Echoes In The Night

One Inch Giant is a new band from Gothenburg, Sweden. This quartet has released their debut album Malva three months ago. This album contains six tracks of high quality Stoner Rock.

Their sound is according to their Facebook page influenced by Black Sabbath, Alice in Chains and Mastodon. I think that it is quite correct, the guitar riffs are somewhat like Black Sabbath, the vocals remind me a lot of that guy from Alice In Chains and the music of this band has the same heaviness as Mastodon.

Malva is a great sounding album with great riffs, pounding drum and bass and outstanding vocals. There's only one thing, this album is with 31 minutes a bit short. One Inch Giant can make that right with the next release. I hope they do!

One Inch Giant - Malva (2011)

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Copenhagen Space Rock Festival

This compilation was made for the Copenhagen Space Rock Festival that eventually never took place. What was left is this fine compilation of Scandinavian Space Rock music that was released by the Danish label Burnt Hippie Recordings.
When I bought this CD at the Øresund Space Collective show in Leiden I saw one familiar name on this CD and that was Gas Giant. I learned to know about the other great bands that were featured on this compilation like Darksun, Darxtar, Mantric Muse, Pseudo Sun and The Spacious Minds.
This compilation is mandatory for all the Space Rock freaks out there! Enjoy!

This is one of those compilations that you just can't go wrong with. We've got live and unreleased tracks, exclusive to this release, by Dark Sun, DarXtar, Pseudo Sun, The Spacious Mind, Gas Giant, and Mantric Muse. The story behind this disc is that it was originally intended to help promote the festival of the title. But the organizers, the dedicated souls at Burnt Hippie, determined that they wouldn't be able to sell enough tickets to make the show viable and canceled (postponed?) it for the time being. BUT... they also wisely decided to move forward and release this fine collection of music by some of the very best in Scandinavian Space Rock. Here's what you get...

Dark Sun get two tracks, "Electrified" and "The Epic World Of Captain Gizmo". They're an excellent mixture of cosmic Space Rock and electro-dance elements with Nik Turner guesting on sax. It's different than the music heard on their Feed Your Mind album but great songs, which only makes the wait for a new full length from these guys all the more painstaking.

"Warriors/Abberant Station" by DarXtar is a special entry because it's a live track from the mid-90's when Juba Nurmenniemi (now in Pseudo Sun) was still with the band. It's a terrific slab of heavy driving totally spaced out SPACE ROCK. At 9+ minutes it includes the song and an extended instrumental section. Just fantastic. What's interesting is that while it plays as a single track, the intro section ("Warriors") was actually recorded live in ‘95 while the main song ("Abberant Station") was recorded in ‘94.

I think we've published more live reviews (all by Scott) of Gas Giant than any other band. Well it only takes one listen to this 16 minute Stoner-psych trip to understand Scott's enthusiasm for this Danish band. The song is called "Deep Space Flight with Jim on Board" and starts off hard, heavy, and completely spaced with a brain pounding heavy rocking rhythm section and guitar licks that are Space Ritual redux. If you dig Stoner Rock but you're tired of the standard Black Sabbath influenced sludge and are pining away for the heaviest and most acidic of influences in the genre... then you need look no further. Gas Giant will blow your mind. These guys just JAAAAAAAM and SPAAAAAAAAAAACE!!!

Danish band Mantric Muse is the one entry that many people probably won't be familiar with. That's because they're only now wrapping up their first CD. "Cinope" is a mightily impressive Space-Prog instrumental that combines elements of tripped out Meddle era Pink Floyd and complex but totally spaced out progressive rock. My prediction is that these guys are going to seriously blow some minds when they do come out with an official release.

Ultra heavy space rockers Pseudo Sun also managed to get two tracks. "Shapeshifter" is a live version of the song that appears on their recent Atomic Dogs Don't Bark CD. It's excellent brain smashing Space Rock with Nik on sax. You get the song and the extended instrumental jam... what more could you want? And "Woodland Waterfall" is a very cool Bluesy instrumental acid-psych rock workout. Gorgeously raw and jamming stuff.

Finally, if you've heard even a little music from The Spacious Mind then you'll know that they create some of the most brain massaging space-psychedelia of any band in the world. Their entry is a 12 minute instrumental called "Floatin' Down The River Whistlin' On A Tune". The track begins with an ambient acid-space intro that gradually builds in cosmic power and intensity until it reaches the slow but commanding pace that characterizes the bulk of the tune. These guys really know how to build tension and the early 70's psych-fusion elements keep things rolling along at a slow but hypnotically steady pace. Not among the bands best work, but it's still a solid jam that will conjure up all sorts of fun images as you lay back and gaze up at the clouds.

An excellent set that you simply can't go wrong with. HIGHEST Recommendation!
(By Jerry Kranitz at Aural Innovations)

Tracklist:

1 Dark Sun - Electrified
2 Dark Sun - The Epic World of Captain Gizmo
3 Darxtar - Warriors / Aberrant Station [Live]
4 Gas Giant - Deep Space Jam with Jim on Board
5 Mantric Muse - Cinope
6 Pseudo Sun - Shapeshifter [Live]
7 Pseudo Sun - Woodland Waterfall [Live]
8 The Spacious Mind - Floatin' Down the River

Various Artists - Copenhagen Space Rock Festival (2002)

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Into The Unknown

Forging A New Path is the second release by the band Mother Of God. This quartet from Smedjebacken, Sweden plays some excellent Grunge influenced Stoner Rock. These guys offer huge guitar riffs with a nice bass/drum combination. There are also great vocals to complete it all. This EP rocks! All of the four songs are great. They're nicely heavy.

I'm curious for the first release of this brilliant band. Enjoy!

Woke up at dawn and felt a strong belief in nature spirits, looked out. Black shape. I went to the nearby forest and the journey had begun. Without a direct way, I went through the woods and crossed mountains. Suddenly elated by light, I was under the raven's wings. Numb. Awakened by a thud and the silhouettes of the three. Embrace..

The circle was complete.

(From their Facebook page)

Mother Of God - Forging A New Path (2011)

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An Awesome Collaboration

Here is the second split by the bands Unearthly Trance and Suma and it is released by Throne Records. This is collaboration in the purest form. Side A is the track Sleepwalking Through A Maze by Unearthly Trance, but in fact it is the musicians of Suma with the singer of Unearthly Trance.
With the tracks Six Months Of Treatment and Victim No. 581 on side B it is vice versa; the musicians of Unearthly Trance with the singer of Suma.
The result of this collaboration is awesome! These three tracks are a fine display of outstanding and heavy Stoner/Sludge/Doom. When you order this piece of vinyl, then you also get the CD as bonus! Enjoy!

"Spawned loosely from the mysterious lore of the CIA black operation known as Project MKULTRA, Unearthly Trance and Suma tracks on Collaboration features the other band's vocalist along with some additional noise. "Sleepwalking Through a Maze" consists of music that Suma recorded in Malmo and sent to Ryan Lipynsky in Brooklyn where he recorded his vocals. Unearthly Trance tracked their music for "Victim No. 581" in NYC which was then sent to Jovan where he promptly returned the track back with his vocals and additional sounds. The other track "Month of Treatment" is a harsh noise track that each Unearthly Trance member recorded a "layer" and then sent to Suma. Jovan tracked his voice and more noise was conjured up in Sweden. Unearthly Trance members Jay Newman and Ryan mixed and mastered the songs respectively."
(From AllThatIsHeavy)

Unearthly Trance/Suma - Collaboration 12" (2010)

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The Muse Of Señor Ray

Once there was this Swedish Stoner Rock band Ridge. This band made in 2001 an awesome album called A Countrydelic And Fuzzed Experience In A Columbian Supremo.
After Ridge has seize to exist, two guys continued in the band Matadors. This band plays a nice combination of Stoner Rock, Garage Rock , Punk, Country and even Tango! This made the sound of Matadors quite unique.
Matadors has released several albums and this one is The Muse Of Señor Ray from 2006. This album contains a lot of excellent songs like: Like A Matador Pt II, I Just Tell You What You Wanna Hear, Señor Ray, You Know The Octopus Wasn't Good and Rise Above Adversity.
All thanks and credits for this one go to Pascalito! Enjoy!

From the ashes of legendary Stoner Rock act Ridge - who recieved 4K/ 5 in Kerrang for their debut album, Matadors have become a monster reactivating the rock industry!

The band has existed since fall 2001, and when Andreas Bergström (vocals and Fender Telecaster Custom guitars) and Jonas Jönsson (drums, percussion, keys) accomplished with the bass player/singer Johan Anderberg from world famous Deranged and Murder Corporation, the band was completed.

Due to the rectification that exist in modern rock today Matadors are trying to break new barriers with a blend of dirty-tango twisted with some ol´country-twang in their robot´ roll! With the same attitude as bands/persons like Queens Of The Stone Age and Johnny Cash- that everything is possible, are Matadors now trying to bring the rock a new hot dynamic blend.

Matadors has a reputation as a hard-rockin´, intense and diverse live act. They have played with bands like Brant Bjork, Bigelf, Hellfueled, The Chuck Norris Experiment and have recieved great reviews for their shows.
(From LastFM)

Matadors - The Muse Of Señor Ray (2006)

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Follow The Movements

Follow The Movements is an album by the Psychedelic Garage band The Movements from Sweden. If you don't know this band by now, then you really have to check out the albums Grains Of Oats and The World, The Flesh And The Devil! And don't forget the magisterial album For Sardines Space Is No Problem of the side project The Movements (Space Edition)!
Side A of Follow The Movements is a collection of previously unreleased songs. The highlight of side A is definitely the song You Don't Know.
Side B contains the EP Drag Me Up that was released in 2004. These songs are more straight forward and less Psychedelic and Space. Nevertheless, these are great songs!
This chunk of vinyl is an awesome collection of songs by this fantastic band! Enjoy!

The Movements - Follow The Movements (2010)

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Space Autopsy

Grains Of Oats is the first release of the Swedish band The Movements. This awesome band plays sixties inspired Garage Rock with Space and Psychedelic elements. Grains Of Oats was originaly released in 2006. This is the rerelease from 2008 with two extra bonus tracks. Enjoy!

The Movements was formed during the early years of the new millenium by bass-player Daniel “Dolly” Pettersson in the rough environment of the old harbor town Göteborg, Sweden. He intended to form a band which could brake free from genre trends but still keeping it true to the original feeling of yesterdays´ rock n´roll. In 2002 Dolly was wrongfully sentenced to five years in prison. The band decided to temporarily replace him on the bass with Daniel “Jokkmokk” Eriksson, and with this young sami from northern Sweden, they recorded and released their famous first EP “Drag me up” on Lonestar records in 2004.

They started to frequently tour around Europe and have since then survived everything from cancer, car-crashes, the taxman, and the strains of endless hard touring. Their first two albums (produced by Björn Olsson and released on Alleycat Records) contain an energetic and innovative mixture of styles. With 60´s garage rock in the foundation they put in elements from krautrock, psychedelia, punkrock and what ever comes to their minds. The Movements share a big love for catchy choruses and shattering hooks but also for loosing it completely in spacey jams. It´s important to them to claim their creative freedom by underline that they are not puritans of anything and that their music can take off in any direction they feel like. They have often been called for the most interesting and fresh rock-group around these days.

While in the process of recording their third full length album the original bassplayer Dolly was released from prison and rejoined the group. The album they where working with was a theme record about the life of Swedish astronaut Christer Fuglesang. The record made them quite famous in Sweden since the astronaut loved it and brought it with him up to space when space shuttle ISS took off in august 2009. They then became historic as being the first spacerock band ever to actually have been played in space!

When The Movements is not on tour, which is their favorite part of playing in a band, they hang out around the neighborhoods of where their recording studio is located. It is built inside an old parking house down at the fishing harbor of Gothenburg. They built the studio inspired of the German band Can to be able to record more frequently and to experiment more. Right now they are working on some recordings for upcoming single releases, a new album, and of course, planning new tours.

(Their bio)

The Movements - Grains Of Oats (2008)

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The World, The Flesh And The Devil

A while ago I've posted the fantastic album For Sardines Space Is No Problem by the Swedish band The Movements here. Now it's time for their album The World, The Flesh And The Devil from 2009.
The Movements is a band from Göteborg that plays some awesome Psychedelic Garage Rock with influences such as Space Rock, 60's Rock, Kraut and even Punk. The songs on this album are all excellent. The Movements has given it all on this album. Enjoy!

First off, this CD should be heard for no other reason than how fucking cool and bad ass the opening track is! It's such a brilliantly constructed track with killer drums, guitar riff, vocals, everything. It moves at such a frenetic pace and just rolls along. The layering and construction is truly quite original and is a great example of how to take something old and wrap it into something fresh. It's a very psychedelia style number, but still very modern. It's a wonderful beginning to the disc for sure.

At time Garage Band like, at times Psychedelic, at times Proggy (very lightly) and at times bordering on Punk, but always blasting through your speakers will full energy. The problem I have had in the past with certain Psychedelic bands is that they might give you one song with energy, catch your ear, and then get quite mellow for everything else. The Movements never forsake their energy and always keep things moving, even on a track like "The Fun Ain't For Free", which starts slow and builds to a slow burn. You never feel like these guys are relaxing, their just biding their time waiting to explode all over the place.

The promo material mentions that this album was written while vocalist David Henriksson was laid up in a hospital bed fighting cancer. It would seem that David poured a lot of his energy and heart into this stuff, and the other members of the band did the same and decided to really give it all they have. The end result is a wonderful release.

This is actually one of those CD's that is really tough to review, as it really needs to be picked apart piece by piece to really give you the reader a full idea of just what the hell this thing is all about. There is so damn much going on at all times, and even though a song such as "I Am You" might be a rather bizarre little number, it breaks into these horn (?) parts that are so catchy it is ridiculous, and it proves that no matter what you might think a song is going to be like, it just might eventually turn into something else entirely. You could almost write a book about an album of this sort. Wild stuff, and I HIGHLY recommend it to anybody looking for high energy, yet something rather adventurous.
(By Carl Isonhart at Sonic Ruin)

The Movements - The World, The Flesh And The Devil (2009)

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Two Years Of Insanity!

This blog is two years existing this very day. And it's still my pleasure posting music here! In these two years I've posted a lot of music and I like to thank the bands who have shared their music. I also like to thank the readers of this blog, especially the ones who has bothered to give a comment!
To celebrate this anniversary, I like to offer you a Suma album. (Just as last year!)
This is the re-released debut album from the Stoner Doom masters from Malmö, Sweden. In my idea Suma was very influenced by Electric Wizard in the time that Suma has recorded this album. But you can also hear bits and pieces that has lead to the development of their very own sound. Let The Churches Burn will always be my favorite Suma album, but this album is also great to listen! (As all other Suma stuff is!) Enjoy!

Suma - Suma (2005)

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Swedish Ancestors?

Thanks to Rudy for suggesting this awesome album!
Baby Grandmothers were a Psychedelic Hard Rock band from Sweden. This trio was inspired by music such as Jimi Hendrix and Cream. Their self-titled album from 1968 is an absolute classic.
This album contains excellent songs, especially the tracks Bergakunden and Being Is More Than Life. These are long-drawn-out songs where guitarist Kenny Håkansson excels. This guy is almost as much a virtuoso like Jimi Hendrix was! Baby Grandmothers were even support act for Jimi Hendrix on his Swedish tour in 1968!
Baby Grandmothers was an awesome band and this album is highly recommended! Enjoy!

One of Sweden’s most obscure psychedelic treasures, Baby Grandmothers evolved out of the T-Boones in 1967 and only officially released one single in Finland (Eteenpäin!, aka Forward!, May 1968) during their lifetime before the power trio of guitarist, Kenny Håkansson, bassist, Bengt “Bela” Linnarsson and drummer, Pelle Ekman joined forces with Mecki Bodermark in the reincarnated Mecki Mark Men, a highly prized, Swedish psych outfit that released a much-loved 1969 album for Mercury, ‘Running In The Summer Night.’ (MMM, rumoured to be Hendrix favorite Swedish band, were also the first Swedish band to tour America, where they recorded their final album, ‘Marathon’ at Chess studios in Chicago, later to be released by Sonet in 1970.) This archival release (which marks the 40th anniversary of the band’s formation and was compiled with detailed, historical photos and liner notes by Dungen guitarist, Reine Fiske) includes various live recordings of mostly soundboard quality (although the source tapes appear to have been sonically washed for improved presentability – these are definitely not your dodgy, microphone down the pant leg audience recordings), which only scratch the surface of conveying what the band sounded like, but will be of much interest to fans of fellow Swedish psych monsters, Pärson Sound and their myriad offshoots such as International Harvester and Träd, Gras och Stenar. A taste of the band’s mind-melting attack is evident the A-side to that single, ‘Somebody Keeps Calling My Name,’ wherein Håkansson moans the title like some psychotic patient in a mental ward before ripping off a brain-bending solo for a track that’s much more focused (but no less psychedelic) than the hippy-dippy assaults of their fellow countrymen. Imagine vintage Cream and Syd Barrett-led Pink Floyd morphing into a primeval Hawkwind sonic brain attack and you’re on the right track.

The flip side is up next (‘Being Is More Than Life’), presented here (as was the opener) from a live Finnish broadcast on March 24, 1968. It’s a meandering, freeform improv, which is essentially an elongated Håkansson guitar solo. Surely, one of the most unusual (and, at nearly six minutes, one of the longest) singles, psych or otherwise to come out of the Scandinavian sixties scene. A two-song, nearly 40-minute(!) live performance from late October, 1967 at the legendary Swedish psychedelic underground club FILIPS (where the Grandmothers were the house band) yields the 17-minute ‘Burgakunden’ and a nearly 20-minute version of the single’s B-side! The former is a rafter-rattling chunk of heavy psychedelia and together they just may be the most impressive examples of vintage Swedish psychedelia you’re ever likely to hear. Although it’s unknown whether this was one such recording, but the band did share the FILIPS stage for all-night jam sessions with the likes of Hendrix and The Mothers when they rolled through town, and Jimi’s influence, particularly on Håkansson’s amazing guitar work is immeasurable. Throughout, Håkansson dons the guitar God crown, exploring every nook and cranny of sound he can emit from his guitar, although to label him a “Swedish Jimi Hendrix” would be unfair, as he, perhaps intentionally, lacks or avoids the blues’ structures underlying many of Jimi’s solos.

Stretched out to sidelong proportion, the single takes on a life of its own and, despite the somewhat dodgy condition of the source tape, whose historical importance far outweighs it’s lack of pristine quality, is 20 minutes of sheer Hendrixian mayhem which actually precedes Hendrix’ guitar-burning performance at Monterey by two months. The fact that this is performed in front of what sounds like an audience of about 5 is not only shameful, it’s downright criminal, so mucho kudos to Fiske for rescuing this from oblivion. (And, oh, that video footage of the Grandmothers should someday surface, although, interestingly, Fiske suggests in his liner notes that this segment, which was provided by film-maker Stefan Jarl, was originally intended to form the soundtrack to the first film in Jarl’s Mods trilogy, ‘Dom Kallar Oss Mods’ (‘They Call Us Mods’). The slot eventually went to the Lea Riders Group, but we’re lucky to finally be able to hear this amazing piece of history.)

The band’s September 30, 1967 performance at FILIPS gives us ‘St. George’s Dragon,’ which finds the band in fine improvisational flight, with Linnarsson’s rolling bassline more prominent around Ekman’s galloping drum rolls and Håkansson’s by-now familiar fire breathing guitar bursts. So if you’re in the mood to experience the ultimate in six-string manipulation and total guitar destruction, you owe it to yourself to add this to your collection of vintage psychedelia, Scandinavian or otherwise.

(By Jeff Penczak at Terrascope)

Baby Grandmothers - Baby Grandmothers (1968)

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*Thanks and credits to Andy from Another Sucker On The Vine!

Euphoria

Mantra III is the third album of the Swedish Stoner Rock band Spiritual Beggars. This album is a good continuation on Another Way To Shine. The organ has a more prominent role at Mantra III and I like that. Great songs are: Monster Astronauts, Euphoria, Bad Karma and Mushroom Tea Girl. This album is an absolute recommendation! Enjoy!

For the uninitiated, the Spiritual Beggars are a three-piece psychedelic groove-metal trio from Sweden. Their guitarist, Michael Amott, is best known for his role in doom-metal units Carcass and Candlemass. With deep riffing and more precision than speed, he is as heavy as any two speed demon metal guitarists put together. The Spiritual Beggars' primary influence is mid-period Black Sabbath (say, Vol. IV and Sabbath Bloody Sabbath), but they expand their horizons with each record.

The band's sound on this third recording differs from its previous efforts in two ways. First, there is the addition of Per Wiberg on organ and Mellotron, Fender Rhodes piano, and clavinet, and Stefan Tsebring on percussion. (Don't worry -- all the teeth are still there, even sharper.) Second, there is the obvious influence of two late American bands on the Spiritual Beggars' sound: Kyuss and the semi-legendary Trouble. Mantra III has its roots in the almighty kingdom of riff. If all these guys came from gloom-metal bands, it's not possible to tell from the songs here. This is rock -- hard, heavy rock -- more than even metal. It's possible to imagine Blue Cheer playing this music if that band had been born in the late '90s rather than the '60s. The CD kicks off with a breezy, jazzy, Santana-like intro, which thankfully only lasts a fraction of a minute before the real medicine kicks in. From "Homage to the Betrayed" through "Broken Morning," the tempo is nonstop, full-on, in-your-face heavy rock. The lyrics are as lunkheaded as one might expect -- as on "Monster Astronauts" ("Take me to the river/Dance with the demons inside/Put me in the mist/Wait for the golden twist/Fly me to the moon 'cause we got enough fuel) -- but it makes no difference. It's cool enough that they sing in English and often mess up the syntax. From "Lack of Prozac" and "Bad Karma" through to the bonus tracks -- which are largely throwaways -- the band digs deeper into a groove for its menace. The tempos are throbbingly quick, but they hold within them a kind of funk that only white guys from Sweden would interpret as soulful. It comes off to the average Yankee grungoid rock fan or metalhead as a more complex kind of riffing, but no matter, it's all a great ride, full of crunch, bombast, and the sound of meat tearing from the bone. Get on your bad motor scooter and ride.
(By Thom Jurek at All Music Guide)

Spiritual Beggars - Mantra III (1998)

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Another Way To Shine

Spiritual Beggars is a Hard Rock influenced Stoner Rock band from Sweden. They just released their album Return To Zero. About this album I can be brief: I do not like it! The Stoner sound is almost gone on this album. I prefer their old work far more.
Another Way to Shine is their second album and in my opinion one of their best releases.
The bass player and singer Spice has an important role on the earlier Spiritual Beggars albums. This man has an incredible voice. There is no one that sound like him.
Great songs on Another Way To Shine are: Magic Spell, Blind Mountain and Nowhere To Go (with a beautiful sounding organ). Enjoy!

Led by former Carcass and ongoing Arch Enemy member Michael Amott's fuzzed-out guitar riffs, the Spiritual Beggars never let up on Another Way to Shine, one of the best stoner coming-out parties of the '90s. Kicking off the debut in typically energetic fashion, "Magic Spell" blasts the top off of Another Way to Shine, setting a high standard for the following eight tracks. All comparisons and genre-tagging aside, this track just plain rocks. Music so accomplished paradoxically solicits the simplest of descriptions, so there's no sense complicating descriptions of this stoner gem with obvious comparisons and inadequate adjectives. Suffice to say that fans of the genre will love the more energetic entries and appreciate all of Another Way to Shine. There is some lumbering, relatively dull material toward the record's finish, but second-rate offerings from Amott and company easily surpass most records dished out during later waves of stoner rock. Highly recommended.
(By Vincent Jeffries at All Music Guide)

Spiritual Beggars - Another Way To Shine (1996)

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Another Impressive Split Album

Here is another impressive piece of work and Suma is involved again! This time it's a collaboration with the Sludge Doom band Unearthly Trance from New York.
This Is My Weapon Of Choice is a great song by Suma. This is a Stoner Doom song that sounds very heavy and threatening. To my great delight, they use the singing saw again. (As on the album Let the Chuches Burn).
Montauk is a Sludge Doom song by Unearthly Trance. It has a dark atmosphere. I like this song. I think I should go buy more music from Unearthly Trance.

There is a new collaboration of Suma and Unearthly Trance on the way! I'm looking forward to that! For now: Enjoy this one!

Suma/Unearthly Trance - Split 10" (2009)

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An Impressive Split Album

This split LP is an absolute display of heaviness. This piece of vinyl represents the best of the Swedish city Malmö: Suma and Pyramido.

Side A contains the song Acidlindgren. This is yet another proof of the supremacy of Suma. Acidlindgren is a Doom trip that lasts for sixteen minutes.
Side B holds the Pyramido songs No Words and I Grevens Tid. With these two songs Pyramido continues what they've started on their album Sands. And that is playing some great Sludge with Doom and Hardcore influences. I'm impressed by this singer who is really screaming his lungs out. Enjoy!

Suma/Pyramido Split LP (2010)

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Hong Faux

Thanks to the guys of Hong Faux for sharing their demo!
Hong Faux is a new Stoner Rock band from Sweden with members of Dexter Jones Circus Orchestra and High Chao. Their Demo Uno contains three great Stoner Rock songs. It sounds very promising. This is all the information I've got. Tell me what you think by leaving a comment! Enjoy!

Hong Faux - Demo Uno (2010)

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Breathing

Breathing is the first EP from Freedom Bleeder. This EP contains three great Stoner Rock tracks. The title track Breathing also appears on the 2003 album 10 Out Of 10. Enjoy!

The band was formed in 1995 in Uppsala by Johan Haag, guitars, Henrik Renstrom, vocals and Gustav Grusell, bass, with the intention to play heavy rock inspired by bands like Kyuss and Monster Magnet. Soon raw, heavy rock could be heard from their rehearsal room , which was located in an old industrial building. The band soon recorded a demotape, on which old friend Kim Nordberg played the drums. Later the band has recorded a couple of more hot rockin’ demotapes. Kim was later replaced by Johan Hedman, who has now been replaced by the local drummer Andreas Wiil. The band has now signed a record deal for two fullength albums with the Londonbased label Yperano records. In fall ‘99 another change in the line up took place when Andreas moved from Uppsala. He was replaced by Peter Hedberg.
(Bio From LastFM)

Freedom Bleeder - Breathing (2000)

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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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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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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!

A C-Box request: OBLIVIOUS.

This album was requested a while ago in the C-Box.
Oblivious is a Swedish Stoner Rock band. This band combines their music with 70's Hard Rock. The result is an awesome debut album called Goons And Masters. Their music is according their MySpace influenced by: Dozer, Clutch, Queens Of The Stoneage, Kyuss, Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin. So you have a small idea of what you're facing! Goons And Masters is a highly recommend album! Enjoy!

If you love Stoner Rock with a little bit of psychedelic hard tunes wherever are necessary (just for the fuzz) and you have in your quiver arrows diving into the magic mix of DOZER and CLUTCH, plus the blessings of your home country Sweden above your head, then, all the omens are by your side and no black cat will pass across your way. Well, about OBLIVIOUS the question, and their debut “Goons And Masters” that seems to have the potential and the guts to make the grand opening in the multitudinous scene of nowadays' Stoner, a movement especially developed in Sweden. But the pretty noticeable thing about OBLIVIOUS is the equable combination they succeed, including vintage touches of SABBATH and BIGELF with FOGHAT’s all-time classic rock ‘n’ roll at the same time. Interesting, huh? Let’s see if goons are more powerful than masters now.

Through 50 minutes of the album, OBLIVIOUS achieve to run time like water and slip inside your ears unexampled. The pompous “Ego Boy” takes the rods and makes the appropriate introduction with the five members of the band in absolute successful way. “Throne” has something between the antiquity of “Easy Livin’” and the aggressiveness of “Electric Worry”, while “Red Eyed Goon” puts the mark of OBLIVIOUS and spreads promises about their instant future- if you listen closely to this song though, you’ll maybe hear even Layne Staley’s readings (RIP). The following “Master Of Time” has a softer, lazy, low-tempo making the mind to lose itself through these colorful clouds of dirty and nasty tunes spreading inside the room. Check your speakers; you will definitely see them come out! “Bring It On Me” does that ‘wuh-wuh’ thing (wuh tuh fuh?!) and travel us back to 70s, when “Blind Faith” shows its Chris Cornell-ian teeth leaving the past 50 minutes behind and wondering how soon this record ended.

There is always a ‘but’ in these cases; we must have demands and be serious when it’s about a debutante band, because the sequence is as difficult as the start and in many occasions we notice bad followings after a good start. “Goons And Masters” is a very good debut album but the curiosity about the next step does not leave me to enjoy it as much as I want to. The good thing is that I have patience and I can wait the next OBLIVIOUS album. Till then, “Ego Boy” will be my appropriate companion, especially this oncoming summer.
(By Maria Voutiriadou at Metal-temple.com)

Oblivious - Goons And Masters (2009)

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Thanks and credits to Honcho!