“It is only with the heart that one can hear rightly; what is essential is invisible to the ear…“
~ probably misread quote by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
Open your hearts and let the good
stuff in! It’s Bandcamp Friday! Peruse the list, listen to as much as
you can and go purchase your favorite albums! Today is the day! Below
you find Forty albums, carefully listened to and voted for by the
Contributors. They voted for 220 different albums this month. But these
are the ones that made it to the published list. And this month, there
were quite a few albums that were Number One on the individual
Contritbutors lists that did not even make it to the Forty published
below. Some because the Contributors in question had not realized it
would not come out till somewhere in May… But why others like Bident – Blink, Fields of Locust – Nowhere Left Now To Call Home, Marble Orchard – Ruminations of Ruin, Neptunian Maximalism – Le Sacre Du Soleil Invaincu, Red Moon Architect – October Decay and SUMAC and Moor Mother – The Filmwere
loved so hard but by so few, we will never know. Perhaps the other
Contributors did not hear it yet? Chalk it up to too many great
releases? So many… Well, below are forty of those many… To fill your
hearts…
Together with them blue skies outside... The April 2025 edition of the Doom Charts has arrived! Perfect timing for Bandcamp Friday! A wonderful edition of forty amazing albums once again... And sneakily six more mentioned in that little intro text... And all 46 albums are worth every heartbeat you might offer...
Welcome to Doom Charts,
representing some of the finest bloggers, journalists, radio,
podcasters and reviewers from the heavy underground around the globe.
Each month, our critics submit their picks for the best new doom,
sludge, metal, stoner, psychedelic and heavy rock albums. The results
are compiled and tabulated into the chart below. This is a one-stop
shop for the best new albums in the world…
It’s been a few weeks since we did the last Quick Fire Friday round! But we’re here again and we dare to say it’s another one that will singe and sizzle! Another selection of beautiful singles, videos and EP’s to check out over the weekend. That’s right, we’ve got another one of those Quick Fire Friday segments for ya! For there is so much great music out there, we cannot ever do it all justice. So we came up with a way to shoot out a quick blurb and hope it will entice you to listen to the single or the entire discography! So here it is… Another Stoner HiVe’s Quick Fire Friday! And it burns hot like molten lava!
Grin – Unshut
Remembering that damn fine show at Into The Void Festival, Leeuwarden last year gave me a huge smile. Listening to the new single Unshut by two piece behemoth Grin made it even bigger! It’s the third single to the Acid Gods album which will be released May 30th on The Lasting Dose Records. Sludge tones, psychedelic doom and distorted by so much fuzzed out noise it will leave you breathless. Just like that live gig did…
You looking for something soulful? Warm classic rock? But with a ‘critical eye to the illusion of wealth and the cost of chasing fortune’. Check out the many headed Australian Blackfire band and their new single Billions. Out on Golden Robot Records its has the good groove, the right view and a whole lot of easy rocking vibes…
All India Radio - Catch The Breeze feat. Lisa Gibbs (SLOWDIVE cover)
Giving you all the right kind of shivers! Mixing all that shoegaze, ambient, slowcore and post rock into a snow globe of fluttering tones. It’s the Tasmanian duo All India Radio featuring Lisa Gibbs (Useraus), turning the Slowdive song Catch The Breeze into an even dreamier and mysterious waltzing flurry…
We just mentioned a band from Australia and a duo from Tasmania. Best be mentioned New Zealand as well in that case! And we’re lucky that Hamilton, New Zealand fourpiece Stone Clones just released a new track called Numb Me Out. A slow, desert strolling, stoner rocking song that has infectious pop sensible blow outs and a gumshoe storytelling vibe. Love it!
The last releases by Fabio Epifani and his London, UK born Alien Sun project stem from 2008. But now he’s sending a harrowing new tune into the world called You. Accompanied by an even more disturbing video. Fully made with AI it’s a ‘story about detachment and indifference in modern times. A story about all of us.’ Frightening and distressing, also because some of the images produced hit hard and show the capabilities of the AI thing is growing with every second that passes. And every bomb dropped…
A new single by French crazies Poste 942! And as always, damn interesting! This one is part of a tribute album for Mindfunk. Its called Dropped From The Sky - A Tribute To MINDFUNK, comes out on Bitume Productions and featuring fifteen underground bands. Love me some underground, love some Mindfunk and love me some Zootiehead!
Replica Jesus already enticed you all with that February single The Rope. And now, before a new full album, surely to arrive in the future, will be out, they slay with a second track called Bonegrinder. The Derby, UK four have their own style of punked up stoner and grunge. Bonegrinder is Replica Jesus at his best! You’d best believe!
London's finest weekend warriors bringing you some groove and fuzz! It’s party time! The Devil’s Cabana Boiz got some more gold for you all. It’s called Retox, sporting kick ass lyrics, vocals and a flurry of great riffage. Accompanied by even greater key work! Hear that walk, that pretty little ditty on the keys. Makes me crack a smile! And if I would have had botox, crack my face…
We're honored and incredibly excited to bring you the Premiere for the first single and video for the new Superseed album Tremor, coming out in Autumn. The single is called Stand Your Ground and will be out this Friday, May 2nd! Yes! Yes! Yes!
Slowly, but surely, the Stoner HiVe Wednesday evening is turning into a Premiere Night! And we love doing them. Full Albums, Singles and Videos! We love it. Just as we already loved the Superseed self-titled album from 2019. Their mix of stoner punk, nineties alternative, grunge and seventies swagger had style and class! Class! Audible immediately on their new single Stand Your Ground! Style, coming up the wazoo, just check out their no expenses spared video. Showcasing how incredibly comfortable the four feel in front of a camera. Ho ho. I’m sure they had more fun than they’re showing. But seriously, this song is blazing! Riveting vocals that immediately drag you along, from the moment the vocalist hits ‘run’ it’s done, you are hooked! Even though you probably already were from the opening riff and drum work. Powerfully addictive and tremendously catchy! This is what the repeat button is for… And after this we have to wait till Autumn for the full album Tremor to drop on Savage Magic Records… Eat, Sleep, Superseed, Repeat…
PR Wire:
Bristol rockers Superseed sign to Savage Magic Records (Mondo Generator, The Chuck Norris Experiment, The Hip Priests) and declare their new single ‘Stand Your Ground’ and album preorder will be available from Friday 2nd May 2025 HERE for UK/EU orders & HERE for US/ROW orders.
Come join the hard rockin’ hook hustlin’ head shakin’ riff lords as they carve a pathway through time and space to bring you their sophomore album ‘Tremor’ this autumn 2025.
Superseed crashed into existence in Bristol, England in early 2017, a four-man juggernaut fueled by the twin-engine roar of singer-guitarists David Edgar and Ben Taylor. Backed by the thunderous pulse of Matt Colley on drums and Keith Bowers’ bass laying down a filthy groove, this hard-rocking wrecking crew delivers a sonic gut-punch that demands attention.
Weaving a gritty tapestry of hard rock muscle, garage-punk snarl, post-punk edge and a stoner fuzz haze, Superseed channels the raw energy of MC5, the desert groove of Queens of the Stone Age, the doom of Black Sabbath and the snarl of the Sex Pistols into a sound that’s all their own: massive riffs, killer hooks, and melodies that stick like napalm.
Since their self-titled debut album Superseed dropped in 2019, they’ve torn up stages across the UK, leaving a trail of sweat-soaked gigs and festival triumphs. Their singles have roared through the airwaves, scoring spins on Planet Rock, BBC Introducing, Total Rock, Primordial, and beyond, earning them a global cult following. Now, Superseed is gearing up to unleash their next beast, Tremor, via Savage Magic Records in the autumn of 2025. Cooked up in their DIY garage studio, Freq Factory, this album promises to crank the intensity to eleven and solidify their reign as face-melting rock renegades.
Good morning! A new week is once again upon us, a week that will see the April Doom Charts go live. Did you manage to be a part of the Doom Charts Friday Freebie madness? Free codes were strewn like confetti last Friday. Hope you caught something. There were definitely some posts last week. Jon McGough came out swinging with a brilliant write-up about a brilliant album called Lifted From The Wind by Temple Fang. We wrote about Thammuz, Motorpsycho, Ghost, Tier, Void King and put up songs or videos by Museums, Lorquin’s Admiral, Sour Blood and Dozer. We were honored to bring you the FULL ALBUM PREMIERE for Void Kings’ The Hidden Hymnal: Chapter 2 and extremely grateful to receive a gift from the Grey Czar guys. Euarthropodia on Orange vinyl, and I have thing for Orange vinyl.. Marvelous! A week that in review looks busy enough. Well, let’s hope for a similar one this week. We’ll see, cause we still have some big stuff to finish up as well…
Thammuz – III Argonauta Records Rock, Metal, Stoner, Sludge Rated: *****
After the debut album Into The Great Unknown from 2020 and Sons Of The Occult from 2022, Thammuz is back with their third full-sized album, and they aptly titled it: III. And with this new album the Dutch foursome become fearsome and solidify the Thammuz sound with blood and fuzz. Nine tracks oozing atmosphere and thunderous grooves. Songs like Ishtar, final track Devil’s Gallow or the interlude Risen, give III so much color and scenery that it widens the arc of every other track as well. Something you might not immediately expect when that quaking fuzz drenched When Darkness Comes opens the ball. A midtempo groove drags the listener along cobblestone bass work and nasal vocals before the guitar lifts it all towards a higher plain. Cutting to a meandering solo that slowly but surely turns the set up for the final rampaging stretch of darkness. Thammuz has entered the building! Following Old Man starts out anxious and luring you into the expectation of another blow-out but turns on its head and into a more dynamic and slow burning groove. Almost contemplative as the guitar rolls away from the sparing vocal lines that give you the perfect amount of thoughts to take with you, as the roll out becomes a rising tide and a final splash. Which you can imagine going higher, rising more and going on much longer when performed live. The earlier mentioned Ishtar sees Thammuz waltz with another Mesopotamian god, slowly dissolving the gloom and showing nothing but gauzy silhouettes of the magical beings they are. Transfixed you listen to the dance and the movie snippets that cut through the haze. It is beautifully done and the transition into Bloodlust, turns the songs into a two-headed beast that shimmers with beauty and fierceness. Together they seem to become the centerpiece to this wonderful new album, showing much growth for the Thammuz four. Cause their fuzzy and gritty stoner sound was already written cuneiform on a tablet, but this opens up their view point, widens the vista, both showing a different form of restraint and force. Like death and rising, like destroying and bringing to life, Thammuz is all about those ancient rites. Till all that faint air is troubled with song… All record and all night long…
(Written by JK)
You can listen to first single When Darkness Comes right now!
The full III album by Thammuz comes out on Argonauta Records on the 9th of May
Motorpsycho – Motorpsycho Det Nordenfjeldske Grammofonselskab – 2025 Rock, Prog Rated: ****
Yay! A new Motorpsycho album! Sorry, I had to do it. Anyway... Been lucky enough to have experienced Motorpsycho many times and in many incarnations. For throughout their existence they have shifted shape, morphed and invited artists to join their ranks. But of course after more than 35 years of existence, we all know that Motorpsycho is that fabled duo of Bent Sæther and Hans Magnus Ryan. And those two cats will continue to do whatever they feel like. This has led to so many amazing albums and a few that unfortunately could not entertain me in the least. Only logical right? Which was also the case live. There have been one or two shows that left me wondering if they themselves knew what they were doing. But I guess they do, and when you call your new album, the twenty-seventh or even thirtieth studio album, I lost count, Motorpsycho, you show intent and that it might serve as a standing stone to proclaim your destiny henceforth. And that is perhaps to forever incorporate all the different styles, genres, designs, shapes and forms that they have dived into all those albums that have come and gone. And yes, they stated as much in their press release as well; and we can say with gladness in our heart, that it is true. They have returned to the prog rocking fold, tones of yore and older are dappled across the compositions that range from two to twenty minutes and with a total run time of 1 hour and twenty-one minutes, there is a lot to dive into. And it is worth it, cause as you submerge in their universe, you feel their sounds envelop you, fondle you and hold you as you hear these sparkling melodies cast brilliant rays of Motorpsycho sun through it all… It’s a new day…
Ghost – Skeletá Loma Vista / Concord Records – 2025 Metal Rated: ***
Had to do this little write-up today of course… You know why. One Pope being buried while the self-professed heavy metal Pope is standing tall and rocking hard. Had the pleasure of interviewing the man behind it once, forgot to ask him if he had stolen the album title to his 2016 album Popestar from the review we wrote back in 2013 about Infestissumam. Next time perhaps. Well… Ghost is back. And even less has changed in respect to the albums that came before. Good news for the fans that get psyched by his metal and pop pastiche, but not the best news for the ones that dug their beginning. But there is no turning back, his trajectory has been set for a while. This time he’s called Papa V Perpetua delivers his unmoving, steady but pristine vocals in the same fashion. Some minor guitar solo’s stand out, inviting more eighties tones into the Ghost palate. Everything else is still there, grandiose gestures, opting for operatic and excessive. And compositions that are unavoidably catchy. A bit more lighthearted perhaps when it comes to the Guiding Lights song or a tad more heavy as brought to you by second track Lachryma. All in all, on Skeletá we hear Ghost is still alive and doing its own pop metal thing. Rest In Peace Pope Francis. Long live Pope Papa V Perpetua!
Sometimes you need to slow down, bop your head and smile as your hear a summer time guitar jangle and a voice speak the universal truth that everything comes In Waves… This is the new single by Montreal, Québec, Canada fourpiece Museums. And it is the first track to the two track single out on Petit Village Records Not as heavy as you might be used to from Stoner HiVe headquarters, but this indie, slowcore, summer-psych kind of music just feels perfect for this budding springtime…
Temple Fang – Lifted From The Wind Stickman Records – 2025 Rock, Psych, Free Rated: *****
Temple Fang are here with five long masterworks built around psychedelic passages, spiritual journeys, and enlightenment. There’s a true sense of wonder and divinity as the emotional vocals put you in a state of heightened awareness across ‘Lifted From The Wind’. The four piece from Amsterdam utilize progressive structures and heavy psych across the long-form backdrop to create a mind-blowing album that resonates deep to the core. Like an ancient spirit speaking through the darkness, Temple Fang are the radiant light reminding you to close off the outside world and nourish the inner mind, body, and soul.
The first single, ‘The River’, is a great introduction to the band, their sound, and what to expect for the duration of ‘Lifted From The Wind’. With a running time of over eighteen minutes, it’s not even the longest track on the album! Just as the song, a river flows with no fixed path, there are twists and turns. There’s expansion, transformation, and growth. The three pieces of ‘The River’ flow flawlessly altering the riverside, eroding the ground from underneath. With the gentle beginnings of ‘Once’ we are presented with a different vocalist, in fact three-quarters of the band provide vocals on ‘Lifted From The Wind’ adding more diversity to an already talented roster of musicians. It’s a slow building track with shamanic spoken words, a sanctuary of thoughts that flicker like candlelight, afterwards escalading into cosmic swells and electric storms.
Exhale the tension, exhale the world, everything under the sun is golden. A bountiful yield of psych enriched melodies and bottom end vibrations await you on ‘Harvest Angel’. The polychromatic layers and changes of time implore you to turn face from the sun and follow the rainbow. Though ‘The Radiant’ is the shortest song on ‘Lifted From The Wind’ it is a mighty force to be reckoned with, shining its bold rays of harmonious vocalizations throughout while keeping the mood pleasantly buoyant. We are one with everything upon this earthly realm seeking the guidance and acceptance of the universe. ‘Josephine’ shifts from a beautiful, sunbathed day of warmhearted memories to a more dramatic turn in musical direction and events, with fear settling in after the loss of love to the ravages of time.
The struggles of the band from lineup changes to the dreaded plague have forged Temple Fang into a band with an iron will. Fortunately, their desire and strength to carry-on outweighed any of the detriments thrown their way and with ‘Lifted From The Wind’ have elevated themselves farther beyond possibly what even they could have imagined.
Had the pleasure of talking to Dawn and Dandy Brown recently about the new Lorquin’s Admiral project. And soon I will be sharing many of those words with you all. But the band is already sharing the second single and video right now. It's called Aren't We, and it's one of the many highlights on the album. Check it out and check back soon for more on Lorquin’s Admiral!
PR Wire:
Heavy psych explorers Lorquin’s Admiral unveil their latest official video for ‘Aren’t We’
"While all the songs on the Lorquin’s Admiral album reflect deeply emotional experiences, the inspiration behind the song Aren’t We comes from observing the absurdities humans use to define their lives. The song itself is a mirror to how music and art in general allow us a glimpse into existential concepts and our attempts to immortalize and rein in the absurd. In the end, though, it’s really just a song, perhaps just a “love song”, among billions of other songs people use for comfort, belonging, or whatever else they need to gather in and hold onto the parade of moments that constitute our lives." - says Dandy Brown
Featuring a stellar lineup of current and former members of Afghan Whigs, the Fizz Fuzz, Hermano, Luna Sol, Orquesta del Desierto, Sons of Alpha Centauri, and Yawning Sons, the band delivers a unique blend of soul-stirring harmonies, mesmerizing riffs, and unforgettable hooks.
Building on the critically acclaimed writing partnership between Marlon King, Nick Hannon, and Dandy Brown (first established on the widely celebrated Yawning Sons album Sky Island), Lorquin's Admiral encapsulates the essence of psychedelic rock while pushing the genre into exciting new territories. The band’s debut album highlights the stunning vocal interplay of husband-and-wife duo Dawn and Dandy Brown, and the commanding rhythms of celebrated drummer Steve Earle, creating an immersive sonic experience that is both heavy and hypnotic.
Adding to the album’s allure, guitar virtuosos David Angstrom (Hermano, Luna Sol) and Country Mark Engel lend their distinctive touch, enriching the record with lush, textured guitar landscapes. Angstrom’s contributions span seven tracks, while Engel’s masterful work graces two.
Drawing inspiration from desert rock pioneers while seamlessly incorporating elements of blues, psychedelic, and alternative music, Lorquin’s Admiral appeals to fans of Kyuss, Fu Manchu and Fatso Jetson, as well as admirers of the Cranberries, Screaming Trees and Garbage. The band carves out a unique space in the heavy-psychedelic scene, proving that rock music remains a powerful and evolving force.
Stay tuned for the release date of Lorquin's Admiral’s debut album and follow Argonauta Records for updates, singles and exclusive previews.
The new The Hidden Hymnal : Chapter 2 album by Void King stands like a twisted pillar of doom metal in many universes at once. Displaying not only the immeasurable growth of the band, but more importantly, their ability to implore whatever direction, genre or burst of genius they want into crafting their art. The Hidden Hymnal : Chapter 2, write-up HERE, feels like a doom metal album that secretly obscures the fact that it implores a lot of prog to weave their tale. And weave it does and spin it does and regale you with a tale that stays with you it does. In fact, it does a whole lot more and it does it all so well. And you can hear that for yourself right here, right now…
Out on Argonauta Records, this Friday April 25th, this is the new Void King album, The Hidden Hymnal : Chapter 2. Press Play!
