2024 #20 - #11 Best Stoner Rock Albums

 2024 Top Twenty Stoner Rock Albums (#20-11)

I'm confident that all of these albums in my #20-11 are, deservingly, in someone else's top 10. 

 

#20: Leather Lung: Graveside Grin

This Massachusetts band has great musicians, great songwriting, and "CHARASMA".  I have listened to this album on and off all year long.

#19: Black Elephant: The Fall Of The Gods

Back-to-back Black Elephant albums made my year-end top 20 lists.  More great Italian stoner rock.

#18: Mammoth Volume: Raised Up By Witches

When Mammoth Volume got back together, they didn't try to pick up where they left off.  Rather, they embarked on a mission to explore new ideas and boldly go where few bands have gone before.  Try to see how many different band influences you hear in some of these tunes; it's amazing

#17: Greenleaf: The Head & The Habit

While Mammoth Volume is definitely Swedish stoner rock royalty, Greenleaf is easily in the average person's top 5 Swedish stoner rock bands list.  Greenleaf has not slowed down, and have evolved their songwriting and production games.  As with the other albums in this list, this is top ten worthy.

#16: Mr. Bison: Echoes From The Universe

Three Italian bands in a row.  Mr. Bison leveled up on this album, being heavy and polished simultaneously.  There are Yes comparisons to be made at times.  This album is a ten out of ten 

#15: Free Ride: Acido y Puto

Can a Spanish band sound more like California desert rock than California desert rock itself?

Yes

#14: Monkey3: Welcome To The Machine

Sixth European band in a row, Monkey3 are from Switzerland.  These four words will say more than anything else I could write would:

Best Monkey3 album yet.

#13: Planet of Zeus: Afterlife

Make that seven European bands in a row.  There was a time when calling Planet Of Zeus "Greek Clutch" might have pointed you in the right direction, but Planet of Zeus have evolved so much, other bands should be flattered if they get compared to Planet of Zeus.  I wouldn't argue with you if you picked this one for #1 album of the year.

#12: Delving: All Paths Diverge

Nick DiSalvo lives in Germany now; do we call this the eighth European band in a row on this list, or the second Massachusetts band since that's where he started?  I like this as much as any Elder album.  Again, a number-one-worthy album

#11: Fu Manchu: The Return Of Tomorrow

This is instantly one of Fu Manchu's greatest albums, so it's got to be a special year for an album of this caliber not to be in my top 10.  Spoiler alert:  Bob Balch plays on three of my top 20 album picks

Stoner Rock Bonanza

 Have a Heapin' Helpin' of Some Rock 'n' Roll With Me....

Stoner, That Is; Sit a Spell; Take Your Shoes Off...

These Just In:

FU MANCHU: THE RETURN OF TOMORROW

Three Decades Of Fu Manchu

And you'd never even know it; this is as aggressive and energetic as anything they've ever put out, and probably their greatest masterpiece.  Well-written, catchy and extremely heavy, this album is a must-own, soon-to-be stoner rock classic.  I am just going to feature the first two tracks, and will just say there are eleven other tracks just as great as these.

Bob Balch deserves a Stoner Rock Artist of the Year award, but more on that later.

The legendary Fu Manchu are:

Scott Hill: Guitar, Vocals

Bob Balch: Guitar

Brad Davis: Bass, Vocals

Scott Reeder: Drums, Vocals

GREENLEAF: THE HEAD & THE HABIT

Swedish Veterans Return To Destroy

Here's another band who has yet to burn out.  Twenty four years after their initial release, Tommi Holappa's Greenleaf are back with yet another elite and essential album (sound familiar?)

This album just came out yesterday, but here are two of my early favorites:

Greenleaf are all elite musicians, and are:

Arvid Hällagård – vocals

Tommi Holappa – guitar

Hans Fröhlich – bass

Sebastian Olsson – drums

RIFFLORD: 39 SERPENT POWER

Third Time's The Charm

You can't name your band Rifflord without having a bad-ass sound, and while both of Rifflord's first two albums do a great job of justifying that title, this new release is definitely my favorite.  Rifflord tunes are usually under 5 minutes long but pack tons of ideas and lots of aggression into those spaces.  Quite often in the first albums I'd find myself wishing they lingered on a particular riff a bit longer.  39 Serpent Power has me saying "that was perfect" after each tune.  This is another album that was released yesterday, but I've been playing it a lot and here are two early favorites:

Rifflord are from South Dakota.  They are:

Wyatt Bronc: Bass, Vocals
Douglas Jennings Barrett: Drums
Tory Jean Stoddard: Keyboards
Samuel Hayes: Guitar
Dustin Vano: Guitar

WIZZERD: KRONIA

Relative Newcomers Are Elite Rockers

Wizzerd have been making awesome stoner rock for less than a decade, but especially with this release deserve to be ranked among the best stoner bands out here.  Kronia has it all; truly interesting and elite songwriting, excellent musicianship, unique sounds, and really cool vocals.  This makes a third album released yesterday that I can't get enough of, and again I'm going to share with you two early favorites:

Kronia really has the feel of an EP, clocking in at just under 24 minutes total,  but it seems another release entitled "Saturnalia" is slated for October.  I can't wait.

Wizzerd are from Montana.  They are:

Jhalen Salazar:  Guitar, Vocals

Jamie Yeats:  Guitar
Sam Moore:  Drums
Layne Matkovich:  Bass

Y'all Come Back Now, Y'Hear?

NEW MANCHU

Coming in June..

FU MANCHU: THE RETURN OF TOMORROW

The legendary Fu Manchu are:

Scott Hill: Guitar, Vocals

Bob Balch: Guitar

Brad Davis: Bass, Vocals

Scott Reeder: Drums, Vocals

You can pre-order the Double LP vinyl or the CD here.

Also, as you may know I've been posting the stoner rock playlists I used to have on Playmoss onto my YouTube page.  You can check out Stoner Rock 15, recently recreated and uploaded here.

Over and out

-ULTRA

TRIPLE SHOT

LORD FOWL: GLORIOUS BABYLON

ELITE RETRO HARD ROCK

I've already called an album a ten out of ten this year, and here's another one.  Lord Fowl will remind you of the best of 1970s hard rock.  This album has the same kind of authenticity as releases from Crypt Trip and Siena Root.  Check out "The Grammercy Riffs", my favorite tune of the new decade so far: (remember how controversial The Warriors was when it came out? It was blamed for inciting several murders)

Now here's "In Search Of", with a hint of funk:

Lord Fowl are from New Haven, Connecticut and are:

Jon Conine: bass, guitar
Vechel Jaynes: guitar, vocals
Mike Pellegrino: guitar, vocals
Michael Petrucci: drums, percussion

THE HEAVY EYES: LOVE LIKE MACHINES

BEST HEAVY EYES ALBUM TO DATE

The Heavy Eyes have managed to sound different without sounding different, if that's possible.  They still have that Fu-Manchu style heavy fuzz sound but have managed to diversify their songwriting in impressive fashion.  There's quite an assortment of great riffs and moments on this album, and I feel it's a bit more aggressive than past releases as well.  Here's one that made my best songs of January - April list, "A Cat Named Haku".   

Sounds silly but what a great groove:

And here's "The Profession", which epitomizes bad-ass hard rock guitar playing.  This is exactly the kind of tune you want playing when you pull up to the stop light with your windows down, if you want to be 'the man.'

The Heavy Eyes are from Memphis, Tennessee, and are:

TRIPP SHUMAKE - LEAD VOCALS, ACOUSTIC/ELECTRIC GUITAR
MATTHEW QUALLS - ELECTRIC GUITAR, PERCUSSION, BACKING VOCALS
WALLY ANDERSON - BASS GUITAR
ERIC GARCIA - DRUMS/PERCUSSION

with guests:
JUSTIN TOLAND - GUITAR TRACKING & SOLO (GOD DAMN WOLF MAN)
JUSTIN TRACY - GUITAR SOLO (THE PROFESSION)
CARMEN FOWLKES - PIANO (VERA CRUZ)

The Heavy Eyes are frequently compared with Fu Manchu, although a fan of either band would never confuse the two.  This is a must-own album for stoner-fuzz afficionados.

Speaking of Fu Manchu, . . .

FU MANCHU: FU30, Pt.1

STONER ROYALTY RETURNS

 In addition to frequency modulation, FM stands for Fu Manchu and for Fuzz Masters.  I long for the day when I can hear fuzz masters Fu Manchu on my FM radio.  Tracks 1 and 2 are classic Fu, and really paint this band as ageless.  There's been absolutely no loss of energy or sincerity from these guys since the nineties.  Here's the opening track, "Time Is Going On":

While I prefer track 2 to this, Fu Manchu's
"Takin' It To The Streets" demands to be shared because of its unusual interpretation of the Doobie Brothers classic.

Fu Manchu is comprised of four rock legends:

Scott Hill - Vocals / Guitar
Bob Balch - Lead Guitar
Brad Davis - Bass
Scott Reeder - Drums

-ULTRA

FU MANCHU: Clone of the Universe

New Manchu: What else needs to be said?

Go out and get this bad boy; Just like every other Fu Manchu release, Clone of the Universe simply delivers in places that you can't talk about in mixed company.  If there's ever been a band that perfectly epitomizes what rock and roll is all about, it's Fu Manchu.  Bob, Brad and the two Scotts have produced another classic.  Here is the lead track, entitled "Intelligent Worship":

And here is the closer, "Il Mostro Atomico", featuring none other than Alex Lifeson:

Fu Manchu is:  

Bob Balch: Lead Guitar

Brad Davis: Bass

Scott Reeder: Drums/Percussion

Scott Hill: Guitar, Vocals

2018 is shaping up to be a historic year in the world of rock:  New Weedpecker, New Fu Manchu, New Freedom Hawk about to be released, and I am still holding out hope for a new album from the best rock band ever, Tool.  You need to purchase the new Fu right here.  Until next weekend,

-ULTRA

ULTRA'S SUNDAY STONER SOUNDS
California Edition

ORCHID!!!!
Orchid is from San Francisco and is one of the coolest bands around.  They have not yet put out a single tune that isn't great.  This is "Wizard of War."

FU MANCHU

This week's "two-for" finshes with a Fu Manchu classic: "King of the Road:

Keep it Heavy, and GO PATS!!!

-ULTRA

Ultra Review - Fu Manchu's Gigantoid

FU MANCHU - Gigantoid

       Picture a black-light poster of a rock band playing in a dingy room.  The band members have long hair and denim jackets, and possibly skeleton faces (black light posters were big on skeletons in my recollection).  What that band would sound like is Fu Manchu.  If there is such a thing as the stereotypical California stoner rock band, Fu Manchu is that band.  Three to Five minute songs that catch your ear right away, and have several bad-ass sounding riffs per tune.  Their music manages to accomplish a lively, energetic vibe while actually being fairly slow and deliberate.  The vocals sound way cool, yet any guy off the street could sing any Fu Manchu tune.  The band has been putting out consistently cool music for a good twenty years now, yet some albums are more classic than others.  For me Gigantoid goes in the same category as a couple of my favorites, “The Action Is Go”, and “King Of The Road.”  There is one tune that breaks the typical Fu Manchu mold, and it’s the tune “The Last Question.”  It’s reminiscent of “Out To Sea” from the “Start the Machine” album in that it is mood music and not riff-based.  It’s so well done though that you will count it a welcome addition to the album.  One of my favorites is “Evolution Machine.”  When you pick up the album, listen to Bob’s shredding at 3:30 on Evolution Machine; it’s ultra-tasteful.  In 2014 we have not just new Fu Manchu, but classic Fu Manchu.  -Ultra

Check out "Robotic Invasion"

Members: 

Scott Hill:  Vocals, Guitar 

Brad Davis: Bass

Bob Balch: Guitar

Scott Reeder: Drums