The air has gotten crispy, and the first snow fall has fallen blanketing South Broadway and the rest of Denver. I am excited! That means it’s time for Lola Black’s annual XXXmas show. Within minutes of doors opening, the venue began to quickly fill up.Continue reading
Boston stoner rock gods GOZU have signed a world-wide deal to Metal Blade Records and their sub-label Black Light Media led by celebrity chef Chris Santos. They are currently writing a new album for release in 2017. Continue reading
Today, we’re revisiting our friends in The Sword with their latest release Low Country (Razor & Tie), the acoustic counterpart to 2015’s High Country. Continue reading
October is always a big month. It’s basically a month-long party for me with the greatest holiday in existence, Halloween, and my birthday is only a few days beforehand. In my experience, October is also a great month for new releases from bands that I love. This year, Portland, OR based stoner metal/rock band Red Fang return with their fourth studio release entitled Only Ghosts (Relapse Records). It’s different from their previous releases, but that’s part of what makes this album as entertaining as it is.Continue reading
Pennsylvania’s own, Crobot return with their second studio release Welcome to Fat City (Wind-Up/Nuclear Blast) just in time for fall, and it’s a good one, folks! Continue reading
Boston heavy rockers Gozu, fresh off of their acclaimed Revival (Ripple Music) album have booked an extensive European tour this fall.Continue reading
This round brings Baltimore’s own stoner rock sons Foghound and their latest release, The World Unseen (Ripple Music), to the table.
Stoner anthem ‘Above the Wake’ opens the record with its slow, fuzzy groove putting the listener into the right state of mind before vocals kick in, making for a hypnotic combination. Even through repeated listens, this still remains my favorite track on the album because I feel like it’s really the only one that embodies that stoner rock spirit.
I also really like the third track; ‘Serpentine’. It has a great bass line that grabs you from the very beginning and makes you want to move. This song is mostly instrumental, the band choosing to let guitar riffs speak for them instead and it works well. It’s these slower, fuzzier songs that make Foghound bring out their stoner side and I wish there were more of them.
Things speed up quite a bit more as the album continues on and I believe this causes it to lose a bit of the fuzzy vibe and rely more heavily on just the rock aspect. The band also falls into the trap that many others in the genre have before them and veer into lyrical cock rock territory with ‘On a Roll’ and “Rockin’ & Rollin’ with your typical commentary about them having to keep moving along and not having time for “haters” but they’re not actually saying anything of substance that isn’t already on every other stoner rock record in existence. These two cookie cutter songs are the weakest on an album filled with otherwise decent music.
The World Unseen is, overall, a respectable sophomore release. There’s definitely potential there for growth and the creation of some really great music on future albums once Foghound find their footing and decide to break the mold a bit.
7.0/10
ALEIDA LA LLAVE
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Stoner rock boys Gozu has a new album out. It’s called Revival (Ripple Music) and it’s a belter. The Boston unit’s third album sees them continue to ply the same brand of muscular stoner-meets-grunge riffs and melodic vocals they’ve been honing since 2009. But the songs are tighter, the riffs bigger, and the quality vocals are allowed to take center stage.
From the battering ‘Nature Boy’ to the grungy ‘Bubble Time’ and slow groove of ‘Oldie’’ Revival rarely has a note out of place. The guitar work, courtesy of Marc Gaffney and Doug Sherman, stretch from almost Black Label Society-esque shredding to Josh Homme levels of fuzziness. The ability to blend both extremes into one record is one of the things that make the album so enjoyable.
At their best, Gozu sound like Kyuss fronted by Chris Cornell. Marc Gaffney’s turn in front of the mic gives an already quality band that extra edge. From the bluesy ‘Dee Dee McCall’ to the swampy but stadium size ‘Big Casino’ and even the slow jam outro of ‘Tin Chicken’; Gozu know how to craft a great song and fill it with catchy riffs and big solos.
From start to finish, Revival is brimming with energy and a stash of riffs. One of the best stoner albums of the year.
8.0/10
DAN SWINHOE
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Giving me a copy of Brimstone Coven’s Black Magic (Metal Blade) is liking giving an alcoholic a free handle. I was in. Let’s cut through the bull, I was digging this album within the first few seconds of listen. It’s got that spooky, fuzzy sound that turns me into a giddy child.
‘Black Magic’ and its bass line get things started on a groovy note, a throw back to the jams of the 60s and 70s when everything seemed to be enveloped in a haze and movement was just a touch slower. I keep playing this song over and over again and just can’t get enough of Andrew D’cagna’s bass playing. Give me, please. Don’t be surprised if you come across me dancing to this in the woods with some friends from beyond the veil.
Songs like ‘Slow Death’ make KISS to mind. They’re higher energy with a little less fuzz and prevent the album from getting monotonous. You also have that classic 70s guitar riffs and even John Williams’ vocals are similar to a slightly more subdued Starchild. It’s like a five minute trip back in time.
The second half of the album or so steers the listener away from the light and back on the road towards Spookyville with ‘The Seers’ and ‘The Plague’. The solo about three minutes in on ‘The Plague’ is spectacular and I am mildly in love with it despite my usual fascination with the bass side of things.
I’m calling it now; Black Magic will be one of my favorite albums of 2016. Give it a listen and discover something beautiful.
7.5/10
ALEIDA LA LLAVE
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Over the course of a few albums (this one being the latest and fourth), Sweden’s Graveyard have both bypassed and embraced the “retro” tagline they have been lumped with from day one. Never proving nor looking to be a musically revolutionary band, they wear their influences firmly on their sleeves with their brand of familiar and instantaneous blues-rock. At the same time they are more than just a nostalgia act as Innocence And Decadence (Nuclear Blast) shows, they have some individuality of their own.
On the face of it this may prove straight- forward blues-rock which sticks to a recognisable formula (in a positive sense), but scratch deeper this proves a moodier and darker effort than in previous. Innocence And Decadence sees further exploration of their psychedelic and stoner influences alongside moments of pure melancholy next to some upbeat moments. Album opener ‘Magnetic Shunk’ begins with a slow, stoner crawl which proves the album’s only lapse before half way it picks up in to a more confident and catchy strut. The likes of ‘Exit 97’ and ‘Too Much Is Not Enough’ are slower numbers which encapsulate the bleaker side of blues, whilst ‘Hard-Headed’ begins with a brief, but destabilising fuzz of feedback which invokes some of their heavier peers.
All the while this sounds instantly recognisable as their own and is very catchy and immediate throughout. A significant improvement on the previous Lights Out (Nuclear Blast). It feels much more confident in exploring their further influences whilst not deviating too far from their sound, and most importantly it never falters in quality throughout (bar from the slight misstep at the off). As much as they are proud of their classic influences, the want to seek new styles sees them as so much more than a retro band.
7.0/10
CHRIS TIPPELL