In my eyes, indisposed
In disguises no one knows
Hides the face, lies the snake
The sun in my disgrace
Boiling heat, summer stench
‘Neath the black the sky looks dead
Call my name through the cream
And I’ll hear you scream againBlack hole sun
Won’t you come
And wash away the rain
Black hole sun
Won’t you come
Won’t you come (won’t you come)Black Hole Sun – Soundgarden
The tragic passing of Chris Cornell in May 2017 affected a lot of us deeply here at The Doom Charts. For many, he was the voice of a generation. For myself, Chris was the perhaps the main reason I became so fascinated with Heavy Rock/Metal music back in 1995. In my younger years, I was more of a Dance/Rave fan. Though that was until I heard Chris legendary vocals on Black Hole Sun and he turned my whole outlook on life upside down.
From that, I bought all of Soundgarden’s discography and they quickly became one of my favourite ever bands. Discovering Soundgarden led me onto other grunge bands such as Alice In Chains and Pearl Jam. Though at the same time I started to discover bands such as Kyuss, Monster Magnet, Fu Manchu and heavier bands within the Doom/Sludge/Stoner Metal spectrum.
If it wasn’t for Soundgarden and the legendary vocals of Chris Cornell, I may not have discovered the bands that I love and appreciate today. Though it all started with Soundgarden and that haunting riff…..
Thank you for the music Chris. Your legacy lives on….
Here is the May 2017 edition of the Doom Chart. For now, we have twenty five great albums for you to check out. Some new and some not so new….
Welcome to Doom Charts, representing some of the finest bloggers, journalists, radio and podcasters and album reviewers from the doom-stoner-heavy underground around the globe. Each month, our critics submit their picks for the best new doom, sludge metal, stoner-psychedelic and heavy rock albums. The results are compiled and tabulated into the chart below. This is a one-stop shop for the best new albums in the world…
25. Goya – Harvester of Bongloads
Goya has smashed open the doors and bashed in the windows to shine a bright green beautiful light of miserable disgusted angst on all your fears. This is the sound of modern nightmares come alive, and it’s the most exquisite release I’ve heard from Goya to date. ~ Leanne Ridgeway (Doomed & Stoned,Riff Relevant)
24. Green Yeti – Desert Show – NEW!
The beast has landed smack dab in the middle of the desert and decided to jump on stage, tune low and surf the sand dunes on masterful rhythms and high riding tunes. Yes, Greek trio Green Yeti decide to take the sound they gave us with their debut effort The Yeti Has Landed a year ago to a whole new level. Low, menacing, grimy and pulsating with strange magic, it is a true Desert Show! ~ Joop Konraad (Stoner HiVe)
23. Dustrider – Event Horizon – NEW!
Dustrider’s debut album – Event Horizon – manages to avoid the usual clichéd route and pitfalls of Instrumental Psych Doom/Stoner Rock by offering a fresh perspective on things. Event Horizon creates a more distorted sound as Dustrider take their time in bringing heavy riffs to the party. Event Horizon is a thrilling style of Psych/Stoner Rock that you’ll find very hard to beat. If you’re a serious fan of Psych/Stoner Rock then I advise you to buy this album now. ~ Steve Howe (Outlaws of The Sun)
22. The Wicked Ones – The Wicked Ones – NEW!
~ Frazer Jones (Desert Psychlist)
21. Witchfinder – Witchfinder – NEW!
The stoner/doom world has quite a coven of witches: Witches Drum, All Them Witches, Witchrider, Witchbanger, Witch Mountain, Kitchen Witch, Witch Charmer, American Witch, Bell Witch, Acid Witch, Son of a Witch, to name more than a few. Add to this murky horde the gifted dark wizardry of WITCHFINDER, who have recently staked their claim in the boiling cauldron of viscous riffs that is doom metal with their eponymous entry of four thickly layered concoctions of deep black darkness and nightmare. Witchfinder haunt you with their signature approach to the low-tuned arts of plodding doom melodies with dogged song structures that weave their tales of terror through sheer intoxication of riff and rumble. The music is a subterranean odyssey of dogged tempos, eerie vocals, and unexpected changes, keeping you on edge while perversely satisfying that deep vein craving for distortion of sound and sanity. ~ Ken Elliott (Heavy Planet)
20. Merchant – Beneath – NEW!.
A droning, languid intro for a few minutes, followed by the battlehammer of an ancient colossus caving your skull in for the best part of half an hour. A two track marathon, packed with 10 tracks worth of riffs – ‘Guile as a Vice’ is a journey to the center of the Earth, drilling relentlessly with deadly intent. ‘Succumbing’ kicks off in a chaotic maelstrom of demonic vocals and caveman drums. At 2:50 it settles into a super cool feel that in the live setting I’ve witnessed begins to strain necks to snapping point. A medical condition that is fully realised at 6:10 when Merchant turn out the best locked in rhythmically infectious mind destroying passage of heavy music I’ve heard since those verse riff and drum beats in Conan’s ‘Gravity Chasm’. Merchant are a very worthy addition to the Black Bow Records roster, and are a prolifically creative force in the Australian heavy music scene. ~ Clint Willis (Hand Of Doom Radio)
19. Mad Monkees – Mad Monkees – NEW!
Mad Monkees both band and album, deliver the kind of rock once classified as “hard” but nowadays more and more is found falling under the banner of “stoner”, in other words riff fuelled grooves powered by an underbelly of tumultuous drums and big gnarly bass lines overlaid with fuzzed/ overdriven guitars and coated in grizzled clean vocal tones. Nothing new there I hear you say but what Mad Monkees also bring to the table is a sense of fun , a sense of enjoyment and a thrill of playing that permeates every groove and musical nuance found throughout this astoundingly good album~ Frazer Jones (Desert Psychlist)
18. Cybernetic Witchcult – Troglodithic Trip – NEW!
Cybernetic Witch Cult’s “Troglodithic Trip” is not exactly a brand new album,containing as it does songs previously released on the bands iconic demo “Morelock Rock” plus two brand new recordings. The band have re-worked re-imagined and re-recorded four of “Morlock Rock’s” strongest cuts and in doing so have re-invigorated them both sonically and dynamically for a new audience.
If you come to “Troglodithic Trip” having already fallen in love with “Morlock Rock” and thinking “why should I invest my time and money in an album that I already own most of and with only two new songs“? Well the answer is in your own ears, compare those demo recordings with those here and you will find the only reason to go back and listen to “Morlock Rock” is for those songs that did not get a makeover. However if you are new to the band “Troglodithic Trip” will have you wondering why you arrived so late to the party ~ Frazer Jones (Desert Psychlist)
17. Monobrow – The Nacarat – NEW!
These three Canadian cats have steadily improved their instrumental art ever since their self-titled debut back in 2010. Seven years later they’re on to their fourth full-sized album The Nacarat and the Monobrow goodness continues on! More spacious, more cosmic than their predecessors, it tells the tale of the age-old battle between good and evil, dark and light. Progressive in nature their metal, their doom and their stoner excites and enthralls and gets you all giddy like a young cheerleader looking to get her cherry popped… ~ Joop Konraad (Stoner HiVe)
16. Petyr – Petyr – NEW!
Petyr come launching out of nowhere with a blazing set of cosmic riffage on its self-titled smasher. Heavy psych hasn’t felt this good since your first trip on magic mushrooms. The laser blues laced skater punk jam layers of extraterrestrial fuzz into empty pools of Witch meets Earthless. Hot damn! ~ Bucky Brown (The Ripple Effect)
15. DUEL – Witchbanger – NEW!
Duel return with their second album – Witchbanger – and it’s another heavy slice of classic Heavy Metal carnage merged with slabs of powerful Stoner/Doom Metal. The album has a very classic eighties heavy metal feel with the vocals proving that this album will appeal to both the more traditional metal-head and the more modern doom metal fan.
Witchbanger sounds like it could have been released back in the classic heyday of Doom Metal whilst still offering a modern Stoner based sound. Witchbanger is an exciting wild ride into the realm of Doom/Heavy Metal and I urge you not to pass this album by as Duel have created another quality album. ~ Steve Howe (Outlaws of The Sun)
14. Savanah– The Healer – NEW!
Savanah’s new album – The Healer – is a very intriguing affair with the band showing right amount of creativity and passion that was on their debut album. This time Savanah have a more progressive feel amongst the Desert/Stoner Metal sounds.
Fans of Kyuss and Truckfighters will find kindred spirits with Savanah. The musical interplay between all the band members deserves a mention as these guys work together so well as they create an exciting atmosphere within the album.
13. Medusa 1975 – Rising From The Ashes – NEW!
With a massive proto-doom vibe running throughout, this album is a blast of riffs, hammond organ abuse and wah-wah solos. Uriah Heep/Purple song compositions are the template here, all played with the conviction of Atomic Roosters Death Walks Behind You. Doomy riffing and sinister organ use bring a modern touch to proceedings .. yeah, the wheel is not being reinvented here but as Medusa1975 were around in the 70s, they have every right to sound like this, unlike the slew of current bands lazily ripping off wholesale riffs from that time. ~ Tony Maim (Black Insect Laughter, Stoner HiVe)
12. Telekinetic Yeti – Abominable
In their debut work Abominable, Telekinetic Yeti deliver a high caliber sound and great sonic power that transits between elements not always easy to classify, which provides an attractive and high-level sound experience. It can be said that the basis of its sound, the sustenance of the house, is the pairing of a thick and bulky Stoner Rock with a Doom Metal with latent lysergic nuances. But it is possible to emphasize a approach with elements that are different, referring to paths like Sludge and Progressive Metal. All very well founded by mastodontic riffs that whip the air and seem to want to devour everything around. ~ Matheaus Jacques (October Doom)
11. Samsara Blues Experiment – One With The Universe
The new record, One With The Universe, is the result of endless hours of jamming, jamming and jamming after bassist Richard Behrens left the group. The three of them had to find out where it would lead them and what the new three-piece chemistry would be. Well, they’ve gone psycho on the use of analog synths, keyboards and wild effects, while still retaining focus on the fact that even though everything is jam-based, a song has to be written, an adventure has to be taken and a journey has to reach its goal. And you will feel this during the course of every track. Which seem less worldly, a bit heavier and heftier in every aspect, yet every bit as spiritual as their earlier releases. One With The Universe is yet another Samsara exploration one has to join in on. It has the markings of a true quest, the search of something pure and honest. ~ Joop Konraad (Stoner HiVe)
10. Beastmaker – Inside The Skull – NEW!
Cali’s three-man throwback to the age of Proto-Doom returns from 1973 with this fine slab of Pentagram / Black Sabbath worship. The aptly titled Inside The Skull is a magical testament to the glorious power of the riff for once you hear these, they are forever embedded in your brain. Retro-fueled fuzziness and vintage overtones permeate every moment of this latest altar call. Audio-based occult worship at its finest, rock ‘n roll most righteous…this LP is the living embodiment of everything that is Stoner Doom. ~ Pat Riot (Riff Relevant / Taste Nation LLC)
09. Summoner – Beyond The Realm of Light
This is Summoner’s third album, so what do you get for your money this time around? Well nothing much as changed, Summoner are still slaying all before them with their addictive grooves of molten metallic stoner, still blending heavily fuzzed and distorted riffage with intense vocal melodies and still managing to sound fresh and vital. If there is something new to be found in Summoner’s sonic attack it is that there is a little more focus, a touch more musicality and a stronger emphasis on arrangement to be found in their highly addictive sound. If you enjoyed previous albums “Phoenix” and “Atlantian” then you are going to love Beyond The Realm Of Light, it’s like someone buying you your favourite pizza opening the box and finding it’s got extra topping. ~ Frazer Jones (Desert Psychlist)
08. Brume – Rooster
Brume have emerged from the depths of some Lovecraftian landscape to deliver an album dripping in doom, portent and heaviness. Produced by Billy Anderson, his touch is very evident in bringing to the fore riffs, atmosphere and haunting vocals. ~ Tony Maim (Black Insect Laughter, Stoner HiVe)
07. Vokonis – The Sunken Djinn – NEW!
Coming almost fifteen months after their celebrated debut album – Olde One Ascending. The Sunken Djinn is a better-rounded and doomier affair with the previous albums Stoner sounds giving way to a more psychedelic and sludgier groove. You can still hear that addictive Vokonis groove first heard on their debut album. The album has a more intense heavy metal feel with Vokonis taking influence from classic eighties sounding heavy metal artists at times.
The band becomes permanent doom dwellers with the music nightmarish in scope. Fans of Black Sabbath, High On Fire and Mastodon will find much to admire and riff-worship here.~ Steve Howe (Outlaws of The Sun)
06. The Obsessed – Sacred
The mythos of The Obsessed returns with the fantastic milestone Sacred. The album is an extensive musical journey that spans time through all eras of this iconic band as the past, present, and future meld into one massive, cohesive musical statement. The first truly valid contender for Best Album Of 2017 has arrived! ~ Pat ‘Riot’ Whitaker (Taste Nation)
05. Doublestone – Devil’s Own/Djævlens Egn
We had been eagerly awaiting new stuff since their amazing Wingmakers album from 2013. And it is finally here! Double, double, double you, O, double you! They doubled up on everything on Devil’s Own and won big. The Danish deliver once again on everything we love from seventies inspired psychedelic rock, doom and hardrock with a stoner twist here and there and the blues roots growing wild. Doublestone sold their soul!~ Joop Konraad (Stoner HiVe)
04. Elder – Reflections Of A Floating World – NEW!
Throughout the course of six songs and sixty odd minutes, Elder essentially put on a clinic , divine a prophecy, show us the future of a genre that’s badly in need of reinvention. The structure, writing, and production of this album is nothing short of stellar. Seriously. This is a landmark album. This will come to be considered one of the high water marks, an album that will come to define and even re-define the genre. I’ve never heard a “stoner” album with such a nuanced atmosphere, such a multitude and magnitude of textures. There’s all sorts of amazing tones and effects on the guitars, and the addition of a second guitar has certainly added an entire other dimension to Elder’s sound. The clarity of the production allows all of these elements to simultaneously shine.~Andy Beresky (Taste Nation)
03. Skunk – Doubleblind
Skunk, John McKelvy (Vocals), Dmitri Mavra (Guitar), Erik Pearson (Guitar), Matt Knoth (Bass) and Jordan Ruyle (Drums), hail from Oakland, California and jam grooves heavily influenced by the likes of Buffalo, Truth & Janey, Cactus and Sir Lord Baltimore as well as all the usual 70’s suspects such as Sabbath and Zeppelin. Skunk take these influences, born from a time when the blues was gradually making a transition into something harder and heavier, and mix them in with elements of 00’s stoner/psych, creating a sound that, although not exactly ground-breaking, is nonetheless highly infectious and totally enjoyable. ~ Frazer Jones (Desert Psychlist)
02. Steak – No God To Save
The new slab of glistening flesh by heavy rockers Steak from the UK, is seasoned with massive riffs and seared to perfection over a bed of atmospheric bliss. The rhythm is dripping with robust groove and the vocals slice against the tender grain of distortion serving up a full course platter of metallic frenzy. My ears are bigger than my mouth with this glorious hunk of marbled beef. Album due out worldwide May 19th via heavy rock titans Ripple Music guaranteed to satisfy your musical hunger. ~ Bucky Brown (The Ripple Effect)
01. GEEZER – Psychoriffadelia – NEW!
Self described as “Cosmic Stoner Blues” comprised of “Heavy Psychedelic Riff Rock”, this three piece powerhouse is about to blow your mind and speakers in one fell swoop with this latest release of five separate compositions that stand alone and even better as a complete package. For the next 39 minutes of smoke filled vocal lamentations with a guitar slide so smooth, you can hear the blue in the glass as the bottom end rumble gives you that ‘body’ to close your eyes and roll along with each moment, taken along with all of the leading pace of this heavy-hit drumline that has enough perfectly timed fills to satiate the most veracious headbanger. ~ Ric Dorr (Taste Nation)
Special thanks to the ongoing contributors to the monthly Doom Charts. You folks help give voice to the underground:
A.S. Van Dorston (Fast n’ Bulbous); Billy Goate (Doomed & Stoned); Bill Goodman (The Evil Engineer); Bucky Brown (The Ripple Effect); Clint (Hand of Doom Radio); ‘Doktor420’ (Stoner HiVe); Doombeard (DoomBeardZine); Pat ‘Riot’ Whitaker (Taste Nation, Riff Relevant); Gram Pola, Son of Sam (Dirty Denim); Pat Harrington (Electric Beard Of Doom); Frazer Jones (Desert Psychlist); Ken Elliott (Heavy Planet); Leanne Ridgeway (Doomed & Stoned, Riff Relevant); Lucas Klaukein – ‘LK Ultra’ (Stoner HiVe, You May Be Dead & Dreaming); Joop Konraad (Stoner HiVe); Lyk (Phantasmagoria); Mari Knox Knox (Doomed & Stoned); Martin Petrov (Rawk’n’Roll – the ‘pass-me-that-bottle’ webzine); Matthew Thomas (Taste Nation); Matheaus Jacques (October Doom); Melissa (Doomed & Stoned); MeteorJadd (The Ripple Effect); Papa Paul (Doomed & Stoned); Rod Reinhardt (Captain Beyond Zen); Samir Asfahani (Super Dank Metal Jams); Skip (The Burning Beard); Steve Howe (Outlaws of the Sun); Steve Miller (Vertical Chamber Apparatus); Steve Woodier (Shrieks From Below); Tony Maim (Black Insect Laughter, Stoner HiVe); Tanguy Dupré – “Mr Fuzz” (More Fuzz).
This May 2017 edition of The Doom Chart was tallied by Bucky Brown and edited by Steve Howe.
Doom Charts 
On the money, as always
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Wonderful as always – you just sold a Savanah LP to me.
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Awesome compilation as always! A bit surprised to not find REZN on the charts this month–what are you guys smoking? 😉
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Yo, the new Green yeti is called Desert Show, not Desert Snow
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We will get that fixed. Ooops. 😉 Thanks.
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