Mountain of Misery (Shades of the Ashes)

Greg Aramini
Jul 24
5 min read

Released: 2025

Genre: Stoner rock, Shoegaze

Sounds Like: Spaceslug, Cloakroom

Homeland: Poland

What makes Shades of the Ashes elite and sit atop OHMs Peak?

Mountain of Misery's latest release masterfully combines chilled stoner rock with shoegaze. This album is ideal for getting lost in and perfectly suits a solitary hike or a bonfire.
Kamil's vocals are clear and seamlessly integrate within the heaviness, creating a euphoric atmosphere.
The album art by Łukasz Puzdrowski is stellar and reflects the music perfectly.

Track Listing:

Thornado 6:02
Follow The Sun 5:50
Mystify 5:22
Speed King 3:34
From Fall To Rise 6:17
Interlude 1:30
Lightness At The End 5:41
Blow 8:54

Dive deeper into Shades of the Ashes with our Q&A with Kamil from Mountain of Misery.

OHMs Peak: Would love for a brief glimpse into your process and time commitment in making the album.

Kamil: The first ideas or riffs appeared at the end of last year. And the recording process itself started in January and took me a few days (maybe one week) with some breaks. I have it conveniently because 2 years ago I managed to arrange a studio in the basement of my house, so if I have any ideas, all I have to do is go downstairs and press the "record" button. It gives a lot of possibilities and definitely causes much less stress than a recording studio in the classic sense, where you have to book a date, prepare 100% for a given moment, having limited time and a sound engineer over your head, which can generate additional stressful situations.

In my studio and at the same time label (Electric WItch Mountain Recordings), I am the sound engineer myself, I have unlimited time, if something is not going well on a given day, I can take a 3-day break and come in when I feel that my vitality has returned. It is very convenient and fortunately, current technological possibilities provide such possibilities without the need to spend tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars on arranging/setting up such a studio, as it was 25-30 years ago. As for the creative process itself, most of it starts with a guitar riff, this is how 70% of the material was created, 1 track was based on a bass line ("Blow") to which I then arranged the guitars. One track, in turn, started with a drum rhythm ("Thornado") to which guitars, vocals and bass were successively added. I hand over the mixes to an experienced person with whom I have been cooperating for years, Haldor Grunberg, who has already produced/mixed recordings for practically the entire stoner scene in Poland (Dopelord, Major Kong, Weedpecker, Spaceslug, Sunnata etc.), he also produced and cooperated with Behemoth, which is probably the most recognizable Polish band on the scene at the moment and an kind of an export product.

OHMs Peak: What was your band’s most memorable live performance? Where was it held and why was the night so special?

Kamil: Mountain Of Misery is a one-man project, so no concert has ever been possible. I treat it as a strictly studio project, although you can always assume that it will have a live line-up and play at least 1 concert. It is possible, but the chances are really small.

OHMs Peak: We so love the catalogue MofM continues to build. Shades of the Ashes only takes things to another level. Peaceful nonchalant gaze as we like to call it. Sucks you in to this meandering bliss. Take us through the collaboration and process on the album. Did you receive any help on the tracks or are you driving all the writing and instruments? Is there pressure to perform live?

Kamil: I have already included some of the answers in the answer to the first question. I compose and arrange all the instruments myself, at the end I add the vocals, during creating vocals the melody is key, lyrics are invented for the melody. I work very spontaneously and I don't usually break down individual elements into prime factors. Usually the first, invented idea is already on the album. Thanks to this, the songs can be treated as very spontaneous, and therefore as an authentic summary of a given moment.

OHMs Peak: ‘Speed King’ albeit one of the shorter tracks is absolutely infectious. The hooks and contrast riveting. Would love to hear more about how this track came about and the affinity for speed. The uptick in tempo is of course apropos.

Kamil I was arranging some second guitars for the song "Follow The Sun" I think, and somehow the riff for "Speed King" came to my mind. It is exceptionally simple, the subsequent pates and choruses were added quickly and naturally, I think the whole arrangement took me an hour. The only element I had to sit on was the middle part of the song, where I included something like a jam, chaotic exchanges of individual instruments. It's hard to do a solo/jam without a band where things like that come naturally when playing live. I think I managed to do it though and it came out pretty well. As for the love of speed - I rarely play faster songs. It's not particularly fast in itself, and the title itself is a kind of homage to Fu Manchu and their "King Of The Road" and COC and their "King Of The Rotten". The title itself was initially supposed to be just a working title, but it looked and sounded so good that I decided to leave it as the final one.

OHMs Peak: What band NOT in your genre would you love to tour with that would most compliment your sound?

Kamil: I have heard a similar question a few times and the answer is always the same, such a band would be The Cure. The level of sadness and melancholy is huge there, which is why I think that if I played concerts, The Cure and I would get along great, they are a big inspiration for me from many years.

OHMs Peak: We would love any insight as to your current and upcoming tour plans?

Kamil: Currently, I am focusing on working with my next band, Palm Desert. We are preparing an album because of a very long break, at the same time I am recording an album of my sludge band O.D.R.A. Another topic for the second half of this year will be the 5th full-lenghth Spaceslug album. The year will be special because if everything goes according to plan, the albums of my 4 bands that I am involved in will be released.

OHMs Peak: Your band is stranded on an island with only a solar powered turntable and majestic powered solar blue tooth speakers. The band collectively can only choose one album. Which album to you agree to?

Kamil: A very difficult question, I have a whole bunch of favorite albums, if I had to choose, today I would say that this album would be Kyuss "And The Circus Leaves Town", tomorrow however I could choose a different album..

Mountain of Misery is:

Kamil Ziotkowsk - Vocals and Instruments

Follow Mountain of Misery: Bandcamp / Facebook