Rolling Stoner/Psych/Freak/Doom/Sludge/Retro/Drone/Space Thread 2014: These Start at 11

BTW I think our group represented pretty well on the 2014 POLL RESULTS COUNTDOWN - ILM Metal Albums of the Year

102 The Cosmic Dead - Easterfaust 143 Points, 4 votes
98 Seven that Spells - The Death and Resurrection of Krautrock: IO 146 Votes, 3 voters , One #1
97 Death Penalty - Death Penalty 146 Points, 5 votes
94 Monarch - Sabbracadaver 148 Points, 6 votes
93 Truckfighters - Universe 152 Points, 5 votes, One #1
89 Conan - Blood Eagle 157 Points, 5 votes
87 Wo Fat - The Conjuring 158 Points, 5 votes
86 Karma To Burn - Arch Stanton 160 Points, 4 votes
85 Monster Magnet - Milking the Stars: A Re-Imagining of Last Patrol 160 Points, 5 votes
82 Hands Of Orlac - Figli Del Crepuscolo 162 Points, 5 votes
79 Bongripper - Miserable 163 Points, 6 votes
78 The Flight of Sleipnir - V. 168 Points, 4 votes
77 Skull Fist - Chasing the Dream 171 Points, 5 votes
75 Opeth - Pale Communion 177 Points, 7 votes
69 Comet Control - s/t 194 Points, 5 votes , One #1
67 Shooting Guns - Street Rock 205.0 6 votes
65 Wizard Rifle - Here In The Deadlights 210 Points, 6 votes
62 Atlas Moth - The Old Believer 234 Points, 8 votes
60 The Wounded Kings - Consolamentum 251 Points, 7 votes
58 Wovenhand - Refractory Obdurate 262 Points, 7 votes
53 The Oath - The Oath 274 Points, 9 votes
51 Midnight - No Mercy for Mayhem 290 Points, 8 votes
49 Goat - Commune 301 Points, 9 votes
47 Horseback - Piedmont Apocrypha 329 Points, 9 votes
40 Boris - Noise 353 Points, 11 votes
39 Dawnbringer - Night of the Hammer 356 Points, 11 votes
33 Witch Mountain - Mobile of Angels 378 Points, 15 votes
29 Apostle Of Solitude - Of Woe And Wounds 422 Points, 11 votes
27 Floor - Oblation 434 Points, 14 votes
23 The Skull - For Those Which Are Asleep 489 Points, 13 votes
20 Blues Pills - Blues Pills 557 Points, 13 votes
13 Slough Feg - Digital Resistance 662 Points, 19 votes, One #1
9 Earth - Primitive and Deadly 738 Points, 21 votes , ONE #1
4 Electric Wizard - Time to Die 1130 Points, 27 votes THREE #1's
3 Agalloch - The Serpent & the Sphere 1165 Points, 31 votes, Three #1s
2 Pallbearer - Foundations of Burden 1233 Points, 33 votes, One #1
1 YOB - Clearing the Path to Ascend 1240 Points, 32 votes , THREE #1s

A couple late psych prog finds:

Atavismo – Desintegración (Odio Sonoro) - Spanish Floydian acolytes, early UFO, Groundhogs influences.
https://odiosonoro.bandcamp.com/album/atavismo-desintegraci-n

Amplifier – Mystoria (Superball) - UK band has been around for years, but their fifth album caught my attention with a bit more interesting guitar work.
http://www.amplifierband.com/#!mystoria/cxj2

Psych Prog playlist: http://open.spotify.com/user/1212496385/playlist/1nV7e8YeM6pZqLz84X3kFj

Ulaan Markhor album at #99 really belonged itt as well tbh

4. Pallbearer - Foundations Of Burden
http://stonerhive.blogspot.com/2014/12/number-4.html

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-WAgk6rd_o8U/VJ_gCJis1VI/AAAAAAAAIIw/tAdEmgGmNk4/s1600/braunstein_e-4.jpg

“This is a very peaty whisky at 60 ppm phenols. It is a single cask, matured exclusively in an ex-bourbon barrel from Maker’s Mark. The E:4 was bottled on 2012-11-02, and the outturn was 300 bottles. Nose: Mild smoke, surprising really – I was expecting a more distinct smokiness from the 60 ppm, but there you go. Well-rounded and mature sweetness. Vanilla, milk chocolate, and butterscotch and caramel. It is also very fruity, bundles of apples and pears. Braunstein has a very fruity and rich new make, and the distillery character shows through here. Taste: OK, here comes the smoke. And it is massive! This whisky certainly packs a punch! I also find milk chocolate, and licorice caramel to slightly temper the punchy peat. Finish: Long finish; rich, fruity, smoky and sweet. ’nuff said!”

The first bigger jump begins now and with an album I had not, to be honest, expected to end up this high on the list. We add 43 points to Blues Pills on Number 5 to reach the next level. Which, even though the sound is incredibly heavy and the themes definitely dark; lead to a record that in its whole does feel warm and begs to be heard over and over again. This is without a doubt masterful doom and metal and shows that the guys want to aim both higher and lower without changing their sound all at the same time. The biggest change in comparison to their amazing debut album from 2012 is perhaps the fact that the vocal melodies have become more important and that the band are changing rhythms and riffs quicker without losing that hypnotizing edge we all love so dearly…

20. Salem's Pot - …Lurar ut dig på prärien
19. Serpent Venom - Of Things Seen & Unseen
18. Kamchatka – The Search Goes On
17. Witch Mountain - Mobile of Angels
16. Lo-Pan – Colossus
15. Blue Snaggletooth - Beyond Thule
15. Jeremy Irons & The Ratgang Malibus - Spirit Knife
14. Monolord - Empress Rising
13. John Garcia – John Garcia
12. Mos Generator – Electric Mountain Majesty
11. Electric Wizard - Time To Die
10. Orange Goblin - Back From The Abyss
9. Greenleaf - Trails And Passes
8. Truckfighters – Universe
7. Fu Manchu - Gigantoid
6. Electric Citizen - Sateen
5. Blues Pills - Blues Pills
4. Pallbearer - Foundations Of Burden

So we got YOB, Wo Fat and The Skull left? Or will there be an upset from Apostle Of Solitude, The Well, Conan or Mars Red Sky? Prob not. Would Colour Haze have made it if they released their album earlier? Feel free to bug them to get on Bandcamp! http://colourhaze.de/guests

One last poll anyone can participate in: http://theobelisk.net/obelisk/2014/12/01/top-20-of-2014-readers-poll/

Whoa, I didn't know people were feelin this one so much more than the John Garcia! So The Skull must not have made it, weird!

3. Brant Bjork and The Low Desert Punk Band – Black Flower Power
http://stonerhive.blogspot.com/2014/12/number-3.html

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-9CChFNFfHvQ/VKGBAdcdfAI/AAAAAAAAIJE/570CEXmWktE/s1600/Black_Crow_Whiskey_by_seznur.jpg

“Black Crow Original Old American Whiskey, American blended whiskey in Canadian-style low-blend. Faintly vanilla. Strong in alcohol.”

We leave Pallbearer on the 4th position with a jump of 42 points. This year’s Bronze medal goes to another one of the stoner and desert rock legends. A guru in his own right. The man reached the Number 7 position with his former album and this one is a step bigger in every way conceivable. So we are happy to see it rise further up the ladder then the former one did. The guitars and drums are more raw and edgy, and the songs are righteous sheriffs! But is his sandy voice that takes charge and commands. His warm and completely logical utterings proclaim the truth and makes one and all an admirer. He is without a doubt the mythical guru of the laidback stoner and total fuzz!

Here is some Syd era Floyd influenced stuff from Finland:

Octopus Syng – Reverberating Garden No. 7 (Mega Dodo)
https://megadodo.bandcamp.com/album/reverberating-garden-no-7

2. YOB - Clearing The Path to Ascend
http://stonerhive.blogspot.com/2014/12/number-2.html

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Ynhdwjl58SQ/VKJ2d4a-nyI/AAAAAAAAIJc/dn-AyUMjO8Q/s1600/adnams-triple-grain-no-2-whisky.jpg

“Part of the first pair of whisky releases from Adnams Distillery in Southwold, Suffolk. Just 10 barrels were used for the original release, which uses three types of grain - wheat, barley and oats - aged for over 3 years in new American oak casks. Nose: This one lures you in with approachable toasty oak, white peach blossom, some spicy grain, the bubblegum in the background this time and cocoa dark chocolate. A little lychee and sugar that’s just catching. A touch of lime. Palate: White pepper and spices, orange and a hint of powdered chocolate. Finish: Quite comforting and almost beer like with a little rich honey and chocolate now.”

The next band leaves maestro Brant Bjork trailing in its dust as we climb fifty points to reach the Number 2 spot of the 2014 Stoner HiVe top 20 countdown. The Silver Medal goes to a band that made it to the Number Eight position with the album that came before. Back in 2011. This year’s release saw it topping many lists all across the globe and we already reckoned it would have a prominent place on the HiVe as well. There is no escaping the fact that the new record is nothing but an instant doom rock classic. They take their time and carefully craft the compelling and stirring arc’s that holds you captive for fifteen minutes per track. Ten ton heavy guitar sounds whirl and twist around you lifting you up with nothing more than a couple of chords but with so much dynamic and variation that you mistake the tornado for a desert storm and the other way around. Throbbing bass work and thundering drums together with the feedback ridden dark and haunting growls or high pitched and eerie screams make this a record that is meant for the ages…

1. Wo Fat - The Conjuring
http://stonerhive.blogspot.com/2014/12/number-1.html

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Qi03ASdu6Mg/VKP3vfNz8YI/AAAAAAAAIKQ/oupF1YzkdEA/s1600/The-ONE-1.jpg

“The first whisky from Lakes Distillery, a British distillery in Cumbria that are as proud of their picturesque part of England as they are their excellently blended whisky. Both The One whisky and Cumbria are equally beautiful, but only one of them has sweet, spicy notes and a whiff of smoke, so we know which one we'll put in our glasses (it's the whisky, in case you were wondering). Sublime, mellow whisky, a gorgeous blend with the slightest hint of peat, pepper and wood. Don’t mess with The One…”

We jump 90 points from YOB’s majestic album Clearing The Path to Ascend to reach the gold medal of this year’s Stoner HiVe top 20 countdown. Produced by a band that has made the countdown with almost every release the past years. Reaching Number 8 in 2009 and Number 13 in 2012. A band that inspired honorable madman Tony to write a love letter this year and inspired so many more to vote for this band as the number one release or among the top of their favorites in 2014. And the groove is indeed strong in this band. They know how to stoner and they know how to metal. With a distinct swagger and luscious riffs that call for a spittoon looking container in the manner of stomping drums; they manage to control and evoke that late night blues feeling that flows underneath all that heavy rock. It will be that trusty companion that you will turn to whenever you need something summoned or awoken. Something swinging, with distorted fuzz, molasses sludge and hypnotic bass work. It is the voodoo they do so well! And we all know these three cats will deliver and keep delivering… Don’t mess with Texas…

I'm not sure if my concept of "psych" and "drone" (I like stuff like Loop) is the same as everyone else's but I LOVED this:

http://youtu.be/W2kB5dSc_BM

Oh man that album is awesome! Dead Skeletons were mentioned early in the '12 space metal thread. Or the psych drone thread, perhaps, if there were one of those that year

Obelisk Reader Poll. Not too different from the StonerHive.
http://theobelisk.net/obelisk/2015/01/02/the-top-20-of-2014-readers-poll-results/

1. YOB, Clearing the Path to Ascend (560 points)
2. Wo Fat, The Conjuring (404)
3. Electric Wizard, Time to Die (367)
4. Pallbearer, Foundations of Burden (334)
5. Conan, Blood Eagle (275)
6. Orange Goblin, Back from the Abyss (254)
7. Greenleaf, Trails and Passes (240)
8. Truckfighters, Universe (237)
9. Brant Bjork and the Low Desert Punk Band, Black Power Flower (235)
10. Earth, Primitive and Deadly (230)
11. Fu Manchu, Gigantoid (225)
12. Blues Pills, Blues Pills (211)
13. Lo-Pan, Colossus (202)
14. Eyehategod, Eyehategod (198)
15. Monolord, Empress Rising (190)
16. Mastodon, Once More ‘Round the Sun (188)
17. Mars Red Sky, Stranded in Arcadia (161)
18. John Garcia, John Garcia (156)
19. Bongripper, Miserable (141)
20. Radio Moscow, Magical Dirt (127)

Honorable mention to:
Goat, Commune (126)
Swans, To be Kind (117)
Monster Magnet, Milking the Stars (116)
Blood Farmers, Headless Eyes (105)
Floor, Oblation (104)
Mothership, II (104)

The 2014 psych journey simply never ends!

Thelightshines – Now The Sandman Sings (thelightshines)
Quilt – Held In Splendour (Mexican Summer)
Doug Tuttle – Doug Tuttle (Trouble In Mind)
Blank Realm – Grassed In (Fire)
Cool Ghouls – A Swirling Fire Burning Through the Rye (Empty Cellar) | Bandcamp
The Paperhead – Africa Avenue (Trouble In Mind)
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard – I’m In Your Mind Fuzz (Flightless)
CreaturoS - Popsicle | Bandcamp
Bozmo - Leather Umbrella | Bandcamp

Also keep discovering more 2013 albums, several at the end of this playlist: http://open.spotify.com/user/1212496385/playlist/2jwma4l2gY4ZlcU6MUIv2L

I think that King Gizzard record is a lot of fun, surprised not to see more love for that among the stoner rock fans out there.

2015 thread time?

that Doug Tuttle album is absolutely stellar. top 20 (maybe 15) of 2014 for me; my favorite pure psych record of the year, I think.

the whole thing is streaming here: http://www.spin.com/articles/doug-tuttle-self-titled-debut-album-stream/

and yes to a 2015 thread.

Yeah it grew on me quickly. I was catching up the two albums from his previous band Mmoss, and they're alright, but not nearly as good as his solo disc. I'm holding off on starting a new thread in case someone else has a new clever title for it.

One album I haven't heard beyond one very enticing krautrocky tune on Soundcloud is Herbcraft - Push Thru the Veil. Tuttle listed it here:
http://bostonhassle.com/2014/12/top-7-2014-doug-tuttle/

I'm thinking maybe it's just a single though. They have five other albums from 2010-13.

Thinking of ordering the new Sapat; anyone heard it yet?

https://soundcloud.com/sophomorelounge/sapat-rock-face

Rolling Ridiculous Naked-Lady Cover Art As Far As The Eye Can See Thread 2015

:/

Rolling Yoni Power?

More!

Heaven’s Gateway Drugs – Apropos (HGD)
https://heavensgatewaydrugs.bandcamp.com/album/apropos

Violet Woods – Violet Woods (Violet Wodos)
https://violetwoods.bandcamp.com/album/violet-woods

The Love Dimension – Create And Consume (Warrior Monk)
https://thelovedimension.bandcamp.com/album/create-and-consume

These are ones further down my list that I didn't mention above but have been enjoying on my playlists over these holidaze:

Woods – With Light And With Love (Woodsist)
White Fence – For the Recently Found Innocent
The Brian Jonestown Massacre – Revelation (A Records)
Thee Oh Sees – Drop (Castle Face)
Allah-Las – Worship The Sun (Innovative Leisure)
The Soundcarriers – Entropicalia (Ghost Box)
King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard – Oddments (Flightless) | Bandcamp
The Movements – Elephants 2 (Crusher)
Black Lips – Underneath The Rainbow (Vice)
Guardian Alien – Spiritual Emergency (Thrill Jockey)
The Black Angels – Clear Lake Forest (Blue Horizen)
Donovan Blanc – Donovan Blanc (Captured Tracks)
Secret Colours – Positive Distractions
Elephant Stone – The Three Poisons (Hidden Pony)
The Soft Walls – No Time (Trouble In Mind)
Pink Mountaintops – Get Back (Jagjaguwar)
Bardo Pond – Looking For Another Place (Fire)

2011 Rolling Doom/Stoner/Sludge/Drone/Psych/Space Metal Thread
Rolling Stoner/Psych/Doom/Sludge/Retro/Drone/Space Thread 2012
Rolling Stoner/Psych/Doom/Sludge/Retro/Drone/Space Thread 2013: The Next Day
Rolling Stoner/Psych/Freak/Doom/Sludge/Retro/Drone/Space Thread 2014: These Start at 11

Rolling Stoner/Psych/Freak/Doom/Sludge/Retro/Drone/Space Thread 2015: Red With Purple Flashes

Probably reflecting my current obsession with lots of 60s psych inspired albums. Any other suggestions?

no suggestions, but to me doom/sludge is more the purview of rolling metal

stoner/psych/freak/retro/space makes sense together, in my mind

drone seems like its own thing, but then the whole discussion is kinda silly anyway, right?

All valid points. I think maybe some preferred to track stoner/doom/sludge metal subgenre stuff in this smaller discussion. However, it's all still discussed in Rolling Metal anyway. I don't track much drone myself, and someone said they'd like it separate. So...

Rolling Stoner/Psych/Freak/Retro/Space Thread then?

Rolling Fringe Metal

I don't even know what Freak represents TBH, Ned added that.

Fringe Metal, I like that, but again, that's all included in Rolling Metal.

Freak as in freak folk & freak outs

Sorry, I cut it from title but feel free to include it in discussions.

Rolling Stoner/Psych/Retro/Space Thread 2015: Red With Purple Flashes

my only suggestion is that you include Folk in the title but now i see it's too late oh well

That Heaven's Gateway Drugs album is turning into something I listen to constantly. The name makes it sound like it's going to be all heavy. It reminds me a bit of Billy Nicholls actually.

http://gurugurubrain.bandcamp.com/album/guruguru-brain-wash

comp of japanese psych from the guruguru brain label

― j., Monday, July 14, 2014 11:03 PM (2 months ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

good lazy autumn sunday music, at times i'm put in mind of comets on fire

― j., Sunday, October 12, 2014 3:09 PM (8 months ago)

still nice, just a coupla hours of unpretentious freakouts

only just got exposed to sonic jesus' https://sonicjesusband.bandcamp.com/album/neither-virtue-nor-anger-2, i'm enjoying it. the vintage gothiness of Reich etc was something that sort of surprised me.