Exclusive Album Premiere Of Psych/Fuzz/Stoner Metallers HUMULUS Stunning New Album - SMUGGLER'S CAVE

Smuggler’s Cave marks HUMULUS’ fifth LP and their second outing with vocalist/guitarist Thomas Mascheroni. Following 2023's Flowers Of Death, the band spent two years traversing Europe’s stages, and it was in the cracks between tours that the improvisations for this record took root. True to form, the band returned to the rehearsal room for marathon sessions, capturing hours of raw interplay, isolating the sparks and forging new songs from the embers.

The riffs might hit harder than ever before, yet HUMULUS’s sonic hallmark remains intact with a deft pivot from rhythmic, classic stoner crunch into more psychedelic and introspective depths. Leading the listener through mysterious settings, tales of wizards, cemetery dreams, damned souls and the shade of dark forests, this high-voltage new delivery fills the air with electricity and will compel anyone who worships at the altar of Dozer, Truckfighters, Lowrider and Greenleaf. 

Thanks to the amazing folks at Purple Sage PR and Ripple Music, we're excited to premiere the whole album in full below:

The Lowdown

Humulus is an Italian psych-stoner power trio formed in Brescia, Italy in 2009. Born from the heavy lineage of Kyuss, Karma to Burn and Orange Goblin, they quickly built a reputation across southern Europe with their crushing debut on Go Down Records.

A lineup shift in 2015 flipped the script. New frontman Andrea Bellicini pushed the band into trippier, more dynamic territory through longer songs, richer atmospheres and a sound that outgrew stoner orthodoxy. The years that followed saw Humulus touring non-stop with European festival runs (Freak Valley, Desertfest Belgium, Up In Smoke), and a string of acclaimed LPs that veered from doom-laced riffage to sprawling psychedelic meditation. Another mutation came in late 2022 with the arrival of Thomas Mascheroni, reigniting the band’s chemistry and leading to a fresh creative burst. They hit the road again, sharing stages with heavyweights like Colour Haze and Monkey3, while steadily forging new material.

When founder Giorgio Bonacorsi stepped back in 2026, the remaining core members enlisted Fabio Giacomini to complete the lineup and write their most ambitious work yet.

Thanks to Purple Sage PR for the details.

Smuggler’s Cove is available to buy now on CD/DD/Vinyl via Ripple Music.

Humulus links

Facebook | Bandcamp | Instagram

Ripple Music links

Website | Facebook | Bandcamp | Instagram

Humulus - Smuggler's Cave (Album Review)

Release Date: October 09th 2026. Record Label: Ripple Music. Format: CD/DD/Vinyl

Smuggler’s Cave - Tracklist

1.Standing in the Sun 

2.Rise and Fall 

3.Pines

4.Smuggler's Cave

5.Cemetery Vision

6.Blue Wizard 

7.Cursed Man

Review

Smuggler’s Cave is the fifth album from Psych Stoner Rockers Humulus with the band moving closer the likes of Lowrider, Dozer, Truckfighters and KYUSS where the band blend the ice-cold Psychedelic Stoner Rock attitude of the Swedish Stoner Metal scene with the gritty energy of the legendary Californian Stoner scene. This is a great mix especially with Humulus originating from Italy. 

The record is a fast-paced mix of different Doom, Desert and Stoner Rock sounds with trippy interludes appearing within the whole album as a great union of Post-Rock and Post-Doom form a winning musical alliance. This seems to spur Humulus to try different things with their music as traces of Grunge and Ambient melodies form when you least expect this.

Humulus starts playing areas of music influenced by the likes of ELDER and KING BUFFALO in the heavier aspects which is quite an exciting creative direction on the first half tracks such as Standing In The Sun, Rise And Fall and Pines. The vocals are delivered superbly throughout as Humulus employ different styles with chants, clean vocals and ethereal tones aligning everything together.

The great use of Psychedelic, Ambient and Space Rock effects adds an aggressive attitude into the whole recording aspect which allows Humulus to start forming strands of Fuzz, Shoegaze and Space Rock which becomes quite adventurous when a thrilling Sludgier direction appears. Even when the record offers a stripped back sound, Humulus never fails in transporting the listener into a more subdued Spaced Out landscape on tracks Smuggler’s Cave, Blue Wizard and Cursed Man. 

The themes become more heartfelt and emotionally haunted with that blissful Post-Rock and Post-Stoner landscape bringing that superb style of uplifting quality into the later stages of the record. The vocals yet again are first rate which have a great storytelling energy to them with Humulus creating a soulful and emotionally charged record that’s not afraid to bring a gritty sense of determined pure raw heaviness to the party. As Humulus rely upon bursts of intense FUZZ and DISTORTED MELODIES within the second half of the album.

Smuggler’s Cove is a superbly entertaining and brilliantly realized album with HUMULUS once again delivering a masterclass of modern day COSMIC and PSYCHEDELIC grooves from start to finish.

Words by Steve Howe

Thanks to Purple Sage PR for the promo.

Smuggler’s Cove is available to buy now on CD/DD/Vinyl via Ripple Music.

Links

Facebook | Bandcamp | Instagram

Stoner Fuzz Merchants HUMULUS release new single "Blue Wizard"; new album “Smuggler’s Cave” out October 9th on Ripple Music

North of Italy's stoner rock revelation HUMULUS shares the high-octane third single taken from their new full-length "Smuggler's Cave", due out on October 9th through Californian independent label Ripple Music.

Get fuzzy with new Humulus single Blue Wizard️

Smuggler’s Cave marks HUMULUS’ fifth LP and their second outing with vocalist/guitarist Thomas Mascheroni. Following 2023's Flowers Of Death, the band spent two years traversing Europe’s stages, and it was in the cracks between tours that the improvisations for this record took root. True to form, the band returned to the rehearsal room for marathon sessions, capturing hours of raw interplay, isolating the sparks and forging new songs from the embers.

The riffs might hit harder than ever before, yet HUMULUS’s sonic hallmark remains intact with a deft pivot from rhythmic, classic stoner crunch into more psychedelic and introspective depths. Leading the listener through mysterious settings, tales of wizards, cemetery dreams, damned souls and the shade of dark forests, this high-voltage new delivery fills the air with electricity and will compel anyone who worships at the altar of Dozer, Truckfighters, Lowrider and Greenleaf. Check out the album's latest singles Rise and Fall and Standing in the Sun!

New album "Smuggler's Cave" - Out October 9th on Ripple Music (LP/CD/digital)

Humulus is an Italian psych-stoner power trio formed in Brescia, Italy in 2009. Born from the heavy lineage of Kyuss, Karma to Burn and Orange Goblin, they quickly built a reputation across southern Europe with their crushing debut on Go Down Records.

A lineup shift in 2015 flipped the script. New frontman Andrea Bellicini pushed the band into trippier, more dynamic territory through longer songs, richer atmospheres and a sound that outgrew stoner orthodoxy. The years that followed saw Humulus touring non-stop with European festival runs (Freak Valley, Desertfest Belgium, Up In Smoke), and a string of acclaimed LPs that veered from doom-laced riffage to sprawling psychedelic meditation. Another mutation came in late 2022 with the arrival of Thomas Mascheroni, reigniting the band’s chemistry and leading to a fresh creative burst. They hit the road again, sharing stages with heavyweights like Colour Haze and Monkey3, while steadily forging new material.

When founder Giorgio Bonacorsi stepped back in 2026, the remaining core members enlisted Fabio Giacomini to complete the lineup and write their most ambitious work yet, to be released in the fall 2026 on Ripple Music.

Humulus links

Facebook | Bandcamp | Instagram

Ripple Music links

Website | Facebook | Bandcamp | Instagram

Thanks to Purple Sage PR for the details.

Italian Stoner Rock Trio HUMULUS unleashes new single "Standing in the Sun" new album “Smuggler’s Cave” out this fall on Ripple Music!

Italian Psychedelic Stoner Rockers HUMULUS share the second track taken from their forthcoming new album "Smuggler's Cave", due out this October 9th on Ripple Music.

Stream new Humulus single Standing in the Sun 

Smuggler’s Cave marks HUMULUS’ fifth LP and their second outing with vocalist/guitarist Thomas Mascheroni. Following 2023's Flowers Of Death, the band spent two years traversing Europe’s stages, and it was in the cracks between tours that the improvisations for this record took root. True to form, the band returned to the rehearsal room for marathon sessions, capturing hours of raw interplay, isolating the sparks and forging new songs from the embers.

On this album, those riffs hit harder and land with greater certainty than before, yet HUMULUS’s sonic hallmark remains intact: a deft pivot from rhythmic, classic stoner crunch into more psychedelic and introspective depths. As always, lyrics arrived after the music, with the title track serving as a thread for the rest of the record, leading the listener through mysterious settings, tales of wizards, cemetery dreams, damned souls and the shade of dark forests. A high-voltage delivery that fills the air with electricity and will compel anyone who worships at the altar of Dozer, Truckfighters, Lowrider, Greenleaf. Don't miss the previous single Rise and Fall!

It will be released on October 9th on LP, CD and digital, with preorders available now from Ripple Music.

New album "Smuggler's Cave" - Out October 9th on Ripple Music (LP/CD/digital)

Humulus is an Italian psych-stoner power trio formed in Brescia, Italy in 2009. Born from the heavy lineage of Kyuss, Karma to Burn and Orange Goblin, they quickly built a reputation across southern Europe with their crushing debut on Go Down Records.

A lineup shift in 2015 flipped the script. New frontman Andrea Bellicini pushed the band into trippier, more dynamic territory through longer songs, richer atmospheres and a sound that outgrew stoner orthodoxy. The years that followed saw Humulus touring non-stop with European festival runs (Freak Valley, Desertfest Belgium, Up In Smoke), and a string of acclaimed LPs that veered from doom-laced riffage to sprawling psychedelic meditation. Another mutation came in late 2022 with the arrival of Thomas Mascheroni, reigniting the band’s chemistry and leading to a fresh creative burst. They hit the road again, sharing stages with heavyweights like Colour Haze and Monkey3, while steadily forging new material.

When founder Giorgio Bonacorsi stepped back in 2026, the remaining core members enlisted Fabio Giacomini to complete the lineup and write their most ambitious work yet, to be released in the fall 2026 on Ripple Music.

Humulus links

Facebook | Bandcamp | Instagram

Ripple Music links

Website | Facebook | Bandcamp | Instagram

Thanks to Purple Sage PR for the details.

Italian Stoner Psych Trio HUMULUS to issue new album “Smuggler’s Cave” on Ripple Music this fall; first track streaming now!

Ripple Music welcomes Italian psychedelic stoner rockers HUMULUS to their roster for the release of their new album "Smuggler's Cave" this October 9th!

Stream new Humulus single "Rise and Fall" at this location

Smuggler’s Cave marks HUMULUS’ fifth LP and their second outing with vocalist/guitarist Thomas Mascheroni. Following 2023's Flowers Of Death, the band spent two years traversing Europe’s stages, and it was in the cracks between tours that the improvisations for this record took root. True to form, the band returned to the rehearsal room for marathon sessions, capturing hours of raw interplay, isolating the sparks and forging new songs from the embers.

On this album, those riffs hit harder and land with greater certainty than before, yet HUMULUS’s sonic hallmark remains intact: a deft pivot from rhythmic, classic stoner crunch into more psychedelic and introspective depths. As always, lyrics arrived after the music, with the title track served as a thread for the rest of the record, leading the listener through mysterious settings, tales of wizards, cemetery dreams, damned souls and the shade of dark forests. A record that's heavy, haunted and more than ever unapologetically HUMULUS. 

It will be released on October 9th on LP, CD and digital, with preorders available now from Ripple Music.

New album "Smuggler's Cave" - Out October 9th on Ripple Music (LP/CD/digital)

Humulus is an Italian psych-stoner power trio formed in Brescia, Italy in 2009. Born from the heavy lineage of Kyuss, Karma to Burn and Orange Goblin, they quickly built a reputation across southern Europe with their crushing debut on Go Down Records.

A lineup shift in 2015 flipped the script. New frontman Andrea Bellicini pushed the band into trippier, more dynamic territory through longer songs, richer atmospheres and a sound that outgrew stoner orthodoxy. The years that followed saw Humulus touring non-stop with European festival runs (Freak Valley, Desertfest Belgium, Up In Smoke), and a string of acclaimed LPs that veered from doom-laced riffage to sprawling psychedelic meditation. Another mutation came in late 2022 with the arrival of Thomas Mascheroni, reigniting the band’s chemistry and leading to a fresh creative burst. They hit the road again, sharing stages with heavyweights like Colour Haze and Monkey3, while steadily forging new material.

When founder Giorgio Bonacorsi stepped back in 2026, the remaining core members enlisted Fabio Giacomini to complete the lineup and write their most ambitious work yet, to be released in the fall 2026 on Ripple Music.

Humulus links

Facebook | Bandcamp | Instagram

Ripple Music links

Website | Facebook | Bandcamp | Instagram

Thanks to Purple Sage PR for the details.