This is a split between High Desert Queen and Blue Heron, two stoner rock bands from the US.
High Desert Queen open the split. They contribute three songs, with a total duration of 13 minutes. Continue reading “Turned to Stone Chapter 8: The Wake – High Desert Queen/Blue Heron – Split (Review)”
Gozu are a stoner/grunge band from the US and this is their fifth album.
Remedy contains 49 minutes of stoner rock and metal mixed with a healthy dose of grunge. Imagine a mix of Clutch, Alice in Chains, Soundgarden, Black Sabbath, Corrosion of Conformity, and Mastodon, and you’ll have a decent idea of where Gozu are coming from. Continue reading “Gozu – Remedy (Review)”
Green Yeti are a Greek psychedelic doom metal band and this is their third album.
Yes folks, it’s time for a new Green Yeti album. If you have had your fill of 2016’s The Yeti Has Landed and 2017’s Desert Snow and are eager for new material, the 44 minutes of Necropolitan has finally landed. Continue reading “Green Yeti – Necropolitan (Review)”
This is the third album from Morass of Molasses, a stoner rock/metal band from the UK.
Following on from 2019’s The Ties That Bind, End All We Know contains 38 minutes of fuzzed-out jams. Playing a stoner-inflected brand of heavy blues that benefits from metal and rock components, Morass of Molasses bring us an individual vision of a well-worn style. Continue reading “Morass of Molasses – End All We Know (Review)”
This is the debut album from Norwegian stoner/sludge metal band Håndgemeng.
Ultraritual provides us with 42 minutes of stoner/sludge metal that has a hardcore edge. Taking a high energy approach to riff-focused heavy music, yet varied within this, Ultraritual is a melting pot of influences that come together well. Continue reading “Håndgemeng – Ultraritual (Review)”
This is the fourth album from US psychedelic doom/stoner band Rezn.
Rezn’s sound combines the base elements of stoner, doom, and heavy psych into music that is far more adventurous and idiosyncratic than that of many ostensibly similar acts. For a start, there’s a shimmering shoegaze influence apparent on Solace that’s unexpected, but that manages to work its way into much of the material here. Continue reading “Rezn – Solace (Review)”
This is the debut album from German doom metal band Daevar.
With a promo blurb that states this is for fans of bands like Windhand, Monolord, Black Sabbath, Sleep, and Paradise Lost, Delirious Rites delivers 33 minutes of hypnotic gloom for the listener to get lost in. Continue reading “Daevar – Delirious Rites (Review)”
Dust Prophet are a US doom/stoner band from the US and this is their debut album.
One Last Look upon the Sky delivers 54 minutes of charismatic music. A sandy mix of stoner, doom, psychedelic, and progressive rock/metal, Dust Prophet provide the listener with a warm and gritty example of the style. Continue reading “Dust Prophet – One Last Look upon the Sky (Review)”
So here we are again. It’s December, and year end lists are flying around like shrapnel. Due to the inherent subjectivity of music it’s always interesting to see what people have made of the preceding year.
For me, I made a concerted effort to drag myself away from the depths of black metal’s always-enticing abyss to spend some more time with other genres and styles that I also love. I said something similar last year, but I feel this year I was more successful in achieving that end. Of course, I still love black metal, still listen to it constantly, and you’ll still find some great examples of the blackened arts in the list below.
2022 was a strong year for death metal for me, and I enjoyed more death metal bands in a deeper way than I have done for some time. In every year there are standout releases, but I felt this year the standard was raised throughout. Possibly I was simply more receptive to it. Either way, you’ll find more death metal-related acts, and in higher spots, in this selection than you’ll have seen in my lists for a while.
As with last year, grindcore was largely absent from my year, disappointingly, as was hardcore. Additionally, the sort of lengthy, ugly, abyssal doom that I love so much has been largely lacking too. It’s all probably out there somewhere, but I didn’t catch it.
The top two spots this year are both claimed by albums/bands/styles that I simply could not have predicted would be at the pinnacle of my list by the year’s end, (one of the bands I hadn’t even heard of in January). I hope you enjoy these excellent records even half as much as I do.
Lastly I just want to say a big thank you to any and all that might read this site. It’s only a small endeavour, and I do it purely for the love of all things METAL and to support bands that I enjoy in whatever minor way I can, but if this is you, a heartfelt thank you for enduring my scribblings.
On to it! Continue reading “Wonderbox Metal End of Year List – Best Metal of 2022”
-(16)- are a sludge metal band from the US and this is their ninth album.
Ever since hearing and really enjoying 2020’s Dream Squasher, I’ve been looking forward to its follow up. And now it’s here; Into Dust contains 44 minutes of filth and fury for us to be entertained by. Continue reading “-(16)- – Into Dust (Review)”
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