Hour of Power: BEST VIDEOS OF 2013

Here are my 14 favorite videos released in 2013.  It was hard culling a great list down to a single, essential hour of videos because there were at least two hours worth of memorable ones.  These are the ones I like best.  I've run them down in chronological order of release and I'll give my reasons for liking each one as we go here ...

1. Frankenstein Pays The Rent (The Mangled Dead / Hate Humans) - Just a fun, campy, no budget video.  The best moment is when the monster rides by the bus stop on a skateboard and takes the guy's obviously fake hand off as he goes.
2. U Turn (The Quartet of Woah! / Ultrabomb) - There's nothing flashy about this video, just four guys jamming on a sound stage.  What makes this video stick out for me is the rambunctious energy of the guys in the band.  Impressive performance.
3. Bruce Lee (Indian Handcrafts / Civil Disobedience For Losers) - There's no disliking this video, that's just all there is to it.  A good retro feel here for this faux chop sockey flick.  The Canadian duo actually make a good job of it acting the parts too.
4. Torn Apart (Valient Thorr / Our Own Masters) - This video puts a smile on my face.  Valient Thorr sit in cubicles, long hair, beards and tattoos in button up shirts and ties acting freaked out by the office worker whose decided he's had enough.  Guys quietly peaking over a sea of cubicles makes me LOL as the kids say (Lucas laughs).  Good conclusion to the storyline too.
5. Dune (Beastwars / Blood Becomes Fire) - This was just an amazing animated video.  Visual stunner here, Beastwars are quickly developing a reputation as having excellent visual representation of their work to go along with the amazing music.  Astronauts and dinosaurs, what more needs be said?
6. Sons of the Soil (C.F.A. / Managed By The Devil, Brought To You By The Grace Of God) - This was another fun, silly video.  The Tacoma trio do the Dorf thing here and hilarity ensues.  Good energy and a lot of good fun.
7. Waiting for Saturn (Bison, Bison / ST) - It's kind of a toss up between this and "Bruce Lee" for my favorite clip of the year.  This video is a tribute to John Carpenter's They Live complete with alien masks and extended fight scene.
8. Goodbye Gemini (Blood Ceremony / The Eldritch Dark) - This one gets the nod for the nice retro flavor here.  It really feels like an obscure occult horror film from the seventies with the poor image quality and vintage clothing.
9. Shrouded (The Body / Christs, Redeemers) - This was one of the most enigmatic videos I've ever seen, if for no other reason than the song this video supports isn't really all that musical.  It's just a whole lot of static, but it creates an incredibly intense atmosphere and it all builds to the stunning conclusion.  Feels like a found footage snuff film.
10. The Bearded Fool (Old Man Wizard / Unfavorable) - Here we go with another fun one.  The guys in Old Man Wizard have shot (or are shooting?) a video for every song on their six track debut album and they're all different.  In this one OMW get their medieval thing on meeting the dastardly challenges of dread witches and piss poor video editing.  It's mad, brilliant stuff.
11. Branch Davidian Compound (Cold Blue Mountain / ST) - This one I just liked the concept.  The band gets together and jams in a house.  The camera voyeuristically watches from outside the window in moments here and there creating a cool perspective.  What seems normal from the inside, seems strange from the outside.
12. Slave the Hive (High on Fire / digital single) - This was a strange one indeed, just a strange concept.  A Jacob's Ladder feel to this one with anthropomorphic bunny's etc. substituting for the demons in the psych ward.  Cute when animated, the stuff of nightmares in live action.
13. Palm Reader (Castles / Fiction or Truth?) - Nothing too flashy in this one, yet again.  What I like about this video is the energy and enthusiasm of the band.  Walking down a Belgian back alley in business suits, the band headbangs, air guitars and air drums to their own song which may seem egotistical to some, but I like the idea that the band isn't too cool to totally geek out about their own creation.  It makes me enthusiastic about their music, because they are.
14. Wasted Wails (Hydromedusa / digital single) - This was just brilliant.  VHS shot for that genuine retro feel, the concept is nothing special, just the band jamming in a green room with psychedelic images projected behind them, but the video has two thing going for it: it's got a great soundtrack and a good vibe.

2013 Chronicle (Year in review) part 10 - Best of September 2013

September 2 - Cult of the Headless Witch (ST)

September 3 - VISTA CHINO (Peace) - The band formerly known as Kyuss Lives! made their debut on this date.  Though it was a debut, it was easy to go in with a whole suite of set expectations, but to their credit, Vista Chino delivered an album that both pays homage (pun unintended) to the band's Kyuss roots and moves in an all-new direction.  This was the record that should by all rights have been the biggest let down of the year, and ends up an easy top 20 pick.  Original review here.  Get it here. Highlights include: "Dargona Dragona" and "As You Wish".  Rating 4.5/5

September 6 - Nonsun (Sun Blind Me)

September 6 - SINISTER REALM (World of Evil) - Shadow Kingdom Records rarely falters in their vision or their judgment, so you know what you were getting into here, old school metal touched by the hand of doom.  Vocalist Alex Kristof puts in a strong Dio-like performance while guitarists Risko & Kantner shred and the rhythm section creates a claustrophobic effect.  Good heavy old school doom right here.  Get it here. Highlights include: "Cyber Villain" and "Dark Angel of Fate".  Rating 3.5/5

September 9 - BLOOD RED WATER (All the Ills of Mankind) - Italian sludge quintet Blood Red Water increased the stakes big time on their second E.P.  The follow-up to last year's 'Tales of Addiction & Despair' was still full of addiction & despair, only the intensity was increased a hundred fold with faster tempos and tighter grooves.  Original review here.  Get it here. Highlights include: "Bad Trip in a Toxic Mind" and "The Outstanding Loss".  Rating 5/5

September 11 - NYMF (From the Dark) - One of the best albums of the year, 'From the Dark' also happens to be one of the hardest to define by genre.  Niklas Sjoberg's vocals are mostly clean if forceful, but sometimes growl, the music mostly moves at a good pace with the force of a jackhammer but is also doomy in places.  I just call it good metal with cool lyrics about werewolf covens and vampires and stuff.  Original review here.  Get it here. Highlights include: "Fear of the Doom" and "Lucifer Takes the Crown".  Rating 4.5/5

September 11 - Sun of Man - (I)

September 13 - Exiles (Wreck)

September 13 - Shades of Deep Water (Waterways)

September 13 - YIDHRA (Hexed) - From L.A. but featuring a thick, filthy, very un-sunny sound the doom metal quintet Yidhra conjured their debut album on this date.  There's nothing cute or pretty about this 9-song collection of doomed death knells, just some extremely atmospheric tunes, thick like black attic mold.  Original review here.  Get it here. Highlights include: "Oath Breaker" and "Mai-Cob".  Rating 4.5/5

September 17 - SUBROSA (More Constant Than the Gods) - Utah's very own experimental doom quintet SubRosa has crafted the go to album to escape the traditional, the expected or the norm (however strange your norm may be). SubRosa push the sonic boundaries into the remote, into the timeless. Sarah Pendleton's violin has a lot to do with it, her highly atmospheric playing style suggests the sound of the future while conjuring images of a pirate-laden and enchanted past. 'More Constant Than the Gods' is a listening experience all its own.  Get it here. Highlights include: "Ghosts of a Dead Empire" and "Cosey Mo".  Rating 4/5

September 17 - Tombstone (Evil Seed single)

September 18 - PALM DESERT (Adayoff) - Recorded in a single marathon session, with much if not most of it improvised or composed on the spot in the studio, 'Adayoff' is a breezy EP that moves through track after track of loose stoner jams.  The "off-the-cuff" way it was put together is part of this E.P.'s haphazard charm.  Original review here.  Get it here. Highlights include: "Dusty" and "Among the Stones".  Rating 4/5

September 18 - WOODWALL (WoodEmpire) - Italian quartet Woodwall's full-length debut already made my dubious "didn't listen to enough" list, unfortunately, but I'm more than happy to rectify that as time trudges onward.  Certainly the most adventurous offering in the stoner / sludge category this year, 'WoodEmpire' is full to the brim with progressive movements, changing dynamics and strange ideas.  Get it here. Highlights include: "WoodEmpire" and "King Stuste".  Rating 5/5

September 20 - Alucarda (D.F.F.L.)

September 20 - Dead Meadow (Warble Womb)

September 24 - Olde (The Gates of Dawn)

September 24 - SASQUATCH (IV) - L.A.'s go-to fuzz rockers let loose their fourth album for Small Stone Records on this date.  What may seem unassuming on first listen soon takes hold of the listener and it isn't too long before you can't stop spinning the record.  Simply put, this is some top notch stoner rock.  Original review here.  Get it here. Highlights include: "The Message" and "Smoke Signal".  Rating 4/5

September 24 - WINDHAND (Soma) - Arguably the biggest doom buzz band in the world of mainstream metal, Windhand's second album and first (full-length album) on Relapse Records had many scratching their heads wondering what all the fuss was about.  It's my assumption that these head scratchers never heard the band's self-released debut and so failed to see the band find their own identity and leave their own  mark on the genre.  'Soma' is an impressive six song collection which casts a dark light on all corners of Windhand's emerging identity while throwing all but the kitchen sink at the listener including the 30 minute-(over)long closer.  Original review here.  Get it here. Highlights include: "Woodbine" and "Orchard".  Rating 4/5

September 27 - Disenchanter (Back to Earth)


Best Album From June 2013:
'From the Dark' by NYMF

Best Song From June 2013:
"Woodbine" by WINDHAND

PARANOID Thoughts:

Female-fronted.  You read that two word phrase a lot these days.  "Female-fronted occult-based doom metal band ..." is becoming roughly as familiar a phrase as "... a mix of sun and cloud with a chance of showers ...".  The most remarkable aspect of it all remains the fact that it continues to be pointed out in the first place.  I, myself have been known to utter the phrase and it always makes me feel a bit uncomfortable.  In my defense I would like to point out that I usually try to give a reader unfamiliar with a band at least an idea of what to expect from the vocals of ANY band, and if they are instrumental to point that out early in an article as well.  We all have different tastes, some like clean vocals, some don't, etc.  The truth is, the overwhelming majority of metal vocalists are men and I don't see that changing any time soon, so the fact that a band's vocalist is a woman remains an interesting one I suppose.

The issue here of course is the vague generalness of the term "female-fronted".  I'm not sure the phrase has any real meaning whatsoever, and does nothing to prove to me that such different sounding bands with such different vocal styles as say Jess & the Ancient Ones and Shroud Eater have anything in common at all.  What do Kylesa, Windhand & Seremonia have in common?  They are all bands and that's about the extent of it.

Below you'll find a list of my favorite lady singers whose bands released albums in 2013.

Top 10 Vocalists (Female):
1). Jex Thoth (Jex Thoth)
2). Alia O'Brien (Blood Ceremony)
3). Shelly Delbridge (Albino Python)
4). Jane Esther-Collins (Shinin' Shade)
5). Emily Kopplin (Mount Salem)
6). Darcy Nutt (Uzala)
7). Jean Saiz (Shroud Eater)
8). Dorthia Cottrell (Windhand)
9). Noora Federley (Seremonia)
10). Rebecca Vernon (SubRosa)

And just so the dudes don't accuse me of being a 'sexist', here's the men's list.  Some were selected for their singing chops, others for their incredible ability to pen unique and thought provoking lyrics, some even have both those things going for them.  Mostly it's whose words and whose voices that spun around my head in 2013.

Top 10 Vocalists (Male):
1). Marc Gaffney (Gozu)
2). Kevin Schindel (Neon Warship)
3). Aryn Jonathan Black (Scorpion Child)
4). Butch Balich (Argus)
5). Mark Weiner (Earthen Grave)
6). Dee Calhoun (Iron Man)
7). Phil Anselmo (Philip H. Anselmo & The Illegals)
8). Ron Rochondo (Ice Dragon / Tentacle / The Mangled Dead)
9). Steve Janiak (Devil To Pay)
10). Philip (Aleph Null)

Sonic Mass - All Creatures Strange (album review)

Cover artwork by Barney Bodoano.

Much of the latter half of 2012 and the first half of 2013 I was creeped out by goats.  You see, East London's Sonic Mass had song up called "The Goat of Mendhis" for their then-current 'Magnetic Electric' EP [watch it on youtube here].  It was one of, if not THEE most evil sounding song I'd ever heard and probably remains so, taking the impenetrably dark vibe of Black Sabbath's titular song and turning off the lights on it while drawing the curtains closed with the opening line "I am the Anti-Christ".  The scene is then set.  It gave me exactly what I look for in my doom music.  But it traumatized me and every time I look at a goat I now wonder if I'm not looking at the anti-christ.  Maybe I don't understand things like song lyrics and point-of-view, but oh well.

Since the 'Magnetic Electric' EP was released the band has been around the old lineup change carousel and the old bandcamp page featuring the 'Magnetic Electric' EP has been taken down.  It is now an evil relic of the internet age, lost in a haunted scrapyard, spoken of only in harsh whispers.  Also lost is the band's self-titled EP from 2011, gone down the memory hole.  When the band finally did re-emerge this spring they came with what was essentially a completely different sound from what I was expecting (that I kept "Goat" in my constant rotation all along didn't help either, if I'd have payed just a bit more attention to the other songs on the 'Magnetic' EP I'd have seen how little a departure it truly was).  But that doesn't mean that "Widow Stone" wasn't amazing, for those keeping track at home it did make it to the top spot on my Top 25 songs list.  The 10-minute "Widow Stone" was a true epic and we'll touch on that one in a bit, but by the way, that early version of the song has joined its sibling E.P.'s at the bottom of the memory hole as well.  A new version occupies track three of 'All Creatures Strange'.

So why the memory hole anyway?  Is the band so dark and are they so disturbed by their own creations that they feel the need to create ... and then destroy their own monsters?  Are they tortured genius perfectionists, never satisfied with the fruits of their own labors, hiding their history in shame?  I don't know, but if I had to guess, I'd say the band prefers to show their work in completed form, in the best recorded version and also, importantly, the band doesn't shy away from recycling old pieces and concepts from old songs and re-working them into new ones.

All of that leads to this, "Iron Bong", the opening track from 'All Creatures Strange' and the beginning of a sound that has been perfected over the course of years (the band started up in 2007) into the psychedelic showcase before us.  Sonic Mass has proven an accurate name for the band, the idea of it goes far beyond simple heaviness or riff worship.  There is a mass of musical ideas on display, a techno-organic forest of sounds, ideas growing on top of ideas beneath a canopy of distortion.  Changing ideas unfold in non-euclidian nightmares of transmorphism.  Four minutes into the opening track, the familiar pattern changes giving way to a discordant coda, changing the complexion of the whole song, jarring the listener and challenging you to pay attention.  The ears prick up, this is good!  It's something the band does over and over throughout the course of the album, they take you in one direction, hypnotize you, and then when you least expect it, throw a vat of discord in your face.  Sonically, it's a paranoid's nightmare!  It's also an astonishingly simplistic technique that works wonders, hey, bands have doing this sort of thing since the time of The Beatles, but is often ignored by today's bands.  It remains a classy technique to drive dynamics.  The best example of this is the aforementioned "Widow Stone" which begins with an awesome, classic heavy riff and eventually winds up as a mindbending shamanistic ritual complete with eerie backmasking and reverse loops.  It's a completely unexpected turn and it's a beautiful thing.

Perhaps the eeriest thing of all is that the band members themselves seem like just normal guys who just so happen to play music and to take that music into some pretty far out places.  The band gives David Icke a dynamic tongue-in-cheek lift through syncopated landscapes on "Rise of the Royal Reptiles", but as I mentioned earlier some of those far out places are points in their own history.  "Black Acid Nightmare" is a re-working of their own song "Darke Hearse", and I'd say the new version has a bit more oomph.  "Pentagon Chameleon - To The Devil... A Daughter" and "All Creatures Strange" both bump up against the treacherous shores of "sound painting", but remain distinctly musical.  The album, taken in a single dose, is extremely psychedelic, perhaps startlingly so.  Ideas are fluid things here, choruses are memorable and often exciting, the overall tone of the album is one of feeling around the shadow world of an unfamiliar corridor, you may find yourself falling into rooms, tumbling down flights of stairs that are where they shouldn't be or plunging into a murky aquatic world of deep discordant tone.  But one day, and I know it's coming soon, I will make a wrong turn down a corridor lit by moonlight streaming through an open window.  The light will feel safe and inviting.  And I know, friends!  I know that that's when the goat will appear, eyes a-blazing, horns a-gleaming...

Highlights include: "Widow Stone" and "Rise of the Royal Reptile"

Rating: 4.5/5


Total Run Time: 46:24

From: London, England

Genre: Psychedelic, Stoner Rock, Doom

Reminds me of: Blue Cheer, Cream, March the Desert, The Open Mind

Release Date: December 8, 2013

Sonic Mass on facebook

2013 Chronicle (Year in review) part 9 - Best of August 2013

August 2 - Picaporters (Elefantes)

August 5 - Causa Sui (Euporie Tide)

August 6 - NIGHT DEMON (ST EP) - There are a mountain of terrific 4-song E.P.'s on the market but few generate as much excitement as 'Night Demon'.  For fans of metal, this is like being transported through time and space.  The year is 1980, the place is a pocket dimension in which bicep flexing, beer-spitting riffs combine with soaring clean vocals.  If that sounds obnoxious to you, then you are wrong.  Original review here.  Get it here. Highlights include: "Night Demon" and "The Chalice".  Rating 4.5/5

August 9 - BEELZEFUZZ (ST) - Maryland doom trio Beelzefuzz released their debut record through Church Within Records on this date and I haven't been able to put it down since.  Soaring vocals are entwined around a big epic sound to create one of the more infectious albums of the year.  Original review here.  Get it here. Highlights include: "Lonely Creatures" and "Hypnotise".  Rating 5/5

August 10 - Weedpecker (ST)

August 13 - ICE DRAGON (Born a Heavy Morning) - Ice Dragon's most ambitious album to date cuts a wide arc across the various musical guises of the band.  From AM radio pop opener "Wakin' Up" to a middle section that's as heavy in atmosphere as a migraine, the album is a shitty day in microcosm, which is sucks to live through but is great to listen to.  This album also marked the first time that Ice Dragon found themselves on CD (through Navalorama Records).  Original review here.  Get it here. Highlights include: "I'm Lost" and "The Past Plus the Future Is Present".  Rating 4.5/5

August 15 - SPIRAL SHADES (Hypnosis Sessions) - This cross-continental collaboration is a marvel of the internet age.  Khushal brings Ozzy-esque vocals from India with a flair that can only come from his cultural heritage while Filip cut his teeth as youtube cover song sensation Deventy before bringing a startlingly organic style of guitar shredding complete with amazing riffs from The-Middle-Of-Nowhere, Norway.  This 9-song demo is incredible.  Original review here.  Get it here. Highlights include: "Illuminati" and "Torment".  Rating 4.5/5

August 24 - The Myrrors (Ramona Parra single)

August 25 - Arkham Witch (Hammerstorm)

August 27 - 45 Rats (Electric)

August 27 - RED HOT REBELLION (Melt the Sky) - Dayton, Ohio's Red Hot Rebellion only knows one speed: the speed of projectile vomit.  This 5-song EP is the follow-up to last year's stellar self-titled 10-song collection and it continues the band's white knuckled focus on pumping out party anthem rock n roll.  Don't miss this one!  Get it here. Highlights include: "You Bring The Thunder, I'll Bring The Lightning" and "Alcohol".  Rating 4.5/5

August 27 - SPACE MUSHROOM FUZZ (A Possible Paradox) - 'A Possible Paradox' was Space Mushroom Fuzz's second album of the year and it wouldn't be their last.  This six-song space rock trip continued to explore the hidden boundaries between 70's hard rock riffs, trolling the outer limits of melody and growing cultures of free flowing improvised jams like fungal spores in a petri dish.  Original review here.  Get it here. Highlights include: "For a Lifetime" and "A Possible Paradox".  Rating 4/5

August 28 - Djinn & Miskatonic (Forever in the Realm)

August 30 - CHURCH OF VOID (Dead Rising) - It didn't take long for this Finnish doom metal quintet to make an impact on the scene.  After releasing an excellent 4-song E.P. early in the year, the band signed with the impeccable Svart Records and released their first full-length album on this date.  It's a killer record that brought out the metal aspect in the band's doom metal sound.  Church of Void have marked themselves as a band to watch in the coming years.  Original review here.  Get it here. Highlights include: "Winter Is Coming" and "Dead Rising".  Rating 4/5

August 30 - DOCTOR SMOKE (Demo 2013) - Here's a band that quite literally came from out of nowhere and blew my socks off ...  From a tiny town in Ohio, Ole Doc Smoke's 4-song debut may be the best, catchiest E.P. I've heard since Moon Curse's unimpeachable 5-track debut from last year.  This new band compares favorably to Uncle Acid & the Deadbeats but substitutes the latter's Beatles influence for that of Pentagram.  After a successful crowdfunding campaign, the band has recently finished recording their first full-length album.  Based on the strength of this E.P. it promises to be an early contender for album of the year for 2014.  Original review here.  Get it here. Highlights include: "The Willow" and "The Seeker".  Rating 5/5

August 30 - Moonbow (The End of Time)

August 30 - Stonegriff (Prologus Magicus)

August 31 - ARROWHEAD (Atomsmasher) - How this album nearly passed me by is a testament to my own ignorance as Super Doom Chart contributors kept voting for it over and over again for a period of months.  I can see why they did almost instantly when I finally gave it a spin.  An authentic desert rock sound that gives Vista Chino a run for their money, this Aussie trio quietly released one of the absolute best fuzz rock albums of the year on this date.  Get it here. Highlights include: "Eagle Death Machine" and "Blood From a Stone".  Rating 4.5/5

August 31 - The Auras (ST EP 2)

August 31 - BLACKWITCH PUDDING (Taste the Pudding) - This is one I only caught onto recently, but it's a great one (thanks to Sludgelord for bringing the band to my attention).  What we've got here is perhaps a stateside equivalent to the UK band Groan, who are all about good times party anthem hard rock played fast and mean.  Get it here. Highlights include: "Mortre'D" and "Super Sluts From Outer Space".  Rating 4/5


Best Album From June 2013:
'Beelzefuzz' by BEELZEFUZZ

Best Song From June 2013:
"Night Demon" by NIGHT DEMON

PARANOID Thoughts:

If you didn't know this already I am Canadian, living outside of Vancouver, BC.  What can I say?  I don't mind being a homer and giving just a little bit extra support to my neighbors, that's what we do up here because we're fucking polite.  Got it!?!?  2013 was a strong year for Canadian hard rock and metal, maybe the strongest I've ever seen.  With debut albums by La Chinga, Anciients and Pyres drumming up attention from a variety of sources, you might say it was a banner year for Canuck rock.

However, Canada still lags behind the rest of the world in terms of the amount of heavy underground bands compared to other small market nations.  It's a boot time Canada started flexing its igloo-living, moose-wrestling, lumberjack-job-having muscles.  There is hope though, we're a maturing nation when it comes to the world of entertainment and the arts.  Therefore 2014 promises to be just as strong a year as 2013 if not stronger with amazing albums by Sandveiss [see the paranoid review by Love Among Ruins here], the Sludgelord approved Dead Ranch and the Shadow Kingdom Records released self-titled Funeral Circle album all set to make an impact on the Paranoid Best Of 2014 list already.

Oddly, I never actually heard what may have been the best hard / stoner rock album to come out of Canada this year, that being 'Furiosity' by Monster Truck.  I've heard the singles on the radio and I actually just grabbed it so don't give me too hard a time about it, we Canadians are kind of sensitive.

The Top 10 Canadian Albums of 2013:
1). Blood Ceremony - 'The Eldritch Dark' (Toronto, Ontario)
2). Tumbleweed Dealer - ST (Montreal, Quebec)
3). La Chinga - ST (Vancouver, B.C.)
4). Pyres - 'Year of Sleep' (Toronto, Ontario)
5). Holy Mount - 'Alpic' (Toronto, Ontario)
6). Anciients - 'Heart of Oak' (Vancouver, B.C.)
7). Black Wizard - 'Young Wisdom' (Vancouver, B.C.)
8). Diablo Strange - 'Sordid Tales' (Moncton, New Brunswick)
9). The Auras - ST EP 2 (Toronto, Ontario)
10). We Hunt Buffalo - 'Blood From a Stone' EP (Vancouver, B.C.)
Honorable mention: Monster Truck - 'Furiosity' (Hamilton, Ontario / never heard it, bro)

2013 Chronicle (Year in review) part 8 - Best of July 2013

July 1 - Chili Cold Blood (And Now the Dawn)

July 2 - Pyres (Year of Sleep)

July 5 - GOATESS (ST) - Pure psychedelic doom.  The sum of Swedish quartet Goatess's debut was greater than its parts and made for one of the best debut records of the year.  Then again, it wasn't entirely unexpected as I can't see legendary vocalist Chritus being involved in anything that isn't great.  Original review here.  Get it here. Highlights include: "Eyes of Zamiel" and "Devil's Wind".  Rating 4/5

July 5 - TOMBSTONE (Where the Dead Belong) - Though the official release date for this one is in January, the album was available for streaming only for months, it wasn't made available to download until this date.  In the end, it was a terrific collection of stoner blues riffs in the Church of Misery mold and a light years leap forward from their 2012 debut EP.  Original review here.  Get it here. Highlights include: "Werewolf" and "No Tomorrow".  Rating 4/5

July 6 - Black Majik Acid (ST)

July 6 - Ride Into the Sun (ST mini-LP)

July 8 - Corsair (Alpha Centauri)

July 9 - DIRTY STREETS (Blades of Grass) - The long awaited follow-up to this Memphis trio's excellent 'Movements' album displayed a soulful veneration of Sam Cooke, Otis Redding and the J.B.'s while still sounding like back country cousins to the Black Keys.  Original review here.  Get it here. Highlights include: "Blades of Grass" and "Truth".  Rating 4.5/5

July 9 - EARTHEN GRAVE (ST) - What's not to love about this one?  Ex-Trouble man Ron Holzner, world-class violinist Rachel Barton Pine and a great vocalist in Mark Weiner help make Earthen Grave's debut on Ripple Music a winner.  Guitarists Jason Muxlow & Tony Spillman pile on the riffs like mashed potatoes while Barton Pine pours on the gravy.  This album would be a stand out any year in any era.  Original review here.  Get it here. Highlights include: "Earthen Grave" and "Death is Another Word".  Rating 5/5

July 9 - SHROUD EATER (Dead Ends EP) - Florida sludge metal trio Shroud Eater ripped faces on their third official release.  Power packed doom grooves and aggressive vocals set a tone that sticks to you like a sweaty t-shirt in a mosh pit.  This five song EP proves why Shroud Eater are among the leading [piercing] lights of Southern Sludge.  Get it here. Highlights include: "Tempest" and "Sudden Plague".  Rating 4.5/5

July 16 - PHILIP H. ANSELMO & THE ILLEGALS (Walk Through Exits Only) - Pantera / Down / Superjoint Ritual, etc. frontman Phil Anselmo's debut solo album was a remarkable work from a lifelong metal fan who simply wanted to add to his beloved music without repeating anything that had been done before.  No small task.  Well, the results speak for themselves as Phil Anselmo crafted a stunningly good metal album that simply defies subgenrefication.  It's all the more remarkable considering the 40-something year old had never really written music before.  That's not to downplay the contributions of his backing band, called 'The Illegals' for this particular release.  Get it here. Highlights include: "Walk Through Exits Only" and "Battalion of Zero".  Rating 4.5/5

July 16 - Trouble (The Distortion Field)

July 18 - BORRACHO (Oculus) - D.C.'s resident stoner rock kingpins crushed with their first substantial offering of new material since 2011's critical darling 'Splitting Sky'.  Reduced to a power trio, the band nevertheless delivered a free-flowing album that is not only a worthy follow-up to their debut, but arguably surpasses it.  Get it here. Highlights include: "I've Come For It All" and "Empty".  Rating 4.5/5

July 21 - Fangs of the Molossus (ST)

July 21 - Sumeru (ST EP)

July 23 - CURSE THE SON (Psychache) - 'Psychache' was up for streaming on bandcamp for as many as 7 months before it was finally made available for download to the public on this date.  It took a hot minute for the album to catch on, but when it did it wouldn't let go.  Hands down Ron Vanacore's riffs and vocals and drummer Michael Petrucci's groovy-infested syncopation made this one of the year's top notch doom records.  It was later still pressed to vinyl and released by STB Records.  Original review here.  Get it here. Highlights include: "Spider Stole the Weed" and "Goodbye Henry Anslinger".  Rating 4.5/5

July 23 - MISS LAVA (Red Supergiant) - 'Red Supergiant' was actually released late in 2012 and flew completely under the radar until Small Stone Records caught wind of it, re-mastered it for more depth and re-released it on this date.  This is where you go when you're looking for a full album's worth of relentless stoner grooves.  Original review here.  Get it here. Highlights include: "Ride" and "Desert Mind".  Rating 4.5/5

July 24 - Wicked Inquisition (Silence Thereafter)

July 26 - Dozer (Vultures EP)

July 30 - HOLLOW LEG (Abysmal) - Florida sludge metal quartet Hollow Leg upped the ante in a major way on their second album, providing some of the most memorable moments in the genre all year.  They did this with riffs, memorable lyrics and bone splintering power grooves of atomic blowback proportions.  Seriously, don't let this one fly under your radar.  Original review here.  Get it here. Highlights include: "Ride To Ruin" and "Abysmal".  Rating 4.5/5


Best Album From June 2013:
'Psychache' by CURSE THE SON

Best Song From June 2013:
"Abysmal" by HOLLOW LEG

PARANOID Thoughts:

I've prepared a Top 20 Albums on the Rise list as a companion piece to last night's Top 20 I didn't listen to enough.  Most of the albums on this list I only just caught on to recently or was too busy focused on other albums to devote an appropriate amount of attention to until just recently, and some of them are re-discoveries of albums that simply slipped past me.  Basically, I'm trying to give as many deserving albums a share of the spotlight as possible.  These are all albums on the way up my lists ...

(Deep breath...) The Top 20 Rising Albums That Probably Would Have (or at least Might Have) Made the Top 100 of 2013 List if it was Published Two Months Later (now, exhale ..!):
1). Subrosa - 'More Constant Than the Gods'
2). Arrowhead - 'Atomsmasher'
3). Motörhead - 'Aftershock'
4). Blackwitch Pudding - 'Taste the Pudding'
5). Black Majik Acid - ST
6). Sangoma - 'Diviner'
7). Gaggle of Cocks - 'Low Class Trendsetter'
8). Bayou - ST
9). Zemial - 'Nykta'
10). Eye - 'Second Sight'
11). Fuzz - ST
12). Slasher Dave - 'Spookhouse'
13). Bardo Pond - 'Peace on Venus'
14). Stoned Cobra - 'High & Mighty'
15). Cokegoat - 'Vessel'
16). Doomriders - 'Grand Blood'
17). Earth Witch - 'Earth Bound' EP
18). Foghound - 'Quick, Dirty & High'
19). Ride Into the Sun - ST mini-LP
20). Djinn & Miskatonic - 'Forever in the Realm'*

*Looks like this project may now be defunct according to bassist Jayaprakash Satyamurthy.

Doom Chart: Most Paranoid Songs of 12/25/13

Top 25 Songs

#). Song Title (artist/album)

1. Ride to Ruin (Hollow Leg / Abysmal)
2. By Endurance We Conquer (Argus / Beyond the Martyrs)
3. Monster of the Highway (Black Rainbows / Holy Moon EP)
4. Madness! (Space God Ritual / Eldritch Tales)
5. Queen of the Black Harvest (Ice Dragon / Steel Veins single)
6. Sin revolución no hay evolución (At Devil Dirt / Plan B: Sin Revolución no hay Evolución)
7. Forevermore (Old Man Wizard / Unfavorable)
8. *Last Prediction (Dozer / Vultures EP)
9. Echoes in the Void (Black Skies / digital single)
10. Champions (Sandrider / Godhead)***
11. Robotic Invasion (Fu Manchu / split single w/ Moab)
12. Frown Curve (March the Desert / Waves on the Moon EP)
13. Leadersheep (Saturn / Ascending)
14. Oblivion (Switchblade Jesus / Myelin Constellation)
15. Sinistra (Wounded Giant / Lightning Medicine)***
16. Ruler of Dust (Moon Coven / Amanita Kingdom)
17. Fall Through (Maze of Roots / 2013)***
18. Black C (Black Skies / Circadian Meditations)
19. Gary's Graveyard (Smoke / ST)***
20. Invisible To See (Space Mushroom Fuzz / Stealing Some Time)
21. Come Samhain (Zodiac / digital single)***
22. Tears of Blood (Tombstone / Evil Seed single)
23. Dead Friends (Doomriders / Grand Blood)***
24. Dawn Rising (Red Fang / Whales & Leeches)
25. Slave the Hive (High on Fire / digital single)***

*Get it on itunes
*** New Song

Outgoing songs:

The Willow (Doctor Smoke / Demo 2013)
SWB (Exiles / Wreck)
The Bringer of Light (Doublestone / Wingmakers)
Seven Veils (Uzala / Tales of Blood & Fire)
Shrubbery the Warlock (Mountain Witch / Cold River)
The Universe Is Mine (La Chinga / ST)
Late For An Early Grave (Victor Griffin's In~Graved / ST)

• Last Chart
• About the Doom Charts

PARANOID Spotlight on:

ZODIAC - "COME SAMHAIN" 
Debuting at #21 this week, Zodiac's "Come Samhain" was released on Halloween night on the Queensland quintet's bandcamp page, it's only the fourth recording that the band has issued.  There are platoons of under-the-radar bands that are almost due for some serious exposure and everybody has their own list of these bands, but near the top of mine would be Zodiac.  It's not a great mystery as to why the band hasn't made a ton of noise in the underground press or other venues.  Before Halloween night rolled around the band had exactly three songs to their credit, all of which can be found on their debut 3-song cassette, also available on bandcamp, released in February [review here].

There's a haunting quality to vocalist Ben Peters's voice as he wails soulfully over pitch perfect slow doom riffs provided by Leo Price & Ryan Cooper.  Zodiac slip comfortably into an epic sound and respect tradition by doing a 360 to most epic doom bands and blaze their own trail, avoiding eye contact with familiar road maps.  Soon as "Come Samhain" kicks off, you get a sense of the dynamics at play: a syncopated rhythm [backed by Mikel Elborne on bass and Will Learmouth smashing drums], a pausey riff and the uniquely timbred belt-it-out-to-the-people-in-the-cheap-seats vocal delivery of Peters.  All of these elements converge upon an unsuspecting listener for a "name your price" deal on bandcamp [see embedded link at the listing above].

2013 Chronicle (Year in review) part 7 - Best of June 2013

June 2 - Floodriders (ST)

June 3 - DEMON LUNG (The Hundredth Name) - After releasing a promising EP in 2012 this Vegas quartet signed a deal with Candlelight Records and dropped their first full-length on that label.  'The Hundredth Name' was the result, full of dark southern doom with captivating vocals which tell a demon haunted story with esoteric lyrics.  Original review here.  Get it here. Highlights include: "Eyes of Zamiel" and "Devil's Wind".  Rating 4/5

June 4 - Naam (Vow)

June 10 - Egypt / Wo Fat split (Cyclopean Riffs)

June 10 - Mansion (We Shall Live EP)

June 11 - BLACK SABBATH (13) - Arguably the most divisive and talked about album of the year, '13' was like a referendum on the state of doom metal and whether or not the legends have been surpassed creatively by the bands they have undoubtedly influenced.  It appeared most people walked into the album with their opinions of it already set.  It would seem the most controversial decision the band made was allowing original drummer Bill Ward to get out of shape over the past decade and a half.  Get it here. Highlights include: "God Is Dead?" and "Live Forever".  Rating 4/5

June 11 - CARDINALS FOLLY (Strange Conflicts of the Past) - This Finnish traditional doom trio released their early demos on this collection through Shadow Kingdom Records in preparation for their forthcoming album 'Our Cult Continues' and it was a feast.  Fist pumping doom of a high magnitude cut through ten tracks with a couple rarities thrown atop for good measure (including an excellent Kraftwerk cover).  Original review here.  Get it here. Highlights include: "The Right Hand of Doom" and "Serpent Nights".  Rating 4.5/5

June 11 - CHURCH OF MISERY (Thy Kingdom Scum) - Japanese stoner stalwarts Church of Misery's first album since 2009 featured 7 songs of strictly top shelf material.  Never deviating from their long-standing winning formula 'Thy Kingdom Scum' was bloated with riffs, tales of murderous depravity and the ever-popular obscure cover song (by way of Quartermass).  Get it here. Highlights include: "The Right Hand of Doom" and "Serpent Nights".  Rating 4.5/5

June 13 - Black Oath (Ov Qliphoth And Darkness)

June 14 - BRUTUS (Behind the Mountains) - Norwegian retro rockers Brutus offered up one of the stronger entries into the genre, doing the throwback style right with riffs, dynamism and dark overtones.  On this, their second at bat, they've carved a niche for themselves whereby they don't quite sound like anybody else in particular, not even the rock n roll heroes they are emulating, which is rare in the retro rock world.  Original review here.  Get it here. Highlights include: "Personal Riot" and "Blue Pills".  Rating 4.5/5

June 14 - CROWLORD (Naked Chicks, Goats & Wolves) - While this Tennesseean quartet will be labelled as "sludge metal", a more accurate label for their thick-bodied, twin bass, no guitar attack might be "tar metal".  Finding a vocalist who sounds like the beast from which they take their name only adds to the band's mystique.  Original review here.  Get it here. Highlights include: "Son of Crow" and "In the Nightmares of Snakes".  Rating 4.5/5

June 19 - ALBINO PYTHON (The Doomed and the Damned) - After releasing the ludicrously infectious 'Haunter of the Dark' (that song was stuck in my heads for months!) in late summer of 2012, Albino Python's long awaited debut arrived and delivered the goods.  The name of the game here is scathing and grimy doom.  What sets this female-fronted duo apart is its forcefulness and aggression.  Original review here.  Get it here. Highlights include: "Haunter of the Dark" and "To Hell We Ride".  Rating 4.5/5

June 21 - Chinaski (Resiliencia)

June 22 - CULT OF OCCULT (Hic Est Domus Diaboli) - This French trio's sophomore offering was a six-track blast of doom, sludge & crypt dust.  With five of the six tracks ranging beyond the 10-minute mark you know you're in for a fully engrossing journey that ends in the I.C.U. ... or maybe the morgue.  Uncompromisingly heavy in tone and mood, 'Hic Est Domus Diaboli' is one of the must have doom albums of 2013.  Original review here.  Get it here. Highlights include: "In Vino Veritas" and "Opus Ad Odio".  Rating 5/5

June 24 - PEACEMAKER (Cult .45) - This new UK quartet unleashed their debut on bandcamp and it was one of the truly great under-the-radar releases of the year.  Packing neck-snapping power grooves inside capital M doom Metal riffs, Peacemaker proved themselves as ones to watch for 2014 and beyond.  Original review here.  Get it here. Highlights include: "Follow the Rats" and "Soul Cheater".  Rating 4.5/5

June 25 - Isaak (The Longer The Beard The Harder The Sound)

June 25 - SCORPION CHILD (ST) - This Austin Texas quintet definitively proved that it's still masculine to wear tight jeans, leather vests and rock out with mustaches.  Combining the soulfulness of The Black Crowes with the bluesy heaviness of Led Zeppelin, Scorpion Child are one of the bright lights and great hopes for rock n roll.  Get it here. Highlights include: "Polygon of Eyes" and "The Secret Spot".  Rating 4/5

June 28 - Black Wizard (Young Wisdom)

June 28 - Cokegoat (Vessel)

June 28 - Holy Mount (Alpic)

June 28 - Switchblade Jesus (ST)


Best Album From June 2013:
'Behind the Mountains' by BRUTUS

Best Song From June 2013:
"Polygon of Eyes" by SCORPION CHILD

PARANOID Thoughts:

I'm the type of guy where if I don't tackle something right away, it's going to go right by me and so it is with my listening habits.  Those marathon "scouting missions" on bandcamp where you find five or ten albums all at once are great fun, but they can also lead to great music slipping through the cracks as it gets harder and harder to find the time to listen to it all.  Sometimes you'll find something unexpected and grab it right quick while your attention is focused on another block of albums to listen to and process.  I usually listen to one or maybe two songs on a bandcamp page before making the decision to buy or pass by.  Sometimes I know I'm ready to buy after hearing the opening riff for five or ten seconds.  It becomes a matter of waiting to see how good or bad the vocals are at that point.  So I'll discover something, or have it recommended to me, preview it for 10 or 30 seconds, or maybe even five minutes, then I'll download it and add it to my itunes.  Meanwhile however, I've got five or ten albums ahead of this new one that I have to* listen to.  Before you know it, that little gem you found is way back in the queue

These are the albums that I lost track of or never found the time to give them the proper gorging they deserved and so they didn't end up making my year end Top 100.  If there was any justice in the world or if there was just one extra day in the week (a non-work day of course), I probably would have got there.  At the same time there isn't a single album that I'd like to knock out of the Top 100.  

And why a Top 100 anyway?  Isn't that a bit excessive?  Not to me it isn't.  Really there were somewhere in the order of 150 albums that I would have loved to cram into the 100 so it still feels like an 'elite' list.  And besides, music freaks, listers (!!!) are a bit anal retentive when it comes to their lists.  A Top 137 Albums list looks sloppy and disorganized with about as much thought and care put into it as a shopping list.  No, we can only deal in round numbers.  

So to the bands that made the rather dubious list below, I say "you weren't expecting anything from me.  I was under no obligation to put your album on my list, or even listen to your album let alone be aware of its existence.  But YOU cared.  You put time, money, effort and inspiration into your album and I failed you as a listener.  I'm sorry.  I know that doesn't make it right, but ... will you ever forgive me?"

Anyway, these are all great albums for you to check out ...

*'have to' is in the sense of burning desire as opposed to dry obligation.

Top 20 Records I didn't listen to enough from 2013:
1). Ten Foot Wizard - 'Return to the Infinite'
2). Woodwall - 'WoodEmpire'
3). Switchblade Jesus - ST
4). A Pale Horse Named Death - 'Lay My Soul To Waste'
5). Victor Girffin's In~Graved - ST
6). Subrosa - 'More Constant Than the Gods'
7). Black Majik Acid - ST
8). Death Angel - 'The Dream Calls For Blood'
9). Warbeast - 'Destroy'
10). Hela - 'Broken Cross'
11). Beastwood - 'Alabama Space Witch'
12). Valfader - 'Whispers of Chaos'
13). Vestal Claret - 'Bloodbath'
14). Dream Death - 'Somnium Excessum'
15). Procession - 'To Reap Heavens Apart'
16). Throne - 'Avoid the Light'
17). Deaf Proof - 'Beyond the Orange Door'
18). Gallow God - 'The Veneration of Serpents'
19). Mortgage Freeman - 'The Living Proof'
20). Mystery Ship EP's I & II