As of today, there are 30 days remaining until Autumn, and you can feel a certain wistfulness that mirrors the changing moods of the season in new album, ‘Echo Manor’ (2024) by FOSTERMOTHER. Though it was undoubtedly composed and recorded over a more extended period of time by the Houston trio, it fits the mood of right now. This is melancholy music for melancholy times. We find ourselves in this strange, mad world and it’s comforting to find a sound like this that literally echoes our despair.

That’s not to say this is angsty or angry music, just that it expresses a certain kind of longing for something better, a nagging emptiness, with elements of stoic acceptance in the singing. There’s a haunting surrealness to a song like “In The Garden of Lies,” for example. It’s as atmospheric as walking into an abandoned building that has been overtaken by nature once again. In fact, the album begins with a reference to ghosts in “Wraith.” Lyrics are fittingly vague, yet touch on something authentically felt: “Everyone is nothing, lonelier than we thought.”

Keyboards have always added something special to the Fostermother sound, doubling down on the emotive punch of their sound, as on “Empty One.” Both vocalist/guitarist Travis Weatherred and bassist/guitarist Stephen Griffin are credited with keyboards on this album, so I imagine a lot of thought was given to creating these misty, transient sonic environments.

The sweet spot of the album for me is right at “All We Know,” one of my favorite tracks of the album for its those poignant bittersweet guitar harmonies. It’s pure doom on the order of those moving riffs in Trouble’s “The Tempter,” but disguised in the vein of heavy rock. Deep and engaging, the vibe pierces right through you and tugs on those emotional heartstrings.

It keeps getting better too, with the infectious rhythmic groove of title track “Echo Manor” which feels like a dreamstate in which we’re are sedately growing apart from ourselves. “This ghostly intrusion, a haunted illusion.”

“Rituals Unknown” continues the lyrical emphasis on shadows and the immaterial realm. “I feel reversed,” Travis sings. “I am reversed.” The twin guitar harmonies are once again quite compelling. In the days following the pandemic, we have awakened to new realities about being human and in many ways perhaps we also feel like a ghost tossed about in the ether, with nothing really real to anchor ourselves to. Fostermother seem to suggest that everything is changing, constantly changing.

“King To A Dead Tree” is like a magic blend of dark rock, gothic rock, and doom metal, and features a guitar solo from fellow Houston musician Rusty Miller of High Desert Queen.

“Carry Me” is another standout, not for anything bombastic, but for its sense of melancholy. Fostermother has a knack for finding those moments to elevate to the forefront of our consciousness, with effective writing – sometimes just the way one word is sung (here the song builds up to a release in the chorus “nowhere to go, feeling blue.”).

“Watchers” brings us back to the grungy doom glory of vintage Fostermother with a brooding, stormy feel and some explosive guitar work. Some of the harmonies produced by the guitar and bass are so deeply moving that you can feel the psychic pain so keenly, as in “Lighthouse.”

Fostermother’s Echo Manor is an enigma in contemporary heavy music and for that reason alone it deserves hearing. Eerie, nostalgic, and deeply felt, with appealing vocal moments and warm, blanketing harmonies that really stay you. It comes out on Ripple Music on Friday, August 23rd on vinyl, compact disc, and digital formats (get it here). Stick it on a playlist with Pallbearer, Foot, Young Hunter, and Pinky Floyd.

Give ear…

SOME BUZZ

Fostermother are back! Long acclaimed by international critics for their catchy take on doom metal, the Texan trio takes a substantial turn in their career by revealing a more multi-faceted, atmosphere-driven facet of their music on “Echo Manor.”

The band made an impression within the stoner and doom scene with their massive-sounding 2020 self-titled debut, “hitting both soft and hard in all the right places, leaving oddly-comforting destruction in its wake” according to Everything Is Noise. Signed to Ripple Music in 2021, the pair released their sophomore album “The Ocean” which reached #20 on the Doom Charts Top 100 albums of 2022.

With drummer Jason Motamedi officially rounding out the lineup, Fostermother recorded their third album “Echo Manor”, pushing their sound into heavy psych territory with hints of post-rock and progressive rock. It was produced, mixed and mastered by Travis Weatherred, with artwork by Kimberly Weatherred.

Today, we hail a powerful new atmospheric gem from Bordeaux three-piece ENDLESS FLOODS. I’m not sure if the band’s name is drawn from the Song of Solomon or not (“many waters cannot quench love”) or whether it is in reference to something more grim, such as the soul-weathering nature of our era. All that’s important is we have a fourth album from the band, which we brought to your attention way back in 2016 when they released their self-titled debut.

Now we ready for a fourth album Rites Futurs, this one featuring a seamless melding of talent from Louise Dehaye (vocals), Stéphane Miollan (guitar, bass, vox), and Benjamin Sablon (drums, synth, vox). Thibault Laisney (who provides some additional guitar) a fantastic job of recording and mixing the record at a/b box studio, the sound is clear, full, and roomy.

The songs certainly give you a lot to think about – less narrative and more contemplative. Sung entirely in the French tongue, the words in English are no less compelling:

“Planet-piercing silver spear
Incandescent like immense flames
Chariots arrive slowly
The chariots and the burning wind”

“L'Eclair” comes out with bristling guitar and wailing dissonance as the moon makes its appearance in the night sky. The amazing three-person choir is immediately arresting, containing elements classic and modern that flow from beautiful to mysterious to unsettling within a single progression. The jaded crooning at 2:05 rivals those of Undersmile. There are exaltant moments in this song (around 4 minutes in) that tap into a similar vein as Green Lung. Endless Floods are masters at transporting us through moods as naturally as the flow of disruptive waters. This is about light, balance, and contrast.

“Décennie” seems to be about time and how events repeat themselves endlessly in cycles, leading to a passionate climax of cymbals, screeching dissonance, and wailing voices.

Relancer chaque jour l'effet
et dans l'echo tout noyer

Lyrics are similarly grim on “Muraille,” which might be contemplating the ashen remains of Vesuvius (Nuage de lave mêlé au cristal des murs de flammes). There’s something quite ancient about the way the song starts, drawing upon early contrapuntal style. There are doomy elements in play, such as the funeral-esque guitar lead that follows. This is counterbalanced by glistening post-metal ambience and a haunting entanglement of voices that eventually take soaring into the aerosphere. There’s something at once meditative and bittersweet about the chorus that concludes the song (“Stone after stone, let’s climb airless enclaves”).

Louise Dehaye’s singing is reassuring and enchanting in the serene unfolding of title track “Rites Futures”. As the song developed, there are standout moments you’ll not hear anywhere else, such as the distant, riotous warbling of carolers set against a slow, fuzzy, bad-ass headbanger riff with garage vibes that goes shoegazey then has an out-and-out meltdown of black metal tremeloes, finally taking us to record center in a blaze of hypnotic glory as singers coalesce Gregorian chant style. The closing moments settle us into calm, reassurance that after all is said and done, we are always in the ever-present NOW.

Look for Endless Flood’s Rites Futurs on Friday, July 12th, with a limited run of cassettes issued by Breath Plastic Records (get it here or here). For many it will prompt you to get into their back catalogue, and summer is the perfect time to do it, especially at sunrise.

Give ear…

SOME BUZZ

After a five-year absence, Endless Floods are reunited around vocalist Louise Dehaye, Stéphane Miollan (guitar, bass, vocals) and Benjamin Sablon (drums, synths, vocals). Spanning through the crepuscular and droney doom landscapes of their first three records, they reveal in a prodigious blaze of post-metal, doom and shoegaze driven by the trio’s aerial choirs.

Bordeaux, France’s doom metal experimentalists Endless Floods formed in 2015 in Bordeaux around Stéphane Miollan (ex-Monarch, Bombardement, Faucheuse), Benjamin Sablon (ex-Monarch, Bombardement, Shock, Mégot) et Simon Bédy. With “no boundaries in heaviness” as a motto, they raise a prodigiously dense wall of sound by blending drone and doom metal aesthetics with mind-expanding ambient structures, like a sorrowful procession arising from the limbo…

The trio released their self-titled debut in 2015, quickly followed by their sophomore album “II” in the winter of 2017. This drone-sounding assault saw the band sinking deeper into bleakness and minimalism, immersing the listener in a monolithic and feedback-laden sonic experience described by the press as “a vast, never-ending room of heavy” (Cvlt Nation), “a juggernaut of sonic grandeur” (Metal Nexus) or simply “sublime” by Pure Grain Audio. Their third album “Circle The Gold” epitomized a fresh start in their creative process: between chaos and light, the Bordeaux trio transcended genre boundaries while unveiling a more melodic and cathartic aspect of their music.

After a five-year hiatus, ENDLESS FLOODS now returns with a new lineup and their fourth record "Rites Futurs”, to be released in July 2024. About the album, the band comments: “On Rites Futurs, we built a mythology around the idea of the rite of passage. The five tracks symbolize this tipping point into the unknown by evoking ancient traditions where fires extinguished everything in their path.”

It was recorded and mixed by Thibault Laisney at a/b box studio (Lestiac, France) and mastered by Ben Jones. Cover art and graphic design by Louise Dehaye. Constantly maintaining the subtle balance between light and melancholy, soaring atmospherics and granite riffs, Endless Floods deliver their sonic rebirth in forty minutes of a grippingly emotional experience.

AINU is a welcome new name to us, a three-piece heavy cinematic psychedelic post-doom powerhouse from Genoa, Italy (where many a band has popped onto our radar over the years, most recently Isaak). Here emerges today five soundscapes of the instrumental variety, part of the explosion in instrumental rock and metal that has emerged in recent years. The album is ‘Ainu’ (2024) which, besides being the name for the indigenous peoples of northern Japan, means simply “human.”

First track is the stormy “Il Faro,” which takes its name from The Lighthouse and appears to quote from an Italian language version of the 2019 film in its opening minutes. While I may not understand the dialogue, I can tell that there’s a lot of passion and fluster in the words, and contrasts with a backdrop of eastern drone and psychedelic post-metal atmosphere, gathering like massive rain clouds.

The full band drops its weight two-minutes in and caught away in a swell. From the get-go we notice Ainu is a band that’s quite confident in itself as an instrumental unit. The collaboration between Dani on guitar, Jacco on bass, and Gelso on drums is tight. Each instrument is deftly captured on this recording, the bass in particular has lots of clarity and plenty of oomph. It rewards listening with earphones, especially, but you can open up your speakers with this one and give the benefit of a full room – the sound will claim it all. Listen for a key moment of transition 5:20 in with a warm, doomy bassline.

In many ways, this 12:43 piece mirrors a day on ocean’s cliffs overlooking the waters and experiencing moments that are turbulent, mysterious, and serene. It is indeed cinematic in its vision, and this applies in many ways to the evolving scenes that follow.

Likewise, second track “Aiutami A Ricordare” (which means “Help Me Remember”) generates big, rumbling sound in the service of a broad tapestry (it also makes its big splash around 5 minute mark with swinging bombast.

“D.E.V.S.” and “Khrono” (the latter featuring guest musicians Francesco Bucci and Giorgio Nattero) reference the American science fiction thriller television miniseries D.E.V.S. and samples from the show here and there. The first two-minute track begins with surreal and calming ambience, but soon errupt into second – a strumming, churning, tremelo-filled current. It’s easy to get swept away in the momentum.

Whether you’re listening intently, riding, or doing something else around the house, these songs always find a way to pull you into their moods, and here it is serious, searching, and tumultuous. “Krono” (“Time”) ends with some of that broad, brash tossing back and forth Yob energy.

“Call Of The Sea,” while not the longest, is certainly one of the more ambitious of the record and closes this cinquefoil journey out. The band takes time to build the story, and one could picture themselves picturing the landscape from a seagull’s view. After three-and-a-half minutes of development comes the brake-squeaking dissonance announcing a transition, which comes with cymbals, watery reverberating strings, and a bass riff which you almost want to go on forever. It’s Bongripper worthy stuff, but not meant to a barnstormer here, just enough gravity to keep our feet planted while our heads sail far above with the whirling, misty ambience of echoing loops and Lili Refrain’s remarkable guest vocals. It’s not really important to know what words she is singing, so much as to experience it, for it is beautiful and enchanting.

Ainu’s self-titled debut comes out June 28th via Subsound Records on vinyl, compact disc, and digital format (get it here).

Give ear…

SOME BUZZ

'Ainu’ is a concept record that moves between powerful and stirring soundscapes, building up at a slow but steady pace between psychedelia and post-metal, stemming from the Genoa trio’s passion for cinema and their close relationship with the sea, its stories and creatures.

Featuring special appearances from Lili Refrain as well as Francesco Bucci (Ottone Pesante) and Giorgio Nattero (Carcharodon), this album is an intense, emotionally dense experience that uses the descriptive foundations of seamen and the calls of huge animals to recall the connection between the sound and the environment. An electrifying and contemplative journey for the heart and soul of heavy music lovers.

SPIRIT MOTHER formed in Long Beach, CA, greeting us with debut Cadets at the beginning of the pandemic. That was a welcome respite from the madness, and the following year the band gave us a taste for their live sound with Live In The Mojave Desert Volume 3 on Giant Rock Records.

Now Spirit Mother’s members are stretched across the United States, staking the ground in Buffalo, Los Angeles, and the high-desert of Eastern Oregon. Branching out into these very different locals, and I’m sure the associated experiences, have influenced an album I found genuinely moving, ‘Trails’ (2024 - Heavy Psych Sounds) – and an insanely good record at that.

Today, Doomed & Stoned brings you “Wolves” as the first single from the new listen (out late summer).

Says Armand Lance on this song:

Lyrically, “Wolves” is a questioning. An interrogation of the world around us, and our concept of face value. Our daily pill. What does it take to free your mind from influence? To form a truly original thought or perspective? Would you even know it if you did? Sonically, “Wolves” paints the full picture of Spirit Mother – so it only makes sense as the first single off “Trails.” All our songs are first written as folk songs on acoustic guitar – with a focus on the lyrics, the chords, and the song structure. It’s our foundation - and it gives the band direction before the fuzz hits.

When you realize that part about folk songs, you gain an even deeper appreciation for Spirit Mother’s craft on the new album. Everything here, with all the various colors and hues and layers can be encapsulated in a simple folk song. There’s something visceral about that being in the fabric of each song.

There’s also something misty and hallucinatory about the atmosphere throughout the record (see “Voyeur”), with affecting moments that pierce the soul (as in the climax of “Given”). SJ brings us flourishes of violin to complete the mood (as in “Below” and “Emerald”). Armand joins drummer Landon Cisneros to form a vibrant rhythm section (check out “Veins”).

Title track “Trails” begins with thumping rhythm bass riffing, joined by plaintive Wild West guitars plucking out a folkish tale. Later guitar joins with bass for a damning, downtuned, downstepping riff. Vocals It’s a slow burn, but worth it for those moments that really boil over (the exaltant rebel cries at 1:49 – I dare say the track should be legendary just for that moment), then there’s payoff in a haze of psychedelic dark rock. Emphatic bass grooves offer gravitas to the closing minutes.

Spirit Mother are really in their element on the deliriously good “Below,” it’s like being lost in a Pink Floydian dreamscape. And “Vessel” stirs up rebellious garage spirit in the vocals, combined with a brisk beat and grungy stoner riffs.

There’s something airy and hallucinatory about the atmosphere throughout the record, though they sometimes pierce the soul (as in the climax of “Given”).

“Wolves” is another standout track on the new record, and may turn out to be a favorite for many of you. This has the feel of dusk all over it, rolling down highways with a steadily pumping heart. The guitars are so effective here, with a wailing melancholy riff that comes in at 2:45.

Spirit Mother makes use of disparate rock influences throughout Trails, but has ample room for fluidity and evolution between styles. Unifying the sound is a bath of heavy ambiance and the complimentary vocals of Armand Lance and SJ. They’re clean and mellow (with an occasional flirtation with madness), and that’s just my vibe these days. The real treat is there’s no shortage of tone or passion in Sean McCormick’s guitar play which brings a heavy reality check to the situation.

Trails unfolds a new age of psychedelic dreaminess coupled with full-on fuzz and dark rock. Look for it September 13th on Heavy Psych Sounds (pre-order here) or (here).and stick it on a playlist with Pink Floyd, Uncle Acid & The Deadbeats, Castle, Weedpecker, and Young Hunter.

Give ear…

SOME BUZZ

Spirit Mother’s forthcoming album “Trails” brings the energy of the band’s visceral, all-in live performances while expanding on the sensibilities of their debut album “Cadets.” It is the undeniable next chapter in the band’s creative process.

The darker tonality, heavier, fuzz-fueled riffs, and relentless rhythm section accompanies prolific structure and arrangement. The violin summons a brooding, atmospheric pedestal for the remaining power trio to wield with fervor. Lance’s haunting vocals and stark lyricism intersperse the instrumentals with a melody that is as dynamic as it is accessible.

It is the culmination of road worn years in pursuit of the art, and the moment-to-moment adrenaline of studio exploration. The album was aged, captured, delivered by Spirit Mother, and brought to the broader public by Heavy Psych Sounds Records.

Without doubt, one of the most exciting bands to emerge from North Carolina and onto the scene at large is Winston Salem duo STONEKIND, the impressive heavy rock duo of Jeff Ayers, Jr. (drums, vocals) and Davis Templeton (guitars, bass). I say heavy rock, as it brings you the full weight of the rumbling, low end appeal of doom metal and weds it with hard driven desert and stoner rock instincts.

Today, we present the world premiere of ‘Hollow Ground’ (2024), their second album following 2021’s Spirit of the Void and the eponymous EP in 2019, and it is a rip-roaring rager.

“Story Teller” kicks open the doors with bombastic bass and guitar riffing in the great tradition of BelzebonG, Bongzilla, and Bongripper. There’s a little more of a southern flair to this one, Davis Templeton’s guitar has a swampy, humid feel here that just pulls you right in, and the vocals are a great match. Jeff Ayers, Jr. opts for mid-range vocals, Neil Fallonesque in the sense of those early Clutch Records, only Stonekind vox are more along the soulful side – a style which is effectively matched in a heavier sound (and a great companion to Denmark’s Sonic Moon).

In “Glass of hours,” Stonekind really build on a concept and develop it beautifully, instrumentally that you can’t help but get swept away in. The song takes the time it needs to develop, from airy desert notes into bluesy middle-eastern sounds into soaring and fuzzy. Clearly this is a band capable of depth in their song development.

“Masters of man” is the quintessential track on the album, in my estimation. It blends so many of the band’s strongest elements: deep, downtuned, searing, meaty guitar riffs (here they’re ultra doomy), a hearty, rambunctious bass (rocks like Tool here), and a bold, brash, workman beat. Combine that with vocals that have an Alice in Chains flair (“What the Hell Have I”) and a mysterious, wandering desert feel. Winning combination all around.

The song takes to barren plains and windswept prairies. Vocals have a Godsmack feel, reminiscent of the foggy vocals of “Voodoo.” Contemplative moments of ambience usher us out with desert winds and acoustic plucking with elements of Spanish and traditional desert guitar.

Speaking of “Dune,” this one really bounces with one of those beats you don’t want to just bang your head to, you want to move your body. Big sound, with guitar that flirts more with metal, with a lot of stop-start stuff and rocking notes, the whole thing is infused with energy. The drums remind me of Dan Laudo’s punch in the band Prong. It’s a get-up-and-go song for sure, with vocals that had me thinking Josh Homme. Like the previous song, there is an atmospheric, mirage-like ending.

“Dressed as man” man gives us the feel of sunset (or an eclipse), with winding heavy desert grooves sporting crackling electric fuzz. There’s a surreal quality to some of it, like many of the moods on Soundgarden’s Down on the Upside. The drumbeat steadily moves us ahead to the chorus (which Apostle of Solitude fans should dig), which mesmerizes with the dead stare of someone who’s seen too much over the years. The guitar gets wild and free with a nice quick solo that buzzes around you like a bee threatening to sting. There’s a Sabbath-like romp of a B-section, prefaced by a fantastic drum solo, then some menacing, grip your heart bass notes and a glorious psychedelic guitar solo.

The album concludes on a solid doom metal note, with “Echus Chasma” and was beautifully produced and mixed by Stonekind’s Davis Templeton, with drums recorded by David Roland at Storyteller Sound. Mastering by Jay Matheson at the Jam Room. Great team on a great record. The instruments are clear, full, and well-managed in the mix.

Look for Stonekind’s Hollow Ground on Friday, June 14th (pre-order here), issued on vinyl, digital, and compact disc. Stick it on a playlist with King Buffalo, OM, and Red Mesa.

Give ear…

Stonekind Speak on 'Hollow Ground’

We are beyond thrilled to finally share our third record, Hollow Ground. With this album, we sought to create something heavier and more visceral… while still allowing for the ebb and flow of dynamics and intensity found on our previous records. Hollow Ground is essentially a concept album in which the songs flow into one another and contain recurring themes like many of the classic records we all know and love. There are four instrumental tracks dispersed throughout the album and plenty of psychedelic interludes and unexpected transitions… possibly a treat for those more keen on instruments and atmosphere rather than vocals/lyrics. We hope this record takes you on a journey from start to finish and brings you back feeling inspired… as it has for us.

The lyrical theme of the album comes from a place of pure exhaustion with what’s going on in the world around us… being so fed up with what you’re told when you know you’re being lied to… watching powerful people shape the way information is given to us while at the same time destroying our surroundings. The weight and anxiety associated with these experiences is a recurrent theme throughout the record. Most of us can relate to the challenge of maintaining a normal life and responsibilities while it seems we are being driven off a cliff… to hollow ground.

We can’t thank you all enough for listening to our music. Much love.

TRACK BY TRACK:

1. Storyteller

This was a bonus song of sorts. We had about an extra hour of studio time when tracking drums for the album at the brilliant studio, Storyteller Sound, in Winston-Salem. We had a bluesy riff we coined “ZZ riff” in a previous rehearsal, and put it together to track the foundation of the song. The lyrics speak to the lies/manipulation our leaders and those with power bestow upon us.

2. Glass of hours

Instrumental track and was initially intended to be the album opener before “storyteller” was written. It was sort of an abbreviated, instrumental nod to our previous song “spirit of the void” for some continuity between albums.

Hollow ground

A brief guitar instrumental and atmospheric prelude to “masters of man.” The sound of rain was recorded with a mic to the skylight in our home studio during a downpour while the classical guitar outro to “masters of man” was tracked.

4. Masters of man

Overall, probably the most difficult and complex Stonekind song we have written so far, and our personal favorite from this album. Lyrically, you are in the killing fields, fighting as a result of our masters’ greed and lust for power.

5. Dune

The music on this one was more of a challenge writing compared to other songs on the album because it’s just weird haha. We were going for a Soundgarden-esque time signature/feel and it ended up being mainly 6/4 but also has a 4/4 shuffle in there and an 11/4 intro/interlude. Lyrically, it refers to the realization of our time/opportunity drifting away and never feeling satisfied or appreciating the current moment.

6. Veda

Another guitar instrumental and a nod to “dust” from the previous record with some post-rock vibes; serves as a breather before the next epic track.

7. Dressed as man

The working title was “space desert” since the music is more geared to space and desert rock genres. This one was a labor of love and the last song completed. We wanted to have a decent length drum solo backed by psychedelic guitar effects leading to a build-up / slow-down / build-up. The result would have been impossible with a click track haha. Lyrically, it refers to self-empowerment and maybe a glimmer of hope in the midst of famine, pestilence, and apocalypse.

8. Echus Chasma

Initially written to be a prelude to “dressed as man,” this instrumental turned out to be a more fitting conclusion to the album, combining both a sense of doom and hope.

I filmed Mothership at the inaugural Beers in Hell Fest and saw them again at Old Nick’s Pub in Eugene a number of years later. Guitarist KELLEY JUETT was unstoppable each time, possessed with surges of guitar-driven energy, a true slave to the riff and that oh so sweet blues tone. His new album, ‘Wandering West’ (2024), showcases an introspective side, widening his signature sound to take us into new realms of artistic and psychonautic possibilities.

“Jimi’s Jammie” greets the record like the red glow of a dawning horizon as earth gently awakens. The slow, hazy strumming of the opening moments gives our heads a place to settle while we watch the sun rise and all of nature come to life.

“December Dewdrops” plays out like a still day in winter. Here in the Willamette Valley, things stay green year round, but I remember from those days in East Texas when there isn’t a lick of green in sight. Gives you time to think, if you’re not in a hurry to distract yourself. The song unfolds like a meditation, one where you simply notice all the things happening around you, different strains of sound, each contributing its own voice and somehow achieving symbiosis.

Probably my favorite track on the record is “Lonely One” with its mysterious desert touches. It dovetails nicely with Alice in Chain’s SAP or Jerry Cantrell’s “Killer Is Me.” The whole thing’s got a sitting on the front porch waiting out the sweltering dry heat kind of feel to it, with blues notes that really grab hold of something inside you.

“Breezin’” is a perpetual motion 8-note riff that appears as gentle as the wind and then becomes the hypnotic subtext for sun-drenched guitar noodling. You can almost see yourself laying in your yard watching clouds pass while this is playing.

“Electric Dreamland”, another standout, mingles two guitars playing at different registers, one deeper and more somber the other serene and crystaline. It’s as though Hypnos himself were wooing us into somnambulance, taking us into a shadowy cavern where our subconscious anxieties are broken down into reverberating soundwaves. After several minutes in this mesmeric state, Kelley’s bluesy, bittersweet riffing hovers overhead and almost seems to narrate the dream. There’s a stretch of electric that had me thinking of fireflies fluttering in the night air. This is an easy one to close your eyes and drift away into.

We introduced you to the single “Mind Mirage” earlier last month, in which I lauded Juett’s “spacey psychedelic riffing, adding layers and details with all the patience of a whittler slicing away at a block of wood, turning it into a work of art.” The guitar soars like a seagull overhead, giving us a bird’s eye view of the ocean and the manifold glimmers of light.

“Hello & Goodbye” features some of the most psychedelic playing on the record, which will appeal to fans of Pink Floyd. Ambience abounds as the song winds down with chirping pedal and noise effects. You can tell that Kelley’s paying attention to every single detail of tone, with the mastery of one who is truly wed to his craft.

Kelley Juett’s new LP Wandering West releases Sunday, June 9th on Glory or Death Records and there looks to be some groovy variants of vinyl (get it here or here). European distribution through Majestic Mountain Records, Electric Valley Records, and Kozmik Artifactz.

Give ear…

Meet EMBER SUN the new project from Lorthar, one of the original members of the Athens occultic black metal band Order Of The Ebon Hand. Later this month, he’s dropping the full-length solo effort, ‘Of Earth And Heaven’ (2021) via Aural Music/Code666.

Harmonic rumbling surrounds our senses as the album opens, giving way to a slow rhythm that somehow reminds me of the slave galley powering some ancient sea-faring vessel into the chaotic waves of war, steadily slogging along in rowing movement to the task-master’s slavish beat. There’s not a spike of adrenaline in sight, for this is a reluctant battle we face – not of swords against shields or javelins tearing through flesh, but the struggle with sorrow. And we are spent.

“Swallowed Back Into My Sorrow” implies by title alone that we’ve faced this enemy before, won some battles, lost too many to remember. Now we can feel the dread of those gray, low-hanging clouds gathering oppressively around us. The mood the song strikes is not one of abject despair, however, but stoic contemplation. We’ve learned to grow comfortable in the fog of uncertainty and confusion these last two years. Perhaps it’s impossible to envision better days from this vantage point. Maybe the point is to endure until the fog lifts. But will it ever?

“Respawn” is up next, striking a slightly more upbeat stride than its predecessor. In fact, it’s almost hypnotic. The atmosphere is charged with an uneasiness as we wander deeper into the mist looking for signs that mark some discernible path – closer to this Ember Sun.

This leads into “On Earth And Heaven,” which surrounds us in a comforting blanket of grief. In last year’s excellent miniseries The Third Day, a confused Jude Law is consoled by Emily Watson. “Pain doesn’t know time,” see says, adding: “Most people are scared of pain. They don’t know how warm it can be.” As a long time depressive, I can vouch for that fact. It’s not a place I want to be in, but when I am sad it feels familiar to me. Maybe that strange solace comes through radical acceptance of the situation (as opposed to wishful thinking that it will somehow change on its own) and this has a way of dampening the “fight or flight” alarm so it isn’t constantly blaring at me and I can think rationally about where we stand. Then, seeing the situation for what it really is, I can quietly plot the next best step forward. As the song comes to a close, the drums pound out those steps so clearly. It’s an all-uphill climb, but that’s precisely the hill we have to scale to see what’s on the other side, where maybe, just maybe, there is hope.

“Ember Heart Of Me” is significantly sadder, a funeral march with Gothic and esoteric touches. It also boasts one of the album’s grandest choruses, perhaps our first sun-break of the journey so far. Anger sometimes has a way of clearing the fog and here Lorthar vows, “I’ll haunt you in your dreams.” The synth fingers out a familiar arpeggiated pattern, followed by an outpouring of singing guitar expression and an aggressive battering of the percussion. The sun is rising, the mist dissipating, the path becoming more discernible.

“The Chapel” is the penultimate track and, like the opening salvo, the hum of reverberating sound seems all-encompassing. The thud of the drums marks out this place as significant. Have we been here before? It feels so familiar. A place of absolute transcendency, where one can experience the death of ego, followed by a certain clarity of vision we didn’t have previously. This isn’t a place of feeble worship and quiet solitude, but a space that invades our senses. And the raven’s caw beckons…

The ten-minute-plus album closer feels positively sanguine by the time we reach it, with melodic highs and lows acting like a series of heavy sighs. Nothing is scarier than thinking about one’s death, until you come to peaceful acceptance of your own transient mortality. Who knows what, if any, existence we will have beyond this one (consciously or not), however your philosophy rationalizes it. Painting in lush, deeply affective tones, the singer embraces the mystery of life, sure of one thing: “My Essense Fades In Time.”

Today, Doomed & Stoned gives you a first listen to the album single, “Ember Heart of Me.” A song which Lorthar depicts as “our inner consciousness that never fades, never goes away” – adding that “even if the fire can’t be seen, it still burns.” The composer continues:

This track was challenging to record with 3 different types of vocals to mix and layer one over the other.

The 1st voice represents our living body.

The 2nd voice represents our fear.

The 3rd voice represents our subconsciousness.

Together, these 3 voices embody our selves. These 3 voices exist within you, within me, within everyone.

On Earth And Heaven by Ember Sun releases October 22nd via Code666/Aural Music in digital, compact disc, and vinyl formats (pre-order here).

Some Buzz

Ember Sun is releasing their new album, titled On Earth and Heaven, on October 22 via code666, the cult sublabel of Aural Music.

The band commented about the signing:

“When code666 contacted me and proposed to release my debut album, it was like I was dreaming that such a label wanted to join their roster. It’s a blessing to us that this respected label believed in us. Now Ember Sun are ready to uncover the deep, primordial feelings of sorrow, sinisterness, and solitude under the banner of Code666”

Ember Sun is the new solo project born in 2021 of Lorthar (founder/ex-member of black metal band Order Of The Ebon Hand) from Greece, playing atmospheric funeral doom death with influences of gothic scene. Lorthar has been and still is a member of several bands in the metal music scene and also on ambient style bands. Ember Sun is a mix of all the music styles haunting Lorthar’s temperament.

'On Earth And Heaven’ is a hymn of solitude and sorrow. It expresses the fear of reaching our end; the despair of not seeing again all those we loved or hated; the incomprehensibility of being devoid consciousness; the sorrow of never seeing the dawn again.

Known as the “mystics from Ural mountains,” MEGALITH LEVITATION return following their mesmerizing 2019 debut, Acid Doom Rites, to bring us the harrowing follow-up full-length, ‘Void Psalms’ (2021). 53-minutes in length, it is a magnum opus indeed for the dank trio from Russia.

Irradiated feedback joins the damning strains of the opening chords that introduce the album opener, “Phantasmagoric Journey.” The rhythm pulls us into a slow-churning dirge that inspires a deeply felt bodily response, one in which I found myself almost involuntarily (it’s hard to tell) closing my eyes and swaying in harmony, as brick upon brick of its mysterious sonic masonry was laid down before me. It’s as though I’m listening to OM trip on some bad acid, trancing out as nightmarish forms shift shapes all around them. To call it haunting would be something of an understatement.

The band describes the aura this way:

A journey to uncharted corners of consciousness. Cognition of the macrocosm through the microcosm. Near-death experience giving an understanding of the infinity of being and the universe.

Next, we encounter the diad “Datura Revelations/Lysergic Phantoms” and the tempo quickens (in doom measurements of time, of course) so that we’re swept away by an undertow of murky psychedelic textures, dark bass tones, and esoteric atmosphere. It gets a lot stranger once that lysergic stuff kicks in, but by now I’m absolutely grooving with this bizarre, but oddly comforting vibe.

Again, we turn to Megalith Levitation for insight:

The energy of the ancient fire that gave life to everything on Earth. The all-destructive power of the same fire, which will turn even the stars to dust. All of this is here, in the chains of your DNA. Guides will show you the way and you will see everything for yourself.

“Temple of Silence/Pillars of Creation” is another juxtaposition of two songs in one. It made me think of the sluggish tone that Electric Wizard greeted us with on that last album, which some hated but absolutely struck a chord with me. You have to go through some shit to gel with certain kinds of metal, yes even certain stripes of doom. This isn’t going for a grab-you-by-the-nutsack-and-squeeze kind of effect – a loop that so much of heavy music has been stuck in for the last 20-some years.

For those whose souls who wasted away under pandemic lockdowns and lost jobs, during which institutions failed us, heroes disappointed us, and the future evaded us, there’s something truly consoling in hearing sounds that get that precise emotion-to-music translation of “alone/lost” right. In fact, I do believe Megalith Levitation would encourage you to embrace it and grab a new reality for yourself:

Everything that surrounds you is just an illusion. Evil, good, black and white. Everything is just the figment of the imagination. And you are caught in this hustle and bustle forever. There is only one place where you can find peace. But can you find your way to the temple of silence?

By far the biggest slowburner of the lot, the second-half calms our spirits and brings us into a meditative state of radical acceptance and imagination of endless possibilities. In the last two minutes, the pot is indeed boiling and our heartbeats quicken realizing that we may be in some way entangled in this Matrix but maybe, just maybe, we can tinker with things so the sun shines a little more in our private world.

“Last Vision” is the final number of the set, and the shortest. After that last slab of granite, it feels like a coda. I’m glad it’s here, too. It reinvigorates the animal senses that keep us alive, fused with a new mindset that accepts the inevitability of fate. Again, the band says its best:

The collapse of everything. End of the world. How many times will humanity experience this? In the darkness within our hearts, we are blind and cruel. This circle is endless.

It’s a rhetorical question that demands our collective concentrated thought, priority, and energy – though I am tempted to glibly suggest that we just turn the whole shebang over by cats and dogs to rule the planet a century from now (unless they decide to take it from us before then).

Today, Doomed & Stoned is pleased to give you an advance listen to the entire new album, which releases on CD, cassette, and digital formats on October 1st (pre-order here). Autumn may have started last week, but I think we can officially welcome the gloomy, rainy days of fall with the release of Megalith Levitation’s Void Psalms. For fans of Electric Wizard, Saturnalia Temple, Zaum, and Serpentine Path.

Give ear…

Just when you got done listening to Boss Keloid’s Family The Smiling Thrush and thought you’re wow meter couldn’t bend any further towards “wowsers” and along comes OUR MAN IN THE BRONZE AGE. There’s more to this English handful than meets the eye, which is why Doomed & Stoned is bringing you an impressive behind-the-scenes look ‘n’ listen to a new single from the band’s sophomore LP, 'Hexed Endeavors’ (2021).

For example, you may not have realized that there are two drummers at play here, which always gets my juices flowing for some reason. While I’d recommend this for fans of Huntsmen, High Priest, Soundgarden, and Greenleaf, a few lesser-knowns we’ve introduced to you in these pages – Taiga Woods, Little Jimi, and Kesem – seem to also travel in the same musical caravan. But comparisons fall short at some point and you’ve got to get to know the Milton Keynes firm on their own less-than-predictable terms.

This brings us to the esteemed debut of “Brutus” – the latest single and music video to emerge from Hexed Endeavors – out October 8th on Fr33zehead Records. Behond: Our Man In The Bronze Age, a band that will keep you guessing while simultaneously engaging you on multiple levels of sound and subtext. Up-tempo and earnest, “Brutus” is a fine introduction to their sound, with the new album being nothing short of exceptional.

Give ear…

Some Buzz

Formed in Milton Keynes in 2007 by five friends, sonic rockers Our Man in the Bronze Age opted a long-time ago to leave behind the cut and thrust of everything that wasn’t music made exclusively on their own terms.

Tired of all that had gone before, forming a brotherly pact the quintet chose to channel crackling riffs, wizened bones and a dry wit into a cosmic vessel that strutted its stuff from day one; year to year, gig to gig, from early releases all the way up to their forthcoming album, 'Hexed Endeavours’ (2021), which will receive an official worldwide release this fall on Fr33zehead Records.

Pouring thirteen tracks of cinematic adventure into a ’Bronze void, their sound boasts many tentacles each waving prog, doom, alternative, sludge, stoner and post-rock in a devastatingly effective manner. From wistful piano to apocalyptic swells of sheer dynamism, Hexed Endeavours is a hugely immersive experience and triumphant return for Our Man in the Bronze Age.

'Hexed Endeavours’ by Our Man in the Bronze Age will be released on 8th October 2021 on Fr33zehead Records

Can’t even begin to express just how enamored I am with the French heavy music scene this year. It seems like there’s been a sudden punctuated equilibrium in the scene’s evolution, leading to an explosive blossom in creativity, depth, and variety. Case in point: INDIGO RAVEN from Toulouse.

Starting life as the compelling duo of July Docteur (vox) and Benoît Sangoï (everything else), a third member was just recently added to the team (bassist Jean Green) which has given Indigo Raven a deep, resonant sound. The weather on their new record, ‘Looking for Transcendence’ (2021), feels like the slow gathering of storm clouds. The instrumental textures, grey and bleak, contrast marvelously with the urgency of the singing, which is clear and powerful – at times even glorious.

Maybe it is simply a human tendency to notice beauty in the midst of something as ominous as a tempest, but I feel as though I’m on the edge of some cliff overlooking the vastness of the sea and a mighty swell building up as one looks at the horizon. The music moves closer and closer, until I forget my fear of the great swell, if only long enough to be swept away as a part of it.

High praise, even in metaphor, you may be thinking to yourself. To be even more gumptious, I’m about to introduce you to Indigo Raven by way of a track that’s different from any other on the new record. “Where Lies Our Heart” arrives at the end, when calm skies have again prevailed. It serves as a kind of postlude. It could be a hymn, an attempt to both reflect and memorialize all that we’ve been through together. Indeed, the song hints at a sense of serenity and gratitude now that the furor of the squall is past. The sound, rhythm and all, is achieved (it seems) purely through acapella singing and vocal effects.

Keep your eyes peeled for Indigo Raven’s Looking For Transcendence – out on multiple formats on October 22nd via Argonauta Records. You’ll find a fitting place for it on a playlist with Amenra, Om, Lowen, Chelsea Wolfe, Uzala, Messa, and other etherealists of doom (including the criminally overlooked Paris outfit Blóð). At once serene, spiritual, and haunting, don’t miss this evocative, moving, and artistically impressive debut.

Give ear…

Some Buzz

Formed in 2019 by creative duo Julie Docteur and Benoît Sangoï, and following their critically acclaimed 2020 debut EP, Indigo Raven welcomed a third band member to round up their line-up, bassist Jean Green (also in Mourier).

The trio’s sound emerges from the Peaceville Three’s influence with a modern sludge approach. A simple but not unsophisticated instrumental foundation of the band, coloured by a shamanic sound and these occult, haunting vocals, make 'Looking for Transcendence’ a captivating yet heavy as hell debut, that will most likely see Indigo Raven stand out as one of Europe’s underground best and up- and coming bands.

“After receiving more than stimulating feedback for our first EP and the arrival of our third raven, Jean, we were pushed to go deeper. Doing so, we’re very happy to introduce our first album: 'Looking for Transcendence’ (2021),” vocalist and visual creative behind the band, Julie, comments.

“We imprinted it with a form of dull & poetic rage, assumed vulnerability and eager for some serious split-screen. The music stays refined but gets more powerful and heavy, leaving space for the vocals to emotionally chant strong lyrics. We hope it will inspire you to inner journeys.”

Fans of bands like Windhand and beyond should watch out for Indigo Raven’s debut, slated for a release on October 22, 2021 through Argonauta Records.

I liken Eugene, Oregon to a Hobbit’s village with people tucked away here and there amidst forested hills and concrete pathways living their lives much the same as in other places, only the residents of this world are disproportionately musical in nature. It means that every so often novel projects will spontaneously burst to life, some eclectic and brilliant (see: Psyrup), others ferociously inspired (see: Yob), all of them intricately tied to the sights, sounds, and workings of Mother Nature.

This “Great City for the Arts and Outdoors” (as our hometown slogan goes) has led to some fascinating collaborations over the years, albeit many of them short lived. The ones that remain and persist, have the potential to blossom into something really special that can spread its seed to the entire world.

From my first encounter with them in the upper room of a local tattoo parlour on a spring night in 2015, MAESTUS struck me as a band to keep an eye on. Growing at their own pace and blooming in due season, this powerful and atmospheric death-doom outfit is on the move yet again.

We last crossed paths in January of 2019, when Doomed & Stoned debuted the music video for their second album Deliquesce. It has always struck me, then as now, how Maestus want the music to stand preeminently above all else, only hinting at personal recognition by lending us their initials paired with their respective instruments.

Maestus is:

SP: vocals, guitars
SB: keyboards
CL: drums
NK: guitars
KRP: bass, vocals

While this once bugged me as a music journalist and neurotic completionist wanting all the usual details, it doesn’t any longer. Though I’m familiar with several of the musicians from bumping into them here and there at the various musical watering holes about town, I can say that Maestus lingers in my mind as an entirely distinct entity. This is because their music has a tendency to proverbially take on a life of its very own.

When you listen to the latest EP, ‘Daybreak’s Advent’ (2020), for example, you’re bearing witness to creation, not simply of a musical composition but of an entire reality built upon the foundation of sound. Starting with “Adamacy Feined,” Maestus work methodically, to borrow an old Biblical stanza: “line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little.” With each well-appointed note, Maestus unfurls the cosmos in intricate strands of sound.

True to their name, the world that Maestus reveals to us is touched by melancholy. Melancholy is not a singularly dark concept, either. It can be (and sometimes is) quite beautiful and its mysteries will be experienced differently when met by different ears. To my perception, the opening minutes of Daybreak’s Advent perfectly conjure a crisp November’s dawn with a landscape filled with trees of deep red and gold dancing in the early morning breeze, the green grass (yes, it stays green in Oregon all year 'round, folks!) still damp with the morning dew. The winds of drama stir the leaves about and, as the sun further makes its presence known, a certain worshipful awe overtakes the mood, scored by majestic voices layered together for warmth.

“My Hope, the Destroyer,” turns the page on this two-track epic by introducing us to stern sound of strings (that’s Andrea Morgan of Exulansis making a guest appearance), which preludes an eruption of growling vocals, stout guitars, and a hearty, tribalesque drumbeat. In my mind’s eye, I see a flurry of activity in the air about me and suddenly become aware of a symphony of clackety insects scrambling beneath my feet, as well. The song’s title intrigues me, as the music is full of exuberance and makes me wonder if it is meant to embody hope.

I’ve seen references to the destruction of hope in poems and literature, but here it seems hope is the great Destroyer itself. Perhaps that’s why dad would always tell me as a boy, “Don’t get your hopes up,” wanting to spare me the pain of delayed (or ruined) expectations. We’re told to keep hope alive as we grow older, but at what point does hope itself become a problem? Maybe it’s not hope that is at issue, so much as it is my hope as the song title seems to imply. Something to ponder, perhaps, as you listen. Or better yet, enter Maestus’ world with no expectations at all and a fresh perspective.

The band had this to share with us about the new record:

“Daybreak’s Advent was recorded during December 2019 in our hometown of Eugene, Oregon with SP at the helm. The original track 'Adamancy Feigned’ was drafted many years ago by NK, who later collaborated with SP, SB, and CL on string arrangements and composition. The EP is graced by the heartbreaking violin & viola work of Andrea Morgan, whose approach to the tracks helped to shape the cassette’s atmosphere. Lyrics were co-written by KRP & SP.

"The release represents our synthesis of funerary melody and tectonic death-doom. But we’ll never disregard our origins. Our inclusion of 'My Hope, the Destroyer’ is a tribute to My Dying Bride, one of the world’s greatest doom bands. This also marks our first (released) cover song.”

Daybreak’s Advent was recorded and mixed by SP at Sprout City Studios in Eugene and mastered by Markus Stock (Empyrium) at Klangschmiede Studio E, in Mellrichstadt, Germany. It officially releases on Friday, November 13th via Glossolalia Records (pre-order here). Now, it is time for your own day to break, as Doomed & Stoned brings you the new EP by Maestus in all its fullness.

Give ear…

Lyrics

The advent of daybreak
Poisons lips with a bitter wind
The cowering night
Bereft of light

Fractures in the ice
Proclaim alluring calls
Fractured in the ice
Uphold alluring calls

Malady woven into ropes
Measureless thunder
Rends expanses starless
Come, rescuing death
Come, rescuing death

Fractured in ice
In retreat from pain
In dimming light
In retreat from pain

Continuing his two-and-a-half-years’ journey into the deepest, dankest corners of the heavy underground, Doomed & Stoned’s intrepid sludge reporter Shawn Gibson continues his series of fun and lively interviews with bands in our still blooming and booming doom-stoner scene with this interview with founding member and drummer Eric Bigalow, whose partner Crystal Bigalow fronts the Alabama band EMBR. We hope you enjoy getting to know the band as much as we did, especially in light of their new album ‘1823’ (2020) which was released recently on New Heavy Sounds.   [Editor]

Eric, how ya doin?

Good. I am on my daily walk. Watching my “conspiracy videos.”

Ah!

How are you?

I’m good.

Glad to hear it! Were you able to listen to that album?

I did. Last night two times in a row!

Really?

Back to back.

Possible Album Of The Year? (laughs)

I would say it’s up there, a contender for sure! I definitely like it alot!

Thank you.

In the song “Where I’ve Been,” Crystal’s vocals are amazing, beautiful, and haunting. At the end of the song Crystal has that growl!

She learned how to scream a month before we got in the studio and freakin’ knocked it out! You know the song “Powder,” where I’m singing to the verses?

Yes, that’s definitely another one I like on '1823’ (2020)

We are going to do a song where she’s taking the reins on [vocals] instead of me doing it.

Is she doing dual vocals on that track? Clean, then a bit harsher vocals.

Yeah, she’ll kind of mirror some parts. When I’m done singing, she will come in and sing.

“Vines” is another good one from 1823. Who’s doing those growls?

That would be me. I pull it off live while I’m playing drums, too. I’m glad you dig it! It’s weird when you come out with songs, as far as what you think will be people’s favorite and what the band’s least favorite is. You know what I mean?

Oh yeah.

“Vines” was kind of ours. We were kind of, “I don’t know about this one.” It seems that the people that have heard it like it.

You and I are friends on Facebook and I see good reviews for your songs and the whole album '1823.’ You guys have gotten a great response!

Seems like we’re getting good responses [on that song especially]. The count on our Facebook has been doing wonderful! Almost a hundred thousand views!

Very nice!

One thousand likes and four hundred and seven shares. Thats crazy, man!

Glad to hear that! You guys deserve it!

Thank you! It’s always nice to hear that. In your opinion, buddy to buddy, do you think the response from the album will be as good as one song?

Definitely. I would envision praise and a very warm welcome from doom metal fans. Tell me about recording '1823.’

We went to Ledbelly Sound studios in Dawsonville, Georgia. The owner and engineer’s name is Matt Washburn. He has worked with Mastodon, Royal Thunder, Artimus Pyledriver. We are real big fans of Artimus Pyledriver! They broke up years ago and it kinda hit us hard. We worked with Matt multiple times. He mastered 261. He recorded 271 and he recorded Spiritual Dialysis.

We always got along with Matt really well. He pushes you hard, but is also kind of laid back. It’s a little hard to explain how that works. He has the same kind of sense of humor as we do, so it’s always a good time there. We recorded this album 1823 in six days over the course of two weekends. As far as recording, we just plugged right in and Mark and Alan recorded the scratch tracks for guitar and bass while I was playing drums. I got my drums recorded pretty much on the first day.

Damn!

Yeah! Then we went back and tracked over the drums. We had the music pretty much done in the first weekend. The second weekend was pretty much a few overlays on guitar and Crystal laying down her vocals. Everybody knocked it out pretty quick, especially Crystal. Crystal goes in the booth and knocks out a song in one or two takes then moves on to the next one.

Glad to hear that!

She is really good at recreating what she does. She does the same exact thing live. She’s talented that way.

Crystal has some angelic vocals, while the music is heavy as hell!

(laughs) That’s what we are going for.

That is a beautiful contrast and compliment at the same time.

Thank you! She is good at finding the right notes to accompany dropped tuning. We are in drop A. The recording was awesome – working with Matt is always awesome. We are scheduled to go back and see him in a couple months. Can’t tell you why yet!

That shows you guys are working hard.

We are trying! We are trying to make a video for every song on 1823.

That’s a great feeling to have plenty of songs written and recorded, always having material to put out there. You guys work hard and practice hard, so it is easier to record and lay down tracks quicker. If you’re knocking a good chunk out on a weekend, that’s good! If you’re paying for studio time, I’d imagine you’ve practiced and are ready. Studio time can be expensive.

Yeah, you don’t want to go in there and dick around. You don’t want to figure out the song in the studio.

Right! Tell us about your backend.

At the moment we are using Orange amps. Crowbar is using those, too. We have two Orange heads and Mark tunes one mostly to mids and lows and the other one is mids to high’s. The secret sauce – well, it’s not a secret now that I’m going to tell you – I bought an old 1969 tuck and roll bass amp. It’s three 15 inch speakers. It’s only two hundred watts, but you crank it all the way to where it’s just breaking up. He is running two guitar amps plus a bass amp to get his guitar tone.

Wow!

That’s how we achieved our guitar tone. Our bass player Alan uses really good equipment, too. He uses a dark glass amp that sounds really awesome. Matt told me he loves recording my drums because my drums are the John Bonham version that Ludwig makes, so it’s all really big sizes.

Damn.

Yeah, you get a huge sound out of it. To get the shells for that kit is $1200.00 bucks, which isn’t that bad. You get monster sounds out of these things and I love em! I actually have two sets!

Awesome! Listening to '1823,’ “Powder, "Vines,” and “Where I’ve Been” are my faves. I love at the end of “Where I’ve Been” when Crystal screams, “Where I’ve been!” That is badass! “Vines” fucked me up with Crystal’s singing and then those male growls!

That was good, huh? Thank you! We are hoping that the next one will be a little bit heavier. A lot of our older stuff we have seven and nine minute songs. We are trying to reel that back, where we are three to five minutes. Doing stuff that is memorable, not necessarily technical.

Are you guys going to try to get back to playing shows in the fall or winter if things open back up?

Yeah, we will start booking heavy when everything opens back up. Right now we are not doing anything because nobody knows what’s going on right? When stuff opens back up we will hit it hard.

You should!

We have a business plan in place to do certain shows in certain months or so many shows each month. Certain states we want to go to. We all have full time jobs, so we are trying to figure out some four day runs to kind of “tour” for the album. It is just up in the air right now. We have thought about doing some Facebook live videos or videos of us jamming in the practice space. We talked about how to get a quality recording with the footage.

On that note, what do you see in the future for EMBR?

We are planning on releasing an EP sometime soon. Right now, we are focusing on writing riffs and songs for the next actual album. In the future, we want to play a lot more shows. Right now, we are focused on material. We are putting stuff in the bank like we did for 1823. Mark will send me a riff and show me how to play it. Then I’ll record it on GarageBand and write more to it then put it into Google Drive so everyone can hear it. We have about nine song ideas right now for the next one. Some might not come to fruition. What the future holds for EMBR is more work! Keep working and keep truckin’! We are all a bunch of work horses.

Hell yeah! I think you have three or four EP’s before '1823.’

Yeah.

That’s why EMBR has such a great response. You guys work your asses off! Do you guys have shirts or any other merch?

Oh yeah.

Where can we find this stuff at?

Our shirts are made by a company called Amplified Tee. On album 271 we had a guitarist named Craig who worked at Amplified Tee. Basically you go online and order whatever you want. I think we have five or six different designs. You can get regular shirts, girl’s style tees, or a hoodie. You can go on amplifiedtee.com/EMBR. We have that available right now.

I will have to check that out!

I am actually working on a newer design right now. There might be a new design soon.

Well that’s about all I have for you, Eric. I hope that you and Crystal and the other guys in EMBR are well and staying safe!

Oh yeah, definitely.

Until next time I will talk to you later, Eric.

Alright. Thank you, I appreciate it!

Atmospheric doom collective SPLENDIDULA, who recently was added to the great company on the Argonauta Records label. The five-piece hailing from Genk, Belgium, has been hard at work for their third album during the COVID Pandemic and ensuing lockdowns, a release that will see the light of day in early 2021 via Argonauta Records. Doomed & Stoned is bringing you an exclusive first look and listen of the band’s forthcoming material in the music video “Somnia.”

Formed in 2008 and following their critically acclaimed second LP ‘Post Mortem’ (2018), Splendidula, the press clippings tell us, “serve a cocktail of traditional doom and blistering sludge, post-metal grooves, and psychedelia drones. Big riffs meet pounding beats with atmospheric passages that will lead you into a wild, heavy and psychedelic wonderland, while the bewitched chants by vocalist Kristien and guitarist Pieter’s harsh screams create a unique vocal contrast.”

Over the recent years, Splendidula played an impressive series of shows, supporting acts such as Wiegedood, Wolvennest, Haunted, Soul Grip, The Fifth Alliance, Famyne, Alunah, Mist, Marche Funèbre, Atomic Vulture, Ashtoreth, Grotto, Killer, Lugubrum, Paragon Impure or Kosmokrator to name just a few.

“After finishing our previous album Post Mortem,” the band says, “we immediately started thinking about a concept for the next release. The contrast of dreamy soundscapes with bewitched vocals, followed by heavy riffs and aggressive screams, brought us towards the idea of spirituality, and thus 'Somnia’ was born! The compositions will tell the listener a story about dream shapes, nightmares and how this connects to the (un)real world.”

Splendidula’s “Somnia” is a stormy epic, featuring a beautifully somber, deeply felt vocal performance from lead singer Kristien (listen for that fantastic scream a few minutes in). The song was mixed by Much Luv Studio and mastered by Grammy award-winning mastering engineer Alan Douches at West West Side Music. Recommended for fans of CHRCH, Amenra, and Eye of Nix.

Give ear…

We’re always on the lookout for promising new talent here at Doomed & Stoned. While we may post less than other sites, when we do write a review or host a debut, we make sure that it’s for a band that really counts. Enter Fall River, Massachusetts fiver MARROWFIELDS. Influenced by the likes of Yob, Pallbearer, and Agalloch, Ken Gillis (vox), Brandon Green (guitar), Josh Moran (guitar), Tim Cabral (bass), and AJ Grimes (drums) are weeks away from unleashing their first full-fledged full-length on the world. Some buzz:

With the evolving movement of extreme music, Marrowfields’ debut their stunning full-length, ‘Metamorphoses’ (2020). The record plays like a seamless 51-minute epic doom tale, showcasing anguishing stories involving howling dreary landscapes, the punishment of mankind, and the death and transformation of gods. Their debut record is a piece truly inspired by Ovidian folklore, which can be seen in Kishor Haulenbeek’s painting for the cover.

The sound created by Marrowfields showcases their ability to blend crushing doom tones from the traditional era, with dreamlike black metal. The two genres whirlwind together into a truly sorrowful concept record. The soaring clean vocals over long compositions inflict themes of intense suffering, devastation, loss, and greed.

Metamorphoses is composed of five artfully constructed epic tracks which each showcase their own poetic tales. The violent acts of creation and demise, punishment through animal form, over-indulgence, personal transformation, and the withering of seasons are stories staged throughout the record with haunting precision. Marrowfields have created a one-of-a-kind debut that captures the magic of a punished and sorrowful world you will want to return to time and time again.

Today, Doomed & Stoned is pleased to give you a first listen to the new record, Metamorphoses, which drops April 24th in CD and digital formats via Black Lion Records (pre-order here). The band has this to say about the first single, “Birth Of The Liberator”:

“Marrowfields first single 'Birth of the Liberator’ is a crushing doom metal opus loosely inspired by Ovidian tales of hedonism and greed. The third track from the debut album 'Metamorphoses’ exhibits colossal qualities while haunting clean vocals soar over the music to convey sorrowful atmosphere from mythological stories of old. Punishing riffs maintain the pace of the song, while twists and turns push the listener into an entirely new landscape filled with anguish and beauty. With the weight of mankind’s disobedience, behold, the Liberator is born.”

As you’ll soon experience, Marrowfields’ new album is an epic journey of ambience and emotion, with powerful vocals and crushing chords that generates a great wall of dense sonic mist that will envelop your soul.

Give ear…

From the gloomy depths of the Pacific Northwest, psychedelic metal band HOUND THE WOLVES release their new music video “Godhead.” Following the success of their 2019 split release with Portland doom metal band Glasghote on Monochord Records, Hounds teamed up with visual content creation company Triangles Around Us to develop the concepts that would become this oceanically brooding presentation.

Filmed on the Oregon coast and starring music and culture journalist Cervanté Pope, the mixture of elements proves to be a powerful statement as Director Triangles works to evoke the deep resonance and balance of the female spirit amidst the chaotic nature of the world around us. This is the fourth music video by a band committed to forging their own sonic and visual path.

Portland, Oregon’s Hound the Wolves liken themselves much to the climate that surrounds them – moody, mysterious and beautifully glum. Their creations are rooted in cyclical repetition and contrast, sonically transforming ritualistic practice into dark and gritty psych metal and droned stoner rock. Fans of Earth, Neurosis and U.S. Christmas now have a new band to enjoy.

You can catch the band’s next live performance on February 23rd when they join Year of the Cobra and Void Realm at High Water Mark Lounge in Portland.