When quarantine hit in 2020 the band figured it would spend the year touring Mountain Pass. Instead it found itself instantaneously jumping into writing sessions for their Sophomore follow up. Taking note of real time feedback from the world at large of the freshly released debut, the band set out to achieve a bigger more ethereal soundscape to call their own. Discovering the Heavy Psych community at large the creative influences left a massive impact on these writing sessions. Simultaneously watching life at home fall into ruin the band watched as forest burned, citizens protested, politicians faltered, and sickness spread. The ripple effect the pandemic had at home led to an increase of crime, business collapse, and ultimately a mass exodus of the state.

Taking note of current affairs the next chapter began to write itself. The San Francisco Bay Area has fallen into ruin and risen from the ashes more times than most are aware but story started during the gold rush. The complex history of a thriving town collapsing under its own weight every generation had a profound impact and the band would find themselves returning to producer Chris Hughes in 2023. The band would take the next step and team up with Glory or Death Records for the fall release of "From Boom Town To Ghost Town" September 18th 2024 and embark on the Gold Fever Tour that fall touring the release of the new LP up and down the entire west coast. 

The album would to receive significant praise from the the scene at home and the global community particularly being ranked 5th best record of Sept 24 & 24th best record of the year by The Doom Charts. 

Unfortunately art imitates life more often than not the 7 year run with Jack Stiles and Stephen rogers came would come to a close at the end of this record cycle as the lifelong friends would go onto answer the call of life and more onto their next chapters leading Phantom Hound onto the precipice of it's next chapter.

After pushing The Ether E.P. throughout 2017 the lineup was ironed out when both Jack Stiles joined on drums and Stephen Rogers on bass in 2018. With white hot determination the band officially expanded the name to "Phantom Hound" and gigged relentlessly carving out their place and sound in the Bay Area underground. This unwavering momentum carried them straight into the studio with longtime friend and producer Chris Hughes in 2019. The sessions were visceral and powerfully raw capturing the sound of a young band living in the moment from live stage to live studio.

Taking inspiration from local roots and California history the band sought out the mountains to film a music video for the opening track & single "The Northern Face" in Truckee, Ca. After a weekend of filming  in the original granite tunnels of the Transcontinental Railroad the bands cabin caught fire due to an electrical short in the chimney and erupted into flames in the middle of the night forcing the entire crew to evacuate and narrowly escape a fatal situation. 

Bonded by a near death experience and a renewed sense of gratitude the debut record was named Mountain Pass in honor of the struggle to truly get the band and the music out in the world good and proper after years of struggling and would be released March of 2020. Their planned PNW tour  to launch the record alongside Hippie Death Cult would be cancelled at the 11th hour when Covid 19 & the resulting pandemic  landed just days after it's official release. I

 The band would ultimately dive straight into quarantine pushing the album across online blogs and community groups to achieve much praise for its raw straightforward bluesy doomy stoner rock energy. The record serves as a lasting testament to the determination of several bandmates unwiling to yield to the challenges laid before them. In 2021 they would embark on their first pacific north west "Captivity Tour" a year and a half after the onset of the pandemic. They would again take the record on the road in 2022 supporting Oakland supergroup HTSOB.

Resurrection & Lineup Changes (2017)

In the pursuit of self discovery founding guitarist and vocalist Jake Navarra took to Craigslist in search of starting a new band in 2013. He quickly met bassist and recording engineer Keith Hernandez. The two quickly bonded over inspirations such as QOTSA, Soundgarden, & Goatsnake. Rounding out the rhythm section came drummer Dominic Torres, a friend of Jake's with a shared love of Crowbar, Melvins, and sludge. Not long after meeting one another Keith was offered the lead engineer position after his predecessor passed away. The trio found themselves with a handful of songs and a recording studio at there disposal and what started off as demo sessions quickly materialized into 4 songs fit for an EP. The original lineup would complete the recording sesssions and go to play just two shows before disbanding after Jake Navarra suffered an ACL tear in a motorcycle accident in 2014. Dominic would go onto serve in the army and would be stationed in Germany, and Keith decided he wanted to move onto other projects. With surmounting stress and constant setbacks Jake would ultimately decide to quit music and was forced to sell all his musical equipment save for his Martin acoustic to help cover medical bills while everyone went in there respective directions in life. 

After 2 years without music Jake would eventually find himself with free tickets to a Rob Zombie concert alongside his brother. (Ironically the tickets were from one his first nursing aid during his first of four HAE study trials.) While watching John 5 dish out solo after solo Jake's older brother Josh nudge in the shoulder with a simple question "Are you telling me you don't want to do that anymore?" Like a bolt of lightening the 2 year hiatus ended for Jake. He went out and bought a new guitar the next day, reconnected with Keith, and the two dusted off the old sessions, mixing them to completion and drove out to Nevada City to have it mastered by Oz Fritz. The Ether E.P. was ultimately released straight to Bandcamp December 2016 with no promotion, no band, and no practice space to call home and it was here Jake found himself at the bottom of a mountain.