGoblin #Review #Reviews #Sep24 #Sleep #StonerMetal #StonerRock

Blue Heron – Everything Fades Review

By Carcharodon

Albuquerque, New Mexico’s Blue Heron dropped their debut record, Ephemeral, in 2022. I remember briefly listening to it at the time, but it didn’t leave much of an impression. Dipping in again now, I think that was very much a Me Problem because Ephemeral was a solid slab of desert stoner rock, tinged with both blues and grunge. And I slept on it. Stoner is a genre mired in mediocrity but, for me, when a band hits its stride, it’s so goddamned satisfying. Bands like Kyuss, whom we’ll be hearing more about below,1 had this ability to just carry me away, born on the languid desert winds. Now back with their sophomore record, Everything Fades, whatever sort of journey Blue Heron wants to take me on, it’s one I’m determined not to sleep on!

On Everything Fades, Blue Heron picks up where they left off. And why not? They set themselves a great base to build on and have done so in every respect. Most of the material falls slap bang in the middle of a sand-swept bridge, leading between the lands of Kyuss and Sleep. Huge, distended guitars from Mike Chavez (ex-Spiritu) rumble and flow across a world drowning in reverb and languid melodies, while Steve Schmidlapp’s bass thrums its way through the open dunes. There’s also more than a bit of early Clutch (opener, “Null Geodesic”) and Orange Goblin (closer, “Flight of the Heron”) infusing the smoky sound on show. Not satisfied with the desert, however, Blue Heron skilfully weaves in Dirt-era Alice in Chains (particularly on “Swansong”), adding extra depth to their songwriting. The star of the show, however, is singer Jadd Schickler (also ex-Spiritu), who shows himself to be hugely versatile. His vocals range from a beautifully rich, bourbon-drenched husk that evokes Sleep’s Al Cisneros and early-career Neil Fallon, to a delicate bluesy style, which was uncannily familiar.2

Everything Fades truly kicks off the moment that Schickler’s gritty voice is first unleashed. After that, Blue Heron never looks back. The Kyuss worship is both clear and very well done (“Dinosaur” and “Trepidation”) but there’s a lot more going on than that. Both Jam Room-era Clutch and the rougher edge of early Down, or even Neurosis, shine through in places. It’s the title track that showcases Blue Heron’s absolute best, as the song glides effortlessly from Kyuss’ desert blues, Ricardo Sanchez’s drums awakening slowly from a sun-drenched daydream, to kick off into big, Orange Goblin stoner territory. At the three-minute mark, Schickler drops down from his coarse bellow, which perfectly tweeters on the verge of cracking, to a delicate croon, which reminded me most of Mark Lanegan.

Coming in at a tight 38 minutes, there is very little fat on Everything Fades, which is a welcome surprise for a stoner record.3 Indeed, Blue Heron show themselves to be very talented songwriters, with nearly everything they try coming off, feeling fluid, organic, and crucially, effortless. It has to be said that “Clearmountain” feels a bit light on ideas and notably weaker than the rest of the songs, with Schickler’s normally stellar voice also feeling like it’s straining. However, the lyrics for that track properly got me for some reason, as Schickler husks “Don’t stand upon my grave and weep, I am not there; I do not sleep, I am the thousand winds that blow.”4 That slight misstep apart, the thing that really holds back Everything Fades is the production. At a shocking DR2, it often sounds shallow and crushed, with the drums eating up the space that should be available for the guitars (see “Bellwether” and “Flight of the Heron,” in particular). This is a real shame as Sanchez’s work behind the kit is solid and I love Chavez’s guitar tone, which sounds mellow and organic.

With Everything Fades, Blue Heron has improved on Ephemeral, showing themselves to be skilled songwriters. The songs flow and the album is at that perfect length where each time the last notes of “Fight of the Heron” fade out you’re left wanting just a little bit more. Undoubtedly a very good record, if Everything Fades had better production, it could easily have been a great one.

Rating: 3.5/5.0
DR: 2 | Format Reviewed: V0 VBR mp3
Label: Blues Funeral Recordings
Websites: blueheronabq.bandcamp.com | facebook.com/blueheronabq
Releases Worldwide: September 27th, 2024

#2024 #35 #AliceInChains #AmericanMetal #BlueHeron #Blues #BluesFuneralRecordings #Clutch #Down #EverythingFades #Grunge #Kyuss #MarkLanegan #Neurosis #OrangeGoblin #Review #Reviews #Sep24 #Sleep #StonerMetal #StonerRock

VISTA CHINO - Sweet Remain (Official)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3LWvOl8ZqRY&ab_channel=NapalmRecords

#VistaChino #SweetRemain #StonerRock #JohnGarcia

#NowSpinning

In Times New Roman... by Queens of the Stone Age

#vinyl

https://qotsa.bandcamp.com/album/in-times-new-roman

#alternative #rock #stonerrock #PalmDesert

Moon Coven - Old Ground

https://mooncoven.bandcamp.com/track/old-ground-2

Issu de l'album de 2016 de Moon Coven, "Moon Coven"

#MoonCoven
#PsychRock #Psych #HeavyPsych #Psychedelic #StonerRock #Stoner #Rock #OccultRock #Doomcheck #Doom

#PouëtRadio #AznörthMusique

#NowPlaying #TheMetalDogIsNowPlaying
#SaintVitus
Born Too Late
Born Too Late
https://youtube.com/results?search_query=Saint+Vitus+Born+Too+Late+Born+Too+Late
https://genius.com/Saint-vitus-born-too-late-lyrics
#doommetal #TraditionalDoomMetal #StonerRock #heavymetal #metal

#NowPlaying #TheMetalDogIsNowPlaying
#SaintVitus
Born Too Late
Born Too Late
https://youtube.com/results?search_query=Saint+Vitus+Born+Too+Late+Born+Too+Late
https://genius.com/Saint-vitus-born-too-late-lyrics
#doommetal #TraditionalDoomMetal #StonerRock #heavymetal #metal

#newmusicfriday

Today with the new single from Stoned Jesus, my favourite Ukranian band. Album comes in March ... #StonedJesus #StonerRock

https://youtu.be/H6kDj-HlQdg

#PouetRadio #NowListening

Moon Coven - The Third Eye
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tLfQbWShQ-I​

Issu de l'album de 2016 de Moon Coven, "Moon Coven"

#MoonCoven​
#PsychRock #PsychedelicRock #HeavyPsych #Stoner #StonerRock #Rock #Musique #Music​

#AznörthMusique