Duel’s 2017 album ‘Witchbanger’ served up eight slabs of fuzzy stoner rock that captured a genuinely great sound. Most of the guitar work came with a retro warmth as if everything was being slightly distorted by Orange amps, and when the band hit a genuine groove, the rhythm section sounded unshakable. The title cut played out like in the manner of a top notch stoner act attacking something by Monster Magnet with more of a swagger; ‘Cat’s Eye’ approached a world of melodic fuzz and a jagged groove with a genuine ease, and the slow and moody ‘The Sake Queen’ mixed the NWOBHM tones of Diamond Head with a more thoughtful and bluesy approach, but still sat naturally alongside the record’s slightly heavier tracks. Of course, the indelible influence from the likes of Sabbath and Mountain were there, but it was a pleasure to hear a stoner/doom band who were unafraid of mixing things up a little, and who also had the confidence to share shorter arrangements rather than letting a more typical epic doom approach pummel the audience into submission.
Tag Archives: stoner rock
The Real Gone End of Year Round-Up 2023
We seem to say it every December, but this year has gone so quickly. We’ve fit a lot into twelve months, of course. Over the last twelve months, Real Gone has picked up a truckload of new followers and regular visitors; we’ve discovered new bands, reconnected with a couple of familiar faces, and given more column inches to old favourites.
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The Real Gone Advent Calendar 2023
2023 seems to have flown by. We’ve already made it to December, and that can mean only one thing. It’s time for The Real Gone Advent Calendar!
As is traditional, over the next twenty four days, we’ll be posting a new link. It might be a video. It might be audio only. It might be an old favourite. It might be something brand new and unfamiliar. The only way to find out is by coming back each day and opening a new window!
THE REAL GONE SINGLES BAR #28
Welcome back to the Real Gone Singles Bar, the place where we explore the various mp3s and individual tracks that have landed in our inbox over the previous couple of weeks. This time around, singer songwriter’s dominate, making up five of our eight picks – but with that, obviously, comes the variety that, hopefully. makes the SB interesting. It’s time to say hello to Leon Frear – a performer with a brillianty retro style and also introduce Mighty One, a new indie pop band. We’re also welcoming back the brilliant Swimming Bell, and sharing a couple of rockier tunes along the way…
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VOLUME – Requesting Permission To Land
Their chosen band name mightn’t stick out – and certainly isn’t search engine friendly – but if you should chance upon Volume, it’ll take all of four chords to get the measure of this stoner/retro metal band. Originally released in 2002, ‘Requesting Permission To Land’ didn’t get as much press attention as ‘…And The Circus Leaves Town’ by Kyuss a few years earlier, or the works of Orange Goblin and Fu Manchu, but its five tracks take as much of a classic approach. What’s more, Volume were also adept at revisiting the proto metal sounds of the late 60s and early 70s and injecting them with an even greater vigour, making their sole album as much about force as doom-laden weightiness. In short, for retro thrills, it’s great – the kind of thing that should have been picked up by Man’s Ruin Records (RIP), or championed by Josh Homme and been massive.