“Birds of Maya did what countless garage rock geeks try and fail at: dust off 1968 and bring it back to life without making it look like museum piece. Bringing on the best of 60s power trios like Hendrix and Cream, a whiff of Blue Cheer’s bongwater, Black Sabbath’s bass heavy paranoia, and Stooges bum-out, they were sloppy in all the right places. The jamming never got tired and held everyone’s raptattention.”
“Jam sessions musically oriented at playing progressive rock with the emphasis on psychedelic and space… GREEN MILK FROM THE PLANET ORANGE offers excellent space and heavy psychedelic rock and can be rated on the same level as other Japanese acts like ‘Acid Mothers Temple’ and ‘Flower Travelin’ Band’.”
“Hailing from Munich, they follow in the tradition of other classic rock trios such as Cream, Grand Funk Railroad and The Jimi Hendrix Experience… Initially, the band seemed to be strongly influenced by the sounds of Black Sabbath… This style later evolved into an unmistakably dry, bass-laden soundscape. Characteristic of this phase is Kogleks’ continual guitar playing between trance-like bass rhythms… further develop this style with longer, more complex song structures, and increasingly strong jam and jazz elements. The results of these experiments were, in part, ridiculously long, complex, and self-referential 20-minute songs.”
“Michigan free-rock band, founded in 1992 and active until 1999, with a brief reunion in 2002 to promote a special 10-year commemorative box set edition of their CD on Enterruption, “Freedom’s just another word for never getting paid.” Messy, abrasive, loose and at their best transcendent, Gravitar forged an improv-driven path between heavy rock touchstones like the Melvins, Sabbath and Unsane with out-jazz, space rock and psychedelic noise.”
“In case you hadn’t figured it out yourself, Hash Jar Tempo takes its name from the 70s Kraut rock group Ash Ra Temple. Pretty funny, huh? This pretty much sums up the band: take that Kraut sound and bring it to the future under the guise of epic-length drone, and you have Hash Jar Tempo. Despite the Hash part of the name, the music is not necessarily drug-influenced, but rather, just like with those old Germans, “the drug was the music.” In other words, Hash Jar Tempo is less about seeing where altered states can take you, and more about creating those altered states.”
“While the “free folk” music boom from Finland has recently grabbed the ears of many of this planet’s less ape-eared, Holy Mountain is more than pleased to extend a hand to the darker— not to mention-more rocking— side of this contemporaneous scene. Tivol plays a throbbing, violent and aggressive strain of acid rock that has nothing to do with subtlety. Their already hypnotic material is further enhanced by screamed vocals that do not seem to emanate from this earth.”
“A project by guitarist and multi-instrumentalist Steven R. Smith. Throughout his career as a solo artist, and through membership with the celebrated ensembles Thuja and Mirza, Steven R. Smith has had a hand in creating some of the most compelling and singular instrumental psychedelic music of the past ten years… As Ulaan Khol, Smith digs in deep with a palette of drums/guitar/organ to craft a monolithic & expansive free form, feedback-heavy atmospheric din that bonds the disparate realms of Fushitsusha and High Rise with Popul Vuh and Flying Saucer Attack.”
“FIRST MATTER represents Sungod’s first recorded excursions into the vastness of the inner space. The sonic forms move from driving 70’s psychedelia to desolate western soundscapes and create a cerebral amalgam of heavy riffs, hypnotic drones, and pulsing rhythms. Captured to analog tape, the nature of the sound is organic, warm and intimate. This quality of the recording, combined with the exploratory nature of the music, make the two-piece’s cosmic collection of improvisations and compositions an ideal soundtrack for the altered mind.”
“After a seemingly random sonic collision over the city of Heidelberg in later 2008, the constellation of *Buddha Sentenza* began to form during the darkest hours of that cold and silent winter. Deep under the earth, in the hidden bowels of the Klonlabor tunnel complex, the searing strings and pounding drums condensed rapidly to form a nebulous cloud of loosely jammed, spaced-out, rocking riffs. Rotating freely around some of the most ancient soundscapes – from the astral end of the Pink Floyd to the depths of galaxies such as Black Sabbath – Buddha Sentenza has continued to expand, drawing energy from contemporary constellations as well. Thus, its elements follow the trail of early rock psychonauts and modern riffrockers alike, fusing droning riffs, screaming solos and cosmic harmonies into an instrumental sound experience that defies any strict genre boundaries. The result is a texture that combines the raw massiveness of rock with the infinite possibilities of outer space.”
“EL PÁRAMO got independent of an elderly Spanish rock band SOU EDIPO in the beginning of 2005. As a four-piece instrumental rock outfit much influenced by stoner rock, heavy metal, and progressive rock, the founding members – Santi (drums), Macón (guitars), Santi Ventreri (bass), and Jorge (guitars) – could make a great success of their first concert in the end of August 2005 under the slogan of inquiry into Stoner Progressive Rock world, obviously different from ADRIFT, Macón and Jorge’s metal band. In September 2008 EL PÁRAMO finally released their eponymous debut album on Alone Records.”