“The future is uncertain but the end is always near.”
~Jim Morrison
This is the end my only friend, the end…. of the decade let alone the year. By this time year-end list burnout has likely set in but don’t panic, we’re here to give you another one. Last one. Ya right…. We made it a point at the Doom Charts to not forget about December. Although it may get buried in between the end of the year lists posted up by our friends and contributors across the internet, we feel its necessary to treat December like any other month. In bringing 2019 to a conclusion, December was no slouch and we saw many albums being released that were already making it on year end lists. Stay tuned for the Doom Charts year end finale, which will encompass the entire year in one chart. Until then here are the December Doom Charts.
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. MOUNTAIN OF SMOKE – FUTURE SINS
29. CYBERNETIC WITCH CULT – ABSURDUM AD NAUSEAM
28. CHROME GHOST – THE DIVING BELL
25. BRUNT – ATARAXY
115 POINTS
(Guernsey)
True to their style, they are reaching to even deeper and showing more atmospheres. In this new album, the music will seize the senses and absorb the listeners with its psychotropic grooves and create a euphoric state of mind. Hypnotic, meditative, spellbinding-there are many adjectives you could use to describe an album that ends up being more of a graphic, sensory experience. This album is one of them-with each new listen you discover new matrices that make it much more enjoyable. ATARAXY, developed in the shadows is easily one of the great instrumental surprises of the times.
This new album is an opportunity for everyone who still hasn’t discovered one of the most solid and creative trios in the world of Instrumental Stoner and Heavy Psych. Relax and let the sensations come to you. ~ROBERTO LUCAS
24. YEAR OF THE COBRA – ASH AND DUST
120 POINTS
(Seattle, Washington)
Ash and Dust begins with an ominous creak of bass fuzz, rippling into a tumultuous roar of heaviness before the lull and lullabye-soft vocals melt into your ears like warm Olive oil. Stonefield are an obvious comparison and YOTC deliver in similar capacities, yet there’s a definite Spacey infusion here that sets them apart, Vocally tight and melodic, the melodies orchestrate the Doom theatrically and forcefully. The Divine looms darkly sinister in a harsh shadow of savage riffery and counterpoints the title track’s Hard Punk spikiness and abrasive edges. The album exudes power and depth throughout, wreaking emotive angst and anguish with each track. Highly accomplished! ~REEK OF STOOM
23. SPACESLUG – REIGN OF THE ORION
147 POINTS
(Wrocław, Poland)
I’ve never bought a Spaceslug release I didn’t love and I can’t wait to catch them live in Edinburgh next May … A heavy trip as always. Favorite track: Trees Of Gold. ~STEVE RODGER
22. TIDAL WAVE – BLUEBERRY MUFFIN
150 POINTS
(Sundsvall, Sweden)
Swedish hard/stoner rock, you really don’t need to know much more, but if the word “Swedish”, “Hard” and “Stoner” have not yet sent you in search of the purchase button ….well then there is no helping you. Full Review.~FRAZER JONES
21. MOONSTONE – MOONSTONE
150 POINTS
(Kraków, Poland)
Moonstone has an ever so faint Sabbath guitar tone, riffing along with its own super heavy, low and slow, captivating ring. Dig it. This one definitely came across as a highlight of December and had it been out earlier in the year, could be vying for many best of the year lists, in the modern doom category. A lot to like here. ~BUCKY BROWN
20. BRUME – RABBITS
156 POINTS
(San Francisco, California)
Gnarling fuzz smears tar – thickened riffage over grimy canvasses of despair, tottering on crippled haunches of emaciated melodies and phantom power, a laval flow of funereal Doom. Closer Autocrat’s Fool condenses the vile essences of the previous tracks into an all – encompassing finale of surging riffs and suffocating silences….Rabbits is a truly excellent example of Craft and Drama working in evil harmony! ~REEK OF STOOM
19. UNCLE WOE – OUR UNWORN LIMBS
175 POINTS
(Bancroft, Ontario)
Excellent long track that has a great sludge psych vibe and I really hope Uncle Woe bestow some more stuff on us real soon … ~STEVE RODGER
18. RAINBOWS ARE FREE – HEAD PAINS
180 POINTS
(Norman, Oklahoma)
Thundering rhythm, cosmic energy, blinding riffage, punishing psychedelic energy; all symptoms of Head Pain by Rainbows Are Free. Those commanding tones are also remedies, in a jaded scene of saturated Sabbath wannabes, revealing pots of aural gold at each end of the spectrum. ~BUCKY BROWN
17. THRONE OF SATURN – THE GREAT BETRAYAL
192 POINTS
(Providence, Rhode Island)
Throne of Saturn is a heavy sludge/doom metal band out of Providence, Rhode Island. This is their debut LP and wow it’s chock full of very catchy tunes, throwing copious amounts of killer fuzz, heavy sludge-doom-metal paired with strong riffs. Throw in the sweet mix of organ, a stellar rhythm section and they give you a taste of the killer 70’s doom bands. Alan Forbes cover art work is amazing… These guys have got it going on for sure. ~MARK PARTIN
16. HAZEMAZE – HYMNS OF THE DAMNED
273 POINTS
(Stockholm, Sweden)
Hazemaze, the 70’s heavy stoner doom trio from Stockholm has christened their 2nd studio album on Cursed Tongue Records in collaboration with Ripple Music. Heavier than Hell, full of energy from the word go, but dark…doomy dark, like the standard that has been set by Tony Iommi. There are rock-crushing riffs and infectious bass and drums are heard thru-out this gem of an album. This superb album will be going with me in the afterlife. ~MARK PARTIN
15. DIRTY GRAVE – SIN AFTER DEATH
276 POINTS
(SP, Brazil)
Dirty Grave with “Sin After Death” have created their very own monster, taking a leaf from Dr. Frankenstein’s book the Brazilian combo have cobbled together bits of old Sabbath and vintage Pentagram and combined them with some left over NWOBHM and metallic hard rock to create a lumbering doomic beast that will wreak havoc to sensitive ear canals and cause those of a vulnerable nature to have endless nights of sleepless terror. ~FRAZER JONES
14. RED SCALP – THE GREAT CHASE IN THE SKY
320 POINTS
(Pleszew, Poland)
Another album sprung to life by the Polish quarry that is Red Scalp. They are delivering richer sounds and experimenting with progressive atmospheres over their heavy-psych essence. With many spins and matrices, they manage to keep balance between their heaviness and the melody. With songs that transmit moods and sensations with the keyboard and the brass instruments bringing an airy fresh feel to their heavy psychedelic sound. Without leaving anything behind, they are opening new doors. ~ROBERTO LUCAS
13. TOMBSTONE EYES – LAND IN THE SKY
329 POINTS
(Chicago, Illinois)
“Land in the Sky” drips with the authentic sound of vintage heavy prog – so vintage in fact you’d think it really WAS 1971 rocking your Wharfdale cones. Epic, doom-scarred proto-prog casting shadows of Atomic Rooster or Bodkin from the flames.
Heavy as lead, immersive and captivating! ~REEK OF STOOM
12. CHURCH OF THE COSMIC SKULL – EVERYBODY’S GOING TO DIE
330 POINTS
(Nottingham, UK)
I have no idea how they write this music and then play it. So complex it reminds you of classical music. It’s must be mathematical. The harmonies completely amaze me. Also even though a lot of the music is upbeat this is amazingly dark music. This is their third album and I’m pretty sure I had all three AOTY of their respective years. I tried hard not to have this #1 again. But then I play it again and it’s clearly deserving. I can only hope to catch them live somehow. It’s amazing they can pull these crazy vocal harmonies off live. I consider Church of the Cosmic Skull one of the greatest bands all time. ~PAUL ROTE
11. THE CURF – AMONG OTHERS
360 POINTS
(Αθήνα, Greece)
Gods holy trousers !! Headed for a Doom Charts #1 ~STEVE RODGER
Among Others is among the best and crunchiest stoner-doom releases this year. Steve Rodgers coined it, AbNormal confirmed and I concur. Hells Holy Trouser Bells, this is some riff-trodden ecstasy! ~BUCKY BROWN
10. KRÖWNN – BLÜEDEEP
384 POINTS
(Venice, Italy)
It’s been a long time coming but finally Italy’s Kröwnn have delivered something substantial for us to wrap our Kröwnn starved ears around and sink our groove hungry teeth into, and what a beauty it is! “Bluedeep” is an album drenched in dankness, darkness and atmosphere yet for all its bleakness and crushing intensity is one that will leave you feeling strangely elated and thankful that you are alive in a world where music this damn powerful, this damn intense and this damn good still exists. ~FRAZER JONES
9. DEAF PROOF – BRAIN UTOPIA
390 POINTS
(Freiburg Im Breisgau, Germany)
Chalked full of pummeling groove, fuzzalicious riffs and, for lack of a better term, deafening tone, Deaf Proof are back and nailing down groove so loud that the deaf can hear it and the rest might end up deaf. ~BUCKY BROWN
8. WHEEL OF SMOKE – SONIC CURE
520 POINTS
(Leuven, Belgium)
Ride Wheel of Smoke’s haze fueled unicycle of groove through sonic landscapes constructed from the skeleton of 70’s hard rock and proto-metal, marvel at the complex arrangements and intelligent lyrical content of their prog-like tomes and be amazed by the levels of musicianship each and every member brings to the table on this stunning and at times breathtaking release, If this is the “cure” then bring on the disease! ~FRAZER JONES
7. COLOUR HAZE – WE ARE
534 POINTS
(Bavaria, Germany)
COLOUR HAZE do not have to be accountable to anyone and in their new work they explore new ways in their sound without giving up their heavy-psych essence. Here we find a band that continues to evolve, looking for new ways that enrich their sound with more progressive vibrations. A band as prominent as COLOUR HAZE could stagnate in its sound and fame, but they decide to continue looking to the future with new routes in their music. We are not talking about any radical change, not anything like it, but we are facing an innovative album that at times sounds more than seventies than ever. A work in which we find varied stylistic influences that range from jazz to the bowels of progressive hard. An influence that touches scenarios more typical of the Canterbury sound than of heavy psychedelia, without losing its doses of stoner heaviness or the beauty of its classic psychedelic harmonies. A fundamental album that everyone would enjoy. ~ROBERTO LUCAS
6. PASTOR – UNVEIL
553 POINTS
(Vienna, Austria)
Pastor’s first album is an all time favorite. This one is just as good . Hard hitting seventies style acid rock in league with the greatest of heavies . I have no problem comparing this to Jerusalem, Leafhound, Buffalo, Night Sun and so on. It could easily be from that era. A song of note on this is the cover song Slave of fear originally released in 1971 by Stone Axe. It’s one of the earliest doom songs. They have a tremendous version. There is so much great with this album especially those passionate vocals . ~PAUL ROTE
5. THAL – THE HARVESTING
609 POINTS
(Columbus, Ohio)
Vince Green, just released their newest offering, The Harvesting, and it’s a wonderful new chapter in his musical journey. As with each new release, it shows continued growth, excellent performances, and riffs that are as fuzzy as my face is bearded. ~TOM HANNO
4. MARIJANNAH – ISTANAH
748 POINTS
(Singapore)
“Istanah” wades in like a warped, scythe – wielding marauder of massive Stoner grooves with searing chops you could barbecue! Gibbous, behemoth guitar/bass duels sprawl, as monumental and deadly as Promethian ruins. “Istanah” gleams like a dark temple of tectonic turbulence…chilling, thrilling and innards-spilling from start to end!~REEK OF STOOM
3. VENUS SLEEPS – REMNANTS
790 POINTS
(Dublin, Ireland)
True doom. Old school doom. Sorrowful doom. Clean vocals on this doom! Don’t sleep on Venus Sleeps. ~PAUL ROTE
Superbly constructed collection of psych tinged tomes with powerful vocals soaring serenely over backdrops of dank, dark doom. Favorite track: Forgotten Sentinel. ~FRAZER JONES
So was the four year wait worth it … Fuck yea and then some … Favorite track: The Temples Shade. ~STEVE RODGER
2. MEPHISTOFELES – SATAN SEX CEREMONIES
952 POINTS
(Parana, Argentina)
I’m shocked by the third album of Mephistofeles. Less groove but more acidity and gravity in the sound, less pretentious and provocative, except for the album cover, but solid from beginning to end. Irreverent and obsessive, an album that will be among the best albums of the year and that will surely lead the band to new and important stages worldwide. ~ROBERTO FUENTES
1. SOLACE – THE BRINK
1236 POINTS
(New Jersey)
Never hearing these guys before, I came to this review with fresh ears and no sense of their past. What can I say? One of the best metal albums I have heard this year hands down. Fuck off solos, riffs from the underworld all played with a mix of doom, hardcore punk, metal and stoner vibes which propel the songs along like an out of control truck hurtling off a cliff. This is the good shit. ~TONY MAIM
December Playlist:
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); 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); Héctor “Mr. Heavyhead” Hurtado (More Fuzz); Hugo Hulleman (Metalfan.nl,Orange Maze); 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); Kyle Twadelle (Stoner HiVe); 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); Mark Partin (The Ripple Effect); 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); Remi (Remi VL); Roberto Lucas (Denpa Fuzz); Roberto Fuentes (La Habitación 235); Robert Pannell (Doom Loom); Rod Reinhardt (Captain Beyond Zen); Samir Asfahani (Super Dank Metal Jams); Steve Howe (Outlaws of the Sun); Shasta Beast (Stoner Hive); 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); Tom Schmahl (Rock Circuz); 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 