Number 2

 

 

Number 2

Today we will know which album gets the Silver Medal according to all the votes that came in. Our lovely Heavy Underground is filled with amazing albums and it is not a competition. We all know this. We are all brothers in riffs and sisters of the groove. The votes just show how incredibly loved a certain album is. Cause you can bet your ass that all of those albums already mentioned and the ones that will be mentioned in the 21 to 100 post that goes live in a day or two are all loved by just as many. But this album, we mention today, got 74 points more in votes than Greenleaf on Number 3. Which is not that big of a jump of course. Especially since the jump we make on January 1st is much bigger. A band I have been blessed to see live ever since they first stepped on a stage outside of their native country. And have been blessed to see grow into the band they are now. Always delivering the goods live. Always. And the new album showcases that talent and the talent to write songs that will do good on those stages. And this is just their second album! They started sharing some vocal duties, added vocal harmonies and move around with more dynamics. And the hooks! Oh, the abundance of! And all very warm to the touch; emitting a gritty yet vaporous energy and with the warming of the earth we can only expect more heat in the future… For this is… 

According to all of your votes, on Number 2 we find: 

Slomosa - Tundra Rock

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Stickman Records

MNRK Heavy

Number 15

 

 

Number 15

We climb only six points from Mr. Bison on Number 16 to reach Number 15 today. Which is album number nine for this band. The man behind the band has enlisted a new drummer and the new incarnation of the trio seems determined to bring that massive rumble that heralds the coming of a huge storm. Their sludge metal means business, and interspersed with a few Eastern melodies, instrumentation and coloring, turns the whirling riffs and thundering drums into something entirely windswept and scorching. Heat emanates from every string pulled and every riff delivered, and that intensity is constant and becomes louder with every listening session. Yes, the constant, the cadence, hammering its searing noise home. Whether the tracks and this album become as memorable as all those other eight that came before remains to be seen. But one surely must conclude that with a bonafide legend at the helm, an album will always be legendary… Like a hundred-year-storm…

According to all of your votes, on Number 15 we find: 

High on Fire - Cometh the Storm

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Texas Hippie Coalition - Gunsmoke

 

 

Texas Hippie Coalition - Gunsmoke
MNRK Heavy - 2024
Southern Metal, Alternative Metal, Stoner
Rated: ****

I've always been dumbfounded by the fact that Texas Hippie Coalition (often referred to as THC) hasn't drawn more attention in the heavy underground, especially outside the USA. Their mix of blistering southern metal with touches of alternative metal, southern rock, stoner and down & dirty country (dubbed red dirt metal by the band themselves) has been breaking skulls and revving engines for twenty years without any signs of slowing down.

October 4th saw the release of eighth studio album 'Gunsmoke'. It's a compact beast with ten songs in just over 35 minutes that starts with three hard-hitting anthems full of punch and swagger. Southern metal with a stoner groove and tons of attitude. Imagine a cocktail of Black Label Society and an adrenaline-fueled version of Black Stone Cherry. This approach comes back on several occasions later on, with the absolute highlight being the title track where the heavier parts seem even heavier due to the incorporation of some sweaty, acoustic, back porch-style blues 'n' country guitar. One hell of a song.

But that isn't all they have to offer. Unlike in the beginning of their career, they aren't afraid to take the foot off the gas without losing any of their trademark energy. Check the semi-ballad 'She's Like a Song', the southern rock anthem 'Eat Crow' or the largely acoustic album closer 'I'm Getting High'. It's the perfect closer to a well-balanced album that's convincing and full of bravado with stories about southern living being belted-out by highly underrated vocalist Big Dad Rich. His lyrics aren't genius by any means, but man, when he opens his mouth you believe every word he says. And then some. A highly recommend listen (as is most of their back catalogue).

(Written by Ronny Dijksterhuis)

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