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REVIEWS

 

Full Metal Hippie
Electric Valley, the third release from Stone Soul Foundation, delivers first class hard driving blues groove riff-heavy rock with the vocals to match.

These are the kind of songs you want to hear on your city's rock station. If you like bands such as Godsmack, Black Sabbath, Alice In Chains, or Guns N Roses you will like Stone Soul Foundation. SSF has their own sound and style that will fit very well next to the aforementioned bands in your CD/MP3 collection.

The opening track Sidewalker is a fast bluesy rocker and the second track Christian, a scathing social critique, is a hooky mid-tempo grind akin to Pantera or Sabbath. The title track Electric Valley is a funky rocker that may remind the listener of Thin Lizzy's Johnny the Fox Meets Jimmy the Weed with some southern rock flavor as well.

Track 4, Ain't No Mystery is another great up tempo rock anthem and track 5, A Song About You, slows it down and grinds it out. Track 6, Window, changes gears to a slow rock ballad that shows off the exceptional vocals of Sean Muldoon as well as the writing of guitarist Jeff Wiggins.

Electric Valley maintains it's energy for tracks Mountain Of Time, Next Flight, and Gonna Try, slows down for They Are Me, then jumps back to full power for the final track I Master, another great rock hippie anthem.

If you like the genres of hard rock, southern rock, stoner/hippie rock, and/or heavy groove rock, you will want to own Stone Soul Foundation's latest CD Electric Valley.


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Aristocrazia (Italian Webzine)
The Stone Soul Foundation have been around for almost a decade, probably at home in the States, will also have a good following, but it is my first run into "Electric Valley" had never heard of sin, I was missing a very good band.
This second disc of the formation of Syracuse arrives at a distance of five years from the publication of the debut "Into The Flames", the biography speaks of five musicians who have a wide range of influences that in fact this is seen in the eleven tracks (most two "radio edit" of the fifth and eleventh song) that draw from acts such as Black Sabbath, BLS, Alice In Chains (among many), in addition to feel comfortable exploring the area hard rock / funk classic and do not necessarily conditioned and packaged in dark shade.
The sound is engaging, have created a pretty explosive mixture, there are overwhelming the pieces for a lively look that characterizes them ("Side Walker", "Electric Valley," "Is not No Mystery," "Mountain Of Time"), songs that gap in the radio circuit for the chorus that gets in the head ("Christian" that carry the words, then a picture is not so far from a reality that applies to many "followers" of this style of thinking: "You Call Yourself a Christian, yet 'you're quick to judge. You call yourself a Christian, you still hold a grudge. Yo call yourself a Christian, you boast of your faith. Hypocrisy in the name of the holy ghost "), usability Mixed aggressive charge ("Song About You" and "Gonna Try") and the ability to touch the strings of the listener most emotionally sweet ("Window" and "They Are", the second is pleasant to hear the organ lines offered by Josh Sularski).
It 's a strong proof how sweet, compositionally elegant but not "prissy" in the way, the tracks more often enriched by the work of the two six-string solo by Jeff Wiggins and Dan Dennis, also in good shape the frames and showing a riffing rich in many aspects and facets of the creature Stone Soul Foundation, the listener knows pander.
The performance behind the microphone Sean Muldoon, in some predicaments as Ozzy oriented (if it perceives as an example in saying "leave it all behind" at the end of the chorus of "Next Flight" you would need to turn to a trusted ENT), in other rimembrante albeit distantly Layne Staley (and I must say with all sincerity that one or two names despite having listened to repeat the disc still escape me), is one that you remember because the guy is not a clone or a living of reflected light, avoid forcing the use of derivatives as a fulcrum, the lines have expressed a feeling of personal and you will follow him on more than one occasion.
Helped by a rhythmic base provided efficiently and present by Shane Stillman Paradise on drums and Doug on bass, fitting and follow the evolution of the songs impeccably handing their dynamics in support of the guitars, and a job done with the mixer the trappings owed by Mr. Alex Perialas (Overkill "Feel The Fire" with Anthrax "Spreading The Disease" and SOD for "Speak Inglese Or Die" and a "New Order" Testament among many of you say anything?), the framework put in an album by the values ??above the vulgar media as "Electric Valley" is complete.
Do you want to escape and you are missing the key to do this? Inserted into the reader's Stone Soul Foundation and leave behind the various paranoid, a little 'good music always has a positive effect on mood.

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Cross Roads Music Magazine
Stone Soul Foundation – Electric Valley CD (2011)
Hot Damn, we’ve hit a speed bump in the tunnels of time and got stuck inside a bong! SSF has to be the most authentic stoner metal band since Trouble or St. Vitus, right down to the bellbottoms and pilgrims hat. Easily digestible for older burners who already took the trip as well as those ready to blast off, this doob-burning magnum opus puts 13 choice cuts into your bowl. This had better be on vinyl. Its like The Sword are humping Nazareth’s leg while on DMT. Solos, righteous vocals, whah-abuse and probably some other flavors too. I would recommend this album to all of you who wish to make your girlfriends clothes fall off. Very high grade. Check out “Christian”, “Window” and “I, Master “

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Mark Bialczak  The Post Standard
Central New York band Stone Soul Foundation worked two years to get its second CD, “Electric Valley,” just the way the musicians wanted it.

Shane Stillman, Dan Dennis, Jeff Wiggins and Sean Muldoon will let fly with the new stuff and work from debut CD “Into the Flames” with two Central New York shows this weekend: at 9 p.m. Friday at The Fireside Inn, 2345 W. Genesee St., Baldwinsville, and 6 p.m. Saturday at Suzy’s Tavern, 6 Lexington Ave., Auburn.

Wiggins reports they worked with master sound guys Alexis Periales, at Pyramid Sound in Ithaca, and Jocko at Syracuse’s More Sound Studio before sending the 13 cuts down to Music Row in Nashville for final mixing at Georgetown Masters.

“It’s spectacular,” Wiggins says. “We’re all super excited.”

A listen to an advance copy reveals hard rock crackling with energy and stuffed with memorable lines.

They can snarl. In opening song “Sidewinder,” Muldoon sings, “You sidewalking snake! You back-stabbing fake! I ain’t the one. I wasn’t born yesterday. You ain’t got no reason for me to believe a word you say. Out of my way!”

There’s optimism, too, in “Mountain of Time,” as he sings “Keep your head down in the hurricane when you’re blinded by the freezing rain. Envision love waiting down below. Dig in, now don’t let go. ... If you survive, you’ll truly be alive. See the world through brand new eyes with every sunrise.”

 

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Syracuse New Times

Sammys News
Back to News
Syracuse New Times Sammys 2007 Award Winners
Added or Changed: 2007-06-08 11:13:24
Thanks to all those who came out and supported the Syracuse music scene this weekend at the annual Syracuse New Times Sammys award show. We're proud to announce the winners for this year's round of awards. Awards were selected by an independent panel of judges from the Le Moyne College music department lead by Andrew Russo, head of the department.

Best Country: Lisa Gentile
Best Folk or Bluegrass: Repercussion
Best Jazz: Kevin Dorsey Collective

Best Rock: Stone Soul Foundation

Best Pop: Kim Monroe
Best Blues: Jimmy Cavallo with Ron Spencer and Jumpstart
Best Rhythm and Blues: Jimmy Cavallo and the Houserockers
Best Alternative, New Rock or Metal: Josh Christian
Best Recording Other Styles: Grupo Pagan
Best Hip-hop or Rap: DooWiTTle
Hall of Fame: Mike Davis, Dick Ford, Isreal Hagan, Bob Halligan Jr., Ed Hamell, Joanne Shenandoah
Lifetime Achievement: Sen. John DeFrancisco
People's Choice for Best Band: The Bystanders
People's Choice for Best Venue: Dinosaur Bar-b-que
Brian Bourke Award for Best New Artist: The Sister Lovers
 

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Sleazegrinder
A knock-down, drag-out party in a box, NYC's Stone Soul Foundation mix up bar-room boogie with a skronking brass section and flash metal guitars, and as you might imagine, the result is popped tops and DUI's all around. I haven't heard this particular combination of instruments since The Boyzz back in '78, and although there's no revving motorcycles in the mix here, the biker-rally vibe is in full effect on Saturday night howlers like "Walk Tall", "Heavy Hand" and "We Are Reborn". There's also a smattering of funk ("Get Up"), rattlebone blooze ("One Night"), and vintage glam-metal power balladry ("Into the Flames"), and various mutations along the way. Remarkably pretense-free stuff that exists only to get you on your feet. Or on your knees. Whichever comes first.

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Strutter Magazine
STONE SOUL FOUNDATION ‘INTO THE FLAMES’ (SSF MUSIC)


This is bluesy soul R&B/rock and roll in a sort of 1970s approach like GLENN
HUGHES meets MOTHER’S FINEST while in a battle managed by GRAND FUNK
RAILROAD. It’s very funky at times and quite original, nothing like the
standard Rock&Roll from nowadays. This is something JEFF SCOTT SOTO would
love to make I guess, really funky rock and roll with bluesy guitarwork (a
la PAT TRAVERS/NEAL SCHON) and a lot of passionate soulful vocals. I even
smell some very early late 70s WHITESNAKE references, while PAUL RODGERS’
BAD COMPANY also comes around a few times. Concluded, a quality CD release
with in total 13 songs.

(Points: 8.2 out of 10)

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The Post Standard/Stars
Auburn rockers Stone Soul Foundation know how to lay it on thick.

Their 13-song disc, "Into the Flames," churns with heavy metal power. Yet the five guys in Stone Soul Foundation know that there's more to rock. Sean Muldoon on lead vocals, Dan Dennis and Jeff Wiggins on guitar, Doug Paradise on bass and Shane Stillman on drums roll their rock around in funk and sprinkle some tasty soul on top.

The moody, suspenseful title cut brings to mind the psychedelic days of Jim Morrison and the Doors. Muldoon and mates know how to go deep into the psyche, too, as the scary images of "Blood Runs Cold" prove: "Blood and fire reigns like a plague across the land. All the tears in the world can't extinguish the flames. Must we play these silly games? Man's pride, his hatred and his greed strangles like a weed. In the garden of no turning back, blood runs cold and hearts turn black."

Metal rap fans should love "No Stopping" as Muldoon rat-a-tat-tats: "Police behind me. Road block ahead. I might end up rich and I might end up dead."

On the other end of the spectrum, "Now" features a soaring acoustic guitar with a spirited sax by guest Brian Dobbie joining behind the prettier lyrics:

"Close your eyes and take a journey through space. Look upon the universe without a face. We are one with the dust of the earth and the wind within the sky."
 

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Rochester Free Times
Auburn's Stone Soul Foundation sent us their debut CD, Into the Flames, and it was certainly burning with energy! A blistering mix of funk, soul and rock, the five-piece is led by the impassioned vocals of Sean Muldoon, in a sort of stoner-meets-headbanger fashion. Adding psychedelic elements to the blend makes it that much cooler and Stone Soul Foundation do it all with grand aplomb, creating a Grand Funk meets Chili Peppers meets Cream concoction.

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The Citizen

It's no wonder that the best rock category nominees up for a Sammy Award (Syracuse Area Music Award) include Auburn-based band Stone Soul Foundation. The group rips open the first track on its “Into the Flames” album with lyrics “Feeling like I know what to do/ I ain't doubting myself no more.”

The five-man Auburn sensation is a mix of blues, funk, metal and rock, and they're not about to back down from the challenge of living the undefined musical life.

That first track, called “Walk Tall,” opens with some finger snaps and “Ah ah ahs” that mimic some of that funky old wah-wah '70s soul. Although the lyrics are expected as a culmination of the band's five-year journey as musicians, nobody expects the driving lead and rhythm guitars to pulse through that sassy beginning. That kind of much-welcomed surprise is a sign that the band known as Stone Soul Foundation is not the same five men that made the first album, “Scenic Route,” in 2003, but a whole new band with cohesion and a lot to prove.

One part of Stone Soul's foundation is lead vocalist and percussion expert Sean Muldoon, who looks as though he is raging into battle on stage with his dreadlocks and full beard. Muldoon is known for “flailing around on stage like a crazed witch doctor,” according to his bandmates and his vocal influences are heavily spiked by Wilson Pickett of “Mustang Sally” fame and James Hetfield of Metallica.

Jeff Wiggins is part of the band's two-guitar assault along with Dan Dennis. Whether it's one playing the solo or the two trying to melt the audience's faces off, the players are inseparable in sound on the new album.

Holding up the band's insistent rhythm is the irreplaceable Doug Paradise on bass. With Stillman serving as the organizing beat of the band, Paradise is known as the machine that drives it along. The band's complicated rhythms on “Into the Flames” would not be possible without Paradise's insistent, full bass sound.

From “Scenic Route,” the track “Midnight Lady” opens with higher-than-metal male vocals in a style close to that of Foreigner's Lou Gramm and with the same intensity. Listeners can already hear at this point that there is something worth listening for as well with the showy front guitar solo.

“Scenic Route's” third track, “Heaven,” opens with Pink Floyd-esque stylings on vocals and guitar. A softer mood infuses the song, but it lacks the heat and personality of the later tracks on “Into the Flames” such as the primal “Get Up.” With a primal drum beat rivaling most modern rock bands, drummer Shane Stillman opens “Get Up” with a technique he learned from a producer who told him, “drum like a caveman.” The riff pierces the soul with its insistent rhythm and relents shortly to two guitars who feed on the bridge-like section that follows. It is clear, before the listener even gets to the funk-infused, saxxed up tracks “Now” (featuring Brian Dobbie of Ruby Shooz fame) and “Funk #50” that this is a band who have taken five elements and made them into one stone soul sound.

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