Polly - Death Drive (Single Review)

Release Date: September 08th 2025. Record Label: Self Released. Formats: DD

Death Drive - Tracklisting

Death Drive 

Members

Tina P, Tom P and Alex B.

Review

Death Drive is the new single from Psych/Stoner Rockers Polly which is from their upcoming new album of the same name due out for release on 22nd September 2025. What we have here is a song that explores areas of Psych, Doom, Stoner Rock and Proto-Metal surroundings. Death Drive starts off cautiously and slow paced with Polly delicately building the levels of Stoner Rock passages that transform into a gloomier driven sound.

Polly primarily uses the Seventies Rock & Roll template to create their music with flashes of other eras of Psych Rock with fragmented use of modern Doom/Stoner Rock grooves. The vocals are part of the Proto-Doom world with flashes of Occult Rock interacting with the subtle Instrumental grooves that merge Sludge Rock screeching guitars and COSMIC themes for a more aggressive style of music for the second half of the track.

The end result is a twisted ride into the Proto-Doom/Stoner Metal vortex with flashes of subtle Blues and Psych Rock distorted melodies that leaves you wanting more once the eight minutes runtime is finally up. If the rest of the upcoming Death Drive album follows this the same musical path as the title track then Polly should have no trouble gaining quite a cult following within the underground scene. 

Words by Steve Howe

 

Links

BandCamp | Instagram

Liquid Pennies - Tapered Scape (Single Review)

Release Date: April 11th 2025. Record Label: Threat Collection Records. Formats: DD

Tapered Scape - Tracklisting

Tapered Scape

Members

Chas Binns (guitar/vocals/synth)

Pierson Whicker (drums)

Tyson Mink (bass, synth)

Review

 Tapered Scape is the new single from Psych/Sonic/Stoner Rock Experimentalists Liquid Pennies who bring a slightly trippy psychedelic trance/dance beat to their new musical adventure. The sound is quite Post-Rock and Eastern flavoured and has quite a different journey compared to their previous single Sight Skewer released back in November 2024. The song doesn’t take long for an Electronic form of Psychedelic Stoner Rock with intricate passages of Doom and Grunge starting to seethe through. The vocals from Chas Binns are dramatically different compared to Sight Skewer with a subtle Indie Rock feel. However, when all the creative elements join forces there’s some spectacular progressive melodies that stretch the Hard Rock/Metal Highway. The song was mixed/mastered by Liquid Pennies longtime collaborator Ryan Boesch of Candor Recording (Melvins, Whores, Foo Fighters, Nora Jones, Helmet, Peaches), who recently launched Threat Collection Records, the Tampa Bay record label releasing the full length album on vinyl in July. All I can say is July 2025 can’t come soon enough as I’m really excited to hear Liquid Pennies upcoming new album especially after the brilliantly different and surreal sound they bring to the Psychedelic Stoner Rock scene. Excellent and Highly Recommended.

Words by Steve Howe

Links

Linktree | BandCamp

Cage The Ox - Descender (Single Review)

Release Date: April 04th 2025. Record Label: Self Released. Formats: DD

Descender - Tracklisting

Descender

Review

Cage The Ox are a Doom/Sludge/Stoner Metal band from the Highlands Of Scotland and are inspired by the sounds of MONOLORD, BONGZILLA, WEEDEATER and SLEEP. You can add a ton of other epic sounding LOW & SLOW based bands who deal in playing long drawn out FUZZ based grooves. Their new single Descender is quite bleak with it’s harsh vocals and post-metal based atmospherics and psychedelic imagery Cage The Ox conjure up within the song’s six minutes run time.

There is a stripped back LESS IS MORE sound that develops within the violent movements Cage The Ox slowly design and develop within the whole song though they still manage to find time to play classic Sludge/Stoner Metal instrumental solos along the way. There’s even moments of Hard Rock and Heavy Metal guitar shredding appearing within the final moments of the track which allows Cage The Ox to play other areas of Rock and Metal whilst still retaining their Sludge/Stoner Metal credentials that I’m hoping the band will develop even further on future releases.

Descender is a great way for Cage The Ox to introduce themselves. They’re not the finished article yet by any means but they have my full undivided attention with this great slice of fucked up heaviness which should cause some unpleasant moments of down-tuned aggression for folks brave enough to listen to the track.

Words by Steve Howe

Links

LinkTree

MOLARBEAR - A Light To Detonate The World (Single Review)

Release Date: February 28th 2025. Record Label: Self Released. Formats: DD

A Light To Detonate The World - Track Listing:

A Light To Detonate The World

Members

Rowan Morrey

Andy Morrison

Adi Henderson

Dara Monaghan

Dave Boyd

Review

Northern Ireland Doom/Sludge/Stoner Metallers MOLARBEAR return with their new song A Light To Detonate The World and it’s a more Punk Rock driven sound with the band touching upon a Post-Punk and Post-Doom environment compared to their previous tracks. There are moments of Sludge Metal, Noise Rock and Psychedelic Terror coming from every corner which is quite unsettling at times with perhaps a socially aware message being told for the modern day masses. 

The music is quite varied and progressive despite the short running time of the track with MOLARBEAR being influenced by the Hardcore scene compared to the Sludge/Stoner based influences heard on their last few tracks. The song is quite catchy at times especially when the song transforms into a Post-Stoner and Post-Rock offering but mostly MOLARBEAR reign supreme when they keep to the Punk Rock structure of the actual track.

I know the band are focusing on releasing tracks for the time being other than EP or full length album but as I stated in my last review, I’m hoping there’s an endgame in sight where everything will be released as one conclusive package. However, this is still a very good song from MOLARBEAR. It’s the most melodic but it’s not as strong as their last couple of efforts of ERASUREHEAD and TRANSLUCENT TUSK.

Though, I’m still looking forward to the next exciting installment from MOLARBEAR.

Words by Steve Howe

Links

Facebook | BandCamp | Twitter | Instagram

Molarbear - ERASUREHEAD (Single Review)

Release Date: December 11th 2024. Record Label: Self Released. Formats: DD

ERASUREHEAD - Track Listing:

ERASUREHEAD

Members

Rowan Morrey

Andy Morrison

Adi Henderson

Dara Monaghan

Dave Boyd

Review

ERASUREHEAD is the third single from Northern Ireland’s MOLARBEAR and it’s another destructive path of Sludgy grooves fuelled by GLOOM obsessive NOISE ROCK passages. The track takes a slightly different turn compared to their previous tracks of Translucent Tusk and Felt It. MOLARBEAR are in inspired form channelling sounds from bands such as WHORES, The Melvins and Faith No More in places. The sound is helped along by weird sounding electronic beats which adds a slightly offbeat measure to their music.

The familiar vibes of Doom, Stoner, Psych and Alt Metal sounds are there with quite a Punk Rock sound which sees them venture into areas of music that PIGS PIGS PIGS PIGS PIGS PIGS PIGS inject into their music. ERASUREHEAD offers spiky lyrics and harsh vocal arrangements at times with the warped thrash surroundings that allows MOLARBEAR to release a different sounding track once again.

I’m hoping there’s an End Game in sight as we don’t know if this is building upto a new full length album or EP further down the line. Though, three tracks into this exciting musical adventure, MOLARBEAR are keeping those plans close to their chests and deliver perhaps release their most exciting song yet.

Words by Steve Howe

Links

Facebook | BandCamp | Twitter | Instagram

Craneium - Empty Palaces (Single Review)

Release Date: November 22nd 2024. Record Label: Majestic Mountain Records. Formats: DD

Empty Palaces - Track Listing:

Empty Palaces

Review

Finnish Stoner Rock heroes Craneium have had a stellar year already by releasing their latest album Point Of No Return to critical acclaim and now the guys have just announced they’ve signed up with the brilliant record label Majestic Mountain Records for their next album due to be released in 2025. To celebrate this fact, the band have released their new song Empty Palaces and it’s quite a departure to the COSMIC surroundings from Point Of No Return.

Craneium deliver a 1970’s Heavy Rock inspired track that’s spliced with their trademark 1990’s Stoner Rock/Metal sound. Taking cues from bands such as Blue Oyster Cult, Saint Vitus and Black Sabbath on this track but with an aggressive Post-Stoner groove that offers slight glimpses to their trademark sound. The vocals are catchy yet again with superb lyrics that are quite easy to remember so you can join in with the Stoned Out magical themes Craneium deliver here.

There is still a sense of gloominess hidden behind the meaning of the lyrics and with the psychedelic instrumental passages that showcase that Craneium could potentially be delivering their heaviest record to date with their upcoming new album.

Overall, Empty Palaces is a first rate track from one of Finland’s finest Stoner Rock bands currently out there who manage to deliver another outstanding slice of Stoner Rock magic. 

Words by Steve Howe

Thanks to Viral Propaganda PR for the promo.

Empty Palaces is available to buy now on Digital Download via Majestic Mountain Records.

Links

https://www.facebook.com/craneiumband

https://www.instagram.com/craneiumband

https://craneiumband.bandcamp.com

https://www.facebook.com/majesticmountainrecords

https://www.instagram.com/majesticmountainrecords

https://twitter.com/Majestic_vinyl

https://majesticmountainrecords.bigcartel.com

https://majesticmountainrecords.bandcamp.com

Moss Valley - Creature (Single Review)

Release Date: November 22nd 2024. Record Label: Self Released. Format: DD

Creature - Track Listing:

Creature

Members

Zara Huxley (Vocals/Bass)

Jack Stanley (Guitar)

Jake Lafferty (Drums)

Review

Grunge/Stoner Rockers Moss Valley return with their new song Creature and it’s a more self-assured track compared to their debut single Beyond. As the band play a faster style of music that focuses more on the Grunge side of life with a subtle Desert/Stoner Rock swagger. The band even starts to develop a more aggressive Punk Rock sound which comes mostly through the excellent vocals from Zara Huxley.

Moss Valley experiment on the later stages with small hints of Alt Rock and Shoegaze appearing within the brief two and half minutes runtime of the track. With the lyrics being mostly within the OCCULT DOOM arena, Moss Valley once again play music that defies musical conventions and create their own catchy and fast-paced style that is perhaps strongest when they play a weirdly intoxicating mixture of Desert Rock, Grunge and Punk Rock

Creature once again allows Moss Valley to impress with the technical and songwriting ability that will no doubt allow the band to build up a loyal and dedicated following within the underground scene once they’ve released their debut EP or full length album in the near future.

Moss Valley is a band to most definitely look out for in 2025 and beyond.

Excellent and Highly Recommended.

Words by Steve Howe

Links

Facebook | Linktree | Instagram

Mount Hush - All I See (Single Review)

Release Date: October 04th 2024. Record Label: Self Released. Format: DD

All I See - Track Listing:

All I See

Review

All I See is the new song from Psych/Blues/Stoner Rockers Mount Hush and is from their highly anticipated new album II due out in November 2024. All I See is a masterful style of trippy Psychedelics, Mellow Blues Rock and pure Stoner Rock magic that acts as the perfect gateway between vintage Classic sounds and modern day Post-Stoner attitude.

The song moves at a cool slow-to-mid pace which allows the listener to take in all of the subtle Stoner Rock energy that Mount Hush play with massive style before the heavier waves of Doom Rock appear and trippy distorted guitars with a slight Indie/Alt Rock vibe.

All I See is not the heaviest track you’ll ever hear but it’s a superb indicator on what to expect for their upcoming new album II which will no doubt have more cooler sounds to take your mind onto a highly psychedelic trip into the far reaches of the Stoner Rock Psyche. 

Mount Hush has also released a promo 2D-RPG game playable in your browser on phone or computer. Browse through a record store in the woods, help out the people in there and complete quests to earn demos of every new song on the album. Play the game here.

Excellent and Highly Recommended.

Words by Steve Howe

All I See is available to buy on Digital Download now. 

Their upcoming new album II is available for pre-order now on the following formats Digital Download/Vinyl that is out on November 09th 2024.

Links

LinkTree | BandCamp

Northern Heretic - Ghosts In The Hills (Single Review)

 

Release Date: September 27th 2024. Record Label: Self Released. Format: Digital

Ghosts In The Hills - Track Listing:

Ghosts In The Hills

Members

Davis Schlachter: bass, backup vocals

Rob Sefcik: drums

Ken Wohlrob: guitars, keyboards, vocals

Review

Ghosts In The Hills is the new song from Doom/Sludge/Stoner Metallers Northern Heretic that is featuring members of Kings Destroy, Eternal Black, Begotten, Reign of Zaius, and End of Hope. Their Heavy Metal Pedigree is 100% guaranteed and this new project is quite a bruising encounter with the music being more on the Post-Metallic side of life. 

If you ever wanted to know how a Post-Metal/Atmospheric Sludge band was fronted by the legendary hellraiser of DOOM that is WINO then Northern Heretic is the closest you’re ever going to get to that scenario. With shades of Neurosis, Kowloon Walled City, Mastodon and the band members primary other bands, this track has an ice-cold creative structure with a first-rate melodic sound which can be quite mechanical in places but one that is highly effective.

The instrumental sounds aims for a more Industrial and Progressive stand for the heaviest parts with the excellent vocals by Ken Wohlrob with great support by Davis Schlachter allowing the murkier Psychedelic elements leaving a destructive Noise Rock energy within its wake. This is music I love to hear in the winter months as it’s gloomy with a slightly demonic edge which manifests into some intense Post-Metal grooves with a twinge of demented Stoner Metal aggression that allows Northern Heretic to deliver their own sublime Power-Trio setup within their own ranks. 

I’m hoping there is an EP not too far behind as Northern Heretic are without doubt a great band to look out for in 2025.

Words by Steve Howe

Links

Facebook | BandCamp | Instagram

Moss Valley - Beyond (Single Review)

Release Date: September 13th 2024. Record Label: Self Released. Formats: DD

Beyond - Track Listing:

Beyond

Line-up:

Zara Huxley - Vocals/Bass

Jack Stanley - Guitars

Jake Lafferty - Drums

Review

Moss Valley is a Grunge/Doom Rock band from Manchester, UK who blend classic 90’s Grunge with a gloomy sound that has a slight WINDHAND influence. Their new song Beyond is quite a powerful statement of intent from Moss Valley. The vocals are calmed and quite restrained with a stunning performance from lead vocalist/bassist Zara Huxley. With an Alice In Chains atmosphere being played in the background, the track has elements of Occult Rock and minor traces of Folklore appearing within the lyrics.

The music is quite dynamic with Moss Valley becoming quite Psychedelic and Progressive on the later stages of the track. The sound is quite multi-layered with Jack Stanley’s blistering and heavy sludgy guitars allowing Jake Lafferty’s drumming to bring a more modern vibe to the party. 

Beyond manages to pull off the difficult task of being quite contemporary and modern at the same time which manifests into sublime instrumental passages. This is a great way for Moss Valley to introduce themselves to the underground Doom/Grunge scenes with and is quite a different sound from other Manchester bands such as Barbarian Hermit, Boss Keloid and Ritual King who have made themselves known over the last few years. So give BEYOND a spin and be prepared to hear a band with a bright future indeed.

Words by Steve Howe

Links

Facebook | Linktree | Instagram

Molarbear - Translucent Tusk (Single Review)

Release Date: August 30th 2024. Record Label: Self Released. Formats: DD

Translucent Tusk - Track Listing:

Translucent Tusk

Line-up:

Rowan Morrey

Andy Morrison

Adi Henderson

Dara Monaghan

Dave Boyd

Review

Translucent Tusk is the new song from Sludge/Stoner Rockers Molarbear and follows a similar destructive route as their previous song Felt It though perhaps a more direct Punk Rock route and with the song being slightly shorter as well running around two and a half minutes in length. 

The song is quite aggressive with Molarbear moving into areas of Noise Rock and Progressive Metal territory that has influences as diverse as WHORES, Red Fang and Mastodon though the band show a dramatic Grunge flair before exploding into areas of Groove Metal and Thrash Metal. 

This is quite a different track compared to Felt It but one that also offers some familiar melodic sounds. I was impressed by the sudden outburst of Psychedelic Rock/Post Rock textures as that was quite unexpected and goes against the grain of what Molarbear have released before. The sound is decidedly catchy and insanely melodic with a superb singalong chorus towards the end of the song. 

Vocals are a mixture of clean vocals, screaming and harsh growls which also gives Translucent Tusk a wild, unexpected and vivid identity of its very own. This is perhaps one of the standout tracks that Molarbear have released in quite some time. I’m hoping to hear more SONIC and CREATIVE experimentation from Molarbear on their future endeavours.

Excellent and Highly Recommended. 

Words by Steve Howe

Links

Facebook | BandCamp | Twitter | Instagram