Bongzilla Share Heavy New Single “Sundae Driver”

Stoner metal trailblazers Bongzilla have released a new single in light of the announcement of their first full-length album release in 16 years. The single, titled “Sundae Driver,” appropriately named after a hybrid strain, comes from their upcoming album Weedsconsin, which is set to be released on April 20. The album will be available on limited edition vinyl, black vinyl, CD, as well as digitally. Weedsconsin is available for preorder now via Heavy Psych Sounds.

Bongzilla is a trio from Madison, Wisconsin that specializes in weed-centric, psychedelic heavy metal (if you hadn’t gathered that from their name). As they currently stand, the group is made up of guitarist and vocalist Mike “Muleboy” Makela, guitarist Jeff “Spanky” Schultz and drummer Mike “Magma” Henry. They’ve been on the scene since 1995, carving out space for themselves in the world of heavy metal. Following the release of their fourth studio album, Amerijuanican, the band toured and remained otherwise active before taking a hiatus in 2009. The band started their own label called Gungeon Records in early 2020, where they reissued their fan-favorite album Apogee.

Fellow bandmate Cooter Brown retired from the band shortly after the start-up of Gungeon Records due to personal health and family reasons, and the band ultimately decided to sign to the Italian label Heavy Psych Sounds for the release of their fifth album, Weedsconsin.

Listen to Bongzilla’s new single, “Sundae Driver” here:

“Sundae Driver” stays true to the band’s usual heavy and hypnotic cocktail, leading with a steadily menacing bassline that’s crept up on by Makela’s harsh vocals. The single, relative to some of the band’s other discography, is slow and steady- with a focused, slightly cleaner sound.

Despite the characteristic attributes of the song, it’s clear that the band has evolved to some extent, maturing in their instrumentation and writing along the way. However, if this single is indicative of the kinds of songs to come with the rest of the album, die-hard Bongzilla fans will not be disappointed. The song delivers dark and broody guitar riffs entangled with the punchy percussion that keeps the doom-tune marching along. The band’s distinctively smoky ambience is very much alive, well and captured in “Sundae Driver.”