Number 17

 

 

Number 17

And now we climb just over 20 points from Naxatras at Number 18 to reach this wild doom album. We had personally wanted to write a few words about this record at the end of October. For obvious reasons. Even though it was released in June. But due to situations beyond my control that never materialized. You all voting for this record gives me the opportunity to remedy that a little bit. An album that definitely hit hard emotionally upon first listening and then slowly opened up to show how meticulous and wonderful the music was crafted after having it on repeat. A wild and monolithic slab of doom forged from crushing riffs, fuzz-soaked guitars, and haunting psychedelic atmospheres. Six sprawling, low-tuned epics that ooze despair while remaining hypnotically accessible. Recorded in Seattle with legendary producer Jack Endino, the album’s colossal tones and immersive production amplify its graveyard grooves and bleak meditations on mortality. Heavy, melodic, and relentlessly punishing, the album released in June on Blues Funeral Recordings marks the band’s towering resurgence. Heavy on all fronts, this is music for staring into the void... And realize that once this album hits, the void will be staring back at you and wink at ya... 

On Number 17 we find:

GOYA - IN THE DAWN OF NOVEMBER

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Blues Funeral Recordings

Number 17

 

 

Number 17

After those two albums we found on Number 18 yesterday, we’re moving on to Number 17 today where we find one album. An album that might start as a very mid-seventies prog rock affair, but very quickly becomes this all crushing, all leveling blackened and death like metal album. Brutal and sludgy, the combination of those styles continues on throughout the album. Moments of atmospheric and ambient sounds coloring the crimson horror with a touch of psychedelia. Two sides, made up out of three tracks each, give you six tracks in total. Six exotic compositions that tumble over each other as they strive to wow you with their virtuosity and absolute shock and awe principles. All sorts of minor details and different instrumentation gives this entire album an otherworldly atmosphere. Turning it into an album you can't stop listening to. And you long for home and your headphones quickly, whenever you think about it... But when a band starts using the flute on their death metal, you know you will not only be listenening to it at home... Hell, you will need to listen to this absolutely everywhere…

According to all of your votes, on Number 17 we find:



Blood Incantation - Absolute Elsewhere

 

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Century Media Records

Number 17

 

 

Number 17

Yesterday saw Danava’s Nothing But Nothing axe slinging its way into the hearts of many rock and metal lovers on Number 18! Well, we move almost forty points to another high energy rocker on Number 17 now. One that jumped on to the Number 2 position of the July Doom Charts with their fourth full-sized album in ten year. And ten tracks that speed their way into your bloodstream, turning you into this otherworldly being, completely addicted to every one of those tracks. Metal, punk, brought at such velocity and with such power, the end result will always be the same: you are forever changed! Slightly radioactive perhaps, thanks to the off-the-wall humor, the bouncing riffs and the incredible punch it all packs!

On Number 17 we find…



Mutoid Man – Mutants

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Sargent House

Number 17

 

 

Number 17

Are you sure about this? Only one band and only one album on Number 17? And only a mere TWO points about Number 18, where we found Valley Of The Sun, Red Sun Atacama, The Otolith & Sons Of Arrakis? Yes. Very much so. An album that arrived early this year and stormed the Doom Charts immediately. It was February, when this musical adenture came upon us, and even though the world was still a much different place, the band’s second album gave us so much to warm our souls with. The four Norwegians are inspired by the heavy sixties, and we found their debut album from 2020 back on Number 5 of the Stoner HiVe Top 20 Countdown of that year… It’s legendary pure proto metal gold, with flourishes of doom and psych and something magical, something folky and yet very earthy turning it all into a progressive masterpiece. Leaving room for every composition and every instrument to breathe, seems to come so natural to these cats. It has an ominous and dark touch as well… Shit, it has everything! On Number 17 we find!!!

Kryptograf – The Eldorado Spell

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On to Number 16!

Number 17

 

 

Number 17

Can’t get enough of Holy Death Trio and The Age Of Truth on Number 18? Well, there’s another damn fine release lurking in wait on Number 17. We jump twenty points to reach it; one band, with one album and it’s a goody! Released in June, the Swedish trio deliver five tracks that sound like great adventures and huge searches of something they might never even know. It is the heavy rock, the desert sound that meanders through the psychedelic universe. Often languid and laidback, space is explored and these three make it all sound enormous and spacious. It floats, it hypnotizes, it feels your entire being with transcending energy. Groovy by default; they do let the fuzz and the distortion take you down from time to time; but the landing feels oh so sweet, and oh so velvety and rich… On Number 17 we find the ever searching…

Maha Sohona – Endless Searcher

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Number 17

 

 

Number 17

An album that jumped into the Top 20 thanks to those final lists that were sent during the final night and on the final morning before the final deadline passed. Jumping enough to settle 20 points above those three we found on Number 18. A band that many voted for and many lists featured it high on their list; but as mentioned before the Number 15 to 40 are all pretty close together in comparison to what comes later and before. So anyway, those last few lists, made it reach the Top 20… Their 2018 record got spun to an incredibly degree over here and the new one just improves on every aspect of that record. With eastern and world influences their psychedelic folk rock often leaves you breathless and giddy with joy; that in a world that seems to be burning at both ends, a release like this can be so uplifting and delightful. The melancholy that might be present on a track or two gets powered over by those sixties and seventies inspired grooves, the wide open atmosphere and that bright shimmering light at the end of the tunnel. No more tea for me please, just put this record on as pick me up and feel the warmth blow away all that negative energy and that cold winter spirit… And by sheer coincidence (cause that is how the Great Magnet rolls) the honorable JJ Koczan put up a review of the album on The Obelisk this very day… On Number 17 we find! 

Arcadian Child – Protopsycho

 

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Rebel Waves Records

Ripple Music

Kozmik Artifactz

Number 17

Number 17

Swan Valley Heights & Horseburner; we found both of them on Number 18! But we’re on Number 17 now and we got there by jumping 15 points. Their fourth album, aptly titled IV, had been hanging in a horrible kind of balance, there was so much strife and bad omens for the band and it’s members that it was highly doubtful this album would ever be recorded. That pain, that existential fear and angst gets so loud, mournful and tangible when the vocalist sings: ‘I want to be alive, to see my child grow.’ A sting in the heart… On those moments, when the vulnerability shines through all those heavy riffs, those thundering drums is when this album impresses the most. That piano in the final song. The guitar lines on the third track. All so wonderfully done; as is all their metal noise, their fast paced sludge, their crush and stomp, their animalistic and warring sound! On Number 17 we find…

Beastwars – IV

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Number 17

Number 17

After being completely drenched in progressive fuzz by Stoned Jesus on Number 18 we climb a mere two points to reach Number 17. And here we find a band that might have gotten fucked over by a record label, it also got all the love and attention it deserved afterwards. The psychedelic blues roots shine through with a righteous glimmer and bounces off heavy rock and stoner layers. This is something for the Gods and the Godless... Master Steve Howe ended his review on Outlaws Of The Sun with the following bit: “… manage to create highly original music of their own. Especially when they play a more distinctive psychedelic rock/metal groove. This is an album that has something for everyone and one that has everlasting appeal across the whole Hard Rock/Heavy Metal spectrum. If you're a fan of Psych, Classic, Desert Rock, Grunge and Stoner Rock then this album is as good as it gets. An outstanding record.” Hell yeah and let’s listen to these fine ballads on Number 17…

1968 - Ballads of the Godless

Number 17

Number 17

I probably came in late to this graveyard party! But even then, the party was still in full swing, getting louder and wilder by the minute. Motherslug delivered a different kind of party on Number 18; a dangerous one. It would all be very feasible on a Motherslug party to wake up naked, bloody and bashed the next morning. Not sure what actually happened, but remembering something about being chain-whipped and stomped on by a bunch of outlaws; and now, hurting all over, you’re looking for revenge. You won’t find it here. Not on this party. This one turns psychedelic and kandy-kolored quick. Cause these three Norwegians will give you respite and a place to catch your breath and space out on doomy hard rock. It’s a heavy masterpiece that once again mixes all those genres we all love so dearly. Seventies influences, stoner ditties and psychedelics ride high on those doom and hard rock foundations. With a strange current running through it, it will turn your hair white and your skin itch with electricity. Yes, drop some acid, forget about yesterday and turn everything purple!

Purple Hill Witch – Celestial Cemetry

Number 17

Number 17

Oh yes, Baroness at Number 18. But to reach number 17 we jump more than 10 points and notice another familiar band to the Stoner HiVe Top 20 Countdown. For back in 2014 they reached the Number 12 position with their Electric Mountain Majesty album. And with a new drummer on board for this record we head toward a recognizable territory filled with heavy rock that is bluesy, soulful and decidedly stoner. Energetic rock filled with amazing riffs and vocals that keep getting better and better. Mr. Reed perhaps besting himself with one of the later songs on the album There’s No Return From Nowhere. Which is heavy in every aspect possible, thanks to the acoustic parts and monstrous guitarwork. In fact, the entire record shifts and turns like that and keeps you on your toes. Spicy, hot and luscious! Time to visit Abyssinia!

Mos Generator – Abyssinia

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Number 17

Number 17

“I’ve had a variety of body parts in all different kinds of cakes. But for me, the strawberry cheesecake or the cinnamon apple ones will always remain the top contenders. For what you ask? I will leave that to your imagination.” ~ Lars Ulrich

On Number 17,  and yes once again with one sole point more than Monster Magnet we find… Two outfits. One from Pleasantville, New Jersey, United States and one from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Respectively a five-piece and a trio, both rocking out like true masters with a penchant for psychedelics and grand gestures. I’ve been in love with one of these bands since I first discovered them. The Canadian bunch, the rowdy grunge/fuzz freaks that always go for the big boom and take you down with them relentlessly. And I will definitely be digging deeper into the other one, now that I know all of you lovely freaks out there love it so much. And while typing, I’ve naturally just put on the album. I get it. And now I want to Live there; among the Ghosts... In The Valley Of The Snake…

Ruby The Hatchet – Valley of The Snake &

 We Hunt Buffalo – Living Ghosts

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Number 17

Number 17

“The nose is quite full. There are notes of honey and wax, resin and oak. There are notes of gentle smoke and cacao, hints of cooked fruit and a nutty note. The palate is sweet and rich. There are crisp notes of mixed peels, raisin and custard with a little zest and plenty of oak. The finish is long with notes of oak and cocoa and sherried peels.”

Two points above Kamchatka we are treated to the first female input this year. Unfortunately, she decide to leave the band not long after the release of this album. With an earthy and worldly vibe it is an album that perfects that beautiful paradox of making blues and doom become so charming and magnificent to listen to that you envision yourself naked underneath a picturesque waterfall somewhere in some forest. Perfection. And perfection kills…

Witch Mountain - Mobile of Angels

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Number 17

Number 17

 

“An aroma of peaches and yeast and spices, all soaked in booze. Very fruity flavors kick things off, sweet peaches and oranges. The Belgian yeast is very prominent as well, start to finish. While it's not hot and annoying burny, there is a helluva boozy kick from the 10.5% alcohol. After a few sips and getting used to the sweetness, you will be able to start picking out the zesty lemon and citrus flavors. Bitter yet candied, still able to help take some of the sweet edge off. Cloves and coriander and pepper add nuances to the spice basket. ”

These guys and girl arrived out of nothing in the final few days. Propelling them from a place somewhere below the first hundred to Number 17 with four points more than Monkey3. These eccentric English occult rockers are fronted by a lovely female creature with a luscious warm, smoky and seductive voice and for some weird and possibly insane reason this release has completely escaped my attention. Luckily, thanks to all of you lovely freaks out there who voted for this gem pushed it into the top 20 and into a rightly deserved spotlight. Because their psychedelic guitars, repetitive kraut bass lines and vaudeville organs are highly addictive and seem to capture you and set you loose in a baroque labyrinth where there’s only one escape route. So get out the LSD or take up the opium pipe cause I see a blue door and I want to paint creepy and colorful circles on it…

 

Purson – The Circle And The Blue Door

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Number 17

Number 17

“Whenever there is decay of righteousness… and there is exaltation of unrighteousness, then I, Myself come forth… for the destruction of evil-doers for the sake of firmly establishing righteousness. I am born from age to age.” Bhagavad Gita, fourth discourse

These guys turned out to be one of the best bands on Speedfest this year. Something I had not expected given the nature of the festival and the concrete industrial halls, which could be too big for such a band and distort their sound. And given the hour of the day and the long lines outside there were unfortunately only a handful of devotees to witness their tight spaced out show. It was their last evening of the tour with Monster Magnet and it was clear for the ones that were there that the guys had learned a lot. The played their set amazingly firm and strong and visited their 2012-released fourth album. Like true nectar of gods their sounds weave and float through your mind and expand it in true psychedelic fashion. So drink up and let the hardy taste transport you to another world…

My Sleeping Karma – Soma   

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Number 17

“What do you think? Can I pull it off? This hat, with this collar and this bell? I know for sure that Number 17 can pull off whatever they want…”

Number 17

Two years in a row for these guys. There is only one other band, which pulled that off. Although there are two other bands later on that were featured in the top 20 of 2009. Anyhoo. Last year they almost made it to the number one spot with an album that was hailed as the benchmark for all new desert stoner bands out there. This year saw the release of their follow up to that magical dance and it carved out their own place nicely. Austrian mountain stoner and high altitude psychedelic tunes which were less of the Kyuss sort and more of that solid sound which is their own. Ooh yes, their very own. Their very own dark, twilight, twinkling and nightly sounds…

Been Obscene – Night O’ Mine

Number 17

Number 17

At 17 we come across another group who keeps the sixties well alive. The members of this Canadian band live in a sort of commune. And during their daily life they help the less fortunate; junkies and homeless people. “To not loose touch with reality.” We can justly claim them to be sympathetic types; who by a very fortunate coincidence also produce incredibly great music! We can of course refer to the many musical influences of days long gone. The growling sound seems teleported from San Francisco and Detroit at the end of the sixties. It’s sordid rock that gets spliced here and there with a beam of folk. Thousands of bands have been plundering through the musical past; but only seldom is it done with so much taste and quality. The songs are varied to the extreme and the sound is honest. Add to that the voices of Stephen McBean and Amber Webber that are both like a velvet touch to the ear and we can justly claim that their third record Wilderness Heart is very deserving of a place in the top 20…

Black Mountain - Wilderness Heart

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Septendecim (or plain and simple: 17)

Number 17

And it surely is an Instant Classic, hailing from the Murder Capital of The United States of America; these guys have come up with a thunderous; loud and stomping beast! The jam feel to this monster and retro sound delivers their point with ease. Rock, Roll, don’t take everything so seriously and enjoy the freakin hell out of yourself! And how can anyone not dig a guy with an orange helmet? Wearing one of those makes you an Instant Classic!

Cyclone 60 – Instant Classic

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