“I’ll juice ya up…”

~ Chip Douglas

So, here we are, in January 2023. With the regular December Edition of the Doom Charts. Every year, it feels like this weird moment in time for music. Cause the Contributors and a lot of you heavy music fans are looking back, making lists about their favorite albums of 2022 and indeed, checking them twice. Or more times… And we will too. We will publish a lot of the Personal Lists of the Contributors and end January with the Top 100 of 2022 as the total votes throughout the year show us. We have Remi VL to thank for that. He is the master of all the tally work and all the math that goes on behind the Doom Charts. But does this mean we should forget about all that good and heavy stuff that came out throughout December?! Hell no! So, that’s why we are here today… To bring you those freakin’ heavy forty albums that make up the December Doom Charts! Three carried over from November, which means there are thirty-seven spankin’ new albums to enjoy! If you run through all of them in order you will start off your listening session with a gritty and gravelly demo that exhumes danger and promises a lot of doom, black metal and twisted psychedelics. And that is just what everyone needs now and again! Start your doom engine now! Oh by the way, you might wanna put on a bathing suit ’cause you’ll be surfing the waves of the heavy underground in no time!

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. MYCELIUM SHROUD – DEMO / NEW!

39. DREAMS OF MAYA – II / NEW!

38. GODWATT – VOL. III / NEW!

37. KANAAN – DIVERSIONS VOL. 1: SOFTLY THROUGH SUNSHINE / NEW!

36. DEADEYE NAVIGATOR – RETRONOID

35. CRONE VISIONS – MYSTIC DELUSIONS OF ASTRAL TRAVEL / NEW!

34. WITCHCULT – WITCHCULT / NEW!

33. SLIFT – UNSEEN / NEW!

32. LOUD LIGHT – MASTERS OF LOUD LIGHT / NEW!

31. UNCOMMON EVOLUTION – FRY / NEW!

30. DESERT WAVE – DEAFENING SILENCE

29. EIGHT FOOT MANCHILD – EIGHT FOOT MANCHILD / NEW!

28. DOMADORA – RENAISSANCE / NEW!

27. MICK’S JAGUAR – SALVATION / NEW!

26. MINORFASE – NO PLACE TO REST / NEW!

25. MAG – MAG II: POD KRWAWYM KSIĘŻYCEM / NEW!
615 Points
Doom Metal, Occult Metal
Toruń, Poland
Piranha Music

I didn’t know the Poland MAG until this publication, but I’m happy to have stumbled across “MAG II“. My god, what a killer guitar sound the guys have here. Their slightly sludgy doom with clear vocals (lyrics are in Polish) comes out of the speakers very powerfully, but despite all the heaviness, it also has nice atmospheric moments again and again. Over 40 minutes including a short intro, MAG literally blows you away. Be sure to check out ‘W TYM DOMU WSZYSTKO BYLO STARE’ and you’ll know what I’m talking about. If you don’t necessarily need English texts, you should definitely have the cool Poles on your list.
~ Tom Schmahl (Rock Circuz)

24. TRAHIR – WHOSE HEARTS PETRIFIED / NEW!
704 Points
Doom, Metal, Psych, NWOBHM, Stoner
Prague, Czechia
Self-Released

TRAHIR take on the task of combining classic metal tones with the here and now. Not only do they succeed, they do it with remarkable efficiency. Catchy songwriting and Doom metal don’t always go hand in hand, but “Whose Hearts Petrified” is not your typical Doom album. Medieval times, the 1980’s and the 2020’s clash in a sword strike of NWOBHM, Doom and Stoner Rock.
~ Adam Walsh (Earmunchies)

23. QUASICOSM – QUASICOSM / NEW!
760 Points
Psychedelic, Stoner
Canada
Self-Released

If Jet-propelled Psychedelic Rock is your bag, then this is a MUST-HAVE! These Canadian Cosmonauts Rock-Out, Space-Out and Freak-Out over 11 tracks of deliciously immersive Modern Psych!
~ Reek of STOOM (Doomed&Stoned, Stoner HiVe)

22. HIGH WARDEN – LAND OF STONE / NEW!
959 Points
Doom Metal
Munster, Germany
Self-Released

Hailing from Germany, a country with more than its fair share great traditional doom, HIGH WARDEN make a strong impression with their debut album, Land of Stone. Boasting vocals reminiscent of Apostle of Solitude’s Chuck Brown and riffs that evoke Gates of Slumber’s lumbering plod and Death Row-era Pentagram’s sharp bombast in equal measure (check the opening track Father’s Grace), the Munster duo carve out a delightfully dour take on doom across 4 album-length tracks. Concluding with a cover of Reverend Bizarre’s Cirith Ungol, HIGH WARDEN’s Land of Stone shows that doom never dies, it just lives ever slowly.
~ Ben Bellum (The Greatest Thing You’ve Never Heard)

21. GREEN KING – HIDDEN BEYOND TIME / NEW!
963 Points
Metal, Hard Rock
Helsinki, Finland
Self-Released

Heavy Fuckin Metal. Not Doom, Stoner, Desert, Heavy Psych, Nu Metal or even New Metal. Metal like it was in the late 70’s and early 80’s before all the sub-genres came along. It feels kind of refreshing to go back to the basics. Galloping guitars, howling solos, aggressive vocals and head banging melodies. The album that I didn’t know I needed right now.
~ Andy Kovalcik (Bandcamp-NYP-Hard&Heavy)

20. SIBERIAN TUSK – REAPERS BY TRADE / NEW!
1104 Points
Stoner Rock, Metal
Oslo, Norway
Self-Released

A frigid squall rises from the frozen tundra and in the midst of it you hear the dulcet vocals and emotive blasting musicality of SIBERIAN TUSK! Reaper’s by Trade is such a kick-the-door-in entry to the underground music we all call home. Quality on every point, this Norwegian foursome are on to something.
~ Gravitoyd HM (Gravitoyd Heavy Music)

19. ELDER – INNATE PASSAGE
1105 Points
Psych, Prog, Stoner
Berlin, Germany
Stickman Records / Armageddon Shop

Progressive/Psych Stoner Rock masters ELDER return with their sixth album Innate Passage and it’s everything you’ve come to expect from them. Epic and lush sounding Psych Stoner Rock extended jams with a layer of Prog Rock cleverness within the music. Innate Passage is superbly heavy from start to finish with ELDER moving between the different levels of Psych Stoner Rock and their clever use of Prog Rock themes. The subtle moves of Space Rock and Ambient Post-Rock is a welcome bonus to this album which you can hear in full effect. Haunting melodic grooves work superbly well with the Ambient Post-Rock or Post-Stoner vibes of the album. The vocals are a different class compared to other bands of ELDER’s ilk with them being quite uplifting on the more mellow parts of the song which is carried out throughout the remainder of the album. This is a type of album that will inspire future musicians for generations to come.
~ Steve Howe (Outlaws of the Sun)

18. GYPSY WIZARD QUEEN – GYPSY WIZARD QUEEN / NEW!
1358 Points
Stoner, Doom, Heavy Psych
Fargo,North Dakota, USA
Self-Released

Former Egypt drummer Chad Heille teams up with fellow Fargoans Chris Ellingson and Mitch Martin to bring us GYPSY WIZARD QUEEN a stoner,doom and heavy psych trio with riffs to spare and rhythms that could bring down tall buildings, the band splicing those riffs and rhythms with elements of groove that reference everything from Dopelord to the Allman Brothers, expect to be dazzled!
~ Frazer Jones (Desert Psychlist)

17. SHAAM LAREIN – STICKA EN KNIV I VÄRLDEN / NEW!
1365 Points
Doom
Sweden
Self-Released

First-rate Psychedelic Doom from this intriguing Scandinavian outfit! “Sticka…” delivers Power, Grace and Emotion throughout it’s 8 tracks, fuelled by a triumvirate of female voices akin to Macbeth’s doomsayers huddling over a boiling cauldron of Cacophonous Doom and Post-Metal. A stonewall Classic!
~ Reek of STOOM (Doomed&Stoned, Stoner HiVe)

16. TEMPLE FANG – JERUSALEM/THE BRIDGE / NEW!
1404 Points
Space Rock
Netherlands
Electric Spark / Right On The Mountain

TEMPLE FANG from The Netherlands is slowly but certainly becoming an undeniable force in heavy space rock worldwide. Jerusalem is a strong song with huge vocal choruses and deep noodling valleys. It soars epically, combining elements of space rock, stoner, and more progressive elements , ultimately building their own house that is not linked to any other. The Bridge opens up a completely different side of the band, a much calmer version of TEMPLE FANG with a vibe that reminds of Black Sabbath‘s Planet Caravan. Together they show two faces of a band that has in fact many more in them. Just visit one of their live shows to see those. I for one, would welcome a full studio album of their musical prowess like the force they show on display here. Until then, this EP will have to make do.
~ Jasper Hesselink (Weirdo Shrine)

15. FUZZERATI – ZWO / NEW!
1540 Points
Fuzzy Jam, Heavy Psych, Space Rock, Psych Prog
Bremen, Germany
Self-Released

This power trio might be new (their Debut “Big Skye” was released in Oct. 20) but I assure you they know how to deliver. I had the chance to discover some of these tracks live, hear them evolve, and it was love at first sight. These infuzztigators (their words) unravel magnificently and effortlessly their cinematic soundscapes before your eyes and ears, peeling layers as they groove forward. It shouldn’t be hard to let yourself go with their flowing jams, they can start with some Papir-like blissfulness, numbing you smoothly, before throwing in some catchy hooks, switching the atmosphere and tempo to fuzzier or heavier territories, summoning some Elder/Delving vibes here, a hint of Colour Haze there, binding it with jazzy drumming and krautrock grooves. Tune in to their Fuzzeradio and keep this jam-fueled rocket on your radar as they will surely keep on fuzzing through the galaxy in the years to come.
~ Mr Stone (More Fuzz)

14. BACCHUS BARACUS – ALL ART IS THEFT / NEW!
1561 Points
Hard Rock, Stoner Metal
Glasgow, UK
Self-Released

If “All Art Is Theft” as the debut full-length from U.K.’s BACCHUS BARACUS proclaims, then does “life imitate art”, or perhaps its vice versa? Imagine the gritty rock of Circus Of Power melded with the electric swagger of classic 70’s era Alice Cooper Band and the modern era’s early output from Fu Manchu. It’s an alluring, empowering aural display of heady hard-hewn stoner rock with aggressively textural depth and heavy metal overtones. Five years in the making, this labor of love is an homage to drummer/vocalist Derek ‘Quzzy’ Hughes, lost in April of 2021. This art is cathartic, though oft-times seemingly chaotic, yet testament to the power of the will to rock… and persevere.
~ Pat ‘Riot’ Whitaker (The Ripple Effect)

13. BARABBAS – LA MORT APPELLE TOUS LES VIVANTS / NEW!
1624 Points
Doom Metal
Seine-et-Marne, France
Sleeping Church Records

8 years after Messe Pour Un Chien (Mass for a dog), BARABBAS is back, still headbanging like metal, dark like doom, raw and disturbing like punk, hypnotic like psych rock. La Mort Appelle Tous Les Vivants (Death calls all the living) has a punchy sound, devastating riffs, rhythms of relentless force, creeping and tenacious melodies, and fine barbaric lyrics. This album totally won me over and should be able to considerably enlarge their congregation blessing the Holy Redeemer Riff.
~ Thierry “Barrabas-T“ François (Metal Intégral)

12. BELSEMORA – BELSEMORA / NEW!
1688 Points
Doom,Stoner Rock
Sweden
Self-Released

BELSEMORA‘s self-titled debut full album is an intruging mix of traditional and protoic doom that cleverly avoids the usual trap of sounding overly Sabbathian by blending a little 90’s grunge and late 70’s/early 80’s blues rock into its dank, dark grooves. It also helps that the band come from Sweden where playing blues tinted doom seems to be a national pastime.
~ Frazer Jones (Desert Psychlist)

11. CARACARA – VAGRANT WITNESS CANTOS / NEW!
1832 Points
Stonerrock, Seventies, Proto, Doom, Blues
Providence, Rhode Island, USA
Self-Released

On the debut four track Vagrant Witness Cantos from Rhode Island quartet CARACARA we get treated to more that forty five minutes of impressive Stonerrock. Highly bluesy, inspired by the seventies and all that proto stuff, its stoner that will shake your bones and doom you soul. Impressive and powerful stuff!
~ Joop Konraad (Stoner HiVe)

10. SNOWCHILD – II / NEW!
1940 Points
Doom, Psych, Stoner Rock
Wichita, Kansas, USA
Kozmik Artifactz

SNOWCHILD‘s II is the result you might have got if Black Sabbath had been asked to expand their doom/psych masterpiece “Planet Caravan” to a full album, a hazy blend of proto-doom and hazy heavy psych connected together by swirling soundscapes and episodes of droning electronic noise.
~ Frazer Jones (Desert Psychlist)

9. ONOSKELIS – UNHEARD HORRORS OF THE THIRD DIMENSION / NEW!
1998 Points
Psychedelic, Stoner
Sweden
Ozium Records

Stockholm Psych stalwarts ONOSKELIS raised the standard for all 2023-releasing Psych artists with a dazzling display of intricate, convoluted Psych/Progressive Rock that evokes the magic of KG&TLW and OH SEES: From the opening jangly banjo plucks and rumbling bass of “Elevation Time”, through the Eastern-influenced pentatonics of “Bag Dad” to the sprawling virtuoso performances during “Bazooka Rider”, ‘Unseen Horrors…‘ bears all the hallmarks of Quality, Craft and Musicianship in perfect union.
~ Reek of STOOM (Doomed&Stoned, Stoner HiVe)

8. OCCULT WITCHES – OCCULT WITCHES / NEW!
2424 Points
Stoner, Occult Rock, Psych, Heavy Blues
Sherbrooke, Québec, Canada
Self-Released

These Canadians concoct the perfect blend of stoner and occult rock, with a dash of psych here, a dab of heavy blues there, all lead by beautiful and haunting female vocals to create a delightfully evil and thoroughly enjoyable retro sonic brew. Oh, and there is a drum solo too…
~ Rich Piva (Musipedia of Metal, FuzzDoomRip)

7. THE TEMPLE – OF SOLITUDE TRIUMPHANT / NEW!
2544 Points
Doom Metal
Thessaloniki, Greece
I Hate Records

Of Solitude Triumphant is the second full-length from Greece’s THE TEMPLE and my first exposure to the band. The album finds the quartet refreshingly content to sit in the slowness of its traditional doom. No chugging, no kick up into double bass, no shredding, just sorrowful and melodic doom with deep, clean (almost choirlike) vocals. In terms of a comparison point, if you’re thinking of doom metal’s big four, Candlemass would be the closest reference, but even that’s not terribly apt. Perhaps earlier Mirror of Deception, Altar of Oblivion’s doomiest moments, or maybe Dawn of Winter would be better comparison points. When Woods of Ypres would go clean, heavy, and slow… that’s kind of the vibe. But the reality here is that THE TEMPLE have carved their own space in the trad doom realm and have given us one of the year’s very best doom albums in the process.
~ Ben Bellum (The Greatest Thing You’ve Never Heard)

6. ZOAHR – APRAXIA / NEW!
3724 Points
Stoner Garage Rock
Pirmasens, Germany
Self-Released

On Apraxia ZOAHR proves they are able to channel their sweaty psychedelic blues rock energy well. The album breathes smokey underground blues bars and whiskey soaked brawls. It’s music to drink too many beers to and then rip your throat trying to howl along the songs. It’s a varied bunch of songs as well, jumping from heavy uptempo barn burners to booze soaked bluesy power ballads. FFO Graveyard and Screaming Trees.
~ Jasper Hesselink (Weirdo Shrine)

5. ROBOT DEATH MONKEY – INTERGALACTIC PARTY POWDER / NEW!
4004 Points
Stoner Rock, Stoner Metal
Edinburgh, Scotland
Self-Released

What a way to end the year! ROBOT DEATH MONKEY’s “Intergalactic Party Powder” is an explosion of Stoner Rock energy. Channeling a blend of Clutch, Fu Manchu, and Karma to Burn, this is the type of EP you immediately want to show your headbanging friends.
~ Pat Schober (Monster Riff)

4. SCUZZY YETI – RUINED / NEW!
4740 Points
Stoner, Psych, Prog
Troy, New Hampshire, USA
Salt Of The Earth Records

SCUZZY YETI’s debut full-length is just huge. The soundscapes and atmosphere of this fuzzy prog stoner adventure are just off the charts and not what I was expecting based on their excellent, but way more straight-ahead debut EP. The New Hampshire band went all in, creating an album that sounds like nothing you have heard in the genres listed in the description to create a record suitable for the creature that shares their name. Riffs, fuzz, killer vocals, and an overall feel of a world eater looming over you at all times ready to consume all in its wake. 
~ Rich Piva (Musipedia of Metal, FuzzDoomRip)

3. DEAD MEADOW – FORCE FORM FREE / NEW!
6369 Points
Jammy Fuzz Rock
USA
Blues Funeral Recordings

On their debut album for Blues Funeral Records Dead Meadow dive into their own riffs so incredibly and completely that it seems like guitarist Jason Simon just forgets to start singing entirely, fully immersed as he is in letting that riff wash over himself again, and again. In Steve Albini’s words: “Dead Meadow have laid down god’s own riffs over the years but the guitar solo that blankets the last four minutes of “Binah” from the new piece is a psychedelic chemical so pure I would drop it into my eyes from a pipette and stare at the stars.”
~ Jasper Hesselink (Weirdo Shrine)

2. MORRISON GRAVES – DIVISION RISING / NEW!
8838 Points
Psych Rock, Stoner
Oregon, USA
Self-Released

A very late in the year find, but quite a good one nonetheless. If you love Jim Morrison and his vocals with the Doors, then you will also enjoy MORRISON GRAVES‘ debut album, Division Rising.
~ Tom Hanno (Tom’s Reviews)

1. MOS GENERATOR – TIME//WOUNDS / NEW!
9360 Points
Stoner Rock, Prog Rock, Seventies Rock
Port Orchard, Washington
Pale Wizard

A new and amazing MOS GENERATOR record released in December that is an album of the year candidate was not on my 2022 music bingo card but no matter, we have all won the jackpot with this one. This is the most prog MOS GENERATOR album that they have released for sure, but Time/Wounds goes in so many directions and has so many influences leveraged here, but never does this album go off the rails or sound too scattered; it is a perfectly cohesive listening experience even with all the places it wonders to. Tony Reed rules.
~ Rich Piva (Musipedia of Metal, FuzzDoomRip)

MOS GENERATOR are known for tapping into the 70’s for their inspiration but usually that inspiration comes from the harder rocking end of the 70’s spectrum, Time/Wounds however finds the band still drawing their inspiration from the 70’s but this time from the softer, more considered and complex end of that specctrum. Although MOS GENERATOR put their own unique spin on things it is nevertheless hard not to hear shades of Steely Dan and 10CC in places here, as well as artists like Boz Scaggs and Todd Rundgren, and who in their right mind could ever consider that a bad thing…
~ Frazer Jones (Desert Psychlist)

Never ones to disappoint, legendary rockers MOS GENERATOR add another classic groover to their name with the excellent “Time//Wounds“. Lead by Tony Reed’s strong, clear voice, Mos venture into proggier territory this time around, adding some punchy flair to their rock solid formula. These guys are masters of their craft, and they’ve delivered a bright, moving album both in the waist and in the feels, and not one to miss.
~ Kyle SB / Shasta Beast (Stoner HiVe)

The Doom Charts Mixtape…

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); Ben Bellum (The Greatest Thing You’ve Never Heard); 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 Decibel); The Doom Oracle (Spectral Ecstacy); Doomsday Jesus (DoomsdaysJesus); Duncan Evans (Alternative Control); ‘The General’ (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); James Sweetlove (CaveDwellerMusic); (Jamey Morris (Fistful of DOOM); Jasper Hesselink (Weirdo Shrine); Jay Morgan (High Desert Valley Radio); JC Cansdale-Cook (The MotorFuzzin’ Ibex); 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); Matt Hartnett (Aftershocks TV); Mel Lie (Sunday’s Heavy Tunes); Mike Williams (I Talk to Planets);  Mr Stone (More Fuzz); Nick Pipitone (The Third Eye, Monster Riff);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 (Musipedia of Metal, FuzzDoomRip); Roberto Lucas (Denpa Fuzz); Roberto Fuentes (La Habitación 235); Robert Pannell (Doom Loom); Rod Reinhardt (Captain Beyond Zen); Roman Tamayo (Doomed & Stoned); Ryan Foster (Slightly Fuzzed) ; Scott Spiers (CleanAndSoberStoner) ; Silvi Pearl (Doomed & Stoned, Electric Fire Records); 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.

“This concludes our broadcast day..”