The Darkest Of Grays

If you like depressive and harsh music, then you must pay attention!
Planks is a band from Germany and this trio plays a mix of Sludge, Black Metal, Crust and Hardcore. Their second album called The Darkest Of Grays is an awesome piece of work. It is an combination of utter anger and depressiveness. It is one of the best albums of it's kind. Everything is perfect on this album: the vocals, the music and the vibe. Immerse yourself in this misery and anger! Enjoy!

"The Darkest Of Grays" is PLANKS second full-length output and the first for their new label Per Koro. It features 12 songs that are pretty much different from their first self-titled record. Yet it is totally PLANKS. The band focused more on the dynamic aspekt in their music instead of sheer brutality.
The songs are all full of different nuances, tempi changes and have an undeniable sense of melody. Stylewise don't expect Pop Music here, even though there are clearly some structures of a classic ('80s dark-wave ) Pop Song to be found. If you feel the urge to describe the whole thing, you could imagine a blending of Breach's "kollapse" with Mastodon's "leviathan" mixed with Isis "oceanic" , "closer" by Joy Division and some classic Norwegian Black-Metal such as Dark Throne's "transilvanian Hunger". It all sounds rather unique and contemporary.
If you enjoy bands such as the ones mentioned before as well acts such as Wolves In The Throne Room, Catharsis, Amen Ra and Damnation a.D. this record might be your cup of black coffee.
"the darkest of grays" is a concept record in two parts. It covers the topic of the total downfall of humanity in a person due to emotional breakdown.
The first part "Passages" deals with the breakaway of aspects in a person commonly described as human.
The second part "Fatalities" describes the total descent into the abyss of solitude and desperation as a result of these passages. There are some really personal and depressing lyrics to be found here that add up perfectly to the music.
If you enjoy capturing, dramatic but truly melancholic and dark music this one here is for you.
(By XsenatorX at Collective Zine)

Planks - The Darkest Of Grays (2010)

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Italian Stoner/Grunge With An Awesome Female Singer

Alix is a band from Bologna, Italy. This band plays a combination of Stoner Rock and Grunge with a bit of Psychedelics. The album Ground is their fourth release. What strikes me about this band is the awesome female singer. She has a very good and powerful voice. The music is played outstanding. The guitars have a great fuzz sound and the drums and bass make it all complete. All with all a great album that deserves some attention. Nice tracks are Ground and Like A Flood. Enjoy!

If you love psychedelia and rock'n'roll, but above all if you want to listen to a stupendous female voice (a mixture of Grace Slick, Janis Joplin, P.J. Harvey, Chrissie Hynde, and a female version of Robert Plant) then ALiX is your band. Imagine a dinner party with 2/4 of the first edition of Fu Manchu, John Garcia in his historical guise of Unida and the odd waiter here and there provided by Spirit Caravan and Masters of Reality. Four albums to date: Alix (1997), Cuore in Bocca (1999), Nessun Brivido (2001), Ground (2004), which have made them famous in the stoner circuits of half of Europe. In 2000 the band shared the stage of the Heineken Jammin' Festival in Imola with Muse, Guano Apes, Primal Scream and Rage Against the Machine, as winners of the first edition of RockrEvolution. In 2003, the European tour with the Norwegian band Pawnshop and the Swedish band Dozer earned ALiX the title of "Italian Psychedelic Groove Rock Band". The year 2004 saw them on tour again in Europe, this time with the American band The Hidden Hand, the new band of Scott "Wino" Weinrich (famous also for his participation in Dave Grohl's Probot project). An exceptional review of the album Ground came from the English magazine Kerrang! which awarded the band with a (KKKK). In 2005/2006 the group performed live in various tours both in Italy and abroad. A new album to be recorded in February 2008 will be mixed by Steve Albini, producer of Nirvana, Stooges, Pixies and many others. The album will be recorded at Red House Recordings in Senigallia.
(Their bio)

Alix - Ground (2004)

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Duengo

This rare piece of vinyl contains a strange mix of Hardcore, Noise, Punk, Metal, and Grunge. I guess this album is the first recording from Guy of Orange Sunshine. This band was called Moengo Tapoe and it was with the same members as Panty Boy. Moego Tapoe was more an experimental band. The album Duengo sounds rather primitive. The music is pretty minimalistic and raw. Almost the half of the songs are instrumental. And even the tracks with vocals don't have much lyrics! I rediscovered Duendo recently in my collection and I enjoy it again! Enjoy it too!

Moengo Tapoe - Duengo (1989)

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Let's Play Scrabble While We Wait On The Artwork

Thanks to Adam from the band naisian for sharing their promo!
naisian is a band from Sheffield, U.K. This foursome plays some heavy Sludge Metal and these guys do that pretty well! There's also a pinch of Post Rock in their music. Their album Mammalian contains five awesome tracks that absolutely deserves some attention. Heaviness is definitely the term for this album. The guitars are mostly raw, but the some songs have some more subdued passages. The singer sounds most of the time angry but sometimes also disconsolate and sad. It sounds all very beautiful!
According to the band, naisian sounds a bit like Kylesa, Lesbian, Saviours, Rolo Tomassi, Flatlands, The Mirimar Disaster and lots of others. This gives you a slight idea of what you're dealing with.
This album is going to be released on february 26th. So you can consider this as a sneak preview. The scrabble board is not the definitive artwork. There's someone still working on. Enjoy!

naisian - Mammalian (Promo 2010)

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Enter The Dungeon

Thanks to Tommy from the band Gniyrg Gnaarg for sharing this demo!
What we've got here is a demo of a band with the unpronounceable name Gniyrg Gnaarg. This Finnish/Spanish trio plays a vague combination of Stoner Rock, Doom Metal and Grunge. The result is splendid. Their debut demo called From Mother Sun sounds very nice. It contains four songs that are good for forty minutes of excellent music. The guitar sounds really heavy. The drums and bass do have a lingering and slow groove. The singer has a dark and mysterious voice that fits perfectly well with the music. This demo from Gniyrg Gnaarg tastes definitely for more! Enjoy!

The idea of creating a stoner/doom band was sprung up in the minds of native Helsinkians Tommy and Leo in the early summer of 2008, probably at one of the many bars in Kallio, Helsinki. The band remained a brainchild of the two bassists (one of which had never touched a bass in his life) for over a year, until one night in early september 2009 when we found out that Inés, a Spaniard hwo had settled in Helsinki a few years earlier, wanted an excuse to reincarnate the drummer inside of her. A band was born.

Our music is a combination of stoner rock, doom metal and grunge, and therefore we define our music as "Dungeon".

After playing several gigs at clubs and a few small underground festivals, Gniyrg Gnaarg entered the studio in November 2010 to record their first demo. "From Mother Sun", recorded in November 2010 at the MD-studio in Helsinki, consists of four songs and clocks in at just over 40 minutes. The track list is:
1. Awaiting the Sunlight (10:20)
2. Enter the Dungeon (10:02)
3. Earth Fire (10:56)
4. Big Bang (9:14)

The music of Gniyrg Gnaarg has been heavily influenced by the likes of Black Sabbath (esp. Master of Reality), Kuyss, Electric Wizard, early Nirvana, Alice in Chains, Fu Manchu, Joy Division and several 60/70s hard rock/psychedelic bands.
(Their bio)

Gniyrg Gnaarg - From Mother Sun Demo (2010)

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Walk On The Sun

3 Speed Automatic is a Dutch Stoner Rock band with Hard Rock and 70's influences. This band was formerly known as Taildragger. This trio made two albums, Nomans Land and Villa Rocka, both released in 2004 and one EP, Songs from Tijuana, released in 2006. This band is famous in The Netherlands because of their great live performances. You must hear this awesome album! The absolute highlight of this album is the song Walk On The Sun. Enjoy!

The press release for Rotterdam, Holland's, 3Speed Automatic (3SA), describes them as a band who "heavily drinks from the golden chalice of hoary 70's rock," and that isn't too far from the truth. While their influences may hearken back to the polyester era, this is no modern act trying to sound retro. Comprised of former members of Taildragger, The 70's worship of 3SA is most evident in the fat tones and stripped-down sound of the recording, touching bases in the houses of AC/DC and Thin Lizzy (track 7, "2nd Coming," struck me as particularly Lizzyesque). After getting a little worn out on acts throwing too many layers of redundant overdubs and unintelligible, bloody-throat vocals into every song, this 3SA disc is a welcome listen that damn near bullseyes my rock and roll sweet spot.

The record opens with the instrumental, "Splitting the Atom," beginning-to-end the most uptempo song, and a great slice of gritty rock and roll that gives you a pretty good idea of what the band is all about. 3SA is not a band that is trying to sound overly heavy, or bludgeon you to death with punishing riffs. This is just a straight up, old school heavy rock band. There is a bit of psychedelia here and there along the lines of Nebula's first couple records, but 3SA doesn't live there. In fact, track 2, "NoMans Land," sounds like Bleach-era Nirvana, with Cobainesque vocals, a rolling bass progression, and a grainy rock production that seems to tip its hat to the work Jack Endino was doing in Seattle in the late 80s and early 90s. Track 4, "Took the Train," has a sleazy groove to it that I really enjoy. This is nearly my favorite track, if only because of the awesome, fuzzed-out bass solo. With its loping swing, track 6, "Stranded," is the most 70s-throwback track on the album, with wah guitar and hammond organ (provided by Yasmin) taking up space in a nicely layered mix. The fat lead guitar tone of the outro brings the song to a nice close, with additional tracks of guitar building to a very satisfying ending.

The best track on the record to my ears, though, is the closer, "Walk on the Sun." This is easily the most psychedelic song of the offering, with a moody bass groove, tasty drums, and scathing guitar, as well as another appearance from the hammond. There are some spoken samples, a tactic that usually annoys me, that do work here. The song builds from a sparse initial groove, getting more and more intense as the tempo builds, reaching a frenzy just before reprising the original tempo and refrain. Good stuff, this song.

3SA has delivered an excellent collection of heavy, well-played rock with serviceable vocals, and a recording where attention to tone was obviously the order of the day. I am eager to hear what these guys come up with next, as their take on stripped-down old school rock is just what the music world needs these days.
(By Chris La Tray at Hellridemusic)

3 Speed Automatic - Nomans Land (2004)

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Nice Dutch Stoner Grooves

This nice band comes from my homeland. Bandito plays some nice Hard Rock influenced Stoner Rock. This free download four track EP from 2009 is their first release and I must say it sounds pretty good. Bandito is according to MySpace influenced by the following bands: Kyuss, Hermano, Queens Of The Stone Age, Dozer, Truckfighters, The Atomic Bitchwax, Clutch, Down, Colour Haze, Kylesa, Maylene And The Sons Of Disaster and more...
This EP contains some nice grooves and riffs. Bandito is thereby blessed with this great singer. Enjoy!

Bandito is a hard-rock quintet hailing from Nijmegen, Holland. The band combines the Stoner-groove of Kyuss with the Hard-rock-punch of Down, while creaming it with a smooth layer of Atomic Bitchwax. Despite being together in this line-up since February ’09, they've already played some major festivals like ‘Huntenpop’ and ‘de Affaire’, won the band competition ‘de Roos van Nijmegen’ and are about to release their first EP. This EP is bound to take the band to the next level and give them more opportunities to do what they do best… play live.

(Their Bio)

Bandito - EP (2009)

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Leaving Paris

Hangman's Chair is a band from Paris, France. This foursome plays a mix of Stoner Rock, Doom, Sludge, Southern Rock and even Grunge. The album Leaving Paris is their third release. It contains eight great songs that vary from heavy till some more melancholic. The artwork is depressively beautiful. So as the music is on this album.
One final note: The first song begins with a false start. (Sometimes you have that with vinyl!) Enjoy!

Hangman's Chair consists of members of Arkangel and Es La Guerilla but has nothing to do with metalcore, instead they play a sludgy version of Down combined with grunge. The melodic vocals of Cédric Toufouti give more or less the same feeling although the slow music has a slightly sick feeling. This is also visualized by the artwork on 'Leaving Paris'. A guy who cuts his neck with a knife is drawn on the cover.

The song "Breathe Where the Vices Are" has a much more rock attitude than the first two longer tracks "Mourner's Parade" and "Will the Sun Set Today". In the first songs Hangman’s Chair takes the time to build up the tension and finally the band is unleashed. Lots of guitar solos are incorporated in the heavy sound. The style from the first two songs is continued in “Scarlet Star”. Even the atmosphere of the later work of Isis comes to mind. In the short track “A Fix for a Lovely Nod” they return with a rock anthem.

Just after the middle part of the album the band struggles with keeping up the attention span; the song “Spines” could possible be removed making the album eight minutes shorter and more dynamical. Hangman’s Chair is striking back in the last two songs "Paris Spleen Pt. 1" and "Paris Spleen Pt. 2". The band from Paris experiments with the same stoner and sludge elements as Baroness does combined with feedback and an audio sample in “Pt. 1”.

As you can read, diversity is all around on ‘Leaving Paris’ making the record worth to spin it around. For a next record I advice to shorten the long tracks a bit so the listener stays focused with the guitar and vocal driven material.
(By Maurice at Asice.net)

Hangman's Chair - Leaving Paris (2010)

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Great Brazilian Stoner Rock

Thanks again to João Paulo for this contribution! This guy has submitted The Black Drawing Chalks and MQN in the past.
Goldfish Memories is a Brazilian Hard Rock influenced Stoner Rock band. I've heard this band before on a Brazilian Stoner Rock compilation album. This is their EP from 2007 and it sounds pretty great! It reminds me a bit of the older Queens Of The Stone Age. There is an beneficent single added in the download file: The 2010 single called The Yellow Eyes Of The Owl. Enjoy!

Goldfish Memories is a rock band from Goiânia, Goiás – Brazil.
It was formed in 2006 by Pablo Villas Boas (lead singer), Renato Cunha (guitar and backing vocals), João Gabriel (bass in 2006 and 2007), Chicão Maia (bass), Danilo “Xidan” Melo (guitar e backing vocals) e Lucas Ribeiro (drums). The band already released a EP in 2007, recorded by Gustavo Vasquez and Luis Maldonalle from Rocklab Studio.
It was one of the most important bands from the city until November 2008 when the members took a break
In July 2010, Goldfish Memories were back on stage for one concert.
(From MySpace)

Goldfish Memories - Goldfish Memories EP (2007)

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Split In Half!

This half of a split album was sent to me by Jasiek from the duo Drożdzyca!
Drożdzyca (aka Dobre Psy) is a Punk/Noise duo from Krakow, Poland. These four tracks are part of a split album with Halt, also from Krakow. The songs of Drożdzyca sound really raw and lo-fi, but that is something I don't mind. I've got no further information on this one. Go experience yourself! Enjoy!

Drożdzyca - MK I (2011)

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Addicted To Chaos

This EP was sent to me by Hefestus Yorch of the band Gasmurder.
Gasmurder is a band from Lima, Peru and they play as they declare a combination of Death 'n' Roll, Thrash Metal, Hardcore and Stoner Metal. To me it sounds mainly as an aggressive and raw form of Metal! And I must admit these guys do that pretty well! It does remind me a lot of the Metal sound from the eighties. If you like that kind of Metal, make sure you give this a try! Enjoy!

GASMURDER born of previous experiences of its first members in hardcore bands, metal, punk, and rock n roll. After early changes of their original alignment, GASMURDER restart your way in the HARD ROCK influenced different aspects of it, to find a powerful sound. TONY currently composed on guitar, JAKE on guitar, EDUARDO on bass, DAVID on drums and HEFESTUS YORCH screams.
When the air you breathe is not pure oxygen but is mixed with carbon monoxide, hemoglobin carries less oxygen to the body, among other consequences, the heart and brain stop functioning normally.
Symptoms: Headaches, dizziness, weakness, nausea and vomiting, rapid heartbeat, seizures, stroke, blurred vision, hearing loss, disorientation, unconsciousness and respiratory failure leading to death.
ENJOY THE ANGER AND HATE ... is the only thing that we can remove
TRUE, I come ... I'M NOT READY TO DIE
(Translated bio from Reverbnation)

Gasmurder - Gasmurder EP (2010)

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Nice Stoner Tunes Performed By One Argentinian Guy

Thanks to Andrés F from Cumulus Nimbus for sharing his EP!
If these are someones first steps in music, (So claims Andrés F from his own one-man band called Cumulus Nimbus), then I must say it is quite impressive. All music and lyrics are from his hand. He also played the instruments himself. This EP called Montaña Oscura is a fine piece of work. It contains four nice Psychedelic Stoner/Desert Rock tracks. But don't expect many heavy fuzz riffs here. The songs are more serene and relaxed. Cumulus Nimbus is according to MySpace influenced by the following bands: Kyuss, Los Natas, QOTSA, Colour Haze, Led Zeppelin, Tool, Black Sabbath, Sleep, Metallica, Hawkwind, Yawning Man, Pink Floyd, A Perfect Circle and Audioslave. So you have a slight idea of what you're dealing with. Enjoy!

Cumulus Nimbus emerges as a one-man project done over the basis of songs and sounds that had long time in my head and never have been released. These sounds born from some very clear influences like the music of the legendary Kyuss, the psychedelia of Los Natas, all added to travels and experiences lived in between mystical sunsets and magical cactus silhouetted over a landscape of desert and mountains. If we add the last (but no less important) factor that is the darkness of Black Sabbath riffs and closer in time bands like Sleep you've got configured the scenario in which born all the songs that can be heard here: the rawness of rock, the darkness of doom and onirical/lysergic landscapes of psychedelia. I hope you enjoy the journey.
(From MySpace)

Cumulus Nimbus - Montaña Oscura (2010)

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The Re-Post Of Nice Stoner & Space Sounds From Hungary

I've posted this awesome demo a month ago here. I post it again, because the band has provided me some information and a MySpace link.

URANIA was founded in 2005 by Andy66 - bass, Robi - drum, Aiwass - guitar. Later Doki joined as vox. In 2010 spring the line-up was: Doki, Aiwass, Feri - drum, Pisti - bass, and they were jamming through that summer and buried URANIA in smoke and booze, finally. On winter in that year, Aiwass was left alone and he recorded approximately 20 songs at his home. Then he send an 8 tracking demo to the hungarian stoner blog. The blog decide to hype this band and help it to get some reputation, furthermore Rico RokkaRolla (ex-Born33 guitarist, member of stoner rock blog team, Hungary) elected to help this music present on stage, live. Marton Zoli (Joystix, Acoustix, Holy Shit!) joined them as bass. So, they looking for an awesome drummer (and gigs, of course), or they have to use 'Roland' on concert. If the rehearsals go ok, there would be a gig with the greece space rock band, Brotherhood Of Sleep, in Budapest.
(Their bio)

Urania - Demo (2010)

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Sitar And The Beast

This LP by the French band Aqua Nebula Oscillator is a collection of songs from their rich archives. This album sounds very different from their regular work. There is more room for the sitar and oriental sounds, which sound very good with heavy fuzz guitars, rolling drums and bizarre bass patterns. This album is a highlight in the Dark Psychedelic genre. It is certainly a recommended album! There are only 325 copies made of this LP, so hurry up to get it! Enjoy!

I can't say I know exactly what's going on with this but I know that it's totally amazing. As far as I can ascertain Aqua Nebula Oscillator have been around for aeons but they've completely avoided any of our Norman Records radars until now, which is a real shame as their stoned psychedelic jams are both totally fantastic and peculiarly timeless.. I can only assume from the title that these hand-picked archival selections date from the last twelve years but they sound like they should really be decades older than that. I mean at one tune's a total dead ringer for 'Interstellar Overdrive'-era Floyd, both in sound and outlook.. Another could almost be Fraction. Most are far more stoned and meandering than either of those comparisons might suggest. They crack out all the old psychedelic staples; Doorsy organ, wibbly theremin, sitars, pleasantly awkward East/West collisions, comedy 'boing-oing' noises like someone's just pinged Barbara Windsor's bra etc. etc. I don't think a review's even that necessary for this to be fair; just do a Google image search on the band name, check the photoshoots and you should have a pretty good idea of whether you need to partake or not. Or trust me when I say that if you've any appetite at all for the work of Sylvester Anfang (who're the modern act they most resemble and who've released this beauty via their Funeral Folk label) you should be absolutely ravenous at the prospect of this fine delicacy. Or I guess you could even go here (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Au5JLuShyjQ) to listen to a bit of it.. Actually, that's probably the best thing to do. Stop reading this and and do that!
(By Brett at Norman Records)

Aqua Nebula Oscillator - Caves Recordings 1998-2008 (2010)

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Well, Well, Well...

First of all I like to wish you a happy new year!

I guess this album is a good start for the new year! So with pride I present you Omnipresence!
Omnipresence is the third album by the Russian band The Grand Astoria and today is the release date! So how fresh can you get it?
The Grand Astoria shows a lot of progression with this album. The first two albums were already impressive, but Omnipresence is really their masterpiece. With this self produced album these guys from Saint Petersburg does sound more Stoner and less Grunge. The guitar players have made a great development. These guys really know how to play his instrument and Kamille has some great vocals too! And the drummer and bass player can not go unmentioned, because they also have a great contribution to the sound of this album!
Compared to their previous albums, this album has more songs with an average length. The exception is the twelve minute lasting song Something Wicked This Way Comes. This song is an outstanding piece of work. Just as the other tracks are! From the first song Doomsday Party till the last track Stonewall, it are all killers!
Yet there are two things that I want to mention: The nice organ in Hungry & Foolish and the greatness of the song Mania Grandiosa.
The beautiful artwork is as the previous albums done by Sophia Miroedova. Take my advice and buy this album! Order it here: thegrandastoria@gmail.com. Enjoy!

The Grand Astoria - Omnipresence (2011)

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