Ukrainian Riff Machine

There are not so many Ukrainian bands, which are known all over the Europe. And “Stoned Jesus” is one of them. I exchanged letters with their leader Igor Sidorenko via Email and had a very nice conversation with him.

Igor started “Stoned Jesus” in 2008 after leaving his post-punk project called “Krobak” and in fact it was a surprise for him. But later this band became a surprise for all stoner-rock fans all over the Europe.
“I had bad times in late 2008 and started to come up with angry heavy riffs that were hardly Krobak-related, so I decided to start another project, a Sludge/Post-Metal one. But when the opening "Occult" riff appeared I realized that this is going to be a little bit different stuff ;) My old passion for bands like Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin melt my Sludge/Post-Metal blueprints into something new, besides I discovered Electric Wizard and Sleep and finally realized the direction I should take with my own music.”

Igor was inspired by his parents since the very childhood. His father was a musician in Soviet times and his mother was a music teacher. She taught Igor how to play guitar and brought him to music classes. Since he first became acquainted with some classic rock music his life has changed.

“My mother taught me how to play guitar and I went to music school, as well. I was around 13 when I heard Nirvana and Jimmy Page, and I knew what I wanted to do. So the big classics were a kind of  inspiration for me.”

His career began in 2009, with the first LP of “Stoned Jesus” called “First Communion”. And it was a real breakthrough. Critics’ scores were very good and soon Igor and his band went to their first tour around the Europe. The band met real financial problems during that time, but as they said, it was just an incredible experience. During the tour Igor felt himself discomposedly and rapturously.

 “We didn’t know what could happen during our tour. In fact we weren’t ready for it, but did our best”  

Guys recorded the whole album's basic tracks live-ib-the-studio on their Kiev's friend equipment in just two (!!!) hours, and then Igor returned home to mix it, add solos and vocals. It was the first studio experience for Nick and third or second for Alex, SJ’s drummer for that time. Igor was glad that Solitude Prod. took over album's promotion, they know how to work with Doom Metal and they were exactly what guys needed back in 2010.

 “I still recieve exciting feedbacks on "First Communion" even though it feels like we recorded it ages ago.”

The next following months Igor spent in a tour playing gigs everywhere and becoming more and more famous. Some time later the band signed a contract with a major studio label and released their next album – “The Harvest”. This album secured their success on an International stage and gave them an opportunity to play with such bands like “Radio Moscow” and “Electric Wizard”.

“The Harvest” is undeniably good, hitting the spots just right. There’s power in the slow cuts “Black Church” and “Rituals of the Sun,” which puts Stoned Jesus’s fine focus on display. Other cuts like “Youth For Sale” or the aforementioned “Wound” stroke our desire to hear something that’s both heavy and catchy, earning “The Harvest” a spot in one’s record collection. – says “The Sludgelord UK” magazine.

“Ukrainian Riff Machine” – that is how Igor’s friends call him. He always laughs at it and denies his talent. According to his story, the main secret of his success is a sincere love of music. He hopes that “SJ”’s next works will be better and more popular, so he keeps working on it.

“Well, we've just released a new EP which is some kind of the upcoming album's preview and plan to record a new full-length this Summer and release it before 2015 ends. We eager to play some shows in Europe, and Slovenia may be one of the first countires to explore! ;)”