Exclusive Album Premiere Of Doom/Stoner Metallers TERRA BLACK Stunning New Album MIRAGE

Following their acclaimed debut and recent signing to Bonebag Records, Gothenburg occult rock collective Terra Black return with their new album, Mirage.

Written and recorded over the course of three years, Mirage is Terra Black's most ambitious and immersive work to date. Travelling from roots buried deep beneath the earth, through the ruins of forgotten civilizations and into the silence of space, the album explores shifting states of existence where reality, memory and illusion become increasingly difficult to separate.

Recorded live by the band in Gothenburg, Mirage captures the raw immediacy of Terra Black's performances. Rather than polishing away imperfections, the band embraced natural room ambience and microphone bleed, allowing the recording to retain an honest, organic character that mirrors the weight and intensity of the music itself.

Drawing from atmospheric doom, occult rock and stoner traditions, Terra Black combines towering riffs with haunting vocals, powerful choral arrangements and primal darkness. Inspired by nature, mythology, ancient beliefs and the mysterious corners of human imagination, the album moves effortlessly between the familiar and the unknowable. Like the illusion from which it takes its name, the album constantly shifts perspective, inviting listeners ever deeper into its enigmatic world.

Since forming in 2020, Terra Black have steadily built a reputation for immersive songwriting and commanding live performances. With Mirage, the band expands both its sonic scope and artistic vision, delivering its most confident and fully realised work to date.

We're truly excited to premiere their outstanding new album in full thanks to the amazing folks over at Sheltered Life PR.

Thanks to Sheltered Life PR for the details.

Mirage is available to buy now on CD/DD/Vinyl via Bonebag Records.

Links

Bandcamp | Facebook | Spotify | Instagram | Apple Music

An Interview With Psychedelic Doom/Stoner Metallers TERRA BLACK

Doom/Stoner Metallers TERRA BLACK release their spellbinding new album this Friday and we're excited to host the exclusive album premiere which you can listen to in full from this link.

The record is a great mix of Psych, Doom, Stoner, and Cosmic based sounds that's quite different to their acclaimed debut album All Descend. This record allows TERRA BLACK to move their music into great Spaced Out heights whilst keeping an epic Occult Rock groove that has massive amounts of distorted psychedelic momentum to truly standout from the crowd.

I caught up with the band to discuss the evolution of their music and the making of the new album.

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

We’re great, thank you for having us.

For those not in the know, can you give us a brief history of how the band came together and where you are today?

The band was formed in 2020 by Ezgi, Denice, and Sophie. We released our first single in early 2021, shortly after Isak joined the band. We spent the following years playing live, mostly around our hometown of Gothenburg, Sweden, and later released a second single.

After that, we reached a point where we felt the need to take full control of our music and the way it was recorded. So, instead of handing the process over to someone else, we started setting up microphones, getting our gear together, and figuring it out ourselves. That process eventually became our first full length album, All Descend.

We’ve also had some great gigs along the way, including appearances at metal festivals such as Gefle Metal Festival and House of Metal. It was at House of Metal in Umeå where we met Max Malmer from Bone Bag Records, the record label we’re now signed to.

How would you describe your own sound?

The short version is stoner/doom. However, we find it hard putting our music into one specific label, since what is Terra Black is the mix of crushing, bass-heavy doom riffs with clean, delicate vocals, creating an eerie contrast. The lyrics can move from grotesque and unsettling to poetic and beautiful, and that tension between heaviness, fragility, darkness, and beauty is a big part of what makes it feel like Terra Black.

Your new album is Mirage and we’re premiering (premiere link) it today at Outlaws of the Sun. What can people expect from the album, particularly as it’s quite different from your previous album?

Heaviness without aggression, drone riffs and mystique. But it also depends on the listeners’ state of mind. We think you can expect to be immersed in something quite interesting if you’re open to it and get a different experience depending on the surroundings. Our new album consists of songs that, of course, can be enjoyed separately, but it’s constructed in a way to really draw you in and keep you on a journey throughout the album.

There is a strong sense of atmosphere and a kind of journey running through it too, with heavy cosmic interludes alongside your occult, doom, psych and stoner rock passages. Can you tell us more about the concept behind the album and how that developed?

The concept with something of a timeline or a journey gradually became clear while writing the songs and getting a sense of the overall mood. Compared to our debut album, All Descend, this new one felt a lot darker and less philosophical, rather down to earth and quite visceral.

The Gathering was set to be the opening track pretty much right away, and that’s where the journey starts. It is inspired by the old Norse blót, a ritual offering meant to reach the forces beyond the human world. The serpent connects different realms: life and death, above and below, the known and the unknown. It also reflects the darkness within us: fear, mortality and everything beyond our control. The song is about confronting these things rather than escaping them. The blót becomes a surrender to fate and to the ancient forces beneath existence.

Although it can also be interpreted as something destructive springing into existence, that causes the world to suffer and eventually kills everything that we see as life. But is there something else, outside the limits of physical existence, waiting to be discovered?

While the theme of the album is obviously apocalyptic, not made less clear with tracks like Maze and Ruins, it really is about the personal experience and what it does to the listener. We wanted to make something immersive that awakens something real, whether it’s fear, hope or an existential crisis.

Was this a hard album to write and record for?

We wrote and recorded the songs during a period of about three years, so the album was certainly a slow burner. This approach gave us a lot of time to listen to the mixes, think about the album as a whole and really work together without any pressure or deadline (our Google Drive folder for the album is named “Album 2024”, didn’t really work out too well).

To us, this was probably an essential component in creating something more complex with a thematic thread and not “just” a collection of songs. So, the brief answer would be yes; we would even go so far as to say that the recording style influenced what songs we wrote.

Recording live, in our opinion, gives the songs so much more life, even if it means accepting a few unfixable mishaps. Doing it in such a small space will introduce a lot of microphone bleed and, in our case, some quite nasty boominess. Even so, the tracks came out balanced, we think, but foremost, it has that live feel to it. The vocals were added in post, though. There are a few cases of guitar dubbing, but the production was kept as sparse as possible, not to take anything away from that live session.

What is the creative process within the band? Do you write the music together, or do certain people within the band take the lead?

The way we create music hasn’t changed. We’re a considerate group with different musical backgrounds and sometimes different preferences, but we always tend to find a good middle ground through open discussion. It’s certainly a collective effort and it will continue like that.

We really do like contrasts and, in a way, contradictions. Some lyrics could be seen as almost disgusting (looking at you, Spawn of Lyssa) and others much more poetic and beautiful. We don’t really think about the balance between these elements when writing songs; rather, the riff gets a pass if it “feels Terra Black”, and that’s a bit hard to pinpoint.

Looking at Mirage alongside All Descend, how do you feel your sound has developed, and do you have a sense of where Terra Black might go next?

The sound has gotten a lot darker, heavier and quite a bit more sinister. It does feel like we’ve found our musical space with Mirage, although All Descend was a clear step towards this place. Something so practical as better gear has also made a huge difference. Being able to blast the room with (literally) glass-shattering guitar tones does influence how you perceive the music.

It’s hard to say where we’re heading, but judging by the new songs starting to form, it won’t stray far from what you hear on Mirage. With Terra Black, we hope we’re heading towards a place where music could be an even bigger part of our lives, since that’s what we live for.

Words by Steve Howe and TERRA BLACK

Thanks to Sheltered Life PR for the promo.

Mirage is available to buy now on CD/DD/Vinyl via Bonebag Records.

Links

Bandcamp | Facebook | Spotify | Instagram | Apple Music

Terra Black - Mirage (Album Review)

Release Date: September 18th 2026. Record Label: Bonebag Records. Format: CD/DD/Vinyl

Mirage - Tracklist

1.The Gathering

2.Guayota 

3.Pareidolia

4.Thorn

5.Maze

6.In Stone 

7.Ruins 

8.In stars

Members

Ezgi – Lead Vocals and Guitars

Isak – Guitars

Denice – Bass

Sophie – Drums

Review

Psychedelic Doomsters Terra Black return with their sophomore album Mirage which takes a slightly different step compared to their acclaimed 2023 debut album All Descend. As Terra Black move slightly further from the spooky Occult Doom sound they conjured up so magnificently on their debut album which has been replaced by a thicker, denser and heavier COSMIC based attitude.

This gives their sound a trippier and psychedelic energy which is noticeable from the very start with a grounded Shoegaze and Sludge Rock melody developing with stunning vocals to match. However, there’s still that highly accomplished Occult Doom sound that made Terra Black such a great band to look out for that manages to stay consistently relevant with punishing levels of distorted FUZZ appearing behind the scenes. The lyrics have a winning DOOM & GLOOM attitude to them with the music matching the likes of MONOLORD and ELECTRIC WIZARD with that intense slow-to-mid pace.

Terra Black developed a thicker, heavier and denser style of Doomed Out Metal with a sublime Psychedelic Stoner Metal attitude forming on different parts of the album. The vocals from Ezgi are utterly captivating and deliver the right level of pure innocence and demonic based passion which feels like they’re being delivered by two different entities. This gives Mirage a bewitching atmospheric and seductive quality within the grounded moments of the album but the whole thing fully excels when the band play into their new found COSMIC DOOM surroundings. 

The music becomes noticeably thicker and brimming with amplified capabilities especially on tracks Guayota, Pareidolia, In Stone and Ruins. The whole sound is full of violent Fuzzed Out landscapes where Terra Black put their AMPS all the way upto dangerous levels and let their music do the talking. The harsh screams linger in the background before exploding into an emotional style that brings the Occult Doom world closer to the fringes of modern day Heavy Psych and Spaced Out Doom closer than ever before.

Terra Black have written some intriguing lyrics to match the music and with the band part of the massive Swedish underground metal scene then you know what to expect when that scene’s legendary sound develops into something more tribal and ritualistic. There’s some dizzying soundscapes and vocal chants that taps right into the Seventies Occult Rock scene but with dazzling Drone Metal overtones. 

Mirage is quite a forward thinking album as it’s fuelled by elements of Heavy Psych, Occult Rock. Doom Metal, Shoegaze, Stoner Metal and Space Rock which gives it such a nomadic and solitary existence at times. The whole thing is superbly real and refreshingly original with certain sections of the album transforming into a meditative style of Grunge, Post-Rock and Shoegaze that gives this record a completely different tone on the second half of the album.

The Ambient themes are exquisite and have a certain romantic elegance to them but that soon gives way to that modern day destructive grooves and soulful melodies that take no prisoners especially within the excellent rhythm section that allows Terra Black to branch out into different areas of music. 

Mirage is a magnificent beast of an album. As this is a record that knows when to become a true force of nature that destroys everything in Terra Black’s wake but it also knows when to show it’s caring, tender and emotionally engaging side as well. When both these worlds collide then there’s no stopping TERRA BLACK delivering one of the most satisfying COSMIC DOOMED OUT experiences you’ll have this year.

WOW!!!

Words by Steve Howe

Thanks to Sheltered Life PR for the promo.

Mirage is available to buy now on CD/DD/Vinyl via Bonebag Records.

Links

Bandcamp | Facebook | Spotify | Instagram | Apple Music

Shovelhead - A Place Of Dead Roads (Album Review)

Release Date: September 12th 2026. Record Label: Self Released. Rising. Format: CD/DD

A Place Of Dead Roads - Tracklist

01. Witching Hour

02. Tempest

03. Dominion/Big Tex

04. Ghost in the Garden

05. Middle Man

06. White Stag Ghost

07. Bombers

Members

Jim LaPointe - Vocals, Guitar

Mike Scott - Drums

George Pierro - Bass

Review

Shovelhead may not be a name you’re familiar with but to a small and loyal dedicated following within the Stoner Rock/Metal underground community, these guys are almost legendary  especially around their hometown of New Jersey. This area is home to the likes of Stoner Rock/Metal legends Monster Magnet. SOLACE and The Atomic Bitchwax. Whilst Shovelhead didn’t reach the same towering heights of those legendary bands, their impact is just as meaningful.

The guys have returned with their first album “A Place Of Dead Roads” in nineteen years. The band helped form the style of Rock & Roll driven based Stoner Metal that’s so popular today and I’m pleased to say that almost two decades on that Shovelhead’s latest album makes them feel as important and vital as ever.

The record is powered by a classic style of “TURBO CHARGED” grooves with some great Garage Rock melodies with a burgeoning seedy Psychedelic attitude. Shovelhead don’t apply modern studio and recording techniques into their music. This is good old fashioned Stoner Rock/Metal music how it’s meant to sound and and superbly played. The end result is raw, uncompromising, gritty and highly unpredictable that allows Shovelhead to play with a fearless attitude which is applied throughout the whole album.

There are some moments of Grunge and Progressive momentums contained within the lengthier tracks of the album (Tempest, Dominion/Big Tex, Middle Man and White Stag Ghost) but there’s a multitude of different styles of Heavy Rock that’s being applied by Shovelhead that makes you just appreciate the fact how these guys are still around after thirty years making great music.

There’s a WILD MAN OF ROCK swagger that’s applied by Shovelhead to the fastest and heaviest parts of the record. There’s an out of control “JAM BASED” quality that you can hear within the fuzziest and sleaziest sounds of the album. The vocals by Jim LaPointe appear only when they’re fully needed which gives real weight to the whole record.

Only Jim LaPointe and Mike Scott remain from the original lineup with George Pierro replacing original bassist Sha Zaidi. George Pierro brings his own heavy bass sound to the part which is quite different to Sha Zaidi’s but still fully fantastic and fully becoming part of the Shovelhead creative framework.

A Place Of Dead Roads is quite a loose record and opts for a riff-centric / jam based delivery which has always been a staple of Shovelhead ever since their formative years. However, everything works as it should with the band delivering an intense musical performance that upcoming Stoner Rock bands should study and appreciate having great bands such as Shovelhead on how to create, write and perform a classic sounding Stoner Rock track.

As I stated previously, the production values are very raw and highly unapologetic but it’s one of the main strengths that allows A Place Of Dead Roads to fully stand out from the crowd. Shovelhead have released a first rate “COMEBACK” record that I’m hoping gives the band further appreciation from the whole Stoner Rock/Metal community. As this is as good as it gets.

If you miss the early days of MONSTER MAGNET when they had intense New Jersey destructive sound running through their veins that they may have lost over the years then you really need to check out SHOVELHEAD right now. As these guys are seriously becoming better musicians and more an essential band in their later years.

Words by Steve Howe

Thanks to Mettle Media PR for the details.

Links

https://shovelheadnj.bandcamp.com/
https://linktr.ee/ShovelheadNJ
https://www.youtube.com/@theoriginalShovelhead
https://open.spotify.com/artist/2pIndavttdvGqKlHdVQp3L
https://intothevoidmerchco.com/collections/shovelhead
https://www.facebook.com/people/Shovelhead/100061003818946/
https://www.instagram.com/shovelheadnj

Introduce Yourselves: FOREST HORSE

What Is the Name of Your Band?

Forest Horse

What Is the genre of music you play?

Stoner, doom, sludge

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

Forest Horse is a solo project peddling sludgy, psychedelic doom from the swamps of West Michigan. It began in 2022 with the release of Keep Awake, which draped layers of doom and noise over a sprawling post-rock frame. Four years later, forged by personal upheavals and an ever-darkening world, Botany exchanges the shoegaze tendencies of the past for heavy, fuzzed-out riffs and dirty blues passages that examine strange flora, extraterrestrial murmurings, fruitless resistance, and inevitable decay.

What can people expect from your music?

Fuzzy, sludgy noise that you can groove to. Some screaming about plants and aliens.

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

Botany – out everywhere on October 28, 2026.

Where can people find you on Social Media?

https://foresthorse.bandcamp.com/
https://www.instagram.com/foresthorsemusic

Thanks to Forest Horse for the details. 

Rust Lords - Suffer Eternal (EP Review)

Release Date: August 28th 2026. Record Label: Self Released. Format: DD

Suffer Eternal - Tracklist

1. LOUIS (3:57)

2. BUBBA (3:00)

3. JACK (3:09)

4. OTIS (2:27)

5. ADRIAN (4:57)

6. GLEN (2:18)

 

Members

Daniel Rastatter - Guitar / Backing Vocals

Phil McNuss - Bass

Evan Capella - Drums

Kyle Roy - Vocals

Review

Doom/Stoner Metallers Rust Lords bring a Hardcore Punk flavour to their latest EP - Suffer Eternal. There’s even a healthy dose of Crossover Thrash that gives Rust Lords a vibrant and seedy energy with their blend of lo-fi heavy grooves. The EP is superbly aggressive from the start with the Hardcore Punk vocals from Kyle Roy which has a classic Crossover influence running throughout. The music itself is superbly technical when the fast-paced melodies appear on different sections of the record.

Rust Lords like to play around with the rules and conventions of the Hard Rock and Heavy Metal scenes they closely align themselves to. As the music goes through many different transformations which gives Suffer Eternal quite a highly original approach with that great Hardcore Punk and Doom Metal sound that reminds me of Saint Vitus and Corrosion Of Conformity on tracks such as Louis, Bubba, Jack and Adrian. 

The EP lasts for around twenty minutes but Rust Lords employ a great style of Doom Metal and Stoner Metal that manages to be quite playful and superbly hard-hitting along the way. When the band find their Psychedelic swagger, the EP becomes very trippy and self aware with a delicious level of FUZZ METAL that really makes the record really standout. You start to notice the fast-paced riffs even more with some fast-paced Thrash Metal beats that should appeal to fans of Motorhead and High On Fire with some great riff-centric passages moving into areas of Distorted based heaviness.

Suffer Eternal could have easily done with another song as everything suddenly ends once Rust Lords are fully in their musical element but the guys show a lot of promise here which should allow them to build a loyal following within the underground scene. Check this superb EP when you have the time and be prepared for a highly unapologetic style of aggressive Doom/Stoner Metal that takes no prisoners when everything is said and done.

Words by Steve Howe

Thanks to Good Boy PR for the promo.

Links

Facebook | BandCamp | Instagram

Brūte - How To Build A Mountain (EP Review)

Release Date: August 28th 2026. Record Label: Self Released. Format: DD

How To Build A Mountain - Tracklist

1.Peacemule 05:30

2.Stone & Silence 07:09

3.How To Build A Mountain 07:39

Review

How To Build A Mountain is the latest EP from Brūte which sees the band develop a AMPLIFIER DISTORTED style of Doom, Sludge and Stoner Metal. The level of distortion is one of the main strengths that allows Brūte to develop a great style of riff-driven music that has vast amounts of Grunge, Psych and Fuzz moving in the background. The vocals are quite gruff and matches the seedy grunge atmosphere that’s played throughout the whole EP.

The music seems to be influenced by the likes of Soundgarden, Alice In Chains, FU MANCHU, Red Fang, KYUSS and SLEEP which you can hear within the superb opening track Peacemule. The melodies and messy reverb sounds all play a strong part for Brūte to play a mean sound which develops into heavier strands of Desert/Fuzz Rock with an epic Sludge Rock delivery. 

Though, the band really start to impress within the standout second track of Stone & Silence which starts off with a deceiving stripped back delivery with a haunting Grunge mix allowing Brūte to add a brooding Alt-Rock theme into the mix. The song does start off cautiously slow with eerie vocals that have a certain classic Nineties dominant energy to them. Brūte feels more comfortable when playing that great style of sludgy “DOOM & GLOOM” instrumental passages. If you ever wondered what Truckfighters would sound like if they become part of the Doom Metal world then Stone & Silence is the answer to that question. 

Brūte continue to develop their slightly progressive sound to a more destructive environment which fully leads the way into the stunning final title track How To Build A Mountain. Though, the song starts off quite slow paced yet again which allows Brūte more than enough time to build solid foundations of DOOM & GLOOM based rhythms that does push this EP into destructive areas of reverb and fuzzy feedback. 

This is Brūte’s first release in over four years and it’s definitely been worth the wait as this feels like a different band compared to their superb 2022 debut EP. If you want an EP that’s full of distorted grooves that branch off into a violent style of Desert Rock/Metal with all of the trappings of Sludge/Stoner Metal then How To Build A Mountain has all the answers that you’re currently looking for. 

Excellent and Highly Recommended.

Words by Steve Howe

Links

BandCamp | Instagram

Rocky's Pride & Joy - A Place Unknown (Single Review)

Release Date: August 27th 2026. Record Label: Self Released. Format: DD

A Place Unknown - Tracklist

A Place Unknown

 

Members

Brenton Wilson (vocals/guitar)

Fraser Ray (guitar)

Dominic Ventra (bass)

Jessi Tilbrook (drums)

Review

A Place Unknown is the latest single from Psych/Doom/Stoner Metallers Rocky’s Pride & Joy which is from their upcoming second album. The record is a progressive mix of Doom, Psych, Sludge and Stoner Metal that taps right into the Fuzzed Out Cosmos with intense instrumental grooves that allows lead vocalist Brenton Wilson to dominate the musical landscape with his grizzled and determined vocal performance.

The sudden appearance of Shoegaze and Grunge adds a grounded element which sees Rocky’s Pride & Joy moving between areas of music influenced by the likes of Alice In Chains, Monolord, SLEEP and Mastodon. However, this allows Rocky’s Pride & Joy to create their own haunting style of Post-Doom grooves which moves into an area of Progressive Stoner Metal with Brenton’s vocals adding a heightened sense of Grunge and Post-Metal delivery.

The music then becomes way heavier with broken down pieces of Space Rock forming a sullen and moody atmosphere where the grooves become delivered by riff-driven melodies that are played at a great slow-to-mid pace for the majority of the track. The song has a classic use of FUZZ METAL that’s controlled by Rocky’s Pride & Joy’s great use of Amplifier Distortion and classic guitar shredding that appear within the closing stages of the song.

Rocky’s Pride & Joy are firing on all creative cylinders and if the upcoming album is equally as good as this track then we could be in for something special here. As “A Place Unknown” is seriously worthy of your time and perhaps discover a great new band at the same time.

Words by Steve Howe

Links

Facebook | BandCamp | Instagram

Fuzz Voyage - Volts = Amps x Ohms (Demo) (Single Review)

Release Date: August 24th 2026. Record Label: Self Released. Formats: DD

Volts = Amps x Ohms (Demo) - Tracklist

Volts = Amps x Ohms (Demo)

Members

Guitar: Dar Stellabotta

Drums: Diego Cartulin

Bass: Boris Baltodano

Review

Volts = Amps x Ohms (Demo) is the latest single from FUZZ VOYAGE which is also a collaborative piece from Heavy Haze Audio Lab in Trujilo, Peru and Carcass John Fossum Art. This is explained below by the band themselves:

“This release is a collaboration with Heavy Haze Audio Lab in Trujilo, Peru and Carcass John Fossum Art. Without these guys this track would have never came to life and for them I am grateful to tell you of this new release.”

The track itself is an almost ten minute journey into the fuzzier and spaced out side of the Doom/Stoner Rock landscape. The song is purely instrumental but still offers an engaging and highly psychedelic experience with FUZZ VOYAGE including elements of Space Rock, Fuzz and Desert Rock. The song has a great balance of HEAVY vs QUIET dynamics which sees the song dramatically shift into heavier areas of Stoner Rock/Metal.

You can hear echoes and sounds from the likes of Yawning Man, Karma To Burn, Earthless and Monkey3 but with FUZZ VOYAGE adding that layer of distorted Doomed Out attitude especially within the first half of the song. The later stages of the song stays are perhaps more subdued with a great style of Post-Rock and Ambient Rock still allowing FUZZ VOYAGE to develop an eerie style of cinematic music.

Volts = Amps x Ohms (Demo) is an exquisite song and I’m hoping there’s more to come from FUZZ VOYAGE as this track feels like the band have some unfinished business but you can’t deny how great the excellent grooves and fuzzy spaced out soundscapes that are played here. 

Excellent and Highly Recommended.

Words by Steve Howe

Links

BandCamp | Instagram

ZEMETRAS - ZEMETRAS (Album Review)

Release Date: August 08th 2026. Record Label: Self Released. Formats: DD

ZEMETRAS - Tracklist

1.Kto Vie Viac o Smrti 05:40

2.Misky Váh 05:27

 3.Ruky od Krvi 06:36

4.Skús Nezabudnúť 05:44

5.Beda Mi 01:50

6.Soľ a Prach 05:03

7.Súd 05:38

Members

Lukas - guitar / founder

Miyia – bass guitar

Adela – vocals

Vanes – drums

Martin – second guitar

Review

ZEMETRAS self titled debut album is drenched in fuzz, distortion and grimy Psychedelic energy which channels an epic style of modern Doom, Sludge and Stoner Metal sounds that have a haunting and tortured delivery to them. Taking inspiration from the likes of Windhand, Electric Wizard, Monolord and YOB this record has ZEMETRAS singing in their native Slovak language which doesn’t diminish the whole emotionally charged journey of the album at all.

ZEMETRAS have added the English Song Titles and lyrics over on their BandCamp Page which I read whilst listening to the album. That was quite a surreal experience as the lyrics gives you a deeper and personal insight into what the band are actually saying especially within the excellent opening track Kto Vie Viac o Smrti (Who Knows More Of Death). The music is superb with ZEMETRAS developing and playing aggressive slabs of FUZZED OUT DOOM with that massive wall of Amplified Sound that cause minor damage to your hearing.

ZEMETRAS play their music with a committed style of LOW & SLOW based delivery which allows an aggressive level of melody of rhythm to be played with small areas of progressive attitude to form in the background. The excellent vocals from Adela are very full on with a dedicated gritty performance throughout the whole journey.

There’s a violent sense of distorted sounds being broken down into individual pieces of psychedelic energy which has a sudden shift into Sludge Rock/Metal which allows ZEMETRAS to experiment with their music multiple times and still sound remarkably fresh on tracks such as: Misky Váh, Ruky od Krvi, Skús Nezabudnúť, Soľ a Prach and Súd.

ZEMETRAS are not afraid to apply Post-Doom and Psychedelic soundscapes into their music that offers a cerebral Spaced Out attitude on the later stages of the record. There’s some excellent instrumental solos where you feel ZEMETRAS have studied the modern Heavy Rock underground scene thoroughly and taken the best aspects before changing into their own musical image. It’s a bold strategy that pays off huge dividends for ZEMETRAS as there’s some wonderful cinematic sounding grooves where the music becomes even deceptively heavier which left me mightily impressed. 

This is a must have record for the committed Doom/Stoner Metal fan who love their music full of FUZZED OUT attitude with violent outbursts of DISTORTED energy dictating the whole musical journey that will leave you wholly satisfied and brilliantly at peace with the world.

Words by Steve Howe

Links

BandCamp | Instagram

Faerie Ring - Faerie Ring (Album Review)

Release Date: August 21st 2026. Record Label: King Volume Records. Formats: CD/DD/Tape/Vinyl

Faerie Ring - Tracklist

1.NEW GODS

2.FATTEST WITCH

3.BIGGIEST HIT

4.LOST BOY

5.FLAIL

6.DRAGGIN

7.HOWLING AT THE MISTY MOON

8.GARGOYLE

9.NO SURRENDER

10.CHAMPION

Members

James Wallwork - Electric Guitar/Vocals

Kyle Hulgus - Electric Guitar

Alex Wallwork - Electric Bass Guitar/Vocals

Matt McGuyer - Drums & Cymbals

Review

Faerie Ring made quite a name for themselves with their first two records which showed the band had a mighty promise for all things Doom, Sludge and Stoner Rock that was lovingly wrapped in a cocoon of distorted slice of psychedelic heaviness. However, it feels the band have gone back to basics for their third album and went straight back to the drawing board. For a start, this is a self-titled album which opens a new chapter for the band. They’ve stripped their music down to the bare essentials and you’re left with a quintessential vintage sounding record that’s main creative strengths lies within its great use of modern day technicolour melodies and cinematic flair.

The album sees Faerie Ring use elements of Seventies Hard Rock, Proto-Doom and Heavy Metal whilst adding a backdrop of modern day Prog Metal, Sludge Rock, Stoner Rock and Fuzz Rock grooves. There’s a wicked style of Garage Rock ferocity that’s used for the creepy level of distortion that’s hidden in the background and pulling all the strings for when the heavy sounds fully appear.

Taking cues from the likes of The Sword, Mastodon, Thin Lizzy, The Obsessed, King Buffalo and ELDER whilst creating an album solely in your own image is no small feat but Faerie Ring pulls this off magnificently. The band opens up with the stunning opening tracks of New Gods and Fattest Witch which allows them to lay down their new found creative credentials with a massive melting pot of WEEDIAN SMOKE buried amongst those vintage burning amps and distorted sludge metal surroundings. 

They add a great fantastical style of storytelling into their lyrics which is epic in scale with massive amounts of OVER THE TOP themes just allowing the listener to fully go along with the whole record. Faerie Ring slowly start changing their music through every track with a stubborn musical energy being played that makes them simply unbeatable on the day on tracks such as Biggest Hit, Flail, Draggin, Howling At The Misty Moon, Champion and No Surrender.

Faerie Ring aligned themselves more to the burgeoning modern day Psych Stoner Rock scene championed by the likes of ELDER, King Buffalo and Howling Giant on the later stages of the record. However, I also noticed instances of TORCHE based Doom Pop atmospherics which isn’t surprising with Jonathan Nunez on mastering duties on this record which I only discovered until very recently. 

This is the type of album that I wanted The Sword to continue making to this day instead of some of the more mainstream efforts they actually released. This record is going to be a game changer as it’s heartfelt when it matters and DOOM AS HELL when that heavy slab of DOOMED OUT aggression is needed. 

As I stated previously in this review, this record has a core Seventies Heavy Rock aesthetic embedded within its whole DNA and the way how the music is played and wholly delivered, this record feels like it was recorded over fifty years ago but finally being discovered in the modern age for the very first time. The album has that huge vintage feeling but with a superb modern based delivery at the same time.

Faerie Ring’s self-titled album is an absolute breathtaking record from beginning to end and one that’s packed full of classic sounding tracks throughout. This could actually be a game changer for the band and even elevate them to the same status as King Buffalo and Howling Giant in the next eighteen months or so. 

This is another ALBUM OF THE YEAR contender. Add this record to your collection now. END OF!!!

Words by Steve Howe

Thanks to Pat at Poetica Marketing for the promo.

Faerie Ring is available to buy now on CD/DD/Tape/Vinyl.

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