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| Stonemongers -- Turn On! |
You can hear the bass coming through on Beneath the Sand, and the guitar is holding its own, too. And these ain't no ordinary instruments. These are Soviet axes direct from the 1970s. Dmitry (the guitarist) tells me these weapons of sonic destruction are relics from the Soviet era. The guitar is the Aelita which had fret ends so sharp they went ahead and painted over the entire fret. And the bass (the Ural) is the same quality. Low quality. And heavy. Heavy in weight as well as sound. So when Dmitry says they were swinging axes in the recording of this album, he's not messing with us. Check out pictures of the Aelita and the Ural.
What other kinds of sonic wood can these acoustic axes chop?
It takes a 70s instrument to make a 70s sound, right? This is great-sounding hard fuzzy stoner rock.
How about the Ural bass chopping through the riffs on its own --
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| The Stonemongers in action |
So why instrumental rock? Why not some singing? Dmitry told me they were in a rush to get these tunes out the door, but let's be honest -- who is brave enough to sing over a couple of Soviet axes?
Dmitry says the band is working on their next album, which will include a few vocal tracks. Next year will see some live gigs as well.
Ladies and gentlemen, you've heard me say it many times -- but you absolutely cannot go wrong with this kind of heavy instrumental riffage when the price is Name Your Price. That is FREE but of course you will throw at least a few bucks at these Russian lumberjacks, right? Now that I think of it, lumberjacks are another thing Russians and Americans have in common.