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)

2012 Chronicle (Year in review) part 2 - Best of February

February 2 - GravelRoad (Psychedelta)

February 6 - The Future Has Beens (ST)

February 10 - GHOST TOWER (Head of Night) - Really good old school metal by way of traditional doom from this Nebraskan duo.  I was awestruck by the vocalist Ameven who sounds just like Zeeb Parkes of Witchfinder General.  Head of Night was recorded as a three piece but membership has since dropped to core duo Ameven and Matt Parker.  Find it here.  Highlights include "... Of Untimely Death" and "Ninth Tooth of the Gravekeeper's Grin".  Rating 3.5/5

February 12 - RED HOT REBELLION (ST) - If all you want is some uber sleazy rock & roll in the AC DC vein, then congratulations, you've found it.  Red Hot Rebellion's full length debut is hard rock in its purest, dirtiest form.  Ultra aggressive lyrics and riffage loaded with swagger, RHR create anthems for drunken rowdies.  Get the "soundtrack to a bar fight" here. Highlights include "Hellfire" and "Devil's Rope".  Rating 4.5/5

February 14 - DEAD SOUTHERN BISHOP (Hymns of Malice & Discontent) - With their second EP, Dead Southern Bishop offered up some of the hardest heaviest grooves since Pantera or 90s era Fear Factory while still managing to be distinctly doom.  It's just wave after crushing wave of relentless doom grooves.  Unearthly vocals and one of the heaviest guitar sounds around, period.  This is the sound of hot nights with hell just below your feet, claustrophobia inducing doom.  They've been playing a lot of shows this year, opening for bigger acts, this is the kind of band that deserves more exposure.  Free dl here. Highlights include "Malice" and "White Trash Queen".  Rating 4/5

February 14 - GOATWHORE (Blood for the Master) - Normally, I stay clear of anything death metal, but Goatwhore's fusion of blackened thrash and death metal does more than simply turn up the distortion, they have great riffs and decipherable lyrics that are worth listening to.  Goatwhore's 5th album was a real highlight. Highlights include "When Steel and Bone Meet" and "Embodiment Of This Bitter Chaos".  Rating 4.5/5

February 14 - ORANGE GOBLIN (A Eulogy for the Damned) - February saw a lot of major album releases, the return of Orange Goblin after a five year silence among the very biggest.  The band rose to the occasion with 10 songs of solid rock and metal.  Mostly, the band kept things simple, great riffs with solid rhythms and catchy vocal melodies.  What more could one ask for?  aEftD does have its epic moments in "Death of Aquarius" and the title track which repeats the main riff endlessly to close the album.  It will get stuck in your head.  Most of these songs will.  Get it here.  Highlights include "Red Tide Rising" and "The Filthy and the Few".  Rating 4.5/5

February 17 - Fister (Violence)

February 18 - SUPERTZAR (Funeral Blues EP) - From Finland came a fuzz freakfest featuring an excellent vocalist.  Bands named after Black Sabbath songs never disappoint.  Supertzar's blend of desert/doom fired on all cylinders.  Download it for free on their bandcamp page and have your hair blown back and your socks knocked clean off.  Highlights include "Funeral Blues" and "Water on Mars".  Rating 4.5/5

February 21 - PALLBEARER (Sorrow & Extinction) - After an impressive demo in 2010 had the critics raving, this Arkansas based epic doom band did not disappoint with their full-length debut.  Combining accomplished musicianship and skill with a depth of complex yet logical ideas, there's not much to dislike here, though I admit it took me a couple plays before any particular track or riff or melody jumped out and grabbed me.  But when they did, they bit in for keeps.  You can grab Sorrow & Extinction on the Profound Lore records website here.  Highlights include "Devoid of Redemption" and "Given To The Grave".  Rating 4.5/5

February 23 - Witchstone (EP)

February 25 - Across Tundras / Hellbender split 7" single

February 25 - IRON MTN (ST) - L.A.'s doom quartet Iron Mtn unleashed one of the best  instrumental releases of the year in their fuzzy and uptempo self-titled demo.  The original CD version sold out and is now in its second pressing, limited to 150 copies.  Get your copy or simply download it for free here.  Highlights include "Land Air Sea Sick" and "The Mountain God".  Rating 4/5

February 28 - Infernal Overdrive (Last Rays of the Dying Sun)

February 28 - CORROSION OF CONFORMITY (ST) - Well there's really nothing much to say other than it doesn't get any better than this.  So many highlights, so many moments that get stuck in the head and refuse to come out.  The only proper exorcism is another spin, which is exactly why this was my most played album of 2012.  The three core members of CoC weren't planning on making this album when they got together and started rehearsing for some gigs that never happened, but this is what just spilled out of them organically.  Incredibly solid album.  Download it here.  Highlights include "Psychic Vampires" and "The Moneychangers".  Rating 4.5/5

February 28 - SUMMONER (Phoenix) - I don't know why and I don't know how but Boston produces excellent stoner doom bands like they're coming out of a factory. Summoner is very much of the Black Pyramid, almost punkish school of doom.  Their high energy album is loaded with headspinning moments and it features one of the best songs of the year in "The Interloper".  Get it here.  Highlights include "The Interloper" and "Conjuring".  Rating 4/5

Best Album of February 2012:
'Corrison of Conformity' by CORROSION OF CONFORMITY

Best Song of February 2012:
"Red Tide Rising" by ORANGE GOBLIN