“Ride the dragon toward the crimson eye
Flap the wings under Mars red sky
The reptile pushes itself out into space
Leaving behind, the human race

Swim inside the solar seas
The Doom Charts cry out to me
Passing where I’ve gone before
I fly through the crimson door”

~ probably misheard Sleep lyrics

The middle of the year is in full swing, and the May Doom Charts saw yet another whopping helping of new tunes from the heavy underground! There’s never enough space on the page to give every album its due, but here on the May Peroration post we have 22 more albums that our contributors couldn’t get enough of!

The following are words of adoration from Doom Charts Contributors, devotions to albums they could not stop spinning. Each month, our writers gather to celebrate the finest in doom, sludge, metal, stoner, progressive, psychedelic, and other heavy realms. Their selections are woven into the Doom Charts, published on the first Friday of every month. But some affections run too deep for the regular edition. Some albums fall just outside the chart, or inspire so many write-ups, and only one was chosen. Here, those excesses of love remain… Unfiltered, unbound, and still echoing… A few last words which hopefully will inspire you to listen to those albums…

AGUSA – PANACEA
Psych, Prog, Jazz
Malmo, Sweden
Karisma Records

Panacea is the third official live album from Sweden’s instrumental psych/prog powerhouse, AGUSA. Over the last decade and change, the quintet (guitar, bass, keys, drums, and flute), have established themselves as one of the very best weavers of psychedelic pastures on the planet and their light shines no brighter than it does in the live context. Comprising two extended tracks from 2023’s Prima Materia and one very extended track from 2017’s self-titled album, Panacea is AGUSA at their best. The band leads you on a sonic journey through forests and fields, never straying so far from the path that you feel lost, but taking the time to have every adventure and smell every flower along the way.”
~ Ben Bellum (The Greatest Thing You’ve Never Heard)

ANGELLORE – NOCTURNES
Doom/Death/Gothic Metal
Avignon, Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur, France
Ardua Music

One aspect of ANGELLORE I’ve always enjoyed is that they are heavy but not aggressive. Between their usage of death girls, double bass, and a casket filled to the brim with riffs, they still retain this melodic sense of being regal that has always been part of their charm. Throw in flute, oboe, bass clarinet, cello and piano on top of all that and what ANGELLORE has delivered with this album is a Gothic doom opus of towering might. Nocturnes, five songs that are all unique but fit together perfectly.
~ Justin Wittenmeier (DoomedForMetal)

AYD – AYD
Doom, Sludge, Post-metal
Gornja Radgona, Slovenia
Self-released

Slovenian psychedelic doom/sludge/post-metal band AYD sent me their debut by mail requesting to be promoted. I quickly browsed through the album and really started listening halfway during the 3rd track (usually a top song in my experience). I loved the atmospheric part but my jaw dropped open when the SECOND vocalist joined the main singer using his roaring voice! The closing track has some black metal in it as well and even a harmonica(!). After listening to the entire album 2 times in a row I could only come to one conclusion: this is a potential ALBUM OF THE YEAR for me…
~ Rob Hammer (Rob Hammer, Doom/Stoner/Sludge/Psychedelic)

THE CLAYPOOL LENNON DELIRIUM – THE GREAT-OX AND THE GOLDEN EGG OF EMPATHY
Psychedelic Rock
New York, US
ATO Records

The legendary collaboration between these two weird geniuses strikes again ! Les Claypool & Sean Ono Lennon join forces for their third record and the result is outstanding. The grooviness of Claypool’s bass, their two different voices mixing together and the originality of the new songs…everything is stellar on the new record. Seven years after the great “South Of Reality”, I was expecting a lot from the successor and my expectations were satisfied. The combination between these two great musicians naturally sparks for the pleasure of our eardrums!
The record is a concept album where the narrative imagines a dystopian society where a rogue AI (“Cliptron”) endlessly converts the universe into video clips and paperclips. The two musicians are never lacking in inspiration and they blend psychedelic rock with progressive rock, alt rock and neo-psychedelia. The duo delivers a strong record with funk-metal bass grooves and avant-garde pop sensibilities.
~ Edouard Dubuisson (Les chroniques d’Eddy, MetalUniverse)

DAMASK – THREE TIMES TEN
Progressive Rock, Doom, Psychedelic Rock, Folk
Poland
Self-released

Three Times Ten is a deeply atmospheric and emotionally charged album that refuses to be confined by genre boundaries. DAMASK seamlessly blends doom-laden heaviness, psychedelic textures, progressive freedom and folk-inspired sensitivity into a cohesive and highly immersive listening experience. The music moves naturally between crushing riffs and delicate acoustic passages, creating a sense of mystery and introspection throughout the record. Songs such as ‘Forsaken Me’, ‘Witness Of Lie’ and ‘She Is My Butterfly’ reveal a project built on emotion, nuance and strong songwriting rather than sheer force. This is an album that invites interpretation, slowly drawing the listener deeper into its world with every spin.
~ Marek (Dezarbuzator)

DELIVERANCE – THE VOYAGER GOLDEN BANQUET
Doom Metal, Sludge Metal, Black Metal, Psych Rock
Paris, France
Les Acteurs de l’Ombre

DELIVERANCE is back, adding a new space/psych rock dimension to its original style – a balance between doom/sludge and black metal. The Voyager Golden Banquet is an album of undeniable maturity. The compositions are complex yet always perfectly accessible and clear. The production is polished and enhances the numerous and delightful shifts in atmosphere. DELIVERANCE has established itself as a key player in the contemporary French metal scene thanks to its assimilation of heavy psych rock and extreme metal decades.
~ Thierry “Pumpkin-Myar“ François (Metal Intégral)

FADED REMEMBRANCE – THE BLESSING OF DOWNFALL
Doom metal/Gothic metal
Győr, Western Transdanubia, Hungary
Self-released

The songs are really fleshed out and fully formed. Each one has a lot of ideas and takes a methodical yet smooth approach to making sure that not only is it engaging on its own but also works towards the album as a whole. Using a trumpet, trombone, and a synthesizer to heighten the atmosphere is risky but it’s pulled off exceptionally well across the album.The songs are really fleshed out and fully formed. Each one has a lot of ideas and takes a methodical yet smooth approach to making sure that not only is it engaging on its own but also works towards the album as a whole. Using a trumpet, trombone, and a synthesizer to heighten the atmosphere is risky but it’s pulled off exceptionally well across the album.
~ Justin Wittenmeier (DoomedForMetal)

GLI ALBERI – MATURAFINE
Doom Metal, Post Metal, Blackgaze
Torino, Italy
Masked Dead Records

I discovered GLI ALBERI with their previous album, Reinhold, and eagerly awaited their next release. Maturafine has exceeded my expectations. The band has progressed in every aspect, from the formal freedom of their compositions to the precise work on their vocals (a perfect interweaving of multiple registers: lyrical, clean, harsh).
This album isn’t easy to grasp. It took me several listens to fully appreciate its depth, and each listen has revealed and keeps on revealing new ideas and fascinating details. One more recommendation: listen to the album while reading the booklet, it’s a true world tour where myths and alarming observations collide, culminating on the moon as a kind of hope into the sky.
~ Thierry “Pumpkin-Myar“ François (Metal Intégral)

GO MAHHH – DOPPELGÄNGER
Rock, Garage, Kraut, Stoner
Berlin, Germany
Noisolution

Languid sunny and loving warmth! GO MAHHH’s Doppelgänger is a sun-drenched fever dream of krautrock repetition, shoegaze haze and heavy psych transcendence. Swirling fuzz, hypnotic grooves and cosmic riffs pull you deep into a euphoric blur where every song feels alive, unpredictable and gloriously untamed. Walls of guitar shimmer around fluttering flutes, echo-soaked vocals and Eastern-tinged textures, creating music that feels both earthy and like an evening sunbeam. Tracks stretch, wander and explode with fearless energy, capturing the dizzy rush of falling hopelessly in love at sunset. Raw, immersive and endlessly seductive, Doppelgänger feels like the soundtrack to the perfect evening and night… Time itself will slow and vibrate at an entirely different pitch.
~ Joop Konraad (Stoner HiVe)

GODDESS – RITUAL OF THE CLOVEN HOOF
Doom, Stoner Metal
Stockholm, Sweden
Majestic Mountain Records

With glowing energy and earth-shaking riffs, Swedish doom quartet GODDESS is a phoenix rising from the ashes of the band Goatess. Their new album Ritual of the Cloven Hoof, rather than symbolizing a “comeback” for the band, honestly feels more like a powerful new beginning. This milestone release embodies the souls of doom metal forefathers such as Black Sabbath and Saint Vitus while utilizing elements of a more modern sound: the slow-burn cadence of bands like Electric Wizard and Sleep, energetic bursts of gritty stoner metal, sunbaked desert rock flair, and psychedelic oases. Uninhibited, potent expression from vocals and instrumentals alike seal the deal, representative of the explosion of energy that occurred when GODDESS was reborn. With a sound that pays homage to both the old and new schools of doom, Ritual of the Cloven Hoof is sure to satisfy both long-time, die-hard metalheads and new generations of heavy music lovers.
~ Stephanie Zalta (DoomCakes, Screaming From The Heavy Underground)

GOLDFISH KASEEM – FOR A BRYTER FUTURE
Garage Rock, Heavy Psych
Lisbon, Portugal
Self-released

GOLDFISH KASEEM makes a lasting impression with their debut full-length album For A Bryter Future. While it’s safe to say that the trio’s sound is founded on trippy psychedelia, raw garage punk delivery, recurring cyclones of utter chaos, and plenty of volume and fuzz, GOLDFISH KASEEM does rein in the energy every so often. For example, you’ll get lost in the hazy and sprawling psychedelic mindflight that is opening track The Master Built Walls, We Brought Them Down, soak in the soulful emotion on Situation, vibe with the Bauhaus-y beginnings of Kathmandu, and be soothed by the light and buoyant desert tones of final song It’s Coming For You. On For A Bryter Future, GOLDFISH KASEEM gives us so much more than a run-of-the-mill garage psych album. Overflowing with energy, variety, creativity, and heart, this release is the go-to album for any mood.
~ Stephanie Zalta (DoomCakes, Screaming From The Heavy Underground)

HYPNOSAUR – AFTERLIFE
Heavy Psych, Heavy Rock
Warsaw, Poland
Self-released

HYPNOSAUR have delivered a super-fun, highly energetic, and addictive album with Afterlife. The band describe themselves as “Jurassic Punk’, but there’s also a strong current of psychedelic heavy rock running through the record, along with melodic instincts that make the songs incredibly catchy. There’s even a Ghost-like quality to the production at times, with big arrangements and layers of synthesizers that only add to the album’s allure.
~ Jon McGough (Stoner Rock Army, Stoner HiVe, Outlaws Of The Sun)

IATT – ETHERIC REALMS OF THE NIGHT
Progressive/Melodic Black/Death Metal
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
Black Lion Records

IATT has crafted quite the album with Etheric Realms of the Night. The problem with prog metal bands is that sometimes after releasing an album as good as “Magnum Opus,” they don’t know where to go. Some get even heavier and lose the proggy parts that made them so interesting. Others get lighter with so much prog they just become boring. IATT focused on their sound and introduced new pathways while injecting their older ones with steroids.
~ Justin Wittenmeier (DoomedForMetal)

IGLESIA ATOMICA – LOW COST & HIGH GRASA
Heavy Psych, Psych, Stoner Rock
San Juan, Puerto Rico
Self-released

IGLESIA ATOMICA take us on a rockin’ roller-coaster ride with Low Cost & High Grasa, as the instrumental album traverses heavy psych, stoner rock, and even some reggae thrown in for good measure. A journey that is accented along the way with accomplished guitar, feverish drumming, and well-crafted bass lines, the three-piece embrace free-flowing jam sessions and the old-school mentality of letting songs develop naturally. The band frequently releases material, and if they’re not on your radar yet, then give this one a listen.
~ Jon McGough (Stoner Rock Army, Stoner HiVe, Outlaws Of The Sun)

KOMAROV MAGNIFICENT BACKFLIP – COP DAYS
Punk, Garage Rock
Bologna, Italy
Bronson Recordings

The Italian quartet modestly dubbed KOMAROV MAGNIFICENT BACKFLIP is decidedly not a stoner/doom group. In fact, the band plays an energetic and often quirky blend of punk, garage, kraut rock, surf rock, and post punk. However, the core of this sound is a brilliant exemplar of one of the things music has historically done best: uniting listeners on a global scale via their shared frustrations, fears, and outrage, providing an outlet through which that negative energy is transformed into something positive and unbelievably powerful. The time for KOMAROV MAGNIFICENT BACKFLIP to record their sophomore album Cop Days came when “the urgency to say something be[came] stronger than the urgency to play”, and, as time has proven over and over again, “music cannot look the other way”. Through alternating acts of deceptively sunny surf punk grooves, bleak despondency, raw grit, and chaotic breakdowns, Cop Days delivers almost painfully honest and thought-provoking insight into the splintering world around us.
~ Stephanie Zalta (DoomCakes, Screaming From The Heavy Underground)

NO MAN’S VALLEY – LIVE KULT41 BONN
Psychedelic Rock, Blues Rock
Horst, Netherlands
Self-released

Dutch quintet NO MAN’S VALLEY, whose music sounds kind of like what would happen if you invited Jim Morrison and Nick Cave to the same party, describes their condition at their live shows as a state of being “completely possessed” for an hour, even after ten years and countless stages. This psychedelic energy, in turn, is successfully transmitted to their audience, resulting in a near spiritual experience for all. One such show took place in Bonn, Germany on October 11, 2025, a magical gig that just so happened to be captured on multi-track. Naturally, the band seized the opportunity to release the result as a live album, Live Kult41 Bonn, adding only a minute amount of additional mixing. You’ll certainly hear that the integrity of the live performance is very much intact, showcasing a sound that’s simultaneously restorative and invigorating, feelings made even more palpable through the intimate nature of the live show.
~ Stephanie Zalta (DoomCakes, Screaming From The Heavy Underground)

OWL – ON THE ROCKS
Heavy Metal, Metal, Hard Rock
Oakland, California, USA
Transylvanian Recordings

With dueling guitars, layered harmonies, and excellent vocals that perfectly fit the style, OWL have crafted a nostalgic throwback to 80’s heavy metal on On the Rocks. In an alternate universe, you could easily imagine OWL’s “2 Rock (Or Not)” playing between Deep Purple’s “Knocking at Your Backdoor” and Dio’s “We Rock” on FM radio; not coincidentally two artists whose influence can be heard throughout the album. This may be the most overlooked release of May and is a must-hear for lovers of classic heavy metal.
~ Jon McGough (Stoner Rock Army, Stoner HiVe, Outlaws Of The Sun)

QLESAAR – STRATORIAN ORACLE
Hard Rock, Heavy Psych
Lucerne, Switzerland
Self-released

QLESAAR is an up-and-coming quintet from Switzerland that creates one of the richest sounds I’ve heard in the heavy underground. Made up of members of Carson, Sons of Morpheus, Soulgazer, and Larska, the band lays down a sturdy foundation of rumbling stoner/desert riffage that they adorn with intricate, sprawling psychedelic guitar work and impassioned, soaring vocals. Well before the end of the first track on their debut album Stratorian Oracle, it’s apparent that QLESAAR’s sound is as inspired by Jimi Hendrix as it is Kyuss. However, this group really stands for the unfettered intensity they bring to each and every note of their music. Whether it’s a towering riff or a dreamy interlude, QLESAAR’s tones are consistently full-bodied, and the emotive expression is unrelenting in its rawness. All in all, Stratorian Oracle leaves a crater of an impression, delivering a beautifully vivid, cinematic, heartfelt experience that feels infinitely bigger than its six tracks.
~ Stephanie Zalta (DoomCakes, Screaming From The Heavy Underground)

ROBOT GOD – ONTO THE AFTERLIFE
Heavy Psych, Stoner Rock
Sydney, Australia
Lunar Mountain Records

Australian heavy psych wizards ROBOT GOD have developed quite a reputation in the heavy underground for giving their listeners a balanced and ultra immersive blend of towering stoner/doom riffs and atmospheric, spaced-out psychedelia. The flow of their songs is utterly mesmeric, flowing between towering walls of thunderous sound, hazy interludes, jammy breakdowns, and sharp spacey tones. The band’s new album Onto the Afterlife has an even more improvisational feel than ROBOT GOD’s previous works as riffs, emotive solos, and hypnotic rhythms tend to develop even more organically and expressively. The result is a gradual weaving of expansive, layered sonic tapestries on which stories and emotions unfurl piece by piece and without restraint, as if in a dream.
~ Stephanie Zalta (DoomCakes, Screaming From The Heavy Underground)

SKIP DANKO B-MOVIE ROAD CLUB – TRIPPIN ON A CHINESE MARKET
Experimental Rock, Indie Rock
Aurich, Germany
Self-released

SKIP DANKO B-MOVIE ROAD CLUB is an eclectic musical project whose creative process is as unique and memorable as its name. Featuring elements of alternative, stoner/desert rock, jazz, punk, indie, krautrock, and noise rock, the group’s new album Trippin on a Chinese Market truly has a mind of its own, floating off in countless directions but in a remarkably natural way. While some tracks are sharp and vivid with a clear-cut direction, others are free-flowing, hazy, atmospheric, and utterly experimental, so you never know what to expect from one moment to the next…and that’s a good thing! With each and every song taking on a unique identity and vision, it’s safe to say that Trippin on a Chinese Market is an album that is truly the sum of its parts, enthralling cinema that’s both gripping and hypnotic. Once you press “play” on this one, know that you are merely along for the ride.
~ Stephanie Zalta (DoomCakes, Screaming From The Heavy Underground)

SÖNUS – PLANES OF TORMENT
Garage Rock, Stoner Rock, Psychedelic Rock, Space Rock
San Francisco, California
Self-released

Pretty sure SÖNUS’s latest album Planes of Torment is an updated 21st Century version of Dante’s Inferno. The whole culmination of the sound in this album just has that weight, the weight of the heavy burden upon your soul. Which David Wachsman doesn’t hide behind any of the scars he accumulated of the past few years. This album is heavy, dark, harrowing, and cathartic. When your anger rises, crank this baby up and have a soundtrack for your fury.
~ Turbo (Rich & Turbo’s Heavy Half Hour)

SÖNUS brings a heavy psychedelic garage sound with a genuine retro throwback vibe. Maybe it’s the production, maybe it’s because Planes of Torment was recorded live in the studio, or maybe it’s simply the songwriting itself. Tracks like Pagan Woman and Scorpio feel as though they were pulled from another era entirely, while the hauntingly good vocals add an eerie presence that lingers long after the songs end.
~ Jon McGough (Stoner Rock Army, Stoner HiVe, Outlaws Of The Sun)

ST. NEGUS – MUMATHIL
Heavy Blues, Stoner Rock, Hard Rock
Paris, France
Self-released

A complete surprise! Here’s the first EP from Nagui Mehani’s solo project, ST. NEGUS. Mumathil consists of five songs that vary and blend genres like heavy blues, stoner, and hard rock… with a touch of orientalism (Nagui is of Egyptian and Sudanese descent). The heavily distorted guitar seems like a biological extension of his body. The vocals are expressive and soulful—mostly in English, sometimes in Arabic. An unexpected and groovy gem you absolutely shouldn’t miss!
~ Thierry “Pumpkin-T“ François (Metal Intégral)

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 Tighe (The Mighty Decibel); Damien Regnauld (Stoner Freaks Anthology); Edouard 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); Jay Baner (La Capsule Stoner); JC Cansdale-Cook (The MotorFuzzin’ Ibex); 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); Jukka ‘Shrike’ Kolehmainen (Shrike’s Listens); Justin Wittenmeier (DoomedForMetal); Kyle SB (Good Boy PR, Stoner HiVe); Marc-Eric Gagnon (Stonefly Effects); Marek (Dezarbuzator); Matthew Thomas (Taste Nation); 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, Rich & Turbo’s Heavy Half Hour); Rob Hammer (Rob Hammer, Doom/Stoner/Sludge/Psychedelic); Roberto Fuentes (Red House Store); Roberto Lucas (Denpa Fuzz); Rod Reinhardt (Captain Beyond Zen); Ronny Dijksterhuis (Stoner HiVe); Ryan Foster (Slightly Fuzzed); Stephanie Zalta (DoomCakes, Screaming From The Heavy Underground); Stevie Reek aka Steve De Rique (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, The Third Eye); Tom Schmahl (Rock Circuz) & Turbo (Rich & Turbo’s Heavy Half Hour)

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.