MISS LAVA ~ UNDER A BLACK SUN .... review

There are not many bands in this underground rock scene that can celebrate twenty years of existence, let's face it the pressure on today's musicians having to hold down full time jobs, look after families while still trying to find time to practise, rehearse. gig, write tunes and record are immense and have seen many a band fall by the wayside. One band who have managed to navigate their way around the music making vs life balance conundrum are Portugal's Miss Lava, a band who's line up still includes two original members, Johnny Lee (vocals) and K. Raffah (guitars). Miss Lava celebrate their 20th anniversary as a band this year with the release of "Under A Black Sun" (Small Stone Records/Kozmik Artifactz), Lee and Raffah joined by current members Ricardo Ferreira (bass) and P. Gonçalves (drums) on what could possibly be described as the bands most intense and diverse release to date.

"Dark Tomb Nebula" is not a title that exactly screams cheerful so it will come as no surprise that this opening number has an air of moodiness and melancholy about it, having said that this not a song that wallows in despair or depression in fact looking at the songs lyrics it would seem that this is more about being overawed by something that is so much larger than ones self, which in this case seems to refer to the universe. Lee delivers those lyrics in a low restrained croon, which adds extra gravitas to the songs melancholic feel, Lee only really letting loose on the songs chorus. Musically the songs groove sits somewhere between progressive doom and spacious heavy psych, a sort of  Elder meets Howling Giant vibe with maybe just a little Hawkwind-esque swirliness thrown in for good measure. Things get a little more upbeat and stoner-ish for next song "Neon Gods" Ferreira and Gonçalves laying down a solid backdrop of bass and drum groove for guitarist Raffah to decorate with a mix of crunching and shimmering colours and textures while Lee lyrically ponders on the vagaries of the human mind with a vocal that melodically tiptoes into areas once inhabited by the UK's Stone Roses. The two songs we've covered in this review up to this point are dynamically very different yet you can still tell you are listening to the same band and that is the story throughout this album with songs like "Chaos Strain", "Woe Warrior", "Fear In Overdrive", "I Drown" and title track "Under A Black Sun" all coming from different places sonically and dynamically yet all in possession of a sound that remains unmistakably Miss Lava's, which in a world where so many bands sound alike is an impressive feat.

It has been almost a full four years since Miss Lava presented us with the exceptionally brilliant "Doom Machine" and in that time a lot has happened to the band both personally and musically, whether those changes have had a direct effect on the musical approach taken on new album "Under A Black Sun" is something you would have to ask the band themselves about but there does seem to be textures and colours to be found here that were not so much lacking on "Doom Machine" as not fully explored, textures and colours we hope the band will experiment further with on future releases, let's just hope we don't have to wait another four years this time.

Check 'em out ...  

© 2025 Frazer Jones

SONIC DEMON ~ PLANET TERROR ..... review

Here we have another of those scuzzy heavily distortion drenched album from an Italian underground rock band, yes another one of those albums that blends Electric Wizard type doom with heavy psych and elements of 70's proto-metal and tends to drown out its vocals under a blanket of gritty fuzz. Over the last five to ten years we have been swamped with grooves of this nature from bands with names like Demonio, Witchsnake and Wizard Master and we at Desert Psychlist honestly cannot get enough of them, the thrumming grooves these bands serve up is like a drug that we just cannot do without and today sees the release of a new album from one of our favourite dealers in this commodity, the mighty Sonic Demon, Alex (guitars/vocals and bass effects) and Piero (drums) The new album goes by the title "Planet Terror" (Majestic Mountain Records) and of course sports the requisite retro artwork we have come to expect to see gracing albums residing in this gloriously noisy branch of underground rock music..

Things get underway with the deliciously acidic "Demonbreath", Piero supporting Alex's fuzzy guitar refrains and sneery husky vocals with thundering solid busy drumming, Alex telling us, in surprisingly clear and upfront tones, a tale of riding a demon through a dragon's eyes as well as  filling our heads with images of laughing gods and dancing witches, its trippy stuff indeed. Next track "Cult of the Fire" sees Alex adding a little reverb to his fuzz to get a darker more doomic tone while Piero opts for a more pounding attack with his drumming, the songs lyrical content here is again delivered in husky clean tones but here sit a little deeper in the mix. Title track "Planet Terror" sees Sonic Demon getting down and extremely filthy on a groove that really showcases the bands Electric Wizard influences, it would also seem the trip these guys were on has taken a nasty turn as here we have Alex waxing lyrical about "serpent men" and "zombies addicted to death". The band remain in doomic territory for "Godhead Overdose" but the overall dynamic here is faster and harder while the epic sized "Beyond Eternity" goes in completely the other direction and slows things down while also getting a little hazy in the vocal department, for the most part this song lopes along on a diet of heavily fuzzed out riffage and thundering percussion but then unexpectedly closes out in a wall of droning noise and dark feedback. Penultimate track "Rolling Thunder" lives up to its title due to its rolling stoner rock gait and, you guessed it, being thunderous, which brings us to final number "Hellqueen" an instrumental that sees Piero laying down a fairly simplistic four to the floor beat over which Alex twins WAH type bass effects with his usual array of pedals to create an off-kilter, dissonant noise that is as schizophrenic as it is brilliant!.

The music Sonic Demon deliver on "Planet Terror" is gritty, fuzzy and unbelievably noisy, an honest if at times chaotic music made by two Italians who as well as sharing a love of fuzzy distorted acidic guitar textures and powerful thundering rhythms also share a love of making music together. 

Check it out ...

© 2025 Frazer Jones

VOID KING ~ THE HIDDEN HYMNAL: CHAPTER II ..... review

The return of the king, no not that one from Tolkein's Lord of the Rings but Void King the prog metal/doom/stoner rock quartet hailing from from Indianapolis, Indiana. The band have just released their fourth full length studio album "The Hidden Hymnal: Chapter II" (Argonauta Records), the follow up to their extremely well received 2023 release "The Hidden Hymnal". Void King, Derek Felix (drums/percussion); Chris Carroll (bass); Jason Kindred (vocals) and Tommy Miller (guitar) had already built themselves a reputation for releasing music of quality and depth, thanks to albums like "There Is Nothing" and "Barren Dominion", but the release of "The Hidden Hymnal" proved to be a game changer that saw a whole host of new fans flocking to the bands flag. Of course releasing something as powerful and well received as "The Hidden Hymnal" was always going to raise expectations for the bands next project, could their next album match the intensity and majesty of their last album or would it be fated to forever dwell in its shadow? Well in our humble opinion "Chapter II" is every bit as majestic and intense as its predecessor if not more so.

Starting an album with a strong opening number will almost always guarantee that any casual listeners will still be listening when the second song rolls along and hopefully beyond that and Void King open "Chapter II" with an absolute belter in the shape of "The Birth Of All Things". The songs starts fairly lightweight with a lone guitar motif but then in comes the bass and drums and things take on a much weightier feel, that added weightiness giving Kindred the perfect platform to unleash his strong deep and rich vocals, how good are those vocals? Well let us just say that if this man decided to sing a McDonalds menu Desert Psychlist would still listen. The rest of the band are no shrinking violets here either, Felix's drumming is at times Bonham-esque but he also has that swing thing going on too, bassist Carroll lays it down low deep and gnarly where it is needed and big and bouncy where it is not and Miller fills in any spaces left with crunching chord work, shimmering licks and tasteful searing lead. Next up is "A Union of Expired Souls" a song with a strong progressive metal meets traditional/epic doom feel that is further enhanced by a vocal that sits very much in that latter territory, things become even more doomic as the song progresses with the songs groove taking on a more sedate stoner-doom dynamic and sees Kindred trading off his clean gothic tinted tones with those of a more harsher and growlier nature. The following "Prologue", is an instrumental piece anchored to earth by Carroll's dark thrumming bass and Felix's varied, but always solid and tight, drumming over which Miller layers a virtual smorgasbord of guitar colourings and textures. "Attrition" sounds like it should be heavy and for the most part it is, except for an intriguing middle section where things get interestingly jazzy, in a fusion kind of way, while "Convalescence" sways between crunching heaviness and progressive bluesiness, both songs featuring outstanding contributions from all involved  both instrumentally and vocally. Second to last number "Expiration" begins life sludgy and metallic and features vocals that are a mix of harsh and clean, although interrupted by a passage of lysergic laced progressiveness this song may not only be this albums heaviest track but also it is its gnarliest. Finally we get the wave goodbye that is "Epilogue", it may not be the barnburner some might have been expecting to close such a powerful album but it does have its own off-kilter charm, albeit a charm curtailed to just over the one minute mark. 

Void King's "The Hidden Hymnal: Chapter II" is a magnificent album packed  to the gills with great musicianship and superb vocal performances, an album that works both as a stand alone opus in its own right and as a companion piece to its equally magnificent predecessor. 

Check it out ....

© 2025 Frazer Jones

HERÁLDICA DE MANDRAKE - NUNCA BASTÓ CON REZAR .... review

 

Two things that must have become evident to Desert Psychlist readers over the years is firstly the Psychlist's love of doom residing at the traditional, proto, stoner and psych ends of the spectrum and secondly our passion for promoting bands from the South and Central American continent. Today we get a chance to indulge in both of those passions by reviewing "Nunca bastó con rezar" the latest release from Chilean masters of the down-tuned riff  Heráldica de Mandrake, Francisco Visceral Rivera (guitar/vocals); Cristian Rivera (drums/percussion) and Vicente Zamorano (bass). 

"Nunca bastó con rezar" starts its journey with "Incertidumbre y gloria" a song that opens low slow dank and stoner doomic and then suddenly shifts up a gear into a strident proto metallic groove, Desert Psychlist's first thought here was to describe this groove as Sabbathian but on closer inspection this is a groove much more akin to that of bands like Witchfinder General, Trouble and early Cirith Ungol, bands who mixed their doom with elements of NWOBHM and old school heavy metal. The vocals, sang in Spanish, however have their own unique stamp, clean powerful and delivered with just a hint of gothic resonance they are nothing short of superb! "Jamás Domesticado" follows and the feel here is much more traditional and epic with basement level bass and a mix of militaristic and four to the floor drumming supporting dark searing guitar work beneath another rich toned vocal, this however is just one part of the whole as around the halfway mark things take an unexpected turn into lysergic territories that sees fractured guitar voicings shimmering over and around mournful dirge-like vocal melodies to give the remainder of the song an almost spiritual/ritualistic dynamic. That spiritual/ritualistic vibe continues into the deeply atmospheric and psychedelic "Peca y Sé Libre" only here those melodies take on a more Gregorian/monastic feel, again this is only half the story as its not long before things start getting a little heady and heavy with Vicente Zamorano laying down a gnarly-assed bass line, supported by some nice jazzy drumming from Cristian Rivera, over which Francisco Visceral Rivera layers all sorts of off centred guitar effects and textures, if you like your doom to get a little weird and wonderful in places then this song is a go to! Final number "Ebrio en el Fin del Mundo" sees Heráldica de Mandrake at their most atmospheric and epic but also at their most diverse, here we have a song that changes direction more times than a kite caught in a crosswind, shifting back an forth between grooves that run the whole gamut of doom, bar its extremities, around a vocal that is as emotive as it is powerful, its an awesome album closer!

On occasions hard driven and crunchy and on occasions atmospheric, spiritual and experimental Heráldica de Mandrake's "Nunca bastó con rezar" is not what you could call an archetypical doom album it is however still a SUPERB doom album, an album that will tick the boxes of all those who like their doom accessible but are also not adverse to a spot of boundary pushing.

Check it out .... 

© 2025 Frazer Jones

THE MIFFS ~ THE MIFFS ..... review

We at Desert Psychlist have to admit to being a little bemused when seeing the word "surf" included in any bands musical description, we suppose this bemusement comes from our inability to disconnect in our minds the term from the sing-a-long harmonies and wholesome catchy melodies of the Beach Boys, a band and style of music we just never ever gelled with. Thankfully, for us anyway, Australian trio The Miffs book-end the word "surf" in their self-description with two words we CAN get on board with (no pun intended), those words being "psych" and "grunge". The band, Erin Grace Donnarumma (guitar,/vocals/synth/sitar); Hannah Mawson (bass) and Sinead Brassil (drums), have just released their debut album "The Miffs" a release that does possess some subtle surf like guitar textures scattered around here and there but is on the whole a gritty blending of heady psych and melodic grunge/alternative rock.

Proceedings get underway with "Somnium Sonos" an instrumental built around a series of recurring guitar motifs supported by low bouncy bass and industrious drumming, a great introductory number. "Forever Is A Very Long Time" finds The Miffs blending their psych, surf and grunge with a touch of indie-rock like twang beneath a vocal melody that sways between ethereal and folky and tells us that "life ain't easy" and "it ain't no use to cry". Mawson's bass and Brassil's drums introduce next song "High On Spite" and are, after a few bars, joined by Donnarumma's distinctive guitar tones in a groove that is heavily psychedelic but also quite jazzy, that jazziness also finding its way into Donnarumma's superbly delivered vocal. Donnarumma swaps her guitar for a sitar on the delicious eastern flavoured "Forbearance" while also waxing lyrical on aspects of the human condition, Mawson and Brassil however are a little less subtle with their contributions, Mawson's distorted to the max bass and Brassil's busy drums bringing a nice element of grungy dirtiness to the table. "Do Right By The Ones You Love" boasts an early Colour Haze feel, albeit if Colour Haze were fronted by a vocalist whose voice is a cross between legendary Brazilian jazz singer Flora Purim and Eva Hägen of French alternative rockers Grandma's Ashes. The previous songs Colour Haze vibe is also mirrored on the excellent "No Stairway" only here with the vocals taking on a more lilting folk-like dynamic. Things get a little more alternative and grungy for the albums final two songs , "50 Years" and "State Of My Blood" the former telling a slightly cryptical lyrical tale far too many women will be sadly too familiar with, the latter a rant against being forced to take sides by those with a vested interest in the choices you make, both sets of lyrics set against musical backdrops that are hard driven and thunderous without being over the top heavy.

A seriously impressive debut album from a seriously good band, "The Miffs" is not an overly hefty album musically but it is a considerably weighty album lyrically, a collection of songs that tackle important issues both head on and cryptically against musical backdrops that range from gentle to crunchy and all the various stops in-between.

Check it out ...

© 2025 Frazer Jones

ZARGENZEIN ~ GOT ELECTRICITY? ..... review

Ask many musicians, working in the fields of stoner/desert rock, sludge and doom, which band has influenced them the most to do what they are doing musically and Black Sabbath is very likely to be the very first name dropping from their lips, however, there are some parts of Europe where if that same question were asked the answer would just as likely be Electric Wizard. Four musicians likely to answer that question with the words Electric and Wizard are Dande Kemppainen (guitar/vocals); Tuukka Niemi (vocals/guitar); Thalia Nivala (bass) and Aapi Pietilä (drums), a quartet from Tampere, Finland working under the collective name Zargenzein. Zargenzein have just dropped their debut EP "Got Electricity?" on Bandcamp, a delicious mix of sludgy distortion drenched doom, sludge and heavy metal that takes its cues not only from Electric Wizard but also the bands #2 inspiration Iron Maiden.

"Inhaling Amazon" kicks off proceedings, this is a song boasting heavy throbbing doomic grooves accompanied by off kilter, slightly dissonant, guitar textures and sampled narrative. The songs dynamics are somewhat reminiscent, in places, of those emanating from the Italian scuzz/acid doom scene with heavily filtered sneery vocals delivered over a backdrop of deliciously thrumming heaviness, however,  the main difference between what Zargenzein deliver and that which you might find gracing an album by Demonio or Witchsnake is that where those two Italian bands will often drench everything in distortion and fuzz Zargenzein are a a touch more restrained with their use of effects pedals, the band tending to bring a little more clarity to the table. Next up is "Pinnacler" here we find the quartet serving up ear-catching riffs and motifs over a thunderously swinging groove that is probably slightly more heavy rock than it is doom, the song also features some nicely traded off guitar soloing as well as another of those sneery heavily filtered vocal performances. You might expect a song titled "Attic Demon" to be heavily doomic and maybe a touch brutal, which in parts it is, but it also turns out to be quite bluesy and proto-metallic too, although you could hardly describe its accompanying vocals as sitting in either of those camps. For their final track Zargenzein ditch the sneered manic vocalising for a more traditional doomic delivery and twin that delivery with grooves that also sit in the traditional doom pocket, albeit regularly diverting into stoner and proto territories. It would be interesting to see if this more "traditional" direction will be something the band will to explore further on future recordings, they certainly have a gift for it. 

Zargenzein deliver, with "Got Electricity?", all the filth and nastiness you could ask for in the medium of heavy music but manages to do so without becoming an unlistenable mess or just a wall of untamed noise, that's not to say that things don't get noisy, they do, but its a controlled noisiness, a structured noisiness, a beautifully thunderous and totally addictive noisiness.

Check it out ...... 

© 2025 Frazer Jones

SWAMPLORD ~ WITCHLAND ..... review

Not a lot gets past us here at Desert Psychlist but Swamplord's latest release "Witchland" nearly did, which is especially galling as we covered the bands previous release "Tombstone" on these very pages. Thankfully our fellow Doom Charts contributor Doomcakes (Screaming From The Heavy Underground) saved our blushes by alerting us to its release via the Doom Charts contributors private Facebook page which in turn prompted this review. For those not familiar with Swamplord the band are a Russian trio hailing from Murom consisting of Ilya Mitin (vocals); Konstantin Igonin (bass) and Sergey Chizhov (guitar), as with their previous releases Swamplord make no mention of a drummer in their album notes so we can only assume some clever programming is involved in the recording process or their drummer wishes to remain anonymous due being a wanted criminal or involved in covert operations, either way there are drums involved and they are pretty damn solid. That cleared up lets talk about the new album.

Opening number "D,T.W.S.M" does away with any niceties and gets down and dirty right from the off, guitar nerds will adore the fuzzy tones of the guitar and bass decorating this stoner-doomic tome while vocal buffs will surely pick up on the grunge-like dynamics of its chorus, there is also a pretty nifty soaring guitar solo to contend with here too that cuts through the fuzz and distortion surrounding it like a hot knife through butter. A short burst of feedback announces the arrival of next track "Initiation", followed by a deeply distorted stoner meets proto-doom groove supported by solid heavy percussion, this is an instrumental number but its lack of vocals becomes hardly noticeable thanks to its searing lead work. Third track "At The Altar Of Pan" features a gritty swinging vocal melody adorning a groove that sways between brutal and lysergic while title track "Witchland", another instrumental, begins funky and loose and then somewhere down the line morphs into this tight and gnarly doomic behemoth and even more surprisingly makes that transition almost seamlessly. "Heretics" sees Swamplord flexing their Sabbathian muscles musically while also dipping their toes into alternative metal waters vocally, it is followed by "Alchemy" a track that sees the band repeating much the same process but adding some psychedelic texturing into the mix. Little touches of heavy bluesiness ease their way into both "Shadows From The Hills" and its follow up "We Sow The Darkness" with both songs boasting a more subtle and  refined vocal delivery. Swamplord close "Witchland" with "Fuzzcraft", an instrumental we at Desert Psychlist are interpreting as  an ode to the art of distortion delivered via the medium of doom, a discipline these guys are black belts in.

On first glance the artwork for Swamplord's "Witchland" looks fairly quaint and pastoral but look closer and you will start to notice that things are not quite as as quaint as they might first seem, a second glance at the image revealing that the comely looking maiden in the foreground is being sized up by a malevolent looking ram while in the background a hag-like figure looms menacingly. The painting/drawing is pretty much a visual summing up of what to expect when dropping a needle or pushing play on "Witchland",i.e. brief moments of serenity surrounded on all sides by encroaching wickedness. 

Check it out ....

© 2025 Frazer Jones