Tag: stoner metal

678. Hermano

~ ernopepper ~ Leave a comment

(September 2025) Episode 678 is HERMANO. This stoner rock band was more a side project of John Garcia of Kyuss, but it’s worth knowing their 3.5 albums of material. The “stoner” label comes from the guitar tone. Applied with groove and tempo, you get Hermano and bands like Fu Manchu – as distinct from stoner metal with its slower if not drone pace and backgrounded vocals (the apex of which is Sleep). The latter is my preference, although I enjoyed Hermano. I also included the sole album Garcia recorded as UNIDA.

Favorite album: Dare I say…

Favorite song: The Bottle

Compared to expectations: same

Recommendation: The first two albums are the best.

631. Sourvein

~ ernopepper ~ Leave a comment

(February 2025) Episode 631 is SOURVEIN, a band out of the North Carolina sludge metal scene. By the time of their first full album they had evolved into a solid stoner/doom metal sound with low slow guitars and backgrounded screeching vocals. Key contributor to that approach was guitarist Liz Buckingham who later went on to join my favorite band in the doom genre: Electric Wizard. As I always say with sludge/stoner/doom metal, it’s not for everyone but I love it.

Favorite album: Black Fangs

Favorite song: Fangs

Compared to expectations: ↑

Recommendation: Try Will to Mangle or Black Fangs

592. Church of Misery

~ ernopepper ~ Leave a comment

(August 2024) Episode 592 of the “opus project” is CHURCH OF MISERY, a doom/stoner metal band from Japan, and a damn fine one. Tons of heavy loud low fuzz. Their Black Sabbath-philia is clear not just in their sound but in their album covers (see below). They are also distinctive in dedicating their song titles and lyrics to serial killers and mass murderers. I have a preference their earlier, more stoner-ish material (late 90s/early 00s) to the later up-tempo offerings.

Favorite album: Master of Brutality

Favorite song:  El Padrino (Adolfo De Jesus Constanzo)

Compared to expectations: ↑

Recommendation: It is an acquired taste, but I love this stuff.

578. Acrimony

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(June 2024) Episode 578 is ACRIMONY, a band out Wales considered a pioneer of stoner metal in the UK. By now you know the reasons for my love for this subgenre. Acrimony combines the loud low fuzz with space rock elements, and at times delivers the deliciousness with a boogie not often associated with this music. Unfortunately, their approach didn’t catch on in the UK, and they broke up shortly after 1996’s Tumuli Shroomaroom, a masterwork of the subgenre.

Favourite album: Tumuli Shroomaroom

Favourite song:  Heavy Feather

Compared to expectations: ↑

Recommendation: Strong recommendation for Tumuli Shroomaroom but also for the earlier EPs.

567. Acid King

~ ernopepper ~ Leave a comment

(May 2024) Episode 567 is ACID KING. There is no such thing as a perfect band, because everyone has different tastes. But to my current taste, Acid King is as perfect as it gets. As stoner metal has emerged as my favorite kind of metal, Acid King seamlessly checks all the boxes – the loudness, the lowness, the fuzz and the backgrounded vocals. No frills, no extras, no arpeggios, no operatics.  Just pure, dedicated stoner metal goodness. I love it. And notable for being fronted by a woman (Lori S), which is uncommon.

Favorite album: Busse Woods

Favorite song:  Phase II

Compared to expectations: ↑

Recommendation: I can’t recommend this highly enough.

505. Weedeater

~ ernopepper ~ Leave a comment

(June 2023) Episode 505 is WEEDEATER. While not widely known, this trio came out of the North Carolina sludgecore scene to put out five good stoner/sludge metal albums between 2001 and 2015, the middle three of which are excellent.

Favorite album: Sixteen Tons

Favorite song: Riff

Compared to expectations: ↑

Recommendation: Yes if you like the low loud heavy grind.

497. Fu Manchu

~ ernopepper ~ 1 Comment

(Mat 2023) Episode 497 is FU MANCHU, a stoner metal band out of Southern California with a sound that perfectly evokes the skateboard, dune buggy and El Camino on their album covers. The tempo and the vocal style convey a rock-n-roll attitude, with the heavy fuzz of the guitars giving it the stoner label. The later albums come closer to straight hard rock, but still pretty good.

Favourite album: Daredevil

Favourite song: Eatin’ Dust

Compared to expectations: same

Recommendation: quintessential dude music

488. High on Fire

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(April 2023) Episode 488 is HIGH ON FIRE. After the demise of Sleep (Episode 454), Matt Pike continued the low and thick sonic assault with High on Fire, at least initially, but with a more aggressive bass and drum. Over time their sound morphed into a more conventional thrashy metal sound.  It’s not bad, but I still prefer the purer stoner metal sound of their earlier albums.

Favorite album: The Art of Self Defense

Favorite song: Blessed Black Wings

Compared to expectations: same

Recommendation: the stoner metal goodness of their first three albums (The Art of Self Defense, Surrounded by Thieves, Blessed Black Wings)

467. KYUSS

~ ernopepper ~ 1 Comment

(January 2023) Episode 467 is KYUSS. If grunge and doom metal had a baby, it would sound like Kyuss.  Drop tuned goodness.  But adding the groove and funk metal elements, Kyuss defies categorization. The best aspect is the absolutely delicious tone they get through the amps.  It’s as if hot lava were edible like fudge. Yum. This is fantastic stuff, and you are required to listen at maximum volume.

Favorite album: Welcome to Sky Valley

Favorite song: Asteroid

Favorite song with vocals: One Inch Man

Compared to expectations: ↑

Recommendation: I cannot recommend this highly enough

454. Sleep

~ ernopepper ~ 2 Comments

(December 2022) Episode 454 is SLEEP.  This project can often be tedious labor of love, but my reward is finding music that speaks to my soul, like coming upon the Holy Grail after a long quest. And here is Sleep. Pure Iommic doom metal goodness, perhaps the ultimate stoner metal experience. A constant low, loud drone of dark matter. Beautiful noise. My joy is only tempered by discovering them decades too late, and for not reviewing them before spinoff OM (episode 437).

Favorite album: The Sciences

Favorite song: Dopesmoker

Compared to expectations: ↑

Recommendation: I’m all in. Not for everyone, but if you get it, you’ll be all in too.