Definitely has a bit Electric Wizard vibe but I don't hear much Ramesses. And the massive slow chugging of the second snippet reminds me of Celtic Frost's "Os Abysmi Vel Daath".

What the hell is going on with Funeral Circle? Not one member who was on the full length is currently in the line-up?

EDIT: Ok, their facebook page says Grand Inquisitor returned, but that hasn't been reflected on their MA profile yet.

Matthew (Pilgrim, guitars and composer) is leaving the band as he wants to play another style of music, possibly some sort of goth rock. He moved from Vancouver to Montréal so it was bit tough on the lineup, the band is probably based around Vancouver again now. JP Abboud was a great addition, I saw the band live and he totally rocked. It's the same lineup who did the recent split save for Pilgrim who got replaced by Emery now.

I'm really warming up to Witching Altar's debut album Ride with the Devil. Dismissed it as middling and second rate at first but there's more to them than meets the eye in terms of craftsmanship. Of course there's nothing original about them but I'm a sucker for well done, down to earth doom molded in the hallowed image of Count Raven, Vitus, Revbiz, etc. It's the power of the riff, y'all!

Ever heard Roachpowder? They are Swedish.
I recently-ish got their album Viejo Diablo, it's really quite good.
http://www.metal-archives.com/bands/Roachpowder/12930

Does this remind you guys of enoyone else? Absolutely beautiful piece of doom, this album (Hell III) only has two songs, but they are masterpieces. Doom metal is a genre I dont know a ton about, so anyhting this reminds you of even if its a fairly popular doom band I'd love to check it out. I specifically love those clean guitars and slow tremolo riffs.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZsDhloqGjNI

Thoughts on the best stoner metal of 2015 so far?

Pohjoinen's self-titled album is a contender, in my opinion. Metantoine reviewed it.

Bloody hell!! That's heavier than two bricks!

Cheers!!

Might have been posted already but I like this band a lot from what I've heard:

https://zodiacheavymetal.bandcamp.com/a ... ne-command

Cool, finally someone else who digs Zodiac. I'd say the epic "Legacy" is the standout of the EP. Embrace the eee-eeeeend!


I hope Heavy Chains releases a CD comp with all their songs in the future. Or an album.

Me too! I haven't even heard it yet but Heavy Chains puts out almost exclusively heaters. Is Will from Tarot/Wizar'd part of the band or no? He has so many more projects than I thought.

I'm jamming my Behind the Gravestone comp. Beyond the Gravestone has to be one of the longest demos ever, but there's so much quality. Behind the Pyre is a killer. I love when he shifts up to "nwobhm" gear. The older stuff on the second disc is really cool as well. A rougher sound but more open and pleasing I think. It's weird that there's a song called "Love Disappeared" that I can't find listed on any other release by Black Hole except this comp. It's not very good, just curious.

Man this new Goatsnake album Black Age Blues is awesome
The whole album is on Bandcamp now but I just got the CD last week and can't put it down!
Loads of catchy memorable tracks and some pretty unique vocals

http://goatsnakesl.bandcamp.com/album/black-age-blues

I don't know man, it sounded pretty mediocre when I listened to it. But then I'm not a Goatsnake fan and never have been, even if I owned one of their albums at one point. Their older stuff is definitely better in any case and they did influence some wicked doom bands like Monolith Cult. Currently waiting for the Cult's second album. I don't think it will be amazing or anything but the band members have proven to have a good track record. And I fucking revere Bryan Outlaw's vocals.

I like it very much apart from the:

• boring and far too long intro, one and a half minutes...
• tambourines?!
• harmonica
• female vocals

^ I found Black Age Blues a bit subpar considering their earlier output. It feels a bit vapid and contrived. Much like the Soundgarden and Black Sabbath comebacks. Especially Greg Anderson's riffing doesn't pack enough punch. I'm perfectly fine with the harmonica and tambourine though.

On a different note, since we are talking catchy, the new Uncle Acid seems to be all kinds of catchy.... shit's gonna be wicked!

Looking for somewhat fuzzy guitar-driven songs with a solid backbeat & pronounced bass.

Prefer strong vocals, up to but not quite entering death metal growls are good.

Catchy, clever lyrics are a bonus.

Some examples...









Cheers!

- Savage

Griftegård is back!!!
Just a single, but still. A cover of an Aphrodite's Child song. At first I thought Destiny's Child, but Aphrodite's Child makes more sense.
It's so incredibly intense, just like Solemn • Sacred • Severe. I really want more albums from them, they have the potential to become the best doom band ever.

It's an EP actually. The B-side "A Beam in the Eye of the Lord" is classic Griftegård and one of their best songs ever.


And here's Psychic Wounds, for anyone interested in some unabashed Uncle Acid worship. Obviously not as good as their heroes but not bad either. A tasty snack before the real deal unleashes their new album.

So who's heard the new Pentagram yet? Just got it in the mail today, and after one listen, I really dug it. I thought Last Rites was a nice comeback for the Victor Griffin era of the band, but this one is much better than I remember Last Rites being. I was never fond of Earth Flight from First Daze Here, but this version is a lot better, as it is heavier. I wasn't really wowed by Walk Alone or Misunderstood when they were released online, but I think they are both a lot better in the context of the whole album. There's a lot of 70s style guitar playing, particularly in the solos, and also one of the riffs to The Tempter Push. Really the only negative thing I have to say is that the first song, Lay Down and Die, features a riff that's self plagiarized from Your Lost, I'm Free. But it's still a good riff.

One odd thing though, is the disparity between writing credits for Bobby and Victor. Victor has songwriting credits on 7 tracks, while Bobby has songwriting credits on only 4.

Must be the main reason for my enjoyment then, because the album surpassed all my expectations. I wouldn't call it great but it's quite comfy like an old pair of socks. Griffin is the man.

It's a really boring and bland album. Bobby sounds as bad as Ozzy. Vapid and strained. Only two tracks can be deemed doom, "Dead Bury Dead" and "Devil's Playground", although they don't get anywhere near "Broken Vows or "Sinister". And I'd rather take a new Orange Goblin EP than rest of the album. Victor should focus on writing new Place of Skulls material.

re Goatsnake - it's the guitars that make this awesome, the tone is really gnarly, they are probably too heavy for the album really ha ha

I think a Griftegård cover of 'Survivor' would be surprisingly great...

By the way, ever heard their frontman's collaborations with Nefandus on that band's latest EP and album? I think it's track 2 on the EP and then it's the last song on the Reality Cleaver album... amazingly great tracks, good rocking doom metal sound.

I really enjoy doom metal that has guitars that I would describe as:

towering
extremely low tuned
played slow but fast can be ok, tone is more important
dark
mean
resonates
heavily distorted

I'm not sure how to convey the sound, but some bands that have the sound would be:

Ufomammut - Ectate
Electric Wizard - Dopethrone & others
Desecresy - Chasmic Transcendence

The lower the better, TUNE LOW PLAY SLOW!

Yea it's very good I just wish they'd ditch the clean vocals, so many excellent doom albums are marred by clean vocals imo.

You must try some Ocean Chief. My personal fave is Den Forste from 2009. For something else Swedish, I do like this new band Mammoth Storm, they've got an album coming soon but there are demos on their Bandcamp.

You mentioned Desecresy, I've only heard their first two but I imagine that one is similiar? But for something heavy and slow with death metal aspects, there's mid-late Runemagick and their spinoff The Funeral Orchestra.

Yeah, I'm spinning this on the bandcamp page and liking it after the first couple of songs. Obviously Revbiz influenced [especially in the vocals] but has its own character as well, got a bit more 70s groove in there. May well buy this one.

thanks, added to the list.

Doomedsludge: If you want low-tuned and distorted, try Mares of Diomedes. https://maresofdiomedes.bandcamp.com/releases

The new King Malice demo sounds pretty damn exciting. One stomper in "Slowly Torn by the Masses" and one moody crawler in "Cold Depths of the Forlorn". You can stream the demo here. Also available on cassette. I wouldn't mind Bandcamp downloads though. Can't have everything! I want everything.

Having 'recently discovered' Burning Witch I'm on a lean diet of... Burning Witch, I cannot get enough of this band!

Try Toadliquor.

I'm on it! SLK already yelled at me about this

As well as Atolah.

I don't know how to do it or I'd try it myself, but I think this band should be added to the archives they are definitely metal, most likely stoner/doom metal:

Large Marge - Up In Smoke
www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-7bB6IMAaw

Hell yes!! Great find, thanks for the rec!

Looking for stuff similar to Buzzoven's Sore. Fast-paced (a must!), grimy sludge that reminds me of hardcore punk or even thrash metal at times.

Ever heard Grief?

Yep, probably should've mentioned them in my post...great band, one of the best in the genre for my money.