MASTERS OF REALITY

The Masters of Reality are a formidable, retro psychedelic rock band fronted by Chris Goss. He is probably best known for his glossy yet fiery and extremely heavy production work for stoner/desert metal legends Kyuss and Queens of the Stone Age. Chris Goss' vocal work is impressive. It is very smooth and reminiscent of Eric Clapton's vocals with Cream. Master of Reality's sound is melodic, psychedelic blues rock with some tinges of metal. Their music exhudes a hazy and smoke filled 1970's gloss. My two favorite albums of theirs are their debut album "Masters of Reality" (1988) and their 1992 follow up "Sunrise of the Sufferbus". The first has a more straight ahead rock feel at times, while the second is more subdued and melodic, but nonetheless potent. Both are highly recommended.

Here's 'Domino" from their self titled first album...


...and "Tilt-a-Whirl" from "Sunrise on the Sufferbus".

LEAF HOUND

Leaf Hound were a classic, bluesy psych metal band that released one album in 1970 called "Growers of Mushroom". Let me start off by saying that Leaf Hound's works are very expensive and only available as imports. I do not own any of their material, but have heard plenty of it on the web. Their first album reminds me a lot of Led Zeppelin, but with a looser, more garage psych feel with some healthy undertones of Black Sabbath. This was their only release until they reformed in 2006 and released a brand new album titled "Unleashed". Judging from what I have heard so far, this is a masterpiece of stoner metal. It reminds me just as much of modern heavy stoner adrenaline fueled acts such as Kyuss and Orange Goblin as it does early Zeppelin, Sabbath, and Cream. Smoothe, heavy, cool yet burning riffs with excellent melodic vocals a la Eric Clapton of Cream and Chris Goss of Masters of Reality. I really encourage you to check these guys out. One of these days I'm going to have to break down and fork out the big bucks for their music.

Here's "Stagnant Pool" from "Growers of Mushroom".


To listen to songs from from their new album "Unleashed", click here. Check out "105 Degrees" and "Breakout". Incredible, massive, classic psych metal. Great stuff.

HERMANO: "...INTO THE EXAM ROOM"

"Into the Exam Room" (2007) is Hermano's third and strongest studio release. Hermano are an excellent band led by ex-Kyuss singer John Garcia. Their music strays away from the stoner metal of Kyuss, exploring the many aspects of 1960's and 1970's psychedelic rock & metal instead. They are equal parts Led Zeppelin, Cream, Blue Cheer, and Black Sabbath. John Garcia's vocals are in top form, smooth and plaintive when they need to be, and dead on heavy whenever the music calls for it. "Into the Exam Room" has a high gloss 1970's production, and the feel of this album reminds me at times of the starry eyed retro rock of The Cult. All the tracks are great, as the song writing maintains a strong balance between melody and heaviness. Highly recommended, and here's a few of my favorite tracks.

WITCHCRAFT: THE ALCHEMIST

Withchcraft. I know I've posted about them before, but I just can't enough of their unique brand of neo late '60's early '70's psych rock. I've been spinning their latest album "The Alchemist" a lot lately and I swear these guys are on to something big....
If you're into The Doors, Black Sabbath, Pentagram, Cream, Jethro Tull and the like check this album out.
Here's "Walk Between the Lines", a perfect song that ventures into territory that even Monster Magnet, the kings of psych rock, have trouble pulling off. This song has been stuck in my head every day since I first heard it almost a nine months ago.

Walk between the lines - Witchcraft

And here's "If Crimson Was Your Colour", a vicious track that would do both Jim Morrison and Danzig proud.

WITCHCRAFT

Witchcraft are a great retro doom metal band I discovered about a year ago. Their influences range from the psychedelic doom metal of Black Sabbath & Pentagram to the heavy psych of Blue Cheer to the melody of Cream and the vocal power of The Doors. The vocals are very melodic, with touches of Glen Danzig, Ozzy, and Jim Morrison. The musicianship is top notch, blending old retro influences to make something that sounds completely new. They have 3 albums out so far: "Witchcraft"(2004), "Firewood"(2005), and "The Alchemist"(2007). All three are great, with "Firewood" probably being the weakest of the three. I highly recommend these guys.

Here's the video to "Chylde of Fire", from the "Firewood" album:

And here's a live performance of "Hey Doctor", from "The Alchemist":