The Belgian Cowboys & Aliens return with their seventh full-length album, Finis Temporum, a weighty statement from a band with three decades behind them. This is arguably their darkest material to date: monolithic riffs, slower, hypnotic mid-tempos, and a thick, pulsating bass-and-drum foundation form its backbone. The sound is deliberately restrained, not built on technical flash, but on sheer intensity — every note carries weight, every moment feels charged with something unspoken.
A sense of personal loss lingers throughout the record, becoming most tangible in Icy Grip, yet ultimately shaping the album as a whole. This is not a routine release or a nostalgic anniversary piece; rather, it feels like something born out of an inner necessity. The band doesn’t over-explain or dramatize — they simply let the weight settle naturally within the listener.
Finis Temporum doesn’t follow trends, nor does it try to sound young. It’s a lived-in, slightly worn, yet deeply honest expression — the kind of record where there’s nothing left to prove. Instead, it feels like a reckoning: a moment where a band stops looking forward and finally says what has long remained unspoken, quietly bringing a cycle to a close. AMEN!
Not often do you come across a stoner rock band from Tunisia, but Shade fills that gap perfectly. After a longer hiatus, the band returned with the Under Distant Suns and The Exploitation Tapes EPs, showcasing two different yet connected sides of their sound. In this interview, they offer insight into their journey and the local underground scene.
Even though the African continent is geographically very close to Europe, we still know very little about its musical subcultures. You are also playing in a fairly niche genre, stoner rock. How present are rock and metal in Tunisia? Is there an active underground scene around you? - Tunisia has a rock and metal scene that's been quietly alive for decades, mostly concentrated in Tunis. There are no dedicated venues, and bands have been grinding for years with no label or algorithmic support. It's a DIY scene where you can't afford to wait for things to happen and must build everything from the ground up. Do you remember the first moment when you encountered rock music? Which bands or albums were the ones that eventually set you on this path? - Every member has a different answer. Aziz came in through RHCP and AC/DC. Walter's first rock moment was "Give in to Me" from Michael Jackson's Dangerous, followed shortly after by The Offspring's Americana and K's Choice's Paradise in Me. Ahmed and Mehdi H both landed on Metallica, "The Unforgiven II" for one, the Black Album for the other. Mehdi B started with Hendrix and Santana. None of us took the same road in. We just ended up in the same heavy place. From previous interviews it seems that the band has existed for quite a long time, but there was a break in your history. Then in 2025 you released the Under The Distant Sun EP, followed this year by The Exploitation Tapes. What happened between these two periods, and what finally pushed the band to return? - The band existed in an earlier form, then life happened, as it does. People scattered, priorities shifted, the usual story. In 2020 we got together for a jam session that wasn't supposed to be serious, but we very quickly found ourselves structuring ideas and writing. There was also a feeling of unfinished business, and that was the main drive for Under Distant Suns. The music on that record is a more refined version of the musical direction Shade had when we were younger. The Exploitation Tapes is unapologetically us now, unencumbered by any form of regret.
What kinds of influences shaped these new releases? I'm not necessarily thinking only about musical influences – they could also be films, books, personal experiences, or even the environment around you. - After the first few shows for Under Distant Suns we realized we didn't want to build a live set that was almost exclusively introspective. We started writing new songs without overthinking, making songs that were fun to play. We embraced being little rascals laughing at our own pranks. Linking those songs to the B-movie genre appeared obvious. We loved the aesthetics of horror, sci-fi, and exploitation films and steered the artwork and presentation in that direction. As for the music, the only direct influence is Uncle Acid's Nel'Ora Blu, an album we discovered late in the production of The Exploitation Tapes. It pushed us to go the extra mile and create the intros. Stoner rock is often associated with desert atmospheres and endless landscapes. Tunisia is geographically quite close to that world. Do you feel that your environment – the landscape, climate or culture – influences the mood of your music? - We're 100% a product of our environment. There's a specific quality to the light here, a certain dryness, a slowness to certain hours of the day.. all these things wire your brain a certain way. We didn't consciously decide to make "Tunisian" music, but it's in there whether we planned it or not.
The stoner rock scene is very international, with bands coming from the US, Europe and increasingly other regions as well. Do you feel part of this global community? - More than we expected, honestly. Most of the people who listen to us are in North America and Europe. Being mentioned on Doom Charts and many other webzines gave us visibility that makes us feel both legitimate and genuinely welcomed by the scene. Your recent releases have a somewhat darker, cinematic atmosphere. Do you consciously try to create a narrative or visual world around your music? - Absolutely, for both records. For Under Distant Suns it was a way to keep the songs, the emotions, and the narrative on a cohesive path. For The Exploitation Tapes it pours into the writing, the sound, the music itself. We're not necessarily attached to making concept records, but all the great albums we love have something that ties them together nicely, so we try to emulate that where we can. Looking back at the history of the band from the beginning until now, what do you think has changed the most in you – as musicians or as people? - A more serious relationship with our instruments, for one. And on the writing side, a clearer sense of what we're doing and where we want to take it. Shade isn't just a band anymore, it's something we actively run.
If someone is discovering Shade for the first time, which of your songs would you recommend as the best entry point, and why? Which track do you think represents the band the most? - Forbidden Snack. If you can enjoy a song about a colony of beavers dead set on stealing a man's edibles, you can pretty much tolerate everything else we do. It's also a good stylistic link between Under Distant Suns and The Exploitation Tapes. What role do live shows play in the life of Shade? Do you see yourselves more as a studio band, or do the songs really come alive when you play them live? - Because of the way we do things, live shows without a doubt. Writing and recording is fun, it's like solving a complicated puzzle. But since we don't all live in the same country, we mostly write outside of our rehearsal space and record our parts separately. Live is where you find out if it holds up when the walls are shaking. We're not a band that just recreates the record on stage. The songs expand and breathe differently in a room with people.
Have you had a concert that remained especially memorable for you – maybe because of the crowd, the venue, or some unexpected moment? - Our show at the opening night of the Mena Rock Festival. Big ass stage, big ass venue. It was the first time since bringing Shade back that we stepped outside of small venues and played to a large crowd. The show we played in Sousse was also special: the first time in ages we played outside of Tunis, and the crowd was wild and eager to engage with the music. Do you think there is a real breakthrough opportunity for a Tunisian rock band on the international scene? How difficult is it to organize shows or tours abroad, especially considering that traveling often requires flying? - Depends on what you mean by breakthrough. For us it would mean getting the opportunity to play where our audience actually is. You get fewer opportunities than bands based in the west, but we genuinely believe that hard work and commitment pay off, even in unexpected ways. Booking shows abroad is hard, but to be fair, booking shows in Tunisia is also hard. So we're not discouraged.
If you could send a message to your listeners or to new fans discovering Shade for the first time, what would it be? What would you like them to feel when they listen to your music? - More than anything, we're storytellers. It's not complex, it's not the heaviest thing you'll ever hear, but we create a universe you're welcome to explore at your own pace, with no strings attached. Whatever you're carrying when you press play, you don't have to resolve it. The music isn't asking you to. Thank you so much for taking the time for this interview and sharing your story, thoughts, and experiences with us. You've provided a fascinating insight into Shade's music and the Tunisian rock scene, and we are sure our readers will greatly appreciate your answers. We wish you all the best with your upcoming releases and live shows! AMEN!
Over the past decade and a half, the Polish underground scene has proven to be particularly fertile ground for fuzzy riffs and heavy grooves. While the cradle of stoner rock is still firmly rooted in the American desert, in Europe Poland has increasingly become one of the strongest bases for this sound.
One characteristic of Polish bands is that they rarely remain within the lighter, groove-oriented realm of classic desert rock. Instead, they often gravitate toward darker, doom-leaning sounds. Psychedelic atmosphere, slower tempos, and thick, heavy guitar tones frequently play a more dominant role than in the California-born stoner rock tradition.
However, the band is far from the only one representing this sound in Poland. Still, when instrumental stoner doom is mentioned, for many listeners the first name that comes to mind is Belzebong. Over the years the band has developed a distinctive sonic identity where heavy riffs, repetitive grooves, and psychedelic drift exist in a unique balance.
The band’s previous studio album, Light the Darkness, was released back in 2018. Although they later put out De Mysteriis Dope Sathanas in 2020, that record was actually a live recording, meaning fans had to wait many years for a true new studio release.
That wait has now come to an end with the arrival of The End Is High, which brings new material from the band after nearly eight years.
From the very first moments it becomes clear that Belzebong had no intention of searching for new directions. The band essentially continues right where they left off with Light the Darkness—and in this case, that is not a problem at all.
The sound of The End Is High delivers exactly the atmosphere listeners have come to expect from the band. Thick, down-tuned guitars, slowly building riffs, and a hypnotic repetition that gradually pulls the listener into a trance-like state. The songs never rush; instead, they move forward patiently, allowing the groove to slowly build its weight and presence.
One of Belzebong’s greatest strengths has always been their ability to transform the simplest riffs into a fully immersive atmosphere. The End Is High doesn’t rely on complex arrangements or technical showmanship. Instead, it lets the sound, the fuzz, and the repetitive rhythms do the work—exactly the way a good stoner record should.
After eight years of silence, some listeners might have expected a major shift in direction. But Belzebong chose to remain within their own sonic universe. And perhaps that is one of the album’s greatest strengths: it does not try to be more than what it is. It is simply another journey through the band’s familiar, hazy world of riffs. AMEN!
The fourth album by Italian heavy rock band Oreyeon, The Grotesque Within, doesn’t try to be more than what it is. And that’s exactly why it works. In recent years, stoner rock has often been busy redrawing its own shadow. Thick riffs, vintage worship, safe psychedelia wrapped in familiar aesthetics. This record, however, doesn’t look backward. It doesn’t want to be an exercise in style. It doesn’t chase a fashionable “sound.”
It is a state of mind.
Inspired by the unsettling philosophical horror associated with Thomas Ligotti, the album moves through a space where reality feels fragile, almost mechanical — where the ordinary slowly turns unfamiliar. Not through theatrics. Not through shock value. But through atmosphere.
The grotesque here is not decorative. It is internal.
Cracks, distortions, emotional numbness, the quiet absurdity of simply existing — these are the forces shaping the record. The Grotesque Within is not fast. It’s not flashy. It doesn’t aim for instant impact. It builds slowly and deliberately. It settles on your chest. Not to suffocate you — but to make you aware of your own weight.
This is not a collection of singles. It feels like a continuous descent.
Oreyeon have always carried heavy riff-driven foundations rooted in classic hard rock traditions, but here those foundations feel more exposed, more stripped of comfort. The fuzz is still there. The melodic sensibility remains. Yet the atmosphere is denser, less forgiving. The band sounds less interested in hooks and more interested in tension.
And here comes the part many don’t like to admit: stoner rock is not for everyone.
Not because it’s elitist, but because it requires maturity.
In its pure form, this genre is emotional communication. Not a riff contest. Not a volume competition. If you only hear the tone, you miss the essence. But if you’re willing to stay quiet while it plays, it begins to speak. On this album, Oreyeon isn’t playing outward. They’re not trying to satisfy a scene. They’re not offering easy comfort. Instead, they lean into discomfort — into the strangely familiar darkness that already surrounds us. The Grotesque Within is not perfect. It doesn’t try to be. But it is honest. And in the underground, that’s what ultimately matters.
Not a trend. Not a pose. Not recycled nostalgia.
But a band that understands that weight is not about volume — it’s about presence. The only real question is whether the listener is ready to confront what’s already there. AMEN!
Axis Mundi is one of those albums that both crushes and lifts you at the same time. It doesn’t chase hits or try to prove anything—it just exists and fills the space around you. TarLung captures the essence of doom and sludge without sticking to clichés: the riffs roll slowly, heavy and sticky, while the rhythms wobble and breathe as if the record itself is alive.
Listening to this album, you feel the weight physically. Not every track gives itself up immediately, but if you tune in, every detail finds its meaning. Vocals and atmospheres don’t merely accompany—they guide you through a meditative yet occasionally chaotic journey. The music and lyrical arc wrestle with inner chaos and the effort to endure.
There’s groove here, too: even in the slow, swampy riffs, there’s a pulse that eventually turns hypnotic. This is the point where the album invites you to experience it, not just listen. Nothing is wasted; every note has its place, and the sense of space and weight is constant.
Axis Mundi is not an easy album, nor does it aim to be. It’s for the mature listener who understands that stoner/doom isn’t about instant gratification—it’s about immersing yourself in the layers and textures of sound. By the end, you emerge as if from another dimension: tired, yet strangely clear-headed.
In short, Axis Mundi is a deep and deliberate journey that grabs both body and soul. TarLung shows that doom/sludge can innovate without abandoning its roots. If you love desert-weight riffs, slow, psychedelic waves, this album is essential listening. AMEN!
Szavak és hangok a sivatag merengve lüktető torkából, dűnék felett cikázó akkordok, tétován gomolygó füst, vagy izzó száguldás. "Let the truth be known, Get stoned!"
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