This second part is dedicated to the DIY record labels that permanently discover great bands and help them release physical albums, also to the more established labels that are working far beyond commercial success when it comes to doom metal, sludge and stoner, which is still underground music. Here's a list of albums by signed bands that made it to the Doom Metal Front in 2015 and deserve recognition. As it would have been insane to put them all in just one article, we decided to release a third part of the "Fuck The Charts 2015" series very soon.
ABRAHMA “Reflections In The Bowels Of A Bird”
Small Stone Records, Listen
French Abrahma have given their new album a serious pro touch without leaving the slow rocking path of the debut, putting the influenced by the 90s Seattle grunge sound into a psychedelic sphere filled with post apocalytic acoustics and a certain doom feel.
ABYSMAL GRIEF “Strange Rites Of Evil”
Horror Records, Listen
The Italian priests' new church service is their heaviest and gloomiest doom appearance so far, literally serving ‘Strange Rites Of Evil’.
AHAB “The Boats Of The Glen Carrig”
Napalm Records
To catch the beauty of the marine flora and fauna enlightened by the tiniest ray of light without forgetting about the relentless cruelty of the deep sea is the piece of art AHAB manage to accomplish with ‘The Boats Of The Glen Carrig'. Serving wonderful blues-tinged guitars and murderously rolling funeral riffs, also dreamy, melancholic singing and abyssal guttural vocals. AHAB have never been more nautical, more epic, heavier and that versatile!
AIR FORCE CHRON
“Minimum Effort / Maximum Volume”
CRTN DTH Records, Listen
It’s as lazy music as the ep’s title promises, it’s minimalist and riding on a cosy bass line through the mist of weed – like Sleep and Bob Marley getting toasted in the droning Sunn of Jamaica – it’s reggae doom!
AMENRA “Live II”
My Proud Mountain, Listen
This live record brings the audiovisual intensity and presence of AMENRA home – heavy and uncompromising!
ANCIENT SPELL “Forever In Hell”
Minotauro Records, Listen
Coming from Los Angeles this four-piece dissects 80s thrash and death metal to create a homunculus of doom as heavy as the before mentioned sub genres and slowed down to the ground when needed. They will rest ‘Forever In Hell’ for this and keep the devil dancing!
APOSTATE “Time Of Terror”
Ferrrum Records, Listen
If a label calls itself iron in Latin language with triple r, it should deliver something pretty heavy, and they do with ‘Time Of Terror’, the second album by Ukrainian band APOSTATE. Serves a quality blend of old school doom and death metal that thrashes merciless and pleases with touching melodies packed with grief and solitude.
ARKHAM WITCH “Get Thothed Vol. I”
Metal On Metal Records, Listen
The Lamp Of Thoth doom classics re-arranged and re-lit by British ARKHAM WITCH, recruiting of original Lamp members.
ASHTAR “Ilmasaari”
Czar Of Crickets, Listen
This Swiss duo combines forces of Phased and ex-Shever members to deliver crispy sludge/doom with a sharp blackened edge.
ATARAXIE “Slow Trannscending Agony”
Weird Truth Productions, Listen
The re-mastered Doom/Death classic is still brutal & agonizingly heavy; bonus cover track: diSEMBOWELMENT’s ‘The Tree Of Life And Death'.
AUTHOR & PUNISHER “Melk En Honing”
Housecore Records, Listen
This Sandiego based band creates speaker-blowing bass-worshipping industrial sludge/doom on ‘Melk En Honing’.
BATHSHEBA “The Sleepless Gods”
Svart Records, Listen
Simply DOOMTASTIC!!!
BEESUS “The Rise Of Beesus”
Goodfellas / New Sonic Records, Listen
BEESUS’ psyched out Stoner/Doom is untypical for an Italian band, playing a very British style of hard rocking beats and blues-tinged, also jazzy riffs that are again and again slowed down and distorted as hell like being on a crazy weed trip.
BEHOLD! THE MONOLITH “Architects Of The Void”
Arctic Forrest Collective, Listen
The latest, furious opus of this L.A. based heavy weight sludge/doom horde unleashes pure hate and despise in both the fast thrashing and the low speed parts.
BENEATH THE STORM “Devil’s Village”
Argonauta Records, Listen
Serious horror doom/death metal from Slovenia!
BEVAR SEA “Invoke The Bizarre”
The Mighty Riff Records, Listen
The second album of India’s BEVAR SEA delivers six heavy stoner tracks packed with cosy proto-doom charme.
BIG BUSINESS “Battlefields Forever”
Gold Metal Records / Solar Flare Records, Listen
Reissued as digipack CD the fourth album of Los Angeles' two-piece Big Business delivers straight forward bass-driven heavy rock/sludge; line-up-wise interwoven with the Melvins!
BLACK SHAPE OF NEXUS
“Nothing New – 10 Years Of Fresh Air Enjoyment”
Meta Matter Records, Listen
Never on CD before split & compilation songs by Germany’s heaviest antiromantics. Beware of the b.son trampling everything down into ground and earth!
BISMUTH “Unavailing”
Dry Cough Records / De Graanrepubliek Records / Box Records / Viral Age Records / Tartarus, Listen
Utterly Slow, vibrant & weak radioactive!
BOAR “Veneficae”
Lost Pilgrims Records, Listen
The six-track-album spanning from filthy sludge over doom heaviness to stoned rock. Its driving power and raw production feels like a wild boar’s attack!
BRETUS “The Shadow Over Innsmouth”
Blood Rock Records, Listen
On the second album this Italian band creates a creepy trip inspired by the eponymous novel from H. P. Lovecraft and combines the heaviness of doom metal with the hard rocking occult sound of the Seventies to construct sonic suspense whilst telling a thrilling horror story.
COMACOZER "Deloun"
Headspin Records, Listen
Three-piece instrumental band from Sydney, Australia, playing billowing, mind transcending psych/stoner rock.
CRIMSON SWAN “Unlit”
Quality Steel Records, Listen
The full-length debut of the Hamburg based band serves melodic Death/Doom Metal interwoven with clean sung and folk metallic parts. For fans of early Amorphis, Anathema and Katatonia. Beware of the malicious growls!
CROWSKIN “Ganz Ins Herz”
Wolfbiker & Ecocentric Records / Per Koro Records, Listen
The second album shows the band evolved, sludgier than ever before and heavy as fuck with Alexandra von Bolz’n on the brutal, hate-spitting vocals!
DARK BUDDHA RISING “Inversum”
Neurot Recordings, Listen
Finnish Dark Buddha Rising continue celebrating the black arts of psychedelia on ‘Inversum’, their fifth album and first release under the Neurot Recordings flag. Comes with two lengthy tracks each clocking in at around 25 minutes constructing a bleak atmosphere of solitude and desperation putting you amidst a dark sabbath celebration.
DOOMED “Wrath Monolith”
Solitude Productions, Listen
The strongest album of German multi-instrumentalist Pierre Laube; serves wonderful melodies, abyssal vocals and brutal riffing, alternating with utterly slow and grievous passages – a sonic drama causing gooseflesh!
DOOMSHINE
“The End Is Worth Waiting For”
Metal On Metal Records, Listen
The long awaited third album of these Germans delivers classical epic doom metal in its purest form again – heart catching melodies, razor sharp solos and loads of northern witchery. Highly recommended!
DOPETHRONE “Hochelaga”
Totem Cat Records, Listen
‘Hochelaga' is a hate spitting sludge inferno by Canadian Dopethrone reminiscent of Weedeater’s and Eyehategod’s pissed off attitude.
DRACONIAN “Sovran”
Napalm Records
For fans of My Dying Bride!
DROWNING HORSE “Sheltering Sky”
Art As Catharsis Records, Listen
Post-end progressive doom that leaves you desperate in the outback.
DRYOM “Dryom 2”
Solitude Productions, Listen
Dryom is dedicated to funeral doom metal with a unique atmosphere of gloomy dead landscapes of abandoned cities and vast twilight spaces of the dead nature intensified by Russian low-end grunts.
EL HIJO DE LA AURORA “The Enigma Of Evil”
Minotauro Records, Listen
Peruvian, highly influenced by the 70s doom metal experimenting with Tibetan bowls and gongs.
EVOKE THY LORDS
“Boys! Raise Giant Mushrooms In Your Cellar!”
Solitude Productions, Listen
Heavy Sibirian Doom Metal with an obvious addiction to Cathedral’s early years, 70s prog elements and shamanic rituals.
EXTREME COLD WINTER
“Paradise Ends Here”
Vic Records
Brutal Doom/Death Metal with Pim Blankenstein (Officium Triste, The 11th Hour) at vocals!
FOEHAMMER s/t
Grimoire Records, Listen
Heavier and deadlier than Gandalf’s sword!
FUNERAL MARMORI “The Deer Woman”
Minotauro Records, Listen
The Italians do not serve funeral doom as the name may imply but traditional play influenced by the 70s and spiced with progressive elements. The album’s finish is marked by a cover song originally by the mighty Death SS to get an idea of the band’s influences and what you receive with ‘The Deer Woman' – obscure Italian doom metal.
GORGONOISID s/t
Meta Matter Records, Listen
Crazy noise/sludge from insane people for sonic masochists that are not afraid of frantic dancing on the shamble with Buzzov-en and Noothgrush.
GORILLA MONSOON “Firegod – Feeding The Beast”
Supreme Chaos Records, Listen
Seven years have faded since the ‘Extermination Hammer’ was swung. Now the hellrockers with a love for heavy, southern metal influenced doom steamrollers are back with ‘Firegod …’ to prove that they are as powerful as ever – simply following the ‘Law Of The Riff’, thinking about ‘P.O.R.N.’ and the ‘Glory Days'.
HANGMAN’S CHAIR
“This Is Not Supposed To Be Positive”
Music Fear Satan, Listen
The latest awesome piece of emotional music by French Hangman’s Chair – Life Of Agony meets Doom!
HEADS. s/t
This Charming Man / Cargo Records, Listen
Oldschool noise rock debut from this Berlin based Australian-German band serves a depressive Nick Cave edge giving the album a pretty sludged-out doomy mood.
HIGH FIGHTER “The Goat Ritual”
Enorm Music, Listen
This is heavier than most material by those wannabe heavy stoner bands around who can learn a lot from these Hamburg based band. The concept is as simple as effective: fat bass lines, heavy riffs and catchy hooks, driving stoner grooves and sludgy devastation, female power vocs which are diversified, melodic and emotional, spanning down to the deepest abysses of growled violence. ‘The Goat Ritual’ serves heavy balls stoner at its best!
HIGH ON FIRE “Luminiferous”
Century Media Records
The seventh album finds Mike Pike (Sleep) at his most vocally daring yet, infusing the explosiveness of sound that serves utter metal heaviness spiced with loads of stoner gloom.
IRON VOID “Doomsday”
Doomanoid Records, Listen
On their second full-length Iron Void combine all virtues of the genre to create a straight forward doom metal album brimful of apocalyptical, devilish and combative lyrical themes denouncing and mourning mankind’s failure. British and heavy like hell!
KALIBOS s/t
Darkest Age Productions, Listen
Stunningly diversidied and at every moment delivering sludgy doom heaviness – a very good debut release!
KHEMMIS “Absolution”
20 Buck Spin Records, Listen
It is hard to discribe how this Denver based guys kicked my lazy doom ass giving ‘Absolution’ to me and everybody out there just trying but never achieving to play the KHEMMIS jaw dropping way of classical doom metal. “Absolution” is a didactic play when talking about epic story telling, traditional guitar riffs and melodies packed with solitude and grief. The vocals span from the higher registers down to the abyssal depth of hell. If there’s an album worth the Trophy Of Doom 2015 then KHEMMIS are the undisputed award winners!
KOWLOON WALLED CITY “Grievances”
Neurot Recordings / Cargo Records, Listen
Playing Sludge/Post-Hardcore, Kowloon Walled City continue the path entered with ‘Container Ships’ in 2012. ‘Grievances’ shows the band even more powerful whilst breaking its sound down to an almost minimalist appearance, serving bitter disappointment and frustration.
LÄHDÖN AIKA “II”
Rämekuukkeli Levyt / Rusto-Osiris / Doomed To Misery Recordings, Listen
Crusty doom metal record from Finland that’s worth more than one spin. The band singing consistantly in Finnish language to convey northern depression not only with the instruments.
LATE NIGHT VENTURE “Tychonians”
DME Records
The Danes deliver a spaced-out post-rocking Pink Floyd’ish hommage to Tycho Brahe, who was an astronomer of the sixteenth century. The album celebrates the people’s contact with the universe based on the egocentric world view of the ancient times. The music feels like a child sitting amazed in the planetarium exploring the stars and planets in the never-ending skies of the night, nostalgic and catching.
LEATHER NUN america, “Buddha Knievel”
Nine Records, Listen
Unlike the predecessors released on PsycheDOOMelic Records the latest album shows the band less doomy, but more into the 70s and blues rock roots of metal and stoner, also in singer/songwriter mood. Even the raw sound production hails the old times.
LIFEBLOOD “Shattered Wishes”
Weird Truth Productions, Listen
Japanese, Tokyo based Lifeblood play blackish funeral doom metal combined with progressive elements to create a minimalist atmosphere of gloom.
LUNA “On The Other Side Of Life”
Solitude Productions, Listen
Kiev-based dreamy, symphonic funeral doom – two extra long tracks, 22 and 34 minutes long.
LUNG MOLDE s/t
Caligari Records, Listen
Negative low-tuned doom from Portland!
MAMMOTH STORM “Fornjot”
Napalm Records, Listen
After one demo and an EP Swedish Mammoth Storm release their first album ‘Fornjot’ serving heavy bass-driven Doom Metal with dreamy vocals reminiscent of Tiamat’s ‘Clouds’ and ‘Wildhoney’ times, also with melodious lead guitars that add a pointed post metal feel to the compositions without ever leaving the steamrolling path of doom.
MARE INFINITUM “Alien Monolith God”
Solitude Productions, Listen
The second album takes you on a journey up into space and hits like a metereoite’s impact with its high quality deeply grunted doom/death metal, interwoven with clear vocalized epic passages reminiscent of Candlemass and Solitude Aeturnus. An extraterrestrial doom opera that grows with every listen!
MEMEST “Bastards And Liars”
Discos Macarras, Listen
On their second album the Spanish combine rooted in the 70s doom/stoner compositions with the rawness of heavy metal ancestors like Motörhead, Maiden and, of course, Sabbath.
MOON CURSE “Spirit Remains”
Kozmik Artifactz / Bilocation Records, Listen
Moon Curse are stronger than ever on their lateest heavy stoner album, get it and get cursed!
MY DYING BRIDE “Feel The Misery”
Peaceville Records, Listen
On their 13th full-length album the grandmasters of UK doom metal make you ‘Feel The Misery’ that has grown and evolved in 25 years band existence, spanning from death metallish fury to most doleful melodies decorated with melancolic, desperate singing of Aaron Stainthorpe, also with lamenting violins and tears shedding pianos to receive the maximum dose of My Dying Bride sadness.
NIGHTSLUG “Loathe”
Lost Pilgrims Records / Dry Cough Records / Broken Limbs Recordings, Listen
These Germans reload their guns to shoot seven sludge metal projectiles into the bull’s eye – serves heavy riff & vocal destruction!
ORPHANS OF DUSK “Revenant”
Solitude Productions, Listen
These New Zealanders play melodious doom/death metal with a strong gothic vibe.
OYABUN “The Hiss”
Discos Macarras, Listen
On their latest album the French celebrate old school bluesy hard rock spiced with a dose of stoner and a pinch of doom.
PHASED “Aeon”
Czar Of Crickets Productions, Listen
The Swiss have been suffering from a phased slowdown. Now they are scraping at the peaks of doom with ‘Aeon’ showing us the most psychedelic views from the alps ridges into vast landscapes and colossal canyons. Join this heavy rise!
RADARE “Im Argen”
Golden Antenna Records, Listen
Ghostly Jazz Doom a la Bohren & Der Club Of Gore.
RECITATION “Carrion”
Indisciplinarian Records, Listen
Danish Recitation serves an half hour long track, ‘Carrion’, that is both powerful when talking about the heaviness of the riffs towering in front of you like a monolithic wave and relentless when it comes to the slow crushing feel of water carrying away everything that’s standing and crawling in its way. An intense march of doom & death leaving nothing behind but a wasteland!
SANTO ROSTRO “II: The Bleed”
Discos Macarras, Listen
The Spainiards step on the gas on ‘II: The Bleed’ and swing a heavy riff axe – mostly. The tracks ‘Synod’, ‘Once Again’ and ‘Forever My Queen’ prove the band’s high credebility in the stoner and doom genre.
SEAMOUNT “Nitro Jesus”
The Church Within Records, Listen
The fifth album shows Seamount heading backwards to the band’s hard rocking, hook and melody oriented releases ‘NTODRM’ and ‘Sacrifice’, this time even more crispy and straight into the heavy heart without detours.
SERIAL HAWK “Searching For Light”
Bleeding Light Records, Listen
Gloomy, fuzz-blended stoner/doom from Seattle that leads you through the darkness like a solemn candle light.
SEWER GODDES “Painlust”
Malignant Records, Listen
Now backed by a full fledged band and recorded in studio, Kristen Rose and co. have taken a blade to the original Sewer Goddess template and ceremoniously cut the fat, leaving a lean, sinewy carcass that’s as much doom metal as it’s death industrial – an asphyxiating death march that’s concise and devastatingly heavy.
SNAIL “Feral”
Small Stone Records, Listen
The third full-lenght release by Seattle based SNAIL is another great hommage to the grunge rock era of the early 90s. This combined with a good portion of psychedelia and doomy guitar riffs and you have a high quality rock album like ‘Feral’. For fans of Alice In Chains, Soundgarden and Saint Vitus!
SORROWFUL “In The Rainfall”
Solitude Productions, Listen
A heavy, guitar-based, uncompromising album for fans of primordial doom death metal.
STONEGRIFF “Come Taste The Blood”
Metal On Metal Records, Listen
After their impressive traditional doom predecessor Scandinavian STONEGRIFF steer more into classical epic metal waters with their actual album. For fans of Forsaken and Atlantean Kodex.
STRANGE HERE “II”
Minotauro Records, Listen
Highly influenced by Paul Chain and Death SS this Italian band around Alexander Scardavian plays 70s prog/doom metal on a very high quality level. For fans of obscure Italian style rock music.
SUNN O))) “Kannon”
Southern Lord Records, Listen
Kannon is the Japanese name for Guanyin (chinese), a female bodhisattva – an enlightened being – in East Asian Mahayana Buddhism, which is commonly known as the Goddess of Mercy. SUNN O)))’s latest album delivers a dedication to Kannon and a three-track mantra packed with monolithic and repetitive, yet also melodic, drones, reminding of organ pipes and didgeridoos which, combined with Attila Csihar’s monk chants, construct a prayer-like meditative atmoshere helping you leave perpetual reincarnation and enter sonic Nirvana.
THE GRAND ASTORIA “The Mighty Few”
Setalight Records, Listen
Amazing, jaw dropping heavy psych/70s-prog/doom from Russia!
THREE EYES LEFT “Asmodeus”
Go Down Records, Listen
Sabbathian stoner/doom from Bologna.
TOMBSTONES “Vargariis”
Soulseller Records, Listen
It seems not easy to record a powerful and crispy doom metal album, but this is exactly what Tombstones achieved with ‘Vagariis’ serving all virtues of the genre like haunting melodies and steamrolling heavyness packed with utter grief, also with hate spitting sludge aggression and billowing psychedelia put at the right points to keep diversity and tension. A perfectly arranged, great produced and maximum entertaining album hailing the ancestors of all that’s doomy’n’heavy!
TORT “II”
Discos Macarras, Listen
Serves once more grim, heavy, distorted Doom/Sludge with deeply grunted, also screamed vocals from Barcelona – nothing for wimps!
TREEDEON “Lowest Level Reincarnation”
Exile On Mainstream Records, Listen
Risen from the ashes of Ulme and Jingo De Lunch, TREEDEON celebrates its ‘Lowest Level Reincarnation’ serving noisy sludge/doom on a raw, monolithic bass and drum fundament.
TYRANNY “Aeons In Tectonic Interment”
Dark Descent Records, Listen
“Diseased psalms of slow, tortured, epically bowel-rupturing grimness” – Agreed!
UFOMAMMUT “Ecate”
Neurot Recordings, Listen
Like goddess Ecate in Greek mythology Ufomammut move on the threshold between the kingdom of the dead, the living and the gods with their seventh album serving a new level of powerful, experimental sludge metal packed with disturbing psychedelia and archaic witchcraft.
VALBORG “Romantik”
Temple Of Torturous, Listen
After ‘Nekrodepression’, VALBORG dive deeper into the dark abysses of mind on ‘Romantik’ serving minimalist, carried by synthesizer carpets doom compositions with cryptic German lyrics about vampyrism, necrophilia, longing for death and insanity – a hauntingly beautiful, melodiously catching and frightening at the same time drama that plays with spoken word, clean and nasty vocals.
WAFT “Cronolith”
Iron Rust Records, Listen
As the title says: chronolithic, Greenville-based, incrusted sludge/doom!
WATCHTOWER “Radiant Moon”
Magnetic Eye Records, Listen
Heavy as hell sludged out stoner/doom from Melbourne (Australia), letting no time to take a breath – highly recommended!
WEEPING SILENCE “Opus IV Oblivion”
Massacre Records, Listen
Gothic doom and gloom from Malta!
WITCHSORROW “No Light, Only Fire”
Candlelight Records
These British have grown even stronger and hit the bull’s eye with every track of the new album. Who needs light where the flame of doom metal burns as hot as on this magnificent full-length!
WITH THE DEAD s/t
Rise Above Records, Listen
Combine the heaviness of Serpentine Path and the fury of Ramesses with ex-Cathredral’s witchery and you have an idea of what you receive with this debut. Not to forget that both Tim Bagshaw and Mark Greening are the original rhythm section of Electric Wizard. Lee Dorrian puts the cherry on this doom cake with his distinctive vocal style. Don’t expect pleasant melodies and grief, but nocturnal fear and hate from the crypts of the living dead!
