Bogwife - From Ashes

Four years after the release of their second album A Passage Divine, Danish stoner rockers A Passage Divine return with a brand-new record, From Ashes, and a refreshed sound, one that leans far more into bluesy stoner rock. The arrival of new guitarist Michael Nielsen may very well have influenced this shift; while their earlier releases relied on monolithic, slow-tempo doom riffs, the new material embraces groove, blues-driven lines, and a more laid-back, psychedelic feel. It’s a direction that genuinely enriches their sound and adds new dimensions to their identity.

I, for one, really enjoyed this new approach and couldn’t stop headbanging to the likes of “Light of the Day” and “Ashes,” with their upbeat, infectious grooves that recall the finest moments of Clutch and The Sword. Elsewhere, tracks like “Shivering,” “No Church,” and especially “Heavy Burden Blues” show the band fully embracing a blues-infused stoner rock path, the kind of music that feels tailor-made for watching the sun dip below the horizon while cruising down empty roads.

All in all, Bogwife have evolved into a finely tuned stoner rock as their sound now moves fluidly between blues, doom, stoner rock, and grunge, making their new material feel both dynamic and genuinely exciting in a live setting.

Majestic Mountain Records 

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Pia Isa - Dissolve

Norwegian doom drone artist Pia Isa, also known for her role in the band Superlynx, has returned with a new full-length album, "Dissolve." This album marks another significant step in her solo journey, following her debut album "Distorted Chants" in 2022 and the "Burning Time" EP earlier this year.

According to Pia Isa, "Dissolve" delves deep into themes of falling apart and reassembling, both on a personal and global scale. As a result, this album is darker and more melancholic than its predecessors, revealing her remarkable ability to blend heavy, droney riffs with sorrowful landscapes and forlorn melodies. It’s a rich tapestry of layered vocal harmonies, heavy distorted guitars, and dark tones, reminiscent of the more depressive side of Alice in Chains at times, while also recalling the atmospheric depth of bands like Windhand.

The collaboration with Gary Arce, known for his work with Yawning Man and Fatso Jetson, and Ole Teigen of Superlynx and Dødheimsgard, adds depth and texture to the album. Gary's guitar tones and Ole's drumming and sound work are integral to the album's atmospheric and emotional impact.

Overall, "Dissolve" is a powerful and emotionally charged album that showcases Pia Isa's growth as an artist. It is a must-listen for fans of dark drone rock and anyone looking for music that explores the complexities of the human experience with depth and sincerity.

Argonauta Records 

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Interview with Blackjack Mountain

Packed with riffs more infectious than the influenza virus, Blackjack Mountain are Georgia-based trio playing a powerful and groovy blend of southern rock, stoner and bluesy hard rock. The band's debut album "Holding Time" was recently released on Swamp Records so it was the perfect opportunity to caught with the band to hear all about this new release. Read on...

Firstly, congratulations on your first album album Holding Time. It's a great album and is garnering some very positive reactions from both press and public, so I take it you're quite pleased with this album and its reception?  

Yes! We are very pleased with the recent attention the album has been getting. It’s something we worked hard on and were really excited to see so many people enjoy it!  

What can you tell us about Holding Time? How much of it is the result of individual songwriting and how of it is the result of you guys having some jam sessions in the rehearsal studio?   

It’s definitely been a long time coming that’s for sure. A lot of jam sessions and not missing practices mixed with some good weed and alcohol. Haha. As far as the songwriting goes it’s a definitely a collective effort, everybody has there input on every song we write. Being lifelong friends our respect for each other and each other’s opinion goes into all of the song writing. We are a band! To us if everyone isn’t on board with what we are doing then we just start over until we are all on the same page. We are not a one man band and egos never play a factor into any of our writing. We feel as if everyone is just as important and significant as the other.  

Beggar - Compelled To Repeat

Emerging from the underground like an acrid swamp creature comes "Compelled To Repeat", the debut from London-based four piece group Beggar, who's turning quite a few heads with their sludgy and massively groovy riffs. Beggar really worship the power of the riff and what really sets this album apart from others, are the massive hooks guitarists A. I. Whitworth and J.W. Leyland lay down throughout these nine tracks.

Twin Wizard – Interview with Anthony Dreyer and Brad Van

If powerful and fuzzy stoner rock is your thing, then two-piece band Twin Wizard are definitely a band you need to check out immediately. Formed by members of Droids Attack and Telekinetic Yeti, the duo have just released their debut album ‘Glacial Gods’ which is getting rave reviews, so Riff Lords caught with the band to know more about it.

Congratulations ‘Glacial Gods’ is an excellent release and I believe it will keep fans of your other two bands very happy! What has been the reaction to the album so far? I take it's mostly positive right?

Brad - Yes, it's been very positive. It seems like there has been some anticipation since we announced we were working together and getting ready to release it months ago.

Anthony - Thank you! I hope everyone enjoys the record as much as we have creating it. It was a long road getting to this point but I couldn't be happier with the positive responses and support we've received so far.

So Brad Van plays in Droids Attack and Anthony Dreyer in Telekinetic Yeti, tell us a bit how the two of you started out and what styles of music you were playing and developing at the time?

Brad - Droids played with Yeti a bunch of times over the years back when they were starting out. They invited us to play some shows, we invited them and we all just became pretty good friends, really. There was certainly a mutual respect for each other's work and from there the friendship just came naturally. Our band's styles complimented each other pretty well too. Very heavy, riff and rhythm oriented.

Anthony - Back when I was a member of Yeti we had the opportunity to play with Droids often over the years. We just clicked really well with them and I've always been a huge fan of Droids and loved their records and live shows. Everything just feels organic and natural working with Brad. We are both very percussive players and I think it really comes out in the big chunky riffs and heavy grooves. We are also both multi-instrumentalists and it makes writing music easy and direct especially as a duo.

Satyrus - Rites

Italians Satyrus bring an aura of darkness and occultism to a rather heavy and groovy doom rock on their debut album "Rites". The band straddle the fine line between the heavy doom of Black Sabbath and the occult rock of someone like Danzig throughout these five tracks, merging some mammoth-sized riffing with a nice melodic grit. It's on tracks like "Stigma" that Satyrus reveal this mastery by offering some catchy and groovy riffs that has the warm familiarity of Toni Iommi.

Hell Obelisco - Cyclopian

Italian sludge rockers Hell Obelisco are back with a new EP featuring  five brand new songs, including a cover of ZZ Top’s “Sharp Dressed Man” and their mission is practically the same, to churn out some sludgy and heavy riffs, infectious rhythms and raspy vocals. That's exactly what you get on this new EP, mammoth-sized, swampy and distorted riffs that will make your head bang, groovy rhythms that will make you boogie and some whiskey-drenched vocals that complements everything quite nicely.

Monkey3 - Astra Symmetry

Throughout the fifteen years of their respectable career, Switzerland’s psychedelic/stoner-rock band Monkey3 have been seeking a balance between galloping, heavy and sludgy riffs and psychedelic, trance-like moments. However, this new effort, “Astra Symmetry,” sees them firmly anchoring their sound on the hallucinatory psychedelic quality of acts like Hawkwind, Pink Floyd and Ozric Tentacles, in detriment of the fuzzy, heavy riffing of Fu Manchu and Karma To Burn.

Red Fang Release Predator Parody Video For “Shadows”

US sludge rockers Red Fang have recently shared one of their hilarious music videos, this one for “Shadows,” a brand new song off the band’s upcoming new album “Only Ghosts.” The video was directed by long-time collaborator Whitey McConnaughy and is a parody of the classic Schwarzenegger movie “Predator,” watch it below.

Sumerlands Share Full Album Stream

Traditional heavy metal newcomers Sumerlands have just shared a full stream of their forthcoming self-titled debut album, due out on October 16 via Relapse Records.

Produced by guitarist Arthur Rizk, also a renowned producer who have worked with acts like Inquisition, Power Trip and Pissgrave, the 8-track effort is a slab of delightfully powerful and hooky traditional heavy metal that proves that “retro” isn’t exactly a bad thing. Listen to the full album below.

Dope Smoker - Vol​.​4

“Vol. 4”, as the title suggests is the fourth album from Dope Smoker, a Wales-based three-piece group that plays a blend of doom, stoner, sludge, psychedelic rock and a few other subgenres involving distortion pedals.

Let me just point out that this is their fourth album released in just two years, so basically they have been releasing a new album every six months, which is something that might explain why “Vol. 4” is just a weak and uninteresting collection of songs based around rudimentary riffs. Perhaps it would it more advantageous for Dope Smoker to invest more time on the songwriting and maybe release a new effort once a year or every two years than just record every riff and ideas and came up at the rehearsal room without much care for arrangements or details.

Godsleep - Thousand Sons Of Sleep

Could Greece be the new California? During the last few years I’ve discovered a great number of stoner rock groups from this country and I confess I was truly amazed by the quality and groove of some of these artists like 100Moods, Planet Zeus and Craang just to name a few.

We can now add Godsleep, an Athens-based quartet, to that growing list. Not only their debut “Thousand Sons Of Sleep” displays a stunningly groovy and infectious combination of sludge, stoner and psychedelic-rock, it sounds as if it was forged in the heart of New Orleans or Palm Desert such is the influence that bands like Down, Crowbar and Kyuss have over the Greeks. They surely made no effort to camouflage their influences and that’s not necessarily a bad thing, especially if we’re talking about stoner rock and we know that everything circles back to Black Sabbath, it’s inevitable.

Gentlemans Pistols Premiere New Track “The Searcher” Online

Leeds-based heavy rockers Gentlemans Pistols will release their third album “Hustler’s Row” on October 16th via Nuclear Blast Records. The album was recorded by singer/guitarist James Atkinson at Mutiny Studios in Bradford and follows-up their sophomore album “At Her Majesty’s Pleasure” released by Rise Above Records in 2011.

Graveyard Premieres New Music Video “The Apple and the Tree”

Swedish hard-rock quartet Graveyard will release their highly-anticipated fourth album, “Innocence & Decadence” on September 25 via Nuclear Blast Records. The new album was recorded live in the studio, directly to analogue tape with producer Johan Lindström and is the follow-up to the band‘s acclaimed 2012 release, “Lights Out”.