“I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total DOOM”

~ (probably misread) quote from Frank Herbert’s Dune

Last month’s heavy underground was fearsome. In a year already packed with quality music and early end-of-year list leaders, there was no way all of May could be packed into one Doom Charts post. But never fear, the peroration post is here, as the Doom Charts crew’s fanaticism gives us even more write-ups and highlights of some of the bands that made May yet another glorious month for heavy.

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 and metal albums. The results are compiled and tabulated into the chart which is published on the First Friday of the new month, monthly. However, sometimes a love is so great, but for whatever reason the album unfortunately did not make the published Doom Charts Edition or because there were so many contributors in love with that one album, that multiple blurbs were written, and only the one got published… Well, you can peruse that love here…

ABRAMS – BLUE CITY
Heavy Shoegaze, Psych, Post Metal
Denver, CO
Blues Funeral

On their fifth album, Denver, Colorado’s ABRAMS have completed their transformation from heavy sludge band to post metal/post grunge/heavy shoegaze act and created what can only be considered their masterpiece with Blue City. This is a bold statement considering their last record, In The Dark, was a top ten album of the year for me and still gets spun on the regular, but Blue City manages to take their brand of fuzzy rock to the next level. I’m going to throw some names around here: Hum, Failure, My Bloody Valentine, Quicksand, Jesus and Mary Chain…lots of 90s love there, but none of these bands equal the whole of what Blue City brings. Yeah, you can hear parts of what would be considered the post grunge wall of sound type bands mentioned but in 2024 ABRAMS stand alone as the kings of heavy, melodic, post whatever (grunge? Shoegaze? Hardcore? Metal?) rock.
~ Rich Piva (Musipedia of Metal, FuzzDoomRip, Rich & Turbo’s Heavy Half Hour)

AGUSA – NOIR
Psych, Prog, Folk
Malmö, Sweden
K2

AGUSA, are one of my all-time favorite bands… instrumental, progressive, pastoral, psychedelic, intricate and winding. Noir, the band’s 6th album, is markedly different from their earlier work. The soundtrack to the movie Malmö Noir, the record varies from the band’s usual format of 2-5 tracks over a 40+ minute full length to provide 20 tracks (15 on the vinyl) over an hour+. The band’s sound is a natural fit for the soundtrack treatment as they prove adept at establishing lush atmospheres quickly. Even without the ability to stretch out, so to speak, in this format, the band creates an intriguing and immersive listen. Noir is more atmospheric than their typical fare and certainly a unique offering in their vaunted catalog, but it’s certainly deserving of inclusion.
~ Ben Bellum (The Greatest Thing You’ve Never Heard)

BOVEDA DEL SOL – COLLECTIVE UNCONSCIOUSNESS
Doom metal, Sludge metal, Prog Metal, Space Rock
Barcelona, Spain
Self-released with Nafra Records

At times lush and luxurious at others intense and brutal BOVEDA DEL SOL‘s Collective Unconsciousness is an intriguing, often mind-sizzling, coming together of musical dynamics that maybe should not work but ultimately do.
~ Frazer Jones (Desert Psychlist)

Started in 2016 as a one-man band, BOVEDA DEL SOL evolved into a solid quartet which offers us now a brilliant album. The tracks of Collective Unconsciousness are complex and take you into a dark and powerful whirlwind in which all resistance is in vain. Imagine a hybrid monster between HAWKWIND, GOJIRA and YURT. Ethereal spaces are crossed by molten planets, cosmic riffs collide with telluric forces, crystal clear voices mix with screams and abyssal growls. Crossing the Vault of the Sun is a unique sonic journey!
~ Thierry “Pumpkin-T“ François (Metal Intégral)

CLINIC RODEO – RED SKY
Stoner rock, garage rock, acoustic rock
Paris, France
Self-released

So big was my surprise! For those who know CLINIC RODEO‘s first four albums and love their fuzz-fueled guitars, be prepared for a shock. The Parisians are back… unplugged! This astonishing Red Sky EP is composed of a new song and five old ones transposed into acoustic versions. From Stoner to this acoustic rock the step is high but the result is magical. The band doesn’t lose energy, gains groove, and showcases Ad’s warm, low voice wonderfully. Not to mention that I discovered the delightful mandoloncello sound and I dig it, dude!
~ Thierry “Pumpkin-T“ François (Metal Intégral)

DJIIN – MIRRORS
Progressive, Psychedelic, Doom
Rennes, France
Klonosphere

French Progressive Doomsters DJIIN surpass all their previous works with Mirrors: An epic, transient journey encompassing Progressive, Doom and Post-Metal aesthetics that sees the band at their most inventive and challenging to date!
~ Stevie Reek (Howls from The Hollows, Stoner HiVe)

DOUBTSOWER – NOTHING REDUCED TO EVERYTHING
Experimental Doom Metal
Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom
Unbidden Audio

Nothing Reduced To Everything, is easily the most unique and out there doom album I have heard so far this year.  Honestly, when I first received the promo, I wasn’t sure if this was something I would like.  But I didn’t get myself, or the band, enough credit.  Simply put, this album is absolutely fantastic. Yes, it is weird.  It is out there.  It takes the lines of doom and not only does it step outside those boundaries but it completely destroys them.  But it’s also the definition of true underground music, doom or otherwise.  It is raw, uncompromising to the 10th degree and has a major DIY atmosphere to it that only adds to its charm.  While the experimental aspects are wild, this is still definitely a doom metal album but it also blends in blackened, post-metal, stoner and electronic experimentation.  The notes I received for the album described it as “a non-purist, yet reverential, take on doom metal.”  That is pretty damn accurate.   Oh and Esoteric’s Greg Chandler mastered the album so it sounds great and every strange detail is as vibrant and dynamic as the music itself. DOUBTSOWER’s Nothing Reduced To Everything, is a truly unique, imaginative, and unconventional album that tries to make a lot of things works–and nails it every damn time.  This is one album that absolutely needs to be experienced, regardless of what style of music you like.
~ Justin Wittenmeier (Metal Temple, DoomedForMetal)

GJENFERD – GJENFERD
Heavy Psych, Hard Rock, 70s, Stoner, Doom
Bergen, Norway
Apollon Records

The underground has been all abuzz over this debut album from GJENFERD and for good reason! If you like your purple deep and long for that glorious wall of sound from a Rhodes piano/Hammond organ, you may look no further. GJENFERD bring us an opus filled with an intriguing mixture of 70s rock influences combined with a modern stoner/doom sound, but also sprinkled with proto-metal riffs and psychedelic passages. I can’t help but think of fellow Norwegians Kryptograf as a comparison. The whirlwind of organ flurries playing off the guitars in the interludes, the walking bass lines, and the guitar leads play to the complexities of the album, while the atmosphere of the vocals and storytelling add to the overall majestic character. All strengths that result in pure magic and GJENFERD setting the bar pretty high for anything else that is to follow in 2024!
~ Jon McGough

GJENFERD have incorporated two of my favorite things in rock music perfectly into their self-titled debut record. First, their 70s influences translate perfectly into these six songs. Second, I am a sucker for organ in my rock, and on GJENFERD it is used perfectly. You get just the right mixture of 70s hard and psych rock with some stoner leanings on the six tracks from GJENFERD , with the Hammond organ, crunchy riffs, and killer vocals leading the way.  GJENFERD have an album of the year contender and a record that all lovers of rock music, especially those who dig rock leaning on the best generation for music as influence, the most. Oh yeah, and the Hammond Organ, all day long.
~ Rich Piva (Musipedia of Metal, FuzzDoomRip, Rich & Turbo’s Heavy Half Hour)

HOLLOW LEG – DUST
Sludge, doom, stoner
Orlando, Florida, USA
Self-released

HOLLOW LEG are an institution at this point as far as I’m concerned, so I was stoked and then some to see them come out with Dust, their first new music in 5 years. Never ones to disappoint, HOLLOW LEG is back, still heavy as ever but still evolving as well. On the new EP, they laser-focus their sound and forego a bit of their doomier side for an all-out assault of sludge ‘n roll with more than a few new sounds. Case in point, my personal favorite track, the atmospheric and slightly psychedelic “Holy Water”. The burl is burly, the hits are hard, and it’s good to have them back.
~ Kyle SB (Good Boy PR, Stoner HiVe)

ISAAK // GEEZER – INTERSTELLAR COSMIC BLUES & THE RIFFALICIOUS STONER DUDES
Heavy psych, Stoner, Blues rock, Fuzz rock
Isaak – Genova, Italy
Geezer – Kingston, New York, USA
Heavy Psych Sounds

I was kinda surprised that this didn’t make the top 25 on the Charts last month so I felt compelled to include it here. It’s a solid fuzzy, hard rocking album throughout with 4 tracks by GEEZER and 3 by ISAAK. Def worth a spin.
~ Andy Kovalcik (Bandcamp-NYP-Hard&Heavy)

LIAR THIEF BANDIT – ICON
Grunge, Alt Rock, Garage Rock
Malmö, Sweden
The Sign Records

LIAR THIEF BANDIT is one of those bands that if you asked me where they were from, I would start with America then move to the Pacific Northwest portion of the States. Well, I was off by 4,848 miles considering these guys perfect their version of grunge with bits of psych and stoner thrown in out of Malmö, Sweden.  But no matter where LTB HQ is, these guys do that 90s grunge alt rock sound better than just about anyone if we are considering their new album, ICON, as evidence.  Close your ears Foo Fighters fans, but this is what I have always wanted that band to sound like from when that classic first Foo record dropped back in the day.  The Foo Fighters bore me, LIAR THIEF BANDIT revive my faith in heavy and catchy rock and roll.
~ Rich Piva (Musipedia of Metal, FuzzDoomRip, Rich & Turbo’s Heavy Half Hour)

MIDNIGHT WHISKEY MASSACRE – OVERWATCH AND CONTROL
Hard Rock, stoner
Hertfordshire, UK
Self-released

Only for the most rocked-out, on-the-edge moogerfoogers out there. This is true, undiluted Rock madness with a breath of whiskey that’s a week old and in need of a rinse of vodka just to balance it out. You won’t find this on Bandcamp, they don’t give a shite about making a few duckets, and they couldn’t give a flying fig what anyone thinks aside from the droogs that savvy this hot mess of rock-n-roll. Just find ’em on Spotify and let it rip. I have a feeling we’ll be hearing from this guy again soon…
~ Scott Spiers (CleanAndSoberStoner)

MOURA – FUME SANTO DE LOUREIRO
Psych, Prog, Folk
A Coruña, Spain
Spinda Records

MOURA’s latest EP, Fume Santo De Loureiro, is the soundtrack (seriously, did everyone have a meeting and decide May 2024 was the month when everyone was going to put out soundtracks) to the short film, Nai. Supple, immersive, melodic, and just a little funky… these three tracks (plus an intro) give a perfect encapsulation of what has become one of the most significant bands in the fertile Spanish psychedelic underground. If you’re already familiar with the band, that’s all you need to know. If you’re not, I recommend you fix that post haste!
~ Ben Bellum (The Greatest Thing You’ve Never Heard)

MY DILIGENCE – DEATH.HORSES.BLACK.
Heavy, Progressive, Stoner, Sludge
Brussels, Belgium
Listenable Records

Already four albums for the Belgian trio MY DILIGENCE. The boys pushed the needle even further with Death.Horses.Black., undoubtedly their finest album to date. The sound is gigantic, groovy and powerful as hell. The album can be listened to in one go without any weak song that could relieve the pressure on the listener who remains blown away by so much beauty. Impressive, exhausting but exhilarating.
~ Damien Regnauld (Stoner Freaks Anthology)

NINE MOONS – CARACARAS
Acid Rock, Psychedelic Rock
England, UK
Cedar Room Records

There are several forces at work on Caracaras, the second album from English psychedelic rock duo NINE MOONS. My favorite is probably the uplifting combination of psychedelic and garage rock, creating quite the proverbial ray of sunshine. Combine this with alternatively melodic and punky, Brit rock vocals and a retro acid vibe, and you have the perfect summer jam. Make no mistake, there’s much more to Caracaras, including some prime helpings of stoner/desert riffage, bluesy psych groove, and some beautiful oud music that will have you mentally soaring over the harsh Arabian Desert. Caracaras is an extremely pleasant listening experience from start to finish that ends way too soon.
~ Stephanie Zalta (Screaming From The Heavy Underground)

SAUTRUS – LAZARUS DILEMMA
Progressive Stoner Rock, Psych, Desert Rock
Poland
Interstellar Smoke Records

There is no middle ground with SAUTRUS you either love what they do or you hate it and if you are in the love what they do camp then you are going to adore Lazarus Dilemma, an album that tells a story, set to musical backdrops of off centred alt-metal stonerized prog and crunchy psychedelic rock, of an unwilling vampire struggling to deal with immortality in a world he does not want to be a part of, it is magical stuff!
~ Frazer Jones (Desert Psychlist)

THE SHADOW LIZZARDS – PARADISE
Retro, 70s, Rock, Psych
Nuremberg, Germany
Tonzinen Records

Are THE SHADOW LIZZARDS Germany’s best kept secret? They may have been recently unknown to me but they are no secret, this is their third full length and they’ve shared the stage with bands such as Paralyzed, Heavy Feather, and fellow organ wizards Zeremony just to name a few. With the company they keep you may get an idea of THE SHADOW LIZZARDS sound, Paradise is an organ-rich, blues filled, wonderful trip down memory lane built around retro sounds and soulful vibes while laying the groove on thick. It’s also full of surprises such as an amazing horn section in the track ‘De Ángeles Y Diablo’ that caught me completely off guard and ‘Prelude’ which has acoustic guitar and banjo building up to a hair raising western themed ending. THE SHADOW LIZZARDS are now my new favorite band and with this expansive album full of creativity, talented musicianship, and great songwriting maybe you’ll find yourself a little slice of Paradise!
~ Jon McGough

THE SONIC DAWN – PHANTOM
Psych, Psych Prog
Copenhagen, Denmark
Heavy Psych Sounds

The Danish minimalist psych masters expand their scope and continue their run of classics with their fifth album. Four years since their last album, there’s fire in their bellies as they address dark themes in the opening track “21st Century Blues” (can you believe we’re already a quarter way through the century??), and first single “Iron Bird,” about the latest war pigs who send killing machines into the skies. Not normally known for any overt Sabbath worship, this track is about as close as they’ve ever sounded to the original proto-metal pioneers. They’re not all doomsday predictions, as their music continues to radiate an uplifting warmth in both sound and lyrics in “Dreams of Change,” “Micro Cosmos in a Drop,” and “Friend,” the latter two invoking Hendrixian visions, if not Utopian, at least hopeful.
~ A.S. Van Dorston (Fast n Bulbous)

Not really stoner (well maybe a little) and definitely not Doom, instead this is a great example of retro 70s rock. Awesome guitar jams, organ and clean melodic vocals make this an awesome alternative to all the heavy, heavy stuff when you want to hear something a little more mellow.
~ Andy Kovalcik (Bandcamp-NYP-Hard&Heavy)

SONORA – FROG LICKERS
Stoner Rock
Concarneau, France
Self-released

I’ve never licked a frog, but this band makes it seem like a pretty rad idea. SONORA hopped onto the scene seemingly out of nowhere from France with their debut EP, Frog Lickers. This 6-track EP begins with some darkly hypnotic psychedelic rock and brooding alternative rock that evolve into some straight-up stoner/desert grooves, getting heavier and grittier throughout the remaining songs. Accompanied by a melodic, grungy vocal that smooths out the edges, this EP is delightfully easy to coast along on to.
~ Stephanie Zalta (Screaming From The Heavy Underground)

TRANSONIC SCIENCE – PSYCHOBULB
Stoner Rock
Cologne, Germany
Argonauta Records

Call it a comeback album if you want, but TRANSONIC SCIENCE proves on Psychobulb that they never went anywhere. In fact, that flame of passion the band began their career with is burning as brightly as it ever was. These guys have been holding down the fort of the German underground stoner music scene for nearly three decades, with Psychobulb being their first full-length release in over twenty years. The band not only continues to deliver their signature brand of powerful, gritty, high octane stoner rock with those trademark husky vocals we know and love, but they also offer up some more serious, darker tunes and even a ballad. TRANSONIC SCIENCE is a band that not only knows what they’re doing, but they do it with confidence while continuing to grow and evolve. That is a band that stands the test of time, and Psychobulb is an album that every stoner rock fan needs to have in their collection.
~ Stephanie Zalta (Screaming From The Heavy Underground)

VITSKÄR SÜDEN – VESSEL
Prog, Psych, Space Rock
Los Angeles, California
Ripple Music

When you hear a band has a “Dungeons and Dragons” theme to their music, where does your head go? Probably not to a dark and beautiful place like VITSKÄR SÜDEN takes you with their output, and there may not be anything more dark and beautiful right now than their new record, Vessel. This is heavy stuff. Not heavy in the normal meaning from a band that the awesome Ripple Music releases. This is heavy in a bleak, atmospheric and sparse sort of way. It’s not the riffs that get you on Vessel, it is the vibe, the darkness, and the cold feeling that this record leaves you with, in the best sort of way.
~ Rich Piva (Musipedia of Metal, FuzzDoomRip, Rich & Turbo’s Heavy Half Hour)

THE WATCHERS – NYCTOPHILLIA
Hard Rock, Heavy Metal, Stoner Metal, Groove
San Francisco, CA
Ripple Music

THE WATCHERS bring a ‘Systematic’ groove on this new one leaves me with a nostalgic ring of thrash meets radio rock. The guitar work is superb and Tim brings a slightly more angsty tone than we’re used to. This one’s a grower!
~ Bucky Brown (The Ripple Effect)

WYNDRIDER – REVIVAL
Stoner, Psychedelic Doom Metal
Johnson City, Tennessee
Electric Valley Records

WYNDRIDER is a doom metal band from East Tennessee who formed in 2022.  Although I didn’t review it, I did greatly enjoy their self-titled debut album.  Excitement was high when I received this promo especially since I also live in Tennessee (middle) and find it incredibly exciting to have such a great doom band from this state which all too often is only known for country music.

The band’s sound is definitely rooted in stoner and psychedelic tendencies.  The music is, of course, crushing with thick bass, big riffs, and stalwart drums.  The vocals are absolutely excellent–emotive but with a much needed hazy, smokey, tone.

The atmosphere and production compliment each other and are incredible–there is a veil of mysterium throughout the album, a certain tinge of the occult that plays well into their blues infused doom worship.  In essence, Revival has a huge sound and expansive feel to it but retains a sense of horror and uneasiness, at least to a degree.

Ultimately, as we approach the halfway point of the year, WYNDRIDER and their Revival comes in and makes a hell of a statement for the power of the genre in 2024.  As far as this style of doom goes, I’ve heard very little this year that can compete with this.
~ Justin Wittenmeier (Metal Temple, DoomedForMetal)

YOUNG ACID – MURDER AT MAPLE MOUNTAIN
Stoner Rock
Cologne, Germany
Argonauta Records

YOUNG ACID is a Swedish heavy music supergroup of sorts with members of Greenleaf, Grand Cadaver, Domkraft, and Besvärjelsen amongst others who step away from the usual heavy riff rock stoner psych side and lean more towards the punk side with their debut record, Murder At Maple Mountain. Now all of the guys come from great bands, but having current Greenleaf vocalist Arvid Hällagård, one of my favorite singers, involved really sealed the deal for me. So, based on this information how on earth can this not be killer? Well, it is and then some, because Murder At Maple Mountain rips shit up. Hällagård’s vocals lead the way over some up-tempo stoner punk that has an amazing sound and excellent mix.  It’s the perfect length, tempo, and vibe for what they were going for. The playing is excellent  and the songwriting sounds like a band that has been together for years. Let’s hope this is not just a one off side project.
~ Rich Piva (Musipedia of Metal, FuzzDoomRip, Rich & Turbo’s Heavy Half Hour)

The Doom Charts May 2024 – Peroration Playlist…

Special thanks to the ongoing contributors to the monthly Doom Chart.  You folks help give voice to the heavy underground:

Adam Walsh (Earmunchies); Andy Kovalcik (Bandcamp-NYP-Hard&Heavy); A.S. Van Dorston (Fast n Bulbous); Ben Bellum (The Greatest Thing You’ve Never Heard); 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); Chris Beck (Doom Tomb Podcast); Chris Tighe (The Mighty Decibel); Clint Willis (Hand of Doom Radio); Damien Regnauld (Stoner Freaks Anthology); ‘The General’ (Stoner Rock Army); Edouard Dubuisson (Les chroniques d’Eddy); Eric Crowe (Doomsayer Records / Halo Of The Goat Radio); Frazer Jones (Desert Psychlist); Günther “Doktor420” (Stoner HiVe); Ioannis Valiakos (Desert Vulture); James Sweetlove (CaveDwellerMusic); 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); Jon McGough; Jonny Pirie (Hour of the Riff); Joop Konraad (Stoner HiVe); Justin Wittenmeier (Metal Temple, DoomedForMetal); Kyle SB (Good Boy PR, Stoner HiVe); Lee Edwards (The Sleeping Shaman); Marc-Eric Gagnon (Stonefly Effects); Mats Florstam (Ozium Records); Matthew Thomas (Taste Nation); Matthew Hartnett (Heavy Galaxy); Mel Lie (Sunday’s Heavy Tunes); Mitch Kline (DoomyRiffs.com); Mr Stone (More Fuzz); Nick Pipitone (The Third Eye, Monster Riff); Pat ‘Riot’ Whitaker (The Ripple Effect); Stevie Reek (Howls from The Hollows, Doomed&Stoned, Stoner HiVe); Remi VL (Remi Post Too Many Links); Rich Piva (Musipedia of Metal, FuzzDoomRip, Rich & Turbo’s Heavy Half Hour); Roberto Lucas (Denpa Fuzz); Roberto Fuentes (La Habitación 235); Rod Reinhardt (Captain Beyond Zen); Ryan Foster (Slightly Fuzzed); Ryan Hilton (Black Throne Productions); Scott Spiers (CleanAndSoberStoner); Stephanie Zalta (DoomCakes, Screaming From The Heavy Underground); Steve Howe (Outlaws of the Sun); Steve Woodier (Anointing The Sick); 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).

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.