Off to ride a mountain…

 

 

Off to ride a mountain…

We’re off for a few days trying to find some mountains covered in snow in Austria. But the Doom Charts Peroration Post went live just now, with 21 albums to feast your ears on. And there is that FULL ALBUM PREMIERE we did for the new Drunken Crocodiles album Aegony we did just yesterday. And there is that way-back machine on the little old blog, where you can find so many hidden gems, it boggles the mind. Can’t get enough of Kaiser’s new 2nd Sound, so that will be coming with me. Komatsu 's A Breakfast For Champions to wreck the slopes, An Evening With Knives 's End Of Time to kill the ramps… Any suggestions on what other albums to take with us?

Anyway, enjoy all the heaviness! Enjoy the sun!

Back in a little week! 

Torpedo Torpedo – Arrows of Time

 

Torpedo Torpedo – Arrows of Time
Electric Fire Records – 2025
Rock, Stoner, Psych
Rated: ****

I’m off to Austria tomorrow. Hitting the slopes in some way too hip ski resort. Why do those places (almost) never have rock bars? Live venues for rock music? I would assume there would definitely be a market for this. Or a heavy rock festival in the snow? Snowboarding by day, rocking at night. I see opportunities! A man can dream! And dream I will as well when cruising on the new Arrows of Time album by Vienna, Austria trio Torpedo Torpedo. We mentioned their debut album The Kuiper Belt Mantras back in 2022 and now they’re back with the follow-up, which seems to be hazier and swirling like a nebula. Working its luminescent gravity to pull riffs into the cloud and charge the drums like an electric storm. A few tracks have some more doom tones, but for the most part it seems to glide perfectly through the heavy psychedelic universe and stoner galaxy. The three are experts in the slow building tracks, the languid groove and the mesmerizing gradual delights. The continuously building final track Solstice for instance, unhurried and only minutely getting wilder and electrifying. Finally coming to a grandiose close, without taking the logical explosive route, but by controlling the wildness and the ever expanding soundwaves. Torpedo Torpedo are back with another great release and just like golden record on board of Voyager, this album will continue to move through existence, until the end of time…

(Written by JK)

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Jesse Stilettö - Jesse Stilettö

 

 

Jesse Stilettö - Jesse Stilettö
Self-released – 2025
Rock, Garage, Stoner, Psych
Rated: ***

Released a week ago, the debut self-titled album by Jesse Stilettö. Seven gritty garage rocking songs that implore as much from the stoner genre as it does from psych and even more of hardrock. Turning a fuzz corner often and sounding like they love the proto genres as much as everything that came from the desert. And by the desert we obviously mean the one that sparked the entire scene, for there are definite moments that a bit of QOTSA, Desert Sessions or Eagles of Death Metal surfaces. But never in a blatant or gruff way, cause they just seem to be the vehicles that capture the songs that float around in the universe. Cause it’s a lot of hardrock, bluesy by default and that reminds of the seventies as well. And that’s a good thing! And when they up the dynamics and the roots element in tracks like The Plaid Man the love for Jesse Stilettö will surely grow. Jesse Stilettö, a two piece from Minneapolis, Minnesota that know how to surf the right energies and take the heavy current wherever it might lead. And it has lead them here, to seven tracks of sweet ass rock ‘n roll! Lovely as they come and sharp as a knife!

(Written by JK)

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FULL ALBUM PREMIERE Drunken Crocodiles – Aegony

 

 

FULL ALBUM PREMIERE

Drunken Crocodiles – Aegony

We are honored to host this FULL ALBUM PREMIERE for the new Drunken Crocodiles album Aegony. Coming out this Friday, March the 21st on Octopus Rising / Argonauta Records it’s a righteous exploration of the ego and the self in respect to life and everything it might go through. And done in all grunge and alternative rock tones. Eight tunes that walk on the wild side and will surely make you stroll along!

Read our Full Review HERE

PR Wire:

ABOUT THE BAND:

Formed in 2012, Drunken Crocodiles carved their sound through years of experimentation and live performances, releasing two EPs before stabilizing as a trio in 2016. By 2017, they had committed to writing their first full-length album, leading to the release of OUT OF BARREL in 2019 under Too Loud Records. This raw and intense record was followed by an extensive tour in Eastern Europe.

Following a brief hiatus due to the pandemic, founder Elia Borelli (vocals/bass) reassembled the band with guitarist Federico Pardini and drummer Simone Silvestre in late 2021. The revitalized lineup wasted no time, embarking on a European tour in 2023 and refining their unique blend of Stoner Psych and Sludge. By summer 2024, the band entered the studio to record Aegony, their most ambitious and conceptually driven work to date.

ABOUT THE ALBUM – "Aegony"

An eight-track journey through distorted yet deeply immersive landscapes, Aegony embraces an analog recording approach, rejecting modern over-processing. With no reamping, no triggers, and no pitch correction, the band has ensured a warm, dynamic, and organic soundscape, resisting the "Loudness War" and preserving the raw intensity of their performance.

The album oscillates between hypnotic, dreamlike atmospheres and crushingly aggressive riffs, embodying the tension between melody and chaos. Each track is rooted in real-life stories, forming a conceptual thread that explores the destructive nature of the ego when unchecked by collective consciousness.

TRACKLIST:
01 - FIRST POINT OF LIBRA 1:11
02 - AUTOJEKTOR 7:30
03 - RAINMAKER 4:47
04 - LE DIVIN MARQUIS 7:11
05 - HOMO HOMINI LUPUS 6:21
06 - SLOW BURN 4:49
07 - BEHAVIORAL SINK 10:22
08 - FIRST POINT OF ARIES 2:00

CONCEPT:

Aegony delves into the existential turmoil caused by an unchecked ego, where self-centered desires overpower communal well-being. The album's narrative raises a critical question:

"Doesn't the ego shape all actions, steering humanity away from harmony and deeper connections?"

Each track portrays a real-life event, illustrating the devastating consequences of egocentrism on human nature. The album challenges listeners to contemplate a more unified existence, where collective progress replaces individual dominance. While this ideal may seem utopian, Aegony suggests that, through trial and error, humanity may eventually find its way toward true awareness and balance.

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Badlands Festival

 

 

Badlands Festival

There’s a new Festival in town! Celebrating everything loud and gritty from yesteryear! Or better yet, the Counterculture from the sixties and seventies. Bringing back the punk, the psych, the garage and the feeling that all might be happening, right then and right there. The good vibes, the good stuff and everything surrounding the scene… You can strike sparks anywhere... Badlands Festival!

PR Wire:

Inspired by 60s and 70s countercultures, BADLANDS is where subcultures and free spirits meet. It’s 3 days out of the system and all about the love of music, vintage freedom machines, BMX and skate. But also food culture, alternative live music and some proper ink slinging. It’s for those who embrace the unconventional and keep it alive. It’s for those who don’t take themselves too seriously. It’s for the love of one another, and most importantly: for the love of one heck of a party. Mark yer calendars. 22, 23 & 24 August 2025. BADLANDS #1. Lottum (NL). Let’s roll.

BADLANDS is all about the love of choppers, music, BMX, skate and that surfin’ spirit. We’re talking food culture, alternative live music and some proper ink slinging. It’s for those who embrace the unconventional and keep it alive. It’s for those who don’t take themselves too seriously. It’s for the love of one another, and most importantly: for the love of one heck of a party.

It seems we have forgotten what festivals are really about: living life to the fullest while enjoying a bit of music, arts, and a whole lotta good company.BADLANDS is bringing it back to basics. No fancy gimmicks that’ll cost you an arm, a leg and then some. What you see is what you get. Good vibes and great times. 3 days out of the system and an alternative to the mainstream modern-day festivals.

There is so much more going on, on this festival… But this is the musical line-up so far!

Friday
Cellar pigs ⇼ Crocodiles (USA) ⇼ F.I.X. ⇼ FuckFuckFuck ⇼ Money & The Man + more to come

Saturday
Afterpartees ⇼ Bongloard ⇼ Cocobolo ⇼ Death Sells ⇼ Dikke Dennis & The Røckers ⇼ Ghostwoman (CAN) ⇼ Gunmoll ⇼ Shaemless ⇼ The People’s Pleasure Grounds + more to come

Sunday
Andy & The Antichrist ⇼ Chica Chica ⇼ Timo & The Stardusters ⇼ The Last Bølt Ceremony + more to come

Badlands Launch Fest





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Stoner HiVe’s Top 10 Most Listened Artists Last Week…

 

 

Stoner HiVe’s
Top 10 Most Listened Artists Last Week…

Don Airey
Messa
Komatsu
Red Fang
Black Honey Cult
Dream Theater
Mika Häkki
Rulaman
Tier
Temple Fang

Another week passed and another one in front of us! We’ve got a small break coming up, starting Friday, heading off to Austria for a few days of snow. But we will try to put up a few post before that time. Most importantly of course, that wild FULL ALBUM PREMIERE for Drunken Crocodiles this Wednesday! Aegony is a great album and will be out on Friday. But you can hear it on the HiVe two days earlier. Last week was Ronny and Jon week, with Bongsilisk and Trombolia reviews by Ronny. And a Komatsu write-up by Jon. Besides Drunken Crocodiles, we also mentioned the Deep Cuts album by Red Fang and singles by cool Slung and the amazing Temple Fang! That one Temple Fang single The River already feels like an album and a world on its own. Imagine how the rest of the album must feel… Check’m out, check’m all out!

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Stoner HiVe's Weekly Top 10 Most Listened

Week 12

Komatsu – A Breakfast For Champions

 

 

Komatsu – A Breakfast For Champions
Heavy Psych Sounds – 2025
Rock, Metal, Stoner, Sludge
Rated: *****

Komatsu are here to feed you mighty riffs and warm fuzzy delights, after all breakfast is the most important meal of the day! ‘A Breakfast For Champions’ is a hearty affair, substantially filled with all of the nourishment you hungry heavy rock fiends can handle. Ok, I’m sure everyone that’s reviewed the album has gone the same route so from here on out we’ll try to bypass all the analogies and morning cuisine references. Maybe, but no guarantees.

The band’s fifth outing sees them progressing while keeping possession of what made us fall in love with Komatsu in the first place. How could they ever leave behind those endless grooves that just get your head moving? Or abandon those thick crunchy riffs we all adore? Or retire from the more dramatic oriented interludes and melodies? Well, they don’t. These are not only qualities of Komatsu but also their identity. So true to form these aspects are all present in spades on ‘A Breakfast For Champions’. Part of the band’s more recent development is the fact that they are now a three-piece but make no mistake, this has not deterred the band nor slowed them down. Not in the least. Perhaps they have even more to prove.

Hopefully you’ve already heard the first two singles of the album, if not what could you possibly be waiting for!? Both songs are mighty, riff heavy bangers made to get the juices flowing. The unwavering drumming on ‘A Breakfast For Champions’ by Jos Roosen as he attacks the skins and alloys not only extracts the juices but opens the flood gates to start the album with a torrent of toms and fills. The bass work of Martijn Mansvelders moves the track ‘Savage’ along with a fluid pace bringing the fullness of the bottom end to the forefront, striking the heavy gauge strings with veracity.

The mellow and somewhat haunting beginnings of ‘The Devil’s Cut’ are short lived as the chorus absolutely crushes when the heavy riffing of Mo Truijens guitar comes alive. Not to mention the imposing vocal performance that hits simultaneously. The track could easily be a single itself. It flows so nicely into ‘Release The Flies’ that you hardly realize you’re in a new song as they seamlessly fit together. ‘What Lies Underneath’ has a grungy feel to it with a violin or synth undertone behind the main instrumentation. Another high-powered chorus follows but this time with the focus being on the melody rather than a guitar attack. The Stoner HiVe’s very own Ronny Dijksterhuis contributes lyrics to the song, and they are very deeply heartfelt. The lyrics combined with the vocal expressions achieve the perfect balance of beauty and wistfulness.

Dear readers, you’re in for a treat as ‘A Breakfast For Champions’ is jammed full of delicacies just waiting to be savored. If premium heavy rock is what you’re looking for on the menu, Komatsu are here to fulfill your hungry desires with a massive slab of just that. No doubt the album will be a favorite of the year, and we can’t wait for everyone to dig in!

(Written by Jon McGough)

Go check out the first two singles now, Komatsu's A Breakfast For Champions is out on April 11th!

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Review for Rose Of Jericho

Review for New Horizon 

Recipe For Murder One, Number 19 on the Stoner HiVe Top 20 of 2016

Review for So How's About Billy

Review for Manu Armata

Review for Komatsu

 

Drunken Crocodiles – Aegony

 

 

Drunken Crocodiles – Aegony
Octopus Rising / Argonauta Records – 2025
Rock, Stoner, Sludge, Psych, Metal, Grunge
Rated: ***

Italian trio Drunken Crocodiles are about to release their new album Aegony through Octopus Rising / Argonauta Records. It drops on the first day of spring, March 21st.  Formed in 2012, the three audible on the new album have been rocking out together since 2016. At which point they issued their self-titled five track, three years later followed the eleven track Out Of The Barrel and two singles later we’re arriving at the brand new eight track album Aegony. Almost forty-five minutes of grungy stoner and sludge. All delivered with intense energies, highly dynamic and beautifully produced. There’s a grittiness to their approach that falls away whenever the dynamics take them into calmer waters and subdued territories. The opening intro track like a madman screaming into the night, voicing its existential pain. After which the single Autojektor thunders into your heart, the first break, with its wavering vocals, showing just how dynamic Drunken Crocodiles can and will be. A song translating more of the difficulties one might have simply existing. Which is the subject of the entire album, the songs deal with all the different struggles the self might have, with society, nature, instincts, evolution, death, and more. Often audible in the wayward screams of the vocalist or the cries of the guitar. Recorded analog in the Noise Studios in Parma one can truly feel the agony and pain Drunken Crocodiles tries to convey. And that end stretch in Autojektor, stoner trucking, until the break up and the painful howling of all these different voices, stunning. Le Divin Marquis is the other single and displays most of the Drunken Crocodile strenghts in shorthand form, opting for a more catchy groove and the perfect vocal rope to drag the listener along with.  Homo Homini Lupus, is another highlight on the album. So much lovely strolling, by both bass and drums, while the guitar stacks and builds. The drums becoming ever more elaborate. And then comes the snarl and the bite, like a wolf leaping out of your body. And then there’s cathedral like, longest track Behavioral Sink. With its ten and halve minutes going through all the hills and valleys, all the ups and downs, so powerful in its atmospheric build. In the end, one might realize that all the horrors regaled, the anguish felt can lead to understanding, acceptance and a way to find the right balance to exist in. As Drunken Crocodiles have done with the different sides of their heaviness, their melodies and dynamics. Aegony is laid bare and full of evidence. It’s for you to judge…

Want to hear the Drunken Crocodiles go wild earlier? Come back to Stoner HiVe on Wednesday 19th of March, cause we are honored to bring you the FULL ALBUM PREMIERE for AEGONY!

(Written by JK)

Listen to second single Le Divin Marquis now and come back for the entire album Wednesday the 19th of March!




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Slung – Thinking About It

 

 

Slung – Thinking About It

Out on Fat Dracula on May 2nd of this year, the debut SLUNG album In Ways. And out NOW, the video for the new single Thinking About It. Their grungy alternative rock feels as heavy as it feels dreamy, wafting nineties love and sprinkled with a bit of eighties dust, all tracks show control and destination. SLUNG knows what and how they want it. And if first single Collider did not already show this with clarity, Thinking About It surely does. Best check it out and be ready for the full In Ways album out May 2nd!

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Trombolia - Trombosis

 

 

Trombolia - Trombosis
Self-released - 2025
Stoner, Doom
Rated: ***3/4

Trombolia is new band from Galicia, the most Northwestern region of Spain. I came across their cool debut four track ep 'Trombosis' while browsing through Bandcamp. Four songs that use the tradition of bands like Black Sabbath and Kyuss (opener 'Que rica esta pastilla' is the perfect marriage between the two) to explore the vast corridor system of alternative underground music that has been carved out over centuries past. In the intro of 'sideral', for example, they wander through the remnants of sixties psychedelic pop before settling into a heavy doom groove. Another welcome addition are the quite bluesy sounding guitar solo's, with the one in the aforementioned 'sideral' also having some kind of traditional Spanish touch to it. 'Basura en el portal' is a mostly mid-tempo and more doomy affair that gives a distant nod to grunge, while closer 'No existe solución' starts off as a straight forward stoner song before shifting towards metal in the second half.
All in all 'Trombosis' a very good and well-executed ep with lots of variation that shows a promising band worth checking out. Moreover, it's name your price on Bandcamp, so I suggest you head over there pronto and do your thing. Maybe even hand them a few quid if you have the financial means to do so. They deserve all the support they can get.

(Written by Ronny Dijksterhuis)

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Red Fang – Deep Cuts

 

 

Red Fang – Deep Cuts
Relapse Records – 2025
Rock, Metal, Stoner, Sludge
Rated: *****

Love me some Temple Fang! Oh wait, that was yesterday! Errr, I mean Red Fang! And wow, they have been sludging around for twenty years now! Had not realized they were around for so many years before that wild first self-titled album released in that magical year of 2009. 2009, what a great year, wink wink, nudge nudge. Well, to celebrate their twentieth anniversary, they’ve released a Deep Cuts album. Collecting all those b-sides, covers, rarities and non-album tracks. A feast for the ears and a romp through everything Red Fang is and always will be about. Punk energy and gritty stoner all mixed with sludge tones and rough metal. For even though their sound developed over the years, the core sound was always there. They themselves felt like it might have morphed a bit too much, and with this collection, and their revisiting, it all came full circle again. Which might mean an even louder, wilder and nastier studio album might follow in the near future. So many highlights on this Deep Cuts album. Great demo versions, the Murder The Mountains song and every cover version they did. There aren’t that many compilations that warrant a five star rating, but this is definitely one of them!

(Written by JK)

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Murder The Mountains Review

Murder The Mountains Number 5 on the Stoner HiVe Top 20 Countdown of 2011

Whales and Leeches Review

Whales And Leeches Number 7 on the Stoner HiVe Top 20 Countdow of 2013

Only Ghosts Review

Temple Fang – The River

 

 

Temple Fang – The River

We’ve never made any secret of our love for Temple Fang. And the new album Lifted From the Wind, to be released on April 25th through Stickman Records is sure to cement that love even further. Out now, the first single The River, which flows and nothing abides, nothing stays fixed, it sweeps you along gushes you forth as a sonic white water rapid or a meandering brook… Almost twenty minutes of long form free rock. Utterly freeing and arms stretching ever wider…

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PR Wire:

TEMPLE FANG releases epic first single, "The River", from upcoming studio album "Lifted From The Wind"

"With 'Lifted From the Wind,' Temple Fang posit their creativity not only as a communion with each other -- a conversation of instruments -- but with something more ethereal. It's a special, deeply honest record, and whatever Temple Fang do from here on out, a landmark in the life of this band. You'd be lucky to see others working under its influence." JJ Koczan, The Obelisk
April 25, 2025 will see Amsterdam prog-psych spearheads Temple Fang release their much-awaited, new album, entitled "Lifted from the Wind", via Stickman Records. Coming on CD, Vinyl and in Digital formats, the pre-sale has just started at https://www.stickman-records.com/shop/temple-fang-lifted-from-the-wind/!
In support of "Lifted from the Wind", Temple Fang have just been confirmed to return to Roadburn, to play this year’s Spark on Wednesday, 16 April, and will embark on an extensive European tour this Spring. Find all upcoming live dates listed below!
With the album opening track "The River", today, the heavy psychedelia rock collective is presenting the first single from their new studio offering. Their first recording with new prodigal drummer Daan Wopereis, a new energy surges through the record from its opening salvo and continues along the epic track's entire 18 minutes. On "Lifted from the Wind", every song is a journey and "The River" is no exception.

Or as the band writes about the song:

"A river as a path to follow, hearts and minds in constant flux, searching for a common purpose: Salvaging a bond in apocalyptic times, making a pact."

Forming in 2018, Temple Fang really started hitting their stride in 2019 with, amongst many others, two highly acclaimed Roadburn shows and appearances at many festivals and clubs across Europe. Having no release out yet and thus creating much anticipation to what their recorded output would end up like. With alternating lead vocalists, two wildly harmonizing guitarists, a powerhouse of a rhythm-section, and armed with truly psychedelic compositions fueled by their exposure to South American plant-medicine, the band took the heavy-psych underground by storm and seemed to be gearing up to bottle this magick and commit it to their studio debut. And then 2020 happened.
During the pandemic the band stayed as active as possible, appearing on whatever live-streams they could, resulting in well received appearances on Eurosonic and National Dutch Television, creating even more buzz. A string of seated shows followed, whatever it took to keep playing.
Losing their original drummer, the band continued on with a replacement post-covid, putting out a half live/half studio album (Fang Temple 2021), an EP (Jerusalem/The Bridge 2022), multiple live albums (Live at Merleyn 2020, Live at Freak Valley 2023, Live at Krach am Bach 2024), and playing a seemingly endless string of shows from Oslo to Milan, hitting many festivals in between. Roadburn, Desertfest Berlin, Sonic Blast (twice), Palp and countless others were exposed to the magick of this true free rock n’ roll phenomenon, leaving audiences stunned and clamouring for more.
Fast forward to 2025 as Temple Fang is ready to release "Lifted from the Wind" on Stickman Records. A record they themselves consider to be their true debut studio album. On this sprawling double record, released on the only label they would give up their independence for, Temple Fang appears, for the first time in their existence, fully formed.
Fierce and strong, hard rocking yet elegant, with 20min+ psych freakouts and prog ballads side-by-side, Temple Fang truly delivers on the promise they’ve always held, to really stretch the possibilities of what it means to be a rock band in 2025. With spectacular wild-man Daan Wopereis as a full member on the drums, Temple Fang now can deliver on their commitment to really rock, to blow your mind AND tear your heart out. Rock n’ Roll as a means to attaining spiritual freedom. Mind-bending riffs, triple vocal harmonies, dubbed out bass and groovy yet hard hitting drums, ecstatically rocking and truly psychedelic, Temple Fang delivers it all with LOVE. Longform rock for fans of Motorpsycho, The Grateful Dead, Hawkwind and Hendrix!

"Lifted from the Wind" Tracklist:

1. The River
2. Once
3. Harvest Angel
4. The Radiant
5. Josephine

Temple Fang live:

29.03.2025 Terneuzen (NL), Terneuzen on Fire
16.04.2025 Tilburg (NL), Roadburn
23.04.2025 Köln (DE), Sonic Ballroom
24.04.2025 Duisburg (DE), Bora
25.04.2025 Münster (DE), Rare Guitar
26.04.2025 Jena (DE,) Kuba
27.04.2025 Dresden (DE), Chemiefabrik
28.04.2025 Hamburg (DE), Markthalle
30.04.2025 Amsterdam (NL),  Secret Show w/Heath
02.05.2025 Eindhoven (NL), Effenaar w/Mojo & the Kitchen Brothers
03.05.2025 Haarlem (NL),  Slachthuis w/Heath
05.05.2025 Augsburg (DE), Soho Stage
06.05.2025 Salzburg (AT), Rockhouse Bar w/Black Pyramid
07.05.2025 Stuttgart (DE), Goldmarks
08.05.2025 Winterthur (CH), Gaswerk
09.05.2025 Seewen (CH), Gaswerk
10.05.2025 Delémont (CH), SAS
11.05.2025 Barberaz (FR), Brin de Zinc
13.05.2025 Esch-Alzette (LUX), Kulturfabrik w/Elder
14.05.2025 Tourcoing (FR), Le Grand Mix w/Elder
15.05.2025 Rotterdam (NL),  Baroeg @ Rotown
16.05.2025 Groningen (NL),  Vera w/Heath
17.05.2025 Nijmegen (NL),  Sonic Whip
19.05.2025 Frankfurt (DE), Das Bett w/The Devil and The Almighty Blues
20.05.2025 Karlsruhe (DE), P8 w/The Devil and The Almighty Blues
21.05.2025 Bielefeld (DE), Forum w/The Devil and The Almighty Blues
22.05.2025 Leipzig (DE), Werk 2 w/The Devil and The Almighty Blues
23.05.2025 Oldenburg (DE), Cadillac Club
24.05.2025 Berlin (DE), Desertfest
08.06.2025 Schlitz (DE), Moon Festival
13.06.2025 Deventer (NL), Burgerweeshuis w/Dool

Temple Fang is:

Dennis Duijnhouwer: Vox, Bass
Jevin de Groot: Vox, Guitar
Ivy van der Veer: Vox, Guitar
Daan Wopereis: Drums

Bongsilisk - Pater, Filius et Cannabis Sanctus

 

 

Bongsilisk - Pater, Filius et Cannabis Sanctus
Self-released - 2025
Doom, Stoner
Rated: ****

When you name your band Bongsilisk, call your album 'The Father, The Son and The Holy Cannabis' and start your haze-inducing stoner doom with a spoken sample that says, 'The only serious side-effect of marihuana, is that you might get arrested', you probably more or less know what to expect. Right away they settle into a repetitive, but extremely catchy groove that hangs somewhere in between stoner and doom and gets your body shivering, shaking and quaking in all the right places. Damn catchy it is. And just when you think 'damn, they might have to change it up a bit', that's exactly what happens. Over and over again. Yes, timing is key to keep the three tracks with an average playing time of over ten minutes called 'Pater', 'Filius' and 'Cannabis Sanctus' interesting. And Bongsilisk have got that inner clock working to perfection, giving the Swiss a run for their money in that department.

But shifting textures and creating variations to the stoner and doom themes isn't all Bongsilisk is capable of. During the passages in 'Pater' where the double kick drum gets to shine in all its penetrating glory, the sound gets pretty damn close to fierce and powerful metal, while the atmospheric and much slower 'Filius' even incorporates some post rock elements. At first subtle, but somewhere between the seven and eight minute mark - when the pace picks up a bit - it comes to full fruition. A second spoken sample acts as a tipping point, after which things get all heavy and doomy again before 'Cannabis Sanctus' (the album's highlight) gets to round things off. The intro puts you on the wrong foot with some haunting keys and a final spoken sample but soon gets blown to smithereens by an epic doom groove and hypnotizing riffs, while the rumbling bass is steady as always and gives it that thriving undercurrent. It's the most versatile, most captivating and most original track of the bunch and the ideal closer of an album that isn’t really groundbreaking, but definitely one of the better instrumental doom/stoner releases I've heard in quite a while.

(Written by Ronny Dijksterhuis)

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