The time has come once again to do that other post. There might be some more mistakes and wrong links this time; due to the fact that I’m still recovering from a bad covid infection. I normally would have written a little blurb for the new Glitch album by THE ANOMALYS. But I’ve had to limit my time behind the screen cause it induces headaches pretty fast. But mentioning that wild Glitch album that combines surf, rockabilly, punk and thrash with their garage rocking mania to sheer perfection; is at least something… This is that Peroration post, that post of pure adoration for the albums blurbed. Most of these blurbs were received when the ‘regular’ post was written; but some of them were received double and other albums did not receive enough votes to make it unto the ‘regular’ post. So, we post them here and once again profess our love for all that’s heavy… And you know, there is still way more out there! So be sure to check them out… All of them below! And all you come across! Cause they all deserve your attention!
The following are professions of love and adoration by Doom Charts Contributors for albums they could not stop spinning. Each month, the Doom Charts critics submit their picks for the best new doom, sludge, metal, stoner, psychedelic and other sorts of heavy rock albums. The results are compiled and tabulated into the chart which is published monthly. However, sometimes a love is so great, but the album unfortunately did not make the published Doom Charts Edition. You can peruse that love here…
CIA HIPPIE MIND CONTROL – CIA HIPPIE MIND CONTROL
(Metal, Noise, Doom, Death, Black, Sludge, Psych, Extreme)
(Eugene, Oregon, USA)
The breadth of styles and elements on display from CIAHMC are startling; incorporating Death, Black, Doom and Prog Metal genres, all boiled to a sludgy thick tar of riffs. A debut album to be proud of and one that will continue to delight and amaze you for a long time to come…
~ Reek of STOOM
FAT GRASS – SHADOWS
(Metal, Doom, Stoner)
(Córdoba, Argentina)
Sonic sensibilities shrouded in ultra low-tuned guitars. Vocals that not only tame the onslaught but somehow keep it from rumbling and stumbling off the cliffs of Doom. Heaviosity in the purist form.
~ Adam Walsh
FAUST – DAUMENBRUCH
(Rock, Kraut, Industrial, Avant-Garde, Experimental)
(Berlin, Germany)
The legendary German Krautrock pioneers return with an album of stunning impact! Three extended workouts that writhe, twist and convolute through Cosmic passages, free-form outbursts and motorik groove. More than 50 years after their formation, FAUST remain an incredible force in Modern Progressive and Avantgarde Rock!
~ Reek of STOOM
FIERCE DEITY – A DRAGON, GOLD
(Metal, Heavy, Power, Stoner)
(Hobart, Australia)
Many will stay on the stellar cover of Ozzy’s “Diary”, which admittedly is one of the best ever done, together with the version by A Perfect Circle. However, the pure gold of this release is found on the band’s original song “A Dragon, Gold“. Amazing specimen of melodic heavy rock song-writing. Fans of Ozzy, Savatage and The Cult should really check this band out. Brilliant stuff!
~ Ioannis Valiakos
FUZZ SAGRADO – A NEW DIMENSION
(Rock, Kraut, Fuzz, Psych, Prog)
(Passos, Brazil)
If fans of SAMSARA BLUES EXPERIMENT were disappointed when the band announced its disbandment, today they can be in luck, as ‘A NEW DIMENSION‘, the first Lp of their leader Christian Peters’ solo project, FUZZ SAGRADO, may be SBE version 2.0. A return to the origins to let his creativity flow in the sounds that saw him born as a musician. Unlike the previous two EPs, this album incorporates magnetic vocals that will sound familiar to all of us. Likewise, and longing for what he has done for so long, he returns to the passion for heavy psycho-progressive sounds with which he had so many successes in the past.
~ Roberto Lucas
KRYPTOGRAF – THE ELDORADO SPELL
(Hardrock, Proto, Metal, Seventies, Prog)
(Bergen, Norway)
Installed in the retro sounds of the 70’s, the Norwegian quartet KRYPTOGRAF graduates with their second album ‘EL DORADO SPELL‘. Picking up their music where they left off on their first album, they offer us 10 songs full of energy that gravitate towards the hard & heavy-rock sounds of the 70’s, seasoning them with moments of psychedelia and progressive passages. His scorching guitar solos together with the triplet of voices make each song seduce us with that vintage sound more typical of bands like Witchcraft or Graveyard. Immersed in dark atmospheres, their songs flutter in the orbit of the pioneers of proto-metal, but they also contain moments more typical of Uriah Heep, with acoustic elements and certain progressive tones, as well as placid compositions inheriting the legacy of Wishbone Ash, they show us an unreal world in which psychedelia also has a place.
~ Roberto Lucas
Back to the 70s – KRYPTOGRAF from Bergen (Norway) plays a fine, varied and very pleasant hard rock. Their sound is very organic, close to human nature. The electrification, the distortion of the guitars and some doomy riffs add a proto-metal aspect. Very positive feelings seize me when I listen to this magnificent album. To cite a comparison, The Eldorado Spell reminds me of the emotion when I discovered Doorways Of Time by BUTTERFLY.
~ Thierry ‘Pumpkin’ François
PERENNIAL – IN THE MIDNIGHT HOUR
(Punk, Hardcore, Experimental)
(Connecticut, USA)
This Connecticut duo are viciously efficient. Songs around the 2 minute mark need no extra time to rip through you with razor sharp noise-punk riffs at a breakneck pace, but don’t assume this is just another punk record. Perennial are masterful songwriters as well as riff-slingers, and put a clever, joyful spin on their assault that will keep you pressing play.
~ Shasta Beast
SLEEPWULF – SUNBEAMS CURL
(Metal, Doom, Psych, Occult)
(Kristianstad, Sweden)
A trip that drips with the seductive sounds of vintage riffs, psychedelic rock and good doses of proto-doom. Conjuring up the sounds of legendary bands like Black Sabbath, Pentagram, Jethro Tull or Wishbone Ash, but also drinking in the more contemporary vibes of bands like Kadavar or Witchcraft, they have convened an album that exudes diffuse sounds, sordid tales and seductive occultism. These four alchemists of the sounds of the 70’s, delve into the necromantic vibrations that they showed in their acclaimed debut album, to make their songs travel wrapped in dense fog that transport us to other times. An album with an organic sound and warm vocal melodies, it provides a rewarding listen for any lover of those timeless retro sounds.
~ Roberto Lucas
SLOTH METROPOLIS – MOTH NECROPOLIS
(Rock, Garage, Psych, Fuzz)
(Glasgow, Scotland, UK)
Glasgow’s finest Psychedelic vagabonds bristle with lysergic frenzy on their latest album – Swirling, violin/organ – led workouts that showcase the band’s multi-instrumentalism and vision to superb effect.
~ Reek of STOOM
THE SILENT WEDDING – EGO PATH
(Metal, Heavy, Power, Prog)
(Athens, Greece)
The world looks to Greece these days for our stoner heavy rock scene, but Greece has always been a traditional metal powerhouse. If you are unaware of this fact, the new album of The Silent Wedding is an excellent place to start from. If you ever had posters of Nevermore and Savatage on your walls, you will love this album. It reminded me also of my fellow patriots Silent Winter (Volos, Greece). Great production, good songs, great voice for the genre. Check it out today.
~ Ioannis Valiakos
VACANT LIGHTS – FUNERAL NOISE EXITS
(Rock, Noise, Sludge, Stoner, Industrial, Experimental, Avant-Garde)
(Charlotte, North Carolina, USA)
Vacant Lights play a tortured mix of sludge/noise/stoner with a definite experimental vibe. This is a heavy trip into Melvins/Christpunchers type of brainmelt riffs, coupled with the unhinged rhythms of early Jesus Lizard or Big Black. The songs create a dense, claustrophobic atmosphere that sucks you into a frenzied world of fuzzed out psychosis. The band have created their own unique take on this genre. Fuzzed guitars, distorted bass and head-pounding drums lay the foundations for cleanish/harsher vocals to sit on top of the mix but never overpowering the frenetic guitar noise. Song passages ebb and flow, taking you from slow motion swamp speed to jarring psychedelic freakouts. Saxophones, field recordings, spoken word all help to take this to another level that The Swans and Lingua Ignota have only hinted at.
~ Tony Maim
VOIVOD – SYNCHRO ANARCHY
(Metal)
(Jonquière, Quebec, Canada)
The ice warriors, undisputed masters of avant-garde space, heavy prog metal are back with a fantastic album: Synchro Anarchy. Same line-up and same incredible osmosis between the musicians as for the previous album (The Wake). Here, things seem deeper and darker to me without totally dismissing hope. I find in this album everything that I love in VOIVOD: its rhythmic madness, its pleasant dissonances, its ramshackle chords and its strange melodies. For me, Synchro Anarchy is already an essential album.
~ Thierry ‘Pumpkin’ François
WE BROKE THE WEATHER – WE BROKE THE WEATHER
(Rock, Post, Prog, Jazz, Psych, Stoner, Alternative, Fusion)
(Somerville, Massachusetts, USA)
We Broke The Weather inhabits a universe where the sounds of The Mars Volta and Thank You Scientist live in happy unison, creating music that is out of this world. Their roots run deep to the progressive psychedelia of ancestors like Van De Graaf Generator. Other times, they take poppier paths that bring to mind the bold experimentation of Pink Floyd (“In Web” is a masterpiece and a brilliant example). While their debut reflects those influences, the band brings to the table a fresh approach with their excellent musicianship and songwriting skills. It takes real courage to write such an album, and real guts to listen to it. That said, close your eyes and take a leap of faith into their universe. Thank me later. Let the horns in the middle of “The Fog” welcome you to the machine for this new century. And did I mention, in their universe as well, Patton remains God. Brilliant stuff.
~ Ioannis Valiakos
And a special thanks goes out to Doktor420 for the cover image…
If you listen, it will doom…
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); Martin Doomed Desbois (Le Mellow Man, Metal Alliance Magazine) 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.
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