NIGHTSTALKER – Return From The Point of No Return
Release Date: 14th March 2025
Label: Heavy Psych Sounds
Bandcamp
Genre: Stoner Rock
FFO: Black Sabbath, Trouble, 1000mods.
Review By: Paul Franklin
Never mind something in the water, when it comes to rip-roaring stoner rock, there must be something in the Olive Oil. After last year’s storming album from 1000mods, fellow Greek stalwarts Nightstalker unleash the colossal Return From The Point Of No Return. Which, if you are yearning for some gritty, massive blues-laden riffs and hypnotic grooves all crowned by ‘Ozzy-esque’ commanding vocals, fits the bill perfectly.
Dust kicks things off with a solid stoner rock ‘n’ roll groove, then, as the name would suggest, Heavy Trippin’ blows some psychedelic smoke over the mighty fretwork. Uncut rattles and wails away before the title track relaxes into a lazier groove.
The magnificently titled Shipwrecked Powder Monkey weaves its way through a sludgy, doomy landscape before ending in a rousing climax. Shallow Grave deceives, slowly stretching out with its bluesy roots, lulling you to close your eyes and relax until you suddenly realise it’s completely coiled itself around you.
The album ends with the more pop flavoured Falling Inside and heavier psychedelic Flying Mode, and you have to conclude that Return From The Point Of No Return, is a damn near faultless stoner rock record.
Although, interestingly, the band often reject the ‘stoner rock’ label.
‘We never accepted labels in music. I’ve always believed we play rock. In the early 1990s music press labels used as grunge. Three or four years now they’ve been saying we play stoner. In five or six years, if we’re still on this planet, they’ll say we play something else. But who gives a shit…’
…well, if you have any interest in ‘moments of crushing intensity, muscular rock ‘n’ roll’ and ‘slow-burning atmospheric tension’ then you should.
(4.5 / 5)
