Stoner Rock

Delving – All Paths Diverge Review

Delving – All Paths Diverge Review

By El Cuervo on September 4, 2024 in Reviews, Psychedelic Rock, Stoner Rock, 17 comments

“I admire artists who change. Considering the trend away from doom metal and towards psychedelic rock across the Elder discography, it should come as no surprise that the new project by frontman Nick DiSalvo focuses entirely on the latter. Diving into layers of synthesizers and guitar haze, All Paths Diverge blazes a new trail into psychedelic music that was only hinted at by Elder previously. Though the remainder of this review will describe their music, the Delving artwork is perfect; it fuses a warm embrace with something fantastic and foreign. Does the album match?” Rise of Delvder.

POHL – Mysteries Review

POHL – Mysteries Review

By Owlswald on August 27, 2024 in Reviews, Heavy Metal, Noise, Noise Rock, Psychedelic Rock, Punk, Stoner Metal, Stoner Rock, 22 comments

“There was a time when spending my nights playing in tiny, shoulder-to-shoulder music venues with the rank of perspiration, booze, and fog felt like home. These days, however, they are places I frequent rather than dwell, an aftermath of the stark reality that is the present-day music industry. Because­­­­— if nothing else— being in a band is hard work. This is a truth UK noise rock duo POHL understand. Despite suffering from various starts and stops over their twelve-year existence, guitarist/vocalist Will Pearce (ex-Hey Colossus) and rhythmist Dr. Linda Westman (ex-Old Hope) overcame adversity to release three EPs of gratifying experimental noise rock that pulled from a platter of influences like psychedelic, punk, stoner, and heavy metal. Four years have passed since their last offering and the Sheffield rockers have now returned with their debut LP Mysteries.” POHL watching.

AMG’s Unsigned Band Rodeö: Sunnata – Chasing Shadows

AMG’s Unsigned Band Rodeö: Sunnata – Chasing Shadows

By Dolphin Whisperer on July 21, 2024 in Angry Metal Guy's Unsigned Band Rodeo, Doom Metal, Occult Rock, Post-Metal, Psychedelic Rock, Stoner Rock, 20 comments

““AMG’s Unsigned Band Rodeö” is a time-honored tradition to showcase the most underground of the underground—the unsigned and unpromoted. This collective review treatment continues to exist to unite our writers in boot or bolster of the bands who remind us that, for better or worse, the metal underground exists as an important part of the global metal scene. The Rodeö rides on.”” Now it rides into the desert.

Sons of Arrakis – Volume II Review

Sons of Arrakis – Volume II Review

By Iceberg on June 27, 2024 in Reviews, Psychedelic Rock, Stoner Rock, 50 comments

“Break out the questionable popcorn buckets everyone, we’ve got Dune-themed stoner rock inbound! Since 2019, Montreal quartet Sons of Arrakis have been preaching the Gospel of Herbert. Dropping Volume I in 2022, they made a quick turnaround with follow-up Volume II and this one managed to wriggle its way out of the sump like a determined sand trout. The promo language describes the band as “melange rock and cinematographic sci-fi rock,” but my eyes were drawn to the Black Sabbath and Queens of the Stone Age name drops.” Stone, sand, and spice, oh my!

Vitskär Süden – Vessel Review

Vitskär Süden – Vessel Review

By Iceberg on May 30, 2024 in Reviews, Progressive Rock, Psychedelic Rock, Stoner Rock, 10 comments

“Los Angeles County is about the last place I’d expect to find a band name Vitskär Süden, but the promo sump has been known to act like an Infinite Improbability Drive when I’m mucking around. The psych/stoner rock four-piece last graced these halls in 2022 with The Faceless King, an album that was quite favorably reviewed by our gone-but-not-forgotten Huck, a reviewer whose bands I have apparently been stalking.” Promo stalking and stoner rocking.

Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats – Nell’ Ora Blu Review

Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats – Nell’ Ora Blu Review

By Iceberg on May 15, 2024 in Reviews, Stoner Metal, Stoner Rock, 45 comments

“Nell’ Ora Blu, or “the blue hour,” is a love letter to Italian cinema, particularly the Poliziotteschi (crime) and Giallo (horror) styles. While Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats are famously a four-piece fuzzy psych-rock band, the vast majority of this record was conceived, written, and performed by main brain Kevin Starrs. This is by and large an instrumental, soundtrack-adjacent album, though there are tracks on here that will remind fans it’s still Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats.” Time to pay up, Deadbeats!

Howling Giant – Glass Future Review

Howling Giant – Glass Future Review

By Dear Hollow on November 12, 2023 in Reviews, Heavy Metal, Stoner Metal, Stoner Rock, 17 comments

“Last we met Howling Giant they were dueling with Somerset’s Sergeant Thunderhoof in groovy stoner split Turned to Stone Chapter 2: Masamune & Muramasa, which deserved a word, not a numerical score, to describe its quality. Howling Giant strung together a fun-loving single track with multiple movements, their meat-and-potatoes approach slightly outdueling da Hoof’s bombastic and flashy performance.” Howling at stones.

Kadabra – Umbra Review

Kadabra – Umbra Review

By Cherd on October 16, 2023 in Reviews, Stoner Rock, 13 comments

“Kadabra play a fairly stock standard fuzzed out stoner/psych rock heavily reliant on the 70s for aesthetic direction as well as contemporary revivalists like The Black Angels. Umbra has a bit more terrestrial than cosmic approach, with only a few distorted warping or echo effects, however Kadabra do use electric organ and layered vocals over their earthy guitar grooves.” Big hat, some magic.

Kambodsja – Resilient Review

Kambodsja – Resilient Review

By Dolphin Whisperer on October 12, 2023 in Reviews, Post-Hardcore, Punk, Stoner Rock, 13 comments

“Don’t let anyone tell you different, metal is fun—well, except for all the times when it isn’t. But even when it is fun, many metal genres have a hard time achieving the same kind of raw joviality that their cousins in the punk space can. Good ol’ heavy metal and thrash make a good play—they share roots after all. But when it comes to yelling playfully in a mix with less of a regard for tonality and more of a focus on blasting a message out with volume as a guide, punk’s got an edge that’s hard to match. Kambodsja knows this, and they play the game well, slowly manipulating their exact style over the course of the past couple decades.” Be loud.