A Names Just A Name...

Rainbows Are Free - Believers In Medicine (2011)

Now I know not to judge a band by their album/EP covers, I learnt my lesson with Lonely Kamel. But the same can be said about band names. So, on paper you may be excused from thinking Rainbows Are Free may appear to sound like a Village People tribute band, but they're far from it. Obviously. These guys have balls. Ok, the Village People had 'balls' too, they loved them, but thats in a whole different way. 

Straight out the gates these guys blast your ears with a mix of classic rock and stoner psych. Kistler's vocals sound like a clash of Axel Rose and Robert Plant, which as strange as it sounds works perfectly with the southern rock undertones. The entire recording is bathed in a retro feel, just listening to the first couple of tracks you'll notice a distinct influence from the likes of Sabbath, Zeppelin and Mountain. But in the same token you'll also catch simular smatterings of more recent bands like Down and Clutch.

An awesome piece of work from every angle. Give it a listen then rush over to Guestroom Records to grab a copy of the cd, if theres any of the 500 that were pressed left! 

For Fans Of; Valley Of The Sun, Lonely Kamel, Sesiones Ácidas, The Dust Bowl, Bourbon River Bank

Myspace

Believers In Medicine (196kbps)

Dutch Stoner Psych...

The Machine - Drie (2011)

Sometimes you just want to chill out with some mellow psychedelic desert style jams right? Well this little number should do the job. The second album from the talented Dutch power trio The Machine. I was a little late picking this up, as it was initially released in December 2010 but I held out for the vinyl press which followed in the middle of January. Unfortunately they've limited the pressing to just 500, so trying to get hold of a copy even just 2 months down the line has proven to be problematic. But thats just really a testament to how good this record actually is. Flowing through waves of stoner rock, retro psych and the occasional tones of acid blues the trio really take you on a trip. They seamlessly merge from short bass heavy chugging tracks to 15+ minute ambient acoustic driven ballads... But dont be alarmed, these guys make it work. 

If any of you are lucky enough to be in or around Holland next month you will be able to catch these fellas doing their thing live at the Roadburn Festival. Well worth checking out, I assure you!

For Fans Of; The Colour Haze, Yawning Man, Sungrazer, Samasara Blues Experiment, Sala Dun

Website  Myspace  iTunes

Drie (320kbps)

Waxing Lyrical - Vinyl Review...

Graveyard - Hisingen Blues (2011)

This ones brand spanking new, in fact I believe the release date is today. However, I got my grubby little mitts on this limited edition early. Damn, I spoil you lot!

From the chilly wilderness that is Sweden, I give you Graveyard. Four piece stoner/psychedelic/classic rock bearded outfit. Hisingen Blues being the follow up to their great 2008 self titled first release. So for 3 years away you'd hope that something special would have been brewing right? Well thankfully that certainly seems to have been the case. Now at this point I must confess that although I did like the first album, it didn't really wow me. It was well put together and produced but it just seemed to have lacked a certain something, for me at least. Nether the less, the guys have dug deep and put together this cracking piece of work. Keeping within a simular tone as the first album but with an all round more polished sound and depth. If you compare the two albums its immediately apparent that that band have grown and have truly found their style. Very Led Zeppelin esque, with slow build ups and precision guitars all with a bluesy undertone and ambient feel. 

I urge you all to check these guys out and if like me you're still wanting your tunes on wax then shoot over to Nuclear Blast and you may be able to pick up lovely this limited edition  blue/white splatter vinyl, if not its also available on clear wax and for all y'all who reside on the other side of the pond, well you're getting you're own clear blue pressing soon.

• Label: Nuclear Blast

• Pressing Info: Clear w/ blue & white splatter (limited to 500) & regular clear pressing (Europe only) or clear blue (US import)

• Price: £16 - £18

For Fans Of; Blowback, Whiskey 6, Trash Titan, Spiritual Beggars, Led Zeppelin

Myspace • iTunes

Hisingen Blues (320kbps)

Clash Of The Titans...

Red River Revival - Master Mix 2 (2011)

So what happens when you take a couple great bands and get jamming? Well yeah, history has proven that despite all the best intentions you can have all the right members, but not necessarily in the right order. Them Crooked Vultures for example... Sometimes it just doesn't cut the mustard. But occasionally the right guys can hit the nail square on the head and created something of pure unadulterated awesomeness; Down, Probot, Old Man Gloom, its not really a short list. Luckily for Red River Revival they can rest assured they slip quite easily into the latter. 

With guys from Artimus Pyledriver and Superjoint Ritual, surely something epic would always be on the cards? Naturally Phil Anselmo seems to think so, signing them to his record label Housecore Records joining the likes of giants such as Eyehategod, Soilent Green, Crowbar and latest super group Arson Anthem. As you'd most likely expect they have a distinct dirty southern metal sound. Like a more up tempo Down or Orange Goblin if they were to have hailed from the deep south. The demo's a little rough around the edges, but if its anything to go by I cant wait for these guys to head to New Orleans and lay down their first full length album, all under the watchful gaze of Mr Anselmo himself.

For Fans Of; Artimus Pyledriver, Maylene & The Sons Of Disaster, Red Fang, Down, Wo Fat

Myspace

Master Mix 2 (160kbps)

Blast From The Past...

Highway Robbery - For Love Or Money (1972)

I must thank the guys at Sludge Swamp for the download link to this little retro gem. 

About 2 years ago my best mate headed over to the States and at some point wondering around Texas he stumbled upon this record. Since he played it to me Ive been in search of the damn thing... in vain. Never the less, Ive finally found a download so that will have to do for the time being. 

The Californian trio formed in 1971 and unfortunately only ever released this single album. I know the lead guitarist Michael Stevens went on to be in a band called Atlee but as for the rest of the guys... god knows. So as far as a detailed bio on the band goes, you can go check their myspace. 

If you love some early 70's high vocal classic rock in the style of Budgie and such like you should definitely give this album a listen.

For Fans Of; Atomic Rooster, Foghat, Cactus, Wild Turkey, Mountain

Myspace

For Love Or Money (320kbps)

Resurrecting The Past...

Church Of Misery - Vol 1 (1996/2010)

Now lets face it, if you're reading this then you know Church Of Misery and their awesome back catalog of work. I know I'm not alone in thinking they're the best stoner doom band to have ever had put fingers to frets. So needless to say I wont waste much time going through the usual spiel and what not. So why exactly am I bothering to put this up? Well zip it and I'll tell you... 

Finally a record company have got their arses in gear and have got around to resurrecting Vol 1, and for this honour you have the gents at Emetic Records to thank. But not only have they knocked it out on cd and have the LP reissue in the works, they've gone to the effort to get all the tracks remastered to boot. So for the small price of $10 you get the original track list plus the two extra tracks previously found on the additional 7" that came with the 2007 limited edition LP pressing. Pretty reasonable if you ask me.

For Fans Of; Black Sabbath, G.A.T.E.S, Sleep, Black Pyramid, Sonic Flower

Website • Myspace • iTunes


Vol 1 (320kbps)

More Stoner Spaniards...

Howler Toad - Lickin' The Toad (2009)

Not a week seems to go by when I don't find some great tunes hailing from sunny old Spain. The place seems to be producing cracking acts one after another... Who'd-a-thunk-it?!

So now I give you Howler Toad! This, their debut release back from 2009 is yet another cracking example of pure fuzzed out stoner groove, it perfectly sums up the genre. The songwriting and production is so tight you'd be excused from thinking the band have been around for decades. Heavy drums and a great mild use of samples work fantastically with Carlo's 70's esque vocals. Every track is nice and balanced, not relying too heavily on a repetitive riff or drum loop. So all in all a seriously impressive debut from this Barcelona based 5 piece, but it gets better!... Yup... its bloody free! Either head over to Archive.org for the original download of follow my link below and give your ears a treat!

These guys are really going to be ones to watch in the future. Fingers crossed they'll be able to keep the good work and knock up another great record some time soon! 

For Fans Of; Dozer, Nebula, Honcho, Sesiones Ácidas, Memest

Myspace

Lickin The Toad (320kbps)

Salt Lake Slayers...

Top Dead Celebrity - Midwestern Rube (2011)

If you read my post back on Jan 30th, I must now confess I may have jumped the gun a little with my prediction that not much else would really compete for my favourite album of 2011. Evidently I neglected to consider one of my favourite bands of recent years, Top Dead Celebrity... 
Now, I first caught this awesome little Utah 4 piece on a great weekly podcast called The Mediocre Show many, many moons ago. They gave the show their theme tune, which when you hear it you'll understand exactly why I became instantly hooked. Needless to say I quickly scoured the interwebs and tracked down their first, self titled album and to this day it still remains the best thing Ive ever downloaded on iTunes. Screaming gritty vocals, awesome chugging riffs and samples taken from Big Trouble In Little China... Exactly, how could I not bloody love it?! 

I also went to the trouble of getting in touch with their bearded lead guy, Jeff who was kind enough to keep in contact and send me some of the newly recorded album...

HO... LY SHIT!... 

The opening track The Mule, winds up with a short, eerie ambient feedback before bursting straight out of the box with a thunderous riff and drums like a freight train hurtling towards you. To say it perfectly captures the entire feel of the album would be an understatement. Even with the slower tracks such as Black Bloody Water and Black Rider, nothing lets up for a second. The slow churning guitars effortlessly compliment the same growling vocals and form huge waves of epic riffs and choruses that still manage to keep your feet tapping and air drums pounding. The whole recording moves seamlessly through a variety of styles and speeds. With tracks like Welcome Aboard and Saint of Killers echoing an awesome display of pure metal and Karma to Burn style guitars. Then tracks like Midwestern Rube and Burn it Down offering a slight punk like feel and speed, even sounding a bit (at least to me) reminiscent of Suicidal Tendencies. I swear, if these guys don't get your head banging and feet tapping you must be bloody soulless!.

All in all, there genuinely isn't a single song on this album that I can fault. Its abundantly clear a whole lot of time and effort has gone into putting this recording together. Its perfectly mixed without being overly produced and loosing touch with the true feel of the band and their music. Something which seems to be done far too often these days.

Anyway, enough talk, go find out for yourself! Shoot over to their myspace to check out some other offerings, check out their merch and for god sake head over to iTunes and pick up the first album and support an awesome band. Dont forget to check back over March for the full length new album. I'll bet my bollocks to a barn dance you wont regret it. 

But because I spoil you, hit up the link below for a few tracks off the forthcoming album... You lucky sods.

For fans of; Orange Goblin, Wo Fat, Truckfighters, Dukes of Nothing, Red Fang 

Website • Myspace • iTunes

Midwestern Rube (320 kbps)

Spanish Gunmen...

The Shooters - Rock Pedal To The Floor (2010)

Damn this is a good album! 

Just pure desert rock with a great Spanish twist. I cant remember where I found this album, it just kind of appeared on my iTunes amongst a load of other stuff. I must admit I had almost forgotten about it until today when the opening track popped up while on shuffle. The afore mentioned song, The Punisher sounds just like Fu Manchu... To the point where when it came on I just assumed it was them... Lets face it, that cant be a bad thing. 

Theres not a single track on here that doesn't emanate an awesome groove and fuzzy stoner jams so familiar with the bands firmly rooted in the desert rock scene. Like a mash of Fu Manchu, Nebula and Yawning Man... but with half the vocals in Spanish. Naturally. 

I'ld love to know if these guys are in the process of recording or releasing anything new any time soon, but unfortunately all their Myspace is Spanish so I really couldn't tell you any more. Sorry!

For Fans Of; Fu Manchu, Yawning Man, Sheavy, Dozer, Marbles

Myspace


Rock Pedal To The Floor (320kbps)

From A Land Down Under...

Daredevil - 4 On The Floor (2001)

AD/DC, Wolfmother, The Datsuns... Men At Work(?) Just a few great bands to hail from sunny ol' Oz, and now Daredevil could be put on the same mantle. 

Formed back in 1998 the band now sadly seem to be defunct. Bit of a shame really given their small body of work never really seemed to get the chance to break out and reach a wider audience. Fortunately they did manage to knock out a couple of full length albums and one or two EP's before parting company. This particular release was a thumping little 4 track EP released way back in 2001. Even though its relatively short its a great example of what the guys were capable of. Elements of blues, stoner rock, desert rock and psychedelic are all immediately apparent in the first 3 tracks, then to top it off, a cover of Thin Lizzy's Jailbreak. Naturally not a patch on the original but they do manage to make it their own without sullying Phil Lynotts legacy. 

I will get around to putting up the rest of their works over the next few months so if you dig this keep checking back.

For Fans Of; The Desert Sessions, Spiritual Beggars, Blowback, The Soulbreaker Company, Lamont 

Myspace

4 On The Floor (196 kbps)

Norweigen's Got The Hump...

Lonely Kamel - Blues For The Dead (2010)

I must confess, I very nearly did judge a book by its cover on this one. Yeah, I should  really know better... The cover may look like it was knocked up in 5 minutes using round ended scissors and MS Paint, but that's definitely not a reflection of what awaits inside. 
So while waiting for the download I zipped over to their myspace and did a little snooping. Their bio states they hail from Oslo, Norway and are heavily influenced by 70's heavy rock. So off to great start in my book...
Right from the opening bars of Tale Of A Mad Man you can tell they werent lying. Slow fuzzy guitars scream an early Deep Purple influence. But it doesn't stop there, as the album progresses you catch little hints and twinges of other classic rock muses like Uriah Heep and Captain Beyond. The pinnacle of which is at the beginning of the track No More Excuses, when in true early 70's style, a synth organ sound is broken out to supply the intro. But fret not, this doesn't take away from the record still sounding firmly routed in the modern day. Every song still echos of the likes of todays acts such as Sungrazer and Samsara Blues Experiment. That iconic slow, trippy psychedelic wave. Or 'pure weed smoking music' as a friend of mine likes to refer to it. 
Its great album and their second one at that, so I will definitely have to do some catching up at have a good listen to their first record.


Currently out on Transubstans Records, unfortunately not pressed on wax.

For Fans Of; Uriah Heep, Captain Beyond, Causa Sui, The Dust Bowl, Valley Of The Sun

Myspace

Blues For The Dead (320kbps)