Stoner HiVe’s Quick Fire Friday

 

Stoner HiVe’s Quick Fire Friday

Is that the first Quick Fire Friday of 2024? It seems so! We haven’t done one since December before the Stoner HiVe Top 20 Countdown of 2023 started. That’s like, three months ago! Yikes! Well, we’re here now. And ready to spread the good word on a truckload of heavy releases! We usually mention singles and EP’s, but sometimes an older album as well! And you know why we do this. Because there is so unbelievable much of great music out there and we can not mention everything. The small thing we can do of course, is another Stoner HiVe Quick Fire Friday round! A small amount of words to get the good word out! The good word about something heavy and something cool! Check it out below… And we know… There is so much out there, so much good and heavy stuff, and we just simply cannot ever do it all justice. But here it is… Another Stoner HiVe Quick Fire Friday! And it burns hot like molten lava!

Stash - The Rojo Tapes

Fourpiece Stash delivered their first album called Through Rose Coloured Glasses in September 2022 and re-released five of those tracks almost exactly a year later with an EP called The Rojo Tapes. Not completely sure why they did that, cause the versions are exactly the same. But, they’re damn fine and could use the extra attention! Five gritty and burly stoner metal and sludge metal tracks. A touch of southern, a load of metal and an almighty groove! Dig in to that Stash!

Bandcamp

Instagram

Facebook

Sons of Arrakis – Scattering

Back in 2022 they released their Volume I album and it ended up on Number 18 of the Stoner HiVe Top 20 Countdown of 2022 according to all your votes. We’re talking about Sons Of Arrakis and they are about to release a new album called Volume II on that fine label called Black Throne Productions. Now, I know, the single has been out for a few weeks. But we find it irresistible and reckon everyone should have Scattering on repeat. Please let me know if you feel the same! And if you think they might get more views now thanks to all the attention for the Dune movies? Let's hope so, cause they deserve to be heard by one and all...

Bandcamp

Homepage

Facebook

Instagram

 

MaidaVale – Faces (Where is life)

Another single that was released a week or two ago, Faces (Where is life) by Swedish quartet MaidaVale. Switching from The Sign Records to Silver Dagger Records for their new, third album Sun Dog the sound took on an even sunnier, world music and afrobeat vibe. Especially on this first single. And on May 3rd you will get to hear the rest of Sun Dog, and their still entirely groovy take on psychedelia, krautrock and that seventies vibe! It’s all happening!

Bandcamp

Homepage

Instagram

Facebook

Hollow Leg – Poison Bite

This single slash video was released, Yesterday! We’re referring to Poison Bite by the Florida four called Hollow Leg. It’s the lead single for their new release coming up May 3rd called Dust. And we can be sure it will be filled with more gnarly doom and brutish sludge. That doom groove, that massif tone and that unending nod. Get bit!

Youtube

Bandcamp

Facebook

Instagram

Hydra – Into The Night

It’s been out a week! The new three song EP by the Polish four called Hydra. Doom metal, stonerrock, sludge and roll and with such a majestic groove that you will be headbanging as that very first break commences and that groove starts and after that, you are hooked and won’t stop banging along! And then the vocals kick in, immediately taking it into proto and classic heavy metal territory. Out on Piranha Music, the three tracks on Into The Night are pure glittering metal gold!

Bandcamp

Facebook

Instagram

Cannabus – Desert Trip

Out… TODAY! The new Desert Trip single by the stoner rock band from Welland, Ontario, Canada called Cannabus! It’s the lead single for their new EP called Other Side arriving April 19th and it’s a scorcher! Once again on that crazy Black Throne Productions label, the new single sports all that seventies guitar work, laced with stonerrock and rolled up into a blues groove. Majestic is an understatement! And did we mention we love all their artwork?

Bandcamp

Facebook

Instagram

Linktree

 

Iron Jinn – Truth Is Your Dagger (Live At Roadburn)

We already mentioned the first single from the soon to be released Iron Jinn live album. Lick It Or Kick It kicked the door open for that Live At Roadburn album that will arrive through Lay Bare Recordings on April 5th. And to show you more, they released Truth Is Your Dagger a week or two ago as well. It was the first time they jammed it in this particular version… “…way and it just clicked. Special guest on keys Jarno Van Es (since this show a full band member) adds a big scoop of 'Bitches Brew' and he and Oeds dive into some minimal territories evoking a somewhat heavier Steve Reich, since then we dubbed it 'Reich & Roll.' It's moments like these why we believe this record needs to be out there.” As Wout Kemkens stated…

Youtube

Bandcamp

Facebook

Instagram

Redstone – Immortal

And we end this Quick Fire Friday segment with a serious stoner metal kick in the nuts! Out since March 8th, the second EP by French quintet Redstone! Immortal is metal, stoner metal, sludge tones and a few of these more atmospheric passages and more metal, and even a bit of progressive meandering. Immortal sports five tracks and all five have this fierce and feral attitude. Savage, and yes, a whole lot of attitude!  

Bandcamp

Instagram

Facebook

Stoner HiVe’s Quick Fire Friday

 Stoner HiVe’s Quick Fire Friday

It’s still Friday in Hawaii right? Well… We did enjoy that glance back into 2022 we did last week. And hell, we might do that again for a Quick Fire Friday session in the near future… But this time around, we are mentioning singles that we never got around to mentioning in the past few months. And we know… There is so much out there, so much good and heavy stuff, and we just simply cannot ever do it all justice. So here it is. Another Stoner HiVe Quick Fire Friday! And it burns hot like molten lava!

 

Green Hog Band – In The Mist Of The Bong

Starting off with a proper promise and a proper bang! There’s a new Green Hog Band album on the horizon. And In The Mist Of The Bong is the first single and it’s a cracker! The New York trio deliver a doom story of epic proportions, and do this with misty riffs and smokey tones. The voices combine perfectly with that slow and determined doom march. Excellent!

Bandcamp

Instagram

Facebook

Endarken - Arise

You in for some metal? Some Sepultura? Well, Danish death/thrashers Endarken deliver a fine cover of Arise for you all. Founded by Dennis Buhl formerly of Hatesphere, the band wanted to treat one of the most loved thrash anthems absolutely right. And therefor got Hatesphere vocalist Mathias Uldall to aid them in their quest to do justice to that legendary song. Judge for yourself!

Youtube

Facebook

Instagram

Homepage

Eric Angelo Bessel – Kindly Rewind

The track and video were under embargo till yesterday, the official release date. Which means, this one is actually not old at all, but brand spanking new! It’s called “Kindly Rewind" from Visitation, the debut solo album from visual artist and musician, Eric Angelo Bessel. Composed of eight instrumental songs, Visitation is an atmospheric journey through psychedelic, gothic, and ambient genres. Bessel shares, “Kindly Rewind undulates with the hazy granular flutter of an old tape machine, dotted with sonar beacons, reversed splices, and echoes of an overdubbed orchestral choir.” And it feels like a soundtrack for a space odyssey that still needs to be made…

Youtube

Bandcamp

Lore City Music

Sif – Darkstalker

Darkstalker is the first EP of instrumental blackened doom metal by the New Orleans based solo project Sif. Not much is known about the background of Sif... This self-released three track release fuses crushingly heavy chugging guitar riffs, epic ambient drone, and dread filled explorations of slowly decaying grimdark fantasy worlds. So, don't wait for a full moon, get into dark stalking action right now!

Bandcamp

Void of Light – Enshroud

It’s a two track EP. And the two bring you darkened post metal that will cast a spell over your or at least some kind of damp blanket. It’s called Enshroud and is brought to you by the Glasgow six-piece Void Of Light. It’s out as of March 24th on Trepanation Recordings and will soundscape the hell out of you!

Bandcamp

Instagram

Facebook

 Matricide – Obey

Are you looking for some severe pain? Then feast your ears on this neck breaking groove metal from Tel-Aviv. They’re called Matricide and do as much with the groove as they do with the core, and it’s all intense and extreme freaking metal! This quartet knows how to howl you into submission... And you'd better OBEY!

Instagram

Facebook

Bandcamp

Youtube

Upploppet - Thinking of Me

Swedish garage rocking outfit Upploppet’s new single is called Thinking of Me. The Gothenburg based 5-piece announced their collaboration with The Sign Records in late 2022 and launched the single Golden Eyes. Now they return with the explosive hip shaker Thinking of Me, recorded in Welfare Studios by Pontus Robertsson, who also mixed the track, and mastered by Hans Olsson in Svenska Grammofonstudion. They also promise to record a new album this year and make The Sign Records release that as well. Good boys!

Youtube

Bandcamp

Facebook

Instagram

Grande Royale – Grime Town

 

 

Grande Royale – Grime Town
The Sign Records – 2023
Rock, Hardrock, Garage
Rated: ****

Swedish powerhouse Grande Royale is back with their sixth album. And you can rest assured that Grime Town is once again one hell of an action packed record! In fact it’s so infectious, high energy rock ‘n roll, the promo has been on heavy and constant rotation since early February when it arrived and it got its hooks in us with opening track Tell Me. Just short of three minutes, was all Grande Royale needed to drag us along into Grime Town. And by the time second track Status Doom and third song Run Officer Run had graced our ears, we were smitten with yet another Grande Royale album. For there is no limit to the level of catchiness the boys can infuse with their garage and punky, hardrock. It’s something highly Swedish, and also typical Grande Royale. Typical Grande Royale but also very new, for the quartet now sports a line-up with a new guitar player and all four this time add vocals to almost every track you will hear. And those extra lead vocals on Run Officer Run by Helen Vilsson feel so perfect and give the album this tipping point track, for after that third track, you speed through the next two until you end up at sixth track Utopia, one of the singles, which gives you exactly thirty seconds of rest with its acoustic lead up, and then you just bop and bounce and dance along again. After which you can go berserk to Freak Parade! By the time you are moving around to Move Around Time, you might on some level start to feel that this straightforward, explosive rock ‘n roll, is just that, straightforward. But when it’s done with this level of proficiency and when it all sounds so contagious, you have to bow deep, take of your hat, throw it in the air and appreciate their brand of savage yet clean cut rock! Action rock it is, highly spirited and with only a minute level of danger… So yes, it’s safe to dance and safe to go bonkers in Grime Town!   

(Written by JK)

Homepage

Bandcamp

Facebook

Instagram

Hot Breath – Rubbery Lips

 

Hot Breath – Rubbery Lips
The Sign Records – 2021
Rock
Rated: ****

It was one of the three releases featured on the April Doom Charts that we had not yet heard. And when we read Eric ‘The General’ Varasifsky ‘s blurb about the new Hot Breath album, we knew we had to quickly remedy that! And after that initial track Right Time we knew that Rubbery Lips, as the album is called, would be the perfect cure for our sickness that is us missing Juliette And The Licks so incredibly hard. Cause Rubbery Lips have produced this amazing smash ‘n grab rock ‘n roller that takes you back to the seventies just as easily as to that ballsy hardrock from the eighties. It’s got proto metal vibes, fast paced garage sensations and every possible hard rocking element that you might need to get your groove on and send you all-nite jukin’! The music stands so incredibly tall, so huge, so enormous, that it will undoubtedly make you go crazy, but it’s the hellcat vocals that will make you go wild! It has a certain vibrating presence. And it will touch you with the kind of madness that drives a shark insane in a blood-stained sea…

(Written by JK)

Bandcamp

Facebook

Skraeckoedlan – Arise The Sun

 

 

 

Skraeckoedlan – Arise The Sun

How many times have you listened to that new Skraeckoedlan single Universum? We’ve had it on repeat ever since it premiered on The Obelisk back in February. It was the lead single for their new soon to arrive album on The Sign Records and a re-imagining of some of their earlier work, Cactus to be exact. And now there’s a second one called Arise The Sun! Which was recorded in English and as Universe on their 2011 album Äppelträdet. Once again a rampaging showcase for these four Swedish riffmasters! Can’t wait to hear it all! And not just because you all voted massively for Äppelträdet back in 2011… It reached Number 4 in the Stoner HiVe Top 20 Countdown of 2011. Are they re-recording Äppelträdet in total?

Bandcamp

 

Facebook

Instagram

 

Youtube

Vokonis – Odyssey

 

 

Vokonis – Odyssey
The Sign Records – 2021
Metal, Doom, Prog
Rated: *****

We apologized to the readers of the January Doom Charts, for most of the Doom Charts crew were so taken with the album that they all forgot that it would not be released for a few months. And the date is still a month or two away. The date is set for the seventh of May. But when it finally arrives, rest assured, it will blow you’re your mind! We’re talking about the new Odyssey by that Swedish trio Vokonis. And we will keep talking about that album! The Vokonis three have been moving ever forward from their doom metal beginnings to an ever more progressive future. New 6-track album Odyssey by the Swedes is their most accomplished yet; it makes expert use of all the progressive tension arcs available and still retains that incredibly heavy, doom and grunting edge. Rough and wild, yet also very charming and full of shimmering beauty. And extra sweet and tasty cherry on top of it all is Opeth and Kamchatka’s very own Per Wiberg on keys. We all love Per and we all love Vokonis!

(Written by JK)

Homepage

Bandcamp

Facebook

The Hawkins – Silence Is A Bomb

The Hawkins – Silence Is A Bomb

The Sign Records – 2020

Rock, Hard, Pop

Rated: ***

For a moment there, when the album starts, I adjusted the volume and thought, there’s something wrong. But the ruckus starts! Fitting when the album is called Silence Is A Bomb! Released through The Sign Records it’s the second full-sized album by Swedisch foursome The Hawkins. (Named after the drummer?) It’s rock. It’s hard rock. It’s rock ‘n roll and it has this catchy, poppy and punky vibe. Think Foo Fighters, The HiVes, Royal Republic and all those other high energy rock ‘n roll outfits that always make every concert one hell of a party. Tiny influences from bands like Queen and eighties metal pop up, but that pop up goes way of pop rock very fast well. There is a lot of dynamic efforts that all come together to the same result in the end: an energetic, raucous, blow-out of immense proportions. Perfectly executed you will listen to Silence Is A Bomb thinking: I need a concert! I need a festival! I need to see The Hawkins live!

(Written by JK)

Bandcamp

Facebook

Dictator Ship – Your Favorites

Dictator Ship – Your Favorites

The Sign Records / Dewar PR – 2020

Rock, Roll, Hard, Garage, Punk, Blues

Rated: ****

We love that atavistic style of rock ‘n roll, that early sixties garage, that seventies punk, that groove and punch, that grab and smash, those wild and wicked kick out the jams! And for whatever weird reason the Scandinavians have been doing that particularly well the past years... In come the four Swedes from Dictator Ship and their debut album Your Favorites. Seven high energy rockers that sounds like they live and direct. There’s a lot of soul and a lot of boogie going on, on Your Favorites, the pedal is pushed to a righteous degree. Which gives it an intense party vibe and a funky edge of southern goodness. The four Swedes deliver a debut album, filled with indestructible material which will already be tough to beat on their next. This pirate ship has their boat filled with rum and rock and welcome each and everyone!

(Written by JK)

Bandcamp

Facebook

Stoner HiVe’s Top 5 artists listened to last week…

Stoner HiVe’s

Top 5 artists listened to last week…

Mudhoney

Blood of The Sun

Hypnos

Oxen

Bazaraba

Well, as usual. This should have gone up on Monday. But stuff got in the way again. And will probably continue to do so for the rest of the week. So, a very quick roundup of last week. Bazaraba self-released their self-titled album back in July but only know found it’s way into my brain! Stoner rock and metal of the finest grade! Eight amazing tracks that just keep you banging your head! And I only just realized it’s available on vinyl as well! Oxen and their Low album has been making the rounds everywhere and for a while now. Released in September the album moves in a distinctly slower direction that Bazaraba. Sludgy, doomy and highly atmospheric! Set Fire To The Sky is the new album by stoner boogie bastards Hypnos. Out on The Sign Records the nine tracks on this thunder out of the speakers like a runaway train! Blood Of The Sun releases their Blood’s Thicker Than Love on Listenable Records and their classic sound is extremely pleasing to every part of the human condition. Awesome stuff! And on heavy rotation is the new Mudhoney record. Digital Garbage, out on SubPop is simply amazing! Everything sits absolutely right on that album! Go check it out! Check’m all out!

Wheel In The Sky – Beyond The Pale

Wheel In The Sky – Beyond The Pale

The Sign Records – 2018

Rock, Hard, Psych, Seventies, Prog

Rated: ****

Swedish fourpiece Wheel In The Sky return with their sophomore effort Beyond The Pale. Formed in 2014 the gang slowly creeped into the underground with their bronze sounding debut Heading For The Night which came out only a year later. It had that retro and classic feel, and for whoever stumbled upon them immediately fell in love with their proto riffs and seventies groove. This one aims to transform that sound into an even more classic rock approach. Filled with an absolute vibrant sound the nine tracks exhume that ‘it’s all happening’ feeling with every hook and every chorus. Just listen to seven-minute opener Rivers Of Dust and hear that kandy kolored spirit burst alive and feel the breathing room that every instrument receives thanks to the amount of air the band has dared to leave in. This is confidence, and this is highly melodic! This will be the soundtrack for many evening car rides to come! We love it!

(Written by JK)

Bandcamp

Facebook

Stoner HiVe's Top 5 artists listened to last week...

Stoner HiVe's

Top 5 artists listened to last week...

An Evening With Knives
Da Captain Trips
Avon
MaidaVale
Olmeg

After one completely packed week where we had little time to listen to the good stuff, we had some catching up to do. So, a lot of records got spun at least once. But the next five were on repeat the rest of the time. The debut effort Serrated by An Evening With Knives. We had to be able to sing along during the official album release party at the Area51 Skatepark last Friday. A great freakin night it was and an amazing album it is! Get your hands on Serrated and spin it loud! It has only been a few weeks that Ozium Records re-released Mad Marco, de debut effort by Avon. But Dave’s Dungeon, the sophomore release by the Alfredo Hernandez, James Childs and Charles Pasarell trio will be out on Heavy Psych Sounds in a few weeks. It is even better! On all fronts. What a ride! Another one on heavy rotation is Da Captain Trips. Their Adventures In The Upside Down came out a few months ago via Phonosphera. A majestic trip if ever there was one! Madness Is Too Pure released by The Sign Records is Swedish outfit MaidaVale’s second effort and is intensely atmospheric, with much more psychedelic and krautrock touches in respect to their first record. And well, it’s magnificent! Colorful melodies and crazy like glittering seventies gold! Remember Primoridal Soup by Olmeg? We loved their outsider approach to sludge, stoner, psych and space! Well, the cats are back with an eight-track record called Maladies. Which of course had to spun immediately! And so, should you! Perhaps grungier and a bit grimier, they still move outside the common realm. It crosses boundaries and defies frontiers. Yes, it’s Olmeg and they are radical and sick!

Stoner HiVe’s Top 5 Artists listened to last week…

Stoner HiVe’s 

Top 5 Artists listened to last week…

W.A.S.P.
Sean Wheeler
Hälläs
Supersonic Blues Machine
Sanhedrin

In preparation for a Blackie Lawless interview and the live rendition of The Crimson Idol record we listened to a lot of W.A.S.P. this week. But we definitely enjoyed the honorable Mr. Sean Wheeler more and his fine Sand In My Blood album (released by Little Village Foundation) is simply stunning. The legendary desert punk delivers one hell of a southern, sun dried, Americana tinged, bluesy folk album. One for the road and one for lazy afternoons with corn on the barbecue and dubious quality bourbon slowly turning into lukewarm gold. Supersonic Blues Machine and their Californisoul record (out on Provogue/Mascot) definitely deliver the goods as well. Powerful blues rock and hard rock filled with guest spots from Billy Gibbons, Eric Gales, Walter Trout, Robben Ford and Steve Lukather. Damn fine stuff! And how about Hälläs! Heavy rock from Sweden! A mixture of NWOBHM, space rock and seventies inspired hard rock. Their new Excerpts From A Future Past album (out on The Sign Records) has the exact amount of progressive touches that makes it one hell of an adventure. We love the shit out of it! It’s getting lauded all over the place, the debut album A Funeral For The World by Sanhedrin. And rightfully so! Just read Bucky’s words over on their Bandcamp: “A Funeral For The World celebrates all things heavy metal with a scorching metallic fuzz overlain by Maiden esque vocal chops and a groove factor off the charts. For any fan of metal, stoner, doom, or hard rock. This will go down as one of the strongest debut metal albums of 2017. Mark my words.” Words marked and awesome record noted!

Stoner HiVe’s Top 5 Artists listened to last week…

Stoner HiVe’s 

Top 5 Artists listened to last week…

Fvzz Popvli

Bagual

Coraxo

Dope Smoker

Märvel

Returning just in time for this month’s Doom Chart I’ve had little time to listen to much. So, this I just a quick list of the first albums that graced my ears this past week. Out of Heavy Psych Sounds is the new Fvzz Popvli called Fvzz Dei. Proto-punk mixed with all the heavy psychedelics we all love so dearly, completely fuzzed out to the max. Y’all need to listen!  The new Nulla album by Bagual is another one that will surely strike a chord with all of you out there. The Chilean quartet gives its all through sludgy desert; making it all sound wild and wonderful. Coraxo might not be for everyone; avant-garde death metal out on Snow Wave Records. Eleven tracks that weave progressive and melodic takes of the ever pummeling and brain melting genre together with sci-fi and storytelling. It’s a lot; but if you have the energy and the lust; it will surely turn you on! Legalize It by the Welsh trio Dope Smoker has been out for a while now. But we definitely still dig the hell out of it! How about you? And out on The Sign Records is At The Sunshine Factory by Sweden’s Märvel. Fast paced, hard driven seventies inspired Swedish goodness. Powerful poppy and full of glee! Yes, this comes straight from the Sunshine Factory! A good way to start a new week!