“I play guitar because I like to make loud noises. And the guitar is the coolest way to make a loud noise.”

Kim Thayil

We’ll add to that thought bass, drums, vocals, keys, gongs, etc. Heavy music often requires volume cranked to 11, and we live in an age where we’re spoiled for bands ready to blow out our speakers. Beyond the waves of fuzz, gnarly low end, and brain-bashing bass drums, there’s even more modes of heavy to explore, from atmospheric crush to heavy as simply a mood. Below are 40 of this month’s top purveyors of loud noises and weighted spirit, with far more that can’t be fit into just one post. Dig in and check out the new monthly playlist! And while you’re at it, please give a warm, long overdue welcome to Rich Piva and Silvi Pearl whose impeccable taste now blesses the DC crew!

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…

40. SOLEMN CEREMONY – DEMISE /NEW!
Traditional Doom
Adelaide, Australia
318 Points

39. MEXICOMA – KALPA /NEW!
Stoner, Doom, Grunge, Sludge, Alternative
Sweden
332 Points

38. SWARM – SWARM /NEW!
Doom, Grunge, Shoegaze, Stoner, Alternative
Helsinki, Finland
342 Points

36/37. WHITE FUZZY BLOODBATH – MEDICINE /NEW!
Doom, Heavy Metal, Psych, Prog
San Jose, California
360 Points

36/37. MY DILIGENCE – THE MATTER, THE FORM AND POWER /NEW!
Desert Rock, Prog, Sludge, Stoner
Brussel, Belgium
360 Points

35. WATCHMAN – THE END OF ALL FLESH /NEW!
Doom Metal, Psych Rock
Indiana, USA
378 Points

34. BONGBONGBEERWIZARDS – AMPIRE /NEW!
Doom, Drone, Meditation, Psych, Sludge
Dortmund, Germany
455 Points

33. MAGNATAR – CRUSHED /NEW!
Post-Metal, Ambient, Sludge, Doom, Post-Rock
Manchester, New Hampshire
504 Points

32. YATRA – BORN INTO CHAOS /NEW!
Death-Doom, Sludge
Maryland, USA
572 Points

31. SMOKE THE LIGHT – EGO DEATH /NEW!
Desert Rock, Doom, Sludge, Psych, Stoner
New York, USA
602 Points

30. PARISH – PARISH /NEW!
Proto-Metal, Classic Rock, Hard Rock, Heavy Metal
London, UK
608 Points

29. THE GRAY GOO – 1943 /NEW!
Doom, Funk, Fusion, Prog, Psych, Experimental
Montana, USA
648 Points

28. APTERA – YOU CAN’T BURY WHAT STILL BURNS /NEW!
Sludge, Stoner, Doom, Heavy Metal
Berlin, Germany
664 Points

27. ELEKTRIC MISTRESS – CHAPTER 99 /NEW!
Stoner, Psych, Classic Rock
Halifax Regional Municipality, Nova Scotia
680 Points

26. LAS CRUCES – COSMIC TEARS /NEW!
Doom, Heavy Grunge
San Antonio, Texas
910 Points

25. EL PERRO – HAIR OF /NEW!
Stoner, Psychedelic, Retro Rock
San Diego, California
948 Points

San Diego’s premier Psych/Stoner outfit EL PERRO bring their potent blend of high-octane, blues-fueled grooves to full effect on their latest release “Hair Of” – 9 funky, groovy psych-outs with all the lysergic guitar solos you could wish for – The Dog’s Danglers!
~ Reek of STOOM

24. GRAMMA VEDETTA – THE HUM OF THE MACHINE
Stoner, Psych Rock, Progressive Rock, Hard Rock
London, United Kingdom
1032 Points

After 2 EPs, The Hum Of The Machine is GRAMMA VEDETTA‘s first full-length album, it’s a delicious evolution towards a very inventive stoner/psych/progressive. This album is full of great riffs, creativity, viral melodies and lots of great surprises. This album tastes like a Black Sabbath candy filled with a Rush ganache, seasoned with metallic spices. To be enjoyed without moderation!
~ Thierry ‘Humming-T’ Francois

23. GHOSTSMOKER – GRIEF /NEW!
Doom, Sludge
Melbourne, Australia
1068 Points

Bleak, grainy, grimey, super heavy syrupy thick sludge of the best kind. Saw these guys live and instantly pre-ordered the vinyl. Insanely satisfying listening. If anyone’s ever done you the disservice of having played a Mariah Carey xmas album through your stereo, this is the stuff that will thoroughly detoxify those speakers.
~ Clint Willis

22. PROBLEM WITH DRAGONS – ACCELERATIONIST /NEW!
Desert Rock, Doom, Grunge, Heavy Psych, Sludge, Stoner, Punk
Easthampton, Massachusetts
1120 Points

If you scroll to the bottom of PROBLEM WITH DRAGONS‘ Bandcamp page for this album you will find a list of tags suggesting genres that might fit the bands sound, these tags appear at the bottom of most bands’ Bandcamp pages but quite often there are genres included that bear no resemblance to said bands actual music. This is not the case with the Accelerationist every tag listed you will find nestled somewhere on this album including quite a few that are not.
~ Frazer Jones

21. ARTHUR BROWN – LONG LONG ROAD /NEW!
Progressive Rock, Classic Rock, Blues
UK
1134 Points

An album by an eighty year old rock veteran might seem a strange choice for the Doom Charts but ARTHUR BROWN is a man for whom strangeness has become a constant companion and the fact that at an age when most of us would be thinking of settling down to a nice cup of tea and a good book Arthur has made one of the best albums of his career tells you more about the man than can be put in words.
~ Frazer Jones

20. TORPEDO TORPEDO – THE KUIPER BELT MANTRAS /NEW!
Rock, Blues, Doom, Metal
Vienna, Austria
1404 Points

This EP is part stoner, part doom, part desert, part psych but all great! The utilization and seamless mix of all these sub-genres makes this one of the best debuts this year so far. I love the guitar leads especially, but the rest of the band is indeed solid also.
~ Andy Kovalcik

19. THE SWELL FELLAS – NOVATURIA /NEW!
Progressive, Psychedelic, Stoner
Nashville, Tennessee
1420 Points

This band is just a trio yet they create such a full, psychedelic, swirling wall of sound. The great heavy guitar work keeps the stoner rock fan in me more than happy too. This is more of an album to immerse yourself in with some headphones or on a car trip than a party album, you wanna be able to concentrate on the fine music.
~ Andy Kovalcik

18. CROBOT – FEEL THIS /NEW!
Hard Rock, Heavy Rock
Pottsville, Pennsylvania
1484 Points

The opener ‘Electrified’ with its heavy rock’n’roll and groove sets the tone for the rest of the album!  So hell yeah! We definitely feel the riffs on CROBOT‘s new album!
~ Marco Berg

17. MUSEUM OF LIGHT – HORIZON /NEW!
Grunge, Doom, Post-Rock
Seattle, Washington
1650 Points

The debut record, Horizon, from Seattle, Washington’s MUSEUM OF LIGHT brings both the heavy and the light experience to the lucky listener. You get some heavy riffage and vocals that are reminiscent of Torche, some post hardcore vibes of bands like Sparta or Thrice, and some atmospheric heaviness of Hum to create a huge, epic experience that sounds different then most of what you have heard in 2022.  The production is spot on and the drums sound especially great.  Songs like Waves and Soft Openings are heavy/floaty soundscapes that bring all the best of the styles above, all in one track.  An epic listening experience.
~ Rich Piva

16. INDUS VALLEY KINGS – ORIGIN /NEW!
Hard Rock, Stoner Rock, Doom Metal
Long Island, New York
2222 Points

Origin is an impressive expansion of the band’s sound that goes well beyond their work on INDUS VALLEY KINGS. While that first album was difficult to categorize beyond “Hard Rock” or the ill-suited “Metal” umbrella, Origin weaves fluidly from Psychedelic to Stoner to Thrash—offering concrete touchpoints that could potentially increase their appeal to a wider audience.
~ Patrick Schober

15. CACHEMIRA – AMBOS MUNDOS /NEW!
Blues Rock, Classic Rock, Heavy Psych
Barcelona, Spain
2484 Points

We get some more of that retro rocking psych with the latest from CACHEMIRA. The Barcelona, Spain band’s second release is a combination of reimagined older songs and some new ones written during the darkest days of the pandemic. With a mix of old and new songs you may think Ambos Mundos may come off not as cohesive as a record of all new material, but that could not be further from the truth. The first thing you notice on Ambos Mundos are the killer vocals from Claudia González, which is a huge and welcomed change from the first record. She brings a new dynamic to CACHEMIRA, and her amazing and powerful voice takes the band to another level. Combine that voice and the killer late 60s psych and you know this is going to be a super heavy trip. The change of vocalists, incorporating more organ, and the absolutely amazing guitar work makes this a must listen for anyone who loves the retro rock/psych rock.
~ Rich Piva

14. SOMNUS THRONE – NEMESIS LATELY /NEW!
Stoner, Doom, Grunge, Psych
Los Angeles, California
2660 Points

The Los Angeles, CA based SOMNUS THRONE take a step forward with their sophomore full-length Nemesis Lately. Serious Melvins vibes come across with Nemesis Lately and you hit a lot of the key demographics here, including some heavy grunge (Snake Eyes), doomy goodness (Lacquer Bones), trippy stoner jams (Rubber Trap), and some serious heavy psych (L-Dopatryptamine) all coming together to create a memorable and exciting tripped out release for Heavy Psych Sounds.
~ Rich Piva

13. BORT – THE WRECK OF THE HESPERUS /NEW!
Desert Rock, Stoner Rock
Vancouver, Canada
2724 Points

BORT‘s take on Henry Wadsworth Longfellow’s woeful poem is painted with emotive yet rocking colors. Their signature riff-heavy sound is bolstered with atmospheric seascapes and builds upon lamenting leads that resonate like crepuscular foghorns through a nocturnal tempest. The emphasis on the overarching feel and theme of the album displays the group’s accomplished development.
~ Crypt Guard

12. PHIASCO – KESSEL /NEW!
Stoner, Desert Rock, Psych
Cologne, Germany
2842 Points

That rusty old tank you see on KESSEL’s cover is definitely leaking some fuzzy goodness. We got here classic Stoner/Desert vibes with a dash of psychedelia and a strong retro vibe. The songs are tastefully crafted and rendered with finesse. You got this slow built mix of sweet softness intertwined with these groovy assaults. If you ever dreamed of driving a bulldozer in a bubble bath field, now is your chance; jump aboard!!!
~ Marc-Eric Gagnon

11. FREEBASE HYPERSPACE – PLANET HIGH /NEW!
Stoner Rock, Heavy Psych
Portland, Oregon
3710 Points

Hailing from the Pacific Northwest these dudes accurately call their music Cosmic Boogie Rock. 70’s vibes and deep soulful vocals make this hard rocking fun album a must for anyone who likes that type of rock n roll.
~ Andy Kovalcik

10. FOOT – YOU ARE WEIGHTLESS /NEW!
Desert Rock, Grunge
Melbourne, Australia
3724 Points

Together with Planet of the 8s and Giant Dwarf, the new album by FOOT solidifies them as one of the best hidden gems of the modern Australian desert rock underground. Heightened sense of melody in the vein of AIC and QOTSA, I can’t begin to imagine the masterpiece that these guys would put out if they were ever produced by someone like Alain Johannes. No desert rock collection can ever be complete without this album. Make sure you close the gap in yours today and grab it! Brilliant album!
~ Ioannis Valiakos

9. DRUIDS – SHADOW WORK /NEW!
Psych, Stoner, Heavy Prog Metal, Post-Metal
Des Moines, Iowa
4640 Points

Since the beginning to the end of Shadow Work, real pounding drums and terminator bass guitar play heavy tribal rhythms with such a fantastic sound. The great voices are most of the time clear, sometimes very warm and low, and sometimes a bit growled. The powerful guitars are exceptional, parsimonious or exploding in luminous solos. The genre is psych stoner meeting post-metal meeting progressive metal, creating a Universe where the unconventional architecture of the songs brings unexpected surprises. This 4th full length album by DRUIDS will make you scream at the end: “I want more!”
~ Thierry ‘Pumpkin-T’ FRANCOIS

8. MYSTERY DUDES – EXIT THROUGH THE WORMHOLE /NEW!
Stoner, Punk, Prog
Oslo, Norway
5040 Points

Oslo’s MYSTERY DUDES blend stoner rock with some snotty punk aesthetics to deliver an exciting debut full length, Exit Through The Wormhole. You get all sorts of stuff on Exit Through The Wormhole but for the most part you don’t ever feel like the record is all over the place. MYSTERY DUDES’ songs are also super catchy, which is where you get some of those 90s punk vibes coming through and what helps to make their debut a memorable release. You get catchy stoner rock with Mountain Of Chill, some more snotty punk leaning jams like Evil Blood, and Punk, the aptly named track that leans heavy on the title’s side and will stick with you. Mondo Happiness is an instrumental stoner rock jam that shows these guys know how to bring the riffs even when they are flying their punk flag. Nice debut effort.
~ Rich Piva

7. 10,000 YEARS – III /NEW!
Stoner, Sludge, Doom
Västerås, Sweden
5576 Points

10,000 YEARS brings the heavy stoner sludge on their third release, aptly titled III. Part three in a trilogy of releases that this time ratchets up the hardcore vibes, not just with the vocals, but with riffs that sound very early 90s with tracks that will get that circle pit going. Tracks Megafauna and Desert Of Madness remind me of Unsane or maybe (very) early Helmet. Il Cattivo reminds me of early Mastodon and the closer To Suns Beyond is the most sprawling, atmospheric track that I have heard from the band up until this point. 10,000 YEARS is in top form on III and round out their initial trilogy of releases perfectly.  This is some heavy stuff, so go in ready to have your head ripped off.
~ Rich Piva

6. OREYEON – EQUATIONS FOR THE USELESS /NEW!
Doom, Heavy Psych, Stoner Metal
La Spezia, Italy
8253 Points

If you like your grooves complex and intricate but you are also looking for those grooves to carry their fair share of grit and bite then wrapping your riff beaten ears around OREYEON‘s latest opus “Equations for the Useless” should be your next mission. OREYEON make music that can be both blustering and heavy but music that is also peppered with delicate subtleties, subtleties that might not make their presence felt on an initial listen but will do with repeated plays, and you WILL want to play this again and again and again.
~ Frazer Jones

5. SASQUATCH – FEVER FANTASY /NEW!
Stoner Rock
Los Angeles, CA
9405 Points

SASQUATCH is easily one of the top in the genre and they deliver a choice album!  Front man Keith Gibbs and the boys get a little deeper in texture with the addition of keys/organ on the latter half of the album.  SASQUATCH has the knack for creating songs that are accessible for normal hard/heavy rock fans but wild enough to keep us in the underground rocking!  This band has not put out one bad album!  Cheers to Keith, Jason and Craig!
~ John Gist

4. VALLEY OF THE SUN – THE CHARIOT /NEW!
Hard Rock, Stoner Rock
Cincinnati, OH
9432 Points

The Chariot is VALLEY OF THE SUN on steroids. Sonically, this album falls somewhere between Old Gods and Volume Rock, channeling the spiritual worldliness of Old Gods with the incessant energy of Volume Rock—and all while honoring some of Rock’s greatest luminaries. Like the Stoner Rock heroes of Clutch, VALLEY OF THE SUN is a band that understands how to repeatedly craft catchy Hard Rock tracks—and how to do so without growing stale or repetitive. This band still has plenty of tricks up their sleeves, and The Chariot is their best and most mature effort to date.
~ Patrick Schober

3. RED SUN ATACAMA – D A R W I N
Stoner, Psych
Paris, France
13680 Points

I can’t remember the last time I put an album on, immediately sat up in my seat and went ‘Woah!’. That’s what happened when I hit play on ‘Darwin’ for the first time (and many more times after!). The energy on these tracks bursts out the speakers and it’s even more impressive when they switch to chill for a couple of minutes before launching right back at your throat again. A must hear!
~ Jonny Pirie

2. AAWKS – HEAVY ON THE COSMIC /NEW!
Doom, Stoner, Sludge
Barrie, Ontario
14088 Points

“Heavy On The Cosmic” does exactly what it says on the cover – bringing rebellious, riotous filthy riffs embedded in a swampy gloop of stoned haziness. Fans of Kal-El, Spelljammer and Acid Mammoth will be all over this like a plaster cast!
~ Reek of STOOM

1. SERGEANT THUNDERHOOF – THIS SCEPTRED VEIL /NEW!
Progressive Stoner Metal
Bath, UK
22008 Points

I was a little late to the S.T. party, having first heard them through their amazing split with Howling Giant a few years back. What I discovered was a classic metal inspired progressive stoner rock band carving out their own path amongst an ever growing crowd, standing out with killer dueling guitar work that is a mix of Iommi and Iron Maiden. Not every band can put together a near 70 minute album that doesn’t get stale, but I find myself just restarting this one over and over lately!
~ Remi VL

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 (Monuments In Ruin); 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 / The Doomed & Stoned Show); Jonny Pirie (Hour of the Riff); Joop Konraad (Stoner HiVe); Ken Elliott (Heavy Planet);  Kyle SB / Shasta Beast (Stoner HiVe); 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 Schober (Monster Riff); 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); Rich Piva; Roberto Lucas (Denpa Fuzz); Roberto Fuentes (La Habitación 235); Robert Pannell (Doom Loom); Rod Reinhardt (Captain Beyond Zen); Roman Tamayo (Doomed & Stoned); Silvi Pearl; 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 Hanno (Tom’s Reviews); 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.