Giant Haze – Cosmic Mother is a strong and confident debut that immediately marks the band’s place on the modern stoner and desert rock map. The album’s atmosphere is thick, dusty and cosmic at the same time, turning ’90s desert riffs into a darker, more introspective journey.

The songs are groove-driven, yet carry a sense of melancholy that goes beyond simple riff worship. This is not a rushed first album, but a carefully built record where every track serves the overall mood. Cosmic Mother feels raw and thoughtful at once, with a live, breathing energy throughout. You can hear the stoner rock roots clearly, but without nostalgia — instead, it sounds fresh and instinctive. With this album, Giant Haze don’t just introduce themselves, they establish a clear identity. AMEN!

https://www.facebook.com/KaiS.band.kiel/

 

Perro Seco is an underground rock duo from Mexico, blending blues-rooted foundations with thick layers of fuzz and raw, instinctive energy. Their music feels gritty and groove-driven, far from overthought arrangements, focusing instead on a direct, visceral sound.

Despertando delivers a tight and dynamic release where riffs lead the way and set the tone. Desert rock and psychedelic influences are clearly present, yet everything remains grounded in a rough, garage-rock attitude. Perro Seco may not reinvent the genre, but they create an honest and distinctive atmosphere. This is music built on feeling rather than statement — and that’s exactly where its strength lies.

There are records that don’t aim to define an era, set a direction, or meet any current expectations. They simply happen. Fandango is exactly that kind of record.

After Ridge split up — shortly after the release of A Countrydelic And Fuzzed Experience In A Colombian Supremo — Andreas Bergström and Jonas Jönsson didn’t close the chapter. Quite the opposite: compressing everything that had once been a band into a small rehearsal-studio space, they continued as a duo. They weren’t trying to start a new band. They were trying to survive.

Fandango is not a concept, but a state of being. A divorce, a breakup, a collapsing community — all leave a physical imprint. The songs on the Degüello EP don’t explain, don’t dramatize — they are simply raw, rugged, and relentless. Here, fuzz is not decoration, it’s a weapon. The riffs don’t build — they crash into everything still standing.

The other side of the record, Live in Malmö 2002, is not a live album in the traditional sense. It feels more like a snapshot: how these songs sound when there’s nothing left to hold back. Short, tight, instinctive — as if the band were playing on top of its own ruins.

While traces of the desert rock mindset can be felt, the overall sound is shaped just as much by European punk and underground rock traditions. Throughout the entire release, it feels like they’re not searching for a style, but for a voice.

El Degüello is not easy listening, and it doesn’t try to be. This is not nostalgia, not rediscovery, but a reminder: stoner/desert rock wasn’t always comfortable, it wasn’t always trendy. Sometimes it hurt. Sometimes it came too close. And that’s exactly why it was real.

This is the kind of record you cannot play as background music. You sit down, go through it, and it either works or it doesn’t. But if it does, it stays with you.

 When you start exploring where, when, and how stoner rock developed — or could have developed — in Northern Europe, sooner or later you end up at Fandango’s El Degüello. You cannot — and shouldn’t — deny the influence of Kyuss and other pioneering stoner bands, but here, something works differently.

Perhaps because this all came from a geographically tighter scene. Perhaps because in Europe at the time it wasn’t only desert rock seeping into the underground, but also punk, hardcore, Swedish rock’n’roll, and various alternative music that strongly shaped the mindset. These influences didn’t sit next to each other — they collided.

Fandango emerged from the ruins of Ridge, yet there is a strange temporal shift. It almost feels like this material comes before Ridge, not after. As if time were running backwards. Rougher, harsher, more punk-driven — even if this impression is partly subjective. There’s no polished arc here, no smoothed-out dynamics. Only instinct.

At that time, the rock’n’roll engine inside Andreas and Jonas was still running at full speed. They weren’t searching for a new direction — they were unleashing everything that had built up. The Degüello EP and the attached live material are not a continuation, but a cross-section: a moment when the band format collapses, but the music refuses to stop.

This is why this record still matters today. Not as a rarity or curiosity, but as a reminder that European stoner didn’t emerge as a copy. It came from its own environment, its own tensions, its own noise. And Fandango captured exactly that moment.

https://www.facebook.com/oziumrecords

In the first part of the interview, Joop Konraad shared his personal journey and the origins of Stoner HiVe. In this second part, the focus shifts outward: the Dutch and European stoner / doom / psych scene, the meaning of year-end lists, creative fatigue, and how Joop sees the future of Stoner HiVe and the underground as a whole.

3. The Dutch / European stoner rock scene

- Do you notice differences between the Dutch scene and those in Hungary or Eastern Europe?

I am unfortunately not that well informed about the Hungarian or Eastern scene. I’ve heard talk about the Bulgarian scene from a buddy there, who says it’s not easy for bands and venues. And back when I visited Budapest often, I heard the Hungarian scene was doing okay. But this was before some of the transformation that happened in your country due to the political change. So, how well its doing now, is up to you… You are the man on the ground there…

- What challenges do European underground rock/stoner bands face nowadays (funding, touring, media exposure, etc.)?

Everything becomes more expensive. Especially touring. Even though the money coming from the other side isn’t growing. So if you are a smaller band touring Europe, the first years are probably lucky to be breaking even. Venues are reluctant to spend more money on lesser known bands. Besides that there are more bands opting for that hour on stage and that measly amount of money. So, its hard for a touring band. Luckily, the scene is embracing, there are venues that do deliver, promoters that do the work and even let you sleep in their house and feed you. Or crazy bloggers that drive the band to their house after the gig, for a good night sleep and great breakfast, since the band might have slept a little too little the night before…

- What role do blogs, zines, podcasts, and social media play in keeping the stoner genre alive across Europe?

Back when I studied journalism I actually wrote my end thesis about the role of Blogs and concluded that they will somewhat grow in importance. Because blogs are usually operated by someone who is addicted to whatever thing he writes about. Trains. Lego. Games. Or a certain music genre. Which means they will dive deeper into that narrow subject than bigger websites or media outlets. So, in that way, blogs will always be important to keep the scene alive and spread the word about great bands and albums. Cause even though certain bands will grow big enough to be picked up by other media outlets, there will always be a majority that only have us, the heavy underground press association, filled with blogs, sites and crazies operating all that; out of sheer love for the music and its scene.

4. Music, taste, and recommendations

- Which albums are you currently excited about and would recommend to listeners?

Wow. Well, the easy answer again, would be to say: visit the Stoner HiVe blog and read the latest reviews. Haha. But you sent this questionnaire at the end of 2025, and I only had time to finish it in January 2026. And even though my promo folder is filled with January, February, March and even April 2026 releases I am only just finishing with looking back to 2025. Biggest loves were Temple Fang, Khan and Bask!

- Which bands do you think are underrated, and why?

Well, once again too many too name. But on some level that is what our scene is about. All those bands that are bursting with creativity, fighting their way from obscurity to being known, playing venues and finally making it to one of those festivals they used to visit themselves as fans. From the bands I just named, I noticed Temple Fang and Khan being named on more favorite albums lists. But Bask not that much. But I reckon The Turning is an amazing album and one everyone should hear.

There are also quite a few bands that have unfortunately called it quits. And even though we are bombarded with new albums, new bands and new projects. I sometimes long for those bands, those albums and the possibility that something new from them would arise. I think I will be writing an article or two about that soon enough. But bands like Year Long Disaster or Been Obscene for instance… Damn I miss them… Or Cojones? I think they are still together in some shape or form, but there last album in from 2016…

- Are there any classic or 'sacred' stoner/doom/psychedelic albums you always return to?

Yes. I have the tendency to once in a while use certain discographies as palate cleanser. I go back to older albums often though. I love them so hard, I cannot just listen to new albums. I need my favorites. Need them often! But sometimes the new stuff becomes too much and I have a few days of listening to nothing but David Bowie. Or Masters of Reality. Or Queens of The Stone Age. Or Madrugada. Or Arctic Monkeys. Or Stan Ridgway. Or Karma To Burn. Or Iggy Pop. Etc…

- Do you listen to other genres (psychedelic, progressive, ambient, electronic)? If so, do they influence your taste or writing style?

Yes. I listen to everything. I of course have to because of my work for the magazine. But also because I love way more genres then only the heavy underground. Even though all the music I listen to will always involve real instruments. And I have certain periods, like what I mentioned in the answer above, that for instance Charlie Parker is on for most of the day or night. I love Jazz. Shit, I love music. All kinds of music. And I wish I could love the stuff on the radio more. On the charts more. But that’s usually he same kind of mix that never excites. Just browsed the current Top 40 over here. Man; that’s horrible. There is so much great music out there and then you see the charts get filled with mediocre and generative songs that feel worse with every year that goes by.

- If you had the chance, what new direction or experiment would you like to explore on Stoner Hive?

There are always wild ideas in my head. Podcast. Video interviews. Transforming the blog into a better looking zine. Or even developing a totally new one with a bunch of Contributors from the Doom Charts or other blogs, in such a way that we can all use our time and abilities better. But as said before, this is all hobby. No money ever made. And time is scarce and the rent has to be paid.

5. The future and plans

- Where do you see Stoner Hive five years from now? (expansion, new formats, collaborations, etc.)

On some level the same answer as above. You could see it all develop in one of those wild ideas that float around in my head. Or it could be completely the same as it is now.

- Do you plan to add new formats such as videos, podcasts, or cross-media projects?

Could happen, as I mentioned just now. But they might as well not happen.

- Is there something you’ve always wanted to try with the blog but haven’t yet?

Haha, well, still the same answer as the one above. All those different avenues float around in my head. But I can only spend so much time and energy on all of this.

- Would you like to involve your readers more actively in the future (community building, submissions, etc.)?

I do. And those are some more of those ideas floating around. I know I am not the most social outward animal; it’s probably why I love writing so much. But always after December, when the amount of interaction is the most I do think, I should engage more, talk more. And maybe even about other stuff from time to time. But so far, I’ve only used ALL socials only for music related stuff. Nothing else. Ever. I keep my feed and algorithms as clean as possible. Music only…

- What advice would you give to younger writers or those starting a stoner rock blog today?

Don’t. Join the Stoner HiVe team. Ho hoo! Grin! You can write about whatever you want as much you want. We have a few members on the team. Some write one review per year. And we have one or two members that write one or two reviews per month. You can receive promos from me about albums that you might love. Or you can choose your own favorites to write about. You are welcome to join. But, if you do decide to start your own site, zine, blog or podcast. There is no money here. There is limited engagement. And you should be okay with that. Life is hectic. Everybody has limited time to spend and there is so much music, so many blogs and podcasts. Do it for yourself. Do it because you love music so hard you can’t stop talking about it… 

Stoner HiVe has been one of the most consistent and respected platforms within the European stoner / doom / psych underground for well over a decade. Behind it stands Joop Konraad, who has never chased trends or numbers, but instead focused on passion, honesty and community.

In the first part of this interview, Joop talks about his personal background, his relationship with music, the birth of Stoner HiVe, and the philosophy behind supporting the underground. This part focuses on the person behind the blog.

1. Personal background and motivations

- Tell us a bit about yourself — where you come from and what your life was like before starting the blog?

Just a normal dude from a normal family in the South on the Netherlands. Who fell in love with music at an early age. I grew up getting music suggestions from my two older sisters and my older brother. They all listened to pop music, but also the more alternative side of pop. This is all in the early eighties. Spinning cassette tapes on my Walkman or boombox. Then getting a crappy record player and spinning a handful of vinyl’s on that. I then got introduced to metal and hardrock by my brother in law. And by my best friend and his older brother. Trading cassettes. Copying vinyl on cassette. Buying vinyl, cassettes and later on CD’s.

- When and how did stoner/desert/psychedelic music find you? Was there a defining album, band, or concert that started it all?

Even though I listened to metal, hardrock and albums that are related to our scene, it was Queens of The Stone Age. Seeing them at Werchter Festival 2001 and becoming entirely addicted to that band. And then seeing them again the following year with Dave Grohl behind the drums at the same festival. So yes, the QOTSA self-titled, Rated R and then Songs For The Deaf were the defining albums for me. Those started my trek back towards Kyuss, Yawning Man, Masters Of Reality, Across The River and the ever forward motion through the Heavy Underground.

- What inspired you to start Stoner HiVe? Was there a specific moment when you decided to create it?

I started Stoner HiVe after already doing the same thing in Dutch for a couple of years under the name Musical Mojo. I wrote about every genre on that site, and at first in Dutch and it was actually meant as practice, because my editor in chief for the music magazine I wrote for, said I was horrible in reviewing albums. I should get better at reviewing albums and start writing one every day. So, I copied the rules he made for reviews and used those rules to review whatever I wanted on Musical Mojo. But after a year or two I drifted more and more towards heavy rock and stonerrock in particular. That coincided nicely with starting Stoner HiVe.

- Your first post ('In Honour of All Freaks…', December 2009) pays tribute to the true music freaks. How does that motto still resonate with you in 2025?

Well, back in 2000, Doktor420 started a Group / Room on a file sharing service called Stoner HiVe. We talked about all sorts of heavy rock, stoner rock, and psych rock especially. We were there on a daily basis, talking about all those albums we discovered and loved. And there were quite a few cats there. And at the end of every year, we shared lists and discussed even further what the best albums for that year were. Then in 2009, I suggested they’d send those lists to me, I would tabulate all those entries and start a blog specifically to countdown the best albums according to the members of the room. Out of the 30 or so members, 17 sent their lists. So, in fact it started in honor of those crazies, who were all equally addicted to heavy rock. And I guess, it still resonates with me. Cause I still live for December and the Countdown, I really love doing that. And I keep that fire, that love of sharing great music, going as much as possible during the year. Yes, spreading the love for albums I love. It’s an addiction. I love music so much, I can’t stop talking about it…

- How do you balance your time between the blog, work or other projects, and personal life?

I’m lucky to also write for one of the biggest Music Magazines in the Netherlands. Which means, my music cravings are also catered to as work. But the balance is definitely not level. And recently things in my personal life have been taking more and more time and energy. Leaving less time to do Stoner HiVe things. That sometimes pains me, but I often remember that this is without any doubt still a hobby project. Something I love doing. But my wife, family, friends, adventure, concerts, making real life memories, are always more important. So, I do know and remind myself often that I will only spend my ‘free’ time doing this.

2. The evolution and operation of Stoner Hive

- How has the style and content of the blog evolved over the past 15–16 years?

It was always meant for the Countdown at the end of the year and the occasional review. Since starting in 2009, all the writings have become a tiny bit better and reviews a bit longer. I used to stick to the 150 to 200 word maximum. I now let myself ramble. I also started out writing a bit more ‘normal’ reviews. But found that I love talking about what an album does to me more then trying to be a bit more technical. Weaving in my experiences with the band or what imagery a certain album gives me. We still don’t do much news, except for the occasional Festival announcement. Cause we love festivals!

- What type of content do you enjoy writing the most (album reviews, interviews, essays, top lists, etc.)?

Sure, I love interviews. But they take way too much time. And I do them for my work as well. So, I am very careful with setting those up. I would love to do more. But the rent needs to be paid and time needs to be spent doing other stuff. Hence, we stick mostly to reviews, which we also love doing. The weekly Top 10 Most Listened, is an easy way to spread the word about a few releases and look back at what we wrote the past week.

- Which post or series was the most memorable or challenging for you?

Besides the yearly Top 20 Countdown, which we truly love doing every year… Well, early on, we did a Dutch Courage Month and Rancho De La Luna Month, solely talking about releases that had a link with the Netherlands and of course the fabled Rancho De La Luna studios. That was definitely fun to do. And perhaps I would love to do something like that again. Maybe. If time allows…

- What kind of technical or editorial challenges do you face in maintaining the blog these days?

I’ve tried to make a better template at one point, already a few years ago. Which made it all look a bit better. But I could not get everything to work properly. Get all the history transferred. After which I decided to just keep going the way I had always done things. Cause getting the thing to work in a different way would have meant spending even more time at the technical side of website design. And that would mean, less time to write…

And I am not that good at the social thing. Sure, I made a twitter/X account, but never really used it. Sure, I have Threads account. I’m not very good at using it. Yes, I have Instagram, but I struggle to keep it updated. The only one, even though the platform continually gets worse, I am somewhat decent at is Facebook. Think I started there in 2011. But even then, I’m sure I could have done more, and should do more and better to spread the word about the HiVe… But I kind of always think, well, I do this mostly for myself anyway. And continue to be humbled by someone spending their valuable time and energy reading and commenting on something I wrote…

- How important are feedback, comments, and social media interactions to you?

Sure, I am not going to lie, I love the feedback, comments, and actions of people spreading the reviews. It somehow does validate spending this much time and energy on the thing. On the other hand, as I mentioned before, it is an addiction I love feeding. Which mean, I reckon, that I would continue to do it anyway, even if the comments were zero. And we all know that everyone has a busy life and are constantly bombarded with input and things to do. So that one comment or one like you do occasionally get, truly makes a difference. It means someone has taken their precious time to read your silly words and hopefully listen to the album.

3. The Dutch / European stoner rock scene

- How would you describe the Dutch stoner/doom/desert scene today? Any interesting new bands or movements?

There is too much to mention here. Hence, we started Stoner HiVe. Ho ho ho! But in general, the scene is still growing in Europe. And it’s great to see and hear, that the American scene is still developing as well. And actually it seems to be starting to grow faster on the other side of the pond recently. In the Netherlands, its everywhere. The scene is still doing well. But some initiatives should be visited more. In my hometown Eindhoven, we had Club Void, a monthly night featuring great bands. Some nights were packed, others less, after which it stopped. Such a shame. In Amsterdam, Els Bruinewoud started Love For Loud, now called the Wormhole Cult and organizes great shows. Those should be packed, cause its often the only show in the Netherlands, but aren’t always that busy with attendees. Nijmegen has Peter Dragt from Bismut bearing the torch for underground rock in venues like De Onderbroek. I wish those nights were everywhere and that all of them were doing great. But where festivals are always selling out across Europe, those local nights in the local venues are sometimes struggling. Which is a shame, cause it’s those tours that truly build the scene and the bands…

- How do language, culture, and local conditions affect the visibility and success of a stoner blog or band in the Netherlands?

Well, I used to do a blog in Dutch called Musical Mojo, but only when I started writing more in English, did it start to gather some traction. And there aren’t that many heavy underground rock bands in the Netherlands that sing in Dutch. But I guess most Dutch bands are very Europe oriented, with lyrics in English and soon traversing across the border into Belgium or Germany to play a gig.