It’s that monthly ritual where I have an aching feeling that I missed something big. But that’s why we have the Doom Charts, and we have more writers here at Clean and Sober Stoner. No one, not even Rich Piva, can listen to everything.
As always, the 14th pick is every bit as likely to be your #1 pick. This is just my list, subjective as it is. But I do believe this month’s #1 is one of the best I’ve ever heard.
Top 14 Stoner/Doom Albums for March
14. RICKSHAW BILLIE’S BURGER PATROL – BIG DUMB RIFFS
The riffs are neither as big nor as dumb as the title suggests. But man, this makes for a lot of fun. Super tight writing and crisp production combine to make this one heck of a ride. Okay, stunner Body Bag is one huge riff. It’s just not all that dumb. This is one fun, engaging song after another!
13. SKULL SERVANT – SUMMON SORCERESS
I admit, I’ll buy anything that Skull Servant and Noah Terrell put out. And yes, I did need another version of Satan’s Broomstick. These guys are going to record and re-record their catalog until they get the sound in their heads just right. In the meantime, maybe it’s time to release a full-length of new stuff? Please?
12. UNCLE WOE – OBLIVION AND FURTHER DISASTER
Man, Doom sure is changing. It’s no longer enough to find the perfect riff with the right pedal and blast it through an Orange amp into an Emperor Cab. Uncle Woe raises the bar in a huge way with Oblivion and Further Disaster. Now we need wailing vocals with heartbreaking and emotive lyrics with some of the best chord progressions since Clearing the Path to Ascend. Uncle Woe is perilously close to raising the bar for everyone.
11. ANGMODNES – ROT OF THE SOUL
Do yourself that same favor, schedule an uninterrupted hour to hear and feel these symphony-esque tracks from Angmodnes. Take an intentional journey through sadness, allowing gloom to set in. But all the while, keep a look out for the glimmers of light, listen for the moments of hope that you will find among the daming bass tones, the dark guitar walk-ups, the sobering drum changes, and the ever inviting choral presentations. – Jipsy (full review here)
10. KULT IKON – BLACK IRON PRISON
Kult Ikon takes the idea of Instrumental Doom to a heavier, darker place than usual with a refined sense of groove! These guys know how to keep an 11-minute extended riff fest from getting boring. “Slow. Heavy. Introspective.” Truth in advertising, indeed! This is highly refined and well-crafted stuff for fans of Heavy Psych, Stoner, Doom and all things heavy!
09. ALTAR OF BETELGEUSE – ECHOES
This feels like the heaviest month I’ve reviewed in a long time. And it feels so good! Echoes is the latest example of spacey, gloomy Heavy Psych getting heavier and heavier to the point of critical mass. This is moody and emotional music that floats between Death/Doom and psychedelia effortlessly. It’s like the darker twin of Spaceslug. The recording is exceptional, and Altar of Betelgueze is one more band to add to your “must listen” list of awesome.
08. WE FOLLOW THE EARTH – EXTINCT
The only thing better than heavy psychedelic space-doom is MOAR HEAVY PSYCHEDELIC SPACE DOOM. And the only thing better than We Follow the Earth’s Lightbearer is Extinct. This is atmospheric DOOM that literally crushes and dominates and ovetakes your mind. It might not win over any new fans to the genre, but for those of us who LIVE for this kind of heaviness, this is a defining moment for a band on the rise.
07. DAEVAR – AMBER EYES
There are some styles of Doom that I will never get enough of. Once I hear a low and slow riff on repeat for about five minutes and vocals that lie somewhere in-between a song and a chant, I’m done. Sign me up. It doesn’t matter if it’s Windhand or Haunted: it’s probably my favorite style. Enter Daevar and the enchanting Amber Eyes. Pardis’s voice is as distinctive from Dorthia Cottrell and Christina Chimirri as Byrd’s sax is different from Coltrane’s, but it might be a difference only the initiated can discern. Oh effing well. This is for the devoted!
06. HASHTRONAUT – NO RETURN
No Return, Hastronaut’s debut album, is the perfect reflection of who this Denver, Colorado-based band really is. It is brash, confident, and big. It is everything that a generation raised on Sleep’s Dopesmoker has been waiting for. It is weed-fueled madness and anxiety driven into colossal riffs. It is the sound of a burning bong blasted at 120 watts through custom cabinets. It is the sound of pure, sativan joy. It is the next album that you have to have on vinyl. It is also – and this is really impressive considering it is a debut album – an early contender for album of the year. -Blake Carrera
05. BUZZARD – DOOM FOLK
Buzzard wastes no time in getting straight to the banjo, power chords and blasphemy. Where a lot of bands obscure their dark, anti-fundamentalist screeds under layers of processed guitars and growling, Buzzard opines on the evils of organized religion with uncomfortable clarity. In so many ways, this goes beyond even Deicide with its scathing commentary on the abuses of the faithful. Not even the Norse Gods are spared the barbed jabs and hooks.
04. CRANEIUM – POINT OF NO RETURN
Released at the end of February, I almost missed this! Thankfully, my fellow Doom Charts peeps kept chatting about it, so I didn’t miss it entirely. This is first-rate post-rock with amped-up melodies, timeless riffs and anthemic vocals that soar above the average shoegazey Stoner. “AOTY” keeps coming up all over the place for this, and you’ve GOT to hear why. Even now I want to eff the rest of my Doom Charts list and just groove to the effortless flow of this epic stunner of an album.
03. AZELL – DEATH CONTROL
I’m not taking the lazy way out, it’s just that video is the best way I can put how incredible Death Control is.
02. CLOUDS TASTE SATANIC – 79 AE
Instrumental Stoner/Doom is all the rage these days. I’ve lost count of how many bands have embraede the style, and how they tend to inject a little bit of their own personality into what used to be a fairly dead and boring sub-genre.
And then there’s Clouds Taste Satanic. This band continues to surprise and amaze so consistently it’s getting hard to believe they can do it again. 79 A.E. is the album that says, “Oh yeah? Hold my bong.” I’m used to explicit references to classic albums and a cheeky sense of humor with their albums, but this one seems different. This is so distinctly CTS, it’s like everything else was a prelude. For the uninitiated, this could be the best intro to the band yet.
01. SCORCHED OAK – PERCEPTION
Perception annihilated expectations. In my mind, it puts Scorched Oak in the same league as Howling Giant, Ritual King, Saturna, and Steak as one of the best bands in the scene. Every member of the German 3-piece gets their moments, but Linda practically steals the show with her soaring vocals and deceptively wicked bass playing.
This is always a highly personal choice, and there’s no denying that this is a subjective opinion. But it’s an extremely strong one, and Scorched Oak not only gives me what I’m looking for in contemporary Stoner/Doom, but they also throw in some unexpected surprises. This is my first true AOTY contender this year that can go up against Nista as one of my favorite albums of all time.
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