#14 - sHeavy

One generally doesn't think of St. John's, Newfoundland as a hotbed of rock.  That is, until one hears Canada's kings of stoner rock, the mighty sHeavy.  Founded in the mid 90's, sHeavy has steadily released a remarkably consistent string of 10 albums over the past 20 years, each a slab of groovy, sludgy, riff-oriented rock, one great tune after another.  The consistency is even more remarkable given the parade of players who have rolled through the band, as evidenced by this photo:

SHeavy wears their influences on their collective sleeve.  Singer Steve Hennessey bears a clear and uncanny vocal resemblance to early Sabbath-era Ozzy Osbourne, and guitarist Dan Moore's impression of Tony Iommi isn't far behind.  Add to that the fact that the band began life as Green Machine, named for the Kyuss rocker, and you get a pretty good idea of what sHeavy is about musically: lots of driving stoner rock, with a down-tuned, 70's lean.  There's also some psych-rock in there and of course some Sabbath-inspired doom-y metal.  They really are just one great song after another, and adeptly and enthusiastically performed.  Here's the first song I ever heard by them, "Firebird 350", up there with Deep Purple's "Highway Star" and Kyuss's "Green Machine" as one of the three best open road driving songs I know, followed by a complete (and bizarre) live performance from 2005 at the Masonic Temple in St John's, where they set up on the floor in the middle of the "crowd" of 80 or so and knock it out of the park.

#15 - Puya

I first heard Puerto Rica's Puya in 1999 as the very, very first band in that summer's long Ozzfest lineup.  I think the poor guys played at something like 11 in the morning to a small and disinterested audience at the Atlanta show I attended, before an impressive roster of artists including Open Mike favorites System of a Down, Primus and Black Sabbath.  The first thing I noticed when they took the stage: a horn section!  Being a trombonist as well as a long time fan of both metal and 70's horn bands like Chicago, Blood Sweat & Tears and Earth Wind & Fire, I was intrigued.  Unfortunately, as is often the case at rock festivals, the sound was a disaster and I came away unimpressed.  But luckily for me, my friend Jeff, who was at the show with me, picked up their debut album called Fundamental and I got a second chance to hear them.

If one was to stick them in a sub-genre box, it would probably have to be Nu metal, but to leave it at that isn't fair to them or to anyone considering giving them a listen.  Sure they've got some of the hardcore and hip hop elements that are the hallmarks of the genre, but there's also some jazz guitar work, occasional prog chord progressions and phrasing surprises.  And especially a ton of salsa, complete with congas, timbales, horn section and a deeply pocketed groove.  Honestly, I've never heard anyone sound remotely like them, which is surprising because the sound works so well.  Their first full-length album Fundamental is a joy to listen to, and I'm including here the title track, my favorite of a slew of strong offerings.  If you like it, scroll a little further down to hear a live performance of a song from their 2001 follow-up album Union called "Sí Ajá" which, while missing the horn section, has a really enjoyable latin jazz break sandwiched between a crushing metal opening and recap to finish.  And finally, because it's unexpected, a 1998 cover of The Police's "Spirits in the Material World"... in Spanish.