A few weeks ago, I shared a snarky meme which read, “Stoner metal is what happens when a bunch of guys hear “Sweet Leaf” by Black Sabbath and say, ‘Let’s do this but worse.'” I was only half joking by sharing it. Sabbath rules and there’s a few other stoner bands I enjoy, but by and large, I can’t stand the genre. Hell, I can predict how 99% of stoner bands sound without even listening to them: half wannabe Sabbath riffs, half Phish inspired jamming. No thanks. Needless to say, when I received an email regarding the new EP from a “hard hitting stoner fuzz unit” called The Hÿss, I was weary. However, I like to keep an open mind. When I read The Hÿss hails from my hometown of Chicago, I decided to give them the benefit of the doubt. I’m glad I did.
Extraterrestrial opens with the title track which is a fuzzy ode to, you guessed it, extraterrestrials. It’s carried by a catchy groove and quirky lyrics with references to UFOs, weed, Canned Heat and a Misfits song (“Teenagers From Mars”). Monster Magnet would be proud! This oddball lyricism continues on “Disco Frankenstein”. It’s darker and doomier than “Extraterrestrial”, but segues halfway through into an organ driven Uriah Heep jam. This tasty but all too brief jam is my favorite moment on the EP.
The last three songs, “In Shadows”, “Panther Slide”, and “Wolf Spider”, follow the High on Fire formula of stoner speed metal. These are high speed, hard hitting jams perfect for headbanging to. If more stoner bands went between this style and playing at snail’s pace, perhaps the genre wouldn’t have such a bad wrap. “Wolf Spider” in particular closes with a simple, yet face melting, guitar solo. It has the rawness of 70s punk, the sloppiness of Ace Frehley in his prime, and perfectly contrasts against the backdrop of meaty riffs.
I’m still not completely sold on stoner metal, but I am sold on The Hÿss. Their musicianship is top notch. More importantly, their songwriting displays much greater depth than your everyday Karma to Burn worship band. There’s no need to crack a cold one, roll a fat one, or say “Beam me up Scotty.” Extraterrestrial will do all that for you…
But hey, if you did do all of that on top of listening to this EP, I’m sure it’d make for a hell of a trip.
6 out of 10
Label: Independent
Genre: Stoner Metal
For fans of: High on Fire, Monster Magnet, Clutch