So, before I get into my top albums of the year, it’s time for some Christmas cleaning. These reviews have been sitting on my hard drive for a while, and chances are you haven’t heard of most of these bands–but some of them are worth checking out.

Scratch Acid may have been the hipper choice, but I headed to the Horseshoe last nite to catch quintessential stoner rockers Fu Manchu, touring in support of a new vinyl reissue of In Search Of… There seemed to be quite a few aging, balding pudgy rockers on hand–the place was pretty packed!

Last nite, Kyuss Lives! kicked off its North American tour in Toronto, with support from The Sword and MonstrO. To say that the venue was a little out of the way would be an understatement, and the support was a little underwhelming, but I woulda given a kidney to see 90 minutes of Kyuss tunes in the flesh. I’m just glad I didn’t have to!

They say all things must come to pass, but lately, they’ve been passing like a 300-pounder with a spastic colon passes gas. First, there was the mysterious disappearance of StonerRock.com, the website that every heavy rock site aspired to be. Then, the off-again, on-again, off-the-air CKLN saga, which led to the end of Smokin’ Green and influenced my decision not to renew my domain. Accept tribute bands take note: as of August 26, 2011, TooHighToGetItRight.com will be up for grabs.

As the owner and maintainer of TooHighToGetItRight.com, a site dedicated to the Southern Ontario stoner rock scene, I’ve seen a lotta bands come and go since 2007. Lately, it seems that there’s been a lot more going than there are coming, to the point where I might not renew my domain this year. But there are still some new bands breathing new life into the stagnant stoner scene. Here are a few to keep an eye on…

Thinning the Herd is a band that’s proud to call The Big Apple home, personally proclaiming that they’re keeping the city’s heavy rock scene alive

It’s been a couple weeks now, but I still can’t get my head around the cryptic message that took over the legendary heavy rock site on December 3rd… A mixture of clouded accusations and defeated resignation, this “final statement” is a doozy, to say the least. So what the hell happened?

By Jason Wellwood
For the most part I can never really understand just what it is that Dave Wyndorf is talking about in his lyrics. Just when I think I’ve got it nailed down, he throws in something about eating black planets which could be a drug reference but might just be him being weird. One of the things that I’ve always loved about Monster Magnet lyrics though is that they swirl just as much as the music does and Wyndorf’s words almost become an instrument separate from his vocals. Some …