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Picture Credit: Patrick James Dean   Gristmill - Heavy Everything Release Date: July 16, 2021 Label: selfrelease Format: Digital Length: 48:36 Genre: Stoner Rock / Stoner Metal Origin: Neptune City , NJ , USA Neptune City, New Jersey is the birthplace of Jack Nicholson  and Jennifer Tisdale . More important, the small town in Monmouth County is home to Gristmill, a band that creates a remorselessly heavy sound. It is therefore no understatement that Gristmill have named their debut album "Heavy Everything". So if you love your Rock heavy, your Metal heavy, if you love to smoke heavily and to party heavily, I heavily recommend you to turn up the volume now. Heavy Everything by Gristmill Gristmill play the sound that makes you cross your arms and heavily nod your head while putting on a serious look to express your joy. Headbanging or stomping your feet is optional. Indeed, this is Hardcore-driven heavyweight-Stoner Rock and Metal for fans of bands such as 16 . Sedate riffs pl...

Picture Credit: Swarm of Spheres   Swarm of Spheres - Brother, Take Five Release Date: October 15, 2021 Label: No Why Records Format: Vinyl / Digital Length: 23:07 Genre: Sludge / Stoner Rock Origin: Ottawa , Ontario , Canada By only looking at the cover artwork and the title, one might assume that "Brother, Take Five" could be a Blues or Jazz EP (or at least, I did). But you know what they say about the books and judging them by their covers. Swarm of Spheres actually are pretty far away from Blues and Jazz music-wise. Their latest EP was recorded at Boxcar Sound Recording in June 2019, and it contains six tracks that present that darkest side of fuzz-driven sounds. "Brother, Take Five" is a sonic confrontation with PTSD, anxiety, and rage. This EP can be mentioned alongside brutal releases such as Dystopia's "Human = Garbage" or Eyehategod's "Taken as needed for Pain". Swarm of Spheres create a sound that feels like wandering through ...

Picture Credit: Crust Artwork: Deni Aktemirov   Crust - ... and a Dirge becomes an Anthem Release Date: August 14, 2020 Label: mmmesss (CD) / [addicted label] (Digital/Bandcamp) / RUMF Productions (Digital/Spotify) Format: CD / Digital Length: 34:18 Genre:  Post Metal  /  Blackened Sludge Origin:  Russia In April, I reviewed Crust's latest album "Stoic". To get a more concise view of the band, I also want to put in my two cents on their previous work, Crust's second long-player "... and a Dirge becomes an Anthem" which was published via three Russian labels last summer. ...and a Dirge Becomes an Anthem by Crust Most striking difference between "... and a Dirge becomes an Anthem" and its successor "Stoic" is the sound quality. Crust's second album is defined by somehow fuzzy garage sound that reminds of Black Metal recordings by early-day Bathory or Mayhem. The drums especially are a little muffled. And speaking of Black Metal, here...

Picture Credit: Pressor Artwork: Stas Vasilev   Pressor - I want you (she's so heavy) Release Date: December 04, 2020 Length: 06:06 Genre: Stoner Metal Origin: Kostroma , Russia Although this single has been released almost eight months ago, I cannot help but putting in my two cents about it. As most of you will know, 'I want you (she's so heavy)' was orignally recorded by The Beatles, and it was featured on their "Abbey Road" album. Fifty-one years later, Kostroma's Pressor released this cover version. Actually a bit shorter than the original, it shows that the works of John , Paul , Ringo , and George  are still alive as hell. Also it stands for the intense impact the Liverpudlian band has had on rock music across decades and genres. Here is 'I want you (she's so heavy)' re-interpreted as a Stoner Doom / Sludge / Stoner Metal song by Daniil , Denis , Anton , and Stas : I Want You (She's So Heavy) by Pressor The opinions on this might go ...

Picture Credit: Froglord Artwork: Loudmouth Threads   Froglord - The Mystic Toad Release Date: July 02, 2021 Label: The Swamp Format: Vinyl / CD / Cassette / Digital Length: 40:10 Genre: Sludge / Stoner Doom Origin: Bristol , England Straight out of the swamps, Bristol's one-frog-army is back with their second full-length album "The Mystic Toad". Only eight months after the first album " Amphibian Ascending ", the narrative of the amphibocene continues. The Froglord has not been inactive in the meantime, as this year a remastered version " The Froglord Cometh " and the charity EP " Save the Frogs " have been released as well. "The Mystic Toad" begins with the arrival of alien invaders from the planet Saturn. The Froglord who has achieved rule over planet Earth before, now has to defend his reign against the attackers. Learning that his powerful deathray is not effective against the Saturnians, the Froglord flees to the Amazon rainf...

Picture Credit: Year Of No Light   Year Of No Light - Consolamentum Release Date: July 02, 2021 Label: Pelagic Records Format: Vinyl / CD / Digital Length: 55:17 Genre: Post Metal / Drone Doom Origin: Bordeaux , France "Consolamentum" is not only the fifth full-length release by Bordeaux' Post Metal giants Year Of No Light. With this album, the band also celebrates their 20th anniversary. And therefore, a special bundle is available in the webshop of German label Pelagic Records . The wooden box contains all five studio albums, several Split EPs, a recording from the Roadburn Festival together with composer Dirk Serries , and several other goodies. You can either get a CD bundle or a vinyl bundle. With "Consolamentum", Year Of No Light prove once more that they belong to the crème de la crème of heavy and atmospheric music. Masterfully, the band merges coldly waving Drone sounds with the vast atmosphere of Post Metal and the massive brachiality of Sludge. The f...

Picture Credit: Remote Artwork: Alexey Sivitsky Remote -  Дым Release Date: July 02, 2021 Label: [addicted label] Format: CD / Digital Length: 45:42 Genre: Blackened Sludge Origin:  Kaluga ,  Russia In January, we received the first omens of Remote's third full-length album, when the band released the ex ante single " Гореть " (Russian: burn). And now here we are, listening to "Дым" (Russian: smoke), 45 minutes of sonic ashes, fire, and infernal soundscapes. As far as I can tell, "Дым" is the first album with Russian lyrics only by the band from Central Russian Kaluga. Дым by Remote On their newest work, Remote provide us with a brachial mix of atmospheric Post Metal, Black Metal-like coldness, and the slow but massive force of Sludge and Stoner Metal. Listening to "Дым", you can easily imagine a giant crack tearing apart Earth's soil, spawning eruptions that burn down every living being while an army of demons marches across the flaming ...

Picture Credit: 10,000 Years Artwork: Francesco Bauso   10,000 Years - II Release Date: June 25, 2021 Label: Interstellar Smoke Records / Ogo Rekords / Olde Magick Records Format: Vinyl / CD / Cassette / Digital Length: 38:06 Genre: Doom Metal / Sludge Origin:  Västerås , Sweden A year ago, Swedish trio 10,000 Year released their selftitled debut . The sophomore album is out now, and the way the analogue versions of the album are released, are a major titbit for collectors. While the band distributes fifty handnumbered CDs on their Bandcamp profile, three other versions are available. Vinyl lovers can order a green and gold splattered record via Interstellar Smoke Records, Texan label Olde Magick Records distributes the Swamp Edition Tape, while the Forest Edition Tape is available on German Ogo Rekords. The eight songs on "II" were written and performed by Espen Karlsen  (drums), Alex Risberg  (bass and vocals), and Erik Palm  (guitar). The album follows the...

Picture Credit: Blaise the Seeker Artwork: Steven Yoyada   Blaise the Seeker - Burning Wind Away Release Date: June 01, 2021 Label: The Swamp Format: CD / Digital Length: 42:34 Genre: Doom Metal / Sludge Origin: Austin , Texas , USA "Burning Wind Away" is the CD of the month June 2021 on The Swamp Records. It is the debut album by J Blaise Gans  and Mathew Doeckel , also know as Texan Doom duo Blaise the Seeker. Under the pseudonym Guided Meditation Doomjazz, Blaise the Seeker is well-known for their extraordinary social media content. Check the links on the bottom of the post to experience more. With their encouraging, empowering, mesmerizing content, Blaise the Seeker are definitely more than just a band. Behind this Doom and Sludge band there is versatile fictional character mirroring our society with all its flaws, chasms, and all its beauty. Focussing on the music, "Burning Wind Away" is a ten-track collection of anthemic, somewhat melodic, and atmospheric Slu...

Picture Credit: Pelagic Records   Psychonaut / Sâver - Emerald Release Date: May 14, 2021 Label: Pelagic Records Format: Vinyl / Digital Length: 35:40 (16:30 + 19:10) Genre: Doom Metal / Post Metal Origin: Mechelen , Belgium / Oslo , Norway Wrapped in luscious green, this Split EP is huge - not only since with 35 minutes of duration, this is EP is longer than many full-length full-length releases. Nevertheless, if you know the featured artists, you have encountered how likely they are to produce musical pieces that last at least ten minutes. And thus here we are, exploring the atmospheric sonic journey lead by Mechelen's Psychonaut and Oslo's Sâver. A-Side: Psychonaut - The Great Realisation Emerald Split EP by PSYCHONAUT The Belgian band provides us with a sixteen-minute opus of minimalism, apocalyptic scenery, and various moods. The Psychedelic Doom narrative consists of five chapters. A nameless protagonist awakens from their self-righteous dream, realizing that humankind ...

Picture Credit: Grafting the Vine   Grafting The Vine — Golden Gate (2021) Genre: Instrumental Progressive Sludge / Groove Metal USA   As a person who considers himself an aspiring writer (yes, I already have a written book - now I am facing the issue of publication), I have always believed that if a book has one or more main characters, then it is not only interesting what happens to them within the framework of the narrative, but also what happened to them before the start of the literary work. That is, the reader is always curious about what exactly made a person what he is at the moment - what events of the past influenced him and shaped his character. Background is the bread and butter of any writer, and therefore, speaking about the American musical project Grafting The Vine, I would like to immerse myself in it at least a little.   Grafting The Vine is an American one-man project, a multi-instrumentalist named Andrew Smith. It is clear that he interacts w...