WARKRIME
Get Loose
(No Way)

AMORPHIS
Silent Waters
(Nuclear Blast)

GODHEADSCOPE
A City Out of Sight
(God is Myth)

TUSK
The Resisting Dreamer
(Tortuga)

HYPNOS 69/MONKEY 3
Split
(Rock n Roll Radio)

GENOCIDE
Apocalyptic Visions 

(Van)

HAVOC UNIT
h.IV+

(Vendlus)

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Another gorgeous 10” split from the fine Belgian lads at RocknRoll Radio.  And this time is not only good, is very good indeed.  This time around is the turn for Swiss stoner band Monkey 3 who  have been around for over thirteen years. Regardless, stoner rock bands are somewhat known for taking their time, what with you know how sluggish dope smokers get, so totally disregarding the fact that they only had one half of a ten inch Monkey 3 goes the distance via a spacey instrumental cover of Ennio Morricone’s “Once Upon a Time in the West”. Believe me, you’ve heard it before. The band works wonders with the soundtrack classic; the opposite mix of trippy quasi psychedelic guitar oriented rock and roll fully transmits the desolate drawn landscapes of the original.

Of Hypnos 69 (who hail from Diest, Belgium) on the other hand I had heard 2006’s The Eclectic Measure and absolutely loved it. Their take on the genre is much lighter, heavy on the melodies and certainly with much merit on the musicianship side. The two songs contained here confirm the quality of this band; “Vendetta” is magic and goes through three phases; the first and final with clear debt to 70’s Hawkwind-like bands and the second and middle part which comes to rest amidst expletive organ relying music. My complain on Hypnos 69 side of the split is the recording itself; the drums for instance sound tiny. Here is a band that can benefit from a decent budget; Hypnos 69’s kind of rock can’t rely solely upon guts; their talent deserves a professional sound recording that brings out the playing. “Hide Behind the Sun” is an acoustic track that’s aided by slide guitar; it works well because it limits itself to that and the vocals.

Hypnos 69 Official Site

Monkey 3 Official Site