STONED JESUS
SONGS TO SUN (BLACK/WHITE MARBLED VINYL)

Stoned Jesus are true trailblazers. Though often associated with the stoner crowd, frontman Igor Sydorenko has experimented with folk, prog, pop and alternative rock amidst familiar doses of doom. But after hitting the road hard in celebration of the band’s 15th anniversary, Sydorenko and his new bandmates set off to find even more expansive creative peaks. The Songs to... trilogy spans all of the different phases of Stoned Jesus. As if climbing above a mountain in the desert, the massive opener of Songs to Sun slowly appears on the horizon before bursting into flame behind a heavy psychedelic groove. More nods to Seven Thunders Roar and The Harvest appear throughout the tracklist. Lead single “Shadowland” slides into the band’s catchiest riff since “Here Come the Robots”, though the gloomy keys aren’t the only ghost that they're trying to outrun during its thrilling closing sprint. An existential shadow hangs over Songs to Sun. The album reflects the unstable ground that Sydorenko navigated once the band's previous lineup dissolved. But whether shrouded by depression, amidst a break-up or the grind of tour life, Stoned Jesus are guided by the spirit of innovation. While weighed down by people-pleasing tendencies, “Low” breaks the mold as their first song with blast beats. “I’m tired of ideals, they’re fragile and unreal”. Written many years ago, but deemed too personal to share until now, “Quicksand” closes the album with Stoned Jesus stripping away any and all pre-conceived notions in preparation for the dark next phase of this epic journey. On Songs to Sun, Stoned Jesus set their heavy progressive rock to stun.