HUMULUS: Flowers Of Death (STONER): review / opinion to read on Music Waves

Italy, its cinema (especially genre films), its pretty women, its history, its landscapes, its gastronomy and above all... its stoner! The peninsula has long been a fertile breeding ground for fat riffs and dantesque flows. Doom and psychedelia like to mate in the telluric depths of a burning crucible, under the occult gaze of progressive rock fed on hazy B-movies. In fact, there's always something to glean from these discs.

Active for no less than fifteen years, Humulus are among the most respected bands. Yet honesty compels yours truly to admit that he'd never really taken an interest in him, despite three notable early albums, most notably "The Deep" in 2020. So it's with virgin ears that we discover his successor. Between the two albums, Giorgio (bass) and Massimiliano (drums) once again had to make up for the departure of their singer and guitarist, Andrea van Cleef having, like Ben his predecessor, packed his bags. A certain Thomas Mascheroni replaces him. We can't say for sure whether Humulus has benefited, or whether it sounds better or different in this new combination, but the fact remains that "Flowers Of Death" shines with a thousand lights, a marvel of songwriting and feeling.

The macabre nature of the title and the magnificent cover are a poor reflection of the vigorous, upbeat content. The first track to stand out from the rest is the awesome (from every point of view) 'Operating Manual For Spaceship Earth', a ten-minute psychedelic and hypnotic orgasm, which ends the listening experience on a cosmic note with the enduring allure of a euphoric jam. The kind of track that makes you smile from ear to ear. This is undoubtedly the most successful and enjoyable creation ever produced by Humulus.

Although it's not quite as great, the rest of the album doesn't have much to be ashamed of in comparison, from 'Shimmer Haze', woven together by stratospheric six strings, to '7th Sun', a slow elevation into celestial spheres where the vocals fade. The tempo is numb, as if nailed to the ground ('Black Water'), more rarely nervous ('Buried By Tree'), which dictates the album's heavy yet easy-drinking content.

What else can be said about it except that 'Flowers Of Death' is one of the most exciting stoner and related albums of 2023. A must have! - Official website

HUMULUS

FLOWERS OF DEATH

AUTRE LABEL

STONER