Italian heavy psych and prog wizards Mr. Bison continue to deliver a moving blend of the heavy and the light with their new album, The Garden of Forgotten Dreams.

Muddy is a quartet from Bordeaux, France who is poised to make a big splash in the heavy underground with their debut album In Medias Res. The band prefers to keep descriptors to a minimum by calling their music "heavy saturated rock", but it doesn't take the listener long to hear that there's a LOT going on within Muddy's eclectic sound. 

Saturna, a heavy rock band from Barcelona, Spain, has become a household name here in the heavy underground, and for good reason. Not only has this talented quartet been making music for over a decade now, but their emotionally charged, authentic rendition of 70s era heavy rock is absolutely unforgettable. 

For their sixth studio album Light and Shadow (released on September 17, 2026 via Ripple Music, Spinda Records, and Discos Macarras Records), Saturna explores duality, homing in on light and darkness, love and hate, and life and death. Regarding their sound, the band appropriately takes a more authentic approach. Recorded and produced by Saturna themselves and mixed by drummer Enric Verdaguer, Light and Shadow strives for "a more organic, honest, and live-centered approach". And, it probably goes without saying, but Saturna absolutely nailed it. 

On Light and Shadow, Saturna continues to charm us with their spot-on blend of 70s/80s hard rock with nods to heavy blues. However, as alluded to above, the band makes beautiful use of more subdued tones here, especially when compared to their previous album The Reset. As a result, the emotional expression is stronger than ever, even easier for the listener to access through this more intimate, cozy atmosphere. 

In spite of the slightly more stripped-down feel, Saturna effortlessly maintains every facet and shade of their dimensional, colorful sound. This is evident in moods that seamlessly drift from a melancholic haze to crisp, buoyant notes bathed in hopeful light, and the natural inclusion of the swells of emotive intensity the band is known for. In fact, I would argue that both feeling and depth are even sharper for Saturna on this album, made infinitely more tangible through a more natural lens. 

Don't get me wrong, a few songs do toe the line, possessing an electric, live show- or open highway-ready energy, with the tracks So Long and No Question being a standout examples. In stark contrast, songs such as fifth track About You are fittingly bare-bones and almost painfully raw, never failing to tug on the heartstrings of the listener. 

 

With all of that said, my favorite thing about Light and Shadow is its inviting feel. Throughout the album, Saturna's inherent warmth surrounds you, inviting you to settle in and listen like the crackling of a bonfire. 

Light and Shadow truly feels like a career milestone for Saturna. This release is less about honing a "signature sound" or composing the perfect, catchy riff. It's a palpably honest outpouring from a band whose magnetism and magic as musicians is incredibly evident. 

To end, I'll leave you with the spoken words Saturna utilizes on Light and Shadow's final track A Strange Mix of Humans, a testament to the group's creative chemistry and longevity: 

There's a good chance you haven't heard of Shovelhead even though they've been rocking the New Jersey heavy underground for over three decades now, but the band's lasting mark isn't lost on stoner fans in the Garden State. In fact, Tommy Southard of Solace declares, "Those in the know KNOW that Shovelhead is one of New Jersey's best kept heavy rock secrets. Those who don't know, SHOULD KNOW!" 

When Shovelhead got their start, the budding stoner sound was dominated by greats such as Monster Magnet and Fu Manchu, bands that deliver that characteristic gritty, barreling energy that, as you'll quickly find out, absolutely saturates Shovelhead's sound. So, not only has Shovelhead stood the test of time as a band, but they continue to keep the flame of classic stoner rock burning bright and hot. 

Shovelhead continues this mission on their fourth album A Place of Dead Roads (self-released by the band on September 12, 2026), their first new music in over twenty years. The album explodes right out of the gate with timeless, riff-driven stoner rock underlined by punchy energy and groove. This atmosphere quickly blends with a strong presence of vintage heavy rock, adding an abundance of warmth to Shovelhead's tone as it unfurls like a ribbon of sun-parched highway, an image made even more vivid by long instrumental stretches. Naturally, heavy psych makes an appearance, delivering refreshing waves of hypnotic trippiness that tend to get stronger in the latter half of the album. To mark this shift, A Place of Dead Roads is split by Ghost in the Garden, a haunting instrumental interlude that provides a soothing respite and stark contrast to the blistering heavy rock thrashing. To add to their immersive sound, completely capable of standing on its own instrumentally, Shovelhead is graced by a powerful vocalist whose echoing, unrestrained intonations are often less about melody and all about raw expression. 

Taken together, all of these elements create a rollicking ride that seems to end far too soon, hooking the listener from start to finish with the driving energy of classic stoner, the timeless grooves of heavy rock, and cool splashes of psychedelia. 

Now, if you need me, I'll be jamming to the rest of Shovelhead's discography... Better late than never, right? 

Hazemind is a band that needs to be on your radar. 

Popping up seemingly out of nowhere, this Canadian quartet began churning out stoner grooves as a trio when René "Bits" Hosson, Mathieu Pelletier, and Elliot Cadieux formed the band in 2022. Two years later, the budding group added vocalist Jonathan Lachapelle to the fold, and Hazemind was complete. 

On September 4, 2026, Hazemind released their debut album Inner Sanctum, a collection of eight full songs (and one spoken-word interlude) that offers a powerful introduction to the band while packing a ton of heavy underground variety. 

Building upon a strong foundation of energetic, classic stoner rock, Hazemind keeps their listeners invested with soaring melody, infectious hooks, and powerful vocals. Secondary to stoner rock, Hazemind's sound also boasts a pronounced grunge and alternative rock component, but the band also adds a dash of heavy-blues-tinged southern rock as well as sinister surges of doomed-out riff rock. It's very apparent that Hazemind feels just as comfortable playing more melody-driven tracks as they do heavier ones, giving them the ability to appeal to a wide variety of music fans. 

Inner Sanctum doesn't feel like a debut at all - its established, confident sound could easily be emanating from a band that's a decade or more into playing together; the creative chemistry is that strong here. And that's great news for Hazemind, as it lays the groundwork not only for great live performances, but for a long and fruitful career!