Hour of Power 01/10/14

1. Some Kind of Sorcery (The Socks / ST) PRE
2. Black Magic Woman (Black Coven / Demo) PRE
3. Slice of That Vibe (Groan / Ride the Snake EP)
4. Give Graviation To the People (Black Space Riders / D:REI) PRE
5. Spirit of the Cult / Darkest Day [live] (Devil)
6. In Through Glasses (Warp Riders / Astral Plane EP)
7. Young Wisdom (Black Wizard / Young Wisdom)
8. Secret Sect (Demon Eye / Leave the Light) PRE
9. Fuzzy Belly (Moosataur / ST)
10. The Haunter of the Dark (Bretus / The Haunter of the Dark [outtake])* PRE
11. Acid Violet Land (Chains / Violet Wizard) PRE
12. Squall [teaser] (Ichabod / Merrimack) PRE

*This is an outtake from the album sessions and though it is the title track, will not appear on the upcoming album itself

 PRE = Pre-Release / Not yet available

Hour of Power 06/15/13 (playlist)

1. Dancing With My Demons (Chains / 7" single) 2013 official video
2. Ripped Apart (Velvet Robe / Night Soil) 2013 official video
3. Son of a Witch (Church of Void / Dead Rising) 2013 official video
4. God is Dead? (Black Sabbath / 13) 2013 official video
5. Scorpion Child, Track by Track rundown with vocalist Aryn Jonathan Black 2013
6. Liquor (Scorpion Child / ST) 2013 lyric video
7. Clean Window (Tangerine Stoned / ST) 2013
8. Headless Eyes (Blood Farmers / Headless Eyes) 2013
9. Act 2 (The Well / Mondo Fuzz) 2013
10. Alison Hell (Annihilator / Alice in Hell) 1989 'classic video'

Hour of Power 04/06/13 (playlist)

1. Bald Bull (Gozu / The Fury of a Patient Man) 2013
2. The Queen of Death (Necronomicon / The Queen of Death) 2012
3. Of Ghosts and Their Worship (Black Magician / Nature Is The Devil's Church) 2012
4. Black Death (Groan / The Divine Right of Kings) 2012
5. Through The Sonic Haze (Space Mushroom Fuzz / Man In The Shadow) 2013
6. Church of Misery 'They Kingdom Scum' album trailer 2013
7. Hit The Ground (Bite The Bullet / ST EP) 2013
8. Milk Leg (Intronaut / Habitual Levitations) 2013
9. Sweet Mountain River (Monster Truck) 2013
10. Lazy (Ape Skull / ST) 2013
11. Dancing With My Demons (Chains / 7" single) 2013
12. The Devil's Been Busy (Tsar Bomba / Silent Queen) 2013
13. Cultura Tres 'Rezando al Miedo' album trailer 2013

Rogue Transmissions - Chains & Jess and The Ancient Ones (album review)

SVART RECORDS TWO FOR ONE

Cover Artwork by Coven Illustration

CHAINS - DANCING WITH MY DEMONS

Not too terribly long ago, I reviewed Chains' self-released 'Of Death' demo album.  It was a dark masterpiece of horror drone which I found to be quite inspiring (read it here).  Now they have returned with a brand new 7" single, "Dancing With My Demons" backed with "Join The Sabbath".  This is their first release on the terrific Svart Records.  Where 'Of Death' was a solo effort by E. Chains, the size of the band has subsequently doubled to include Lord Samhain (Chad Davis) on drums.  For the first time, Chains has expanded their sonic territory into, well ... I'll let the band speak for themselves ...

Chains was born in 2010 as a Hypnotic Drone Doom project in the vein of Sunn O))), Moss, Urfaust with a 70s horror vibe influenced by bands like Death SS and Paul Chain. In 2012 after the release of the first opus ˝OF DEATH˝, Lord Samhain joined the project and became the fulltime Chains drummer. At this point, the music took a retro-evolution and became a hybrid between 80s Italian Dark Doom, Death Rock and 80s Dark Metal. Chains in 2013 Chains will revive the golden 70s-80s Dark Doom style with a spice of alchemic elements with simple and hypnotic riffs.

Excellent stuff.  It seems like everything Chad Davis is involved with is awesome, Chains now joining the ranks and sounding like the spiritual cousin of one of his other recent projects, Witchcoven.  Remember, this is the first time Chains has ventured into structured song territory.

The a-side, "Dancing With My Demons" starts off with some droney atmospherics and a plaintive, almost whiney riff.  No big build-up, the lyrics float in straight-off.  This is the first intelligible vocal performance for this band.  The vocals are unaffected, classic sounding but not necessarily clean, because they are smothered in production ketchup.  Altogether it's a great song, mist-shrouded graveyard vibes with cobwebs and dancing skeletons.

"Join The Sabbath" appears on the b-side but it's my favorite of the two tracks.  A great doom riff with horror embellishments.  The vocals are once more obscured by echo, but again the lyrics are still clear.  The chorus is catchy and driving and the song is perhaps a bit more adventurous in terms of structure.

I have no idea right now whether this single is a precursor to a lengthier work but I look forward to more of it all the same.  My guess is a full-length from these two demented geniuses will be epic in scope and vision with great riffs and haunted soundscapes.  Whether it be drone or this kind of graveyard dwelling doom, Chains always hits that crypt-keeping mood.  A gruesome twosome to keep an eyeball out for.

Rating: 4.5/5




Tracklist:
1). Dancing With My Demons (5:02)
2). Join The Sabbath (5:14)
Total Run Time: 10:15

E. Chains - Vocals, Guitar, Bass, Fx
Lord Samhain - Drums

From: Slovenia & United States

Genre: Doom, Sludge, Drone, Horror

Release Date: March 15, 2013

Suggested listening activity for fellow non-stoners: Be careful of what you wish for, and be wary of what you conjure.

GET IT HERE


*********************************************************************************

Cover Artwork by Adam Burke

JESS & THE ANCIENT ONES - ASTRAL SABBAT

It's hard for me to say this because I don't like being critical, but I didn't really like Jess & The Ancient Ones self-titled debut from last year. I liked a couple songs but it just wasn't something that I found myself returning to.  If you, like me, were luke-warm on their album, then do yourself a favor and give this one a listen because JATAO turn up the heat on the follow-up.

Title track "Astral Sabbat" has a winding labrynthine sixties swinging London riff that sounds lifted from some mythical Satanic occultsploitation flick of the era.  Naked ladies lie placidly on altars while black or crimson robed men in goat masks clutch daggers in both hands high overhead.  A pentagram on a high stone wall, gnarly tree or rocky outcrop behind.  This is the best song I've heard from the band.  It's immediately catchy and memorable.

When I got the CD in the mail, I opened her up and checked the inside booklet.  The lyrics for the front and back songs were listed which led me to believe that the middle track "Long And Lonesome Road" was an instrumental.  Nope.  It's a cover of what is probably the best song Shocking Blue ever did.  For those who are only familiar with their disco smash hit "Venus" (I'm your venus, I'm your fire ...), if you like the JATAO version here, do yourself another favor and dig into their back catalogue.  They were so much more than that one song.  I've long been a fan of this song and it's a delight to hear it covered by a modern band.  You ask me it's one of the best songs recorded in the early seventies which proves Jess and her gang have great taste.  The song is given heavy and respectful treatment here.  Well done!

"More Than Living" showcases a more subdued mood with a slight country vibe, more in line with the material from their self-titled album of last year.  A slow and constant builder, the song gets a lift from punctuated organ and lap steel guitar (played by Jani Karhunen).  The song is a nail bomb of dynamics, scattershot ideas fly in all directions, the band never losing the listener's attention for its full 14 minute span.  There's always something going on, something changing, something happening.  The long build up leads to a heavy final third and it's well worth the wait.

Though only 3 songs and some 24 minutes long, 'Astral Sabbat' is an impressive record.  It showcases what the band can accomplish in a limited space, strong and interesting song dynamics, great and interesting riffs that are just a touch different from anything contemporary, great taste and a bevy of musical ideas.  This is a good direction for the band to go in and I for one will be looking forward to their next offering with great interest.

Highlights include: "Astral Sabbat" and "Long And Lonesome Road"

Rating: 4.5/5



Tracklist:
1). Astral Sabbath (6:27)
2). Long And Lonesome Road (3:10)
3). More Than Living (14:48)
Total Run Time: 24:23

Jess - Vocals
Thomas Corpse - Lead guitar
Thomas Fiend - Lead guitar & backing vocals
Von Stroh - Rhythm guitar
Fast Jake - Bass guitar
Abraham - Keyboard
Yussuf - Drums & percussion

From: Kuopio, Finland

Genre: Prog, Hard Rock, Doom, Stoner

Release Date: February 22, 2013

Suggested listening activity for fellow non-stoners: Back woods occultic hoe down.

Better Reviews:
Ave Noctum
The Midlands Rocks
Metal Temple

Jess & The Ancient Ones official website

GET IT HERE

Hour of Power 03/16/03 (playlist)

1. Wise As a Serpent (Spiritual Beggars / Earth Blues) 2013
2. Not Over (Lord 13 / 2013) 2011
3. 18 Wheels (Red Desert / 18 Wheels) 2008
4. Zoroaster studio teaser 2013
5. Dancing With My Demons (Chains / 7" single) 2013
6. Welldweller (Lothorian / Welldweller) 2013
7. MrWeasley (Spacefog / Purple Void) 2012
8. Slave to the System (VolumeFeeder / Crowns and Chains) 2012
9. Black Sabbath '13' in studio teaser featuring new sounds 2013
10. Wash His Bones (Dead River / ST) 2012
11. Rad Dungeons (The Valley / ST) 2012
12. Solitude (Warhorse / ST) 1970
13. Daydreams (Romannis Mötte) 2013

Hour of Power 02/16/13 (playlist)

Every weekend I post a new Hour of Power and every time I think it's the best one yet.  This week, brand new and great looking official video clips from Year of the Goat, Death SS and Gates of Slumber kick things off in terrific doom-y fashion.  All new songs by Orchid, John Gallow and Black Rainbows highlight the 'middle set' of videos and highlights from the week's (regretfully few) posts close out the affair, including an excellent fan made video for Slow Heart.  Interspersed throughout are clips from The Nice, The Alan Bown! of sixties infamy plus Chains and the Black Sabbath "The Rebel" acetate demo.  Also on the Black Sabbath front and placed carefully somewhere in the middle of the playlist is a three-minute teaser clip of Black Sabbath talking about the new album '13' in the studio.  It makes for an interesting change of pace and goes together beautifully with a brand new clip of Finnish soon-to-be giants, Dryasdust in the studio.  Enjoy!

1. Spirits of Fire (Year of the Goat / Angels' Necropolis) 2012
2. Ogre's Lullaby (Death SS / The Darkest Night) 2013
3. Death March (The Gates of Slumber / Storm Crow EP) 2013
4. Flower King of Flies (The Nice / The Thoughts of Emerlist Davjack) 1967
5. Wizard of War (Orchid / Wizard of War EP) 2013
6. Holy Land (John Gallow) 2013
7. An Inside Look At Black Sabbath in the studio 2013
8. Finger Sessions (Dryasdust) 2013
9. C'mon C'mon C'mon (Black Rainbows) 2013
10. My Girl The Month of May (The Alan Bown / Outward Bown!) 1968
11. The Rebel (Black Sabbath / acetate) 1969
12. Alone and Red (Slow Heart / Dead Friends and Angry Lovers) 2012
13. Of Death (Chains / Of Death) 2012

The Alchemical Mixture - Chains, Nonsun & Slow Heart (album review)

CHAINS - 'Of Death'

Highlights include: "Anticosmic Void" and "Necromantic 

Force".  From: Slovenia.  Rating: 4.5/5

"Chains was born under the black mark in the Samhain night of anno MMXI. The goal of this project is to make a Hypnotic Ritualistic Music in order to spread the verb of our master Satan.

The making of this kind of ritual is a kind of transcendent hypnosis trance who is channeling all the spiritual essence of the black flame into music form. Chains is strongly linked to 3 senses; vision, hearing and smell; because the experience must be accompanied by hearing music with the visions of all the conceptual artworks and spiced with incense and so all the chants are a mixture of lyrics mixed with a phonetically language transformed in mantras." - From Chains' official blog, Chains Hypnotic Ritual Music.

It's not often that a band invokes the sense of smell but the genre of drone sludge might be the most appropriate venue for one to do so.  All three of these bands emit their own olfactory effulgence in their own inimitable ways.  The ritualistic incense of Chains is offset by Nønsun's animal musk and the rotten decay of the body in the trash bin heard on Slow Heart's debut effort 'Dead Friends and Angry Lovers', a title that could easily refer to my year from mid 2010 to mid 2011 and believe me, it was an awful, awful stretch.

Why review three albums together? When I'm not at work or doing music reviews I write supernatural horror. This is my fuel. There are different moods for different scenes, but when I need to really feel the desolate despairs and desperate terrors of my creations I throw on these albums to set my mind right. The quote above is quite accurate in that, this is all-encompassing music. Sounds that have a physical presence, or at least a physical manifestation of electrification and hairs standing on end.  Each of these albums brings out their own specific mood, for Chains it's the presence of evil just behind you, for Nønsun it's the sense of lurking danger and for Slow Heart, it's the bleakness of hopeless self-defeating thoughts.

But the way in which these three diverse albums achieve these effects is by the same method, the heavy drone. Heavy sludge drone that, again, has a physical presence, a sheer weight, that makes the summer heat heavier, it makes the winter chill colder and makes positive action impossible.

NONSUN - 'Good Old Evil'

Highlights include: "Jesus' Age" and "Forgotten Is What
Never Was".  From: Lviv, Ukraine.  Rating: 4/5

Nønsun's 4-track demo EP 'Good Old Evil', creates the sludge metal equivalent of the clinical yet insect and parasite infested worlds of early Ridley Scott or James Cameron films.  They allow the listener a running headstart on "Jesus' Age", capture him on "Rain Have Mercy" strip the listener of all hope and human dignity on the straight drone of "Message Of Nihil Carried By The Waves Of The Big Bang" and ultimately leave the  listener tied naked to a chair with a shotgun in his face on organ-driven closer "Forgotten Is What Never Was".  A lonely refrigerator hum closes the album out, and the listener knows their tormentor won't be coming back, they'll be left that way, til the end.  Hopeless.

The overall vibe of Nønsun is to crush down all hope.  There are 'hopeful' passages in "Jesus' Age" that are trampled almost as soon as they appear from the rubble, hopeful weeds pushing their way, improbably from the hard pavement only the be crushed down for their tremendous efforts.

There is a sheer light at the end of the tunnel of "Rain Have Mercy", with a bright riff and uptempo beat but it leads directly into the nearly seven minute static drone of "Message Of Nihil Carried By The Waves Of The Big Bang".  The victim escapes the killer's shack in the woods, looks over a shoulder momentarily ... and wakes up half-conscious back in the shack under tighter bonds.

'Good Old Evil''s merciless vibe and filth-spewing sludge tone are crushing and brutal, an unflattering tattoo, a slow drive past a car wrapped around a pole before emergency crews arrive.  The haunting image that cuts past the unaffected and the urbane facade and leaves the inner self gutted.

SLOW HEART - 'Dead Friends & Angry Lovers'

Highlights include: "We Want The Night" and "Never 

Trust a Woman (Dressed in Black)".  From: Boston, Mass.
Rating: 3/5

The feeling carries over into the music of Slow Heart, only this band does it differently.  Where Nønsun's Bohdan Goatooth's vocals are deep, raw and guttural, Ron's from Slow Heart are vastly subdued.  It appears to be a giant effort just to sing at all through the overwhelming dark mood.  There is a heavy tone here in the instruments, but the lasting impression is the mood of the album.  Dredging the depths of darkness and despair, the title of the album describes the music well, but doesn't say it all.  The lyrical content and the subdued tone of voice go a long way towards weaving that mood and interlocks with the relentless drone of the instruments.  Everyday's the same and it always rains, mercilessly.

The most 'uplifting' moment is the anthemic opening track "We Want The Night".  Featuring a shambling corpse like tempo and frustratingly obscured pinpoints of light via guitar, it isn't exactly 'Singin' in the Rain'.  As 'God Old Evil' is a shimmering black album 'Dead Friends and Angry Lovers' is a matte gray album.  The perfect musical equivalent of a dense fog.  If Chains' music is set in a black draped, skull-decorated, candle-lit parlor, Slow Heart play the national anthems of Limbo.  Underpinning the entire project is a monomaniacal vision of futility and again hopelessness, achieved by the relentless repetition of musical phrases and tempos that rarely change.  Even the length of the compositions is consistent with four of the five tracks over five minutes and under six.

Slow Heart is the musical step-child of David Lynch babysat by Nick Cave.  Chains is the sound of static given form and substance.  It's the white noise in your ears in the silent room as you try to sleep, amplified.  One finds oneself on a sparse rocky landscape with a hazy yellow and unbreathable atmosphere.  Everything is spare save the choking sludgy drone, as a whole bottle of ketchup drowns a small serving of mac and cheese.  Drums pound low in the mix like the death throes of some giant Lovecraftian millipede far off in the distance.  Disembodied voices pierce the veil and moan dark nothings.  The occasional melodic element grows out of the void like a plant in timelapse photography and is quickly choked off and left to wither.

Chains' music is like a reset button for the mind, it's the perfect soundtrack to dark mental meanderings.  It puts the listener in the right frame of mind to imagine, be creative and focus thoughts.  It's unobtrusive without being background music.  It won't distract the listener from a train of thought because it is an active participant in the process.  It is a vehicle for creativity and in that regard the duo of Chains (Chad Davis along with E. Chains) are quite successful in accomplishing their goals.

In the extremely limited and now sold out CD version of 'Of Death' a 'lyrics' booklet is comprised of song titles in psychedelic font with pictures in lieu of words which are not only excellent graphic artwork (the entire package is) but give form to the ideas present on this release.  "Of Death" features a wild eyed mummified corpse turning in a tight coffin, "Anticosmic Void" shows an hourglass with bat wings emerging from a spinning disc, "All The Colors Of The Dark" reveals a skull-littered cave of torture, "Fireborn" displays a skeletal fetus emerging from flames.  "Necromantic Force" depicts the approach of a skinned horse whose head is framed by a black moon, "Electric Doom"'s totem is a cloaked and hooded wraith and the horned, ragged, saw toothed demon is finally made manifest in the artwork for "Spiritual Evocation".

Three albums of bottled inspiration.  No, this isn't party music, this isn't the kind of thing to throw on when buddies are over for beer, unless of course those beer swilling buddies are travelers down the left hand path. For this writer, this is utilitarian music, it's useful music, but it wouldn't be so if it weren't also enjoyable music.  Pitiless drone for those morbid moods or when it's simply time for a change of pace.  We can't all listen to Red Fang all day or whatever.  That's the great thing about underground music, it doesn't just all lead you in One Direction, so to speak.  Bands like Nønsun, Slow Heart and Chains are from vastly different backgrounds and take the listener to some chilling and eerie places.  The adventurous, the spiritual, the thoughtful will go along for the journey and some will return the favor.

Genre: Drone, Sludge, Doom.

Release Date: October 5, 2012 (Chains); December 12, 2012 (Nønsun); December 18, 2012 (Slow Heart)

Suggested listening activity for fellow non-stoners: Writing.  Or waiting at the river's edge for the boatman to return

Better Reviews:
Sludgelord Nonsun review
Heavy Planet Nonsun review
Temple of Perdition Slow Heart review

Weekly Mailbag for 12/24/12 - 12/28/12

A look at what came in the mail this week with quickie reviews ...

Various Artists - An Apple a Day - The second in the now five volume series of Apple records demos and highlights from RPM records is my favorite in the series.  Terrific entries from Gallagher & Lyle; The Iveys (Badfinger); Turquoise (one of my favorite bands); and the previously unknown The U (Don't) Know Who among more.  I didn't realize when I ordered it that The Cups "Good as Gold" is on this one.  Great song!  Tons of highlights here.  Highlights include "Black & White Rainbows (Iveys)" and "Woodstock (Turquoise)".  Rating 4/5

Blue Oyster Cult - Agents of Fortune - Their fourth album is another solid entry into the band`s discography.  "Sinful Love" is a good song, it's interesting as it brings together an influence of Bob Dylan with hints of disco around the edges.  "Tattoo Vampire" was the rockingest thing they'd done in years.  And of course their big song.  Highlights include "[Don't Fear] The Reaper" and "The Revenge of Vera Gemini".  Rating 4/5

Chains - Of Death - Drone metal from Slovenia, this is one of Chad Davis' (Hour of 13) many bands.  This was a special edition limited to 10 copies (jaw drops).  I got the last one.  It also came with the two track blood-painted demo CD that was also limited to 10 copies.  Not the kind of thing to listen to before bed while reading about sleep paralysis.  Highlights include "Anticosmic Void" and "Necromantic Force".  Rating 4.5/5

Lord 13 - 2013 - This was one of the best stoner rock albums of 2011,  and though no music collection is ever truly complete, certainly no stoner rock collection is complete without this one.  A solid album with a few surprises including the appearance of Ben Ward on "Wicked Thing" and a flute-driven campfire acoustic number in album closer "Walking in Sin".  Highlights include "Grind It" and "Fire".  Rating 4.5/5

the Lord 13 CD came in from Ozium Records and came with the CD below completely free and unannounced.  I didn't want it, I didn't ask for it, but hot damn if I ain't happy they gave it to me!

The Brimstone Days - On a Monday Too Early To Tell - This was a complete surprise.  With their roots firmly planted in the late 60s this band works through 14 tracks of Hendrix or BOC style rock & roll boogie in the vein of Lord Fowl or Captain Crimson.  Phenomenal!  This is truly the Golden Age of Swedish rock and roll.  Highlights include "Same Old Story" and "I Need Soul".  Rating 4.5/5

The Quartet of Woah! - Ultrabomb - This recently reviewed album just came in the mail and it's a package worthy of the epic music found therein.  This is really quite a different album with many surprising moments due to each member's unique set of skills and sensibilities.  There is enough variation and highlight material to draw the listener back for a long time to come.  Highlights include "U Turn" and "The Ultrabomb".  Rating 4/5

Thin Lizzy - Vagabonds of the Western World - This is the best of the first three albums.  It's definitely the most consistently rocking effort of their early career.  The fast songs carry the seeds of "Jailbreak" within them and theslow songs aren't very slow at all.  Every song is excellent and Phil Lynott was beginning to come into his own as a visionary songwriter.  Highlights include "The Rocker" and "The Hero and the Madman".  Rating 5/5

2012 Chronicle (Year in review) part 10 - Best of October

October 1 - Dryasdust (ST Demo)

October 3 - SautruS (Kuelmaggah Mysticism: The Prologue)

October 5 - CHAINS (Of Death) - Clearly, you will notice, ambient drone doom is not a major area of focus around Paranoid Hitsophrenic but with Chad Davis involved I was more than happy to make an exception.  This is magic ritual music, more meditative and darker than Saturnalia Temple or Spectral Haze and more of a mood setter.  Find it here. Highlights include "Anticosmic Void" and "Necromantic Force".  Rating 4.5/5

October 5 - DEMONIC DEATH JUDGE (Skygods) - Very much in the Dopethrone mold of just tossing off the grooviest riffs you'll ever hear as casually and as naturally as breathing, but throw in a Pink Floyd sensibility and you've gone from the head numbing to the mind expanding.  Very addictive stuff.  Read my review.  Download it here.  Highlights include "Skygods" and "Salomontaari".  Rating 4/5

October 5 - Spiders (Flash Point)

October 6 - OWL (First Album) - If one were to take the tone, attitude and sensibilities of Bay Area quartet Owl and paint it on the side of a van the resulting mural would depict dragons and motorcycles.  70s inspired hard rock with progressive tendencies and punky moments too.  Read my original review.  Get it here.  Highlights include "Medicine Mirror" and "Glaurung".  Rating 4/5

October 8 - Talis (G.L.O.T.)

October 9 - ICHABOD (Dreamscapes From Dead Space) - One of the year's best right here.  A psychedelic metal masterpiece.  So many standout moment it makes my head spin, "Looking Glass" and "Baby Yaga" to name a couple.  "108" had the critics chattering and raving.  The good news about the new year just keeps piling up as Ichabod is set to release their follow-up effort 'Merrimack' sometime in 2013.  I haven't heard any of it but I've got a strong feeling you'll be reading about them here this time next year as well.  Read my interview with Ichabod.  Read my review of DfDS.  Get the album here.  Highlights include "Huckleberry" and "All Your Love".  Rating 4.5/5

October 9 - LORD FOWL (Moon Queen) - Another in a long line of great Small Stone releases this year.  This New England band's clean 70s rock sound is not the kind of thing I would have imagined I'd be into when the year started, but Moon Queen is stuffed with insanely catchy hooks. This is their second album and first on Small Stone.  Get it here.  Highlights include "Woman King" and "Streets of Evermore".  Rating 4/5

October 11 - Beastwars (Tower of Skulls 7" single)

October 11 - Zosimos (ST Demo)

October 13 - Bottlecap (ST)

October 19 - Bevar Sea (ST)

October 22 - Bison B.C. (Lovelessness)

October 22 - THE SWORD (Apocryphon) - Awesome old school metal with a sci fi sheen.  This was my first taste of The Sword and I found that its blade cuts deeply and eternally.  The album also features terrific cover art by none other than my favorite comic book artist, The Great J.H. (Jim) Williams III.  Read my review.  Get it here.  Highlights include "Dying Earth" and "The Veil of Isis".  Rating 4.5/5

October 23 - BEDEMON (Symphony of Shadows) - This was another of my most highly anticipated albums of the year.  Old school doom from a real old school doom metaller.  Before there was Saint Vitus, before there was Witchfinder General, there was Bedemon.  This album happens to be really good, too.  Read my review.  Get it here.  Highlights include "Saviour" and "Lord of Desolaton".  Rating 4/5

October 23 - Doommantia,  Vol. 1

October 23 - MOS GENERATOR (Nomads) - Just a great hard rock record, the Washingtonians' first on Ripple Music.  So many awesome hooks it's ridiculous, "Can't Get Where I Belong", "This is the Gift of Nature" and "Lonely One Kenobi" to name a few.  Solid hard rockin' stuff from front to back.  Read my review.  Get it here.  Highlights include "Cosmic Ark" and "For Your Blood".  Rating 4.5/5

October 24 - Mammoth Thunderpower (I Am Thunder EP)

October 27 - NECRONOMICON (The Queen of Death) - Brazilian power trio Necronomicon's second release is a sacrificial ceremony on wax.  Combining the best elements of doom, Bay Area psychedelic rock from the mid 60s and occult themes their music is a red and black structure with green compartments.  Big riffs and sugary melodies draw the listener in for the schitzophrenic twists and turns the music takes.  Read my review.  Get it for the jaw droppingly low price of FREE on bandcamp.  Highlights include "The Queen of Death" and "The Assassin's Song".  Rating 5/5

October 30 - Indian Handcrafts (Civil Disobedience For Losers)

October 30 - Neurosis (Honor Found in Decay)

October 30 - VENOMOUS MAXIMUS (Beg Upon The Light) - From one of underground metals brightest hopes to one of its brightest lights in under 12 months, Houston, Texas' Venomous Maximus unleashed the most unexpected album of the year, having switched gears from a fairly straightforward, but particularly good, stoner doom approach to a pure old school heavy metal assault.  The band is beginning to fulfill their destiny with 'Beg Upon The Light' garnering a ton of attention from bigger websites and in print.  They've made many a pundit's year end list and they have here as well.  Find it here.  Highlights include "Path of Doom" and "Give Up the Witch".  Rating 4.5/5

October 31 - Albino Python (The Haunter of the Dark single)

October 31 - Atragon (Wallowing Wizard single)

October 31 - GOAT BONG (Goat Worship & Sodomy) - The work of a single madman, "Dirty" Mike Alcala, GW&S is a heavily synthesized instrumental doom riot.  "Sex, Drugs and Satan" is the motto on Goat Bong's bandcamp page and that certainly plays out on the 6-song EP, with plenty of humor, samples and riffs.  Highlights include "The Lost Art of Bong Rips" and "Cannabis Sativa Luciferi".  Rating 3.5/5

October 31 - MAGE (Black Sands) - Leicester, England quintet Mage play a burly style of mossy stoner doom.  This is their first full length album, full of big riffs and some very memorable songs.  Aside from those listed below "Danse Macabre", "Degenerate" and "Witch of the Black Desert" are standout tracks.  Good mix of stoner and doom by way of the desert.  Read my review.  Find it here.  Highlights include "Cosmic Cruiser X" and "Drowning Doom".  Rating 4/5

October 31 - Manlord (ST)

Best Album From October 2012:
'The Queen of Death' by NECRONOMICON

Best Song From October 2012:
"The Haunter of the Dark" by ALBINO PYTHON