SOLACE
Further
MeteorCity

THE QUILL
The Quill
MeteorCity

ETERNAL ELYSIUM
Spiritualized D
MeteorCity

HERBERT
Steppin' Off To Even
Fueled Up Records

Stoner Rock, Desert Rock, Gloom Metal, Doom Metal...label it what you want...the bottom line is they all either want to be, try to be, or think they are Black Sabbath! But, being a Sabbath fanatic myself, I would rather see a metal trend like this exploited and popularized than some stupid-ass retro/glam/glitter/punk/grunge-rock trend. Perhaps it was Kyuss (and their offspring) that initiated this new stoner-trend, but whatever the case, there's a slew of heat-stroked Sab-wannabes spurting up from high-deserts from all across the west coast.

Solace is one of the better Sab-clones I've heard in a while. With Iommi fueled riffs and a driving rhythm section, what this band lacks in originality they make up for in talent and aggression. Vocalist Jason has a powerful voice and the beefy production from Eric Rachel compliments the band's true heaviness. There are some very strong cuts with classic-metal riffs featured here. Check out "Black Unholy Ground," "Whistle Pig" (great title, great riff), and the awesome closing track; "Heavy Birth/2 Fisted."

Onto The Quill.... Now here is something quite interesting! Like Vanderhoof, The Quill definitely favors '70s metal, but obviously akin to Deep Purple and Uriah Heep as opposed to Black Sabbath. Great organ-based retro-rock/metal displayed here. Based in Sweden, and like the majority of Scandinavian bands, The Quill consists of incredibly talented musicians. Even the vocalist (?) has an incredible voice, sounding like a cross between Robert Plant and David Byron from Uriah Heep (yet far less annoying.) This really is a damn good CD. It's probably wrong of me to lump this review in with these Sab-clones, but, being a lazy bastard, I figured it would be far less effort on my end. Anyway, just buy the record.

I didn't even realize that Eternal Elysium were from Japan until I read the liner notes. Even after glimpsing at the band photo on the CD sleeve, I figured their eyes were slightly slanted only because they were stoned! Anyway, Eternal Elysium is in fact from Japan, but you would never know as they sound far from your typical Jap-metal band. They too heavily favor the Sabbath side of retro-metal. But, like Solace, this power trio writes good tunes, and are pretty damn talented to boot. Highlights include "Splendid, Selfish Woman," an interesting version of Maiden's "Innocent Exile," and the instrumentals "Faithful '99" and "Trick Or Steal," with a taste of Santana and a borrowed riff from Sweet ("Set Me Free"). [Speaking of instrumental stoner-rock, check out the band Karma To Burn...one of the best of this breed!]

Herbert is the newcomer to the Stoner-rock scene. Although his band does show obvious traces of early Sabbath, they have more identity than the aforementioned. Not quite as musically professional as most the other bands in their genre, but with a little more seasoning and experience, this band surely has potential in the years to come.

In closing...MetorCity seems to have built a cool retro-metal niche, and, like the UK based label The Music Cartel (home of Orange Goblin the best stoner-rock band on the scene today), this record company can easily be a major force in indie metal. Let's just hope this style of music stays indie, I would dread to see this become a new trend for the major labels and see them commercialize the f**k out of it as they did with the grunge movement in Seattle nearly a decade ago. And let's not forget that this Sabbath-like trend originally happened twenty years ago during the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal...at a time when Sabbath was still hated by the critics. If you care to hear the real deal, check out some classic underground British metal from Angelwitch, Holocaust, Witchfinder General, Mythra, Buffalo, Aragorn, Blitzkrieg, and one of the most underrated heavy metal bands in the world; Legend.

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