Humulus - Smuggler's Cave (Album Review)

Release Date: October 09th 2026. Record Label: Ripple Music. Format: CD/DD/Vinyl

Smuggler’s Cave - Tracklist

1.Standing in the Sun 

2.Rise and Fall 

3.Pines

4.Smuggler's Cave

5.Cemetery Vision

6.Blue Wizard 

7.Cursed Man

Review

Smuggler’s Cave is the fifth album from Psych Stoner Rockers Humulus with the band moving closer the likes of Lowrider, Dozer, Truckfighters and KYUSS where the band blend the ice-cold Psychedelic Stoner Rock attitude of the Swedish Stoner Metal scene with the gritty energy of the legendary Californian Stoner scene. This is a great mix especially with Humulus originating from Italy. 

The record is a fast-paced mix of different Doom, Desert and Stoner Rock sounds with trippy interludes appearing within the whole album as a great union of Post-Rock and Post-Doom form a winning musical alliance. This seems to spur Humulus to try different things with their music as traces of Grunge and Ambient melodies form when you least expect this.

Humulus starts playing areas of music influenced by the likes of ELDER and KING BUFFALO in the heavier aspects which is quite an exciting creative direction on the first half tracks such as Standing In The Sun, Rise And Fall and Pines. The vocals are delivered superbly throughout as Humulus employ different styles with chants, clean vocals and ethereal tones aligning everything together.

The great use of Psychedelic, Ambient and Space Rock effects adds an aggressive attitude into the whole recording aspect which allows Humulus to start forming strands of Fuzz, Shoegaze and Space Rock which becomes quite adventurous when a thrilling Sludgier direction appears. Even when the record offers a stripped back sound, Humulus never fails in transporting the listener into a more subdued Spaced Out landscape on tracks Smuggler’s Cave, Blue Wizard and Cursed Man. 

The themes become more heartfelt and emotionally haunted with that blissful Post-Rock and Post-Stoner landscape bringing that superb style of uplifting quality into the later stages of the record. The vocals yet again are first rate which have a great storytelling energy to them with Humulus creating a soulful and emotionally charged record that’s not afraid to bring a gritty sense of determined pure raw heaviness to the party. As Humulus rely upon bursts of intense FUZZ and DISTORTED MELODIES within the second half of the album.

Smuggler’s Cove is a superbly entertaining and brilliantly realized album with HUMULUS once again delivering a masterclass of modern day COSMIC and PSYCHEDELIC grooves from start to finish.

Words by Steve Howe

Thanks to Purple Sage PR for the promo.

Smuggler’s Cove is available to buy now on CD/DD/Vinyl via Ripple Music.

Links

Facebook | Bandcamp | Instagram

Hexecutioner to release new LP of Ritualistic, Heavy Psych & Doom With "Ascension Rock" due out October 23rd

The Pacific Northwest's enigmatic Hexecutioner are back. 2025's lauded "Tornit" EP brought the heavy with filthy, lower-than-thou guitar tones, thunderous bass and drums, and crushing grooves amid suitably larger-than-life tales of sasquatches, bigfoots, and more.

Having riffed Terra Firma into oblivion with Tornit's earthy brutality, Erin Gravina and crew set their sights to otherwordly skies on the new full-length "Ascension Rock". The album drops October 23rd, and lead single & music video "Shapeshifter" is out now.

Staring into the depths of the unknown, sensing the unseen forces at play. Energies of the dark and the light, of the old and new, are cloaked in secrecy. Wormholes to other dimensions, bending time and space, high strangeness surrounds Ascension Rock. The manifestations appear during the sound frequency ritual.

Praise for Tornit:

"Gravina‘s vocals have character and poise, the tones are rich and concrete-grey and the groove they lead is engrossing and so very, very much the focus... heavy on nod and light on bullshit. There are few combinations more welcome coming out of my speakers." - JJ Koczan, The Obelisk

"an album full of breathtaking and bone-crunching grooves to play over, over and over again. Hexecutioner are the real deal and they’ve released an album of real quality. Outstanding stuff." - Steve Howe, Outlaws Of The Sun

"For those amongst us who like all things sludgy and doomy, with a bass sound that is as filthy as it comes, then you need to look no further" - Matthew Williams, The Razor's Edge

Hexecutioner - Ascension Rock

Album out October 23rd, 2026
Vinyl, CD, Cassette, Digital
Self-released
Seattle, Washington, US
FFO: Goatsnake • OM • Acid King • YOB
Artwork by Erin Gravina

Hexecutioner is:

Erin Gravina - Guitar and Vocals
Daniel McManus - Bass Guitar
Bryce Hebner - Drums

Tracklist:

1. Shapeshifter (5:52)
2. Usurper (5:57)
3. Manifested (7:10)
4. Star and Stone (4:42)
5. Sink or Swim (5:22)
6. Billionaires (4:45)

Credits:

Music and Lyrics by Erin Gravina
Produced by Hexecutioner
Recorded, Mixed, Mastered by Dylan Wall at 7Hills Studio, Seattle WA

Links:

Band website | Bandcamp | Instagram | Facebook

Thanks to Good Boy PR for the details.

Doom/Heavy Metallers CASTLE is heading to the UK and Europe!

San Francisco / Vancouver heavy metal doom merchants Castle have just released their newest album “Carrie Chains” on Hammerheart Records. The just announced UK and Europe legs of the tour follow the bands current blitz across the US and upcoming return to Japan in December, their first since 2016.

Castle comments:

“On the heels of our new album ‘Carrie Chains’ we are extremely excited to be able to play the new set in the UK and Europe. Come and experience the live ritual for yourself.

This will be our first proper tour of the UK after a lot of you have asked over the years and we couldn’t be more stoked… plus lots of new places in Europe including Into The Shadows 6.0 Fest in Tilburg and the already sold out Heavy Metal Thunder Fest in the Czech Republic. Grab an advance ticket and mark your calendars!”

Order “Carrie Chains” here: https://castlesf.lnk.to/carriechains
Order “Carrie Chains” at the band here: https://castlesf.bandcamp.com/album/carrie-chains

‘Carrie Chains’ UK/EU Tour 2027

26.2 UK London – tba
27.2 UK Bristol – Gryphon
28.2 UK Portsmouth – Kola Basement
01.3 UK Newcastle – Cluny 2
02.3 UK Edinburgh – Bannerman’s
03.3 UK Coventry – Arches Venue
04.3 UK Norwich – Voodoo Daddy’s
05.3 NL Tilburg – Into The Shadows 6.0 Fest
06.3 TBA
07.3 BE Fontaine L’eveque – MC Apache
08.3 LU Belval – Mix N’Kawa
09.3 DE Kusel – Kinnett
10.3 DE Bochum – Live Embassy
11.3 DE Stuttgart – Schwarzer Keiler
12.3 AT Wien – Arena
13.3 CZ Pisek – Heavy Metal Thunder Fest
14.3 SK Bratislava – Pink Whale
15.3 HU Budapest – Riff Budapest
16.3 SI Ljubljana – Channel Zero
17.3 IT Bologna – Freakout
18.3 TBA
19.3 IT Lecco – Circola Libero Pensiero
20.3 CH St Gallen – Rumpeltum
21.3 DE Freiburg – Slow Club
22.3 DE Kassel – Goldgrube
23.3 TBA
24.3 NL Arnhem – Willimeen
25.3 DE Hamburg – Bambi Galore
26.3 DE Berlin – Neue Zukunft
27.3 DE Dresden – Die Rock & Metalbar

Upcoming US Dates:

23.10 US Seattle – Funhouse
24.10 US Portland – High Water Mark
25.10 US San Francisco – Bottom Of The Hill
26.10 US Palmdale – Transplants Brewing
27.10 US Las Vegas – The Griffin
28.10 US Phoenix – Last Exit
29.10 US Los Angeles – Knucklehead
30.10 US San Diego – Tower Bar

Upcoming Japan dates:

5.12 JP Tokyo Doom Fest
6.12 JP Tokyo Doom Fest
7.12 JP Tokyo – Moonstep
8.12 JP Kyoto – Socrates
9.12 JP Kobe – Makeshift
10.12 JP Osaka – Hokage
11.12 JP Yokohama – El Puente
12.12 JP Tokyo – Hatsudai Wall
13.12 JP Nagoya – Huck Finn

The Lowdown

From an overgrown fortress, high above the cliffs of black, the spellcasters of Doom are back with “Carrie Chains” their seventh album and second for Hammerheart Records. Raw, epic riff Heavy/Doom abounds on Castle’s catchy-as-hell “Carrie Chains”.

Castle conjures an epic and hard hitting album of eight taut spellbinders. A journey through a maze of evil doers, spears of burning gold and fire and crosses nailed to walls. Where only a murky lamp lights the path, and from the grave to your door - these hooks won’t leave you alone. 

“Carrie Chains” shows Castle at new heights of constructing their trademark serpentine riffs into powerful anthemic hooks while the whiskey throated vocals of powerhouse singer Liz Blackwell fill every spooky nook and cranny to intoxicating effect. Taking influence from the 70’s/80’s riff-heavy maestros like Black Sabbath, Judas Priest and Mercyful Fate and keeping a stripped down attack sound, Castle converged on RainCity Recorders in Vancouver B.C. this past March with producer Jesse Gander to record the albums epic anthems.

Written last year alongside the band’s all-covers E.P. “Double Vision”, and after more than a year of touring behind their last album “Evil Remains” - inspiration for “Carrie Chains” came fast and furious. Following the energy of the new songs through the recording process, Castle recorded live in the studio for the first time - with the band’s recording drummer Mike Cotton laying down a thunderous precision that harkens back to 80’s era Black Sabbath. 

Since storming out of San Francisco with their 2011 debut “In Witch Order” Castle has toured relentlessly, playing over 800 shows on three continents. The live ritual resumes this fall with tours of the US and Japan; and Europe to follow next spring.

Line up:

Liz Blackwell - Bass, vocals

Mat Davis - Guitar, vocals

Mike Cotton - Drums

Key sales & marketing points:

* Follow up album to 2024’s Evil Remains

* Castle has a U.S. tour in September/October, a Japan tour in December and a Europe tour in March 2027

Recorded at RainCity Recorders in Vancouver B.C. by producer Jesse Gander (Anciients, 3 Inches Of Blood, Brutus)

* Castle has shared the stage with bands like The Obsessed, Anvil, The Skull, Pentagram, The Sword, Goatsnake and more!

* “Carrie Chains” will be available on Digipack CD, Longbox 2-CD (with the “Double Vision” as bonus CD) and LP on various color variants.

* The Longbox 2-CD and the LP version comes with a poster

For fans of: Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, Danzig, Motörhead

Link: https://castlesf.lnk.to/carriechains

Tracklist:

1. Fooled Again

2. 3 Knocks

3. Carry Chains

4. Evil Nun

5. Truckgrinder

6. Orb Weaver

7. Goat Vision

8. Burn The Messenger

Links

Facebook | BandCamp | Instagram

The Headless - Digging My Feet In The Earth (Single Review)

Release Date: October 04th 2026. Record Label: Self Released. Format: DD

Digging My Feet In The Earth - Tracklist

Digging My Feet In The Earth

Members

Andy Lenox — vocals, guitar, keys, production, visuals

Gary Behling — guitar, vocals, keys

Phil Danne — bass

Jay Gauthier — drums, photography, video

Review

Shoegaze/Alt-Metallers The Headless release their latest single Digging My Feet In The Earth is their strongest track yet and this is their song they’ve already released this year. Taking the core setup they created within the previous track Cast into the Firmament and adding a Prog Rock and Classic Rock attitude that calls upon the likes of Mastodon, Baroness and Thin Lizzy with the epic style of twin guitar shredding that accompanies this track.

The lyrics have a grounded Grunge and Hard Rock appeal with some emotionally charged lyrics that allows the song to bring a brooding Eighties Rock sensibility with a classic Shoegaze style forged over the last thirty years of heavy underground music. One of the main strengths here on this track is the vocal arrangements which offer a different style compared to The Headless previous two tracks. 

The Headless have gone under another musical transformation when you hear influences such as iRON MAIDEN starting to break out behind the scenes on the later stages of the track. However, Digging My Feet In The Dirt is essentially a Doom/Stoner Rock song at heart that allows the listener to be swept away by The Headless great style of cinematic rock with a massive Stadium Rock attitude offering plenty of melodies and gorgeous riffs throughout. 

Words by Steve Howe

Links

Official | Facebook | BandCamp | Instagram

HYLKO Sign With Octopus Rising; Japanese Stoner Rockers Unveil New Single “Green Spa”

Japanese stoner rockers HYLKO have signed with Octopus Rising, the imprint of Argonauta Records dedicated to emerging and forward-thinking heavy music. To celebrate the signing, the band are now unveiling their brand-new single “Green Spa”, offering the first taste of their upcoming album Rusty Quadrupeds Still Work.

Listen to “Green Spa” here: https://lynkify.in/album/green-spa/75509745​

Formed in 2020 around bassist Nori, a huge fan of legendary desert-rock pioneers Kyuss, HYLKO have built their sound around an intriguing concept: bringing the spirit of desert rock to Japan, a country famously lacking any deserts of its own.

Driven by heavy riffs, thick bass lines, hypnotic grooves and a raw, earthy approach, HYLKO channel the essence of classic desert rock while filtering it through their own distinctly Japanese perspective. The result is a gritty and immersive take on stoner rock that pays tribute to the genre's foundations without simply retracing familiar paths.

The band's history is as unconventional as their sound. Current drummer TfuckG originally joined HYLKO as a bongo player, but eventually took over behind the drum kit after becoming dissatisfied with the abilities of the band's then-current drummer. To fill the void left by the bongo player, HYLKO invited Moock, a djembe player active in other bands, to join the group, and he readily accepted.

After initially focusing on instrumental music, HYLKO's approach began to evolve following the release of their full-length album The Man Comes Around. Moock felt that the music needed a vocal presence and began improvising vocals over the band's instrumental tracks. What started as spontaneous experimentation gradually became an essential part of HYLKO's identity.

For their upcoming album Rusty Quadrupeds Still Work, Moock has written the lyrics for all songs, giving HYLKO's heavy instrumental foundation a new vocal dimension while retaining the hypnotic, groove-oriented character at the heart of their music.

The newly released “Green Spa” offers a first glimpse into this next chapter, showcasing HYLKO's ability to combine crushing stoner-rock riffs with their own unconventional approach and increasingly distinctive vocal presence.

Further details on Rusty Quadrupeds Still Work will be announced soon.

For more info:

​https://www.facebook.com/HYLKOstoner​
​https://www.instagram.com/hylko.stonerrock​
​https://www.argonautarecords.com

​Thanks to Grand Sounds Promotion for the details.

Witchthroat Serpent - Demons Left To Roam (Album Review)

Release Date: October 09th 2026. Record Label: Heavy Psych Sounds. Format: CD/DD/Vinyl

Demons Left To Roam - Tracklist

1.Cursed Night Circle

2.Doctor Terror

3.Silver Bell of Satanic Ritual

4.Lost Dimension

5.The Blinded Magpie

6.The Zany Magician (Eloy cover)

Members

Fred, Niko, Ügo and Djé

Review

Doom/Stoner Metallers Witchthroat Serpent return with their fifth album Demons Left To Roam which continues the band’s journey into the seedy and filth ridden abyss of distorted amplifiers and fuzzed out grooves. The music hasn’t changed much since their last album but the lyrics are perhaps more Occult Metal obsessive with an influx of gloomy themes lurking from every corner possible. 

Witchthroat Serpent uses the classic Doom/Stoner Metal template that Black Sabbath and Electric Wizard originally created with the band adding their own violent down-tuned spin with echoes of Sludge Metal forming within the gloriously over the top opening track Cursed Night Circle. There are flashes of Occult Rock, Psych, Fuzz, Sludge and Stoner melodies that have a claustrophobic energy holding everything together. The vocals are seedy with a touch of classic Doom Rock showmanship which never takes away from the thrilling FUZZED OUT surroundings which become heavier, gloomier and more twisted with each passing track.

Tracks such as Doctor Terror and Silver Bell Of Satanic Ritual embrace a distorted LOW & SLOW environment with the lyrics touching upon classic and troubling aspects of the whole OCCULT scene. There’s a great style of VINTAGE bravado appearing within the production side of the album which fuses Seventies Proto-Doom dimensions with that intense modern FUZZED OUT and WEEDIAN based delivery. Some of the musical passages can be quite long with little room for maneuver though the sludgy aspects allows Witchthroat Dimension to treat the listener to some massive layers of AMPLIFIER DISTORTION and a challenging style of sonic experimentation along the way.

This is perhaps Witchthroat Serpent’s most direct and haunting record to date with the doom & gloom optics even having a sense of progressive freedom within the heaviest parts of the album. The music is always played at a great slow-to-mid pace which allows more superb levels of classic SABBATHIAN and ELECTRIC WIZARD based grooves to form on the later stages of the record. However, Witchthroat Serpent’s epic use of psychedelic melodies allows the later tracks of Lost Dimension and The Blinded Magpie to have a certain Spaced Out flow to it all.

You have to give the band credit for performing a cover of the classic KrautRock track The Zany Magician by ELOY and adding a fresh Doomed Out and Fuzz Metal perspective when compared to the original. The hallmarks of the original version can be heard along the way but Witchthroat Serpent add their own sense of creative identity into this track which allows the album to close on a massive level of pure amplified terror.

Demons Left To Roam is another impressive record for the band to add to their acclaimed discography and it’s one that should keep the underground Doom/Stoner Metal scene happy for a long time to come. 

Words by Steve Howe

Thanks to Purple Sage PR for the details.

Demons Left To Roam is available to buy now on CD/DD/Vinyl via Heavy Psych Sounds.

Links

Bandcamp - Facebook - Instagram

Boss Keloid release new single 'Pedestal' from forthcoming album | Out today!

Boss Keloid have released their second new single from their highly anticipated forthcoming studio album 'Float & Aperture'.

'Pedestal' is out today and streaming everywhere!

Stream on DSPs HERE.
Pre-order the album HERE.

"The lyrics to Pedestal explore both the positive and negative sides of isolation, as well as its causes and effects. The song also contains a 10 year old riff from the Keloid archive we finally found a way to use properly. Enjoy!" - Boss Keloid

Boss Keloid seemingly achieves the impossible with each album they create, upholding familiarity in their sound whilst never remaining static. They are forever growing new limbs on their tree of creativity. Even after a decade in the game, this tree remains evergreen as these UK prog-rock mainstays find new and exciting ways to catch the listener’s intrigue. This is never more present than on their forthcoming LP ‘Float & Aperture’, poised to greet you like a good friend who's ready to lead you on a new adventure of sonic wonder.

Before undertaking this latest project, the band sought to find ways to unlock new methods of creativity, finding the best path was through collaboration.

“We wanted to challenge ourselves and each other more than ever during the writing process for this album, and developed a completely new way of working together as a result. Our writing process was more collaborative, experimental, and challenging than ever. We encouraged each other to tap into our musical and personal influences, as well as life experiences to generate ideas. We wanted more focus and enjoyment around the interplay and dynamics between melody and rhythm, and a better clarity and balance between our instruments and parts. We couldn't be happier with the result, and believe this is our strongest work to date” - Boss Keloid

Like the band's previous work, the lyrical content of each song on the album is drawn from personal experiences, difficulties, and life lessons. Vocalist Alex Hurst works to shape and describe these stories in a way which can be interpreted on a personal level by anyone, and hopefully align with their own lives. He sums up the overall theme of the album as follows:

"Embracing life, rolling with the punches and the waves of beauty, and not being afraid to channel and express those experiences through art, music, love, anger and wisdom. Experience tells a story if you don’t mind sharing it."

Boss Keloid has an impeccable release history, having already given flight to five critically acclaimed albums over the course of their career. Their last album ‘Family The Smiling Thrush’ made it into Metal Hammer’s top releases of 2021 and had Dom Lawson from Blabbermouth proclaiming “If it's a modern classic you want, look no further”. This sentiment is also shared for their live performances. Truly at home on the stage, the band ascends to even greater levels than their recorded output, delivering incredibly powerful and life-affirming performances.

The long and short of it is, where Boss Keloid goes, greatness follows and there’s no exception with this latest outing. This is another amazing chapter in the career of a band with an already glowing and rich history. Long standing fans will have their hunger satisfied, and for those joining the ride here, get ready to have your minds blown by ‘Float & Aperture’. Set for release on October 23rd via Church Road Records.

Track listing

1 - Breeze
2 - Pedestal
3 - Landslide
4 - Weight
5 - Aros
6 - Accord
7 - Sanguine

Members

Ste Arands - Drums and Percussion
Paul Swarbrick - Guitars
Alex Hurst - Vocals and Guitars
Liam Pendlebury-Green - Bass

Links

Facebook | BandCamp | Instagram | LinkTree

Thanks to Since Always Press for the details.