Mutants Of The Monster Fest will return in 2024 to Little Rock, AR from May 16-18! The multi-day festival will take place in the Argenta Arts District and has revealed the first wave of bands, which features John Garcia (Formerly of Kyuss), Weedeater, Telekinetic Yeti, Rebematic, Spirit Adrift, Deadbird, Fistula, Flummox and more to be announced! Taking place in North Little Rock, AR at the Argenta Community Theater, early bird tickets are on sale at the link below!
Ghost Cult Keefy caught up Phil Caivano of Monster Magnet! He released a killer solo album recently under his own name! Chatting with us, Phil broke down the songwriting of the album, saving riffs for a rainy day, his unique approach to guitar, thoughts on his career in Monster Magnet, the special relationship he has with MM’s Dave Wyndorf, and new music coming soon!
On Thursday, July 20th, I was fortunate enough to be amongst many others in attendance at Wally’s in Hampton Beach, New Hampshire, where Royal Thunder took the stage in support of their newest album Rebuilding the Mountain (Spinefarm Records). This was the first time I had seen a Royal Thunder performance since they toured for their previous record Wick in 2017. After some time away from touring, the Atlanta rock band soared back into our ears & hearts in a way that only Royal Thunder could. With an awe-inspiring spell of entertainment right on Hampton Beach that evening. As the lights dimmed and the house music dissolved to a halt, Josh, Mlny, and Evan sauntered onto the stage into view. The trio that gave us such fantastic records previously were reunited at last. The energy between the three bandmates before us seemed to resonate throughout the room like an unheard sound. It was hard to ignore the feeling of anticipation building, for the heart of Royal Thunder was whole again.
If I was to make a list of my top ten bands to emerge over the past decade REZN would certainly be on this list. Back in February, they released Solace which proved to be an excellent slab of doom-gaze. I wasn’t expecting something else from them this year, but they are dropping this collaboration, Silent Futures (Blues Funeral Recordings) with Mexico City’s Vinnum Sabbathi.
Consisting of desert rock pioneers from the legendary acts Yawning Man and Fu Manchu, supergroup Yawning Balch releases an ever-prolific debut entitled Volume One via Heavy Psych Sounds. Just like the album title, Yawning Balch embarks the first volume of their musical career’s trajectory through this debut.
Stoner rock is often thought of in the same dim light as Doom, but this Italian band has dropped an album that serves as an example of how the two genres differ. While stoner rock and doom both share DNA with Black Sabbath, these guys ride on their riffs with a boogie that share a similar cactus patch as Clutch. They do pay homage to Sabbath, mainly in the singer’s piercing declarations that sound like Ozzy by way of nineties grunge. Their fuzz-laden riffs focus on grooving, rather than carrying the stark undercurrent of aggression that powered Sabbath’s darker guitar sound.
Norwegians Saint Karloff formed in 2015 and their debut full-length All Heed the Black God followed in 2018. The latest album Paleolithic War Crimes (Majestic Mountain Records) comes as something of a bittersweet release following the sad loss of bassist and founding member Ole ‘Karloff’ Sletner in 2021 (RIP). The writing for this record had started in 2019 with Ole very much on board and to quote the band ultimately, “reflects a band in transition and exploring new paths, but at the same time it retains that proper heavy Karloff-vibe.”
The trajectory of the Greek sludge/post-metal unit Allochiria’s career started pretty long ago in 2008. To this day, they have released a self-titled EP and three full-length LPs to note. While being strong on post-metal coded slow-paced progressions, they also incorporate a touch of hardcore nuance manifested by how vocalist Irene presents inclement blackened growls on their songs. And, so, they are back on releasing a full-length, which is also their third one, titled Commotion via Venerate Industries.
After a seven-year wait, psychedelic rockers Blood Ceremony are back with their new album The Old Ways Remain (Rise Above Records). This is their fifth record and it sees the Canadian quartet successfully add Folk, Pop, and Jazz elements to their already multifaceted, woozy psychedelic rock.
We caught up with Heavy Psych Sounds Records founder and The Black Rainbows frontman Gabriele Fiori to preview the upcoming Heavy Psych Sounds Festivals in Joshua Tree and San Francisco, California! We discussed the growth of the festivals worldwide, how he books the talent, how collaborates with partners, the expansion of the stoner doom metal genre over the last two decades, news about the new Black Rainbows album and other releases coming soon on the label, HPS festivals in Italy and Switzerland, and EXCLUSIVE news about more festivals coming later this year!