SPECIAL
PART I
We proudly present the latest and freshest releases of the fine label of SMALL STONE
STONER ROCK
USA
Wreaking havoc with their forth Small Stone release, Sasquatch lead the way with their fiery brand of rock n' roll. Drawing on influences from 70's metal, rock, and psychedelia, the band falls somewhere between an amalgamation of Black Sabbath, old Soundgarden, Deliverance-era Corrosion of Conformity, Mountain, and a bastardized version of Grand Funk Railroad. Their songwriting approach is clear; keep the focus on the hook. The band was formed in Los Angeles in 2001 by Philadelphia transplant Keith Gibbs (guitar, vox) and Detroit natives Rick Ferrante (drums) and Clayton Charles (bass). Upon Clayton’s departure in 2007, the guys recruited Chicagoan Jason Casanova (ex-Tummler, Volume) to join the fold.
The band’s music has been featured on a variety of movies and television shows including the reissue of Clerks, FX’s original hit series Sons of Anarchy, A&E's Dog The Bounty Hunter, Jersey Girl, CW’s The Supernatural, and MTV’s Viva La Bam, Bam’s Unholy Union, and Rob and Big. They can also be heard on a number of video games including NHL 2005, American Chopper, and Monster Garage.
After shaking some walls with not one, but two, closely packed studio albums (conveniently named Sasquatch I and II) in 2004 and ’06, the power trio went subterranean until 2010 before resurfacing with a new lineup and propulsive third opus (entitled, you guessed it...III), to the relief of many impatient fans and the Small Stone Records Board of Directors.
The band’s newest album “IV” will be released on Small Stone Records in September 2013. What fans will hear is arguably the power trio’s most mature, inspired and diverse song-set to date, chunked with compositional twists, both heartwarmingly familiar and totally unexpected, plus thundering power chords, sizzling solos, shrewd melodic flights and even super-trippy moments – but all of it heavy on the heavy, as they say…always. Unprecedented attention was also devoted to spinning engaging new yarns out of those evergreen rock and roll stories about love lost, hate found, relationships built and lives trashed, homes wrecked, etc. All’s fair in Love and Doom.
9 from 10 Stonerheadpoints
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STONER ROCK
PORTUGAL
Not that the quartet comprised of vocalist Johnny Lee, guitarist K. Raffah, bassist S. Rebelo and drummer J. Garcia, was born just yesterday.
In fact, Miss Lava has been snapping guitar strings, bashing drum skins, and tearing shins across the floorboards of European stages for half a decade already; having inaugurated their recording endeavors with a self-titled, blood-red vinyl EP in 2008, and quickly followed with their debut full-length album, Blues for the Dangerous Miles, towards the end of 2009.
These precocious portents of pulverizing power – fueled by more mega-riffs than Portugal had spawned since at least the inquisition – quickly gained Miss Lava domestic recognition via Loud Magazine, which named …Dangerous Miles one of the year’s top 5 Portuguese records, backed up by its readers, who also voted them one of the country’s top 5 bands.
8 from 10 Stonerheadpoints
