“Don’t blame me, the Doom Charts made me crazy
If it doesn’t, you ain’t doin’ it right
Lord, save me, heavy music is my baby
I’ll be usin’ for the rest of my life…”

~ (probably misheard) lyrics…

December is a weird month for new music on many levels. Everyone is looking back at all the good stuff that the year brought. Luckily, the Doom Charts are many! And many of them are still keeping abreast of all that new music that keeps being released as well. On a daily basis! That’s why no less than 218 albums received votes for this month! Hope you all rested up during the Holiday season, cause we got a lot of ground to cover. For the rest of our lives… And we love it! It’s been a great December and a great year and with a Contributor finally being able to name-drop Taylor Swift in one of the blurbs (Thank you Taxi Caveman!) make this possibly the best year even! And that’s why we keep cruisin’, why we can’t stop, won’t stop movin’, cause we got all that heavy music in our minds, sayin’, “It’s gonna be alright”! Happy New Year everyone! May 2024 bring you all you need!

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. BLACKFLOW – SEEDS OF DOWNFALL / NEW!

39. EDENA GARDENS – DENS / NEW!

38. BANQUET – BANQUET / NEW!

37. VOIDSHIP – SCALES / NEW!

36. MONTE PALOMAR – NADIR / NEW!

35. THE BROKEN HEROES – WHORESHIPER / NEW!

34. THE COMPANY CORVETTE – LITTLE BLUE GUY / NEW!

33. ALTAR OF THE FUZZ – V / NEW!

32. SEDONA CRYSTAL BITCH – SYMPATHY FOR THE SHE DEVIL / NEW!

31. JOSIAH – REHCTAW / NEW!

30. LAURA LA SANGRIENTA – PROFETA / NEW!

29. TUBER – JOYFUL SCIENCE / NEW!

28. SOUL KITCHEN BAND – ROUND ONE / NEW!

27. THE SLEEPING SEA KING – REMAINS / NEW!

26. MANDALA – KINGS CREEK / NEW!

25. BALL – MIDNIGHT HEAT / NEW!
684 Points
Acid, Occult, Rock, Freak, Proto, Garage
Stockholm, Sweden
Horny Records

You looking to get your freak on? You wanna dance your sleazy dance with the devil? Get on that new BALL album Midnight Heat! It indeed brings the heat, the acid-sweat, the funk and the garage to nine insanely good freak power proto rock tracks! Scuzzy, fuzzy and druggy! Grit your teeth and strut your stuff!
~ Joop Konraad (Stoner HiVe)

24. SHAMAYNA – SHAMACAINE / NEW!
686 Points
Grunge, Hard Rock, Stoner Metal
Silversky, Russia
Self-released

Grungey stoner rock/metal from Russia with little hints of heavy psych scattered here and there, vocals are a clean and powerful mix of grittiness and weariness that sit perfectly atop the crunchy alt-metal grooves the band lay beneath them. Those who turn their noses up when terms like “alt-metal” and “grunge” are banded around in reviews might find themselves pleasantly surprised by this album.
~ Frazer Jones (Desert Psychlist)

23. DEMONS OF NOON – DEATH MACHINE / NEW!
750 Points
Doom, Sludge, Occult
Auckland, New Zealand
Evil Feast Records

Following up from their excellent debut EP The Summoning, the kiwis in DEMONS OF NOON have crafted a deeply atmospheric, enigmatic doom album with Death Machine. Moving between eerie, cult intonations and rolling, crushing sludge riffs while avoiding genre cliches, this is a special album that sets itself apart in the scene and heralds the menacing arrival of DEMONS OF NOON.
~ Kyle SB (Stoner HiVe, Good Boy PR)

22. NEW MEXICAN DOOM CULT – FROM THE CRYPT / NEW!
805 Points
Doom, Stoner, Psych
Sweden
Olde Magick Records

Swedish noise-wranglers NEW MEXICAN DOOM CULT follow up Their acclaimed earlier release, “Necropolis“. As dark and rumbling as imminent thunder, “From The Crypt” does exactly what it says on tin – offerings of cadaverous, bleak Doom as cold and unwelcoming as a Stockholm winter!
~ Stevie Reek aka Reek of STOOM (Howls from The Hollows, Doomed&Stoned, Stoner HiVe)

21. WOUNDED BUFFALO THEORY – PARACHUTE / NEW!
876 Points
Progressive Rock
Brooklyn, USA
Self-released

EPIC in every way, shape and form – six extended excursions into top-draw Progressive Psychedelia that would give ELDER a run for their money. One of the best releases of 2023!
~ Stevie Reek aka Reek of STOOM (Howls from The Hollows, Doomed&Stoned, Stoner HiVe)

20. WE ARE SPACE HORSES – APOLOGIA / NEW!
917 Points
Alternative, Progressive Rock, Heavy Psych, Stoner, Doom
Boston, Massachusetts
Self-released

This album was a pleasant surprise this month. Upon hearing it I immediately fell in love. The psychedelic blues inspired stoner really grabbed me. The songs are great, the sound quality is excellent, all the instruments and vocals sound amazing but like all good rock the guitar is a standout and what makes this so freaking good! I hope a lot of people get to hear this.
~ Andy Kovalcik (Bandcamp-NYP-Hard&Heavy)

19. KOBRAKAI – OVER AND OUT / NEW!
952 Points
Stoner, Grunge, Doom
Brisbane, Australia
Self-released

A band who has been around a decade but is new to me, KOBRAKAI brings an excellent desert/grunge mix across eleven songs on Over And Out, a compilation of singles the band has been releasing over the past three years. Over And Out is clean sounding in the best sort of way but not overproduced, creating a huge sounding record that would fit in nicely as if they were from somewhere in the US Pacific Northwest and not their native Australia. Great songs and expert playing make this collection essential for those of us who flew the flannel back in the day and still do today.
~ Rich Piva (Musipedia of Metal, FuzzDoomRip)

18. DUNE PILOT – MAGNETIC / NEW!
1155 Points
Stoner, Desert Rock
Munich, Germany
Argonauta Records

Bands are probably not thinking about year-end lists when deciding when to release their next record, but there is an unfortunate habit of reviewers and list makers to build their year-end lists in early December and miss some killer stuff. The German stoner rockers DUNE PILOT may cause this problem for many people and their 2023 lists, because their new album, Magnetic, is a killer stoner rock ripper that if released, in say, July, may wind up way higher than it probably will, given how locked in people are by now. But lists be damned, Magnetic rocks. Think of a fuzzy cross of Valley Of The Sun and QOTSA/Kyuss worship and you are getting close to what goodness DUNE PILOT is giving us on Magnetic. Killer riffs with a groove that keeps you moving. Excellent desert rock for a cold December evening to warm your ass up.
~ Rich Piva (Musipedia of Metal, FuzzDoomRip)

17. TAXI CAVEMAN – UGH! / NEW!
1224 Points
Stoner, Doom, Grunge
Warsaw, Poland
Interstellar Smoke Records

Another surprise release (for me at least) from TAXI CAVEMAN has once again delighted me.  The band has yet to disappoint and delivers some of their best work on Ugh! bringing you some new direction on top of their QOTSA/Fu Manchu worship with some punk/crossover vibes even more pronounced than before. Yeah, there is a Taylor Swift cover, which could be considered a bit cliched at this point, but even that brings the fuzzy stoner rock goodness that TAXI CAVEMAN has become known and loved for. 
~ Rich Piva (Musipedia of Metal, FuzzDoomRip)

16. PHARM – THE TOWER / NEW!
1428 Points
Progressive Hyper Stoner Rock
Kelowna, Canada
Self-released

This IS a damn good one, a real treat for the ears, a fast sonic ride, this EP is simply just brilliant. And when it’s over you just want more, and more! The three tracks keep you on your toes, big surprises everywhere, each song makes you really feel you are climbing the stairs of THE TOWER.
~ ‘The General’ (Stoner Rock Army)

15. KOSMODROM – WELCOME TO REALITY / NEW!
1484 Points
Desert, Psychedelic, Stoner, Instrumental
Germany
Self-released

Germany’s KOSMODROM are back with their third album and the first since 2018. This is perfect instrumental stoner rock to me. It’s like in Goldilocks and the Three Bears. This isn’t too heavy or too soft. It’s not too slow or too crazy experimental and all over the place. It’s not too noisy as it isn’t too polished either. It’s just right!!! Beautiful guitar rock just as I like it. FFO King Buffalo, Elder, Naxatras, etc.
~ Andy Kovalcik (Bandcamp-NYP-Hard&Heavy)

14. WITCHSNAKE – DEATHCULT OF THE SNAKE / NEW!
1837 Points
Doom metal, Sludge, Acid rock, Psych rock 
Milan Italy
Regain Records

Deathcult Of The Snake is the second bite of the WITCHSNAKE (the young Italian Al+Joe duo born in 2022. It smells like scorched hair and charred brains when the rough sound overpowered with fuzz explodes and pours into your ears like viscous molten lava. The Lemmy-like vocals spread over heavy and hypnotic riffs. Imagine doom/sludge versions of Orgasmatron, extended by acid jams and dark psychedelia solos and it would be quite close to what you could hear on this album. Lovers of tenderness, tasty melodies and ethereal sound may go their way. Let others stay and enjoy!
~ Thierry “Pumpkin-T“ François (Metal Intégral)

13. MAMA DOOM – BLOOD SALT SACRIFICE / NEW!
2024 Points
Heavy Rock, Doom
Newburgh, New York
Self-released

Sometimes less is more. Sometimes, you can expand by taking away an element. Getting rid of the analysis paralysis crystallizes the way forward. Mama Doom’s sound does just that. The three piece band eschews guitar in favor of bass, drums, and vocals… with the atmosphere flushed out by keys and synths. Almost a reverse Doors if you will. What’s notable, is really how little you miss the guitar. That’s a testament to the songwriting and to the strength in playing of the band. Haunting female vocals (if you wanted to stick with the reverse Doors comparison, it holds up here), heavy rhythmic structures, and a doomed vibe. Neither beholden to the past nor aping present trends, MAMA DOOM are their own thing and they’re vastly effective at what they’re doing. Well worth your time!
~ Ben Bellum (The Greatest Thing You’ve Never Heard)

12. WIJ – PRZESTWÓR / NEW!
2440 Points
Doom metal, Occult rock, Heavy rock 
Warsaw, Poland
Piranha Music

In 2022 I fell in love with WIJ‘s EP entitled Przeklęte Wody and since then I have been looking forward to their full-length album. Here is Przestwór! (#1 on my December vote list – yeah!) You should know that WIJ is made up of a guitarist, a drummer and a singer. This reduced instrumental form is a constraint which requires the band to be creative and efficient. Indeed, they succeed in being so. This album is a collection of crushing riffs, pounding drums and extraordinary female vocals. It contains many gems and in particular a strange industrial/doom track that drives me totally crazy: Oko. Beware! The three-headed centipede (WIJ) is in the house!
~ Thierry ‘Dynia-T’ François (Metal Intégral)

11. AAWKS – LUNA / NEW!
2794 Points
Psychedelic, Stoner
Canada
Black Throne Productions

Ontario-based AAWKS bring a mixed bag of goodies together on “LUNA“: One original studio track, two covers (Pink Floyd’s “Julia Dream” and A Flock of Seagulls’ “I Ran So Far Away”) and a live rendition of All Is Free. All delivered with the usual fuzz-laden pomp and psych which is their trademark. An interesting addition to their catalogue!
~ Stevie Reek aka Reek of STOOM (Howls from The Hollows, Doomed&Stoned, Stoner HiVe)

10. THE POLVOS! – FLOATING / NEW!
2928 Points
Heavy, Psychedelic
Concepcion, Chile
Clostridium Records

Since many years now, South America have a strong heavy psychedelic musical culture. From the seventies era to the actual stoner scene, this continent brings us every week a bunch of awesome sounds and vibes. THE POLVOS! are from Chile and their brand new album, called Floating, is a true masterpiece of heavy psychedelic stoner. These five tracks are full of joy, talent and groove. Don’t forget to dig it!
~ Damien Regnauld (Stoner Freaks Anthology)

9. EMBR – EMBR / NEW!
3112 Points
Sludge, Progressive, Doom, Metal, Rock
Birmingham, Alabama
Black Doomba Records

I’m fervently throwing my full love to the wind for the first full-length album after 5 EP/single releases by the four-piece EMBR. May it also cause a nervous twitching of the eyes of the strict genre advocates! The band’s bold sound concept of creating a fusion between devastating gloom & doom and uplifting bliss is simply the natural home of my soul. Crystal Bigelow’s phenomenal soaring vocal talent dances a round dance side by side with Erik Bigelow’s sludge-thundering drums and gritty percussion and the furious guitar and bass rides of Mark Buchanan and Alan Light. – A round dance like “Beauty and the Beast” (you’ll quickly find out who is WHO). Absolute love, for an album that binds itself in its edgy, sludge-heavy, doomy aggressiveness with fairy-like beauty. An album in which musical skills have been audibly developed and courageously used for a completely unique, (unconventional) path!
~ Mel Lie (Sunday’s Heavy Tunes)

8. THE DEATH SPELL – THE DEATH SPELL / NEW!
3348 Points
Hard Rock, Stoner Metal
Auckland, New Zealand
Self-released

Blustering 70’s influenced stoner/hard rock from the land of the long white cloud that along its way takes diversions into both punk and heavy psych territories, a damn impressive debut that promises much for the future.
~ Frazer Jones (Desert Psychlist)

7. HEBI KATANA – III / NEW!
4368 Points
Proto-Metal, Doom, Heavy Rock
Tokyo,Japan
Unforgiven Blood Records

Whether “III” is the album that propels HEBI KATANA from being just an interesting Japanese band to one reaping the same levels of international acceptance that their fellow countrymen Boris and Church of Misery currently enjoy remains to be seen but given the depth of diversity and musicianship shown on this album it would be a real shame if it didn’t.
~ Frazer Jones (Desert Psychlist)

6. DIXIE GOAT – ORDER, CHAOS, LIFE AND DEATH / NEW!
7485 Points
Doom, Stoner, Proto
Santiago, Chile
Olde Magick Records

Killer proto doom with riffs aplenty is what you get from the Chilean Sabbath worshipers from DIXIE GOAT on their latest album, Order, Chaos, Life and Death, which continues the trend of the band releasing next level material that gets better each time out. The sound on this record is perfect for their proto doom stylings (I especially love the drum sound) and I really dig where the vocals have evolved to on this latest outing. Extra points for the great album artwork too. All hail the DIXIE GOAT!!!
~ Rich Piva (Musipedia of Metal, FuzzDoomRip)

5. HOLY GIANT – DIVINERS & DIVIDERS / NEW!
7504 Points
Heavy Psych, Psychedelic Stoner
Bologna, Italy
Heavy Ritual Music Records

Many stoner/doom bands create music with some very epic themes, be it a dystopian future, a fantastical adventure, or anywhere in between. HOLY GIANT knocks this concept out of the park by weaving tales of space pilgrimage, the occult, mythology, ritualistic ceremony, and general impending doom. They do this while rattling your insides with earth-shaking riffs (the band aptly describes themselves as “earthquake makers”, after all), and they even incorporate a bit of throat singing. It really doesn’t get much more epic than that.
~ Stephanie Zalta (Screaming From The Heavy Underground)

4. MARS RED SKY – DAWN OF THE DUSK / NEW!
7582 Points
Stoner rock, Doom metal, Heavy psych 
Bordeaux, France
Mrs Red Sound / Vicious Circle Records

MARS RED SKY is a keystone of the French heavy scene and Dawn Of The Dusk is their 13th album (EPs + LPs) since 2007. The heart of this album is an overwhelming darkness, however the band manages to infuse a dose of life and grace in. Helen Ferguson’s voice certainly matters to that sentiment cause the particular atmosphere that Queen Of The Meadow brings on the previous EP partially continues on this new album. In Dawn Of The Dusk the doomiest sounds meet some ethereal ones in a complex soundscape – such a successful work!
~ Thierry “Pumpkin-T“ François (Metal Intégral)

3. NEBULA DRAG – WESTERN DEATH / NEW!
9360 Points
Psych, Stoner, Proto
San Diago, CA
Desert Records

NEBULA DRAG tore it up on their third album, Western Death. The San Diego, California heavy psych rock rippers bring us seven tracks that waste no time kicking your ass and reminding you that you can very nicely blend heavy psych with punk rock elements to create something absolutely killer. Blue Cheer, MC5, Monster Magnet, Deathchant, Volume, and Stepmother are all reference points here, but NEBULA DRAG are not here to rehash or reshape, they are here to bring you their own version of psych rock that will leave you both breathless and wanting more of what they bring to the party.
~ Rich Piva (Musipedia of Metal, FuzzDoomRip)

2. WARCOE – A PLACE FOR DEMONS / NEW!
11142 Points
Doom, Stoner, Proto
Pesaro, Italy
Helter Skelter Productions / Regain Records / Morbid and Miserable Records

Do not judge a book (album) by its cover because I could have easily dismissed WARCOE as another black metal or punk band that I really do not have time for given all their artwork on this and their past releases.  Instead, we get some killer proto doom, Sabbathy riffs, and excellent vocals from the eight tracks on A Place For Demons. WARCOE reminds me of a less produced Sahg, and yes this is a very high complement. A nice December treat for those who worship the riff. How about that Italian Doom scene, huh?
~ Rich Piva (Musipedia of Metal, FuzzDoomRip)

1. SATURNA – THE RESET / NEW!
13472 Points
Classic rock, Heavy, Psychedelic, Blues
Barcelona, Spain
Spinda Records / Discos Macarras Records

From the first song, the fabulous « Your whimsical selfishness », to the last one, The reset blows your mind and feeds your ears with a tremendous heavy psychedelic music. The Spanish band SATURNA recorded an extraordinary album, full of this bluesy feeling that gives you goosebumps every time you listen to it. Probably one of the best things came from the Spanish musical scene in 2023.
~ Damien Regnauld (Stoner Freaks Anthology)

We absolutely adored the earlier SATURNA releases! This time around, they decided to move their psychedelic and stoner rock into more progressive and metal territories, and taking everything they do into classic territory. Classic rock that is! And looking back at 2023, I doubt I heard a better and more powerful blues, prog and classic rock statement than The Reset.
~ Joop Konraad (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); A.S. Van Dorston (Fast n Bulbous); 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 (Morbid And Miserable Records); 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); Damien Regnauld (Stoner Freaks Anthology); 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); 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); Jon Cosky (Gravitoyd Heavy Music); Jonny Pirie (Hour of the Riff); Joop Konraad (Stoner HiVe); Justin Wittenmeier (Metal Temple, DoomedForMetal); Ken Elliott (Heavy Planet);  Kyle SB (Stoner HiVe, Good Boy PR); 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 (Heavy Galaxy); 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); Stevie Reek aka Reek of STOOM (Howls from The Hollows, 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); Ryan Hilton (Black Throne Productions); Scott Spiers (CleanAndSoberStoner) ; Silvi Pearl (Doomed & Stoned, Electric Fire Records); Stephanie Zalta (DoomCakes, CleanAndSoberStoner, Screaming From The Heavy Underground); 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, The Third Eye); Tom Schmahl (Rock Circuz); Tony Maim (Black Insect Laughter, Stoner HiVe); ; 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.