Tom Fordham

Originally starting as a side project in 1999 and hailing from the small town of Borlänge in the depths of Sweden’s Dalarna Country, GREENLEAF have since become a force in the stoner scene. The band only became serious in 2013 – after a decade of being a loose collective project – when guitarist Tommi Holappa

Taking place next to the banks of the River Mrežnica in between the towns of Ogulin and Slunj, a young festival is cutting its teeth in the depths of Croatia. Bear Stone Festival is primarily a stoner and heavy psych festival that started in 2022, however as it has evolved it has incorporated other genres to the fold to become a riff lovers paradise in the heart of Eastern Europe. Since its inception it has brought some of the biggest bands in the scene to Croatia, including ORANGE GOBLIN, MARS RED SKY, ACID MAMMOTH, CONAN, ALUNAH, MR. BISON and many more. The 2024 edition looks to carry on that tradition, here’s the top ten bands you have to see this year!

From the Mojave Desert to the streets of Rome, distance is no obstacle for Californian legends NEBULA and Italian stoner rock giants BLACK RAINBOWS. The two heavyweights of the psych and stoner scenes team up for a very special split album: In Search Of The Cosmic Tale: Crossing The Galactic Portal

A young festival means that there is an opportunity for young bands to shine. Alongside the excellent imports that headline the festival this year, there is a whole host of underground bands that you don’t want to miss out on at this year’s Bear Stone Festival. This is a fantastic showcase for the Croatian bands and contemporaries from the European underground. So hear are the top ten under the radar bands you must see at this year’s festival!

Performing rituals that hark back to the ancient European past, the pioneers of amplified history HEILUNG have had a meteoric rise in the decade since their inception. With a unique and innovative sound that evades all conventional genre tags, HEILUNG have an innate ability to weave mystical vocal melodies with primordial rhythms, emotive passages on a variety of folk instruments, and earthy throat singing. As a result, their music has enabled people to connect in more ways than one, fuelling a sense of kinship between fans.

Hailing from the depths of Southern Carolina in the United States’ Bible Belt, where religious fervour and superstition are still rife even in the modern age, occult rock three-piece HAIL DARKNESS unleash their vintage riffs and spellbinding lyrics upon the world with their debut album Death Divine

Located in the depths of the Croatian countryside, alongside the banks of the Mrežnica River between the towns of Slunj and Ogulin is the site of Bear Stone Festival, Croatia’s premier stoner rock and heavy psych festival. The picturesque site is shared with the psytrance festival Mo:Dem

The concept of time. Something that has both been a blessing and a curse on mankind ever since the first time measuring devices were invented, yet there is a magnitude to time that excitingly we cannot fully comprehend. This inspires us to venture into the realms of the esoteric and to explore our own perspectives as we attempt to understand the complex and ruthless march of time over millennia. This is something that KUROKUMA have explored on their latest album Of Amber And Sand. We chatted with guitarist and vocalist Jake Mazlum to find out the story behind their latest release.

Hailing from the Swedish capital of Stockholm and taking their name from the Sindarin name of Mount Doom, a volcano in J. R. R. Tolkien ‘s Middle-earth, melodic death metal band and Viking history enthusiast AMON AMARTH need no introduction. Forming in 1992, over the last 32 years they have grown to become a household name

Tom Fordham takes a retrospective dive into 'Fate Of Norns' by Amon Amarth! Read his Heavy Music History article here!