Daytripper – Book 1: The Trip (2024)
Doom/stoner/sludge metal from Phoenix, Arizona
Don’t miss track 6, Tin Man! It starts at 42 minutes and 20 seconds.
Longheads – Layers of Wax (2024)
Stoner/doom from South London, United Kingdom
Lost Moon – The Complicated Path to the Multiverse (2024)
Psychedelic/power rock from Rome, Italy
DayGlo Mourning – Dead Star (2021)
Sludge/doom/stoner metal from Atlanta, Georgia
Pyramid – Mind Maze (2019)
Jam/psychedelic/stoner rock from Nuremberg, Germany
There was once a band called Wax Brain from Morgantown, West Virginia. On their first two releases, Wax Brain and II, they found their way and discovered their inner musical potential. By the time they made it to their third album in October 2021, Hive Mind, they were firing on all cylinders and at the top of their game.
I went into this album not expecting a whole lot. I listen to hundreds of fuzz metal albums and it can take quite a bit for a recording to really stick out. On this release, Wax Brain checked off all the boxes for what makes a good fuzz album in my opinion: mid-tempo catchy riffs, interesting lyrical concepts and vocal delivery, and clean production with thought put behind the album pacing.
Some of the standout tracks are Sativa, Indica, Return the Slab, and the title track Hive Mind. I particularly like the lyrics to Hive Mind, an epic opening track that is mostly instrumental. When it comes time for the meaningful lyrics about unity as a human race, I can’t help but to enjoy, agree, and sing along with them.
“We stand in stupor, we stand in awe.
Searching our minds for who we are.
We see the writing that’s on the wall.
To build together, or watch it fall.
I’ve seen from the highest mountains.
Rivers run white, people robbed blind.
We must stand together
and reconstruct the hive mind.”
One minor flaw with this record is the overall volume. It is a bit quieter than many other albums, which can be annoying when listening to multiple records back-to-back. The volume isn’t too bad, I’ve heard quieter recordings for sure, but I do wish they had mastered this one a little bit louder.
I patiently waited three years for a follow-up to Hive Mind, but was ultimately disappointed with what I got. In April 2024 Wax Brain released The Last Show, a live recording from March 2024. This was their final live performance and ultimate send-off as a band. I still enjoy Hive Mind from time to time and I’m thankful I was able to snag a few Wax Brain stickers while they were still active.
Wax Brain – Hive Mind (October 2021)
Number of tracks: 8
Runtime: 38 minutes 17 seconds
The Beard Cult is a heavy stoner band from Asheville, North Carolina. Upon seeing their band name and album cover for the first time, I immediately knew that this was going to be an album for the ages. This hunch was confirmed when I listened to the album and marked them down as a contender for the best new band of 2024.
The musical style is slow, sludgy, and fuzzed out. There are no “Cookie Monster” vocals to be found here, as the voices are clean, stoney, and often hilarious. There are several well-placed and tasteful skits that occur throughout the journey that are entertaining enough to make you not want to skip them.
The album is called Pogonaphilia which means “having a deep affinity for beards”. The opposite would be fear or disgust of beards, which would be pogonophobia.
Every track on the album is incredible, but my top picks are Like Dreaming, Electric Snowman, Reflections and Four Twenty (which has a runtime of exactly four minutes and twenty seconds). Nothing on the album is weak. Everything is extremely heavy and mid-tempo. You’re not going to find anything too technical or overly complicated on this album, which is perfectly fine with me.
The production is crisp and clean. Nothing is muffled or budget-sounding. There is a noticeable amount of post-production effort and thought put into the album pacing. For a debut album I think this is a very impressive effort. I hope that this band gets big enough to begin touring so I can see them live.
The Beard Cult – Pogonaphilia (April 2024)
Number of tracks: 8
Runtime: 40 minutes