Posted in Whathaveyou on December 4th, 2025 by JJ Koczan
They’re announcing the tour. What they’re not announcing yet is the album that the tour will support. Recently recorded in the US Pacific Northwest with producer Sylvia Massy, the impending Monolord full-length — which maybe is being mastered while we speak if it isn’t done already; that’s kind of exciting in a nerdy way — has the grim duty of following 2021’s Your Time to Shine (review here), but I’m looking forward to hearing where Monolord are at circa 2026, after all three of them have done the solo-projects thing and after the band has toured multiple times over with Per Wiberg as a fourth member, continuing to branch out as they’ve done all along since the first record.
My curiosity here is what Monolord will be doing before this, since if the album’s out in Spring they’ll likely tour then too. Eurofests? The US East Coast seems like a lame place to launch your first record in five years, but I only think that because it’s where I live, so I guess that’s a possibility as well. They’ll be somewhere, certainly.
So yes, the tour. All part of the process. The wait begins.
From the PR wire:
MONOLORD ANNOUNCE FIRST U.S. TOUR DATES SINCE 2022
SWEDISH DOOM TRIO RETURNS TO STATES NEXT JUNE AS NEW ALBUM NEARS COMPLETION
Monolord return to the U.S. next June for their first North American tour since 2022, traversing the western United States with performances that include stops at The Regent Theater in Los Angeles and the Great American Music Hall in San Francisco.
The news arrives as the trio of Thomas Jäger (guitar/vocals), Esben Willems (drums), and Mika Häkki (bass), wraps up work on their highly anticipated fifth album.
“The new album is a wrap! Recording with Sylvia Massy has been a fantastic experience and we can’t wait to bring these new songs on the road,” the band shares, collectively.
Tickets are on sale this Friday, December 5, at 10 a.m. local time via Monolord.com. Mizmor supports on all dates.
Monolord U.S. tour dates: June 11 San Diego, CA Casbah June 12 Santa Cruz, CA The Catalyst June 13 San Francisco, CA Great American Music Hall June 14 Sacramento, CA Harlow’s June 16 Eugene, OR John Henry’s June 17 Portland, OR Nova PDX June 18 Seattle, WA Substation June 19 Bellingham, WA Structures Brewing June 20 Tacoma, WA Airport Tavern Music Hall June 23 Denver, CO Marquis Theater June 24 Salt Lake City, UT Urban Lounge June 25 Las Vegas, NV Swan Dive June 26 Pioneertown, CA Pappy & Harriet’s June 27 Los Angeles, CA The Regent Theater
Monolord have released four critically acclaimed albums: Empress Rising (2014), Vænir (2015), Rust (2017), and Your Time to Shine (2021). Their sound combines monolithic heaviness, psychedelic expansiveness, and meticulous production.
Monolord are: Thomas V Jäger – Guitars & vocals Esben Willems – Drums Mika Häkki – Bass
Swedish doomcrunchers Skogskult release their self-titled debut full-length tomorrow, Dec. 5, through Bonebag Records. Based in Umeå, the four-piece of vocalist Simon Rosengrim, guitarist Samuel Nordström, bassist Albin Kroon and drummer Alexander Söderlund emerge with tectonic purpose and a bite to their approach that feels culled from sludge, but at a certain point, these lines begin to blur, and nine-minute opener/longest track (immediate points) “Lyktans Låga” is well on the other side of that imaginary mark, beginning with a low brooding quiet intro that cymbal washes into the first full-tone slam. It’s like their music is a sledgehammer and they’re rearing back over their shoulder to swing it again with each new measure.
It’s not post-metal because it’s not hyper-cerebral feeling. That is, when the grueling nod that develops in “Lyktans Låga” shifts into a softer stretch — a volume trade well familiar to post-metallic types — before its massive, slow-rolling payoff, it doesn’t feel contrived. Certainly Skogskult have put thought into the structure, but the impression is still raw in tone and vocals, and the brutal groove is the first of many. “Turs” picks up the pace with a doomly swing and a piped-in-from-the-dark-ether harsher verse, and also has a break later, a comedown with melody that reminds of Monolord without actually sounding like them, and that holds over for a while until the long last scream. The transition to “Jag Ger Mig Av” is direct and lets the standalone bass rumble come into focus for 30 seconds before the inward sweep arrives, another shout included for good measure. Less of a shove than the song before, “Jag Ger Mig Av” makes its impression in the spaciousness of its roll, and on a record without a centerpiece, it feels like one anyway as the band dutifully chugs toward another stirring culmination, this one capping side A and every bit worthy of its placement.
“Pakten” introduces a shuffle where one is needed. It’s the shortest inclusion on Skogskult by mere seconds at six minutes flat, but it feels like a turn from the first three songs just the same, and adds to the palette the band are working with generally. There is no quiet break and loud return, and while consistent in tone, the band bring forth a boogie that proves refreshing. This sets up the melodic triumph of “Sol,” which works its way forward at a slow crawl through a moodier ambience early on, beginning a single linear build that spreads out over the 7:53, less crushing than anything among side A’s heaviest moments, but branching out and showcasing a diversity of intent in their songwriting — something that obviously bodes well for a band getting their feet under them and exploring who they want to be as Skogskult are here — and redirecting structure only make for a richer listening experience on the whole. They close with “Snöblind,” the intro to which is probably the source of the Sleep comparison the PR wire makes below, and accordingly is nothing to complain about.
It’s somewhat expected that Skogskult would finish huge, returning to the largesse of side A and tying the entire release together, but there’s still more melody in “Snöblind” (and no, it’s not a cover). Rosengrim takes advantage of the space in the riff to evoke a bit of soul, and the lumber that ensues is engrossing in classic stonerly fashion. They break and return, underscoring the point. Already by then, however, the context of the album as a whole has expanded because of the purposeful work on the band’s part to make it do so, and instead of feeling repetitive, “Snöblind” ties together both sides of Skogskult‘s Skogskult, fostering melodic outreach as well as barebones distorted roll. What I like best about it is it sets its own patterns and shows the band have something to say in terms of songwriting, which comes through despite the notable (so here’s me noting it) language deficit on my part.
But it’s a deficit and not a barrier and that’s a distinction worth making. I’m sure this is a far wimpier analogy than the band would find appropriate, but there’s kind of a seed-planting sense throughout Skogskult, and one hopes the years to come will indeed bring a garden’s flourishing therefrom, but the nascence aspects of this first full-length — inarguably among the most crucial statements a band can make — make it more exciting as a prospect for what might follow. In the meantime, all killer.
The album streams in its entirety on the player below. Please enjoy.
Taking cues from classic doom bands like Sleep, Acid King, and Electric Wizard, as well as contemporary acts like Monolord and Telekinetic Yeti, Bonebag Records is thrilled to announce the debut album from rising stars, Skogskult.
Formed in 2022 in Umeå and featuring members of underground bands Från Mars, Scitalis, and Never Recover, the Swedish doom quartet marked their path toward the album with new single “Turs.” Produced by Cavern Deep and Bonebag Record’s own Max Malmer, ‘Turs’ is the second of three singles – following ‘Pakten’ earlier this year – that delve deep into Nordic mythology and arcane mystery. The track tells the story of beings rising from their slumber, bringing destruction as forests fall and mountains bleed. With Swedish lyrics and heavy, fuzz-driven guitars, ‘Turs’ continues to build the atmosphere that defines Skogskult’s sound.
Drawing on imagery of Skinwalkers, Norse burial rituals, and occult gatherings, Skogskult channels the dark traditions of doom and stoner rock into a fuzz-filled vision of darker days to come.
“I had the fortune of catching one of their first shows and signing them on the spot,” explains Malmer. “It was so great to see that there were young, local musicians getting into the stoner doom genre. Since discovering them we’ve produced an entire album together. Hopefully this new single will give everyone a sense of what they’re all about.”
Skogskult’s self-titled debut will be released on 5th December 2025 via Bonebag Records.
Tracklisting: 1. Lyktans Låga 2. Turs 3. Jag Ger Mig Av 4. Pakten 5. Sol 6. Snöblind
Skogskult: Samuel Nordström – Guitar Albin Kroon – Bass Simon Rosengrim – Vocals Alexander Söderlund – Drums
Gothenburg, Sweden’s Homegrown release their second, self-titled album this Friday, Dec. 5, through Majestic Mountain Records. Note that the knight on the album cover is riding his horse backwards. These little clues divulge the persona of the instrumentalist four-piece, whose prog aspects feel ’70s-rooted without retroism and who on “Huldran” here use that progressive ideology to bask in a dub jam, so Homegrown‘s Homegrown, substantial-feeling at 10 tracks/51 minutes. They get low-slung and blues-jammy on “Adams Äpple” and find a tonal brightness in “Häxjakt i Snetakt” that is about more than just the shreddy solo that takes hold. There’s a sense of charge there, in contrast to the later “Gånglåt till Käringberget,” which is more outwardly serene and folk-informed. Is that an accordion I hear? It might be, but I’ve got a cold, so don’t quote me on it.
Folk becomes no less essential to the listening experience, and if one hears some likeness to Needlepoint in the ultra-organic “Mylingen” before the surging but still melodic payoff — nickelharpa? — I don’t think that’s necessarily out of line, though I’ll admit my knowledge of actual Swedefolk is pretty limited. Fortunately for me, Homegrown have more going on than just that. “Huldran” has a heavy psychedelic swirl, and “Den Hornkrönte” sounds like a lost ’60s surf instrumental. Closer “Talisman” has a mellotron. Clearly this is a band willing and ready to go where their songs are leading them, but one can’t listen to an arrangement like “Ringöpolskan,” when it brings in the acoustic strum late and say Homegrown aren’t minding the details here. They credit themselves with guitar, bass and drums, and I suppose it’s possible to make all these noises with those instruments, but the plainness of that does little to convey the actual adventure you’re about to embark on in listening.
Beginning with “Frihetsvisa i A-Moll” at the album’s outset, but true of “Huldran,” “Den Hornkrönte” and “Ringöpolskan” as well, Homegrown attempt to knock the listener off balance with a kind of false start. It sounds like they were making noise before ‘record’ was pressed, and feels specifically geared to give this impression, but the effect is to make their audience all the more open to what a song is doing by making them believe it’s already started. There are some stark turns from these intros as well, and part of what the album teaches is that Homegrown can be relied on to change up their approach and include the occasional misdirect. Light tricksterism. It feels consistent with the charm of their arrangements on the whole.
If your takeaway from the above is progressive instrumentalist heavy psychedelia with Swedish folk elements, that’s a decent start for knowing where Homegrown are coming from, but no doubt there’s still a surprise or two in store for you listening to the album, which you can do on the player below, with more PR wire info following.
Please enjoy:
Formed in 2018, Homegrown quickly earned attention with their fuzz-drenched sound, equal parts psychedelic exploration and hypnotic groove. Their early work, including the debut EP Berget Gråter (2023) and full-length Himalayaz (2024), showcased a raw, vocal-driven approach with guitarist Cedric Bergendal handling the mic. But for their new album, they’ve decided to ditch vocals entirely and quite honestly, they don’t need them.
After years of sweaty, high-energy shows across Sweden alongside acts like Endless Boogie and Öresund Space Collective, Homegrown have built a reputation for turning live stages into volcanic experiences. Now with their self-titled release, the band cements their status as one of Scandinavia’s most magnetic instrumental acts, no words, no filters, just waves of heavy sound rolling straight from amp to audience.
Tracklisting: 1. Frihetsvisa i A-Moll 2. Häxjakt i Snetakt 3. Huldran 4. Adams Äpple 5. Mylingen 6. Forséns öra 7. Den Hornkrönte 8. Gånglåt till Käringberget 9. Ringöpolskan 10. Talisman
Producer: Sebastian Darthsson & Homegrown Engineer: Sebastian Darthsson Mixing Engineer: Sebastian Darthsson Mastering: Per-Robin Eriksson
Homegrown: Cedric Bergendal: Guitar Marcus Bertilsson: Guitar Adam Jensen: Bass Oskar Brindmark : Drums
Posted in Whathaveyou on November 24th, 2025 by JJ Koczan
Monolord are done recording their next album. The Gothenburg, Sweden, three-piece tracked their impending sixth full-length in Oregon with Sylvia Massey, whose decades-long career has seen her work with hundreds of acts, among them Tool, Green Jellö and Machines of Loving Grace, and with the mixing and mastering process presumably still ahead of them, a release in March or April doesn’t seem out of the question for what will almost certainly be one of 2026’s most anticipated heavy albums. I’m pretty sure they’re still on Relapse Records, but they mention ‘a new era of Monolord‘ below, so I’ll wait for a confirmation of what that means before I start any real rampant speculation.
Obviously, the prospect of a new Monolord release brings questions of where the band are at sound-wise. While known for and retaining a physically lumbering nod, there’s no question the trio of guitarist/vocalist Thomas V. Jäger, bassist Mika Häkki and drummer Esben Willems have grown more dynamic. “Empress Rising” might still finish out a set with all due steamroll, but the band have shown time and again that they have more to offer sound-wise. Their 2023 two-songer EP, It’s All the Same (review here), continued the band’s forays into psychedelia and post-heavy atmosphere-making, and to my remembering, this is the first time Monolord will have come back together to make an LP that all three members have active solo-projects under their respective names.
Monolord‘s most recent full-length is 2021’s stellar Your Time to Shine (review here), which you’ll find streaming below along with the 2023 EP. One looks forward hopefully to the dry sarcasm of what their next title might be. ‘I’d Rather Walk the Dog Than Tour This Record’ or some such.
Unlike mine, their announcement was short and sweet. From socials:
We have finished recording our new full-length album with the legendary Sylvia Massy in Ashland, Oregon!
Stay tuned in 2026 for a new era of Monolord…
Photo by James Rexroad.
Monolord are: Thomas V Jäger – Guitars & vocals Esben Willems – Drums Mika Häkki – Bass
Posted in Reviews on November 19th, 2025 by JJ Koczan
I was gonna do this whole week, happy Monday, happy Tuesday, happy Wednesday, but I happen to feel like an asshole typing the words “happy Wednesday,” so I’m going to refrain. Hope your week isn’t awful, in any case.
Or if it is, I hope music can help make it better. This Quarterly Review has been a breeze thus far and looking at the lineup for today I expect the trend to continue. Thanks for hanging in with it. We pass the halfway mark today and will wrap up on Friday, with 50 releases covered throughout the week.
Quarterly Review #21-30:
Amorphis, Borderland
Yeah, okay, you can go ahead and cancel the rest of the review. Yup, I know. I’d love to sit here and talk about how Finland’s Amorphis, some 35 years and upwards of 16 full-lengths later, are still refining their processes, conjuring melodic intricacy, and celebrating death metal in kind. I’d love to talk about the progressive strains in Borderland, or about how as recognizable as Amorphis are, they’re still able to find new ways to balance the keys and guitar, or to switch up the vocals, or even just to chug proggier on “Light and Shadow” and “Fog to Fod,” whatever it might be. I’d love to talk about all of that, but you see, the thing is… “Bones.” Specifically, the riff thereof, swept into with crushing majesty and rolled forth with knows-what-it-has certainty of the type one would expect from a long-established pro-shop genre-innovating band like Amorphis. I could go on about all the other stuff, but that riff is gonna be all you need to know ahead of time. I’ll hope to have it in my head for the next year or so.
One could spend the rest of this space recounting Joe Hasselvander‘s pedigree, from Death Row to Pentagram to Raven to The Hounds of Haseelvander, with stints in countless others including Blue Cheer besides, but that doesn’t tell you much about the doom of Fire on the Mountain. Hasselvander‘s third solo outing under his name and first in 25 years follows a traditional pattern of Doom Capitol blue-collar riffing that, it has to be acknowledged, Hasselvander had a part in establishing, while the man himself plays all instruments and handles vocals, at time with a bit of a lounge-singer edge with spoken lines, but when he reaches for the higher note in third cut “Holy Water,” a big moment in the song, it’s there for him. “Prodigal Sun” is one of several images taken from the bible and would seem to be autobiographical, and he ends with a fitting apex of nod and shred in “Darkest Before the Dawn.” He’s said he has plans for more, and indeed, Fire on the Mountain sounds more like a beginning than an end.
A current of crackling, tube-heating distortion begins in “Spine,” which introduces Kariti‘s third album, Still Life, and indeed even amid the The Keening-esque piano of “Nothing” and the title-track a short time later, that hard-toned drone becomes a backbone for the material. It’s not always there — arrangements are fluid around the central guitar/keys/voice — but for an artist working in a style so intentionally mindful of aesthetic, the My Bloody Valentine-esque noise swell of “Suicide by a Thousand Cuts,” the emergence of the static in “Naiznanku” and the rumble behind the closing prayer “Baptism” bring dark avant garde experimentalism to traditionalist melodies. This is what Kariti has been developing since 2020’s Covered Mirrors (review here), working with guitarist Marco Matta on a deepening collaboration. While retaining folkish intimacy thanks to the quiet stretches around this distorted crunch (looking at you, “Purge”), Kariti has never sounded farther-reaching.
They don’t make ’em like Burning Sister anymore, and listening to Ghosts, I’m less sure they ever did. Because as much as the Colorado now-twosome of bassist/vocalist/synthesist Steve Miller and drummer Alison Salutz continue to foster a druggy ’90s-type slackerism amid all the crash in opener “Brokedick Icarus” and the drawling march of “No Space or Time,” they’ve also never quite sounded as much themselves. There’s psychedelic shimmer in the noise swirling in the later reaches of “Stellar Ghost,” and “Lethe//Oblivion” (premiered here) is made all the more a ceremony with the thread of synth and/or amplifier hum. Meanwhile, “Swerve (Dead Stars)” would work as a new wave arrangement, I can feel it, and the longest-song-by-a-second “Dead Love” (7:20) closes with a thrilling roll and languid procession, reinforcing the downerism that’s been essential to Burning Sister since their outset. Whatever comes in the future, being a duo suits these songs.
A quick turnaround third full-length from London’s The Lunar Effect will be nothing to complain about for those who (like me) got on board with the London heavy rock outfit via last year’s Sounds of Green and Blue (review here). Also on Svart, the follow-up brims with cohesion in its songwriting and purpose in its twists, with the opener “Feed the Hand” establishing the command that proves unwavering through “Watchful Eye,” the brash speed-shuffler “Five and Two” and the lonely sway of “My Blue Veins” before “Stay With Me” modernizes Graveyardian soul en route to the grunge-riffed centerpiece “Settle Down.” The dynamic continues to expand with the piano-led “I Disappear” speaking to a burgeoning reach in songwriting, while “A New Moon Rises” regrounds and “Scotoma” smoothly finds a niche in desert rock that probably hundreds of bands wish they could make their own, and “Nailed to the Sky” rounds out by going big on tone and emotionality alike. So far, these guys are a better band than people know. They inject a little drama to these proceedings, and it sounds like there’s more to come.
While the closing title-track has a thread of prog metal that reminds of mid-period Devin Townsend, Auckland, New Zealand’s King Cruel back their 2023 Creeper three-song EP with a marked sense of atmosphere, the melodies of careening lead track “Haunting Time” calling to mind Boston’s Worshipper in their metallic underpinnings, shred and thoughtful melody. Sky Eater is my first exposure to the band, whose style balances mood and impact smoothly, and whose hooks are inviting without being cloying, as in “Diamond Darya,” which digs in and rides its central riff with a stoner rocker’s dedication and a poise that comes from knowing why they’re doing it. The aforementioned capper is the catchiest of the bunch, but King Cruel, goal-wise, have more in their sights than catchiness, and given the sprawl they lay out here, one can’t help but wonder if a debut album won’t be next.
I won’t claim to know how it was made, between what’s improvised, layered in, overdubbed, conjured from ethereal planes beyond the limits of understanding, and so on, but Angad Berar‘s eight-track/50-minute Sundae is indeed a sweet dish of psychedelic immersion. The Berlin-based solo artist made it in collaboration with guitarist/synthesist/bassist Kartik Pillai, while drummer Siddharth Kaushik sits in on the 10-minute penultimate cut and vocalist Chrisrah guests on the only song that isn’t a numbered jam, the moody mellow liquefier “Driving With You” before “Jam #3” and the horn sounds of “Jam #4” re-immerse the listener in slow-churning fluidity. “Jam #6,” with the live drums and extended runtime, is pointedly hypnotic in its first half, but has some Endless Boogie-type rock angularity later that makes it fun, while the closing “Jam #7” offers a seven-minute drone meditation before handing the listener back over to reality. Serenity abounds if you know where to find it.
Trevor’s Head, Fall Toward the Sun // Majesty and Harmony
Admirably celebrating their 15th anniversary in 2025 with touring and new music, UK melodic heavy rockers Trevor’s Head bring the Abbey Road-recorded “Fall Toward the Sun” and “Majesty and Harmony” together, not quite to encapsulate their sound or everything they’ve accomplished in their time, but to typify the ethic of marking the occasion by doing the thing itself; that is, they’re writing music because it’s what they love to do. “Fall Toward the Sun” and “Majesty and Harmony” both have an edge of aired-out ’90s-type noise rock — nothing new for Trevor’s Head in terms of style — but where they hit you with it up front in the first song, the latter holds its payoff in reserve for when they depart the titular harmonies and get to the surge of crunch in the midsection. Running seven minutes total, you wouldn’t accuse Trevor’s Head of overindulging, but instead, they give their fans and followers something new to dig into that in ethic and realization can only serve as a reminder of their appeal in the first place.
Burl, crunch, lumber, crush, groove and sprawl — the Rob Wrong (Witch Mountain)-recorded debut full-length from Portland, Oregon, riffchucking five-piece Ravine knows from whence it hails. There are some flashes of cosmic intention, but sludgier, earthbound nods pervade the five-track/47-minute outing, which holds its ambition not in a performative stylistic overreach — that is to say, Ravine are who they are musically; there’s no pretense here as they hit you with it straight forward — but in the course each of these tracks takes. Their heaviest onslaught might be in the willfully, almost gleefully grueling “Ennui,” of course the centerpiece, but even there Ravine aren’t content just to doom, or rock, or sludge out, etc., instead working to create a sense of momentum within the songs as each follows its own path, marking out its own place while adding to the whole. They’re not done growing, and I don’t think the balance of their approach is settled, but given what they already lay out, that’s a strength in their favor. This is the kind of debut that makes friends.
Sweden’s Malgomaj aren’t through the opening title-track (a bookending two-parter) of Valfiskens Buk before they’ve put forth primo hard boogie and inventive Sabbathry, classic in influence, modern in production/execution, and continuing to brim with movement as “Rembrants Skugga” and the softshow-ready “Hej Hej Malgomaj” back it. I suppose the elephant in the room here is Graveyard, but “Värddjur” has more Motörheaded foundations, and the instrumental “Itera Mot Solnedgången” hints toward Westernism before the seven-minute “Cyklopisk Betong” flattens with its early riff only to redirect to ’60s-ish garage jangle, so one wouldn’t accuse Malgomaj on this apparent debut of being singleminded, but neither are they lacking cohesion or flow between songs. “Stöttingfjället Rämnar” answers the heft of the track prior and “Det Är Nåt Fel På Solen” sets a languid march before “Valfiskens Buk Del 2” reprises the opener to make the album sound all the more complete, whether you speak the language or not.
Swedish heavy psychedelic/progressive rockers Maha Sohona will release their third album, A Dark Place, next week (Nov. 21) as their first offering through Bonebag Records and the awaited follow-up to 2021’s Endless Searcher (review here). That album was the band’s first since a 2014 self-titled debut and was well-received across the international heavy underground for its depth of tone and melodic, heavy psych-style warmth. A Dark Place, then, represents the quickest turnaround to-date from the three-piece of guitarist/vocalist Johan Bernhardtson, bassist Thomas Hedlund and drummer Erik Andersson, in addition to being a moment of arrival stylistically and in terms of the songs themselves. It is both the clearest and least reliant on effects they’ve yet sounded, and the most confident they’ve yet been in their stylistic purpose. The opening track, “Liquid Motion Medicine,” premieres below.
In representing A Dark Place, it offers sprawl, and Maha Sohona aren’t shy about filling the reaches they create. This happens in the shifting tempos and lumber of the opener, and most starkly perhaps in the closing pair of “Ostera” and the 10-and-a-half-minute finale “The Long Way Home,” which emphasize direct, effective loud/quiet tradeoffs rather than gradual and linear builds. What you get is that “Ostera” broods and explores a subdued, repetitive march with flourish here and there until at 4:35 someone throws Erik Andersson‘s drums down the stairs and Johan Bernhardtson‘s guitar and Thomas Hedlund‘s bass abandon their intimate exploration for full tonal and spacious nod. The progression there is most post-metallic, more martial somehow, and more doomed than in “The Long Way Home,” but pull itself back down to finish quietly ahead of the closer’s own procession.
Bernhardtson‘s vocals are more of a focal point (yes, to answer your question, I did originally type “vocal point” there; thanks for reading) for the recording certainly than they were in Endless Searcher, such that as they make their way into “The Long Way Home” — home is where the Heavy is, as my grandmother always said — the verses engage with emotion and melody, are able to turn with the mood and Alice in Chains lean in the guitar circa four minutes in, but still well away from the actual takeoff. Like much of A Dark Place, “The Long Way Home” feels born of a jam, and I’m not going to say it’s not without its element of meander, but that makes it all the more sweeping when at 7:44 the guitar clicks into the heavier nod that pays the song off, slower than “Ostera” before, still committed to melody, and cognizant of structure in the bookending quiet stretch that caps the album.
But in many situations, it’s languidity that holds sway, and that’s true of second cut “Visions,” as well as the stays-quiet, almost pop-ish “Uddh” that closes side A, the shortest inclusion by far at four minutes. Different songs working toward different goals, united in tone and intermittently cosmic bent. But there’s a plan at work throughout A Dark Place, and “Uddh” remains immersive in its alt-rock wander, and in starting side B, “Voyagers” is no less rich melodically on its way to one of the record’s heaviest stretches. In this way, Maha Sohona bring ambience into the core of their purpose, since no matter what a given song is doing at the time, they don’t depart from the sense of digging in. “Liquid Motion Medicine,” almost industrial-sounding in its midsection crunch (but for the soaring vocals), is vibrant in its heft, given presence through the dry vocal treatment, and they’ve never sounded heavier or more progressive than they do on the album that follows.
A crucial third album that very clearly has learned lessons from its predecessors, A Dark Place feels like the work of a band who’ve formed an idea of who they are musically, and it brings that to life with the promise of continued growth to come. We as listeners should be so lucky.
“Liquid Motion Medicine” premieres below. Thanks for reading and thanks to the band for letting me host the song.
Maha Sohona, “Liquid Motion Medicine” track premiere
Across six immersive tracks, A Dark Place channels northern melancholy, desert heaviness, and celestial calm into a sonic journey that will resonate with fans of Elder, Tool, and Alice In Chains. The record finds Maha Sohona expanding their signature blend of stoner, space rock, and heavy psych into bold new territories, merging crushing riffs with hypnotic grooves and vast melodic horizons.
From the northern lights of Umeå, Sweden, Maha Sohona crafts heavy, organic rock laced with psychedelic undertones and cinematic depth and ‘Liquid Motion Medicine’ encapsulates this evolution. A track both weighty and refined, drenched in cosmic atmosphere and guided by haunting clarity. It marks a new chapter for the Umeå-based trio, whose sound continues to bridge the earthly and the otherworldly.
Known for their dynamic live performances and atmospheric soundscapes, the trio blurs the line between fuzz-driven power and meditative calm. Originally formed in 2012, their self-titled debut was released in 2014 (Nasoni Records) and quietly helped them build a global cult following – particularly following the release of the song ‘Asteroids’, which to date has amassed over half a million Spotify streams.
After a seven-year hiatus, they resurfaced in 2021 with Endless Searcher (Made Of Stone Recordings), which was celebrated for its melodic depth and expansive scope. Since then, the band has completed two European tours, a Greek tour, and made appearances at major festivals including Krökbacken (Sweden) and DesertFest (London).
Posted in Bootleg Theater on October 27th, 2025 by JJ Koczan
Newcomer Swedish crushers Hexjakt will release their debut album, Blessing of the Damned, on Dec. 1 through Majestic Mountain and Burning Skull Records. It’s pointedly doomly fare for the latter, which is more in line with traditional metal, but heavy enough to be a 62-minute onslaught of all-in atmospheric sludge riffing; a lumbering and persistent heft of tone that pervades in the roll of opener “10,000 Crows” and the bassy, shouted-into-the-void early going of “Black Circle,” which follows, and is manifest throughout in various forms, whether it’s the all-out oppressive shove in the first half of “Void Throne” or the sparser landscaping of the later going in that same song.
Thirteen-minute closer “Cathedrals” might be named in honor of the English doom outfit who would seem to have inspired its central riff, while “The Act of Dying,” which follows “Wyrd” and is the shortest original selection on the 2LP at 5:27, brings High on Fire-esque gallop to the proceedings, departing from the norm established across the album to that point in terms of tempo, answering the stoner swing under the echoing shouts of “Void Throne” as well as the breakdown riff in the penultimate “Monolith,” as Blessing of the Damned reveals itself as something of a heavy underground melting pot while remaining consistent in terms of craft and willing to take the time to dig into the nine-minute “Black Circle” or bring a sense of individualism to the daring cover included, a take on Dio‘s “Don’t Talk to Strangers.”
Now, I don’t believe in sacred ground in terms of rock and roll. Songs are meant to be heard, played, lived with and lived in. But even a lesser track from Holy Diver — by which I mean “Don’t Talk to Strangers” isn’t “Rainbow in the Dark” or “Holy Diver” — is a risky one to take on, since invariably some portion of the listenership will have a strong association/expectation of what’s to come, and Hexjakt are very much not Dio stylistically. This turns out to make them all the more able to pull it off, since they’re not bending their aesthetic to suit the material, but reinterpreting the material through their own creative lens.
Following the pummel of “The Act of Dying,” which caps with a persistent, brutalist succession of crashes and stomping, “Don’t Talk to Strangers” is hardly recognizable if you have the original in mind, with a spoken verse and foreboding fuzz opening to a consuming sprawl of riff, more weighted than what will soon follow amid the airier leads of “Monolith,” but well in line with the oldschool-aware slog that “Cathedrals” willfully becomes in its first half, before breaking to minimalist strum to build back up to Blessing of the Damned‘s last march, vocals shouting upward from deep in the mix to push the crescendo over.
If you find yourself struck by the cohesion and scope with which Hexjakt, who’ve been a band all of a year and had a self-titled EP out before having their first album picked up for release by two labels, execute their debut full-length, and maybe you’re asking yourself “who the hell are these guys?,” guitarist/vocalist Hampus Henningsson was in Signo Rojo early on in their run, bassist/vocalist Toni Åkerman was in Demon Seizure and has the solo-project Cibola, while Dan Nordinhasn’t been in 35 bands already, which for a good drummer is an accomplishment in itself.
Rather than look to pedigree for answers, then, Blessing of the Damned‘s own declarations about who Hexjakt are turn out to be more revealing in terms of tonal character, the bourgeoning of divergent intent in songwriting, and generally being the work of a band who pretty clearly had an idea of what they wanted to be upon getting together, even if that idea was wrought out as being very, very heavy. Hexjakt are that, to be sure, but Blessing of the Damned plays out with more personality of its own the more you hear it, and by the time its substantial course is over, it’s not a surprise to look around and find yourself in the sometimes-severe world the songs have made.
It is full of purpose in sound and construction, and if Hexjakt are committed to forward creative growth — something one can’t really know until it shows up in their sound on future outings — look the frick out, because few starting points feel as willfully self-directed as Blessings of the Damned, and so few resonate with as much potential.
PR wire info follows the lyric video
Hexjakt, “The Act of Dying” lyric video premiere
Hexjakt on “The Act of Dying”:
“The Act of Dying” is a dark, heavy, and unrelenting track exploring themes of mortality and transcendence. It’s also the final glimpse of the upcoming album “Blessing of the Damned,” out December 1st.
Hexjakt is a heavy, brooding doom metal band from Västmanland, Sweden. Formed in 2024, the band forges crushing riffs, haunting soundscapes, and introspective lyrics into a sound rooted in the spirit of classic doom, yet unmistakably their own.
Their music is slow, monolithic, and emotionally charged, delving into themes of the occult, human frailty, and the vast unknown. Released earlier this year, Hexjakt’s debut EP drew glowing praise from both listeners and critics, celebrated for its depth, intensity, and suffocating atmosphere.
On stage, the band delivers performances as punishing as they are immersive, dragging audiences into a realm of gloom, weight, and revelation.
With an unyielding focus on mood, texture, and emotional resonance, Hexjakt invites listeners on a journey through despair, mystery, and the shadows beyond.
Now the band returns with their first full-length album, Blessing of the Damned, set to be released on December 1, 2025 via Majestic Mountain Records in collaboration with Burning Skull Records.
A collection of the darkest and most conceptually charged songs they’ve written to date, Blessing of the Damned explores the tension between damnation and redemption, light and darkness. The music unfolds in a soundscape of crushing, slow-paced riffs, murky atmospheres, and lyrics evoking ritual ecstasy, defiance, and resignation.
Blessing of the Damned is no salvation. It is a curse you choose to carry.
Tracklisting: 1. 10,000 Crows 2. Black Circle 3. Void Throne 4. Wyrd 5. The Act of Dying 6. Don’t Talk to Strangers 7. Monolith 8. Cathedrals
Line-Up: Hampus Henningsson – Guitar/Vocals Toni Åkerman – Bass/Vocals Dan Nordin – Drums
Posted in Whathaveyou on October 23rd, 2025 by JJ Koczan
One might recall Blues.Noir bassist/vocalist Daniel Palm (center above) from the rhythm section of Gothenburg sci-fi-themed crunchriffers Cities of Mars, who called it a day last year. Blues.Noir is a new project whose debut single “Främlingar på tåg” is out today, working around the concept of playing dark, heavy blues rock and making a point of doing so in Swedish. For the song, Cities of Mars‘ drummer Johan Aronstedt recorded, and the trio indeed manifests a darker sense of tonal threat certainly than one thinks of modern blues rock as having.
I don’t know much about the band’s plans going forward, but they note below there are more singles coming as they continue their initial explorations of the concept and where it might take them in terms of sound. A heavy blues revamp is easy enough to get on board with considering that so much of ‘blues rock’ is flat-out awful — I’m not supposed to say that but I don’t care — but I wouldn’t assume they’re done growing as a project just because they have an idea to start from either.
You’ll find “Främlingar på tåg” at the bottom of this post. Here’s background from the PR wire:
BLUES.NOIR – On a mission to play the blues heavier than ever, in Swedish.
Once, the blues could be played loud and dirty, rivalling many rock bands in heavy ferocity. These days, the blues is often an old man’s genre, either relishing in glories past, lingering as a non-grooving inoffensive muzak or being packaged in a big band Bonamassa-style bonanza. This state of affairs will of course not do. In Sweden, as elsewhere, the blues needs a double shot of heaviness and darkness and that’s where BLUES.NOIR are cranking their amps.
To make things more interesting, all lyrics are sung in Swedish, drawing inspiration equally from our current bleak times of hybrid warfare and the rumble from the East, as well as Lovecraft-esque tales of horrors in the dark.
After disbanding Cities of Mars in 2024, Daniel Palm spent some time looking for a new creative outlet. Being a lifelong fan of ZZ Top, a seed was rooting for a band that combined the bluesy riffs of yesteryear with the influences of stoner, doom and heavy psych that years of writing, recording and touring with CoM had brought. Soon drummer Magnus Könberg was added with a string of potential guitarists coming and going. With the rhythm section quickly settling in firmly, finding a guitar player that had good improvisational skills, a sense of the blues as well as a good handling of brutal riff weight proved a lot harder. Most of 2024 was spent trying out guitar candidates while writing songs.
A concert with legendary Swedish band Kent in 2025 proved to be an epiphany, when the emotional directness of lyrics in Daniel’s native language suddenly gave an interesting idea of translating all the songs into Swedish. For better or worse, this change brought an interesting dimension to the band and at the same time drummer Magnus’ old bandmate Tim McWeird joined on guitar. Tim quickly proved to have both a properly loud amp setup as well as riffs and solos aplenty, suddenly songs were completed and the band live debuted short thereafter.
The first single Främlingar på tåg (Strangers on a train) was quickly recorded with ex-CoM drummer Johan Aronstedt before being sent to Kent Stump of Wo Fat fame at his Crystal Clear Sound studio in Dallas, TX for mixing. This first song has quite a classical blues structure, but played with hard intent and is meant to be cranked loud. Three more songs are in the pipeline for release in the coming months and now BLUES.NOIR are ready to blow out the windows of blues venues where cobwebs have grown long enough.
Blues.Noir are: Tim McWeird – guitar Daniel Palm – bass/vocals Magnus Könberg – drums
