Freak Valley Festival

 

 

Freak Valley Festival

And we’re off! Off to Freak Valley Festival in Germany! Never been there, but the Festival has always been high on my list to experience. And this time, the sun, moon and stars, hell, everything in the universe aligned so we could go! Hell, and with a line-up that sports King Buffalo, Besvärjelsen, Kamchatka, Slift, Gaupa, Seedy Jeezus, Astroqueen, Steak, Earth Ship, Earthless, Clutch, The Obsessed and many more!! There is no way we could say no to the universe… We had to go… Seeya’ll on the flipside!

O’ we might upload a pic or two on the Instagram page…

Go here for that… INSTAGRAM

Homepage

Facebook

Joop Konraad’s – Personal Top 20

 

 

Joop Konraad’s – Personal Top 20

It’s my Personal Top 20. It keeps amazing me the amount of great music released every year. Ever since Stoner HiVe started in 2009 the amount of great releases in our little Heavy Underground niche is stunning. For even though you can peruse my Personal Top 20 here… There are many more albums that I thoroughly loved! Soon, a lot of Personal Top 20 lists of all the Contributors will appear on the Doom Charts Page. And will share mine there as well. Here, it’s just the list. And on the Doom Charts I will add some blurbs for all those amazing albums… Let's hope we are treated to as much good and heavy stuff in 2023 as well!

1.    King Buffalo – Regenerator

2.    Elder – Innate Passage

3.    Sergeant Thunderhoof – This Sceptered Veil

4.    The Same River – Weight of The World

5.    Samán – II. Montaña Roja

6.    Besvärjelsen – Atlas

7.    Psychlona – Palo Verde

8.    Ealdor Bealu – Psychic Forms

9.    Helms Alee – Keep This Be the Way

10.    High Noon Kahuna – Killing Spree

11.    Greenbeard – Variant

12.    Steak – Acute Mania

13.    Mecanicos – Nomade

14.    Vitskär Süden – The Faceless King

15.    Red Sun Atacama - Darwin

16.    The Otolith - Folium Limina

17.    Samavayo – Payan

18.    Valley Of The Sun - The Chariot

19.    AAWKS – Heavy On The Cosmic

20.    Indian Handcrafts – Empress In Decline

And here is a list of another 75 amazing albums in alphabetical order that we had trouble with kicking out of our personal Top 20… And just so you know, below this list, we could mention another 100 that we also dig.  And I’m sure we’re also forgetting to mention a few and we will probably discover another dozen amazing 2022 albums soon enough…

3 Wheeler Band – In The Name Of The Holy Riff
Abrams – In The Dark
Acid Row – Afterglow
All Souls – Ghosts Among Us
Black Lung – Dark Waves
Black Space Riders – We Have Been Here Before
Carson – The Wilful Pursuit Of Ignorance
Cave In – Heavy Pendulum
CB3 – Exploration
Clutch – Sunrise on Slaughter Beach
Conan – Evidence Of Immortality
Cowboys & Aliens – Burn!
Dapunksportif – Old, New, Fast’n’Slow
Demonauta – Low Melodies About Chaos
Desert Wave – Deafening Silence
Deville – Heavy Lies The Crown
Doctor Explosion – Superioridad Moral
Druids - Shadow Work
Early Moods – Early Moods
Ecstatic Vision – Elusive Mojo
Faith In Jane – Axe to Oak
Fire Horse – Out Of The Ashes
Foot – You Are Weightless
Freedom Hawk – Take All You Can
Gaupa – Myriad

Geezer – Stoned Blues Machine
Great Rift – Utopia
Half Gramme of Soma - Slip Through the Cracks
Indus Valley Kings – Origin
JIRM - The Tunnel, The Well, Holy Bedlam
Kryptograf – The Eldorado Spell
LáGoon – Bury Me Where I Drop
Mammoth Volume - The Cursed Who Perform The Larvagod Rites
Messa – Close
Mexicoma – Kalpa
Mezzoa – Dunes of Mars
Miscellen – Black Mandala I
Museum of Light – Horizon
My Sleeping Karma – Atma
Obiat – Indian Ocean
Odonata - Gravitational Perturbation
Orango – Mohican
Oreyeon – Equations For The Useless
Paralyzed – Heavy Road
Pariahlord – Vultures
Phiasco – Kessel
Psychonaut – Violate Consensus Reality
Quiet Confusion – Magella
Ruby The Hatchet – Fear Is A Cruel Master

Rumours - The Lower We Sink, The Less We Care
Sasquatch – Fever Fantasy
Sleepwulf – Sunbeams Curl
Somali Yacht Club – The Space
Sons Of Arrakis - Volume I
Supasonic Fuzz – Cobracadabra
Surfsquatch – Planet Neptune
Sweet Cobra – Threes
Telekinetic Yeti – Primordial
Temple Fang – Jerusalem/The Bridge
Tenebra – Moongazer
Thammuz - Sons Of The Occult
The Anomalys – Glitch
The Black Legacy – Stones
The Gray Goo - 1943
The Swell Fellas – Novaturia
The Tazers – Outer Space 
Torpedo Torpedo - The Kuiper Belt Mantras
Torrents – Dual Fates
Ultracombo – Season II
Volcanova – Cosmic Bullshit
Warlung – Vulture’s Paradise
Weddings - Book of Spells
Wo Fat – The Singularity

 

Number 8

 

 

Number 8

From Psychlona at Number 9 we jump a mere six points to reach Number 8. Another album we did mention on the HiVe earlier in the year. Back in May we immediately thought that the scope of this album made it one hell of tour de force. Which might start off straightforward, easy and simple, but even then you feel this new album will become something larger than all of the records they produced before. For some strange and possible insane reason, you immediately feel the tracks will build and there’s an arc present underneath it all and that you will only be able to truly stand back and appreciate all you’ve heard when those final tones of the final track die away… Making more use of width, length and air to let it all breathe. Just listen to the opening track and listen minutely to the sparse, yet with golden thread written arrangement, the seemingly easy transitions into bridges, choruses and the way it all floats and lets so much of it just ‘hang’… Exquisite!  They were a good, tasty, meaty, and fun band before. But with this album, the band turns into premium class, high grade, with the very best of marbling, Japanese Kobe beef. Which, as it happens, will go great with their album cover, the Mad Lord Samurai of 100 Deaths movie they provided the music for and a wild Comic book as well. I’m gonna stand back now and truly appreciate the magnitude of Number 8…

Steak – Acute Mania

Bandcamp

Instagram

Facebook

Out on Ripple Music

On to Number 7!

Steak – Acute Mania

 

 

Steak – Acute Mania
Ripple Music – 2022
Rock, Alternative, Stoner, Desert
Rated: *****

Steak’s new album Acute Mania is a righteous tour de force. Which might start off straightforward, easy and simple, but even then you feel this new album will become something larger than all of the records they produced before. For some strange and possible insane reason, you immediately feel the tracks will build and there’s an arc present underneath it all and that you will only be able to truly stand back and appreciate all you’ve heard when those final tones of the final track die away…  Cause, sure, we mentioned Corned Beef Colossus back in 2013 and Slab City in 2014, but Acute Mania is of a complete higher order. A higher and extremely dynamic order; in the overreaching arc of the album but also in every single track. Making more use of the width, length and air to let it all breathe. Just go back to opening track Wolves when you’re finished and listen minutely to the sparse, yet with golden thread written arrangements, the seemingly easy transitions into bridges, choruses and the way it all floats and lets so much of it just ‘hang’… Exquisite!  They were a good, tasty, meaty, and fun band before. But with Acute Mania, Steak turns into premium class, high grade, with the very best of marbling, Japanese Kobe beef. Which, as it happens, will go great with their album cover, the Mad Lord Samurai of 100 Deaths movie they provided the music for and that wild Steak Comic book. I’m gonna stand back now and truly appreciate the magnitude of Acute Mania…

(Written by JK)

Bandcamp

Facebook

Instagram

Ripple Music

The Doom Chart For April 2022

 

 

Doom Charts

“The bigger, the better… In Everything”

Freddy Mercury

Festival season is upon us! Finally! Oh, how we missed all those live shows… Which means many of the Contributors are out of bounce and bouncing hard to all those heavy tunes everywhere! Don’t worry, they all delivered their votes; but perhaps the blurbs are written by a lot of the same cats this month. It happens… But it happens exactly on the month that the Doom Charts crazies did something crazy once again… Indeed, we’ve extended the list to 40. There are multiple reasons to do so. But… We weren’t sure if we should. I mean, we could just post the total list of 299 albums that received votes this month. But then, that would defeat the purpose of the chart, we reckon. No, the main reason is the fact that the amount of albums released on a monthly basis, continues to grow and the sheer brilliance of many of those albums continue to shock and awe. Not so long ago albums could easily carry over a month. Or even two… You know, Lore by ELDER made the list three months in a row. This does not happen anymore, NOT because the albums aren’t that good, but because there are more and more albums THAT good. The amount of voters might also have something to do with that or perhaps that some promos are sometimes a bit too much ahead of the actual release date… Anyway… We’ve extended the list by ten… Should we keep it that way? Or go back to thirty? Let us know… O’ and let us know which albums you dug the most! Cause it might just be our next favorite album as well! Check’m out! Check’m all out!

Oh no! The fuzz might fracture your nose! It's the all new April Doom Charts!This time around; with 40 amazing albums listed!

Personal votes went out to: Greenbeard, Alunah, Steak Band CARSON, Somali Yacht Club, Blues Weiser, Geezer MESSA and Helms Alee!

But we sure as hell could have voted for each and everyone of those magnificent albums on this list! Check'm out! Check'm all out!

 

Welcome to Doom Charts, representing some of the finest bloggers, journalists, radio, podcasters and reviewers from the heavy underground around the globe.  Each month, our critics submit their picks for the best new doom, sludge, metal, stoner, psychedelic and heavy rock albums.  The results are compiled and tabulated into the chart below.  This is a one-stop shop for the best new albums in the world…

THE DOOM CHARTS FOR APRIL 2022 !

Stoner HiVe’s Top 10 Most Listened Albums Last Week…

 

 

Stoner HiVe’s
Top 10 Most Listened Albums Last Week…

Helms Alee
Ealdor Bealu
James LaBrie
Drive-By Truckers
Black Rainbows
Warcoe
Stöner
Steak
Carson
Cancer Bats

John Garcia with STEAK and Komatsu – Live at W2

John Garcia with STEAK and Komatsu – Live at W2

On a reasonably cold Tuesday evening in November in an almost sold out W2 venue in Den Bosch, Netherlands desert rock legend John Garcia takes the stage. The man who rose from the sandy wastelands of the Palm Desert to stand at the very beginning of the music genre that unfortunately received the moniker stonerrock. Together with his hombres he formed Kyuss and with their four albums at the beginning of the nineties they laid the foundation for all those bands that came after and who also revere the low end tunes. But still, the band would never have received this godlike status if it hadn’t been for the true and powerful voice of Mr. John Garcia.

After the end of Kyuss, the man released amazing albums with Unida, Slo Burn, Hermano and Vista Chino before finally putting out a solo record. That self-titled release from this year is the reason he embarked on this European tour. But before we are able to enjoy the mighty voice tonight there are two bands that deliver a pre-show warm up. And those aren’t ones to miss or mess around with. Hailing from the United Kingdom it is STEAK that opens up tonight and show us immediately that it is all about the fuzz, the groove and the majestic riffs this evening. Mad wildebeest drummer Sammy Forway pounds his skins like crazy, undeterred by the problems with his kit and the sound. They truck on relentlessly and the songs from the Slab City album released earlier this year, which features Garcia on one track, fills the venue with dry sandy tones and a yearning audience. Even though the band doesn’t seem to be in the best state of mind on this sixth night of the tour. (Probably due to the hangover manufactured the night before.) They do sound like a marauding gang of motorcycle nuts on route to a generator party in the wastelands. And they make sure the audience is already riled up when the Dutch sludge force Komatsu walks on stage...

Thanks to that one flirt on Speedfest last year. A solid friendship between Garcia and Komatsu was formed. So when Waxy dropped out for the tour the man immediately asked the guys if they would want to join him. Jumping at the opportunity, they lost one of their own. Cause its four guys that walk on stage tonight. Drummer Miriam Bekkers has unfortunately left the group because family life, running a bar and touring for a month aren’t easily combined. But the guys seem to be in their element on this home game. Tight, raw and vicious they propel their songs into the venue and new guy drummer Jelle Tommeleyn from the Belgian band Miava, shows through his technical prowess, he has mastered the Komatsu material in an incredible short period of time. The way he builds layer upon layer on songs like Komatsu and the new WTF! is admirable. New instrumental intro Rose Of Jericho and pounding track Lockdown seem to be great new weapons in their arsenal. And together with the Against All Odds track might be found on the new album to be recorded after the tour. The only thing that always grinds and pains with Komatsu are the vocals. Tonight is no different. But thanks to the massive riffs and the ever growing ingenious melody lines it seems that those chafing vocals are part of the Komatsu creed. Namely: to demolish every venue whole. The reception is warm for the guys. Cause even though the biggest part of the venue is here for the main act, there is a big enough Komatsu contingent to show support before they truck on through Europe with uncle John…

As always with our favorite uncle, it is the musicians that arrive first and start playing. Guitarist Ehren Groban (War Drum), bassist Mike Pygmie (You Know Who) and drummer Greg Saenz (You Know Who, The Dwarves) play the intro before we get loud to hail the arrival of Garcia. It is immediately apparent that the singer has become more and more comfortable with the fact that he is the center of attention and focal point. With all his earlier projects the man hardly spoke to the audience. But this time around he has to, it is his name on the bill and the tour through Europe is to promote his solo effort. Ofcourse he lets us know that he is not that proficient in small talk and that he is just here to sing, but he wants to reassure the audience that they have not come in vain: songs from his entire catalogue will be played. As if he wants to apologize for the fact that he will also play new songs. Which is ridiculous ofcourse since the new album is filled with killer songs who are live even better; as we will soon find out…

Amazing versions of One Inch Man, Tangy Zizzle, Gloria Lewis and an unparalleled version of El Rodeo follow. Which shows a singer that is absolutely determined to deliver those songs as good as he possibly can and which tells us he finds them just as important if not more important than his new work. Even more so when the Slo Burn song July howls itself through the venue. From the new record we hear an impressive Blvd, Flowers, 500 Miles and My Mind, all tight and enthralling. But unfortunately the Garcia performance is also plagued by technical difficulties. At three quarters of the show, the during solo track Argleben and Slo Burn song Pilot The Dune the guitar troubles destroy the groove and state of mind of the audience. The running around of roadies and the guitar player cannot camouflage the fact that the band aren’t comfortable enough with each other yet to start improvising. So soon the music stops and after a third time the guitar sound fails Garcia walks off stage. After many checks and hiccups a new cable from guitar to pedals seems to be the solution. Wouldn’t you decide to switch cables sooner? 

The band wants revenge. And that hangs in the air when Garcia comes back and performs All These Walls. An absolute stunning live song that has the crowd on their toes and ready to pounce. And when Supa Scoopa And The Mighty Scoop and Green Machine finally come around we all change into a stampeding herd of buffalo or crazy dancing coyotes. But even though the end is truly majestic, it cannot hide the fact that the show never became as legendary as the prestige of Garcia himself. The powerful voice of the phenomenal singer has only grown with the passing of time. But the technical difficulties and complete stops of the show provide us with an unsatisfied feeling. The almost effect. Cause afterward you realize all too well what could have happened if things has just been a little different…

Komatsu heads out on tour with… John Garcia!

Komatsu heads out on tour with… John Garcia!

The news has been out now. For a while now. But still. The steamroller that is Komatsu is heading out on a thirty something date tour through Europe with John Garcia. And not only Mr. Garcia; they’re also joined by STEAK. I guess that one off performace at Speedfest last year of the Slo Burn song July has really cemented their friendship. Go see them play on any of the many dates and hear the massive Manu Armata record live; and for all the Lowlands freaks, you can go see them off this Sunday; when they play Altstadt in Eindhoven together with An Evening With Knives. Ofcourse, a lot of times good news comes with bad news. Drummer Miriam has decided to leave the band. Her place will be taken by the Miava drummer Jelle Tommeleyn. Let’s hope Miriam will have all the luck in the world with all her future endeavours and let’s hope Komatsu finds love in the all the wrong thirthy something places… 

05.11.  NOR - OSLO, VULKAN ARENA

06.11.  SWE - STOCKHOLM, DEBASER

07.11.  SWE - GOTHENBURG, STICKY FINGER

08.11.  GER - ROSTOCK, MAU CLUB

09.11.  GER - BERLIN, LIDO

11.11.  NLD - ‘s HERTOGENBOSCH, W2

12.11.  BEL  - ANTWERP, TRIX

13.11.  GER - BREMEN, ALADIN

14.11.  GER - KÖLN, WERKSTATT

15.11.  GER - BOCHUM, MATRIX

17.11.  GER - MÜNCHEN, STROM

18.11.  CHE - LUZERN, SCHÜÜR

19.11.  CHE - DÜDINGEN, BAD BONN

20.11.  ITA  - BOLOGNA, LOCOMOTIVE CLUB

21.11.  ITA  - ROMA, INIT CLUB

22.11.  ITA  - MEZZAGO [MB], ZOOM

26.11. ESP - BARCELONA, BIKINI

27.11. ESP - MADRID, SALA ARENA

28.11. ESP - BILBAO, KAFE ANTZOKI

29.11. FRA - NANTES, FERRAILLEUR

02.12. FRA - PARIS, GLAZART

03-12. ENG - SOUTHAMPTON, THE TALKING HEADS

04-12. ENG - MANCHESTER, ACADEMY

05.12. ENG - SHEFFIELD, CORPORATION

06.12. ENG - LONDON, ISLINGTON ACADEMY

08.12. GER - OSNABRÜCK, BASTARD CLUB

09.12. GER - FRANKFURT, ZOOM

10.12. AUT - VIENNA, VIPER ROOM

11.12. GER - DRESDEN, BEATPOL

12.12. GER - JENA, F-HAUS

Homepage

Facebook

Steak – Slab City

Steak – Slab City

Napalm – 2014

Rock, Stoner, Hard

Rated: ****

The world needs heroes. We need them to save the day, to deliver us from the forces of evil and to show us a damn good time. The UK quartet Steak will do all of the above given enough time. But decided to start off by entertaining us to the max with their debut full-sized album Slab City. We know they have their heart in the right place and have a good sense of humor judging by their EP Corned Beef Colossus and ofcourse the Glanshammer video. But with their new album they turn us on to their heavy side, their full on motoring riff explosions and their steamy hot desert quality. Oh, but let’s get Pisser out of the way first. The highly Kyuss sounding track that has John Garcia delivering guest vocals. Damn fine song, but by no means the best on the album. For that we start at the beginning. The true blast off that is Coma. A slow building intro that has you on the edge of your seat; shifting gear and thundering down the early morning freeway still sounding like Genghis Khan on an iron horse. This is true motoring stoner for the marauding cavalry heading for some mean-spirited place to wreak havoc. And this goes on as Liquid Gold continues into Slab City and ends with Old Timer D.W. The track that has you watching the sun rise over a completely wasted field full of empty beer cans, passed out hillbillies, bikers and dying fires. Yes, it had been a good party and one only a few of us will ever remember. But that’s okay. Cause luckily we still have Steak to jog our memory…

(Written by JK)

Facebook

Bandcamp

Steak - Glanshammar

Steak - Glanshammar

Damn fine video for the single Glanshammar taken from the EP Corned Beef Colossus by UK freaks Steak! Apparently featuring none other than Will Smith on snowboard! ! (ps. The Scottish Will Smith that is...)

Bandcamp

Facebook

 

Steak – Corned Beef Colossus

Steak – Corned Beef Colossus

Purple Sage PR / Self released – 2013

Rock, Stoner, Desert

Rated: ****

Heavy cruisers on route to some generator party or biker freak out in some run down part of town! The new EP Corned Beef Colossus by the heroic UK foursome Steak thunders down the road like Genghis Khan on beer run. It’s the deep rumbling of the bass and the tumbling of the drums that propel these massive grooves forward. This rhythm section is all about keeping the pace moving fast and steady down that main line. Opening up the landscape for the fuzzed guitar and excellent vocals to go wherever the spirit might lead them. Just listen to that psychedelic purr exhumed by the great magnet; and the incredible kicks your having once Acid Dave has sold you his stuff and has you licking his red woolen shirt. This is high energy desert truckin and begs to be devoured whole and on a regular basis. It will surely make you lift off and soar through the sky!  

(Written by JK)

Bandcamp

Facebook