Riff rock and band reviews: My favorites in heavy fuzz/stoner/doom & metal
Baardvader is a power trio based in The Hague, South Holland in the Netherlands, and formed in 2019. They play heavy fuzz rock/ doom inspired by 70s hard rock and 90s grunge, mixed with stoner elements. The band consists of J. Aron on guitar and vocals, J.P. on bass, and Koen on drums. Baardvader have released three full length albums...
Fostermother is a riff rocking doom metal band from Houston, Texas. The band formed in 2019 and released three albums to date: 2030’s Self Titled, 2022’s The Ocean, and their latest 2024’s Echo Manor, which came out on August 23rd 2024. This is Fostermother’s second album released on Ripple Music. The band consists of multi-instrumentalist, who also produced, mixed and...
The bio on the Heavy Psych Sounds website (the label the band is on) describes the origins of SALTPIG perfectly: “SALTPIG is a bit of a mystery. The band just showed up seemingly out of nowhere, album in hand, with the music loudly speaking for itself. As it soon became known, SALTPIG is a two person band with Fabio Alessandrini...
Deer Lord is a heavy psychedelic doom/ stoner/ riff rock band from Santa Rosa, California. The Sonoma County power trio formed in 2019 and have released the Deer Lord EP in early 2020 and Dark Matter Pt.1 in February of 2023. Most recently, the band released their first full length album called Dark Matter Pt.2 on Halloween (October 31st) 2024....
In honor of Black Friday in the United States, today’s Top 5 On Fridays is going to feature my five of my current favorite bands with the word “Black” in their name. The obvious granddaddy of them all is Black Sabbath. I wanted to keep the list in the riff rock genre and feature bands that are still active. I...
TFNRSH is an instrumental psychedelic/ progressive rock band from Tübingen, Germany. Book Of Circles is their latest album, set to be released on January 17th 2025. I was fortunate enough to receive an advanced digital copy from Thomas at Broken Music. The current lineup of TFNRSH is Sasan Bahreini on guitars and synths, Julius Watzl on drums, and Stefan Wettengl...
Sons Of Arrakis is a stoner metal/ riff rock band from Montreal, Canada. Formed in 2018, the band draws its influence and inspiration from the universe of the Dune novels written by Frank Herbert. Sons Of Arrakis consists of Frederic Couture on rhythm guitar and vocals, Francis Duchesne on lead guitar and keyboards, Vick Trigger on bass guitar, and Mathieu...
Free Ride is a heavy psychedelic stoner rock band from Madrid, Spain. Formed by childhood friends Borja Fresno on guitar and vocals, Victor Bedmar on bass, and Carlos Bedmar on drums, the band started in 2016. Their debut Self Titled album was released in 2019. Acido Y Puto was released on Small Stone Records and came out on August 9th...
I just discovered this band after consuming the new Brant Bjork Trio band and album, Once Upon A Time In The Desert (review here). After many listens to this glorious recording, I did some research and discovered Mario Lalli & The Rubber Snake Charmers, who also released a 2024 album called Folklore From The Other Desert Cities. The band features...
Live at Deep Cuts in Medford, Massachusetts, USA *November 22nd 2024* Deep Cuts in Medford, Massachusetts is about an hour and ten minute drive from where I live. I have never been to this particular club before and was excited about this show. The drive to the place was no problem, it was close off of the highway and easy...