Iron & Stone - Mountains And Waters (EP Review)

Release Date: June 17th 2022. Record Label: Self Released. Format: DD/Vinyl

Mountains & Waters - Tracklisting

1.Cosmic Eye 04:33

2.Loose The Day 04:50

3.Vultures 04:47

4.Unbroken 04:26

Review

Mountains & Wizards is the new EP from Doomed Out Desert/Stoner Rockers Iron & Stone and is the first release of a three part series of EP’s where the band redefine and recreate their sound. The EP is a wickedly entertaining release with Iron & Stone calling upon the legendary Californian Desert/Stoner Rock scene with gloomy atmospherics leading the way.

First song Cosmic Eve has a distinctive DIY/LO-FI sound with the band playing a mixture of classic nineties sounding Desert/Stoner Rock but with a Psych Doom vibe that brings new levels of heaviness from the band. The song has an aggressive style of FUZZ ROCK with the Desert/Stoner Rock grooves being played at a ferocious fast pace. The vocals are excellent and fit the music superbly well.

Second song Loose The Day has a slight KYUSS influence with the Psychedelic sounds moving further into the realm of Stoner Metal. The song is LOUD and AGGRESSIVE with Iron & Stone playing a gloomier style of music. The music is downright catchy and melodic in places and I dig this sound from the band. As it flirts between Desert/Stoner Rock, Psych Rock and Grunge in places. Perhaps the standout track on the EP.

The final two songs Vultures and Unbroken follow the same pattern as the opening two songs with perhaps offering the heaviest and far-out sounds on the EP especially on the excellent third track Vultures. 

Iron & Stone are off to a winning start with Mountains & Waters and with the EP allowing the band to try their hand at something different compared to their previous releases. Backed up by superb production values, this is a thrilling and adventurous release that makes me excited for the future releases from the band.

Excellent & Highly Recommended.

Words by Steve Howe

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Iron & Stone - You Can't See What's Coming (EP Review)

Release date: September 27th 2019. Label: Hand Of Doom Records. Format: DD/Vinyl

You Can’t See What’s Coming – Tracklisting

1.Hand Of Fate 03:59

2.Shadow On Your Neck 03:57

3.Old, Bitter & Out Of Touch 05:10

4.1958 05:29

Members

Henning L.: vocals

Stephan M.: guitar

Christopher P.: guitar

Matthias B.: bass

Torsten H.: drums

Review

You Can’t Stop What’s Coming is the new EP from Fuzz/Stoner/Doom Rockers – Iron & Stone. The EP is based on either the novel or film of No Country For Old Men. This allows the band to create and play a dark blend of Doom/Stoner Rock with heavy amounts of Fuzz Rock being part of the action.

The EP has quite a raw sound and it matches the subject material the EP is based upon. The music is the strong point here with the opening song – Hand Of Fate – capturing a band playing a more gloomier sound and slightly bleak and angry vocals to match from Henning.

Fuzz/Stoner Rockers shouldn’t despair as Iron & Stone will have you covered in the riffs department with their blistering style of classic sounding Fuzz/Stoner Rock amounting for the highest amount of cool riffs held within the EP’s short running time.

Second song – Shadow On Your Neck – sees the band go for a full throttle Doom Metal approach with psychedelic overtones making their way to the party. The lo-fi production allows the band to carry on with their raw and angry sound that’s quite captivating in places especially when the band play some of the heaviest sounds on the entire EP.

The final two songs “Old, Bitter and Out Of Touch” and “1958” sees Iron & Stone become even more aggressive with everything they have at their disposal. Vocals, riffs and the lyrics all combine for some of most aggressive parts of the EP with a Dark Fuzz Rock vibe suddenly appearing and making you want to hear more of this highly addictive sound.

The only downside to this EP is that it’s too damn short. I know it’s an EP. I just wanted one more song to fully complete the EP. As the EP kinda feels unfinished. Though the classic Coen Brothers film ends in a similar fashion. So I applaud the band for sticking to that part of the film if that was their intention of course. That’s my own feelings of the EP so I could be way off here.

Overall, You Can’t Stop What’s Coming lives up to it’s fantastic title. You can’t stop the band on this form with this superbly entertaining EP.

Words by Steve Howe

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Iron & Stone - Petrichor (Album Review)

Release date: November 03rd 2017. Label: Backbite Records. Format: CD/DD/Vinyl

Petrichor - Tracklisting

1.Avalanche 05:09

2.Vortex 04:08

3.Deserts 04:52

4.Caves 04:49

5.Interlude 02:13

6.Monolith 04:25

7.Northern Lights 04:02

8.Meander 04:00

9.Yugen 05:35

10.Petrichor 04:38

Members

Henning L.: vocals

Stephan M.: guitar

Christopher P.: guitar

Matthias B.: bass

Torsten H.: drums

Review

Iron & Stone's debut album Petrichor is a rough and ready mix of Doom, Psych and Stoner Metal sounds. After releasing a string of releases since their inception in 2013, the band have finally released a full length album that showcases their full potential for everyone to listen and admire.

The production is solid for the most part as the band inject a “DIY” approach to their music. It means the album sounds very raw at times but it doesn't distract how superbly heavy the album really is.

Opening track – Avalanche – is a noisy Doom/Psych/Grunge/Stoner Metal affair with the band creating an angry atmosphere with Henning's vocals adding a Punk style vibe. The riffs are very good and should appeal to the wide majority of Doom/Stoner Metal fans. As they contain some fast-paced sounds that hold your attention throughout.

Second track – Vortex – has a Motorhead feel with Henning's vocals feeling partially inspired by Lemmy and the music itself has a familiar Motorhead vibe. Add layers of distorted Doom/Stoner Metal and Iron & Stone have one of the first standout tracks on the album. It's very raw sounding but that allows the music to be quite seedy and that adds to the overall doom effect of the album.

Third track – Deserts – sees Iron & Stone opt for a more “thrashier” sound. Very 80s/90s sounding at times but the psychedelic stoner riffs manage to keep you entertained and the music sounds more threatening at times. The lyrics are standard fare but Henning manages to deliver them with style and angry conviction.

If you like the sound of the first three songs then the rest of the album follows the same template. With Iron & Stone becoming angrier with each passing song. Songs such as: Caves, Monolith, Yugen and Petrichor are perhaps the other standout tracks on the album. Yugen and Petrichor deserve special mention as Iron & Stone create heavy monolithic Doom/Stoner Metal sounds that really sees the band come into their own identity.

Petrichor is a well-made and superbly entertaining album that should have no trouble finding an audience within the Doom/Stoner Metal community.

Words by Steve Howe

Links:

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