“You are about to experience one of the strangest meetings ever convened — a joining of […] the most unusual people on Earth! Sit quietly in the shadows of this clandestine conference and observe it well! For from it shall soon be born … The DOOM PATROL.”

~ Arnold Drake

Today, exactly 10 years ago, the first official Doom Charts went live. Ever since that time, the list of Contributors have been growing, changing, revolving and all of them have done wonderful things to spread the good word about all those records that reside in the Heavy Underground. We thank all the Contributors old and new for everything they have done for the Doom Charts and the scene. And continue to do. They do a lot of the work for the charts, but they all do so much more and we always hope you check out all of those individual sites. A huge thank you to Lucas, the man that started this thing. It was his crazy idea to do this on a monthly basis. And after some time discussing everything with a few cats, March 1^st, 2015,  turned out to the date it all went live…

We also want to thank all the PR companies and record companies for continuously finding out about the Doom Charts and sending those advance promos for the team to listen to. And even more for releasing and helping spread those amazing album. A big thank you to the bands as well. Cause they make that music we all cherish and want the rest of the world to hear. Thank you for doing what you do and making all of us a part of it. And a huge thank you to you, the followers, the readers, the heavy music fiends. Thank you for following, commenting and checking out what we do. We’re in this together and we have the best scene there is. Many articles have been written, podcasts made and video testaments put out into the world, about how embracing this scene is and how cool you all are and I can only agree with those.

You can follow the link to check out the full list of 25 records that went live on March 1^st, 2015! But looking back to all of them, I can only say: the gang had their ear to the ground from day one! Amazing albums! All of them! And that Top 3. The (sadly) only, yet stunning album by Brothers of the Sonic Cloth. That wild Middle of Nowhere, Center of Everywhere by Acid King. And the Number 1 album of that month (and the month after) Lore by Elder. Can’t argue with any of those!

It’s been a great adventure and amazing ride so far… Thank you everyone and all! Here’s hoping we can do this some more!

The First Doom Charts

THE DOOM CHART FOR MARCH 2015

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…

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3. BROTHERS OF THE SONIC CLOTH – BROTHERS OF THE SONIC CLOTH

BROTHERS OF THE SONIC CLOTH’ is sonic Ragnarök—a devastatingly heavy unfolding of events that is oftentimes cinematic in scope. Whether the music is actively destructive or hinting at the windswept desolation of a fallen empire it’s hard not to imagine Surtr raining down upon the gods and bringing forth the fire that engulfs the Earth. If this is the end result of waiting six years, I will gladly wait another six for the next installment.
~ Steve Miller (Vertical Chamber Apparatus)

2. ACID KING – MIDDLE OF NOWHERE, CENTER OF EVERYWHERE

ACID KING return with probably their most expansive offering yet. Like riding a motorbike on Quaaludes, it has an acid-drenched feeling that things are slowly slipping out of control while the heaviness just helps to propel the trip along nicely. Lori’s vocals, as always, resemble a drug-fuelled succubus luring you to your doom – but what a way to go! This is not meant to be a “heavier than thou” listening experience nor is it a descent into total misery. This is Stoner, Fuzz-laden Doom Blues with a palpable feeling of tripped out vibes that is rarely heard these days. The distorted bass matches the guitar riffs and welds together into a sonic wall of oppressive grooves that help pin down the individual instruments as they wander through the low end of crushing frequencies that are turning your brains into mush. This should be the slab of excellence that brings ACID KING back into their well-deserved place at the top of the underground swamp.
~ Tony Maim (Black Insect Laughter, Stoner HiVe)

1. ELDER – LORE

ELDER have crafted a masterpiece of heavy progressive metal constructed with subtle vocal wails, celestial solos, and intricately distorted fuzz. The Mastodonian guitar noodles are orchestrated to the tone of a rocket ship launching from the bowels of the deep blue sea. Imagine Baroness on ecstasy trying to riff their way into a Pink Floyd music video. The more I listen, the harder it is to argue that Lore may have already claimed Album of the Year for 2015.
~ Bucky Brown (The Ripple Effect)

Thank you everyone and all!

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, Inherent Records, Mystery Pick); 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 Doom Oracle (Spectral Ecstacy); Edouard Dubuisson (Les chroniques d’Eddy, MetalUniverse); Eric Crowe (Doomsayer Records / Halo Of The Goat Radio); Frazer Jones (Desert Psychlist); ‘The General’ (Stoner Rock Army); Günther “Doktor420” (Stoner HiVe); Ioannis Valiakos (Desert Vulture); Jacob ‘Reverend Fuzzcut’ Baker (CleanAndSoberStoner, Monster Riff); James Sweetlove (CaveDwellerMusic); JC Cansdale-Cook (The MotorFuzzin’ Ibex); Jim Thompson (Heavy in the Hills); Jipsy Froud (CleanAndSoberStoner); JJ “HP Taskmaster” Koczan (The Obelisk); John Gist, (Vegas Rock Revolution / The Doomed & Stoned Show); Jon Cosky (Gravitoyd Heavy Music); Jon McGough (Stoner Rock Army, Stoner HiVe, Outlaws Of The Sun); Jonny Pirie (Hour of the Riff); Joop Konraad (Stoner HiVe); Justin Wittenmeier (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 (Aftershocks TV / Seismic-Sounds.com); Mel Lie (Sunday’s Heavy Tunes); Michael D’Amato (Playgroundz Rocks, D’Amato Production); Mitch Kline (DoomyRiffs.com); Mr Stone (More Fuzz); Nick Pipitone (The Third Eye, Monster Riff); Pat ‘Riot’ Whitaker (The Ripple Effect); Remi VL (Remi Post Too Many Links); Rich Piva (Musipedia of Metal, FuzzDoomRip); Roberto Fuentes (Red House Store); Roberto Lucas (Denpa Fuzz); Rod Reinhardt (Captain Beyond Zen); Ronny Dijksterhuis (Stoner HiVe); Ryan Foster (Slightly Fuzzed); Ryan Hilton (Black Throne Productions); S Patrick Brooks (The Heavy Underground Farm Report, Outlaws of the Sun); Scott Spiers (CleanAndSoberStoner, Monster Riff); Stephanie Zalta (DoomCakes, Screaming From The Heavy Underground); Steve Howe (Outlaws of the Sun); Steve Woodier (Anointing The Sick); Stevie Reek (Howls from The Hollows, Doomed&Stoned, Stoner HiVe); 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).

The Doom Charts membership ebbs and flows and the following people have moved on to other projects or are only part of it in a different way. We thank them for their contributions to what the Doom Charts are today:

Aaron Pickford (The Sludgelord); Andy Benson (Nerve Salad); Bill Goodman (The Evil Engineer); Cam Crichton (Motherslug); Chris Latta (Ghost Cult Magazine); Doomsday Jesus (DoomsdaysJesus); Duncan Evans (Alternative Control, Ghost Cult Magazine); Fuzzy Cracklins (Fuzzy Cracklins); Graur Zaur (Crypt Guard); Geoff Leppard (Atom Heart Mutha); Gram Pola (Dirty Denim); Gruby (Doomsmoker); Héctor “Mr. Heavyhead” Hurtado (More Fuzz); Hugo Hulleman (Metalfan.nl,Orange Maze); Ian Gerber (WTF is Stoner Rock?); Jadd Shickler (Blues Funeral Recordings / Magnetic Eye Records); Jamey Morris (Fistful of DOOM); Jason Roach (Ice Howl); Jasper Hesselink (Weirdo Shrine); Jay Morgan (High Desert Valley Radio); Ken Elliott (Heavy Planet); Leanne Ridgeway (Riff Relevant); Luca Piazzalonga (Tales of Wrath Booking); Lucas Klaukien (Doom Charts Founder! Paranoid Hitsophrenic, Stoner HiVe); Lyk (Phantasmagoria); Magnus Tannergren (Into The Void Radio); Marco Berg (Majestic Mountain Records); Marc C. Pietrek (Vitriol INC / A Dark United Front); Mark Partin (The Ripple Effect); Martin Doomed Desbois (Le Mellow Man, Metal Alliance Magazine); Mathieu van Der Hert (Dutch European Stoner Rock); Matt Slighter (Cheeto) (Hwy 420, Core of Destruction Radio, Halo of the Goat Radio); Melissa (Doomed & Stoned); Mike Williams (I Talk to Planets); ‘Papa’ Paul Rote (Doomed & Stoned); Pat Harrington (Geezer); Pat Schober (Monster Riff); Robert Pannell (Doom Loom); Roman Tamayo (Doomed & Stoned, LSDR Records, Vinnum Sabbathi); Silvi Pearl (Doomed & Stoned, Electric Fire Records, Napalm Records); Skip (Ride With the Devil); Soggy Bob (Soggy Bog of Doom); Steve Miller (Vertical Chamber Apparatus); Steve Rodger (God’s Holy Trousers); Tanguy ‘Mr Fuzz’ Dupré (More Fuzz); Todd Severin (Ripple Music); Tom Maene (Polderrecords); Ulla Roschat (Wicked Lady); 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.