Zoltar – Bury

Zoltar is a down to earth stoner metal trio from three cities in Sweden: Gothenburg, Uppsala and Östersund. Starting out as a local riff-o-rama-project in East coastal city of Uppsala just before the start of the COVID pandemic, soon the project turned into something too good to disappear into nothingness, the two founding members called for sibling backup and Kara Kusack joined to complete the lineup.

Shortly after completing the trio lineup, the two first tracks were produced, the vocals recorded and sent from the West coast of Sweden, all the composing and communication done via file transfer and digital means. In under two months the bands first two tracks were released independently; presenting fuzz grinding guitars partnered with fierce female vocals and anthemic choruses.

Striving for a genuine, distorted rock sound with a fresh context, the trio brings in elements from Black Sabbath and Kyuss as well as more sludge metal acts like Melvins and Red Fang with some overtones of early 90’s Olympia, Washington grunge. Zoltar brings you a punchy and powerful vibe to get your juices going. With influences rooted in punk, death, and rock ‘n roll Zoltar’s brand of dark stoner influenced jams have a pragmatic and powerful sound with loads of energy. The songs with synth bring a space rock element and along with Kara Kusack’s vocal range and different stylings there is a lot to like with the jams.

Th most recent track released August 18th, “Bury”, according to bassist and vocalist Kara Kusack was inspired by and a tribute to former Entombed singer (R.I.P) Lars-Göran Petrov. With a distorted phaser guitar line and a gravely growling vocal and a heavy anvil powered drum groove you can’t help but feel ready to rock. About three minutes in there is a synth solo before going back to the verse and makes for a really interesting transition.

There are some recent tracks available to listen to here and more music is on the way in the near future. Check out an interview with Kara Kusack for more band info and stay tuned!

Lineup:
Kara Kusack, Vocals, Bass, Synth
Crille Lampa, Guitar
Patrik, Drums

El Astronauta – Dark Matters

El Astronauta began in 2018 as a three-piece band finding their sound with their 2021 full length release, High Strangeness, on Coffin Curse records. Due to the ongoing pressures from the COVID-19 pandemic, and a divergence in the artistic vision of the band, the members decided to split amicably, with guitarist Seth Wilson retaining the name and former entity known as El Astronauta.

With a renewed and focused vision, El Astronauta is currently a recording project with Seth Wilson at the helm, enlisting help from fellow Bowling Green, KY area musicians.
The latest release Dark Matters, a 6 track EP comes out April 29, 2022 on Snow Wolf Records.

Opener Re-Entry and closing track Break Free with their slow burn, effect and overdriven phaser guitar lines draw some similarities to early 90s Monster Magnet style space jams. The vocals sound like a cross between Page Hamilton/King Buzzo style growling, but maybe a little lower in the mix than you’d find in those bands. “Give Up the Ghost” is the standout track with its heavy metal devil horns ready intro. Coming out of the short solo with a guitar break down and roaring vocals, you’ll be in pole position for the mosh pit whenever you are when listening to this track!


Track List
01 Re-Entry (Intro) 01:50

02 Burn 04:50
03 Stronger Men 03:20

04 Give Up the Ghost 02:55
05 Lessons Learned 03:45
06 Break Free 05:12