Nuclear Dog's 2016 Favorites

I know I'm late. Schedules are hectic and excuses are thick. Not to mention choices are numerous. There is always such a plethora of great new music released worldwide each year.  That's a great thing, wouldn't you agree?

My favorites are, and have always been, albums with key characteristics, namely lots of guitar, most of it of the fuzzy variety, decent to great vocals, melody in song structure, and either memorable songs or a memorable sound, or both. I am not musically technical, unfortunately, so what I mean by melody in song structure simply means old fashioned song arrangements with rhyme scheme stanzas, choruses, solos, bridges, etc. at a 'fun' tempo, whatever that may mean.  Vocals to me are of utmost importance. A great vocalist can make or break what is otherwise a great album. When it comes to rating an album I often find that if there are a number of songs I put in my top playlist then, obviously, the album gets 'starred' as well. But sometimes there may not be a standout song so much as all the songs resonate greatly for an overall quality of awesomeness. The best example of that might be Nuclear Dog's favorite album of 2014, ¡Pendejo!'s "Atacames", or The Phuss' "On the Prowl", both of which are replete with great sounding songs, each as awesome as the last. And, of course, topping the list of prerequisites, the reason we all listen to these genres, the reason thousands of musicians worldwide generate this music despite the paucity of fortune or fame, is the guitar - BIG juicy, powerful guitars, generally tuned toward the low end with only the occasional foray into high falutin' solos - this is what drives us, artist and listener alike.

As usual, there were too many great releases this past year to have a conclusive 'best of' list. Any list may be missing an incredible album that simply escaped the notice of the lister. It's happened to me each year, usually at the hands of our HeavyPlanet guru, Reg, who always uncovers an album that would easily slot into my own list, if only I had known of it, if only I had been paying attention. But that's the fun of having so many lists, there is always something new and great to discover.

At HeavyPlanet.net and www.facebook.com/HeavyPlanet we strive to introduce the world to great music, most of it newly released, much of it from bands who've yet to 'make it', and all of it simply musically, heavily, fuzzily awesome. My list will have a paucity of 'known' bands or albums, keeping to the HeavyPlanet tradition and intent, but this is primarily a coincidence. Out of the thousands of worldwide releases in 2016 these simply are my favorites, no other agenda present, starting with #20 and working up to numero ichi.

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20. Stone Cream - "Rust"

Pure stoner goodness out of Greece. Not much is known yet of this band. They released this album via bandcamp in December and then another full LP in January of 2017. I suspect we'll learn more of who they are in the coming year, but in the meantime we have this magnificent music.

Release date - December 7, 2016

Favorite track - "Haunted Train"

Hometown: Somewhere in Greece

bandcamp

19. Stone House on Fire - "Neverending Cycle"

Sophisticated, clean, psychedelic, and deep. This is the third album from this Brazilian four piece.

Release date - June 14, 2016

Favorite track - "Anger"

Volta Redondo, Brazil

bandcamp || facebook || instagram || youtube

18. Wreck Plus - "Dark Constructor"

Tight and imaginative retro-fuzz from this gifted quartet that rocks hard and fast with relish and rigor.

Release date - December 11, 2016

Favorite track - "Starcrossed Lovers"

Hometown: Paris, France

bandcamp ||  facebook || youtube

17. Black Doldrums - "Exit City Lights"

Moody, mysterious, and deliciously dark psychedelia from this warrior isles duo.

Release date - August 12, 2016 & December 29, 2016

Favorite track - "It's a Dandy Massacre"

Hometown: London, England

bandcamp || facebook || twitter || tumblr || bandcamp



16. Wasted Theory - "Defenders of the Riff"

Lots to love here. Big, bold, and brash sound. Hot, swampy vocals. Crude, honest, rock n' roll lyrics. A full ten song LP of great butt-kick fuzz from this gnarly quartet.

Release date - October 30, 2016

Favorite track - "Belly Fulla Whiskey"

Hometown: Somewhere in Maryland and Delaware

bandcamp || facebook

15. The Freeks - "Shattered"

This band can be classified as somewhat of a supergroup, with founding members of Fu Manchu, Nebula, Backbiter, and others, but really the supergroup status lends itself more to the music that to anyone's CV. This is an album swollen with high energy music that runs roughshod through punk, funk, stoner, grunge, psychedelic, and seventies sounds. It's edgy, jagged, melodic, and quite brilliantly a riotous, romping lot of fun.

Release date - November 11, 2016

Favorite track - "Ivana"

Hometown: Rome, Italy

bandcamp || facebook || website 

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It probably goes without saying that any of the top 15 albums in my list could just as easily have been in the top spot. They're all exceptional and have made 2016 another incredible year for the fuzz.



14. Geezer - "Geezer"

Geezer have a mammoth sound, including perfectly tinged vocals, driving drumwork, massive bass, and monstrous guitar. They continue to deliver some of the most intoxifying music of the stoner/blues/metal genre. This album is replete with deep, tightly woven psychotropic threads of brilliance. Now part of the Ripple Music label, Geezer continue to grow, expand, and deliver. Bravo.

Release date - November 18, 2016

Favorite track - "Sun Gods"

Hometown: Kingston, New York

bandcamp || facebook || label



13. Cybernetic Witch Cult - "Spaceous Cretaceous"

This album is fun, enjoyable, unique, and chock full of knock yer block off rock woven around stories of fantasy and science fiction. While the theme is imaginative and quixotic, fun and exhilarating, rendering tales of deep space, mythical beasts and beings, mesmerizing magic, as well as the frontiers and power of science, the underlying structure of musical magnificence is what carries the day with deft musicianship and elegant melodies steeped in soaring blues rock, a pitch perfect vocalist with both edge and range, and supremely spellbinding guitar mastery.

Release date - May 28, 2016

Favorite track - "Enchantress"

Hometown: Cornwell, England

bandcamp || facebook || website



12. Deep Aeon - "The Devil's Vision"

Well, fuck! This one is both a celebration and a fare thee well, of sorts. After releasing some of the juiciest stoner rock over the course of three short years (too little of it for my covetous desires) Deep Aeon have called it kaput. Before disbanding they had begun production on a new album, and this EP is what they were able to record before the fateful fuzzy fission.

I realize this is only two songs and probably shouldn't be considered, but..........but, these two songs are simply magnificent. Well structured melodies of memorable scope and quality are bound on all sides by deep musical skill and deft delivery. The music is brooding and intense, the vocals penetrating, the melodies wonderful and memorable, and the guitars offer intricate tapestries of fatal, cold-blooded amplifications of doomsday steel.

The good news is that three of the four Deep Aeon members will remain together, forming soon a new band under the cognomen of Heavy Beam, having already recruited a new vocalist. This is exciting news. We extend to this coalescing stoner fuzzcraft, consisting of the aforementioned new singer as well as members Nickolaj Marfels, Alexander Weber, and Axel Meyer, all the hope and good will we can muster, which is a purely self-serving bestowment....BECAUSE WE WANT MORE!!

Release date - July 4, 2016

Favorite tracks - "The Vision", "Devils"

Hometown: Düsseldorf, Germany

bandcamp || facebook



11. Youngblood Supercult - "High Plains"

The evocative atmosphere wrought by this flatlander quartet is one of a piercing, keening young love lost, of heightened senses in bitter cold darkness, one of despair and desperation in bleak and lonely places. That's the incredible haunting sense of mystery and nostalgia fashioned by the twin engines of Youngblood's psycho-blues guitar sound and nimbly ardent vocalist.

Release date - February 19, 2016

Favorite track - "Monolith"

Hometown: Topeka, Kansas

bandcamp || facebook || website

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10. Desert Colossus - "Desert Colossus"

Fun and athletic is the atmosphere for most of this LP of initial release and signal quality from this exciting new quartet. There is fuzz galore and a sound that is smack dab in the middle of stoner/desert/fuzz rock. They do not so much as sound like Kyuss, but sound like a perfect fit for whatever exact genre Kyuss slots into. Melodic, upbeat, and deeply intriguing melodies are matched by twin guitar energy, powerful rock vocals, deftly driving drums, and a bass that'll cause you to bob and weave in ecstatic splendor.

Release date - January 3, 2016

Favorite track - "Fat Chicks"

Hometown: Zaandam, Netherlands

bandcamp || facebook



9. Slumber Dust - "Slumber Dust"

Another initial release from gifted artists striking out with deftly crafted songs of deep reverberations and mighty fuzztone fabrics of sound. Intriguing melodies intertwine seamlessly with psychedelic stretches of mind expansion and tribal intrusion.

Release date - October 22, 2016

Favorite track - "Pyramids"

Hometown: Saint Catharines, Ontario, Canada

bandcamp || facebook || soundcloud



8. Samba Cemetary - "The Bushgate"

This music is at once powerful and intelligent, driving hard ahead with white hot fierceness just as it slips smoothly into the icy coldness of psychedelic underfuzz. The riffs pummel and penetrate, drawing little blood in their sharpness while inflicting maximum metal carnage. Song structure is nimble and enduring, drawing in the listener over and again to consume the heady, quixotic experience. The vocals are unique and intriguing, adding to the overall thrill of new discovery and familiar heat as each song is savored and embraced.

Release date - September 19, 2016

Favorite track - "Last Samba"

Hometown: Berlin, Germany

bandcamp || facebook || youtube || website



7. Mesmer - "Mesmer"

The guitars are a dazzling, haunting, massive sound of macabre metal carried along by dark, delicious melodies and a vocalist of eerily beautiful tone and timbre, evoking haunted houses of horror and towers of terror through keenly wrought edges of nervous awareness.

Release date - June 3, 2016

Favorite track - "Weight of Confusion"

Hometown: Oakland, California

bandcamp || facebook



6. Stone Witch - "Order of the Goat"

This album is like an incessant, relentless heavy armored track brigade grinding and crunching its way through black forest gravel roads sodden and sopping with the dark blood of a thousand zombie amplifiers wailing and howling through the dank, dark night into the eternal stygian abyss. Dual guitars are unremitting in all-out onslaught of riff and solo, while the vocals deliver exquisite, alluring, haunting lyrics of depth and melancholy. Earth-rattling bass and superhuman staccato stickwork pulverize to bliss and submission.

The desert climes of Arizona are home to this magnificent quartet and their initial foray into the bastions of stoner rock, desert rock, and occult rock.

Release date - July 13, 2016

Favorite track - "Blood Feast"

Hometown: Phoenix, Arizona

bandcamp || facebook


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I'm tempted to list the final five as 1a, 1b, 1c, 1d, 1e. Any of these five could've made my #1 position. But that's a cop out, so in the immortal words of William Shakespeare, "Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more;"



5. Fall of an Empire - "Croweater: An Echo in the Bone"

Fall of an Empire released one hell of an album in 2014 in "Songs of Steel and Sorrow". Following up with something that good and that successful must be a neat trick (sarcasm), because as often as not a sophomore event struggles to match the heart and magic of the inaugural product, so when "Croweater" was released it was like an overwhelming rush of sweet snowy air. The talent and ability of this savvy quintet of stoner rock fabulists carried the day in overwhelming style. They again achieved a mighty and preeminently worthy collection of massively thrilling tales ensconced deeply in thick magic woolen riffs and heart piercing musical tales of medieval woe and enchanted adventure. The scope is huge, the delivery massive, and the experience thrilling.

Release date - August 17, 2016

Favorite track - "Uprising"

Hometown: Spartanburg, South Carolina

bandcamp ||  facebook



4. Mississippi Bones - "2600 AD: and Other Astonishing Tales"

Prolific, esoteric, and deep fried in southern stoner fuzz, Mississippi Bones are as gifted as a band can be. They create a LOT of music. They create a lot of GREAT music. Their songs are musically and lyrically profound, pulling you in myriad directions of intrigue, alluring in quality of riff and reverb, mesmerizing in tale, primal in melody and rhythm, there is more to chew on than ever meets the external acoustic meatus at first echo.

Release date - September 2, 2016

Favorite track - "Outhouse Poet (or Shitty Lyricist)"

Hometown: Ada, Ohio

bandcamp ||  facebook || twitter



3. Buzzzard - "Cold Blood"

Finding "Cold Blood" is a coup in my reckoning. The characteristics and qualities I always listen for when first experiencing an album, whether from a known group or someone new, are all present on this album. Twin guitars of heat and smoke, along with a bruising bass and piercing drums blister the auditory system in unrelenting brilliance. Three vocalists harmonize in glory and grandeur, led magnificently by a quintessential lead voice of fuzz rock purity. The primal chord of melody is fully exploited through each track by this melancholy stoner blues machine, combining to deeply hypnotize from the initial fuzz pedal power up to the last skin rap and cymbal tap.

Release date - November 23, 2016

Favorite track - "Nowhere to Go"

Hometown: Carbondale, Illinois

bandcamp ||  facebook



2. Ruff Majik - "The Fox"

The fuzz is huge on this magnificent album out of South Africa. A splendid blending of mammoth riff distortion driven by captivating and beguiling song structures as well as a new age vocalist of ability and intrigue. This threesome are nimble in execution yet powerful in deliverance. The music is uniquely their own, with little in the way of homage other than maybe the tonal range they choose to chisel from the stoner rock escarpment and vague references to a half dozen foundations of metal.

Release date - September 1, 2016

Favorite track - "Canned Fruit Bats"

Hometown: Pretoria, South Africa

bandcamp ||  facebook



1. Black Water - "Edison's Elephant"

I want to start by pointing out I know that technically this album was released in 2015, but it was a December release date and I didn't come across it until late January of 2016. This album is just too good to not share with as much of the world as is willing to peruse my list and perhaps sample the music therein. If you're as much a fan of bluesy stoner desert magic as I am then you'll surely appreciate the magnitude of what these Virginians have wrought. They are incredibly gifted song-writers, with half of this album getting the 5 star treatment on my personal favorites playlist. The melodies are immortally memorable, the tenor pure blues melancholia, the guitars as fine and ferocious as can be found in the dark, mossy metal underground, an inspired drummer and brutal bassist, an adept, keen vocalist and an ability to galvanize the disparate pieces into something truly special and enduring.

Release date - December 10, 2015

Favorite track - "Blueser"

Hometown: Rocky Mount, Virginia

bandcamp ||  facebook || twitter


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As with many bands that ply the stoner/doom/psychedelic/retro/blues waters the artists featured here are inspired by their love of the music and abilities that allow them to lay tone to tape. Brilliance isn't always discovered by record labels, late night TV hosts, or reality television. It doesn't mean that innate genius isn't to be found and enjoyed, at least not anymore. While Black Water, Ruff Majik, and Buzzzard, and the other bands on lists present and past, might not enjoy a tour with Disturbed, or whatever pretender gets the luxury of backing these days, I hope that at the very least they find their way into the hearts of the lovers of the best rock and metal on the planet. 

Toby's Top Ten of 2014

I realize it’s kind of lame for me to have been absent around these parts for the better part of 2014 only to show up now spouting off my opinions on the best music of this past year.  You can rest assured though that I did my best to keep up with the listening part of this job just as much as I ever have, it was just the writing part…or I should say the time required to do so…that escaped me last year.  But even though I may not have reviewed the records I fell in love with in 2014, I took notes and jotted down each and every band and album that left its indelible mark in my brain.  And as much as I loathe the idea of New Year’s resolutions, which are really just empty promises people make to themselves, I’m gonna go ahead and say that in 2015 my goal is to re-establish myself as a frequent collaborator here at Heavy Planet.  So with all of that said, I give you my favorite records from 2014 and encourage you to look for more input from me in 2015.  Happy New Year.

10) Wasted Theory - Death and Taxes

Delaware’s Wasted Theory came out of nowhere this year with Death and Taxes (review here) and to take nothing away from their 2013 debut Godspeed, the improvement in both songwriting and musicianship from that album to this one were simply astounding.  Of course, having seen the band at this year’s Moving the Earth Festival back in March (recap here), I already knew that they were solidly behind these songs when their set consisted exclusively of material from the new album.  Tracks like “Dead is Dead,” “Hellfire Ritual,” and “Black Widow Liquor Run” were seething with whisky drenched vocals, Southern-fried swagger, and a mountain of groove.  With a name like Death and Taxes, one could assume that Wasted Theory figured this album was a certainty, and after listening to it over and over this year, I tend to agree with them.        

09) Stubb – Cry of the Ocean

I had never heard Stubb’s self-titled debut prior to hearing this album, so I went in with no pre-conceived notions of what to expect.  Little did I know, that what I would hear was the sound of a bygone era when rock n’ roll could fill football stadiums and guitar solos dominated the radio dial.  Modern day revivalists of the classic power trio, these Londoners put heartfelt emotion into Cry of the Ocean.  Whether it was the combination of heavy fuzz with soul in “Cry of the Ocean, Part Two,” the acoustic buildup and subsequent slide guitar finale on “Heartbreaker,” or the obvious Hendrix worship found on “Devil’s Brew,” I couldn’t get enough of Stubb’s sophomore record and it’ll likely be in my heavy rotation for the foreseeable future.   

08) Jeremy Irons and the Ratgang Malibus - Spirit Knife

Hailing from Sweden, Jeremy Irons and the Ratgang Malibus (I'd love to know the origins of that name) play a chill inducing style of meandering, psychedelic rock that sticks with you long after the final chords fade from your speakers.  Their latest, Spirit Knife, was an odyssey of musical peaks and valleys awash in beautiful layers of fuzzed out reverb.  This was a quintessential headphone record, one where the guitars gently shimmered and violently crashed, and the drums were kept purposefully loose, serving mainly to keep the ensemble from teetering too far out of control during the instrumental passages, of which there were many.  But what kept JIRM firmly cemented in my frontal cortex were the powerful, mesmerizing vocals, which were sporadic, but frequent enough to keep me engaged.  Look no further than the album’s opening track “Fog by the Steep” for a sample, but the entirety of Spirit Knife is a journey you should experience.  It was one of the best I took in 2014. 

07) 1000 Mods - Vultures

This is the first of two bands on my list this year who hail from Greece…is something sinister in the water of the Aegean or what?  From the opening fuzzed out riff and seamless mix of laid back and shouted vocals on "Claws," 1000 Mods throw haymakers from the very get go, and they never let up throughout this album.  Being veterans of the very first Heavy Planet compilation Bong Hits from the Astral Basement, I can't help but feel a sense of pride seeing these guys develop and grow as a band.  Give a listen to "Big Beautiful" or "Horses' Green" if you'd like a sample.  Call it stoner, call it desert…shit man, call it whatever the fuck you want, but Vultures was by far some of the best heavy rock I heard in 2014. 

06) Planet of Zeus - Vigilante

This is the second Greek band on my top ten list of 2014…who knew?  If these guys (and 1000 Mods) aren't touring together throughout the Hellenic Republic, then I don't know what the fuck to say.  With a sound that manages to simultaneously harken early Clutch and the 70's excess of KISS, Planet of Zeus combine a righteous layer of fuzz alongside funky beats, aggressively throaty vocals and anthemic, fist-pounding hard rock.  The result is a sinister concoction of heavy groove, sing-along choruses, and potent rhythms.  Take a listen to "Second Coming," "Burn This City Down," "No Tomorrow," the title track…hell just take your pick because they're all solid.  Vigilante is easily one of the best albums of 2014 and should definitely accompany your next foray into drunken debauchery…if that's your sort of thing of course. 

05) The Whigs - Modern Creation

Seems like every year I include one band in my top 10 that arguably doesn't belong amongst the fuzz and sludge typically covered here at Heavy Planet and this year that band is Athens, Georgia trio The Whigs.  So yeah, this is a rock band with "pop" tendencies, and they'll likely cause you to sing (not scream) along with them, but here's the rub…like Stubb earlier, this is a power trio in the truest sense of the term.  Heavy Planet readers will likely dig tunes like "Asking Strangers for Directions" and "The Particular" which skew towards the heavier end of the spectrum.  Another reason you need to be listening to The Whigs and why they find a place in my top ten is that they easily have one of the best drummers on the circuit today and that's evident as you listen to Modern Creation.  This is straight up rock n roll, layered with pop melodies and sing-along choruses.  Frankly, I couldn't agree more with the band's own assessment as they sing on "Too Much in the Morning"…this music is "so good, so pure."

04) Fu Manchu - Gigantoid

This one seems like a no brainer, I mean c'mon man, it's Fu Manchu.  From the opening pummel of "Dimension Shifter," everything I've always loved about these SoCal stoners was there in spades.  From the chilled out, surfer vibe of the vocals, to the massive reverb and fuzz of the dual guitar attack, and the ocean sized rhythm section, Gigantoid was a worthy addition to the Fu Manchu legacy.  Songs like "No Warning" and "Triplanetary" dabbled in the hardcore punk of the band's origins, but the sound never strayed too far from the surf and skate jams that have always been their bread and butter.  Want to hear my favorite?  Check out "Evolution Machine," which was a spot on example of Fu Manchu continuing to do what they do, while simultaneously pushing the envelope of heavy music.  For a band whose first album was released 20 years ago, that's a damn fine achievement if you ask me.    

03) Slow Mover - Move Slower

What can I say about Boston’s Slow Mover and their hilariously titled sophomore record Move Slower, other than that they're spastic, have a killer sense of humor, and when they decide to let loose, they fucking destroy.  I immediately knew this album would be interesting when the first track “Home” opened with chaotic blast beats and grindcore guitars, before settling into an infectious, bouncing groove.  And I could be wrong, but based on the lyric “you have died of dysentery” I’m fairly certain that song is about the old computer game The Oregon Trail.  Subsequent tracks like “Crane Collapse” and “SFCA” continue the berserk mash-up of styles, which falls somewhere in the realm of Fu Manchu jamming with Pig Destroyer, and feature that same wicked sense of humor…”are you a wizard, I am a wizard!”  It’s safe to say, Move Slower was by far one of the most entertaining and eclectic listening experiences of 2014.     

02) Crowbar - Symmetry in Black 

How is it that nobody mentions Crowbar anymore when talking about the best doom and sludge albums on the planet?  Look, it would be easy for me to sit here and tell you that Symmetry in Black is Kirk Windstein and company returning to the form found on their classic, 1992 self-titled sophomore record, but here's the truth of the matter…they never fucking stopped delivering.  With unbelievably weighty rhythms and a downtrodden plod that only Crowbar can conjure, these vets…nay, innovators of the New Orleans sludge scene added yet another classic to an already impressive catalogue.  With tracks like the album opening "Walk With Knowledge Wisely" and "The Taste of Dying" just to name a couple, the old adage about Crowbar remains just as true today as it did back in the 90's…None Fucking Heavier.

01) The Skull - For Those Which Are Asleep

After interviewing ex-Trouble vocalist Eric Wagner, drummer Jeff Olson, and bassist Ron Holzner back in 2012 (here) about their latest project The Skull, I quickly dubbed the piece "More Trouble Than Trouble" due to their seemingly unrelenting goal to rekindle the sound and vibe that defined the early days of their former band.  Fast forward to 2014 and with their debut full length For Those Which Are Asleep, the title of that interview has never seemed more apropos.  What The Skull created was a collection of ten tracks representing the heaviest, most somber doom that you were likely to find this year (ever?).  Mixing Sabbath inspired grooves with Beatles-esque harmonies, The Skull (like early Trouble) are a lesson in musical agony and ecstasy.  From the lumbering weariness of "Sick of it All" to the bludgeoning skepticism of "Send Judas Down," For Those Which Are Asleep was the best any fan of heavy music could hope for…the revival of a classic sound married with a modern perspective.  For that reason, The Skull’s debut sits atop my favorite albums from 2014.

Seth's 2014 Year In Review

I needed every second of 2014 to craft a list of favorites. Saying goodbye to the year and its bearded buoyancy (weren't beards the rage lately?), I left behind a trail of hard-earned dollars and dodged awkward gay-bar glances as things grew real foggy. I've scratched and scribbled in hopes of trimming down an impartial litany of the most-spun releases from the last twelve months. The task is daunting, so I'll work to keep things simple and clean.

Sunday's Best

I've got two stacks. One toppled by the bands served on silver platter Sundays. The other towering with records I wasn't smart enough to write about. Regardless, these lists are little more than a refresher on a year in which the best sounds blasted down Highway 251 as I ran out of colorful descriptors. Here are the Sunday smokers that lifted our heads highest.

Possessor - Electric Hell

I had a brief obsession with Vince Bugliosi's Helter Skelter years ago. Something about these nine grinders immediately took me back there (that album art surely played a role). From cavernous doom to rat-rod drudge, Possessor gripped my fuckin' nuts and beat me into compliance. Oozing sweat and sex and handshakes with Satan, Electric Hell immediately became my favorite album of 2014.

Disastroid - Missiles

It's always fun to say an album's sound defied categorization, but this was the year's best example. Missiles struck a chord and nestled into my frontal cortex, forming memories I didn't realize existed. Steady and damn-near perfect, the shifts are never forced and the 90's morning wood never kills my buzz. It's sonic anesthesia peppered with sobering stoner-sludge, and every minute is devastating.

Godhunter - City of Dust

I knew Godhunter would deliver the goods before I even heard this 8-track crusher. What was staggering was the message, and the caviling delivery of rebellion's impetus is Godhunter's true trophy here. City of Dust marked an assured stomp toward this band not only cementing their name, but more importantly fisting convention and never caving to blind acquiescence. If only we could all be so bold.

Druglord - Enter Venus

There was no prepping for this brand of heaviness. The doom crushes, yes. But the psychedelia and doped-out howls leave a glaze on your fingers and the crushing blows are relentless. Crashing timbers couldn't shake the Earth like these four tracks. This album is just one step too far in that bad trip. Point of no return? Shit, man... Your best bet is to own it, become it. (Just stay off your neighbor's lawn).

No Way - Sing Praises

The NYC edge hardly goes wasted here. No Way's violent blend of smoke, sludge, and noise put me on my back and never offered help getting up. The sonic deception can't cloud the album's smoothest moments, but Sing Praises is at its best when it's at its most rough. Savage for being so harmonic and sprawling for being so brief, these are four tracks I'll endorse over and over.

Lotus Ash - The Word of God

The post-metal marriage composed of members of two of Milwaukee's finest bands cultivates a bullied cadence that aches gorgeously. Lotus Ash offer metal of a more acute order, grooving with violent permutations and balancing prospect with cold, concrete realizations. Whether you're a thinker or a stumbling stomper, The Word of God holds plenty for you to fall in love with.

Ancient Altar - Self-titled

Twisted slabs of filthy dregs wriggle with strange, hot psychedelia on Ancient Altar's sludgy spiral into madness. Buoyant and laced with whispers of smoke, this debut offers four tracks promising more doomy wisdom than newcomers should have any right to. Balancing those sounds of the 70's with the ugliest, grimiest assertions of tomorrow, this album hits the nail on the head. Repeatedly.

MotherSloth - Moribund Star

Sullen complexity takes its time on MotherSloth's sophomore opus. Moribund Star sprawls with precision and sprays with abandon, hoping and deflating and completing a cycle of life that you'll have on repeat. Stoner-sludge rhythms never club you, but they leave just enough burn to slug your senses numb. Instrumental outfits appear to work just a bit harder, and this is the progressive payoff.

The Powder Room - Curtains

The swagger strapped to this noise is refreshing and unmatched. The Powder Room blow smoke in your face and get real punchy real fast. If you develop a stutter, you may need to step back and pass on this one. Curtains is that asshole at work who has the dirt on management and can do as much or as little as he wants. Luckily, we're still on his good side. These tracks are way too cool for guys like us.

Giza - I Am The Ocean, I Am The Sea

Instrumental swells and hovers slammed me through Giza's sludgy atmospherics, strangely prophetic considering not a damn word is spoken here. Slow, patient boulder tosses span these five depth-charging tracks and result in 2014's most accomplished marriage of brawn and brains. Giza here boast they're only getting better with age.

And the others?

The number of submissions we receive is ever-increasing and wholly humbling. Even more difficult than working through them all is actually enjoying the music NOT sent our way. So whether I was spoon-fed the sweetest sludge this side of the bayou or had to do some crate-digging, here are ten other 2014 releases that shouldn't go unmentioned.

Yob - Clearing the Path to Ascend

Point blank, this is the best record I heard in 2014. Yob are peaking, but it's difficult to imagine this band hitting a plateau of any kind. The musicianship has never been better, and the expanses crafted within these four songs are progressive, profound, and encompassing. Each listen reveals something new, and under each layer is another mouth-breathing moment I can't wrap my head around. Yet again, this trio fails to disappoint.

Monolord - Empress Rising

Relentlessly lumbering fuzz-doom that hovers, staggers, and resonates. Empress Rising took me by surprise with its gloom and unmatched gravity. Monolord's riffs spun a web in my skull and I haven't bothered mounting an escape. This is heavy, tasty, and worth every fucking cent. Ribboned with stoner repetition, this timber drops long and sits fat. Delicious.

Lightsabres - Spitting Blood

It's easy to be impressed, knowing this is just one man. But the true accolade should be tossed toward what that one man has shaped with the sound. Spitting Blood's lo-fi, muffled, point-on-a-spinning-globe approach sounds fresher than the bulk of bullshit dealt our way this year. There's something timely and beautifully unsettling about these songs, and I can say my biggest 2014 regret is not giving this release the Sunday treatment. You'll love this record.

Swans - To Be Kind

A year in review generally results in me flipping open my wallet as album copies run out. THIS album fucking blew me away! Is this the backlash against the backlash? Hipsters LOVE this album. Wait! Hipsters HATE this album. Dude, I just had my mind raped by Swans, so I don't give a good fuck where you think these sounds fall. My torso evolved into a littered cemetery as I listened. Essentially, To Be Kind is a mindfuck of an album and Swans remain patient, experimental royalty.

Electric Citizen - Sateen

Electric Citizen toured with Fu Manchu and made no haste in stealing the bill. Four decades of influence, no shortage of guitar fuzz, and Laura Dolan's witchy presence combine to make Sateen doom's sexiest response to Sabbath. The band's dark majesty is more substance than hype, trust me. The psychedelia buzzes and chops at comparisons, carving little option but to embrace Electric Citizen as your new favorite band.

Ogre - The Last Neanderthal

I've loved Ogre since they served a strange hearken of classic predecessors in 2010, but here they cement their meld of doom and stoner metal in a hurried, focused fashion. This latest is honed and pared, resonating with the good-feel of brothers reunited. Fuzz-headed doom needn't overthink things, but Ogre find smarts when they find restraint. 70's influence saturates recent releases, and Ogre may be the most backboned of the lot.

Greenleaf - Trails & Passes

To which Keith alluded, these sounds vary and sprawl. The stoner supergroup that is Greenleaf has yet to stumble, and despite their loveseat haze, they still offer a bit o' heart. Not a damn one of these nine songs mimics the inflated horseshit of their imitators, yet none manage to posture in the shadows of the members' other bands. Greenleaf burn their own path, and every detour is just as delicious as the last.

Rodha - Welter Through The Ashes

I've finally found a Rodha ally in Pete. These boys pack emotion into every corner and the gravity injected into every note just fucking amazes me. Channeling sludge violence and (incredibly) funneling feeling under stoner-doom cadence is nothing short of miraculous. How the FUCK is this band not conquering the world right now?! Good GODDAMN this is gorgeous!



Indian - From All Purity

Indian opened up 2014 without a glimpse of hope. This is flat-out fucking violent and vile, six scorching sludgers that can't find relent. From All Purity is abrasive and scornful, so much so that I'm shocked I can even return to the bloodied corpse of last winter. Indian ensure you'll feel every barbed note and forget about enjoying your dinner. Sludge? Doom? Noise? Fuck. This album sounds like murder.

Floor - Oblation

Roaring over beautiful 'scapes and cascading melodies, Oblation is that devastating pull between hope and lament. The chewy sweetness complements the fuzziest of tones, structured underneath a shiny psychedelia rarely found. It's as if stoner-doom took the day off to spend some time under palm trees. Then again, the screeches and crushes remind us where to plant our feet.

Nuclear Dog's Atomic List - Favorite LPs of 2013

It was, by all accounts, a great year for underground metal, for music with heft and edges. There were new releases from stalwart veterans that were met with great anticipation, as well as releases from the dark reaches of the unknown, generating surprise, excitement, and relish. There were top LPs and top EPs as well as favorite songs. There were even a few releases from the pioneers of stoner/doom rock, although none are listed here. For what it's worth these are the 2013 releases that I feel earned my respect as the very best representation of what I like to think of as TRUE rock, set up as three separate lists - Favorite LPs, Favorite EPs, Favorite Songs. It's a lot, I know, but it was a large year musically, the kind of year that maybe doesn't happen too often, so I felt inclined to be indulgent, effectively listing the top 40 albums of the year and then my favorite songs, which happen to number 26. Several great albums and songs aren't even listed. There are very few in my lists that bang up against those of my Heavy Planet brethren, so indulgent these lists may be, but at the same time they are all deserving of the spotlight, all worthy of your time, all worthwhile investments, all delivering supreme joy and deep satisfaction. I hope you can find either agreement or discovery in what follows.
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NUCLEAR DOG'S TOP LPs of 2013

The world of underground metal in the form of Stoner, Doom, Sludge, Psychedelica, Blues Rock, Desert Rock, Retro Rock, and the many fine conglomerations is unlike anything I've experienced in my five plus decades. There are thousands of quality bands releasing hundreds of quality albums each year, and while almost none of it is mainstream, it is a vital and healthy worldwide cultural phenomenon. The best of any given year is not always an obvious given, not because nothing is deserving, but because most of it is. Nonetheless, here are the 20 LPs I declare as the best of the calendar that has just passed us by.

20. Orchid - "The Mouths of Madness" - Nuclear Blast

One of the most prolific new bands of Stoner/Retro ilk is the magnificent Orchid who early in the year released an album of new, original material with "The Mouths of Madness", while the end of the year brought us "The Zodiac Sessions" consisting of newly remastered songs from their 2009 EP "Through the Devil's Doorway" together with their 2011 LP "Capricorn". The remastered songs on "The Zodiac Sessions" are incredible, clean, deep, and heavy. But, the new LP "The Mouths of Madness" showcase the band's highly evolved ability to craft and execute guitar driven melodies of high quality, continuing a standard they themselves have set and that is not easily matched.



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19. Devil to Pay - "Fate is Your Muse" - Ripple Music

The tagline on Devil to Pay's Facebook page is "It's all about the riffs, man." and this Indianapolis foursome deliver a beautifully low, heavy brand of riffs, combined with superb songcraft and complemented by vocals that are intiguingly unique.



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18. Kylesa - "Ultraviolet" - Season of Mist

Multifaceted and just flat out fun this treasure trove of fuzz and mind bending experiences exhilarates from beginning to end, filling the void with masterful melodies and deep, crunchy guitars. Kylesa are one of the veterans of heavy metal and continue to exhibit growth and adeptness in their ability to craft intelligent rock music.



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17. Luder - "Adelphophagia" - Small Stone Records

A Detroit foursome of members from other bands who come together to create uniqueness in the low tones and heavy rumble of stoner rock by applying the sublimity of deep riffs with the sweetness of what many call a shoegaze sound normally targeted for a more 'indie' audience. And it works mightily, as this collection of steady, stoner, steamrollers blow through on a wave of power and grace.



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16. Elevators to the Grateful Sky - "Cloud Eye" - Transubstans Records

Every year there is an album or two that seemingly come from out of nowhere, albums from bands I quite likely have never heard before, which for me is easy as I'm quite new to the treasures of underground fuzz. The disparity in most end of year lists speaks to the diversity and incredible quality of underground metal of the stoner/doom/retro species, so it seems natural that an album will fly under the radar from time to time. One such album is "Cloud Eye" from Palermo, Italy's Elevators to the Grateful Sky. It's full of varied yet consistent, insistent low tuned riffs, laser beam solos, pummeling drumwork, and groundshaking bass, all wrapped tightly around highly intelligent melodies and delivered with tons of energy and enthusiasm.



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15. All Them Witches - "Lightning at the Door" 

In all likelihood your list has this album much closer to number 1 than I do, but, regardless, All Them Witches have managed to release one of the year's best albums two years running. This year it's "Lightning at the Door" which is as apt a description of the contents as can be had in four words. The guitars in this album are, to understate it horribly, lively, exploding in blues rock power and reverberating in deep, gargantuan riffs of massive amplitude. There always seems to be something new each spin through on this album of intrigue and craft.



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14. Gozu - "Fury of a Patient Man" - Small Stone Records

Owner of the year's best album title, Gozu are quite an interesting study in their approach to the music of retro/stoner rock. The deep, low riffs are there in fuzzy spades, as deliver a double whammy of intriguingly unique vocals and brilliantly crafted melodies, setting Gozu apart as easily recognizable and instantly enjoyable.



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13. Arrowhead - "Atomsmasher" - Von Grimm Records

Arrowhead are a three member stoner band from Sydney, Australia who just flat out crank high energy, high voltage tunes on "Atomsmasher", brandishing lethal guitars, unrelenting stickwork, piledriving bass, and blue chip vocals on melodies that never tire or succumb to gimmicky repetitions. Spinning this album is an adrenaline rush of megawatt proportions.



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12. Kadavar - "Abra Kadavar" - Nuclear Blast

On the heels of their wildly successful debut album in 2012 Kadavar follow up with another ten incher, chock full of hard driving, guitar laden retro rock of the finest variety, heavy on well crafted melodies, haunting vocals, and those ever present, relentless guitars.



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11. Exporting White Elephants - "Organic Raw"

This unique two piece band from Santiago, Chile combine cleverly crafted songs, ragged, rich vocals, and ten tons of fuzz delivered through dual rhythm instrumentation of bass and drums, foregoing the standard six string guitars of almost every rock band that is or ever was . . . and it not only works but is impeccably delicious.



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The top ten albums, my favorites for the year, are all exceptional. More than half of these are interchangeable, meaning their placement isn't necessarily an indictment of their quality either way. The first four placings, though, represent the strength of my bond with those albums, placed carefully in the order of my internal importance. Some of these albums will appear much higher on other's lists, some won't appear at all. My tastes run to stoner fuzz and retro power, so doom and sludge are not represented much, while psychedelic tendencies tend to coincide with retro metal, and even occasionally on predominantly stoner collections.

There are 3 things that place these albums at the top of the list, all three being quite obvious tendencies we all look for in our music - super strong guitar ( always the starting point ), interesting vocals ( awe inspiring vocals will tend to place it higher ), and exceptional melody ( a must have ). But it goes much deeper. The guitar has to dominate. The vocals must inspire. The melodies must be timeless and endlessly fascinating. When it's all put together the result is an exceptional, phenomenal experience for the ages. Here are ten albums that do just that.

10.  Lint - "Existence"

A threepiece powerhouse from Wollongong, New South Wales, Oz who throw down fuzz laden riffs of intense psychedelic potency, focusing mostly on instrumental influences tempered by imaginative vocal interludes.



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9. Bionic Cavemen - "Predator"

Slipping in at the end of the year this foursome from Chicago have crafted nine exceptional melodies that both instantly hit the pleasure nerve and as well as provide depth for new discovery on each subsequent spin. More retro than stoner, the guitars deliver unyielding power and ragged enjoyment, just as the vocals provide depth and intrigue. Bionic Cavemen describe their music as vintage heavy. They've nailed it.



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8. Brimstone Coven - "II" - STB Records

Wheeling, West Virginia's Brimstone Coven, a fearsome foursome who have crafted ten massive power ballads of immense propensity by laying in deep and mighty riffs, mesmerizing solos, unrelenting bass tremble, and wicked, surreal vocals. Their music is beautiful and haunting, mesmerizing and deeply satisfying as they take us on journeys of darkness, trepidation, and sinful pleasures.



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7. Vista Chino - "Peace" - Napalm Records

Much has been written, and more will surely follow, about the members of this band and another, as they all happened to set the underground world on fire twenty years ago, a fire that continues to burn in many ways. One of those ways was the perseverance and incredible tenacity of Brant Bjork and John Garcia to overcome assholes and loopholes to finally . . . FINALLY . . . release original music in the vein of the sound they helped create in the high desert air of their early adulthood. With the inspired addition of heretofore unknown guitarist Bruno Fevery, who delivers the fuzz riff with aplomb, the sublime song writing chops of Bjork, and the incomparable vocals of Garcia, Vista Chino deliver a truly phenomenal rock experience that is both fresh and satisfyinglty reminscent of the glorious sounds penetrating the crystal clear air of the Mojave.



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6. Clutch - "Earth Rocker" - Weathermaker Music

Veteran rockers Clutch released the monster album "Earth Rocker" and then proceeded to tour the world three times over. They actually came through my home state of Oklahoma 4 times on this tour. 4 TIMES!! These guys are the epitome of rock n roll. They likely make decent coin on what they do, but their motivation remains creating and sharing exceptional music, something they have aways done and thankfully still do. With one of the top vocalists in the history of rock and a unique brand of melody that pops and moves in ways unexplained, "Earth Rocker" is an album for the ages.



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5. Bedroom Rehab Corporation - "Red Over Red"

Another twosome consisting of drum and bass. Incredible. Incredible that this toothsome twosome from New London, Connecticut can make such phenomenally massive music. Released very early in the year it has hung around the entire twelve months getting spin time on my iPod and in my car due to the gargantuan, mammoth riffs created by the lone stringed instrument as well as the energetic, forceful drumwork that by default joins center stage, executing a dance sublime from this duet of fuzz.



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4. Sasquatch - "IV" - Small Stone Records

Keith Gibbs is a rocker through and through. On his rock and roll journey through life he has been joined by two more incomparable rockers in Jason Casanova and Rick Ferrante. They are veterans of the underground having now released four albums. But they are more than just veterans as the music they have put on display with all four albums can quite rightly be considered some of the best rock on display anywhere at any time. Consistency is part and parcel of what they create, but ingenuity places their music a cut above as the melodies are superb and the riffs phenomenal. Album four, aptly titled "IV", brought with it an extreme amount of anticipation, and delivered in spades. Familiar yet fresh, "IV" is another one for the ages.



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3. Hollow Leg - "Abysmal" - Last Anthem

This album is the kind that is instantly recognizable as pretty damn good. So you listen, and you enjoy. And when it comes time to spin something on the ride to work you choose it again, and you find that it's even better than maybe you recalled. And each time you spin it you realize it's pretty damn good, incredible, phenomenal. This one snuck up on me and continued to do so again and again like some kind of deja vu ninja, walloping me upside the head each play through. Originally I wanted to dismiss it as I'm not much of a fan of the rumble/grumble affectations many metal bands employ, but it didn't take long to realize these vocals are not such an affectation, instead are a brilliantly crafted and delivered addition to the monster guitars and explosive drums this Florida foursome have unleashed on the unsuspecting populace on this debut release. Keep your guard down and let them smack you upside the head, because an attack from Hollow Leg is worth it.



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2. Iron Man - "South of the Earth" - Rise Above Records

Iron Man are veterans of rock, with emphasis on veteran. They have been around making exquisite rock in one guise or another since the 80s. As with numerous metal bands the lineup changes have been more than a few, but when the lineup for this latest iteration of Iron Man was solidified and an album produced, lightning struck in the form of "South of the Earth". While they might likely be classified as more retro than stoner, certainly with melodies that hearken back to the greatest metal of the seventies and eighties, a deep and abiding low tuned monster permeates throughout the songs of this psychedelic retrograde juggernaut.

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1. Hot Lunch - "Hot Lunch" - Tee Pee Records

And now for the best of the best. Released in March and jumping to the top of my list immediately, nothing has knocked them from that perch in the months since. Hot Lunch align themselves with the skating communities of California, and have crafted a unique set of supremely rocking songs on this, their only album to date. It's not easy finding it as it's not even as mainstream as the underground rock floating around the stoner/doom sites we all frequent, but in keeping with the main mission of Heavy Planet, the unknown, unsigned bands are our passion. Hot Lunch is on Tee Pee Records but a quick tour of their site will show the priority for this exceptional band is not as high as perhaps it should be . . . in my humble opinion. It should be much easier to champion their cause because music like this does not come around nearly often enough.

The instrumentation on this album is a megaton dose of edgy energy and instinctual execution, with sublimely raw vocals delivering jumpstart melodies and two stroke rampage, wrapped tightly in a package of fierceness and joy. Kudos to this San Francisco foursome who are ferocious and mighty and have given us the best album of an exceptionally great musical year. Hot Lunch, you are Nuclear Dog's Favorite Album of 2013







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