“Do not go gentle into that good night,
~ Dylan Thomas
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light…”
The Peroration Post for March is here. Nothing but love for albums that one or more Contributors admired, cherished and had on repeated rotation. And hopefully still has! Please check all of them out, they may be your next favorite record as well! And please keep on spinning all those cherished records new and old. Do not go gently into that good night… Do not continuously chase the horizon. Those amazing albums on the other side will get to you, we will make sure. Keep spinning the ones you love and simply open your heart to let the new ones in… They will come…
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. 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…
DAEVAR – SUB ROSA
Doom, Grunge
Cologne, Germany
The Lasting Dose Records
Masters of doom/grunge fusion, DAEVAR are back with Sub Rosa, their third album in just under two years. The band’s trademark lo-fi sound persists, along with a certain dreaminess present in their sound that immediately transports the listener back to the alternative and garage rock peak of the 90s. This powerful reverie initiates a very specific kind of trance brought along by the low and weighty buzz of the bass, the supportive march of the drums, and of course, the soothing siren song of vocalist Pardis Latifi. Sub Rosa shows DAEVAR peppering in more of the cyclonic bursts of energy that they’re known for, adding an element of raw intensity that allows the band to stand out from their doomgaze counterparts. This is undoubtedly the band’s most immersive and haunting work to date; the heavy parts are heavier, and the dreamy interludes are even more ethereal, like a hand being offered through dark and seemingly relentless tempests.
~ Stephanie Zalta (DoomCakes, Screaming From The Heavy Underground)
DEL-TOROS – STAINLESS
Rock, Stoner, Space, Surf, Psych, Kraut, Noir, Instrumental
Alkmaar, The Netherlands
Down at the Nightclub Records
The new DEL-TOROS album is called Stainless and there’s still some of their earlier surf and psych sound, but the entire album has ricochet into a much darker and rock noir territory. Every track hold so much ambience and atmospheric elements it would make David Lynch go crazy with envy.
~ Joop Konraad (Stoner HiVe)
DITCH – THE TRAVELER
Rock, Stoner
The Hague, The Netherlands
Dark Skies Coming
A long time ago in a desert far far away… Dutch trio DITCH released an album called Boca De Inferno. Ten years later, they’re back! The Traveler opens with a barrage of stoner rock tracks, you can feel the desert and the fuzz as Jabba’s guitar color sets the scene; the riffs take control and the crunching bass rattles. Jabba? Indeed! Does DITCH, with their album title, already allude to the musician and storyteller, the Traveler, also known as Fox or Idzuna from the Star Wars universe? Cause there are more Star Wars themed titles and lyrics to be found on the album. Either way, paying homage is what they definitely do… To Star Wars, to stonerrock and to the band that laid down the foundation…
~ Joop Konraad (Stoner HiVe)
DRUNKEN CROCODILES – ÆGONY
Stoner Metal, Heavy Psych
Parma, Italyu
Octopus Rising / Argonauta Records
Ægony features a thoughtfully layered and heart wrenchingly expressive application of stoner/desert rock, grunge, psychedelic rock, and sludge for the most part; but these are merely the tools with which DRUNKEN CROCODILES whittle down to the heart of the album: an in-depth and multi-faceted study of ego. Each track is based on a real life example of ego run amok, delving deep into how it impacts the larger world. Ægony is not for the faint of heart; even though it’s immensely gratifying for the heavy music fan, it’s also an album you’ll learn a lot from. It will implore you to challenge some of your own morals while looking deeply into the catastrophic lack of them in others, a journey that, while uncomfortable at times, is cleansing in the end. You’ll think, you’ll get angry, you’ll question many things, but you’ll definitely rock out while doing so.
~ Stephanie Zalta (DoomCakes, Screaming From The Heavy Underground)
HARVEST OF ASH – CASTAWAY
Doom Metal, Post-Metal
Salt Lake City, Utah, USA
Horror Pain Gore Death Productions
The band’s doom sound also includes some post-elements and can be as melodic as it is heavy. It’s also very bass focused, which is great. I love how the melodies and guitar often revolve around the bass; it’s like a powerful center from which the music revolves around, resulting in what I call an ‘orbital hurricane.’ The production and mix sticks out just as much as the powerful, emotive songwriting too. The album has a loud, huge sound too but nothing is buried in the mix—each instrument, all the elements in each song, are presented in a way that lets the music just wash over you (or run over you, rather) or you can bend your ear to pick out each different layer.
~ Justin Wittenmeier (DoomedForMetal)
HOWARD – OSCILLATIONS
Heavy rock, Stoner rock, Indie rock
Paris, France
Self-released
HOWARD devoured 70s rock, then digested it and began to emancipate itself through a personal approach. Oscillations proves that today the band is sculpting its own identity, a heavy rock that masterfully solves the organic/synthetic equation. Just consider the term “oscillation.” This, of course, refers to the oscilloscope, a lifelong friend of electronics engineers (to characterize their geeky side), but it also refers to the emotions that trace sinusoids in our hearts subjected to the vagaries of life. Alongside keyboards and synths, the guitars and drums remind us that the stoner and heavy rock roots are still strongly there. Thus, HOWARD achieves the perfect marriage of both worlds and I have very rarely heard an album with so much synths serving groove and life.
~ Thierry “Howard-T“ François (Metal Intégral)
IGGOR CAVALERA / SHANE EMBURY – NEON GODS / OWN YOUR DARKNESS
Experimental, Ambient
Brazil / UK
Cold Spring Records
The sounds shared within this release will be an awkward experience for fans of previous work from Iggor and Shane. Here we find experimental tones that question the listener with every step they take further into their murky, dark terrain. Imagine a cold and grotesque mold, a slimy gelatin, growing on a damp surface. That texture to touch translates to the experimental sounds contained here. This is where we return to zero and begin a new evolution. A place to find peace in a struggling and chaotic existence.
~ Bobby Rayfield (Monuments In Ruin, Inherent Records, Mystery Pick)
KAISER – 2ND SOUND
Stoner Rock
Helsinki, Finland
Majestic Mountain Records
“2nd Sound,” is huge and dirty, combining elements of doom and good ol rock and roll. With such a description, I was expecting a lot of riffs and groove. Well, got a planet sized load of riffs and grooves. Vocalist Otu handles the guitar and apparently can use it to form entire mountain ranges of stoner heaviness. KAISER‘s “2nd Sound” Is a confident, convincing album with a mammoth sound that is quite dynamic yet very well grounded. This album will appeal to fans of doom, rock, stoner and just about anyone who wants to bang their head.
~ Justin Wittenmeier (DoomedForMetal)
KATLA – SCANDINAVIAN PAIN
Doom, Sludge, Black Metal, Spoken Word
Copenhagen, Denmark
Napalm Records
This is one frightening album – an ultra heavy mix of doom, sludge and black metal for your own listening displeasure that gains another level of impact by including two tracks with spoken word and storytelling (both guest appearances) over haunting, laid back instrumental compositions. A sledgehammer of a debut full length by this Danish band. And you’ve just got to hear it to be able to enjoy the experience of being sliced to death and then revived again in the underworld to serve as one of Satan’s chosen helpers. It’s a wonderful life indeed.
~ Ronny Dijksterhuis (Stoner HiVe)
K L P S – K L P S
Post-Hardcore, Sludge, Post-Rock
Helsingborg, Sweden
These Hands Melt
K L P S (KOLLAPS\E), Slowly drawn back into the sea our earthly form will drag, roll and grasp for evidence of our salvation. Life giving air snatched away at the blink of an eye. We claw and scrape with screams of anguish unheard. Our suffering internally has begun to burn. Like a wildfire in our heart and lungs, our inevitable surrender is certain. Feeling our bodies now gently drifting as one with the undertow, a once worried life has been left behind.
~ Bobby Rayfield (Monuments In Ruin, Inherent Records, Mystery Pick)
L’IRA DEL BACCANO / YAMA – TEMPUS DEORUM
Doom, Heavy Psych
Rome, Italy / Tilburg, The Netherlands
Subsound Records
Tempus Deorum sprouted its roots a decade ago when a friendship was struck between L’IRA DEL BACCANO and YAMA in the Italian Dolomites. In 2025, after YAMA made it through a six-year hiatus, the bands teamed up to create a split album of epic proportions. Each band contributes a unique but complimentary style to Tempus Deorum, providing a true yin and yang experience; you’ll coast along on hypnotic, cosmic notes before crashing hard into some doom-laden heavy psych laced with traditional heavy metal. Most importantly, this album will not only introduce you to the spaced-out but heavy-in-all-the-right places tones of L’IRA DEL BACCANO, but it will prove that even after an extended break, YAMA is still stronger than ever, continuing to build upon their expressive and immersive signature sound in a big way.
~ Stephanie Zalta (DoomCakes, Screaming From The Heavy Underground)
MINERALL – STRÖMUNG
Rock, Kraut, Space, Psych, Jam
Austria / Germany
Sulatron Records
MINERALL manages to bring out the best of the members involved, Marcel Cultrera (Guitar, Speck), Tommy Handschick (Drums, Kombynat Robotron, Earthbong) and Dave Schmidt aka Sula Bassana (Bass, Synth, Zone Six, Interkosmos, and many more) and combines that best into a spirited ride through the cosmos. Recorded at the same time as Bügeln, when the three met for a birthday party jam in Yannick Aderb’s studio Buffbergen, this release seems to come at the perfect time for all you heavy heads that need a calming, some comfort and balm for the mind. The ease and flow of the three, and how they drift along the current and bounce of each other is stunning. Strömung does not offer up any resistance, it’s freeing and as you let your mind wander, you will feel the caress, its ripples salve you heart and soul…
~ Joop Konraad (Stoner HiVe)
NIGHTSTALKER – RETURN FROM THE POINT OF NO RETURN
Desert Rock, Hard Rock, Heavy Psych
Athens, Greece
Heavy Psych Sounds
Return From The Point Of No Return, the ninth album from Greek stoner rock pioneers NIGHTSTALKER, is a high-quality exemplar of hard rocking goodness from start to finish, with strong infusions of classic heavy rock. However, for all its dust and grit, there’s an equally strong influence of hypnotic psychedelia that hits the ears like a cool drink of water. Return From The Point Of No Return also has a cleverly constructed flow, as its mood very gradually begins to gather more of this psychedelic influence as well as a strengthening emotional expressiveness in both vocals and instrumentals alike. By its end, this album will leave you in a most relaxed and meditative state, in contrast to its delightfully coarse beginning. More than anything, Return From The Point Of No Return proves that to say NIGHTSTALKER “still has it” is the understatement of the century.
~ Stephanie Zalta (DoomCakes, Screaming From The Heavy Underground)
NITE – CULT OF THE SERPENT SUN
Heavy Metal, Black and Roll
San Francisco, California, USA
Season of Mist
The snarling vocal style fits the darkness of this album perfectly. Maintaining a line between precision and the strength of the production value, the song structures attack like a hate fueled purge from the insane. With a proper amount of chugging rhythms and drum delivery pushing your foot further to the floor, there is a hell ride awaiting for all who dare step into this vehicle of blackened heavy rock.
~ Bobby Rayfield (Monuments In Ruin, Inherent Records, Mystery Pick)
NOISEPICKER – THE EARTH WILL SWALLOW THE SUN
Punk, Heavy Blues, Doom, Stoner
England, UK
Exile On Mainstream Records
NOISEPICKER’s new album doesn’t sound like Harry Armstrong’s other band, Orange Goblin, just in case that is what you were expecting to hear on The Earth Will Swallow the Sun. The duo sounds more like a cross between Murder By Death, Nite, Nick Cave, Therapy? Mclusky, Bauhaus, and some dark 90s alt rock. Put it all in a blender, and you get this slab of awesome. This is dirty-ass DIY heavy rock that is here to kick you into oblivion. NOISEPICKER certainly gives Harry Armstrong something to do now that OG is dead, and boy am I excited for it.
~ Rich Piva (Musipedia of Metal, FuzzDoomRip)
OUTER HEAD – EREVOS
Doom, Psychedelic Rock
Leeds, UK
Self-released
OUTER HEAD announced in late March that they’re no longer active as a band. This news dealt a particularly heavy blow, as this is a band that seemed incapable of releasing a subpar album. Furthermore, OUTER HEAD‘s particular brand of mind-bending doom has a knack for vacillating between the low and slow cadence of occult-toned doom and acidic psychedelic groove, combining the two into a most infectious listening experience. These beloved qualities ring through on the band’s parting gift to their fans, a NYP album on Bandcamp filled with previously unreleased songs. These aren’t shoddy demo tapes by any means; in fact, they offer a wider view into OUTER HEAD‘S sound, showing the band performing songs that range from deliciously heavy, soulfully bluesy, brazenly punky, and a bit brighter in the vein of stoner rock. OUTER HEAD will be sorely missed, but this particular fan is indescribably grateful for this final album and for the seven years of killer music the band graced us with.
~ Stephanie Zalta (DoomCakes, Screaming From The Heavy Underground)
RAINBOWS ARE FREE – SILVER AND GOLD
Heavy Psych, Stoner, Doom
Norman, Oklahoma
Ripple Music
Another totally monumental slab of jagged groove, wicked tone and commanding aura. The angularity of the rhythm and sharpness of the riffs and wales elevates these guys to another plane compared to everyday acts in the heavy underground. Think Monster Magnet meets System of a Down at a desert generator party.
~ Bucky Brown (The Ripple Effect)
SANHEDRIN – HEAT LIGHTNING
Heavy Metal
Brooklyn, New York, USA
Metal Blade
Seemingly stepping out of the 80’s era heavy metal time machine with scorching vocals, razor sharp riffs and a rhythm section solidifying an attack like a panther on the prowl, this album leaves scorched earth in its path. A pure volume summoning witchery that captivates the heart of the pure cvlt fan and brings them into direct alignment with lightning and earth rumbling thunder soon to follow.
~ Bobby Rayfield (Monuments In Ruin, Inherent Records, Mystery Pick)
SERGEANT THUNDERHOOF – AVON CALLING
Progressive Stoner, Doom
Bath, England
Pale Wizard Records
Avon Calling is a triumph on multiple levels. The first level is pretty basic: it’s actually a live recording. I grew up in the 1970s, and various bands recorded “live” albums of dubious authenticity. I’m constantly amused how outrageous we are that bands like Kiss get slagged for using backing tracks. Shit, these moogerfoogers have been faking it since 1975, along with virtually all of the other great “live” albums. Avon Calling is truly LIVE, warts and all. It’s a repudiation of all the fakery that’s been a part of Rock since the beginning. It’s bold, brash, and sounds like it’s right off the mixing board. It takes serious balls to release something like this. I hope it becomes a trend…
~ Scott Spiers (CleanAndSoberStoner, Monster Riff)
STIFF BUSCEMI – JET-BLACK HIGHDOOKS
Psych, World Music
Novi Sad, Serbia
Inverted Spectrum Records
Jet-Black Highdooks is de debut album by Serbian quartet STIFF BUSCEMI and it’s an absolute work of beauty. An organic mix of styles that is at the exact same time a fuzz-drenched piece of psych and a relaxed breather, due to them incorporating influences from the Balkan, the Middle East and Africa into a foundation that is firmly rooted in rock tradition.
~ Ronny Dijksterhuis (Stoner HiVe)
SAVAGE MASTER – DARK & DANGEROUS
Heavy Metal, Occult
Louisville, Kentucky, USA
Shadow Kingdom
As if the powerhouse of heavy rock and roll was not enough to corrupt your soul, there is an equally sacred dose of the dark lord represented within. Perhaps you feel the calling of the shadow realm is not answering quickly enough. If you find yourself impatient for eternal hellfire then this album is your pathway to party and it is paved with the souls of corruption, greed and all things the material world holds close to its unintentionally blasphemous heart.
~ Bobby Rayfield (Monuments In Ruin, Inherent Records, Mystery Pick)
SOM – LET THE LIGHT IN
Shoegaze, Doom
Detroit, Michigan, USA
Pelagic Records
SOM’s third album, Let The Light In, is their best, and I really enjoyed the previous one, The Shape of Everything, so this is saying a lot. If you dig shoegaze but want just a bit more kick, and if you like beauty in your heavy, go listen to Let The Light In, you will not be disappointed. Swirling guitars, a wall of sound, impossibly high vocals, and some serious riffs to go along with everything else, SOM sure have perfected their recipe with the eight tracks on record number three.
~ Rich Piva (Musipedia of Metal, FuzzDoomRip)
SYKOFANT – RED SUN
Progressive Rock, Experimental, Heavy Psych
Oslo, Norway
Sycophantastic Records
SYKOFANT is an avant-garde progressive rock band known for their unrestrained use of experimentation within a genre that is already inherently experimental. On their 2024 self-titled debut, the band made a memorable first impression with their sophisticated, multi-faceted, and modern take on progressive rock, blending in unexpected styles and exciting twists and turns. Now, the band is back in a big way with their Red Sun EP, the first of two connected releases expected this year. Here, SYKOFANT continues to both surprise and captivate their listener in the best way, but this time, they successfully marry a shaper, more futuristic sound with the vintage analog tones of retro heavy rock that we know and love. As it turns out, this boosts the band’s remarkable storytelling ability even more, resulting in what’s sure to be one of the most stirring listening experiences you’ll have this year.
~ Stephanie Zalta (DoomCakes, Screaming From The Heavy Underground)
URANUS SPACE CLUB – SPACE PLEASURES
Progressive Rock, Space Rock, Jazz
Wrocław, Poland
Self-released
The second album by URANUS SPACE CLUB is yet another stellar slab of heavy and progressive instrumental space rock with references to funk and jazz. ‘Space Pleasures‘ is the closest equivalent of travelling through space and time when you’re stuck on this miserable little planet called Earth. And these Polish guys don’t even need guitars to reach that goal – drums, bass, saxophone and keys will do.
~ Ronny Dijksterhuis (Stoner HiVe)
The Doom Charts February 2025 – Peroration Playlist…
And a special thanks goes out to Günther “Doktor420” (Stoner HiVe) for the cover image…
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); ‘The General’ (Stoner Rock Army); 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.
