Banisher Of The Light

Sparzanza is a Swedish Metal band with Stoner influences. Banisher Of The Light is their fourth album. The singer is just awesome, this man has a great voice. The songs are very well. My personal favorites are Before My Blackened Eyes and the title track Banisher Of The Light. Enjoy!

Sweden's Sparzanza is a perfect example of how important it can be to find the right band members. The dark, raspy and powerful voice of frontman Fredrik Weileby puts a distinct mark on the entire album "Banisher Of The Light" which is actually the first time I come in touch with the band although they have put out a few CDs before. According to the press sheet they have however moved in a heavier and darker direction this time around which I can imagine being a good decision based on their current sound. Sparzanza performs non-pretentious, straight-forward heavy rock where the emphasis is placed on groove and melody instead of flashy details. The lyrics and overall atmosphere is of a rather dark nature which fit very well with Weileby's voice and it almost makes me want to think of Sparzanza as a stoner rock version of Danzig. Fellow Swedish rockers Mustasch is another valid reference point and Mustasch frontman Ralph Gyllenhammar actually guests on this album, as does The Haunted belcher Peter Dolving.
Sparzanza have played together for more than ten years now, playing countless shows all over Europe and it is easy to tell from listening to this album that all the experience they have gained has made them gel together, making them work as one. They have become a very tight, mature and complete group of musicians working towards the same goal. There is however one thing that prevents this album from becoming one of my favorites this month. It is incredibly difficult to compose extremely technical music and make it sound good and interesting all the way through. On the other side of the spectrum this is equally true for a more direct rock approach and even if Sparzanza can easily compare themselves with anyone else in the business when at their best such as the album hit "Before My Blackened Eyes", many songs of the album tend to sound a bit too anonymous. Also worth mentioning is the closing track "State Of Mind". Fresh and modern sounding yet strangely familiar.
(By Vincent Eldefors at Tartareandesire.com)

Sparzanza - Banisher Of The Light (2007)

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Lunar Flight

This is a great EP from the Italian band T.H.U.M.B. This band has made some awesome Psychedelic Stoner Rock. This band remind me a bit of the Swedish band Lowrider. Lunar Flight is the second EP T.H.U.M.B. has made and it contains four great tracks. Enjoy!

I don't hear that many bands from Italy but often the ones I do hear are quite cool. This is a 4 track EP and the band describes their music as heavy psych stoner trips, which for this release is a good description. The CD starts off with the fantastic 9 minute title track, "Lunar Flight". After the space sounds, a heavy distorted wall of sound with spacey vocals and some cool guitar sounds here and there. It is quite psychedelic and spaced out while maintaining a hard driving rhythm and some great spaced out psychedelic guitar soloing. Awesome! "Wasted Words" is a very low-fi distorted track and quite psychedelic. "Kobal, the Eggman from Venus" is a short 1½ minute strange piece that leads into "Magic Drug", which is a fast track like a psychedelic Dozer track or something. Don't get too stoned when you listen to this CD... just a warning. Fans of early Monster Magnet will appreciate this!
(By Scott Heller at Aural Innovations)

T.H.U.M.B. - Lunar Flight EP (2004)

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Strange Atmosphere 3.

These atmospheric tunes were send to me by J.M.A. from the one-man project Bird From The Abyss. Thank you for that!
I did posted the first Bird From The Abyss EP some earlier here. If you've taken the time to listen to this EP then you know what to expect: Some damn fine atmospheric and dark experimental sounds with acoustic parts and strange Psychedelic ambiances. The EP III is in line of the previous releases. Enjoy!

Bird From The Abyss - III (2010)

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Sludgy Post Metal From Ohio

Thanks to Andrew for sharing his album!
Deterior is a one-man band from Ohio, U.S.A. This guy makes some great Sludge influenced Post Rock/Metal. The album Primitive Circuitry sounds great, sometimes dejected and sometimes aggressive. The influences according to MySpace are: Rosetta, Cult of Luna, Isis, Callisto, Pelican, Torche, Coil, Made Out of Babies, Godspeed You! Black Emperor and Merzbow. So you have a small idea of what you are facing.
Andrew has made a fine album and he knows how to play his instruments and how to program his electronic gear. Enjoy and support Deterior!

Deterior - Primitive Circuitry (2010)

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An Great Argentinian Sludge Duo (Bass & Drum Only)

This nice EP was send to me by Pato from Cabrocordero. Thank You Pato!
Cabrocordero is a drum & bass duo that plays some heavy tunes. This duo plays a combination of Sludge Metal, Stoner and Speed Doom and these guys do that very well! Cabrocordero is influenced by the following band: Melvins, Big Business, Kyuss, High on Fire, Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, Los Natas, Dragonauta and many more. These four songs sounds great and I must say I don't miss the guitar! Enjoy and support these guys!

Cabrocordero - Ofrenda Inicial EP (2010)

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Experimental Stoner Rock From The Midwest

Thanks to Matt from the band Sleestak for sharing their album!
Sleestak is a band from Milwaukee and Wisconsin, U.S.A. This band plays some very nice experimental Stoner Rock with several influences such as Metal and Doom. Their album Skylon Express contain some new songs and songs from previous EP's and they all sound great! Matt does some awesome singing. He can do several things with his voice: Raw rock singing and something that is coming close to grunting. The musicians do their job exceptionally well. Skylon Express is a highly recommended album! Go listen and let your mind drift away on these nice tunes! Enjoy and support this band!

Formed in late 2003 with former members of Sixinch, Atomic Number 9, and Planet Delirium, Sleestak have become one of the midwest's most unique bands, gaining fans in the region and abroad with their metal/psychedelic fused doom rock. Sometimes labeled a "metal jam band", the band often delve into the bluesy realms of improvisation and embrace free-flowing instrumentals, taking the music into epic mind-altering depths. Through live demos and bootlegs over the past couple years, Sleestak have garnered radio play, media praise, and positive comparisons to Pink Floyd, Black Sabbath, Clutch, Monster Magnet, Isis, Colour Haze, The Melvins, Ten Years After, and other groups that thrive on experimentation, originality, and heaviness.
(From MySpace)

Sleestak - Skylon Express (2010)

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Coupe De Grace

Coupe De Grace is the fourth album from Orange Goblin. This album has compared with the three previous albums some more Rock 'n' Roll attitude. The album starts with the awesome song You're World Will Hate This. John Garcia does participate at the great song Made Of Rats. Getting High On The Bad Times contains some very nice guitar passages and We Bite is a well performed Misfits cover. So I can say Coupe The Grace is an excellent album. Enjoy!

“FFUUUCCKK!” is the first roar you hear on this album and it pretty much defines my opinion about it as well. Hot damn, this is an unapologetically hard-rocking affair. Frill-less, down-to-earth, straightforward and heavy, VERY heavy, with a thick, muddy guitar sound and hoarsely shouted barks that are as refined as G.G. Allin’s notion of stage behaviour. Whereas their third album, The Big Black, witnessed them continuing in the vein of stoner-metal motherfucker Time Travelling Blues, but even more spaced-out, Coup de Grace is a kind of return to the basics. Their lumbering heaviness still ensures them a spot amongst colleague-stoners, but this is much less about spacey-ness, neo-psychedelic grooves and mind-expanding trips. Instead, they shove a bunch of warted, heavy-as-hell riffs and rhythms down your throat that’ll leave you breathless for quite a while. With two guitarists who both intend to take their amps to the limit, a rhythm section with the finesse of a bull with rabies and a vocalist who sounds badder than the meanest street fighter, Orange Goblin sound like a band you don’t wanna mess with on their fourth album. Produced by Scott Reeder (Kyuss, Unida), it’s an album that’s almost as much punk as metal, raw and direct. Just listen to the brief “You World Will Hate This” and its comic book lyrics (“Turning you on to a world of shit, twisted beyond a return, filling your brain with a lot of cocaine, cos’ I got money to burn”) and you’ll realize this is an altogether matter than before. But there’s more where that came from, lots more: single “Monkey Panic” boasts a great, pounding chorus, “Whiskey Leech” turns ‘80’s hard rock inside out and takes a dump on its bloated corpse (well yeah, this album makes you turn to other imagery than usual, bloke), and “Getting High on the Bad Times” is guaranteed to make you dream up imaginary scenarios full of venom, violence and assorted vices. Quite surprisingly – because this is not where you’d expect him – stoner icon John Garcia also adds his two cents during the thrilling “Made of Rats” (the moment when his vocals go together with the acceleration of the bludgeoning main riff is pure gold) and the interestingly titled “Jesus Beater.” Of course it’s all over the top – and the artwork fits the music perfectly -, but those who’ve been familiar with the band of course know that behind the hooligan-attitude and brutal rock, these are plain guys who dig good, old-fashioned fun, soccer games and the gentle art of applying headlocks (as witness on their website, where you can see them at work while nearly suffocating Alice Cooper and other luminaries). Of course, this band is nearly an anachronism (why don’t they use loops and samples?), but I don’t know about you, but once in a while some unpretentious, bad-ass rock ‘n’ roll is just what I need, and when I hear these guys tearing through The Misfits’ “We Bite” and churn out the Southern roadhouse boogie of “Stinkin’ O Gin,” my faith in the future of belchin’, ragin’, kick-in-the-balls rock ‘n’ roll is reinstalled. FFUUUUUUCCCCKKK!
(From Guypetersreviews.com)

Orange Goblin - Coupe De Grace (2002)

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Procession

The U.K. Stoner Rock band Josiah did split up a time ago. Josiah made some awesome albums like Into The Outside and No Time. The album Procession will probably be their final release. Procession contains five unreleased studio tracks and five live songs. The studio tracks sounds great, just what you can expect from Josiah. Enjoy!

Not knowing the circumstances that led British fuzz rockers Josiah to break up, I can only suppose it was a trenchant personal conflict between the three members that caused many studio blowouts, stage walk-offs, canceled personal appearances, etc., that will all be brought to the light of day in a major motion picture documentary this Fall. If that’s not the case, I don’t want to know.

Whatever it was that caused them to call it quits, Josiah have written their epitaph in the form of Procession (Elektrohasch Schallplatten), a 10-track collection half dedicated to yet-unreleased studio material and half to live tracks recorded in Sweden in 2007. Procession is more or less a gimme for fans, but in the case of a band like Josiah, a gimme is most welcome, and if it’s what they’ve got, I’ll take it.

Those who’ve experienced Josiah’s groove-heavy swagger know that it’s the guitar of Mat Bethancourt (now of Cherry Choke and The Kings of Frog Island) in the starring role, but the trio relies almost as much on the backing rhythms of bassist Sie Beasley and drummer Keith Beacom on Procession — perhaps a bit of happenstance making the album a suitable parting word from the band. Blink and you’ll miss the first two tracks, “Procession” and “Broken Doll,” both of which are under two and a half minutes and which bleed into each other, but for the other three cuts of studio material (“Thirteen Scene,” highlight “Dying Day” and the more garage rock “Dead Forever”), it’s just as much Beacom and Beasley’s show as it is Bethancourt’s. All the better for repeat listens, since it only means there’s more to dig into.

“Procession,” “Broken Doll,” “Thirteen Scene” and “Dying Day” were recorded in Wales in 2006. “Dead Forever” came two years later and has an almost entirely different sound. It’s still Josiah, but you can hear the interests of Bethancourt beginning to veer away from fuzz-drenched rock or the latter-day Queens of the Stone Age boogie that “Thirteen Scene” did such a fine job of transposing. “Dead Forever” is darker, with more separation in the instruments and a more malleable tempo where the songs preceding felt locked in as they were when they began. It’s also longer at 5:38 than anything before it, but it ends almost as unceremoniously as the band itself, and in roughly 20 minutes, the allegedly last studio material to be released by Josiah has played itself out.

That would be the end if not for the five live tracks from Josiah’s Swedish run in 2007. Four out of the five — “Looking at the Mountain,” “Time to Kill,” “Silas Brainchild” and closer “I Can’t Seem to Find It” — come from the band’s final recorded full-length, No Time, and only “Malpaso,” reaches back further, having first appeared on the 2001 10” Out of the First Rays. Not that we needed it by this time, but these live versions are basically just further confirmation of what underground rock lost with Josiah. The crash-heavy shuffle blues of “Time to Kill” alone are worth whatever they’re asking for Procession, and I’ll leave it at that.

Fans of Josiah already know and have probably already put in their order for Procession, and though it might not be the best place to start for newcomers — I always recommend beginning with albums rather than compilations — for the already-inducted, this release is a fitting end to a band underrated for the duration of their time together. Nothing’s ever final in rock and roll, but if this really is the last we hear from Josiah, at least they went out on their own terms and never compromised their vision of what stoner rock should be. For that alone, they accomplished more than most.
(From theobelisk.net)

Josiah - Procession (2010)

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Thanks and credits to Lilith!

Garcia Plays Kyuss In Frankfurt

This is a pretty decent bootleg from the Garcia Plays Kyuss show at the Batschkapp venue in Frankfurt, Germany at the 11th of june 2010. I've heard the bootleg from the Roadburn show, but this one sounds a lot better. Enjoy!

Tracklist:

Disc 1:

Molten Universe
Thumb
Hurricane
One Inch Man
Freedom Run
Asteroid
Supa Scoopa And Mighty Scoop
Size Queen
Spaceship Landing

Disc 2:

Allen's Wrench
Whitewater
100ᴼ
Gardenia
Green Machine
(Encore Break)
El Rodeo
Pilot The Dune (Slo Burn)

Garcia Plays Kyuss - Live In Frankfurt (2010)

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Time Travelling Blues With A Bonus

Orange Goblin is an awesome Stoner Rock band from London, U.K. Their music has some Metal and Psychedelic influences. Ben Ward is one of the best Rock singers ever!
This is a re-issue of their 1998 album Time Travelling Blues. This is a great album with the awesome songs Blue Snow, The Man Who Invented Time and Time Travelling Blues.
Beside this album it contains a bonus disc with the 1997 album Frequencies From Planet Ten. There are also three extra bonus tracks spread over these CD's. One of the bonus tracks is a great version of Black Sabbath's Hand Of Doom. It is a great package! Enjoy!

Following just a year after their impressive debut, Time Traveling Blues is essentially a holding pattern for England's Orange Goblin, both in terms of quality and creativity. Opener "Blue Snow" slowly grinds into gear (revving Harley Davidson and all) and leather-lunged stoned giant Ben Ward soon takes over, leading his troops through the colossal riffing of "Solarisphere" and the pile-driving intensity of "The Man Who Invented Time." The spirit of Deep Purple is channeled into the organ-led opening to "Shine," which quickly devolves into a virtual remake of Sabbath's "Spirit Caravan" before exploding into action with what is possibly the album's most memorable riff. Unfortunately, the band seems to blow their entire load in the album's first half, and the remaining material succumbs to that dreaded stoner rock no man's land of repetitive riffs, inconclusive jams, and indifferent vocal performances, none of which leaves any lasting impressions. Occasional bright spots pepper the Southern rock-ish "Lunarville 7, Airlock 3," but you just know these guys can do better. And thankfully they would with their next outing, the excellent The Big Black.
(By Eduardo Rivadavia at All Music Guide)

Orange Goblin - Time Travelling Blues (2002)

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Upon first listen, Orange Goblin's interestingly named Frequencies From Planet Ten was a remarkably professional-sounding debut, but a closer look quickly revealed that the band's sonic identity was still maturing. Opener "The Astral Project" serves as their de facto resumé, covering the band's entire stylistic repertoire, including doomy riffs, psychedelic melodies, spacey jams, stoner grooves, and even, occasionally, jazzy accents. Most of the songs that follow revisit these elements -- all of them -- at once! And that's where the boys' bluff is called. While they obviously worked their butts off trying to please all the camps, the disc's best songs are usually those where they stop trying to be so damn eclectic and just get down to some serious head banging. For proof, check out the killer intro and minor chord perfection of "Land of Secret Dreams" (arguably the album's best offering) and the all-out pummeling of the excellent "Aquatic Fanatic." They also have a little fun exploring their healthy fetish for J.R.R. Tolkien on tracks like "Saruman's Wish" and "Lothlorian," as well as their very name, of course. All things considered, this was a solid first effort, and while they would subsequently suffer the expected growing pains, Orange Goblin was on their way to bigger and better things.
(By Eduardo Rivadavia at All Music Guide)

Orange Goblin - Frequencies From Planet Ten (2002)

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Not Fragile

Like Thin Lizzy's Jailbreak, this album was important in my early youth. Bachman-Turner Overdrive was a Canadian 70's Hard Rock band. They have made several albums, but Not Fragile was the most famous one. Everybody knows the song You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet. But I must say there are better songs on this album like Not Fragile, Roll On Down The Highway, Blue Moanin' and Second Hand. Enjoy!

After gaining some recognition from the success of the band's previous album, Bachman-Turner Overdrive got around to recording Not Fragile. Not only had one of the three Bachman brothers (Tim, the rhythm guitarist) left the band to BTO's advantage, but Randy Bachman and C.F. Turner had clearly grown musically. To the album's benefit, most of the material on Not Fragile are the band's much-liked rock anthems, ranging from the hyper-distorted title track, through the famous but far more timid song "You Ain't Seen Nothing Yet." Indeed, for hard rock fanatics, it doesn't come much better than on Not Fragile. Randy's electrifying lead guitar is here more raucous than ever before, as are his rowdy vocals (particularly noticeable on the predictable, but fun "Sledgehammer"). The man steals the show on Not Fragile through his extensive and often astounding guitar solos. Generally, though, Bachman-Turner Overdrive are at their prime as a whole, both in songwriting and playing terms. As regards the mixing, it's hard to find fault with this release. The drums are clear but not so prominent that they dominate the recording, while the guitars, along with the bass, are kept rigidly in their place. Not Fragile is one of the finest arena rock albums of the era, featuring all the hallmarks of what makes a classic release in the genre. Randy's impressive guitar work and typically boisterous vocals complement the overall framework of the album superbly, as do the crunchy rhythm guitars. This release will astound fans of the genre and band, while those thoroughly against stadium rock may find something to convert their views.
(By Ben Davies at All Music Guide)

Bachman-Turner Overdrive - Not Fragile (1974)

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Ciudad De Brahman

Ciudad De Brahman is the second album of the Argentinian band Los Natas. It is a great Stoner Rock album with some Psychedelic elements and Heavy passages. I posted the album Corsario Negro a while ago and if you know that album, then you know what to expect. With the difference that Ciudad De Brahman has more Kyuss influences. Enjoy!

Formed in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Los Natas put the second largest South American nation on the world's stoner rock map almost single-handedly. Coming together in the mid-‘90's, guitarist/vocalist Sergio Chotsourian, bassist Miguel Fernandez and drummer Walter Broide displayed a distinct Kyuss obsession on their 1996 debut Delmar, which was sung almost exclusively in Spanish. But subsequent releases such as 1999's Ciudad de Brahman and 2002's Corsario Negro (featuring new bassist Gonzalo Villagra) quickly expanded upon this oft-borrowed blueprint, adding sonic elements culled from space rock, psychedelia and even jazz, meshing and elevating them all to heights arguably never scaled south of the Equator. Not content to sit on their laurels, the group's 2003's Toba Trance delved into Indian music over the course of three songs spread over sixty-minutes.
(By Eduardo Rivadavia at All Music Guide)

Los Natas - Ciudad De Brahman (1999)

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Heavy Stoner Rock From Italy

This promo album was linked to me by Maso of the band Gandhi's Gunn, because of their promotion campaign.
Gandhi's Gunn from Genova, Italy is not a strange band for me. I heard their last years promo-demo and I knew that this band will gonna be great! The album Thirtyeahs contains all of the songs of their demo, but in different order.
Thirtyeahs is a great Stoner Rock album. The guitar sounds heavy, as well as the drums and bass. These guys knows how to write decent songs and I like the singer. Thirtyeahs will also be released on vinyl, so buy it if you like it! Enjoy and support these guys!

Gandhi's Gunn - Thirtyeahs (2010)

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An Excellent Re-Post Request: Demon Cleaner

I posted these awesome albums earlier before here. But again these files were lost at Mediafire. And that's too bad, because these albums can't be missed at this blog. Demon Cleaner is one of my favorite Swedish Stoner Rock bands! Enjoy!

Demon Cleaner - Demon Cleaner (2002)

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Demon Cleaner - The Freeflight (2000)

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Prodigal Songs

Here is another great band from Basque Country! Positiva plays a great combination of Stoner Rock and 70's Hard Rock. Prodigal Songs is their second album and it is a real recommendation! This album contains a lot kicking-ass and stimulating songs. This band has a real cool singer and the musicians play awesome. The influences according to MySpace are: Captain Beyond, Budgie, Blue Öyster Cult, GrandFunk RailRoad, MC5, Frijid Pink, Led Zeppelin, Allman Brothers, Poco, Blue Cheer, Pentagram, Black Sabbath, Screaming Trees and Ted Nugent. These are mostly great Hard Rock names, but Positiva sounds so very Stoner! Don't miss this one! Enjoy!

Spain’s Positiva first came to my attention a couple of years ago with their debut album Centaur’s Ride. That album was a collection of heavy rock n roll that owed a debt in equal parts to 70s rock, the whole desert rock scene and the grunge of Screaming Trees and Mudhoney. It was an album that was good without really being essential or even particularly memorable with the exception of a couple of songs.

Well, Positiva released the follow up to their debut titled Prodigal Songs late last year and I have to say right at the start that this is a few notches above the debut in terms of songwriting. The band has dropped almost all of the Kyuss/ Screaming Trees references to focus on an album’s worth of memorable riff rock that is total 70s worship.

Right from the Grand Funk-isms of opener Brother Eagle and Undying Shore you know you’re in for a good time and that feeling is only strengthened by the time Waiting in Vain shows up with its part Sabbath, part Blue Cheer heaviness. The band focus on stoner friendly riffs that is perfect when you’re driving while also laying down some mighty impressive solo spots. Also, the twin guitar attack of Miguel and Julio gives the band a heavy, full sound. Elsewhere on the album, the band gives in to some heavy blues rock which is further bolstered by the rhythm section which adds a much needed weight behind these songs. Catch the Fire and Gropiedom sounds like they owe a little bit to Molly Hatchet and southern rock while the semi acoustic Black Mountain Rock is some more Southern Rock but with an edge to it that’s almost punk in nature. This is easily the best song on the album but Positiva have one more surprise stored away with The Complete Mercy of the Lord and its reverb drenched vocals and is bavguely reminiscent of Hawkwind.

While Positiva derive most of their sound from bands that came before them in the 70s they also manage to add enough originality into the proceedings and the songwriting is consistently of a high quality. The band write great riffs and more importantly, write great songs around these riffs. Prodigal Songs is the sound of a band that has found its sound. I get the feeling that greater things might be in store for them and the band is just getting started but for now, Prodigal Songs is pretty essential for stoner rock fans.
(By Gautham Khandige at Kvltsite.com)

Positiva - Prodigal Songs (2009)

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Thanks and credits to Grandfunk Boy!

Beautiful Sounds From Chigago

Russian Circles is a Post Rock/Metal band from Chigago, U.S.A. Geneva is their third album and it sounds beautiful. Russian Circles is a band that sounds a bit like Red Sparrows and Pelican. Geneva contains seven songs that sound dejected and melancholic with awesome atmospheric soundscapes. Enjoy!

A distant sound lingers, a pounding drum pattern arises. Are you sure they're back? So soon? Yes, they are. Russian Circles are back with _Geneva_, their third album, and it is yet another transcendental musical experience. If you think that instrumental music played by only a guitarist, a bassist and a drummer can be boring, then I pity you for never having listened to this band. There's a lot more to Russian Circles' music than their compounded guitar layering, their driving and rhythmic bass lines and the ever so inventive and intelligent drumming. Their music has an overwhelming ethos that keeps the listener bolted and glued where they are as long as it runs.

Genre freaks, please back off, for this is not an album for your mindless scrutiny. The serene, almost palpable beauty of "Hexed All" and the grandeur of "Fathom" are much more than a futile genre debate. Now I won't go as far as saying that Russian Circles smash genre standards across the wall, but I guess it's safe to say that their music serpentines freely around the borderlines of post-rock and post-metal. "Malko" is arguably the heaviest track on this superb effort, and the ten minute epic "Philos" may in fact be the best Russian Circles song to date. The title track "Geneva" is another gripping track that starts off with a chugging heavy metal riff and then takes us on a trip through layers of sound. The acme of this record for me has to be "When the Mountain Comes to Mohamed", and for a truly mesmerizing experience, try listening to it while calmly staring at an actual mountain.

The sound quality of _Geneva_ doesn't really differ from that of the previous two albums. None of them is overtly polished, which prevents the instruments from sounding electronically processed, yet it's not on the sloppy side of the spectrum so as to put the new listener off. So far, one cannot really pinpoint significant differences in musical direction between all of Russian Circles' albums. They do have a sound of their own and are highly creative within its seemingly invisible boundaries. _Enter_ and _Station_ should be proud of their new baby brother, because together they have formed a formidable amalgamation between post-rock's construction of textured layers of sound with its atmosphere, and metal's powerful aesthetics and copious creative variations.

(By Aly Hassab El Naby at Chroniclesofchaos.com)

Russian Circles - Geneva (2009)

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More Awesome Basque Stoner Rock.

A couple of days ago I posted the great album Dantzaldiko Erreginak by the Basque band Neubat. This is their second album called Stereosaurus. With this album Neubot has made quite some improvement. Stereosaurus is an awesome album. It sounds more Stoner than the first album. The songs and the sound got better. The male/female vocals and the nice organ are still present. This album is an absolute recommendation! Enjoy!

Neubat - Stereosaurus (2006)

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Thanks and credits to Grandfunk Boy!

More Tunes From Basque Country

Here is another great Basque album. Sexty Sexers are a Stoner/Hard Rock band and Hero Mantra is their third album. I can't find any information in English about this band, except for their MySpace. Hero Mantra is a nice piece of work. It contains real great songs. This band has a great singer and good musicians. Enjoy!

“The creation of new Mantra has been acid, with many flavours, salty, sour and sweet, too. It’s been directly conditioned by feelings of different nature. In the old, we’ve been fascinated by new gaps and, in the new, we’ve been guided by our lived experiences. It’s a mad Mantra, who wouldn’t know where to rest, who doesn’t know which water it has drunk. But, like a hero, we’ll repeat it once and again. Like a hero who’s freed the tears and laughs from our entrails.” Hero Mantra.
(From MySpace)

Sexty Sexers - Hero Mantra (2009)

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Thanks and credits to Grandfunk Boy!

Progress Of Doom

The Swedish band Mortalicum plays 70's and 80's Hard Rock and Heavy Metal combined with Doom. The result is their debut album called Progress Of Doom. So think Candlemass, Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Motorhead and Iron Maiden. The singer delivers true Hard Rock vocals and the guitars sound real Sabbathian. Enjoy!

From the northern parts of Sweden, the heavy doom/metal band Mortalicum was formed early 2006 by Patrick Backlund. The band consists of the tight rhythm section Patrick Backlund (bass), Mikael Engström (guitar) and Andreas Häggström (drums) and the distinct voice and solos by Henrik Högl.

When rewinding the time a little, we find out that Mortalicum was at first only a studio project. Patrick wrote and recorded several songs during the first two years, songs on which he did all the instrumental tracks. During that time Robert Wiklander joined to handle the vocals for the demos. Though, he actually had done some drumming on the first few jam sessions. Many different songs were recorded and tried out both during the jams and as demos. Musically the styles spread from doom to more up-tempo and aggressive. Demos were never released, but since many songs were shared and welcomed here on MySpace they felt that they were on the right track towards creating their mixed style of metal, doom and classic hardrock.

In the end of 2007 things started to happen as two more members joined the band. The two guitarists Henrik Högl (lead) and Mikael Engström (rhythm) joined Patrick and Robert, but Mikael had actually been in the background of Mortalicum since the very beginning and was also around during the early jam sessions back in 2006. In the beginning of 2008 the final piece of the puzzle fell in place when the drummer Andreas Häggström joined and later that year, in September, the live debut was done.

In spring 2009 some changes were done within the band and they parted ways with the vocalist Robert. Instead, Henrik was chosen to do the vocals, mainly because they wanted to focus on the heavier and more melodic side of Mortalicum. After the line-up change they performed a couple of live shows during the summer and autumn. The highlight was the last show when playing together with Grand Magus. In the end of 2009 they started the recording of their debut album "Progress of Doom".

In March 2010 they signed with Metal On Metal Records and the debut album "Progress of Doom" was released April-23-2010 at the Keep It True-festival.
(From MySpace)

Mortalicum - Progress Of Doom (2010)

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Credits and thanks to Dagon and Anders!

Awesome Basque Stoner Rock.

Thanks to Grandfunk Boy for sharing this great album!

Wow! This is an awesome surprise! Neubat is like Sharon Stoner a band from Basque Country. Their music is hard to describe, but it is mostly Stoner Rock influenced. The album Dantzaldiko Erreginak is a great one. It is very energetic, but it also has it's mellow moments. The music is just great: Some heavy riffs, an outstanding organ and some nice male/female vocals (The lyrics are in Basque language). The influences according to MySpace are: Kyuss, Fu Manchu, Queens of the Stone Age, Raging Speedhorn, Unida, Hermano, Slo Burn, Nebula, Deftones, El Caco, The Ramones, Bongzilla, Danko Jones, Metallica, Creedence Clearwater Revival and Helmet. To give you an idea. Surprise yourself with this great album! Enjoy!

Neubat - Dantzaldiko Erreginak (2004)

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Nice Italian Stoner Rock: THE RED COIL

This nice EP was sent to my by Marco from the band The Red Coil. Thank you, Marco!
The Red Coil is an Italian Stoner Rock band and Slough Off is their first EP. This band combines Stoner Rock with Southern Rock and Metal. This three-track EP sounds very nice. There is some great guitar playing, a decent rhythm section and a nice voice.
If you want to know what their music is about, see this list of influences on there MySpace: Down, Kyuss, Black Sabbath, Cathedral, Pantera, The Mushroom River Band, Crowbar, Eyehategod, Acrimony, Pink Floyd, Spiritual Beggars, Machine Head, Johnny Cash, Sentenced, Babylon Whores, The Doors, Fields Of The Nephilim, End Of Green, Black Label Society, Allhelluja, Joy Division, Amorphis, Entombed, Motorhead, Type O Negative, The Cult, Nick Cave, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Faith No More, Orange Goblin, And Much More On Metal, Rock, Blues, 70’S, Psychedelic, Dark, Thrash, Death, Southern Rock & Doom Music!
I think there's a great future for The Red Coil. Enjoy!

The egg opened and the snake started crawling in April 2008 when Marco (vocals), Daniele, Luca (guitars), Toni (bass), decided to start a new project, after a ten-year experience of music together . They needed a drummer to arouse the snake vibrating under the sand. On May 2008 Antonio joined the band, he brought his experience and completed the line up. This gave birth to The Red Coil project, a mix of metal, stoner, alternative, with a beer and whiskey flavour. Lots of influences (Down, Black Sabbath, Black Label Society, Kyuss, Pink Floyd, just to make few names) mixed with the idea of making rough music without frills. The name The Red Coil is related to the concept of Kundalini the energy that resides in the subtle body and it’s traditionally represented as a sleeping serpent coiled at the base of the spine The awakening of Kundalini is a kind of Dante's journey where we pass from hell to the heaven discovering heaven and hell are a mirror image and only facing its animal spirit, the man can reach liberation. The Red Coil’ sound is the soundtrack for this trip ... "alcoholic & altered” In a few months the alchemy of the band bear fruits and on December 2008 they started the recording of their first Ep at Octopussy Studios, under the direction of A. Garavaglia (drummer of the metal band Mesmerize). On February 2009 the demo Ep "Slough Off" came out. Now The Red Coil are ready to spread their music wherever is possible!
free the coiled snake…drink and let it rise!
(From MySpace)

The Red Coil - Slough Off EP (2010)

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Polisessions Vol. 2

Last years I posted the Polisessions Vol. 1 album from Gran Cuervo. This Argentinian band has just released Polisessions Vol. 2. It is an album full of Psychedelic Stoner Rock with Space influences. There is even a Reggae influenced song! Polisessions Vol. 2 contains five awesome tracks. They are all killers! Not bad for a free-give-away album! Enjoy!

This beautiful noise was recorded in our drummer's house, the Poli, almost a year ago, and from those two weeks of freedom came out the Polisessions. A lot of work followed until we could hear in full form the Vol. 1 and now this Vol. 2.
This record includes the musical talents of Chelosky on bass, Poli on drums, Farrookh Bulsara on guitar, Frank Boston on guitar, Leíto from Milica on vocals, Fernando Bozzini from Miasma on mix, and Manuel Platino on Theremin, bass, mix and mastering.
(From Zann's music)

Gran Cuervo - Polisessions Vol. 2 (2010)

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A Generation Of Vipers

From Des Moines, U.S.A. comes On A Pale Horse. This bands plays a great deal of Stoner Rock/Metal. A Generation Of Vipers is their third album. And it's their last on because On A Pale Horse has quit. Two of the band members were ex-Slipknot guitar player Josh Brainard and ex-Downthesun singer Aaron Peltz, what explains the Metal influences. A Generation Of Vipers is a great album with some awesome songs. Enjoy!

On A Pale Horse - A Generation Of Vipers (2008)

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Medusa

Stake-Off The Witch is an Italian Stoner Rock band with some Doom influences. This band has a lovely lady singer with a great voice! Medusa is their second album. It has a great sound and nice grooves. In short: A great Stoner Rock album that you don't want to miss! Enjoy!

Some time ago I reviewed the first album of Stake-Off when they were on Sliptrick Records. No they seem to have been headhunted for Swedish Fuzzorama Records. The music is still a captive mix of mainly heavy stoner metal but with elements of dark industrial in the sound.

The sound is much heavier and more stoner’ish compared to the first outing. The female voice gives the sound a quite hypnotic and almost creepy depth. I like this record so much more than the previous because of the colossal wall of sound. The band hasn’t evolved – well, quite the opposite I guess, but it’s damn sure for the better. Old school stonerrock with strange lyrics and foxy girls – what’s not to like…
(By Tomsen at Lowcut.dk)

Stake-Off The Witch - Medusa (2010)

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Stockholm Syndrom

Stockholm Syndrom is the debut album by the Belgian Stoner Rock band Kube. This album is a nice on. It contains original songs with great grooves. According to their MySpace Kube is influenced by the following: Kyuss, Motorpsycho, The Melvins, Qotsa, Dead Kennedys, Motown, Joy Division, Lalo Schifrrin, Hawkwind, Django Reinhardt and more. So you have a small clue of what you're facing! Enjoy!

A pumping vibe, a CD which makes you take your car, open the windows and drive with the pedal to the metal. Wicked humour, raging venom and twisted unanswered love injected songs are spewed upon us with such hate and frustration. Kube is ready to let us know what is going on in their minds in ten songs that leave you no moment of rest. Unless you count the instrumentals 'Army On My Side' or 'Orgy' as a pausing of the steamy grooves. The first one being a mesmerizing riff swelling bigger and faster every minute, the second being as sticky, sweaty and gluey as the best scenes from Spartacus or I, Claudius. It surely honours the name of the track! The vocals are great and I like the double vocals/singing in a song like 'Motivation'. A great debut from these Belgians, who are sure to be killer on stage!
(By Erik at Allthatisheavy)

Kube - Stockholm Syndrom (2006)

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