“Hey Siri, what is the Doom Patrol?”

~ Crazy Jane

The ride continues! The Doom Patrol is loose again! Running fast and loud through a great selection of heavy music. Ten Years on, and the Contributors are all still incredibly stoked to send in their lists of favorite albums of the month. To tell you each month about their discoveries. The best in their opinion. We are honored to have so many cool Contributors with us. And this month, they voted for 201 different albums! We’re in this together and we cannot wait, each month, to see the monthly list, to visit all those albums once again. Or for the very first time. The Contributors, the Doom Patrol, they are the Genghis Khan of heavy rock… And they want you to join the horde…

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. CAVERNOUS – ANCESTRAL THROES / NEW!

39. POTHAMUS – ABUR / NEW!

38. REQUIEM BLUES – REQUIEM BLUES / NEW!

37. PRIMA MATERIA – STONE BY STONE / NEW!

36. DEAD WALL – ROTTEN FROM THE ROOT / NEW!

35. TUMBLEWEED DEALER – DARK GREEN / NEW!

34. 10 SLIP – TENSE LIP / NEW!

33. OCULTUM – BUENA MUERTE / NEW!

32. EARTHWORKS – EARTHWORKS / NEW!

31. MAGIC CHICKEN FUDGETOE – BOOK OF URANIUM-235 AND OTHER HYMNS… AND OTHER HYMNS / NEW!

30. KLASTOS – BORN TO RUIN / NEW!

29. SEEKER – SEEKER / NEW!

28. MANTAR – POST APOCALYPTIC DEPRESSION / NEW!

27. SCORPION CHILD – I SAW THE END AS IT PASSED RIGHT THROUGH ME / NEW!

26. THE GREY – KODOK / NEW!

25. FULANNO – NOSOTROS SOMOS EL FIN DEL MUNDO / NEW!
1216 Points
Doom
Coronda, Argentina
Interstellar Smoke Records / Smolder Brains Records / Ruidoteka Records

It’s doom all the way for Argentinian three-piece FULANNO that has been around since 2010 and keeps releasing music on a regular basis. ‘Nosotros Somos El Fin Del Mundo‘ (meaning ‘we are the end of the world’) is another epic encounter with all things Electric Wizard, but also recalls that legendary debut ep by Dragonauta, released on CDR way back in 1999. Not the easiest of shoes to fill, but those shoes fit perfectly and they can wear them with pride.
~ Ronny Dijksterhuis (Stoner HiVe)

24. STONE CREAM – STONIFIED BLUES / NEW!
1368 Points
Heavy Rock, Stoner rock, Heavy Blues
Greece
Self-released

Stonified Blues is the name of the album and also the type of music that STONE CREAM plays as they say on their Bandcamp page “Loyal to our bluesy roots we are still rocking hard with some stonified blues…”. That pretty much says it all but I will add that this is a very solid album all the way through. This band is tight af and there is some smokin guitar playing on display here. The vocals are pretty darn good too. If you like stonified heavy blues I’d say it’s a pretty safe bet you’ll dig this big time.
~ Andy Kovalcik (Bandcamp-NYP-Hard&Heavy)

23. CLOUDS TASTE SATANIC – BIRMINGHAM 2024 / NEW!
1404 Points
Heavy Psych, Stoner Rock, Stoner Metal, Doom
New York, NY, USA
Self-released

The New York based four piece band CLOUDS TASTE SATANIC has released an incredible masterclass in instrumental stoner rock and stoner metal with their new album, “Birmingham 2024.” This album delivers a powerful punch with perfectly balanced instrumentation and raw, organic tones. Each instrument is expertly crafted, resulting in a sound that is both polished and perfect.
~ Michael D’Amato (Playgroundz Rocks, D’Amato Production)

22. THE FREEKS – STUDIO/LIVE II / NEW!
2136 Points
Stoner Rock, Garage Rock, Psych
Los Angeles, California, USA
Glory or Death Records

THE FREEKS have made some great albums in their time together but “Studio/Live II” has to be their best offering yet from their best line-up to date. Everything these guys are about seems to come together on “Studio/Live II“, the psychedelic parts seem so much more vibrant and colourful, the garage rock elements so much more sleazy and dirty and the funky stoner aspects of their sound so much more funkier. If you are thinking of throwing a party for all your rock loving friends and are wondering what music to play just throw this on the turntable and watch the room EXPLODE! 
~ Frazer Jones (Desert Psychlist)

21. FVZZ POPVLI – MELTING POP / NEW!
2300 Points
Post, Stoner
Rome, Italy
Heavy Psych Sounds

On their fourth album, FVZZ POPVLI, in their own words, find themselves at a crossroads. A stoner rock band trying to get out from under the tiresome connotations of that title, they’ve managed to put together an album will appeal to the stoner rock crowd, but has a lot more going for it than the vast majority of bands under that big umbrella. Ranging from Beatles-esque psychedelia to twisted heaviness that recalls the sinister smirk of Eternal Elysium, Melting Pop keeps listeners on their toes and is all the better for it. They’ve turned in a taught, ear worm-filled, album that’s an early highlight of 2025.
~ Ben Bellum (The Greatest Thing You’ve Never Heard)

20. YAWNING BALCH – VOLUME THREE / NEW!
2405 Points
Instrumental, Desert, Jam, Psychedelic
Joshua Tree, CA
Heavy Psych Sounds

The prolific Joshua Tree desert sessions recorded in the spring of 2024 continue to bear fruit with a new album split into two atmospheric jams that convey the genuine spirit of the desert. Five hours of FU MANCHU guitarist BOB BALCH joining instrumental desert rock legends YAWNING MAN, playing freely guided by their instincts and their love of the desert leads to another special album. An ideal album to put on at the end of a hard day’s work and let your mind expand thanks to the magical sounds that these veteran musicians are able to create.
~ Roberto Lucas (Denpa Fuzz)

19. CARCOLH – TWILIGHT OF THE MORTALS / NEW!
2496 Points
Doom Metal, Traditional Doom Metal
Bordeaux, Nouvelle-Aquitaine, France
Sleeping Church Records

The band leans towards a more old-school, traditional style of doom metal that focuses on soaring vocals and huge riffs.  But it sounds very modern, in terms of sonic density—this album is HEAVY.  Being doom, the songs are slow to mid-paced for the most part but there is undeniable energy to their music that I found to be highly engaging and gripping from beginning to end.   There are few things in life I like more than a doom album that embraces what it is without any apologies.  “Twilight of the Mortals” is that album. 
~ Justin Wittenmeier (DoomedForMetal)

18. BRONCO – BRONCO / NEW!
2820 Points
Doom Metal, Stoner Doom, Psychedelic
Wilmington, North Carolina, USA
Magnetic Eye Records

BRONCO is a doom metal band from North Carolina who have hit the scene hard with their bestial full-length, self-titled debut. Their metallum page lists them as stoner doom, which I would say is pretty accurate, but this is a far more vicious album than most stoner doom metal bands pull off. I absolutely love it when doom bands play a stoner/psych doom with an old school vibe but have extreme, abrasive vocals. It’s a contrast that I have always found highly engaging. BRONCO takes this approach—thick, fat riffs from a time long gone but with vocals that I could peel paint off the walls. Love it, love it, love it. BRONCO is a band that has seemingly come out of nowhere and dropped this atomic doom bomb of a self-titled debut. Any fan of music that rides the lines between the old school and modern extremity needs to check this album out asap. It’s heavy enough to make extreme metalheads (such as myself) take note and stoner-ish enough to make those who like their doom more laid back and old school to find much to appreciate here. I predict big things for this band in the future! A lot of the music is trippy as hello too. I don’t do drugs but if I did, I’d probably feel right at home listening to this.
~ Justin Wittenmeier (DoomedForMetal)

17. -(16)- – GUIDES FOR THE MISGUIDED / NEW!
2916 Points
Sludge Metal
San Diego, California, USA
Relapse Records

It’s not often a band releases their best album more than three decades into their career, but the lords of Golden State sludge have gone and done just that. -(16)- have been trending more towards the melodic across their last few albums and Guides for the Misguided follows suit, but they’ve managed to hit a sweet-spot between the fist-pumping anthems and gutter-rat aggression. Now, I’m not saying -(16)- have gone and crammed hair-metal riffs in a sludge record – far from it. Instead, expect slight hints of early nineties grunge in certain chord progressions and within various songwriting flourishes. Although sludge is by far and away my favorite sub-genre of doom, it’s also the sub-genre I’m most picky about. If you want to hear a classic band keep kicking ass, move the genre forward, and subvert expectations on what a “sludge” band should be, look no further than Guides for the Misguided.
~ Jacob ‘Reverend Fuzzcut’ Baker (CleanAndSoberStoner, Monster Riff)

16. SWEETBEAST – ILLUSIONS / NEW!
4186 Points
Stoner, Psych
Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada
Humalien Records

Amazing heavy psych/stoner goodness is what you get on the debut record delivered to us from Canadian fuzz dealers SWEETBEAST. This album came out of nowhere to bend my mind and rock my world with its brain-melting, psych dripping guitar work and killer vocals. Illusions is the perfect combination of trippy heavy psych and desert rock heaviness that has no business being as good as it is for a debut record.
~ Rich Piva (Musipedia of Metal, FuzzDoomRip)

15. TEMPLE OF DISCORD – IN THE ASHES / NEW!
4365 Points
Proto, NWOBHM, Doom
Sweden 
Ripple Music

In Todd We Trust (Severin that is, Ripple Music’s main man), as Ripple brings us a record from TEMPLE OF DISCORD that may have never seen the light of day without him unleashing it on the world. In The Ashes is a very cool and raw debut that really highlights Mattias Marklund as an all-around talent who has a ton to bring to the scene. TEMPLE OF DISCORD doesn’t make us forget about his other killer band, Wytch, but does give us some killer proto/NWOBHM/early Danzig style goodness to hold us over until they come back to rock us as well.
~ Rich Piva (Musipedia of Metal, FuzzDoomRip)

14. ATOMIC PEAT – DEMONS AND OTHER FRIENDS / NEW!
4592 Points
Hard Rock, Stoner Metal
Osnabrück, Germany
Self-released

Demons and Other Friends, the sophomore album from ATOMIC PEAT, doesn’t fit neatly into a single category, but naturally vacillates between heavier and lighter soundscapes as it suits the story being relayed in each individual song. You’ll hear everything from modern and traditional heavy metal, nods to doom and stoner, and heavy rock to name a few. But, more than anything, Demons and Other Friends is a deeply personal album on which relatable life situations are explored in an incredibly authentic way. 
~ Stephanie Zalta (DoomCakes, Screaming From The Heavy Underground)

13. REDWOOD – SKY OFFERING / NEW!
4620 Points
Desert Rock, Psychedelic
California, USA
Self-released

Like a heavy blues tipped dart, these riffs penetrate directly into the canvas where the bullseye pulls with a magnetic pulse. Sleek and constructed for the ultimate hazy, good time, eye blistering party vibes, no time is wasted in setting the tone for their environmental direction and intent. Where the seed was previously planted and soaked with psilocybin from the heavens, they have now grown into a permanent fixture and lend themselves to pollinate other cultures of growth in scale. 
~ Bobby Rayfield (Monuments In Ruin, Inherent Records, Mystery Pick)

12. MOTORPSYCHO – MOTORPSYCHO / NEW!
4719 Points
Progressive Rock, Psychedelic Rock 
Trondheim, Norway
Det Nordenfjeldske Grammofonselskab

The polymorphic and fluid entity known as MOTORPSYCHO returns, this time releasing independently. This eponymous 11-tracker sees the band expressing a new-found freedom and spark. Vigorous and rigorous Prog/Psych/Math gets the full MP treatment, from the ELDOVAR-esque opener, “Lucifer, Bring Of Light” through the groovy Glam of “Stanley (Tonight’s The Night)”, the quiet piano introspection of “Kip Satie” before going full-blown Univers Zero/SGM with the epic RIO/Canterbury sprawl “Neotsar (The Second Coming)” “Motorpsycho” is an album that warrants close attention –  as close and intricate as the makers intended! One of the highlights of 2025 already.
~ Stevie Reek (Howls from The Hollows, Doomed & Stoned, Stoner HiVe)

11. LIGHTNING SWELLS FOREVER – DELIRIUM / NEW!
5572 Points
Stoner Rock, Heavy Psych 
Japan
Self-released

LIGHTNING SWELLS FOREVER puts a most smoothed-out spin on “a thundercloud” of stoner/desert rock by infusing it with cool and prismatic heavy psych as well as the quintessential retro vibes of proto metal. Their latest album, Delirium, is coincidentally both their heaviest and most atmospheric release to date. Here, LIGHTNING SWELLS FOREVER harnesses the power of contrast more than ever, delivering some gritty stoner-oriented heavy psych jams, some doom-laden proto metal goodness, and some mind-bending trips punctuated by weighty zeniths. However, most tracks on Delirium give the listener a little bit of everything, encompassing an album that’s both gloriously heavy and blissfully intoxicating.
~ Stephanie Zalta (DoomCakes, Screaming From The Heavy Underground)

10. ICARUS BURNS – ICARUS BURNS
5840 Points
Instrumental, Progressive, Stoner, Psych, Metal
Berlin, Germany
Self-released

Based in Berlin, the German-British-Chilean band ICARUS BURNS publishes its eponym debut full length. The six long pieces (from six and a half to twelve minutes) allow the four great musicians to express many emotions. To characterize their music, I could use the label of heavy psych stoner but that would be very reductive. Of course there are several quiet or meditative passages, however sharp guitars, doom riffs and mind-blowing rhythms are there too. In fact, this 50 minutes LP results in a real avalanche of mental images! Are you ready for this amazing sonic trip?
~ Thierry “Pumpkin-T“ François (Metal Intégral)

9. IRONRAT – BENEATH IT ALL / NEW!
6023 Points
Stoner, Sludge Metal
Bradford, UK
Argonauta Records

Lurching like zombies from the bilious backstreets of Bradford, IRONRAT deliver grizzling Sludge/Doom with a fine ear for riffs and melodies. Fans of Psychlona, Raging Speedhorn and Acid Mammoth take heed!
~ Stevie Reek (Howls from The Hollows, Doomed & Stoned, Stoner HiVe)

8. SHREW – SHREW / NEW!
9120 Points
Portland, Oregon, USA
Psych, Stoner, 70s Hard Rock, Proto
Glory or Death Records

SHREW‘s debut is a sonic artifact created in the old-fashioned way. Its raw songs are soaked in acid blues in a trip to the time when L.S.D. would open the minds of some young, long-haired, hopeful guys on the California Coast back in the late 60s. With the blues as the theme, the narcotic and rough songs of this impressive debut are colored by corrosive riffs and smoky atmospheres in a sound kaleidoscope with a clear vintage aroma. Absolutely charming, these eight tracks are a gourmet dish for any lover of psychedelic heavy-blues in the likeness of the pioneers.
~ Roberto Lucas (Denpa Fuzz)

7. MÖUTH – GLOBAL WARNING / NEW!
13398 Points
Heavy Psych, Stoner Doom
Stockholm, Sweden
Bonebag Records

MÖUTH’s debut album Global Warning is a hypnotic blend of stoner doom and psychedelic prog rock, packed with pounding riffs, raw emotion, and atmospheric storytelling. Balancing brute force with mesmerizing grooves and catchy hooks, Global Warning is an immersive, high-energy ride through fuzz-drenched landscapes and thought-provoking themes.
~ Ryan Foster (Slightly Fuzzed)

6. RED EYE – III / NEW!
14975 Points
Traditional Doom, Heavy Psych
Málaga, Spain
Self-released

RED EYE came out of absolutely nowhere and knocked me over the head with a bag of lead horseshoes when Scott Spiers (CleanAndSoberStoner) sent this to me in the closing minutes of February. I had already typed up our top albums of the month and was ready to submit, but had to make room for this masterpiece of psychedelic-influenced traditional doom. Folks, this is essential listening, plain and simple. I know it’s only February and we have ten months left jam packed with doomy goodness, but this record rustles my jimmies up all nice and tender the way my favorite albums of years past has, so I can confidently say this is an early album of the year candidate.  Expect infectious, hip wiggling grooves of comic weight and sound production even multi-million dollar studios should be jealous of. I. Am. In. Awe. 
~ Jacob ‘Reverend Fuzzcut’ Baker (CleanAndSoberStoner, Monster Riff)

5. GIN LADY – BEFORE THE DAWN OF TIME / NEW!
16176 Points
70s Rock
Sweden 
Ripple Music

Before the Dawn of Time is a record that takes all the best of the past six GIN LADY records and brings the best aspects of all of them to this record. Their sound has expanded (the harmonies are next level), some new elements added (tons of great instrumentation), and the stars have aligned for the band over these eleven songs. The 70s rule the day here. but think more Doobie Brothers and Steely Dan than Led Zep and Black Sabbath. Add a bit of psychedelia to the mix, maybe a little prog, and here we are, with GIN LADY‘s best offering from an already excellent band.
~ Rich Piva (Musipedia of Metal, FuzzDoomRip)

4. WARLUNG – THE POISON TOUCH / NEW!
18825 Points
Doom, Metal
Houston, Texas, USA
Heavy Psych Sounds

Dark and menacing, yet soulful and melodic, WARLUNG delivers again on their latest studio full length, The Poison Touch. The powerful dual vocals shine on this record, there’s plenty of searing guitar solos and hard-charging groove, and the band sounds tight and focused. Now five albums in, these guys have really honed their unique blend of psychedelic, proto and classic metal, and bluesy hard rock. Like their previous work, The Poison Touch is sure to age well.
~ Mitch Kline (DoomyRiffs.com)

3. ACID MAGUS – SCATTERLING EMPIRE / NEW!
18986 Points
Heavy, Stoner, Progressive
Pretoria, South Africa
Mongrel Records

Third album and third masterpiece for ACID MAGUS! I’ve been waiting for several months for this release and believe me, it worth the wait! If you still don’t know the band, ACID MAGUS offers us an awesome heavy prog stoner rock. The five from Pretoria are true genius, period! And this artwork, my friends, a piece of art, as usual! Strongly recommended.
~ Damien Regnauld (Stoner Freaks Anthology)

2. YEAR OF THE COBRA – YEAR OF THE COBRA / NEW!
20575 Points
Stoner, Doom, Heavy Rock
Seattle, Washington, USA
Prophecy Productions

There are a handful of albums, like Queens of the Stone Age’s Songs for the Deaf and Colour Haze’s She Said that transform what I think is possible for heavy rock and Stoner/Doom in general. YEAR OF THE COBRA never forgets they are a Stoner/Doom band, but there are so many layers to this album that the saturated bombast of Amy’s bass wizardry is absolutely crushing after you get lost in the melodies. This is the album YEAR OF THE COBRA was born to create.
~ Scott Spiers (CleanAndSoberStoner, Monster Riff)

1. NAXATRAS – V / NEW!
23010 Points
Psychedelic Rock, Space Rock, Synth Rock
Thessaloniki, Greece
Evening Star Records

The Greek Gods of modern psychedelic rock/space rock NAXATRAS are back with their fiftth album and what a blast! What I love about this band is that they can evolve in their own musical universe and they are getting better records after records. The keyboards give a futuristic sound close to the synth-rock universe and it gives an epic trip to the listener. Thrilling bass, Gilmorian guitar solos and a 70’s progressive rock side, this album is such an unique experience. V is simply pure awesomeness of modern psychedelia and definitely a serious contender to the psych’/space rock AOTY. Get ready to live an exciting experience with this masterpiece of blend of genres and with a touch of world music (greek/turkish/egyptian).
~ Edouard Dubuisson (Les chroniques d’Eddy, MetalUniverse)

The Greek quartet continues their endless research on a progressive and more cosmic path. Introducing more elements of kosmiche music, the band is seduced by paths that explore sounds of Anatolian rock, making their songs maintain those oriental tones that we had already found in their previous albums, even increasing them. This new album represents a new advance in the expansion of their music, making their sound increasingly progressive and experimental. Their hypnotic touches of world music are adorned with some electronic elements and their usual metal-flavored riffs. This new chapter is captured in a conceptual narrative that elevates their songs to an Olympus worthy of the gods. These immersive songs capture the band’s creativity in a wonderful, exotic, sidereal, but above all, beautiful sound realm.
~ Roberto Lucas (Denpa Fuzz)

Space and Progressive rock have always been the sisters that could dervish and whirl in beautiful circles around eachother. Combined with more jazzy and fusion tones; elements borrowed from many world music scenes and everything psychedelic, turns this fifth NAXATRAS album into grandiose 1001 nights fairytale proportions. Like a quicksilver river the compositions flow through your veins and warm up your blood. Vivid images and sceneries come to life, bloom and blossom as you listen to V. Visionary might be an understatement here…
~ Joop Konraad (Stoner HiVe)

The Doom Charts Mixtape…

…and on TIDAL as well…

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); 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 Tighe (The Mighty Decibel); Clint Willis (Hand of Doom Radio); Damien Regnauld (Stoner Freaks Anthology); Edouard Dubuisson (Les chroniques d’Eddy, MetalUniverse); Frazer Jones (Desert Psychlist); Günther “Doktor420” (Stoner HiVe); Ioannis Valiakos (Desert Vulture); Jacob ‘Reverend Fuzzcut’ Baker (CleanAndSoberStoner, Monster Riff); 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 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); 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); Remi VL (Remi Post Too Many Links); Rich Piva (Musipedia of Metal, FuzzDoomRip); Roberto Lucas (Denpa Fuzz); Rod Reinhardt (Captain Beyond Zen); Ronny Dijksterhuis (Stoner HiVe); Ryan Foster (Slightly Fuzzed); 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); Stevie Reek (Howls from The Hollows, Doomed & Stoned, Stoner HiVe); Thierry “Pumpkin-T“ François (Metal Intégral); Tom Schmahl (Rock Circuz).

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.