Stoner – Page 16 – Wonderbox Metal

Mammoth Salmon – Call of the Mammoth (Review)

This is the latest EP from US Stoner Doom band Mammoth Salmon.

The riffs are chunky and full of substance; you won’t go hungry for heaviness here as the band have a nice organic sound that shows off their Doom-laden platter and allows all-comers to gorge on their ample treats.

The first song Dark Descent is an instrumental slow burner of monolithic and classic Doom Metal that crushes the listener in grand riffs before devolving into almost space-age noise and bleeps, then suitably recovering itself for the end of the track.

It’s only on the second song In Constant Shadows that we get to hear the vocals; powerful dirty-cleans that are belted out with strength and passion and fit perfectly with the warm, living sound of the rest of the band.

Each of the songs has a vibrant central core, wrapped lovingly in an earthy embrace of colossal riffs and songwriting know-how. Each track sounds lived in and worked on by enthusiastic hands and wise minds. Laid-back and easy going, but heavy and relentless; not a million miles away from what I imagine Bongripper would song like if they had a singer and shorter songs.

At 27 minutes the band have well and truly captured my attention with their considerable skills. A recommended listen for sure, and here’s hopefully to an album in the future.

The Socks – The Socks (Review)

The Socks are from France and play a 70’s-style Stoner Rock.

The album art immediately drew me in, although I must confess that it is slightly marred by what is, for me, a really awful band name. Still, personal taste and all that.

But onto the important stuff – the music. The Socks, (ugh), play good, old-fashioned Rock in a retro style with a liberal dashing of era-appropriate keyboards that add to the feeling of having just stepped out of a time machine. Well almost anyway, as the production has a good modern sound to it. Rather than coming across incongruous though it allows the songs to sound much more alive than if they had gone with a usually-muted 70’s style “authentic” production.

They have songs that are upbeat and joyful, with groove, energy and vigour, while also having songs that are more laid back and introspective. Holy Sons is one of my favourite of this latter type.

The album has a good deal of variety across the 9 tracks, with even some contemporary influences sneaking in occasionally, (Next To The Light contains parts that sound almost Alice In Chains-y, for example).

The singer has a good set of lungs; relaxed and soulful. He makes his mark over well-played and written songs that are both catchy and involving.

This is only their début album but the band display a knowledge and experience of songwriting well beyond what other bands might have acquired by this point.

Despite my reservations about the name; the band acquit themselves nicely and this is a solid album of really enjoyable retro-style Rock. If you’re partial to a bit of this then you can do a lot worse.

Iron Tongue – The Dogs Have Barked, The Birds Have Flown (Review)

Iron Tongue

Iron Tongue play Stoner/Blues Rock and this album is all about the depth and feeling.

Morose and hallucinogenic without being maudlin or depressive; this album is rough around the edges in exactly the right way.

This is earthy, organic and honest music straight out of a Southern backroom bar. When first playing track one, (Ever After), it’s almost hard to imagine these songs will have or even need a Metallic content, as it really sounds like it doesn’t require it, reminding most of all of a band like Soulsavers.

When the distortion does appear though it gels perfectly with the rest of the song that all other thoughts are swept aside as you are presented with the full smoke-ridden package of musical depth and character.

Each song is veritably dripping with feeling and pain; the soulful vocals spinning out into the ether while the weighty guitars come crashing down in a tsunami of emotion. The highly talented backing female vocals adding further personality and Southern feelings to the passion-rich tracks.

A powerfully memorable release that will be sticking around the playlist for some time to come. If you have a passion for soulful Southern-tinged Rock then Iron Tongue are destined to become one of your favourites.

Drawers – Drawers (Review)

French Sludge/Stoner Metallers Drawers release their self-titled second album, and as soon as you press play it’s party time at the dive bar for everyone!

Coming across as a mix of Crowbar, Baroness and Mastodon, this is an enjoyable romp through France’s underbelly of Southern-tinged bars. Moving from scrape to scrape all night long and out into the crisp morning dawn to reflect on what’s been lost; the songs are largely high-energy but have a forlorn air of lost-innocence which is somehow endearing.

It’s this aura of fragility coating the otherwise burly riffing and coarse vocals that adds a layer of depth to the band; that lets you know there’s more to this drunken bruiser than meets the eye. The riffs may be heavy and scuzzy but the melodies hidden underneath the obvious give the band a secret ingredient; the same could be said of the vocals also.

Drawers have an undefined edge to their sound that is as apparent as it is hard to grasp. A wonderful combination.

If you enjoy rocked-out Metal of this variety but are also looking for something a little different with it’s own individuality then I’d suggest this album be on your list of wants.

Black Space Riders – D:REI (Review)

Germany’s Black Space Riders play a diverse modern brand of Stoner Rock and their new album is a whopping 80 minutes in length, so there is loads of content to get your head around.

Sounding very confident and polished, they still have enough snarl to them to give the tracks a bit of bite when appropriate.

This is a very accomplished album, mixing Rock and Metal together with elements of Stoner Rock, Skyscraper-esque emotional Rock, psychedelia and Progressive tendencies to create a very long and very involved album. With a release of this length it would be easy to include filler and bore the listener, but there is precious little of that on D:REI thankfully.

The album has a perfectly configured sound, with everything both clear and slightly fuzzed-up in true Stoner Rock fashion. In fact I’ll coin the term Sophisticated Stoner Rock to describe Black Space Riders, (You heard it here first); at their core is a Stoner Rock Band, but they’ve taken on a heap of other influences and have evolved into something more than these relatively humble beginnings.

With so much variety, interest and ideas in these songs it’s no surprise really that they needed such a long album to showcase them all. Each track has a different mood; a different feeling all based on an essential Stoner Rock core but with ambitious designs on being even more. Every song has its own character and the longer nature of the tracks gives each one the time to develop naturally and embrace the aspect of Rock that it is portraying.

A very complete album that is long enough to provide a journey and deep enough to provide a meaningful one. Highly recommended and highly enjoyable.

Kongh – Counting Heartbeats (Review)

Swedish band Kongh play a captivating type of Doom/Sludge Metal that is exhilarating and apocalyptic at the same time.

Originally released in 2007; this is Kongh’s début album that’s been recently reissued with a bonus disc featuring their 2006 Demo and their split with Ocean Chief; that’s 2 hours and 15 minutes of music guaranteed to satiate your Sludge hunger.

Taking their cues from the best parts of bands like Neurosis and Isis while also injecting some crusty Metal into this formula, Kongh have produced a corker of an album that is a 100% Grade A prime Sludge classic.

Doom, Stoner, Sludge, Post-Metal, Crust – all these elements and more collide to create Counting Heartbeats and it really is something special. The build up and release; the dynamics employed; the crushing apocalyptic Doom. Songs to get lost in.

As if the original album wasn’t good enough, the inclusion of their demo and split just sweetens the pot of this sumptuous aural feast. The 25 minute Drifting on Waves is especially good.

If you only get one Sludge album in the near future get this one.

Strauss – Strauss (Review)

Strauss are a Metal/Stoner band from UK and this is their first EP.

This band are on a mission to deliver the most fuzzed-up, dirtied-up, Metalled-up Rock there is. A band like this can easily fall short if they lack passion or attitude but Strauss have both of these. This is thanks in large part to the vocalist who injects a heady amount of personality into his singing that’s a real pleasure to listen to.

The music is not found slouching though – driving, riff-heavy Rock with a covering of old-school Metal that really hits the spot. I was always a big fan of Hard Words Softly Spoken by Jerkstore and this EP gives me the same kind of feelings as that.

But enough about the characterful vocals, and no more about the whiskey-soaked instruments; what about the actual songs? That most important of things? Fear not; the songs are here, and they’re ready to dance. A surly, belligerent and sleazy dance, but a dance nonetheless.

They’re also confident enough to play and experiment with their sound. A few widdly bits here, a few explorations there. It all adds up and forces you to notice that yes, there is more going on here than just _____-worship. The last track in particular Stop Pause and Play is of particular interest. I hope they build on this for future releases, as this could be truly something special.

If your tastes bend to this genre then I would heartily recommend giving Strauss a listen. Highly promising.

Maeth – Oceans Into Ashes (Review)

Doom? Stoner? Post-Metal? Progressive? All of the above? How are we to label Oceans Into Ashes? Ultimately all that matters is that Maeth have attempted a very ambitious undertaking here, and they have succeeded.

The songs mix all of the aforementioned genres into an intelligent and well-written whole. Long songs, short songs, all have their place contributing to a very diverse album full of ideas and depth.

Vocals are sparse and infrequent, used when necessary to highlight one part or another and then fading away once more to keep the focus on the music that Maeth so very passionately play.

Guitars are very melodic, but also not afraid to become abrasive and harsh as the song demands. Frequently changing from stoner riffs to Doom to Post-Metal, you can’t help but be drawn into their world.

Diverse, eccentric and very well-constructed. Given a chance Maeth could go very far indeed. I think we have a strong contender to fill that Isis-shaped hole in Post-Metal.