There is an amazing output of heavy stoner rock from Poland. At the forefront of this onslaught stand bands like Dopelord, Weedpecker, Major Kong, and Spaceslug. Seasoned veterans of their trade and talented in the art of producing massive sounding stoner rock compositions, they recently joined forces to independently release a 4 Way Split, allowing each band to showcase their unique take on the genre. The record was released on February 1st, features beautifully surreal art by Kuba Sokólski, and is available for download on Bandcamp.

“a head banging trance of Sabbathian furvor…”

Dopelord’s Toledo starts things up. A heavy bass line and well-placed 70’s horror movie audio-clip lead straight to a wall of lumbering riffs and echoing vocals. The song invokes a head banging trance of Sabbathian furvor as it navigates its exploration of the riff. It isn’t until the guitar lead kicks in that the song’s full harmonic potential is reached, but it’s well worth the wait. If you’re into doom, this track’s for you.

“rich patinas of psychedelic sound”

Rise Above, by Weedpecker, would fit in perfectly with their last full length release, III. The trickling, watery guitar effects and ethereal vocals create rich patinas of psychedelic sound and the progressive qualities of this composition make it stand out on the record. Weedpecker has surely honed their craft and show no signs of slowing down their creative brand of psychedelic stoner rock.

“Plodding bass riffs accompanied by richly interwoven guitars”

Third on the record is the instrumental track, The Mechanism, by Major Kong. The song is filled with crunchy riffs and huge drum sounds. Plodding bass riffs accompanied by richly interwoven guitars carry the listener away, as the musicians artfully unveil all aspects of the riff. Don’t miss the final minute and a half when the song suddenly charges into a fast, heavy outro, which should be easily pleasing to the ears of fans of “The Sword” or “High on Fire.”

“heavy, down-tuned guitars and grungy vocals”

Stoner rock has sometimes been compared to grunge, and Spaceslug brings evidence of this with the heavy, down-tuned guitars and grungy vocals of Ahtmosphere. The vocals are eclectic, recalling the moody incantations of Alice in Chains, or even the more reflective vocals from Crack the Skye, by Mastadon, but the band has just enough spacey reverb and interstellar lyrical content to set it apart. Spaceslug has brought us another track that is consistent and well honed.