Riff rock and band reviews: My favorites in heavy fuzz/stoner/doom & metal
Fuzz Evil are from Sierra Vista, Arizona and started in 2014. The music is a mix of heavy fuzzed out rock with doom, psych, and stoner metal. The band currently consists of Wayne Rudell on guitar and vocals, Joseph Rudell on bass and backing vocals, Cajun Adam on drums and vocals, and Preston Jennings on baritone guitar. They have currently released...
Nightstalker is a stoner rock/ metal band from Athens, Greece. Formed in 1989, they are the godfathers of the Greek heavy rock movement. Pioneering a hard rocking metal sound that infuses heavy riffs with raw psychedelia, the band has a rather great collection of releases since their inception. Their albums include: 1994’s SideFx, 1996’s Use, 2000’s The Ritual, 2004’s Just...
Jesse Stilettö is a two-piece band located in Minneapolis, Minnesota. They play a mix of hard seventies rock, stoner, and heavy psychedelic rock. They just released their debut Self Titled album on March 14th 2025. The record contains seven tracks at around thirty five minutes long. “As The Portal Opens” starts the album off with a surge of hard rocking...
IKITAN is a heavy instrumental post rock trio from Genoa, Italy. The lineup includes Luca Nasciuti on guitars, Frik Et on bass, and Enrico Meloni on drums. The music is a collective blend of heavy rock, metal, stoner, psychedelic, and progressive. The band released an EP in 2020, entitled Twenty-Twenty, which featured one track at twenty minutes and twenty seconds....
10 Slip is a three piece band from Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada. They play a blend of fuzzed out rocking grooves dialed in with the heavy blues, and some interesting progressive movements. They consist of Cameron Walker on drums, Gregor MacDougall on bass and vocals, and Brandon Hoban on guitar and vocals. The band put out a five song demo...
Kaiser is a heavy stoner metal band from Helsinki, Finland. Formed in 2013, the power trio has made a big impact on the stoner and doom universe since their formation, starting with their five song 2014 Self Titled EP. However, it was the band’s debut album, 2018’s 1st Sound that made a massive impact on the heavy rock genre. Kaiser...
Live at The Marigold Theater in East Hampton, Massachusetts USA *March 22nd 2025* I almost thought twice about going to this show. The two hour drive to get there wasn’t too appealing after a long week. However, I definitely made the right choice. Heavy Trip from Vancouver, BC in Canada blew my mind when I heard their latest release, Liquid...
Live at The Paradise Rock Club in Boston, Massachusetts , USA *March 20th 2025* This past Thursday night, my wife and I drove down to Boston to see Norway’s Slomosa play at the iconic Paradise Rock Club. They were supporting Helmet on their 30 year anniversary tour for the album Betty. This was the first time that Slomosa has ever...
Kryptograf, from Bergen, Norway has a proto-metal vibe that is inspired by the heavy sounds of the late sixties and early seventies. The band formed in 2019 and have released three full length albums, 2020’s Self Titled, 2022’s The Eldorado Spell, and their latest, 2025’s Kryptonomicon. The band consists of Vegard Strand on guitar and vocals, Odd Erlend Mikkelsen on...
Rainbows Are Free is a heavy psychedelic proto-metal band from Norman, Oklahoma. Formed in 2007, the band has released 2008’s Self Titled EP, 2010’s Believers In Medicine, 2014’s Waves Ahead of the Ocean, 2019’s Head Pains, and a live record, 2023’s Heavy Petal Music. Their latest album called Silver And Gold, was released on March 7th 2025, on Ripple Music....