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Once upon a time stoner rock was synonymous with the dusty environs of California. But Sweden, being quick on the uptake, started spitting out bands of their own which are quite annoyingly good: Asteroid, Truckfighters, Dozer, Lowrider... the list goes on.

Well-schooled in the fuzzy, beard-friendly odes to Kyuss, Deville take the blueprint for this genre, but much like their countrymen Grand Magus, they articulate an appetite for mainstream melodies that pushes their style beyond the territory of 70s rock worship, causing them to sound more like Foo Fighters than Fu Manchu.

In fact the comparisons to the former are steadfast, from the stomping ⁴⁄₄ drums to Andreas Bengtsson’s Grohl-a-like vocal offerings. For all their straight talking on 21st-century stoner, Hydra expounds rhythmic features that keep them on the underside of hard rock.

With over 10 years’ experience writing for Metal Hammer and Prog, Holly has reviewed and interviewed a wealth of progressively-inclined noise mongers from around the world. A fearless voyager to the far sides of metal Holly loves nothing more than to check out London’s gig scene, from power to folk and a lot in between. When she’s not rocking out Holly enjoys being a mum to her daughter Violet and working as a high-flying marketer in the Big Smoke.