Kiel, Germany, bong metal ritualists Earthbong will release their fourth album, Salutations to the Cultivators, on Oct. 23 through The Lasting Dose Records and Evil Noise Recordings. The day after that, they’ll be at the Church of Riffs to celebrate among the throng at this year’s Høstsabbat before undertaking more crush-you-in-person live activity in Germany in November, with more dates TBA for 2027. It is the band’s first studio outing since 2023’s Church of Bong (review here), and to mark this make-it-official announcement of the release, they’re premiering the track “Third Eye” — you know I love an eight-minute single — on the YouTube embed below. You’ll find it just above the righteous human-made cover art for the album.

Last year, the band sent forth the live-in-studio three-songer, Bring Your Lungs (review here), and “Third Eye” certainly stands in line with that effort in terms of the raw heft delivered and the unkind nature of the sound generally, but it’s also got a sense of space. This is not your friendly-fuzz, warm and inviting stonerism. This is flattened-by-the-edible-too-stoned couchlock and crush brought to bear in a world made mostly so it can be filled with the goo that was your sense of rational thinking. Sounds like hyperbole? Good. Extreme music should garner an extreme response, even if that’s staring straight ahead and loosing a “whoa” from the depths of your belly that comes up like the drums of Moria.

And maybe that’s fitting, since amid all that omegasludge and harsh rasp, there indeed lurks something ancient and monstrous in the reaches of “Third Eye,” which if it’s fostering enlightenment, it’s not without a price extracted. Death-doom pervades, extrapolating a vicious intensity from that most morose of metallic microgenres, and on that level, I am curious what Salutations to the Cultivators will bring. But October is so far away. Oh, however will we pass the time…

Enjoy:

Earthbong, “Third Eye” track premiere

Salutations to the Cultivators is Earthbong’s fourth album and their first for Berlin’s independent imprint The Lasting Dose Records. Unsurprisingly for a band whose past releases are entitled Church of Bong and Bring Your Lungs, this new record revolves around altered states and the craft of growing weed. “Bug” reimagines Kafka’s Metamorphosis as a stoner doom cautionary tale, the debut single “Third Eye” chases another state of perception while high, and “Harvester” and “Herbal Saints” honor the holy plant itself. Earth-shattering riffs collide with devastatingly heavy bass lines, mind-altering solos and the trio’s trademark caveman growls.

“‘Salutation to the Cultivators’ is a line taken from Sleep’s ‘Giza Butler’ track, as the album is meant as a homage, not only to the cultivators of weed but also to the cultivators of the stoner doom genre. As we have started with long-form songs and a more unconventional approach to songwriting and structures, we feel that this is our most accessible album yet,” says the band.

Tracked live over a weekend at Kassel’s Kulturzentrum Karnak, the album was recorded, mixed and mastered by Felix Margraf. It features guest contributions from Timo Fritz (Purple Dawn) and Feli (Frost, Pisse & Elend).

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Earthbong is a three-piece doom band from Kiel/Germany. The band was formed in 2018 and released three studio records, a live album and one EP so far. Earthbong are heading towards the riff-filled land with their unique blend of doom, metal and sludge: “They’re like a Bongzilla-Sleep-Milkshake. But they get it. They are their own thing.” (Mike Scheidt, YOB).

Earthbong has toured Australia in spring 2025, including headlining performances at Sun Burn Festival and Stoned To Death Fest Sydney and shared the stage with the ancestors of the bong metal genre like Bongzilla, Bongripper and Belzebong. They also supported bands such as The Obsessed, Unida and Firebreather. With more than 90 shows over the past years, including festivals like ReykjaDoom Festival (Iceland), Stoned From The Underground (DE), Rock in Bourlon (FR) and Hoflärm Open Air (DE), Earthbong earned a reputation as one of the heaviest and best live acts within the underground doom scene.

Their 4th studio album SALUTATIONS TO THE CULTIVATORS will be released on October 23rd 2026 via The Lasting Dose Records (Vinyl, CD, digital) and Evil Noise Recordings (Cassette), followed by a show at the legendary Høstsabbat Festival in Oslo/Norway. More shows and festivals for 2026/2027 are planned.

Earthbong live:
24.10. – NO – Høstsabbat Festival Oslo
19.11. – DE – Hamburg, MS Stubnitz
20.11. – DE – Berlin, Neue Zukunft
21.11. – DE – München, Black Mantra Festival

Tickets: https://linktr.ee/earthbong

Earthbong on Bandcamp

Earthbong on Instagram

Earthbong on Facebook

The Lasting Dose Records on Bandcamp

The Lasting Dose Records on Instagram

The Lasting Dose Records on Facebook

Evil Noise Recordings store

Evil Noise Recordings on Instagram

Evil Noise Recordings on Facebook

Tags: Earthbong, Earthbong Salutations to the Cultivators, Evil Noise Recordings, Germany, Kiel, Salutations to the Cultivators, The Lasting Dose Records

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