Song of the Day-Bedowyn-"Blood of the Fall"

"Blood of the Fall" is the first song from the upcoming release of the same name due out on October 30, 2015. Combining bits of classic metal, doom and thrash, this song gallops into oblivion with thundering ferocity and wanders into the realm of psychedelia at times while staying quite melodic. The vocals are strong and provide the perfect intensity for the song. Also, pretty amazing cover art if I must say. For more information, please check out the following links: Facebook | Bandcamp

Song of the Day-Iron Void-"Lost Faith"

"Lost Faith" is taken off of the upcoming full-length "Doomsday" due out October 5, 2015 on Doomanoid Records. Amazing new album from Iron Void is set to be released and this guy couldn't be happier. Combining NWOBHM elements and a raw approach this band channels their riff-worshipping spirit to create a very straightforward and classic doom metal record. For more information, please check out the following links: Facebook | Bandcamp | Website

Album Review: Mojave Desert Rebels - "High Class Clown"

As a listener, as a fan, what is the epitome of rock n' roll? What does a band have to possess, develop, or deliver to be at the height of . . . not greatness in the sense of fame and fortune, but greatness in terms of music recorded. Kyuss reached that level without ever achieving the fame and subsequent fortune they so richly deserved, and the stoner/doom world is littered with similar examples - Dozer, Truckfighters, Fu Manchu, Sasquatch, Brain Police - many that will jump instantly to your mind if not to mine. So, what is it these underground, unsung rock n' roll heroes deliver that makes them so special? Simply put, great music, but great music consisting of parts that stand alone as crafted impeccably, and that then come together as a phenomenal experience. Parts that are made up of agile, athletic drumwork, pulse pounding bass guitar, vocals of devilish delight, melodies that hook you so hard you nearly bleed, and above all, guitar made with the stuff of the cosmos, pure and brilliant and intrinsic to our very soul. Today's band, on their debut EP release, have managed to not only manufacture music in a similar fashion, with superlative individual performances playing masterful melodies blended into what will surely be for many fans of this pure form of rock a memorable and monumental experience to be cherished for years to come, but to add one more component to the mix that sends it over the top in pure reverberated bliss - excitement. Mojave Desert Rebels, to benignly state what will become obvious after listening to their album, enjoy what they do to a very high degree. This makes for a total rock experience that can only be surpassed in a live environment. Put on your tennies and keep your whiplash brace handy as you plug this hi test music in and spin all dials as far to the right as they will go. (Settle down, it's just a poor metaphor, not meant to be taken literally).
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MOJAVE DESERT REBELS - "HIGH CLASS CLOWN"

Hailing from Copenhagen, Denmark, and having only been together since 2011, the foursome of Mojave Desert Rebels have managed to leapfrog to the forefront of enjoyable rock music with their initial studio release of the EP "High Class Clown"

The members are:

Martin Bentø - Vocals
Morten Bernstorf Hansen - Guitar
Andreas Bütow Pröll - Drums
Guillaume Blanjean - Bass


These guys take their cues from classic heavy hitters such as Led Zeppelin and ZZ Top as well as genre giants Kyuss, implicit in the name of their band. While the influences certainly exist, they have taken the tools learned and developed their own unique method of carving up the ether with distortion and fuzz, slicing through with a fierceness and joy rarely noticed in a band. "High Class Clown" is the home to four raunchy, rockin', four minute forays where excitement and ability blend for an unforgettable experience.

The EP kicks off with "Village in the Sands", a seemingly pleasant ditty that opens with an enjoyable melody of agreeable delivery that has a slight smolder at first perhaps going unnoticed in the totality of the music and not becoming immediately or fully apparent, never having a true switch, instead simply building in intensity until by the time the solo is unleashed, almost 2 minutes in, an all out blitz of emotion, volume, and distortion is in full bore ear plug mode. This is the introduction to Bentø's vocals, a powerful tool in the massive instrumental battery of these proxy desert rockers.

The title track is next up and unlike its predecessor starts off with a show of might. Hansen and Bentø showcase their muscle in slow flexion while Blanjean and Pröll drive it all forward in measured and powerful deliveries of rhythmic domination throughout the first half, all brilliantly in control of a tapestry of hot burning fuses that eventually reach the payload where a big bang of brilliance and expanding magnitude is unleashed. The payoff is a second half that evolves into an exquisite display of interwined brilliance and monstrous musicianship.

"Enemies on Fire" exquisitely opens with Bentø's plaintive wail of aching beauty that is soon taken up by riff, lick, hook, and fill from dynamic deliveries of deep instrumental distortion running through an escalating atmospheric ascension toward an incomparable crescendo of brilliance and domination.

"Towers of the Skies" rolls out heavy machinery topped by napalm delivery systems. Blanjean's basswork here is incredible - deep, nimble, and unyielding as the stanchion upon which Bentø and Hansen propel heat seeking missiles in a spreading arc of white hot brilliance and Pröll maintains a radius of staccato discharge. As this fuzz destroyer advances the intensity increases in a slow burning buildup of ferocity and proficiency until maximum output is reached at climax.

Not listed on the album but included as a YouTube video below is "The Desert Song", a slightly different, bluesier, equally intense and brilliant song. Check it out along with the EP on Bandcamp, Reverbnation, or Soundcloud.

I think you will be hard pressed to find much in the world of rock this year that delivers on as many musical levels as "High Class Clown" while also demonstrating  sheer pleasure and enjoyment in delivery. It is a brilliant debut from a band that is likely destined for some level of notoriety if longevity can become one more hallmark of the band.







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Nuclear Dog's Atomic Split: Orchid - "The Mouths of Madness" / Kadavar - "Abra Kadavar"

From out of the mists of recent success comes two albums highly anticipated by the ol' Nuclear Dog, as well as by many fans spanning the stoner globe. The first comes from Orchid, a band that has released 2 highly successful albums in the recent past, with the latest one an LP garnering a first place position on Reg’s Top 20 Albums of 2011. The quality of rock Orchid have delivered to the masses on those past releases naturally generate a tremendous level of anticipation from fans of these dark dreadnoughts. The second album comes from relative newcomers Kadavar who just last year released their debut album and landed on my own Top 20 list, so much did I thoroughly enjoy their blitzing riffage. A common thread that runs through these two bands beyond our sweaty expectations is the type of music they play. Both bands hearken wonderfully back to the heyday of heavy rock n roll with guitarcentric music packaged in magnificent melodies and driven with bombastic passion.
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ORCHID - "THE MOUTHS OF MADNESS"

Orchid hail from San Francisco and have been together since 2007, making and playing unbelievably awesome heavy rock in the classic vein of the great bands of the 70s such as Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, perhaps the band they are most identified with. Consciously or unconsciously, Orchid, especially on "The Mouths of Madness", channel original Black Sabbath in almost every way but in vocals, and that's not so far off as to be a detraction. This is not a bad thing. They aren't necessarily mimicking Sabbath so much as taking up the mantle of Sabbath-like music, and doing it perfectly, and by perfectly I mean sounding LIKE Sabbath's music without sounding exactly like Black Sabbath. They sound like Orchid. For me, that's an incredible feat, and a cherished result, because the sound the original Black Sabbath created is priceless and deserves more creative execution. No one else in the history of rock has truly pulled this off, and that includes iterations of Black Sabbath itself after Ozzy left. But that's my take on it. I'd wager that even if you don't agree with it you'll agree that the music on this album is humongous in solid, satisfying low tuned and heavy sound.

Band members of Orchid are:

Theo Mindell - Vocals
Carter Kennedy - Drums
Mark Thomas Baker - Guitar
Keith Nickel - Bass

Huge, heavy, low tuned riffs are the hallmark of Orchid's music, something they have delivered in spades on their initial EP release "Through the Devil's Doorway" and more recently on their first LP release "Capricorn", but on "The Mouths of Madness" they have up the ante by delving a little deeper into the darkness, wrapping uncanny guitar and bass riffs in pitch black wickedness, giving rise to a timbre of shadows and monstrosity. What tops off the toothsome signature sound are vocals at once unique, compelling, and custom made for the music. All in all, this latest album is a black ribbon gift of impeccable conveyance.

Nine songs have been rendered on "The Mouths of Madness", none more full to bursting with manic melody and classic guitar riffs than the title song which opens the album like a long lost companion of unbridled passion.

"Marching Dogs of War" elicits dark nostalgia in a way that penetrates directly to some primal dark core where the tapestry of Baker's guitar and Nickel's bass entwine perfectly with the percolating perfection of Mindell's vocals.

"Silent One" is a psychedelic romp of sheer delight where low tuned guitar licks are meshed with Kennedy's masterful drum fills and Baker's dextrous solos, and where spacey reverberations echo throughout the melodic journey of dark energy.

"Nomad" is a vocal triumph, where Mindell expresses remarkable power and depth in relating a fantastic tale through the purposeful tempo of strings and sticks, moving through a number of vocal variations throughout the course of the song, executing each with a masterful stroke.

"Mountains of Steel" could have been an apt album title for this ennead of superlative symphony, but, as one of nine delivers the same monstrous, gargantuan sound as its brethren.

"Leaving it All Behind" delivers a classic sound that isn't as deep and dark as those before it and after, instead eliciting an incredibly beautiful melody and guitar delivery that is driven home once again by Mindell's spot on vocals.

"Loving Hand of God" is heavy and low, with fibers of guitar clarity strategically intertwined through the dark package of melodic endeavor, consisting of a changing tempo that ranges from deliciously slow and deliberate to an upbeat solo stack of blistering heat.

"Wizard of War" is christmas and birthdays combined with the sabbath, a pure mountain of low tuned sweetness, from the mega deep riffs and tight tempo to the clarity and presence of impeccable vocals, topped off with solo heat that has a frayed and dangerous edge.

"See You on the Other Side" signs off the album in aggressive style, raining guitar solo fire and impassioned vocals onto an energetic melodic odyssey replete with unrelenting pneumatic drumwork.

This album is exceptional in many ways, but strip out all the superlatives and comparisons and measure it solely on its execution and delivery and it stands up as a timeless masterpiece, simple as that. Yes, it will enter the discussion as year's best, and will come up against some stiff competition, perhaps even from its doppelganger band (we can only hope), but make no mistake, it will be there with the very best once the dust settles. I'd even wager it will be there long after, standing beside Orchid's first two releases, and any subsequent work bound to come out down the years, as a compendium of colossal celebration.

Order the new CD at Nuclear Blast




orch yt here

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KADAVAR - "ABRA KADAVAR"

The beauty of this decade, and likely beyond, in terms of awesome heavy rock is the amalgam of the best of 70s metal and 90s grunge along with the underground stoner rock and high desert sounds of the 90s and the 00s. Many kids who grew up listening to their parents' music and their elder siblings' or friends' music were likely exposed to a tremendous amount of great classic metal and underground rock. As those kids have become adults playing in their own rock bands, whether from the U.S., the Netherlands, Sweden, Germany, Argentina, or anywhere on the globe, they are developing masterful strokes of monstrous metal magic. Hailing from Berlin, Germany, Kadavar are the vanguard of that development, leading the way with their colossal creations of mega metal. Two incredible albums in two short years, while not unheard of, is still a major accomplishment for any band, but to follow what was widely considered a resounding successful debut with a sophomore effort so soon is incredible, and risky only if it's not up to the standard already set upon themselves. The question Kadavar have put to us, then, on this sophomore rendition is, 'is "Abra Kadavar" as good or better than our self titled debut?' The conclusion, before going through the evidence, is YES! Somehow, using the momentum gained on that self titled juggernaut, Kadavar have managed to kick their Bavarian beast machine up a whole 'nother level and blast on down the highway of classic/retro heavy rock on an engine firing on all cylinders and purring with volume and perfect synchronicity.

Band Members on Kadavar are:

Lupus Lindemann - Vocals / Guitar
Mammut - Rivoli Bass
Tiger - Drums

To start, the overriding brilliance of Kadavar comes across to us in the same manner used by all bands who create meaningful, worthwhile heavy rock, with phenomenal guitar, skilled vocals, and superb melodies. For Kadavar the vocals and guitar happen to be delivered by one member, Lindemann. But, it's imperative to point out that the hard driving, relentless sound of Kadavar's brilliant melodies would be flat and listless without the gifted and impassioned rhythm section of Mammut's Rivoli bass and Tiger's extraordinary drumwork. Listen closely and you will find skillsets far above the bar where excellence begins to be measured. There is an energy and athleticism in their melodious maneuvering, lending power and magnificence to the sound and the song.

Lindemann's vocals are perfectly matched to Kadavar's music, but beyond the quality of his vocal outpourings is the manner in which Kadavar arrange them on the recordings, just a bit behind the instrumentals, keeping strings and sticks at the forefront where they deliver not only the signature sound, but also elicit the unyielding satisfaction of a willing and engaged audience.

"Abra Kadavaar" is resplendent with music, consisting of 10 tracks, each a marvel in its own right. The opening track, "Come Back Life" has a slight haunting quality, nostalgic in feel, and spiritual in delivery with crisp, clean guitar work threaded throughout in doses of refrain and dashes of solo blitzes. "Doomsday Machine" follows, and is arguably one of the top tracks on this collection. The same haunting vocal quality persists, but the guitar renderings pick up in intensity and deliberation, performing a tight spiral of crunchy riffs and blistering solos. "Eye of the Storm" follows with a change in tempo and executional feel, delivering an intriguing melody enhanced by powerful bass strokes and brutal drumwork topped off with what is obviously the signature brilliance of Lindemann's guitar licks. "Black Snake" is a plaintive wail mired in blues laced rock, beautiful, unique, and utterly intriguing. The halfway point comes quickly as "Dust" blasts onto the fore in controlled explosions of perfect timing and leviathan riffs.

The second half of the album starts out ablaze with "Fire", a big, bold amalgam of sound enhanced by Lindemann placing more emphasis on vocals as instrument this time around, in which he exercises a challenging lyrical component with passion and superior proficiency. "Liquid Dream" unloads at first like a ton of bricks before narrowing down to a tight, powerful assault and battery of escalating intensity. This song is unique and simultaneously enjoyable . "Rhythm for Endless Minds" is a fuzz fueled psychedelic trip of epic proportions, riding a musical tapestry of intertwined sounds and existential riffs overlaid by ethereal, haunting vocals. The title song, "Abra Kadavar" continues the colorful and euphonic odyssey but on a brighter, more colorful tapestry using heavier gauge threads of guitar riffs, drum rills, and bass fills, interwoven in complex and intriguing pattern of enchantment. The album closes out with "The Man I Shot" returning to the classic, nostalgic formula that was followed previously on the album, unfolding a sound that is at once fresh and nostalgic, reminiscent of  a long lost rock experience from days gone by and eras past but still reverberating in the blacker recesses of a dark subconsciousness.

This is another album that goes immediately into consideration for 'best of' discussions once the year end is upon us. In a genre in which listeners, followers, fans, and disciples demand exception and excellence, Kadavar have delivered that in triplicate. There is depth and texture to all ten songs, providing the listener with vast opportunities to explore oft and anon the weavings, nuances, and tapestries intertwined throughout the album.

Order a copy of the CD or vinyl at Nuclear Blast





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Nuclear Dog's Atomic Split: Enos - "All Too Human" / Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovell - "Don't Hear It . . . Fear It!"

It has been one hell of a year for new music, abounding with great new releases from old favorites as well as from newly formed bands that announce themselves to the stoner/doom/psych/retro world with high quality debut albums. Today's Atomic Split is not an end of the year compilation of favorites but does happen to spotlight two new albums that could very well end up on a lot of lists once the dust has settled, the amps are cool, the strings replaced, and the highs of experiencing the music are replaced with the highs of late evening analgesics. All I can recommend for you today, noble and faithful Heavy Planet follower, is to enjoy what is on offer today for it is truly meant to be relished long and often, deeply, immediately, spiritually, and with wonder. You want to know what constitutes art? Listen today. You want know what it means to have a spiritual experience through the medium of sound? Stay tuned.

ENOS - "ALL TOO HUMAN"

Ah, Alex von Wieding, when you get it right, you really nail it. The cover art for Enos' second release of 2012, as painted by von Wieding, is sublime, a true precursor for what is to be found inside as Enos continue the storyline begun earlier in the year on their first album, "Chapter 1". Not only is the story of the second chimp in space carried on, but so, too, is the great, transcendental rock that Enos create with their blend of trance inducing guitar riffs, tuned low, toxic in delivery, vocals that are at once rough and clear with a robust, gritty quality for which most rock vocalists seem to strive, but only a few attain, and a rhythm section attuned perfectly to the holistic tale at hand.

Enos consists of:

Chris Rizzanski - guitar, vocals
Sean Cox - guitars
George Cobbold - bass
Sparky Rogers - drums

"All Too Human" is a mixture of heavy, earthy, stoner sounds that are incomparably enjoyable, and aesthetic, ethereal sonnets of love and loss, faith and betrayal, revelation and loathing. The same incredible riffs inhabit this album as did the last, mesmerizing and ferocious, blended throughout with brief but beautiful riff snippets that trigger primal receptors deep within the soul, diving deep, ringing true, reverberating with the haunting call of truth and beauty. Part of the power of the songs on this album is in the attention to detail, the binding and blending of dozens of gorgeous little guitar expressions that provide depth and color in a rich tapestry of sonic bliss that cries out for full disclosure. Whether embodying the energy and volume of more traditional metal songs or sweetly, sedately channeling a composition of understated grace, the music here conveys an adeptness of bliss rarely ever on display.

Perhaps the most powerful pair of songs on this album are "Collisions", followed immediately by "Another Solution". "Collisions' sings out sweetly, in a measured and haunting rhythm of pain and loss, accompanied by one of the sweetest riff hooks on display, with equally haunting vocals that ride a spike driven straight through your soul, and with a slowly building ascendancy that inexorably drives the song toward a dramatic and conclusion. Following the understated domination of "Collisions" a deluge of pure power and low tuned energy blasts forth in an explosion of fuzz and distortion, accompanied by raw and bleeding vocals that grip and stir and relentlessly haunt the listener as "Another Solution" grinds and sears its way toward a gravelly, blistering, satisfying finale.

The best description of this music comes from the lyrics of the aforementioned "Collisions". The music can be said to be " . . . a razor's wicked stinging sound." Simply sublime.








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ADMIRAL SIR CLOUDESLEY SHOVELL - " DON'T HEAR IT . . . FEAR IT!"

Let your hair down. Wear your best shoes and undies. Carb up. Hydrate. Save back that $20 you would normally use for Taco Bell and the Dollar Theater on Friday night. Prepare yourself as best you can because it's time for a balls to the wall, everything you got, jam like you rarely get to jam party. This album is as great as it is unique. Music here is not totally like anything else out there, yet still derivative of tons of great stuff from the annals of rock history. It's high energy, freaky, a monster made from some of the same bits and pieces as all great monsters, though producing not quite the same end model as those first off the slab.

Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovell have pulled off an exclusive, incredibly fresh, and immensely exciting feat with this album, creating music that is exquisite and rare while playing it like it's just come to mind. There had to be a lot of effort and thought put into the construction of these nine songs, because there is a LOT to them. When it came time to record "Don't Hear It . . . Fear It!" for posterity . . . well they went all out, playing with a looseness and a familiarity that comes only from still loving what you've spent countless hours creating regardless of how often you've played it. This makes for a brilliant album, to say the least. An album for the ages, perhaps.

Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovell is comprised of:

Johnny Redfern, aka Johnny Gorilla - vocals, guitars
Louis Wiggett - vocals, bass
Bill Darlington - drums

As a three piece band they have found a way for all instruments to share in the fun. The drums and the bass riff energetically and beautifully in several places throughout the album, in addition to providing their usual rhythmic duties, which certainly is no mean feat. It's rare and enjoyable to hear so many songs where slices of guitar work is accentuated and enhanced by accompanying blows and barrages from the heftier instruments.

That's not to say the guitars are a background instrument here, because they are front and center, pummeling away in an almost three dimensional broadside onslaught of ferocity and joy. Adept and athletic in delivery, the artistry of the music is multi-layered, infused with dozens of various riff runs of diabolical distortion or crystal clear laser screams, at once blended and disparate, creating something so sweet and bodacious many will likely be jonesing for more.

The vocals as fourth instrument could be classified in a similar manner as the songs themselves, exhibiting their own unique characteristics, easily identifiable and recognizable in signature, unique in sonic quality, rough and controlled, adept and gravelly, blended perfectly with strings and skins.

The album consists of seven songs and an additional hidden track where Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovell beautifully cover Buffalo's "Bean Stew". Of the seven songs I'd say only . . . all seven of them! . . . are special. Throw a dart. Play the song that gets skewered. You'll love it. Play them in order or on shuffle, you cannot detract from the power and singularity of this bundle of unprecedented metal melodies.

First up is "Mark of the Beast", as good a selection as any to kick off the odyssey. The intro is unique and deliciously discordant, slowly devolving to the song proper where melody is the starting point upon which many exquisite layers are threaded and bundled together, riffing through the refrain here, blistering a sunspot solo there, formulating an immense sound of sonic bliss.

"Devil's Island" is a 7 minute pleasure cruise beginning with a haunting melody that is pure sweetness of clear guitar string delivery, slowly, inexorably forging ahead, tacking back and forth between dozens of finely wrought riffs and solos, until it reaches its final destination only after you have engorged on a banquet of metal morsels.

"Ideath" follows, a less melodic number at the outset, powerful in delivery, blasting away with a riff and vocal barrage from all sides, seemingly without purpose until you realize you are in the middle of a coordinated assault that thoroughly assuages the metal receptors, leaving you drained and sated.

 "Red Admiral, Black Sunrise" is a beautifully written song possessing an excellent sing along attribute that provides a memorable and incredible hook on top of high voltage riffs and insulation melting solos.

More hooks and melody are up for offer on "Scratchin and Sniffin", as well as a more subdued and rich vocal delivery. Again, brimming with snippets of riffs that are blended to create a wonderful overall sound of power and grace.

"Killer Kane" has a more insistent tempo as well as an excited run of bass riffs. Fun and furious, it is a perfect closer to the original set of songs, a well suited lead in to the cover of "Bean Stew" where Admiral Sir Cloudesley Shovell's interpretation is a light speed up shift in tempo and energy from Buffalo's mellow rendition of the original song.

Altogether an incredible experience, a rare and scarce chance to experience something beyond special, something immensely enjoyable, something providing pleasure and diversion through each iteration, ramping up the anticipation of opportunity to once again immerse yourself in its overpowering experience.





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Submit Your Top Albums Of 2008 Lists Now!

Alright guys and girls, it's that time of year to start the annual compiling of the best albums of the year. At the end of January, I will compile a list of my favorites along with a list of all of my reader's favorites. So make yourself heard and let everyone know what your favorite album was. If you want, you guys can send me a Top 5, Top 10, whatever, or you can just leave a comment with your lists. Your lists do not have to be entirely Stoner Rock/Doom related. I love all kinds of metal and know that my number one isn't even Stoner/Doom. Get to thinking now!

Rock On! \mm/

~Reg

Classic Stoner Rock Albums

If you are brand new to the genre of "stoner rock", here are my top five essential albums to get you started.

Black Sabbath-"Master of Reality"


This is the quintessential "stoner rock" album. I was introduced to Black Sabbath in 1981. A friend said you have to hear this song called "Sweat Leaf", it is beyond anything you have ever heard before. Upon first listen I was simply blown away. From the cool coughing intro to the ultra-heavy guitar riff, Black Sabbath quickly became my favorite band. Funny thing is, I love "stoner rock" but could hardly be considered a stoner, you see, I have never taken a hit. I just love the music. To me that is my ultimate high. Some may say that "Paranoid" is their best work but I believe it to be "Master Of Reality". Best tracks on the album are: "Sweat Leaf", "Children Of The Grave", "Lord Of This World", and "Into The Void". Simply put, if it were not for Black Sabbath and this album, we would not have many of the doom/sludge/stoner bands we have today or any other heavy metal bands for that matter. Do yourself a favor and own this album.


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Kyuss-"Welcome to Sky Valley"

This band personifies exactly what "stoner rock" should be. Everything from the epic songwriting, infectious funky grooves, and some killer intrumentals, this band not only had great songs but the musicianship was nothing less than stellar. Josh Homme, currently with Queens Of The Stone Age, laid down some of the heaviest and tastiest riffs since Tony Iommi. Vocalist John Garcia currently frontman for the band Hermano, is one of my favorite vocalists in the genre. This is just one of those albums that never tires, I can listen to it every time and still have the same feeling as the first time I listened to it. A true classic!


Listen to entire album here.


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Fu Manchu-"In Search Of..."

Whereas Kyuss was more doomy and sludgey, and was more inline with Black Sabbath, Fu Manchu was more of a retro 70's classic rock party band a la Foghat or Blue Oyster Cult, but with more balls. The songs are fuzzy and infectious slabs of riff heavy groove-oriented jams. This band is simply awesome live. Don't call them "stoner rock" call them "fuzz rock".


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Monster Magnet- "Superjudge"

This stoner masterpiece combines elements of Black Sabbath gloom and doom with the trippy psychedelia of Hawkwind. This album provides the listener with a very cosmic and lyrically deep musical experience not often achieved by any form of music these days. "Superjudge" is not one of those albums that you will love after the first listen, give it a chance and open your mind. You will not be disappointed.


Listen to entire album here.


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Sleep-Sleep's Holy Mountain

Sleep's Holy Mountain is a very raw, unintellectual, brutal "stoner rock" masterpiece. The riffs are slow and heavy and very unapologetic. The band featured Matt Pike (High On Fire) on guitar and he laid down some of the most punishing guitar riffs ever. The band has achieved a somewhat cult status because of the release of their hour-long one song album "Jerusalem". Check it out!


Listen to entire album here.


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Honorable mentions:

Clutch-"Clutch" Listen

Trouble-"Manic Frustration"

Soundgarden-"Louder Than Love"

Melvins-"Bullhead"

Electric Wizard-"Dopethrone" Listen