Ukrainian psychedelic rock trio STONED JESUS has teamed up with The Obelisk to stream the new album, ‘Father Light’, released today, in its entirety! The album can be heard at THIS LOCATION.
Lead vocalist and guitarist Igor Sydorenko comments: “Written in 2019, recorded in 2021, released in 2023 – behold ‘Father Light!’ Serving as the first half of our ambitious five-years-in-the-making song cycle project, ‘Father Light is heavy, intense and progressive – while its sister album, ‘Mother Dark,’ is expected to be more laid-back, hypnotic and introverted. You know when every artist ever says their new work is their best? Well, we actually believe this to be true with this one!”
For those who might be unfamiliar with STONED JESUS, the band is well-known for their explosive single, “I Am The Mountain,” which reached a whopping 15 million views on YouTube! The iconic clip can be found HERE.
Pre-orders for ‘Father Light’ are now live and can be found HERE.
Pre-save ‘Father Light’ on your favorite streaming service HERE.
The artwork for “Father Light” was created by Anton Pcholkin.
Tracklist “Father Light” 1. Father Light 03:35 2. Season of the Witch 11:34 3. Thought and Prayers 06:22 [WATCH HERE] 4. Porcelain 08:09 [WATCH HERE] 5. CON 04:10 [WATCH HERE] 6. Get What You Deserve 09:08 [LISTEN HERE] Total: 43:00
STONED JESUS recently announced their appearance on the mighty Hellfest of 2023! More information on tours/festival for 2023 will be announced on a later stage.
Ukrainian psychedelic rock trio STONED JESUS will release its new album, ‘Father Light,’ on March 3, 2023 via Season of Mist, making it the band’s debut to the label! The band is now sharing the sludgy new song, “Get What You Deserve,” which can be heard at THIS LOCATION!
Lead vocalist and guitarist Igor Sydorenko comments on the track: “We previewed ‘Get What You Deserve’ live on our autumn dates in 2022 and all the people absolutely loved it, even without hearing the studio version first! I love how the first and the last parts are almost the same riff, but then you also have this weird atmospheric breakdown in the middle. The lyrics were written with an environmental message in mind, but I guess they could be taken differently now…Either way, please enjoy this track and expect it to be the main set closer during our ‘Father Light’ tour!”
For those who might be unfamiliar with STONED JESUS, the band is well-known for their explosive single, “I Am The Mountain,” which reached a whopping 15 million views on YouTube! The iconic clip can be found HERE.
Pre-orders for ‘Father Light’ are now live and can be found HERE.
Pre-save ‘Father Light’ on your favorite streaming service HERE.
The artwork for “Father Light” was created by Anton Pcholkin.
Tracklist “Father Light” 1. Father Light 03:35 2. Season of the Witch 11:34 3. Thought and Prayers 06:22 [WATCH HERE] 4. Porcelain 08:09 [WATCH HERE] 5. CON 04:10 [WATCH HERE] 6. Get What You Deserve 09:08 [LISTEN HERE] Total: 43:00
STONED JESUS recently announced their appearance on the mighty Hellfest of 2023! More information on tours/festival for 2023 will be announced on a later stage.
Ukrainian prog-stoner trio STONED JESUS held their first rehearsal since the Russian invasion in the middle of July 2022. It was a moment the band dubbed as “surreal” and justifiably so — the regular ritual of band practice was made impossible by the war. The members of STONED JESUS — Igor Sydorenko (vocals/guitar), Sergii Sliusar (bass) and Dmytro Zinchenko (drums) — captured the moment for their social media channels. A broad smile of defiance and satisfaction can be seen on their faces. Regardless of the senseless havoc and destruction reaped upon their homeland, STONED JESUS would play on. It was the resumption of a music career temporarily thwarted but not defeated by evil.
Since 2009, STONED JESUS has served as one of Ukraine’s leading forces in heavy rock. Sydorenko, a veteran of the Ukrainian music scene, formed the band 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 band 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 the Psychedelic Baby webzine 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 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 ten-minute mark for hypnotic effect. The album eventually saw a proper reissue in 2020, introducing it to a new group of fans. Seven Thunders Roar followed in 2012 and included “I’m the Mountain,” a 16-minute epic jam 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, deftly transitioning Stoned Jesus from sludge into new terrain, including alternative and progressive rock. 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 webzine in 2015. “So, let’s experiment, shall we? Let’s play with the genres, the sound, the song structures, the melodies, the timings — yes, my favorite trick!”
Pilgrim came next in 2018, which until now, has been the band’s career-defining moment. Stoned Jesus’s 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 invasion, leaving the final run-time of six songs at 43 minutes.
The result is Father Light, the band’s first for Season of Mist. The album catches Stoned Jesus in full bloom. The foundational elements of STONED JESUS’s sound remain (fuzzed-out rock, driving bass lines and maximum groove) and are 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.
STONED JESUS subsequently resumed live activity in July 2022 with European festival dates and runs with countrymen (and labelmates) Somali Yacht Club and then VOVK. The shows provided the band the opportunity to air two of the songs that would end up on Father Light: “Con” and “Porcelain.” Moreover, the dates were an outlet for the band to connect with waiting audiences who supported their music and cause of raising money to help those impacted by the war.
The idea that music is the ultimate escape has never rung truer in light of what happened to Ukraine in 2022. The prospect of brighter days lies ahead, making the Father Light album title even more appropriate.
As 2022 drew to a close, the members of STONED JESUS posted their final message for the year, epitomizing their resilience and optimism:
All the missiles in the world can’t destroy freedom. Nothing will stop truth.
Line-up: Lead-Vocals and Guitar: Igor Sydorenko Bass and backing vocals: Sergii Sliusar Drums and backing vocals: Dmytro Zinchenko
Recording studio – Spivaki Records, Ukraine Producer / sound engineer – Artem Altunin and Dmytro Zinchenko Mastering: Metropolis Studio, London, UK – Andy “Hippy” Baldwin
Recording line-up
Igor Sydorenko (Arlekin, Voida, Krobak, Snakerider) – lead and backing vocals, electric and acoustic guitars, organ on track 3
Dmytro Zinchenko (Doomed City, Orkectr Che, Sekunda Kota, Smeyushiysa Tigr, Small Depo) – drums and percussion, backing vocals
Ukrainian psychedelic rock trio STONED JESUS will release its new album, ‘Father Light,’ on March 3, 2023 via Season of Mist, making it the band’s debut to the label! The band is now sharing a music video for its brand new song, “Thoughts and Prayers.” The song and video can be found at THIS LOCATION while album art and other details can be found below!
Lead vocalist and guitarist Igor Sydorenko comments: “I wrote these songs mostly in 2019, we worked on them through 2020, recorded them in 2021 and were ready to release them in 2022…and finally the first batch of them is coming out as ‘Father Light’ in 2023! So this is neither our ‘pandemic’ nor our ‘war’ record, this is something I was really obsessed about many months ago – climate change, media numbness, corporations’ impact, social divisions…
“But revisiting these issues years later shows that they’re still important and this is still something that resonates with us – and hopefully will resonate with many other people, too. Musically, I think this is our most diverse and mature record to date, but there’s a good dose of old school Stoned Jesus there too!
“Anyway, enjoy this one and fingers crossed for 2024′ release of ‘Mother Dark’ – the moodier, more personal, more experimental sister album to ‘Father Light.'”
For those who might be unfamiliar with STONED JESUS, the band is well-known for their explosive single, “I Am The Mountain,” which reached a whopping 15 million views on YouTube! The iconic clip can be found HERE.
Pre-orders for ‘Father Light’ are now live and can be found HERE. Pre-save ‘Father Light’ on your favorite streaming service HERE.
The artwork for “Father Light” was created by Anton Pcholkin.
Tracklist “Father Light” 1. Father Light 03:35 2. Season of the Witch 11:34 3. Thought and Prayers 06:22 [WATCH HERE] 4. Porcelain 08:09 [WATCH HERE] 5. CON 04:10 [WATCH HERE] 6. Get What You Deserve 09:08 Total: 43:00
STONED JESUS recently announced their appearance on the mighty Hellfest of 2023! More information on tours/festival for 2023 will be announced on a later stage.
Ukrainian prog-stoner trio STONED JESUS held their first rehearsal since the Russian invasion in the middle of July 2022. It was a moment the band dubbed as “surreal” and justifiably so — the regular ritual of band practice was made impossible by the war. The members of STONED JESUS — Igor Sydorenko (vocals/guitar), Sergii Sliusar (bass) and Dmytro Zinchenko (drums) — captured the moment for their social media channels. A broad smile of defiance and satisfaction can be seen on their faces. Regardless of the senseless havoc and destruction reaped upon their homeland, STONED JESUS would play on. It was the resumption of a music career temporarily thwarted but not defeated by evil.
Since 2009, STONED JESUS has served as one of Ukraine’s leading forces in heavy rock. Sydorenko, a veteran of the Ukrainian music scene, formed the band 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 band 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 the Psychedelic Baby webzine 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 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 ten-minute mark for hypnotic effect. The album eventually saw a proper reissue in 2020, introducing it to a new group of fans. Seven Thunders Roar followed in 2012 and included “I’m the Mountain,” a 16-minute epic jam 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, deftly transitioning Stoned Jesus from sludge into new terrain, including alternative and progressive rock. 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 webzine in 2015. “So, let’s experiment, shall we? Let’s play with the genres, the sound, the song structures, the melodies, the timings — yes, my favorite trick!”
Pilgrim came next in 2018, which until now, has been the band’s career-defining moment. Stoned Jesus’s 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 invasion, leaving the final run-time of six songs at 43 minutes.
The result is Father Light, the band’s first for Season of Mist. The album catches Stoned Jesus in full bloom. The foundational elements of STONED JESUS’s sound remain (fuzzed-out rock, driving bass lines and maximum groove) and are 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.
STONED JESUS subsequently resumed live activity in July 2022 with European festival dates and runs with countrymen (and labelmates) Somali Yacht Club and then VOVK. The shows provided the band the opportunity to air two of the songs that would end up on Father Light: “Con” and “Porcelain.” Moreover, the dates were an outlet for the band to connect with waiting audiences who supported their music and cause of raising money to help those impacted by the war.
The idea that music is the ultimate escape has never rung truer in light of what happened to Ukraine in 2022. The prospect of brighter days lies ahead, making the Father Light album title even more appropriate.
As 2022 drew to a close, the members of STONED JESUS posted their final message for the year, epitomizing their resilience and optimism:
All the missiles in the world can’t destroy freedom. Nothing will stop truth.
Line-up: Lead-Vocals and Guitar: Igor Sydorenko Bass and backing vocals: Sergii Sliusar Drums and backing vocals: Dmytro Zinchenko
Recording studio – Spivaki Records, Ukraine Producer / sound engineer – Artem Altunin and Dmytro Zinchenko Mastering: Metropolis Studio, London, UK – Andy “Hippy” Baldwin
Recording line-up – Igor Sydorenko (Arlekin, Voida, Krobak, Snakerider) – lead and backing vocals, electric and acoustic guitars, organ on track 3 – Dmytro Zinchenko (Doomed City, Orkectr Che, Sekunda Kota, Smeyushiysa Tigr, Small Depo) – drums and percussion, backing vocals – Sergii Sliusar – bass, backing vocals
Stoned Jesus photo by Daria Mangubi – Somali Yacht Clup Photo by May Lee
What unique news! The two Ukrainian labelmates STONED JESUS and SOMALI YACHT CLUBare about to kick off their European tour together!
The ‘Roots of Heaviness 2022 tour’ will start at the Schlachthof Wiesenbaden (DE), and sees the band traveling throughout multiple European countries until a final show at the mighty Up In Smoke Festival in Pratteln (CH). A full list of confirmed shows and tour poster can be found below.
The previous single of STONED JESUS, ‘CON’ was released on August 15, 2022 and can be found HERE. Stay tuned for the announcement of the release date.
STONED JESUS + SOMALI YACHT CLUB dates 2022 20 Sep 22 Schlachthof (DE) Wiesbaden 21 Sep 22 Leipzig (DE) Werk 2 23 Sep 22 Erfurt (DE) Zughafen 24 Sep 22 Siegen (DE) Vortex 25 Sep 22 Hamburg (DE) Grünspan 26 Sep 22 Berlin (DE) Zukunft 27 Sep 22 München (DE) Backstage 28 Sep 22 Salzburg (AT) Rockhouse 29 Sep 22 Milano (IT) Legend 01 Oct 22 Vienna (AT) Viper Room 02 Oct 22 Pratteln (CH) Up In Smoke Festival
Ukrainian sludge rock trio STONED JESUS is now releasing a brand new song, “CON!” The song and visualizer, which was created by the band, can be found at THIS LOCATION.
The single release is in conjunction with the band’s massive upcoming performance in support of DIE TOTEN HOSEN, which will take place on August 20, 2022 at Airport Tempelhof in Berlin (DE). The 60,000 capacity venue is currently sold out!
Lead vocalist and guitarist Igor Sydorenko comments on the track: “‘CON’ is a pure experiment, a crossroad of many ‘what if’s’ – what if we play a Motorik-type beat in some weird time signatures, what if every word in the lyrics starts with ‘con-,’ what if the song is constantly evolving despite its short runtime, etc. I’m really happy that trying all these things led to this absolutely brilliant result! Also the guys in the band not only embraced my ideas but also helped on other levels, too: Dmytro (drums) recorded and mixed the whole thing, and Sergii (bass) did the video. Enjoy!”
“CON” is taken from STONED JESUS‘ forthcoming psychedelic rock album, ‘Fatherlight,’ which will be released in 2023. The band previously released the first single, “Porcelain,” which can be streamed HERE. Stay tuned for more details!
Formed by Igor Sydorenko in Kyiv in 2009, STONED JESUS quickly progressed beyond their tongue-in-cheek moniker. The Ukrainian trio’s second full length “Seven Thunders Road” converged doom, prog and grunge in their own recognizable way and the album’s centrepiece, 13-min long “I’m the Mountain”, boasts 15 million plays on YouTube.
STONED JESUS‘s next LP “The Harvest” sounded like a blend of MASTODON, PORCUPINE TREE and SOUNDGARDEN, and their charismatic live shows and relentless touring schedule helped to double and then triple their fanbase in mere months.
While being integral to the European psychedelic rock scene STONED JESUS helped popularize, creatively STONED JESUS never stopped pushing the envelope, taking influences for their newer material from such diverse acts like SWANS, THE CURE, KING CRIMSON and DEFTONES.
Line-up: Lead-Vocals and Guitar: Igor Sydorenko Bass and backing vocals: Sergii Sliusar Drums and backing vocals: Dmytro Zinchenko
Ukrainian sludge rock trio STONED JESUS is now releasing a brand new song, “Porcelain!” The song and visualizer, which was created by the band, can be found at THIS LOCATION.
Lead vocalist and guitarist Igor Sydorenko comments: “‘Porcelain’ was one of the last songs I brought to my bandmates for the upcoming album, and they loved it instantly! In fact, we all loved this track so much we decided we’d play it live even before the album’s out, so now it makes all the sense releasing it as a single. People told me it sounds like 2000s PORCUPINE TREE covering 2010s SWANS but to me it’s just another amazing chapter in the STONED JESUS songbook. Hope you’ll enjoy it too!”
The song is taken from the band’s new upcoming album, for which the details will be revealed at a later date. Stay tuned!
“Porcelain” can be pre-saved across streaming platforms HERE.
For frequent updates on the recordings and the band in general, check out STONED JESUS‘ Facebook or Instagram!
Formed by Igor Sydorenko in Kyiv in 2009, STONED JESUS quickly progressed beyond their tongue-in-cheek moniker. The Ukrainian trio’s second full length “Seven Thunders Road” converged doom, prog and grunge in their own recognizable way and the album’s centrepiece, 13-min long “I’m the Mountain”, boasts 15 million plays on YouTube.
STONED JESUS‘s next LP “The Harvest” sounded like a blend of MASTODON, PORCUPINE TREE and SOUNDGARDEN, and their charismatic live shows and relentless touring schedule helped to double and then triple their fanbase in mere months.
While being integral to the European psychedelic rock scene STONED JESUS helped popularize, creatively STONED JESUS never stopped pushing the envelope, taking influences for their newer material from such diverse acts like SWANS, THE CURE, KING CRIMSON and DEFTONES.
Line-up: Lead-Vocals and Guitar: Igor Sydorenko Bass and backing vocals: Sergii Sliusar Drums and backing vocals: Dmytro Zinchenko
Metal Shock Finland (World Assault ) 