“I was looking for something a lot heavier, yet melodic at the same time. Something different from heavy metal, a different attitude.”

~Kurt Cobain

Well Kurt, I think we found it here at the Doom Charts……

Holy crap, what a month! The past several weeks have seen an onslaught of new albums dropping and the quality continues on the path of righteousness. 17 of 25 albums charting this month are fresh off the street debut albums on the charts. That could be a record. 4 of the top 5  released in October knocking the reigning champions down a few notches and when you scroll down, its not hard to understand why. What a month. We here at the charts continue to be blown away at the amount of music coming at us non-stop and we thank all of you, the bands, the scene, and everyone out there reading for your part in spreading the gospel of the heavy underground. It’s a testament to the era of music we are experiencing right now. We are seriously living in the mecca of time for creativity and exposure for bands all over the world with the aid of technology on our side.

Welcome to Doom Charts, representing some of the finest bloggers, journalists, radio, 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.  BRIMSTONE COVEN – WHAT WAS AND WHAT SHALL BE

370 POINTS

(Wheeling, West Virginia)

I was fairly concerned for Brimstone Coven’s future when they decided to continue as a trio after lead vocalist Big John Williams’s departure. The West Virginia band’s sweeping vocal harmonies made them a standout in the occult rock scene, and the other guys do have smooth voices, but could the rest of the snake retain the charisma without its head? Fortunately, a headless snake has become a hydra. Bassist Andrew D’Cagna proved to be a talented frontman in his own right with Ironflame’s 2017 debut and shares that spark with guitarist/co-vocalist Corey Roth on What Was and What Shall Be.

~Chris Latta (Indy Metal Vault) 

GET IT HERE

24. GRAND REUNION – IN THE STATION / NEW!

TIE!!! 395 POINTS

(Santiago, Chile)

The rock and roll flavors are immersed in psychedelic fuzz, drenched in southern comfort and hopped up with heavy hitting hooks. In The Station gets better with each listen and one to keep your ears on. Countless influences including Blue Cheer, Deep Purple, Jefferson Airplane, Graveyard, Blues Pills, and Grand Funk Railroad combine to create a uniquely heavy album with modern underground appeal.

What really impresses me on repeat listens is how the tribal bongo drum sounds are so loud and so intoxicating. Something you don’t hear enough of in the genre and they really make the whole thing work and work well. TURN IT UP LOUD!

~Bucky Brown (The Ripple Effect)

GET IT HERE

23. MOAB – TROUGH / NEW!

 TIE!! 395 POINTS

(Los Angeles, California)

Moab’s Trough is an album tinged with sadness, not in its musicality or dynamics but due to the fact that during the making of Trough founding member and drummer extraordinaire Erik Herzog sadly shuffled off this mortal coil. The remaining members considered calling it a day and even contemplated shelving the album but after long talks with family and friends it was decided to forge ahead and release the album. Thank god they did as Trough does not only stand as a fitting tribute to a fine musician it also stands as a beacon of light in a sometimes dark and dismal underground rock scene. Strident and heavy with all the doom qualities we have come to expect from a Moab release, Trough is also melodic, harmonious and strangely uplifting, Mr Herzog would have been proud.

~Frazer Jones (Desert Psychlist)

GET IT HERE

22. REZN – CALM BLACK WATER / NEW!

426 POINTS

(Chicago, Illinois)

A journey through deep dark heavy psychedelic oceans in a neoprene dry suit made of Heavy-Psych Fuzz from outer space. A whole hypnotic & psychotropic trance heading to mysterious abyss where an unparalleled beauty hides among epic moments of madness.

Narcotic and velvet tracks to fulfill your placid inner journey, with moments in which Floydian harmonies are subtlety shown. A continuous Karma based on effects and distortions that fades to re-spawn in slow and heavy doom moments.

~Roberto Lucas (Denpa Fuzz)

GET IT HERE

21. ELECTRIC CITIZEN – HELLTOWN / NEW!

440 POINTS

(Cincinnati, Ohio)

What if Debbie Harry fronted Black Sabbath? It might sound something like Electric Citizen and it’s new release Helltown.  I was fortunate enough to catch Electric Citizen opening for Monster Magnet just before Halloween, and charismatic vocalist Laura Dolan’s throaty delivery translated beautifully live as the band careened through a healthy portion of its latest release.  The record doesn’t disappoint, from the opening crash of Heart Attack, to the wail of Father Time, to the pulsating throb of New Earth (love that bass) and then there’s the closing gem, Mother’s Little Reject.  That is the best track on the album.  Guitarist Ross Dolan dazzles with some excellent fret work throughout and the rhythm section is tight.  I was unfamiliar with the band going into the show, but purchased the album afterward and am now a convert, it was that killer of a performance.  Give the group’s back catalog a look too, it’s worth it.

~Mike Williams (I Talk to Planets)

GET IT HERE

20. THUNDER HORSE – THUNDER HORSE / NEW!

 

520 POINTS

(San Antonio, Texas)

These bunch of Texans stomp through 6 songs like the bastard child of Motorhead and Orange Goblin. Clean’ish’ vocals sit on top of a powerful mix of riffs, fuzz, a pounding rhythm section and some meaty solo madness. Thunder Horse take all the elements of the music we love, inject it with some punk attitude and present us with something modern sounding while still worshiping at the altar of all things heavy. This is the good shit.

~Tony Maim (Black Insect Laughter, Stoner HiVe)

GET IT HERE

19. THE NECROMANCERS – OF BLOOD AND WINE / NEW!

564 POINTS

(Poitiers, France)

The Necromancers came out of nowhere last year with their excellent debut album Servants Of The Salem Girl full of entertaining stoner/doom tunes. It was a hard release to surpass, but with Of Blood Of Wine these guys from Poitiers, France really nailed it. The songs are well crafted and show some prog-rock tendencies at times. Tracks like Secular Lord and Lust are really dynamic and show that the band have improved their songwriting skills.

~Hugo Hulleman (Metalfan.nl)

GET IT HERE

18. CLUTCH – BOOK OF BAD DECISIONS

 576 POINTS

(Frederick, Maryland)

Clutch’s 12th album may just be their finest yet. Take parts of Earth Rocker, Pure Rock Fury, and Jam Room and you get an album that has killer song writing, groovy riffs, and great organic flow from song to song. In other words, it rocks!

~Bill Goodman (The Evil Engineer)

GET IT HERE

17. BURN RITUAL – BLOOD OF THE RAVEN / NEW!

644 POINTS

(San Antonio, Texas)

Crushing riffs lay waste to the airwaves like spirited desert wind on ancient pyramidal stone as the thick, Sabbathian worship crumbles over with enchanting vocals and hypnotic groove.

~Bucky Brown (The Ripple Effect)

GET IT HERE (Cursed Monk Records)

16. WE HUNT BUFFALO – HEAD SMASHED IN

798 POINTS

(Vancouver, British Columbia)

We Hunt Buffalo have managed to lay down the foundation for their very own sound in the space of eight years. You can count on these cats to deliver a steady current and heavy barrage, full of masterful riffs and intense hooks. Accompanied by grand choruses and wicked lyrics. On the new Head Smashed In they continue this triumphal march and become even more progressive at times and even more emotional. For all the loud bursts and wild atmosphere, We Hunt Buffalo is, without a doubt, delicate and precise. And with every listening session, with every moment of bliss Head Smashed In keeps opening up to your heart more and more.

~Joop Konraad (Stoner HiVe)

GET IT HERE

 

15.  NEKROMANT – THE NEKROMANT LIVES / NEW!

824 POINTS

(Vänersborg, Sweden)

These three Swedes have constantly delivered the heavy raw and rowdy ruckus since their inception under the name Serpent. Since the name change the band has only become even tighter and have managed to explore those different areas of the proto metal and doom rock genres. The Nekromant Lives is a testament to everything right and beautiful in the heavy genres. Stunning stuff!

~Joop Konraad (Stoner HiVe)

GET IT HERE

14. WASTED THEORY – WARLORDS OF THE NEW ELECTRIC / NEW!

1080 POINTS

(Delaware….. I mean Delaware) 

Delaware weedians WASTED THEORY’s fourth release, Warlords of the New Electric [2018 ARGONAUTA RECORDS], is a very well-written, well-produced relentlessly pile-driving, fuzzed-out psychedelic offering. This four-piece has a “get in the left lane and hammer down” mentality that is undeniable, shifting gears at the just the right times and making it truly fun to listen to. Underneath the hard partying persona that the band projects is a unit that you can easily tell puts in the time and effort into their craft. I am thinking that band practice is probably something these guys genuinely look forward to because they are fucking tight!.  Bastard County, Heavy Bite, Weed Creature and  Rawhide Hellride are particular standouts on this album. And how can you ever go wrong with an album title like Warlords of the New Electric?! If you ask me, I think they should change the band’s moniker to that ha ha!! For my money, it is one of the best stoner rock albums of the year so far and there sure as hell been a lot of them.

~Marc C. Pietrek (VITRIOL, INC / A DARK UNITED FRONT)

GET IT HERE

13. FORMING THE VOID – RIFT 

1215 POINTS

(Lafayette, Louisiana)

It wouldn’t surprise me if Rift ends up being the best-known album of Forming the Void’s career. The revamped dynamic results in the group’s most accessible songwriting and their musicianship retains the power that made Relic so enjoyable. I do wish they had squeezed To the Wolves or another similarly direct chugger in here, but that’s hardly a deal-breaker. The band is getting bigger every day and it doesn’t look like the momentum will be stopping anytime soon.

~Chris Latta (Indy Metal Vault)

GET IT HERE

12. THE HAZYTONES – THE HAZYTONES II: MONARCHS OF OBLIVION / NEW!

1251 POINTS

(Montreal, Canada)

One of Canada’s greatest heavyweight exports are back with an opus of mind-warping psych-doom. Within the ethereal fog of its aural evermore, these regal hard rockers stake out their domain with slabs of sovereign proto-metal music and efficacious emotion.

~Pat ‘Riot’ Whitaker (Riff Relevant)

GET IT HERE

11. ALL THEM WITCHES – ATW

1320 POINTS

(Nashville, TN)

One of the most important bands in the realm of current rock music return with yet another incredible leap of redefining proportions. Always ones to further their sonic spell of genre-melding magic and aural wizardry, All Them Witches cast an album that’s impossible to resist and only a fool would rebuke.

~Pat ‘Riot’ Whitaker (Riff Relevant)

GET IT HERE

10. THE SKULL – THE ENDLESS ROAD TURNS DARK

 1332 POINTS

(Chicago, Illinois)

With all that ‘Doom Godfather’ Eric Wagner has achieved in his career it’s a bold statement to say; this may be his best work yet . The Endless Road Turns Dark may be the most psychedelic yet. This is acid doom. The guitar work shreds like it’s right out of 1972 highlighting the psychedelic melodies and doom riffs. But the highlight is that legendary emotion evoking voice of Mr. Wagner.

~Papa’ Paul Rote (Doomed & Stoned)

GET IT HERE

9. ALASTOR – SLAVE TO THE GRAVE / NEW!

1400 PTS

(Sweden)

There’s an ice cool, languid, retro doom vibe throughout Slave to the Grave, the new offering from Alastor. Hellacopters kinda vox with Sabbathian riffs is a comparative point of reference, however Alastor very much have their own thing going on. Building upon the momentum from their 2017 releases Black Magic and Blood on Satans Claw, this album is a very worthy entry into the Doom Charts.

~Clint Willis (Hand of Doom Radio)

GET IT HERE

8. MAGMAKAMMER – MINDTRIPPER

1512 POINTS

(Oslo, Norway)

Magmakammer unleash a chamber of molten rock with their second recording, boiling just under the surface of greatness. Taking Iommi’s bit of finger and channeling in a concussion of proto-doom and lo-fi brilliance. From the layered vocals: akin to Uncle Acid and the Deadbeats to the psychedelic keyboard breaks, Mindtripper Creates a creepy, spooky and engaging listen, one I keep returning to over and over again.

~Adam Walsh (Earmunchies)

GET IT HERE

7. KING BUFFALO – LONGING TO BE THE MOUNTAIN / NEW!

1548 PTS

(Rochester, New York)

For starters: Longing To Be The Mountain is one of the best album titles and already offers an insight to what is to come. In tune with nature the new King Buffalo record takes you through the wide expanse and above the big wide divide. This is sleeping the dream kind of stuff! This is introspective and stellar at the same exact moment. It reminds of that line from a long lost poem: ‘all my life, my heart has sought for a thing I cannot name’. And with this album we can state: it has been found…

~Joop Konraad (Stoner HiVe)

GET IT HERE

6. CASTLE – DEAL THY FATE / NEW!

1573 PTS

(San Francisco, California)

‘Deal thy Fate’ cements Castle as its own distinguished brand of stoner meets heavy metal, especially within the Ripple catalog. Reinforced with indestructible Slayer-esque guitar tones, the 3 piece lower a bridge of fuzzy hooks crossing a diabolic moat of molten metal.

~Bucky Brown (The Ripple Effect)

GET IT HERE

5.  CONAN – EXISTENTIAL VOID GUARDIAN

 1716 POINTS

(UK)

While Conan has already cemented their place in the doom / sludge hall of fame, their newly minted fifth album is like a summary or showcase of everything the band does: Pounding, bludgeoning riffs, punctuated by thunderous, ponderous rhythms and otherworldly shouted vocals. It just so happens that Existential Void Guardian showcases those elements in the best form possible. This is a creative peak for the band, one that will seem impossible to follow-up until some new sonic element is introduced.

~Lucas Klaukien (Outlaws of the Sun)

GET IT HERE

4. DOMKRAFT – FLOOD / NEW!

1771 PTS

(Stockholm, Sweden)

Domkraft harness the power of the riff and points it like a sharp arrow straight into your heart and ears. With a unique sound these swedes have managed to develop a whole sonic universe for  unlike anything else I have heard this year. Flood is a big step forward for the band adding more psychedelia, atmosphere, bigger dynamics and with a vision for the music that is clearly visible in the music. Amazing!

~Magnus Tannergren (Into The Void Radio)

GET IT HERE

3. HIGH ON FIRE – ELECTRIC MESSIAH / NEW!

2140 PTS

(Oakland, California)

This has got to be the best metal band on the planet right now. It seems as though Matt Pike’s album and tour with Sleep has re-invigorated his caveman-ish main project. In fact, all three pieces of the band are such masters of their respective crafts that the creativity found throughout Electric Messiah’sounds more like it’s sprung from intimate familiarity than fanciful inspiration, like: “alright, well what the hell else can we make these instruments do?” I get the impression I’ve said this quite a few times this year, but this is arguably in the running for High on Fire’s best, deepest album to date.

~Lucas Klaukien (Outlaws of the Sun)

GET IT HERE

2. UNCLE ACID & THE DEADBEATS – WASTELAND / NEW!

2688 PTS

(Cambridge, England)

In an overwhelmed sub-genre as doom metal, with all the “revivalist” and sweet-nostalgic heavy rock acts and compounding numbers of superfans, a fifth album from a band who’s been sticking to its recognizable style and sound from the beginning, might be an easy one to neglect.

Alas, the thrill is not gone! It takes a few spins for the sentiment to build up. Especially if you’ve been on the Deadbeats’ boat since I’ll Cut You Down. The latest album release was a bit of a surprise and it didn’t take much more from the first news about it and the actual release from Rise Above Records. Shorter in length than its predecessors, Wasteland is all about melodic guitars and classic vocal harmonies, maintaining the emblematic VHS-rendered audio snippets and synth chillers. Diverse, raw, and complete, these English men have abandoned the mysticism about their image, for whatever reason. Just play it louder, if it resists to fit in, it is worth it!

~Martin Petrov (Rawk’n’Roll)

GET IT HERE

1. WINDHAND – ETERNAL RETURN / NEW!

3528 PTS

(Richmond, Virginia)

As expected, Eternal Return is a superb comeback from Windhand. Each album reaches surprising levels, instrumentally perfect, and with a touch of 90’s heavy rock. The work done by Jack Endino adds all of his knowledge from the grunge era making it slightly less obscure and a bit more sweet but still maintaining the heaviness that characterizes this quartet from Richmond. This record is a good approach for people that maybe didn’t get much into the previous work, but still has the magic that the previous albums have.

~Roberto Fuentes (La Habitación 235)

GET IT HERE

Special thanks to the ongoing contributors to the monthly Doom Chart.  You folks help give voice to the heavy underground:

Adam Walsh (Earmunchies); A.S. Van Dorston (Fast n’ Bulbous);  Bryan Coffey (Indy Metal Vault);  Bill Goodman (The Evil Engineer);  Billy Goate (Doomed & Stoned);  Rob Blasko (VolumeForever.com); Bobby Rayfield (Trendkill Radio); Brandon Collins (Super Dank Metal Jams); Bryan Coffey (Indy Metal Vault); Bucky Brown (The Ripple Effect);  Clint Willis (Hand of Doom Radio);  Chris Latta (Indy Metal Vault); Doktor420 (Stoner HiVe);  Doombeard (DoomBeardZine);  Frazer Jones (Desert Psychlist);  Gram ‘Son of Sam’ Pola (Dirty Denim);  Héctor “Mr. Heavyhead” Hurtado (More Fuzz); Hugo Hulleman (Metalfan.nl); Jamey Morris (Fistfull of DOOM); Jason Roach (Indy Metal Vault); Jay Morgan (High Desert Valley Radio); Jim Thompson (Heavy in the Hills); Joe Eldridge (Shadebeast Records); Joop Konraad (Stoner HiVe); Ken Elliott (Heavy Planet);  Leanne Ridgeway (Riff Relevant);  Lucas Klaukien (Outlaws of the Sun); Lyk (Phantasmagoria); Magnus Tannergren (Into The Void Radio);  Marc C. Pietrek (VITRIOL, INC / A DARK UNITED FRONT); Marcus Greybeard (FuzzHeavy Podcast); Mari Knox Knox (Doomed & Stoned);  Mark Partin (The Ripple Effect); Martin Petrov (Rawk’n’Roll);  Matt Slighter (Cheeto) (Hwy 420, Core of Destruction Radio) Matthew Thomas (Taste Nation);  Matheus Jacques (October Doom);  Mathieu Van Der Hert (Dutch European Stoner Rock);  Melissa Marie (Doomed & Stoned);  Melissa Spence, (Stoner Witch Radio);  Mike Williams (I Talk to Planets); Pat Harrington (Electric Beard Of Doom);  Pat ‘Riot’ Whitaker (Riff Relevant);  ‘Papa’ Paul Rote (Doomed & Stoned);  Roberto Lucas (Denpa Fuzz); Roberto Fuentes (La Habitación 235);  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);  Tanguy ‘Mr Fuzz’ Dupré (More Fuzz);  Tony Maim (Black Insect Laughter, Stoner HiVe).

Feel free to send in your albums to stonerdoomcharts@gmail.com where they’ll be delegated to the crew above to determine their thoughts and gather the votes at the end of the month.

This October 2018 edition of the Doom Chart was tallied and edited by Bucky Brown.