Stoned Jesus

Psychedelic Proggresive Rock - Ukraine

Stoned Jesus Band

Since 2009, Stoned Jesus has served as one of Europe’s leading forces in heavy rock. Igor Sydorenko, a veteran of the Ukrainian underground music scene, started it as a solo project after stumbling upon some heavy and angry riffs that would become the song “Occult.” He fed off his Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin influences and was soon turned onto Electric Wizard and Sleep, two bands who mastered the art of bold, lurching heaviness, thus creating a sonic template to abide by.

The Kyiv-based project was initially dubbed “Stoned Jesus from the Outer Space” but shortened to the much crisper Stoned Jesus. The name was trimmed down out of necessity — Sydorenko wanted to legitimize the band immediately. “I realized that this may cause some problems,” he told the Psychedelic Baby webzine in 2010. “Some people wouldn’t take our music seriously, then. I don’t mind jokes and having fun, but music is always the most serious thing for me.”

Two demos ensued before Stoned Jesus’s debut LP, 2010’s First Communion. Recorded with the first line-up in two hours, First Communion was a promising offering that dove headlong into the world of heavy stoner rock, with three songs going over the ten-minute mark for hypnotic effect. The album eventually saw a proper reissue in 2020, introducing it to a new group of fans. The first change of rhythm section brought Seven Thunders Roar in 2012, which included “I’m the Mountain,” a 13-minute epic that has since become a live staple. The album also introduced a bevy of acoustic guitar and softer vocal approaches from Sydorenko.

The Harvest came next in 2015 with a new drummer, deftly transitioning Stoned Jesus into the new terrain, with more alternative and progressive rock leanings. This is a credit to Sydorenko’s evolving songwriting style and desire to never allow Stoned Jesus to repeat itself. “It works brilliantly for the likes of Motörhead or AC/DC, but we’re not that legendary yet,” he told Outlaws of the Sun webzine in 2015. “So, let’s experiment, shall we? Let’s play with the genres, the sound, the song structures, the melodies, the time signatures — yes, my favorite trick!”

With another change of the drummer, the fourth LP Pilgrims arrived in 2018. A bold and experimental record, it showed the growing maturity of both musical and lyrical sides of Igor’s ever-progressing songwriting. After a year-long The Pilgrimage Tour and yet another year on the road celebrating the band’s tenth anniversary with the greatest hits setlist, Stoned Jesus’s original plans were to record its follow-up in 2020. That, of course, was sidelined by the pandemic. The band then entered Spivaki Records in Kharkiv in July 2021 to record nine songs at 75 minutes. Two-thirds of the material was mixed and mastered before the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, leaving the final run-time of six songs at 43 minutes.

The result was Father Light, the band’s first for Season of Mist, which caught Stoned Jesus in full bloom. The foundational elements of Stoned Jesus’s sound remained (fuzzed-out rock, driving bass lines and maximum groove, once again augmented by the combination of Sydorenko’s gentle clean vocals and hook-laden chorus choices, along with an array of ornamental guitar melodies. And, in true Stoned Jesus fashion, the journey is often the reward. The cuts on Father Light expand and shift — all the while, the band’s trademark heaviness serves as the guide.

Mother Dark, the gloomier introspective twin of Father Light, while partially recorded was shelved due to Igor’s dissatisfaction with the working dynamics of the latest Stoned Jesus line-up. Dissolving said line-up was a difficult decision to make, but Igor’s relocation to Europe brought a surprising reunion with his old friend Yurii, a talented drummer Igor had known even before writing the first Stoned Jesus song. Adding bassist-vocalist Andrew Rodin to this new line-up solidified its reliability, and now, after the whole year of relentless XVth Anniversary Tour schedule, the reinvigorated Stoned Jesus is more than ready for their next chapter. Bring it on!

Line-up:

  • Igor Sydorenko : Vocals, Guitar
  • Sergii Sliusar : Bass, Backing Vocals
  • Yurii Ciel : Drums, Backing Vocals
Date Venue City Country Info Ticket
May 2nd, 2025 Heavy Psych Sounds Fest Bologna Italy   Buy Ticket
May 16th, 2025 Desert Fest London United Kingdom   Buy Ticket
May 17th, 2025 Lost Lane Dublin Ireland   Buy Ticket
May 18th, 2025 Voodoo Belfast United Kingdom   Buy Ticket
May 21st, 2025 Plan B Malmö Sweden   Buy Ticket
May 22nd, 2025 Bar Brooklyn Stockholm Sweden   Buy Ticket
May 24th, 2025 Sonic Rites Festival Helsinki Finland   Buy Ticket
May 25th, 2025 Kinomaja Tallinn Estonia   Buy Ticket
May 26th, 2025 Melna Piektdiena Riga Latvia   Buy Ticket
May 27th, 2025 Loftas Vilnius Lithuania   Buy Ticket
May 28th, 2025 Drizzly Grizzly Gdansk Poland   Buy Ticket
May 29th, 2025 Transformator Wroclaw Poland   Buy Ticket
May 30th, 2025 Rock Cafe Prague Czech Republic   Buy Ticket
May 31st, 2025 Menza Pri Koritu Ljubljana Slovenia   Buy Ticket
June 1st, 2025 Vintage Industrial Bar Zagreb Hungary   Buy Ticket
June 21st, 2025 Hellfest Clisson Hungary   Buy Ticket
June 27th, 2025 Wasted Openair Oberzenn France   Buy Ticket
June 28th, 2025 Blackdoor Music Fest Passau Germany   Buy Ticket
August 3rd, 2025 Fekete Zak Festival Gyongyos Germany   Buy Ticket
September 28th, 2025 The Rosemount Perth Hungary   Buy Ticket
October 1st, 2025 The Baso Canberra Australia   Buy Ticket
October 2nd, 2025 The Underground Sydney Australia   Buy Ticket
October 3rd, 2025 Soapbox Beer Brisbane Australia   Buy Ticket
October 4th, 2025 The Leadbeater Melbourne Australia   Buy Ticket
Posted on January 16, 2025

Having celebrated their 15th anniversary with two reissues last year, Stoned Jesus are turning over a new leaf in 2025. The Ukrainian psychedelic prog rockers are rolling across the European summer festival circuit in heavy anticipation of their upcoming sixth album and first with the band’s new lineup.

Posted on March 2, 2023

Ukrainian psychedelic rock trio Stoned Jesus has teamed up with The Obelisk to stream the new album, ‘Father Light,’ in its entirety ahead of tomorrow’s release! The album and an intricate review can be found here: https://theobelisk.net/obelisk/2023/03/02/stoned-jesus-father-light-review-stream/

Posted on January 18, 2023

Ukrainian doom proggers STONED JESUS released two new songs last year, CON and Porcelain, but now it’s time to kick it off! Today, the trio STONED JESUS is treating the world with the atmospheric blues of ‘Thoughts and Prayers’ – a somewhat fitting title to their current situation. And with this realease, the band treats us with a beautiful music video which can be viewed via the official Season of Mist channel HERE. The link can be freely spread throughout your channels.

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