November 2025: Matt Recommends

It appears I was far less impressed with November's offerings than I was with October's. Some albums I just didn't go back to. Not that they aren't good but, I dunno, November felt off and they didn't fit my mood. Perhaps I will be more receptive to new releases from the likes of Yawning Man, Kauan, and Kadavar in December. Plus five more I either didn't get to or can't remember anything about! I do have a couple of recommendations though. Both based in Toronto, both cool in different ways, and both loud!

Verona Florrist - Verona Florrist: This is an October release but I listened to it so much in November that my brain thought that's when it came out. Aaaaand I saw them live at the end of November so I had them on the brain! They were really cool live by the way. Super tight. It was while watching them that the thought sprang to me, "they sound like an electric wizard smashing pumpkins in a dead meadow". Some sludge, some doom, some grunge, some tenderness, and psych sensibility. Hopefully I can grab some merch next time. I would have but I donated all my available funds to the homeless assistance fundraiser the show was part of. Silent auction winner though. Heck yeah. The real winners are people that listen to this album repeatedly.



Danko Jones - Leo Rising: I'll talk with guys at work about how certain metal bands got boring because they haven't changed. What I should be talking about is how Danko fuckin' Jones never gets boring and doesn't need to change! Leo Rising is the energetic power trio's latest refinement to their well-polished formula for kickass hard rock! Punchy riffs, sharp hooks, and swagger for days! They've rocked so consistently for decades and it doesn't feel like they're slowing down. I love it when my summers get even hotter from tunes like "What You Need" and the absolute banger "Everyday is Saturday Night" but I'll take some fire music to keep my blood warm all winter just fine. The temperature outside is falling but the volume on the stereo is rising.



If you're interested, November's playlist:

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!

May 2025: Matt Recommends

Well, May was pretty good for music. I have a favourite release but I have 5 or 6 total that got me excited enough I want to tell people about them. I already recommended one to a friend but that's it so I need to make up for it. This month we've got Canadian psychedelic doom, Swedish "stoner" rock, barely describable German psych/funk/kraut/stoner rock, and more. It's a global affair. On top of all that, May's As I Go Playlist is a 6.5 hour non-linear trek across time from the 60s to today with stops in each and every decade. It's nuts.

Let's get to it, shall we?

Aawks - 'On Through the Sky Maze': This Barrie, Ontario group's debut LP was 'Heavy on the Cosmic' and damn dude if this one isn't heavier on the cosmic, and just plain heavier! The heaviness upgrade may be from new bassist/vocalist "Grimepup". Dude is awesome. He's got a really cool dirtweed-sludge growl. When I saw them play he did all the vocals for a Weedeater cover. So you know what I'm talking about. 'Sky Maze' obviously has him slotted in with Kris (guitar/vocals/synth), Paraiso (guitar/violin/synth), and Randylin (drums) like he's been there the whole time. The album is a trip, man. Heavy ass psychedelic space doom. Every track feels like an epic. Thunderous riffs woven with cool psych touchs and smooth groove. There are quiet(er), introspective moments blown away by walls of fuzz. Totally retro atmosphere rising to the sky as mountains form below, the earth itself moved by doom. You get the idea. It's a deep album too. Not just that the album is a no-skipper. There are things to think about. I need to get my hands on the lryics. I should have skipped out on work to go to their show last month and bought the CD. And I probably missed an awesome set. I hope they don't get too big to stop coming to play our "intimate" local venue. Honestly, this is definitely my favourite album of the month, and a contender for AOTY, but there are a few more releases I feel compelled to shine a light on. But if you like the idea of "the definition of psych-doom" then check this out first.



Witchcraft - 'Idag': I've generally been a fan of Witchcraft. Since their debut, I believe. Their last release, 'Black Metal', came out 5 years ago and it's not my favourite. It's pretty low-key and not very "black metal". Not bad, just different. So in a way 'Idag' (Swedish for "today") is the spell I've been waiting for since 2016's 'Nucleus' and I can say I'm not disappointed at all! It's brimming with the kind of varied riffing and powerful fuzz the Swedes excel at. Lots of Swedish lyrics on this too. As much as I suck at discerning lyrics anyway I usually prefer English when the vocals are such that I can hear the word. But, when you've got a vocalist like Magnus Pelander it doesn't matter. His distinctive voice and delivery suits the music perfectly. It lends a folkiness to the doom tones. The acoustic portions do that too. I mean, just listen to the ballad-ish "Om du vill". I'm not going to say it's their best album yet but goddamn that argument could be made. It has all the things that make Witchcraft great. I could just sit on that riff in the title track for days though. *sick riff face* Find out for yourself.



Miss Mellow - 'Dancing Through The Earth': As I said above, Miss Mellow blend a number of different styles like funky, hip-shaking, 70s-ish danceable fun, blissful lounge, tripped out heavy psych, and bouncy, bright, keyboard-heavy boogie. And that's just the four-part title track. Variations of such themes are built into the rest of the album along with sublte and not as subtle nods to the power of kraut and stoner rock. Some lyrics are in German but like Witchcraft it works for the songs. With slow jams and body-movers with more of a pulse 'Dancing Through The Earth' never leaves you still. Groove, vocal harmonies, and plenty of keyboards take you far away from the mid-2020s and back to an age with no more peace but one with much more love. It's a positive and uplifting album that simply rocks. I loved their debut. Instant fan on first listen. To be honest, it took two or three spins for me to sync up with one but now it's a beautiful experience every time. And check out that artwork!



Here's three more that I wanted to do blurbs for but I'm running out of steam. These are all just as good as those above.

Causa Sui - 'In Flux': Brilliant and chill.



Turtle Skull - 'Being Here': An amazing journey I need to take again. Often.



Budos Band - 'VII': I don't usually like horns but I love the Budos! Another wicked album of psychedelic funky soul rock.



And as always, The As I Go Playlist. Eat up.

February 2025: Matt Recommends

Most of the February releases I wanted to check out droppped on February 28 so I had to take some time to digest them before throwing some recommendations out into the void. Speaking of the void...

Naxatras - V

It's hard to assign a particular sound to Naxatras. The Greek artists expertly blend prog and psychedelic rock with space rock and a bit of stoner. But V feels like a journey through space. Not emptiness but all the wonderful and awe-inspiring planets and places and processes we may never see. Their use of groove and rhythm on tracks like "Numenia" feel firmyl rooted in humanity and its earthly heart. Best of both scenarios. Anyone who has been reading lately should know how much "escapist" albums pull me in. V does just that. An expansive album able to push away the day to day. Naxatras binges are always a heavy trip.



Year of the Cobra - Year of the Cobra

We kick things up a notch with the newest from Year of the Cobra. Their third album just happens to be self-titled. It does feel like a step up but not a redefinitition that some bands do when releasing a self-titled that isn't their first album. You know what I mean. Again, it's not different from their first two albums just...more. The duo of drummer Jon Barrysmith and bassist-vocalist Amy Tung-Barrysmith (yes, they're married.) have added more emotion, more dynamics, more expression to their already doom-laden stoner heaviness. Amy gets more out of her bass than most guitarists with way more strings and you can really feel how much Jon is locked in. I've been a fan from the start. I feel like i've listened to Year of the Cobra more than Ash and Dust and ...In the Shadows Below combined though. And it's probably not even close. It's a banger.



Uncle Woe - Folded in Smoke, Soaked and Bound

You may also know I'm a dedicated fan of Uncle Woe. Obviously I'm going to include Folded in Smoke, Soaked and Bound. Now, Spotify says it was released February 28 and Bandcamp says March 1 so I'm putting it in February because I already have my three recommendations for March and I HAVE to include this one somewhere. Folded in Smoke is not an album but rather a 10" consisting of two 8+ minutes tracks. The 10" is pretty special and not for the casual collector but it's worth it for a big fan like me. I just love how Rain Fice and Mark Whitworth can move me with melancholy and despair. There's so much emotion and grace. And power. The band really put it best themselves, Folded in Smoke "ponders and sprawls and creeps and whispers and slithers, but still ends up as dead as everything else". Honestly, I'm envious of Rain's ability to make real the intangle feelings we have inside.



Honourable mentions to III by Yawning Balch (so good), and Dark Green by Tumbleweed Dealer (pretty cool). III by Red Eye and The Wolfe by Dope Smoker are pretty good too.

February Playlist -> RIGHT HERE Only Naxatras on this one.

Here's March too. it's pretty much done. MARCH PLAYLIST Year of the Cobra, Uncle Woe and others are here.

2024: My Favourites

(image generated using AI)

Here we are again. Another year gone by and another list of albums to call my favourites. Honestly, I think it was something of a "down year." There were plenty of albums that I absolutely love but the choices weren't terribly hard to make. Many of the bands featured are familiar names and all-time favourites. Almost a dozen are bands that are relatively new to me. Two of the bands don't even exist anymore. Almost everything will fit into the stoner/sludge/doom/psych sphere. If you've been paying attention here that should be no suprise. Enough babbling. Here are my 25 favourite releases of 2024 and then some bonus releases that I still think you should know about and that I might listen to in the future. Ear time is precious. Outside the Top Three the order is relatively artibrary.

1. Slomosa - Tundra Rock (Stickman): I discovered Slomosa's 2020 self-titled debut in 2023 via Weedian's Trip to Norway compilation and was completely hooked. Tundra Rock buried another barb. This time even deeper. High energy desert rock culling influence from obvious players like early QOTSA and Kyuss with probably some influence from the European scene like Dozer, etc. Tundra Rock just kicks so much ass that I had to list it above the masters of ass-kicking...

2. High on Fire - Cometh the Storm (Southern Lord): The flames are definitely high! I was cautiously sceptical about Coady Willis replacing Des. No need. Des will be missed and I do have his autograph on my original CD copy of The Art of Self Defence but Willis fuckin' gives'er, man! This new era is going to rule just as hard. Jeff Matz is doing some crazy cool stuff here and Pike, well, Matt Pike for President. Anyone who shits on the record needs to wipe their face after extracting it from their own ass.

3. Fu Manchu - Return of Tomorrow (At the Dojo): Any Fu Manchu album is going to make my list. Bias is real. But it still rules. All the talk about the album mentions the two "sides" of the album, one being more mellow than the other. I guess that's true but I didn't hear anything that didn't sound like Fu Manchu to me. "Mellow" is relative, I suppose. Bonus: I finally got to see Fu Manchu live this year. They only played for like 35 minutes and I missed the first 10 due to a doors vs. start of show misunderstanding. (ALWAYS show up early, Matt! Idiot.)

The rest (more or less in order of release):

Brugada - To Slow Death and Fast Riffs (Tone Zone): Canadian west coast outfit with former members of Astrakhan. Complicated and somewhat artful hardcore-eged prog-sludge? I dunno. The band actually split years ago and it took that long to get this album out. I didn't think I'd ever see the day. Now I have the cassette tape. Booyah! (January Album of the Month)

Fearbirds - Aux Blood (Batskull/New Damage): Another left coast Canuck band that feeds the aggro beast with members of other bands I used to love. Specifically Kevin Keegan of Barn Burner (and Dead Quiet but they're still going). The other members are scene vets as well. I think they split too. Their van bit the dust, they canceled their tour, and they called it a day. Seems kind of fucked but life goes on. (February AOTM)

Weedow - Weedow (self-released): Polish stoner doom trio. As smoked out as you would expect.

Kungens Män - För samtida djur 1 and 2 (Majestic Mountain): Experimental, avant-garde, psychedelic, meditative rock from Germany.

Uncle Woe - Oblivion and Further Disaster (Packard Black Productions/Owlripper Records): Depression Doom from the Ontario wilderness (not terribly far from me actually). Main man Rain Fice enlisted Aussie drummer Mark Witworth of X's for Eyes for this one (and Well from 2023). I don't do a lot of sad stuff these days but I almost have all the Uncle Woe records on vinyl so.... (March AOTM)

Rickshaw Billie's Burger Patrol - Big Dumb Riffs (self-released): I liked this one better than Doom Wop. All big dumb riffs. Makes you want to break things.

The Cosmic Dead - Infinite Peaks (Heavy Psych Sounds): Heavy psych space rock from Scotland. It's a long trip, man. One of my favourite sub-genres of music these days.

Bongripper - Empty (self-released): Their songs are instrumental so they aren't about ripping bongs but Empty will nonetheless take all your worries away. For about 66 minutes. The doom looms.

Eye - Dark Light (New Heavy Sounds): Jessica Ball of MWWB brings us Dark Light, a darkfolk, dream pop, electronic psych doom, and more exploration of feeling with new project, Eye. It's intimate and textured. It's hard to explain, and hard to explain what it is that draws me in so much. I like it that way.

Ufomammut - Hidden (Neurot): The Italian psychedelic sludge masters just keep pumping out quality stuff. I've been enjoying their drony, hypnotic, snyth-laden, industrial heaviness for decades and they haven't let me down yet. (May AOTM)

Beaten to Death - Sunrise Over Rigor Mortis (Mas Kina): Back to Norway. This time with the explosive melodic grindcore of Beaten to Death. Sunrise continues the sonic bludgeoning with the same playful ferocity I've come to expect. This is where I go for quick pent-up energy release.

Thou - Umbilical (Sacred Bones): I really should have this one closer to the top just in case someone doesn't read this far. This is where to go to feel absolutely crushed. The music is heavy but it also makes you feel the weight of humanity's suffering with each riff. I shouldn't have to explain Thou.

Causa Sui - From the Source (El Paraiso): Aaaaahhhh more escapist music. Instrumental, experimental, proggy, psychedelic rock. It puts me in the same space as Dead Meadow, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, and Colour Haze. There is a lot of good stuff on El Paraiso Records.

Penza Penza - Alto e Primitivo (Funk Night Records): Psychedelic and instrumental but this time it gets funky. And jazzy, I suppose. But I like how it makes me move. It feels good! Ow! (July AOTM)

delving - All Paths Diverge (Blues Funeral): This side project of Elder's Nick DiSalvo is so chill. Light and airy, psychedelic. Beautiful sonic explorations that just seem to flow naturally from one movement to the next. Similar vibes to a lot of the places Elder goes. (His other project, Weite, is a little different. See below later.)

Anciients - Beyond the Reach of the Sun (Season of Mist): If you like guitars, and lots of them, this is for you. I feel like Anciients have moved further from the sludge of "progressive sludge" into the prog end but still fucking rip. The songs are good obviously too but the big standout for me is listening to all those notes! (August AOTM)

Brant Bjork Trio - Once Upon a Time in the Desert (Duna Records): The legend Brank Bjork brings back his Duna Records label with this beaut with the legend Mario Lalli on bass. And that's what it sounds like. Yawning Man bass on a Brant Bjork album. Sweeeeeet.

Goat - Goat (Rocket Recordings): My favourite psychedelic funk rock collective brings more hip-hop style beats into the mix on this one and I'm obviously okay with that in this instance. It was my October AOTM and I described my feelings pretty well in that post. Yeah, I picked it over Brant Bjork Trio. It's that cool.

Sun and Sail Club - Shipwrecked (Heavy Psych Sounds): Tony Adolescent, Bob Balch, and BOTH Scott Reeders! Fast! Aggressive! Punk! Relentless! (Except the jazzy guitar yacht rock bookends!) Fuck off attitude! Not stoner rock!

Low Flying Hawks - Makebelieve (Sympatry Records): Hard to explain this one. Hypnotic, sludgy, noisy at times, art-rock, psych. But it's even more complex than that. Gothic. Emotional, through anguished screams or harmony. I still need to spend WAY more time with it. It just keeps getting better. October was a pretty hard choice for AOTM.

Hawklords - Relativity (self-released): I like this better than the more recent Hawkwind albums! The associations with Hawkwind are pretty loose at this point but Relavity occupies the same space. AI concept album. I dig it. But like, sci-fi Asimov stuff not ChatGPT or whatever. Plus, it's really cool space rock, man!

There they are. My favourite 24 albums of 2024. I cheated by lumping the Kungens Man albums together but who's counting? As promised, here is another bunch of albums I thought were cool enough to mention.

Elephant Tree/Lowrider - The Long Forever (Blues Funeral): Honestly, I kind of forgot about this one and I know I liked it but didn't feel comfortable putting it above. Oops.
Baardvader - When the Stars Arrive (self-released)
The Whims of the Great Magnet - FRYDOM (self-released): December AOTM
Weite - Oase (Stickman)
Cosmic Fall - Back Where the Fire Flows (self-released)
Tube Warmers - Fertilized Eggs and Honey (River Records)
Crippled Black Phoenix - The Wolf Changes Its Fur But Not Its Nature (Season of Mist)
Vessel - The Somnifier (Majestic Mountain): November AOTM
Babel Map - Teeth (Lost Future)
Ian Blurton's Future Now - Crimes of the City (Pajama Party): (The crimes are that for most of their shows in Toronto they don't go on stage until 1am or some nonsense.)
Godspeed You! Black Emperor - NO TITLE AS OF 13 FEBRUARY 2024 28,340 DEAD (Constellation)
Mammoth Volume - Raised Up By Witches (Blues Funeral)
Free Ride - Acido y Puto (Small Stone)
Ainu - Ainu ((Subsound Records)
Rezn - Burden (Sargeant House)
Khruangbin - A La Sala (Dead Oceans/Night Time Stories)
Locrian - End Terror (Profound Lore)
Sons of Alpha Centuri - Pull (Exile on Mainstream)
Monkey3 - Welcome to the Machine (Napalm Records)

There are more but really, that's enough. Comment below if you have anything to say. Keep an eye for my playlists!

2023: My Favourites

Man, the evolution continues. Or is it a de-evolution? Not society. That's totally fucked. I mean my music listening habits. Long gone are the days of knowing every sub-genre. Or trying to anyway. I really, really feel most at home when I'm enjoying stoner rock and metal, doom, stoner doom, sludge, psych, heavy psych, more and more prog, shit like that. I think I listened to one black metal album all year? ('Blackbraid II') Thrash? Probably just Slayer (more or less) thanks to the Talkin' Slayer podcast by D.X. Ferris. As for death metal well, most of that input was in the live setting. Anyhoo.

Once I got down to it putting together this year's list wasn't so hard. I value my time to the point of not wasting any of it if the tunes don't resonate. That made that long list shorter and the cuts easier to make. There are no consequences. Go with your gut. Music is transcendence. Music is prayer. Music is salvation.

Following last year's format here are the 40(ish) releases that gave me the most feelings in 2023.

Favourites of 2023 Spotify Playlist Song Version

Favourites of 2023 Spotify Full Version

FULLY ENLIGHTENED BEINGS (pure beings devoid of faults)

Hippie Death Cult - 'Helichrysm' (Heavy Psych Sounds)
Baroness - 'Stone' (Abraxas Hymns)
REZN and Vinnum Sabbathi - 'Silent Future' (Blues Funeral Recordings)
Royal Thunder - 'Rebuilding the Mountain' (Spinefarm Records)
Melt - 'Replica of Man' (self-released)
Acid King - 'Beyond Vision' (Blues Funeral Recordings)
Dozer - 'Drifting in the Endless Void' (Blues Funeral Recordings)
Blood Ceremony - 'The Old Ways Remain' (Rise Above Records)
Mutoid Man - 'Mutants' (Sargent House)
Psychic Trash - 'Psychic Trash' (Riding Easy Records)

GODS OF THE FORM AND FORMLESS REALMS (aeons of refined bliss)

Miss Mellow - 'Miss Mellow' (self-released)
Frankie & the Witch Fingers - 'Data Doom' (The Reverberation Appreciation Society/Greenway Records)
Giant Lungs - 'Giant Lungs' (Transporta Records)
Iron Buddha - 'Raze/Repose' (self-released)
Goat - 'Medicine' and 'Levitation Sessions' (Rocket Recordings and The Reverberation Appreciation Society)
Mizmor - 'Prosaic' (Profound Lore Records)
Choose the Juice - 'Meteoria' (self/Artemis Kaiser)
Dopelord - 'Songs for Satan' (Blues Funeral Recordings)
Night Verses - 'Every Sound Has a Color in the Valley of Night: Part 1' (Equal Vision Records)
Astral Hand - 'Lords of Data' (Romanus Records)

DESIRE REALM GODS (enjoyment and satisfaction of desires)

Bongzilla - 'Dab City' (Heavy Psych Sounds Records)
Dead Feathers - 'Full Circle' (Ripple Music)
Dead Quiet - 'IV' (Artoffact Records)
Snakes Don't Belong in Alaska - 'Sounds of a Forming Planet' (Catacomb Family Records)
Swamp Ritual - 'Vol. III' (self-released)
Domkraft - 'Sonic Moons' (Magnetic Eye Records)
Sâver - 'From Ember and Rust (Pelagic Records)
Danko Jones - 'Electric Sounds' (Sonic Unyon Records)
Green Yeti - 'Necropolitan' (self-released)
Gozu - 'Remedy' (Metal Blade Records)

PRECIOUS HUMAN LIVES

Crown Lands - 'Fearless' (Universal)
Black Rainbows - 'Superskull' (Heavy Psych Sounds Records)
Auralayer - 'Thousand Petals' (King Volume Records)
Uncle Acid & the Deadbeats - 'Slaughter on First Avenue' (Rise Above Records)
Restless Spirit - 'Afterimage' (Magnetic Eye Records)
Howling Giant - 'Glass Future' (Magnetic Eye Records)
Sonic Demon - 'Veterans of the Psychic War' (Majestic Mountain Records)
Warp - 'Bound by Gravity' (Nasoni Records)
Moon Coven - 'Sun King' (Ripple Music)
REZN - 'Solace' (self-released)

FAVOURITE EPs OF 2023 (some of the above were technically EPs too but whatever)

The Budos Band - 'Frontier's Edge' (Diamond West Records)
Stöner - 'Boogie to Baja' (Heavy Psych Sounds Records)
Olde Grale - 'Blood of Fools' (Salt of the Earth Records)
Uncle Woe - 'Well' (Owlripper Records)
Ufomammut - 'Crookhead' (Supernatural Cat)

Nebular Nine: December 2023

Full disclosure. I'm tired of this format. This will be the last collage/what I listened to most post.

I'm not sure what's next, if anything, but this post at least will be kind of half-assed.

These don't usually show up here but I'm always listening to the Weedian compilations. December featured at least the Trips to Tennessee and Pennsylvania. Arizona too, I believe. 

I missed out of the Giant Lungs album when it first came out. But I'm sure loving it now! Tone and riffs and appealing vocals. Let's doom!

Speaking of doom. Uncle Woe gave us a new EP called 'Well' and well, it's pretty awesome. There's something about them that just resonates. Heavy, a little psych/post/prog and stuff. Interesting structures and all that. My vinyl is gonna be great when it gets here. 

I already know my Slower CD will be great when it arrives too. It's a January release though. I very rarely check out promos before release but I went ahead with this. I mean, Slayer but slower? Fuck yeah!

I'm going to have to check out the Mars Red Sky album again. I can't remember. December was weird.

Ok, bottom row we have three releases from Goat. I listened to the whole discography. 'Levitation Sessions' kicked things off and I went backwards from there. These three just had the most tracks. 

Van tunes: Talkin' Slayer Podcast

As I Go December 2023 Playlist

My Favourites of 2023 coming up next.

Nebular Nine: September 2023

For the first time in a long time I went a whole month without alcohol. And the last 8 days without weed. Or wearing a hat. Those things are irrelevant though as the quality of the music was unaffected. 

Based on number of plays the new Baroness takes the cake for September. 'Stone' seems to be the logical place for Baroness to be at this stage in their career. Stellar.

Frankie & the Witch Fingers are one of those bands that found me. A little weird, a little progressive, a lot of fun. 'Data Doom' kicks ass. 

Not enough can be said about Danko Jones. High energy rock and fucking roll. Their 11th studio effort kicks all kinds of ass. My only complaint is by the time it came out I was basically done cutting grass for the year so I couldn't bomb around the yard yelling lyrics to the wind like a nut job. Ah well.

Another all-time in Brant Bjork. I would also include here 'Saved by Magic Again' by Brant Bjork and the Bros. They are companion pieces and all. And both classic. These reissues are niiiiice.

Random throwback with 'Ocean Machine'. I know I've listened to it before but it had been forgotten and neglected for decades by me for some reason.

Speaking of neglected, I liked the debut from Kvelertak. Then I didn't like them. Now I like them again. Thank you, 'Endling'.

That Iron Buddha album is some heavy shit. Gotta get back to that one.

The Nashville show of Clutch's PA Tapes is a killer set! Lots of favourites. And I hear that Neil Fallon chose that set list. 

Last but certainly not least, the newest from Night Verses, 'Every Sound Has a Color in the Valley of Night: Part 1'. They're a new band for me but I am totally a fan now. This mostly instrumental album is quite the departure from the sound of their debut (and subsequent albums) and I'm blown away by their musicianship. 10/10 will listen again. 

Van tunes: Slayer - 'South of Heaven', High on Fire - 'The Art of Self Defense (original Man's Ruin release), Mizmor - 'Prosaic', Bell Witch - 'The Clandestine Gate', Beaten to Death - 'Unplugged', Danko Jones - 'Electric Sounds'.

Spotify playlist (one song from every album I listened to at least once, most more than once):

As I Go Sepetember 2023

Nebular Nine: June 2023

Man alive! June featured some of my all time favourite bands. I've been listening to almost all these bands for years. I only discovered Crown Lands this year but I am falling in love with the Toronto prog rock duo. King Gizzard and The Lizard Wizard have only been on my radar for a couple years but their output feels like a decade! Petrodragonic Apocalypse is their latest banger! 

Up top we have Black Rainbows, Royal Thunder, and QOTSA. Three kinds of rock, man. Black Rainbows are so fun. Mlny Parsonz is probably my favourite vocalist (and RT songs are excellent regardless). It did take me some time and dedication to warm up to the new Queens though. It's been like that for their last few albums. 

It didn't take as long for the new Dead Quiet. Some dang catchy tunes! Happy Canada Day!!

And with Bongzilla you know what you're getting and they never disappoint. Tolerance is never an issue! 

Clutch is my fave so....bonus tracks!!!

Last but not least, the live drums on the Fear Factory sound great! Remix/master is cool too.

And the rest of these. Will update later.

Nebular Nine: May 2023

May 2023! What a month! Well, I make every month good because of my good taste. Ha! The Nebular Nine may have nine albums listed but most of the air time was spent on Gozu and The Acacia Strain. Gozu makes me feel oh, so good and The Acacia Strain can make you feel oh, so bad. 

The new Blood Ceremony is oh, so good too. Probably my favourite of their releases. Some stiff competition there though. 

Clutch's Pitchfork and Lost Needles isn't totally accurate. While I did listen to most of those tracks it was actually an mp3 folder where all the "rare"/off album tracks were labeled as being from that album. ALL KILLER.

Still spinning Crown Lands! Just discovered Rotor on this album and now I'm a fan! Instrumental stoner rock? Yes, please. And of course a Weedian comp. A good one too!

Blast off! It's party time! Had some serious SOAD urges in May!

Van tunes: Slayer - Undisputed Attitude, Hell Awaits, God Hates Us All, NIB Black Sabbath tribute, SOAD - Mesmerize, Toxicity, QOTSA - Songs for the Deaf, Monster Magnet - Last Patrol, Kyuss - Blues for the Red Sun, Welcome to Sky Valley, Gozu - Remedy

Now playing: Odyssey by Vokonis (Kicking off Pride Month!)

Also.....new Kanaan, Djunah, Last Rizla, Dozer, Cattle Decapitation, Clutch live, Giobia, Void Master, and Galactic Empire.

More System of a Down, the Budos Band, Negative 13, Corrosion of Conformity, Fear Factory, Crown Lands, and a full Danko Jones run (studio albums). Not shown but the three Mountain Tamer albums also got love.

2021: My Favourites

The end of 2017 was bad. 2018 was subsequently sad. 2019 was shitty. 2020 was really shitty. (There was also the pandemic.) 2021 was even shittier. (There was also the pandemic.) 2022 is shaping up to be pretty shitty. (There will also be the pandemic.) Through it all was the music. Everyone has their escape, their grounding point, their way to drown out the tinnitus. However, the music that gets me through the good times and the bad has changed quite a bit. In 2018 I attended Migration Fest which was predominantly black and death metal and never wanted to miss a second of it. By 2021 I barely listened to black or death metal at all. Or thrash. At least not anything new. Nope. It was all about the doom, the stoner, the rock, the sludge, the psych. With exceptions. Nothing too violent or aggressive. I don't have time for that. I needed chill. I needed vibe. I needed groove. I needed dark and slow. I needed stuff to take my mind away. So, here's what filled those needs the most in 2021! 

Instead of a numbered list, I used three tiers for the top 25 albums. After the top tier is a big ole list of albums that I felt obligated to list because they were also pretty damn good.

Third Tier

Gojira - 'Fortitude' (Roadrunner Records)
Monster Magnet - 'A Better Dystopia' (Napalm Records)
Hippie Death Cult - 'Circle of Days' (Heavy Psych Sounds Records)
Yawning Sons - 'Sky Island' (Ripple Music)
Dvne - 'Etemen Ænka' (Metal Blade Records)
Go Ahead and Die - 'Go Ahead and Die' (Nuclear Blast Records)
Kadabra - 'Ultra' (Heavy Psych Sounds Records)
Redscale - 'The Old Colossus' (Majestic Mountain Records)
Snake Mountain Revival - 'Everything in Sight' (Rebel Waves Records)
Monolord - 'Your Time to Shine' (Relapse Records)
24/7 Diva Heaven - 'Stress' (Noisolution)
High Desert Queen - 'Secrets of the Black Moon' (Ripple Music)
Dayglo Mourning - 'Dead Star' (Black Doomba Records)
King Buffalo - 'Acheron' (self-released)
Earthless - 'Live in the Mojave Desert' (Giant Rock Records/Heavy Psych Sounds Records)

Second Tier

Lazer Beam - 'Lazer Beam' (LCF Records)
Danko Jones - 'Power Trio' (Sonic Unyon Records)
Fear Factory - 'Aggression Continuum' (Nuclear Blast Records)
Sons of Alpha Centauri - 'Push' (Exile on Mainstream)
Archspire - 'Bleed the Future' (Season of Mist)

Top Tier

Olde - 'Pilgrimage' (Seeing Red Records)
King Buffalo - 'The Burden of Restlessness' (self-released)
Stӧner - 'Stoners Rule' (Heavy Psych Sounds Records)
Blackwater Holylight - 'Silence/Motion' (RidingEasy)
Elder and Kadavar - 'Eldovar: A Story of Darkness and Light' (Robotor Records)

Other Rad Albums

Appalooza - 'The Holy of Holies' (Ripple)
16 and Grime split - 'Doom Sessions Vol. 3' (Heavy Psych Sounds)
Acid Mammoth - 'Caravan' (Heavy Psych Sounds)
Shiva the Destructor - 'Find the Others' (Robust Fellow)
Greenleaf - 'Echoes From a Mass' (Napalm)
Bongzilla - 'Weedsconsin' (Heavy Psych Sounds)
Domkraft - 'Seeds' (Magnetic Eye)
Moon Coven - 'Slumber Wood' (Ripple)
Vokonis - 'Odyssey' (The Sign Records)
Head of Jeddore - 'How to Slaughter a Lamb' (self-released)
Somnuri - ' Nefarious Wave' (Blues Funeral)
Black Sky Giant - 'Planet Terror' and 'Falling Mothership' (self)
Smiling - 'Devour' (Rebel Waves)
Black Label Society - 'Doom Crew Inc.' (eOne)
Jointhugger - 'Surrounded by Vultures' (Majestic Mountain)
Lucifer - 'Lucifer IV' (Century Media)
Mastodon - 'Hushed & Grim' (Warner)
Kowloon Walled City - 'Piecework' (Neurot/Gilead Media)
Crystal Spiders - 'Morieris' (Ripple)
Bogwife - 'A Passage Divine' (Majestic Mountain)
Holy Death Trio - 'Introducing' (Ripple)
Hooded Menace - 'The Tritonus Bell' (Season of Mist)
Trappist/Connoisseur - 'Crossfaded' (Tankcrimes)
Marc Rizzo - 'Living Shred Vol. 1' (Godsize)
Low Flying Hawks - 'FUYU' (Magnetic Eye)
Kal-El - 'Dark Majesty' (Majestic Mountain)
Comet Control - 'Inside the Sun' (Tee Pee)
Snail - 'Fractal Altar' (Argonauta)
1782 - 'From the Graveyard' (Heavy Psych Sounds)
Sunnata - 'Burning in Heaven, Melting on Earth' (self)
Heavy Temple - 'Lupis Amoris' (Magnetic Eye)
Sion - 'Sion' (self)
Spirit Mother - 'Live in the Mojave Desert' (Giant Rock/HPS)
Stӧner - 'Live in the Mojave Desert' (Giant Rock/HPS)
Mountain Tamer - 'Live in the Mojave Desert' (Giant Rock/HPS)

2020: My Favourites

It goes without saying 2020 was fucked. But between all the flaming garbage I think I made big personal strides in really discovering what mattered to me. And well, here are the albums from 2020 that mattered to me. Top 20 and Next 20, in alphabetical order, because numbered rankings are pointless.

All these albums are available on Spotify and/or Bandcamp. You know how the internet works.

TOP 20

16 - Dream Squasher (Relapse)
The Atomic Bitchwax - Scorpio (Tee Pee)
Bantha Rider - Binary Sunset Massacre (Bantha DIY, Piranha Music, AimDownSight)
Black Rainbows - Cosmic Ritual Supertrip (Heavy Psych Sounds)
Brant Bjork - Brant Bjork (Heavy Psych Sounds)
Dead Quiet - Truth and Ruin (Artofact)
Electric Hydra - Electric Hydra (Majestic Mountain, Tee Pee)
Gypsybyrd - Eyes of the Sun (Cosmic Stone)
Hymn - Breach Us (Fysisk Format)
Killer Be Killed - Reluctant Hero (Nuclear Blast)
Khruangbin - Mordechai (Dead Oceans, Night Time Stories)
Local H - Lifers (Antifragile)
Moths & Locusts - Exoplanets (NoiseAgonyMayhem)
Oranssi Pazuzu - Mestarin kynsi (Nuclear Blast)
Psychlona - Venus Skytrip (Ripple)
Sevendust - Blood and Stone (Rise)
Sons of Otis - Isolation (Totem Cat)
Somnus Throne - Somnus Throne (Burning World)
Turtle Skull - Monoliths (Art As Catharsis)
Yawning Man - Live at Giant Rock (Heavy Psych Sounds)

NEXT 20

Acid Mammoth - Under Acid Hoof (Heavy Psych Sounds)
Big Scenic Nowhere - Vision Beyond Horizon (Satin) and Lavendar Blues (Satin)
Body Count - Carnivore (Century Media)
The Budos Band - Long in the Tooth (Daptone)
Deftones - Ohms (Reprise)
Elder - Omens (Armageddon Shop)
Dirt Woman - The Glass Cliff (Grimoire)
Goatriders - The Magician's Keep (self)
Huanastone - Third Stone from the Sun (Argonauta)
IAH - III (self)
Lowrider - Refractions (Blues Funeral)
Lucifer - III (Century Media)
The Pilgrim - ...From The Earth To The Sky And Back (Heavy Psych Sounds)
Pink Cigs - Pink Cigs (Harvest Studios)
The Re-Stoned - Thunders of the Deep (Qiasum Music)
Sepultura - Quadra (Nuclear Blast) 
Spirit Adrift - Enlightened in Eternity (20 Buck Spin)
Thomas V. Jӓger - A Solitary Plan (RidingEasy)
Tombs - Monarchy of Shadows (Season of Mist) and Under Sullen Skies (Season of Mist)
Yatra - Blood of the Night (STB) and All is Lost (Grimoire)

Special Note: Laat maar, ik verhuis naar het bos by Beaten To Death was available on vinyl only in 2020 and I didn't get a copy. The digital mix is being released as 4 EPs in 2021. The first three are crankable as usual.

We Hunt Buffalo - Head Smashed In

We Hunt Buffalo return with Head Smashed In, their second album for Fuzzorama Records. It’s one of those albums that’s deceptively dense. On the surface it seems pretty straightforward but there’s some stuff going on in the back you might not pick up on at first. Vocally at least. Speaking of vocals, “Angler Must Die” has the clean vocals present throughout but there’s also some screaming that comes right out of left field.

We Hunt Buffalo also drop down into some heavier moments than I wasn't expecting. This is basically fuzz-laden hard rock so that added crunch comes in pretty handy. Ya know, a little extra flavour. It’s not that there’s a lack of riffs though. There’s lots of that to go around but you gotta season the meat, right? (or in my case, marinade the tofu)

Head Smashed In is a relatively “safe” spin. There’s great tone, sweet solos, and the parts where they aren’t pushing full ahead are sprinkled in appropriately. Some songs have great muscular energy and some…. not so much. Personally, I find their softer songs and/or parts lacking. Dynamics are fine, but they just don’t play to their strengths as well in my opinion. Personal preference.

They do craft good songs though. No awkward transitions, no overstayed welcomes, nothing sticking out like a wart. Psych atmosphere has its place as well as a subtle Southern feel at times. It’s consistent too. “Heavy Low” sucks you in to start and “Anxious Children” as the penultimate track grabs your attention again just in case. It’s got a sweet main riff, cool atmosphere and the bass just rules on this one.

Inoffensive, solid, riff-centric hard rock when you’re going to get here, equally suited to dedicated listening or background tunes. You definitely won’t smash your head in! I hope. Go ahead and crank the fuzz!

Favourite 40 of 2018

I read once that on average, people stop looking for new bands to listen to in their mid 30s. I turned 40 late in 2018 and I'm definitely feeling the pull of complacency. Maybe it's just because I'm getting old but my patience level has plummeted. Time is precious and I no longer force myself to listen to something because I feel obligated to. If I wrinkle my nose enough in the first three songs, I'm out. Besides, the endless swarm of new albums and bands that only gets bigger with each passing year is too much to consume. I wasn't giving anything a fair shake. So in 2018 I shrugged my shoulders and said "fuck it." I spent as much time with whatever album as I wanted to. A solid month of almost nothing but the new Corrosion of Conformity? OK! A deep dive into Brant Bjork's solo career? Why would I ever stop?! Weeks of Tomb Mold worship? Oh, Canada! With such a pullback on new explorations, I'm surprised I even had 40 albums I felt deserved to be on my list. I did have some rather unfortunate cuts to make though. Who cares? Anyway, here are the 40 albums that made me happiest in 2018. That's all that matters.

Please note, Clutch's Book of Bad Decisions is my absolute favourite of 2018 but I CANNOT be objective with Clutch under any circumstances.

40. Lucifer - Lucifer II (Century Media) - For some reason I was reluctant to like this. Still busted up about The Oath being a one-and-done? Regardless, I thought this rocked enough to make sure I mentioned it. 

39. Deicide - Overtures of Blasphemy (Century Media) - I was into Deicide before I was into Cannibal Corpse, okay? They're my kind of death metal. Deal with it.

38. Scorched - Ecliptic Butchery (20 Buck Spin) - Again with the my kind of death metal. Brutal. Hard. Dark. Sci-fi themed just makes it that much cooler! 

37. Ulthar - Cosmovore (20 Buck Spin) - Whoa! Death metal again? Ya, man. It was a good year. Ulthar throw a little more technicality into the brutality but do so with just the right dosage. 

36. Bongripper - Terminal (Gilead Media) - Instrumental, leaden doom will bring me pleasure every day of the week. So long as it's done as expertly as these laid back dudes who know how to name a band.

35. Sundrifter - Visitations (Small Stone) - So smooth! This kind of desert rock influenced warmth will take me to my grave. I could listen to these fuzzy-eyed jams til the end of time.

34. Domkraft - Flood (Blues Funeral) - Give me psychedelic doom or give me death! So blissfully easy to completely lose yourself in their dense and textured sound.

33. A Storm of Light - Anthroscene (Translation Loss) - Always been a fan of Josh Graham's work with this band. Thoughtful and hypnotic darkness that repeatedly smacks you in the face.

32. Trappist - Ancient Brewing Tactics (Relapse) - Beer and grind combine to make an intoxicating brew of absolute good times. I got 99 problems but Trappist ain't one! 

31. Monster Magnet - Mindfucker (Napalm) - This is far from the best Monster Magnet album. More rock and less psych isn't usually what Monster Magnet fans ask for but I'm still psyched at how much it rocks! 

30. Extremity - Coffin Birth (20 Buck Spin) - Top shelf death metal and 20 Buck Spin go together like peanut butter and jelly. As in, consumed by me on a very regular basis. This one just plain old tears your throat out.

29. Mountain Tamer - GodFortune // Dark Matters (Magnetic Eye) - You could throw this in with the stoner rock crowd I suppose. It is the riffs that make this so addictive after all. But the real clincher is the "SATAN!!!" scream. I won't tell you when it hits. 

28. Alice in Chains - Ranier Fog (BMG) - Fine. They're a different band since Layne died. We get it. What did you expect? That doesn't mean they aren't still one of my favourite bands EVER and don't deserve it, goddammit! 

27. Dead Meadow - The Nothing They Need (Xemu) - I heard Dead Meadow playing in a record store back in 2001 and bought it immediately. They still connect with my soul.

26. Vile Creature - Cast of Static and Smoke (self) - This heavy-as-fuck Canadian duo made quite the splash in 2018. The nihilism and heft of this crushing slab of catharsis should make everyone want to join their angry queer doom cult.

25. Wiegedood - De Dodden Hebben Het Goed III (Century Media) - I wasn't as enamored with this one as I was with II but there's something bewitching about the tornado of fierce black metal they employ to put the ice in my veins. I can't shake the desire.

24. Khemmis - Desolation (20 Buck Spin) - I saw Khemmis play at Migration Fest and they needed a longer set. Such great songwriting. Power, melody, passion. Even better with beer.

23. Psychlona - Mojo Rising (Ripple) - Sometimes I just need an overdose of psych dancing in oblivion with a god-like profusion of fuzzed-out riffs. It gets my mojo rising. Man.

22. Castle - Deal Thy Fate (Ripple) - Speaking of riffs... This duo really cranks them out. Sorta lo-fi, sorta retro, lotsa headbanging fun. A doomy crunch nodding to classic rock. Catchy as all get out!

21. Sunnata - Outlands (self) - Oh my goodness have I enjoyed sinking into the ethereal place this album takes me. The psych factor here is sky high. Dangerously hypnotic and completely mesmerizing.

20. Conan - Existential Void Guardian (Napalm) - I'm always down for some caveman battle doom! And with that extra muscle the new drummer brings you know my steering wheel is getting a serious beating! 

19. Slaves BC - Lo, and I Am Burning (Fear & The Void) - I had the pleasure of meeting drummer-vocalist Josh Thieler and he's basically the polar opposite of the gnarly, dark, at times terrifying menace that comes blasting out of my speakers. Only ashes remain.

17 and 18. Black Space Riders - Amoretum Vol. 1 & 2 (Black Space/Cargo) - Not sure how to describe this. It makes me think of 80s/90s goth/emo/new wave but they carry a swagger and a hard edge that keeps it from feeling sappy. And we got two albums of it this year! Did I mention the tags of psychedelic, stoner, prog and space rock on their bandcamp?

16. Corrosion of Conformity - No Cross No Crown (Nuclear Blast) - Pepper's back!!! Not that I didn't like the other lineup (again) but I discovered the band during the previous Pepper years so this return to form hits all the right spots!

15. Tomb Mold - Manor of Infinite Forms (20 Buck Spin) - Funny how I had to go all the way to Pittsburgh to see Tomb Mold when Toronto is two hours down the road. It was worth it to see all their filthy death metal in the flesh.

14. Gozu - Equilibrium (Metal Blade) - I bought one vinyl record in 2018. This one. How was I lucky enough to see them "at home"? No matter. There's stoner rock/metal and then there's Gozu. They are like a drug. A highly addictive, psychedelic, somewhat progressive, hard-hitting drug. With the year's best album cover. (Edit: I bought the Slaves BC vinyl too.)

13. Beaten to Death - Agronomicon (Mas-kina) - Keeping a new B2D album out of the top 10 was hard. But it came out on Christmas Eve. I basically had to postpone this list because it. They are their own brand of melodic grindcore. Crazy good craziness.

12. Skeletonwitch - Devouring Radiant Light (Prosthetic) - I never doubted Adam Clemans as the new singer in Skeletonwitch but now I have fully embraced him. This seems like a more mature album that still rips as hard as they always have.

11. Wolvhammer - The Monuments of Ash and Bone (Blood Music) - Speaking of Adam Clemans.... He kills it with Wolvhammer too. This album takes over my body until I am "The Failure King"! Burly black metal that still hammers the riffs into you forever. Incredible.



Because I thought I did a good job, and because I want to get this thing posted now that it's MARCH, the following blurbs are copied from an original post at Hellbound.ca. Enough procrastinating!!!

10. Cancer Bats - The Spark That Moves (New Damage/Bat Skull) - I was more than pleasantly surprised when this dropped out of nowhere on April 20. (Coincidence?) The Spark That Moves feels like a comeback record to me. They’ve never not been great but this has an energy that supercharged my being in a way they haven’t since Hail Destroyer. It was a daily listen for months. The summer months were definitely the brightest days thanks to their high energy, meaningful, and fun fusion of hardcore, sludge and whatever else they can squeeze in. I saw some these songs live too and let me tell you, dude…

9. Soulfly - Ritual (Napalm) - I would usually leave Soulfly off a list like this altogether due to personal bias (the first tattoo I ever got was a Soulfly logo) but Ritual warrants the recognition due to the change in direction the band takes. Soulfly had been going in a more intense death-thrash direction on recent efforts but Ritual sounds more like Max Cavalera in the mid-to-late ’90s. Late Sepultura, early Soulfly. Not nu-metal though. Groovy? Sure. Tribal? Some. Intensity? You better believe it. It impressed many fans who had given up ages ago and even some that have hung in the whole time.



8. Windhand - Eternal Return (Relapse) - Virginia’s Windhand teased ever so tantalizingly with their half of a split with Satan’s Satyrs. That appetizer was the perfect setup for the satisfying main course. Eternal Return satiates all doom desires. The warm tones penetrate your body while the flowing riffs liquify your bones into a vaporous syrup. Dorthia Cottrell continues her reign among the most affecting doom vocalists of this, or any age in the genre’s evolution. Windhand’s earthly and bewitching doom is a blessing of mood music. The beauty of it is there’s a whole range of moods Eternal Return can amplify or soothe. A potent elixir for all your ills.

7. Secret Cutter - Quantum Eraser (self) - Have you ever seen an industrial metal stamp in action? Bending thick steel into whatever shape the creator desires. Intense irresistible downward force. Complete obliteration. That’s how Secret Cutter destroy you. They crush so hard you’re erased down to a quantum level. It’s a heavy as fuck exercise in sludge, doom, and grind. Spine-tingling vocals set hairs on end as their curiously bent chords mold your skull into new and interesting shapes. Nothing else out there this year hits like the planet smashing sledgehammering Secret Cutter dish out. This music will bruise you.



6. Astrakhan - Without New Growth Process is Bloodshed (self) - RIP Astrakhan. With this release it was made known that Astrakhan was to be no more. The SADness of February’s cold days took a new twist as Sans Astrakhan Disorder. The cure actually comes in the form of listening to the album. WNGPIB is masterful. There’s no term for their progressive, post-, hard-charging, doomy, sludge-into-stoner metal. That indescribability adds to its charm. Serpentine riffs and dynamic intensity take the listener through a lifetime of emotional shifts. Harmonies and vocals stretch your soul like puddy, solos send your mind exploding across galaxies, and the whole package… sadly wasn’t released on vinyl. I’m pretty excited for the guitarists’ new project Brugada though.



5. Fu Manchu - Clone of the Universe (New Damage/At the Dojo) - All that really needs to be said about Clone of the Universe is that there is an 18 minute song on it that features Alex Lifeson of Rush. He doesn’t play for the whole 18 minutes mind you but it’s still way cool. It’s also pretty cool that a band known for short-ish punchy tunes pulled off such a monster track and even embedded it with a new essential Fu Manchu moment. Light the throttle!!! Scott Hill and company do have surprises up their sleeve! Rest assured though the runtime friendly anthems of California-baked coolness that make up the rest of album leave their mark too. Fu Manchu doing Fu Manchu, with an adventurous twist.



4. Sleep - The Sciences (Third Man) - I’ve been a Sleep fan since I first discovered them in 2000. Jerusalem was unlike anything I had heard before. I finally got a chance to see them play back in August. They didn’t play all of Jerusalem/Dopesmoker but they did play some of it. They also played a bunch of songs from The Sciences, their first full-length since Dopesmoker was originally released in 2003. “Sonic Titan” is a holdover from those days given a boost from studio production. The songs range in length from the 3 minute intro/title track to the 14:23 of “Antarcticans Thawed” and every second is unmistakably Sleep. “Giza Butler” might be the second best song they’ve ever written. There’s a riff in there that is my spirit animal. Throw me off a bridge. I don’t care as long as that’s what I hear on the way down.



3. Brant Bjork - Mankind Woman (Heavy Psych Sounds) - This past year or so I have REALLY gotten into Brant Bjork. I loved Black Power Flower and Tao of the Devil but I never really dug into the past. I did this year. Partly due to Mankind Woman. I needed more. And more. As much as I could get. (HPS is actually reissuing most of his back catalogue so….) I can’t even get enough of this album though. Shades of funk and blues. Groove. Psych. Stoner vibes. An overwhelming sense of chill. These are some of my favourite things…about the album. And the lyrics. Songs about life. Diamond hard nuggets of wisdom. “Nation of Indica” is my favourite song of the year for just such reasons. Stay chill, my friends.



2. High on Fire - Electric Messiah (eOne) - My guess is that after dragging his strings around in Sleep and their new material he needed to balance that by making a new High on Fire album as intense as humanly possible. There is a fire burning under Electric Messiah that’s heating those riffs to a rapid boil. Add in the white hot electricity of this trio and you’ll be seeing God. Everything feels 110%. They’ve been at this a long while, and not without challenges, but they bludgeon with such conviction here you’d think their faces were young and fresh. So muscular, so intense, so brilliantly executed. I don’t care how people feel about High on Fire production (I hear nothing wrong here). It’s about the songs. I LOVE THESE SONGS.

1. Yob - Our Raw Heart (Relapse) - Yob’s Mike Scheidt fought a battle with death and won. Our Raw Heart is the result. No album this year made me FEEL as much as this one. As heavy as it is triumphant, it stirs the emotional pot for the duration. “Beauty in Falling Leaves”, the longest track on the album, challenges “Marrow” for most heart-wrenching Yob song ever. It feels like the band really came together on a higher level for this. I’m still baffled there was a time I didn’t even like Yob. Now I can’t imagine a world without their music. Such powerful doom is therapeutic, transporting the listener to a place both of and beyond suffering. To me at least, music like this is essential.

Thanks for hangin' in there.