Les Mazoetans – Merry Christmas From Hanoi

 

 

Les Mazoetans – Merry Christmas From Hanoi
Self-released / Forbidden Place Records / Sounds Haarlem Likes Vinyl – 2025
Rock, Garage, Surf, Noise, Punk, Blues
Rated: ***

After hearing the second track Explosion Man I immediately started longing for the day that Les Mazoetans would be on tour with the Del-Toros and the Sha-La-Lees! What a wild night that would be! You never heard of Les Mazoetans you say?! Well, that might be entirely logical, for it is yet another brand new, project by Jeroen Ligter, Pieter Holkenborg and Xavier Teerling. Names you might know from other bands they play in together or apart from each other. Namedropping a handful will surely ring a bell or two, so how about Geishas of Doom, Atlanta, Automatic Sam, Kintsugi Empire and Suit And Tie Johns. There are many more of course, but if you know any or all of those bands, you will immediately know what kind of rock music is in store for you. This time however they turn their garage into even more of the trashcan variation and infuse it with more surf oriented guitar work. Distorted noisy vocals and mouth harp weirdness turn a few moments into something The Stooges could have produced. And there’s a lot of that ramshackle attitude that Jon Spencer Blues Explosion is known for. Cause there’s blues there as well, the growling, the stomping kind. The kind that only a wild man can deliver, completely feral and baring teeth. Is Merry Christmas From Hanoi your new favorite album? If you like the seemingly chaotic and the true underground spirit, then absolutely! And otherwise, the twenty minutes this highly colorful punk whirlwind lasts, will still surely rev you up, weird you out and get all kinds of longings surging through your body… Wild nights and twisted adventures lie in wait… 

(Written by JK)

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Tojo Yamamoto – Turning Face!

 

 

Tojo Yamamoto – Turning Face!
Forbidden Place Records - 2025
Rock, Noise, Punk, Kraut, Core
Rated: the Madman doesn't rate...

Tojo Yamamoto play noise rock/post-hardcore - their own tag of "dancey noise rock" does not do justice to the explosion of power, aggression and raw slabs of sonic destruction that emerge when the play button is pressed. Dark rumbling bass which sounds like it is played through a distortion pedal or just turned up fucking loud mixes with the pounding drums to produce the platform from which the fuzzed up, on the edge-of-constant-feedback guitars can riff off. Ah man, the riffs in the songs are groove ridden monsters that make me want to break things while laughing like a maniac. Such evil joy and wanton glee are in the tunes - they lodge deep in your brain and make other music seem dull and insipid. Crooning, shouting, yelling - the vocals sound like David Yow performing under the influence of un-tested drugs, ranting about self loathing with the world and maybe oneself. The entire sound is deep, sludgey but with the uncomplicated song passages that contains all I love about noise rock. So much denseness is contained in these 6 tracks that when this album stops, the silence seems almost deafening.

(Written by Tony Maim)

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Stoner HiVe’s Quick Fire Friday

 

Stoner HiVe’s Quick Fire Friday

It’s Friday! And over on the Doom Charts, we’re doing a crazy amount of Friday Freebies again! So, if you are a heavy rock addict and a bandcamp enthusiast, head on over to the Doom Charts for your new favorite album! Over here on Stoner HiVe we’re doing a Quick Fire Friday Session! And you know what that means… Only a small amount of words to get the good word out! The good word about something bad ass, 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!

 

Cascavell – Bluehouse Terror

Cascavell brings you seventies swagger, eighties sleaze and a whole lot of attitude on Bluehouse Terror. It’s their new single and will rock you like a hurricane! Especially if you dig that Motley Crue, Guns ‘n Roses, Aerosmith vibe, long to be back in that era. And yes sir, that vocalist might indeed induce some terror in you! What a throat!

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Dryland – Monomyth

We love Monomyth. But the new Dryland single is not an ode to that Dutch band. It is however the lead single for their upcoming Weekend In The Swamp album, out on October 27th. And since we dug their Dances With Waves album from 2020, you can bet your ass we are digging the new single which features guest vocals from Violet Vasquez of Mount Saturn. And we can safely assume we will love the full album as well! For this track alone stomps on the terra like a monsterous beast!

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Mothman and The Thunderbirds - The Simpsons = Real Footage (2023 Redux)

Ay caramba! It's out today! An all new version of their 2021 song The Simpsons = Real Footage, remastered and re-energized by Egor Lappo. Additionally, Alex Parkinson has provided a new bassline and some added bells and whistles to take this lively thrasher to the next level. A lively trasher with lively female vocals offset against that growling male. Next level Simpsons, well, this surely calls for a celebration, right!? D’oh!

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Prosthetic Bung - The Curse of Castle Bungenstein

We mentioned them before and we can keep mentioning them on a monthly basis, cause they keep delivering new crazy noise constantly! They're as horrible as that King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard gang, just constantly putting out new stuff once simply needs to hear! And well, the all new The Curse of Castle Bungenstein is out on Forbidden Place Records which means Prosthetic Bung is going places! Very limited in amount, the scary tribalistic noise and doom punk on this vinyl might burn a hole right through your speakers…

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Endre – Demo 2

I'm sure we mentioned before how much we love Hungary and the city of Budapest. If we did not, well, let's mention it again, we love it! So when the three tracks from the Hungarian trio Endre came around, I was immediately excited. And rightfully so, it turned out! Cause well, these tracks will enchant every listener, with their dark gloomy sound and the amazing female vocalist that will surely bewitch. A bit of doom, psych, the alternative nineties and grunge, the Endre three know exactly how to navigate the heavy under current and pay Charon enough to make it to the other side. This is really damn freaking good!

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L'uomo Nero - Voda Alebo Ohen

The end is Nero! Sorry, my mind always seems to do that. Weird connections. But hey, weird seems to fit these three from Albuquerque, New Mexico. Surely, for this third EP is the finale to the occult rock trilogy provided by the three from L'uomo Nero. Voda Alebo Ohen delves further into their very own Lovecraftian music thriller. Desert blues, garage, punk and alternative rocking with that romantic, gothic, and Romanesque magical touch. Wild gypsy stuff! And yes, those other two EP’s are equally stunning!

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Clementine 9 – Alligator

You want weird? You want mysterious? Get a load of Clementine 9! And perhaps find out more than we could about this outfit... More ramshackle garage blues rocking goodness with Alligator by Clementine 9. A horror touch and a whole lot of suaveness. Yes, once heard, the mysterious Clementine 9 will definitely leave a mark… A bitemark!

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The Great Lie - Vertigo

I recall one night in a place called the Effenaar, somewhere around 1998. A buddy of mine had been in a terrible car accident, his leg was surgically pinned together and he was walking around with crutches. Ordered to give it a lot of rest and not to strain it too much. But we went to a Madball concert anyway. Which by chance, might actually have been the tour with John Lafata on drums, the drummer responsible for laying down the ruckus with The Great Lie. And the new Vertigo EP by The Great Lie transports me back to that time! It’s in your face, New York Hardcore, charged, ravenous and raw! And honest, cause that's what The Great Lie is all about!

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Nyxora - Good Night Ophelia

And we end this Quick Fire Friday with another gothic touched, romantic, dark cabaret rocker called Good Night Ophelia. It’s by Portland four Nyxora and wanders slowly through classic metal genres and psychedelic inclined hardrock. With an amazing, almost fantasy vibed atmosphere this one three and a half minute song knows how to perfectly set a wonderous scene. There’s something highly seductive about this one… It will definitely lure you in...

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LáGoon - Bury Me Where I Drop

 

 

LáGoon - Bury Me Where I Drop
Forbidden Place Records/Electric Valley Records - October 2022
Stoner, Garage, Punk, Doom, Proto, Psych
Rated: ****

Prolific Portland fuzz rockers LáGoon return with their seventh release "Bury Me Where I Drop", delivering their patented garage stoner with some tasty new flavors thrown into the mix. The scuzzy fuzz is as ripping as ever, riff after riff overlaid by vocals that drawl and sneer in equal parts to create an atmosphere that's stoned through and through. Opener "I See the Hate in You" is classic LáGoon, dragging itself out of the feedback to lay down rock solid proto-doom, with clattering drums and keening Soundgarden guitars making no bones about their sinister intent. Follow-up "Dead and Gone" proceeds adds some occult vibes to the noise, as winding riffage snakes into blown out chords and a singalong chorus. Things start to shake up on the third track, however, with "Bury Me" (feat. Marlo Kapsa) doling out some old school punk and even a bit of shoegaze, helped along into blissful oblivion by the dreamy, thoroughly stoned guest vocals. The good times don't roll for long, though, as highlight cut "Sharpen It" tears into the tranquility via gnarly surf rock riffs, shredding with abandon while the vocals do a one-eighty and screech with a decidedly punk edge. LáGoon's twists and turns between genres give each track extra oomph, and the final duo of "Face Down" and "Some Nerve" are no different. Contrasting with the hard-hitting "Sharpen It", "Face Down" is an instrumental ecstasy of soaring guitars and beautiful reverb, slowing down the pace with colorful psychedelia and deft, cymbal-happy drumming to add to the epic feel. Finally, the Portland crew go out with a bang in "Some Nerve", recalling the nastiness of "Sharpen It" in the bone-breaking guitar crunch and venom-filled shrieks, a pointed reminder that while LáGoon can deliver a myriad of moods and sounds, they never stop bringing the heavy. "Bury Me Where I Drop" is a confident, unquestionable release by a band who clearly know they deliver the goods and aren't afraid to stretch their wings and experiment while still maintaining their dependably top-notch rock 'n roll.

(Written by Kyle SB / Shastabeast)

Wanna read more about that crazy LáGoon and that quirky Anthony Gaglia?

Go ahead and read this way too long interview...

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Sky Pig - It Thrives in Darkness

 

 

Sky Pig - It Thrives in Darkness
Forbidden Place Records - October 2022
Sludge, Doom, Psych
Rated: *****

"It Thrives in Darkness" is the second full-length and third release for Sacramento sludgers Sky Pig, and the case they continue to make for themselves as one of the top sludge acts around is pretty much inarguable. Where 2020's "Hell is inside you" was evil, thunderously heavy, and sickeningly psychedelic, "It Thrives in Darkness" consistently one-ups it. The drums are booming, the walls of guitar and bass tone are on the Richter scale, and the vocals are gut-wrenching. It's not all big and burly though, as singer and guitarist Rob Sneddon mixes things up with some clean vocals that are truly the icing on Sky Pig's rancid cake. Cavernous and haunting, not unlike his usual scorching delivery in a way, but the passages of clean singing are subdued and warped as to augment each song's atmosphere perfectly. In "Motionless", the buildup towards colossal shouts of the sky being "just a big black hole" becomes all the more daunting, and the marching drive of "Sinning Time" is given an extra layer of urgency and inevitability. The lyrics themselves are fittingly bleak and crushing as well, weaving tales of Lovecraftian darkness and monstrosities befitting of the excellent album art. This comes as no surprise, however, as Sky Pig have proven themselves masters of atmosphere. Swirling, unsettling psychedelic passages often squirm into the ears before the next mountain of crushing noise topples over. Case in point the epic seven minutes-plus "In Light of your Death", which uses sonic space to as much effect as claustrophobic walls of sound. Don't let that leave you unprepared for the song's finale, however, though you'll likely get steamrolled just the same. The finale and title track finishes off the album appropriately, offering spine-tingling moments of calm before ripping your head off with gargantuan riffs, low end, and drums. Sky Pig are here for nothing less than total aural destruction, and we should thank the Great Old Ones for that.

(Written by Shastabeast aka Kyle SB)

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Stoner HiVe’s Quick Fire Friday

 

 

Stoner HiVe’s Quick Fire Friday

It’s Friday, the final Friday of a month, which means a new Doom Charts is lurking just around the corner. Most of our time is therefor devoted to getting that all sorted out. But we still managed to wrangle out a little thing we call Quick Fire Friday! A dark, twisted, black and doom version of Quick Fire Friday this time around. And we know… All those releases, singles, ep’s, albums, they are worth way more of our time! But you know how it is… 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!

Ad Nihil – No Eternal Truth

Out on Addicted Label, Russian six piece Ad Nihil delivers yet another incredibly dark and twisted album called No Eternal Truth. Bleak and black metal, doom, sludge, noise and hardcore are only a minor part of the incredibly forlorn and hopeless sound, that the vocals grunt and the story tells. A story about the crisis of civilization and emergency for mankind, the total decay of everything…

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Tattered The Wall – Shedding Season

Out on Cursed Monk Records, Tokyo based trio Tattered The Wall are a guitar less, instrumental, sludge, industrial, junk band with bass, drums, and unholy amount of noise. Not meant for the fainthearted and not meant for easy listening, this will distort your vision and make you stop eating, hang upside down, and spin yourself into a silky cocoon. Hoping, you will emerge one day, a butterfly… But you will probably turn into a radiating bloat fly…

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Vuara – A Normal Man

More Cursed Monk Records and more blackened noise metal from Russia! Vuara brings you speeding hardcore doom sludge and pure chaos. Cassettes for A Normal Man are out via Trepanation Recordings, but the sound on the five tracks in anything but normal. But if extreme hardcore metal is your cup o tea, than yes, Vuara has a kettle for you to pour from. Scalding hot, boiling metal!

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Sky Pig – It Thrives In Darkness

Sky Pig, the name always makes me think of Animals by Pink Floyd, which saw a new version releases recently. But the Sacramento trio, delivering its full-sized debut It Thrives In Darkness on Forbidden Place Records have little to do with or time for the Floyd stuff. No, they deliver metal, of the doom and sludge variation, with some definite menacing post-metal and ominous psych influences interspersed. Scuzzy, fuzzy and filthy.

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Ommnus / My Pitbull Lucifer – Split album

No Profit Recordings is releasing a split album between Ommnus and My Pitbull Lucifer, both delivering five tracks. Well, MPL does six with an intro track, but let’s now dwell on that. But instead dive together with the astronaut on the amazing cover art, into the punk doom metal, the blackened sludge, the hardcore and speed metal, the alternative rock, the stonerrock and the weird mixture of all of those. It’s good, it’s awesome and it’s split right down the middle!

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Sönus – Usurper of The Universe

 

 

Sönus – Usurper of The Universe
Self released/ Forbidden Place Records – 2022
Rock, Hardrock, Space, Stoner, Metal, Doom, Psych
Rated: ****

We mentioned the first release by this one-man-project in January of last year. Worlds Undreamed Of, as it was called, heralded the arrival of a new ‘Doom Metal poet, a Space Rock prophet and a troubadour of despair.’ Well, David Wachsman, the man behind Sönus, is back! On his new release Usurper of The Universe, he has evolved the project; getting aid from drummer Eduardo Salazar, multi assistance from Tyler Hovestadt and once again additional vocal support from Jaymi McGinn. And that not only grew the project into more than it was; the growth musically, in sound and production is immense. The nods towards Hawkwind and Monster Magnet were big on that first release, and they are here as well, but done in such a manner that Usurper of The Universe immediately feels like its very own Nuclear God. More jazzy and proggy touches that are inspired by bands like Captain Beyond take you straight into the heart of tracks like Amáranthine and closer Tanelorn. Namechecking those bands might sound like an obvious take on the album; since Sönus namechecks them himself. But his classic take on them sounds like a refreshing reinvention of the wheel. Every inch of this release is strong, heavy, rolling and rocking and will surely make every heavy music loving fiend out there intensely happy!

(Written by JK)

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Tony Maim’s – Personal Top 20

 

 

Tony Maim’s – Personal Top 20

As we mentioned before, the Stoner HiVe Team Members are all involved with the Doom Charts as well. So most of the personal lists already appeared there or will probably appear there in the near future. But we’re honored to be the first to post Madman Tony Maim’s Personal Top 20 first… Even though he might have posted the same one on his own Black Insect Laughter site… Hell, last year he even delivered a different one for the HiVe then the one for the Doom Charts, cause the HiVe, in his words back then: "has more latitude with the genres..." And we thank all the freaks in the HiVe for that! And we’re proud to have a list by the Madman, cause he has been active on his own Black Insect Laughter blog, been even more active with all his musical outlets like Guitars On Drugs of which Forbidden Place Records released a first CD called ‘Spies and Dub’ back in August of 2021. It’s the Madman Tony Maim; and he’s right, we’re wrong and the other way around. But when the Madman speaks, we listen! 

Guitars on Drugs

Tony Maim’s – Personal Top 20 (Errr, Top 47)

1. Idles - Crawler

2. Converge & Chelsea Wolfe – Bloodmoon: I

3. Sonic Demon - Vendetta

4. Squid – Bright Green Field

5. Love Your Witch – Fucking Relentless

6. Fucked Up – Year Of The Horse

7. God Is An Astronaut – Ghost Tapes #10

8. Melvins – Working With God

9. Part Chimp - Drool

10. Haaz - Andra

11. Rostro Del Sol - Cynical Mind

12. Turnstile – Glow On

13. Blasting Rod - III

14. Jointhugger – Surrounded By Vultures

15. Tropical Fuck Storm – Deep States

16. Kowloon Walled City - Piecework

17. Death From Above 1979 – Is For Lovers

18. Mother Iron Horse – Under The Blood Moon

19. Mdou Moctar – Afrigue Victime

20. Junkbreed – Music For Cool Kinds

21. Leon III – Antlers In Velvet

22. 2 Headed Dogs – The Engine Is On

23. Domkraft - Seeds

24. Cha Wa – My People

25. Cerce – Cowboy Music

26. Ill Considered – Liminal Space

27. Mythic Sunship - Wildfire

28. 10000 Years - II

29. Kills Birds - Married

30. Dinosaur Jr – Sweep It Into Space

31. Stomatopod – Completing With Hindsight

32. A Better Tomorrow – Spiritual Crossing

33. The Lords Of Altamont – Tune In, Turn On, Electrify

34. Watchman – Doom Of Babylon

35. Heavy Temple – Lupi Amoris

36. Chihuahua – Violent Architecture

37. Spotlights – We Are All Atomic

38. Uranus Space Club – Another Planet, Another Love

39. God Damn – Raw Coward

40. Duel – In Carne Persona

41. X'ed Out – We All Do Wrong

42. Fere - Visceral

43. Mono – Pilgrimage Of The Soul

44. Monolord – Your Time To Shine

45. The Pop Group – Y In Dub

46. Tv Priest - Uppers

47. Irreversible Entanglements – Open The Gates

Gods & Punks – The Sounds Of The Universe

 

 

Gods & Punks – The Sounds Of The Universe
Self released / Forbidden Place Records – 2021
Rock, Prog, Stoner, Psych, Space, Doom
Rated: *****

The July Doom Charts are out! And on the eight spot we find the new release by Gods & Punks! And we got to write the little blurb for it. The Sounds Of The Universe is the final release, but first chapter, of the four-part adventure that the Brazil rockers called their ‘Voyage Series’. And on it the five Gods & Punks turn up the space rock, the psychedelic touches but still retain that proggy and doomy feeling. Do you need to be familiar with the stuff that came before? Hell no, cause it’s the first chapter and it will stand on its own no matter what. Will it entice you to go back (or forth) towards those other releases? Hell yes, cause it is one damn majestic journey into all of the farthest reaches of the heavy stuff we all love so dearly! And even though they were always in tune with their psych and prog side of the heavy stuff, this one feels even more like a prog rock magnus opus than the records that came before. It surfs across tension arcs and wide expanses like quicksilver, it gives you some king hell seductive melodies and never forgets to pack a punch and continues to deal out riffs galore. An album to take with you wherever you may go through the universe…  

(Written by JK)

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LáGoon – Skullactic Visions

 

 

LáGoon – Skullactic Visions
Interstellar Smoke Records / Forbidden Place Records – 2021
Rock, Doom, Garage, Punk, Psych, Skate, Fuzz, Stoner, Metal
Rated: *****

The two that turned into three stayed LáGoon and became it even more. For the sound on their new album Skullactic Visions seems to be taking on its definite doom garage signature. Creepy vocals with psychedelic effects were always one of the elements that set LáGoon apart, but they’re now taking center stage on certain tracks, like the title track for instance and that lovely first shot of the album: Cold Smoke. A fast paced opener that riffs and roars and has wild face melting guitar solos to complement that eerie voice. A fade-out takes us into Beyond The Trees, the utmost doom track of the seven, which starts with an ominous riff before the garage sounding drums add its layer. The speed-up towards the end shows once again that LáGoon takes no prisoners and follows no rules but their own, and you will therefor never know what kind of heaviness might be lurking just around the corner. One of the most alluring and enticing tracks might be the one minute fourth effort called Buried; which might be viewed as an interlude or an unfinished wild idea. Perhaps the three goons have decide to only play that one out in full whenever they perform live? A blasting drum march with an intense menacing atmosphere. Which continues throughout the rest of the album, which sends you off with a proper sleazy instrumental last track called Final Ride. A finale if ever there was one. Slow in delivery, but decisively so. Like a sun setting over a ruined wasteland and giving you a vision of those last final glimmers of light hitting bone…

(Written by JK)

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The Marigold – Apostate

 

 

The Marigold – Apostate
Sound Effect Records/Forbidden Place Records/Trepanation Records/Coffin & Bolt Records/Golden Robot Records – 2021
Sludge, Hardcore, Post, Metal, Grunge, Alternative, Stoner, Doom
Rated: ****

Founded in 1998 by Marco Campitelli, the Italian (now) three-piece The Marigold have returned with a new album entitled Apostate. And just like the one that came before it is produced by and featuring Toshi Kasai from the Melvins and mastered by Amaury Cambuzat from Faust and Ulan Bator. We’re served eight alternative, grunge and sludge rockers. Still highly alternative, it is without any doubt their most accessible piece of metal; with even catchy stoner and captivating doom moments interspersed throughout the record. The sound often moving more into Mike Patton or Tool territory. Aiding them on guitars is also Adam Harding (Dumb Numbers, Kidbug and Thor of the Swans), delivering those extra layers of string texture. The entire album is, simply put, so pleasing to the heavy rock loving ear that this will immediately become your favorite The Marigold album and puts that former wild Kanaval album from 2014 to pasture. Apostate seems to renounce much of that noise and experimental juice they produced on their earlier records, and moves distinctly into high point territory; seeing the waves of noise crash just before their feet. Highly inspirational; and a luscious take on the alternative metal sound!  

(Written by JK)

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Ibliss - Demonic, Her

 

 

Ibliss - Demonic, Her
DHU Records / Forbidden Place Records – 2021
Doom, Stoner, Occult
Rated: ****

The honor was hours to write a few words about this six-track release for the January Doom Charts; six tracks which will soon find your way on vinyl and cd respectively through DHU Records and Forbidden Place Records.  The lo-fi Demonic, Her album by Malaysian three-piece formation Ibliss will immediately give you the chills! The raw, gritty and filthy sound tends to do that; especially when you feel the demonic breath of her occult offering the entire time behind your ear. Aah yes, the sinful properties of man, that vintage spilling of blood, dancing on a tightrope between creepy and catchy, Ibliss translates it all into something hallucinatory and mesmerizing. And even though the lo-fi live setting, the occult lyrical content might give you the chills, it will also put a smile on yer face. Cause you hear without any doubt that the three had an absolute blast recording this majestic release. Demonic, Her is one hell of a demonic, debut!  

(Written by JK)

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DEAD - Raving Drooling

  

DEAD - Raving Drooling
WeEmptyRooms/Wantage USA/Rock Is Hell/Forbidden Place Records - 2020
Sludge, stoner, doom
Rated: *****

The latest in an outrageously prolific catalog, Aussie sludgers DEAD have re-released new full length Raving Drooling with the excellent Forbidden Place Records, and it's a monster. From the outset of opener "Remorse", the two-piece, co-owners of label WeEmptyRooms, make no bones about their massive sound. The drums are booming and ominous, avalanching like some march to war, and the tectonic low end busts in to hammer the point home. A mix of clean and growled vocals furthers the already dynamic instrumentation, and running beneath the noise is a taut sense of danger. "Digging Holes" adds a catchy chorus to twisting riffs and a molasses-thick churn of distortion, broken up by wild drum fills. The combination of sludgy riffs and big drums is DEAD's recipe for success, topped with a weirdness and aggression that mixes perfectly with their Big Business sensibilties. There's no weak track in the bunch, but if one were to be highlighted, "Nunchukka Superfly" is a special treat. The quaking bass rumbles through the tune's thrash attack, resulting in Black Cobra and High on Fire levels of heaviness. Closer "Follow the Breathing" takes the opposite approach with a relentlessly slow plod, the bass grinding out its murky tone while the drums trudge slowly on. Raving Drooling is unique and thrillingly creative sludge that stands tall and then some among today's heavy.

(Written by Shasta Beast)

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Dungeon Weed – Mind Palace Of The Mushroom God

Dungeon Weed – Mind Palace Of The Mushroom God

Forbidden Place Records / Fuzzy Mind Records – 2020

Rock, Doom, Metal, Sludge

Rated: ***

As we all know, everything is always highly subjective, there is no such thing as objectivity. Keep that in mind. For the next few minutes and every minute henceforth. Well… Shucks... For I am not very partial to the band name Dungeon Weed, I’m also struggling a bit with the artwork, and perhaps even the album title Mind Palace Of The Mushroom God and some of the vocals. It all feels a bit too gimmicky and even though there are definitely moments when I can appreciate a gimmick, this time around, it does not seem to work for me. I almost wanted to dismiss the entire album after the first two tracks, but decided to stick it out. And I am happy I did so, cause there is some great doom metal and sludge lurking beneath the grime, dust and annoying vocals. Offsetting those annoying vocals are some female lines that immediately lift every track to a higher level; of release and freedom; even though the music itself gives off this vibe of slowly lumbering to ones inevitable death. Which seems about right, since it tells the story of an imprisoned wizard. We get this proto feel directly from some electrifying guitar work and majestic drumming. Drenched in an unholy level of distortion, feedback and fuzz; it all comes together in perfect harmony and paints the bleak picture well…. And then you read the accompanying press package and see that it’s actually Dmitri Mavra of Skunk and Slow Phase at the helm here. Dang, this is completely different, completely doomed and sludged and we wonder what it will mean for future Skunk releases!

(Written by JK)

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LáGoon - Father of Death

LáGoon - Father of Death

Interstellar Smoke Records, Forbidden Place Records, & Baxter Electric Guitars - 2020

Stoner, Heavy Psych, Doom

Rated ****

Whilst almost the entire planet has been derelict, Portland stoners LáGoon actually increased their output three-fold: between May and June they have proffered two albums and an EP!, the latest of which is Father of Death that hones their Desert vibes and incorporates Heavy Psych and Doom through five weighty wedges of power. Title track and opener 'Father of Death' rumbles with rancorous bass, low-slung and sordid, dragging a Sabbathian riff through Glam overtones and sleaze-fuelled vocals. 'Resuscitation' growls in from understated guitar picks, booming into proto-metal riffage ponderous and mighty, barbed with tuneful solos and time changes. A simple guitar refrain once again heralds the unleashing of slow, sick riffs and full-on solo assaults! Proto-metal bass grooves bleed over 'Broken Oath', an almost Witches Of God vibe bolted onto an organ-slapped Doom riff at once compelling and tremendous. As with all great albums, the epic is kept until last. 'Stab & Cut' melts in on sweet guitar melodies then plummets into the vastness of a Doom crusher, vibrant and potent. Similarities with Witches Of God are again apparent, but LáGoon's approach is less Goth, more Desert and heavier. This is an album that will satisfy the Heavy Underground Rocker: everything a growing cult could want!

(Written by Reek of STOOM)

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

Stoner HiVe’s

Top 5 artists listened to last week…

Silver Devil

LáGoon

Pfund

Dawn of Winter

Gone Cosmic

Morning everyone. Just a quick note on that monthly Top 10. We just post that quickly and never edit it. On the weekly list we take the liberty to edit out those artists that don’t need that little bit of  extra encouragement to listen to. Artists that are already huge enough like Queens of The Stone Age or artists; (that even though they have some merit for the HiVe) that we listened to for interview purposes like Melissa Etheridge. So here’s the Top 5 Most Listened to Last Week and then we should really get down to perusing the February 2019 edition of the Doom Charts! Cause that is an insane one! Silver Devil’s new album Paralyzed, released by Ozium Records, is quickly becoming a household favorite. 5th on the Doom Charts this month and 1st in my head at the moment! What an album! Stomping stoner and high energy grooves! Also on the weekly list like last week: LáGoon and their The Unwelcome album; garage doom and fuzzed out rock, skater vibe stoner and punky metal. Out on Forbidden Place Records and another absolute must have! And so is the glorious Pfund album! It’s on constant rotation over here! New on the list is the December 2018 through I-Hate released album Pray For Doom by German fourpiece Dawn Of Winter. Doom in every sense of the word! But with an almost opera like stance the compositions take on this grandiose atmosphere. Lovely! And then there’s Gone Cosmic with their Sideways In Time album, released through Kozmik Artifactz. Set for an early April release this is some grade A, female fronted psych rock, it whirls and it winds and it wails like a hard rocking banshee on the prowl! Simply stunning! But I guess they all are! So check’m out! Check’m all out!

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

Stoner HiVe’s

Top 5 artists listened to last week…

LáGoon

Silver Devil

Pfund

Professor Electric

Stone Golem

Another week has passed and yes, once again a day late with the Top 5 Most Listened to list. But that’s just how it goes and we all know the deal. Work and no fun! But luckily we did have fun listening to those albums these Five artists delivered. First off, we won’t list Queens Of The Stone Age, cause that’s another band we listened to a lot, it has a sort of mantra to it that makes it easy getting a lot of work done. But when new stuff comes on, you just have to focus, pay attention and let yourself be mesmerized by those albums. Like LáGoon and their The Unwelcome album; garage doom and fuzzed out rock, skater vibe stoner and punky metal. Out on Forbidden Place Records and an absolute must have! But so is Silver Devil and their through Ozium Records released new album Paralyzed. Sweden turns out to be the stomping ground for massive stoner gold once again. High energy grooves that move and stun! Can’t get enough of it! Just like Pfund’s album! Pfund is exciting, crazy and simply glorious! As we already mentioned last week. The Akashic Record by Professor Electric came out a few months ago; a hideous one-man band preaching hellfire and brimstone across the desert sand as he states himself. Or as the honorable Frazer Jones from Desert Psychlist states: “Take some early Captain Beefheart quirky bluesiness sprinkle with a smattering of funk and a pinch of stuttering fuzziness and voila…” Indeed, let’s take some Beefheart! Stone Golem from the Netherlands pushes their space oriented rock opera In The Shadow Of A Titan towards a stonerrock horizon and sun dried riffs. But then enter the atmospheric elements; and enchant you like a lost soul in the desert, dying of thirst and suddenly staring at a mirage oasis… Absolutely brilliant album! But I guess they all are! So check’m out! Check’m all out!