Stoner
Ripple Music
Release Date – November 2023
Line Up:
John Garcia – Vocals
Mike Callahan – Guitar
David Angstrom – Guitar
Dandy Brown – Bass
Chris Leathers – Drums
Tracklist:
1 – The Bottle
2 – Alone Jeffe
3 – Manager’s Special
4 – Senor Moreno’s Plan (intro)
5 – Senor Morenos’s Plan
6 – Landella (Motherlode)
7 – 5 To 5
8 – Nick’s Yea
Hermano are kind of recognised as the first stoner super group consisting of John Garcia (Kyuss), Dandy Brown, David Angstrom, Chris Leathers (Supafuzz) and Mike Callahan (Disengage). They were all enlisted by Brown to record an album back in 1998 which would be released on Man’s Ruin Records. Unfortunately, the label folded before the record could be released and it took four long years of haggle and contractual wranglings to get the record out there. Those fine people at Ripple Music have, with the agreement of the band, secured the rights to re-issue the bands first four records starting with this, the debut. Of course, it’s been re-mixed – by David Barrick (Black Stone Cherry) and has also been given a proper mastering by none other than Ty Tabor of King’s X.
A tribal rhythm starts ‘The Bottle’ before the huge sludgy bass and distorted riff kicks in and Garcia gives us his classic southern tinged vocal. It’s huge, groovy and pure class. ‘Alone Jeffe’ is a blusier affair with some cracking leads and a frantic vocal then ‘Manager’s Special’ gets punkier and rattles along at a fair old clip. We get some eerie stuff on the intro to ‘Senor Moreno’s’ plan before the greasy riff comes crashing in and is soon joined by that huge bass and it takes off on a bit fat groove. ‘Landetta (Motherlode)’ takes things to a different level. Garcia puts in a shift and the band just lock in on a superb chunk of stoner/psych then ‘5 To 5’ comes on with a whole load of a glorious Hendrix/Cream/MC5 hybrid then final cut ‘Nick’s Yea’ is cut from the same 60’s tye-dyed cloth.
This was created before the genre of stoner was thought of and at the time it was considered ‘heavy blues’. Yeah, it’s heavy, yeah, it’s bluesy and it’s so much more too. This is the result of a bunch of guys all with the same vision, hard to believe that they had never met until the first time they set foot into the studio. What they created is incredible and everything they laid down was all for the song – nobody overplays or tries to stand out. Huge credit to Barrick and Tabor for bringing these sounds right up and in your face. Ripple will be releasing the other albums soon too, can’t wait for them.
Written by: Smudge
Ratings: 9/10
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