Tetsuwan - YONDER(trail,betrayal,trial) (EP Review)

Release Date: October 02nd 2026. Record Label: Self Released. Format: DD

YONDER(trail,betrayal,trial) - Tracklist

YONDER(trail,betrayal,trial)

Members

Ross Curry – Vocals & Guitar

Misha Voeykov – Bass

Stephan van der Meyden – Drums

Review

YONDER(trail,betrayal,trial) is the latest epic single from Psych/Doom/Stoner Metallers Tetsuwan who released a superb debut album ASUNDER back in November 2025. This record helped Tetsuwan establish a different kind of Psychedelic Doom Metal sound that relied upon a fantastic style of Seventies Hard Rock attitude with modern Progressive techniques throughout. 

Tetsuwan continues that great style of music with this fantastic track that runs for over seventeen minutes in length. The song is split into areas of Heavy Psych, Ambient Rock, Doom Metal, Classic Rock, Prog Rock and that aggressive Stoner Metal sound that matters when it’s really needed the most. The song does operate with a looser style of Post-Metal that reminds me of Pelican and Russian Circles before transferring over to a haunting Doomed Out Sound.

The vocals from Ross Curry feel like they’ve been transported from a long lost era of Seventies Hard Rock with the emotionally charged delivery. The music becomes fully consumed by a crushing level of psychedelic heaviness that weaves a dark cloud of Hazy and Sludge Rock melodies that leave in a complete trance.

Tetsuwan adds deft touches of screeching guitars, warped amplifiers and distorted instruments that become quite subdued when the band switch to a clearer style of Post-Rock and Post-Doom surroundings.

YONDER(trail,betrayal,trial) is very multi-layered with its three part cinematic structure that Tetsuwan employs for this track and it works wonderfully well with a song that demands your full attention but one that treats you with respect even when things become slightly crazy along the way.

This is another great release from Tetsuwan who may establish themselves as serious players if they continue to release great records such as this.

Words by Steve Howe

Links

Facebook | BandCamp | Instagram

Danish Doom Metal Quintet SONIC MOON shares new single off upcoming "In Lack Of Clarity" album, out November 6th on Ripple Music.

Denmark-based melodic doom metal merchants SONIC MOON present the second excerpt off their upcoming sophomore full-length "In Lack Of Clarity", to be issued on November 6th on US independent label Ripple Music.

Check out Sonic Moon's new single Beneath You

Denmark's up-and-coming heavy doom merchants Sonic Moon are set to return with their sophomore effort and Ripple Music debut: In Lack of Clarity. The new material pushes toward heavier and darker territory — menacing stoner doom riffs wrapped in hazy psychedelia, cathedral-sized grooves and soaring vocals. Like their 2023 debut album, it was recorded and produced by the band in their own studio, with mixing and mastering by Haldor Grunberg at Satanic Audio (Behemoth, Weedpecker, Dopelord). 

About the album, the band says, "We felt inspired to explore the heavier side of the genre on this album, and it certainly has a doom-feel to it. We spent a lot of time experimenting in the studio and tried out a lot of ideas, making it DIY in our own way. With our combined creativity and, at times, ingenuity we have created an album that resembles us as individuals all while diving head first into the deep end of doom." Don't miss the album's debut single Weightlessness!

SONIC MOON "In Lack Of Clarity" - Out November 6th on Ripple Music (LP/CD/digital)

Formed in the fall of 2016 in the suburbs of Aarhus, Denmark, Sonic Moon came together around a shared love for heavy, hypnotic rock. The original lineup spent their early days writing in a cold, rundown house, drawing from the likes of Electric Wizard, Kyuss, All Them Witches or Colour Haze. In 2021, new bassist Niclas Fritz Sørensen joined the band, rounding out the current lineup.

After several EPs and a steady run of live shows, the band honed their sound in their own studio and issued their debut full-length Return Without Any Memory in 2023 via Olde Magick Records. The album found its audience in the stoner and doom underground, picking up favorable reviews from major scene tastemakers such as The Obelisk or Doomed & Stoned, while reaching #7 on the monthly Doom Charts and appearing on multiple year-end lists. Described by The Sleeping Shaman as “incredibly difficult to pigeonhole”, the record leaned into fuzz-heavy guitars, slow-burning grooves, and a melancholic, psychedelic atmosphere.

To support the album, Sonic Moon played shows across Denmark with acts like Weedpecker and 1000mods, and took their first trip outside the country in the spring of 2024 for dates in Germany and the Netherlands. Since then, the band has been writing and recording their sophomore effort, In Lack of Clarity, marking their debut release on Ripple Music, the California-based label known for work with The Obsessed, Hermano, Wo Fat, Colour Haze and countless stoner and doom acts of the international scene.

Sonic Moon is

Oliver Lyngkilde - Vocals
Jeppe Rasmussen - Guitar
Emil Damgaard Andersen - Guitar
Niclas Fritz Sørensen - Bass
Emil Gam Klinkby - Drums

Sonic Moon links

Facebook | Bandcamp | Instagram | Youtube

Ripple Music links

Website | Facebook | Bandcamp | Instagram

Thanks to Purple Sage PR for the details.

It's All About Mary - Exploring The Brane (Album Review)

Release Date: October 01st 2026. Record Label: Self Released. Format: DD

Exploring The Brane - Tracklist

1.Psynker 04:55

2.Space Cakes At Dawn 05:24

3.Two Minute Window 11:04

4.Never Look Back 04:00

5.Plight of Ursa... 09:25

6.C Side Be 07:06

7.Hemlock 07:07

8.Farewell... 05:51

Members

Steve Zaniac Richards - Drums

Dave Bear Evans - Bass

Spring - Keyboards

Tony Lewis - Guitars

Review

Exploring The Brane is the debut album from Instrumental Stoner Metallers It’s All About Mary which was recorded and never released before the band went on a decade long hiatus. The band are now reformed and have decided to release their debut album and it’s one that embraces the classic era of Instrumental Stoner Metal with some cool modern Progressive based elements. 

It’s All About Mary are influenced by the likes of CLUTCH, KARMA TO BURN and TOOL though the band aren’t adverse to venture into areas of experimental rock. This is quite an in-depth and highly involving record lasting around fifty minutes in length as It’s All About Mary navigates around the world of Desert Rock, Doom and Psych Rock just for good measure.

There is a lot to digest here but It’s All About Mary is never boring nor do they play the same type of song twice. Everything is played meticulously and highly calculated with that epic TOOL influence allowing the band to create highly expressive different styles of Instrumental Stoner Rock/Metal on tracks such as Psynker, Space Cakes At Dawn and Two Minute Window. You can hear some freaky PRIMUS funk rock melodies forming amongst the gritty Stoner Metal surrounding landscapes with some cool sounding keyboards played by Spring. 

Exploring The Brane impresses the most within the epic longer tracks as It’s All About Mary has more time and space to create different styles of Heavy Rock which allows an aggressive Blues Rock and Alt-Metal vibe to fully form. The sounds are more varied with real intelligence behind the instrumental playing and with the added use of different Ambient themes and delicate Post-Rock vibes. 

You begin to appreciate how refreshingly different the album really is. If this was released back when the band were originally active, this could be considered a forward thinking record. Well, that’s the experience I encountered when listening to the album on tracks Two Minute Window, Plight Of Ursa…, C Side Be and Hemlock. The music drifts further into a Prog Metal abyss than the standard Stoner Rock/Metal sound within the shorter tracks.

There’s a lot of different musical variety from It’s All About Mary though their core Doom, Desert Rock and Stoner Rock grooves are never too far away with that style of music being the main order of business. The instrumental playing is first rate with It’s All About Mary proving what damn fine musicians they really are.

This is a different type of Instrumental Rock Album with it’s moody progressive textures but one that has a warm hearted “riff” driven approach as well which you feel mostly on the sublime tracks of Space Cakes At Dawn, Never Look Back, Hemlock and Farewell. There’s something for everyone here and with It’s All About Mary never playing by the rules, this is quite a bold and highly expressive record which will surprise a lot of people who give this the time and dedication the album richly deserves.

Exploring The Brane has all the hallmarks of a true cult album and should allow It’s All About Mary to become more well known within the underground scene.

Words by Steve Howe

Links

Official | LinkTree | BandCamp | Instagram

BLACK SPACE RIDERS – Release New Video for second single "Algorythms (Mind Control)“ From Upcoming New Album "Die 8"

The new BLACK SPACE RIDERS album, "Die 8," is set for release on November 13th!

After presenting the first single, "Party Is Over (The Last Curfew)", a few weeks ago, the band has now released the second single, "Algorythms (Mind Control)":Watch the atmospheric video here: 

"Algorythms (Mind Control)" is the 2nd single from the upcoming album "Die 8" by alternative psychedelic rockers BLACK SPACE RIDERS (out Nov 13).

 
Driven by heavy riffs, a pronounced rhythm, and an urgent danceability, the track stages a paranoid state of cyber-surveillance, capturing the individual’s critical whisper in the merciless torrent of algorithmic control. A powerful, driving alternative rock song establishing the tension between digital networks and isolation.

“Die 8” is available for pre-order here: https://linktr.ee/BlackSpaceRiders

"Die 8“ Tracklist:

1. Algorythms (Mind Control)
2. War Inside (Infinite Internal Friction)
3. Party Is Over (The Last Curfew)
4. Celebr8 (We Salute You)
5. Solar Mantra
6. Deep Space Isolation (Alone, So Far, So Cold)
7. 8 Minutes To Midnight (Run!)
8. The Gr8 Dict8or (Lost In Time)
9. People (8 Billion Voices)
10. Weite (The Edge Of The Beginning)
11. The End Of Time

"Die 8“ Record Release Show:

21.11.2026 Münster (D) / Rare Guitar

"Die 8" is available for pre-order starting now: LINK (Linktree)

BLACK SPACE RIDERS Online:

Linktree BSR online

Thanks to Anger Management PR for the details.

Portuguese Atmospheric Sludge/Post-metal trio Palegazer reveal full details of "White Mourning"

Portuguese atmospheric sludge/post-metal trio Palegazer have revealed the full details of "White Mourning," their debut album for Octopus Rising, set for release on October 30, 2026 on CD and digital formats.

Following the recent release of "Imminence", the band now unveils the complete five-track album, an intense exploration of human fragility, loss, vulnerability and the process of letting go.

"White Mourning" reflects on the narratives we create to understand our experiences and the way our perceptions shape the realities around us. The album's title embodies this duality, suggesting both mourning and liberation, with loss becoming a path towards rebirth and self-discovery.

Musically, Palegazer moves between immersive melancholy and crushing heaviness, combining atmospheric post-metal with the weight of sludge and doom. Drawing inspiration from YOB, Russian Circles, REZN, Deafheaven, Conan, Bölzer, Mastodon, Ahab and Bell Witch, the trio create a sound built on contrasts, moving from fragile melodic passages to towering riffs and intense vocal dynamics.

"White Mourning" was recorded at the band's own studio and mixed and mastered by Diogo Santana of Noise Portrait Recordings.

PALEGAZER - "WHITE MOURNING"

October 30, 2026 | Octopus Rising​ | ​CD + Digital

Tracklist

Imminence - 5:52
Searing Light - 6:52
As What Remains Drifts - 6:12
Ancient Twin - 5:39
White Mourning - 14:07

For more info:

​https://www.instagram.com/palegazer/​
​https://www.facebook.com/ArgonautaRecords​

Thanks to Grand Sounds Promotion for the details.

Sludge/Stoner Metallers Rickshaw Billie's Burger Patrol Release Final Track "Follow Through" From Upcoming New Album - "Ca$h Grab"

Rickshaw Billie’s Burger Patrol further the sarcastic tone of their previous album’s title Big Dumb Riffs to double down with Ca$h Grab. The irony here — and perhaps the point — is that Ca$h Grab is the band’s most introspective and lyrically vulnerable songwriting to date.

Of course, the band still bludgeons with thunderous 8-string guitar, growling bass chords and pummeling drums throughout. But these songs are as bassist Aaron Metzdorf explains,“more pop song forward, while still in the idiom of heavy music.”

The album finds the trio — vocalist/guitarist Leo Lydon, drummer Sean St. Germain and bassist/vocalist Metzdorf — expanding their mastery of heavy, hook-filled riffs and rhythms couched in earworm melody that would make Green Album era Weezer jealous. Following the Spartan Primus-meets-Pantera rhythmic ruction in 2 minutes or less of Big Dumb Riffs, the band lets melodies lead the battlefront this time around. In so doing, the lyrics are more personal and revealing, juxtaposed with twisting notes that nod to influences from Built To Spill and Sugar style indie pop to early 90s-era Rush.

“The heavier parts are even heavier, but more fleshed out. And the heaviness is not just in a guitar riff, but heavy lyrics, heavy melody,” Metzdorf says. “Some of the heaviest parts of the whole album are Leo's vocals. While the poppier stuff has a more prominent role on this one.”

Ca$h Grab kicks off where the last album left off: The slow burn quiet/loud dynamic of “Freakshow”, seemingly the end result of the quasi-psychotic conceit of the previous disc’s “In a Jar,” both of which are sung by Metzdorf, who sings lead on 5 of the album’s 14 tracks. Vocalist/guitarist Leo Lydon really showcases the versatility in his singing, belting out high notes like never before on songs like “Fate Is”, “Peaches” and the title track. And while his vocals soar, Lydon’s 8-string guitar rumbles with menacing low end while intertwined with Metzdorf’s thick, heavily distorted bass chords. The band’s secret weapon, St. Germain pulls it all together with his innovative beat substitutions and explosive, syncopated hooks delivered with an effortless groove and fun loving smile.

In the two years since Big Dumb Riffs, the band toured relentlessly, both as a headliner and supporting The Sword, Death From Above 1979, Pigs x9, King Buffalo and more. Their meticulously curated annual Big Dumb Fest in Austin and headlining dates continue to sell out and the band’s ever growing rabid fanbase proves that RBBP’s iconic reign has just begun.

Ca$h Grab will be available on LP, CD, cassette and download on October 23rd, 2026 via Permanent Teeth / RBBP.

RICKSHAW BILLIE’S BURGER PATROL - LIVE 2026:

10/23 Austin, TX - Mohawk Austin (Album Release Show)
11/28 Silverado, CA - Silverado Festival
12/04 Denton, TX - Rubber Gloves
12/05 Tyler, TX - Stanley’s Famous Pit BBQ
12/06 Memphis, TN - Hernando’s Hideaway
12/09 Indianapolis, IN - Black Circle
12/10 Columbus, OH - Ace of Cups
12/11 Louisville, KY - Zanzabar
12/12 Asheville, NC - Eulogy
12/14 Orlando, FL - Will’s Pub
12/15 Tampa, FL - New World Brewery
12/16 St. Augustine, FL - Cafe Eleven
12/17 Pensacola, FL - The Handlebar
12/18 New Orleans, LA - Siberia
12/19 Houston, TX - Bad Astronaut

Album Details

Artist: Rickshaw Billie’s Burger Patrol
Album: Ca$h Grab
Record label: RBBP / Permanent Teeth
Release Date: October 23, 2026

Tracklist

01. Freakshow
02. I Doubt It
03. Peaches
04. Fate Is
05. Punisher
06. Follow Through
07. Bury Me in Denver
08. Ca$h Grab
09. The Disappearing Man
10. No Juice
11. Bough Down
12. Talking To You
13. Couple Skate
14. Lush

Links:

www.rickshawbilliesburgerpatrol.com
https://linktr.ee/rickshawbilliesburgerpatrol

https://rickshawbilliesburgerpatrol.myshopify.com

Thanks to US/THEM PR Group for the details.

Valley Of The Sun - The Blacklight Sessions (Album Review)

Release Date: October 02nd 2026. Record Label: Heavy Psych Sounds. Format: CD/DD/Vinyl

The Blacklight Sessions - Tracklist

1.The Whiskey Elf 04:43
2.Low Not Slow 05:03
3.The Long Song
4.A Greater Meaning
5.Mountain
6.No Hope

Members

Ryan Ferrier - Guitar / Vocals
Chris Sweeney - Bass
Johnny Kathman - Drums

Review

Psych Stoner Rockers Valley Of The Sun return with their sixth album The Blacklight Sessions and their first for legendary Heavy Psych Sounds record label. The music is highly energetic with the band playing a faster and heavier style of music that leans further into the Heavy Psychedelic scene than ever before. The songs are insanely melodic with some great moments of Doom, Space Rock and Sludge Rock sounds moving throughout the album.

The opening track The Whiskey Elf is an instrumental number with Valley Of The Sun playing to their main strengths which has a more direct energy compared to their previous albums. This is a great track to open the album with as it allows the listener to get accustomed to the band’s new found Psychedelic delivery but still keeping their classic sound fully intact. Sometimes this song feels like the band are paying homage to the legendary Nineties Stoner Rock/Metal scene with cues from the likes of KYUSS, Monster Magnet and FU MANCHU that can be heard along the way.

Second track Low Not Slow is one of the standout tracks with a slight detour into Fuzz Rock and Blues Rock soundscapes with a thrilling backdrop of classic Hard Rock melodies that Valley Of The Sun are known for. The vocals from Ryan Ferrier have a great style of Stadium Rock energy appearing as he provides one of his best vocal performances in years. This is highly energetic Stoner Rock/Metal of the highest order as the song provides some of the best sounds on the whole album especially if you’re a fan of good old fashioned Desert Rock / Stoner Metal.

Third track The Long Song is aptly named, running over ten minutes in length with Valley Of The Son operating with a classic Post-Rock and Post-Stoner delivery that reminds me of Yawning Man and ELDER in places. The song does incorporate some cool sounding Ambient and Sonic flourishes for the first few moments before Valley Of The Sun offset this against a backdrop of Fuzzed Out grooves with a dynamic Stoner Rock/Metal delivery holding everything together. This allows the band to move into areas of pure Amplified Heaviness which may be one of the heaviest and loudest tracks we’ve experienced from the band. There’s some great sounding Progressive jam based passages that have you rocking out until the very end.

The second half continues with that great style of Fuzz, Psych, Space Rock and Stoner Metal goodness but with an epic grounded approach being created on tracks such as A Greater Meaning, Mountain and No Hope. Valley Of The Sun start to reinvent their core sound for the better especially on A Greater Meaning and Mountain.

The music is highly addictive once more with the band exploring new musical themes that result within some droned out moments which was highly unexpected. Though, Valley Of The Sun still offer their own great style of music they’ve created and maintained over their acclaimed career but with this being their sixth album, this feels like a major rebirth for the band. The songwriting is super tight with a fresh perspective that feels fully fleshed out compared to their last record.

The Blacklight Sessions is a masterful collection of great tracks that once again solidifies Valley Of The Sun as one of most essential Stoner Rock/Metal acts we currently have right now. Long may that continue. Add this to your collection right now. It’s seriously that great!!!!

Words by Steve Howe

Thanks to Purple Sage PR for the promo..

The Blacklight Sessions is available to buy now on CD/DD/Vinyl via Heavy Psych Sounds.

Links

Facebook | Bandcamp | Instagram