Warsaw Stoner-Doom Trio TAXI CAVEMAN Climb The ‘Galactic Slope’
Encino Man aside, I really have wondered (in my higher moments) what ancient proto-humans would think if they were to find themselves suddenly in this strange world full of bright, moving lights and noise – oh the noise! The constant clattering of trucks, trains, and planes. Generation-after-generation building up and tearing down, until the earth is plated over with concrete, plastic, glass, and steel. The radical removal of the human being from nature. It would be a frightening experience, I’m sure (look at how unnerved we are). The best way to see everything in this strange sprawling Babylon? Become a cab driver. Better yet, now’s your chance to escape planet earth altogether and plot a course for the stars.
‘Galactic Slope’ (2022) is the latest from the Poland-based, doom-touched stoner rock trio TAXI CAVEMAN. Nauman (bass, vox), Rutkoś (guitar), Vincent Grabb (drums, vox) arrived on the scene in 2021 with an engaging self-titled debut. Most of the songs on that record were under five minutes, save for the 12 ½ minute capstone. It was but a foretaste of the immersive experience that greets us today: two hefty tracks, fifteen minutes a hit.
“…And the druids turn to sand” begins like a slow sunrise, with hypnotic overlapping riffing, a sobering bassline, and gentle percussion. At two-minutes, a chill desert rock pace moves us across the arid sweep while we contemplate the fate of those astrologers of old, cloaked in robes of enigma. By now the guitar is starting to really sizzle with an acid-soaked improvisation that gets psychedelic and jazzy.
At 6:30 we transition into a second theme that carries an aura of well-being and halcyon wonder. Just a minute later, the guitar becomes searingly bluesy and develops in dramatic fashion, summoning a mysterious dark canopy to overtake the landscape by the ten-minute mark. It’s quite an evocative tone poem.
“Death Cards” is next, and menacing as hell with those damning Sabbathian chords and Iommian trills. Vocals remind me of early Salem’s Pot, drugged and jaded, but they soon morph into primal roars releasing beastly frustrations. Somewhere between there and the end of this quarter-hour juggernaut, we drift off (almost imperceptibly) into a wordless dirge. In this trancelike state, I’m not even sure what rock we’re on anymore. Deliberate drum beats, ghostly feedback, and spacey strumming usher us through the final span, with cymbals taking to fade – closing the album an ominously uncertain note.
Reached for comment, the band offered some insight into this sprawling diad:
The second album is a kind of bridge between our spontaneous debut and our music, which was already recorded but waiting to be released. The two half-improvised compositions on it are our take on longer, slightly more psychedelic doom forms.
“And the druids turn to sun” is a lazy journey through the desert that slowly transforms into the journey of a space caravan. “Death Cards,” on the other hand, is an old track recorded under a different name, yet stoner doom in filthy, fuzz-shrieked form.
Taxi Caveman’s Galactic Slope released just this week on Interstellar Smoke Records, who are issuing it on compact disc, cassette tape, and vinyl (get it here). Stick this on a playlist with Sleep, Sunnata, Jointhugger, and 10,000 Years.
Give ear…
THE DOOMED & STONED SHOW
Just in time for the weekend! Here’s the latest episode of The Doomed & Stoned Show, wherein we explore the latest album rankings on the Doom Charts and share our favorite songs from the lot. Your weekly fix of heavy is here!
The Doomed & Stoned Show is now playing on Apple Podcasts, Audible, Google Podcasts, Soundcloud, Spotify, Mixcloud, PlayerFM, and streaming platforms everywhere!
⇝ If you dig the music, please show the bands some love!
🔥 PLAYLIST 🔥
INTRO (00:00)
1. Delco Detention (no. 11) - “The Joy Of Homeschooling” (00:31)
HOST SEGMENT I (03:18)
2. Straytones (no. 21) - “Fire-Fire!” (14:00)
3. Farfisa (no. 13) - “honey Badger” (20:03)
4. The Waterfall King (no. 15) - “Droning” (24:09)
HOST SEGMENT II (30:57)
5. Canyyn (no. 25) - “In Deep Water” (43:50)
6. The Angelus (no. 30) - “Ode To None” (49:11)
7. Sonolith (no. 24)- “Pyrrhic Victory” (54:20)
HOST SEGMENT III (59:52)
8. Duel (no. 10) - “Children of the Fire” (1:10:14)
9. Taxi Caveman (no. 9) - “I, the Witch” (1:14:49)
10. Wolves in Haze (no. 8) - “In fire” (1:19:15)
HOST SEGMENT IV (1:22:37)
11. Green Lung (no. 7) - “Upon the Altar” (1:33:35)
12. Stone Cadaver (no. 6) - “Diseased Deceased” (1:38:13)
13. Kal-El (no. 5) - “Mica” (1:44:43)
HOST SEGMENT V (1:51:58)
14. Doctor Smoke (no. 4) - “These Horrid Things” (2:03:42)
15. Kadabra (no. 3) - “Eagle 20s” (2:03:42)
16. Bogwife (no. 2) - “Descent” (2:15:34)
17. Holy Death Trio (no. 1) - “Get Down” (2:25:45)
OUTRO (2:29:21)
18. Solarius (no. 23) - “Mother Nature Mind” (2:30:23)
CREDITS 📝
- Theme Song: Dylan Tucker
- Thumbnail Art: Solarius
- Incidental Music: Böse
Want Even More Fuzzy Riffage?
👊 Get a hold of our new compilation Doomed & Stoned in Canada (Vol. 2)!
🎵 Listen to songs from past shows in our ever growing Spotify playlist
📺 Check out our HUGE music video playlists on YouTube!
Pick yer poison:
Enjoy The Show?
We simply cannot do it without the backing of loyal listeners like you! Your love, sharing, comments, and support fuels up our tank month by month so that we can make this podcast possible.
- 🙏 Become a monthly Patron (with perks!)
- 🤘 Kindly consider dropping us a one-time gift via PayPal
- 🤙 Get your Doomed & Stoned Wear – t-shirts and more!
The Doomed & Stoned Show
Back in action for the monthly Doom Charts Countdown as we take a look at the latest monthly rankings from DoomCharts.com!
Billy Goate (Editor in Chief, Doomed & Stoned) and his co-host John Gist (CEO, Vegas Rock Revolution) swap recommendations from the broader Top 30, then countdown favorites from the Top 10 albums. Plenty of new music to explore from the heavy underground rock and metal scene, the world ‘round!
The Doomed & Stoned Show is now playing on Apple Podcasts, Audible, Google Podcasts, Soundcloud, Mixcloud, PlayerFM, and streaming platforms everywhere!
⇝ If you dig the music, please show the bands some love!
🔥 PLAYLIST 🔥
INTRODUCTION (00:00)
1. Doctor Smoke (no. 26) - “Waking Dreams” (00:31)
HOST SEGMENT I (05:03)
2. Planet of the 8s (no. 19) - “X-ray” (19:14)
3. Solar Mantra (no. 18) - “Stone Rider” (23:29)
4. Stone Cadaver (no. 24) - “Whip the Sinners” (27:12)
HOST SEGMENT II (30:48)
5. Comet Control (no. 23) - “Inside the Sun” (52:32)
6. Sons of Alpha Centauri (no. 15) - “Listen” (58:08)
7. Hour of 13 (no. 16) - “Within the Pentagram” (1:01:53)
HOST SEGMENT III (1:09:56)
8. Green Lung (no. 10) - “Graveyard Sun” (1:19:43)
9. Taxi Caveman (no. 9) - “Asteroid” (1:25:24)
10. The Ugly Kings (no. 8) - “Strange, Strange Times” (1:29:42)
HOST SEGMENT IV (1:35:14)
11. Witchcryer (no. 7) - “The Devil and the Deep Blue See” (1:41:27)
12. The Angelus (no. 6) - “Hex Born” (1:47:16)
13. Lucifer’s Fall (no. 5) - “Doom 'n’ Roll” (1:50:40)
HOST SEGMENT V (1:53:20)
14. Suncraft (no. 4) - “Lingo Hive Mind” (2:26:23)
15. Terminus (no. 3) - “Dying To Breathe” (2:30:24)
16. Borracho (no. 2) - “Year of the Swine” (2:34:17)
17. Kal-El (no. 1) - “Hyperion” (2:41:05)
OUTRO (2:49:55)
18. Hooded Menace (no. 29) - “Scattered Into Dark” (bonus) (2:50:56)
CREDITS 📝
- Theme: Dylan Tucker
- Thumbnail: Taxi Caveman
- Incidental Music: Böse
Want Even More Fuzzy Riffage?
👊 Get a hold of our new compilation series Doomed & Stoned in Chile!
🎵 Listen to songs from past shows in our ever growing Spotify playlist
📺 Check out our HUGE music video playlists on YouTube! Pick yer poison:
Enjoy The Show?
We simply cannot do it without the backing of loyal listeners like you! Your love, sharing, comments, and support fuels up our tank month by month so that we can make this podcast possible.
- 🙏 Become a monthly Patron (with perks!)
- 🤘 Kindly consider dropping us a one-time gift via PayPal
- 🤙 Get your Doomed & Stoned Wear – t-shirts and more!