stoner rock Archives

What’s it like being a part of this underground rock/NWOCR scene?

It’s amazing man, it’s great to be in the circles we’re in. We have great management in RPM Management, but even outside that every thing we do like this it kind of crosses over and we know people and can hang out with people… it’s fantastic. I think the British rock scene is so good, that these festivals happen and that we’re a part of it. There are so many line-ups that we’re honoured to be a part of. All the HRH stuff as well. The bands and the fans are all really into it. It’s great to be a part of it.

You can meet someone who’ll say ‘oh yeah, we met you at such and such festival like three or four years ago’.

And how would you say the scene is looking these days?

We’re getting there. When the first lockdown happened we were midway through a tour so everything got took away from us that we had planned. As it did for every band. You’ve just gotta try and rise above it and come back stronger, right? The first tour back we did after lockdown was supporting The Virginmarys. It was so good to be back out. Fans wanted to come back out and see live music again, they were begging for it. And we can provide that!

Check out our previous interview here.

You guys put out an album last year, it seems to have gone down pretty well?

Yeah definitely, we’re stoked! I’m always amazed when someone knows the words. We had a good tour with Virginmarys in support of that album and it’s just kinda snowballed from there. Like to come out to these places and people say they’ve been listening to the album non-stop in the car, that’s amazing to hear.

And are you guys writing again already?

Absolutely. We never stop writing. We’re going back into the studio to finish album two, half of it’s done. But we’re also toying with the idea of doing this heavier EP. Just four song EP just to get it out of our system. We don’t want album two to be so far away from album one but we have these songs that we like that are a bit heavier. I turn up to practice and I can hear it through the walls, playing something filthy. But it sounds awesome.

I think that’s a good thing for bands to do. It opens us up to being able to support other bands. We don’t want to just be a part of the NWOCR scene. It’s great to be a part of, but we can then step away from that and do a stoner gig. That’s the dream!

Speaking of, have you got a dream tour?

I mean dream tours can go big… Kiss! Queens of the Stone Age! We were influenced by a lot of bands and in that sort of circle I think Eagles of Death Metal would be doable. I think we could do that, we know Jesse, he’s on the album.

But bands like Scruffy Bear, I love that band. I’d love to go on tour with them. We like nice people. There’s no rockstar persona or ego, leave your ego in the van, just go on stage and play. Like Ryder’s Creed, we’ve known them for years so it’d be good to get out on tour with them.

While not featuring as many big names as the previous couple of weeks, there are still plenty of bands here to sink your teeth into. And it’s definitely a week for the heavy fans out there! Let’s check out all the new music, shall we?

Bloodywood: Rakshak

Gaining a lot of popularity over the last few years due to their blend of Indian folk music with a nu-metal sound, Bloodywood released their second album last week, a follow-up to 2017’s pop covers album Anti-Pop Vol. 1. I love their singles over the last couple of years and their covers were a lot o fun, so I’m excited to hear this!

May be an image of 4 people, people playing musical instruments, people standing, guitar and indoor — Bloodywood’s Official Facebook

It’s the perfect blend of heaviness, nu-metal inspired rapping, folk elements and occasional subtle comedy. Heck, opening track and lead single ‘Gaddaar’ perfectly encapsulates what the band and album are about, and it’s excellent. Then you have tracks like ‘Aaj’, ‘Dana-Dan’ and the wonderfully heavy ‘Bsdk.exe’ making the album full of highlights. Metal is in a really interesting, healthy place right now with all of these new bands trying to branch out their sound, and I think Bloodywood may take their place towards the front of the pack if this album is anything to go by. 8.5/10

The Birthday Massacre: Fascination

The goth rock band put out their ninth studio album last week, their first in a couple of years. I’ve never really gotten into the scene so have no reference point in terms of their old music. I have to admit, I don’t really get it. It’s like a slightly heavier HIM, and I could never get into HIM growing up either. Don’t get me wrong, it isn’t bad by any stretch, but it’s all rather plodding and repetitive and a little boring. I guess the single ‘Dreams of You’, is a highlight and if you like this sort of music I’m sure you’d find many more as it’s a pretty samey album. But for me, I can’t give it much higher than a 4/10

Midnight Oil: RESIST

Continuing the strange modern tradition of capitalised album titles, the Australian rock band put out their 13th studio album last week. The second since their 2016 reunion, the band definitely give it their all. From the slow-build intro of ‘Rising Seas’ through soft rock tracks like ‘Tarkine’, ‘Nobody’s Child’ and ‘We Are Not Afraid’, the band show off a lot of talent across their 12 tracks. I feel hypocritical because this is also a slow album, but unlike the previous album on this list this one held my attention a lot more and was a LOT more enjoyable. It’s a good mixture of Billy Joel, David Bowie and Elton John and is a damn good album from a band that have been at the game a good long while! 7/10

Check out our reviuew of The Darkness!

Immolation: Acts of God

May be an image of 4 people and indoor — Immolation’s Official Facebook

Aaaaand back onto the heaviness. The death metal band are on their 11th studio album and show no signs of slowing down. After a clean (but still menacing) start to the album with the opener, the almost title track bursts in with blisteringly quick drums and guitars and low growled vocals, and the album doesn’t let up from there. It’s a lesson in how to do death metal well, with some great riffs and fun dynamics to show that it isn’t just a wall of sound constantly. ‘An Act of God’ is a definite highlight and the opening riff of ‘Apostle’ is enough to make it onto the playlist on its own merit. A fun death metal album for anyone into that sort of music! 7/10

Sleepwulf: Sunbeams Curl

Psychedelic/doom/stoner rock/metal band Sleepwulf released their sophomore album last week. The band burst straight in with their interesting blend of sounds and styles and dark lyrical content immediately with the aptly titled ‘Satan is King’. It’s like desert rock blended with Black Sabbath and Kyuss. Think The Sword but with less riffs. It is massively enjoyable. It’s lighter than I was expecting but the songwriting is off the charts good. It’s an old-school sound modernised just enough to keep it interesting. Other highlights include ‘Sex Magic Manifestation’, ‘Man in the Mountain’ and ‘Bury Me Backwards’. 8/10

Gtarzee: Nine Tracks

We finish on some more rock. Finnish blues rock, to be exact, with Gtarzee’s debut album. It’s a damn enjoyable album at that, too. From the guitar showcase of the opening track to the opening vocals of ‘Jealousy’, the album starts awesomely. Brian Forth’s vocals sound awesome on the latter track, giving it much more of a glam sound. However, the guest vocalists here do draw attention to the fact that Gtarzee himself doesn’t have the best voice. Sometimes it works, like in another album highlight ‘Sunday Blues’, but other times it doesn’t fit with the music quite as well as Forth’s voice did. Still, it’s a fun album and well worth a listen if you get the chance! 6/10

And there we have it, a surprisingly strong week that I wasn’t expecting going in! Some great albums and as usual some strong metal. Next week, Scorpions!

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Tag Archives: stoner rock

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