You have to love that album cover. Reminds me a bit of the Thanos Glove from the Infinity Wars...just saying! Not to be confused with the UK lads with the same name. This band is from Dordrecht in the Netherlands. The Stone Golem, it's not just the name of the band, it's also his story and the hero trying to stop him. This is a very story-oriented album and it talks about the history of the Stone Golem and the lonely hero. It starts with the beginning in the very depths of the shadow. You can really feel its lonely path, from the shadows to the sun and being the only hero left in the entire world to face off with the enemy. I love a story driven album and always added so much texture and depth to an album so that really made my day.

STONE GOLEM delivers on all fronts. They worked extremely hard to record this album and it shows. The production is top notch and that is no small feat because as for Stone Metal or Stoner Rock, sometimes the production can be minimalist. In fact, they adventure in other genres and add that psychedelic rock from the 70's. The songs can be really spacey; it bombards you with various styles. You can sense the bands that really had an impact on STONE GOLEM, like KYUSS, PINK FLOYD or even HAWKWIND.

The story of the Stone Golem dives into its past as well as the future threats. According to the information I gathered, the Stone Golem is this threat to the universe, destroying everything in its path. You have a singular hero that comes back from 30 years in exile to right the wrongs he has done and try to stop the Stone Golem. But unbeknownst to him, la larger threat has appeared and that impending doom is going to shake the foundations of the whole universe.

The lyrics are thought provoking and all in all, I would really love an accompanying book to read about the whole story. Even though each song brings a new element in play in the story of the golem and the titular hero, I would have loved something even greater to support the album. It's something that MANTICORA did when they released ''To Live To Kill To Live'' in late 2018. They released a book that spoke about the story of the titular character of their album. The album was released in mid-February to great reviews but not too much fanfare. STONE GOLEM isn't well known unfortunately and that's a crying shame. They bring forth the mix of Stoner Rock and Psychedelic Rock and deliver something for everyone. Deep vocals, smart lyrics and a great production. You can't ask for better than that. I hope they will get the attention they deserve because they are well worth it.