Although it’s been a few months since the Bonanza has brought a rippling effect, we are back and bringing another round of bad ass albums, keeping it hot and heavy this go around. 2015 has been a goldmine over at camp and since my last update I’ve listened to hundreds of albums and have joined the 1,000 album club with my collection at bandcamp. That’s big time in bandcamper terms. Check these ones out immediately, 2 of which I grabbed the vinyl and the other 2, I dream of vinyl.
Omar – I Am Heavy Metal, Who Are You? Are we supposed to answer the question? I guess you could say I did when reading my blurb on bandcamp. Omar was released earlier in the year to high praise with its heavy hitting anthemic riffs and progressive edge. Polished vocals grind to an upbeat groove with a dynamic and powerful result. I ended up snatching the vinyl and paying international shipping rates which always end up leaving a bruised wallet but end up for the better in vinyl addict terms. Omar should appeal to a wide range of rock fans including straight up stoner rawk fanatics, hard radio rock folk who don’t even know what bandcamp is and still listen to FM radio, as well as the heavy metal and doom crowd. This is the kind of record you’d hear coming out on Small Stone Records, or even Ripple Music for that matter. It’s infectious and just has something unique going on. The vocal tone is ridiculous! “I am now the proud owner of the Heavy vinyl. It took me a while, but buried in the bottom of my wishlist Omar popped back up the other day. There was a reason I kept it in the runnings, and there was a reason I ended up forking out the international rates for the vinyl. This is as good as stoner metal gets folks. Love the polished vocal tone with a gravelly pitch combined with the catchy progressive fuzz.”
Wizard Eye – Wizard Eye Wizard Eye’s latest album has been long awaited by the uber fans of the deep underground heavy stoner and psych camps. Based on their bandcamp page it’s been 45 years since their debut album ‘Orbital Rites’ released in 1974, which is obviously a joke, but by listening to it, you could have a serious case that it was in fact right around the time Motorhead was releasing their debut upon the world. Wizard Eye have a very Lemmy feel vocally but taken in much more of a psychedelic attitude. The psych aspect perhaps has more of the 70’s vibe than the dirty, sludgy Motorhead comparison, but the overall combination equals out to be 2015 era heavy rock and roll. The self-titled released October 10th of this year and is out on Black Monk Records with vinyl for sale on an impeccable Blue/Magenta swirl limited edition of 500 copies up for grabs. You guessed it, I have one on order and the band was gracious enough to send me a Bandcamp download with my purchase. This band has something darkly unique to their sound, and with an off the wall experimental approach the music speaks volumes and is best played at loud volumes. This stuff sounds mystical and eerie to the ear as the underground is seen through the Wizard’s Eye. “Eye've been eyeing these guys since hearing their debut album 'Orbital Rights' and Eye can tell you that Wizard Eye stares you down with wizardly riffs glaring like acid fried pupils gazing upon fields of Sabbathian doom. Piercing dirge laced vocals focus intently as the psychedelic melodies duel with a twisted retro sensibility. Listen close as the evil eye of the Wizard gleams with a distorted vision of spellbinding heavy rock meets 20/20 mirage of doomy groove.”
Hydromedusa – S/T Hydromedusa came out of nowhere, specifically Adelaide, Australia, and pummeled my mind with a blistering set of bluesy solos and intense vocal chops. Elements of classic rock rhythm, modern bluesy grooves, and outlandish punk attitude yearn to be spun on vinyl. Unfortunately the wax was all sold out before I even found out about the band. I guess that’s what happens when you live on the other side of the world from the band. Apparently somebody is paying attention with 2 presses sold out within 6 months of release.It shouldn’t keep you from listening to this fantastic new album. “Holy hell, this is absolutely wonderful. Throttling bass lines, wicked blues based riffage and vocals ringing like Keith Buckley on acid. Australia has done it again and this time with Hydromedusa and their bluesy solos, crunchy fuzz, and sublime stoner rock atmosphere. This is phenomenal!!”
Ozone Mama – Sonic Glory Last but not least I will give an extraordinary recommendation for Ozone Mama based out of Budapest, Hungary. Legitimately flying straight out of the 1970’s atmosphere into the modern ozone layer, these cats will have you letting the good times roll in no time. In fact, the first song on the album is titled exactly that “Good Times Roll”. Vintage grooves galore, hefty chorus lines, captivating vocals, party time excellent… FDJ the Stonerking nails it in his review which you can click on in his bandcamp blurb where he gives nods to The Doobie Brothers,Bad Company and Uriah Heap. If you like those bands, you are going to love Ozone Mama. God I would love to watch this one spin around on the turntable but settled for overpaying for digital instead just to show it off. It’s that good. “Some of the tightest 70's inspired rock n roll I've heard in a long time. Elements of classic Skynyrd lurking amongst the arena fueled chorus lines with a healthy dollop of psychedelic jam. FDJs review nailed it. Everything you loved about the classics from the 60's-70's all whipped up into one Sonic Glory.”
Whether I bought it physically or settled for a digital only copy the music is what counts and all 4 of these are worthy of your support. There is so much more good shit out there for the taking, don’t be shy, sign up for a fan account on bandcamp, its free and will expose you to a whole new world of amazing music with opportunity to support, free downloads, and unlimited streaming. And if you are a band there is no sense not creating a band account and camping out with some of the coolest music aficionados out there. They will promote your music for you if it’s any good.
-The Huntsman
