A couple of months ago I explained my love for stoner rock to you, and here we go again. In the footsteps of amazing bands like The Midnight Ghost Train and Mammoth Mammoth a new 2015 stoner release has been blasting my speakers. The Germans of The Pony Hellride Experience descended from one of the most northern cities of Germany, called Kiel. Lucky for us they took their ‘Buffalo Mountain’ EP with them.
After having released one full length record called ‘Holy Water’ the strange, but memorably named The Pony Hellride Experience (TPHE) return to convince us of their rocking capability. With an album cover almost as strange and shady as their band name, this German five track EP turns out to be quite a treat.
Only having five tracks didn’t hold TPHE back to create a six minutes long opening track. ‘Buffalo Mountain’ immediately sets the tone for where the band wants to lead us. After the sound of water dripping of off a cavern ceiling the band kicks in with a very solid riff and a powerful refrain.
Is it interesting enough to fill six minutes of a track? I highly doubt it. It enables the possibility to add a very entertaining, groovy riff halfway down the track, but, apart from that, the band starts to repeat the riffs and stanza’s and fails to hold your attention the entire six minutes.
One thing that you might have learned from past stoner rock bands is that the vocals are not crystal clear and soaring, but most of them are guttural, raw screams. Vocalist Oli of TPHE is no exception and he absolutely delivers. While never being out of tune, he has a voice you need to get used to. Fourth track ‘Mr. Alvarez’ is all about screaming, low and high, but after a couple of rounds you will probably get used to it.
The incredibly groovy ‘Medication’ is a track that immediately gets stuck to your brain. Walking down the street you should be careful not to sing along about needing your medication (right now!) It’s the best this band has to offer on this EP and exactly showcases a combination between groovy, catchy hard rock and the more sludgy, stoner kind. I would absolutely recommend you’d give ‘Buffalo Mountain’ a try!
Released: 25 May 2015
Record-label: Independant release
Website: ponyhellride.de
Facebook: www.facebook.com/ThePonyHellrideExperience
Tracklist:
- Buffalo Mountain
- Lost
- Medication
- Mr. Alvarez
- The Allseeing Eye
