Showcasing the fattest, fuzziest, grooviest, and heaviest riffs hard rock has to offer.
Continuing in the vein of “European instrumental stoner/doom/metal bands with face-melting riffs”, I give you one of my latest addictions: Netherlands’ own Tank86.
For those of you that worship the almighty riff, it will not take you long to see why I’ve got their debut album RISE in full rotation.
For those of you that are interested in progressive/technical metal, this Toronto foursome has dropped their first EP and it’s stirring up quite a bit of buzz! It’s also PAY WHAT YOU WANT for the download, even if you don’t think you should pay anything at all!
Seriously though, if you like it, support these artists! Even a couple of bucks goes a long way toward gas money and new strings.
They are also accepting vocal auditions in 2012 should you live in the GTA and think you have the pipes to compliment their style. Check this tune out and tell me that we won’t be hearing a lot more from these guys in the near future…
Though I have already blogged about my love for this band, I reckon’ they deserve another feature since they’ve recently released a full-length FUZZOMENTARY!
As you can see from the trailer, Josh Homme himself is a massive fan…
You can purchase the DVD or download the FUZZOMENTARY by visiting the official site and supporting independent artists! These guys have to work day jobs while the manufactured pop “sensations” of the world buy golf ball sized diamonds. Seriously!
As mentioned, I wrote about these guys a while back, so I won’t spend a terribly long time gushing about how much I love their work. I will, however, give you a taste of a few of their tunes that have been ticklin’ my fancy as of late.
Truckfighters - Atomic (Phi, 2007)
One can only hope that their rockumentary is followed up with an explosive 4th LP… and a Canadian tour. They recently toured the US East coast, and I really honestly meant to head south to catch the Cleveland AND Pittsburgh shows, but nobody would road-trip with me and I couldn’t finance the entire thing by myself. Verysadface.jpg
This next one boasts one of the most face-melting stoner riffs I have ever heard… wait for the 2-minute-mark. BOOM! Yeah, that just happened!
Truckfighters - Momentum (Gravity X, 2005)
One more for good measure, and probably my favorite song right now. If you ask me, it’s got everything that a perfect song needs… a nice intriguing intro, fierce rising action, gripping movements, and a dramatically structured climax worthy of the designation “mind-blowing”. It’s written, mixed and produced in such a way that it would be hard not to classify it as “perfect”. /gush.
Truckfighters - Majestic (Mania, 2009)
Fuzzbreak - Sonar by Intervals
I was just introduced to these guys today and I’m loving that sweet technical composition! They’re good ol’ Toronto boys too, so there’s a good chance I’ll get a chance to see them in action at some point in the new year.
Check them out on SOUNDCLOUD and FACEBOOK!
The more I add to this blog, the more I realize how much I love sludge metal… and few do it better than High on Fire!
Matt Pike’s vocals remind me of the taste of scotch. Both are also an acquired taste.
It was the heavy, sludgy riff-oriented guitars and thundering percussion that first turned me on to HoF. At first I didn’t think I would be able to cope with the raw I-just-smoked-a-pack vocals, but it wasn’t long before I came around. It’s kinda like Lemmy meets Tom Araya… or something like that.
I’m a huge fan of the way these guys arrange their music, and the tone and texture is really what makes the sound so unique. There’s a low-fi stoner element that, when combined with the crushing riffs, can easily capture the attention of any fuzz-lovin’ metal-head. And those DRUMS… man, wow… man. I am a sucker for sweet tom work.
I know I say it almost every time I write one of these damn things, but it’s a real challenge to pick ONE tune from each of their albums for your sampling pleasure. I suggest you give each and every one a listen. It’s good shit, mang!
Baghdad - The Art of Self Defense (2000)
That classic lo-fi sludge metal sound…
Hung, Drawn and Quartered - Surrounded By Thieves (2002)
Massive riffs!
The Face of Oblivion - Blessed Black Wings (2005)
Wait for the 4-minute mark…
Ethereal - Death is This Communion (2007)
Probably the most iconic HoF tune… epic!
Bastard Samurai - Snakes for the Divine (2010)
“SON OF A BITCH SHOULD BLEED A WHILE!”
I caught this gem on random this morning and thought that I should share it with you guys. Not only is the tune full of sludgy, doomy, fuzzy, goodness; it’s catchy as hell and the video is pretty cool too.
When I heard this song for the first time I immediately went digging around for some more of their work. I was not disappointed in what I found! This is what a stellar stoner-doom-metal band sounds like. They have plenty of riffs, hooks and fuzz to go around. They rarely drone out and the music and vocals are highly accessible in terms of listen-ability.
If you like that tune, check this one out too! In fact, a quick youtube search will yield enough results to whet your appetite! Do it!
There’s no question that Black Sabbath was one of the founding fathers of the entire Doom/Stoner “genre”. Hints of Ozzy and Iommi can be found in every nook and cranny, if one were to listen closely enough.
When it comes to Sahg, this may be a massive understatement.
While Black, Thrash and Doom metal influences are very evident as well, it’s hard not to hear that distinct classic Sabbath sound when you listen to Sahg. Their riffs are catchy, the song structures are well conceived and the execution is excellent.
There is plenty of opportunity for head-bobbing and foot-tapping while listening to this Norwegian foursome, but that’s not to say that they don’t slow it down; the dark overtones that are present in their upbeat singles get even darker when they pull the reigns on their tempo.
In a nutshell, you hard rock and metal fans are in for a treat if you’ve never heard of these guys before. Enjoy!
Godless Faith - Sahg I (2006)
Pyromancer - Sahg II (2008)
Mortify - Sahg III (2010)
Why, you may ask, do I love stoner rock so much? THIS is why!
Colour Haze has mastered the ability to embed an unspoken story between layers of cool psychedelic groove. This particular tune builds up like the tide coming in, the deft musicianship massaging the soul into a state of heightened awareness as the over-driven fuzz comes to carry you away. Just then, when they have you locked between here and there, Stefan Koglek lends you his insight.
Lyrics:
I sit myself high up on a mountain top and I look far, far across the hills.
I’m so loaded, man, so deep and full, with all the love and all that is real.
We gotta cry out and reach out and turn our twisted minds,
feel the connection that is between you and all that is alive.
To be with the smallest and biggest without fear and pride.
I went through the chapel of dangers a few hundred times.
And I had to work so hard to keep my love and intuition,
not to lose my guts and not to lose my mind.
I reach out, I step forward, I stumble and I fall.
All my greed and longing wasn’t for the real at all.
So reach out, reach out, get a hand brothers and sisters!
Grow on your kindness, love, harmony, and peace.
Empty yourselves of everything, gain in losing, thrive in your freedom.
I’ve tried, but I’m sure you WILL.
Pound for pound, you’d be hard pressed to find a band that kicks out catchier tunes than Dozer. This is what stoner rock is all about!
I came across this Swedish “desert rock” staple while listening to my favorite blip.fm DJs. From time to time a sweet but unfamiliar riff would catch my attention and, upon investigation, it was inevitably a Dozer track. Truckfighters tracks got me almost every time too… but it didn’t take me too long to get familiar with their sound.
The last time I checked, Dozer was on hiatus while their lead man went back to school and that’s a damn shame! If it were up to me, this is the sort of band that would make millions while the manufactured pop puppets of the world worked day jobs.
Though they may not be spitting out any new tunes, they left us with a catalog containing 5 full-length albums and numerous other EPs/splits. Each and every album is jam-packed full of excellent riffs and lots’o’fuzz. Here are a few of my favourites… and trust me when I say that it is VERY difficult to only pick a few!
Empire’s End (Feat. Neil Fallon of Clutch) - Beyond Colossal (2008)
Born a Legend - Through The Eyes of Heathens (2006)
The Hills Have Eyes - Call It Conspiracy (2003)
TX-9 - Madre De Dios (2001)
Captain Spaceheart - In The Tail Of A Comet (2000)
…and what is probably my favourite Dozer tune of all time..
Exoskeleton (Parts 1 & 2) - Brain Police Tour Split (2007)
Keep it fuzzy!
If I didn’t share this one with you, it would totally defeat the whole purpose of this blog. I just happened to stumble across this gem as a suggested video on youtube.
There’s an unbelievable amount of soul and groove stuffed into this 70’s throwback. Mix in a little psychedelic doom and you’ve got a recipe for some gooooooood tunes!
A little digging around led me to a few of their tunes on SoundCloud. Check them out!!
