“For someone who holds all forms of doom metal in high esteem, I must admit I’ve struggled to connect with anything of the stoner/psych variety ever since Italy’s Ufomammut put their amp fuzz out to pasture a few years back. As the oldest of all metal forms, predictability is baked into its very DNA. No matter how full of piss and vinegar a young band may be, if they play stoner doom, they fight the perceptions of a tired genre.” Tides aturning.
“Nothing moves quickly in the world of San Francisco cult stoner-doom stalwarts Acid King. From expansive, dreamy psych-smattered jam sessions to low and lazy stoner-doom riffs, and groovy plods, through to their sporadic recording output, Acid Kin do shit at their own relaxed pace. And in the realms of kaleidoscopic, thick, heavyset stoner-doom, Acid King do it well and never disappoint.” Acid King can do…anything.
“Unlike the treacherous triumvirate of necromancers up on the hill in Macbeth,Acid Witch are a silly, tongue-in-cheek entity and always have been. Their stoner doom-death style owes more to cheesy horror flicks from the 60s and 70s than it does to Black Sabbath or Autopsy and their typical fare feels like it could function as a soundtrack for Return of the Living Dead or Trick or Treat with the camp levels besting those seen around Crystal Lake. On fourth album Rot Among Us little has changed in their odd witch’s brew.” Come, come to the sabbWitch.
“With their sound palette sorted, the most difficult challenge Blue Heron faces is one of momentum. Stoner doom is inherently relaxed and fuzzy, seemingly tailored for casual listening with or without accompanying recreational substances. Ephemeral appears to be perfectly content inside this mold, and as a direct consequence lacks the kind of excitement that more interesting bands like Wizard Rifle offer.” Desert winds, blue birds.
“Post-metal and stoner rock both struggle to escape the shadows of their forebears. Nothing gets me off like a well-developed soundscape, but countless bands claim to be the next Neurosis or Kyuss while bringing nothing to the table but fuzzy minimalism. This Melvin can attest firsthand that the Melvins already exist, and imitating them is a losing battle. So I approached the sophomore release from Houston’s sludgy post-metallers Pyreship with high hopes and a raised eyebrow.” Riding posts.
“I miss the 1980s. There’s a special place in my heart for bands that foreshadowed the development of extreme metal while keeping one foot firmly planted in their thrash or NWoBHM roots, like Sodom, Venom, and Slayer. German first-wave black metal enthusiasts Blood Torrent agree. We get lots of promos that cite early-90s second-wave bands as influences, but it’s rarer that albums purport to revive their mid-80s ancestors.” Blood and olde treasure.
“When it comes to the types of metal we cover on this site, it’s rare to find bands openly drawing from grunge, even though it was the dominant rock style of the 90s. Bluesy hard rock and prog from the 70s, 80s guitar heroics; scroll through the reviews on our homepage and you’ll find a band or five still mining those veins. Sure, there’s sludge, grunge’s fugly big brother, but love that genre as I do, it rarely trips the dormant teenage Cherd nostalgia centers of my brain that flare up when something 90s alt rock radio adjacent passes over my earballs. Di’Aul, on the other hand, crashes into the ol’ cortex like an atomic elbow off the top rope.” Alice in pains.
“We all have our dirty metal secrets that we selfishly keep to ourselves, only sharing with a select few close to us. Or alternatively, we incessantly talk up underground gems and spread the gospel to anyone that will listen, as we cherish our slice of underground cred. Into the Obscure aims to right the wrongs and unearth the artists/albums that for whatever unjust reason didn’t get the exposure, appreciation or credit they sorely deserved the first time round.” Master! Master!
“With that album cover, you know exactly what you’re getting. You’ve heard it before – a bunch of musicians who smoked one too many joints in high school, and then one too many joints in college, and decided to share their boundless love for early Black Sabbath with the world. Norwegian four-piece Kryptograf is relatively new to the overcrowded stoner rock scene, but they made a splash with their self-titled 2020 debut, which melded vintage doom, hard rock, and psychedelic jams.” Loving the leaf.
“It’s become a joke in the AMG tea-room that stoner doom, while often quite enjoyable, very rarely stands out. The languid, hazy riffs and easy atmosphere make for music that flirts cheekily with memorability, but rarely commits to it. Part of the reason, I suspect, is that most of this music operates in a slightly blunted emotional frequency, reflecting the effect being stoned has on the listener. Enter New York foursome, King Bastard, with their debut It Came From the Void. Crashing in with all the subtlety of day-old bong water, it’s a trip all right. But it’s one you should consider taking.” Void bastards.
