“”And the Christmas bells that ring
There are the clanging chimes of doom…”
~ Midge Ure / Bob Geldof

The clanging chimes of doom! It’s that time again… Cause we are neck deep in December! But it’s also time for the Doom Charts Peroration Post for Novemebr 2025! Featuring twenty-four albums all loved dearly by our Contributors, released in November or earlier. All worthy of your time and your love! Go check’m out. Check’m all out…

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…

ASTRALPLANE – OUT OF THE VOID
Heavy Psych, Fuzz Rock, Blues
Oslo, Norway
Blues For The Red Sun

ASTRALPLANE is a trio of brothers from Oslo who prove themselves to be purveyors of both vast atmospheres and rumbling riffs on their album Out of the Void. Here, spaced-out psychedelic rock and gritty stoner groove give way to whispers of 70s heavy rock, providing a warm glow within frigid interstellar expanses. Best of all, ASTRALPLANE does a phenomenal job of keeping the energy up throughout Out of the Void while providing engaging vocals and lyricism, ensuring the vibe never gets lost in space. This is truly a hidden gem in the heavy underground that you won’t regret unearthing! 
~ Stephanie Zalta (DoomCakes, Screaming From The Heavy Underground)

BEAST EAGLE – SORCERESS
Stoner Rock, Doom Metal 
Omaha, Nebraska, USA
Golden Robot Records

I confess I wasn’t expecting anything from Sorceress by BEAST EAGLE because I’d missed the band’s previous albums. However, I became a devoted fan after just a few minutes of listening. If you love monstrous riffs, stunning female singers, and powerful rhythms, this album is for you! Furthermore, I really enjoyed the guitar savage sound and the dynamic mix. Everything in Sorceress is very coherent: the narrative concept, the genre that oscillates between doom metal and stoner rock, and the artwork created by the guitarist. It’s a complete package which is dark and furiously effective.
~ Thierry “Pumpkin-T“ François (Metal Intégral)

BEASTWARS – THE SHIP // THE SEA
Stoner, Sludge, Metal
Wellington, New Zealand
Destroy Records

The emotions expressed on BEASTWARS‘ sixth album The Ship//The Sea are some of their most intense ever, on par with their crushing riffs. Naturally, the band’s use of sharply contrasting vulnerability and brutality fashions the perfect spyglass through which to view the album’s nautical theme. With “the ship” representing the body and “the sea” symbolizing life, each song on the album explores a different motif such as survival, wisdom, purification, and healing. You’ll hear inspiring messages of optimism, relatable anecdotes of struggle, and encouraging glimmers of hope. Not only does BEASTWARS very successfully execute the concept of the volatile sea on their album, but they do it in an admirably unguarded and genuine manner, making it very apparent to the listener that The Ship//The Sea could be the band’s most personal yet.
~ Stephanie Zalta (DoomCakes, Screaming From The Heavy Underground)

THE BIRCH – VICIOUS MIND
Blues Rock, Psychedelic Rock 
Quedlinburg, Germany 
Tonzonen Records

Based upon the vibrant first impressions I’d formed of THE BIRCH when they released their single Free Your Head back in October, I was expecting their new album Vicious Mind to be brimming with more of the same high energy, legitimate ’70s rock tones. What I got from the album was that and so much more…in a nutshell, the perfect balance of bubbling grooves and steady, hazy soul. Whether a song takes on a fun and lively or more pensive mood, THE BIRCH always creates an authentic sound, inspired by the heavy rock of decades past but infused with a modern outlook that’s sure to resonate with a wide variety of listeners.
~ Stephanie Zalta (DoomCakes, Screaming From The Heavy Underground)

BLACK MAGIC TREE – TERRA
Psych Rock, Blues Rock, Hard Rock, Stoner Rock 
Berlin, Germany
Majestic Mountain Records

The bluesy psychedelic tones of BLACK MAGIC TREE‘S sound get an HD makeover on their sophomore album Terra. While their music has always been crisp, energetic, and colorful, there are even sharper edges, additional shades and hues, and infinitely more depth throughout this album that signal heightened attention to detail. Also dialed up to eleven is the emotive intensity – both vocals and instrumentals feel even more expressive and more honest than ever before. This results in a bold and genuine sound, allowing the band to be straightforward but vulnerable with their listeners. With all of this growth in both self-assuredness and sound, BLACK MAGIC TREE makes it clear on Terra that they’re quickly becoming pillars of the underground heavy psych scene on a global scale. 
~ Stephanie Zalta (DoomCakes, Screaming From The Heavy Underground)

BLACK MAGIC TREE‘s Terra album is a feel good experience, blending great, somewhat classic guitar riffs with a modern production style. The music is characterized by catchy guitar lines and a brilliant fullness of melodic vocal hooks and clever vocal phrasing. The entire band feels rooted like a magic tree, and the energy is contagious
~ Michael D’Amato (Playgroundz Rocks, D’Amato Production)

CASKET RATS – RAT CITY ROCKERS
Hard Rock, Sleaze Rock
Boston, Massachusetts, USA
Tee Pee Records

Tee Pee Records is bringing the straight up sleazy, dirty, leather and denim clad rock and roll with Rat City Rockers, the debut record from Boston’s CASKET RATS. You’ll know what I mean here…think bands like AC/DC, Hanoi Rocks, early Aerosmith, Thin Lizzy, early L.A. Guns…if you like stuff like that, and wish Buckcherry was what they think they are, CASKET RATS will be for you. The guys put their own spin on this classic genre, so no posing or copying exists here across these nine tracks.
~ Rich Piva (Musipedia of Metal, FuzzDoomRip, Rich & Turbo’s Heavy Half Hour)

CODEX SERAFINI – MOTHER GIVE YOUR CHILDREN SANITY
Progressive Doom Jazz with a weird alternative and experimental psychedelic twist
Sussex, UK
Riot Season Records / Echodelick Records

‘Mother Give Your Children Sanity‘ is the second album by CODEX SERAFINI, a band that claims to come from outer space with a temporary residence on planet earth (Sussex, UK, to be more precise). Their sound is ultra heavy, experimental, progressive and captivating. Shards of doom involved in a shadow dance with atmospheric saxophone and a superb singer that creeps under your skin to single-handedly emboss it with goosebumps that are there to stay – etched forever in the memory of every nerve and blood vessel that runs through it. Or as my girlfriend (who normally isn’t into heavy underground music) put it directly after listening to the album, without having read what I had written about it: “It took some getting used to, but this creeps under your skin and takes you on a trip somewhere between reality and a dream. Really soothing for you brain.”. And she is right. Without a doubt one of the best albums released this year.
~ Ronny Dijksterhuis (Stoner HiVe)

CONGULUS / COMACOZER – REVERBERATIONS VOL. 2 – SANRI / PSYCHIKOS
Instrumental Rock, Psych Rock, Prog Rock 
Istanbul, Turkey / Sydney, Australia
Sound Effect Records

Reverberations Vol. 2 is a split album featuring the Sanrı EP by CONGULUS on one side and the Psychikos EP by COMACOZER on the other. I love the beauty of this interaction between the two works. Indeed, a true alchemy occurs between the two sides of the album – two opposing sides, two bands from the antipodes that complement each other so harmoniously. Let’s applaud this excellent idea of the Greek label Sound Effect Records, which pairs this gem of Anatolian progressive and psychedelic rock with the heavy psych of the Australians. We want more!
~ Thierry “Pumpkin-T“ François (Metal Intégral)

DECREPIT ALTAR – EGREGIOUS DEFILEMENT 
Death, Doom, Gloom
Zagreb, Croatia
Me Saco Un Ojo

Where few may dare to tread, these songs have no intention of betraying the cold. They lurch along at a destructively low tempo and tuning. With a resonating rumble that cracks open soot covered tombs, those long dead are summoned forward into the light. Harnessing the doom soaked spirits of death metal with its grumbling call, we witness the workings of one who now casts fear upon the tide of darkness.
~ Bobby Rayfield (Monuments In Ruin, Inherent Records, Mystery Pick)

DOOMHERRE – PLAGUELORDS
Doom Metal, Heavy Metal 
Stockholm, Sweden
Skatbo Records / Majestic Mountain Records

Since its creation in 2021 in Stockholm, DOOMHERRE has been digging into the geological stratum of doom metal and extracting its purest raw material: just Doom and Metal – no post-or-neo-whatever but big riff, big sound and a great singer. On Plaguelords, the band finds its perfect balance between heavy metal and epic doom. In my opinion, the band’s strength lies in the song structures. Indeed, the tracks aren’t linear, and most feature rhythmic, melodic, or atmospheric shifts. So, it’s an album where the listener can never get bored. DOOMHERRE means ‘Lord of Doom’ in Swedish. Go and give Plaguelords a listen and you’ll be convinced that this name is absolutely well-deserved!
~ Thierry “Pumpkin-T“ François (Metal Intégral)

GHOLD – BLUDGEONING SIMULATIONS
Sludge, Doom, Noise
London, UK
Human Worth

This feels as if they are projected without warning through an overgrown woodland in the cold depths of winter. Like a startled deer, their hide is scarred. Enduring nature’s abuse. Struck with rugged sticks and branches. No leaves to offer visual warning. The skin begins to welt and burn as the dark shades of seasonal change lay wasted up the grounds. Those fallen are returning back to earth to forge anew in a future rebirth. The freedom to move becomes a forceful struggle in seeking passage beyond. To move beyond and remove the boundaries that want to hold them captive.
~ Bobby Rayfield (Monuments In Ruin, Inherent Records, Mystery Pick)

GROS COEUR – VAGUE SCÉLÉRATE
Prog, Psych
Belgium
Spinda Records/Stolen Body Records/Le Cèpe Records

Belgian psychonauts GROS COEUR return with a magnificent slice of Psychedelic Rock with tons of Prog influences. Constantly shifting, brimming with a craft and presence that brings to mind King Gizz, Psychedelic Porn Crumpets, Oh Sees etc… yet still retain their own identity and way of conveying their virtuosity. This will keep your ears occupied for hours ‘cos it’ll be on repeat!
~ Stevie Reek (Howls from The Hollows, Doomed & Stoned, Stoner HiVe)

KEY OF STONE – BATTLEFIELD
Stoner, Desert Rock, Progressive Doom
Lille, France
Self-released

It’s always a real pleasure to discover a new band whose debut is not only promising but also utterly convincing. And that’s an added bonus when you realise that the band is from your very own country and that you’ll have the opportunity to see them live more easily. That’s how I welcomed Battlefield, the debut album from the French band KEY OF STONE, hailing from Lille. This album is a little gem of progressive stoner rock with influences oscillating between desert rock, fuzz rock, and doom. Each of his seven tracks demonstrates a real precision in writing and an impressive maturity for a first album. And to conclude a knack for melody that always hits the mark. A truly beautiful achievement.
~ Jay Baner (La Capsule Stoner)

KHAYRAVA – GHOST PAIN
Doom, Post-Metal, Sludge
Almería, Spain
Self-released

While there is an overall delicate presence to this EP, the underlying destructive nature can be felt in waves. Like a slowly sinking body into the cool darkness, it is both somber and crushing. The deeper we descend into the depths the more physical bone begins to fracture. There will be no return to the surface, only a permanent settlement in the murky, lightless seabed.
~ Bobby Rayfield (Monuments In Ruin, Inherent Records, Mystery Pick)

LINNEA HJERTÉN – STEG FÖR STEG  
Ambient, Folk, Nordic
Stockholm, Sweden 
Nordvis Produktion

Dark shadows slowly inch across the land. Stretching further and further as the motion of our planet turns away from the sun. What warmth might touch the skin will now be replaced by the icy touch of an oncoming winter. Now the funeral craft is covered with tribute and we see the surrounding sorrow upon the flickering faces of those who place fire to the oaken vessel.
~ Bobby Rayfield (Monuments In Ruin, Inherent Records, Mystery Pick)

NINGEN ISU – MAHOROBA
Stoner, Metal, Doom
Hirosaki, Japan
Tokuma Japan Communications

This is already studio album 25 (!) by Japanese outfit NINGEN ISU. And although there isn’t a dud in their entire discography, they never seemed to have gotten the recognition they deserve. That’s a pity, because ‘Mohoroba‘ is another fantastic slab of metal, stoner and doom, brought to you with technical prowess, great riffs, the instantly recognisable voices of Shinji Wajima and Ken-Ichi Suzuki and a healthy dose of the trademark instrumental and vocal humor they throw into their compositions and arrangements on a regular basis (without overdoing it). If you haven’t heard of NINGEN ISU before, please check them out. ‘Mohoroba‘ is an excellent starting point to explore their vast back catalogue.
~ Ronny Dijksterhuis (Stoner HiVe)

NOVEMBRE – WORDS OF INDIGO
Doom, Melodic Death/Doom, Progressive
Rome, Lazio, Italy
Peaceville Records

At this point in their career that has now expanded well over 30 years, I doubt they needed that introduction.  But this is their first full-length in almost a decade so maybe you needed a refresher.  Or, better yet, you could just listen to this album—-“Words of Indigo,” is a fantastic album and also as good of a point as any in their discography to start with.  What makes “Words of Indigo,” such an engrossing album is that it works on several different levels.  It’s a very dark album yet much of the melodies and instrumentation have a sort of colored brightness to them that makes the songs pop against the bleakness of their foundations.  I’m also impressed by how several of the songs seem like more than one song yet, overall, everything still sounds as it should.
~ Justin Wittenmeier (DoomedForMetal)

PALE HORSE RITUAL – DIABOLIC FORMATION
Doom, Stoner, Sludge
Hamilton, Ontario, Canada 
Black Throne Productions

PALE HORSE RITUAL brings the heavy, the slow knuckle-dragging type of heavy with riffs that hit like a bludgeoning stone hammer to the sacrificial skull. Sabbath worship is unapologetically used across Diabolic Formation, but after fifty plus years since the beginning, who hasn’t been influenced by the masters? Aside from thick riffs and swamp stomping tempos, PALE HORSE RITUAL also has a hell of a lead guitar who casts magical spells on the six-string, weaving wah-wah tones throughout the album. Blast this one loud and let the ritual begin…
~ Rich Piva (Musipedia of Metal, FuzzDoomRip, Rich & Turbo’s Heavy Half Hour)

SUN OF THE DYING – A THRONE OF ASHES
Melodic Death/Doom
Madrid, Spain
AOP Records

This late in the year and the doom genre is still throwing out bangers.  Crawling its way to the top of the pile is SUN OF THE DYING’s “A Throne of Ashes.”  It takes the catchy nature of melodic death and the emotional gravitas of doom, puts them into a blender, and pours them out into a highly convincing melancholic album that won’t soon be forgotten.  This album is equal part somber and crushing, unrelenting in its ability to sway through emotions while dragging the listener through what feels like concrete.
~ Justin Wittenmeier (DoomedForMetal)

SUNCRAFT – WELCOME TO THE COVEN
Punk, Stoner, Thrash, Alt Rock
Oslo, Norway
Self-released

If you didn’t know any better, you would think a band called SUNCRAFT would be some kind of desert rock band with riffs and fuzz for miles and a stoner rock groove. It is partially true, but add things like punk, black metal, thrash, and whatever the hell else they want to include, and that is what you get on the Oslo band’s second record, Welcome To The Coven, which is delightfully all over the place, going from genre to genre seamlessly and always keeping the listener engaged and interested.
~ Rich Piva (Musipedia of Metal, FuzzDoomRip, Rich & Turbo’s Heavy Half Hour)

TEKARRA – GREAT DIVIDE
Doom, Stoner, Drone
Alberta, Canada
Psychedelic Salad / Interstellar Smoke Records

Exceptional. The immense weight of this slab lies in the ever present patience of the riff. Sit back, turn off the lights, and let this one just wash over you. And remember, maximum volume yields maximum results… Hail to TEKARRA for another instalment of exceptional doom drone perfection. More of this please!
~ Clint Willis (Hand of Doom Radio)

WE KILL COWBOYS – BACK FROM THE DEAD
Rock, Grunge, Alternative, Stoner, Punk, Metal
Cape Town, South Africa
Mongrel Records

They signal the new EP Back From The Dead as a rebirth for the Cape Town quartet turned five-piece. A band long fueled by the grit of punk, the weight of grunge, a splice of stoner and the bite of post-hardcore. A bite that has definitely gotten deeper on the new six-track. After stepping fully into the role of lead vocalist, Alex Muller drives this new chapter with a voice that cuts through like wildfire. Powerful and decisive, carrying tales of rebellion and resilience. The arrival of guitarist Floris Le Roux thickens the band’s sonic storm, locking in with Mornay, Andrew, and Miggs to forge a force that feels dangerous, growling, untamed, yet intentional. Rising from the underground’s chaos, they return louder, sharper, and fiercely alive, even if the whole EP is over in 23 minutes… WE KILL COWBOYS is Back From The Dead and not wasting any time killing it!! Ferocious stuff! 
~ Joop Konraad (Stoner HiVe)

WOLFTOOTH – WIZARD’S LIGHT
Stoner Metal, Heavy Metal, Doom Metal
Richmond, Indiana, USA
Ripple Music

From the beginning I have been a huge proponent of WOLFTOOTH: melodic hooks, fantasy-themed lyrics, heavy rhythms, excellent vocals, and phenomenal guitar work. The band has taken that groundwork and elevated it to an entirely new level. Now, with a three-axe attack, the band further accentuates their harmonies, adding more complexity as well as more guitar solos! Hungrier than ever, WOLFTOOTH delivers a monstrous bite on Wizard’s Light, showcasing their tightest playing and most polished record to date.
~ Jon McGough (Stoner Rock Army, Stoner HiVe, Outlaws Of The Sun)

YOU GUITARPRAYER – I AM THE LIGHT / THE LIGHT I AM
Psychedelic Noise Rock, Alternative Rock, Rock
Cologne, Germany
Worst Bassist Records

I always picture YOU GUITARPRAYER‘S sound as a live wire, snaking about on the stage, going where the mood draws it, hot and glowing, always threatening to spark. I think this visual speaks not only to the unparalleled energy behind the band’s style, but also to the organic flow of each and every song they compose. On their sophomore release I Am The Light/The Light I Am, the avant garde trio holds true to their signature sound, characterized by delightfully unpredictable bursts of energy and chaos that flow gracefully into dreamlike reveries. However, YOU GUITARPRAYER continues to add even more layers, colors, and facets to their sound, indicating sustained creative growth while drawing their listener in even deeper on an emotional level.
~ Stephanie Zalta (DoomCakes, Screaming From The Heavy Underground)

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); Bob “Mr. Weird Beard” Baker (More Fuzz Podcast); Bobby Rayfield (Monuments In Ruin, Inherent Records, Mystery Pick); Bucky Brown (The Ripple Effect); Chris Beck (Doom Tomb Podcast); Clint Willis (Hand of Doom Radio); Damien Regnauld (Stoner Freaks Anthology); Édouard Dubuisson (Les chroniques d’Eddy, MetalUniverse); Günther “Doktor420” (Stoner HiVe); Hugh Jones (The OG Metal Prophet, The Prophet’s Heavy Underground); Ioannis Valiakos (Desert Vulture); Jamie Laszlo (Sea of Tranquility); Jay Baner (La Capsule Stoner); JC Cansdale-Cook (The MotorFuzzin’ Ibex); Jim Thompson (Heavy in the Hills); John Gist, (Vegas Rock Revolution, The Doomed & Stoned Show); Jon McGough (Stoner Rock Army, Stoner HiVe, Outlaws Of The Sun); Joop Konraad (Stoner HiVe); Jukka ‘Shrike’ Kolehmainen (Psychotropic Caravan, Abhorrence, Shrike’s Playlists); Justin Wittenmeier (DoomedForMetal); Kyle SB (Good Boy PR, Stoner HiVe); Marc-Eric Gagnon (Stonefly Effects); Mel Lie (Sunday’s Heavy Tunes); Michael D’Amato (Playgroundz Rocks, D’Amato Production); Mitch Kline (DoomyRiffs.com); Remco van Hattum (Riffsniffer); Remi VL (Remi Post Too Many Links); Rich Piva (Musipedia of Metal, FuzzDoomRip, Rich & Turbo’s Heavy Half Hour); Rob Hammer (Rob Hammer, Doom/Stoner/Sludge/Psychedelic); 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); Stephanie Zalta (DoomCakes, Screaming From The Heavy Underground); Stevie Reek (Howls from The Hollows, Doomed & Stoned, Stoner HiVe); Svempa ‘Doomsday Jesus’ Alveving (Cries From The Underworld); Thierry “Pumpkin-T“ François (Metal Intégral); Tom Hanno (Tom’s Reviews) & Tom Schmahl (Rock Circuz).

Feel free to send in your albums to stonerdoomcharts@gmail.com where they’ll be delegated to all the Contributors 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 and your favorite albums.