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Estoner: The Stump Will Rise

Heavy/Psychedelic/Stoner Rock

4.0/5.0

Band Camp Facebook
Unsigned / Self-released
by Craig Hartranft,  11.15.2012

While stoner rock, of all the genres of rock or metal, has never really gripped me that thoroughly, sometimes I do find it interesting, entertaining, and worth a mention in these digital pages. Estoner and their first long player, The Stump Will Rise, piqued my interest for several reasons.

Estoner:: like groovy, dude.

First, it was their name itself, Estoner, a modification of their home country of Estonia reflects their musical style. The second thing of interest was that this is not simply 'stoner' rock, but a colossal hybrid of heavy, stoner, psychedelic, and even some prog rock, in a classic melodic wrapper. Finally, I had to find out why Darth Vader Has a Hangover.

To the last thing, here's the first verse to the song: What the f*ck was I thinking? My helmet is on wrong, F*cked up on Endor, How did I get so drunk? Seems that Darth dude can't hold his liquor, as in the third and last verse the evil one says, Can you hear me Luke? I cannot see for the puke, Where's my lightsaber? Tell the Emperor - "F*ck off." It's a bit daft, but humorous none the less. (You can read the full lyrics at their Band Camp link above.) And you get more of Estoner's humorous side with the songs LSD Vampyr and Mindweasels.

To the music, while generally heavy throughout, I found the best side of Estoner to be that thoroughly Seventies groovy psychedelic side. The band, especially in the guitar riffs, can be truly fuzzed out and the solos rippling and rousing. Making your 'stoner' sound more psychedelic only makes it more stoner, if you get my drift.

Estoner's The Stump Will Rise offers a quite interesting twist on generic stoner rock thanks to infusion of melodic, psychedelic, and prog rock into the mix. It's definitely a must have for all those fans of the genre. Recommended.

Note: All Amazon advertising in this review first benefits the artist, then Craig Hartranft also receives a residual. Click, and thanks for your support.

Estoner's The Stump Will Rise offers a quite interesting twist on generic stoner rock thanks to infusion of melodic, psychedelic, and prog rock into the mix. It's definitely a must have for all those fans of the genre.

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Three decades on and still going strong is the iconic progressive rock band, The Flower Kings, founded by veteran multi-instrumentalist and composer Roine Stolt. Since 1994, The Flower Kings have been known ... [ Read More ]