· STONED OLYMPUS - MYSTIC ALCHEMY (GYR188) ·
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::T R A C K S::
01. UNIVERSAL HIPPIES - "MONUMENT"
FORMAT: Audio CD / 4 PANEL WALLET
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From the land of Greece comes the way-kool Stoned Olympus project
that celebrates excellent Greek instrumental heavy guitar stoner rock.
"Mystic Alchemy" is a compilation disc featuring an awesome selection
of killer unreleased songs by the following bands: UNIVERSAL HIPPIES,
STONE AGE MAMMOTH, STONILA, HAZY SEA & CHILDREN OF AEGEAN.
The awesome debut Stoned Olympus disc is produced by and features the
killer, hypnotic, instrumental stoner rock music of Stavros Papadopoulos
& Panagiotis Zabourlis and is the musical brainchild of these two prolific
guitar rock brothers. "Mystic Alchemy" lands on the newly formed Greek
Stoner Revolution Records label in conjunction with Grooveyard Records
and is highly recommended to people who like to rock heavy on the 3rd
stone from the sun with bad-ass, instrumental stoner riffage & grooves.
MP3 Sample Clips 
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01. UNIVERSAL HIPPIES - "MONUMENT" |
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· reviews ·
Interesting insight into the work of two workaholics.
This sampler contains ten tracks from five bands, giving an insight into the apparently very active Greek heavy / stoner rock scene, after all, all of the bands immortalized on STONED OLYMPUS can be roughly assigned to this corner. The initiators of this project are the multi-tasker Stavros Papadoupulos, who recently made a positive impression with his first solo album, and his SUPER VINTAGE colleague Panagiotis Zabourlis.
The two were not only involved in the pre-selection and completion (Stavros produced the album in the "Freerock Recording Studio" he runs), they also receive songwriter credits for all tracks. That's not really surprising, since the two of them are involved in almost all bands and projects that have another thing in common without vocals.
Together the two workaholics founded the project CHILDREN OF AEGEAN last year, which, like all other formations, is represented with two songs on this compilation. The two tracks 'Circe' and 'Road To Troy' placed in the middle of the album not only make you want to hear the debut album released at the same time, due to the sometimes playful pace, the two tracks tend more than any other in a more progressive direction. The lute plucked by Panagiotis, which the standard rock instruments used by the two musicians successfully support, also contributes to the subtle folkloric atmosphere.
The album will be opened (and closed) by UNIVERSAL HIPPIES, arguably the toughest band on this sampler. The Stavros guitar in particular sounds a lot rougher at this company than at any other. The opener 'Monument' also got a touch of Southern Rock, the finale 'Mediterranean's Gate', on the other hand, got a psychedelic rock list. The two STONILA songs reveal such a thing, even if this band has the dirtiest blues riffs up their sleeves and can be seen especially in 'Gators In Attica', which is why Panagiotis has brought a second guitarist on board with Teo Nousis Has. As a result, the "boss" should have had more room for slide passages, which he knows how to integrate into the songs in a very casual way.
At STONE AGE MAMMOTH he proves that Stavros is also a gifted drummer. Although it was launched by Panagiotis and his colleague Anastasios Georgoulas as an earthy, dirty blues / hard rock company, the stoic groove of the rhythm group has a contrasting effect. It is quite conceivable that the two "speedy fingers" would otherwise have paid homage to their masters with excessive solos. Still, 'Desert Temple' in particular is perfect for endless jams and solo escapades on stage.
With HAZY SEA we finally get to hear the only band in which Stavros is not actively involved. Here, too, Panagiotis, who for his part only does not participate in UNIVERSAL HIPPIES himself, does not keep his weakness for the slide guitar behind the mountain, but otherwise seems to regard this formation as his "Stoner Rock-Baby", the one with 'Sailing The Unknown 'has delivered a real gem of a genre.
Anyone who can be happy with all of the sub-genres mentioned and generally has no problem with instrumental food will definitely enjoy this sampler too. Respect deserves the two initiators, who give us an insight into their work.
Walter Scheurer / Power Metal - Germany (April 2020)
Let’s face it: Just as Mount Olympus is the highest mountain in Greece and Stravos Papadopoulos is the baddest, meanest, most fluent guitarist Greece has to offer. And why only Greece? He’s one of the best anywhere in the world! Stoned Olympus is his new endeavor, and the disc is called ‘Mystic Alchemy.’ The project is more or less a compilation disc, with unreleased songs by his various bands, such as Universal Hippies, Stone Age Mammoth, Stonilla, Hazy Sea and Children Of Aegean. As we’ve come to expect from Papadopoulos, this is instrumental rock at its best: loud, heavy, emotional, driven, and extremely well executed, with numerous guitarists, bass players, and drummers but always highlighting Papadopoulos’s considerable playing power. The variety of musicians stems form the fact that this recording, as stated, is a conglomeration of his many band endeavors. Yet while there is a certain amount of diversity in these songs, since they are clearly diverse projects, one thing is constant: Papadopoulos’s guitar playing is stellar, rising above the numerous first-rate musicians that join him here. Really, if you want to hear heavy guitar music as it was meant to be played, get this disc: It will raise you to Mount Olympus.
Steven J. Rosen / Author + Journalist (January 2020)
Stoned Olympus features several bands with mostly the same musicians. Stavros Papadopolous the killer guitarist and the drummer on a majority of the tracks but does play his guitar on several as well. The majority of guitar duties go to Panagiotis Zabourlis who does an excellent job. If you are familiar with Universal Hippies, who also play on the disc, then you will like the other bands material. This album is being described as Greek Stoner music. I would say it differs from what I see as stoner music on general. Stoner music to me means alot of fuzzed out riffing. This to me is more instrumental guitar rock music. I think it would appeal to any one who like progressive rock, psychedelic rock, or just instrumental guitar rock. If you are looking for something like Kyuss or Queens of the Stone Age this does not sound like that. However its all really good music. Just a different type of Stoner rock. There is some real musicianship going on here. On a separate note, I have to shout out to the Nyxian:Drift artwork for the album. Such a cool album cover! One of my favorite album covers in recent memory.
Gary Milligan / Amazon Review (January 2020)
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