Duel is staying busy! The Texan hard-rockers will play 30 dates across 9 countries later this year, which is already their fourth European tour. The band is further on supporting its fantastic latest effort, Witchbanger. They’ll kick off the run of 30 shows in Pisa on November 10 and wrap up in Rome on December 9. You can check out the dates and details below.

Heavy Psych Sounds Records is happy to announce the upcoming repress of DUEL's sold out debut "Fears of the Dead". Their newly released album "Witchbanger" is still available here.

Hailing from the sun-baked lands of Austin, TX, DUEL is a heavy metal four-piece who casts hard-rocking spells of doom, blistering licks and horror from behind a thick haze of smoke. Formed by two ex-members of Scorpion Child and hugely influenced by the darkness of late 60's and early 70’s metal, these purists cut it right to the bone with heavy, deep grooves and blistering tunes.

After they released their well-acclaimed debut "Fears Of The Dead" in February 2016 on Heavy Psych Sounds, DUEL are back with their even more raging full-length, cheekily entitled "Witchbanger", due out April 28th, 2017. The album was produced and engineered by lead guitarist Jeff Henson at his Red Nova Ranch studio in the wastelands of Texas, not far from the historic Texas Chainsaw Massacre house. ~ Purple Sage PR

Duel European Tour 2017

10.11 - Pisa (IT) Albatross
11.11 - Reggio Emilia (IT)
12.11 - Milan (IT)
13.11 - Chambery (FR) Le Brin De Zinc
14.11 - TBA
15.11 - Barcelona (SP) Rocksound
16.11 - Madrid (SP) TBA
17.11 - Bilbao (SP) TBA
18.11 - Eindhoven (NL) TBA
19.11 - France TBA
20.11 - Lyon (FR) Le Farmer
21.11 - Mannheim (DE) 7 er
22.11 - Lichtenfels (DE) Paunchy Cats
23.11 - Innsbruck (AT) PMK
24.11 - Bozen (IT) Sudwerk

25.11 - Siegen (DE) Vortex
26.11 - Osnabruck (DE) Dirty + Dancing
27.11 - Berlin (DE) Urban Spree
28.11 - Dresden (DE) Chemiefabrik
29.11 - Wien (AT) Viper Room
30.11 - Kreuzlingen (CH) Horst
01.12 - Blundenz (AT) Villa K
02.12 - Basel (CH) Hirschneck
03.12 - Castel D'ario (IT) Hostaria
04.12 - Zerobranco (IT) Altroquando
05.12 - Slovenia TBA
06.12 - Trieste (IT) Tetris
07.12 - Pescara (IT) Scumm
08.12 - Sofia (BG) TBA
09.12 - Roma (IT) Wishlist

Facebook | Bandcamp | Heavy Psych Sounds

Ripple Music's West Coast dealers of heavy riffage ZED hit the Road to tear up the Lone Star State

Ripple Music's West Coast dealers of heavy riffage ZED are joining forces with East Coast hard rockers Wasted Theory to take the Lone Star State by force this May. And when these two forces meet, you better be ready for some Hard and Heavy Rockin! Known as the ‘Trippin’ Through Texas‘ tour, the two bands will devastate the 4 biggest cities, Houston, San Antonio, Austin and Dallas, along with some of the best bands Texas has to offer, such as Wo Fat, Greenbeard, White Dog and more!

ZED bassist Mark Aceves says "We are super excited to finally bring our sound to our friends and fans in Texas, it's been a long time coming, especially for me being that I'm originally from Texas. It's going to be like a homecoming! And to be able to share the stage with such great bands and dudes like Wasted Theory, Wo Fat and others just adds to how killer it will be. ~ Ripple Music"

ZED: Facebook | Twitter | Bandcamp

Wasted Theory: Facebook | Bandcamp 

Trippin' Thru Texas will happen on the following dates:

10.05 – Satellite Bar, Houston TX w/Stonework & The Society Of Bandits (9PM – All Ages)
11.05 – Limelight, San Antonio TX w/locals TBA (9PM – 21+)
12.05 – Dirty Dog Bar, Austin TX w/Greenbeard & White Dog (9PM-21+)
13.05 – Double Wide, Dallas TX w/Wo Fat & Crimson Stone (9PM – 21+)

Alastor - Black Magic (2017)

Saint Vitus once sang, White magic, black magic, which am I to choose? But Sweden's Alastor didn't have any doubts, they knew exactly what to choose for their debut EP.

Well, I just got done listening to about thirty-four minutes of music. That's, of course, nothing out of the ordinary, but this album/EP compresses that much music into just three songs. Luckily, Alastor makes the most of the time and delivers a quality EP. This is exactly the type of record where you pay no attention to song length, and just allow yourself to be entranced into Alastor's world. And I can guarantee you, you will not want to leave.

The guitar playing on here ranges from heavy-as-fuck doom metal to spacey, psychedelic sounding riffs and the vocals are sung in the background, like an old Black Sabbath record. These elements blend to create the incredible atmosphere of these tracks. The songs have an overall spooky, formidable tone and tomb-like mists that slip subliminally into the listener's ear.

The opener, Enemy, is well over eleven minutes and features a long, atmospheric Sleep-esque intro leading into the massive main riff. The song has good groove and powerful presence, supreme mini-solos, long solos and great clean vocals. The next song, Nothing To Fear, is straight to the point and full of energy. The end riff here is simply stunning. Impressive as the first two songs are, it's the third, Black Magic, where Alastor really shines. To be clear though, I can't turn Black Magic loud enough. This song will get stuck it your head for indeterminable amounts of time and there is nothing you can do about it. The title track opens with a bulky Weedeater-like riff, quickly opening into another Electric Wizard/Windhand-style riff. It's a truly freaked out song with mighty vocals and with some of the most epic, monolithic riffing you'll hear on the album.

Overall, Black Magic is nothing groundbreaking, but with it, Alastor has made an amazingly competent stoner doom album. It's fat and melodic in the right places. It will be stuck in your head for a while, I assure you that.

Bandcamp | Facebook
Spotify | iTunes | Google Play

Bongzilla To Embark On 2017 European Tour

Bongzilla is ready to return on the stage: after announcing their long awaited reunion in 2015, and after playing some shows in 2015 and 2016, the stoner doom legend is about to embark on a month-long tour of Europe, which will see the group play over 30 shows. The band will perform their legendary Gateway in its entirety at Roadburn Festival!

Want to catch the band in concert while they tour Europe? Then check out the tour dates below.

BONGZILLA EUROPEAN TOUR 2017

20.04 - Tilburg (NL) Roadburn Festival
21.04 - Saint Petersburg (RU)
22.04 - Moscow (RU) ШАГИ
26.04 - Bologna (IT) Alchemica Club
27.04 - Lausanne (CH) Impetus Festival / Romandie
28.04 - Berlin (DE) Desertfest Berlin
29.04 - London (UK) Desertfest London
30.04 - London (UK) Desertfest London
01.05 - Bruxelles (BE) Magasin 4
02.05 - Le Havre (FR) Le Sonic
03.05 - Paris (FR) Glazart
04.05 - Nantes (FR) Ferrailleur
05.05 - Toulouse (FR) Rex Club
06.05 - Madrid (SP) Kristonfest
07.05 - Gueret (FR) Metal Cultures
08.05 - Aarau (CH) Kiff Foyer

09.05 - Zagreb (HR) Mochvara
10.05 - Wien (AT) Arena
11.05 - Belgrade (SR) Elektropionir
12.05 - Skopje (MN) МКЦ
13.05 - Sofia (BG) Live & Loud Club
14.05 - Timisaora (RO) Daos Club
15.05 - Budapest (HU) A38
16.05 - Prague (CZ) Klub 007
17.05 - Warsaw (PL) Pogłos
18.05 - Kauns (LT) Lemmy Klubas
19.05 - Riga (LV) Nabaklab
20.05 - Talinn (EST) Rock Stars
21.05 - Helsinki (FIN) Bar Loose
23.05 - Oslo (NOR) Blå
24.05 - Gothenburg (SWE) Truckstop Alaska
25.05 - Copenhagen (DK) Pumpehuset
26.05 - Hamburg (DE) Hafenklang

Facebook | Bandcamp

Desertfest London 2017: Stage Times Announced For The Festival!

Anyone still pondering who to see and when over the upcoming Desertfest London festival can now take a look at the full line-up and set times. Just click here.

Get your notepads ready, as DESERTFEST LONDON have finally announced the stage times for their sixth edition, taking place April 28-30th in Camden!

It's finally that time of year; the last pit stop on the way to Desertfest 2017. We have those all important stage times at the ready. Were you worried about Steak clashing with Lowrider? Did you wonder if you'd be able to run to The Underworld for Samsara Blues Experiment after Sleep? Now you'll be able to answer all clash-based worries. To help planning your weekend, the festival put together a very helpful Clashfinder timetable.

The festival kicks off in 6 weeks time and tickets are selling at a rapid rate – under 200 weekend passes and only 50 Saturday tickets left! We also have limited spaces left on our hotel packages at Camden Lock Hotel and just 4 beds left at Smart Hostel Camden. Find out more about accommodations here. ~ Info from Purple Sage PR

- DESERTFEST LONDON 2017 -

28th to 30th April in Camden, London

Weekend & day tickets still available HERE

3-day pass - £100
Friday - £40
Saturday - £40
Sunday - £45

Get more infos on the Desertfest website

Follow the festival on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram

Stoner Mountain's Weekly Bandcamp Discoveries #3

First of all, sorry I haven't written a blog post in so many days, but I have been preoccupied with work.

You know who loves a good list? Every single one of you. So here's a new list of Stoner Mountain's Weekly Bandcamp Discoveries. From Finnish stoner rock to Mexican dark jazz, here are 11 discoveries I made this past week. For the first time, there's no black metal album closing the list. I just couldn't find anything interesting.

P.S. If this is your first visit here, be sure to check out:

#1 | #2

Duel: Album Release Date & European Tour Dates

The Texan doom metal band Duel just announced their European tour in support of their upcoming album Witchbanger, which has been tabbed for a April 28th release (pre-orders from March 17th on Heavy Psych Sounds). The album was produced and engineered by lead guitarist Jeff Henson at his Red Nova Ranch studio.

Formed by two ex-members of Scorpion Child, these purists cut it right to the bone with heavy, deep grooves and blistering tunes. After their well-acclaimed debut "Fears Of The Dead" released in February 2016, DUEL are back with an even more raging full-length on Heavy Psych Sounds, cheekily entitled "Witchbanger". Prepare for Hell or Valhalla, from start to finish this carefully-crafted album WILL KILL YOU!

The tour kicks off April 26th in Rome, winding down on May 21st in Castel D'Ario. Look over the complete list of currently announced dates below.

DUEL EUROPEAN TOUR 2017

26.04.2017 - Roma (IT) Traffic
27.04.2017 - Parma (IT) Titty Twister
28.04.2017 - Oberentfelden (CH) Borom Pom Pom
29.04.2017 - Berlin (DE) Desertfest
30.04.2017 - DK Tba
01.05.2017 - Copenhagen (DK) TBA
02.05.2017 - Secret Show (DK)
03.05.2017 - Malmoe (SE) Plan B
04.05.2017 - Erfurt (DE) AZJ doordeal
05.05.2017 - Dresden (DE) Chemiefabrik
06.05.2017 - Winterthur (CH) Gaswerk
07.05.2017 - Varedo (IT) Crazy Driver
08.05.2017 - Zerobranco (IT) Altroquando

09.05.2017 - Izola (SL) Hangar Bar
10.05.2017 - Torino (IT) Blah Blah
11.05.2017 - St Gallen (CH) Rumpeltum
12.05.2017 - Basel (CH) Art & Wheels Fest
13.05.2017 - Bludenz (AT) Villa K
14.05.2017 - Salzburg (AT) Rockhouse
16.05.2017 - Karlsruhe (DE) Akk
17.05.2017 - Stuttgart (DE) Keller Klub
18.05.2017 - Freiburg (DE) White Rabbit
19.05.2017 - Athens (GR) An Club "Sonic Ritual Fest"
20.05.2017 - Mezzago (IT) Bloom "Sonic Ritual Fest"
21.05.2017 - Castel D'Ario (IT) Hostaria

Facebook | Bandcamp | Heavy Psych Sounds

Calgary's 420 Music & Arts Festival Announce Line Up W/ Wo Fat, Anciients, Black Mastiif, La Chinga + MORE

The 2017 420 Music & Arts Festival line-up has been announced! It's a mix of stoner rock, desert rock, doom and sludge metal from around Canada + the Texan stoner masters Wo Fat. Find more details about the festival from the press release below.

The 420 Music & Arts Festival is a three day celebration featuring 22 Stoner Rock, Desert Rock, Doom & Sludge Metal and Fuzzy, Kick Ass Rock n Roll bands surrounding the culture that is 420. Headlining this inaugural year all the way from Dallas, TX for their first Canadian performance, stoner legends WO FAT, Vancouver’s ANCIIENTS and Edmonton/ Vancouver based BLACK MASTIFF.

In addition to all the rad music, festival attendees will have the opportunity to view and purchase the work of select local artists, artisans and craftsman at the 420 Expo, Saturday, April 22 at Distortion from 10am-4pm. Interspersed with vendors of interesting and eclectic wares will be information on medical marijuana and hemp products and even more 420 enthusiasts. Select vendors, artists and marijuana related companies will be available in the evenings at the festival as well. NORML (National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws) will be in attendance to answer questions.

You will be able to indulge your desire for munchies with a variety delectable culinary creations from some of Southern Alberta’s best food trucks. If that isn’t enough, each night of the festival there will be an opportunity to show off your glorious facial hair in our beard contest. Celebrity judges will decide who moves onto the final round on the last night of the festival where one beard will rule them all! ~ ASHER MEDIA RELATIONS

Thursday, April 20
Event's Facebook

Black Mastiff – (Edmonton, AB/Vancouver, BC) – Facebook
HighKicks – (Calgary, AB) – Facebook
La Chinga – (Vancouver, BC) – Facebook
The Electric Revival – (Calgary, AB) – Facebook
Buffalo Bud Buster – (Calgary, AB) – Facebook
Hypnopilot – (Calgary, AB) – Facebook
Set & Stoned – (Crossfield, AB) – Facebook

Friday, April 21
Event's Facebook

Anciients – (Vancouver, BC) – Facebook
Dead Quiet – (Vancouver, BC) – Facebook
Lavagoat – Saskatoon, SK) – Facebook
Orbital Express – (Regina, SK) – Facebook
ChronoBot (Prince Albert, SK) – Facebook
Lordosis – (Calgary, AB) – Facebook
Hunted By Ravens – (Red Deer, AB) – Facebook

Saturday, April 22
Event's Facebook

Wo Fat – (Dallas, Texas, USA) – First ever appearance in Canada Facebook
Chron Goblin – (Calgary, AB) – Facebook
Cowpuncher – (Calgary, AB) – Facebook
Mammoth Grove – (Calgary, AB) – Facebook
NVGR (Nikki Valentine & Gypsy Riders) – (Calgary, AB) – Facebook
Black Thunder – (Regina, SK) – Facebook
Brown Dwarf – (Red Deer, AB) – Facebook
Bazaraba – (Calgary, AB) – Facebook

- 420 Music & Arts Festival 2017 -

20th to 22th April in Calgary, Alberta
Tickets and passes are vailable HERE and HERE

Get more infos at www.420MusicAndArtsFestival.ca
Follow the festival on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest

Stoner Mountain's Weekly Bandcamp Discoveries #2

Ready for a new portion of cool records? Once again, here are 11 records from over the past couple weeks, from French stoner metal to British black metal. As I mentioned last time, most of them deserve a separate review, but I just don't have the time to do that, so at least I can give'em some recognition. BTW. This issue of Stoner Mountain's Weekly Bandcamp Discoveries has been brought to you by the tag 'Heavy Psych'.

P.S. If this is your first visit here, be sure to check out:

#1

Stoner Mountain's Weekly Bandcamp Discoveries #1

Welcome to my new series - Stoner Mountain's Weekly Bandcamp Discoveries. The name is pretty self-explanatory. I'll be posting my Bandcamp discoveries every week. Here are 11 records from over the past two weeks that you should check out. From French stoner rock to Amercian black metal, here are some of the choicest records from around the world. Most of them deserve a separate review, but I just don't have the time to do that, so at least I can give'em some recognition.

Beerwolf: U.S. Winter Tour 2017

Beerwolf is also on tour right now. Check out if the band is playing near you and just go see these guys!

Tour Schedule:
02/04/17 - Fort Lauderdale at Kreepy Tiki Bar & Lounge
02/05/17 - Jacksonville at Shantytown
02/06/17 - Augusta, GA at The Soul Bar
02/07/17 - TBA at TBA
02/08/17 - Raleigh, North Carolina at Slim’s Downtown
02/09/17 - Richmond, Virginia at 25 Watt RVA
02/10/17 - Atlanta, GA at The Highlander
02/11/17 - Panama City, Florida at The Dungeon Tavern

Beerwolf - Oracle's Prophecy (2015)

They’re called Beerwolf and hail from the city of Tampa, the unofficial capital of American death metal. Although that doesn't mean they're a death metal group. Make no mistake, this is groovy stoner/doom metal with nice soaring clean vocals. Formed somewhere in the early days of 2015, Beerwolf released their debut album, Oracle's Prophecy, in October of the same year.

The album starts off with the instrumental song Sorcerer's Demise, a Kyuss-esque, bang-along stoner rock hymn. An awesome tune with a slow, trippy, and psychedelic guitar solo. Followed by Sea Tyrant, a nutty psychedelic thing. What we get here is a thick, groovy riff inspired by Down's Nola. The next two tracks, River Styx and Warlock's War, have a heavy blues vibe to it, and a lot of Sleep and Black Sabbath worship going on. With Poor Man, we're back in fuzzed-out Kyuss-esque stoner rock land again. And last but not least, Oracle's Prophecy is a great number, with plenty of fuzz, groove, funk and all around heaviness. The song has some supreme riffage and a brilliant, mind-bending solo.

Overall, this is a very solid debut for these guys from Florida. It's nothing groundbreaking or innovating, but it's a pleasure to listen to this. I guess that if this band was from Sweden instead of the United States, that they'd be loved by now.

Bandcamp | Website | Facebook

Twitter | Instagram

Desertfest London 2017 - Day Splits & Tickets Are Now Up!

The DESERTFEST LONDON 2017 day and stage splits are here, along with individual day tickets! Discover the highlights, venue details and the full list of bands that will grace Camden with their heavy riffs on April 28-30th.

Last things first, let's get straight to that insane Sunday main-stage. To celebrate The Roundhouse venue joining the Desertfest family, we made their debut appearance something special. Not only will stoner doom icons SLEEP be topping the bill, but the Roundhouse hosts a full bill of huge acts. CANDLEMASS, with over three decades of underground acclaim to their name, bring the epic doom metal. USA's WOLVES IN THE THRONE ROOM bring the atmospheric black metal. Traditional doom metal stalwarts SAINT VITUS bring the classic riffs. And how about this for a 'curtain jerker'? BONGZILLA bring the raw weed metal for their second show of the weekend; more on the first later.

It's not just about the Sunday though. Friday's stage at the Electric Ballroom is headlined by returning heroes SLO BURN whose short run in the mid 90s furthered the then fledgling stoner rock scene. One band they surely had an impact on is LOWRIDER, who play Europe's finest stoner rock alongside them. Ukraine's STONED JESUS celebrate their resonant album Seven Thunders Roar, and 1000MODS and PONTIAK round up the main stage on the Friday.

The Electric Ballroom on Saturday will be swarming with Turbojugends as death-punk grandmasters TURBONEGRO turn Camden into party central. JOHN GARCIA sticks around for a solo show, sure to feature classics from his years of nonstop mastery in the stoner rock scene. Sheffield's rock and roll five piece BLACK SPIDERS visit London for one last time on their farewell tour, with SATAN'S SATYRS and AVON rounding up the main stage.

As ever though, it doesn't stop at the main stages. Our regular partners have delivered three stages with diverse lineups. Human Disease Promo and When Planets Collide take over The Underworld on Saturday in a bill headlined by BONGZILLA with a special set celebrating the band's early work. The Quietus stage is led by synth wavers ZOMBI, and Nightshift Promotions bring an eclectic mix led by Hungary's APEY & THE PEA.

TICKET PRICES are as follows:

Full weekend - £100

Friday - £40

Saturday - £40

Sunday - £45

A 'smart package' including festival pass + hotel room at Camden Lock Hotel can be purchased for the weekend from £245.

- DESERTFEST LONDON 2017 -

From 28th to 30th April in Camden, London (UK)

Friday and Saturday tickets on sale AT THIS LOCATION
Sunday tickets on sale AT THIS LOCATION

Get more infos on the Desertfest website

Follow the festival on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram

P.S. Info from Purple Sage PR

Mad John the Wise - Mad John the Wise EP (2014)

And we are leaving Athens with this one, so I'm presenting you something a bit different. It's an old request that I finally managed to post. In case you were wondering, the request is of course not as old as the EP.

Mad John the Wise is a boiling pot of stoner, hard rock, heavy metal, alternative rock and elements of prog metal, like soft-hard dynamics, changing time signatures and tempos. The band uses heavy influences of folk and I would say even some sea shanties. All that gives them a quite interesting sound - intense and fragile at the same time.

I'm not a prog expert and am far removed from the scene, but to me these guys have it. Whatever 'it' is. Perhaps no one will be breaking down any doors to get it, but it's still a pretty good listen. Songs like The Hunt and Gatti Di Strada certainly makes Mad John the Wise worth downloading, especially it's a free name-your-price download.

Bandcamp | Facebook | Soundcloud | Bandpage

Monolord - Lord of Suffering Video

Swedish doomsters Monolord have premiered a music video for their song "Lord of Suffering" taken from their single/EP Lord of Suffering​/​Die in Haze (released on August 12, 2016). The video is compiled from footage shot during Monolord's extensive US and EU touring last summer.

Facebook | Twitter

EP Sale (Digital and Vinyl)

Bandcamp

EP Sale (Vinyl)

RidingEasy Records

Telekinetic Yeti - Stoned and Feathered Video

Epic stoner metal/stoner doom is at the core of the duo Telekinetic Yeti, whose first full-length album is coming out march 2017, through Sump Pump Records. Check out the video for Stoned and Feathered, a track from their upcoming album, Abominable. It's a great presentation card for this band which creates a groovy, massive sound. Pre-orders for the album has started, links below.

Facebook | Big Cartel

Album Sale (Vinyl)

Pre-order Now

The Unholy 13 - Best of 2016

I'm presenting you The Unholy 13, my top albums of the year. It's a totally subjective list and these are only the stoner/doom/sludge/retro rock albums that I consider personal favourites. It was quite hard to make a solid selection out of all those wonderful albums released in 2016. I also wanted to pick more underground bands, so you won't see here bands like Witchcraft or Blood Ceremony. Of course compared to Adele or The Weeknd they are still very underground, but you get the idea, right?

I also want to say thank you so much to everyone who visited my blog. 2016 was a good year for Stoner Mountain.

P.S. Please visit Stoner Mountain on Facebook and click the "Like" button :)

13. Dunbarrow - Dunbarrow

Nothing new here, but I just love this album. The overall sound is very Witchcraft/Pentagram-esque, but can you blame them? It's just like Magnus Pelander sang - 'It is the Pentagram. It's got your soul again and you never be free!'. Easy listening and no skipping needed, just press play.

Favourite track: Forsaken

Bandcamp | Facebook

12. Stone Witch - Order of the Goat

A well balanced combination of stoner rock, hard rock and doom metal with a pinch of catchy blues tones thrown in for good measure.

Favourite track: The Herald

Bandcamp | Facebook

11. Conan - Revengeance

Conan's Revengeance is a beast. Heavy as fuck and extremely slow at times, but also has some well-placed faster moments that brings together a favourable combination of blast beats and doom, which really gets you into a head banging mood.

Favourite track: Revengeance

Bandcamp | Facebook

10. Old Blood - Old Blood

Another wonderful female fronted doom band. Old Blood mixes a bluesy vibe with psychedelic and doom sounds, creating dense, spaced-out atmospherics. They describe their sound as acid doom and that's probably the best description. Of course, I cannot forget about the soft, beautiful, almost smooth jazz-like vocals.

Favourite track: Taking Refuge with Strangers

Bandcamp | Facebook

9. Electric Citizen - Higher Time

Electric Citizen had me in 2014 with their superb debut album Sateen. It was a great, highly energetic mix of 70’s psych rock and vintage doom with hypnotic Siouxsie Sioux-style vocals. Higher Time builds forward on that formula, bringing just slightly updates to their overall sound. The album is more consistent but ultimately not as good as Sateen.

Favourite track: Crux

Bandcamp | Facebook

8. Bright Curse - Before The Shore

Bluesy and heavy stoner/doom grooves from the UK. Before The Shore is so thrilling, that it’s hard to believe it’s the product of just three people. The album is chock-full of muscular guitar sounds, powerhouse drums, prominent bass and amazing, clean vocals. There's definitely a Witchcraft and Graveyard vibe.

Favourite track: The Shore

Bandcamp | Facebook

7. Winter Moon - Hearts and Hands EP

Yes, it's another female fronted retro rock, but they have a unique and refreshing style that will appeal to a broad range of tastes. I just love how Winter Moon transcend many classic rock genres like blues rock, psych-rock, hard rock and it still sounds modern. The songwriting is taut, soaring and shows how a real band crafts their tunes once the writer has penned the initial song. The musicianship is at a high level. Each song is haunting in its own way with the guitars wailing, drums banging, keyboards conjuring melodies and soulful powerhouse vocals. Read the whole review

Favourite track: Wasted With You

Bandcamp | Facebook

6(66). Psychic Dose - Myrkviðr

The best example why it's good to wait with the 'Best of' list until the end of the year. Psychic Dose's second album was released just 10 days ago. Their music is heavier now, characterized by a more sinister and morbid sound; less 70's proto/traditional doom metal and more 80's doom metal/heavy metal. The production is much better and the vocals...Holy Smokes! The vocals are so fucking awesome. Singer Amanda Howell can touch your soul with her smoky powerhouse voice one minute, then completely melt your face off with passionate higher pitched vocals and harsh screams. Read the whole review

Favourite track: Lycnthropic State

Bandcamp | Facebook

5. Haunted - Haunted

Think of it as Electric Wizard teaming up with Pentagram adding female vocals, a dark, doomy sound played in a funky, rockin' psychedelic way. I'm just addicted to their overall sound and the catchiness of each of their songs. From the hauntingly beautiful vocals to the monolithic riffs. This is exactly how we want all of our records to sound like. Read the whole review

Favourite track: Nightbreed

Bandcamp | Facebook

4. Messa - Belfry

It was a battle for the fourth place between two Italian newcomers, Haunted and Messa, like a classic Serie A match between Juventus and Roma. ‘Belfry’ is searingly honest and brilliantly uncompromising, but also stuff full of hooks. There’s a lot of diversity present. It's a refreshing take on doom metal taking inspiration from different genres like drone, ambient and industrial. The sound is Heavy, melodic, immersive, trippy. And last, but not least, Sara's voice is beautiful and powerful, to the point of leaving you speechless.

Favourite track: Blood

Bandcamp | Facebook

3. Salem's Pot - Pronounce This!

The child of Electric Wizard and the younger brother of Windhand. They finally established their sound. Yes, it's much softer now, but guess what? They've never sounded better! Pronounce This! is a top notch and surprisingly diverse sounding album, there's even a sweet, laid back country-blues track!

Favourite track: Desire

Bandcamp | Facebook

2. Grajo - Grajo

Another female fronted newcomer on the list. Grajo nailed it with their self-titled debut. These guys have a really groovy Saint Vitus-esque vibe around their sound. Combine this with mountainous riffs and you're in for a ten ton trip. Yes, it's heavy, but very melodic at the same time, with mesmerising dreamy vocals. A perfect combination, very refreshing. Trust me, you'll get addicted in no time. Read the whole review

Favourite track: Magic Eye

Bandcamp | Facebook

1. Mountain Dust - Nine Years

The King is dead, long live The King! Because Mountain Dust is like a spiritual successor to Sweden's Graveyard. Heavy, bluesy 70's hard rock with loud, soulful clean vocals that are clear and have a wonderful bluesy tone to them. Nine Years is their full-length debut album and it already tipped Mountain Dust into the big leagues. It's got fistfuls of energy and manages to have an identity of it's own, which isn't easy. The seven tracks on this record contain enough traces of different acid/psychedelic rock, early heavy metal and even some traditional doom to make classic rock fans lose themselves for a few hours.

Favourite track: Running Fool

Bandcamp | Facebook

Padres del Yermo - Demo (2016)

Ok, Christmass is over. Now back to business!

Padres del Yermo is a young, psychedelic/space/desert rock four-piece from Buenos Aires, that brings us some stunning cosmic soul-soothing jams. Their Demo was released on October 17.

The demo is the band's debut and it offers six long songs of tight, riff-fueled fuzziness filled with that wonderful Argentinian vibe of space, stoner and psychedelic rock. The cosmic and warm sound is key with this promising band. They may sing in Spanish but I'm sure their songs will speak to you anyway. Listen to La Importancia del Mito to get the perfect feel of a song you never want to stop, even though it's almost 8 minutes long. Then the heavy, drilling Fuego fatuo, which creates a heavy, somber mood that is sometimes dark and deep and then warm and relaxing. Then, the groovy, upbeat El mandato, with a dirty bassline, monotonal hypnotised vocals...

Haven't you heard enough? Just go and get a copy of their demo. It's definitely worth downloading it. Pay what you want through the Bandcamp link below.

Bandcamp | Facebook

Desertfest London: Saint Vitus, Wolves In The Throne Room and more confirmed!

As festival season creeps closer and closer, Desertfest London has gone ahead and announced another amazing bands to it's already killer line-up.

Enjoy an early Christmas treat from DESERTFEST LONDON, with their last announcement for this year and a dozen more bands to join the festival's lineup on April 28-30th, 2017.

Conjurers of atmospheric black metal WOLVES IN THE THRONE ROOM are back on the warpath and headed straight for Camden! Doom pioneers SAINT VITUS make their Desertfest London debut, with founding vocalist Scott Reagers in tow.

Not content to merely headline this year's festival with Slo Burn, stoner rock's favourite frontman brings the JOHN GARCIA BAND to Desertfest 2017. Returning sludge crust heroes SCISSORFIGHT are taking a stand on this year's Human Disease Promo/When Planets Collide Stage.

Jamming psychsters STONED JESUS will be playing a special set of their album "Seven Thunders Roar" back to back, and as if it wasn't enough, we've got brutality - from WEAR YOUR WOUNDS, EARTH SHIP and IRON WITCH - and insanity - from BACKWOODS PAYBACK and one of the UK's most exciting doom acts, MAMMOTH WEED WIZARD BASTARD.

We've also got your stoner rock covered with STEAK, your 70s worship is sorted with DEAD LORD and your psych is all over the place with PONTIAK. And the party doesn't stop with Sleep this year, as the festival invited Canadian party rock foursome CHRON GOBLIN to play us out in style at the official after party... ~ Purple Sage PR

- DESERTFEST LONDON 2017 -

28th to 30th April in Camden, London

Weekend passes (£100) available HERE

Get more infos on the Desertfest website

Follow the festival on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram

High Priest - Consecration EP (2016)

So far, this is one of my favourite releases of this month. Meet High Priest, four young lads from Chicago, Illinois. They couldn't have found a better way to jump into the public consciousness than Consecration, High Priest's first record in which they deploy 5 great songs.

The band combines a slow, monumental riffing attitude with heavy-psych sounds, inspired by stoner rock and doom metal. Sometimes High Priest even sounds like a doomier version of Alice In Chains. Consecration is a thrill ride from start to finish. Heavy, brooding tunes make up the entire album and each track stands out on its own. It's hard to pick a favourite, but mine is probably Alone a short, but rockin' song that has the potential to make you headbang.

You can grab this highly impressive digital debut for...free. Yep, it's a name your price download from Bandcamp. Of course, as always I strongly recommend you to donate a few dollars to the respective artist, so they can continue releasing great music.

Bandcamp | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram