Giant Haze crash landed onto the stoner rock scene like a thousand ton meteor from outer space with their debut album “Cosmic Mother”. An album with all the heavy fuzzy tones that you will ever need. The riffs are like a wall of hot desert sand and waves of smoke. They recorded this album in a raw oldschool way with no modern amp-modelling so you can really hear the huge fuzzy tones in the room and feel the band’s live dynamics as they tear through the fabric of reality itself.
Starting off with “Geographic Gardens sucks” the band is on full blast with a really tight rhythm section with Timo Ahlers on drums and Christian “Andi” Andersen on bass absolutely locking the groove down and laying a foundation for the grungy heaviness of the entire album. Peter “Pete” Stoeckicht on guitar is making his fuzz pedals work overtime as he delivers headbanger approved riffage while Christoph Wollmann delivers brutal distorted vocals.
“King of Tomorrow” is the track that follows and has more of an eldritch storyline and the evil riffs to go with it. It’s about the dangerous desire to know your own future. A classic tale à la H.P Lovecraft’s work and cosmic horror stories where the search for infinite and forbidden knowledge seals the fate of the seeker to oblivion.
Fittingly the next song is called “Yard of Oblivion” and it deals with love and memory. Giant Haze questions whether it’s worth suppressing bad memories to only remember the good times. For there is beauty in pain and growth in suffering. The only way out is through the yard of oblivion.
“Sunrise” is a short instrumental break with lots of atmosphere and it’s what I imagine watching the sunrise from outer space is like. Speaking of outer space imagery the cover art on this album is absolutely stunning. Created by Pete the guitarist of the band it features a literal cosmic mother cradling the earth. I think it does a great job of setting the mood for this album.
“Sundance” creates an allegory for toxic relationships with more cosmic imagery. People dance in the intensity of the sun as it burns their legs off, not aware of their suffering because they are addicted to the feeling of being embraced by the sun’s light.
“From Another World” is the most sinister and cosmically fantastic song of the album. It tells a gripping story and deepens the established lore of the album as it reveals that the cosmic mother is above all else.
Now for a song more grounded in reality “Panic to Ride”. It references shamanic philosophy where “escaping reality” can be meaningful for reflection. “Ego Death” can have quite the negative stigma as it can be viewed as a disconnected view of reality. Giant Haze among others in this genre propose that when seen from the right perspective this can help one realise that “we all look the same and should be allowed to be the same.”
“Crank in Public” explores the dichotomy of caring what people think deeply but outwardly disregarding their opinion. A struggle that everyone can relate to and it’s accentuated by the intensity of the music brilliantly.
“Pull the Plug” features one of the most addictive and catchy riffs on the album and an absolutely relentless heavy groove to go with it as the lyrics tackle an equally heavy subject matter as the name alludes to: Depression. Seeking help and attempting to stand up is the only way out as the song puts it and I personally agree with this stance.
“1000 Tons of Stone” is literally about the heavy weight of broken relationships and how it takes a toll on one’s heart and transforms a person into an emotionally numb zombie. Musically , the song features a halftime groove which feels hypnotic to listen to. Like you can’t even move from the metaphorical heart heaviness and the literal sonic heaviness of the track.
Picking up the pace now a track with much more energy “Shrink Age”. I found it to be quite motivating as it pushes a narrative for self-improvement and carving one’s own path to be their true self. Feels like a direct response to the previous two tracks in my mind.
The album finally closes with an anthemic song “A smile for the Dead” which serves as an ode to our beloved dead as the band put it. A powerful finish to a really focused album.
Overall Giant Haze’s “Cosmic Mother” is an incredibly powerful debut album and represents the best features of the stoner rock genre. The album is out on all major platforms and I’m personally excited to see what else the band has up its sleeve.
