I’ve been feeling a little “groovy” lately and wanted to share a few stoner/heavy psych fuzz rock/sludge/doom bands I’ve been checking out. So “indulge” yourself and get your groove on with these four bands you might not have heard of.
FACE ON MARS
https://www.facebook.com/faceonmars/timeline
http://faceonmars.bandcamp.com/
Founded in 2006, Face on Mars combines heavy rock with elements of psychedelic rock, desert rock, doom, and southern sludge. Hailing from the birthplace of rock n’ roll, Hattiesburg, Mississippi, the band remains as the area’s active force in keeping heavy rock and roll alive. At first, the band gathered most of its influences from the fuzzy grooves of Kyuss, the oddball heaviness of the Melvins, and the brutal onslaught of Electric Wizard and High On Fire. By the summer of 2008, a passion for 1970s rock emerged. Guitarist/Vocalist Drew Kern began to inject the soulful wailing of Mountain and Grand Funk Railroad, while the music was laced with traces of Pentagram and Deep Purple.
During the summer of 2011, “Jump the Gun” was released on a 7″ split record with Mississippi punk legends, Before I Hang. The song was also featured onStonerRock.com‘s Compilation Vol. 9. Maximum Rock N Roll Issue #347 labeled it “a mindbender…tweaked out stoner metal.” For the past 8 years, Face on Mars has remained active and played shows alongside many touring artists such as Before I Hang, Stellatone, Emerald Heavy, The Stovebolts, Cooze Hound, Royal Thunder, Slo Poke, Mothership, Bass Drum of Death, Cough, Dark Castle, Dax Riggs, The Unnaturals, Dummy Dumpster, Smoke & Feathers, Haarp, Vorpal Hand, That Yellow Bastard and many more.
In 2014, the long awaited, self-titled debut album was produced and self-released by Face on Mars. Engineered and mixed by Mark Black and mastered by Chris Goosman (Greenleaf, Mos Generator, Dixie Witch), the album showcases the band’s diverse range of styles in the hard rock realm. The album is highly influenced by 70s rock (Thin Lizzy, Black Sabbath, Pink Floyd) as well as the modern take on heavy fuzzy rock (Fu Manchu, Queens of the Stone Age, Truckfighters).
SNOW WHITE
https://www.facebook.com/pages/Snow-White-Band/337331516326442?sk=timeline
Snow White is a band, proud to be out of Longview Washington. We are experienced professionals and are available for all of your parties and puke fests.
ROADKILLSODA
https://www.facebook.com/RoadKillSoda/timeline
RoadkillSoda is the reflection of the 70s American hawk, of the dusty Dodge, ragged T-shirts, tattoos, beards, booze, naked chicks and good vibes.
The group started off as a jam session between Mihnea’s guitar and Para’s drums in the winter of 2010-2011, in a cold, dimly-lit room filled with smoke and music blasting through the walls.
And so, the stoner, sludge, psychedelic and rock’n’roll sounds fusion would become RoadkillSoda, a fresh, intense and unconventional project. Vava, Mihnea’s brother form the same mother, promptly took the, often underestimated, role of the bass player, adding a dirty bass sound that does not go unnoticed.
As spontaneous as the entire project, the debut EP “A Fucked Up Trip Gone Bad” pops up, basically live recording from the rehearsal room and was released in 2011, via Asiluum label.
In 2012, Sebi joins Mihnea, Para and Vava in their journey. The band consequently assumes, without compromises, its ideal form and color – a metamorphosis fuelled by the sound, atmosphere and by the people on stage and in front of it.
In less than a year, the band wrote, recorded and produced the first official album. “Oven Sun” embodies the experiences of a man who wakes up in the middle of nowhere, bound to wonder and to take in both the good and the bad. From mirages and oasis to the burning sun and the endless desert, the album envisages RoadkillSoda’s metaphor of life. The “happy-end” is depicted through sorrow, despair and bleak scenarios carried out with a mask displaying a caddish grin, an attitude that fittingly sums up “Oven Sun” by one line – “F**k’em with a smile”.
THUNDERS OF WRATH
https://www.facebook.com/Thunders.Of.Wrath/timeline
Thunders of Wrath is an **unsigned** American rock band with a 11-song debut vinyl in post-production.
Described as “old school rules with a new-fangled yet reverent rock swagger”. Others have said “refreshingly classic”. To put it simply, we make rock, it’s who we are what we love and what we do.
School chums Mason Flippin and Cooper Farris form the rhythm core, meeting in junior high and growing up together as musicians. Guitarist Joe Papen joins in January 2012. Tom Vekakis joins on vocals in August 2012. Jake Fouts joins on keyboards in July 2014.
Ages 21-24, all born and raised in the Tacoma/Puyallup area, currently recording original music and playing shows to audiences along the west coast.
We strive for a sound that is timeless, yet always in the moment… all-killer, no-filler. ROCK GROOVES.
Released first EP – The Grand Alliance in August, 2013, available digitally on iTunes, Spotify, Amazon and other digital services, and in our favorite indie record stores all across the pacific NW.
Music Video for “Lighting the Lantern”, Nov 2013 on YouTube (SD), Vimeo (HD) and Facebook.
Played 54 shows in 2014.
Self-produced holiday special December 2014 previews the videos and mini-sodes in production for 2015 album release.
Full length album recorded 2014, currently in post, to be released around March 2015.
There you have it! Some new bands for ya earholes. Help a band get heard!
it’s loud, it’s dirty, it’s Rock N’ Roll!
-the Hellion
the Hellion Rocks 