European Stoner Eock Icons LOWRIDER to reissue special 25th anniversary edition of classic debut album "Ode to Io" on Blues Funeral Recordings

The godfathers of European stoner rock LOWRIDER are set to release a special 25th anniversary reissue of their landmark album "Ode to Io" in a limited deluxe edition this September 19th, with preorders available now via Blues Funeral Recordings.

At the dawn of the internet, bands and fans around the world coalesced in the wake of defunct Palm Springs originators Kyuss to craft their own visions of the desert rock sound. Standing foremost among them was Lowrider, whose debut, "Ode to Io", became the blueprint countless others would follow. Stream the full album at this location.

Now, longtime fans and new arrivals can delve into this rumbling chronicle of seminal desert fuzz-heaviness in deluxe remastered glory. Commemorating the 25th anniversary of its original release on September 19, 2000, Lowrider present a towering new reissue of this absolute foundational text for the post-Kyuss stoner rock movement.

“This is the version they didn’t let us do back then — only better. I can’t wait for people to see it”, says singer and bassist Peder Bergstrand. “When we handed in Ode to Io to be printed back in 1999, we had this elaborate silver screen print for the cover. But the external label tasked with making the vinyl were cheapskates. They forced the 2LP playing time into one LP, resulting in subpar audio quality. To finish off, they printed the elaborate silver cover as plain grayscale. Needless to say, we were pretty gutted by the result. Ever since, I’ve dreamt of making THAT version, doing it justice. That is exactly what we’ve done with the 25th anniversary version of ‘Ode to Io'.”

“It’s forever humbling and mindblowing that people care so much about this album, a fourth of a century later. We wanted to do the record justice, and invite fans to see photos and hear stories from that period that we haven’t shared before”.

This limited new special edition of "Ode to Io" will be issued on silver, black and white color merge 2xLP and features previously unpublished photos, essays, liner notes from the band, and updated silverboard packaging and silver-infused art and design.

"Ode to Io" Deluxe Edition - Out September 19th via Blues Funeral Recordings (LP/CD)
Bandcamp // Bluesfuneral.com // SPKR shop

TRACKLIST:

1. Caravan
2. Flat Earth
3. Convoy V
4. Dust Settlin'
5. Sun Devil
6. Anchor
7. Texas Pt. 1 & 2
8. Riding Shotgun
9. Saguaro
10. Ode to Io
11. Lameneshma
12. The Gnome, The Serpent, The Sun
13. Shivaree
14. Ol' Mule Pepe
15. Upon the Dune
16. David William Hughes

As the preeminent band out of the gate in the late 90s post-Kyuss wake, Lowrider's debut EP and seminal album 'Ode to Io' were foundational slabs at the dawn of stoner rock. The swinging metal offshoot grew quickly into a worldwide phenomenon, with Lowrider established as one of its undeniable trailblazers. Following those early releases with a handful of compilation and soundtrack appearances and a period of relative inactivity, the band re-emerged at DesertFest Berlin in 2013. They've since blown minds at Hellfest, Keep it Low, DesertFest London and Belgium, Stoned from the Underground and Up in Smoke, and issued expanded remastered versions of their original records. All that was left was to give the world something new...

Released in early 2020 through Blues Funeral Recordings, Lowrider's long-awaited sophomore album 'Refractions' explodes with all the churning fuzz and expansive riff-heaviness for which the band are beloved, shot through with re-energized purpose and maturity. "Refractions" received widespread acclaim from global critics, landing a top spot on numerous year-end lists. The band has since unleashed an applauded collaborative album with London’s psychedelic doom pillars Elephant Tree, branded "irresistible" by Rolling Stone Magazine and hailed as "one of the most gorgeous releases both bands have ever crafted" by Doom Charts.

Lowrider is currently working on their next album, due to start recording in early 2026. They will perform at this year's Keep it Low Festival (Munich, DE) and DesertFest Belgium (Antwerp, BE) this October in further celebration of their debut album's monumental legacy.

Lowrider links

Facebook | Bandcamp | Instagram | Spotify | Youtube

Blues Funeral Recordings links

Website | Facebook | Bandcamp | Instagram | Youtube

Thanks to Purple Sage PR for the details.

Elephant Tree / Lowrider - The Long Forever (Album Review)

Release Date: October 25th 2024. Record Label: Blues Funeral Recordings. Format: CD/DD/Vinyl

Elephant Tree / Lowrider - The Long Forever - Track Listing:

1. Lowrider - And The Horse You Rode In On

2. Lowrider - Caldera

3. Lowrider - Into The Grey

4. Lowrider - Through The Rift (feat. Elephant Tree)

5. Elephant Tree - Fucked In The Head

6. Elephant Tree - 4 For 2

7. Elephant Tree - Long Forever (feat. Lowrider)

Review

Stoner Metal TITANS Elephant Tree and Lowrider team up for this mighty fine and superbly heavy split album The Long Forever that sees both bands deliver their first new material in over four years. I’m going to say this is perhaps the best split album I’ve heard this decade and sees both bands at the height of their creative powers. Both bands are given the opportunity to play different styles of music that they’re known for whilst playing similar sounds they’ve both built their fearsome reputations with. 

Elephant Tree and Lowrider even make guest appearances on each other’s individual tracks with Elephant Tree appearing on Lowrider track Through The Rift and Lowrider appearing on Elephant Tree track Long Forever. 

Lowrider tracks are perhaps the more uplifting with a cosmic flow merging into a dominant Progressive Rock attitude with echoes of Post-Stoner grooves appearing throughout the uplifting lyrics with tales of hope amongst the gloomy surroundings of the modern day world which shine right through Caldera and Into The Grey. 

This split album allows both bands the time and opportunity to play the heaviest sounds of their careers with Lowrider moving into the Sludge Rock/Metal vortex and Elephant Tree playing a surprising Industrial based sound. 

Lowrider’s music shows signs of Sonic Exploration with some deft touches of Psychedelic and Doomed Out instrumental ambient based jams. The vocals have that soaring energy which made their 2020 comeback album Refractions such a classic and landmark release.

According to the PR Blurb, “The Long Forever" takes its title from the nickname Elephant Tree singer and guitarist Jack Townley gave to the multi-week coma he was kept in for medical reasons following a near-fatal biking accident in early 2023.

The standout tracks on the record are when both bands team up for an uplifting and emotionally engaging style for Lowrider track Through The Rift and the sound becoming more gloomier and quite realistic on the Elephant Tree track Long Forever. 

Elephant Tree’s side of the record surprised me the most. As you’re taken back by the Industrial charge they lead with Fucked In The Head which isn’t surprising with the terrible accident that Jack Townley experienced and it’s great to see him writing awesome music yet again. This is a different tone and vision from Elephant Tree compared to their 2020 album Habits. The decision from Elephant Tree to go further into the Industrial Rock landscape allows them to delve into heavier areas of Doom Metal which results in some outstanding and highly original slabs of Atmospheric Sludge of their own making on tracks 4 For 2 and Long Forever. 

Though, this doesn’t come at the expense of their classic blend of uplifting progressive themes which is still the main focus on the album. Lowrider appearing on Long Forever allows Elephant Tree to write some of the best music of their careers.

The Long Forever is a first rate album by two of the best bands the Doom/Stoner Metal scene has to offer. I’m hoping we have new albums from both bands in 2025 as The Long Forever proves why we need new music from Elephant Tree and Lowrider more than ever before. This is going to be considered a classic album in no time at all. That’s seriously how great this album really is. 

Words by Steve Howe

Thanks to Purple Sage PR for the promo. 

The Long Forever will be available to buy on CD/DD/Vinyl via Blues Funeral Recordings from Friday 25th October 2024.

Elephant Tree links

Facebook ⎮ Bandcamp ⎮ Instagram ⎮ Spotify ⎮ Youtube

Lowrider links

Facebook ⎮ Bandcamp ⎮ Instagram ⎮ Spotify ⎮ Youtube

European stoner rock pillars LOWRIDER and ELEPHANT TREE share new single off "The Long Forever" split album on Blues Funeral Recordings.

Swedish stoner rock pioneers LOWRIDER and UK psych-doom royalty ELEPHANT TREE share their new single "Through The Rift" on all streaming platforms today. Their widely anticipated collaborative album "The Long Forever" will be released on October 25th via Blues Funeral Recordings.

Elephant Tree and Lowrider's collaborative album "The Long Forever" is easily one of the most eagerly awaited split releases in heavy rock history. Arriving in the wake of their landmark 2020 releases, "The Long Forever" finds both bands at critical junctures: each has a broad and expanding influence, each is revered onstage and off, and each is about to deliver its first proper new music in four years to tremendous anticipation.

About the making of the song "Through The Rift", Lowrider frontman Peder Bergstrand recalls: “When Elephant Tree put their vocals on it, Jack sent me a text: ‘Singing on this reminds me of sitting on my mate’s shed in the sun when I was like 17. So hopeful and pretty'. It hit me right in the feels, because they just get it. That text, and this song, is exactly why we are doing this split album together. Through the Rift was written when I was falling in love with Elephant Tree and their last album 'Habits' at the height of the pandemic. It matched that time so well: calm and crushing at the same time, and endlessly emotional. Having since become friends and also having them sing backing vocals on it, is more full circle than I can describe with words”.

 Watch the official visualizer for "Through The Rift"  + listen to the song on all streaming services

"The Long Forever" takes its title from the nickname Elephant Tree singer and guitarist Jack Townley gave to the multi-week coma he was kept in for medical reasons following a near-fatal biking accident in early 2023. Dreaming without waking and losing all sense of time as his mind attempted to process and cope with the ordeal, that lyrical description can only hint at the enormity of Jack’s experience. And yet, the year or so that followed manifested a musical freedom in the bands’ respective approaches. Lowrider has grown more complex and expressive, while Elephant Tree has chosen a rawer, set-up-the-mics-and-go approach. "The Long Forever" is the vehicle through which the bands meet, subverting and superseding the expectations on them, with a traumatic nexus as the gravitational singularity around which the entire LP orbits, bending and shaping every note that escapes forth.

Stress, trauma, time, gravity, sound, joy, catharsis and texture all find a place across the record’s 43 minutes, but what resonates is the stridence with which Elephant Tree and Lowrider meet at the convergence of timelines and complement each other in evolving listeners’ ideas of who they are. In the end, perseverance, healing and stubbornness of passion are what made "The Long Forever" a reality. We invite fans to listen with open minds and love in their hearts...

Check out the latest singles "Long Forever" and "And The Horse You Rode In On"

ELEPHANT TREE & LOWRIDER "The Long Forever" 

Out October 25th on Blues Funeral Recordings (LP/CD/digital)

Preorder on Bandcamp, Bluesfuneral.com and SPKR shop

TRACKLIST:

1. Lowrider - And The Horse You Rode In On
2. Lowrider - Caldera
3. Lowrider - Into The Grey
4. Lowrider - Through The Rift (feat. Elephant Tree)
5. Elephant Tree - Fucked In The Head
6. Elephant Tree - 4 For 2
7. Elephant Tree - Long Forever (feat. Lowrider)

About Elephant Tree

Formed in London in 2023, Elephant Tree has spent the past decade delivering their heavy, melodic sound to audiences across the international scene with their 2016 self-titled album winning praise from critics and fans alike. Early 2019 saw the band enter The Church Studios to deliver their third album 'Habits' (2020) with engineer and producer Riley MacIntyre (The Horrors, Thurston Moore, Adele) at the helm — an ambitious, emotion-driven journey made of spacious yet heavy-as-ever soundscapes, a scintillating blur of prog, psych, and melodic heavy rock. 

2020 was, as foreseen by the clear-sighted, the year they bloomed out of best kept underground secret into a household name, making it to the top of year-end lists and making an appearance on BBC Radio 1’s Rock Show as well as reaching number 14 on the Official Charts Rock & Metal and number 25 on the Official Charts Indie lists. After a series of acclaimed festival performances across the UK and Europe, all band activities were unexpectedly put to a halt in the winter of 2022 after frontman and guitarist Jack Townley was severely injured in a bike accident. Elephant Tree is now set to release their anticipated split record with Lowrider on October 25th via Blues Funeral Recordings.

About Lowrider

As the preeminent band out of the gate in the late 90s post-Kyuss wake, Lowrider's debut EP and seminal album 'Ode to Io' were foundational slabs at the dawn of stoner rock. The swinging metal offshoot grew quickly into a worldwide phenomenon, with Lowrider established as one of its undeniable trailblazers. Following those early releases with a handful of compilation and soundtrack appearances and a period of relative inactivity, the band re-emerged at DesertFest Berlin in 2013. They've since blown minds at Hellfest, Keep it Low, DesertFest London and Belgium, Stoned from the Underground and Up in Smoke, and issued expanded remastered versions of their original records. 

All that was left was to give the world something new. Released in early 2020 through Blues Funeral Recordings, their long-awaited sophomore album 'Refractions' explodes with all the churning fuzz and expansive riff-heaviness for which the band are beloved, shot through with re-energized purpose and maturity. All throughout the year, "Refractions" has garnered high praise from international press, being awarded "Best Album of 2020" on Magnet Magazine, Metal Hammer's staff lists, The Obelisk, Doom Charts, as well as being featured on top of numerous end-of-year lists such as on Metal Injection, Rock & Folk Magazine, New Noise, Invisible Oranges and Guitar Part Magazine.

Elephant Tree links

Facebook ⎮ Bandcamp ⎮ Instagram ⎮ Spotify ⎮ Youtube

Lowrider links

Facebook ⎮ Bandcamp ⎮ Instagram ⎮ Spotify ⎮ Youtube

Blues Funeral Recordings links

Website ⎮ Facebook ⎮ Bandcamp ⎮ Instagram ⎮ Youtube

Thanks to Purple Sage PR for all of the info.

ELEPHANT TREE and LOWRIDER to release "The Long Forever" split album on Blues Funeral Recordings this fall; preorders and first track available!

Blues Funeral Recordings unveil all details for the widely anticipated split album between London psychedelic doom pillars ELEPHANT TREE and Swedish stoner rock giants LOWRIDER, to be released worldwide on October 25th. Discover the first single with Elephant Tree's new video for "Long Forever"!

Like two timelines converging, Elephant Tree and Lowrider come together to present the collaborative album "The Long Forever", easily one of the most eagerly awaited split releases in the history of heavy rock.

Arriving in the wake of two landmark 2020 releases ("Habits" from Elephant Tree and "Refractions" from Lowrider), "The Long Forever" finds both bands at critical junctures: each has a broad and expanding influence, each is revered onstage and off, and each is delivering its first proper new release in four years to tremendous anticipation. Despite that pressure, Elephant Tree and Lowrider have seized the opportunity to redefine who they are and declare where their musical voyages will go next. Bringing these bands onto a shared collaborative platter would be an event regardless of the surrounding circumstances. As it is, though, the significance of this album is even greater.

Watch Elephant Tree's new video "Long Forever" + listen to the single on all streaming services

"The Long Forever" takes its title from the nickname Elephant Tree singer/guitarist Jack Townley gave to the multi-week coma he was kept in for medical reasons following a near-fatal biking accident in early 2023. Dreaming without waking and losing all sense of time as his mind attempted to process and cope with the ordeal, that lyrical description can only hint at the enormity of Jack’s experience.

And yet, the year or so that followed manifested a musical freedom in the bands’ respective approaches. Lowrider has grown more complex and expressive, while Elephant Tree has chosen a rawer, set-up-the-mics-and-go approach. "The Long Forever" is the vehicle through which the bands meet, subverting and superseding the expectations on them, with a traumatic nexus as the gravitational singularity around which the entire LP orbits, bending and shaping every note that escapes forth.

"This record is a huge moment for us as it marks our return to creating new music after my accident. This process was all about getting back into the room together, and the recording was just a small part of this track's journey out of the ether," says Jack Townley.

Stress, trauma, time, gravity, sound, joy, catharsis and texture all find a place across the record’s 43 minutes, but what resonates is the stridence with which Elephant Tree and Lowrider meet at the convergence of timelines and complement each other in evolving listeners’ ideas of who they are. In the end, perseverance, healing and stubbornness of passion are what made "The Long Forever" a reality. We invite fans to listen with open minds and love in their hearts.

“The Long Forever” will be issued on limited vinyl, classic vinyl, CD digipack and digital formats on October 25th following a highly limited release as part of the revered Blues Funeral Recordings PostWax series, with preorders available now.


ELEPHANT TREE & LOWRIDER "The Long Forever" split album
Out October 25th on Blues Funeral Recordings (LP/CD/digital)
Preorder on Bandcamp, Bluesfuneral.com and SPKR shop

TRACKLIST:

1. Lowrider - And The Horse You Rode In On
2. Lowrider - Caldera
3. Lowrider - Into The Grey
4. Lowrider - Through The Rift (feat. Elephant Tree)
5. Elephant Tree - Fucked In The Head
6. Elephant Tree - 4 For 2
7. Elephant Tree - Long Forever (feat. Lowrider)

About ELEPHANT TREE

Formed in London in 2023, Elephant Tree has spent the past decade delivering their heavy, melodic sound to audiences across the international scene with their 2016 self-titled album winning praise from critics and fans alike. Early 2019 saw the band enter The Church Studios to deliver their third album 'Habits' (2020) with engineer and producer Riley MacIntyre (The Horrors, Thurston Moore, Adele) at the helm — an ambitious, emotion-driven journey made of spacious yet heavy-as-ever soundscapes, a scintillating blur of prog, psych, and melodic heavy rock.

 2020 was, as foreseen by the clear-sighted, the year they bloomed out of best kept underground secret into a household name, making it to the top of year-end lists and making an appearance on BBC Radio 1’s Rock Show as well as reaching number 14 on the Official Charts Rock & Metal and number 25 on the Official Charts Indie lists. After a series of acclaimed festival performances across the UK and Europe, all band activities were unexpectedly put to a halt in the winter of 2022 after frontman and guitarist Jack Townley was severely injured in a bike accident. Elephant Tree is now set to release their anticipated split record with Lowrider on October 25th via Blues Funeral Recordings.

About LOWRIDER

As the preeminent band out of the gate in the late 90s post-Kyuss wake, Lowrider's debut EP and seminal album 'Ode to Io' were foundational slabs at the dawn of stoner rock. The swinging metal offshoot grew quickly into a worldwide phenomenon, with Lowrider established as one of its undeniable trailblazers. Following those early releases with a handful of compilation and soundtrack appearances and a period of relative inactivity, the band re-emerged at DesertFest Berlin in 2013. 

They've since blown minds at Hellfest, Keep it Low, DesertFest London and Belgium, Stoned from the Underground and Up in Smoke, and issued expanded remastered versions of their original records. All that was left was to give the world something new. Released in early 2020 through Blues Funeral Recordings, their long-awaited sophomore album 'Refractions' explodes with all the churning fuzz and expansive riff-heaviness for which the band are beloved, shot through with re-energized purpose and maturity. All throughout the year, "Refractions" has garnered high praise from international press, being awarded "Best Album of 2020" on Magnet Magazine, Metal Hammer's staff lists, The Obelisk, Doom Charts, as well as being featured on top of numerous end-of-year lists such as on Metal Injection, Rock & Folk Magazine, New Noise, Invisible Oranges or Guitar Part Magazine

ELEPHANT TREE links

Facebook ⎮ Bandcamp ⎮ Instagram ⎮ Spotify ⎮ Youtube

LOWRIDER links

Facebook ⎮ Bandcamp ⎮ Instagram ⎮ Spotify ⎮ Youtube

BLUES FUNERAL RECORDINGS links

Website ⎮ Facebook ⎮ Bandcamp ⎮ Instagram

Heavy supergroup SLOWER (w/ members of Kyuss, Fu Manchu, Kylesa, Lowrider, Monolord, Year of the Cobra) sign to Heavy Psych Sounds Records

Heavy Psych Sounds Records sign SLOWER — the brand new project "playing Slayer slow and low" with members of Kyuss, Fu Manchu, Kylesa, Monolord, Lowrider and Year Of The Cobra — for the release of their debut album in early 2024!

About this collaborative project between major players from the international stoner and doom scene, Fu Manchu guitarist Bob Balch says:

“The idea for the SLOWER project started around four years ago. I was teaching a student how to play “South Of Heaven” by SLAYER but she was a beginner so we slowed it down. I thought that sounded cool so I tuned down to B standard and tried it. I added some drums and thought “someone in the doom community should do this and name it SLOWER.”

A few years later I befriended Steven “Thee Slayer Hippy” Hanford, best known for his work as the drummer in the influential Oregon punk band Poison Idea. He was backstage at a FU MANCHU show. Oddly enough I was wearing a POISON IDEA shirt and he told me that my shirt sucks. I asked who he was and why he was in our backstage. He told me and I felt stupid. We started drinking whiskey and talking about music. We stayed in touch over the next year or so and during Covid I told him about my SLOWER idea. He asked me to send him tracks. I waited too long because the day I sent the tracks he passed away. Totally tragic. I’m glad I got to know him even for a few years. He was a monster musician with a giant heart. He will be greatly missed.

I shelved the project for a while after that. One day Esben from MONOLORD posted about musical collaborations. I love MONOLORD so I thought what the hell. I sent him some tracks and he killed it on drums. So I sent more. Then more. Shortly after that, we started reaching out to other musicians to get them involved. That’s how we ended up with this lineup. Everyone that contributed completely knocked it out of the park and I can’t thank them enough.

This project has been a long time coming and I’m beyond stoked on how it turned out. Without all of the players involved, Steven Hanford and my baritone Reverend guitar it wouldn’t have happened. Thanks to everyone involved and I hope you dig it! I’m a giant SLAYER fan so it’s been a treat to dig into these classic songs. Hopefully, we can do another record in the near future.

Look out for shows because they will happen!”

First track and preorder coming on October 31st on www.heavypsychsounds.com, stay tuned!

SLOWER is:

Esben Willems (drums) Monolord
Peder Bergstrand (bass) Lowrider
Amy Barrysmith (vocals) Year of the Cobra
Laura Pleasants (vocals) Kylesa
Bob Balch (guitars) Fu Manchu
Scott Reeder (bass) Kyuss

SLOWER on Instagram

HEAVY PSYCH SOUNDS links

Website ⎜ Facebook ⎜ Bandcamp ⎜ Instagram ⎜ Youtube

Thanks to Purple Sage PR for all of the details.

Lowrider - Refractions (Album Review)

Release date: February 21^st 2020. Label: Blues Funeral Recordings. Format: CD/DD/Vinyl

Refractions - Tracklisting

1.Red River

2.Ode to Ganymede

3.Sernanders Krog

4.Ol' Mule Pepe

5.Sun Devil / M87*

6.Pipe Rider

Members

Ola Hellquist - lead guitar, vocals.

Niclas Stålfors - guitar.

Andreas Eriksson – drums.

Peder Bergstrand - bass, vocals.

Review

Seminal Psychedelic Doom/Stoner Rockers – Lowrider – have finally released their eagerly awaited second album Refractions and twenty years after their celebrated classic debut release - Ode to Io. The band did go on hiatus at the turn of the century and reformed 2013 to rapturous approval from the Stoner Metal community. It was only a matter of time that Lowrider came back with a new album and this is the main event.

Lowrider take a more cerebral journey with Refractions and inject a trippier style of Doom/Stoner Metal that takes their music into the realm of Spaced Out Cosmic Rock. Their trademark Desert/Stoner Metal riffs still remain but the band play a more grown-up sound that allows them to experiment with their music compared to their debut album.

Opening song – Red River – is a mixture of Psych Rock, Desert Rock and Stoner Rock which has a slightly early-Kyuss influence that Lowrider soon allow their Psychedelic creative juices take centre stage with classic sounding Desert/Stoner Rock vocals to match. The song moves into more “Monolord” style territory on the second half but Lowrider still manage to play their own blend of heavy addictive riffs that have an original vibe of their own.

Second song – Ode To Ganymede – is one of the best songs on the album with Lowrider showing the world what QOTSA would sound like if they didn’t go down the commercial rock route of recent years. The song is unexpectedly quite aggressive which allows Lowrider to play a more direct blend of Psych Rock and Stoner Metal that sees the band move into style of music that we haven’t heard them play before. The epic sounding Psychedelic Guitar solos is what make this song truly standout with a Spaced Out influence running freely for everyone to hear and fully experience. The organs are another cool touch which adds more substance to Lowrider’s overall sound.

Third song – Sermanders Krog – allows Lowrider to embrace their “Prog-Rock” influences even further with the band playing a more distinctive style of Psychedelic Stoner Metal with strands of Desert Rock leading the way. The song takes you on many different paths as Lowrider don’t stick to one conventional route. The song is quite challenging and creative in places but still equally and wildly addictive. This is one of the standout songs on the album and has a timeless sound to it all. The instrumental work is epic as they come with excellent vocals leading the way.

The second half of Refractions impresses even further with Lowrider leaving the Progressive Rock influences behind on the next two songs – Ol’ Mule Pepe and Sun Devil/M87*. The songs still have its fair share of Cosmic vibes but it’s more down-to-earth Desert Rock/Stoner Metal that the band first made their name with.

The final song – Pipe Rider – is the final song and don’t Lowrider leave the best song till last with an eleven minute plus Prog Stoner Rock/Metal odyssey that has many hidden surprises along the way. Lowrider could have easily lost their way with the many different sounds and ideas contained on this song. Though, to their credit Lowrider manage to keep the mood vibrant and most of all, original in their own unique way. The psychedelic and trippy interludes have the perfect balance of Heavy and Light Progressive moments that sound EPIC in every way possible. Fans of Monolord and Ufomammut will sure get a kick out of song especially when the heavier spaced out riffs appear. Though the vocals and lyrics are what make this song work so brilliantly well.

This is perhaps the best Stoner Metal album I’ve heard since SLEEP's comeback album The Sciences. Refractions is brilliantly produced and what makes this such a classic sounding album in its own right. Lowrider may have delivered the Stoner Metal album of the year.

Words by Steve Howe

Thanks to Blues Funeral Recordings and Purple Sage PR for the promo. Refractions will be available to buy on CD/DD/Vinyl via Blues Funeral Recordings from February 21^st 2020.

Links:

Facebook | BandCamp