Daily Peaks · 20.09.2025
DÖ from Finland made my playlist immediately, as did their fellow countrymen Black Royal. The two bands together would be a dream lineup. It certainly wouldn't be noodle music, with infantile 50- to 60-year-olds jumping around to it. It's death doom, with just the right tempo without being annoying, yet still make you want to bang your head. The two songs also strike the perfect balance between being truly pissed off and having good hooks and riffs. I don't need to ramble any further;...
Heavystoned Albums · 19.09.2025
Every day, my Bandcamp algorithm sends me interesting new bands from all over the world that I probably won't see at festivals or concerts in the next 25 years. They're either from Canada, New Zealand, or Chile, or they're one-man projects, or they come from a country with a relatively small music scene, like Spin the Skull from Portugal. The cover of their eponymous debut album reminded me of the numerous crust, hardcore, and D-beat bands I listened to in the 80s, and I immediately pressed...
Daily Peaks · 01.09.2025
This song feels like a Scott Barrett or Richie MacCaw tackle. And as a rugby fan, I'm not exaggerating. A very powerful, forward-moving song, bellowed with all the facets of Matthew Hyde's voluminous voice, which feels like the All Blacks are celebrating a haka a meter in front of you. And us in Europe? We see Earth Tongue from New Zealand four times a year, but so far, no Beast Wars in sight. I'm praying to Matte from SOL that he brings this fantastic band to Europe for a few festivals.
Heavystoned Albums · 13.03.2025
We discovered RYR during the 2024 edition of Stoned from the Underground and in fact, the small tent stage was not the right stage for this broad and wide spread kind of music. Not in 2024. I have to quote my article: "Ryr's music is somewhere between doom, shoegaze, post-rock and ambient black metal, spiced up with a pinch of noise. The initially delicate structures of melodies and single notes were destroyed over the course of the songs by brutal riffs and volume, only to be carefully put...
Heavystoned Albums · 10.02.2025
I have to admit that Berlin creates a lot of interesting bands. One of the latest are Icarus Burns, which I guess, I will hear and see them at Berlin´s Desertfest in 2025. Mintaur opens this sonic odyssey, flowing slowly with gentle psychedelic chords that take their time to reach their climax. The first two minutes give way to orthodox riffs that veer between stoner and heavy psychedelia. Following a path reminiscent of bands like Rotor, guitar solos bring us beautiful and exotic oriental...
Concerts & Tours · 03.11.2024
Deafslow did a good job to warm up the audience; distorted bass sound with a lot of fuzzy guitars playing in the style of Fu Manchu, Kyuss, spiced with two excellent voices. In fact, there was nothing new, but the music went straight, without surprising the audience and was good to bang your head. The sound-man did a great job for them and the band sounded really good on stage and for the audience. With a bit more experience, this band is a good choice for the upcoming summer festivals. A...
Daily Peaks · 04.10.2024
Press releases are always interesting; if they are very long, then the music is usually not interesting and if the author of the text searches in vain for the right words, then the music is interesting. This is what happened with the Danish band "Dying Hydra" and their latest single "Grasping Stone". Sludge means in this case the slowness of the song and the growls. So much for melodic sludge which was mentioned in the press text; there are so many different styles in this song, be it doom, a...
Festivals · 29.09.2024
What seemed like a coincidence turned out to be one of the best festivals of the year over the course of the day. Starting with the location on a hiking trail through the rocks and maquis at Le fare Les Oliviers, the quality of the bands, the quality of the sound and the light in the venue and the acquaintances we made during the festival. Click on the button for the report.