LOBO DEL HOMBRE's Debut KYHYJE is a stone(r) cold killer of an album.

Lobo Del Hombre

album: KYHYJE

 I was literally just sent a heads up from the band about their debut album, KYHYJE. LOBO DEL HOMBRE hail from Argentina and are a very solid Stoner Rock Band. The warm fuzzines and groove of their riffs generously heat the cockles of my frozen New England heart. I'm a sucker for Stoner Doom Rock Vibes and this band checks off all the good stuff on my list. You can feel the dust coming off the stereo speakers as the band confidently navigates an oftentimes well worn genre with some fresh gusto. The vocals, (although I have no idea what they translate to) are delivered with a sexy growl and well placed roar. - fuck yea!

The production is stellar. I get Motorhead meets Kyuss vibes and you can't teach that. Ok, back to looking like I'm actually doing some work. Spin this album!

This was a pleasant and welcome surprise. Great start to this dismally cold year. 

-grown man out!

 

2022 Top Twenty Stoner Rock Albums (#20-11)

The first half of my top 20 heavy rock albums list for 2022. One song from each album, beginning with album #20 and finishing with album #11. 

Artist/Album/Track info displayed for the first 10 seconds of each tune.

Each tune is one I've never posted or included in a playlist.  
The idea is that since these are the best albums of the year, they're deep enough that I don't need to 
re-post in order to make a classic playlist:

                                                                                                           

#20: Dominance and Submission (A Tribute to Blue Oyster Cult) by Various Artists.

  This is a great tribute album; really well done, with the right mix of bands sticking to the original and bands taking risks.  

#19: "Ambos Mundos" by Cachemira

Throwback rock from Barcelona.  I've listened to this album so many times    

#18:  "totally..." by Stöner 

Brant Bjork.  Nothing else needs to be said.  Second year in a row this band is in my top 20

#17:  "The Eye Of The Icosahedron" by Dungeon Weed

Dimitri Mavra of Skunk has put out his second "Doom" album and it's immense.  I use quotes on doom since it's really not what you think of as doom but more like the music you imagined when you laid in bed at night and stared into the black light posters you hung on the wall back in the 1970s

 

#16: "Blue Rumble" by Blue Rumble

Yet another throwback rock album, this time from Switzerland.  Clearly Led Zeppelin fans, these guys are not good but great.  I love this album and would have already worn it out by now if it was on vinyl or cassette

#15: "The Singularity" by Wo Fat 

          

There is no other state that has a list of rock trios as great as Texas.  

Wo Fat have never stopped being elite.

#14:  "Sunrise On Slaughter Beach" by Clutch        

This one took some time to worm its way into my brain, but yet again Clutch delivers a must-own album.

#13:  "Forgotten Mansion" by Witchfinder

Witchfinder is well described as a mixture of Belzebong and Youngblood Supercult.  This French band produced one of my favorite EPs and also one of my favorite LPs of 2022

#12:  "Regenerator" by King Buffalo

Back to back years King Buffalo has put out some of the most distinctive music of the year.

#11:  "Blinded By The Wicked" by Hazemaze

Hazemaze had the balls to make their first Bandcamp release a live EP, and I have been a fan ever since.  I am saddened to hear that after producing this gem of an album, Hazemaze has decided to disband

#10 through #1 on New Year's Eve!
ULTRA  

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

LOTD! Egon Swharz - In The Mouth of Madness

In The Mouth of Madness

Egon Swharz

Heck it's the end of the year which means that a lot of cool metal is already out for 2017 on Bandcamp. From demo's to full albums with release dates for next week. This is a pleasantly unexpected album from Italy. Lovecraftian through and through. I've heard many bands try to nail H.P.'s vibe but fail. Egon Swharz smoothly crafts a doomy instrumental that captures not only the creepy but the lush and fascinating textures of what I love about tales like The Unnameable and The Beast in the Cave. Big Props, this is definitely a very cool album to sit back, kick up your feet and smoke a good ole whatever you're into. (The album's title comes from the John Carpenter flick that was an homage to the legacy of Lovecraft and all of the song titles reference Lovecraft's stories.)