2024 #10 - #1 Best Stoner Rock Albums

 2024 Top Twenty Stoner Rock Albums (#10-1)

#10: Wizard Must Die: L'Or Des Fous

This French band has produced a perfect album.  The challenging melodies and rhythms, the layering of sound, the crescendos and decrescendos blew me away from the first listen, and continue to engage me as I find something new to appreciate each time I hear it.

#9: Wizzerd: Kronia / Saturnalia

Montana's Wizzerd released two albums this year.  Why create two smaller albums and not just one longer one?  When you hear them, you'll understand that they both have a different, unique vibe.  Kronia is more aggressive while Saturnalia is more trippy.  But together these albums represent monumental growth from a band who already had instant purchase status for me.

#8: Gnome: Vestiges of Verumex Visidrome

 Belgium's Gnome made my top 10 two years ago with King and have done it again with this instant classic.  This album is going to make a lot of kids want to be in a rock band, and will make a lot of rock bands want to learn these songs.  Truly what hard rock is all about.

#7: Black Pyramid: The Paths Of Time Are Vast

The fourth Massachusetts band in my top 30 (5th if you count Delving).  Black Pyramid not only released their first album in over a decade, but arose and absolutely destroyed.  Best Black Pyramid album, and a stoner doom triumph.

#6: Rifflord: 39 Serpent Power

South Dakota's Rifflord have always played a pedal-to-the-metal style of rock, mixing southern rock, stoner doom and straight-up metal in a unique way.  39 Serpent power shows an evolution in their songwriting however, blending all these influences in a cohesive way that makes you want to hear these tunes again and again and again.

#5: REZN: Burden

I bought my first REZN albums last year and then had the opportunity to see them live, opening up for Elder.  I was already on the bandwagon but when I heard "Burden", it was the perfection of everything I liked about the band.  The symbiotic conjuction of melodic and ultra-heavy is breathtaking at times.  REZN are from Chicago.

#4: High Desert Queen: Palm Reader

High Desert Queen are another band I first heard last year, when I purchased their split with Blue Heron.  Good old fashioned bass,drums, guitar and what I consider elite vocals.  Ryan just has a great rock voice.  Every tune here is a favorite for me, and their music videos for Palm Reader and especially Ancient Aliens are quite entertaining.  Another elite stoner rock band from Austin Texas.

#3: Slower: Slower / Rage And Ruin

Another band that chose two shorter albums over one longer release.  Between the two, we have seven drastically reimagined Slayer tunes along with four original tracks which fit in perfectly with the Slayer "covers".  Bob Balch collaborated with Amy Tung/Barrysmith, Esben Willems, Peter Bergstrand, Scott Reeder, and Laura Pleasants to produce these masterpieces.  Like the two Wizzerd releases, both of these must be owned together.  They are perfect complements to each other.  I may have already listened to these songs as many times as the Slayer classics they were inspired by, and I've listened to A LOT of Slayer in my years.

#2: Brant Bjork: Once Upon A Time In The Desert

If I were asked to pick a single artist that best exemplifies the sounds that the terms "Stoner Rock" and "Desert Rock" are supposed to represent, it wouldn't be Josh Homme or John Garcia; it would be Brant Bjork.  I'll bet if that man burps or farts, stoner rock comes out.  That being said, this combination of Brant, Mario Lalli and Ryan Güt has amplified the mojo five-fold.  Think of every album Brant has been involved in, and understand that this one is the best of them all.  

#1: Big Scenic Nowhere: The Waydown

Okay, so Bob Balch is on my albums #11, 3 and 1, and I'm pretty sure that makes him the 2024 guitar god.  However, an album with this amount of perfection would never have happened without Tony Reed.  Tony played bass and went genius-level in the studio to produce this masterpiece which for me, was never not going to be my #1 album, from my very first listen.

Released Today, But An Instant Classic

 BRANT BJORK: 

ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE DESERT

Stoner rock legend Brant Bjork has teamed up with stoner rock legend Mario Lalli on bass, and soon to be stoner rock legend Ryan Güt to produce an instant contender for stoner rock album (and album cover!) of the year.  Brant has always surrounded himself with great musicians, but this lineup may be his greatest ever.  I recognize how strong a statement that is, but stand by it.  For me, "Once Upon A Time In The Desert" exceeds the Ché album, which happens to be one of my favorite albums of all time.

You be the judge:

This one reminds me of "Avenida del la Revolucion", another favorite of mine.  Just shows that Brant never forgot what it felt like to be a teenager.

Rock Legends:

Brant Bjork puts out music, and I buy it.   Not once have I been disappointed with an album that Brant Bjork played on.

Continuing the tradition:.....

This album sneaks up on you, and sets in deeper with successive listens.  It's also given me a new appreciation for Nick Oliveri.  

Some won't notice it, but he's masterful on this album.  Here's one that I liked at first, but seems more and more perfect every time I hear it.

My analysis:  

You may, upon first listen, dismiss this as good but not great, but if you give it a second chance I know you'll give it a third and a fourth and then you'll be hooked.  My favorite Brant Bjork album since "Black Flower Power". 

 Stoner are:

Brant Bjork: Guitar, Vocals

Nick Oliveri: Bass, Vocals

Ryan Güt: Drums

Leather Lung are a Massachusetts band I "discovered" and told you about back in 2019.  At first, I liked a few tunes on their "Lonesome, On'ry and Evil" album, but before long had every tune on it favorited on my music player.  Since then they've added a second guitar player, and have given us about 17 minutes of new music, which is very worthy.  Here are two of 3 great songs (the other 3 tracks are an intro, outro, and a dramatization of a phone call describing Leather Lung as "Woodstock Meets Mad Max")

  

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The song I left out is equally good, and contains the classic line "The thing about moderation is I never give it much consideration".

Leather Lung are:

Mike (Vocals)

Zach (Guitar, Vocals)

Jesse (Bass, Vocals)

Ben (Drums)

Greg (Guitar)

Back next weekend with more underground goodness.

-ULTRA

LOOMING ON THE HORIZON

Check out what's on the way

We're still in the first 5% of the new decade, and listen to what kind of excellence is already about to be laid down:

BLACK RAINBOWS: Cosmic Rainbow Supertrip

If you're a regular reader, you know I love the Black Rainbows.  Space rock with more riffs.  Guitar worship, as rock and roll as it gets.  

Pandaemonium was a monster album, and I am expecting the same from this one.  Sounds like I won't be disappointed; this tune is great:

GEEZER: Groovy

BAD ASS album cover.  A throwback to the black velvet, black light posters of the late 70's and early 80's.  New York's stoner legend Geezer will release a new album on May 22.  Here is the teaser track, "Dig":

BRANT BJORK(not centered, because Brant Bjork is not the same as anyone else:

Brant is a living rock and roll legend, and I will be ordering this one on principle.

ELDER: OMENS

For me, a new Elder album is as critical listening as was a new album by Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd or The Who back in the day.

SLOW PHASE:

Dmitri Mavra from Skunk has another project going on, and has once again channeled all the spirits of the 1970's hard rock scene.  Dmitri is an underappreciated rock (and graphic) artist, and seems to be a magnet for great musicians as well.  Same level of sincerity as Brant Bjork.  Listen to this.  I think it's what the band Budgie would have written if they had been binge listening to Metallica's "Hit The Lights".

LORD FOWL: Glorious Babylon

From Connecticut, Lord Fowl will release their third album on April 24th.  This song really makes me want to hear the whole album.  If the rest is this good it will get hundreds of listens from me.

Have got to close this post; we'll be losing an hour due to Daylight Savings, and I need to be functional tomorrow.

Next time

-ULTRA

NEW TWO REVIEW

If you're old you'll get the reference above.  Otherwise I agree the title and the picture combo will seem bizarre and random.  Anyhow, it's what follows below that will determine the worthiness of this post.

KING WEED: ACID LAND

This instrumental band is impressively smooth, and really works hard to keep creating throughout each tune.  I'd call it heavy metal delivered with a stoner rock mindset.  If you dig the Greek instrumental band Hazy Sea, you will appreciate King Weed.  I will post the first two tracks because this is how they lured me in.  

"Vampire":

Track #2, "Lies & Secrets": 

If you liked both of these tracks, you'll want to keep listening to the rest of the album, because it keeps getting better.  "Revolution" may be my favorite, but the votes aren't all in.

King Weed are on the long list of great French Stoner Rock bands, and are

Lucas-Guitar
Antoine-Guitar
Charles-Bass,Keys
Ruben-Drums

BRANT BJORK: JACOOZZI

Recorded back in 2010 but never released, Jacoozzi has been freed from limbo by Gabriele from Heavy Psych Sounds.  Even though it is more than a decade later and sounds different, Jacoozzi will at first remind you of Jalamanta.  Just continued mellow grooves by a guy who happens to be king of the category.  Here is "Guerilla Funk":

"Oui" is an instant classic if you ask me.

  Brant Bjork is from Palm Desert, California, and is:
Brant Bjork:  Rock Legend

It's been a beautiful weekend; here's to many more.
-ULTRA

STONER ROCK #23 (Playlist)

Each of these tunes comes from an album (or EP) that is great "cover to cover," but tracks 2 and 4 are from two of my favorite albums of the current millennium.  Also, the lyrics on track 6: totally spooky and cool at the same time.  More next weekend...

-ULTRA

Grownman was nice enough to let me post a couple of Stoner Rock tracks each week, so here are a couple to get this weekly tradition rolling.

Brant Bjork is back, and his new album is really bad-ass.  Brant is one of the cooler guys to ever hit the rock scene, and this new album is heavier than his previous stuff and instantly my favorite of his releases.  Check out "Aint No Runnin'", from the album "Black Flower Power":

Now here's a stoner rock classic:  Witchcraft's "Samaritan Burden."  There's no way to make a poor choice of tune to play from Witchcraft.  

Rock on; catch you with some more stoner rock gems next weekend

-Ultra