2012 Chronicle (Year in review) part 11 - Best of November

November 1 - Black Overdrive (ST)

November 1 - Motherslug (ST)

November 1 - TORF (Doomed Youth EP)

November 3 - MOLIOR SUPERUM (Into the Sun) - Sweden is the home to a disproportionate number of excellent bands and this quartet of heavy psych rockers are among the top of that list  'Into the Sun' is a very accomplished and high energy debut.  Read my review.  Get it here.  Highlights include "Decibel Grand" and "Towards the Haze".  Rating 4/5

November 4 - HARVESTER (The Blind Summit Recordings) - This Irish quartet follow very much in the footsteps of their forefathers and fellow countrymen Thin Lizzy.  This 6 song EP offers no dull moments and a headspinning array of twin guitar pyrotechnics.  Available for FREE download on bandcamp.  Highlights include "Circle Eater" and "Cosmonautical Mile".  Rating 4/5

November 5 - Galvano (Two Titans)

November 6 - Graveyard (Lights Out)

November 6 - Hornss (The Red Death single)


November 9 - ARKHAM WITCH (Legions of the Deep) - Old School metal quartet  with elements of doom from Keighley, England, featuring two thirds of Lamp of Thoth.  So much of this album is standout material, there's hooks and riffs galore and this album is littered with reference to the work of Robert E. Howard and H.P. Lovecraft, etc.  Come upon it here.  Highlights include "The Cloven Sea" and "David Lund".  Rating 4/5


November 9 - SEAMOUNT (IV: Earthmother) - German 'dark rock' trio with the great Phil Swanson on vocals, Seamount's fourth album is an emotional journey with an open wound honesty in both lyrics and musical accompaniment, and this album spans the spectrum of emotions. Read my review.  Find it here.  Highlights include "Everything Divine" and "Aphrodite's Child".  Rating 4/5

November 10 - LORD OF THE GRAVE (Green Vapour) - I'll never forget the one line from Doomentor at the Sludgelord blog: "If Lord of The Grave’s sound had a physical presence it would have the texture of a dug up decomposing dead warrior Orc".  That pretty much sums it up better than I could, but here's my review anyway.  Get 'Green Vapour'. Highlights include "Horsepuncher" and "Raping Zombies".  Rating 4/5

November 12 - Cultura Tres (El Mal Del Bien)

November 12 - Golden Void (ST)


November 12 - Hound (Spirits Are Appearing)


November 13 - CORROSION OF CONFORMITY (Megalodon EP) - The core trio of CoC made it two terrific releases in a single year with this FREE download and CD (only available at the live show at the moment, vinyl coming soon).  Five songs building off of the new foundations the band laid with their self-titled album in February and expanding on them to get back to a bigger southern rock sound.  The punkier side of the band still comes out but takes more of a backseat on this EP to the monster riffs.  See my review (Corrosion of Conformity did!). Highlights include "Feed On" and "Megalodon".  Rating 4.5/5

November 13 - Soundgarden (King Animal)

November 13 - WO FAT (The Black Code) - Wo Fat's third album was one of the year's best stoner blues albums and one of the best from Small Stone records.  Five songs, three of them reaching past the ten minute mark, for 46 minutes of pure Texas funk.  'The Black Code' is a hit on numerous levels: it's catchy and it's smart without being overly cerebral.  The heavy slabs of blues funk appeal on a visceral level, indeed the song structures themselves, born of extended jam then pared down on each subsequent read through, are crafted from 'feel' rather than strict intellectual exercise.  Read my original review.  Get it here.  Highlights include "Lost Highway" and "Hurt At Gone".  Rating 5/5

November 14 - STICKY DIGIT (ST) - Irish stoner / grunge rockers Sticky Digit's debut full length is a terrific blend of Seattle and Desert rock.  There's much more to it than that, but their blending of various 90s era influences creates a wholly modern and unique sound.  Their use of minor chord harmonies is especially effective.  Read my review.  Get it here.  Highlights include "Crazy" and "Bad Things".  Rating 4/5

November 14 - THREE SEASONS (Understand The World) - A standout entry in the field of prog from Uppsala, Sweden, this would have been a standout in the original prog era of the early 70s, of which this album really sounds like.  There's some top flight material on this album and this band is at the forefront of this Golden Age of Swedish Rock.  Read my review.  Find it here.  Highlights include "Searching" and "Set In Stone".  Rating 4/5

November 14 - WHEELFALL (Interzone) - Epic stoner rock with great riffs and a hypnotic attitude, this French foursome's much lauded debut full length is a downtuned wet fuzz dream come true.  It's not often you hear a stoner rock band attempt a 20+ minute song, but Wheelfall does it.  Lot of great French releases in 2012, 'Interzone' is near the top.  Get it here.  Highlights include "It Comes From The Mist" and "Holy Sky".  Rating 4.5/5

November 16 - Glitter Wizard (Hunting Gatherers)


November 22 - BLACK SPACE RIDERS (Light is the New Black) - This is a very interesting release from a German space / stoner rock quartet.  A lot of the song titles have bracketed subtitles which creates the impression that the band has so many ideas they don't know what to do with them all, this abundance of ideas comes across in the music.  Check it out.  Highlights include "Digging Down" and "Startrooper".  Rating 4/5

November 22 - The Future Has Beens (Black Death)

November 25 - THE QUARTET OF WOAH! (Ultrabomb) - This Portuguese band's debut album is a very impressive, indeed staggering clash of styles and influences that create one of the most unique listening experiences of the year.  With styles ranging from the likes of Yes to solo John Lennon to Truckfighters this album is a real headswirler and worth anybody's time to check it out.  Highlights include "The Ultrabomb" and "Taste of Hate".  Rating 4/5

November 28 - THE SHOOTERS (Planet of the Black Sun) - If you like good, uptempo hard rock you should do yourself a favor and check out this excellent album, after all, you can pay whatever you want, even $0, it's up to you.  Every song is great, there's no filler and no fooling around, it's just great straight up fuzzy hard rock. Highlights include "Desert Sun" and "Against the Storm".  Rating 4.5/5

November 28 - White Bone Rattle (Creature of Curiosity)

November 29 - Albino Python (The Doomed and the Damned)

November 30 - Midnight Zombie Alligator (Nova Sico)

November 30 - THE WANDERING MIDGET (From the Meadows of Opium Dreams) - One day down the dusty path of my life I will consider most of the albums that I've been spotlighting here in my year in review posts to be classics.  But of all the amazing records that dropped in 2012 the one above all others that just screamed Instant Classic from the very beginning was this album right here.  It's not my most played and it's not my personal favorite of the year but I know quality songwriting when I hear it.  This is doom at its most epic and is an album that will know heavy rotation for years to come.  Maybe I won't listen to it all the time, but one year, five years, ten years down the road this one will get dusted off and listened to again and again because it is timeless. Highlights include "Prince of Fire" and "Follow the Forest Lights".  Rating 5/5

Best Album From November 2012:
'From the Meadows of Opium Dreams' by THE WANDERING MIDGET

Best Song From November 2012:
"Lost Highway" by WO FAT

Hour of Power 11/03/12 (playlist)

Highlights from the week of 10/28/12 - 11/03/12

1. Mammuten (Mamont / Passing Through the Mastery Door)
2. Cosmic Ark (Mos Generator / Nomads)
3. Why Dontcha (West, Bruce & Laing / Why Dontcha)
4. Colossus (Mount Fuji / ST)
5. Black Coven (Pale Divine / Painted Windows Black)
6. The River (Octopus / Restless Night)
7. Lost Highway (Wo Fat / The Black Code)
8. Prince of Fire (The Wandering Midget / From the Meadows of Opium Dreams)
9. Path Through the Forest (The Factory / Path Through the Forest)
10. Crows in Swine (Red Fang / single)
11. Sweetish (Bison, Bison / ST)
12. On Love (Skip Bifferty / The Story of Skip Bifferty)
13. Gospel of Mary (Vinum Sabbatum / Bacchanale Premiere)

The Wandering Midget - From the Meadows of Opium Dreams (album review)

There's something very distinctive about Finnish doom bands that I can barely articulate, there's an aurally organic quality to them.  What would you call it?  Earthy, wooden, oaken, bark-y?  I don't know, but there's something heavy to the vibe that goes way beyond what the instruments are pumping out.  It's weighty and resonant and reminds me of a massive old growth tree, full of wisdom and unspoken secrets.  It`s heavy the way your drunk dad wanted to have a chat with you as soon as you stumbled through the door on Friday night, you understand?  It's some serious music, sobering even.

This isn't some tongue-in-cheek, weekend fun doom album, this is the real thing.  The Wandering Midget appear to take their jobs very seriously as doomsters and to great effect.  The tones of this album are somber and mournful with a hint of wonderment and it absolutely radiates those elements.  It's a drugged trip through a dark forest and you don't know if the gnomes want to help you or eat you until you get to the end of the trail, but until then you got to trust them.

I've never been a big fan of long songs, unless the structure is suitably expansive to match the length and keep my attention.  Longer songs don't necessarily warrant repeated plays for some reason, I assume it's because if they're not that interesting, then it's too long, you skip it, and if the song is great, the length makes a single listen more satisfying so you don't have to keep going back.  Songs like "Echoes" for example have been the exception rather than the norm.  This album is full of exceptions.  I never thought I'd be drawn back so often to songs 20, 12 and 17 minutes long all in a row, all in one sitting, but I am.  They are songs that don't get boring or drawn out or lose focus half way through.  It's slow, big and epic without being lumbering, plodding or tedious.  These are songs to revisit.  There are plenty of dynamics to chew on and that is a welcome element of structure, but it's the high quality of the riffs brings me back.  The last five minutes or so of "Follow the Forest Lights", exemplifies everything I've been trying to get across about this album.  It's a passage of music that just leaves me speechless.  The performance, the recording, the riff, the lyrics, the solo, the dynamics, everything, it's just ... wow.

This was one of my most highly anticipated albums of the year and it delivered in an epic way.

Highlights include: "Prince of Fire" and "Follow the Forest Lights"

Rating: 5/5



From: Lappeenranta, Finland

Genre: Traditional Doom Metal, Epic Doom Metal

Reminds me of: Black Sabbath, Candlemass, Grave Siesta

Release Date: November 30, 2012

Suggested listening activity for fellow non-stoners: Finding your way out of the forest, avoiding gnomes at all costs.

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