“If you don’t worry about the future, sooner or later it’s the past. And if they say the thrill is gone, then it’s time to take it back!!”

~ MEAT LOAF (Michael Lee Aday)

As we begin to embark upon another calendar year’s worth of new album releases, we rest assured that we are INDEED The Keepers Of The Flame! Without question, we indentured denizens of the D.C. universe take our charge most seriously as we endeavour and ever-labor to make you, the mass appreciators of the non-mainstream musical realm, well informed and oft times, saturated in distortion… deluged in downtuning, or afloat upon feedback. Of course the naysayers (lookin’ at you, Mr. Simmons) and the naive know-nothings will live up to their namesakes and thus, have no clue when it comes to what is good music and what it can do. Simple and to the point, “change lives” makes every other point moot. It’s our way, our path, and it beckons to us, forcing us to ignore the sonic ruts and moronic butts… to rise above and fully embrace that which we love. Label it whatever genre one must and be not misguided, for we be the DOOM CHARTS in which thou may trust.

We are here to inform you, sometimes forewarn you, and we have a collective support and are happy to engage in a Rock ‘N Roll-based rapport (with you all). It is there we know our kind, we have bonds, and possess a camraderie that is hard to define. Call us shaman or spirit guides, we holy men and women that prophesy as we decry… the best of the newest records out and available for you to buy, and remember……..

“EVERYTHING LOUDER THAN EVERYTHING ELSE!!!”
(Pat ‘Riot’ Whitaker — The Ripple Effect)

Another year, and the list resets! Everyone seems to be ready for a fresh start and we start off 2022 with 30 new albums without a single repeat from last year, out of just over 200 albums voted for! In the last few months, a handful of new faces have joined up, with a few familiar faces stepping away to refocus. There’s already a long list of albums to look forward to, with many strong releases in January alone! Let’s keep our enthusiasm up for a great year in music and live shows, and a healthy and happy year to everyone!
“…And the magic music makes your morning mood”
(Remi VL)

Welcome to Doom Charts, representing some of the finest bloggers, journalists, radio, podcasters and 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. FOSTERMOTHER – THE OCEAN / NEW!

29. MOTH66 – LXVI / NEW!

28. MAMVTH – THE FOG / NEW!

27. LOTUS SUTRA – MOURNING STAR / NEW!

26. VOID ODYSSEY – VOID ODYSSEY / NEW!

25. MILQUETOAST – CATERWAUL / NEW!
(sludge punk, stoner)
450 Points
(Indianapolis, IN)

Breakneck guitar riffs are spewed out with pin-point precision and power, giving the songs a frantic edge which threaten to crash and burn into the stratosphere before blowing up – but – due the the songwriting strengths of this band, this never happens.
Instead the tracks whirl and spin, morphing from crazed, distorted hymns of violence into solid tunes of noise rock pounding out slabs of sonic disturbances. Constant motion within the song passages leave you no time to catch your breath among the riffs, solos and intricate interplay between guitar, drums and the yelped out vocals. This is great stuff that demands repeated listens.
~ Tony Maim

24. OCULTO – PENUMBRA / NEW!
(stoner, doom)
504 Points
(Mexico City, Mexico)

The band’s name and album title say it all but instead of a mere promise of the dark and arcane, the two-piece from Mexico deliver the esoteric “Penumbra” (gloom/darkness) in absolute spades.
Filthy, fuzzy, ominous, and heavy as hell, Oculto present themselves with commanding energy and continuously crush with standout percussion throughout the thick, evil sound they produce.
A psychedelic funeral for the damned unfolds over seven tracks of demonically distorted chaos, complete with creepy keys and menacing reverb throughout, Penumbra is a nuanced yet incredibly sinister and ritualistic traipse through a deliciously diabolical nightmare realm from which I’d rather not wake.
Highly recommended evil fuzz for your ear holes.
~ The Doom Oracle

23. ELECTRIC YAWN – BRING DOWN THE SKY / NEW!
(progressive stoner rock, space rock)
534 Points
(Sydney, Australia)

Seriously addictive psychedelic rock jams that get better and better as the album advances. Intelligent Pink Floyd references throughout, with big riffs and bigger drums. I hit play out of curiosity and I got hooked for the whole ride. Great album!
~ Ioannis Valiakos

22. POSSESSOR – THE SPEED OF DEATH / NEW!
(sludge, thrash)
580 Points
(London, UK)

Possessor’s swan song is everything one could ask for from the horror metal innovators – grinding riffs, brutal weight, and a sinister sense of fun throughout. “Twisted Nerve Endings” sees the UK stalwarts go out with a bang, and it’s a gory, bloody celebration of a truly singular band that will be sorely missed.
~ Shasta Beast

21. ETHER FEATHER – THERE IS NO ZERO / NEW!
(stoner rock, heavy psych)
693 Points
(Los Angeles, CA)

Psychedelic stoner that’s simultaneously bright and doomy, Ether Feather’s latest is a colorful collection of influences that delivers a bottomless supply of quality riffs and infectious energy. Don’t miss out on those haunting vocals either, the cherry on top of this tasty slab of heavy.
~ Shasta Beast

20. MUD SPENCER – FUZZ SOUP / NEW!
(instrumental stoner, heavy psych)
720 Points
(Java Island, Indonesia)

Fuzz soup indeed. Mud Spencer serves it up PIPE-ing hot, through 11 tracks of the most referentially varied, psyched up, tripped out mind melt you could ever hope to encounter on this astral plane. After an engrossingly atmospheric and yet seamlessly integrated trip through one of the most niche albums we’ll probably encounter this year the listener is left literally “tripping balls” at how well all the stylistic elements, influences and excellent production (though undertaken via an Ipad, on jungle paths from the seat of a trail motorcycle) blend, even where by all concepts of actual physics they should not. In addition, the fact that this is a one-man project and completely instrumental as well, yet somehow the album not only manages to avoid the usual trappings of many such offerings but becomes strangely, wondrously addictive and totally mesmerizing. A truly weird and wonderful musical monstrosity, this release is a must-listen for fans of tuning in that third eye, turning on and tripping the f**k out. Feed your head with Fuzz Soup.
~ The Doom Oracle

19. ROBOT GOD – VALLEYS OF PRIMORDIA / NEW!
(heavy psych, stoner rock)
738 Points
(Sydney, Australia)

The heavy stoner-psych powerhouse of Robot God has just returned with their “Valleys of Primordia”. Merely a year and a half after their excellent debut “Silver Buddha Dreaming”, the Australians deliver a masterclass of heaviness, with a tone that will make your speakers breathe new life. Two songs, with a length of ten minutes each, completing one another on this short but most enjoyable ride through the “Valleys of Primordia”. Although too early, I won’t be surprised if the “Valleys of Primordia” finds itself in many end-of-year lists for 2022. A riff-fest that you cannot afford to miss, so dig in!
~ Ioannis Valiakos

18. BLUE RISING SUN – KEEPERS OF THE LIGHT / NEW!
(heavy psych, blues rock)
785 Points
(Halle, Germany)

The spirit of Hendrix is found between these notes. Great songwriting and fantastic production. The album continues to expand with each passing song and subsequent listen. Mind blown!!
~ Adam Walsh

17. CORMANO – WEIRD TALES / NEW!
(stoner, doom)
918 Points
(Santiago, Chile)

From the West side of The Andes comes the sound of Cormano a band who play music birthed from a love of comics and sci-fi that tells of ancient monsters, sand blasted landscapes and nefarious deeds.It is a music delivered in swathes of fuzz and distortion with its tales cleanly imparted in a mixture of English and Spanish, whether these tales are fact or fantasy is neither here nor there the important thing is that they are being told and that we are listening to them.
~ Frazer Jones

16. FROZEN PLANET … 1969 – NOT FROM 1969 / NEW!
(improvised heavy psych, stoner)
996 Points
(Sydney, Australia)

Aussie psychonauts Frozen Planet…1969 grace us yet again with a fantastic, nebulous and extended 3 track album that ISN’T from 1969, but very much encapsulates the vibe and vitality of that year with sublime musicianship, an almost telepathic Jam mentality and voyage-inducing epics!
~ Reek of STOOM

15. STONE HOUSE ON FIRE – TIME IS A RAZOR / NEW!
(stoner rock, heavy psych)
1064 Points
(Brazil)

Quite a slap in the face with the most primitive riffs and psychotropic heavy-blues as the argument for an ecstasy of just over half an hour. Surviving the present, the Brazilian quartet carries the weight of the future and the past into their songs. A whole carnival of heavy psychedelia with 70’s genes that plays with the most shamanic and smoky blues. A ritual of sounds from the past that becomes a direct bridge to the most promising present of a magnificent band. Roaming desert lands with gritty riffs, exploring swampy smoky spaces with high doses of shamanic blues, as well as delving into supernatural territories, Brazilians are always ready to travel into the unknown. A rewarding journey with familiar vibes from bands like Cream, Led Zeppelin, Hendrix, or Blue Cheer, to the more primitive acid reverbs of the 70′.
~ Roberto Lucas

14. SWAMP LANTERN – THE LORD IS WITH US / NEW!
(doom, gothic)
1125 Points
Bellingham, WA

If you are so foolish and try to assign “The Lord is With Us” to generic pigeonholes, you can be sure of the demonic grin of the foursome, Jeff Kastelic, Jonny McIntyre, Stu Hodge, Easton Sartor, from Bellingham / Washington ! And just as certain is that all the drawers of the dresser, in the embodiment of occult spherical beings of light and gloomy-biting goblins, dancing hand in hand a magical round dance, within the blink of an eye, will fly around your head! And not at all will this tug at your nerves, but enraptured you will lean against this mesmerizing sound-wizardy of contrasts, because it keeps you spellbound. “The Lord is With Us”, the follow-up to the well-received 2020 debut “Phantasms”, is a tension-filled juxtaposition of opposing forces with clear, creative realization of band-headed visions and a sharpened sense of musical identity. Billowing, hypnotic-heavy, dreamy melodies are bitten by cryptic, gritty vocals … bombastic doomy grooves battle with hooky, proggy, sound meshes … wickedly dark vapors merge with hyphnotic-melodic Atmosphere. This phenomenal album is a heavy ear warmer that grows on you with repeated listens, while it reveals again and again a new, surprising soul twist of itself.
~ Mel Lie

13. URZAH – II / NEW!
(post-metal, sludge)
1160 Points
(Bristol, UK)

Sharp shards of progressive, melodic post-metal sensibility meld seamlessly with hardcore style vocals and relentless riffing from the British stoner/sludge quartet URZAH on their sophomore offering aptly titled II. (Though I am not sure pigeonholing Urzah into the first of the two categories accurately expresses the crux of what they’ve set out here in II.)
Aggressive swathes of sludgy grit consistently lurch through a driving rhythm section and an ever-present, dynamically gripping aggression drives this high energy release right through the skull and into the palpitating heart of the listener. Fearlessly balanced between the overt rage and convulsive vehemence are some skillfully placed, surprisingly shimmering and elegant guitar passages which give way to chasmal, rumbling bass tones and ultimately propulsive percussion before being rounded out yet again with yet more expansive and riveting riffage.
URZAH has pulled out all the stops on II and with these four tracks the Bristolian gents have truly succeeded in creating an ineffably enjoyable, fervently heavy ass listen. TLDR; URZAH’s II is legit. Turn it up, it’s heavy, aggro and loud. In all the best ways.
~ The Doom Oracle

12. YO NO SE – MOMENTO MORI / NEW!
(stoner rock, grunge)
1430 Points
(Bristol, UK)

Bristol’s post-grungers YO NO SE are back with their new full-length “Momento Mori”. Carrying forth the successful blend of stoner grunge rock that they introduced with their widely praised “Terraform”, the album comprises eight songs, some left out of the Terraform sessions, a cover, and some new tunes recorded during the first UK lockdown. This album too is mastered by the great Jack Endino and if you ever wondered how Nirvana would sound like in today’s stoner rock underground, this album could be the answer.

Distinct melodies and dirty guitars with a sound that ranges from Tad to The Meat Puppets. The band experiments with cello and bouzouki, revealing an acoustic side that was previously only touched upon in their discography and sounds very promising to explore in the future. With the grungy tunes like “Born to Struggle”, “Nova” and “Touching the Stone”, the band’s unique identity truly comes alive. In all, this album captures a moment of the band in time, and creates a solid bridge for their stoner grunge to come. And if I ‘m honest, I can hardly wait!
~ Ioannis Valiakos

11. BONGTOWER – OSCILLATOR II / NEW!
(stoner, sludge)
1560 Points
(Stavropol, Russia)

This excellent Russian outfit bring a truly mammoth, 17-track opus of heavy, penetrating Space Doom: Punishing and brutal, interspersed with the colourful history of Russian Space Exploration to Russian/American Space Exploration, yet remains chock-full of grooves and head-nodding rhythms throughout. Epic in every sense of the word!
~ Reek of STOOM

10. BIG SCENIC NOWHERE – THE LONG MORROW / NEW!
(desert rock)
1936 Points
(California)

The dream-team of stoner psych is back! The super-band composed of musicians from FU MANCHU, YAWNING MAN, MOS GENERATOR is now making a new album whose quality goes beyond the addition of individual talents. The album starts with 4 tracks between 3 and 5 minutes among which I do enjoy the voivodian Defector (Of Future Days) and the intense and straight-in-your-face stoner of LeDü. A long opus of almost 20 minutes closes the album in apotheosis: I have the feeling of swimming in the early Pink Flod’s psychedelic ocean, then the music becomes more aggressive, more metal and I savor the magnificent solos, a surrealist instrumental jam , many changes of atmosphere. Delicious! Listen and answer this question: is it incredible musical architecture or genius improvisation?
~ Thierry ‘Pumpkin-T’ François

9. KING BASTARD – IT CAME FROM THE VOID / NEW!
(heavy psych, space doom)
1950 Points
(Stony Brook, NY)

NY Progressive Doom band KING BASTARD bring the kind of foul, wretched, crippling noise that Doom Charts is all about: Leviathan riffage, swirling Psychedelic motifs and saturnine gravities are in full conjunction on “It Came From The Void”: 6 tracks of filth-encrusted awesomeness!
~ Reek of STOOM

8. SPACE COKE – LUNACY / NEW!
(stoner, space doom)
1970 Points
(Savanna, GA)

With few lines left on their cockpit’s console and their nostrils full of that hallucinogenic powder, they rock that warp switch like mad men! A new dimension lies ahead. The keyboards set a space and haunting mood, the bass grooves along with the drums while the guitar get’s tortured like if we were still in the inquisition times. Go ahead and let Space Coke melt your brain with their psychotropic blend!!!
~ Marc-Eric Gagnon

7. MISSISSIPPI BONES – CREATURE FEATURES & CULT CLASSICS / NEW!
(stoner rock, southern rock)
2320 Points
(Ada, OH)

Saddle up people, the monster of Ohio has awaken! Merely a year after their excellent “Wise Words from the Uninformed”, the almighty Mississippi Bones are back, adding another gem in their impressive catalogue. “Creature Features and Cult Classics” is the band’s last album with Jason Miller behind the drums, and what a legacy to leave behind! The album is filled with bangers, like the opening “Attack of the Salamander Riders” and the massive “Big Rot”. Throughout the album, there are tunes that ooze with the blues (here’s a rhyme Jared!) like “Alligator Man” and “SidID”, and grooves like “Exiled” and Giant Atomic Hellbeasts” that will become instant classics for Bones fans. One of those rare albums these days that you should listen as a whole to properly experience, as it gets better and better with every listen. If the new Bones album can’t shake you, then nothing will! Brilliant record, I can’t wait for the vinyl!
~ Ioannis Valiakos

6. EARTHLESS – NIGHT PARADE OF ONE HUNDRED DEMONS / NEW!
(stoner jams)
2592 Points
(San Diego, CA)

San Diego’s prime purveyors of sprawling Psychedelic Stoner bring it again with a massive 3 track opus of shimmering, vicious and vital Underground Rock, taking in essences of Elder, Kyuss and Naxatras to flavour the concoction. An excellent release.
~ Reek of STOOM

Like dropouts from this heavy-psych scene, the trio is more forceful and solid than ever, doing what they do best: letting their instincts carry them away. Devilish rhythms, endless solos and a hypnotic and dense bass, make up the arsenal they have to plunge their fans into a black hole from which it is difficult to get out unscathed. EARTHLESS are madness, and in this, their new album, they corroborate that their devilish instrumental developments are capable of making us flee from the rational world to live a cathartic experience in its particular sensory dimension. A world fed by magic mushrooms, which cloud consciousness to provide us with a pleasant sensory journey. A transit in which sonic paranoia stuns us with its shocking sounds full of LSD in gloomy forests, which, on this occasion, are darker, more disturbing, and even heavier than ever.
~ Roberto Lucas

5. BLUE RUMBLE – BLUE RUMBLE / NEW!
(instrumental heavy psych, boogie rock)
3360 Points
(Zürich, Switzerland)

This Swiss ensemble drench their acid blues menagerie with retro tones and period production, all of which congeals in a cohesive, tightly-played and vibrant album that really delivers Vintage Prog Rock like dad used to make!
~ Reek of STOOM

It seemed like kismet that I had spent a few hours listening to Grand Funk Railroad before I sat down to check out the self titled album from Blue Rumble, because the segue wasn’t much of a stretch. Like all your favourite 70s rock and boogie acts all rolled into one, Blue Rumble pay faithful tribute to a time of big guitar riffs, big organ sounds, and jam out extended tracks, both past and present!
~ Remi VL

4. ALBATROSS OVERDRIVE – EYE SEE RED / NEW!
(stoner rock, heavy rock)
3640 Points
(California)

Legends of the stoner/desert scenes biker rock division Albatross Overdrive are a band who always deliver and what they deliver with “Eye See Red” is some of the gnarliest, grittiest and hard rocking grooves you are likely to hear this year.
~ Frazer Jones

3. TIGERS ON OPIUM – 503.420.6669.VOL 2 / NEW!
(stoner rock, stoner punk)
3680 Points
(Portland, OR)

Like a rainbow shining through storm clouds to give you advance warning of sunnier weather to come, Tigers On Opium dispel any feelings of gloom with some psychedelic hard rock with an authentic nod to 70’s kraut sounds mixed with some spoken word samples that only add to the doomy feel of things. The songs are tight compositions with some longer passages that weave in and out of ideas, musical motifs and themes with skilled playing and passion. Jumping the divide between 70’s classic rock and the more contemporary sounds of today – this album is a slice of psych rocking that recalls yesteryear but is firmly entrenched in the now.
~ Tony Maim

2. SUNCZAR – BEARER OF LIGHT / NEW!
(stoner metal)
5680 Points
(Germany)

Germany’s Sunczar jam a raucous blend of gritty stoner rock and old school heavy metal over which gravelled vocals snarl and roar with throaty ferocity, if you can imagine Sweden’s Grand Magus fronted by Earthride/Spirit Caravan’s Dave Sherman then you are on the right track.
~ Frazer Jones

1. HAZEMAZE – BLINDED BY THE WICKED / NEW!
(stoner, doom)
7812 Points
(Sweden)

The long-awaited successor to the awesome “Hymns of the Damned” is now seeing the light of day in all its sombre glory. More focused, heavier, scarier and more complex than ever. The human abyss is also explored thematically, because “Blinded by the Wicked” is about sects and the malicious intentions of their leaders who corrupt the weakest of the weak. This is top notch doom rock in the tradition of the greats of doom – Black Sabbath, Pentagram and Cathedral.
A masterpiece in both its musical complexity and conceptual depth.
~ Rod Reinhardt

Sabbathian groove mixed with precise heavy rock riffs, lacerated by crystalline licks. An added bonus is the organ sound which, although understated, gives an added creepiness to the music.
~ Steve Woodier

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); Andy Kovalcik (Bandcamp-NYP-Hard&Heavy); Bill Goodman (The Evil Engineer); Billy Goate (Doomed & Stoned); Bob “Mr. Weird Beard” Baker (More Fuzz Podcast); Bobby Rayfield (Trendkill Radio); Brandon Collins (Super Dank Metal Jams); Bucky Brown (The Ripple Effect);  Clint Willis (Hand of Doom Radio); Chris Beck (Doom Tomb Podcast); Chris Latta (Ghost Cult Magazine);  Chris Tighe (The Mighty Decibal); The Doom Oracle (Spectral Ecstacy); Doomsday Jesus (DoomsdaysJesus); Duncan Evans (Alternative Control); Eric Varasiftsky (Stoner Rock Army); Frazer Jones (Desert Psychlist); Fuzzy Cracklins (Fuzzy Cracklins); Geoff Leppard (Atom Heart Mutha); Graur Zaur (Crypt Guard); Gravitoyd HM (Gravitoyd Heavy Music); Gruby (Doomsmoker); Günther “Doktor420” (Stoner HiVe); Héctor “Mr. Heavyhead” Hurtado (More Fuzz); Hugo Hulleman (Metalfan.nl,Orange Maze); Ioannis Valiakos (Desert Vulture); Jamey Morris (Fistful of DOOM); Jay Morgan (High Desert Valley Radio); Jim Thompson (Heavy in the Hills); JJ “HP Taskmaster”Koczan (The Obelisk); John Gist, (Vegas Rock Revolution); Jonny Pirie (Hour of the Riff); Joop Konraad (Stoner HiVe); Ken Elliott (Heavy Planet);  Leanne Ridgeway (Riff Relevant); 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); Mathieu Van Der Hert (Dutch European Stoner Rock);  Mel Lie (Sunday’s Heavy Tunes); Mike Williams (I Talk to Planets);  Mr Stone (More Fuzz); Pat ‘Riot’ Whitaker (The Ripple Effect);  ‘Papa’ Paul Rote (Doomed & Stoned); Reek of STOOM (Doomed&Stoned, Stoner HiVe); Remi VL (Remi Post Too Many Links); Roberto Lucas (Denpa Fuzz); Roberto Fuentes (La Habitación 235); Robert Pannell (Doom Loom); Rod Reinhardt (Captain Beyond Zen); Roman Tamayo (Doomed & Stoned); Shasta Beast (Stoner HiVe); Steve Howe (Outlaws of the Sun); Steve Rodger (God’s Holy Trousers); Steve Woodier (Deathrattle Podcast); Tanguy ‘Mr Fuzz’ Dupré (More Fuzz); Thierry “Pumpkin-T“ François (Metal Intégral); Tom Schmahl (Rock Circuz); Tony Maim (Black Insect Laughter, Stoner HiVe); Tony Van Dorston (Fast n Bulbous); Wombat Tarantino (Wombat Cult)

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.