Swan Valley Heights is a stoner rock trio from Germany. Even though the band name sounds like an 80’s chick flick, they bring a powerful blend of heavy music with complex song structures, chunky riffs, and clean, melodic vocals. Their Self-titled album was released in 2016, and they recently announced the upcoming July 26 full length, The Heavy Seed, with the announcement accompanied by the new 10 and a half minute song, Teeth and Waves.

The band’s Self-titled album was released on January 30th, 2016, and was in my regular rotation for quite some time. If you’re a fan a Weedpecker, you’ll like the style that Swan Valley Heights was going for. The album features clean vocals, plenty of fuzzy riffs, and seven long, catchy songs. You’ll hear driving riffs like in the opener, Slow Planet, crisp drums and captivating guitars like in Alaska, and driving bass lines and Sabbath-esque riffs like in Caligula Overdrive. There are also plenty of other great touches, like the vocal harmonies in Mammoth, and the tasty drum fills in Mountain. Their first album is a great listen all the way through. If you didn’t catch the album when it was released, check it out on Bandcamp and listen to Caligula Overdrive, featured here.

Recently, the band was picked up by Swedish label, Fuzzorama, who have gained quite a name for themselves, with bands such as Truckfighters, Asteroid, and Valley of the Sun. They recently announced their new album, Heavy Seed, due on July 26th. Along with the announcement came the new single, Teeth and Waves, and the intriguing album art which appears to show to primal men in a scifi landscape. The digital album releases on July 26th, with the record shipping out on or around July 6th and the CD on September 1st. You can also snag some of their cool Astronaut and Cave-Men themed T-shirts on their Bandcamp page.

The song picks up right where their self- titled left off. It opens with psychedelic textures that include rim shots on the drums, watery guitar effects, and harmonic bass patterns. A clean toned guitar riff and haunting lyrical harmonies bring form to the song around three minutes in, but the real riff kicks in hard with the fuzzy overdrive pedal at the four minute mark. From then on the song explores several textures, with headbanging stoner rock interludes, a dreamy, effect-laced psychedelic audioscape, a soft section with thoughtful vocals, before a final triumphant return to the original theme.