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Fire Down Below: Low Desert Surf Club
 Damn if Belgium's Fire Down Below don't sound all 'California stoner/desert' rock on opening track "Cocaine Hippo" from their latest platter for Ripple Music, Low Desert Surf Club. I'd almost thought possibly that a new Fu Manchu track had somehow permeated my speakers. These guys have a few albums to their credit, and this latest is a raucous collection of high energy rockers steeped in big fuzzy riffs, wild psychedelic solos, frantic rhythms, and vibrant vocals. Anthems such as "California", "Airwolf", and "Dune Buggy" are quite catchy and plenty headbanging, while "Surf Queen" is an homage to all the great 'surf guitar' bands of the early '60s. "Here Comes the Flood" slows things down a bit and adds plenty of psychedelic atmosphere as well as a doomy vibe, which continues a bit into "Hazy Snake", but "Mantra" is where all those psychedelic tendencies really bloom, a 16-minute epic with no shortage of floating soundscapes and screaming acid rock guitar solos.
Low Desert Surf Club has a nice mix of styles, and you could easily say there's a little something for everyone here. It will be fun waiting to see where they go from here.
Track Listing
1.
Cocaine Hippo 04:31
2.
California 04:03
3.
Airwolf 03:21
4.
Surf Queen 07:17
5.
Dune Buggy 04:04
6.
Here Comes The Flood 07:24
7.
Hazy Snake 06:03
8.
The Last Cowboy 04:37
9.
Mantra 16:06
Added: November 14th 2026
Reviewer: Pete Pardo
Score:  
Related Link: Band @ Bandcamp
Hits: 1130
Language: english
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Fire Down Below: Low Desert Surf Club
Posted by Jon Neudorf, SoT Staff Writer on 2026-11-14 17:57:25
My Score:
Belgian rockers Fire Down Below are a new find for me having released their third album titled Low Desert Surf Club in 2023. They began releasing albums in 2016 with their debut titled Viper Vixen Goddess Saint followed by Hymn Of The Cosmic Man in 2018. Low Desert Surf Club is their latest album and my introduction to the band.
Whether you call this sludge metal, stoner rock, riff laden rock or heavy psychedelic rock, this band means business and you are in for one wild ride. The all-mighty riff is the name of the game here, front and center on every track. By no means does that diminish the rest of the band as each ingredient is necessary for this music to rise to the occasion.
“Cocaine Hippo” is all catchy riff progressions and heavy fuzz with some cool psychedelic tinged soloing along the way. A barrage of fuzzed out riffs inform the catchy “California” complete with a searing guitar solo that will etch into your brain. “Airwolf” is another catchy slice of riff driven sludge with the guitar cutting in and out making room for some groove heavy bass work. “Surf Queen” is a heavy helping of amped up surf rock while the eerie psychedelics in the darker “Here Comes The Flood” offers something quite interesting and just a little different. The bass stands out and the lead vocals are heavily processed. Which reminds me, the vocals are outstanding throughout the album.
The album ends with the epic “Mantra”, over sixteen minutes of swirling guitar and psychedelic sweetness topped with a heavy helping of spacy progressiveness.
Overall, the band has delivered big time with Low Desert Surf Club. All psychedelic and stoner fans and even progressive rock aficionados need to check this out.
A Ripple Music release.
Fire Down Below is:
Kevin Gernaey (lead guitar)
Sam Nuytens (drums)
Jeroen Van Troyen (vocals and guitar)
Bert Wynsberghe (bass)
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