Moths & The Stone Eye Cover Black Sabbath & More On New Split
We’re seeing more and more international collaborations over the course of the pandemic, with its frequent regional lockdowns around the globe (see: The Crooked Whispers). Now Puerto Rican progressive metal outfit MOTHS and Philly rockers THE STONE EYE have combined talents to bring us a four-track EP split. On the one hand, you’ve got a very experimental band breaking conventional structures, coupled on the other hand with a band that’s not afraid to make us question what we know to be true about those conventional structures. In other words, stoner rock meets Alice in Wonderland.
Moths
Moths are a progressive/stoner metal band hailing from San Juan, Puerto Rico that blends powerful riffs with unexpected with progressive tendencies along the lines of Frank Zappa and Mr. Bungle. The band is made up of Weslie Negrón (bass), Jonathan Miranda (lead Guitar), and Omar González (rhythm guitar) in 2016, with the later addition of Damaris Rodríguez (vocals) and Daniel Figueroa (drums).
Moths released their debut, self-titled EP just two years ago and wisely embarked on their first mainland tour shortly thereafter, with a brief stint of dates in the northeastern US, where the band was well-received by new audiences. Just this summer, Moths contributed a track to the Stimulus Swim mixtape curated by Adult Swim.
The press clippings are right: “With Damaris’ aggressive but melodic vocals, Omar’s catchy riffs, Jonathan’s unorthodox leads, Weslie’s solid bass lines, and Daniel’s at times extreme drumming, Moths has marked out a sound that is anything but conventional.”
“Intervention” showcases Moths’ songwriting tendencies which kept me engaged throughout (if only occasionally troubled, not only knowing what the song was up to). This means, of course, that their Black Sabbath cover “Hand of Doom” will be a must-listen. The atonal fringes of the composition alone make it unique among other renditions of the song, not to mention the band’s tendency towards mind-wandering psychedelic meandering. We also get to hear the upper reaches of Damaris’ vocal technique in this song, which was quite impressive.
The Stone Eye
The Stone Eye is an electrifying rock band from Philadelphia, no stranger to these pages. Combining elements of stoner, garage, and alt rock comes a hard-hitting yet catchy style. Following a plethora of releases dating back to 2014, The Stone Eye recently treated us to their latest Doom Charts ranking spin, ‘Ventura’ (2020).
The band’s contribution to this split marks The Stone Eye as heirs to the grunge legacy, with “Presence of the Mind” giving off a strong Alice in Chains/Godsmack vibe, at least vocally. The EP concludes with another cover, this one a version of “Wayfaring Stranger” a traditional folk song.
Look for the Moths/The Stone Eye split on Electric Talon Records this weekend, August 21st (pre-order here).
Give ear…