Ruby The Hatchet – Fear Is A Cruel Master

 

Ruby The Hatchet – Fear Is A Cruel Master
Magnetic Eye Records – 2022
Rock, Psych, Doom, Stoner, Prog
Rated: *****

Back in 2015 they reached the Number 17 position of the Stoner HiVe Top 20 Countdown of that year with their Valley Of The Snake album thanks to all the votes that came in for that album. In 2017 the follow-up to that album reached Number 19 of the Stoner HiVe Top 20 Countdown, and Planetary Space Child was indeed amazing. And now, five years later, Ruby The Hatchet is back, and comes out swinging with what can arguably be seen as an album to dwarf all they have done before this. It’s called Fear Is A Cruel Master and is sure to garner lot of votes from all you Stoner HiVe freaks out there that vote every year. At least, that is our considered opinion. Eight tracks that are laced with heavy psychedelic and proto doom atmospheres, provided of course by those soft and sweet smokey vocals, that wild organ and those incredibly guitar licks. This time however we see Ruby venture more and more towards a higher pop sensible sentiment and catchy sonic landscape, but without ever leaving that proto and seventies feeling behind. Of which, opener The Change, might immediately be the perfect example. Opening riffs sets the scene, the organ shimmers in the background, the drums slowly gearing up for that mid-tempo perfection. Adding the warmth of the Jillian Taylors vocals, that now seem to sit perfectly with everything Fear Is A Cruel Master brings. Soulful and vibrant, with a touch of something sultry the eight compositions sound like a signboard for Taylors kind of pitch and energy. More than often the chorus, or repeated lines just seem to keep on drifting through your head, even after final track Amor Gravis has come and gone. A hot stomping, high energy, stop and pounce kind of rocker. And then that revolving ending, all class and quality! Fear Is A Cruel Master sounds like the work of art of a band that found out exactly how their pieces needed to fit together to create a masterpiece. This feels more like Ruby The Hatchet than all those albums that came before. Something that is equal parts seductive, suggestive, and pure rock ‘n roll. Ancient and meant for a distant future, Ruby The Hatchet brings you all. And did we already mention we love the cover art?!

(Written by JK)

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

 

 

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

Ruby The Hatchet
Thammuz
Black Space Riders
Lazer Beam
Sahg
Acid Witch
The Chop (Ghostbeef)
Abrams
All Souls
Band of Spice

After returning for my little holiday in England, work got the upper hand and limited time was there to do any work for Stoner HiVe or Doom Charts… But once the Doom Charts hits, you can bet your ass, nothing will stop me from running through all those majestic albums once again! And now, as a new week lies before us, we hope we have a tiny bit more time to HiVe, but it might be difficult this week. Next week looks glorious, like a hopeful light at the end of the tunnel…

The Doom Charts for October 2022

 

 

Doom Charts

“Yo, when is the November Charts? I can’t live like this!”

~ Sifir Rakam

“I can’t get into doomcharts here in the UK!? The most recent entry is for 3 Wheeler Band, that Halloween posting. Has something got stuck or …?”

~ Paul Hennelly

The amount of emails and messages we received from all of you in distress about what was keeping the new Doom Charts were heartwarming. Even though we reckoned we made it abundantly clear that the publishing date for the Doom Charts had moved from the 1st of every month to the 1st Friday of every month. This would enable more Contributors to do more work for the Doom Charts and might give more credit to albums released on the final days of the month… And there are so many albums released monthly, during the whole month and on those final days that it still often feels unbearable to not be able to pay attention to them all… Below are 38 all NEW heavy rock albums! Thirthy-eight, but any shift in votes might have resulted in a different version. Cause I don’t know if you’ve seen some of the lists the Contributors posted on their own sites? Many have only a handful or perhaps a few more than a handful of votes for the same albums. And yes, you can safely bet that those other records on their respectives lists are stunning as well… Sometimes it feels wrong to not do even more for those albums, but I guess the Doom Charts are purely here to state clearly that the ones listed here, those Forty albums, of the 268 that received votes this month, are the absolute cream of the crop. The cherries on the doom pie, the pick of the heavy litter, the albums filled with every stoner bell and psychedelic whistle you can wish for… And when they arrive with such a loud bang as this months Number One… You can bet your furry little ass that it’s something special! It’s the First Friday of the Month and it’s the October Doom Charts! 

The October Doom Charts just went live! 

The first time we publish on the First Friday of the month... Which we will do henceforth... The Doom Charts, featuring forty heavy rock albums all ready to rock your world! Personal votes that made the list went out to:

All Souls, Black Space Riders, Elder, Liquid Earth, King Buffalo, Sahg, Black Math Horseman, Red Mess, Lágoon, Faith In Jane, Thammuz, Near Dusk, Psychonaut, Half Gramme Of Soma, Ruby The Hatchet and The Otolith...

And we shall spin all Forty of them in a row again! Starting with awesome Vampiric Visions Vol. I: Living Blood album by Lady Luna And The Devil! Go find your new favorite one or share the ones you feel should have been on the Charts!?!

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 October 2022 

Number 19

Number 19

There was some mighty shuffling in these lower regions of the Top 20 Countdown. That’s just because there are so many great and amazing albums released every year. This one was riding high when the first lists came in and then suddenly stopped receiving votes and fell of the list. Weird and insane! But, on the last night enough cats voted it in again. Rightfully so! The Top 20 Countdown would have missed this one big time! And guess what, this five-piece made the list before as well. Back in 2015 they reached the 17th position. With their new album they’ve been on the Doom Charts for four months straight! In fact, they’re still on it! Slowly making an exit. Let’s see if they return there as well? It’s a luscious record filled with majestic riffs and brilliant vocals; and it is impossible to do a hatchet job on it. Heavy psychedelics mixed with seventies inspired doom, interspersed with classic rock, prog affinity and with every track sounding like it wants to head to outer space! It is not possible to do a hatchet job on this record, in fact the only thing possible is to sing almighty high praise of this record. There is no other like it! It flows like golden mercury and this quintet has tapped into the main vein of everything awesome in the universe! 

Ruby The Hatchet – Planetary Space Child

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

Ruby The Hatchet Facebook

Ruby The Hatchet Bandcamp

We Hunt Buffalo Facebook

We Hunt Buffalo Bandcamp