10 Years of Heavy Planet

As per usual 2017 had it’s fair share of amazing releases. These are the ones that I listened to the most. This is also, unfortunately a very bittersweet list as this will be the last post you will ever see on Heavy Planet. Yes, after ten awesome years, we have decided to hang it up. The site will still be here for your reference and we will not be going away forever. We will still continue to post new bands/news on our Facebook and Twitter pages as well as provide new playlists and some other cool surprises and projects along the way. Thanks to the number of you that have been with us from the early days. Don’t think of this as the end, think of this as a new beginning. Stay heavy and doom on! ~Reg

10. Hypergiant-Father Sky

I had this band in my queue for the longest time to check out and man am I glad I did. This Australian band manages to seemlessly blend anything from progressive sludge metal to vintage classic rock with ease. Vocals, production and musicianship are top notch.



09. Spaceslug- Time Travel Dilemma

Intergalactic Cosmic Stoner Doom at it's very best. This heavy trio from Poland pushes the outer limits with thoughtful song structures, meditative rhythms and clever guitar riffing. The album also features guest vocals from Sander Haagmans of Sungrazer. Proof that Stoner Rock is not a one-trick pony. Expand your mind and take a trip with Spaceslug today.



08. Greenbeard-Lödarödböl

Very cool album from this 3-piece from Austin, TX. The album is a whirlwind of huge fuzzy Stoner riffs, smooth soloing, trippy psychedelics, proto-metal goodness and an underlying organ that puts you in a chilled out mood. "Lanesplitter" is fucking epic!



07. Bernelius-Space Drifter

I got to be quite honest with you, I listened to this album at least three times without realizing it is only one guy. I am usually turned off by one-man "bands" because of the self-indulgence factor but damn does he pull it off. Amazing production and stellar musicianship throughout.



06. Mutoid Man-War Moans

There are not enough adjectives to describe just how ridiculous this album is. This little slice of hypermetal heaven is filled with ferocious vocal hooks, crazed guitar effects , thunderous drumming and a huge nod to the 80's metal scene.



05. John Garcia- The Coyote Who Spoke in Tongues

Stripped down acoustic versions of some Kyuss favorites as well as a few newbies. The songs have such a cool vibe and softness but still absolutely attack your psyche with their heaviness and beauty. John's vocal is so powerful and soulful. Take a listen to "Green Machine" with it's mysterious and dark somberness. Damn!



04. Deadly Vipers-Fueltronaut

I am not quite sure why this album didn't garner more attention last year. The album is chock full of just about everything a Stoner Rock fan would drool over, plus the album was mastered by Kent Stump (Wo Fat). Think Kyuss meets Truckfighters, hell yes.



03. The Age of Truth-Threshold

Talk about a punch it the face, these Philly lads came out swinging with their hard-hitting and melodic debut. Awesome vocals, a tight rhythm section and great song-writing had me hooked since it's release.



02. Elder-Reflections of a Floating World

This band continues to progress with each album and has made numerous year -end top 10 lists for the mere fact that it is just plain amazing. The album is brilliantly heavy and has a great flow to it. No hit singles on this baby, just album making at it's finest.



01. Telekinetic Yeti-Abominable

Wow, talk about an amazing debut. This 2-piece band took the world by storm with great riffs and kick ass drumming. These guys feed off each other remarkably well and the fuzz just oozes out of the speakers. Can't wait to see them in DC with 1000mods.

Pete's Top Ten of 2017

Let's do this shall we?

10. Hark - Maschinations It's a damn shame that these guys have just announced they're splitting up as they're one of the most technical and experimental with their riffing in the stoner genre. At least we have two excellent records to remember them by.

9.  Bell Witch - Mirror Reaper

You really need to spend some time with this record, not just because of the 83 minute running length of the one song here, but with its layers and emotional turmoil within. A wonderful tribute to a fallen friend.

8. Godhunter - Codex Narco

Heavy and beautiful Nine Inch Nails doing doom sounding album. This has been my nicest suprise of the year.

 7. Telekinetic Yeti - Abominable Two guys making this much noise in the stoner/doom scene is always something to behold. Fuzzy riffs upon slower fuzzy riffs make this an excellent debut release. 

6. OHHMS - The Fool If you get a chance to see these guys live, go do it! Much like their shows, this debut full-length is heavy, often chaotic, and often beautifully stripped back. A superb record. 

 5. Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs - Feed The Rats I still enjoy telling people about this band, mainly for the name, but because their sound is an awesome mix of stoner psychedelic pounding. There's only three songs here, but with two of them hitting the 20 minute mark, you know they're something special. 

 4. Spaceslug - Time Travel Dilemma These Polish stoners are going from strength to strength with each release, exemplifying the claustrophobic riffs with the hazy vocals and heavy-ass song structures, I can't wait to hear what they come up with next. 

3. Elder - Reflections of a Floating World I really don't need to say anything about this. Go read every other End of Year list that any publication has put out and you will see this on there. The best band in the genre at present.

 2. REZN - Let It Burn I've had almost an entire year to listen to this record on repeat over and over, and the heaviness of it all never fails to floor me each time. A truly excellent record.

 1. Forming The Void - Relic This has been the standout record for me this year, by some way, with it's psychedelic tendencies, doom riffs, stoner wanderings, powerful vocals (that guy can sing!!)and one of the best Led Zeppelin covers i've heard. We've had our eye on Forming The Void for some time now, and hearing 'Relic' makes us feel like proud dads. 

That's it from me this year, as a whole we've been a bit on the quiet side at Heavy Planet HQ, but we've never stopped listening to everything we've been able to get our hands on, that flame will never die out. I hope each and every one of you have had a great year, and I hope that you do everything you can to make 2018 an even better one.

 Stay heavy.

 Pete x

Top Ten Records of 2016: Pete's choices.

Let's dispatch with the pleasantries shall we, the "2016 has been a crap year" boohooing, and let's just do this thing! The one thing that can be said about 2016 is, as ever, that the music has been fucking awesome!

10. MAKE - Pilgrimage Of Loathing

Pilgrimage Of Loathing is a very challenging record, one that covers the fucked up human race and political/scumbag shittyness to a tee. MAKE come at you with as much bile and anger as they can muster, while still carrying the post-rock abstractness to take you to their higher-plain of serenity. It's a challenging listen, but a vital one.

9. Domadora - The Violent Mystical Sukuma

The best Earthless record not to be done by Earthless, and that's a compliment, as the French psychedelic/stoner/rockers play with their sounds rather than just imitate. Some tracks are short balls to the wall riffathons, others 16 minute instrumental epics. An excellent record.

8. Steinsopp - Steinsopp

The "Stoner's Stoner Record" of 2016! With indecipherable vocals sung through a megaphone from a different galaxy, chugging stoner riffs, and songs sending you tripping into the next track, Steinsopp have pulled of something mightily impressive here.

7. Spaceslug - Lemanis

Muffled heavy stoner doom is as claustraphobic as it is freeing, and it is done perfectly here. Spaceslug are so good at biding their time at being heavy, that you don't realise you're being crushed by their riffs until they're already on top of you, pressuring down onto your wind pipe.

6. Swan Valley Heights - Swan Valley Heights

One of the best stoner-rock records of the year. Since way back in January, this record has hit multiple repeats, and it still crushes to this day. I've found it works really well down the gym too!

5. Son Of A Witch - Thrones In The Sky

Thrones In The Sky was released right back in the early stages of the year, and it's finally seeing a release on vinyl at the beginning of 2017, and it's just what these Brazilians deserve as the record is all kinds of heavy-hazy-doomy-psychedelic perfection.

4. Messa - Belfry

Gorgeous paganistic style doom from these Italians with ambient drone undertones. Belfry is utterly spellbinding, in no part down to the haunting vocals of Sara, which flitters between heavy seventies style hard rock to nothing but delicate vocals gliding along the wind. Beautifully crushing!

3.Domkraft - The End Of Electricity

A late comer in the year's releases, but one that's made such an impact that it demand your attention. Loud, heavy riffs, psychedelic touches, pummelling beats, and did I mention those riffs? Awesome tunes from these Swedes and yet more proof that Magnetic Eye records can barely put a foot wrong!

2. Whores. - Gold

After the release of two excellent EPs, anticipation was very high for their debut record, and the Noise merchants did not disappoint, with a record that is as loud as they could possibly go, with riffs heavier and more relentless than before. Gold proved that Whores. are the real deal.

1. Cough - Still They Pray

Hypnotically heavy and perfectly psyched-out, this record has been ever present on my turntable ever since I found it in my local record store. Cough are a band who are continuously improving and growing with each release, and the doom stampede here is a pleasure to accompany every dark gruesome night.

Until next year, wherever you are on the planet, have a HEAVY one! Pete.

LP Review: Lemanis by Spaceslug

Heavy space stoner sludge doom this way comes! Having only been a band for less than a year, Poland’s Spaceslug have released a cosmic trip of a record, slowly creeping you towards the black hole of oblivion with its monstrous riffs, claustrophobic muffled singing, and drumming louder than the big bang: Lemanis is something pretty special.

As ‘Proton Lander’ slowly awakens to a new dawn of layered trudging riffs inviting you on to a different astral plain, the track’s pace begins to quicken before the gut-slicing guitar lines come in to devastating effect. The bass lines build, the drums, largely dominated with cymbals, are huge and almost completely dominate, and the vocals never breach above a carefree muttered discussion, blending into the sea of musical notes as another instrument. As you’re listening acutely to the vocals to decipher them, that’s when the true power of the drums and guitars really kick in and take you off guard; it’s a powerful tactic and works with aplomb.

‘Proton Lander’ seems almost timid once the power of ‘Hypermountain’ is unleashed with its razor sharp riffs from the get go, each additional guitar line and drum smash fighting over the next to be the loudest, most grandiose in destructive power. It’s a song which is all face melting and head banging in all the right places, showing the bands destructive side that isn’t floating away on a cloud of cosmic acid, that’s shown on ‘Supermassive’, right before it too completely rearranges your face with its heavy distorted riffs and frankly so on point drumming that it could be a solo record of just the percussion and we’d be happy.

It’s perhaps not surprising to learn that two members of Palm Desert (Kamil Ziółkowski on drums and Jan Rutka on bass) feature in Spaceslug (along with Bartosz Janik on guitar – all three members sing) as the band is so well rounded with an underlying stoner sound that echoes along the pine of these soon to be Polish giants. Lemanis is a heavy, trippy, destructive, hypnotising, just stunning record (I’ve already purchased the CD awaiting a vinyl release) that will probably improve your life! Go. Get. Now!

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