Doom year 2017 is finished! – To destillate something like a best-of-list means countless hours of listening to all noteworthy albums of the whole past year again. Then happens that you can't switch to the next one, because a haunting ear worm is making you press the re-play button again and again. Realizing that the first list has grown to the sky, you start thinking about splitting it into categories.
Finally, there are seven top-ten-lists losely representing the sub-genres of doom starting with the traditional and more epic way of celebrating riff-based agony using clean and high register vocals. 2017 was a blast serving masterpieces of the category "Traditional Gloom & Epic Grace".
"Of Death & Funeral Pyre" includes this year's best doom using death-metallic growls and gurgling vocals as well as slowest tempos to spread unbearable sorrow and despair.
For all lovers of this sort of sonic destruction it is unnecessary to explain what the category "Sludge Nihilism & Amplifier Worship" means. For the newcomers in the genre: Imagine your ears bleed from still standing guitar distortion, feel your brain melt from boundless anger of the disgustedly disgorged vocals and your stomach turning in waves of droning bass oscillation. Common people run and vomit, we smile and beg for more.
Maybe I make you sigh and roll eyes with the follow-up category, "Female Fronted Sorrow & Destruction", as it has been hip to push acts with sweet girls at vocals. The compiled list incorporates bands, which are pure doom and heavy as hell – not that wanna-be heavy rocking retro-doodling of the last years. Check them out and receive top quality, heart-rending sorrow and crushing bleakness of all doom styles featuring jaw dropping woman power as well as bulldozing guitar riffage.
There are bands that combine the heaviness of doom with post-rocking, atmospheric tunes in a very catchy and destructive way. Fans of slowly rolling music in the vein of Neurosis will love to dive in "Post-apocalyptic Agony".
"With Stoned Grooves Into Blues Space" is a category showcasing 2017's best albums that come along with a certain stoner rock groove in the doom arrangements and blues-driven guitar play that evolves and spreads like psychedelia, shooting you into open space or back in time to the roots of crawling heavy music.
Finally, there are releases put together in the category "Sonic Lava From The Abyss Of Bandcamp", which are handpicked by myself and didn't find its way to the Doom Metal Front lines via promotional agencies or record labels – these are mainly unsigned bands of the underground, growing or underrated gems of the heaviest genre of the universe.
Enjoy the doom and keep it slow! Tear down all physical and mental borders in a world that has turned mad led by a growing number of insane tyrants – take care! And be ready for new slow and low tuned music from all over the planet in 2018!
Yours respectfully, Sven Mihlan (chief ed.)
TRADITIONAL GLOOM
& EPIC GRACE
1. MONOLORD "Rust", RidingEasy Records
"'Rust' shows MONOLORD at their musical peak shooting one ace played, tectonically shifting fuzz riff reminiscent of a down-tuned buzzsaw after another, adding addictive hooks and heart-rending leads as well as maximum sorrowful melodiosity. MONOLORD are bursting with tantric repetition, infinite sonic reverberation and contagiously dynamic sloth in every of the six tracks."
Read more & listen HERE!
2. PALLBEARER "Heartless", Nuclear Blast Records
"PALLBEARER on top of their still young career – as far as you accept these US-Americans to be one of the most haunting epic doom metal bands having seen the light of day in the early 21st century. The album is knocking me over, flattening the plaintive body, rolling over again and again, and feeding graceful Lilies that sproud with desperately crying, heavy pounding as well as gently touching guitar riffs. (...) PALLBEARER have not just risen to fill the cleft godly Warning left once, they are lifting an emotional monolith higher than Mount Everest with the tectonical doom power of 'Heartless'."
Read more & listen HERE!
3. CURSE THE SON "Isolator", Ripple Music
"There has possibly never been as much doom, cosily rolling heaviness and roots blues as well as heart'n'soul infesting vocals as on 'Isolator'. CURSE THE SON deliver gigantic titanosaurus doom metal!"
Read more & listen HERE!
4. BEASTMAKER "Inside The Skull", Rise Above Records
"BEASTMAKER's new album is satiating the appetite for buzzing garage doom triggered with the yet haunting debut 'Lusus Naturae'. Now, this Fresno-based threesome is crawling deep 'Inside The Skull' to burst brains with raw riff power, grinding melodies and obsessing clean vocals. Addictive and heavy!"
Read more & listen HERE!
5. THE OBSESSED "Sacred", Relapse Records
"THE OBSESSED is back with 'Sacred', a holy grail collecting all dirt riding your iron horse sunwards, uplifting and pushing, also digging deep when rolling the slow and heavy riffs out, as blue and rooted in the heavy rock and doom history as you'd ever imagine."
Read more & listen HERE!
6. MONOLITH CULT "Gospel Of Despair", Transcending Records
"MONOLITH CULT create a crushing, bass-driven sound combining grand storytelling and tons weighing guitar riffage that is soaked with jaw dropping harmonies and melodiosity. 'Gospel of Despair' serves hymnal epic doom, which is based on pure 80s heavy metal heroism including top quality high register vocals, interwoven with ubiquitous decline and agony."
Read more & listen HERE!
7. HOODED PRIEST "The Hour Be None", I Hate Records
"HOODED PRIEST are wielding the soar slowly and deadly on 'The Hour Be None', the brand new album of this Dutch-Flemish doom metal outfit. Serves heaviest traditionalism in the vein of early Black Sabbath, Cathedral, Count Raven and Reverend Bizarre!"
Read more & listen HERE!
8. WOLF COUNSEL "Age Of Madness / Reign Of Chaos", Czar Of Crickets
"Another remarkable album by one of the heaviest doom exports of the Alpine region! Comes with unique oddness and recognition value in the vocals, grand melodies and slowly paving, tons heavy guitar riffs as well as cutting leads to serve another ultra-heavy beast of classic style doom and gloom."
Read more & listen HERE!
9. PROCESSION "Doom Decimation", High Roller Records
"'Doom Decimation' serves most epic doom greatness including crispy 80s heavy metal, haunting melodies, hymnal choruses and razor sharp guitar leads making you raise fists and swords towards the weeping sky of agony! A sonic impact leaving earth crushed and inhabitable!"
Read more & listen HERE!
10. CARONTE "Yoni", Ván Records
"On their third full-length, 'Yoni', Italian CARONTE perfectly combine occult stoner tunes and gothic feel with heaviest doom riffage. The powerful, diversified vocals of Dorian Bones are giving the album its straight traditional feel."
Read more & listen HERE!
OF DEATH & FUNERAL PYRE
1. WITH THE DEAD "Love From With The Dead", Rise Above Records
"Lee Dorrian's WITH THE DEAD spread agonizingly heavy, nihilistic extreme doom metal on their 2nd album. 'Love from With the Dead' is a grim salute to mankind eating each other driven by ubiquitous hate and trepidation."
Read more & listen HERE!
2. FUNERALIUM "Of Throes And Blight", Weird Truth Productions
"'Of Throes And Blight' serves deadly slow, tons heavy, driven by finger thick bass strings, still pushing, distorted to the bones riffage – the most abyssal, disturbing and hate spitting funeral doom since years!"
Read more & listen HERE!
3. ALTAR OF BETELGEUZE "Among the Ruins", Transcending Obscurity Records
"ALTAR OF BETELGEUZE from Finland make you crawl 'Among the Ruins' playing slowly grinding doom metal as abyssal as old school death metal and epic like majestic Pallbearer!"
4. ILLIMITABLE DOLOR s/t, Transcending Obscurity Records
"Australia's ILLIMITABLE DOLOR serve a sonic obituary slowly spreading unbearable grief, framing their personal loss and pain in most authentical funeral/death doom metal. A heartrending tribute to deceased The Slow Death companion Gregg Williamson!"
Read more & listen HERE!
5. RED MOON ARCHITECT "Return of the Black Butterflies", Inverse Records
"Finnish RED MOON ARCHITECT deliver top quality, melodious funeral/death doom metal on 'Return of the Black Butterfly'. Comes with ultra-heavy, crawling guitars, gothic style keys as well as abyssal growls and operatic female vocals."
Read more & listen HERE!
6. USNEA "Portals Into Futility", Relapse Records
"Portland's USNEA return with 'Portals Into Futility', serving expertly crafted and elegantly depressive doom metal that ebbs and flows with mournful melodicism and soul-crushing heaviness!"
Read more & read HERE!
7. ENTER THE SOIL "That Ember Lit Morning", self-release
"'That Amber Lit Morning' by New Zealand's ENTER THE SOIL is a beautifully arranged conceptional album full of calm acoustics and tons weighing riffage. Justin Chorley's very talented when it comes to writing heartbreaking melodies and pull you down in the very depth of mental bleakness."
8. MESMUR "S", Solitude Productions
"Mesmerizing athmospheric funeral doom metal as cold and frightening as the infinite universe! If a space corpse perceived, it would suffer exactly like this, drifting through utter darkness past hostile planets and dying stars."
Read more & listen HERE!
9. MARCHE FUNÈBRE "Into the Arms of Darkness", Solitude Productions
"MARCHE FUNÈBRE are joining the greats of doom/death metal with 'Into The Arms Of Darkness' delivering five top quality tracks full of mourning and aggression."
Read more & listen HERE!
10. THE HOWLING VOID "The Darkness at the Edge of Dawn", Avantgarde Music
"THE HOWLING VOID's sixth album, 'The Darkness at the Edge of Dawn', offers dreamy-melancholic funeral doom metal dominated by symphonic keys. Comes with multifaceted guitars including heavy riffage as well as blues-tinged and folkloristic acoustics."
Read more & listen HERE!
SLUDGE NIHILISM &
AMPLIFIER WORSHIP
1. PRIMITIVE MAN "Caustic", Relapse Records
"PRIMITIVE MAN spit their second act of pure sonic violence out. Serves earth crust shattering dissonant sludge that is crushing and burning the remnants with tenacious doom lava and most brutal death metallic rage. It's merciless, it's disturbing, it's 'Caustic'!"
Read more & listen HERE!
2. YANOMAMO "Neither Man nor Beast", Iommium Records
"Pissed off like Eyehategod, crawling like Noothgrush – haven't been stumbling over a bulldozing sludge monolith like YANOMAMO's 'Neither Man nor Beast' since young Iron Monkey. Maximum distorted, ear bleeding doom'n'blues!"
Read more & listen HERE!
3. COME TO GRIEF "The Worst of Times", Fuck Yoga Records
"COME TO GRIEF's 'The Worst Of Times' is a devastating monument of sludge reminding of the slowly grinding past and leading into a sonically crushing future! Featuring original Grief member Terry Savastano! GRIEEEF, got it?!"
Read more & listen HERE!
4. BORIS "Dear", Sargent House
"Japanese sound extremists BORIS dive deep in the drone abysses of the band's early years with 'Dear'. Combined with most ambient experimentalism and tons weighing doom and stoner riffage, we are served an audiophysical feast!"
Read more & listen HERE!
5. GRIM RAVINE "The Light is from Below", Black Bow Records
"GRIM RAVINE deliver abyssal sludge/doom destruction on 'The Light Is From Below' that is covering human scum with misery and disgust!"
Read more & listen HERE!
6. 71TONMAN "Earthwreck", Black Bow Records
"Polish 71TONMAN deliver the sonic answer to nowadays madness combining utter hate with apocalyptic stench of death. 'Earthwreck' is fatter, lower and slower – brain melting and bone crushing!"
Read more & listen HERE!
7. LIZZARD WIZZARD "Total War Bastard", self-release
"Making no prisoners, LIZZARD WIZZARD from Australia hack and slay from the very beginning, crush and burst until the end and bulldoze the battlefield in between to welcome another horde to be slain, crushed and rolled over for the following attack."
Read more & listen HERE!
8. SATOR "Ordeal", Argonauta Records
"SATOR is one of Italy's most crushing sludge acts combining relentlessly distorted riffage and shrieks with pointed stoner reminiscences. 'Ordeal' is a bulldozer!"
Read more & listen HERE!
9. COUGHDUST "Worldwrench", Suicide Records
"COUGHDUST are unstoppably ploughing battlefield earth like a forty-ton tank. 'Worldwrench' is gut wrenchingly fierce whilst maintaining slow and monstrously heavy."
Read more & listen HERE!
10. PALE HORSEMAN "The Fourth Seal", Black Bow Records
"Chicago's PALE HORSEMAN serve merciless, flawlessly played sludge metal on 'The Fourth Seal', which is haunting from the pulping first riff to the cutting, desperately weeping guitar lead at the end!"
Read more & listen HERE!
FEMALE FRONTED
SORROW & DESTRUCTION
1. BATHSHEBA "Servus", Svart Records
"Belgian BATHSHEBA serve a heavy gem of crawling bleakness with 'Servus', which is bleeding grief and despair in rivers – lifts the band on top of the doom metal genre."
Read more & listen HERE!
2. ALUNAH "Solennial", Svart Records
"ALUNAH's 'Solennial' is a masterpiece of doom causing gooseflesh with every tone, its warmness and ravishing melodies."
Read more & listen HERE!
3. MONARCH "Never Forever", Profound Lore Records
"French sonic extremists MONARCH are serving pure bleakness on 'Never Forever', their brand new album, spreading from low-end drone rituals to most haunting doom grandness."
Read more & listen HERE!
4. BRUME "Rooster", Doom Stew Records
"The debut full-length of San Francisco's BRUME is a didactic play of doom and as pompous as the 'Rooster' on the album cover. Comes with dangerously catchy melodies and the beautiful voice of Susie McMullan!"
Read more & listen HERE!
5. KING WOMAN "Created in the Image of Suffering", Relapse Records
"KING WOMAN's actual album was literally 'Created in the Image of Suffering' taking you on a journey through subliminal fear as felt by a lonesome black flower sipping from the ocean of despair and crying tears of neverending grief."
Read more & listen HERE!
6. KROH "Pyres", Devizes Records
"KROH return with 'Pyres' delivering five hymns full of acoustic depression, buzzing anxiety and desperate siren call – dangerously catchy and haunting!"
Read more & listen HERE!
7. THE MOTH "Hysteria", This Charming Man Records
"THE MOTH are riding an unpolished horse of steel on 'Hysteria', serving utterly raw, brutally thrashing as well as bulldozing heaviness! Comes with schizophrenic twin vocals!"
Read more & listen HERE!
8. DEVIL ELECTRIC s/t, Kozmik Artifactz
"The debut of Melbourne-based DEVIL ELECTRIC is a catchy piece of blues-driven doom rock featuring the powerful vocals of Lady Velvet: Pierina O'Brien!"
Read more & listen HERE!
9. HELA "Death May Die", Lay Bare Recordings & Discos Macarras
"Spaniards HELA deliver their most dynamic and diversified album with 'Death May Die' adding new influences and progressive structures to their dark and melodious style of heavy doom metal."
Read more & listen HERE!
10. GREEN METEOR "Consumed by a Dying Sun", Argonauta Records
"GREEN METEOR smells like doom spirit being 'Consumed By A Dying Sun' – Acid King style space doom meets Nirvana's punk'n'roll!"
Read more & listen HERE!
POSTAPOKALYPTIC
AGONY
1. CRACKHOUSE "Be None. Be Nothing", Argonauta Records
"Imagine Dopethrone being pulled 'Through Silver in Blood' (Neurosis) to get an idea about CRACKHOUSE 'Be No One. Be Nothing', which is a dystopian sludge beast!"
Read more & listen HERE!
2. OCEANWAKE "Earthen", ViciSolum Records
"OCEANWAKE's 'Earthen' serves tragical, spirally evolving sonic stories telling about despair and utter grief. These Finns combine huge athmospheric sounds with devastating doom destruction!"
Read more & listen HERE!
3. ENDLESS FLOODS "II", Dry Cough Records & Breathe Plastic Records
"ENDLESS FLOODS are sending two sky high riff monoliths filled to the brim with utter grief that slowly and relentlessly erode your desperate soul. An album made for pain addicts, who love wading in darkness and solitude whilst enjoying minimalist, almost droning beauty drenched in mournful melodies! A feast for doom extremists and feedback junkies!"
Read more & listen HERE!
4. AATHMA "Avesta", Underground Legends Records
"AATHMA are back with their new album 'Avesta' presenting quality sludge/stoner spanning from blues-laden heavy rock with clean vocals to crushing riffage with monstrously rolling bass lines and hatred shouting."
Read more & listen HERE!
5. HAWKMOTH "Godless Summit", Black Bow Records
"HAWKMOTH released 'Godless Summit' being the first part of a sonic drama leading in the hostile desert of the Australian outback. Serves hypnotic, sun burned post-metal and tons heavy, bass-driven doom riffage!"
Read more & listen HERE!
6. CATAPULT THE DEAD "A Universal Emptiness", Doom Stew Records
"CATAPULT THE DEAD take best Neurosis style sludge to develop a beautifully devastating doom monolith filled to the brim with immeasurable despair and grief-struck longing."
Read more & listen HERE!
7. UR "Grey Wanderer", Droneburg Records
"UR manage to unleash the forces of nature on 'Grey Wanderer' that are associated with the elemental strength of the eponymous aurochs being huge, massive and awe-inspiring!"
Read more & listen HERE!
8. DDENT "آكتئاب", self-release
"DDENT's intelligent debut – "آكتئاب" – combines rolling doom with post metal shyness and dark ambience telling a sonic drama about melancholy and depression."
Read more & listen HERE!
9. JUPITERIAN "Terraforming", Transcending Obscurity Records
"JUPITERIAN revive early 90s extreme doom metal contrasting death metallic, gurgling sludge a la Corrupted, Esoteric style funeral agony and gothic gracefulness in the vein of Paradise Lost."
Read more & listen HERE!
10. YLVA "Meta", Pelagic Records & Translation Loss Records
"YLVA from Australia play technically challenging, ultra-heavy post-metallic sludge!"
Read more & listen HERE!
WITH STONED GROOVES
INTO BLUES SPACE
1. FORMING THE VOID "Relic", Argonauta Records
"Listening to FORMING THE VOID's 'Relic' is like beeing on a perpetual trip of ethereal joy and musical exploration, like gliding with wide spread wings on the very best of heavy rock history!"
Read more & listen HERE!
2. INTERSTELAR "Resin", Kozmik Artifactz
"Los Angeles' INTERSTELAR launch 'Resin', which takes you on a grand stoner ride on their colossal spaceship through multidimensional worlds of psychedelic rock, riff-based heavy blues and heartrending vocal gospel – as catchy as Kyuss, Soundgarden and Alice In Chains!"
Read more & listen HERE!
3. DEADSMOKE "Mountain Legacy", Heavy Psych Sounds
"DEADSMOKE serve corroding sub-frequencies and rhythmically bulldozing stoner/doom infused by disturbing synthetic sounds on 'Mountain Legacy', reverberating the feeling of loneliness and despair being lost in impenetrable fog amidst deserted woods and mountains."
Read more & listen HERE!
4. THREE EYES LEFT "The Cult of Astaroth", Argonauta Records
"THREE EYES LEFT released 'The Cult of Astaroth' via Argonauta Records, which is a doom infested sludge/stoner beast full of tons heavy, slowly rolling as well as driving riffage that is buzzing like a swarm of possessed bumblebees on a psychedelic trip."
Read more & listen HERE!
5. 1968 "Fortuna Havana", Black Bow Records
"1968 is rolling out monstrous stoner riffs carrying the blues rock roots of the late 60s translated into up-to-date heaviness. 'Fortuna Havana' is great!"
Read more & listen HERE!
6. MOTHERSLOTH "Moon Omen", Argonauta Records
"What if Glenn Danzig sounded heavy weight, he would be (a) MOTHERSLOTH! Well, he is not but these Spaniards, who play sort of doom infested slow riffing stoner that is rolling along melancholical vocals reminiscent of the mentioned and of Alice In Chains-like sonical tragedy."
Read more & listen HERE!
7. WITCHSTONE "Mortal Fear of Infinity", self-release
"Calgary-based WITCHSTONE consequently crawl along the path paved with heavy psychedelia, fuzzy blues, 70s rock and slow doom riffage. Both the instrumental and the vocal sound are soaked with utter gloom and obscurity making "Mortal Fear Of Infinity" a catchy, nightmarish trip through the darkness of space leading beyond human imagination."
Read more & listen HERE!
8. SNOWCHILD "Age Of Change", Kozmik Artifactz
"Sounds like Black Sabbath re-inventing the wheel of doom with young Ozzy at vocals – serves authentic 70s style prog and blues rock with maximum wah and fuzz on the crawling guitars!"
Read more & listen HERE!
9. SNOWY DUNES "Atlantis", Heavysike Records
"If you love top quality, relaxant stoner that makes you ride on a rainbow through cosy psychedelic rock soundscapes reminiscent of the 60s and jump in the ocean of catchy, blues-infested guitar riffs and leads, 'Atlantis' by SNOWY DUNES is the album of your choice!"
Read more & listen HERE!
10. DEADNECK "Levitation", Kozmik Artifactz
"Hailing from Finland, DEADNECK play blues soaked, doom infested stoner on 'Levitation' that could have been dragged directly from the swamps of New Orleans. Comes along with catchy hooks, pointed psychedelia and jam-like vibes. Highly addictive!"
Read more & listen HERE!
SONIC LAVA FROM
THE ABYSS OF BANDCAMP
1. CHANT OF GODDESS s/t, South American Sludge Records
"CHANT OF THE GODDESS from São Paulo/Brazil released a stunning debut album, serving maximum doom and tons heavy guitar riffs that roll and push at lowest speed to mid-tempo, switches to utter violence at some points. Comes with catching melodiosity here, loads of fuzz there and rare but good vocals!"
Read more & listen HERE!
2. LEGBA "Necromance", Greenhouse Records
"LEGBA surprised with a remarkable debut serving South Carolina vooDoom in 2016. On their new record called 'Necromance', the Greenville-based band delivers eight tracks of jaw dropping blues and melodious sludge including soulful as well as desperately suffering, Crowbar style vocals. Unique and beautiful!"
Read more & listen HERE!
3. FOREST OF LEGEND s/t, self-release
"Coming from Virginia, FOREST OF LEGEND build a monolith of doom metal incorporating the best this genre has been offering in every decade. Sounds like Sabbath and Vitus crawl down on their knees – lamenting like Warning – in blues-soaked sludge through thickest Sleep-fog. Grand!"
Read more & listen HERE!
4. BATTLE HAG "Tongue of the Earth", Transylvanian Tapes
"The cassette tape version of BATTLE HAG's debut full-length, 'Tongue of the Earth', is sold out yet! Serves heaviest, utterly dark doom metal full of agonizing, beautifully played guitar hooks and harmonies whilst bulldozing at slowest speed. Even the growled vocals crawl along the catchy melodies. A quality sludge/death interpretation of Pallbearer style sorrow!"
Read more & listen HERE!
5. JADD MADDEN "Cosmic Black Wizard Demon Horse Lord", self-release
"Multi-instrumentalist JUDD MADDEN released the ninth full-length being his darkest and bleakest work in a constant line of high quality instrumental doom metal albums. 'Cosmic Black Wizard Demon Horse Lord' comes with tons heavy, glacially drifting guitar riffs and drone-reminiscences in each of the epic tracks. Again downloadable for free at Judd's Bandcamp!"
Read more & listen HERE!
6. BATTALLIONS "Moonburn", self-release
"Nasty groove-ridden sludgecore from Hull in the UK! 'Moonburn' makes doom snails shake their heads and hips!"
Read more & listen HERE!
7. DESTROYER OF MAN "Descent", self-release
"Baltimore's DESTROYER OF MAN deliver a killer debut with 'Descent' combining dissonant, mournful doom metal riffage with sludge destruction and breakdown dynamics! Ultra heavy and diverting!"
Read more & listen HERE!
8. GREENBEARD "Lödarödböl", Sailor Records
"GREENBEARD from Austin/Texas play driving and catchy stoner of the Scandinavian sorta kind when talking about the immanent fuzz-driven desert and psychedelic rock vibe as well as the album title: 'Lödarödböl'. Comes with pop-suitable sing-along melodies!"
Read more & listen HERE!
9. LIVID "Beneath This Shroud, The Earth Erodes", Prosthetic Records
"LIVID's second album comes with erosive, haunting doom metal full of memorable melodies and powerful vocals. The writing skills compensate the raw overall sound production, which could have been more differentiated to enjoy every detail."
Read more & listen HERE!
10. VINNUM SABBATHI "Gravity Works", self-release
"A remarkable release coming from Mexico by VINNUM SABBATHI, who explored that 'Gravity Works'. Their music works as well when it comes to stoner/doom tunes that have been shot into space and make you spin around planets and stars."
