October was a pretty good month (for music) if we're being honest. This is gonna be a spitfire of recommendations with little insight. Strap in!
Raphael Weinroth-Browne - Lifeblood: The month started off really well with the latest from this dynamic cellist. Lifeblood is a captivating and passionate affair that draws you in as if you weren't freely giving yourself over to it already. Excellent work, as always.
M.E.L.T. - Innervate/Obliterate: High-energy psych/indie/fuzz/stoner rock power trio. Very high energy. Best enjoyed very high.
Verona Florrist - Verona Florrist: Stoner doom trio from Toronto. Big powerful sound with nuance. Not afraid to "get into'er" and crush some skulls. FFO AAWKS.
Frayle - Heretics and Lullabies: Heavy doom rock with haunting melodies and ethereal vocals. The atmosphere fills the room in a similar way to Alice in Chains.
Biohazard - Divided We Fall: I've been a Biohazard fan for over 25 years and I was not disappointed by this return! First album in 12 years! (Not on Bandcamp.)
Soulfly - Chama: I'm a big Soulfly fan. My first ever tattoo was the Soulfly wings logo. They sound a lot different than 1998 but Max always rules! (Not on Bandcamp either.)
Cattlemass - Alpha 1128: Kick-ass fuckin' doom. Fuzzed-out and dripping with groove. Crank it! Crush something!
Hawklords - Faith: Yes, this is an offshoot of Hawkwind. And they sound like it. Always a trip with these lads!
The Acacia Strain - You Are Safe From God Here: I don't always go for deathcore. If you can even call this deathcore. It's pretty doomy. And angry.
Space Witch - Mountains of Neptune: Instrumental space doom masterpiece! It's been eight years since their last album. Well worth the wait. Safe travels, friends.
Like I said, it was a good month and I wanted to highlight as many as I could. Check out my October Playlist for more good tunes.
Monday, November 24, 2025
September 2025: Matt Recommends
What do we have for you this month, eh? Well, as usual, there's some psychrock to bliss out with. I've also brought something more powerful and something fuzzed out. Let's get into it.
Orions Belte - Pur Jus: I'm not too sure how I got turned on to this Norwegian psych trio. Some algorithm is likely. No matter. To parse their artist description, they're breezy, sometimes loud, and vibrant with groove. And that's why I like it! Feel-good tunage that puts your head in the clouds and makes the body sway. A song like "Milk Champagne" brings a vibe similar to Khruangbin. Never a bad thing. Orions Belte uses less vocals, though. That's cool with me, too.
Kungens Män - Resande i rockmusik: Slide to the east for this Swedish outfit. Similarly to Orions Belte, Resande i rockmusic is a blissed-out instrumental trip. Heavy on the repetition, sonically laced together in waves. There's a free-flowing groove that anchors the listener in a hypnotic sway. It's much warmer music than what's depicted on the album cover. And more psychedelic, of course. The four tracks average 11 minutes each. Just enough time to entrance you with varying intensities. Chill away the day.
Appalooza - The Emperor of Loss: Staying in Europe we have Appalooza from France. I love the cow skull imagery they carry across their artwork. Which is incredible. Between that and their sound you'd think they're from the American West. Sort of a desert feel. They do reference QOTSA in their bio. And Alice in Chains. Powerful desert rock with just a little melancholy and the muscle to overcome it. The highlight of the album for me would be "Tarantula". It's a complex track with with a killer fucking riff that they groove out on for a while at the end. It's a neck-snapper!
The Gray Goo - Cabin Fever Dreams: Now, Appalooza may look and sound like they're from Montana but The Gray Goo actually are. Cabin Fever Dreams takes the loose, groovy feel of psychrock (not too different than Orions Belte or Kungens Män) and infuses it with a sort of indie flair. Fans of King Gizzard and Thee Oh Sees know what I'm talking about. And more vocals. Perhaps some doom feel in there too. This album is a lot of fun. Lots of groove, fuzzy guitars, killer bass, cool riffs, atmosphere in spades without it feeling forced, just a natural thing. It feels good to the gray goo inside my skull and that's all that matters.
My September Playist is very all over the place. You've got the bands above but also bands like Biohazard. Enjoy and skip as you wish!
Orions Belte - Pur Jus: I'm not too sure how I got turned on to this Norwegian psych trio. Some algorithm is likely. No matter. To parse their artist description, they're breezy, sometimes loud, and vibrant with groove. And that's why I like it! Feel-good tunage that puts your head in the clouds and makes the body sway. A song like "Milk Champagne" brings a vibe similar to Khruangbin. Never a bad thing. Orions Belte uses less vocals, though. That's cool with me, too.
Kungens Män - Resande i rockmusik: Slide to the east for this Swedish outfit. Similarly to Orions Belte, Resande i rockmusic is a blissed-out instrumental trip. Heavy on the repetition, sonically laced together in waves. There's a free-flowing groove that anchors the listener in a hypnotic sway. It's much warmer music than what's depicted on the album cover. And more psychedelic, of course. The four tracks average 11 minutes each. Just enough time to entrance you with varying intensities. Chill away the day.
Appalooza - The Emperor of Loss: Staying in Europe we have Appalooza from France. I love the cow skull imagery they carry across their artwork. Which is incredible. Between that and their sound you'd think they're from the American West. Sort of a desert feel. They do reference QOTSA in their bio. And Alice in Chains. Powerful desert rock with just a little melancholy and the muscle to overcome it. The highlight of the album for me would be "Tarantula". It's a complex track with with a killer fucking riff that they groove out on for a while at the end. It's a neck-snapper!
The Gray Goo - Cabin Fever Dreams: Now, Appalooza may look and sound like they're from Montana but The Gray Goo actually are. Cabin Fever Dreams takes the loose, groovy feel of psychrock (not too different than Orions Belte or Kungens Män) and infuses it with a sort of indie flair. Fans of King Gizzard and Thee Oh Sees know what I'm talking about. And more vocals. Perhaps some doom feel in there too. This album is a lot of fun. Lots of groove, fuzzy guitars, killer bass, cool riffs, atmosphere in spades without it feeling forced, just a natural thing. It feels good to the gray goo inside my skull and that's all that matters.
My September Playist is very all over the place. You've got the bands above but also bands like Biohazard. Enjoy and skip as you wish!
Sunday, November 2, 2025
August 2025: Matt Recommends
For whatever reason I do find the summer months to be a little light when it comes to new releases. This August I've got three releases that I'd like to highlight for you. Quite a mix too. With a common thread. Before we get started however, this month's playlist has doom, thrash, nu-metal, hardcore, and more.
Swaamp - II: Trippy, spacey, psychedelic journey lasting for an hour and a half. Blissed out meditations that rock, man. They have THREE monthly listeners on Spotify. Let's make some noise for Swaamp! And go listen dammit! (on Bandcamp though)
Tube Warmers - Volume 2: Not terribly different than Swaamp in general tone but more chill and less rock. Definitely a trip. Easy enough for far out background music too.
Tumanduumband - Hail Satan, Triumph Awaits: The name says it all. Satanic and triumphant. The aptly named Tumanduumband (a two-man doom band) move some heavyweight air plying a sinister style of droning instrumental doom maliciously stitched with dark samples. It is the sound of evil wrapped in a fog as heavy and magical as vaporized mercury descending and spreading through the underworld. Dance with the devil. It takes two to doom.
There you have it. Three trippy recommendations from August of 2025.
Swaamp - II: Trippy, spacey, psychedelic journey lasting for an hour and a half. Blissed out meditations that rock, man. They have THREE monthly listeners on Spotify. Let's make some noise for Swaamp! And go listen dammit! (on Bandcamp though)
Tube Warmers - Volume 2: Not terribly different than Swaamp in general tone but more chill and less rock. Definitely a trip. Easy enough for far out background music too.
Tumanduumband - Hail Satan, Triumph Awaits: The name says it all. Satanic and triumphant. The aptly named Tumanduumband (a two-man doom band) move some heavyweight air plying a sinister style of droning instrumental doom maliciously stitched with dark samples. It is the sound of evil wrapped in a fog as heavy and magical as vaporized mercury descending and spreading through the underworld. Dance with the devil. It takes two to doom.
There you have it. Three trippy recommendations from August of 2025.