I really like the Hazytones, so I had no doubt that their second full-length album was going to be anything less than awesome - but even so, when I first listened to their new, mightily named release "The Hazytones II: Monarchs of Oblivion" I was still blindsided by how great it was! While their original self-titled album stuck mainly in stoner and heavy psych territories, this time around they've made things darker and doomier - and they weren't exactly full of sunshine to begin with! The Hazytones bring us tons of... well, hazy tones! Fuzz works its way through the soul of the sound at a swaggering pace with riffage wrapped around it and raspy reverberating vocals on top. The band manages to elicit the feeling of a cool autumn breeze through a graveyard without dwelling on the gloom or the terror, leaving a picturesque, slightly moody backdrop for some shady tunes. There's just a touch of the blues on here that peeks through from time to time - you can hear it on "The Great Illusion" as it chugs through the introduction before it disappears into the low, dusky, and vaguely mystical groove before it bursts through again during the guitar solo. My favorite track on here is "Hell" which starts out as a supremely catchy rock tune that will have you singing along, but then halfway through it dives into heavier waters and develops out of doom sensibilities. The two-parter "Monarchs of Oblivion" definitely stands out too, with Part 1 hitting some evocative vocal melodies and rock 'n' roll bounce while Part 2 gets into a sauntering doom. This is a great one for all the wicked folk out there who want to stir up the darkness! -Brandon
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