Dark, mysterious, foreboding, yet strangely inviting. This is the latest single from HELLFIRE ‘76, a band that brings together the things you love about heavy music: bold, swinging riffs, gruff manic vocals, crunchy chugging rhythms. “The Omen” has got it all going on, which lyrically “is about how religion uses fear to prey on weak minds to do the dirty work.”

Today, Doomed & Stoned is bringing you the music video, which brings you a real band performing real music. Refreshing, I know, in an age of AI fakes. The two-piece, featuring Von Bury who spent time in Bloody Hammers and Mike McGuiness notes: “When you are a two-piece act, there’s NO time for drama and trivial bullshit. You are like “bookends”. One without the other is a no-go.”

Look for 'Rags To Rage’ (2024), their first full-length following a 2022 self-titled EP, later in the month (get it here). For fans of Melvins, Clutch, Killing Joke, and Fu Manchu.

Give ear…

SOME BUZZ

Taboo lyrics served over Blues-infected grooves! This is the unique blend of sounds that HELLFIRE 76 brings to the table. With influences ranging from ZZ Top, Killing Joke, Kyuss, and The Melvins, HELLFIRE 76 delivers a sound sure to satisfy Doom, Stoner, and Psych Rock fans alike! Formed by founding members Von Bury (formerly of the Southern Gothic act LOVESUCKER and the Occult Rock act and Napalm Recording artist BLOODY HAMMERS) and Mike McGuiness (formerly of the Industrial Metal act FACE THE WORLD), HELLFIRE 76 set out to create a brand of Southern Metal that has been missing for quite some time. Their 1st self-titled EP was produced and recorded by Rob Tavaglione at Catalyst Recording, Charlotte, NC.

All killer-no filler, this two-piece brings 110% to their first full-length 'Rags To Rage’ due out at the end of November 2024. The overall theme of this album is dark, taboo, spooky, tongue-in-cheek, fuzzed-out southern metal. Von Bury explains further:

“The album RAGS TO RAGE is a continuation of our first release, in that the subject matter is all thought-provoking. As for a lot of music, we want the lyrics to be literal but also open to the listener’s interpretation. Sticking with the theme and ideas of Voodoo, Witchcraft, The Occult, and other oddities. We want to take the listeners on a dark and ominous journey into a place they don’t normally think about.“

To give the first glimpse into the album, HELLFIRE 76 is sharing their new music video for the first single "The Omen.”

“We wanted to have a song on the album (last track specifically) that we wouldn’t really play live. As there are Organ sounds and whatnot that we can’t replicate live. Wanted a closer on the record in the vein of No Quarter,something that has a completely different vibe from the rest of the album.” adds Von Bury.

“One thing we can be sure of is that we’ll all die. Everyone will. It makes sense not to be afraid of this, but to come to terms with it.”

With this bit of narration, WITCH PISS belt out “Old Hound Religion,” a swampy southern-tinged rock stomper from their eponymous extended play debut.

Witch Piss is a five-piece stoner metal crew hailing from Mechelen, Belgium, with members of Marche Funèbre and Drawn Into Descent.

“How to Travel Lighter” is the gnarly little number that follows, which Doomed & Stoned is debuting today. Vocals are husky, with a gravely edge, and hold their own well amidst instruments that hold nothing back in terms of chugging, downtuned devastation. The song’s incessant groove reminds me of a band from my neck of the woods, Tigers on Opium, and I would be happy to see the two bands collab one day.

Singer Peter Egberghs shares some background:

“How to Travel Lighter” is one of those songs that doesn’t muck about. We wrote a first version and then rewrote the whole structure, cutting some of the repetitions. Less is more in this case. We sent it over to Chiaran Verheyden, who engineered the studio session, and he suggested adding a slow crushing ending riff to top the whole song off. Slow riffs? Sure, we can do that! So that’s how the music came about, in a nutshell.

Lyric wise, it’s a bit of a personal song for me. It might not be that obvious because they are cryptic, but it’s actually about my mother who passed away. She was dying when we were touring with Marche Funèbre in Europe. I got a call with some bad news and drove back from Denmark to Belgium only to find her in a coma.

That sounds heavy and depressing, but it’s actually a positive song because it shines light on how you can lighten that burden for yourself. I dealt with this in my own way, which involved therapy, but through that whole process my mental luggage started to weigh less and less, so that’s how to travel lighter. Throughout the lyrics you’ll find references to her. But I like to keep some of that open to interpretation.

The tracks that follow give us an idea of the band’s full range of expression, including the desert rumblings of “Me and My Camaro” and “Hoofprints,” which takes a turn for the dismal with its doomy touches.

In “The Hunter And The Game,” Peter Egberghs’s pipes rival Clutch’s Neil Fallon and Orange Goblin’s Ben Ward. Dennis Lefebvre’s drumming is deep and full, as is the basswork by Glenn Van Bael. Dual guitar force from Andoni Lombide Carreton and Stijn Georges Moens lends each song frenetic energy and gravitas.

“Children of the Fire” slows things back down for the closer. It’s a slow burner with splashing, emphatic beats, dark, mysterious atmosphere, and an imposing guitar presence. Don’t miss the final minutes, with its rousing chorus: “Your time is nigh” – taking us full-circle to the sentiment with which the EP began.

I’m looking forward to seeing how this band progresses as the year plods along. In the meanwhile, you can expect ‘Witch Piss’ (2023) to embrace the light of day on April 7th via Saturni Records. And if you’re in Belgium, don’t miss the release party, taking place May 6th with Gnome and Opium Heathen at De Club in Mechelen (pre-sale here).

Give ear…

SOME BUZZ

Witch Piss is a band that started at the bar. A group of friends were drinking beers and were listening to some groovy stoner music. They decided to pick up their instruments and start playing some tunes. Peter, Stijn and Andoni were in the first try out line up. Back then that meant three guitarists. Peter was combining guitar and vocals but they decided three was overkill and Peter wanted to concentrate on the vocals. The band was soon joined by Glenn on bass and Dennis on Drums.

Musically they wanted to sound somewhere in between Black Sabbath and High On Fire. They haven’t strayed from that path. After the lockdowns the band premiered live in the same bar where the band was conceived.

In the live shows that followed they shared the stage with Vandal X, Your Highness, RRRags, Whorses etc. This all happened without having released one second of music. That is about to change. Witch Piss hit the studio in December 2022 and recorded everything live. The whole process was in the hands of Chiaran Verheyden, known for his excellent work as engineer and producer of Psychonaut and Hippotraktor.

The Italian stoner metal scene has really been flourishing over the past several years. Its vibrant spirit and gritty heft reminds me a lot of Greece over the last decade, with the emergence of punchy acts like 1000mods, Planet of Zeus, and Puta Volcano. Electric Valley Records has been paying attention, too. They’re latest signing is SLOWTORCH, the four-member crew of heavy haulers hailing from the city of Bolzano in northern Italy.

Here is a band that puts on high energy performances with accessible, relevant lyrics. With one full-length notched on the belt already (2014’s Serpente), the band once known as Godmachine prior to their 2005 reincarnation, now returns with a riveting 9-tracker. ‘The Machine Has Failed’ (2022) is a salvo of hefty beats and sizzling riffs from one side to the next.

Lyrically, the songs have less to do with drunken revelry than with contemplation about the present state of a world emerging from pandemic. As we peer into the hazy unknown, we wonder what civilization will become.

Behold man
He brazenly walks among the gods
To steal their fire and rule his kind
To boldly fly to distant worlds

Oh, the heavy price
Blunted fangs
Clouded eyes
Leaden legs

I am man
He screams at the stars
Crawled from the sea
To march against the sun

In the wake of COVID-19, the cracks and fissures of the machines lay exposed to everyone as we veered ever so precariously toward total societal collapse. Indeed “fear is the North Star,” as the band sings. It seems to be the real foundation of society, evidenced by the outbreak of war soon after plague. Given the fundamental nature of humanity, can we hope for better?

Frontman Matteo Meloni’s vocals burn smooth and clean, with the kind of heartiness that turns every verse into a fist-raising rocker. I was hoping for another exhibition of that grungy Alice in Chain dual vocal harmony that I loved so much in the song “27” from the EP, '4 Barrel Retribution’ (2011), but that was over a decade ago and the band’s sound today sounds less jaded and more spiked with urgency, conviction.

Bassist Karl Sandner and drummer Fabio Sforza comprise a hardworking and unrelenting rhythm section, providing the ideal launching pad for Bruno Bassi’s guitarwork to sparkle and fly.

The band had this to share with Doomed & Stoned readers about the return effort that stands before us:

‘The Machine Has Failed’ is a part portrayal of our times, part social commentary. Some of the lyrics are heavily influenced by Huxley and Bradbury (Brave New World, The Island, Fahrenheit 451, etc.), both of whom seem just as relevant now as they were then, while some songs represent our perception of the times we live in as it becomes increasingly clear that ‘the machine’ has indeed failed.

Slowtorch’s new album drops April 29th on Electric Valley Records (pre-order here). Ahead of its weekend release you can party on with this, the world premiere! Stick it in a playlist with Sevendust, Kal-El, Space Coke, Green Desert Water, High Reeper, and Hypnopilot.

Give ear…

SOME BUZZ

Electric Valley Records presents Slowtorch’s sophomore full-length, The Machine Has Failed, due out 29 April 2022 on multiple variants of vinyl, in addition to digital release.

Formed in 2005, Italian stoner metal force Slowtorch has consistently delivered their signature barrage of straightforward, driving riffs, pounding drums, throbbing bass lines, and roaring vocals on stages across Europe. Think of Clutch meeting the forces of Black Sabbath and Corrosion of Conformity, and you will get the notion of the tough, paranoid, and vibrant tones Slowtorch peddles.

Having a couple of EPs and a full-length (titled 'Serpente’) under their belt, they have shared stages with acts such as Orange Goblin, Phil Campbell & The Bastard Sons, Volbeat, Suicidal Tendencies, Yawning Man, Mondo Generator, Colour Haze, and Truckfighters. The Bolzano quartet’s current line-up, comprising Matteo Meloni (vocals), Bruno Bassi (guitars), Karl Sandner (bass), and Fabio Sforza (drums), has remained together for a decade, dating back to 2012.

On the upcoming album, The Machine Has Failed, Slowtorch rides out the storm with full strength and slow-burning grooves, capturing both the low-end stoner vibes and the incredible ‘70s metal/hard rock sparkles. A part of the record is a portrait of the current era, and the other part reflects the social commentary. Some of the lyrics are heavily influenced by the works of Huxley (Brave New World, Island) and Bradbury (Fahrenheit 451).

Happy 4/20! We’re helping you get the day good and lit with this sludgy cover of a smoking favorite, “Bury Me In Smoke.” Y'all know I’m a sucker for covers, and we’re about to witness two bands taking on this Down standard from 1995’s NOLA. I’m talking about Atlanta’s DAYGLO MOURNING and Birmingham’s EMBR, two top notch doom bands we’ve featured in these pages before and played on The Doomed & Stoned Show. The pair had this to say about their collaboration:

Dayglo Mourning and EMBR are fans of each other’s music so we decided, “Hey, why not collaborate on something special”? We threw around a couple ideas on what to do. After a few conversations we finally decided to cover a classic song together: “Bury Me In Smoke” by Down. Not just because it’s a jammin’ song – it’s also a fucking classic. I mean really, who doesn’t like that song?

We had a few jam sessions and headed to Ledbelly Sound Studio – and the end result? - we think you’ll dig it. We tried something different with the video and collected short clips from Old Blood, MWWB, Witchpit, and Blacklab, among many others. It’s all a tribute to the 4/20 holiday.!

The EMBR/Dayglo Mourning rendition of the song features big, sweeping riffs, sludgey beats, and dank vox. My guess is you’ll have this on regular rotation in the 4/20 playlist today. Personally, I couldn’t help listening to it on repeat. May the smoke be with you!

Give ear…

Sometimes it’s about the simple things in life. “I love my moustache and loud amps,” says heavy music mastermind Nicola Amadori, “especially Orange ones!” This singer-songwriter from Pesaro, Italy founded NEKER as an outlet for just him and his bass back in 2013, but as time went along he couldn’t deny the urge to hit the stage and get his music to the people in the most natural of ways. Next thing you know, Alessandro Eusebi (guitarist) and Daniele Alessi (drummer) joined the team and, after the recording of Neker’s first album, ‘Louder’ (2017), they traveled about Europe playing concerts here and there for the better part of two years, eventually reaching as far as Canada in 2019.

As the pandemic loomed, Neker was already poised to record new music over the Lockdown and produced the sophomore album before us, titled simply, 'Slower’ (2021). Louder, slower. I can get with that jam, yes sir.

He’s a simple man with a simple plan, as Nicoli himself explains to Doomed & Stoned:

I’m a bassist and a singer looking for new sounds with a special fondness for '90s music. I’m a big Phil Anselmo’s fan but I grew up listening to many different genres from acid jazz to hardcore. When writing my riffs, I’m usually inspired by bands such as Down, Crowbar, Every Time I Die, Melvins, Mastodon, Doomriders, Type o Negative. I’ve no important messages to spread. I express my feelings or sing songs, at most. I do think people are fed up with messages, they just need to get lost in good music.

I suspect they’ll find both here, as it’s hard not to get wrapped up in the intensity of feeling embodied by songs such as “A Kind Of Pain,” “Pretty Fucking Far From Okay,” “The Birth of Pain,” and “Deception of the Guardian,” where the mood is dark, the riffage severe, the singing moving, and the sentiment is quite sincere and relatable.

As for the sonics, I could not wish for better. Nicola goes on to address the musicianship and recording process of this new spin:

Slower is the work I’m proudest of. I have spent a lifetime playing with bands of the widest variety, but this album represents all I have always wished for: a dark and rotten sound without sacrificing the groove. All has been studied in detail thanks to my musicians Ale and Dani, who excellently arranged a few drums and guitar tracks. When writing they also had very good ideas, without which the record wouldn’t sound as it does. I intentionally worked a lot on the vocals. The atmosphere in the studio was perfect.

I recorded at Zeta Factory in Carpi and at Studio73 in Ravenna under the wise guidance of Riccardo Pasini, with whom I enjoyed every moment, from the drum sessions to the production, which I had the honour to carry out with him.

He concludes:

Slower is a dark and introspective album, even though there are a few songs whose texts are more straightforward and pissed off. Like the lyrics, music ranges from doom and melodic to fast-paced and louder.

I say we give Slower a road test right here and now. I think you’ll find the sound powerful, the sentiment relatable, and the verve unstoppable. Wanna come along? Neker’s Slower drops June 18th on Time To Kill Records (pre-order here, and you lucky Doomers and Stoners get to hear it all. Ready? Alright then, buckle in, 'cause here we go.

Give ear…

I like to listen to this record in the still of early morning (you can go ahead and cue up opening track “Ghost Bell” right now). I immediately identify it with the dawning sun spreading over a still cool, but arid landscape that it gradually warms to a stunning heat.

RED MESA may draw textures from desert and stoner rock, southern metal, the blues, even avant garde music, but it is a doom band through and through – doom with a strong sludge flavor, I hasten to add. One pictures a grizzled bard with a five-o’clock shadow and his instrument in hand wandering the wasteland with a half-crazed look in his eye, only he is more enlightened than folks assume, for he comes bearing stark tales of the strange thing he has seen and heard first hand.

This is ‘The Path of the Deathless’ (2020), the third full-length from the Albuquerque, New Mexico trio (we last found them in fine form with the The Devil and the Desert), followed by a split with Blue Snaggletooth on Ripple Music’s The Second Coming of Heavy). As soon as I heard the new LP, I knew the band had hit their stride.

Brad Frye’s gravelly vocal attack on “The Path of the Deathless” reminds me of Dave Sherman’s Earthride and Weed is Weed projects.

Coming out of a big hole
Open my mind, open my soul
I walk the path
The path of the Deathless

The song’s mid-section breaks into a quasi-psychedelic interlude with sparse keyboards and a slow walking bass, which builds into a climax that triggered flashbacks to the first Goatess album for me.

The heartbeat quickens with Frye chugging on guitar with the peppy rhythm section of Alex Cantwell (bass) and Roman Barham (drums). And speak of the devil, Dave Sherman makes an appearance on “Desert Moon” (I swear I didn’t realize it until I looked at the album credits seconds ago!). It’s all coming together for me now.

“Death I Am” gives us the more intimate experience seated in the shade from a scorching mid-day sun, with acoustic guitar and traditional folk rock vox accented by pedal steel from Alex McMahon (a New Mexico native from the band Wildwood).

Heat rises off the highway
Buzzards overhead
The desert always stones me
Can’t get you out of my head

Having heard from Mr. Sherman, it’s only approached we hear from the legendary Scott Weinrich, too. Most of us know him simply as Wino, one of the great singer-songwriters of our time, “unsung” in the sense that I don’t think he’s gotten the broader recognition that he deserves (I consider him to be the Bob Dylan of the heavy underground).

There’s nothing left I can give you
Time, Money, or Worth…
Patience is facing your execution
With calm, pride, and dignity

Wino gives an uncharacteristically disquieting performance on “Disharmonious Unlife,” a song about trying to get your life together but meeting with discouragement on the path to recovery and wholeness. A short but sweet solo joins the song’s closing moments, which may be Wino’s.

After a brief but effective page turner (“Revelation”), we’re ushered into the album’s final chapter, “Swallowed by the Sea.” Don’t hate me, but I couldn’t help thinking of the Outback stylings of those early Silverchair tracks as I listened. Perhaps it’s the loneliness of the singing contrasted with the rumbling of the guitar and that soul-stirring violin (from the aptly named Kristen Rad) that accompanies the song’s chorus. Certainly, it’s the most contemplative number of the lot, as we might expect from an album’s “sunset” closer.

Sleep comes and then we wait
For the tide to return
Will the moon allow us to be
Swallowed by the sea

Red Mesa’s The Path to the Deathless is an experience-and-a-half, rich with atmosphere, with a rough 'n’ tumble sound, and heavy lyrical content. It was produced by Matthew Tobias at Empty House Studio (who’s worked with OM and Supergiant) and mastered by John McBain (original Monster Magnet guitarist). Look for the release this weekend via Desert Records on limited edition vinyl, compact disc and digital formats (pre-order here). Today, Doomed & Stoned is pleased to bring you the album’s world premiere.

Give ear…

By Billy Goate (Editor In Chief)

I finally (finally!) got a chance to listen to the one-track monolith that is Vitiorum (2015), the fifth record (clocking in at 37 minutes) by South Carolina’s BLACK HAND THRONE. I must say I get backed up in my listening and editing fairly quickly these days (we’re a little short-handed at D&S at the moment if you’re interested in helping out with any number of responsibilities - a chance to get involved and give back to the scene…but I digress), so it was good to get a chance to soak in this new record by the Mauldin-based five-piece

Black Hand Throne’s Vitiorum starts out with a haunting audio clip from mass killer and con man Jim Jones, as he reassures his followers it will be alright if they just drink the poisoned cool aid. Just lay down and give up your life. BHT his hearing none of it. Singer Denny Stone immediately rages in with a defiant and outraged scream.

The 37-minute epic follows the narrative of someone closely involved with the Jim Jones tragedy or perhaps it is just a very personal commentary on the pain, suffering, and disillusionment borne of breached trust. I’ve definitely given it more than one listen through, with different scenarios in mind and think the Jim Jones scenario fits the evidence best (as another audio clip of him speaking returns later in the song), but this is certainly open for contention.

I haven’t asked the band to confirm my suspicions and perhaps a part of me doesn’t want to know. Sometimes music is more meaningful when we attach our own narratives to it.

Whoever is in mind, one thing is certain: ‘Vitiorum’ (Latin for “blemish, defect, and imperfections”) struggle. It is a tirade against the legacy of deception, destruction, death, and denial that the human race has left in its wake (and continues to do so, seeking short-term gain and selfish interest over anything better).

Sharing with Denny in telling this story are Todd Holford (guitar/vocals), Dustin Holliday (guitar), Bobby Coles (bass), and Harold Smith (drums). Founding members Todd and Bobby, have been telling the story with their bandmates for approaching 8 years now. That’s an impressive lifespan for most bands these days and it has certainly given the lot sufficient time to refine their songcraft, which is impeccable. We’ve, of course, been watching them over time, as they’ve released many fine albums since 2011. What stands out most to me is BLT’s courage in tackling tough subject matter.

As someone who has recently spent a lot of time thinking about life and death, and is attracted to the heavy underground because of its willingness to shout in the face of darkness, I found BHT’s Vitiorum approach very cathartic: from the power of the doom-laden riffage, tinged with low-tuned southern sludge to the post-hardcore vocals, filled with conviction and seeping with rage.

There is something very humbling, yet also peaceful about coming to terms with one’s own mortality. Towards the end of the song, alternate clean vocals enter to confess, “I’ve lost my way. What will the father say? Cannot tell what was real.” I’ve inserted punctuation, as the lyrics are presented as one big block of text, perhaps representing the stream of consciousness of those final moments of remaining light.

All in all, a very powerful listening experience. Highly recommended for fans of the southern sludge, funeral doom, and post-hardcore sound, and of course a must for Black Hand Throne aficionados.

Get It.