STONE DEAF is a Stoner Rock foursome out of New Castel, Colorado. They formed in 2014 and have one EP and three albums to their credit. Their third album, "((killers))," was released on September 3, 2021, on Golden Root Records and Coffin & Bolt Records. To be clear, this isn't a metal band by any stretch of the imagination-theirs is a popish rendering of Stoner complete with staccato piano flourishes and simulated clapping. They do take inspiration from the likes of David Lynch, William S Burroughs, and Hunter Thompson but the output lacks viscera and is solidly Alternative.

I haven't heard the band's previous releases, so I can't speak to their musical evolution or what brought them to this point. They come across as over-produced and propped up to appeal to the masses. The best track is actually a cover of "Gone Daddy Gone" by THE VIOLENT FEMMES which itself lifts a section of "I Just Want to Make Love to You" written by Willie Dixon and popularized by FOGHAT in the 70's . . . which is probably when THE VIOLENT FEMMES heard it and ironically wove it into said track. The STONE DEAF version is faithful to the original, albeit amped up and intensified.

STONE DEAF is at their best when they step away from kitsch and just stick to the basics. Apart from "Gone Daddy Gone," best tracks are "Cloven Hoof," "Polaroid," and "San Pedro Winter" but even these tracks are terminally flawed. As an example, the first 1:18 minutes of "San Pedro Winter" are amazing, they really are. But then that brilliance is undermined by a weak vocal performance which I think is meant to be avant-garde. The jazz inferences, the explorative lead solos, the tight rhythm section in this track show so much potential, but as the final track on the album, it's a little too late. And that's the thing with this entire album: moments of brilliance sabotaged by cheesy impulses. It's like that note from school that many of us got-"has potential but doesn't apply himself/herself."

STONE DEAF, "((killers))" is maybe a good Rock or Alt album, but as a Metal album, it doesn't even get to the scale-but I'm pretty sure it was not meant to be a metal album and that's okay. At any rate, I can't recommend this album. The band's earlier works are perhaps worth exploring and can be found on Bandcamp.