Whether climbing to doomy peaks or bouldering through a radio-friendly banger, over the course of the past decade and a half, Stoned Jesus have left a mark on the world of rock as true trailblazers. “Five albums in, the band have grown well beyond their monolithic roots”, wrote Doom Charts, who named their last album one of the 2023’s best.
This year, following a successful showing at Hellfest and ahead of their long-awaited return to Latin America, Stoned Jesus are embarking on their most expansive journey yet. Songs to Sun is the first in an upcoming trilogy of albums that promises to take these heavy progressive rockers to the dark side of the moon and back. While well-marked by their mind-melting heaviness, the album’s lead single is haunted by shadows of doubt. But on “Shadowland”, frontman Igor Sydorenko and his new mates outrun their demons with fresh twists and the catchiest hooks of their career.
“This song is about finding solid ground amidst the instability of the past few years”, Sydorenko says. “The opening hook screams Alice In Chains, while the pulsating verses evoke Mastodon at their poppiest. And the climax is something else entirely!”
The video for “Shadowland” was produced by Pirate Shot (@pirateshotcreation)
Additional video credits
Directed and edited by Olivier Terrade
Camera work by Olivier Terrade and Onur Cinar
Special effects by Nicolas Stenger
Actor – Philip P. Coffey
- Pre-order & Pre-save: https://orcd.co/stonedjesussongtosun
- Pre-save on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/prerelease/4CYNwXVJHZn9MMtOIvLApx
ans of Stoned Jesus will catch nods to Seven Thunders Roar and The Harvest along the heavy path paved by Songs to Sun. Though the video opens with the band only coming into frame, “Shadowland” is clearly their vision. A grungy riff slithers over a mountainous bass line scooped out by newest member Andrew Rodin. Fellow newcomer Yurii Ciel snaps into a hi-hat strut, greasing the way for Sydorenko to slide into the band’s catchiest guitar lick since “Here Come The Robots”.
“Each album in our upcoming trilogy highlights a different phase to Stoned Jesus”, Sydorenko says. “Songs to Sun shows off our heavier, more aggressive side”.
Stoned Jesus’ new single does ride to a mean, road-burning groove. But “Shadowland” has some new tricks tucked between its blinding hooks. “We love to take influences from other musical genres”, says Sydorenko. “I like prog rock, while Andrew and Yurii like everything from black metal to hip-hop and folk”. As the band wind their way back to the song’s shout-aloud chorus, first, they must sift through a glowing mist cast by a gothic spell of keys.
An existential shadow hangs over Songs to Sun. The album reflects on the unstable ground that Sydorenko navigated after the band’s previous lineup dissolved. Like the mysterious figures that creep and crawl around every corner of the video, insecurity looms over “Shadowland”. “Ground under my feet is / Turning to quicksand“, Sydorenko sings right before the compressed bridge cuts out. But even when shrouded by depression, Stoned Jesus are guided by the spirit of innovation. Right as their new lineup comes fully into focus at the end of the video, the song’s closing sprint breaks toward the light with a high-powered fusion of pop melodies and headbanging prog.
“There’s a constant sense of instability that seeps through the lyrics of Songs to Sun“, Sydorenko says, “but experimenting with the music is what helps give our lives a solid foundation”.
Tracklist
1. New Dawn (8:53)
2. Shadowland (4:38) [WATCH]
3. Lost in the Rain (7:49)
4. Low (4:09)
5. See You on the Road (5:45)
6. Quicksand (9:52)
Hear Stoned Jesus perform “Shadowland” and other new songs off Songs to Sun when they return to Latin America this fall following their European summer tour with Cult of Luna and Australian debut.
Get tickets:https://linktr.ee/stonedjesusband
2025 European Festivals
August 3 – Gyongyos, HU @ Fekete Zaj Festival
September 13 – Crest, FR @ Bridge To Hell
September 20 – Bilbao, ES @ Kristonfest
November 8 – Bochum, DE @ Tombstoned Fest
November 14 – Magny-Les-Hameaux, FR @ Foud Rock
November 15 – Eindhoven, NL @ Helldorado
2025 European Dates with Cult of Luna
August 11 – Osnabruck, DE @ Botschaft
August 12 – Bremen, DE @ Modernes
August 13 – Utrecht, NL @ Tivolivredenburg
2025 XV & Debut Australian Tour
September 28 – Perth @ The Rosemount
October 1 – Canberra @ The Baso
October 2 – Sydney @ The Underground
October 3 – Brisbane @ Soapbox Beer
October 4 – Melbourne @ The Leadbeater
October 5 – Adelaide @ The Crown & Anchor
2025 Latin American Tour
October 21 – Rio De Janeiro, Brazil @ Rock Experience
October 22 – Porto Alegre, Brazil @ Gravador
October 23 – Florianopolis, Brazil @ Desgosto
October 24 – Curitiba, Brazil @ Beveldere
October 25 – Sao Paulo, Brazil @ Jai Club
October 26 – Belo Horizonte, Brazil @ Caverna
October 28 – Buenos Aires, Argentina @ Uniclub
October 29 – Santiago, Chile @ Club Ambar
October 31 – Mexico City @ Sangriento [FIRST-EVER SHOW IN MEXICO]
Since 2009, Stoned Jesus has served as one of Europe’s leading forces in heavy rock. Igor Sydorenko, a veteran of the Ukrainian underground music scene, started it as a solo project after stumbling upon some heavy and angry riffs that would become the song “Occult.” He fed off his Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin influences and was soon turned onto Electric Wizard and Sleep, two bands who mastered the art of bold, lurching heaviness, thus creating a sonic template to abide by.
The Kyiv-based project was initially dubbed “Stoned Jesus from the Outer Space” but shortened to the much crisper Stoned Jesus. The name was trimmed down out of necessity — Sydorenko wanted to legitimize the band immediately. “I realized that this may cause some problems,” he told Psychedelic Baby in 2010. “Some people wouldn’t take our music seriously, then. I don’t mind jokes and having fun, but music is always the most serious thing for me.”
Two demos ensued before Stoned Jesus’s debut LP, 2010’s First Communion. Recorded with the first line-up in two hours, First Communion was a promising offering that dove headlong into the world of heavy stoner rock, with three songs going over the 10-minute mark for hypnotic effect. The album eventually saw a proper reissue in 2020, introducing it to a new group of fans. The first change of rhythm section brought Seven Thunders Roar in 2012, which included “I’m the Mountain,” a 13-minute epic that has since become a live staple. The album also introduced a bevy of acoustic guitar and softer vocal approaches from Sydorenko.
The Harvest came next in 2015 with a new drummer, deftly transitioning Stoned Jesus into the new terrain, with more alternative and progressive rock leanings. This is a credit to Sydorenko’s evolving songwriting style and desire to never allow Stoned Jesus to repeat itself. “It works brilliantly for the likes of Motörhead or AC/DC, but we’re not that legendary yet,” he told Outlaws of the Sun in 2015. “So, let’s experiment, shall we? Let’s play with the genres, the sound, the song structures, the melodies, the time signatures — yes, my favorite trick!”
With another change of the drummer, the fourth LP, Pilgrims, arrived in 2018. A bold and experimental record, it showed the growing maturity of both musical and lyrical sides of Igor’s ever-progressing songwriting. After a year-long The Pilgrimage Tour and yet another year on the road celebrating the band’s 10th anniversary with the greatest hits setlist, Stoned Jesus’ original plans were to record its follow-up in 2020. That, of course, was sidelined by the pandemic. The band then entered Spivaki Records in Kharkiv in July 2021 to record nine songs at 75 minutes. Two-thirds of the material was mixed and mastered before the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, leaving the final run-time of six songs at 43 minutes.
The result was Father Light, the band’s first for Season of Mist, which caught Stoned Jesus in full bloom. The foundational elements of Stoned Jesus’s sound remained (fuzzed-out rock, driving bass lines and maximum groove), once again augmented by the combination of Sydorenko’s gentle clean vocals and hook-laden chorus choices, along with an array of ornamental guitar melodies. And, in true Stoned Jesus fashion, the journey is often the reward. The cuts on Father Light expand and shift — all the while, the band’s trademark heaviness serves as the guide.
Mother Dark, the gloomier introspective twin of Father Light, while partially recorded was shelved due to Igor’s dissatisfaction with the working dynamics of the latest Stoned Jesus line-up. Dissolving said line-up was a difficult decision to make, but Igor’s relocation to Europe brought a surprising reunion with his old friend Yurii, a talented drummer Igor had known even before writing the first Stoned Jesus song. Adding bassist-vocalist Andrew Rodin to this new line-up solidified its reliability, and now, after the whole year of relentless 25th Anniversary Tour schedule, the reinvigorated Stoned Jesus is more than ready for their next chapter.
Songs to Sun is the first album in a forthcoming trilogy that once complete, will stand as the pinnacle of what’s been a decades-long trip for Stoned Jesus. While picking up where Father Light left off, Sydorenko and his new mates still nod to Seven Thunders Roar and The Harvest along the way. But by merging metal’s fiery intensity with mind-melting grooves, vintage prog and their catchiest choruses yet, they bring the many distinct phases of Stoned Jesus to a bright, burning head.
Lineup
Igor Sydorenko – Vocals, Guitar, Bass, Keyboards
Andrew Rodin – Bass, Backing Vocals
Yurii Ciel – Drums, Backing Vocals
Production Credits
Produced by Igor Sydorenko
Recorded by Ignancy Gruzecki
Mixed and Mastered by Karl Daniel Lidén at Studio Tri-Lamb, Sweden
Recording Studio
Monochrom Studio in Poland
Cover Art
Vadym “Karaska” Karasiov
Follow Stoned Jesus:
https://linktr.ee/stonedjesusband
https://music.apple.com/sg/artist/stoned-jesus/396799004
https://open.spotify.com/artist/23lyMLxYNPS15hpVvFNptR
instagram.com/stonedjesusband
http://facebook.com/stonedjesusband
twitter.com/stonedjesusband
https://www.tiktok.com/@stonedjesusband
youtube.com/c/StonedJesus
stonedjesus.bandcamp.com
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