Their last album, Eat The Low Dogs, was hailed as a masterpiece, and Run Thick In The Night doesn’t depart drastically on the sound they’ve already established. It begins with the moody, brooding 13 minute track ‘In The Night’, with its heavily textured, wall of sound “outlaw country gone shoegaze” guitars and spacey keyboard sweeps, and morphs quickly into the Hawkwind inspired rager ‘Wolf On Anareta.’

‘Fire Is Sleeping’ is a tender ballad, really upping the ante on the Southern and Skynyrd influences without resorting to the usual cliches, and adds some weepy violin and mournful slide guitar to the mix. The next few songs continue in this style, country-tinged, acid drenched, and melancholy, until the bass and drum driven track ‘The Quena’ breaks the spell and gives a much needed change of pace.

Continue reading: StonerRock.com – U.S. Christmas – Run Thick In The Night.

Now, in 2010, well into the much celebrated “3rd Wave of Black Metal”, it seems a lot of the modern bands have gotten away from that, and gone for something else. And that’s cool. But not A Forest of Stars – they’ve managed to create a sound that’s unsettling in not only its tonality, but its instrumentation as well, with micro-tonal keyboard sweeps and violin slides that blow away traditional Western approaches to melody and harmony, and leave the listener awash in a wave of paranoia and claustrophia.

And to think that they dress in Victorian garb, then sing about poets and medieval royalty. A band of British hippies haven’t sounded this evil since Electric Wizard, or perhaps even Black Sabbath. Just to make sure you noticed, this band is distinctively British. They revel in it, and it translates well in their sound.

Continue reading: StonerRock.com – A Forest Of Stars – Opportunistic Thieves of Spring.

I’d imagine the first thing that’s going to garner attention are the blast beats. Layered over some droning slabs of guitar noise and a post-rock inspired arpeggios, they really aren’t that out of place, and in the world of heavy music, where bringing more and more seemingly disparate elements together into a coherent form is often the raison d’etre, it was only a matter of time before the blast beat started to gain more prominence outside of death, grind, and black metal circles.

Naam used blasts successfully om their neo-psychedelic romp of a debut album. It reflects a growing trend to experiment with the drum techniques and textures, that may have started with Mastodon, but bands like Rosetta, and now Thou, have picked up the torch and decisively proved that a drummer can be a creative driving force within a band.

The blasts aren’t really what sets this album apart, but they’re a mere foreshadowing of what’s to come, as the band lurch and plow their way through the listeners eardrums with 52 minutes of their patented post-rock meets sludge / doom sound. It’s hardly single mindedly heavy by any means, Thou mix things up well with melodic flourishes and flowing instrumental passages, but when they do drop the doom riffs, they make sure their 5150 amps aren’t set to merely stun.

Continue reading: StonerRock.com – Thou – Summit.

Obviously, it’s that relentless, take no prisoners approach that’s the hardest to recreate when the tape’s rolling, but Man of Two Visions comes close enough to hammer home the central strength of the group – their ability to fuse classic rock with classic metal and classic doom. It’s The Scorpions’ In Trance and all of the essential Thin Lizzy records mixed with the first two Iron Maiden albums and leavened with a crushing dose of Pentagram and St Vitus.

That’s best exemplified on ‘Apocalypse Unsealed’ (once upon a time known as ‘Valkyrie’). The song begins with a Wino-worthy passage before launching into a galloping riff that serves as the bedrock for a litany of solos that keep ratcheting up the intensity level. Guitarists Jake and Pete Adams (of Baroness-fame -ed) play off each other and then lock together in a harmonized attack before breaking off yet again. They’re epic without being solemn; in fact, it’s just downright fun listening to those two stretch out.

And while there’s plenty of blistering leads on Man of Two Visions, it’s never an overindulgence at the expense of the songs. The band (rounded out by Warren Hawkins on drums and Will Barry-Rec on bass) knows structure, they know how to write material that’s going to stand the test of time (including two instrumentals that take the band in more mellow, melodic directions). Wait, does that mean this Man of Two Visions is a classic? You bet your ass it is. Recommended.

’70s sounding heavy rock here, of course, with fat riffs, wild wah-wah solos, Spanish-language vocals, lots of skilled percussive coloration, and pot-headed mystic desert atmospheres. The Egyptian pyramid painting on the cover sets the vibe, an otherworldly ancient scene at dreamy dawn or dusk… No big surprises for those familiar with Los Natas, for sure, but the jams HdC are kicking out are being kicked out quite well, mighty and melodic and very jammy indeed.
And, as we listen to this, we realize, wow, this band has really got a knack for suddenly putting things into a sort of psychedelic energetic overdrive about partway through several of songs on here, there’s often a moment where they hit on a repetitive hypnotic part a la Pharaoh Overlord or something, but also crank it up a notch, and you really understand why they call it stoner ROCK. Can’t really explain it, but you’ll know it when you hear it.

Say opening track, “A Tiempo”, at about 6:25 (it’s an 11 minute long song), or in “Fuego De San Antonio” at just past the 3 minute mark. Those amphetamine moments are balanced by the other sort of trance-inducing stoner rock, when they bring it down, slow it up, just lumber along, reveling in the riff, like the nod-scene that is “Nimbo”, a track which also blasts into a full-blown wailing by the end.
Yeah, within their chosen style, Humo Del Cairo mix it up nicely, rockin’ out garage-like at times, or just drifting peacefully along, some parts drenched in heavy FX, others stripped down to acoustic bones (“Errantes” being their most backporch number, complete with bluesy harmonica blowin’).

We’d recommend this for fans of Los Natas, naturally, also Tia Carrera, Sons Of Otis, Colour Haze, Monster Magnet, La Ira De Dios, ’70s Argentine heavies Pappo’s Blues, and we’re even thinking Jimi Hendrix, who gets hinted at at times. ANOTHER winner from Meteorcity, who have been on a massive roll lately!

At 40 years old, Aquarius is the oldest independent record store in San Francisco. We try to only carry music we love, and we’re always searching for more new, cool, weird and wonderful music. All of which we then share with you, our loyal customers.

We all know that incorporating these elements into an already established sound can be a mixed bag. Look at Kreator; their ventures into the world of industrial and post-punk weren’t exactly pretty. If any band out there could pull it off though, I’d have my money on Nachtmystium, as they’d already shown an incredible willingness to experiment with different sounds on both Instinct: Decay and Assassins, plus their Worldfall and Doomsday Derelicts EP’s had well written songs and sweet cover performances in a variety of styles.

When the lineup for the album was announced, including Wrest (Leviathan) and Will Lindsay (Wolves In The Throne Room, Middian) on drums and bass, respectively, I almost shit myself. This was a veritable super group, about to record one of the most out there albums in black metal history. With Sanford, a synth and soundscape wizard, at the helm, I had no doubt that this album would be a success. But the real question was, how would the fans react? This was quite obviously going to be their biggest deviation from the lo-fi black metal of their early releases.

After hearing them debut the track “No Funeral”, with its heavily triggered snare drum and lush keyboard sweeps, it struck me as a stroke of genius that the band had opted to debut this song first. This is one of the most divisive songs of the album; its the track where they take the industrial influence to its logical conclusion. There’s very little black metal in it at all, and to be fair, Blake has stated that the band is no longer a “black metal” band per say, but that their sound is always going to be rooted in 2nd wave black metal.

With this in mind, it startled me a bit that after the brief opener, the band launched into a straight up black metal song. No synth soundscapes, no drum triggers or effects, just tremolo picked mayhem, and more haunting melodies in the space of three and a half minutes than most bands could pack into an entire album.
“High On Hate” offers a unique jumping off point for what is to come, because it`s the only real “black metal” you`re going to hear on this entire album. From there, they dive right into “Nightfall”, with its infectiously groovy bassline and jagged guitar melodies. It sounds almost like what Queens of the Stone Age SHOULD be playing these days, and it`s an amazing track that blends right into “No Funeral.” Throughout the course of the next five songs, Nachtmystium combine all the ingredients discussed above in varying degrees, but the songwriting is always spot on.

One of the album’s highlights is its dark and tortured closer, “Every Last Drop”, which comes closest to the sound from Assassins with its more dynamic and introspective psych soundscapes. For those who opt for the vinyl, there`s a bonus track “Macrocosmic”, which is more in the black metal vein and also sounds like an Assassins track, devoid of the industrial elements.

When all is said and done, this is a band with a powerful enough creative force behind them to do whatever they want and succeed. This album is going to be high on my list for top ten of the year, and should be lauded for the scope of its ambition alone, despite whether or not fans agree with the artistic license that Blake and Co. have taken with “black meddle.” Welcome to 2010, people, it’s going to continue to be a great year for music – Andy “dinger007″ Beresky (www.Stonerrock.com).

Even better, “Ain’t Gonna Miss It” shares some damn fine company. The band, in the words of ringleader Tony Dallas Reed, writes what could be lost tracks from their favorite groups from the ’70s, and on Stone Axe II, their repertoire has expanded.  In addition to the now-expected references to Free (“Live for the Day”), AC/DC (“We Know It’s Still Rock ‘n’ Roll”), Foghat (“On with the Show”), and Thin Lizzy (“Those Were the Golden Years,” another retread from Extended Play), there’s an homage to The Who with instrumental “One More Time Before I Die” and “Turned to Stone,” an effectively melancholy take on Procul Harum (unfortunately, this time around, the band opted to not write a song based on the cover to a vintage science fiction novel, a la “The Skylah Rae”).

While impressive additions to the Stone Axe catalog, both tracks pale in comparison to the outright genius of “Chasing Dragons” and “Just a Little Bit,” the respective highlights of the first and second sides of Stone Axe II. As was the case with past winners “Riders of the Night,” “There’d Be Days,” “King of Everything,” and, yes, “Ain’t Gonna Miss It,” both of these songs hit the classic rock sweet spot with pinpoint accuracy. They bring to mind everything good about the greats of old without tripping over their influences.

To steal a line from “We Know It’s Still Rock ‘n’ Roll” – “You may believe the lie,  It’s all been done before,  but then again I’ve never heard you strum a chord.” Judging by the music on Stone Axe II, nobody knows that better than Stone Axe. Highly recommended.

Earthless - Live at Roadburn

Lovingly pinched from StonerRock.com: The trick of free-flowing instrumental jams is keeping it interesting for long stretches of time. If there’s a group currently out there that knows this better than Earthless, I’d like to know who it is. From my vantage point, Earthless is the cream of the psychedelic rock crop, and while that opinion was solidified well before I heard Live at Roadburn, the San Diego-based band’s latest reinforced that feeling tenfold.

This two CD/LP release, recorded live and without any overdubs at this year’s (2009 -ed) prestigious Roadburn Festival (You don’t know about this? What are you, dense?), may take awhile to get going, but once it does, the band’s impossible to stop.

Continue reading:  StonerRock.com – Earthless – Live at Roadburn.
Please click HERE for the audio stream of Earthless – Live at Roadburn.

Harvey Milk - st

Lovingly pinched from StonerRock.com: I’ve gone over my history with Harvey Milk in greater detail before, but for context’s sake, the condensed version is thus: Once upon a time, I was a no-nothing mainstream metalhead who had grown tired of the crap I listened to. Then I discovered Harvey Milk and it was, more or less, a musical rebirth. I still don’t know a hell of a lot, but thanks to Harvey Milk, I know more than nothing.

I owe the band a debt of gratitude, one that I gladly repay a small portion of every time a new release of theirs hits my desk. Even when the material isn’t a game changer – like the good-but-not-great contribution to their recent split with Wildildlife – it deserves a mention, because, well, it’s Harvey Milk. It may be genius or it may fall short, but it’s still worth a listen.

That said, their s/t (something tells me that’s the actual title and not an abbreviation for “self titled”), also known as The Bob Weston Sessions, also know as “The Debut That Never Was,” is another essential Harvey Milk album. But in this case, the target audience is a little more precise, namely those already on board with the band. Why? Because you've heard it all before.

Continue reading: StonerRock.com – Harvey Milk – s/t.

Zoroaster - Voice of Saturn

Lovingly pinched from Stonerrock.com: The last time fans of all things heavy heard from Zoroaster was on the widely acclaimed Dog Magic, which showcased the Southern-friend sludge trio’s oppressive density, their occasional forays into the realm of experimentation, and an ability to lock into a nasty groove for prolonged periods of time without boring listeners to tears. For the most part, the far too brief follow up, Voice of Saturn, picks up where Dog Magic left off.

Standouts “Spirit Molecule” and “White Dwarf” are lumbering monsters that lock in early and are anchored by the monolithic drumming, chest rattling bass, menacing vocals and well-executed surprises that listeners have come to expect from Zoroaster.

Continue reading: StonerRock.com – Zoroaster – Voice of Saturn.