2025: My Favourites

You may notice I didn't post any recommendations for December of 2025. That's because I don't have any. I had a couple of new releases in my spreadsheet but I didn't listen to them. I was too busy going through the rest of the year to pick out more important albums for this post (December 2025 Playlist); my favourite albums of 2025. It's kind of a Top 25 of 2025 but broken up into a top 3 within a top 10 and then another 15 or so. I valued my time even more this year and dismissed a lot of bands and/or albums quickly and mercilessly. If I don't connect with it, gone. I'm done "trying" to like things. And I don't have to apologize. The albums/releases below represent what did connect with me. Easily and repeatedly. Matching frequencies. Some albums just happen. Some albums become part of you. Some part of you for their runtime (with residuals). Some become part of a memory, a particular time or event. Some become part of you forever. There's a bit of all that to be found every year. Here's what found me in 2025.

My 10 Favourite Albums of 2025. On any given day I felt like this was the best album of the year. Did I feel it THAT hard? If the answer was yes...

AAWKS - On Through the Sky Maze: I saw AAWKS play at least one song from this album months before it came out. "Celestial Magick". They had just shot the video and were SO freaking excited to talk about it. I was too! (Heavy on the Cosmic) was great and I had no reason to believe On Through the Sky Maze wouldn't be too. But it was even better! Bringing in a new bassist ("Grimepup") gave AAWKS a cool new element in his demonic screams and extra filth. That new vocal dynamic really made a difference. Otherwise AAWKS as a whole simply got better. The riffs are just a bit cooler, the vibe is just a bit more psychedelic but also heavier, it hits just a little harder. Psychedlic doom sums it up pretty well. They'll beat you over the head with a flower and the resulting dream trip comes blasting out the speakers. Their use of samples on Sky Maze is very well done. Perfect even. Sky Maze feels more like how it felt seeing them play live in a wine cellar. One of those straight-from-the-amps, on the floor, no monitors shows where the world ceases to exist outside those walls. That's how it feels listening to On Through the Sky Maze; like nothing else exists. I listen to music to block out the rest of the world and I listened to On Through the Sky Maze more than anything else in 2025. What does that tell you? That it's likely my favourite album of the year. Why this isn't at the top of every doom fan's list is beyond me. Dynamic and trippy, heavy-ass psych brilliance.



Dead Meadow - Voyager to Voyager: There's a big sentimentality factor at play here. Bassist Steve Kille passed away from cancer in 2024 but not before laying down his bass tracks for what is arguably Dead Meadow's best album to date. Time will tell but I've got zero complaints. The title track is based on the Voyager spacecrafts but also about connections between voyagers. And I mean, it really hits when you think of the completed album as a message to Steve. From one voyager to another. Even if the late Mr. Kille was still with us this album is mind-blowing regardless. As every Dead Meadow album is, but still. Like AAWKS above, Dead Meadow and this album become all that's necessary to exist when it's playing. Being a long time and literally instant Dead Meadow fan I can feel all the years pulled into one. Tell me "Not The Season" doesn't sound like it could have been on Howls From The Hills for example. I think about music in terms of frequency and Dead Meadow is always tuned to a frequency that resonates with mine. Over decades they've honed this sense of flow, of airiness, of cool that lifts a weigh off my shoulders and hypnotizes me into a state of calm and contentedness. Anxiety fades away and all is good. Voyager to Voyager is so good that I bought the CD AND the vinyl. Psychedelic stoner rock doesn't get any better than this. (okay, maybe Colour Haze.) I do hope they keep going with a new bassist (outside of the few shows they've done since Kille's passing). Or Jason Simon and Mark Laughlin keep going in some capacity because their talents are too good to lose. Take the voyage.



Rwake - The Return of Magik: There are few bands that tear my body apart from the inside out and Rwake are one of them. That sounds visceral, and it is, but it's a beautiful viscerality. I might have made that word up. It fits though. This Arkansas sludge-with-twists outfit took their time bringing this album to us. Their last effort, Rest, was released in 2011. It was more than worth the weight, oops, wait. Besides, Rest was enough to keep me occupied for way longer than 14 years. When you listen to The Return of Magik and feel its density, its scope, its primal heaviness and raw, almost cosmic emotion twisting and churning and expanding and contracting, the time between albums becomes irrelevant. I really wish I wasn't so shit at discerning lyrics though. I'd also have to write them down to make sense of them. Which is a shame because I haven't seen a lyric sheet anywhere and I know this shit is DEEP. I can make out that much. I can feel that much. Rwake has always been that way. I enjoy their long compositions that move and flow from ethereal and thoughful to earth-splitting sonic assaults with abstract, poetic lyrics that tickle my nervous system. The title track especially reshapes my atoms. It's crazy. I mean, I just found the lyrics for that one and goddamn there's a lot to unpack there. Spiritual and philosophical in ways that feel true in ways too complex to explain here, or fully comprehend even. Feeling. That's what it's mostly about. Rwake makes me FEEL. Pain is simply an intense stimulus interpreted by our brain. Pain is an energy necessary for balance and survival. For me, The Return of Magik is all about energy. As a reflection of life, multi-directional and multi-dimensional, some of that energy is painful. Rwake take the painful and pleasureable energies to craft psychedelic sludge masterpieces as complex and interconnected as the captivating album cover. This album has definitely been woven into my being. I am grateful for its existence and thankful to its creators.



Conan - Violence Dimension: All the friggin' time when I'm on reddit someone in the doommetal subreddit will post something about looking for FUCKING HEAVY bands, not necessarily in those exact words. Every time, without fail, someone brings up Conan. With good reason! Conan are FUCKING HEAVY! Tuned down to the floor with hammerblow riffs driving a permanent sense of turmoil and dread, Conan crack the very firmament into a million jagged shards, blowing a hole in the event horizon into the abyss. You cannot escape the Violence Dimension.



Goya - In the Dawn of November: I've been a Goya fan for years. Their style of sludge appeals to me very much. It doesn't hurt that I'm almost the exact same age as frontman Jeff Owens (+/- a day I think) and I seem to connect to his lyrics quite a bit. At least the ones about like, depression and stuff. Maybe not being in love with a corpse. This album has a nice of mix of "fun" feeling and definitely not fun. It kinda comes down to the riffs too though. These riffs are cool, dudes. The tone is bonkers too. Gnarly. Conan-level gnarly at times. Those solos can rip too!



Hell - Submersus: Oh, sweet Satan, what could be heavier than Conan? HELL!!! Hell, Submersus could be the heaviest album on this whole list. Earthquaking, bone-breaking, brain-smoothing heaviness. Plodding riffs and feral screams send shivers down your spine and stimulate baser senses. It's not pure oppression however. The second half of "Gravis" shifts the gloom and doom into more choral territory. Harmonized monk-ish voices chant as one imagines the world ending outside the cathedral walls, fireballs raining from the sky. Meanwhile, peace inside. Accepting fate. That's why we listen to heavy, nuanced blackened sludge doom laced with tortured emotion. To feel at peace on the inside with chaos and suffering all around.



M.E.L.T. - Innervate/Obliterate: And now for something completely different. I not even sure how to classify Pittsburgh's M.E.L.T.. High-energy psych-leaning garage/fuzz rock with plenty of ambition? Like a more acidic version of The Atomic Bitchwax. A little crazy but tight as fuck. I tell ya, when those rippin' riffs and fucking sick bass grab hold of you, your body will move. It will groove, it will sway, hips will shake, heads will bob, toes will tap. It's impossible to remain still. It's just incredibly fun to listen to while letting the dynamic tunes directs how your mind and body move through the ether. It's one of those albums that sounds less serious than it is. It's a little kooky at times but that's what's so great about it. A seriously and deliriously great time.



Turtle Skull - Being Here: Until the vocals come in on the title track that opens the album you might think it was another Dead Meadow song. That's where the "pop" in the "psych doom pop" comes from in the descriptor on Turtle Skull's bandcamp page. Their bright and soothing creating a care-free feeling with something of a nostalgic edge. Fuzzed-out guitars generate waves through the flowerchild atmosphere of "Apathy". Even a song like "Heavy as Hell" with its drony, dark riff is lifted up by the harmonized vocals. I mean, take a look at that artwork. It's pretty cool, mate. It captures the music too. Complex, balanced, flowing, trippy, grounds you in the present. Let go of distraction and be here, with Being Here.



Verona Florrist - Verona Florrist: Having just wrote about Toronto's Verona Florrist in November words are not coming easy. Part of that is this debut album of powerful and psyched-up doom/sludge has a tendency to leave you speechless. The way things ebb and flow and swell and blow your hair back is tremendous. It's hard not to get hypotized by this aura of cool creativity. The kind of cool that's cool because it's not trying to be cool. These are dynamic songs from musicians that were pretty fuckin' locked in when I saw them live. Vocalist/guitarist/songwriter Joe Narducci obviously put a lot of effort into this but it feels so effortless to listen to it. Debut album of the year in my opinion.



Witchcraft - Idag: Ah, epic, '70s-inspired, folk-tinged proto-doom from one the biggest names in Swedish stoner rock. You could say they helped shape the sound of European stoner rock as a whole as recognizably distinct from their US counterparts. As I've read elsewhere, Idag has all the elements that make Witchcraft the band they are. Wicked tone, powerful face-making riffs, and a mix of Swedish and English vocals crystallize with fluid percussion and psychedelic atmosphere. It's heavy but at the same time you feel like your feet aren't even touching the ground. I hadn't actually listened to Witchcraft in a while but Idag is so invigorating that it shines a brighter light on their whole body of work. How much better would knowing Swedish make it!



Here's where I highlight my most expensive purchase of 2025, especially in dollars per minute. But the digital purchase is Name Your Price.

That would be the very limited lathe-cut 10" vinyl for Uncle Woe's Folded in Smoke, Soaked and Bound. 17 minutes and 18 seconds of doom and gloom. As with most Uncle Woe releases you can feel this fog and general greyness hanging in the air. The solo section on "One is Obliged" can spiral you out of the darkness in a way. It's hard to fully escape at any time with the desperately emotional vocals firmly but gently grabbing hold to lay you down amongst soft mosses in acceptance while a dance of emotion plays out with a backdrop of light and shadow. It's a dense listen, the air made thick but tone and ambiance. Like most Uncle Woe releases, for me at least, it's oppressive but it feels the world world expands outward from your core.



The best of the rest.

Budos Band - Budos VII: Funky instrumental rock centered around a slamming brass section! Not all sax though so I really dig it! Noir movie soundtrack feel but more fun. Listen here.
bunsenburner - Reverie: Slightly weird, heavy-psychic, instrumental stoner rock building momuments of sounds in your mind. Listen here.
Causa Sui - In Flux: More instrumental stoner rock with a heavy psychedelic element. They'll pack a punch and send you on a voyage. Listen here. Or on El Paraiso Records' Youtube channel.
Danko Jones - Leo Rising: This power trio continues to just flat out rock, baby! Listen here.
Dhyana - Four releases!: This Louisiana one-man instrumental sludgy drone doom outfit makes music for practicing Mahayana Buddhism with. Which I do! 2025 saw four great volumes Mozhao, Arahant, Mu, and Madhyamaka. Listen to them all on Bandcamp.
Dope Smoker - Seven releases!: A banner year for the repetitive stoner trio. An EP, The Wolfe and its instrumental version, LXST CΛSSXTTX and its instrumental version and its "purple version", and finally DOOM SHOP and its intrumental version. They've brought in hip-hop influences (and guests) to spice things up from the usual tweaking of their old standards. You either get it or you don't. Listen to them all on Bandcamp.
Futuropaco - Fortezza DI Vetro, Vol. 2: Kind of like Budos, Causa Sui, and bunsensurner all rolled into one. Instrumental, percussion-driven, synth-laden, and psychedelic funky fuzz. It's a retrofied beauty of a soundtrack to a movie that's only in your mind. Listen Here.
Hawklords - Faith: This long-running Hawkwind offshoot has been quite active lately! Epic psychedelic space rock and I love it! Listen here.
Kungens Män - Resande i rockmusik: Would you be surpised if I said this was more instrumental psychedelic stoner rock? Well, it is. And it's worth your time. Listen here.
Miss Mellow - Dancing Through The Earth: No sophomore curse from the psychy, funky, krauty, stoner sounding Miss Mellow! Think sort of like a German version King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard. Listen here.
Mizmor and Hell - Alluvion: A massive collaboration between two titans of blackened sludge doom! Although I do need to spend more time with Mizmor's own separate release. Listen to Alluvion here.

Honourable mentions to Naxatras, Soufly, Biohazard, Space Witch, and Year of the Cobra.

Stay tuned to this space right here for Playlists of my Favourites of 2025!

In order of release (sort of) Favourites of 2025

Favourites of 2025 in Order of Love (coming soon)

Favourites of 2025 in Order of Love Full albums version (coming soon)

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:

October 2025: Matt Recommends

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.

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!

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.

Album of the Month - July 2025: Hell - Submersus

On my older bass guitar I have a bunch of stickers all over it. On my newer guitar I have one. It says LOWER YOUR HEAD. And it came from Hell. It's their mantra, their ethos, their command. It's also an entirely rational thing to do when listening to the works of Hell's lord and creator, M.S.W.. New album Submersus is no exception. Crank it up, lower your head, and get doomed.

Led by a piercing stab of feedback "Hevy" delivers the first of five hammering blows spanning a tortured 41 minutes. Riffs march like trolls, menacing and fearless save for the light of day. Expansions of buzzing atmosphere bewilder and subjugate. Darkness becomes manifest. So much pain, so much release. Sliding right into "Gravis", gargantuan tone beckons across the wastes as if for war, yet already lamenting the fallen. Sickly rasps, bellows, and growls emanate from behind the wall of resolute energy. Tension leads to angelic clarity.

As the melancholy of "Factum" fades jagged peaks once again rise with towering might. Peaks reaching not for the sky. The domain of "Mortem" is deep and cavernous, stout riffs echoing inwards, pushing deeper and deeper into a realm removed from life. Slowly, gently, rising from the depths, "Bog". Breaking the surface a martial cadence takes hold, rot and black muck sucking at every footfall, fading back to darkness, alone and forgotten.



I hesitate anymore to use phrases like "best album to date" because context has so much to do with perception. But, Submersus is pure Hell. Everything that makes up the Hell experience is embodied here and has been refined to a deadly effectiveness. Best album of July 2025 is pretty easy to say however. Use it to siphon strength from doom and gloom, within and without.

Other releases at least worth mentioning: uh, Aank by Kombynat Robotron I guess.

As always, here's my Playlist for July 2025. One track from each release I listened to all the way through at least once. Lots of Black Sabbath and Scissorfight this month.

Album of the Month - June 2025: Goya - In the Dawn of November

This album deserves a more well written review than I'm able to give you today. I forgot I hadn't posted one yet. But at no point did I forget about In the Dawn of November, the latest (and greatest) album from the mighty Goya. I've been keen on this Jeff Owens outfit since Obelisk came out in 2015 and all their shit is good. But as the kids say, this one just hits different. Maybe it's that bitchin' album art. Or that fucking tone. Or the songs that dig into you, become you, bend you, and crush you.



It sounds massive. Of course. But tone and volume don't mean shit unless you have the riffs to back it up. No worries, my dudes. Goya has the riffs you're looking for. Sludgy and bluesy and crafted into something with character and life. Characters and life factor into the lyrics even. Mourning lovers, depressed and angry people, you know, relatable shit. But sometimes in a fastasy occult/horror context. Like "Cemetary Blues". Or just straight up this-world-sucks mean mugging. "Depressive Episode" for example. And the great thing is, the lyrics are understandable. Which means the singalongs/lip syncing are near constant. It's like a Princess Bride of downer doom. It's got doom, depression, horror, romance, and beefy riffs. Oh, and dig the solos, people. Most often bluesy and sure to enhance the emotional response In the Dawn of November illicits.

It's just bloody fantastic. I'm pretty sure it has found more air time in my head than anything else yet this year. As heavy and dark as it is, it's still really catchy. Catchy doom is the shit. And I am not sick of it in the least. (See track 4, "Sick of Your Shit")

Well, this review exceeded my low expectations and honestly Goya exceeded my high expectaions with In the Dawn of November. I'm high while writing it and it's fair to say Goya were too. Boom! Even more relatable! Now let me go listen to it some more.

Before you go, don't forget to check out my As I Go June 2025 Playlist! Goya is 40 songs in. And tracks from my favourite albums from 2006 take up a good portion of it.

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.

2006 Re-revisited

Before I started this blog in 2008, I would send my "Best of 20XX" lists around to my friends via email. Back in 2015, I posted my list from 2006. For that, I just cut and paste the email right into the post. Bad spelling, worse punctuation and grammar. I'm leaving the ugly in. This time I went and listened to almost the albums to reassess my feelings almost 20 years on. Comments with better spelling, punctuation, and grammar. Results below.

1. Mastodon - Blood Mountain (2006 - no comment)
2025 - I wouldn't put it at the very top but it's probably still my favourite Mastodon album.

2. I Hate Sally - Don't Worry Lady (Very close second, great mix of styles, great live, and awesome people)
Of all these albums I listen to this one the most. By a wide margin. Considering this is a favourites list, move it to the top.

3 . Lamb Of God - Sacrament (I got the invitation, and I am going!)
There are some good tunes on here. But it would be nowhere near this high now. They just feel too one-dimensional to me. Randy is a fascinating guy though.

4. Kalas - Kalas (Matt Pike! incredible first, last and only album. R.I.P. Kalas)
Incredible seems like a stretch. I still dig it. I had largely forgotten what it sounded like by 2010. With Spotify I do go back to it often enough but I don't own a physical copy.

5 . Slayer - Christ Illusion (They still got it! and Lombardo is back!)
Yeah, still a pretty good Slayer album. Better than the two that came after. But not one I go back to.

6 . Accept Death - Accept Death (Death Accepted. Cool samples, great doomy feel, scary vokills)
Jesus H Christ. I had totally forgotten about this album until I heard it again. Pure fucking evil sludge filth. It's not streaming so I have to hunt down a physical. It's on youtube though. Save and download.

7 . Deicide - The Stench of Redemption (I am SO glad Benton didn't kill himself at 33)
This might be the last Deicide ablum I was really that in to. I know I've heard later ones but wasn't "in to" them. This one has some serious shred going on.

8. The Abominal Iron Sloth - s/t (uh, it's real good)
I had kinda forgotten about this one too. I won't fucking do that again! Heavy fucking shit motherfuckers!!

9. Kylesa - Time Will Fuse It's Worth (Two drummers, two vocalists, too good)
This is the album that hooked me on Kylesa. Still good! Shame on me for not owning this either. And for never publishing the interview I did with them a couple years later.

10 . Kataklysm - In the Arms of Devastation
Definitely not in the top 10. I dig Kataklysm. I don't listen to much death metal anymore but I went and saw these guys play last year. As good as this is it woulnd't make top 10 again.

11 . Jucifer - If Thine Enemy Hunger (not metal, not conventional, like Veruca Salt on LOTS of drugs) It was kinda weird listening to this knowing the kind of stuff they did after this. Still a great album. More "metal" moments than I may have indicated.

12 . Om - Conference of the Birds (two ex-members of Sleep crafting epic doom masterpieces)
Move this baby way up! Probably listen to this the most of anything else on this list. LOVE.

13 . The Sword - Age of Winters
Considering what's above this, move it up. Still lovin' it!

14 . Witch - s/t (This stuff makes you high just listening to it!)
While we are at it, move this up too. I like it more than their follow-up.

15. Napalm Death - Smear Campaign (grind at it's best)
Oh, my Napalm era. I barely made it through listening to this again. I said better things about albums after this but I wouldn't care if I never heard them again.

16 . Sepultura - Dante XXI (who needs Cavaleras? I know Iggor played on this one)
Still alright I guess. They've done better without Max, they've done worse.

17 . Bury Your Dead - Beauty and the Breakdown (If you're gonna be metalcore, at least be good at it)
Is this really metalcore? I dunno. It's not bad. And it's honest. So many breakdowns. I had a hankering for this album (in 2025!) and it inspired this whole exercise.

18. Sworn Enemy - The Beginning of the End (token hardcore album)
Token? You could argue other albums on this list are also hardcore. This didn't launch me back into a hardcore phase or anything.

19. Lair of the Minotaur - The Ultimate Destroyer
One of those bands nobody talks about but that put out some cool stuff. Fun at least.

20. Black Cobra - Bestial (great tone, sounds like a giant tank plowing across the landscape blowing up everything in sight)
Move it up! I come back to this often. My 2006 comment holds up. I fucking love duos.

21. Hatebreed - Supremacy (formula starting to get old, just enough difference to make the list)
2006 comment holds up again. I don't listen to any of their stuff after this.

22. Saviours - Crucifire (another great "stoner" album)
Forgot about this one! Move it up! I need a physical of this.

23. Norma Jean - Redeemer (who knew christians could rock so well?)
Still a pretty cool, energetic album. Don't ask me about the lyrics though.

24. Scissorfight - Jaggernaut (if you like Clutch, you'll like these guys)
If you like Clutch interbred with Appalachian mountain trolls. So much damn fun. Move it way up.

25. Fucked Up - Hidden World (if this is fucked up, I don't want normal)
Nah, bro. I wasn't feeling it. 2006 comment invalid.

26. Dry Kill Logic - Of Vengeance and Violence (Cliff Rigano rules)
I still dug it. "Rules" may be an exaggeration. They put out a new single in May. I should check it out.



Top 5 "Really fun to listen to but not necessarily great albums"

1. Dragonforce - Inhuman Rampage (2025 - I listened to it all. That was more than enough.)
2. Funerot - Invasion from the Death Dimension (Tyrannosaur could be my fave song of the year) (2025 - That was fun! I feel bad I had forgotten about it!)
3. Cross Examination - Hung Jury (2025 - 'The Hung Jury' is the correct title. Also, fuck me for forgetting this! Super fun crossover! Fuck yeah!)
4. Venom - Metal Black (2025 - I didn't bother.)
5. Motorhead - Kiss of Death (2025 - I tried to listen to it. Shoot me. I don't like Motörhead. I don't know why I put this one here. I don't like Venom either.)

Surprise of the Year:

I Hate Sally - Don't Worry Lady (who knew I'd love a local band this much, and the fact that Mike Kopko hated it)

Disappointment(s) of the Year (other than no new Clutch):

Tool - 10,000 days (2025 - Most forgettable Tool album.)
Five Horse Johnson - Mystery Spot (JP from Clutch drumming, thought it would be better) (2025 - Same. Couple cool tunes.)
The false start (demise?) of Black Veil Choir (Justin Marler from Sleep)(2025 - I can't even find info about this failed project.)

Stuff I Thought I'd Like But Wasn't Really Feelin':

Trivium - Crusaders (bad lyrics) (2025 - I concur. It's 'The Crusades' though.)
Protest the Hero - Kezia (hate the vocals) (2025 - I concur.)
Isis - In the Absence of Truth (2025 - I actually listened to this three times. Better than I gave it credit for at the time.)

Compilation of the Year :

Sucking the 70's 2: Back in the Saddle Again (2025 - I didn't look for it. I will say it probably still is the best comp of that year.)

Collaboration of the Year :

Rebel Meets Rebel (2025 - I didn't bother.)

Top EPs of the Year:

Jesu - Silver (2025 - It was fine? Not something I'll go back to.)
Arise and Ruin - The Fear of... (Unavailable. I probably couldn't find the mp3s around if I tried. A burned disc or a hard drive somewhere but whatever. I have both their albums.

Album of the Month - April 2025: Conan - 'Violence Dimension'

Greetings, fellow voidfillers. I'm going back to Album of the Month for at least April. I'll note some other releases at the end but Violence Dimension from the mighty Conan definitely stands above the rest of the pack. The Mizmor/Hell collaboration stands pretty fuckin' tall but I'm not here to pit them against each other. Plus, the collaboration needs to grow on me to understand it's depth. Conan however, Conan has already put me six feet under and pushin' up daisies. It's fuckin' killer. I'll want to dig into the lyrics but if we're being honest I mostly enjoy Conan for the pure sonic bludgeoning. Being buried in fuzz. Vibrating with tone. Beaten senseless. Taken to a dimension of violence.

I'm pretty sure the Violence Dimension guitarist/vocalist Jon Davis is growling/yelling about is in some way the one we're living in. Earth on this plane at this time. Certainly feels like it anyway. I've come to realize that I either connect with an album and it's sound, or I don't. And I won't. The frequencies don't line up. I don't resonate into violent frequencies all the time. There's enough of that in this dimension. In a fight fire with fire kind of way, my shield against violent waves is itself made of violence in sync with MY frequencies. That's where Conan comes in. There are all kinds of violent music. Hyper-violent. Black, death, grind. Not the right frequency (most of the time). Crushing, hulking, muscular, fuckin' doom-sludge worthy of the Barbarian's name is a most effective defense. Anytime. Every time.

What isn't as consistent with Violence Dimension - at least compared to their previous three albums - is the man wielding the bass. This time it's former Fudge Tunnel bassist David Ryley. Chris Fielding returns solely to the producer/engineer's chair for this effort. Thank the gods he didn't abandon Conan completely. I don't think Conan would sound like Conan without him in that position. So what does that mean for the new album? I haven't worked that out scientifically, comparing and contrasting details of sound and performance and atmosphere across years of material. But my gut, my real brain, my gut said "capital Fuck Yeah, bud."

Maybe I didn't anticipate the frequencies of Violence Dimension lining up with mine so perfectly, or something, but when the hammer dropped on this bad boy the energy shot right through me. It felt more vigourous, more powerful, more effective than I was expecting for some bizarre reason. It gave me marching orders. As if drummer Johnny King issued a command. "We're fucking shit up with sonic energy. Get on board." Then boom! By the time we hit "Total Bicep" the sprint towards battles of warfare and death is downright lustful. Rage and heaviness and thunder and a fucking doom drop that takes you to your knees drags you to your feet again for a weary march to the next encounter.

The next encounter being the title track. It's a more subdued affair. At least at first. The nine-minute track starts with more space, somewhat majestic, not unlike the album cover. Still massive. It plods through its midpoint, drawing energy, expanding dimensional sonic horizons in waves of droning chords. Punishing gravity returns in the tracks later third, with a beastly growl at that. A track worthy of identifying the collective material.

I could go trying put sounds into words for more of the eight tracks but you get the idea. I've been a remorseless Conan fan since at least Monnos in 2012 and I've never lost faith so I don't know exactly why Violence Dimension hit me so hard. I won't complain. Aligned frequencies, I guess. Low, pulsing, menacing, tense, frequencies. I'll get carried away again here. I can't recommend this enough especially if you're already fond of sludgy, heavy as all fucks doom. Worship!



Also recommended from the April collection of releases: Mizmor/Hell - 'Alluvion', Action & Tension & Space - 'New Dimensions', Ponddigger - 'Nocturnal Hymnal', and Blackwater Holylight - 'If You Only Knew' EP.

And as always, every release I listened to in April all wrapped up in my April Spotify Playlist. The first 80 or so tracks are all from my seven favourite bands. The new release stuff starts after that.

March 2025: Matt Recommends

Greetings. Maybe I need some medicine or something because I can't seem to focus on these posts anymore. But I don't want to treat my ADHD with pills. So...late again and half-assed. My picks for March include the incredible return of an already incredible progressive sludge band, a heavy psych send-off, and volume 2 of a one-man trip. Let's get to it. I have a busy day to be capped off attending a Parabolus show (the Complete Tool Experience).

Rwake - 'The Return of Magik': Rwake's 2011 album, 'Rest' is one of my all-time favourite albums. I thought the band was dead. It happens. Some of my favourite albums are final albums from bands that just disappeared. (I Hate Sally, Astrakhan, others) Naturally I hit the roof when out of nowhere the title track for 'The Return of Magik' just dropped out of nowhere. And holy fuck the title is spot on. The magik is back! It's so heavy. It's so emotional. Expansive. Deep. Magikal. It's so Rwake. Listening to it in the proper isolated environment produces an out-of-body effect. I need to study this album. Really get into the lyrics. It took over a decade to put this album together and it could take that long fully wrap my head around it. It's gonna be tough to knock this one off the top of my year end list. Listen for yourself.



Dead Meadow - 'Yoyager to Voyager': To the detriment of the world Dead Meadow bassist Steve Kille sadly passed away due to cancer. While the band does plan to continue, 'Voyager to Voyager' stands as Kille's final contrbution to the band. Not only will it stand out in their storied catalog for that reason alone but regardless it's simply one of their best releases period. Sure, knowledge of circumstances influenced the listening experience but you can't argue with how good it is. How Dead Meadow it is. Dead Meadow is a band I just "connect" with, right from the first time I head 'Howls from the Hills' playing in a record store and bought it immediately. If I'd heard this one I'd do the same. Their style of heavy psych definitely takes me on a voyage. It takes a weight from my shoulders, lifts me away from the damp, cold earth with its dynamic sway and entrancing melodies. Again, I really need to dig deep into this record and really understand it. Maybe once my preordered vinyl and CD finally show up!



Futuropaco - 'Fortezza Di Vetro, Vol. 2': Unfortunately El Paraiso Records doesn't use Bandcamp and Futuropaco only has one release on their page so the embedded link will have to be Spotify. Sorry. How do I even describe the album though. There are elements of funk, psych, and weird, fun electronics? Maybe what I feel as "funk" isn't accurate but it feels funky to me. It's got a certain groove that gets you movin' while the keys, fuzz, and psychedleic flourish isolate the pleasure centers of the brain. Layers upon layers weave in and out of this psychedelic journey. Like most of the stuff I listen to anymore it's something to sink into. It's all instrumental by the way. Justin Pinkerton does it again. I'd recommend it for fans of King Gizzard, Budos Band (no horns but whatever), or a bunch of other stuff on El Paraiso like Causa Sui. Check it out.



Two all-time favourite bands and one I'm just getting into. If you want to know what else I was into in March, here's my As I Go March 2025 Playlist. Honourable mentions to 'Yun' by Pyres and 'Mentalism' by Mantras.

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.

January 2025: Matt Recommends

Super late this time. Things. In the interests of moving on I won't say much. But, that's also kind of on purpose because the the bands whose albums I'll be recommending today don't say much either. They're either completely or mostly instrumental. A direction I've been leaning into more lately. Dig these three.

Fogdriver - 'Dancing Fire': This one really got my motor running. This German trio is actually four members. Their visual artist, Tanja, is considered a member and that's really cool. Now that would be a live show to see! I'm going to check some out on Youtube. Fogdriver are easily categorized as instrumental psychedelic space stoner post-rock. Pushing all the right buttons! I especially dig the bass. I like the way it drives over you. It's wicked. Groovy. Easy to get lost in. Spotify says this was released in January 2024 but that's wrong.



Mogwai - 'The Bad Fire': Full disclosure. This was my first time listening to Mogwai. Ok, maybe I did back in 2001 because I worked with a guy who liked them. I was young and stupid and not open to instrumenal post-rock. Now I am. I've yet to find out how typical 'The Bad Fire' is of their output but I liked what I heard. Reminds me of Godspeed You! Black Emperor. (The visual aspect of Fogdriver made me think of GY!BE.) A couple tracks have vocals. No biggie. They're not bad vocals. Going back for more of this one and back to 2001 to see what I missed.



bunsenburner - 'Reverie': Instrumental again as promised. This time heavier and with more elements of doom. Also from Germany like Fogdriver, and recorded in a live setting which Fogdriver does as well. They have to know each other, right? Don't let the black metal cat fool you. No screeching. Not vocally anyway, obviously. Some experimental tendencies let the guitar do some screeching though. A lot of the time it's either chill as fuck or groovy as hell. There even a bit of spaghetti western influence. There is a lot going on. And ya sure repetition is expected but bunsenburner don't drag it out too long. It's even got one of those "when the riff comes back...but slower" moments. At least one. Not your boring ass instrumental crap!



That's all folks. I have no more words today. Other than "check out my January 2025 Spotify Playlist". (I didn't hear Fogdriver or Mogwai until February. Good thing I was late.)

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!

Album of the Month - December 2024: The Whims of the Great Magnet - 'FRYDOM'

December is always a month that doesn't have very many releases. Ya know, because list season. To really value something you have to sit with it a while. You have to. Countless times I've heard something once or twice and thought "This is fuckin' awesome!" only to sober up some and realize it's just okay. Just as easily, but less often, something could be a hard pass early on only to come back around under different conditions and it's a completely different thing. Decemeber doesn't allow that so I get it. That being said, recency bias and/or state of elevation should take nothing away from this month's favoured listen, 'FRYDOM' by The Whims of the Great Magnet.



A state of elevation could be gained just from listening to 'FRYDOM'. You can feel a sort of lightness coursing through the air, the psychedelic vibes lifting burdens from your shoulders as the crude material world dissolves away on "Baby Blue (Hit Song)". A little later "Sunstroke Serenade" plays around with a warm, grungy, garage rock energy and the "jam band" nature that permeates their output. There's a live version on Youtube that's pretty cool too.

It's not a terribly complicated thing really. But it doesn't have to be. I mean, their tag line is "slacker mellow yellow stoner jam band". I don't think anyone is slacking here, especially considering it's mostly the work of Sander Haagmans. His live band does not slack either. The mellow stoner jam thing is pretty spot on. The loud/soft dynamics aren't formulaic and seem to form naturally between and within tracks. Bluesy guitar work blossoms in the solos. Waves of psychelia wash between hemispsheres, between the ground and skies, all according to The Whims of the Great Magnet. I'm not completely sure what FRYDOM means but I'm taking it as the freedom to get fried and escape with this album for a little while. Check it out.

You can find "Reborn" and a track from their 2019 album 'Good Vibes and High Tides' on my As I Go December 2024 Spotify playlist along with a bunch of great tracks from the whole year as I worked on My Favourites of 2024. Stay tuned.

Other notable releases from December 2024:

Cogents - 'Desolace' (co-written, recorded and produced by Neil Fallon)
Ze Stoner - 'Desert Buddhist'
Kopilott - 'III'
Some Pills for Ayala - '...and we leave the planet?'

Album of the Month - November 2024: Vessel - 'The Somnifer'

I'm publishing this even later this month. Wow. Things have been going on, ya know? Anyway, in the new year I was going to change this format up a bit so this month will be a hybrid. November was a decent month. Better than decent, I suppose. I didn't add too many albums to the spreadsheet but most of the ones I did add were pretty good. The one I listened to the most was definitely 'The Somnifer' by Vessel.

The Aussie band created a cool concept album around dreaming, to be super vague, that's sparse on the vocals but effective. Through the 10 songs Vessel serve up different styles of doom to get their feelings across. My favourite is "Rapid Eye Movement". It makes the album for me. It's kind of lumbering and definitely spacey, and it's one with vocals. "Walk through the space between atoms" was the kicker. It's the kind of statement I think about often enough. Since I'm keeping this short, it's a great album. You should listen to it. Many times.



Now for the other part of the hybrid. Sharing just one album that deserves it is weak. I want to share more. Because I have awesome taste. Here are some other November releases that felt pretty good to me. And of course, the As I Go November 2024 Spotify Playlist. Only 68 tracks and 8 hours this month.

Babel Map - 'Teeth' (Lost Future)
Slower - 'Rage and Ruin' (Heavy Psych Sounds) Slayer covers but slower. Plus originals this time! I bought the CD.
Longheads - 'Layers of Wax' (Stolen Body Records)
Softsun - 'Daylight in the Dark' (Ripple) Can't go wrong with Gary Arce on guitar.
Magick Potion 'Magick Potion' (RidingEasy) The good kind of 70s worship.
Crippled Black Phoenix - 'The Wolf Changes its Fur but Not its Nature' (Season of Mist) Songs from their back catalog reimamgined.
Tube Warmers - 'Fertilized Eggs and Honey' (River Records) Psychedelic, baby.
Cosmic Fall - 'Back Where the Fire Flows' (self) Spacey doom.
Apodemus - 'Monotone' (Anchor Lights) Chill trippin.
Weite - 'Oase' (Stickman) Members of Elder and delving. Also chill.
Space Shepherds - 'Cycler' More spacey stuff.

Album of the Month - October 2024: Goat - 'Goat'

I must apologize, dear readers. Twice. First, it's the 17th and I'm just posting this now. Sorry. Second, because it's the 17th and for reasons, this post will be short. Sorry. Anyway...

GOAT!!! No, not the acronym. The Swedish psychedelic funk rock collective. I'm a new devotee so I don't have this grand idea of how their new, eponymous album fits in to the entire scheme of the band's existence. I do know that since I was turned on the them last year via their 'Leviation Sessions' and 'Medicine' releases I couldn't wait to hear more and I didn't have to wait long! 'Goat' rolled right in there to keep things groovin'.

Let's see if I can boil this down. Goat use a variety of instruments (They have an album called 'World Music'. This should be no surprise.) to craft these rhythmic exercises in vibe manipulation. That is to say, their use of funky bass lines, psychedelic guitar exploration, primal, soul-aligning percussion, with woodwinds, brass, strings, and maybe some more percussion connects to a certain vibration within oneself. Like the dance of the double-helix winding upwards in syncronicity, 'Goat' induces life. Flowing, grooving, moving your head side-to-side, shoulder weaving back and forth, hips sinuous, mind expanding life.

They do all this with it sounding so organic. Fuzzed out garage rock guitars with maracas? Yes. Some hip-hop style beats? This time at least. Flute solos? Of course. When you leave it on repeat does the snake eat its tail? That's the whole point. As stated in "Frisco Beaver", "Do what you like" and "Do what you need". That's kind of the aura I get from Goat's whole deal. Their output is just as much what they need as what they like. Damned if I like it too. When it gets right down to it, I need it. You do too.



Don't forget about my As I Go October 2024 Spotify Playlist. Way shorter than last month but I was listening to a LOT of Weedian "Trip to" compilations.

Album of the Month - September 2024: Slomosa - 'Tundra Rock'

Back in the dark times, August 2020 to be exact, a band from Norway named Slomosa released their self-titled album. I had no idea. Then, about 3 YEARS later I stumbled upon "Horses" on the WEEDIAN "Trip to Norway" compilation and found my socks on the other side of the room. Late to the party or what, man?! Being unaware of their awesomeness for 3 years when I could have been feeding Slomosa to my internal heppy place that whole time is a sad feeling. But! It means I only had to suffer through ONE year of waiting for MORE! MORE! MORE! The more we were all waiting for is 'Tundra Rock' and my socks are way the fuck over there again.



'Tundra Rock' is the perfect name to describe Slomosa. So self-aware. To paraphrase the band themselves, "it's like desert rock but since they're from Norway the desert is tundra." Not all deserts are sand. Snow and ice are smooth. Just like Slomosa, man. From the riffs to the tone to the timing and flow, it's all smooth. There's nothing wrong with the grit of "desert rock" bands like Kyuss of course. Bands like Slomosa wouldn't be around without them. It's like Slomosa used those desert sands to take the rust off an old machine and make it shine with a new energy that feels invigorating. Especially on 'Tundra Rock'. Song after song it pumps out banger after banger of intuitive songwritng full of sweet riffs maxed with fuzz and a chemistry you can feel.

Opener "Afghansk Rev" is a slow, thunderous build. You know it's working up to something. Like the opening song to a show where the lights aren't even on yet. Then it's high gear. Stoner rock at its best. Powerful riffs, tension, release, layers and nuance. "Rice" and "Cabin Fever" were the first singles release and they're also the first "full on" songs on the album. In fact the first four "full on" songs are the four singles but not in order. So the first half of the album was familiar before release. "Red Thundra" was last and coincided with the full album but I digress. Luckily picking a single from 'Tundra Rock' would be as easy as throwing darts at a board that's all bullseyes. They're all unmistakeably good and unmistakeably Slomosa.

As mentioned above, Ben Berdous (vocals/guitar), Marie Moe (bass/vocals), Tor Erik Bye (guitar), and Jard Hole (drums) have incredible chemistry. The way they play off and play into each other is just so good. Whether presenting a united wall of air-moving sound to push away the cold with warm tones or undulating in parallel, slightly out of phase like a pod of belugas playfully traversing the fjords the quartet feel entirely natural and instinctually cohesive. Listen to "Monomann" and you'll see. Barrelling riffs with little dips and swirls and various elements rising and falling against a force that just keeps propelling forward. That song's follow-up, "MJ" has some of the most Kyuss-y moments and album closer "Dune" is where you'll find a Clutch influence.

I don't think I'm alone in saying that Slomosa are creating special and lasting music. I know I'm not. From what I understand from the hole I live in they're so hot right now. I even read one redditor posit that in 30 years we'll be talking about Slomosa with the same reverence as we do with Kyuss today. That redditor wasn't me but I upvoted that hard. I sincerely hope Slomosa can keep it together longer though! In the tundra you have to stick together and stay close for warmth. That may play into our favour. In the meantime, 'Tundra Rock' (and 'Slomosa') will be more that enough to keep us comfortable until they're next batch tunes thaws from the permafrost.

Released September 13, 2024 on MNRK Heavy.

You can find "Monomann" on my As I Go September 2024 Spotift Playlist along with a bunch of other cool stoner rock. (and a little Slayer.)

Album of the Month - August 2024: Anciients - 'Beyond the Reach of the Sun'

I listened to more new music in August than I did July but most of the good stuff came right near the end of the month. Mammoth Volume, Delving, and Kungens Män put out some pretty cool stuff. I'll probably end up buying the Mammoth Volume album on CD. However, as you could tell from the title of this post, 'Beyond the Reach of the Sun' by Anciients takes the top spot this month. It's been eight long years since the last Anciients LP, 'Voice of the Void'. Some members have changed but their sound hasn't. If I had to compare them to any band it would be Mastodon. Kinda lazy, sure, but "progressive sludge" applies to both bands and sums it up pretty well. Anciients bring in more death metal vocally but even those times feel less frequent than previous releases. You see what I'm getting at.

I'll admit that I'm better at listening to this type of music than writing about it. I like the long songs with plenty of different parts. I like just how progressive it is. Not too much wandering or music nerd stuff. I like how it feels like there's a story being told (lived?) all the time. I'm awful at lyrics unless I read them so I'm not sure what that story may be. See, I'm terrible. I'll keep trying.



'Beyond the Reach of the Sun' as a phrase sounds cold and dark. Much colder and darker than the musical journey it represents. Personally, I feel more light and warmth coming at me from the headphone speakers. Oh, and this is definitely a headphone record. Definitely. The depth and complexity CANNOT be full realized otherwise. I've listened on my phone speaker, my smart speaker, in two vehicles, and on my headphones and it's not even close. Maybe the vehicles without all the road noise. When the headphones are on and isolating your auditory experience to just the interwoven and dynamic lines tearing through space on "Celestial Tyrant" you'll appreciate how full the void can become. Like you can hear the low hum of background radiation. (Sound is a wave, so is radiation. We don't know what type of being is processing that wave in what type of brain.)

I mentioned the long songs but they aren't too long here. The longest is opener "Forbidden Sanctuary" at a little over eight minutes and there are a few around four minutes. With most being between six and seven minutes Anciients do pack a lot in. Ups, downs, loud, quiet, slow, fast, spacious, oppressive. It is prog metal after all. Hopefully at this point you've hit play on the embedded link and know what I'm talking about. But if you haven't heard it already why are you even here?

I should wrap this up. Funny, as I finish this album closer "In the Absence of Wisdom" gently seeps through my central nervous system and I find myself in fact lacking a great wisdom to impart. Perhaps because instead of giving myself over to the album I've been splitting my focus to try and tell you specifically why you should not split your focus. Take the hour out of your day and dig in. It's really the best way. I know from experience. That's not too long to take you beyond the reach of the Sun. Released August 30, 2024 on Season of Mist Records. For my August 2024 Playlist CLICK THIS SPOTIFY LINK.