Wiht - Wiht (2009 - 320 kps)

My mind has been in a comfortable haze all morning transversing the possible future ahead of me. It all seems rather optimistic and uplifting especially with the right music to put me in that special place. Wiht does that with an unidentifiable gentle touch tossed in amidst lumbering despondent metal. The UK band has no real genre, but most would classify their 2009 self-titled release as sludgy stoner doom. Personally, I would add space rock to that to make it a more accurate description.

This release only has three songs but two of them rank up on the 16 minute mark with the other being 9 minutes long. Each one is a ride that you most likely won’t forget for a good while to come. Just to be clear, this is an instrumental release so the music speaks for itself. Track pattern, if you can call it that, for the longer songs is a slow bluesy start before the heavy drone of the bass slaps you in the face. It comes in unexpectedly and it dies off as quickly as it came melting into trippy space rock; the effects used to get that effect aren’t overdone and ties in nicely with the rest of the music. The pattern repeats itself in the song and the result is anything but boring. It’s really hypnotic and immersive; simply can’t stress that enough.

“And The Thunder Rolls” has the fastest pace in this trio and the drums are showcased nicely. Solid beats with a wonderful bluesy guitar-tone in this song make it one of the more addictive tracks. Good news is that this release isn’t the only release they plan on cranking out. They have a full-length planned soon titled “The Harrowing of The North” so keep an eye out for it.

Year of Release: 2009
Genre: Stoner/Sludge/Doom Metal. Psychedelic/Space Rock.
Format: MP3
Bitrate: 320 kpbs

Track List:
1. Into Ruin
2. And The Thunder Rolls
3. Vasta

Download: Wiht - Wiht
Download Size: 96.9 mb

Enos - Chapter 1 (2010 - 320kbps)

Enos, hailing from the UK, is one of the more fun discoveries that I made last year while running a stoner music page on Facebook. Their sound is a mix of space rock and stoner metal which is an almost seemless blend. The production on their album, "Chapter 1," is beautifully done. Every instrument has it's chance to shine, including vocal work. The band regularly does shows and promotions with comrades from the stoner underground scene in the UK like Dopefight and Funeralhag (also favorites of mine).

Never an easy task to describe the sound of music but, I will say that their music is very laid back. It's still aggressive enough to be in the metal family, but very classic '80s in some guitar riffs and drum beats. Bass' presence is strong, of course, and the distorted second guitar gives spacey sound effects in the background throughout the songs. The distortion isn't as overly done as what enters people's minds when they read the word "space." Very atmospheric and it reminds me personally of some of the effects on the X-Files soundtrack. The vocal work on this album is wonderfully dirty and complements the music well. Should also be noted that some well-timed sound samples play muddled in the background that stay true to this album's theme. Overall, awesome music with a great groove to it.

My favorite track is "Back to Earth" with "Floating" riding on it's heels as a close second. That being said, this album has an interesting theme:

"On Wednesday the 29th of November 1961 at 15:08, after several delays, NASA launched what was to be their final test flight. On board Mercury-Atlas 5 was Enos, a temperamental five year old chimpanzee. This was to be a full dress rehearsal for John Glenn’s historic flight just three months later.

The pressure was on at Cape Canaveral, the US was losing the space race. The Soviet’s had succeeded in getting the first satellite into Earth’s orbit four years earlier, and in the seven months since Yuri Gagarin became the first man in space another Russian, Gherman Titov, had safely returned from orbit.

Questions were being asked about the worth of this increasingly expensive and dangerous obsession with space. If NASA and America were to save face and regain some of the ground they had lost to the Russians nothing could go wrong with this mission. It was with this in mind that they launched the most highly trained chimp in the American Air Force into the history books.

Enos returned to Earth after completing two orbits and travelling 50,892 miles. The whole mission had lasted just 3 hours, 20 minutes and 59 seconds.

On his return Enos was a changed chimp. This once surly and mean spirited chimpanzee apparently jumped for joy, ran excitedly around the deck of the recovery ship and merrily shook the hands of the researchers. Many who met him after his return commented that it was like meeting a different chimp. This is his story . . ."

-Taken from their Facebook page.

This album is available free for download along with a short comic that delves deeper into Enos's story. I won't ruin it for you, it's an intriguing read. One more thing, I love the text on their CD Print:

Unathurised copying, hiring, lending, public performance and broadcasting of this recording is highly recommended -

They are currently working on their second album so keep an eye out for it! I would also like to thank everyone for their warm welcomes.

Year of Release: 2010
Label: The Internet (aka none)
Genre: Stoner/space metal
Media: Digital
Format: MP3
Bitrate: 320 kbps

Track List:
1. Launch
2. In Space
3. Floating
4. Transform
5. Back To Earth

Download: Enos - Chapter 1
Download Size: 95.5 mb

Church Of Misery- Master of Brutality/ Early Works Compilation

Southern Lord Records is undoubtedly a household name to any fan of doom, drone, or sludge metal. Bands like Sunn O))), Earth, Boris, and Wolves in the Throne Room have all called the label home at some point in their existence. It was through my fascination with many bands on this label that I came across this intriguing Japanese doom metal band called Church of Misery.

Church of Misery takes a fusion of psychedelic rock with traditional Saint Vitus/Black Sabbath doom. The trademark of the band, however, is that most of their tracks use infamous serial killer as their central theme. Critics have often neglected their talent and insisted on focusing in on the serial killer theme; often labeling the tactics as a gimmick. At least there is one thing that their lyrical themes and their music have in common; they are both "killer."


After releasing a series of splits and EPs, Church of Misery released their first full length album, Master Of Brutality. The album kicks off with the Sabbath-esque, "Killfornia," a track about hitchhiker slayer, Edmund Kemper, and continues to steamroll you with a wall of sound for the duration of the album. The album highlights include a magnificent cover of Blue Öyster Cult's "Cities on Flame With Rock & Roll" and the 11-minute self-titled track album culmination, "Master of Brutality."

Year of Release: 2001
Label: Southern Lord Recordings
Genre: Doom, Stoner

Track List:
1. Killfornia (Ed Kemper)
2. Ripping Into Pieces (Peter Sutcliffe)
3. Megalomania (Herbert Mullin)
4. Green River
5. Cities On Flame
6. Master Of Brutality (John Wayne Gacy)

Next up is a compilation featuring some of Church of Misery's early output. This was released on Leafhound Records in 2004. The compilation contains tracks from the aforementioned splits and EPs which were compiled into a 2-disc set called the Early Works Compilation. This should widen your bloodshot eyes and keep you occupied until the next munchies run.

Year of Release: 2004
Label: Leafhound Records
Genre: Doom, Stoner

Track List:

Disc 1:
1. Spahn Ranch (Charles Manson)
2. Road to Ruin (Charles Whitman)
3. Reverend (Jim Jones)
4. War is Our Destiny
5. Room 213 (Jeffrey Dahmer)
6. Taste the Pain (Graham Young)
7. Plainfield
8. In-A-Gadda-Da-Vidda

Disc 2:
9. Murder Company (Henry Lee Lucas)
10. Son of a Gun (David Berkowitz)
11. Where Evil Dwells (Richard Ramirez)
12. Sick of Living (Zodiac)
13. Come Touch the Sky
14. Accident
15. Chains of Death
16. Retal (Howard Unruh)

Download: Church Of Misery - Master of Brutality
Download Size: 54.47 MB

Download: Church Of Misery - Early Works Compilation Disc 1
Download Size: 74.90 MB

Download: Church Of Misery - Early Works Compilation Disc 2
Download Size: 60.95 MB

Black Mountain - Black Mountain

Black Mountain is one of two circulating incarnations of Vancouver musician Stephen McBean—the other being the more solo oriented Pink Mountaintops. Releasing self-titled, debut albums within six months of each other, these Mountain-family bands have given nostalgic rock 'n' roll fans reason to rise. And hell, even if your record collection doesn't consist of battered vinyl copies of late '60's and early '70's drug-fueled, heavy hitters, you won't be able to resist the gritty grooves of both bands. But, this is a Black Mountain review, so on with the show.

Black Mountain opens the curtain with the first of many assertive anthems. The caustic "Modern Music" declares "One, two, three another pop explosion / One, two, three another hit recording / Four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten." – A jab at the state of modern music that makes no bones about it, and I likey. Like much of the album, it's adorned with loud guitar, screechy sax, and some killer Keith Moon/John Bonham style drumming. And if you aren't already familiar with Pink Mountaintops and their superb duet "Tourist in Your Town," you get your first taste of the soulful singing of Amber Webber who takes center stage later on "Heart of Snow."

Following the opiate groove of "Druganaut," "No Satisfaction" sounds like a sunshine alarm after the two previous shadowy efforts. Recalling the Vaselines and VU, "No Satisfaction" showcases more of McBean's cool and Webber's raw soul. The album continues with more blues, prog, and psychedelic rock detailing the sub-genres' highlights with a new and exciting perspective. Citing the Rolling Stones, Velvet Underground, Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath and Pink Floyd among others, Black Mountain somehow succeed in keeping it fresh all along.
(Year of Release: 2005)

Track List:
1. Modern Music
2. Don't Run Our Hearts Around
3. Druganaut
4. No Satisfaction
5. Set Us Free
6. No Hits
7. Heart Of Snow
8. Faulty Times

Download: Black Mountain - Black Mountain (70MB)

Nebula - Apollo

With Kyuss now long gone, Monster Magnet traveling distant galaxies, and Fu Manchu driving their graffiti-decorated vans over groove-rock desert highways somewhere in the distance, are Nebula the last of the prototypical stoner rock Mohicans? Strictly speaking, no, since they themselves were relative late arrivals to the scene, having sprung fully formed from the bowels of the aforementioned Fu Manchu in 1997 -- but in terms of the mostly unadulterated '90s-style stoner rock (psychedelic and space rock-infused, sure, but ultimately grounded in '60s garage and '70s hard rock) heard on their fifth full album, Apollo, quite possibly. Despite what trends would tell you, said '90s movement is alive and well in staple Nebula numbers like "Loose Cannon," "The Alchemist," "The Eagle Has Landed," and "Decadent Garden" -- all of them boasting catchy, crunchy riffs from main man Eddie Glass, Bonham-esque percussion from ever-faithful drummer Ruben Romano, and solid if inconspicuous support from new bassist Tom Davies. Laid-back numbers -- half-psych, half-blues -- like "Future Days" and "Wired" provide mellow detours for nice, diversifying effect, but it's ultimately naturally self-combustible concoctions like "Lightbringer," "Ghost Ride," and "Trapezium Procession" that stand out of the pack -- along with turbocharged, post-Detroit garage rock fare like "Ghost Ride" and the brilliant, Saints-reminiscent "Fever Frey." The latter, in particular, also serves to remind listeners of Glass' always impressive six-string chops (see also the slash-and-burn bookends "Orbit" and "Opiate Float") -- arguably second only to Monster Magnet's Ed Mundell in terms of innate, guitar hero-type inspiration within their generation. And as long as he's in the driver's seat, Nebula will likely be out there, flying the stoner rock flag
(Year of Release: 2006)

Track List:
1. Orbit
2. Loose Cannon
3. Fever Frey
4. Lightbringer
5. Future Days
6. Ghost Ride
7. The Alchemist
8. Trapezium Procession
9. Controlled
10. The Eagle Has Landed
11. Fruit of my Soul
12. Decadent Garden
13. Wired
14. Opiate Float > Orbit

Download: Nebula - Apollo (53MB)