Bending Light - Bending Light (Album Review)

Release Date: May 10th 2026. Record Label: Self Released. Formats: DD

Bending Light - Tracklisting

1.Split Infinity 03:58

2.Strangeland 05:24

3.Kill Joy 04:54

4.The Spaniard 01:26

5.Faded 06:09

6.Salo 06:00

7.Distant Past 03:46

8.Euphrates 06:35

Members

Drums: Jeffrey Ruoss

Bass: Damon Deluca

Vocals / Guitar: Ethan Parr

Guitar: Patrick Hogg

Keys: Jonathon (Coop) Cooper

Review

Bending Light’s debut album is an interesting record with the band feeling like they belong to the same Psychedelic Stoner Rock/Metal realm as such bands as ELDER, King Buffalo, Howling Giant and Weedpecker. However, Bending Light added a different mix to that equation with the band adding areas of Occult Rock and Doom Metal imagery into their music. There’s a provocative sound that emerges that sees a later of Prog Rock appearing to give Bending Light a soulful style of Seventies Hard Rock that’s merged fully within the modern day surroundings of their main Stoner Metal narrative they create on the whole album.

The record is beautifully insightful and wonderfully melodic with great levels of Post-Stoner passages with some upbeat Post-Rock, Space Rock and Ambient sounds that often play tricks with the listeners imagination on tracks such as Split Infinity, Strangeland and Kill Joy. Bending Light fuses Alt Rock and Grunge sensibilities that gives another aura of superb creativity to their music. The lyrics are quite insightful and the excellent vocals from Ethan Parr are quite sweet-natured and warm-hearted which fully sells that Heavy Psychedelic element that the band fully become part of before the record reaches its natural conclusion. 

Production values are expertly delivered that allows Bending Light to have a commanding presence throughout the album which allows them to move quite convincingly through the whole Doom/Stoner Metal spectrum with an epic sideline of MASSIVE GROOVES dictating the whole action. There is a subtle Sludge Rock atmosphere that develops on tracks such as Kill Joy, Faded, Salo and Euphrates with Bending Light perhaps leaning into the more commercial aspects of Stadium Rock which is one of the main strengths of the album.

I also love the wonderful interplay of the keyboards that Jonathon (Coop) Cooper brings to the band as it’s quite gloomy, eerie and superbly optimistic at times though everyone puts in a first rate musical performance on the album. The music is EPIC and downright CINEMATIC in places especially on the later stages of the record. There is some clever sonic manipulation and distortion at play which fully sells the Occult Rock and Doom Metal aspect of this album 

Bending Light's debut album is an excellent and brilliantly observed record that demands your full attention. This is the type of album that could easily allow Bending Light to aim high for bigger and better things. They have the songs and creative vision to back up their undeniable talent which should see them go a long way within the Doom/Stoner Metal scene.

Words by Steve Howe

Links 

Facebook | BandCamp | Instagram

Alt Metal/Prog Metallers BLOSSOM CULT Release New Video For “Paint The Sky” From Debut Album "Home"

German alternative/progressive metal collective BLOSSOM CULT have unveiled the official video for “Paint The Sky”, taken from their recently released debut full-length album Home, out now in Digital HR and CD formats.

Watch the video here: https://youtu.be/5HD5jHUa1Vo

Blending emotional intensity with cinematic depth, “Paint The Sky” captures the essence of BLOSSOM CULT’s distinctive sonic identity: where crushing riffs, atmospheric textures, orchestral layers, and raw introspection collide in constant tension. As one of the emotional cornerstones of Home, the track explores the fading momentum of youthful idealism as it confronts emotional exhaustion, alienation, and the slow acceptance of a fractured reality.

“‘Paint The Sky’ began as a song about resistance and the urge to break free,” says vocalist and guitarist Janos Romualdo Krusenbaum. “But as it evolved, it became more about the realisation that not every fire keeps burning forever. There’s a point where rebellion gives way to fatigue, where anger turns inward, and where you begin to question whether escape or change is still possible. That transition became the emotional core of the song.”

Filmed on location at Trudi in Essen and produced by Simon Gatzka, the video visually expands the conceptual universe of Home, translating the song’s emotional descent into haunting and immersive imagery that moves from defiant energy towards quiet resignation.

With Home, BLOSSOM CULT deliver an ambitious conceptual debut examining disorientation in the modern age and the search for meaning amid political division, technological acceleration, and emotional detachment. Rather than offering direct commentary, the album channels these tensions through deeply personal songwriting marked by vulnerability, atmosphere, and emotional weight.

The album also features collaborations with acclaimed guest musicians including Leo Margarit, Andreas Kübler, Peter Voronov, and Zach Ansley, marking a significant evolution following the band’s earlier EP releases Closure (2020) and Prequel (2021).

Line-up:

Janos Romualdo Krusenbaum – Vocals, Guitars, Keyboards
Max Trockenberg – Guitars, Backing Vocals
Elias Bauer – Keyboards, Backing Vocals
Maurice Hoch – Bass
Peter Robers – Drums

Links

Website: https://www.blossomcult.com
Bandcamp: https://blossomcult.bandcamp.com
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/blossomcult
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/blossomcult
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3lEDkY0Rj5iU163Ytg-kPw

Stoner Metallers CANNABUS Release New Song/Video For "4RUNNER" Which Is A Psychedelic, Heavy Rock Trip From Their Forthcoming New Album

Canadian heavy psychedelic rockers Cannabus return with “4Runner,” the fourth single & third music video from their upcoming full-length album “Ride The Bus”, due July 3 through Black Throne Productions & Kozmik Artifactz.

“4Runner” captures the band’s continuing evolution beyond their jam-heavy roots seen in their previous EPs such as “The Other Side” and “The Maple Spliff Sessions”. It balances live-wire heaviness with sharpened songwriting and pushes the band further into a more refined direction while staying true to their signature blend of psychedelic rock and heavy desert rock grooves.

Accompanying the release is a new music video filmed and edited in house by Black Throne Productions & Strange Matter Media, delivering a kaleidoscopic visual trip through liquid light projections and mind-melting effects.

The video was shot live at Bovine Sex Club in Toronto during the single release show for “The Green”; the third single from the upcoming album and it reflects the hallucinatory effect Cannabus embodies during their live sets which combine heavy fuzz worship and mind-twisting psychedelic guitar work.

With “4Runner” Cannabus offers a final potent glimpse into “Ride The Bus” before it’s release on July 3rd 2026.

Vinyl Pre-Orders available at: 

https://blackthroneproductions.com/products/cannabus-ride-the-bus

https://kozmik-shop.com/CANNABUS-Ride-The-Bus-Brown-Sugar-Edition-metallic-transparent-antique-copper-LP

As a whole, “Ride the Bus” follows in the footsteps of their previous EP releases such as “The Maple Spliff Sessions” from April 20, 2023 and “Other Side” from April 19, 2024 and places heavy emphasis on authentic 70's-inspired, fuzzed out blues and high-energy psychoactive guitar solos.

Release Date: July 3
Label: Black Throne Productions & Kozmik Artifactz
Format: Digital / Vinyl

Listen To The New Single Here:

Bandcamp: https://cannabus.bandcamp.com/track/4runner
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/1howstrmxl7hJRzWTkFlmP?si=9vqo159qTCGFAEwFv8iHxg
Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/ca/artist/cannabus/1674032226
YouTube: https://youtu.be/7CEJtnfoN3c

“Far Gone Blues” Official Music Video: https://youtu.be/8eK4MHUK-d8?si=MnAx6ulAm4LMWYn3

“In the Pocket (Live)” Official Music Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nwO4bVbXSM8

https://blackthroneproductions.com/products/cannabus-ride-the-bus

BAND BIO

Cannabus is a three-piece stoner / desert rock band from Welland, Ontario, Canada, driven by grit, groove, and fuzz-drenched riffs. Blending dirty blues rock with heavy psych, punk attitude, and metal weight, they craft a raw, smoke-thick sound that hits low, drags slow, and lingers like a haze.

Their debut release, “The Maple Spliff Sessions” was the result of a year and a half of jams forged into a four-song EP, loaded with ’60's and ’70's heavy, tripped-out psychedelia and thunderous ’90's-inspired fuzz riffs.

Following up with their second EP “The Other Side”, the band continued to push their sound further into heavier, groovier territory. Previously released tracks & music videos from “Ride the Bus” include their first single “Far Gone Blues” the second “In the Pocket”, and now the final single from the album “4Runner”, all filmed and edited by Strange Matter Media / Black Throne Productions. The singles show promise of a hard-hitting dose of riff-driven psych and low-end heaviness.

CREDITS

James Matheson- Guitar/Vocals
Brandon Doucet- Drums
Ethan Scott- Bass

Recorded, Mixed and Mastered by Z Hollow Studios
Videos filmed & edited by Ryan Hilton at Strange Matter Media
Released by Black Throne Productions
Single Art by: Ryan Hilton

FIND CANNABUS HERE:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cannabusband
Bandcamp: https://cannabus.bandcamp.com/music
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/1howstrmxl7hJRzWTkFlmP
Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/ca/artist/cannabus/1674032226
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CannabusBand

Thanks to Black Throne Productions For The Details.

Burial Clouds - Burn Holy (Album Review)

Release Date: May 22nd 2026. Record Label: Self Released. Formats: CD/DD/Vinyl

Burn Holy - Tracklisting

1. Burning The Olive Tree

2. Windflower

3. Ashen Altar

4. Negations

5. Be Not Afraid

6. Screaming, Drowning Pacified

7. Forget Me Not

8. Eyes Without Light

Members

Matt Mitchell – guitar

Flynn Hargreaves – bass

Marina Lavelle – vocals

Bryce Ramsey – guitar

Tim Iserman – drums

Review

Doom/Post-Metallers Burial Clouds have gone under some significant lineup changes since their acclaimed 2023 album Last Days Of A Dying World. Only founding members Matt Mitchell (Guitar) and Flynn Hargreaves (Bass) remain from the line-up from that album. Marina Lavelle takes over the position of lead vocalist that offers a start contrast to the last album.

Bryce Ramsay (Guitars) and Tim Iserman (Drums) have joined the band as well which sees the band operate with a more powerful and beautifully dynamic sound. Burial Clouds sophomore album Burn Holy still offers a similar tone to their last album but one that leans quite heavily into the areas of Shoegaze, Post-Rock and Alt Metal with delicate experimental touches dictating the quieter moments of the album.

Opening track Burning The Olive Tree captures a band demonstrating their newly found creative energy which transforms into levels of Doom, Post-Metal, Prog Metal and Atmospheric Sludge surroundings that can be quite folk obsessive especially within how the vocals are delivered at times. However, there’s a menacing and violent quality that appears within Marina’s vocals and the brutal onslaught of down-tuned instrumental sounds that can move into areas of Thrash Metal which was a welcome surprise especially within the excellent second track of Windflower.

Burial Clouds showed influences from the likes of YOB, Mastodon, Alice In Chains and Pallbearer on their last record which you can feel instantly here but there’s a sense of grounded Post-Doom and Gothic realism within this record. Marina’s vocals are beautiful, poetic, violent and even horrifying at times when she delivers brutal screams into the mix. Sometimes you feel that there are multiple vocalists performing on this record as they all have a different flow and identity to each other. So be prepared for some extreme vocals being added along this heavy monolithic journey.

Burial Clouds move into more disturbing levels of Extreme Metal which I’m fully on board for as the record still manages to convey a hugely original style of Post-Doom, Sludge and Post-Metal that makes you questioning your own sanity at times on tracks such as: Ashen Altar, Screaming, Drowning Pacified and Eyes Without Light. However there’s still moments of pure uplifting musical brilliance that feels like it’s coming from a different band but Burial Clouds continuously surprise for the better throughout the album.

The dual vocals are another highlight which showcases a wonderfully constructed “LIGHT vs DARK” aspect to the whole album with intense outbursts of thrash metal beats and sullen Post-Metal movements that leave a lasting impression on the listener. 

Even the production values are top-notch with Burning Clouds engineering, recording and mixing the album themselves. That was a masterful decision for the band to take. As it gives them more control over their own music and it feels like a more personal record compared to their debut album. The band was mastered by the legend that is Brad Boatright at the famed Audiosiege.

Burn Holy is a complex and brilliantly daring album that Burial Clouds should rightly be proud of and one that could establish them even further within the underground scene and beyond.

Words by Steve Howe

Thanks to Earsplit PR for the promo.

Burn Holy is available to buy now on CD/DD/Vinyl.

Links 

Official | Facebook | BandCamp | Instagram

BOG - Incubant (Album Review)

Release Date: May 09th 2026. Record Label: Self Released. Formats: DD

Incubant - Tracklisting

1.Incubant 06:22

2.Charcoal Monolith 08:36

3.Icarion 07:16

4.Reflections 09:14

5.Nostrum 10:58

Review

Incubant is the debut album from Post-Metal/Sludge Metallers BOG who follow the classic rules of Post-Metal quite closely whilst also injecting their own personality into the mix. This is quite a highly involving and emotionally charged record like all good Atmospheric Sludge Metal albums should be with BOG taking influence from the likes of NEUROSIS, AMEN-RA, CULT OF LUNA and ISIS.

The album has delicate flourishes of Ambient Metal and Post-Rock themes with the layers of progressive melodies overlapping into a vibrant melodic style that can be superbly volatile at the same time. BOG aren’t afraid to move into areas of Alt-Metal, Shoegaze and Heavy Psychedelic soundscapes that allows their core creative focus of delivering a stunning backdrop of Post-Metal grooves.

The mood can be quite eerie and laid back for small sections of individual tracks that allows BOG to show a delicate musical touch that changes the course of the album in places especially on tracks such as Incubant, Charcoal Monolith and Reflections being the most consistently engaging and highly rewarding songs on the record.

BOG are quite adept at experimenting with sonic landscapes, progressive beats and thrash interludes of pure aggression where areas of distortion allows a dark wave of paranoia to creep in which becomes more enlightening and deeply meaningful before the journey fully ends. However, BOG continue to experiment with amplifier distortion and layering different levels of music which adds a sense of uneasiness within the early stages of the record. There are some brief moments of Stoner Metal and Fuzzed Doom surroundings but for the most part BOG keep to their Post-Metal manifesto with supreme conviction which results in some truly outstanding instrumental musical passages forming that leave you wanting more.

The lyrics are sharp with BOG showing a real sense of creative maturity for their debut album and you feel how they use their own personal experiences to shape the whole outcome of the album with the music only telling a small part of the actual story. There’s some wonderful Post-Rock compositions that remind me of Russian Circles in places where one moment the tone is beautifully soulful and cinematic before exploding into a loud area of pissed-off Sludge Metal aggression. Sometimes the music can be long and completely drawn out but BOG know what they’re doing as they’ve learnt from the best within the scene and applied these tricks into their own creative image.

Incubant is another great album to emerge from the underground Post-Metal scene this year and should hopefully allow BOG to establish themselves to the biggest and widest audience possible within the scene. As this is a fucking incredible record from start to finish.

Words by Steve Howe

Links 

Facebook | BandCamp | Instagram

Mars Collision - World Collapse (EP Review)

Release Date: May 10th 2026. Record Label: Self Released. Formats: DD

World Collapse - Tracklisting

1.World Collapse 05:39

2.The Second Strike 02:40

3.Enemies 03:40

4.The Destroyer 03:24

5.Black Hole Spirit 03:38

6.Unless Earth 45° 55° 08:08

Members

DRUMS : Johnny The Snake.

BASS Dooxie : Stardust.

GUITARS : John The Wild Goat.

GUEST GUITARS SOLO Unless Earth 45° 55°: Simone Pennucci.

VOCALS : Jet Daughan

Review

World Collapse is the debut EP from Cosmic Stoner Metallers Mars Collision who bring a slightly different Psychedelic vibe into their music especially with the vocals. The music itself is full of the usual Cosmic surroundings you would expect from a record that focuses upon the Spaced Out areas of Psychedelic Stoner Metal. There’s an edgy Fuzz Rock element that soon drifts into classic Hard Rock and Heavy Metal which can be quite over the top but one that fully sells Mars Collision musical vision with pure conviction.

The record does have some great areas of Doom Metal, Space Rock and Psych Rock that taps into the musical eras of the last fifty years with a passionate Stoner Metal dedication that leaves you quite impressed with the multitude of different musical genres Mars Collision employs on this record alone. The band do takes cures from the likes of KYUSS, MOTORHEAD, BLACK SABBATH, MONSTER MAGNET and FU MANCHU with the band developing a NO HOLDS BARRED approach when they fully settle on that dominant Eighties Heavy Metal sound that appears from the very the start.

There’s also some classic Punk Rock sounds that gives the band a snarling attitude which is perhaps inspired by Saint Vitus and The Obsessed when Mars Collision fully venture into the classic Doom/Stoner Metal of music on tracks such as World Collapse, The Second Strike, Enemies and Unless Earth 45° 55°.

The production values of the EP are quite good though a little bit raw and underdeveloped at times but this allows the record to have a distinctive “CLASSIC UNDERGROUND” quality which makes the record that slightly more unpredictable.

World Collapse is full of twisted fuzzed up instrumental solos which can be quite seedy when the band fully transition into their HEAVY METAL personas whilst keeping the mood full of COSMIC ROCK aggression. The EP is very much in your face with Mars Collision playing a pissed off style of Psychedelic Stoner Metal that’s undeniably fun and downright catchy. These guys are the real deal especially if you dig your music that’s happy to be part of the underground HEAVY METAL scene.

Excellent and Highly Recommended.

Words by Steve Howe

Links 

BandCamp | Instagram

Progressive Stoner Metallers PLAINDRIFTER Release New Video For Stunning New Song "In Amina" From Forthcoming New Album.

German progressive stoner metallers PLAINDRIFTER have released the second single "In Amina" from their forthcoming second album "Gestalt" which will be released by the mighty Ripple Music from June 19th 2026.

You can watch the epic new single for "In Amina" below with this exclusive premiere thanks to the amazing folks over at Purple Sage PR and Ripple Music.

The track features the excellent vocals from Ryan Garney from the awesome Stoner Rock band HIGH DESERT QUEEN.

The Lowdown

With their 2021 debut Echo Therapy hailed as "a mind-blowing journey" by the Doom Charts and "music for the mind, body and soul" by UK website Outlaws of the Sun, it is clear that Plaindrifter have impressed critics and fans alike, as few newcomers do.

Now, the quartet returns with their forthcoming sophomore album and Ripple Music debut; Gestalt. Pushed by a deep sense of self-criticism and a fear of repeating themselves, Plaindrifter have expanded their signature blend of tempo and key changes with bold new elements, including keyboards by Philipp Seitzer and guest vocals from Ryan Garney (High Desert Queen) and Lena Schneider. The result is an immersive, forward-looking heavy journey born from patience, passion, that should caught the ear of fans of Elder, King Buffalo, Howling Giant and Lowrider. The album was produced, engineered and mixed by Robin Stirnberg, mastered by Dennis Köhne, with a stunning cover artwork by André Tinibel.

PLAINDRIFTER "Gestalt" - Out June 19th on Ripple Music (LP/CD/digital) - Pre-order

TRACKLIST:

1. Moth Murmuration
2. Eternal Season
3. Hyborian Age
4. Respite
5. In Anima
6. Debaser

Hailing from Germany's industrial heartland, the Ruhr Area, Plaindrifter formed in 2017 to forge a brand of heavy psych that refuses to stand still. Blending hypnotic riffs, expansive soundscapes, and the restless spirit of stoner, prog, and post-rock, their 2021 debut Echo Therapy carved out a name in the European underground, winning over listeners with raw heaviness and unexpected melodic depth.

The band entered the studio in June 2025 with engineer Robin Stirnberg, but an unexpected setback forced them to relocate mid-session. Undeterred, Plaindrifter finished recording Gestalt in their rehearsal space. That resilience paid off quickly: through their friends in High Desert Queen (whose frontman Ryan Garney lends guest vocals to the track "In Anima"), the album's master found its way to Ripple Music's Todd Severin, who took the leap and instantly welcomed the band to the label's roster. Now looking ahead with optimism, the band invites listeners old and new to dive into their anticipated new album Gestalt, to be released in the summer of 2026.

Plaindrifter is

Marcel "Uwe" Kloß — Vocals and Drums
Nils Stecker — Guitar
André Tinibel — Bass

Plaindrifter links

Facebook | Bandcamp | Instagram

Ripple Music links

Website | Facebook | Bandcamp | Instagram

Thanks to Purple Sage PR for the details.