Like a puff of smoke, Stoned Jesus have risen above the Carpathian Mountains as not only the heaviest, but perhaps the most important rock band to emerge from Ukraine.

Prior to Stoned Jesus' first communion, affable frontman Igor Sydorenko was just another familiar face among local progressive rockers. But after rekindling his old flame for metal amidst a stormy period in his personal life, Igor and his two new bandmates went off in search of more crushing highs.

When it first arrived back in 2014, even Stoned Jesus were surprised by The Harvest. Having already reached the summit of stoner metal after just two albums, the band planned on digging into their progressive rock roots. With its synth-laden passages and weaving guitar solo, "Silkworm Confessions'' definitely sows those seeds. But while it leans heavily into the album's sci-fi narrative, "Here Come the Robots" comes busting out the gate with a hard-charging riff that's so aggressively catchy, it could've been programmed by alt-rock radio.

"Yet another proposition / I don't want this anymore", Igor rattles off with biting swagger.

With The Harvest, Stoned Jesus reaped fresh seeds of invention from stoner metal. For fans of Queens of the Stone Age, Electric Wizard, Black Sabbath