Stoned Jesus - Songs To Moon (Album Review)

Release Date: October 09th 2026. Record Label: Season Of Mist. Format: CD/DD/Vinyl

Songs To Moon- Tracklist

1.Under the Skin 

2.Velvet 

3.ZYX

4.Syzygy

5.Jackal 

6.Window in My Room

7.One More Empty Day

Recording Lineup

Igor Sydorenko - Vocals, Guitar, Bass, Keyboards

Andrew Rodin - Bass, Backing Vocals

Yurii Ciel - Drums, Backing Vocals

Review

Doom/Stoner Metal legends Stoned Jesus return with Songs To Moon which is the second chapter within their ongoing “Songs To” trilogy which opened with the acclaimed 2025 release Songs To Sun. This chapter offers a darker and complex sound to emerge that blends influences as diverse as NIN, Type O Negative, NEUROSIS, Sisters Of Mercy, Depeche Mode, Black Sabbath and Led Zep. 

However, this is still Stoned Jesus’s main creative outlook with emotionally charged melodies that travel through the multi-layered world of Doom, Post-Metal and Sludge Metal with some haunting Psychedelic Stoner Metal environments being the main creative glue that holds everything together.

The vocals are a mixture of clean vocals and harsh growls which shows the different ethereal sides of Songs To Moon compared to Songs To Sun. The music is quite jagged and offers a cautionary style of Post-Rock and Post-Metal that really unsettles the emotional intensity the previous album superbly captured especially within the opening tracks of Under The Skin, Velvet and ZYX.

Everything feels so grounded though Stoned Jesus always return to the OVER THE TOP sound that’s made their previous albums feel like such massive events that you constantly feel part of the action. There’s a sense of grounded reality when Stoned Jesus merges Industrial landscapes against a gloomy atmospheric level of grunge and murky prog metal grooves that always feel genuinely authentic. 

Stoned Jesus experimented with different styles of music throughout the album as you can hear acoustic movements and stripped back musical mechanics which never feel out of place even when the album could do add with that great style of pure heaviness. The lyrics are poetry in motion as Igor Sydorenko is really coming into his own as one of the best lyricists the Doom/Stoner Metal scene has to offer right now.

Every track has a beginning, middle and end with multiple different styles of Heavy Rock instrumental solos emerging from the darkness that transform into epic cinematic soundscapes on tracks such as ZYX, Jackal, Window In My Rooms and One More Empty Day.

The second half of the album reminds me mostly of Alice In Chains and Mastodon with how the progressive song structures are delivered that leave you astounded in what you’re actually hearing. I do wish the album was slightly longer than it’s forty one minutes as it does feel quite compact in places. 

However, Songs To Moon ends on an exciting finish and with the eagerly anticipated final chapter “Songs To Earth” being released next year, Stoned Jesus are perhaps in the most impressive part of their career to date and this album is another masterful record from them.

Brilliant. End Of.

Words by Steve Howe

Thanks to Season Of Mist for the promo.

Songs To Sun is available to buy now on CD/DD/Vinyl via Season Of Mist.

Links

LinkTree | BandCamp

Aserath - Suncrack (EP Review)

Release Date: September 25th 2026. Record Label: RedSun Recordings / TEXAS Records.  Format: DD

Suncrack - Tracklist

1.Parasite 04:25

2.Stonefish 06:20

3.Cursed High 02:54

4.Suncrack 06:12

5.Devil's Diary (Bonus Track) 01:31

Members

Ádám Hassanein Aziz

Konfár Kende

Zoltán Lejer

Review

Suncrack is the debut EP from Doom/Stoner Metallers Aserath which shows a band who develop a great style of music with influences from the likes of SLEEP, DOWN and MASTODON appearing on the record. The mood is HEAVY and THICK with some great strands of WEEDIAN melody developing into other sludgy sounds the band continue to develop further on tracks such as Parasite, Stonefish and Suncrack.

The opening track Parasite isn’t the strongest track on the EP but it allows Aserath to lay the foundations for the record to build upon. There’s some great instrumental sounds and vocals being played on this track and it’s got a classic NOLA energy that impressed me greatly but some parts don’t fully come together.

However, it’s a completely different story within the excellent second track Stonefish where Aserath combines seedy Grunge aesthetics with a thrilling backdrop of Progressive Sludge grooves and distorted Post-Doom flourishes. The vocals have an eerie Alice In Chains flow to them as the music marches further on into the Doom/Stoner Metal abyss. Aserath started expanding their Progressive and Psychedelic sounds from this point on and the EP became the better for that creative decision alone.

Third track Cursed High operates within a stripped back style of Psych, Grunge and Sludge Rock sound with great WEEDIAN sounds emerging from the screeching guitars that allows Aserath to have fun with their music. Some parts are quite disjointed once more but it’s done with serious intent that adds a level of danger to the record. 

The fourth track Suncrack returns to the heavy progressive world played out on Stonefish with the band having more time to play with. The song is played at a superb slow-to-mid pace which really allows the sludgy and distorted sounds to really sizzle as that GRUNGE atmosphere changes to a more deceptive style of Blackened Doom Metal. The bass guitar is superbly thick and heavy which gives the song a more violent feel before the music changes yet again into a great style of Classic Heavy Metal.

The final track Devil’s Diary is just an ugly and downright violent track with Aserath fully delivering a filthy and seedy offering that’s packed full of harsh growls and extreme sludgy guitars once more that leaves you completely shattered by the end of the ninety seconds the track runs for. 

Suncrack is a record that took me by complete surprise with the creative decisions and musical directions that Aserath made for their debut EP. It’s by no means perfect but it’s a violently addictive blast of intense grooves from start to finish that should serve the band well in gaining some momentum within the underground scene.

Words by Steve Howe

Links

Facebook | BandCamp | Instagram

AUNT CYNTHIA'S CABIN Releases New Single / Video For "Bash" & Announces Pre-Sale For Forthcoming Self Titled Album

Psychedelic desert rock ensemble AUNT CYNTHIA'S CABIN presents "Bash," the first single to land ahead of the upcoming self-titled full length. Recorded by the band in a converted barn belonging to drummer Jeremy Luvaas, Aunt Cynthia's Cabin not only sees the trio develop their sound but also experiment with creativity and methods of musical production. Scheduled for release on December 18, 2026, via Black Throne Productions, the album is now available for pre-order.

The first single, "Bash," is about the need for space to explore parts of ourselves that often restrained in our daily lives. It highlights the importance of freedom of expression, especially in adulthood.

Vocalist and guitarist Brennan Justice comments: "'Bash' is a nickname someone in my family gave my 3 year old nephew when he gets crazy. I’d say most of the time he is an amazingly well behaved and self aware kid. Sometimes though he just needs to let loose. It reminds me of literally everyone else I know. Every age. The good thing is, he is a kid and its acceptable for him to let loose. But I think even as adults, we all have that other side of us. And I don’t necessarily mean devious or rule-breaking or anything like that. Just sometimes we have a bold and brave part of us that comes out and I think its a good thing to embrace it, granted you have the discipline to control that."

Aunt Cynthia’s Cabin was recorded and mixed by Brennan Justice, and mastered by JJ Golden. The album was recorded in Camp Verde, Arizona. The album is available on vinyl (in variants: Black Canyon Edition, Salt Mine Edition, Desert Sky Edition), digital, and CD formats. Alongside the release an additional 4th repress (x500) of the trio's 2020 release Misty Woman will be available on vinyl in variants Swami's Edition and Leucadia Edition.

Pre-Order Links Below:

Aunt Cynthia's Cabin LP - Pre-Order Here
Aunt Cynthia's Cabin Premium Bundle - Pre-Order Here
Misty Woman LP - Pre-Order Here

About AUNT CYNTHIA'S CABIN:

AUNT CYNTHIA'S CABIN is comprised of San Diego’s Brennan Justice (guitar, lead vocals), Anthony DeFreitas (bass, vocals) and Jeremy Luvaas (drums, percussion). Beginning as a duo, Justice and DeFreitas' previous time in a surf rock ensemble saw the pair develop their signature Western tones with an excessive use of spring reverb, translating now to the ethereal, dusty sound of psychedelic desert rock. The band’s name is born from a fictional 1970s murder mystery novel dreamt up by the trio on a drunken night, capturing their embrace of “strange and heavy”, aptly fitting of the uncanny elements entwined in their music. AUNT CYNTHIA'S CABIN produce a neo-psychedelic style that carries an eerie quality. The sonic atmosphere envelopes each listener with nostalgia. It is hauntingly cinematic.

The trio began as a self-recording band with a home-brew analog-meets-digital rig set up. The DIY approach was left behind in 2019 when the outfit ventured from their hometown of San Diego, CA to Austin, TX to record Misty Woman in a studio they felt would best fit the vibe of their new compositions. Working with producer Adrian Quesada (The Black Pumas, 7-time Grammy-nominee) at Electric Deluxe Recorders, the very sun-beaten landscape that surrounds the studio fed into the quality and mood of the recordings. Initially released by Nasoni Records in February of 2020, the enthralling textures and captivating character of AUNT CYNTHIA'S CABIN's Misty Woman returned in 2025 including the new track "Magic Touch", on vinyl and CD via Black Throne Productions.

Aunt Cynthia's Cabin sees the trio embark on their next chapter, leaning further into cinematic realms. Recording for this album was undertaken by the band themselves, moving out of the traditional studio set up into their own defined space, a converted barn belonging to drummer Jeremy Luvaas, a sense of freedom and creative development that can be heard across the track list. AUNT CYNTHIA'S CABIN once again join forces with Black Throne Productions for this release. Aunt Cynthia's Cabin will be unveiled on December 18, 2026.

AUNT CYNTHIA'S CABIN Is:

Brennan Justice (guitar/Vox)

Anthony DeFreitas (bass/vox)
Jeremy Luvaas (drums/percussion)

Connect With AUNT CYNTHIA'S CABIN:

Spotify: https://spotify.link/OHhzUB1gOXb
BandCamp: https://auntcynthiascabin.bandcamp.com
Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/aunt-cynthias-cabin/1351437121
Qobuz: https://open.qobuz.com/artist/9849997
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/auntcynthiascabin
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/auntcynthiascabin/
Merch: https://auntcynthiascabin.printful.me
YouTube: www.youtube.com/channel/UC61wjDcx2Jiqs_Hsds4trPw

Aunt Cynthia’s Cabin Track List:

1. Matador - 3:57
2. Archangel - 4:19
3. Bash - 2:45
4. On the Mountain - 2:48
5. (An)Hedonia - 2:57
6. In Your Eyes - 3:55
7. Summer Place - 3:11
8. Departure - 4:31
9. Hiatus - 2:21
10. Revival - 9:53

Thanks to C Squared Music for the details

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.