May the New Year bring you courage to break your resolutions early! My own plan is to swear off every kind of virtue, so that I triumph even when I fall!
~Aleister Crowley
A new year is upon us and we find ourselves thinking how incredibly impossible it could be to top the year prior in terms of quality music. Lets be honest, it just keeps getting better each year. We are going to have to come to terms with that and its a glorious thing. The January chart features 20 new entries each bringing something special to the table. We have added several new contributors recently and the voter turnout for the January 2019 Doom Charts was stellar, mentioning over 300 different albums with a couple ties and some clear victors. Please follow along as we bring you the best of the heavy underground each and every month.
Welcome to Doom Charts, representing some of the finest bloggers, journalists, radio, podcasters and album reviewers from the 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. DAWN OF WINTER – PRAY FOR DOOM
132 POINTS
(Stuttgart, Germany)
The band is Stuttgart’s Dawn of Winter. The cool thing about that is that it is a testament to their lasting power. I mean, it’s been 28 years since their inception, they’ve had no lineup changes, and they are still gaining new fans, while releasing outstanding music; as is the case with their recent offering, Pray for Doom.
~Tom Hanno (Tom’s Album Reviews)
24. RIFFLORD – 7 CREMATION GROUND/MEDITATION
156 POINTS
(Sioux Falls, South Dakota)
Ever listen to an album for the first time and the just sort of sit there, dazed with eyes wide and subconsciously shaking your head as you directly ask your speakers “what the fuck just happened?” No? Well, you’ve been a goddamned deprived music listener, man, It happens to me maybe four times a year. 7 Cremation Ground / Meditation made it my number five for 2018.
~Leanne Ridgeway (Riff Relevant)
23. MISTY GREY – CHAPTER II
160 POINTS
(Madrid, Spain)
Chapter II is a perfect title for the new Misty Grey album because the controversial singer from the first album has been replaced. Incredible swamp witch vocals accompany some classic old school doom with an amazing tone that soothes the doomed soul.
~‘Papa’ Paul Rote (Doomed & Stoned)
22. HIGH ‘N HEAVY – WARRIOR QUEEN / NEW!
165 POINTS
(New Bedford, Massachusetts)
Seldom has so many genres been blended together so perfectly. Doom is prevalent on the album, but the punk roots are obvious, especially on the faster tracks. There’s a strong hard/prog element to that really makes Warrior Queen special. But the icing on the proverbial cake is the passion in the vocals. You can call this demented wizard rock!
~‘Papa’ Paul Rote (Doomed & Stoned)
21. THE OSSUARY – SOUTHERN FUNERAL / NEW!
168 POINTS
(Bari, Southern Italy)
Only a year after their debut Post Mortem Blues Italian doom metallers The Ossuary are releasing their new album Southern Funeral.It is a fine and doomy seventies rock album with ingredients of the masters of that era. The Ossuary present some Sabbath-like riff but also the melodic artwork of Thin Lizzy. The influences aren’t obvious at first but it will shine through after some playtime. Add some Wishbone Ash/Iron Maiden harmony twin lead guitar and you know what to expect.
If you want to start with any song of the album ,you choose Maze Of No Return which are one of many standouts on the record. The whole album are matched by the warm and crystal-clear production. The album serves the listener a wide sound space to every instrument. Included above all, a pleasantly incorporated bass.
If you are someone who still believes that the best music was made in the seventies you will fall for the nostalgia card the band gives you and enjoy this album very much.
~Svempa Alveving (Into The Void Radio)
20. INNER ALTAR – VOL.III / NEW!
196 POINTS
(Kansas City, Missouri)
Inner Altar channel elements of traditional doom, prog-rock, and classic heavy rock. The songwriting and musicianship displayed on Vol. III are impressive, and made all the better by spot-on production. Eargasm inducing from start to finish.
The I-70 corridor between Topeka, KS and Kansas City, MO has been turning out some awesome talent over the last 5 years or so, and KC-based label, The Company has been active in exposing these artists to a larger audience.
~Marcus Greybeard (FuzzHeavy Podcast)
19. ULURU – ACROPHILIA / NEW!
220 POINTS
(Istanbul, Turkey)
Acrophilia’s Eastern themed instrumental jams burst out of the speakers like a Whirling Dervish on steroids and paint aural soundscapes that summon to the listeners mind visions of vast open spaces, ancient monuments and tranquil desert oasis while at the same time managing to sound like a Lear Jet taking off in your front room. Uluru are loud, heavy and psychedelic but classy with it.
~Frazer Jones (Desert Psychlist)
18. THUNDERBIRD DIVINE – MAGNASONIC / NEW!
245 POINTS
(Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)
Magnasonic not only plows us with hard charging distortion, but emits a cloud of multi-dimensional fuzz boosting its impact into divine territory. The layers of surprise buried deep within the heavy block of steel riffs thrust with cosmic force and plutonic origin.
~Bucky Brown (The Ripple Effect)
17. LIGHTSABRES – A SHORTCUT TO INSANITY / NEW!
266 POINTS
(Luleå, Sweden)
And there, at the very end of 2018, was the release of A Shortcut To Insanity… The new album by Swedish one-man grungy psychedelic stoner operation Lightsabres! A grandiose exploit that combines so many different genre’s that you could easily state it becomes a new one all on it’s own. We list those genres on certain blurbs, not to limit the releases, but to point the listener in the direction of what to expect. This time around, we just want to point! Point in the direction of Insanity! This is a wild and extraordinary shortcut to something absolutely amazing!
~Joop Konraad (Stoner HiVe)
16. MANG ONT – MAA SARV / NEW!
272 POINTS
(Tartu, Estonia)
Huge suffocating wall of fuzz. The whole time while I was listening to this it felt like an elephant was sitting on my chest, blowing bong hits into my ears. Massive tone.
~Adam Walsh (Earmunchies)
15. DEATHCHANT – DEATHCHANT / NEW!
272 POINTS
(Los Angeles, California)
It seems impossible these days to just call something a fantastic rock album, with so many artists incorporating multiple genre signatures and textures into their music. This description from their bandcamp page probably sums it up best: “seamlessly mixes classic rock melodies, noise pop atmosphere and doom metal riffing all in one psychedelic package”. Yet for all it’s noise and raucous energy, DEATHCHANT remains a deliciously accessible “rock album”.
~Marcus Greybeard (FuzzHeavy Podcast)
14. WITHERED FIST – THIS IS MY MOUNTAIN / NEW!
336 POINTS
(County Tipperary, Ireland)
The band name Withered Fist is actually a pretty good representation of their music. The Irish group’s songs are hard-hitting like a fist, but the vocal harmonies soften the blow. See what I did there? No? Right, it’s probably based on St. Istvan, Hungary’s first Christian King who the withered fist supposedly belonged to. At least, that’s what this ignorant fool found on a Trip Advisor comment. But anyway, if you like a good tale woven around some heavy doom with a dash of classic rock and sludge, then this EP is for you. Go buy it…NOW!
~Bryan Coffey (Indy Metal Vault)
13. TAR PIT – TOMB OF DOOM
360 POINTS
(Portland, Oregon)
Tomb Of Doom is a solid debut from a band showing a lot of promise. Well-timed dynamics and effective feedback dissonance enhance the doom factor across the 5 tracks. But what elevates this release beyond being just another good doom offering are the subtle grooves fueling the overall feel of the tracks, in true Sabbathian fashion. Tar Pit look to be the “next man up” in the long and doomy legacy built by the Portland heavy music scene.
~Marcus Greybeard (FuzzHeavy Podcast)
12. VERTICAL – VOL 3 / NEW!
360 POINTS
(Toledo, Spain)
This Spanish band has surprised everyone with their second EP full of groovy riffs as well as some voices and choirs that trap you through 5 songs in which they incorporate enough melodies to lower your guard before kicking your arse with a good dose of powerful and effective riffs. Without ever losing the groove, their work grabs you with a bet that revitalizes old-style hard-rock.
~Roberto Lucas (Denpa Fuzz)
11. THE BLACK HEART DEATH CULT – THE BLACK HEART DEATH CULT / NEW!
402 POINTS
(Melbourne, Australia)
The terms “psychedelic” and “heavy psych” are often difficult to describe, and encompass a multitude of sonic textures. But even if I can’t always describe it, I know it when I hear it, and the debut full-length from Australian band, The Black Heart Death Cult, is a heavy psych masterpiece. Plenty of guitar-driven, ‘verbed out, sonic fuzz to satisfy the sweet tooth of any psych fan. The rich, on-point vocals of singer/songwriter Sasha Smith are the “x factor” that puts this release over the top. Droney & dark, but always with some light shining through.
~Marcus Greybeard (FuzzHeavy Podcast)
10. WEIRD TALES – HELL SERVICES COST A LOT / NEW!
513 POINTS
(Warsaw, Poland)
Poland’s Weird Tales return with their most accomplished work to date…one where a staunch haze of guitar, drums, bass, and vocals work up deluges of fuzz-rich psych-doom and sludge. Injected with subtle experimental elements, a lot of density and intensity are what one ultimately pays for with these Hell Services.
~Pat ‘Riot’ Whitaker (Riff Relevant)
9. THE LUNAR EFFECT – CALM BEFORE THE CALM / NEW!
552 POINTS
(London, England)
This UK based quartet came from nowhere for me. They released an EP, Strange Lands in 2016 and now they are under the wings of the German label Kozmic Artifacts. The label has spoiled us many times with many epic releases and this is no exception.
For the listener it’s obvious how much the quartet has grown since their latest effort. The band has strengthened their sound of fuzzy desert grooves, richly flavored vintage psychedelia, post grunge and the classic hard blues oriented rock a lot. You will be served influences from a wide palette including Pink Floyd, Black Sabbath but also a little bit of Cream.
The album exhibits a truly stunning vocal performance from Josh Gosling both, powerful, with a rich body and grungy at the same time. This album push the listener into new and uncharted waters.
~Svempa Alveving (Into The Void Radio)
8. NUMIDIA – NUMIDIA / NEW!
576 POINTS
(Sydney, Australia)
From Australia, we are surprised with the debut of NUMIDIA. One of those pleasant surprises that we find every so often. A quintet in which three guitars split the leading roles on progressive psychedelic structures in which the sounds of the Middle East give a touch of exoticism and magic that, surely, will surprise the listener. There is no shortage of North African influences or heavy sounds that are combined with seventies hard rock elements in an album in which the dreamy atmospheres, heirs of some Pink Floyd moments, are not at odds with the heaviness of some passages and folk echoes. In addition, it includes the best version that I have ever encountered of a song from the legendary Erkin Koray. An AWESOME album!
~Roberto Lucas (Denpa Fuzz)
7. LORD VAPOUR – SEMUTA
616 POINTS
(Guernsey, Norway)
Lord Vapor blew me away back in 2016 with their debut outing Mill Street Blues and became high on the radar as a band to watch out for. I have been jonesing for Lord Vapour vinyl ever since and now that dream is a reality on their latest and one of my most anticipated albums of the year. Semuta builds upon the foundation laid by Mill Street Blues a heavy fortress of far out blues reinforced with fuzz, textured with psychedelics bronzed with burly vocals. In these 6 songs, Lord Vapour perch the ultimate throne of heavy rock and roll; a throne upholstered by brawn, grit, and super heated by solos and funk leaving us kneeling at the altar of the almighty riff.
~Bucky Brown (The Ripple Effect)
6. JOHN GARCIA AND THE BAND OF GOLD / NEW!
637 POINTS
(Palm Desert, California)
Each adventure in which the big boss John Garcia embarks is a master-class, this new self-titled debut again shows us the vitality of his voice, pure energy, a outstanding album, full of nostalgia, hard at times and desert as always, an album to enjoy live and let yourself be blown by the endless magic of one of the best voices of contemporary rock, a jewel of the true “voice of the stoner rock”
~Roberto Fuentes (La Habitación 235)
5. YATRA – DEATH RITUAL / NEW!
756 POINTS
(Ocean City, Maryland)
January has been a month of frigid temperatures here in Upstate NY, but one blast of heat was released to keep me warm when the mercury dips into the negatives. Maryland based death-doom merchants, Yatra, unleashed their blazing album, Death Ritual, to stoke the fires of hell with power and conviction. This album brought in 2019 spectacularly, and made my top spot for the January Doom Charts.
~Tom Hanno (Tom’s Album Reviews)
4. MOUNT SATURN – KISS THE RING / NEW!
850 POINTS
(Bellingham, Washington)
Bellingham’s Mount Saturn have been lurking in our orbit since early 2018 when their first single Dwell dropped as a demo and is now the first track off Kiss The Ring. It’s a groovy, psych-doom introduction to Violet’s cosmic vocal vigor. At times aggressive and dark, her soulful voice simultaneously cascades over heavy hitting riffs that swerve in and out of doom, psych and heavy blues. Idol Hands brings a slight sense of nostalgia for me, I can hear that strong American North West influence coming through and I absolutely love it! Salt is the powerhouse track with vocals bursting through our atmosphere while the band keeps pace with smashing riffs and percussion. The title track is a gorgeous heavy-psych, atmospheric experience with dazzling hypnotic vocals. This EP is a solid 10 for me and I’m more than excited for the future of Mount Saturn!
~Melissa Spence, (Stoner Witch Radio)
3. STONE WITCH – DESERT ORACLE / NEW!
1111 POINTS
(Phoenix, Arizona)
Something wicked comes this way. Something ominous is afoot. Calamity lurks and the very spirit of malevolence will be here by the end of the day. So, the cartomancer speaks! The Stone Witch! The Desert Oracle! It evokes those lines with lo-fi, gritty, proto-doom and an ancient sounding ritual of skiving riffs, echoing rhythms and an intense granular sound… And then there’s the Dutchman…
~Joop Konraad (Stoner HiVe)
2. AVER – ORBIS MAJORA / NEW!
1152 POINTS
(Sydney, Australia)
At this point, it is no longer news that we receive a new album of huge proportions from this Australian volcano of the psychedelic and alternative scene. Taking us to the land they want us to experience, their compositions are born from a big-bang in which supernovas invade our minds with ecstatic passages of psychedelia combined with dense stoner moments. The whispering vocals that mutate into rawness and deep rage accompany the catharsis that the band AVER generates in each song. The magic made music in many of this supernatural album’s passages makes ORBIS MAJORA a strong analgesic for the welfare of the human mind.
~Roberto Lucas (Denpa Fuzz)
1. SPIDERGAWD – V / NEW!
1500 POINTS
(Trondheim, Norway)
It takes balls to open an album with a 1 plus minute saxophone solo. It takes big burly brass balls to complete the album off with such passionate vocal chops, throbbing rhythm and road-ready riffs all in sequence and all carried in the spirit of rock n roll. Spidergawd has been one of the most powerfully consistent bands on the planet hidden away in Norway dying for their time to shine. Although, they’ve been beaming over in Europe, its time the rest of the world snapped out of their haze and joined the Spidergawdwagon. Early contender for rock n’ roll album of the year. How do they do it?!?!?
~Bucky Brown (The Ripple Effect)
Special thanks to the ongoing contributors to the monthly Doom Chart. You folks help give voice to the heavy underground:
Aaron Pickford (The Sludgelord); 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 Beck (Doom Tomb Podcast); Chris Latta (Indy Metal Vault); Doktor420 (Stoner HiVe); Doombeard (DoomBeardZine); Frazer Jones (Desert Psychlist); Geoff Leapord (Atom Heart Mutha); 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); John Gist, (Vegas Rock Revolution); 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); Steve Howe (Outlaws of the Sun); Steve Miller (Vertical Chamber Apparatus); Steve Rodger (God’s Holy Trousers); Steve Woodier (Shrieks From Below); Svempa Alveving (Into The Void Radio); Tanguy ‘Mr Fuzz’ Dupré (More Fuzz); Tom Hanno (Tom’s Album Reviews);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. Leave us comments below and let us know what you think about the Charts.
Doom Charts 
No Swallow the Sun or A Pale Horse Named Death? Interesting.
LikeLike
There were votes for both, but not enough to make the top 25. Remember, many albums are still hot off the press and not everybody is going to get a listen right away. There were over 300 different album votes submitted this month alone. A testament to how much great music there is out there. Thanks for reading.
LikeLike
Hello. I am Alin Strut from Romania and i want to congrat you for your fantastic work. I will folllow you and support your page with all my heart.
LikeLike
Yep, keep struttin’ Alin, you are our kind of people
LikeLike
How the fuck is yatra considered Death/Doom? Whaaaat? They suck, by the way.
LikeLike
Please read the “FAQ” section of the blog to clarify what is included in the Doom Charts. What do you suggest we check out instead?
https://doomcharts.com/faq/
LikeLike
Yeeez!, FFS. Always with the same monotonous answer. Look, this is simple: the review says that this band is Death Doom. And it’s not, I repeat, it’s not Death Fkn Doom. The band does not sound remotely close to what a Death Doom band should sound like. Surely who wrote that never heard Death Doom in his life. I say again, it’s not Death Doom. It’s not Death Doom.
Please, being a little more professional will benefit this project a lot. Start by surrounding yourself with people who know what they’re talking about, and not amateurs who discovered weed two weeks ago.
LikeLike
Okay buddy. We’ll start by staying as far away from you as possible. We surround ourselves with genuine people who love music. We’re not trying to be “professional”. There is no profit to be made here. All the contributors volunteer their time and are doing this all just for the love of music. It’s people like you that give heavy music a bad name. We’d appreciate it if you didn’t post on our page any more and we’d kindly ask you to leave.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Seriously though, name something you consider to be death doom. I’m curious as to who you would suggest
LikeLike
Yeah, and you look like a fucking retard with those glasses. Keep listening to Death Doom, Bucky.
LikeLike
That’s what she said Sergei. Thanks brother.
LikeLike
Great list this month!
LikeLike