stoner

by Chris Rowella I might lose street cred by saying this, but who cares: I’m done seeking out the most extreme, experimental, metal/noise/ambient/prog/core/whatever floating around. At this point in my life, I know exactly what I like, and that’s what I stick to. With the resurgence of old-school death metal and bands coming clean about […]

Sleep burgerPhotos and text by Carmelo Española Let’s face it: Thanksgiving is a very un-metal holiday. There is nothing hesher-friendly about gathering at the table with relatives you can’t stand just to fight over that wishbone. Thankfully, the lovely folks at Kuma’s Corner made up their own turkey treat in the Sleep burger, which was […]

Al Cisneros, Dale Crover, Scott KellyPhotos by Alysa Pakkidis I don’t see River Phoenix. Or Kobe Bryant, or Paris Hilton, or any of the women from The Hills. Ace Frehley played here recently, and Slash made a surprise cameo. I missed all that. Tonight the Viper Room is a regular club. I wait in line […]

Pictured: Let the Night Roar In metal, fast is glamorous, while slow is often overlooked. I get sent a lot of great slow stuff, so I’m starting this column to feature some of it. Doom, sludge, stoner, and post-metal are all fair game. Get off the lead foot, and get on those lead boots. Let […]

San Francisco’s Flood are pleasingly elemental. By elemental, I mean problem solving at the most basic level. Three guys get together in a room with drums, guitars, amps, and a mic. What next? They are there because of common interests. The style of playing is known to some extent. But unless they already have songs, […]

Here are two new resources for sludge/stoner/doom metal. The first is Hellride Radio, operated by the Hellride distro. It offers streaming goodness 24/7, with a new playlist each week. Man, that Pagan Altar track is sweet. Must learn more! The second is Swamp Comp Vol. 1, by the download blog Sludge Swamp. (See track list […]

Culted Moving time for me is fast approaching. To lighten my load, I’m giving away 25 sludge/stoner/doom metal CD’s. These subgenres have become independent scenes, but they overlap in sound enough for me to lump them together. “Slow and heavy” is all the “scene” one needs, no? These CD’s consist of demos, promos, and finished […]

New Keepers of the Water Towers are evidently the world’s only band whose lyrical theme is “Dwelling Beasts.” Chronicles (MeteorCity, 2009), the band’s full-length debut, has songs about a “Giant Subway Beast,” “The Strafing Lobster,” and “The Knowledgeable Kangaroo.” “The knowledgeable kangaroo is resting in his den / The evil scientists have come to claim […]

ASG‘s Win Us Over (reviewed here) was my favorite record last year. This was not due to its style, as stoner rock/metal is usually not my bag. Rather, it was because it had songs — strong, soulful, memorable ones. It was one of those records where the start of each song perks up one’s ears […]

Homemade EHG shirt Invisible Oranges proudly presents its first podcast, A Better Tomorrow, hosted by Jess Blumensheid. Episodes will occur monthly. This inaugural edition is the heaviest podcast ever. In it, Blumensheid navigates the murky swamps of Southern sludge metal, with a detour up to Ohio. The track list is below. A Better Tomorrow #1: […]