• Doom Charts

    DOOM CHARTS PERORATION – FEBRUARY 2026
    03/20/26 04:04:02AM
    “Sitting on a corn flakeWaiting for the van to comeCorporation T-shirt, stupid bloody TuesdayMan you’ve been a naughty Doom ChartsYou let your face grow longI am the…“~ probably misheard lyrics The Beatles Even though it’s not Easter yet… We are the Egg men! As some of you probably realized, we always use all the album […]
    DOOM CHARTS – FEBRUARY 2026
    03/06/26 04:58:13AM
    “Traveler now reach the stream, the audial flight adapterFrom the pain-sheath sound ascends – the Non-returner hearsEmpathy release me – and the Doom Chart rise triumphant…”~ probably misheard lyrics by Om The shortest month usually feels the longest when you’re waiting for the frost to break under the sun’s warmth, but the Heavy Underground has […]
    DOOM CHARTS PERORATION – JANUARY 2026
    02/20/26 03:02:15AM
    “Too much love will kill youIf you can’t make up your mindTorn between the Doom Charts and the album you leave behind…” ~ probably mixheard Queen lyrics… No we did not forget about December… But, as usual, it was hectic month, and there were less extra blurbs written for that December Edition than normal. So, […]
    FRIDAY FREEBIE – BLOODHUM
    02/13/26 09:10:00AM
    BLOODHUM – BLOODHUM Another Friday Freebie! Hailing from the east San Francisco bay, Bloodhum create original songs with heavy riffs, emotional vocal melodies, and a rhythm section that weaves together odd-time signatures and hard hitting grooves. Their self-titled debut released in October 2024, and the band are spreading their killer, unique riffs with codes below! […]
    FRIDAY FREEBIE – ANCIENT DAYS
    02/13/26 09:05:00AM
    ANCIENT DAYS – BLACKENED CANDLE Be doomed! Indianapolis riff-dealers Ancient Days have been rolling out a steady stream of horror-infused, psychedelic doom singles over the past year, and the latest out this month is the epic Blackened Candle. Grab a code below and take a dark, devilishly good trip: REDEEM HERE Codes: 434t-c7z2 qdp2-xekh b49w-j3tv […]

  • Musipedia Of Metal

    Reviews: Stonus, Mystfall, Fuzzing Nation, Sanctum Pyre (Matt Bladen)

    Stonus - Space To Dive (Ripple Music)

    Finally I get one from the internationally recognised leaders of all things riff, Ripple Music.

    I couldn't let m'colleague Mr Piva get his hands on this big fat slice of Cypriot fuzz, so I snapped it up to see what the band had to offer on their second studio album. Their debut Ripple after previous records came via Electric Valley/Daredevil Records and Ouga Booga And The Mighty Oug, the label of Greek stoner rockers 1000mods. 

    It's in with, bands like 1000mods and Planet Of Zeus that Stonus fall style wise, both previous touring partners, while there's also a lot of gratitude payed to Nightstalker and American Space Lord Mutha's Monster Magnet. Space To Dive then has to prove why Stonus were signed to such a prestigious label in the riff scene. 

    They burst out of the speakers immediately with woozy, psych-drenched chugs that pull you into an album inspired by "the torus field — the visual representation of sound, energy, and atomic vibration", the connection between everything in the universe, the metaphor for this band who live in different countries but coexist as one entity within music. 

    The connection between the band is obvious with a tracks like Follow Me and Psychactive Baby where the bottom end of drummer Kotsios Demetriades and bassist Alaa Albaharna give them hypnotic grooves of the Monster Magnet universe, the vocals of Kyriacos Frangoulis have that reverb drawl of Wyndorf. 

    Colours has Pavlos Demetriou and Nikolas Frangoulis playing some biting riffs from the likes of Mastodon while In Loop brings dazed desert rock of Nightstalker, to the record with lots of space to lose yourself in the groove as it segues into the explorative Tangerine and the heavy doom of The Hermit. 

    While I've mentioned their influences a lot Stonus manage to create a sound of their own inspired by the bands I've talked about, Stonus' debut for Ripple is a more diverse journey into psychedelic heaviness, so strap in and enjoy this cosmic ride through Ripple accredited riffs. 9/10

    Mystfall - Embers Of A Dying World (Scarlet Records)

    Embers Of The Dying World is the second album from Greek band Mystfall. Led by soprano Marialena Trikoglou, they very much fall into classic grandiose sound of symphonic metal originators Nightwish, Epica and Within Temptation. 

    No 80's synths, pop influences or anything like that which comes into symphonic metal these days, Mystfall are all about Marialena's soaring operatic vocals, sweeping orchestral movements and power metal backing that brings galloping riffs. 

    Embers Of A Dying World poses the question, what's left if we keep destroying the planet at the rate we are? The band explore these though the concept of an alternate world where dreams are alive and fighting nightmares, so someone has read Neil Gaiman's The Sandman.

    I digress though as these emotionally resonant themes are released with the theatrical, cinematic sound of Mystfall as Aris Baris' guitars create the cutting riffs and escalating leads, as Dimitris Miglis' drums provide the pace locked in with Stelios Vrotsakis' bass who brings that often needed other element of traditional symphonic metal bands, the harsh male vocals. 

    Embers Of A Dying World by Mystfall recalls that initial symphonic metal era and when every other band is trying to modernise, their time-honoured, classically driven sound needs to be appreciated. 8/10

    Fuzzing Nation - Mother Truck (Octopus Rising/Argonauta Records) 

    Another album of Greek fuzz this week with a journey to a Fuzzing Nation. 

    Again let's get them out of the way early as Fuzzing Nation have influence from 1000mods, Planet Of Zeus, Nightstalker, with a look outside of Greece to the greasy riffs of Fu Manchu and bands born from that Sky Valley scene. 

    They were formed in 2022 by Angel Ioannidis (vocals/guitar) and Steve Giannakos (bass) both of doom band Sorrows Path as ex-Innerwish drummer Terry Moros finishes the trio who have a lot experience behind them in the studio and on stage. 

    Born from a spontaneous studio jam, that D.I.Y ethos of "play it how it feels" that's directed their two previous EPs, returns on their debut full length but they approach it with a conceptual edge of this album being a chase through the desert, part Smokey And The Bandit, part Vanishing Point through the wastelands of Mad Max. 

    This big Mother Truck speeds through dunes of grooving riffs where the early desert rock pioneers meet the post punk throb of Blondie on The Elders Code and Sabbath goes punk for I Don't Believe. These detours to the juggernaut of fuzzy stoner riffs are welcome variation in a style that can become a little one note. 

    Fuzzing Nation though keep you interested and your head bobbing on their debut, whether you can follow the story or not, the music tells its own with fuzz and fury. 8/10

    Sanctum Pyre - He Who Remains (Steel Gallery Records)

    Sanctum Pyre aren't as much a band as they are a studio project with international reach. Forged by a trio of musicians based in different parts of the world. 

    However the fact that Battle Symphony's Nikos Tzouannis, writes all the music, orchestrations, lyrics, plays the keyboards, and produces it means that their worthy of inclusion here, it also helps that they are signed to Greek label Steel Gallery. 

    Now it's not a solo effort as Nikos is joined by mysterious guitarist/bassist/drum programmer/mixer Mike G and vocalist Rob Lundgren who has sung for everyone and their mother, but when your voice is that good I'd hire him too. 

    Sanctum Pyre is a band I'd call an epic metal band, one moment (The Hammer And The Cross) they've got the weapons in the air march of Manowar, then the next it's the anthemic tones of Sonata Arctica, the folk filled style of Blind Guardian and dramatic storytelling of Kamelot.

    The latter especially when they take Middle Eastern routes on Daughter Of The Wind where Thomas Karam of Noor and Shlomit Lev of Orphaned Land join. The one criticism I will say is that they do seem to have just the one intro riff on about three or for of the songs, that sounds very similar but bands have made careers playing the same song repeatedly so it's not too much of an issue. 

    He Who Remains combines a lot of different sounds from different bands into one fantasy influenced heavy metal record, swords held high this pyre burns brightly. 8/10


    Reviews: Neurosis, Mclusky, Exodus, Gong (Rich Piva)

    Neurosis - An Undying Love For A Burning World (Neurot Recordings)

    Look, I am not going to sit here and write this pretending I am something more than a casual Neurosis fan. Have I enjoyed their work? Yes. Do they have some records that are post metal sludgy classics? Of course. A Sun That Never Sets for example. For me though, Neurosis has always been a mood band, which is probably why I never dove deep into the darkest depths of their catalog. 

    Well it's a good thing that the world is in a mood because it is the perfect time for a new, surprise, Neurosis record, titled An Undying Love For A Burning World. What could be a better title for a record dropped in 2026? What record could sound more perfect for a Neurosis in 2026? Add ISIS vocalist and post metal legend Aaron Turner to the mix, and you have everyone screaming for An Undying Love For A Burning World as an album of the year candidate. They would be right.

    First off, Turner fits in perfectly. I am not sure anyone else could have filled the role. Second, the vibe of this record is the vibe of humankind right now, put to music. There is still a tiny glimmer of hope under all the despair on An Undying Love For A Burning World, but there is a lot of bleakness on these eight songs. The intro, We Are Torn Wide Open, is 58 seconds of tone setting, which leads into the heavy tidal wave of Mirror Deep. Right away you hear the synergy with the band and their new singer, who completely understands the task at hand. 

    Musically, the dissonance and the heavy to soft, quiet to loud is what this band is all about and is on full display here. The production of the record is perfect for what it is all about. Words are hard to pick to describe An Undying Love For A Burning World, but what I can say is the three track run of Blind, Seething And Scattered, and Untethered will be in the mix for some of the best parts of any record all year. 

    Blind, with the riffs and doomy sludgyness, Seething And Scattered, with the synth and noises to go along with the great riff and killer vocals, and Untethered, which sounds wonderfully like its name while having just enough melody underneath the surface to keep you right with it. Only a handful of you will be excited when I say the last two songs are a total of 28 minutes, but like what I assume it was making this record, we all must sacrifice for the art, and the payoff is so very worth it.

    Someone just throwing this record on with no context or background might not get it. They may say it’s too long, or too all over the place, or they don’t like growly vocals. But even for a casual fan like me, this record absolutely blew me away. I can only imagine how the Neurosis super-fans feel; having their band back in 2026, with Aaron Turner on vocals, and the result being An Undying Love For A Burning World. Breathtaking. 9/10

    Mclusky - I Sure Am Getting Sick Of This Bowling Alley (Ipecac Records)

    Mclusky is one of my favourite bands of all time. Given how they ended, I thought we would never hear another peep from them as that band. Not only did we get a peep, we got a pretty much perfect Mclusky album last year in the form of the aptly titled The World Is Still Here And So Are We. 

    After 22 years the band was back and sounded like they never left. Surely we won’t have anything else new? We certainly do, as the embarrassment of riches for Mclusky fans continues with the mini album I Sure Am Getting Sick Of This Bowling Alley, which is such a Mclusky album title. This blast of Mclusky goodness is six songs in thirteen minutes that continues the top quality new material that the 2025 record was chock full of.

    Of course the first line of the mini album opener, I Know Computer, is “Long hair, no skin?”. What else could it be? We get a driving bass line, trademark Mclusky guitar work, and Andrew Falkous being Andrew Falkous both vocally and lyrically. As A Dad could be on any of the other classic Mclusky records and should be a live staple going forward. In the piranha was another piranha. Indeed. Spock Culture has some fun background vocals as the bass drives the vocals and the rest of the track along perfectly, for another undoubtedly Mclusky track. 

    Hi, We’re On Strike is protest song, Mclusky style. It’s simple math. The noise rock category they get thrown in sometimes gets some evidence from this one. Fan Learning Difficulties seems like a weird love letter to all the shit rock lovers out there. I hear you Falco. The closer, That Was My Brain On Elves, is pretty damn deep for a track with that title and is just Falco and guitar telling us all the meaning of life.

    More new Mclusky, please. Keep it coming. Falco may be Getting Sick Of This Bowling Alley, but no Mclusky fan is sick of their new material in any shape or form. 9/10

    Exodus - Goliath (Napalm Records)

    Thrash bands from the 80s seem to want to prove they can still bring the heavy in 2026. This was true of Overkill a couple years ago, of Testament’s amazing new record last year (absolutely killer stuff), and now true of Goliath, the new record from thrash legends Exodus. While not trying to prove that they are as fast as everyone as they may have on their last record, the band certainly brings the heavy, and a lot of it, on the ten tracks for almost an hour of headbanging California thrash.

    A couple of thighs to get out of the way. First, this record should have been shorter than its 55 minute run time. There is nothing bad on Goliath, it is just a lot for one sitting. It is a tad slick production-wise, but you can get past that given the performances and the songs. Rob Dukes is back on vocals, and he sounds great. Of course Gary Holt is Gary Holt, and he has not slowed down a bit on this record. You can tell that is true right off the bat on the opener, 3111, which is a straight up ripper. 

    Hostis Humani Generis shows that the only true original member of Exodus, drummer Tom Hunting, is still a madman and can hang with anyone in the genre. The Changing Me sounds as close to Iron Maiden will ever sound and is a great old school thrasher. The slow burn title track is certainly an interesting choice, especially with Katie Jacoby adding violin to the mix. Other highlights for me include the circle pit madness of Beyond The Event Horizon, the mid tempo rocker Violence Works, and how the record closes with another ripper, The Dirtiest Of The Dozen.

    A fine effort for the 2026 version of Exodus, indeed. I got to see the band live last year, and the songs on Goliath will fit right in a live set. I think fans of the band will be happy with this record and it fits nicely with their later period work. 7/10

    Gong - Bright Spirit (Kscope)

    Gong has been around since the late 1960s. This is not the same band as the original lineup. A quick glance and their wiki and it looks like there have been at least 100 people in the band, give or take. I am in no way a historian on Gong, but I can say I enjoyed some of their early stuff. The new record, Bright Spirit, did not give me the same tingly feelings the older stuff did.

    Why? It is so cleanly produced it is like antiseptic. A song like The Wonderment was five minutes of going nowhere. The opener, Mantivule, made me anxious for some reason. Stars In Heaven was more on the psych pop side of things and is by far my favourite track on the record. Most of the record is a lot of proggy bits that really don’t connect with me.

    I am sure there are better people to review this record, but as a Gong novice, nothing on Bright Spirit is bringing me into the fold. There is nothing here for me to grab onto or have a return listen to. It’s not bad, just not for me. A bit too sterile and a bit too safe for my liking. 5/10

    Reviews: The Holeum, Goatsmoker, Imbrium, Astral Goat Dominion (Rick Eaglestone, Mark Young, Matt Bladen & Joe Gautieri)

    The Holeum – Ensis (Lifeforce Records) [Rick Eaglestone]

    The Holeum return with their third album Ensis via Lifeforce Records and if you haven’t been paying attention to what this band have been quietly building since their 2016 debut, now is absolutely the time to fix that. 

    This is a record that resists any single genre tag – part Death Doom, part Post-Metal, part Progressive and part something that genuinely doesn’t have a name yet – and it is all the more essential for it.

    Album opener The Fermi Paradox does exactly what the best openers do – it sets the terms and dares you to keep up. The conceptual framing is right there in the title: that vast, unresolved question of why, given the statistical near certainty of extra-terrestrial life, silence is all we’ve ever received back. 

    Pablo Egido’s vocals carry that weight convincingly, ranging from low, cavernous growls to something that sounds less like singing and more like a transmission sent into the void with no expectation of reply. 

    It’s patient, heavy, and completely uncompromising – a statement of intent that Cosmic Void Spheres then moves sharply on from, arriving with a density and emotional reach that makes the album’s full ambitions plain. 

    The guitar interplay between Luis Albadalejo and Julián Velasco surfaces here with some of the album’s most overtly melodic passages, and when clean vocals appear alongside them, this is the moment Ensis first shows you that devastation and beauty are, in The Holeum’s vocabulary, simply the same thing from different angles.

    Macrocosm + Microcosm is where this record starts to demonstrate what separates The Holeum from their contemporaries. The track moves from something intimate and fragile to something that feels continental in its weight, and Miguel A. Fernández’s drumming is the structural backbone holding it all together – this is a band thinking about architecture, not just impact. 

    Spontaneous Synchronization follows and is perhaps the most rewarding track on the album on repeat listens. There is nothing accidental about how its elements cohere, even as they appear to be working against one another, and Paco Porcel’s bass sits at the centre of it providing gravity when everything else threatens to pull apart. The mood never fully resolves and that feels entirely deliberate – it is an unsettling listen in the best possible sense.

    Hyperdimensional Physics leans hardest into the progressive side of The Holeum’s sound and is Ensis at its most compositionally ambitious – structural phases that would feel jarring from a lesser band feel completely earned here, each one growing logically out of what came before it. If you want to know what this band are genuinely capable of, go and put this one on loud. 

    Esoteric Futuristic Visions then builds around Egido’s drone work to deliver something atmospherically distinct from anything else on the record – forward-facing and speculative, a sound that looks beyond the edge of the known rather than retreating into familiar territory. 

    For a band, whose entire conceptual identity is rooted in the furthest reaches of the cosmos, this is where that vision feels most fully realised.

    Ensis closes with Geometric Congruence Vortex, and it is a closer that earns every second of its runtime – the clean tones of its opening minutes give the listener room to process the journey the album has taken them on, and the gradual return of heavier elements feels less like repetition and more like the album quietly acknowledging everything it has been.

    Overall Ensis is the record that the Holeum’s genre-defying blend of Doom, Post-Rock, Death, and Progressive metal is rendered with a cohesion and emotional devastation that their previous work was pointing towards but never quite reached. 7/10

    Goatsmoker - E.R.I.S (VinylTroll Records) [Mark Young]

    And to close out the week, how about some massive riffs? Here to satisfy that need is Copenhagen’s Goatsmoker who bring their latest sonic pummelling for your delight and delectation. 

    I should qualify that statement that this is primarily for those who dine out on big, fat guitars, vocals that have been dragged out and jumped on and song lengths that test your power of endurance. If you are still onboard after that description then you will find 5 songs of doom perfection.

    Cursed leads the 4 piece out to play and over 9 minutes gradually grind you to a pulp. This isn’t super polished, their own bio notes that imperfection is key for them, and I suppose that is the case when you hear discord that is brought down on later moments. It’s the sound of a band that writes music that excites them first and you second. 

    I’d love to wax lyrical about it but there’s little point. This is doom for those affection for it is captured within the lengthy, repeating mantras that their songs offer. It’s something when they make the shortest song feel like it has been stretched out of form, which is what they do on Waiting. 

    It has a background sound that is like air raid sirens wailing in the distance and its here that those imperfections come in. When it does change, its subtle, little increases in speed here and there without sounding out of place. What doesn’t change is the weight of these riffs, they are fuzzed out and in turn almost blissed out as they teeter on a knife edge without falling over. Gods Of Gunzilla is a prime example of this. Its drawn out, slow, measured to the point of collapse but is pulled back each time. 

    Doom fans will be all over this, that is without a doubt because it takes all of the key maxims for what you expect this genre to offer and puts them on a plate for you. The trouble is that for those liking a faster or shorter style then this is likely to turn you off. Saying that, if you made it through Cursed then you know what you have let yourself in for.

    Entropy Reigns In Silence is the penultimate song and is massive. Truly massive, possessed with more life than the preceding tracks, it’s a glacial tempo but one that continues moving forward at all times. I would suggest that the best way to experience this is with headphones, which enable you to immerse yourself within this song. It changes shape as it pushes forward to the end, reaching a crescendo that I didn’t think I’d hear with them. 

    It is a quality song, one that others should look to when writing a ‘good’ doom song because it is a belter. Dakhma is almost an anti-climax after that but isn’t without its charms. Taking some of its cues from Entropy, its happy to wield its own form sonic destruction and close this 5-song cracker out. Look for the almost angelic vocals running through it as it wraps up.

    I think in all honesty it’s has the capacity to held up as a statement release. Its doom in the style they want to play and its all the more honest for it. I couldn’t say that its essential for everyone, but then if we all like the same then it would be pretty boring. If you have a hankering for big guitars then check them out. 8/10

    Imbrium - Singularity (Self Released) [Matt Bladen]

    If you like Evergrey then you'll like Imbrium. There I said it, this Leeds/London band take a lot of influence from the Swedish mastered with their dark melodic take on prog metal. 

    Featuring former members of Dreamcatcher, Memoreve and The Defiled, their EP, Singularity brings together dark melodic metal and progressive composition, striking a balance been atmosphere and weight.

    From beginning of Fade Away which moves between driving riffs and piano driven choruses, the chunky The Dark Is Home, through the guitar riff meets orchestrations of Reach Out and the stirring finale of Dark Singularity, the guitars all come with a down tuned heaviness but there's also and abundance of sympathetic keys and synths, with an emotional heft in the lyrics that lends itself to the introspective sound Imbrium create.

    The band say that they create music "that’s designed to hit hard—sonically and emotionally" and Singularity does do that in the same way that Tom S Englund and co can. They'll make you headbang one song, then cry the next and Imbrium do something similar with their songs about pain and loss, sung with passionate vocals and played with technical precision that never lets virtuosity hinder the melodies.

    An impressive EP from Imbrium, a must for any fans of Evergrey or bands that have an emotional side to their prog metal. 8/10

    Astral Goat Dominion - Only Lucifer And Fuzz (Self Released) [Joe Guatieri]

    Astral Goat Dominion are a two piece Doom Metal band from Italy consisting of guitarist and vocalist Sergio Khaosfuzz and bassist and programmer Marco Oniric. Today I’ll be covering their debut album Only Lucifer And Fuzz which was released on the 31st October, 2025.

    Getting into the record after the introductory interlude, we have track two with Lucifer (Part I). The guitar and bass both act as an ocean covering the song, immediately reminding me of Come My Fanatics era, Electric Wizard but not as raw. I say that as the guitars are trying to envelop you but they can’t, sure the loud volume is there but all of the other elements at play suck the life out of the track.

    The drum machine is far too studio ready sounding clean and shiny, it’s as if they used computer software and simply dragged and dropped the sample on top of everything else. Similarly with the organ sound which attempts to create a spooky atmosphere, is just completely out of place. It’s unfortunate as well that all of this happens alongside vocals that just drone on and on, it’s not hypnotic, it’s boring.

    The album title track doesn’t get much better. It has a clear Kyuss influence but it’s far too fast for its own good. Then to confuse myself even more by 1:04, there is a full-blown Disco section where the bass starts playing bouncy octaves, it completely threw me out of the experience.

    Getting deeper with track seven, Make The Sludge Doom Great Again, performs a sin. It’s trying to insight a Black Sabbath-esque sing-along, constantly trying to beg people to get out their lighters and wave along with the band and the venue stops the show for fear of a fire hazard. The vocal just falls flat on its face and there is nothing appealing about it, not even heaviness can save the day.

    This is a debut album and man does it feel like it… At last count one or two good to interesting riffs but they still copy Electric Wizard and that’s the thing with this record, I would rather be listening to anything else. After the album finished on a streaming service that I refuse to mention, a Mephistopheles song came on and I was transported into a world that I wanted to be in, it was so night and day.

    Overall, Astral Goat Dominion has sadly failed to impress me with Only Lucifer And Fuzz. The lack of a drummer and simple programming really hurts the record, resulting in something that sounds lifeless. Obviously the band are huge fans of Doom, Stoner and Sludge as a whole but they do things which we’ve all heard a thousand times before and they go nowhere. It’s like having a drunken conversation with a few friends and not acting on a thought as you know for a fact that it would be a bad idea, no matter how fun it seems. 2/10

    Reviews: Via Doloris, NO/MÁS, Diatribes, Parallel Minds (Rick Eaglestone, Joe Guatieri, Mark Young & Matt Bladen)

    Via Doloris – Guerre Et Paix (Season Of Mist) [Rick Eaglestone]

    A debut album that arrives fully formed is a rare thing, and Guerre Et Paix, the first full-length from Via Doloris, is exactly that. Released via Season of Mist, this is the project of French multi-instrumentalist Gildas Le Pape – one man, seven compositions, and a vision so coherent and so committed that it is difficult to believe you are not listening to a band ten years into their career. 

    The fact that session drums are handled by Frost of Satyricon and 1349 says something about the circles this record is moving in – but what it says even more loudly is that the songwriting underneath had to be strong enough to warrant that collaboration, and it absolutely is.

    Shifting between French, English, and Norwegian across its seven compositions, Guerre Et Paix treats language itself as an instrument – each tongue carrying its own emotional gravity, its own weight, its own texture against the music. 

    The artwork by Linnea Syversen lends the whole package a sacral, almost ritualistic quality that is entirely in keeping with what Le Pape has created sonically. This is an album that demands your full attention.

    Opener Communion sets the tone with an atmospheric deliberateness that has genuine weight to it – this is not a record that rushes anywhere, and from the first moments Le Pape makes that clear. 

    Frost’s drumming grounds everything in physical momentum without ever overwhelming the melodic intent, and as an opening statement it works precisely because it feels like an act of arrival rather than a warm-up. Un Franc Soleil, written in French, is the album at its most quietly devastating – a track built around absence as much as sound, and the most emotionally exposed moment on the record. If you’re not paying close attention, it might pass you by, and that would be a serious mistake.

    Omnipresents is where the folk and pagan elements that run through this record become most audible – there is a timeless, almost ancestral quality to the arrangement here, and the contrast between its more aggressive passages and the moments of reflective calm is sharper than anywhere else on the album. It is a demonstration of real compositional maturity. 

    For The Glory sits at the heart of Guerre Et Paix and is, for me, the album’s crowning moment – the track that most fully encapsulates what Via Doloris is and what this record is trying to do. It is the kind of track that keeps pulling you back, and the more time you spend with it the more you find in it. Hands down.

    Ultime Tourment is the album’s centrepiece in terms of sheer ambition – ten minutes that justify every second of their runtime and then some. It builds with a patience that most bands simply don’t have the nerve for, and by the time it reaches its peak it has earned that intensity completely. Go and put this on loud and give it the room it needs. 

    Visdommens Vei, I brings the Norwegian language into the record with full force, and the mid-track shift into something more luminous and folk-tinged is the kind of moment that makes you stop whatever you’re doing and just listen – it is a genuinely brave compositional choice, and it lands every time.

    Visdommens Vei II closes the album at just over two minutes, and that brevity is exactly right – it doesn’t tie anything off neatly, it simply lets the weight of everything that has come before it settles. Guerre Et Paix has earned that ending.

    Via Doloris have felt like black metal’s most carefully kept secret for long enough – with Guerre Et Paix that is emphatically no longer the case. Gildas Le Pape has delivered one of the most fully realised debut albums in the genre in recent memory, a record that is meticulous in its craft, uncompromising in its vision, and deeply, genuinely moving in its emotional honesty. 

    The collaboration with Frost is not a gimmick or a draw – it is a demonstration of just how strong the songwriting here is, because without that foundation no session drummer in the world, however legendary, could have made this record what it is. This is black metal that has something real to say, and it says it with extraordinary grace.

    “The album is about confronting the fractures within yourself – the war between what you are and what you want to become.” – Gildas Le Pape. 8/10

    NO/MÁS - No Peace (Redefining Darkness Records) [Joe Guatieri]

    NO/MÁS is a Grindcore band from Washington, D.C. They are a name known by quite a few weirdos out there like myself who follow extreme music and have a hatred of their sense of hearing. They’ve been around for a good while now, forming in 2017 and putting out several releases. 

    Surprisingly enough with their album that I’m covering here No Peace, it’s only the second “full-length” that they have released with their previous effort coming out in 2022. Again it’s a band that I’ve been aware of but never listened to as I go to more Grindcore gigs then what I do listen to, I was excited to get into it!

    The album is typically short at 22 minutes, providing a hammer on your head until you see stars in your peripheral vision. NO/MÁS travel across the world and take influence from some things that you might not expect. For one, there's a lot of Thrash Metal worship throughout the album, it’s like the band are screaming I love you Slayer! 

    Take track six, Leech and you’ve got an odd-pairing of two sections that miraculously connect. You’ve got an obvious wink and nod to Raining Blood as they take a fun spin on that famous riff and then juxtapose it with a solo which is straight out of the F-Zero playbook.

    No Peace sits much more within Metal than what it does with Hardcore as it’s more about pure destruction than it is speed. The blast beats are especially killer right the way through with such a clean and impactful drum sound, it doesn’t give you any time to breathe and proves what an incredible drummer Henry Everitt is. 

    The bass also gets a lot of time to shine, at its best it sounds like you’re getting a beating by a steel pipe, the instrument reverberates throughout the room and is always present.

    I want to point out track nine, Choke Point, it’s a whole fake out, at first it makes me think oh this is too familiar until it reaches its arms out and brings in great head banging grooves. It goes from a more Groove Metal passage and then in front of your very eyes, the song deconstructs itself and takes elements away, leaving Industrial Metal grit by the end, such a fabulous idea.

    Overall, with No Peace, NO/MÁS wears their influences proudly on their sleeve and has a great grasp over subverting your expectations, making for plenty of fun moments. It might be aggressive and off-the-wall but at least for a Grindcore record it feels oddly welcoming, taking you by the hand and saying look we don’t want you to throw up all of the time, only some of it. 

    The album is a laugh with some fantastic locked-in performances, it’s a night out that you remember fondly but still forget about at least half of what happened. 7/10

    Diatribes - Degenerate (Brutal Records) [Mark Young]

    A new player has entered the arena!! Diatribes, arriving from the fertile Brazilian underground with their debut release Degenerate. It basically nails its colour to the mast from the off, once you get past the introduction that Death’s Echo Chants sets in motion. 

    The Witch, is effectively what extreme metal sounds like where you ignore current trends or themes and stay as close as possible to what you got into this in the first place. It also sets the tone for what is to follow and makes no apologies about that. Its all drums that mash and riffs that explode outwardly. 

    In the respect of being hard, heavy, extreme all of the standard descriptions that can be applied are satisfied here and even more so on Hostility Within that takes a core arrangement and then hammers you with it. They know to keep these songs on the shorter side too, conscious of repeating the same message too many times. There's a definite Slayer/Exodus flavour on display too, which isn’t a bad thing really.

    There is obviously a ying to this yang and that is the fact that despite these tracks doing what they are supposed to do, they flash by without embedding. If you asked me right now for a song that stood out for me, I’d go with Masquerade, only for that Mandatory Suicide homage as its starts. 

    The songs are energetic and built for being played live, of this I’m absolutely certain because I don’t think that Diatribes have the word ‘slow’ in their vocab. Because of this need for constant aggression to be manifested in song, you need them to have variation In how they play out. Just using speed for speeds sake only goes so far.

    Still, this is a minor thing really when you consider that they have come here to be aggressive, to bring tightly focused extreme metal back into play. For those who would like to believe that Grunge, Nu-Metal or any other movement didn’t happen then this is for them. 

    Its as Old School as you could possibly get without directly copying those influences. I think we should applaud them because it is a strong debut that points to good things coming. 7/10

    Parallel Minds - Cairn (Self Released) [Matt Bladen]

    Let's go once again in to the epic progressive metal sound of French band Parallel Minds shall we?

    Cairn is their fourth studio full length and again brings together thrash, death, power and prog metal which has seen them compared to Blind Guardian, Evergrey and Symphony X and while the latter is very much where Parallel Minds ply their trade, the two former appear throughout with Orishas and Bhopal taking Blind Guardian into some African music sounds as Togo musicians Arka’n Asrafokor and Silveira Lakoélé Atalawoè add their skillset.

    It's an album of cinematic orchestrations, neo-classical guitar solos, blistering double kicks and vocals that can hit top end high notes, gutsy passionate mids and gravel throated growls. The influence of Devin Townsend too comes in just how eclectic it is musically, this variation of this album comes from the heart of this album being the symbol of the cairn, stone piles left by travellers along their path.

    Cairn     is a 61 minute concept album, so it's not a quick listen, but if you give it time you'll be rewarded but some brilliant performances, great songwriting and a full cast of guest artist that drive the concept this album tries to convey. There's Native American chants that frame Trail Of Tears before it blows up into Iron Maiden style twin harmonies.

    More guests from the French scene join the album as Asylum Pyre, Muhurta, and Stone Horns, to really increase the grandeur of this fourth record as we travel across the world though the medium of intense modern prog metal. Grab your passport and make sure your seats are in the full and upright positions as this is journey through the existence of man and the experiences they leave behind.

    A superb record but one that you need to make time for Cairn is a pillar of the prog metal scene. 8/10


    Reviews: Angus McSix, Temple Of Void, The Gems, Night Thieves (Matt Bladen)

    Angus McSix - Angus McSix And The All-Seeing Astral Eye (Napalm Records)

    The most recent quest for Prince Angus McSix (Thomas Winkler) began after the Hammer Of Glory was destroyed and he took The Sword Of Power and embarked on a battle against Archdemon Seebulon (Sebastian “Seeb” Levermann of Orden Organ), however he was imprisoned in an ice with no memory of who he was before.

    So the next chapter of the story now begins with Angus' brother, Adam McSix (Sam Nyman of Manimal) taking the lead character role, Angus still appears on the opening track, 6666, however from here this is the journey of Adam to save his brother alongside new party member The Dwarf (Jasmin Pabst) who joins on guitar alongside Amazon Thalestris (Thalia Belazecca of Primal Fear), Ork Zero (Gerit Lamm) on drums.

    Seeb also plays guitars and produces the record to make sure this conceptual fantasy is as over the top as it can be. Telling a whole new story, the music doesn't change too much, packing in a lot of grandiose power metal with some thumping electronics (Starlight Stronghold) plenty of tasty guitar/keys playing and massive choruses sung brilliantly by Nyman who slots into the frontman role perfectly with his power and range.

    To make this second chapter even more epic they even add a few guests to the record as Rhapsody Of Fire join for Adam McSix, Turmion Kätilöt bring industrial thunder to Techno Men crossing Manowar with Kraftwerk, Dig Down has some AOR choruses aided by acapella act Van Canto while there's a party atmosphere on The Power Of Metal where Freedom Call join the fun.

    And that's the kicker of this whole thing, Angus McSix And The All-Seeing Astral Eye is just fun, tongue-in-cheek humour, epic compositions and technically gifted performances, the adventure continues and you should join asap. 8/10

    Temple Of Void - The Crawl (Relapse Records)

    Five albums in and Detroit band Temple Of Void feel like experimenting, not in a way that totally runs away from their uncompromising death-doom assault but by adding elements to make it more experimental and musically mature. It's something they've been doing throughout their existence slowly adding softness to their hardened extremity with synths and melodic passages that are most prominent on album five.

    The Crawl is a way for these veterans of the Michigan scene to explore some of their non metal influences as they throw in a lot of grunge and post-punk dull their sledgehammer into a more precise tool. Temple Of Void are guitarist Alex Awn, drummer Jason Pearce, vocalist/guitarist Mike Erdody, and bassist Justin Malek and they tracked The Crawl was tracked in a single week in January, at Kurt Ballou’s GodCity Studio (High On Fire) in Salem, MA. Ballou and engineer Zach Weeks (Deafheaven).

    They give the record a spontaneity and rawness, feeling like you're right their with them as they're playing as Brad Boatright's master locks in this rougher hue but allows the non metal moments to breathe too. With lyrics continuing on the theme of fear and psychology from their last album, Temple Of Void can soundtrack epic D&D campaigns with The Crawl, packed with thrills and spills, it's death-doom brutality they have mastered with invitations from their other musical infatuations. 8/10

    The Gems - Year Of The Snake (Napalm Records)

    Classic rock trio The Gems take a further step into modernity on their second album Year Of The Snake, moving outside of the AC/DC-like riffs of their debut with second full length Year Of The Snake. Blasting out of your speakers with the title track, it's another mammoth record of 14 songs and while there are some rare jewels here, but like it's predecessor there's still too much of it.

    Granted the 14 tracks don't ease off the accelerator as Mona Lindgren's guitar/bass riffs peel off against the drumming of Emlee Johansson creating some loud, boisterous noise for singer Guernica Mancini's huge vocals to croon over, she's joined by Tommy Johansson of Majestica for an 80's sounding track, while there's still a lot of blues, a bit of glam stomping and a ballad or two that are all written for hard rock radio and live stages.

    Year Of The Snake is solid second record from The Gems, shaking up their songwriting with a bit more variety and a swagger towards the mainstream, across these 14 songs. 7/10

    Night Thieves - Metaxis (Self Released)

    London band Night Thieves have been quite rapidly rising through the ranks of the UK scene and this has all been leading to the release of their hotly anticipated debut album Metaxis. It, like their 2024 EP is produced by Romesh Dodangoda, who gives it the huge modern sound he is so renowned for.

    So what is Metaxis like? Well I'm glad you asked as Night Thieves managed to capture the current musical Zeitgeist with this debut record, crafting a full length that has musical inspiration from bands such as Bring Me The Horizon, Architects and Spirtbox.

    There's some 90's alt rock tones on Running (Out Of Time), the atmospheric suite of In Between Pt 1/Pt2, the chorus driven crunch of Mycelia or the introspective balladry of See You On The Other Side which features Jessie Powell of Dream State.

    Night Thieves combine heavy djenty grooves from Rick Hunter-Burns (bass) and percussive power from Ryan Delgyn (drums) with pulsating synths and cavernous riffs from Paul Andrew (guitar) and some sneering, gritty vocals for Jess Moyle, a potent cocktail that have been mixed properly to create this debut.

    The result is a hooky, style of modern musical alchemy, Night Thieves are a stage honed, confident four-piece with strong creative senses, all of which is on display on Metaxis. 8/10

  • Outlaws Of The Sun

    Doom/Sludge Metallers DESERT STORM Release New Video For Song NEWFOUND RESPECT From New Album BURIED UNDER THE WEIGHT OF REASON


    Doom/Sludge/Stoner Metal Heavyweights DESERT STORM release a new video for the song NEWFOUND RESPECT from their critically acclaimed new album BURIED UNDER THE WEIGHT OF REASON that was released earlier this month.


    "Buried Under The Weight Of Reason" out March 6 on Heavy Psych Sounds
    Fierce and progressive, "Buried Under The Weight Of Reason" melds sludge, doom and heavy metal weight with moments of softness, space and vulnerability. Across these nine hefty tracks, the band summons the wilderness, ceremony, and chaos of the human condition, pushing their sound into new territories while staying true to their instinct for impeccable, hook-driven heaviness.

    Members


    Matthew Ryan - vocals

    Ryan Cole - guitars

    Elliot Cole - drums

    Andrew Keyzor - bass guitar


    Special guest:


    Chris White - guitar


    Buried Under The Weight Of Reason - Tracklisting

    1. Newfound Respect

    2. Shamanic Echoes

    3. Woodsman

    4. Cut Your Teeth

    5. Rot To Ruin

    6. Carry The Weight

    7. Dripback

    8. Law Unto Myself

    9. Twelve Seasons


    Thanks to Purple Sage PR for the details.


    Buried Under The Weight Of Reason is available to buy now on CD/DD/Vinyl via Heavy Psych Sounds.


    Links 


    Linktree | BandCamp



    New Dawn Fades - Lores (Album Review)

    Release Date: March 25th 2026. Record Label: Self Released. Formats: DD/Vinyl.

    Lores- Tracklisting

    1.Villains Come to Light 04:54

    2.Meet Me at Sundown 04:50

    3.True Till Death 05:24

    4.Souls 04:47

    5.Dead Vultures 03:38

    6.Leave My Loneliness Unbroken 04:17

    7.This Night 05:42

    8.New Evil 05:20


    Members


    GFA – Vocals, Guitars

    Corey Shredingill – Guitars

    Algar – Bass

    Steve Roche - Drums


    Review


    Lores is the debut album from Grunge/Doom/Stoner Metallers New Dawn Fades with the band showing a particular fondness for the Nineties Hard Rock and Heavy Metal scenes. There’s some deceiving modern day Sludge Metal passages to spice things up a bit with New Dawn Fades traversing their way through a multitude of different musical themes and progressive sound structures. The vocals from GFA have a decidedly raw energy to them which almost have a PUNK ROCK element to them. 


    The early stages of the album appear to be inspired by the likes of Monster Magnet, DOWN, Corrosion Of Conformity, High On Fire and Soundgarden. The band never stays in the same musical direction for long with them quite eager to journey through as many different styles as possible on tracks such as Villains Come To Light, Meet Me At Sundown and True Til Death. With the band willing to add different genres of music into the mix there’s also a classic Heavy Metal style forming which moves the band even further back in time to the era of Mercyful Fate and other bands of that ilk.


    There’s a constant swagger and aggressive dynamic to New Dawn Fades music throughout with a stripped back Blues Rock atmosphere allowing the heavier genres to run amok and battle each other for musical dominance whilst that Blues Groove is the real building glue holding everything together. It’s a great creative tactic to use especially when New Dawn Fades play some intense screeching guitars along the way before returning to a classic style of Doom, Grunge and Stoner Metal.


    Lores isn’t the cleanest of productions but that isn’t the point of the album as this allows the band to get down and dirty stripping back all of the modern day recording bullshit and just let the music do the talking. That’s not to say the production values are poor. They’re actually superb, allowing New Dawn Fades to play a great array of different styles of HEAVY ROCK that pays homage to the greats of the entire music scenes they’re influenced from but also allowing them to create their own great style of music along the way.


    Lores is an action-packed riff-fest with the band releasing an album that sounds like a “GREATEST HITS” package and not just their debut album. They brilliantly capture the gritty aspect of the Nineties Hard Rock/Heavy Metal scene where music was way more dangerous compared to their mainstream counterparts. You can feel that fire, passion and emotional intensity on great tracks such as Souls, Dead Vultures, This Night and New Evil which perhaps contains some of the darkest and intense musical moments on the whole album. 


    Some people may consider this album “TOO RETRO” for some but it’s got some epic modern day sounds which brilliantly bridges the gap between the last forty years of HEAVY ROCK down to a fine art. Lores is currently kicking up a storm within the underground scene and it’s not hard to see why. This is a spectacular record that offers superb entertainment which should mark New Dawn Fades as potential heavyweights of the scene in the years to come.


    Words by Steve Howe


    Links 
    Psych/Doom/Stoner Rockers Cannabus Drops Groovy New Single “In The Pocket” from their upcoming album "Ride the Bus"


    Ontario-based band Cannabus is back with a fresh release, unveiling their latest single, “In The Pocket”. Recorded in April 2025 with Z Hollow Studios, the track captures a moment in time for the band, tracked at their former practice space in St. Catharine’s, a location that helped shape their evolving sound.

    “In The Pocket” is all about feel. Rooted in the idea of locking into life’s rhythm, the song explores finding those elusive “sweet spots”, the moments where everything clicks, and learning to enjoy the ride while you’re there. With a laid-back groove, the single reflects both a sense of lived-in authenticity and the band’s musical chemistry.

    Along with the single, Cannabus has released a live music video from their single release show at the Black Throne Label Night at Doors Pub in Hamilton Ontario on March 20. The single is the second from their upcoming debut album titled “Ride the Bus”which is due for digital and vinyl release on July 3, 2026 through Black Throne Productions and Kozmik Artifactz.

    “In the Pocket” Official Video Stream


    “Ride the Bus” follows in the footsteps of their previous EP releases such as “The Maple Spliff Sessions” from April 20, 2023 and “Other Side” from April 19, 2024 and places heavy emphasis on authentic 70s-inspired, fuzzed out blues and high-energy psychoactive guitar solos.

    The live video and audio was chosen to accompany the release as it highlights the raw authenticity and live quality which the band is known for in their home province of Ontario. “In the Pocket” is the second single from the record, with the first single “Far Gone Blues” and it’s music video releasing back in December of 2025

    LISTEN / WATCH “In the Pocket”

    Official Music Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nwO4bVbXSM8
    Bandcamp: https://cannabus.bandcamp.com/track/in-the-pocket
    Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/1howstrmxl7hJRzWTkFlmP
    Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/ca/artist/cannabus/1674032226
    YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ftKlwvJDwc

    BAND BIO

    Cannabus is a three piece Stoner/Desert Rock band from Welland, Ontario Canada. They meld a mix of fuzzed out blues rock with hints of Heavy Psych, Punk and Metal. Their first release "The Maple Spliff Session" was an accumulation of a year and a half of jams and transforming it into a 4 song EP ladened with 60's and 70's heavy tripped out psychedelic vibes and thunderous 90's fuzzed out riffs.

    FIND CANNABUS HERE:

    Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cannabusband
    Bandcamp: https://cannabus.bandcamp.com/music
    Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/1howstrmxl7hJRzWTkFlmP
    Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/ca/artist/cannabus/1674032226
    Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CannabusBand

    ALBUM CREDITS

    James Matheson - Guitar/Vocals
    Brandon Doucet - Drums
    Ethan Scott - Bass

    Thanks to Black Throne Productions for the details.

    Skullpriest - Collapsing Walls (Album Review)

    Release Date: March 23rd 2026. Record Label: Self Released. Formats: DD.

    Collapsing Walls - Tracklisting

    1.Collapsing Walltz 08:07

    2.15 Bricks 06:21

    3.F.U.B.A.R. 08:18

    4.Crumbling Down 10:11

    5.Against the Wall 09:07


    Members


    Guitar: Martin Zaugg

    Bass: Patrick Lorenzon

    Drums: Roman Bolliger


    Review


    Collapsing Walls is the third full length from Instrumental Doom/Stoner Metallers Skullpriest where they explore some pretty cool and cosmic based passages within the whole album. The album is forty one minutes long and told across five tracks. Each track is bursting with its own central story that allows Skullpriest to explore some gloomy Post-Rock landscapes which is set against a highly aggressive style of Doom, Sludge and Stoner Metal, With this being a purely instrumental record, Skullpriest are quite adept at adding areas  of Psych, Space and Ambient sounds into the mix. 


    The album can be wholly aggressive one moment and beautifully sedate the next with Skullpriest never afraid to explore their Post-Rock, Post-Metal and Doomed Out themes especially within the excellent tracks of Collapsing Waltz, 15 Bricks and F.U.B.A.R. with a slight musical identity crisis emerging from the more experimental elements that comes across through the whole record. If you dig the likes of PELICAN, Karma To Burn, BELZEBONG and Clouds Taste Satanic then Skullpriest have all those bases covered with the music slightly being quite gritty and progressive along the way.


    Skullpriest do play with a free-flowing style of music that becomes almost “JAM ORIENTATED” but this allows the record to become quite eclectic and freakishly heavy in ways you don’t expect especially on 15 Bricks, F.U.B.A.R. and Crumbling Down. Wait till you hear the jazzy and space rock interludes that Skullpriest inject into the mix before applying an Atmospheric Sludge makeover that adds a level of OVER THE TOP crazed attitude to the whole which is quite hard to ignore. 


    Collapsing Walls is a superb album and if you’re a longtime fan of the Instrumental Doom, Sludge and Stoner Metal scene then I can’t recommend this album highly enough. Just be prepared for Skullpriest to try different things and you’ll have a great time. There’s some highly inventive use of different sonic experimentation which only adds to the whole unique experience that Skullpriest pull off great originality before everything is said and done.


    Words by Steve Howe


    Links 

    Facebook | SoundCloud | YouTube | Instagram | BandCamp
    Exclusive Video Premiere Of Psych/Stoner Rockers KING POTENAZ New Single SUMERIAN NIGHTS From Upcoming Album ARCANE DESERT RITUALS VOL 2


    Majestic Mountain Records are pleased to announce the upcoming release from Psych/Stoner Rockers KING POTENAZ new album Arcane Desert Rituals Vol 2 which is due to be released on June 12th 2026 on Digital Download and Vinyl Formats.

    From the dust-choked ruins of ancient Sumer and the whispers of long-forgotten cults rises King Potenaz's crushing new single: “Sumerian Nights”.

    A harrowing sonic descent into midnight rituals, blood-soaked invocations, and primordial symbols of power, where the Italian power trio plunges deeper into their signature esoteric abyss—blending fuzzed-out riffs, cavernous doom, and psychedelic desert visions.

    “Sumerian Nights” breaks the first seal on the highly anticipated Arcane Desert Rituals Vol. 2, slated for release this June. This next chapter promises to intensify the band's unrelenting exploration of arid mysticism, occult darkness, and monolithic sonic force.

    To get you into the mood for the upcoming album, you can experience the video for the brilliant new single "SUMERIAN NIGHTS".


    Links

    https://www.facebook.com/KingPotenaz666
    https://www.instagram.com/kingpotenaz666
    https://kingpotenaz.bandcamp.com


    Thanks to Majestic Mountain Records for the details.


  • Stoner HiVe

    Desert Colossus – Apparatus


     

    Desert Colossus – Apparatus
    Self-released – 2026
    Stoner, Rock, Metal, Sludge
    Rated: *****

    We fell in love with Desert Colossus the moment we heard their Golfshoes track for the very first time. I guess that was some ten years ago. And since then we’ve been lucky to see them live a couple of times and always felt justified in our love for these cats. Cause they’ve always done it all in their own singular way and with a dose of energy, fun and humor that is hard to come by. And now there’s proof once again that they do everything however they want and however they feel like. For they just unceremoniously dropped a bombshell of a record called Apparatus on March 1st without sending out promos beforehand or calling out to a record label for aid with this stunning album. That’s how they roll and have been rolling ever since they put on them Golfshoes… 

    But this time around it’s serious business, they’ve realized they have their own style, are highly accomplished in what they do and should dispel with trying to make light of it. There’s still fun and humor, textually, musically, but it’s all served with such fervor and zeal, that you can’t help but be entirely swept off your feet from first opening track Hermit till final song Come Forth…

    Most of the songs have this stand out vocal part that is bound to drag every listener along, hook, line and sinker. This is the ear worm kind that will surely get the crowd a grooving or the listener at home to scream that sentence out loud. Whether it’s the swing in Sweet Cherries Hang Low, the with Komatsu in mind line “My shit smells savage” during Feel Me Up or the absolute brilliant ending to the chorus of Black Out, “I knew her name and now it’s gone…” And those are just a few of the lyrical, vocalized gems found on Apparatus. Which you know will be there from that very first opening line: “You should see me now, nothing’s in my way” in Hermit. But it has so much more… 

    For they have upped their game in every aspect, turning the Desert Colossus sound into something leviathan would quiver and quake for! You can almost feel the veil lift, the curtain rise, as Hermit starts with a slow-burning desert vision, which just rolls on towards the horizon on towering waves of fuzz. The riffs stretch wide and heavy, pulsing with hypnotic and powerful intent. The grooves man, they swing big and have you lusting for that swaggering motion and that more ritualistic desert churn. Or take that thick distortion and off center rhythmic approach, during Hermit, the different sections, giving it all that restless spirit edge. In synch with all that opening song wants to be. 

    Most of it was recorded during the pandemic and afterwards mastered by Karl Daniel Liden, giving the highly dynamic and versatile album that extra push, stomp and cohesive ability. That open aired beginning of Three Eyed Fox, slowly edging through the hallway, before coming to the punch in the face and the carpet pull. And as you fall backwards through the second slow and spacious melody part, you feel a smile creeping through every fiber of your being, because you fall in love with all the creativity displayed. A bit of grunge here or punk there, or a mirror image of Red Fang for an instant. 

    But on other tracks they let the melody take flight, first drifting through some thick distortion, turning misty as rhythms shift shape and then, as the passages open into spacious elevations, they fly away… Before snapping back with a bite! Entirely immersive, balancing raw grit with so much fun and awe inspiring hooks, this is a Desert Colossus on the absolute top of their game. I cannot wait to see them live again and shout along. Cause over here, next to the record player, with the album on repeat, every run again, another mile deeper into a vast, echoing landscape, that never lets me go, I am starting to feel like that Hermit… But… “I’m not crazy, I will never be alone again…”


    (Written by JK)




    Bandcamp

    Facebook

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    Desert Colossus – Eyes And Tongues

    Desert Colossus – Desert Colossus

     


    Yeast Machine – Bad Milk

     

     

    Yeast Machine – Bad Milk
    Noisolution – 2026
    Rock, Stoner, Grunge, Alternative 
    Rated: *****

    Love the vocals and the way they let them hang, love the Queens of The Stone Age vibes and how they ferment into something intoxicating and very much their own. Love the new album Bad Milk by Yeast Machine. I mean, there’s no need to beat around anything here, they’ve delivered an amazing album that marries a grunge edge to the stoner rock sound of the first Californian boom. And then spice it up with something pop sensible and groovy, or even extremely danceable like the middle track and paradoxically titled Dust On The Radio…

    But that’s what it often feels like, Dust On The Radio, some late night transmission, shadowy and smudged with distortion, but pulsing with live. Across the record the band pull you through all these different scenes, sudden eruptions of noise that collapse into hushed, smokey reflection, then rise again into something bold and unshakably alive. Chaotic yet intimate. 

    Opening in the desert, with immediate movement and restless, hook driven energy. And as the broadcast continues, the atmosphere deepens, darkens, and emotion seems to linger longer, and the edge feel more frayed and worn. And during the final stretch of the record you feel it tighten its grip until everything spill out in a raw and cathartic release. And as dawn rises, you feel like you’ve moved with them and through something lived-in and electric. Messy, entirely honest and impossible to forget. Like the taste of... 


    (Written by JK)




    Homepage

    Bandcamp

    Facebook

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    Noisolution




    Stoner HiVe’s Top 10 Most Listened Artists Last Week…

     

     

    Stoner HiVe’s 
    Top 10 Most Listened Artists Last Week…

    Corrosion of Conformity
    Desert Colossus
    Jack Harlon & The Dead Crows
    Witchfang
    Earth Tongue
    Borracho
    Hallusinoid
    Star Beast
    Motorpsycho
    Urlaub In Polen

    It’s a weird Monday. It always is of course. But when you are still not nowhere near a 100 % (you never are of course) after a bout with the flu, it even feels weirder. Sorry for the lack of updates, but I got felled on Thursday night and could barely operate on Friday. And after that I got only worse. But here we are and the brain fog and fever has turned into a mist and a few degrees. So onwards and upwards. Well. Soon. We’ve got a few reviews almost done, so those will surely see the light of day this week. Unless the plague comes back… 

    Luckily we had Steve De Rique aka Stevie Reek deliver a cool blurb for the Starf**K Electric Company release and we managed to promote the Doom Charts Peroration. Did any of you visit the Peroration? Did you find a new favorite album? Did you find the missing album art in the Peroration Header image? And a couple sentences about the new Jack Harlon & The Dead Crows appeared last week as well. But of course, our main attention went out to the FULL ALBUM PREMIERE we were honored to do for that amazing Bad Mothers Union album Sore Losers! Go visit all of those and the Top 10 Most Listened albums list and you will surely have a grand old time! And I’m sure that will be the case for me as well… Soon… Very soon! 




    Starf**K Electric Company - Light Years Ahead

     

     

    Starf**K Electric Company - Light Years Ahead
    Self-released – 2026
    Krautrock, Space Rock, Psychedelia
    Rated: 
     

    Dave Pitt, the legend behind Black Country groups such as Poppyfields and Falcons Of Haunt returns with a new project Starf**K Electric Company and a shimmering sonic onslaught of 70's-drenched Krautrock/Space/Psych called "Light years ahead": A double album of extended excursions into the Mycelian realm. At times reminiscent of early Hawkwind and Can; but also revealing later influences such as Yoo Doo Right and Oh Sees, the four tracks offer up a cornucopia of rampant retro rock that should tickle the fancies of all Space Cadets everywhere!


    (Written by Steve De Rique aka Stevie Reek)




    Bandcamp


    The Doom Charts Peroration - February 2026

     


    The Doom Charts Peroration 

    February 2026

    “Sitting on a corn flake
    Waiting for the van to come
    Corporation T-shirt, stupid bloody Tuesday
    Man you’ve been a naughty Doom Charts
    You let your face grow long
    I am the    …“
    ~ probably misheard lyrics The Beatles


    Even though it’s not Easter yet… We are the Egg men! As some of you probably realized, we always use all the album covers for the monthly Peroration header art. Well… Below, we feature 25 amazing albums straight out of the heavy underground. All worth every minute of your time. On the header image though, only 24 are featured. What?! Well.. Find out what album is missing, and then send us an email or a PM on the Doom Charts Facebook page through with the solution. The first ten to send an email or message will get a bandcamp code for that album! Happy hunting and listening!

    We're gonna try to mention the Peroration Post on Stoner HiVe on a monthly basis as well, for the Doom Charts deserve it. The Contributors deserve it. And most of all, the bands and their albums deserve it! And this time around, once again, no less than 11 of those blurbs were written by one of the crazies that occasionally writes for the HiVe... So, go read up on Rob Zombie, Riastrad, Oreyeon, Motorpsycho, Mientras Las Abejas Duermen, India Tigers In Texas, It It Anita, Earth Tongue, Druid Stone, Dirty Dwarfs and Black Toaster... And of course all those other ones! 

     

    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…

    The Doom Charts Peroration - February 2026


  • Screaming From the Heavy Underground

    Yeast Machine - "Bad Milk"

     
    Yeast Machine Band Photo
    Photo Credit: Maxine Schneider

    Yeast Machine is one of those bands that can do no wrong in my eyes. Since the moment I heard their EP Rise of the Yeast, which made an entrance in the heavy underground around the same time that I did in September 2023, this heartstring-tugging quintet from Tübingen has been a go-to listen for me. 

    Yeast Machine's sound began as very raw and heartfelt, classic grunge with stoner rock proclivities. By the time the band released their first full-length album Sleaze in 2024, their tones had bloomed into a uniquely theatrical combination of stoner, grunge, and alternative rock, filled with even more passion and bursts of intensity. 

    Since Sleaze, Yeast Machine has been quite the tireless engine themselves, playing live shows with what feels like incessant frequency. In the midst of this whirlwind, the band also inked a deal with German record label Noisolution and recorded yet another album, Bad Milk. This release shows the band holding firmly to their stoner/grunge roots and hitting us squarely in the feels as strongly as ever, yet it's also an album you can dance to like no one is watching. 

    Yeast Machine - Bad Milk 

    Yeast Machine Bad Milk Album Cover Photo

    1.) Globalized Condolences

    Globalized Condolences is a brief intro track that sets the stage with hushed and haunting notes before quickly launching into a goosebump-inducing, jarring sound and ultra-expressive, powerful vocals. This is a technique that, while not new for Yeast Machine, becomes even more prevalent and intense than usual throughout Bad Milk. 

    2.) Falling Rocks 

    The mood quickly switches gears with Falling Rocks, the first single Yeast Machine released from Bad Milk. It's a track that initially made me think that the band was moving in a more pop-oriented direction. 

    Falling Rocks is dynamic and incredibly catchy, featuring coarse, in-your-face verses and refrains and saccharine-sweet, soaring choruses. The song's grittier portions are emphasized with a punk rock flair, primarily thanks to a very fitting guest vocal from Polly of Cologne-based grungy punk rockers The Red Flags.


    The music video for "Falling Rocks" (featuring the Red Flags) 


    3.) Bad Milk

    The album's title track is a standout representation of the starker contrasts Yeast Machine employs throughout Bad Milk - namely in the form of guarded, tense verses and utterly explosive choruses. This song follows suit in a major way as cautious vocals dance with electrifying surges from the lead guitar and thunderous rumblings from the drums before erupting into a storm of intensity. As usual, this pattern becomes exponentially more frenetic each time it repeats, and I can very easily envision the crowd at a music festival jumping, singing, and dancing along as I listen. 

    4.) Foreshadowing

    Foreshadowing is just that - a hushed and somewhat haunting acoustic rendition of the chorus to Feeding Poison to the Spiders Was Never Really My Thing that has a way of making your hair stand on end in the best way. As short and subtle as this interlude is, there's an undeniable electric energy present, and in that way, Foreshadowing certainly does its job. 

    5.) Dust on the Radio 

    Not only does Dust on the Radio make phenomenal use of building, utilizing goosebump-inducing crescendos from both vocals and instrumentals at every twist and turn, but it's also a solid representation of gritty stoner/grunge, churning up that seismic rumbling that we all know and love. 

    6.) Feeding Poison to the Spiders Was Never Really My Thing

    Feeding Poison to the Spiders Was Never Really My Thing is a memorable song with a title to match. 

    Once again, Yeast Machine maintains a balance of eruptive energy, electric tension, and serious introspection that blooms into bright, heartfelt choruses. This track has a very personal, anthem-like quality as it ultimately claims indifference over issues we can all relate to: self-sabotage and rejection. At the end of the day, you can take comfort in just being unapologetically you, because feeding poison to the spiders was never really your thing anyway. 


     
    The music video for "Feeding Poison to the Spiders Was Never Really My Thing" 


    7.) Karthago 

    In large part, Karthago signals the beginning of a noticeably more serious mood and softer delivery on Bad Milk. 

    Karthago commences with mournful acoustic notes before suddenly taking flight into brighter but undeniably bittersweet atmospheres on the wings of the sentiment "never again". 

    8.) Honey & Sweat

    Yeast Machine brings the vibrant energy way back up on Honey & Sweat, delivering a delightfully turbulent melody that matches its sweetness with an equal amount of chaos. Turbulent bursts from the instrumentals, a sense of trepidation, some killer percussion, and suspiciously unruffled vocals come together to create a smooth and fluid finished product, giving new meaning to the saying "in all disorder, there is a secret order". 

    9.) Wobbly Wizard

    Wobbly Wizard isn't a ballad or plaintive song by any means, but its groove is toned-down, silky smooth, and slightly gloomy. However, the song's effect on the listener is balm-like, washing over the soul like a cool breeze. 

    10.) The Golden Cage 

    Just when I thought that I couldn't be more thoroughly shot through the heart after hearing Karthago, enter The Golden Cage. While it's inarguably the saddest track on the album, Yeast Machine manages to throw some captivating and abrupt twists and turns into this somber melody. The intensity rises and falls against a dark and smoky background, always threatening to take off but not quite doing so until after the halfway mark. At this point, a 90s pop rock feel mixes with murky grunge and moody alternative rock in an emotional tug of war that has an empathetic effect on the listener. I don't think that we can be surprised that Bad Milk ends in a way that leaves us lying on the floor nursing a broken heart, just as we know we can always revisit songs like Falling Rocks, Feeding Poison to the Spiders..., and Honey & Sweat for an instant rejuvenation. 


     

      Final Thoughts

    Whether they intended to or not, Yeast Machine has given us everything we could ever want or need on Bad Milk. Primarily by employing their sharpest contrasts to date, the band merges deeply poignant moods with jubilant energy in a way that only Yeast Machine is capable of. Poppy anthems like Feeding Poison to the Spiders Was Never Really My Thing, Falling Rocks, and Honey & Sweat will have you flying out of your seat, compelled to move along as you're mentally transported to the middle of the crowd at a live show. Nestled between these tracks, you'll find songs that are a bit darker, melancholic, or subdued, reminiscent of the band's earliest material in many ways. However, no matter which vibe a particular song embodies, it always packs that powerful emotional punch that we associate with Yeast Machine thanks to a raw, unfettered, authentic delivery. In this way, Bad Milk just feels right - a natural evolution of Yeast Machine's sound that draws from their grungy roots, utilizes the theatrical, larger-than-life presentation they developed on their debut full-length album Sleaze, and ultimately produces what feels like their very essence. And, in my eyes, this marrow consists of a contagious, unstoppable energy that arises when Yeast Machine's relatable libretto, driven home by cathartic, perfectly timed bursts of intensity, infiltrates your soul. 


    Yeast Machine Band Photo 2
    Photo Credit: Maxine Schneider 


    More About Yeast Machine

    You can follow Yeast Machine and listen to their music at the following links: 
    A massive thank you to Noisolution for the promo! 


    Follow Screaming from the Heavy Underground on TikTok!





    Screaming from the Heavy Underground Logo 2





    SFTHU Single Premiere: The Neurophonic Temple - "Sea of Bornite"

     

    The Neurophonic Temple Band Photo

    In February, you may have heard me singing the praises of Nuance of Bizarre, the debut single from The Neurophonic Temple's upcoming album Transgressive Sonic Stimuli. Today, I'm beyond delighted to have the privilege of premiering the next single from these highly underrated psychedelic noise rockers: Sea of Bornite. 

    While Nuance of Bizarre provides a perfect snapshot of The Neurophonic Temple's energetic, chaotic sound marked by pockets of emotive soul, Sea of Bornite takes a slightly more subdued approach (to start, anyway). This track begins with a sensual, slinky groove and soothing, hypnotic vocals. However, there's a hint of darkness, trepidation, and trippiness in the air that provides just the right amount of tension. The band gradually builds upon this framework as the song continues, adding wailing guitar solos and increasingly boisterous drumming. The vocals ultimately follow suit, erupting in impassioned shrieks, an inevitable outcome following that mounting energy (this is a feat that the vocalist of The Neurophonic Temple pulls off beautifully while behind the drum kit). Sea of Bornite ends abruptly, its electric energy suddenly snuffed out just after reaching its peak, leaving the listener feeling deliciously rattled.  

    The Neurophonic Temple - Sea of Bornite



    Be sure to give the single a spin for yourself, be on the lookout for Transgressive Sonic Stimuli to drop on April 17 (digitally and on CD), and show The Neurophonic Temple some big love! 

    A massive thank you to the one and only Broken Music for the promo! 


    More About The Neurophonic Temple

    You can follow The Neurophonic Temple and listen to their music at the following links: 

    California Doomsters Sea of Snakes Release "Behind the Mask" Single Ahead of Upcoming Album

     

    Sea of Snakes Band Photo

    Sea of Snakes has released Behind the Mask, the debut single from their upcoming album Magmantus (slated for release on April 2, 2026). 

    Says the band: 

    "We wrote this track as a reflection on the figures that try to tell you how to live and dress. The people that try to hold you back. The people that tell you what you can and can't say.
    The self-serving, the ones hiding behind moral façades. We see through it. Hiding behind the mask. We personally don't need that crap. 
    Riffs first. 
    No polish. No sugarcoating. 
    Turn it up. Stay heavy."

    Sea of Snakes - Behind the Mask 

     

    Somehow, in spite of the rumbling doom riffs and stormy drums that Behind the Mask opens with, the track feels especially raw, open, and ever-so-slightly stripped down. In this way, it's already apparent that Sea of Snakes intends to be unapologetically honest with their listeners about a very relatable topic, all while staying true to their trademark weighty sound. That sense of openness really blooms near the song's midway point, as Jason Busiek's vocals (giving a stellar performance as always) take off and soar triumphantly, and the instrumentals begin to follow suit. By the song's end, there's a keen sense of victory over those masked hypocrites, as well as a newfound sense of confidence and connection among those that choose to stay true to themselves and keep their eyes open. While Sea of Snakes always packs a powerful, doom-laden punch, Behind the Mask is particularly heavy in a very meaningful way. 

    Be sure to give Behind the Mask a spin for yourself, be on the lookout for Magmantus to drop VERY soon, and show this incredible band some much-deserved love! 


    More About Sea of Snakes

    Sea Of Snakes is:
    Jim McCloskey – Guitars
    Greg Noriega – Bass
    Chris Lowbridge – Drums
    Jason Busiek – Vocals


    You can follow Sea of Snakes and listen to their music at the following links: 
    Screaming from the Heavy Underground Logo 2





    Best New Releases February 2026

     

    Screaming from the Heavy Underground Logo

    I'll be the first to admit that I didn't have high expectations for February, but the shortest month of the year ultimately delivered in a big way when it comes to new releases in the heavy underground. In fact, I found myself scrambling to keep up with them and, in the process, I'm sure I missed a few! Here is the cream of the crop, in descending order: 


    12.) L'Ira del Baccano - The Praise of Folly

    L'Ira del Baccano The Praise of Folly Album Cover Photo

    Self-described "doomdelic instrumental space prog rockers" L'Ira del Baccano are back with their latest sonic narrative: The Praise of Folly. Here, the quartet continues to deliver their trademark blend of stoner rock, psychedelic rock, prog, space rock, and doom. The Praise of Folly is composed of four tracks, each of which unfurls slowly and ethereally, that is, until it inevitably encounters a fierce bout with the weighty tones of doom. My favorite thing about the album (and about L'Ira del Baccano as a band), is their ability to approach heavier music with a sense of delicacy - taking great care to include soft nuances, complex intricacies, and my personal favorite: captivating spacey moments that add rich details to their well-rounded soundscapes.

    Favorite Track: Stigma



    11.) Eleanore - Between Here And Anywhere

    Eleanore Between Here And Anywhere

    On their full-length debut Between Here And Anywhere, Eleanore doesn't attempt to reinvent the wheel, something that I often appreciate. The band retains their (noticeably more polished) signature sound, continuing to utilize classic stoner rock intertwined with vibrant alternative rock and murky grunge. This time, some whispers of trippy psych and soulful blues make an appearance here and there.

    True to form, the mood of Eleanore's sound vacillates between a pensive, expressive state and feel-good energy via a catchy stoner groove. However, the contrast between these dispositions is infinitely starker than on the band's previous works, as the band offers up their grittiest tones and rawest emotional expression yet.

    Eleanore's music likely encompasses the very sounds that filled your teen/young adult years if you're anything like me, but the band's lyricism and expression are marked by the self-reflection, regret, and awareness that time is limited that can only come after a lifetime of good, bad, and ugly experiences.

    You can read my quick review here.
    Favorite Track: Time 


    10.) Weedpecker - V

    Weedpecker V Album Cover Photo

    At this point in their career, it only makes sense for Weedpecker to pause and reflect, which is exactly what they did on their fifth album V. While the band continues to expertly meld the heavy and the light on this release, blending rumbling riffs and delicate atmospheres into a homogenous, spellbinding cocktail, V is particularly ethereal. Throughout the album, gossamer threads weave intricate patterns, often passing through some captivating spacey moments, gradually building in density. Not long after reaching peak fortitude, these bulwarks finally give way to a cathartic overspill of emotional expression. The result is an undeniably dreamy but deeply immersive album that, for Weedpecker, encompasses their most personal work to date.

    Favorite Track: Mirrors



    9.) Mount Palatine - Wormholy World 

    Mount Palatine Wormholy World Album Cover Photo

    Finnish trio Mount Palatine brilliantly showcases their ability to expertly blend contrasting sonic textures on their new album Wormholy World. For this sophomore release, Mount Palatine combines malleable psychedelic rock with the coarse textures of stoner metal and the steely resilience of progressive metal, topping it off with raw and unfettered vocals that strain under the authenticity of their expression. Ultimately, this combination creates six longer-form tracks that have a tendency to emulate the images of desert landscapes their sound generates, delivering deceptively serene beauty, intimidating vastness, unrelenting ruggedness, and hypnotic oases...a moving kaleidoscope of the heavy and the light.

    Favorite Track: The Sands



    8.) Black Toaster - Astrobird

    Black Toaster Astrobird Album Cover Photo

    On their latest EP Astrobird, Swiss stoner/heavy rockers Black Toaster deliver their most sophisticated sound to date. The band's increased focus on heavy rock creates a timeless, warm atmosphere that's beautifully emphasized by their analog production. Meanwhile, vibrant alternative rock gives the EP a modern and catchy brightness, while punk and stoner rock deliver a characteristic gritty soundscape. Perhaps best of all, these styles effortlessly bleed into each other and combine so seamlessly that they're often hard to pick apart - the mark of a well-rounded signature sound that Black Toaster has truly made their own.

    You can read my review here.
    Favorite Track: Astrobird



    7.) From Yuggoth - and ever since my paths were crooked and forsaken 

    From Yuggoth and ever since my paths were crooked and forsaken album cover photo

    From Yuggoth is a doom metal trio from Dresden whose colossal sound is beginning to make some seismic waves here in the stoner/doom underground. The band employs a dense and rumbling brand of doom as their base, a foundation they adorn with epic fantasy. Their repetitive structures are utterly trance-inducing, but the jarring intensity of the band's cataclysmal eruptions keep the listener on their toes. Named for a Lovecraftian planet, From Yuggoth's formidable sound is made especially unique by an understated but discernible infusion of spaciness. You can get lost in the intoxicating heaviness on From Yuggoth's latest album, and ever since my paths were crooked and forsaken. 

    Favorite Track: Deathlike Living (We Are Alpha) 



    6.) Stargo - Violet Skies 

    Stargo Violet Skies Album Cover Photo

    Stargo brings us their most metal-forward sound to date on their new album Violet Skies, offering up emotionally charged bursts of gritty intensity. At the same time, the band holds fast to their roots by peppering in their trademark spacey psychedelia, alternative rock energy, and stoner rock groove. The result is an evolved but authentic sound that is by far Stargo's most expressive yet.

    You can read my review here.
    Favorite Track: The Great Machine



    5.) Hermano - Clisson, France

    Hermano Clisson France Album Cover Photo

    Not to be outdone by the sampling of strikingly high-quality live recordings from Hermano on when the moon was high..., Ripple Music has bestowed an entire live album from the legendary stoner/desert rockers upon us: Clisson, France. The album features twelve live tracks from Hermano's 2016 performance at Hellfest, the pulsing notes of which reverberate through your ears and into your brain with velvety smooth quality and palpable energy. This performance marked a reunion of sorts for the band, their first time playing live together in eight years. In spite of having only a few hours to rehearse after arriving in Clisson, Hermano hit the stage with electrifying dynamism, the chemistry between band members, as well as between the band and the audience, evident in every deliciously fuzzy note. I'm not big on live albums - but Hermano is always an automatic exception.

    Favorite Track: The Bottle 



    4.) Kröwnn - Santa Somnia

    Krownn Santa Somnia Album Cover Photo

    Kröwnn has been releasing music since 2013, establishing a signature sound rooted in "dark fantasy doom" with stoner metal and heavy psych influences. Heavily inspired by fantasy movies and novels, art, and even video games, Kröwnn's albums are always bewitchingly conceptual and unfailingly epic.
    For their fourth album Santa Somnia, Kröwnn adds some well-placed classic and thrash metal influences to their music, along with a few punky moments. This of course only adds even more depth to the band's already immersive brand of storytelling and creates an even heavier, tougher sound.

    Favorite Track: You Died 



    3.) Motorpsycho - The Gaia II Space Corps

    Motorpsycho The Gaia II Space Corps Album Cover Photo

    Nearly a year to the day after the release of their monumental self-titled album, Norwegian progressive chameleons Motorpsycho are back with yet another stellar collection of spellbinding tracks: The Gaia II Space Corps. While last year's album clearly marked a new beginning for the band, featuring a wide variety of styles and moods delivered in a noticeably expressive manner, The Gaia II Space Corps feels a bit less personal. By that, I simply mean that this album sticks much closer to its conceptual framework, never straying far from its retro space epic theme. Motorpsycho also adheres mostly to a 70s heavy rock-infused style of prog this time around, filling the vibe to the brim with retro groove. True to form, the band's cinematics and stylistic nuances remain razor sharp, relaying a vivid and fast-paced tale that only taps the brakes for two dreamlike interludes that serve to illustrate pivotal moments in the story. In a nutshell: The Gaia II Space Corps is Motorpsycho Theater at its finest. 

    Favorite Track: Black As Night 



    2.) Oath - Unteach

    Oath Unteach Album Cover Photo

    Unteach, the new album from Greek doomsters Oath, is a gem from start to finish, offering up a solid slab of classic proto doom sound that could easily have teleported straight in from the genre's peak in the mid-to-late-1980s. You'll hear the thick and hazy riffs we all know and love punctuated by some energetic bursts, occult-themed lyrics, and an appropriately frantic vocal style (think Witchfinder General). Best of all, just when you think you've heard the top song on the album, it only gets better.

    Favorite Track: Alucarda 77



    1.) Fátima - Primal 

    Fatima Primal Album Cover Photo

    Parisian grungy doom rockers Fátima are back with Primal, their fifth album and the final chapter in "The Monsters Trilogy". Here, Fátima adds a plethora of dimension to their signature blend of doom, grunge, and psychedelic rock adorned with intricate Eastern influences. The band also experiments with incorporating some post-punk tones into their music, a fusion that fits in seamlessly while adding discernible moods throughout the album. In keeping up with the "monsters" motif, Fátima fashioned an imposing Sasquatch/Kong creature to grace the cover of Primal and utilized an ice age/prehistoric theme throughout. For me, this is representative of the base carnal instincts and darkness that exist within us all... We're not quite as sophisticated as we think, and that's ok. 

    You can read my review here.
    Favorite Track: Dog Ham



    That's it for February! I hope you enjoy these albums as much as I did! 

    Don't forget to check out this month's Doom Chart where there are forty albums waiting for you to discover, and as always, show your favorite heavy underground artists some much-deserved love! 


    Follow Screaming from the Heavy Underground on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok!

    @doomcakes4 The Screaming from the Heavy Underground Best New Releases of February 2026: My picks for the best new underground stoner/doom releases. More info and Bandcamp links on the blog! #screamingfromtheheavyunderground #doomcharts #stonerdoom ♬ original sound - Doomcakes

    Note: You might notice that my typical YouTube video isn't here this time, and that's because I've decided to phase out my video reviews/monthly lists on that platform. I kind of knew this before I started uploading content to YouTube, but I've found the community there to be incredibly immature, closed-minded and, well...toxic...and that's something that I refuse to be part of! So, for the foreseeable future, you'll be able to find all of my video content in the form of reels and short videos on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok. I will still keep my YouTube page active, post YouTube shorts about new stoner/doom singles, and will keep my "New Stoner/Doom" Playlist updated. 




    Wasteland Haze Releases "Wstlnd Messiah", the Final Single from Their Upcoming Album "Lonestar"

     

    Wasteland Haze Band Photo

    In preparation for the release of their upcoming sophomore album Lonestar, Düsseldorf-based instrumental trio Wasteland Haze has graced us with two outstanding singles so far: Pathfinder (The Great Hunt) and Handful of Dust. After a sneak peek via a "First Spin" on the German heavy underground promotion page Fuzzy Time (seriously, go follow those guys!), Wasteland Haze is officially releasing the final single from Lonestar: a moving, atmospheric track titled Wstlnd Messiah. 

    While all three of these songs from Lonestar boast a definite post-rock vibe, Wstlnd Messiah is the most ethereal of the bunch, devoid of the grittiness found throughout Pathfinder and Handful of Dust. A hint of country-western flair can be heard in the mournful twangs of Wstlnd Messiah's intro, and some rumbling bass near the song's midway point reminds the listener that Wasteland Haze definitely knows their way around stoner/doom. 

    Wstlnd Messiah starts in a very somber, bare-bones manner, builds into a triumphant midsection, and finishes with a brief, haunting spoken word part that signals a pivotal turn of events within the album's conceptual tale. In fact, the coolest thing about the singles Wasteland Haze has released from Lonestar is that each song is like getting another piece of the puzzle - building onto and clearing up the image of the story the band plans to tell with this album. Even better, every track is a communication that resounds so distinctly, it doesn't even require words as it sets its vivid scene. 


    You can find Wstlnd Messiah on your favorite streaming platform beginning today (March 5, 2026), and you can also pre-order the vinyl version of Lonestar via the amazing Clostridium Records HERE. 

    Be sure to check it out and show Wasteland Haze some big love! 


    Follow/Listen to Wasteland Haze:

    A massive thank you to the band for the promo! 

    Screaming from the Heavy Underground Logo 2






  • Clean and Sober Stoner

    bear: a lesson in the healing power of nostalgia from Friendship Commanders
    11/24/25 11:12:33AM
    Friendship Commanders' newest album hits all the nostalgic nerves for a few generations of listeners. From grungy guitar to no-nonsense drums and pristine vocals, they offer up an easy-to-digest meal that has something for everyone at the table.
    The Top 12 Heavy Rock Albums of September ’25
    10/02/25 06:42:15PM
    This Top 12 Heavy Rock albums is the hardest list I've ever written. Doom. Post Rock. Heavy Metal. Sludge. I believe each of these albums could become iconic, and ranking them just seems wrong on so many levels.
    Faetooth: Labyrinthine Is the Perfect Soundtrack for a ‘Soul-Crushing’ Time
    09/16/25 10:03:52AM
    Faetooth: A Sign of the Times It’s been an absolute crap show of a year, hasn’t it? With political turmoil and a general sense of unease hanging in the air, it’s easy to feel like we’re all spiraling. After the political (or more precisely: cultural) assassination, I’ve seen people I love and respect giving in […]
    KALX Live: Dread Spire
    08/14/25 09:33:57AM
    Oakland's very own Dread Spire was featured on KALX, at UC Berkley, and this writer feels especially lucky to be the California kid on the team who got to see them
    Dread Spire
    07/17/25 09:46:56AM
    The California Bay Area offers a vibrant heavy music scene, particularly spotlighted by the notable duo Dread Spire, whose unique blend of doom, sludge, and prog captivates audiences.