LACRA ~ Denial (2023)

When you've been immersed in underground metal for a long time, there are certain areas of the globe that hold a special place above all others. For me, Finland rules the roost when it comes to old school doom/death, The UK revels in hateful, noisy sludge with Iron Monkey being ground zero, while  Italy dominates the occult, 70's style doom sound. Throw Chile in the equation for some of the heaviest sludge/doom around championed by bands such as Sangria, Bicefalo and Ocultum. Now you can add Lacra to that esteemed list. The EP  'Denial' clocks in at around 25 minutes of some of the heaviest music out there, with riffs that, if they were human, would be categorised as morbidly obese. There are no rules being broken here, throughout the EP the band never deviates from its path of total destructive inertia. Crushing is a word used way too often to describe the heaviest of songs but I can't think of  a better word to describe the overwhelming mass of sound grinding you into the dirt.

LUNG ~ Volume (2023)

I write this shrouded in a heady smog of stoner doom worship, eyes and throat burning on smouldering, weed drenched riffs. The sound is gloriously expansive but the sludge influence radiates an atmosphere of suffocating toxicity, thick and choking. Volume by lung is a glimpse into the mind of the  junkie's final 'trip' to inevitable burnout.

WARCRAB ~ The Howling Silence (2023)

The devastatingly heavy new album by Warcrab. An unstoppable mix of rampaging death metal fused with thick sludge creating a morass of lawless rage. There are seven intense tracks on The Howling Silence, thickset deathsludge riffs that require restraint in a straitjacket before they cause irreparable damage, mixed with dense weighty (im)pure sludge. 

The final track 'Howling Silence' clocks in at over ten minutes. Now I love long tracks providing it's reasonably varied but far too often I end up disappointed because most of them peter out halfway through in a mash up of ambient nonsense. Not this track. It starts off slowly but progresses into a monstrous example of how to mould various genres of extreme metal into a single fearsome entity.

For fans of: Bolt Thrower, Crowbar, Eyehategod, 71TonMan, The Dead 

ANOINTING THE SICK #189 ~ Stigmata Martyr

 𝑨𝒏𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑺𝒊𝒄𝒌 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒔 𝒊𝒕𝒔 𝒖𝒈𝒍𝒚 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒅 𝒐𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒂𝒈𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒐 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒎 𝒔𝒆𝒑𝒕𝒊𝒄 𝒔𝒆𝒓𝒎𝒐𝒏𝒔 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒅𝒖𝒃𝒊𝒐𝒖𝒔 𝒑𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒖𝒓𝒆. 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒖𝒍𝒍 𝑯𝒐𝒖𝒔𝒆 𝑶𝒇 𝑯𝒐𝒓𝒓𝒐𝒓𝒔 𝒊𝒔 𝒐𝒏 𝒅𝒊𝒔𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑭𝒊𝒍𝒕𝒉 𝑷𝒊𝒕 𝒉𝒂𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒊𝒑𝒑𝒆𝒅 𝒃𝒂𝒓𝒆. 𝙎𝒉𝙤𝒘𝙥𝒊𝙚𝒄𝙚 𝙩𝒓𝙖𝒄𝙠 𝙞𝒔 𝒂 𝒑𝙧𝒐𝙜/𝙥𝒐𝙬𝒆𝙧 𝙢𝒆𝙩𝒂𝙡 𝙧𝒐𝙡𝒍𝙚𝒓𝙘𝒐𝙖𝒔𝙩𝒆𝙧 𝙧𝒊𝙙𝒆 𝒇𝙧𝒐𝙢 𝙀𝒏𝙩𝒆𝙧𝒊𝙣𝒈 𝑷𝙤𝒍𝙖𝒓𝙞𝒔

𝑩𝒂𝒏𝒅𝒔 𝒇𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒘𝒆𝒆𝒌 𝒂𝒓𝒆 ~

𝑭𝒐𝒓𝒈𝒆𝒅 𝑰𝒏 𝑩𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒌

𝑴𝒆𝒎𝒃𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆

𝑨𝒅𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒗𝒎

𝑲𝑯𝑵𝑽𝑴

𝑳𝒐𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓

𝑲𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒔𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒗

𝑯𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒅𝒓𝒊𝒎

𝑷𝒉𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒐𝒎 𝑪𝒐𝒓𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏

𝑬𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑷𝒐𝒍𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒔

𝑯𝒊𝒈𝒉 𝑷𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒔𝒕                                            #4 Doom Charts (June)

𝑱𝒂𝒈 𝑷𝒂𝒏𝒛𝒆𝒓

𝑺𝒄𝒖𝒍𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒈𝒆

𝑪𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒊𝒂𝒍

𝑴𝒂𝒎𝒎𝒐𝒕𝒉 𝑽𝒐𝒍𝒖𝒎𝒆

𝑫𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒄𝒐𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒄𝒕𝒐𝒓

𝑾𝒂𝒍𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒂

𝑺𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒏

𝑴𝒂𝒍𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒄𝒉

𝑳𝒂𝒗𝒂 𝑰𝒏𝒗𝒐𝒄𝒂𝒕𝒐𝒓

𝑶𝒍𝒅 𝑫𝒊𝒓𝒕𝒚 𝑩𝒖𝒛𝒛𝒂𝒓𝒅

𝑮𝒊𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝑫𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒇𝒔 𝑨𝒏𝒅 𝑩𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒌 𝑯𝒐𝒍𝒆𝒔

𝑳𝒂𝒎𝒂𝒔𝒔𝒖                                                     #9 Doom Charts (June

𝑾𝒂𝒓𝒄𝒓𝒂𝒃                                                      Name Your Price (Bandcamp)

𝑮𝒐𝒓𝒓𝒊𝒇𝒊𝒆𝒅

𝑺𝒖𝒏𝒅𝒂𝒚 𝑶𝒇 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑫𝒆𝒂𝒅

𝑻𝒐ke

 Download 'Stigmata Martyr'

ANOINTING THE SICK ~ Angels vs Demons

The armies of Heaven and Hell battle for humanity's soul using extreme metal as the ultimate weapon.

ELUSIVE GOD VS ELECTRIC LUCIFER

ARMOURED ANGEL VS DEMON CLEANER

DUSTED ANGEL VS DEMON EYE

INFESTED ANGEL VS KIEF DEMON

MORBID ANGEL VS WEED DEMON

WÖMIT ANGEL VS DEMON & ELEVEN CHILDREN

ANGEL CORPSE VS DEMON INCARNATE

ANGEL MORGUE VS DEMON LUNG

*DOWNLOAD HERE* 

https://www.podomatic.com/podcasts/anointingthesick/episodes/2023-09-29T10_35_20-07_00

CEASED SUNFIRE ~ The Divide (2023)

Mountainous riffs and a pummelling rhythm section combine to create a tectonic shifting of  Finnish stoner sludge. Any influence of weed however has been crushed by sheer brute force. There is a surprising amount of groove punctuated by some well executed lead guitar work on The Divide but it tip toes between slabs of swollen sludge.

JUST BEFORE DAWN ~ A War Too Far (2023)

A full frontal assault of Swedish death metal swathed from start to finish with incendiary riffs dripping phosphrous. With leanings toward Bolt Thrower, A War Too Far is an overwhelming assault on the senses, as merciless as it is brutal. The nine murderous tracks on offer combine into a death metallic war of attrition with no prisoners taken and corpses ground into the mud and dirt. A War Too Far  isn't uptempo, for all its ferocity, it doesn't revel in the glorification of bloodshed but instead sounds wearily accepting of the futility of it all, which makes this album sound grimmer and more realistic of the horrors of the subject matter.

Time to hoist the white flag of surrender before you're overwhelmed.

ANOINTING THE SICK ~ VOL 188 Turning Water Into Blood

The latest Satanic Sermons are now available to download. The new Anointing The Sick Show opens with Witch Hunters Massasauga and ends with a colossal debris field of doom with funeral doom/deathsters Ennui. I've highlighted some  bands that were special enough to feature in The Doom Charts and also guided you to a couple of albums available for NYP on Bandcamp. The filth pit has been emptied of Crawl, Feral and Elder Devil.

This week's heinous hymns are performed by ~

MASSASAUGA                 #24 Doom Charts (June)

WONDERS

REAPING FLESH

SATURNUS

CRAWL

FERAL

DISTORTED FORCE

PSYTHON

SHE

ELDER DEVIL

CREEPING DEATH

IRON BUDDHA

JOHNNY THE BOY

SIL KHANNAZ

CORROZION

CHURCH OF MISERY            #2 Doom Charts (June)

WITCHSKULL                        #5  Doom Charts (June)

BARBARIAN PROPHECIES

UFOMAMMUT

ENNUI

'MUSICAL FILTH FOR SICK MINDS'

*DOWNLOAD THE SHOW*https://www.podomatic.com/podcasts/anointingthesick/episodes/2023-09-23T04_38_32-07_00

EL CERDO ~ Our Bellies Sluggish with Goat Meat (2008)

Portland sludge with the DNA of The Abominable Iron Sloth, Hauler and Maximum Mad, among others. Our Bellies Sluggish With Goat Meat is a Frankenstein's monster of different styles of sludge, sutured together in a haphazard way that welcomes infection and fever with riffs congealed into bloody abscesses. This is a vicious album, a roller coaster of hate that at times borders on powerviolence before plunging into the misery of doomcore.

It's a pity there is no Bandcamp presence. I loved the music on Youtube so much that I tried contacting members of the band. Fortunately guitarist/vocalist Jayson Smith graciously came up trumps.

SPAWN OF EVIL ~ Sadistic Missionaries (2023)

The third album by Israeli death metal stalwarts Spawn Of Evil. Unyielding in its ferocity, Sadistic Missionaries overwhelms you with scything riffs and earthquake inducing rhythm sections. A seam of darkness running through the album completes the rout. Sadistic Missionaries isn't out and out brutality, the band doesn't try to crush you into oblivion. Instead Spawn Of Evil lacerates the skin off your bones then spits venom into the open wounds...the enduring pain lasts longer.

LORD ~ Live At The Metro (2009)

When I was cutting my teeth on metal in the early 70's onward, a live album release was something of an event,  you would spend hours listening to the music while poring over  sumptuous gatefold sleeves with tons of photos and notes on the band. Over the years live albums have, by and large, become something of an afterthought, cobbled together and not particularly well recorded. I lost interest in them for many years picking up the odd one here and there, however Live At The Metro by Aussies Lord is a glaring exception. No, it isn't a new release or live performance but it and the band are new to me and this is as good a live album as I've heard in a long time.

I've always been a bit picky when it comes to power metal but Live At The Metro ticks ALL of the boxes for me. The music is scintillating and ferocious, guitars rip, solo's howl and squeal, vocals soar and bass and drums pummel enhanced by a sumptuous mix. This isn't a one off either. Check out another live album of theirs Live at Prog Power USA XVII a later album which is just as good

UNBLESSED DIVINE ~ Portal To Darkness (2023)

 Destructive, satanic death metal featuring former Malevolent Creation and Sinister members. Portal To Darkness is as dark and unforgiving as you're likely hear in a death metal album. Bludgeoning riffs merge with gothic sounding keyboards creating an atmosphere of spiritual unease and a sense of foreboding. Each track is a ferocious onslaught forcing you to your knees, head bowed, arms raised aloft in Satanic rapture.

SAMHAIN ~ The Courier 2023 (Remastered)

This early death/thrash classic has been resurrected and remastered with a mix that is beyond anything I could have hoped for. Although it is a compilation of the band's first two demo tapes, The Courier is essentially in two parts. The first three tracks are from the 1985 Samhain demo 'The Courier' while the final five songs are from 1986 when the band morphed into DesExult and released the demo S.O.D. F.O.A.D. 

Samhain play a raw, chaotic form blackened death/thrash on The Courier, lacerating from the opening track and creates bloody mayhem right the way through to the last with some glorious breakdowns inbetween not heard since Celtic Frost's Morbid Tales.

An essential release which deserves to be unearthed from a band way ahead of it's time.

 

TUMULATION ~ Haunted Funeral Creations (2023)

Tumulation is something of a supergroup consisting of members of bands wallowing in the lower regions of the 'Filth Pit' such as Conjureth, Messial, Sarcosium, Decrepitaph and more! regurgitatting repulsive Death/Doom harking back to the glory days of the early 90's. There are no frills with Haunted Funeral Creations, each track is fully immersed in a nightmarish vision of final judgement not just relying on the tried and trusted Death/Doom formula, instead, agonisingly stretching the pain into Funeral Doom and even tenuously, grind territory creating various layers of depravity. Modern recording methods enhance the overall claustrophobic atmosphere of the album, enhancing an aura of foreboding that bleeds through the clotted pores of each seething track.

For fans of: Autopsy, Winter, Blood Incantation, Hooded Menace, Paradise Lost, Incantation

ABSORB ~ Rot (2023)

Harrowing death/doom with a pall of fetid air hanging over a thick layer of crust. The doom and death elements interlace into a malignant, dissonant, scabrous lesion. Rot is described as an EP but is in fact a full album slaughterhouse of indiscriminate bloodletting.

ADVERSVM ~ Vama Marga (2023)

The third album from German Funeral Doom/Death band Adversvm this time featuring Don Zaros of EVOKEN as the band's new and permanent keyboard player. Riffs are carniverous with an immense bite radius ensuring Adversvm's evolving position among the top apex predators of this particular genre. The introduction of Zaros has added layers of 'what's lurking under the bed' creepiness to the overall oppressive atmosphere and there will be the inevitable comparison to EVOKEN which is warranted and  fine by me as that is one of my favourite bands, but what sets these doom titans slightly apart is the willingness of  Adversvm to gouge an even deeper furrow of bludgeoning doom/death interwoven with chilling, spine tingling intricacy.

One of, if not THE  album of the month for June

IMPERISHABLE - Come, Sweet Death (2023)

Raging Swedish death metal pitted with some surprisingly exquisite lead work.  Coming from Sweden, there will be the usual comparisons and rightly so, but what makes Imperishable a cut above their contemporaries, is that the standard HM2 'buzzsaw' guitar, although evident, doesn't saturate the overall sound, making Come, Sweet Death  sound leaner and even more brutal than the likes of Dismember and Entombed who are obvious influences.

CENOBITE ~ Torment Your Flesh And Explore The Limits Of Experience (2023)

 HM-2  enshrouded  in the destructive, rampaging force of Hail Of Bullets and Bolt Thrower and consumed by the gloomy morbidity of Asphyx. Cenobite wallows in your pain and celebrates your abhorrence.

VOUL ~ Concrete Cult (2023)

 A new Spanish band comprising of members of Moho, Adrift and Looking For An Answer. Steaming sludge filth slopped onto the butchers block and mauled into six tracks of  clotted groove that harkens back to the golden days of Eyehategod and Bongzilla. There is constant heaving churn throughout Concrete Cult adding layers of dissonant crust but the Bongzilla influence gives the album a degenerate charm laced with more than a trace of toxic doom. 

IRON VOLTAGE - Devastation (2022)

 Finally let loose digitally, wide eyed, rabid and foaming at the mouth, we have Indonesian thrashers Iron Voltage. These guys come from the Exodus school of thrash, you know the type, extra crunch, extra riffs and some exceptional headbang inducing slower breakdowns. 

PRONOSTIC ~ Chaotic Upheaval (2023)

Highly complex, technical Canadian death metal and that description just scratches the surface because this quality album reaches for the throat in all directions. I normally try to make my reviews short, almost 'blurb' like, but there's so much going on in Chaotic Upheaval that its going to be an impossible task, but here goes anyway. 

There are many forms of death metal and the Cannibal Corpse strain this is not, but fear not because Pronostic takes brutality, chops it up, dices and slices it then puts it back together into a pummelling extreme metal jigsaw, the top notch production enabling the listener absorb the various components that make this album sound exceptional. There are so many facets of  Chaotic Upheaval that would normally turn the Neanderthal in me away. I don't normally listen to symphonic death metal, keyboards in death metal switch me off especially classical piano and don't mention saxophone in any metal album unless its Hawkwind's 'Space Ritual' but I found myself enthralled by how Pronostic managed to combine all of these elements, propelled by a Gojira like mood of savage aggression, without the album falling apart into complete chaos.

Give yourself plenty of time to fully appreciate the musicianship that has gone into this album, then go listen to it again and again in order to appreciate it even more each time.

DEMON & ELEVEN CHILDREN ~ Demon Demo

I don't know much about this Chinese band but I can only assume the name comes from the title of a Blues Creation album. Indeed, although from China, Demon & Eleven Children is obviously influenced by the Japanese and early Italian doom sound, drizzled with acid  and fried in a 70's proto doom sauce until dry and crispy. This demo ep crackles with lo fi attitude and is an absolute delight.

DEATHRATTLE PODCAST ~ Dirty Dozen April 2023 ( My Contribution To April's Doom Charts )

 My picks for April's Doom Charts

April continued the abundance of excellent new stoner/doom releases which reflects the higher amount of my monthly contibutions to the Doom Charts that made the top 40 and there were several more of that genre that were really close. 

CENTER OF THE EARTH - MARS  #16 April Doom Charts

".. the band’s 2nd studio album channels the menacing riffage and imposing voice of King Buzzo’s “Stag” era through a heavy psychedelic rock jam" ~Desert Vulture

https://centeroftheearth.bandcamp.com/album/mars?from=embed

FAERIE RING - WEARY TRAVELER  #5 April Doom Charts

"Musically, it reminds me of Seventh Star-era Sabbath, great riffs coming in waves supported by memorable melodies." ~ The Mighty Decibel

https://faeriering.bandcamp.com/album/weary-traveler

VOID KING - THE HIDDEN HYMNAL  #9 April Doom Charts

"...situations and events that we can all readily relate to with those stories being told in powerful grave tones over a backdrop of dank dark refrains and thundering rhythms." ~ Desert Psychlist

https://voidking.bandcamp.com/album/the-hidden-hymnal

RED EYED CULT - UNIT 61 #26 April Doom Charts

https://redeyedcult.bandcamp.com/album/unit-61

CANNABUS - THE MAPLE SPLIFF SESSIONS #25 April Doom Charts

"On hearing the opening track ‘Cannabust’ I felt I was drifting in a Hermit Mage’s meandering, psychoactive dream of weed, acid and fuzz. The next track, a bluesy number called ‘Feeling Alright’ was more scathing but still couldn’t escape the acidic, fuzz knotted sound and I have to tell you, these knots are pulled TIGHT all through THE MAPLE SPLIFF SESSIONS. Seething licks that sizzle and pop as hard as any of the Japanese freak out bands, bite and scratch their way out from the clutches of fuzz leaving each track scarred and pitted. It’s been a while since I’ve heard an album as tight as THE MAPLE SPLIFF SESSIONS, even my tinnitus broke out in an acid sweat." ~ Deathrattle Podcast

https://cannabus.bandcamp.com/album/the-maple-spliff-sessions

RUNEMAGICK - BEYOND THE CENOTAPH OF MANKIND

https://runemagick.bandcamp.com/album/beyond-the-cenotaph-of-mankind-2

EXTERMINATION ORDER - THE SIEGE OF ASCALON

https://war-anthem-records.bandcamp.com/album/the-siege-of-ascalon

SMOULDER - VIOLENT CREED OF VENGEANCE  #28 April Doom Charts

https://smoulder.bandcamp.com/album/violent-creed-of-vengeance

LARVAE - ENTITLED TO DEATH

https://larvae.bandcamp.com/album/entitled-to-death

MILANA - MILVUS #6 April Doom Charts

"A record rife with cunning and awe, it is a triumphant milestone for a band swiftly ascending Spain’s hierarchy of heaviness." ~ The Motor Fuzzin Ibex

https://milanaband.bandcamp.com/album/milvus

ENFORCED - WAR REMAINS

https://enforced.bandcamp.com/album/war-remains

THE CROOKED WHISPERS - FUNERAL BLUES #14 April Doom Charts

"A+ mix of sludgy, dark and evil riffs and a great variety of vocal styles. This had me from the start and I cant get it out of my rotation." ~ Black Throne Productions

https://thecrookedwhispers.bandcamp.com/album/funeral-blues

Feannag ~ Throne (2023)

Thick, chunky, Scottish blackened death metal. Tempo's change dramatically with each song but your punishment remains merciless and extreme whatever the speed, although much of the album is mid to fast -paced giving Throne elements of doom/death here and there. It's a murderously brutal album without relying on layers of murk to make it sound oppressive giving the album a triumphant atmosphere as if blood has just been spilled and Feannag has done the spilling!

CANNABUS ~ The Maple Spliff Sessions (2023)

On hearing the opening track 'Cannabust' I felt I was drifting in a Hermit Mage's meandering, psychoactive dream of weed, acid and fuzz. The next track, a bluesey number called 'Feeling Alright' was more scathing but still couldn't escape the acidic, fuzz knotted sound and I have to tell you, these knots are pulled TIGHT all through The Maple Spliff Sessions. Seething licks that sizzle and pop as hard as any of the Japanese freak out bands, bite and scratch their way out from the clutches of fuzz leaving each track scarred and pitted. 

It's been a while since I've heard an album as tight as The Maple Spliff Sessions, even my tinnitus broke out in an acid sweat.

ANTICHRIST ~ Pax Moriendi (2018)

Peruvian funeral doom / death, short on the usual ambient experimentation that usually puts me off this type of music, high on slow punishing riffs of immense depth that has the opposite effect. Pax Moriendi opens with 'Forgotten In Nameless Suffering' a hugely despondent track starting with chilling keyboards before it slowly blooms into a slothful dirge that makes you feel as though you've just received a death sentence with no hope of reprieve. The overall arrangement of the album reminds me of The Funeral Orchestra or Catacombs mixed with Rigor Sardonicus and a dash of Evoken added here and there. The doom/death element sits firmly in the mid 90's of raw uncompromising bands whose names usually ended in 'ium but Antichrist are at their colossal best when the tempo drops to near comatose.

Listen to Pax Moriendi and watch all of your hopes and dreams crumble before your eyes.

BLAZON RITE ~ Wild Rites and Ancient Songs (2023)

Comparisons to the NWOBHM movement  are levelled constantly at new heavy metal/power metal releases, mostly without justification, but if you're an afficionado of that particularly influential era of metal then Wild Rites and Ancient Songs the new album by Blazon Rite is as authentic as you're going to get. This is a call to arms, a warcry, sabre rattling without the rattle as it doesn't cavort in bloodlust frenzy, instead, the seven songs available here are calculating and focussed which gives clarity to each track. It's like being aurally picked off rather than hacked to death and gives a gorgeous balance of sounding really catchy but hard hitting at the same time.

DEATHRATTLE PODCAST ~ Dirty Dozen March '23 (My Contribution to March's Doom Charts)

 The stoner part of the underground metal scene made a welcome return to my 'Best Of' 2023 for March with six bands either lacing their doom with it, or just going all out with the fuzz.

                           ~ Deathrattle Podcast Dirty Dozen For March '23~

WITCH RIPPER - THE FLIGHT AFTER THE FALL

Stoner/Sludge

Seattle/ USA

Magnetic Eye Records

https://witchripper.bandcamp.com/album/the-flight-after-the-fall-2

SANTO ROSTRO - DESPUÉS NO HABRÁ NADA

Stoner/Doom

Jaén, Spain

Discos Macarras

https://discosmacarras.bandcamp.com/album/despu-s-no-habr-nada

DIRGE - DIRGE

Sludge/Doom

Mumbai, India

Immersive Sounds

https://dirgeindia.bandcamp.com/album/dirge-2

NEPENTHES - GRAND GUIGNOL

Doom

Tokyo/Japan

Daymare Recordings

"Featuring ex Church Of Misery ex Coffins and G.A.T.E.S members. Heavily blues and stoner influenced doom, punctuated with chaotic solo's that only the japanese can pull off." Steve - Deathrattle Podcast

No Bandcamp 

ACID MOTH - ACID MOTH

Stoner/Doom

Gatineau/Canada

Self Released

https://acidmoth1.bandcamp.com/album/acid-moth

ISOLE - ANESIDORA

Epic Doom Metal

Gävle/Sweden

Hammerheart Records

"The dual harsh and clean (mainly clean) vocals sets the tone for Isole's new album Anesidora an album that spans the full range of emotions dragging the listener from the depths of despair one moment to a rapturous sense of elation the next. It's like attending a wake yet leaving with a smile on your face. Isole doesn't need fuzz or effects to conjure an epic, aural funeral. Instead, this doom ceremony is sanctified by heavy, metallic crunchy guitars punctuated with solo's that sound like the anguished crying of a grieving widow.

Bereavement has never been this glorious." Steve ~Deathrattle Podcast

https://isolehhr.bandcamp.com/album/anesidora

THE SOUTHERN ORACLE - THE MOST CORRUPTIBLE SOULS

Hardcore/Punk/Thrash

Budapest/Hungary

Self Released

Steve Woodier - Deathrattle Podcast

https://thesouthernoracle.bandcamp.com/album/the-most-corruptible-souls

TRIBE OF PAZUZU - BLASPHEMOUS PROPHECIES

Blackened Death Metal

Canada

Vic Records

https://tribeofpazuzu.bandcamp.com/album/blasphemous-prophecies

WYNDRYDER - WYNDRYDER

Stoner/doom

Tennessee/USA

Self Released

https://wyndrider.bandcamp.com/album/wyndrider

THE FALLEN PROPHETS - PERPETUAL DAMNATION

Death Metal

Cape Town/South Africa

MMD Records

https://thefallenprophets.bandcamp.com/album/perpetual-damnation

VISION DEPRIVED - SELF ELEVATING, DEEP INSIDE THE VOID

Death Metal

Milan, Italy

Slaughterhouse Records

"Unsettling Italian death metal that spits and snarls in your face in an unrelenting, frenzied attack. The riffs just keep coming, charged with adrenaline, like a serial killer stalking his next kill. Self Elevating, Deep Inside The Void, hurtles from one toxic tempo to another with crust armoured grind vying with mid paced crunch in a withering dance of ferocious extremity."Steve Woodier - Deathrattle Podcast

https://slaughterhouserecords.bandcamp.com/album/self-elevating-deep-inside-the-void

CRATER - DEGENERATE

Doom/Sludge

Shenzhen/China

SloomWeep Productions

"Chinese doom/sludge heavy enough to make your eyeballs burst and your teeth rattle out of your skull. All the warmth and moisture you normally get from standard doom riffs have been sucked out and the fuzz sandblasted away to leave an arid musical wasteland of slow, hateful tempos. Salvation does lie within Degenerate  as there is a slight stoner element that resonates within the tide of toxic sludge dissonance that gives the album a remarkably accessible feel to it, but generally, the Eyehategod influenced doom leaves a debilitating sense of hopelesness and nausea for which there is no known antidote."Steve Woodier - Deathrattle Podcast

https://crater420.bandcamp.com/album/degenerate

Crater - Degenerate (2023)

Chinese doom/sludge heavy enough to make your eyeballs burst and your teeth rattle out of your skull. All the warmth and moisture you normally get from standard doom riffs have been sucked out and the fuzz sandblasted away to leave an arid musical wasteland of slow, hateful tempos. Salvation does lie within Degenerate  as there is a slight stoner element that resonates within the tide of toxic sludge dissonance that gives the album a remarkably accessible feel to it, but generally, the Eyehategod influenced doom leaves a debilitating sense of hopelesness and nausea for which there is no known antidote.

VISION DEPRIVED ~ Self Elevating, Deep Inside The Void (2023)

 

Unsettling Italian death metal that spits and snarls in your face in an unrelenting, frenzied attack. The riffs just keep coming, charged with adrenaline, like a serial killer stalking his next kill. Self Elevating, Deep Inside The Void, hurtles from one toxic tempo to another with crust armoured grind vying with mid paced crunch in a withering dance of ferocious extremity.

WHORE OF BETHLEHEM - Ritual of Homicide (2023)

Tumultuous Texan death metal, bathed in a hue of snarling black anger and macerated with bludgeoning brutality. With skin flaying ferocity mixed with a pummelling rhythm section, Whore Of Bethlehem drags you into a tortured world of hurt.

VOLCANA ~ Goddess of Flame (2017)

Originally released in 2017, Goddess Of The Flame, by U.S band Volcana has been given the vinyl treatment by Glory Or Death Records. Red blooded, gritty riffs and twin guitar leads entwined into vicious barbs, career from one genre to the next, often within the same track. The main ingredient resonates with a Thin Lizzy'ish metal/rock sound but Goddess Of The Flame also leaves an aftertaste of doom and stoner as well as the occasional thrash crunch. 

DEATHRATTLE PODCAST ~ Dirty Dozen February 2023

The twelve albums  I contributed to the Doom Charts as my 'best of' list. As usual the 'Dirtry Dozen was mainly dominated by doom and death metal but this month had more of an influx of stoner albums and even a couple of hard/heavy rock releases. The Filth Pit also provided me with one of my albums of the month 'Repulsie Post Mortem by Putrid

BONE WEAPON - Thrive Or Starve

"Death/doom that never deviates from its sole purpose of asphyxiation by claustrophobic filth"~ Deathrattle Podcast

https://transylvaniantapes.bandcamp.com/album/bone-weapon-thrive-or-starve

WARP - Bound By Gravity (#11 Feb Doom Charts)

"Colossal  stoner/doom aided by a fantastic mix that swells the sound like a dying sun. Deep, sonorous riffs are lacerated by crystalline licks." ~ Deathrattle Podcast

https://warptlv.bandcamp.com/album/bound-by-gravity

TRAMALIZER - Fumes Of Funeral Pyres

"There's no room to breathe with this rabid slice of Finnish death metal. Devastating death metal filled with churning riffs and wailing leadwork thats sounds like a spoiled brat clinging to its mothers skirt tails."~ Deathrattle Podcast

https://tramalizer.bandcamp.com/album/fumes-of-funeral-pyres

PÉ ROTO - Tormento

"Destructive Portuguese doom/sludge with added dissonance to the riffs for maximum aural distress. Tormento is an album swollen with bloat, (very) slowly decomposing as you listen to a heaving groove struggling under its own obese weight. The sludge laden depth of these songs are boundless in their extremity, remorseless in their depravity, colossal shambling structures of doom."~ Deathrattle Podcast

https://pe-roto.bandcamp.com/album/tormento

DRUG MOTHER - Rise Witch (#32 Feb Doom Charts)

"We're a down tempo'd stoner rock band from Newcastle Australia."

https://drugmotherband.bandcamp.com/album/rise-witch

STREET TOMBS - Reclusive Decay

"Reclusive Decay" features six tracks of thrashing Death Metal / Punk freshly ripped from the grave

https://carbonizedrecords.bandcamp.com/album/reclusive-decay

OLD MINE UNIVERSE - This Vast Array (#22 Feb Doom Charts)

"This is a fantastic album from a band with hard rock in its heart and stoner blues in its soul." ~ Deathrattle Podcast

https://oldmineuniverse.bandcamp.com/album/this-vast-array

JUST BEFORE DAWN - Battle Sight Zeroing

"Mid Tempo destruction is our middle name!"

https://justbeforedawn1.bandcamp.com/album/battle-sight-zeroing

PUTRED - Repulsie Post - Mortem

"Death Metal band from Transylvania, Romania."

https://putred.bandcamp.com/album/repulsie-post-mortem

ATOMWINTER - Sakrilege

"It's the same crusty doom/death grisliness as previous releases but this time it's all about the death metal riff. Brutality and filth still prevails but Sakrileg is the fastest album the band has yet written despite being weighed down with pustules and scabs.

This album will make even the leprous headbang. " ~ Deathrattle Podcast

https://atomwinter.bandcamp.com/album/sakrileg-2

ETA LUX - High And Low (#7 Feb Doom Charts)

"High And Low, the third full-length album from these four-piece, North German sandstorm riders, is an absolute treat for longing craving stoner-rock souls from back then as well as today!" ~ Sunday's Heavy Tunes

https://eta-lux.bandcamp.com/album/high-and-low

BLACKWULF - Thieves And Liars (#9 Feb Doom Charts)

"I don’t always need crazy experimentation or mold breaking on all my records; sometimes I just want straight ahead heaviness with riffs for days, killer guitar work, and just a kick ass rock swagger that oozes with its pores, like what we get from Thieves and Liars. You get all of that plus their greatest song yet, Psychonaut Edge Of Light, making this the band’s best album till date." ~ Musipedia Of Metal

https://ripplemusic.bandcamp.com/album/thieves-and-liars

ISOLE ~ Anesidora (2023)

The dual harsh and clean (mainly clean) vocals sets the tone for Isole's new album Anesidora an album that spans the full range of emotions dragging the listener from the depths of despair one moment to a rapturous sense of elation the next. It's like attending a wake yet leaving with a smile on your face. Isole doesn't need fuzz or effects to conjure an epic, aural funeral. Instead, this doom ceremony is sanctified by heavy, metallic crunchy guitars punctuated with solo's that sound like the anguished crying of a grieving widow.

Bereavement has never been this glorious.

https://hammerheartstore.com/collections/vendors?q=Isole

DIVINIST ~ Divinist (2023)

Ominous, sludgy doom seething with evil intent. Bleak, black and sullen, the surprisingly sumptuous sound adds multitudes of layers, pitted with pained, acidic guitar leads, to the numbing, hypnotic dissonance taking root into your skull. Painfully slow, not even the added death metal element breaks Divinist from its lumbering stride of behemothic proportions. Dark, necromantic spells are cast from the first track and the feeling of oppressive malevolence leaves goosebumps on the nape of your neck long after the final track 'Curse' has ended.

DEATHRATTLE PODCAST DIRTY 30 ~ A Stoner Playlist

Volume 1 of the Deathrattle Podcast Stoner Playlist to download and enjoy. Expect extensive use of the wah pedal, fuzz occasionally laced with doom and psych and overly long jams!!

AATHMA - Mah (Avesta 2017)

BAARDVADER - Walking On The Moon ( Baardvader 2020)

CABESAURIO - Gerli Valley ( Gerli Valley 2017)

DAEVAR - Leviathan (Delirious Rites 2023)

EARTH WITCH - Green Torch ( Out Of The Shallow2017)

FABRICANTES - El Mago Del Desierto/Hormigon Armado ( La Selva Incrustada 2016)

GAIA - Desolution (Reality Field 2014)

HAAZE - Acid Queen (HAAZE 2017)

I, CAPTAIN - Stugon Pt II (Mantras For Mindlessness 2016)

JACK HARLON & THE DEAD CROWS - The Tale Of ( The Magnetic Ridge 2021)

K2 - Nuevo Mutro ( At Mini P's 2014 )

LA IGLESIA ATOMICA - Hijo Del Sol ( Gran Muro de Sol 2018)

THE MACHINE - First Unique Prime ( Drie 2010)

THE NAKED HIGH - Moon Turns Red (Tap Into The Evil 2020)

OAK - Smoke (Oak II 2016)

PALACE IN THUNDERLAND - The Word Unspoken ( The King Of The Empty Aeon 2019)

RAIKINAS - Rokka - ( Arcadia 2016)

SAADE - Coming Home (You Are Coming Home 2010)

T.H.U.M.B - Wasted Worlds ( Lunar Flight 2004)

US CHRISTMAS - In The Night ( Run Thick In The Night 2010)

V-8 COMPRESSOR - Don't Break My Fuzz (Don't Break My Fuzz 2017)

WAINGRO - Mercury Six ( Mt Hood 2015)

YAJAIRA - Atormentándonos (Post Tenebras Lux 2017)

Z28 - Race With The Devil ( Mach II 2022)

10000 YEARS - Dark Side Of The Earth (II 2021)

1000 MODS - Into The Spell ( Repeated Exposure to. 2016)

1782 - Priestess Of Death ( From The Graveyard 2021)

18 SPEED TRANNY - Stoner Rock Chick ( Fluid 2003)

1968 - War Dogs (Fortune Havana 2017)

2 HEADED DOGS - Fly With Me ( 2 HEADED DOGS 2016)

BLACK MOON CIRCLE ~ Leave The Ghost Behind (2023)

Thoroughly engrossing Norwegian stoner jams from an alternative dimension. This is one of those rare albums that absorbs time and space into a minute nucleus of existence. I became totally lost in it, just closed my eyes and let it cast me adrift far into the stratosphere. This isn't chill out music, far from it, the liberal waves of psychedelic acid guitar and licks that scratch and bite make sure of that as does the pulsating, stoner rhythm. The tracks are long, divergent and compelling, boundless in complexity, this is an album that begs to be listened to in it's entirety rather than in sections to get the full brain frying, psychedelic experience.

SPECTRAL SOULS ~ Towards Extinction (2022)

Pummelling Peruvian punishment from death metal riffs engorged with brutality and wrath. Thrashing speed hasn't sacrificed the dense juggernaut of sound these guys have somehow harnessed into a murderous album, enbellished with shredding lead guitar. Anyone seen the 'Last Of Us' series'? Well this album is the bands very own 'Bloater' an indestructable, unstoppable force. 

With Towards Extinction, Spectral Souls has rendered Hell's Choir with its unholy trumpets redundant because once you hear the opening bars to the track 'No More God For Me' you know Hell is coming!

PÉ ROTO ~ Tormento (2023)

Destructive Portugese doom/sludge with added dissonance to the riffs for maximum aural distress. Tormento is an album swollen with bloat, (very) slowly decomposing as you listen to heaving groove struggling under its own obese weight. The sludge laden depth of these songs are boundless in their extremity, remorseless in their depravity, colossal shambling structures of doom.

ŠMIERCIESLAŬ (Death Worshipper) ~ Black Metal Tornado (2021)

Beyond necro, scathing black thrash mixing the speed of Bathory with the brutality of Slayer. Don't expect any Celtic Frost style breakdowns, this album is a remorseless onslaught from the netherworld, whipping the spirits of the damned into a headbanging frenzy. The production is enough for the riffs to cause wounds of flagellation upon the listener but don't expect pity from this band.