An Interview With Doom/Stoner Metallers FLAMEBEARER

Doom/Stoner Rockers FLAMEBEARER are slowly gathering the creative forces for releasing their brilliantly entertaining upcoming new album "IGNITER" due for release later this year. The album features a great mix of Punk, Hard Rock, Doom, Sludge and Stoner Metal sounds bound to get your heart pumping from start to finish.

FLAMEBEARER released their excellent debut album Brazen back in 2024 to some great acclaim within the underground Heavy Rock scene. The record features a ton of great tracks you can instantly sing along with great classic Heavy Metal melodies holding things together.

I wanted to find out more about the band and they've kindly agreed to do the the following interview which tells you all you need to know about how the band started and what to expect from the forthcoming album.

Hi guys. Thanks for doing the interview. How are things with you today?

Dom: Great thanks. Glad the summer seems to finally be arriving!

For folks not in the know, can you give a brief history of how the band came together and
where it is today?

Alastair: My last band Brule had called it a day just before COVID, and then Andy's band ended and we got chatting. We started coming up with ideas. We found Dom and Thiago and got the ball rolling. We did a couple of demos and then first album Brazen came out 2 years ago.

Andy V: Yes, Oak my old band had run it's course. It was lockdown and I was determined to get something together as I really wasn't done with this yet. Al rang me and it's crazy it just starts with a couple of riffs and here we are.

How would you describe your own sound?

Dom: We're a blend of hard rock, classic doom metal and punk swagger, with a splash of glam rock thrown in there for good measure. We got described once as Glam Doom, so maybe that's a good way to put it.

Alastair: I once described us as high energy doom. We are as comfortable listening The Sweet and Slade as we are listening to Immortal and GBH. Big riffs and big choruses, and the odd solo too.

You recently released your new single “Bow Down To Me”. Great track. What has the
reception been like to the track? Are you pleased with the responses the single has received.

Dom: People seem to really like the energy of it and it goes down really well live. We just want more people to hear it! I think there is a vibe to the song that opens us up to different audiences, so getting the song out there to them is an avenue we'd like to explore.

Andy V: I love the video we've made. We don't have a lot of resources but make the most of what we have. It's got out on socials well, Spotify not so great or YouTube but it's making a lot of noise on Instagram etc.

This is the first track to be released from your forthcoming second album. Can you give any details when the album is being released and what people can expect to hear from the album.

Dom: The album will be called Igniter and it's going to be released on August 7th. And we're thrilled to say we've partnered with Interstellar Smoke Records who will be releasing it on vinyl as well as through the usual digital platforms.

Is the upcoming album vastly different to your 202-4 debut album “BRAZEN”.

Dom: I wouldn't say vastly different, but I think with Brazen we sowed a few seeds for what was to come. So I'd say the faster, punkier elements of that album are what have carried over into the new record the most.

Alastair: I think we have just evolved a little more down the punkier, up-tempo side.

Andy V: Vocally and lyrically we have spent way more time diving into melodies, themes and lyrics etc. Way more time on backing too. I think the songs are stronger and have a lot more impact. We are very proud of this one.

Were you happy with the responses that BRAZEN received from the Stoner Rock/Metal community.

Andy V: The response from those who heard it and bought it was wonderful but not many people did and that is the biggest challenge, getting it out there to be heard.

Dom: It was a good step up for us though and did help us land bigger shows.

Looking back, would you change anything about that album?

Alastair: Yeah, releasing it on vinyl would have been good!

Andy V: I think we had great songs but we needed to add depth to them. I think we needed to look at backing vocals a lot more etc. Something we've done a lot more on this next album.

What bands and artists influenced you when recording the BRAZEN and even the upcoming new album.

Dom: We really wanted to keep up the energy on Igniter and show a bit of cocky rock'n'roll snarl. We kept realising there was a sort of Scandinavian rock vibe coming forth when we were writing it. We were getting some Hellacopters/Turbonegro/Kvelertak feels from it and we didn't shy away from that

Alastair: There were definitely less obviously Trouble-inspired riffs from me this time around. We are all into a variety of punk bands anyway, from MC5 and Stooges, through to Misfits and GBH. Kiss, early Crue and WASP also feature in our musical DNA. I love super obscure 80s demo bands as much as the next metal nerd but you nothing beats a huge chorus.

Can you advise if you’ve played or currently playing in other bands so folks can check out your other musical projects.

Alastair: I originally met Andy when an old of mine played with his band Ossiyan, and then we played with his next band Oak (which at various times featured Richard from Warpstormer and Scott from Green Lung, so well worth checking out). Andy also sings in 1968, a killer hard rocking band with a Blue Cheer approach to volume.

I currently also play in Under The Ashes; sort of death/thrash/crust kinda of vibe. Slayer, trouble and sacrilege riffs and some blast beats. Thiago played in Mocho Diablo back in Brazil. I've been in loads of band over the years including Decomposed and Mourn in the early 90s, Blood Island Raiders in the 00s and Age Of Taurus in the 10s

Which bands, artists or albums inspired you all to pick up a musical instrument and to become a musician.

Alastair: For me it all started with Iron Maiden on Tiswas. I had a tiny drum kit and a mic as a kid but never managed to learn to use either correctly. Eventually got a guitar in 88 and I've stuck with it. I'm hoping I'll get the basics right on that soon enough. I grew up on classic metal and heavy rock, so it was Maiden, Saxon, Manowar, Gillan, Kiss, Lizzy, MSG and so on that formed my outlook. Then thrash and death metal, but seeing Candlemass in 89 was one of those life changing moments. I got into doom, and since then Trouble, Vitus, The Obsessed, Force and Pentagram have been a huge influence.

Andy: Led Zeppelin, Sex Pistols and The Cult had a huge influence on my life from mid teens, it all started from there.

What are your high points and low points with Flamebearer or your musical career in general?

Alastair: For Flamebearer, playing Bloodstock as pretty much unknowns and getting a huge reaction was great. Playing live is all about having a connection. Outside this band, in previous bands I've supported two of my almost time favourite bands - Trouble and Bang. Also I played with Lord of Putrefaction so I'm one of only a few people who never saw them.

Andy V: Bloodstock, Stoomfest, mucking around making music videos and coming up with riffs these are the high notes for me. I think it's tough when you put your heart and soul into great music and not many people hear it. We work extremely hard trying to break through but it's on its way.

Dom: Sometimes it's not all about the biggest stages with a sea of people, sometimes the best shows are intimate with a bunch of people you are connecting with who are just purely connecting with the music and with the show. Last year we headlined the Beneath The Arches festival at Radio City Social in Chelmsford. It's a fairly compact but amazing venue, and every person in that crowd was going wild. It was such a blast and probably one of my favourite shows we've played. Also the guys at Radio City Beer Works very kindly collaborated with us on creating our own beer for that show - Taste Helles. So that was an amazing thing for us.

What is the creative process or setup within the band? Do you write the music together or do certain people within the band do that?

Alastair: It often starts with me chucking riffs onto the group chat, and if they stick we then jam them in the room. Sometimes the song is done in 20 mins, and sometimes we show it over time. That said, Dom brought Electric Haze in pretty much as it is. Falling Down on the other hand started life 25 years ago with an old band of mine.

Andy V: Vocals just come out of me.I make sounds which kinda make melodies and go from there. Lyrics are something I've definitely spent more time looking at on this album. They used to be an after thought really.

We all know that London has a vibrant and huge Rock/Metal scene. However, does this allow you to perform gigs on a regular basis and do you have a local scene that you're actively involved with?

Alastair: London has loads of venues and there are always places to play. If anything, London has multiple scenes, you can go to two death metal gigs and see two completely different sets of fans. Obviously there is the whole Desertfest/Desertscene thing, and them and Old Empire are bringing in a lot of the big name bands and providing the push at that end. You've got London Doom Collective and they are also doing something similar on a more underground front. Helgis in Hackney is focal point for a lot the dirtier end of our scene, whether doom, sludge, death or whatever.

Will you be performing any gigs to promote the upcoming album locally or further afield.

Dom: We have a release show coming up on August 8th, the the day after the album drops, at The Grace in London (upstairs at The Garage in Highbury). We're really looking forward to this show and we have some great bands coming to play with us to celebrate - Wytch Pycknyck from Hastings and fellow London lads Satan's Baby.

Before you go, do you have any words of wisdom for your new and potential fans out

Andy V: Most definitely keep coming to shows otherwise it's going to die. The sheer talent out there in the underground is unreal now. Keep checking out new bands as well, in general just get out there, there's actually a world out there waiting for you, stop looking down and start looking up, it's all three for you.

Words by Steve Howe and FLAMEBEARER

Links

https://www.facebook.com/flamebearerband
https://www.instagram.com/flamebearerband/?hl=en
https://flamebearer.bandcamp.com/



Thanks to FLAMEBEARER for all of the details.

An Interview with Ryotaro From Doom/Sludge/Stoner Metallers LOOPRIDER To Discuss New Album LOVE

Japanese Heavy Rockers LOOPRIDER have just released their stunning and brilliantly heavy new album LOVE. This record takes a heavier detour into Drone, Noise. Doom, Psych, Grunge and Stoner Metal passages compared to their acclaimed 2023 album Metamorphose. 

The band has a new member Tacchi (Guitars) who joined the ranks recently after longtime member and  guitarist Haruka left before the band started recording the new album. 

If you dig bands such as BORIS and THE MELVINS then this is the place to be. LOOPRIDER never makes the same album twice and I wanted to find out more about this great band as they have become one of my favourite bands from the Japanese Heavy Rock/Metal scene.

You can read my review of LOVE here.

I'm pleased to say that I caught up with Ryotaro (Vocals / Guitars / Noise) to discuss the formation of the band and the making of the new album.

Hi there. Thanks for doing the interview. How are things with you today?

Doing well. We just finished our last rehearsal before the release tour and feeling pretty good about it.

For folks not in the know, can you give a brief history of how the band came together and where it is today?

Looprider is a band I started on my own, making demos by myself. Originally it was supposed to be a project with a revolving door of members, like Nine Inch Nails or Queens of the Stone Age. It ended up being a trio band. We’ve had people come and go since so I suppose it’s become a revolving door of sorts, but conceptually now it’s supposed to challenge the limits of what a trio can do.

How would you describe your own sound?

Heavy rock, I guess. We’ve been called shoegaze, sludge, noise, etc. Like our idols Boris and Melvins we are OK with being fluid with these things. I see music as a spectrum, and if you have noise on one end and drone on the other, for example, then everything else, including pop music, exists in between that broad gradient. Am I making any sense? I see the band as a vehicle to explore that spectrum.

You're about to release your amazing new album "LOVE" What can people expect from the album and LOOPRIDER this time round.

This is the first time that I think we have captured the raw sound of the band. We’ve tried different ways over the years of how to record our bassless set up and I think we did a pretty good job this time.

We tried a lot of new things as well, the most obvious being bringing in a baritone guitar as my main instrument. We have always tuned low, but this was on a whole other level. These instruments provide a lot of clarity despite being tuned low, and I think it sets us apart from other sludgy bands.

Why did you call the album "LOVE" as it's anything but that. Dare I say this is your heaviest and most aggressive record to date.

I wanted a very straightforward title. And love is universal. But the album is not just about the pleasantries of love; it’s also about its ugly side. You can love something so much that it breeds hate. And love can be for all sorts of things: your family, your friends, your community, your idols. Each song represents a different side of it.

Was this original intention to release something different compared to your last album Metamorphose which was more heartfelt and quite emotional. Why the sudden change with the heavier sounds.

We always just do whatever we’re into at the moment. But getting my hands on the baritone really prompted this vibe I think.

Were you pleased with the original reception that Metamorphose received from fans and critics alike. I love that album and still listen to this day.

Yeah! It’s always nice when people vibe with your work. The last one was nice because people got to see a more shoegaze-ish side of us that we hadn’t done in a while.

Looking back, would you change anything about that album?

We tracked everything to a click and I regret doing that. Listening to it now, it sounds a bit sterile. Music should be free and fluid, especially bands like us.

Longtime guitarist Haruka left before you started recording the album. Was this an amicable split. Are you still on good terms with Haruka.

She needed to leave because of stuff in her life. We still text each other from time to time, no hard feelings.

Did Haruka leaving the band inspire the heavier aspect and creative dynamics for LOVE at all.

Not really. A lot of the songs were already done and the way we work is that I demo the songs or jam on riffs with our drummer first, so the direction and overall sound is already decided by the time the second guitar gets added.

You now have a new member Tacchi joining the LOOPRIDER ranks as well. How did you meet Tacchi and what does she bring to the whole LOOPRIDER sound.

I found her online and reached out. She’s really cool and brings an air of positivity to the band that’s really exciting. She has a great stage presence and is just a fun person to hangout with. She has a real edge to her guitar playing and we’re excited to see what she’ll bring from a writing perspective when we start working on new music.

What bands and artists influenced you when recording the new album.

I don’t really remember what I was listening to at the time, but there is this YouTube channel called The Bunn that specialized in baritone guitars. I think a lot of what he was doing influenced the riffs I was coming up with. I was also listening to bands like Nausea, Discharge and Doom. But the last couple of years I’ve just been listening to a lot of ambient stuff, people like Pauline Oliveros, William Basinski, that sort of thing.

Which bands, artists or albums inspired you all to pick up a musical instrument and to become a musician.

Probably bands like Nirvana and Smashing Pumpkins initially. That got me into Melvins and My Bloody Valentine. Slayer and Napalm Death were other big influences. There is also this Japanese band called Luna Sea that I really loved when I was a kid. Melt-Banana was another early influence and through them I discovered artists like Mr. Bungle and John Zorn.

We have to talk about the stunning artwork for LOVE. As it gives a stunning picture of what to expect from the album. How did the design come about. It seems this was a joint effort between Ryotaro and Ryo7. Was this a true collaborative piece for LOVE. Or did you each put your own creative personality into the final design.

We have a record called “My Electric Fantasy” that has a pink cover. I wanted something that symbolically represented us getting away or melting away from the last 10 years of the band. A bit of a fresh start. Then this idea of ink clouds came about. I wanted it to kind of look like a heart shape. I had a specific idea on how I wanted the shape to be and also the texture and we realized very quickly that it wasn’t going to be possible using real materials, so we decided to do it as a 3D model. I’m quite pleased with the result, it also looks a bit grotesque, almost intestine-like. I think it captures both the prettiness and ugliness of the record.

What are your high points and low points you've experienced within your musical career so far?

High points have been playing with bands I’ve idolized like Melt-Banana and Luminous Orange and being included on compilations like the Japan Is Loud comp with bands again like Melt-Banana and Boris. Low points would be letting band members go or having them leave.

Can you advise if you’ve played or currently playing in other bands so folks can check out your other musical projects?

No other bands. I do some solo ambient drone stuff some times.

What is the creative process or setup within the band? Do you write the music together or do certain people within the band do that?

Usually I will have riffs and ideas and we put them together with the drums. We get very detailed in the arrangement of the drums. Basically if it sounds good with guitar and drums, the track will likely be good. We then add the lead guitar on top of that to add a whole new dimension. Depending on what gets added, we may revisit the rhythm arrangement and sometimes even throw away the whole thing. Rinse and repeat. It’s like painting over a painting again and again.

Does Tokyo have a vibrant and huge Rock/Metal that allows you to perform gigs on a regular basis and do you have a local scene that you're actively involved with?

There are a lot of scenes and great venues. We tend to float around scenes and we’re not really part of any particular one. The heavier stuff happens at places like Earthdom, Niman Denatsu, El Puente and Bush Bash and then the more alternative and shoegaze stuff happens at places like Koenji High and Shimokitazawa Era. We have different friends in different scenes and we try to play different types of shows as much as possible.

Will you be performing any gigs to promote the upcoming album locally or further afield.

We have a tour coming up in Osaka, Nagoya and Tokyo to promote the new record!

Before you go, do you have any words of wisdom for your new and potential fans out there.

Please listen to our different records because we try to show different sides of the band with each album. We encourage everyone to look at our whole catalogue. Hopefully there is something there for everyone.

Words by Steve Howe 

LOVE is available to buy now on CD/DD via Call And Response Records.

Links 

Official | Facebook | BandCamp | Instagram

Introduce Yourselves: STONE WIZARDS

What Is the Name of Your Band?

STONE WIZARDS

What Is the genre of music you play?

PROGRESSIVE STONER METAL

Can you give a brief history of the band of how it came together and where it is today?

Formed in July 2019 in Balneário Camboriú, Santa Catarina, Brazil, Stone Wizards was born from the shared passion of three musicians for heavy and progressive music. With the initial goal of creating a dense, captivating, and distinctive sound, the band quickly established its unique sonic identity in the national metal scene, uniting the brutality of heavy metal with the complex and innovative elements of progressive rock.

What can people expect from your music?

Stone Wizards represents a fusion between two distinct musical universes: the heaviness of stoner metal and the structural sophistication of progressive rock. This sonic encounter creates a unique musical experience that captivates both audiences who appreciate heavy and accessible riffs and those who seek compositional complexity and innovation.

What is the best release that folks should check out from your band?

Our latest single, OCEANS, is available on spotify : 

ttps://open.spotify.com/intl-pt/track/36z3juObpIuAxnj7wwgmVQ?si=133df72b80d942b6. 

It's part of our future album that will be released in the second half of 2026 !

Where can people find you on Social Media?

https://www.instagram.com/stonewizards
https://www.youtube.com/stonewizards
https://epkbuilder.com/site/stone-wizards

Instrumental Doomsters VOID SINKER Announces Next Release CYCLES

There's no rest for the wicked...and there's no peace in the void...we're back inside of it...it's a huge, never-ending Cycle where the only escape is death...or so we thought...

After a long journey across the oceanic expanses with Echoes from the Deep, Creatures, and Depth, the time has come to return to the vastness of the cosmic void with a new release!

Cycle is the next musical effort from the Void Sinker project!

Another collection of tracks written over the years 2024/2025 for the project, the second release this year.

The time has come to escape this endless cycle of eternal vastness...or at least try…

Release date: 05/15/2026

Format: Digital (Bandcamp)

https://voidsinker.bandcamp.com/music

The Lowdown

A solo project born from the mind of Guglielmo Allegro (drummer for Hypervenom and Goliathan). The project was born from the desire to experiment with ever more massive sounds and create a sort of empathy with the dimension of the void through caveman riffs at very low tunings, hypnotic drone melodies and increasingly extreme experimentations.

No one can hear you scream into the Void...but you can listen to the sound...and slowly Sink into it

Void Sinker is currently unsigned, independent, DIY project totally home recorded.

"Void Sinker are without doubt one of the heaviest and most interesting SOLO METAL acts working within the underground scene today."

Words by Steve Howe - Outlaws of the Sun

https://outlawsofthesun.blogspot.com/2024/09/void-sinker-sunless-ep-review.html

"Italian solo project Void Sinker creates sprawling sonic journeys that weave elements of doom, post-metal, and drone into a tapestry of transcendent sounds."

Words by Lihi Laszlo - Doomnation Radio - Solaris Review

https://www.doomnationradio.com/into-the-cosmic-void-voidsinkers-solaris-2025/

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LinkTree on all Void Sinker media: https://linktr.ee/voidsinker

Exclusive Album Premiere Of WEEDIAN METAL Heavyweights TONS Brilliant New Album STONED VILLAINS

Your favorite weed sludgers are ready to come back with their fourth studio album, the aptly titled "Stoned Villains," out in April on your beloved Heavy Psych Sounds Records. The band's distinctive sound emerges immediately after the first listen: seven tracks of heavy, sulfurous doom-sludge, with influences ranging from the '90s to Turin-inspired hardcore punk, the scene in which our "villains" were formed and raised. 

Heavy and cutting guitars, a seismic rhythm section, and Gingerzilla's voice barking out ungraceful tales of weed abuse and uncontrolled eating. The song titles perfectly describe Tons: a band that doesn't take itself too seriously and uses irony as its strong point. "Stoned Villains" was recorded and mixed in Turin by Danilo "Dano" Battocchio at Deepest Sea Studio and mastered by James Plotkin. Enjoy!

Thanks to the amazing folks over at Purple Sage PR and Heavy Psych Sounds we're beyond excited to premiere this amazing album in full with this exclusive premiere.

The Lowdown

Forged in 2009 by members of the Turin hardcore scene (The Redrum, Lama Tematica, NoInfo), TONS deliberately traded breakneck speed for a colossus-sized, slow-motion onslaught — sludgy-as-fuck, caustic and laced with wry weed wisdom and local esoteric mystique.

From their 2012 debut, Musineè Doom Session, Volume 1, to the punishing Filthy Flowers of Doom (2018) and the evil and acerbic Hashension (2022), TONS has never taken a single prisoner. The unstoppable foursome has shared stages with iconic acts such as Bongzilla, Unsane, Napalm Death and Church Of Misery, and relentlessly stormed festivals across the continent (Desertfest, Sonic Blast, Frantic Fest, Venezia Hardcore, HPS Fest).

Blasting forth with a new player behind the kit, TONS is ready to crank it up to maximum sludge levels again with their fourth album Stoned Villains, due out in the spring of 2026 and followed by a promotional Japanese tour in May.

Stoned Villains - Tracklisting

1. Shirley Temple Ball

2. Hangover The Top

3. Lost In Plantation

4. Intro (Cabin Fever)

5. The Big Bong Theory

6. Darth Vaper

7. Rollercoaster Diet Bombo

Members

Gingerzilla - Bass / Voice / Synth

Duncan McCrapper - Lead Guitar / Sampler

Stewart J Tanuki - Rhythm Guitar

Oreste Pennarelli - Drums

Thanks to Purple Sage PR for the details.

You can buy TONS now on CD/DD/Vinyl via Heavy Psych Sounds 

Tons links

Facebook | Instagram | Bandcamp

Looprider - Love (Album Review)

Release Date: April 15th 2026. Record Label: Call And Response Records. Formats: CD/DD.

Love - Tracklisting

1.Love 02:59

2.Chaotic Heaven 02:08

3.Nebula 03:53

4.Havoc 03:54

5.Crush 04:31

6.Kill U 02:59

7.Elegy 12:29

8.Zero 03:32

9.Melt 07:10

Members

Ryotaro - Vocals, Guitars, Noise

Ryo7 - Drums

Tacchi - Vocals on “Chaotic Heaven” and “Zero”

Shoko - Vocals on “Crush” and “Elegy”

Review

Doom/Sludge/Stoner Metallers Looprider return with their latest album LOVE and it’s quite a subversive title for a record such as this. As this album has quite a different and aggressive sound to their acclaimed 2023 album Metamorphose. The uplifting and highly melodic structures that were played throughout that record have been replaced by a harsh, moody and violent down-tuned energy. Along the way, member Haruka left the band and was replaced by Tacchi on guitars and vocals. This version of LOOPRIDER has created their heaviest and sludgiest record yet without sacrificing their whole creative identity.

Looprider still blends Doom, Sludge, Stoner, Noise, Punk, Psych and Fuzz soundscapes throughout LOVE but with a truly devastating cinematic score being played at the very start. There’s a more urgent delivery to their music that once again reminds me of BORIS and THE MELVINS in equal amounts but this is still Looprider’s show. They add distorted movements of Thrash, Drone and even Post-Punk surroundings which are played for the most part at a sublime fast pace. This is a totally different band compared to Metamorphose as within that record they always managed to find the time to play “uplifting” areas of Ambient, Post-Rock and Post-Stoner tracks. On LOVE, the listener is thrusted upon a brutal wasteland of sharp distorted grooves set against an Alt Metal backdrop of dangerous Droned Out Fuzz structures. 

The album never lets up with its breakneck delivery on tracks such as: Love, Chaotic Heaven, Nebula and Havoc superbly setting up the scene with the band exploring some razor sharp vocals and intense lyrics. LOVE feels like a huge WALL of total destruction is being built from beginning to end as multiple levels of different sounding areas of FEEDBACK, DRONE, AMPLIFIER DISTORTION and manic PROGRESSIVE energy holding everything together.

There are some intricate amounts of Psychedelic movements that start to appear on the later stages of LOVE with tracks Crush, Kill U, Elegy and Melt. It’s great to see Looprider embrace some of their familiar sounds they’ve created on previous releases but still keeping in line with their new found Sludge Metal aggression. Taachi’s vocals are exquisite when they do appear. There’s also guest vocals from Shoko from Shoegaze collective COLLAPSE on the excellent tracks of Crush and Elegy.

The two standout tracks are Elegy and Melt with these being the two longest tracks on the album. You can expect subdued Post-Rock moments before Looprider unleashes screeching and glitchy guitars that provide a haunting and unsettling aspect into the mix. Though, it’s the slow-paced surroundings that offer the most rewarding aspect for listeners to fully lose themselves in.

LOVE is an epic and masterful style of modern day of Heavy Rock music with Looprider once again proving why they’re one of the best bands worth knowing about from the Japanese Sludge/Stoner Metal scene. They never release the same record twice and LOVE only proves that point. This is a record with real human insight that makes LOVE such an unmissable and brilliantly powerful record in its own right.

Words by Steve Howe

LOVE is available to buy now on CD/DD via Call And Response Records.

Links 

Official | Facebook | BandCamp | Instagram

TONS - Stoned Villains (Album Review)

Release Date: April 20th 2026. Record Label: Heavy Psych Sounds. Formats: CD/DD/Vinyl.

Stoned Villains - Tracklisting

1. Shirley Temple Ball

2. Hangover The Top

3. Lost In Plantation

4. Intro (Cabin Fever)

5. The Big Bong Theory

6. Darth Vaper

7. Rollercoaster Diet Bombo

Members

Gingerzilla - Bass / Voice / Synth

Duncan McCrapper - Lead Guitar / Sampler

Stewart J Tanuki - Rhythm Guitar

Oreste Pennarelli - Drums

Review

Weedian Metallers TONS make a stunning return with their fourth album Stoned Villains which sees them elevate their sounds to greater heights than ever before. The record is a punishing and heavy melodic mix of Psych, Doom, Sludge, Stoner, Fuzz and no fucks given melodic attitude. TONS have really transformed into a more mature and trippy style of WEEDIAN flavour compared to their previous albums. However, their trademark style of black comedic humour is still reigning amok in the background that generates huge laughs along the way.

The music itself is once again powered through heavy down-tuned instrumental psychedelic and fuzzed up drugged inducing passages which sees slight influences such as Church Of Misery, WEEDEATER and BONGZILLA being heard from time to time.

The opening track of Shirley Temple Ball is a drug laced musical odyssey with harsh vocals and music that’s been filtered through the eye of a rusty and sludge induced needle with a frantic Hardcore Punk and Spaced Out attitude being the creative glue that holds everything together. The atmosphere and attitude can be quite vicious which allows the record to fully stand on its creative merits especially when TONS start using classic movie soundclips for the first time on the record. 

You can expect soundclips from the likes of Big Trouble In Little China and Top Secret within the album with a few cool more being added along the way. TONS start moving between LOW & SLOW grooves to a more fast-paced Sludge Metal onslaught on the majority of the tracks. There’s some fantastic social satire being laid down within the excellent lyrics which TONS have been complete masters at especially on tracks on Hangover The Top, Lost In Plantation and The Bing Bong Theory. 

You can see from the brilliantly titled song titles there’s some great word play which will only endear the band even more to the listener. The music always moves to the caustic style of Thrash, Sludge and NOLA based energy whilst TONS always manage to find a way to move themselves closer to the Space Rock and Psych Rock astral planes that comes within the most unexpected of places.

Stoned Villains is brilliantly outlandish and surreal the best times which TONS make no apologies for. This is their fourth album and the band have perfected their own great flavour of WEEDIAN METAL that you can easily be considered MASTERS of the actual scene now along with WEEDEATER and BONGZILLA.

TONS never take themselves too seriously and just have fun with their music where the message maybe completely lost under massive amounts of green smoke. The music has some classic Hardcore Punk influences and musical vices bursting from the seams which keeps everything grounded. TONS have a great storytelling narrative running throughout Stoned Villains which does allow the listener to shout angrily at the world in perfect unison which you’ll be doing along the way like I did.

The production is top-notch with this record being TONS strongest recorded effort to date especially within the final two tracks of Darth Vaper and Rollercoaster Diet Bombo. These two tracks perfectly capture TONS at their most outrageous, grounded and completely free with some of the heaviest, freakiest, dirtiest and heaviest sounds on the whole record. Though, Stoned Villains as a whole is a brilliant experience that takes you into some highly unexpected places that leave you wanting more and then some. Though, that could be the “MUSICAL MUNCHIES” kicking in!!!!

TONS have once again released another ALBUM OF THE YEAR contender with Stoned Villains and with this being released on Heavy Psych Sounds then you have one of the most complete and perfect “WEEDIAN” musical packages you’ll experience all year.

Words by Steve Howe

Thanks to Purple Sage PR for the details.

You can buy TONS now on CD/DD/Vinyl via Heavy Psych Sounds 

Tons links

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