Number 16

 

 

Number 16

We jump a mere 6 points to reach Number 16… Mutoid Man’s Mutants blasted us all silly with their version of metal on Number 17 but on Number 16 we find something entirely different. It’s another and different reflection of all that heavy that resides in the underground. They variations seem endless, infinite one might say. And on this five-track album the three from Manchester, UK go through various variations themselves. Offering the listener a gaze into a different world, by way of prog and psych, stoner and metal and a blues roots influence. Once again an album that rode high in to the Doom Charts, Number 2 in November. Starting off highly atmospheric, they immediately touch on more stoner-oriented rock on the second track. But perhaps the biggest applause should go to the fact that they manage to capture so much depth in their sound one moment, opting to make things small the next and ending grandiose and huge whenever they feel the song needs it. So, dive with me, through the looking glass and into the world created by this album…

On Number 16 we find…




Ritual King - The Infinite Mirror



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

 

 

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

DeWolff
The Silver Linings
Phe
Kadabra
Kambodsja
Morag Tong
Baroness
Ritual King
Robots of the Ancient World
Spider Kitten

G’morn! We used to do this little tom-tom write up at the bottom of the weekly list. And we shall try to start that up again. A sort of glance back on the week that has passed. So, as we are still recovering from the Phe album release party from Saturday, that was a good party! We’ll try to keep it short and sweet… September had a gazillion great releases; and October is shaping up to be the same. And we hope to write a few words about a handful of them. Last week we mentioned those two Umbra albums, by Gévaudan and Kadabra. We wrote something about Spider Kitten, The Silver Linings and Morag Tong. And we were extremely happy to see Reek of STOOM write something cool about Tumanduumband and Kyle SB about 10% Reptile. If you haven’t had the chance yet, scroll down or visit the blog to read up on those. Later on today, we’ll have another one by Kyle SB going live! But for now, we’re gonna try and get a bit of sunlight and see if we can get that head straight after that wild Phe party!

Number 16

 

 

 Number 16

We pass Arcadian Child on Number 17 with only 17 points to find ourselves on the Number 16 position, which once again features two albums. And I must confess that the amount of votes for one of them really surprised me, not because I do not dig the album or understand the heaviness, I guess I just did not dive deep enough into it as all of you did. Even though it featured highly on the Doom Charts. But we’ll mention the other one first; cause that was a HiVe favorite and one mentioned by that dastardly Reek of Stoom. He wrote something like: “Seven titanic tracks of first-degree sensorial assault. Crunch, crush and charisma - seismic bass tones pinning currents of savage Stoner riffery with clean, clear vocals soaring like a hunting Kestrel. Jazz-infused beats suddenly give way to Doomy smatterings of harsh abrasive riffs, pierced by sweet guitar noodles. The album delivers breadth, width and height: the full dimensions of Modern Underground Metal in all it's geometric gelignite.” Right on! The other release is a classic in every sense of the word, classic metal, classic hardrock and classic compositions. It’s classy, has many albums outclassed and is almost unclassifiable. Sorry about that, we just dove deep into this magical Melbourne time machine and saw the proto-metal, seventies hardrock and eighties metal in all its glory; it made me flutter like a butterfly… On Number 16:

Ritual King – Ritual King

Butterfly – Doorways of Time

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Top 10 Most Listened To Albums Last Week…

Stoner HiVe's

Top 10 Most Listened To Albums Last Week…

Witches of Doom

Puta Volcano

Phe

Slow Phase

Ritual King

Camel Driver

Gaupa

Haunted Summer

Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs

Lucifungus

Something different… We decided to post the  Top 10 of last week. Because we listened to a lot of different albums, but had limited time to really dive into them. But the 10 listed here will definitely continue to get a lot of spins! So check’m out! Check’m all out!

Stoner HiVe’s Quick Fire Friday

Stoner HiVe’s Quick Fire Friday

Is it still Friday somewhere? We hope so, cause we forgot to push the publish button yesterday… As you know we’ve been looking back at 2019 for the better part of January. But we’ve set off with a boom towards 2020 with reviews by Reek of Stoom, Shastabeast & Madman Tony Maim on Ritual King, Dopes to Ethereal, Desert Colossus, Hubris and the premier of the new Vessel single The Void Tempest! And I guess there is already way too much 2020 stuff to keep looking back. But today, on this Quick Fire Friday round, we will do it anyway! All of the releases featured here are from 2019 and all of them should have been mentioned sooner and with more words. Cause we know, we know, the albums and bands deserve more. More attention and more of our time! But there is so much out there and we just simply cannot ever do it all justice. So here it is. The Stoner HiVe Quick Fire Friday. And its burns hot like molten lava!

Mutautu - Somewhere Over The Death Trip

We’ve mentioned the Finnish crazies Mutautu before. Back in 2017 when they released their Basement Tapes. And well, they’ve released a major step forward back in July, Somewhere Over The Death Trip! Still the fuzz powered blues outfit of yore but way more doom and way more stoner. These crazies should get way more attention! So, here it is, your daily chore, rock out with Mutautu!

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Mosara – Demo

Mosara! It features Nikos Mixas, guitarist for Mosara and contributing writer for Metalunderground, The Sludgelord and PureGrainAudio; which should have gotten our attention right? But the demo two track release got buried among all those other releases when the press release was sent in November 2019. Growling doom metal and sludge. Starting off with a doom crawl through the sludge; a beautiful guitar color and snappy drums. Followed by a doom march towards an awesome, awe inspiring cliff edge. Shall we go over?

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Third Island – Unspeakable

Released in November 2019, Unspeakable, the second full length and fifth release by Third Island, is themed around a selection of short stories by H.P. Lovecraft, with each song lyrically following a different story. Alternative metal, post metal, sludge and doom. We mentioned them before and we shall continue to do so, for the Irish quartet take ques from every genre we dig. And although we must confess that we struggle with some of the vocal parts, Unspeakable is heavy by default, and hey, sometimes we need to just enjoy the struggle, just like Sisyphus did. Right?

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Black Capricorn – Solstice

Also released in November is Solstice by Black Capricorn… Frazer Jones of Desert Psychlist wrote: “Excellent, dank dark and moody grooves of atmospheric stoner doom textured with a hint of occult.” Capturing without question the sound we are treated to on the four slow moving doom tracks. Solstice. Ominous. Mysterious. … and dark!

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Seven Serpents – Cursed To Be

Four-piece Seven Serpents from West Palm Beach, Florida released their Cursed To Be single in November. Stoner and sludge metal that has this alternative edge to it, a scream take and a multitude of -core influences. Yes indeed, brutal hardcore and grinding metal core are also there with a fierce, violent and destructive attitude. This is what we mean with freakin good metal!

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Ritual King - Ritual King

Ritual King - Ritual King

Ripple Music – 2020 (February 21st)

Stoner, Doom, Heavy Psych

Rated: ****

The ever-expanding UK Underground consistently unearths amazing talent, none more so than Manchester's Ritual King, who deliver their eponymous debut for Ripple Music next month. Seven titanic tracks of first-degree sensorial assault. "Valleys" opens the show with crunch, crush and charisma - seismic bass tones pinning currents of savage Stoner riffery with clean, clear vocals soaring like a hunting Kestrel. The Jazz-infused beats of "No Compromise" suddenly give way to Doomy smatterings of harsh abrasive riffs, pierced by sweet guitar noodles. "Headspace" slows into a melting-pot of licks and lysergic atmospheres, layered vocals harmonizing with themselves and the surging riffs beneath. The riffs come back full-force with "602", a pelting rock-out instrumental showcasing the tightness and invention of the band. The crawling Doom motif resurfaces on "Dead Roads", blending Stoner sonics and punitive percussion into a psychic stew of sounds. This formula continues unabated with "Restrain" ..an aptly-titled reign-back of stunted riffs, hard breaks and harder shoulders bearing the bulbous weight. Closer "Black Hills" turns through chugging riffs and flat-four tempo, a Desert Rocker of searing, white-hot glow and groove. Ritual King delivers breadth, width and height: the full dimensions of Modern Underground Metal in all it's geometric gelignite.

(Written by Reek of STOOM)

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Stoner HiVe’s Quick Fire Friday

Stoner HiVe’s Quick Fire Friday 

We’ve not done a Quick Fire Friday for quite some time. Even though every Friday beckons for some fast action! Some wild tunes! And some quick delivery! Well. Here we are to bring you some hot tasty tunes. To pay some attention to all those amazing releases out there. And yes, we know, we know, the albums and bands deserve more. More attention and more of our time! But there is so much out there and we just simply cannot ever do it all justice. So here it is. The Stoner HiVe Quick Fire Friday. And its burns hot like molten lava!

Ritual King – Earthrise

Ritual King. A power-trio from the dirty streets of Manchester! Releasing their new three track EP Earthrise through When Planets Collide. Fuzzed out stoner and groovy hardrock with a grungy and bluesy edge. You will feel the earth rise, the groove head out with the tide and it will all feel absolutely right… That’s what you get when you listen to Ritual King!

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Oopart – Oopart

Another power-trio. This time around they come from Rome, Italy. Oopart releases their debut self-titled EP featuring five amazing psychedelic blues, stoner and hardrock tracks. Very bluesy, very jammy and very tasty! This is what we need to let the sun burst through the clouds, this is what we need to let the winter die and the summer start! Yes, Oopart has the sun hidden in his sound!

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Rivera – Spurned Woman

Rivera was formed in Oslo, Norway in 2015, when its genitor Mads Luis started a crusade to spread the holy energy of Rock n`Roll, coupled with dry stoner rock and a pinch of boogie. Okay, you’ve got my attention! And so does the first single Spurned Woman! With ex-members from notable Norwegian acts as Blood Tsunami, Hombre Malo, Samsaya and Kuuk, Rivera just finished recording their debut EP in Oslo with Ruben Willem (Caliban Studios). So, give us the goodies! We need more Rivera!

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Stonemule – Dystopian State

The heaviest of the heavy of this Quick Fire Friday segment! There is still a lot of hardcore and punk audible on the new EP Dystopian State by Belgian crazies Stonemule. And then there is a lot of grunge, nineties alternative, a bit of sludge and a whole lot of metal! Three different vocalists shout, scream and sing the five tracks on Dystopian State to an unholy high. Something everyone definitely needs to check out!

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The Absurd – Boots On The Ground

We end this Stoner HiVe Quick Fire Friday with an absolute zinger! This is what it's all about and this is exactly what we need! It’s The Absurd from Los Angeles. The band sounds like they’ve been around for ages and their single Boots On The Ground is an absurd and absolute homerun! Pure in all its direct delivery, pointy, sticky and fabulously luscious! A front row ticket to the freak show! The Absurd will wow you to no end and Boots On The Ground will be your soundtrack for this weekend! Check it out! 

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