Merry Christmas

 

Here's a bunch of good stuff I've been meaning to share:

MOTORPSYCHO

2025's self-titled album is one of Motorpsycho's very best, and that's no small claim.  Motorpsycho has been putting out innovative rock for over three decades, and has not lost its edge in the least.  Calling them Norway's answer to Yes helps describe their talent and creativity, but not their sound.  Here are a couple of my favorites, from one of the very best albums of the year:

This one is what it would sound like if Steppenwolf and Yes had a baby:

And this one shows the band's versatility, with all kinds of classic rock influences:

Motorpsycho's current lineup is two of the original members:

Bent Sæther – lead vocals, bass, guitars, keyboards, drums 

Hans Magnus "Snah" Ryan – lead guitars, vocals, keyboards, mandolin, violin, bass 

KADAVAR:  KIDS ABANDONING DESTINY AMONG VANITY AND RUIN

Kadavar's first album of the year, "I Just Want To Be A Sound", emphasized just how versatile these German rock legends are, and their second album puts a gratuitous quadruple exclamation point on that idea.  The range of musical ideas between these two albums is enormous, and just about every single one of the nineteen tracks will worm its way into your brain and get stuck there for days on end.  Try these two on for size:

The leadoff track says "You thought we went soft?  Think again!"

Track 3 says "You thought this was a heavy album?  This is all kinds of rock, swirled together and it's about to get stuck in your head for good!"

Kadavar are:

Christoph "Lupus" Lindemann – guitars, vocals 

Christoph "Tiger" Bartelt – drums 

Simon "Dragon" Bouteloup – bass 

Jascha Kreft – guitars, keyboards 

And now for two more traditional heavy rock albums:

WINDS OF NEPTUNE

Three veterans of multiple Detroit rock bands came together and produced this masterpiece.

Throwback rock and roll, masterfully executed.

The lead track sets the tone:

And here's another one of my favorites:

Winds of Neptune are:

Ross Westerbur: bass, vocals
Mike Alonso: drums
Kevin Roberts: guitar

WOLFTOOTH: WIZARD'S LIGHT

This Indiana band is not trying to do anything other than satisfy your need for kick-ass rock and roll.  Another winner of an album in late 2025.

This is the track they steer you to on Bandcamp:

And this is another one I love.  Reminds me of about a million tunes I used to rock out to in my teens:

Wolftooth are:

Terry McDaniel: Bass

Jeff Cole: Guitar

Chris Sullivan: Vocals, Guitar

Jeremy Lovins: Guitar

Shane Shook: Drums

Hope you had a great Christmas and got quality time with your family.  Now lull yourself to sleep with all this fine "stoner rock".

Peace!