Band:	Under The Sun
Album:	Vol. I
Style:	Stoner rock, Stoner metal
Release date:	January 14, 2018
A review by:	nikarg

01. Fear And Loathing In Athens City
02. Heavy Blues
03. Break It
04. Pony Ride
05. Under The Sun

Under The Sun is a 5-member stoner band, based in Greece. They were formed back in 2015 and define themselves as a sludgerotic heavy rock act (whatever that means). After many live appearances, with the most notable being the Desertfest Athens 2017, they recently released their debut EP, entitled Vol. I.

Picture yourself on a week away with your mates in a 1970s Volkswagen RV, driving through Route 66. After having played all of your Black Sabbath, Pentagram, Corrosion Of Conformity, Trouble, Down and Led Zeppelin albums, Under The Sun can be a pretty good choice to keep you going without losing your laid-back coolness at all. Their tunes range from upbeat boogie to slow, dark and heavy and, while the music is not groundbreaking, it is pretty catchy and memorable and will make you wish you had grown up in the '70s.

The good thing about this EP is that all five songs in it have something interesting going for them, be it the bluesy chug of "Heavy Blues" or the rocking vibe of "Pony Ride" that will make everyone shake their heads and hips rhythmically during a live performance. For me, however, the highlight is the closing track, the longest one featured here. "Under The Sun" is a desert kingsnake slowly making its way through the sizzling hot sand with its doomy, serpentine riff until it finds you, its lead guitar wraps itself around you and the raspy vocals with the Butler/Ward-worshiping rhythm section squeeze you in a hypnotic, mellow hug.

Considering this is Under The Sun's first effort, we can only expect better things to come from them. Their music is made to be thoroughly enjoyed in a live setting with alcohol and smoke and Vol. I could have benefited from a better production, but overall this is solid as a rock and will not disappoint you if you're into this style.

[url= https://underthesunofficial.bandcamp.com/album/vol-i]Grab the beers, ride the pony and get sunburned.[/url]

"Now it's the time the pressure to flow,
no longer confined, about to explode,
now is the time to see who I am,
you wired the bomb to blow in your face
and... Break it!"