“I like my music to awaken the ghosts inside of me. Not the demons, you understand, but the ghosts”
~David Bowie
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…
30. ROSALIE CUNNINGHAM – ROSALIE CUNNINGHAM
29. EL SUPREMO – CLARITY THROUGH DISTORTION
28. THE HEAVY MINDS – SECOND MIND
27. LUNA SOL – BELOW THE DEEP
26. MANTRA MACHINE – HELIOSPHERE
25. ROADSAW – TINNITUS THE NIGHT
161 POINTS
(Boston, MA)
It’s been eight long years since we’ve heard anything from the mighty Roadsaw, that’s when they last released 2011’s kick-ass self-titled album. Well, Craig Riggs (drums and vocals), Tim Catz (bass) and Ian Ross (guitars) are back with a blistering new slab of boogie that’ll set your ear holes ablaze, Tinnitus The Night. The band dropped “Shake” on its fans prior to the album’s release to give listeners a taste of the new hotness. There’s a hell of a lot more where that came from, from the opening salvo of “Along For the Ride,” to the smooth operating outro of “Silence.” Eight years – it’s been worth the wait for an album this damn good.
~Mike Williams (I Talk to Planets)
24. SAINT VITUS – SAINT VITUS
172 POINTS
(Los Angeles, California)
Saint Vitus is back with an extraordinary album, you can find everything you expect from the quartet of Los Angeles, raw and direct doom thanks to the wall of sound of Henry Vasquez and Pat Bruders, the dense and strident guitar of Dave Chandler and the grandiloquence vocal of an immense Scott Reagers. Magistral album of traditional and criminal doom, instant classic, time will prove us right.
~Roberto Fuentes (La Habitación 235)
23. LIGHTNING BORN – LIGHTNING BORN
200 POINTS
(America)
I saw Lightning Born live at the Maryland Doom Fest last summer and I was hugely impressed by them. There’s an old adage that says ‘’Good things come to those who wait,’’ well Lightning Born are one of those things and they fucking delivered the goods with this album. It already sounds like a classic!!! The whole album is like a candy jar; a jar full of tasty, catchy and groovy riffs. It’s a jar you won’t leave alone until it’s empty. The sweetest thing in this jar is probably Brenna Leath’s vocals: powerful and soulful. So, if you like your rock ‘’retro’’, you’re in for a treat with Lightning Born!!!
~Marc-Eric Gagnon (Stonefly Effects)
22. GREEN LUNG – WOODLAND RITES
200 POINTS
(London, UK)
Dryads danced, Satyrs squirmed… Maids made merry as the Wicker burned…. All the while the Green Lung breathed as the woodlands writhed and the mountains heaved… Favorite track: Call of the Coven.
~Reek of STOOM (Stoner HiVe)
What else can I say that hasn’t already be said? Woodland Rites has claimed its right as one of 2019s top contenders in the realm of the heavy underground. The grandiose harmony between the sweeping guitar leads, occultish vocals, sophisticated use of the organ and bluesy squeal of the solos keep you on edge throughout. The groove is melodic, atmosphere crisp and the songwriting landing somewhere between Elder and Uncle Acid.
~Bucky Brown (The Ripple Effect)
21. BEASTWARS – IV
200 POINTS
(Wellington, New Zealand)
The highly anticipated 4th album from the mighty Beastwars has landed. Its a lumbering, monstrous beast too – drums that feel like they’re being pummeled to oblivion right there in the room with you… Guitar and bass forming a meteoric mile thick crust… And topping it all off, the iconic, icy howls of Matt Hyde who is arguably one of the very best frontmen out there right now. Slow to mid pace riff driven heaviness with a melodious heartbeat. Its a strong album start to finish, however the highlights for me after repeated listens are Sound of the Grave, Like Dried Blood, Omens, and the hulking opener Raise the Sword. All of this said about the album, there is a special quality about Beastwars that few bands have, that being the compelling magnetism they bring live. I’ve only witnessed one other band impact an audience in the unique way that Yob can, and that is Beastwars. Completely different animals, sonically speaking, but they both fill the room with the same overwhelming joy and good vibes. Catch them if you can and you’ll feel what I mean 😉
PS – Brilliant album cover art once again from repeat Beastwars offender Nick Keller!
~Clint Willis (Hand of Doom Radio)
20. SPIRAL GURU – VOID / NEW!
279 POINTS
(Piracicaba, Brazil)
Spiral Guru‘s blend of groovy Stoner licks and sweet, folkish vocal tones is infectious and intoxicating! Slick and well-crafted, these Brazilians are definitely Bossing the Nova!
~Reek of STOOM (Stoner HiVe)
19. HORSEBURNER – THE THIEF / NEW!
280 POINTS
(West Virginia)
Horseburner is back with their new album The Thief and takes everything we loved from the previous effort Dead Seeds, Barren Soil and kicks it up a notch. Easily the most ambitious and dynamic release from the West Virginia group to date, it’s remarkable in both composition and execution. The vocal harmonies between drummer Adam Nohe and guitarist Jack Thomas have never been stronger, and the layered instrumentation gives it a lush and colossal sound. Highlights include the sprawling rocker “Fathoms,” the quiet melodic passages of “The Oak,” and the acoustic “Thiefsong.” Don’t miss out on this one if you’re a fan of sludge metal, classic rock, or just music in general! All praise to Horseburner and the all-mighty riff!
~Bryan Coffey (Indy Metal Vault)
18. SLOMATICS – CANYONS
285 POINTS
(Belfast, UK)
Slomatics new album Canyons sees the band with a new adventurous, progressive and heavier sound. After completing a trilogy of similar themed albums with A Hocht, Estron and Future Echo Returns. ‘Canyons’ allow Slomatics to re-invent themselves with a different style of music. Though the music played on Canyons does allow the band to play their classic sounding and trademark FUZZ Drenched Heavy Doomed Out Sounds.
The album is brilliantly produced and is one of the best sounding albums Slomatics have released to date. Canyons is simply, without a doubt, my favorite album this year and the odds are looking good that it will end up my favorite album of the year.
The album is a mighty step forward for Slomatics with its bold and unique heavy sound. Canyons is a must have and unmissable album.
~Steve Howe (Outlaws of the Sun)
17. THE IVORY ELEPHANT – STONEFACE / NEW!
312 POINTS
(Melbourne, Australia)
Stoneface is rooted deeply in psychedelia without forgetting the blues – an album that truly offers everything. We have not been presented with a group of songs put together, but rather a story being told in which every track is a new evolution in the psychotropic exploration of this Australian group. This album is a harmonious co-existence of the elements from the 1970s living and working in the 21st century. It is truly a captivating haze that gives us an atmosphere for songs composed by and for tranquility with a curious, heavy-psych beauty that traps us with every note and chord.
~Roberto Lucas (Denpa Fuzz)
16. CHILDREN OF THE SUN – FLOWERS / NEW!
328 POINTS
(Arvika, Sweden)
This will take you back to the summer of love 1969. As you listen you’ll see the hippies sitting in the sun at one of the summer’s many festivals. The music sounds somewhere between “The Dawning of the Age of Aquarius” and the tripped out “White Rabbit“. Some songs will make you taller, some will make you small. Beware the ones your mother gives you they don’t do anything at all. If you’re too young to understand any of this, fret not. There’s just the right touch of modernity.
~‘Papa’ Paul Rote (Doomed & Stoned)
15. STONEKIND – STONEKIND EP/ NEW!
336 POINTS
(Winston Salem, North Carolina)
Swirling, swooping guitar dynamics, that range between Floydian and Child-like (the band), allied to warm textured vocals that wrap around the listener like a comfortable blanket, the only criticism one could possibly level at this superb EP is that it seems almost over before its started. There is an old music hall adage that says “leave ’em screaming for more” and as the last notes fade into silence you can almost hear those screams starting to build.
~Frazer Jones (Desert Psychlist)
14. BOOK OF WYRMS – REMYTHOLOGIZER / NEW!
350 POINTS
(Richmond, Virginia)
While Book of Wyrms presented their brand of space doom with a mix of tempos on 2017’s Sci-fi/Fantasy,their second album doubles down on all things low and slow. With the exception of the quirky gallops on the eccentric “Undead Pegasus,” the songs on Remythologizer all fixate on dragging rhythms and muscular riffs with a sinister overcast. This seemingly lessened variety should work against the band but on the contrary, it highlights the growth that they’ve undergone between releases.
~Chris Latta (Indy Metal Vault)
13. SON OF A WITCH – COMMANDED BY COSMIC FORCES / NEW!
360 POINTS
(Natal, Brazil)
Commanded By Cosmic Forces is the confirmation of Son Of A Witch, the bridge between the classic and the current. Brazilians raise their fists and stand out as one of the most promising young formations in South America. From their lyric and compositions, everything works well, a precise album, which achieves something unthinkable: overcome that colossal debut of 2016, Thrones in the Sky, incredible but true, this is a big step forward, is the evolution of the doom towards the dark and infinite spatial abyss.
~Roberto Fuentes (La Habitación 235)
12. OLD HORN TOOTH – FROM THE GHOST GREY DEPTHS
360 POINTS
(London, UK)
From The Ghost Grey Depths is a devastatingly sludgy, monumentally massive, wall of sound. The fuzz is so thick you have to peel it from your eyes, the bass is so low that it’ll stunt your growth, and the drums hold everything together despite the slow tempos. This album wails, and brings us a new technique in effects pedal madness; a devastating piece of equipment that is called the “Griefcase”.
~Tom Hanno (Tom’s Album Reviews)
11. MOURNFUL CRIES – BAD TASTE / NEW!
392 POINTS
(Santa Rosa, California)
Bad Taste is the inevitable sum of intense demo work, well-formed influences and unmerciful attitudes from the misty world of Mournful Cries. For months I’ve had my eye on the band’s Bandcamp page thanks to their eye catching cover art yet was unable to find a jam that resonated with me until now! From its opening ‘Sea Of Trees’ (4:20), you are tenderly welcomed into their word of tone heavy distortion, haunting grooved out vocals all set to a healthy, inviting pace. ’Hallowed Tomb’ is vocally strong with vintage doom qualities. If you’re seeking tales of blasphemy ‘Angelic Envy’ is for you, if you’re just looking for something to smoke to, ‘Sinner’s Pyre’ will no doubt provide the backdrop for your journey. ‘Witches’ Herbs’ is my favorite due to its grand ability to contort and sail off into a hazy megacosm. The whole album is doom well spent, I’m grouping it with my other strong debuts of the year.
~Melissa Spence, (Stoner Witch Radio)
10. FORREST – FINAL FRONTIER / NEW!
400 POINTS
(Lexington, Kentucky)
Forrest‘s Final Frontier shades us with thick progressive fuzz, intergalactic groove and tribal tone. The strangely psychedelic textures slowly pull with swampy undercurrents of sludge masked by crisp rocking riffs. This is as terrifyingly awesome.
~Bucky Brown (The Ripple Effect)
9. SACRI MONTI – WAITING ROOM FOR THE MAGIC HOUR / NEW!
441 POINTS
(San Diego, California)
Without losing their kaleidoscopic and lysergic spirit, the San Diegan quintet continues to give us layered jams with excellent guitarwork. The group has delved deeper into progressive elements and with melodies that have been crafted and tended to carefully, something that marks them as different from the rest of the prolific scene in San Diego. If we open the heavy-psych packaging, we’ll find tracks with a clear progressive strand that weaves through and sustains the album, allowing it to not lose its freshness among much more complex compositional structures.
~Roberto Lucas (Denpa Fuzz)
8. THE RED WIDOWS – FUZZIFIXION
496 POINTS
(London, UK)
Five epic tomes of monolithic groove dwell beneath the Jesus Christ pose that graces the artwork of The Red Widows latest release Fuzzifixion, an album that sees the band moving away from the slightly retro proto-metal/hard rock of their debut EP “Rising” and embracing a heavier more doomic approach. Huge monotonic, almost monastic vocal tones weave majestically over and around thick syrupy low slow guitar refrains , growling bass lines and thundering percussion to create a sound that is menacingly dank, beautifully dark and hugely atmospheric.
~Frazer Jones (Desert Psychlist)
7. SLEEPING GIANT – SLEEPING GIANT / NEW!
506 POINTS
(Bendigo, Australia)
The guitar tone crunches with the most elegant fuzz as the melody and rhythm drive it home with inescapable hook and head bobbing psych.
~Bucky Brown (The Ripple Effect)
6. POSSESSOR – GRAVELANDS / NEW!
729 POINTS
(London, UK)
London’s horror-punk-metal triad have unapologetically returned to our ghastly realm with Gravelands. Currently being served on fresh wax through APF Records, Possessor’s fourth album is a prog-trash token of rigorous riffs that will savagely pummel their way through your head and home, at times leaving you stunned by the thought that the power you’re hearing was created by just three people. Throughout this excitingly grim 31 minute tale, trash is cardinal and punk rages on (in a healthy manner) all while the band rips full speed through songs like ‘Savage Rampage’ (based on the twisted and grisly insanity of Ted Bundy), and ‘Backwoods’ which is true horror movie soundtrack gold. Just when the heart rate reaches the threshold, ‘Hitchhike To Hell’ restrains us with a strong stoner mystique and is the magnum opus of the album. Listen for yourself and take the ride through Possessor’s ‘Gravelands’ while you’re still alive…
~Melissa Spence, (Stoner Witch Radio)
5. ARROWHEAD – COVEN OF THE SNAKE / NEW!
770 POINTS
(Sydney, Australia)
As the chorus assembles in the dirty ale house down the road, to give their opinions on matters of the day, the important stuff and the weather, it is the fervorous energy coming out of the speakers that will take first dibs in the conversation. The thick fuzz, the dense grooves and the magnificent riffs are mouthwatering and breathtakingly beautiful. It is Arrowhead’s new record Coven Of The Snake blasting loud, drowning out some off those waffling strangers and irrelevant talk about politics. We don’t do politics here, and you might get barred for that. It’s intoxicating, like the drinks served in this premier dive bar, those sun-dried Australian tunes will have your mind drift back towards the atavistic stoner bands, the proto metal outfits and the doom gods. It is that good. And then some. It’s rock. Menacing, tough, resilient rock. It’s heavy rock. And it’s so damn good, you will stay in that bar for as long as they have Arrowhead spinning…
~Joop Konraad (Stoner HiVe)
4. TORCHE – ADMISSION / NEW!
864 POINTS
(Miami, Florida)
Four years in the making, Torche released their 5th studio album Admission and the Pop Metal keeper of the flame rockers from Miami are holding a feedback soaked body rumbling sludge fest from the start with Time Missing. They stayed true to their Wall of Sound with an increased dynamic to boot through out. This one was self-recorded by guitarist Jonathan Nunez with the band putting in months of love and Steve Brooks’ instantly recognized harmonic vocals bringing Admission home.
~Mark Partin (The Ripple Effect)
3. ELDER – THE GOLD & SILVER SESSIONS / NEW!
1250 POINTS
(Massachusetts)
The Gold & Silver Sessions heralds the return of a band who’s assuredness and constant striving has delivered a jewel of a release: a multi-faceted, shining stone of effortless Psychedelia that bathes in warm shallows of serenity, meanders through Inner-spatial mind caverns and ion-fuelled excursions into the Outer Realms… Elder have become the Elon Musk of the music world – bold risk-takers who not only see the Bigger Picture but daub the canvas with style, grace and eloquence… Ultimately finding True Glory!
~Reek of STOOM (Stoner HiVe)
2. ZED – VOLUME / NEW!
1862 POINTS
(San Jose, California)
There are some bands that you can look back on and say that, “these guys are the reason that I got into rock-n-roll.” For some very fortunate ones ZED is going to be one of those bands. ZED makes sweaty, passionate, heavy rock that oozes from the fiber of their being, and also has a generous helping of gritty swagger to boot. Fist pumping and head bobbing are mandatory. Feast thou upon VOLUME and you too can be one of the fortunate ones.
~Jamey Morris (Fistful of DOOM)
1. HIPPIE DEATH CULT – 111 / NEW!
5922 POINTS
(Portland, Oregon)
“111“ is an unadulterated joy to listen to!!! The swirling hazy riffs take you by assault right from the start while the tight drums and the boppy bass lines are fixing you firmly inside the groove. The rampageous vocals carry us into a darkened world of deception, lies and materialism. The feel is almost pre-apocalyptical, but I guess it mirrors well our society on the verge of collapsing… Despite the evident 70’s Hard Rock influences, we are engulfed in something sounding fresh; I would personally categorize it as Heavy Doom Psych. A flawless debut album you have to dive into! Album of the year? I think so!!!
~Marc-Eric Gagnon (Stonefly Effects)
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); Andy Benson (Nerve Salad); 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); Bob “Mr. Weird Beard” Baker (More Fuzz Podcast); 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 (Fistful 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-Eric Gagnon (Stonefly Effects); 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); Reek of STOOM (Stoner HiVe); 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); Tony Van Dorston (Fast n Bulbous)
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 
How is Horseburner’s new album at # 19 when it doesn’t come out till August 9th?
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You’ll find out next week. 🙂 The contributors often receive promotional copies of the albums in advance. Thanks for following along
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Thanks for the chart! Just discovered some new bands.
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Noice! Slomatics AOTY for me aswell.
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