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"This land. It's just unforgiving", says the opening of Judd Madden's concept album Artesian. The topic is the australian desert, its endless dry sands and abrasive sun. An image that's quite a reversal of the chill out vibes usually associated with desert rock. No, this desert is packed with pummeling instrumental post-doom from the same league as Bongripper. Music that progresses riff after riff with a continuous sense of uncompromising love and excitement. A testimony to Madden's uncanny talent as an independent solo musician, as he plays, records and masters everything himself. Clearly, one of the most interesting projects in doom metal today.

Judd Madden plays Curves of Creeks Burnt Dry from his 2012 Artesian

mate, i just got into stoner and i'm looking for some recommendations of albums that where released this year. so if you could list your top three, what would they be?

Hey dude! Good for you man, this music kicks, you can talk to the musicians after the gigs, the crowd is usually older and a friendly bunch. I'm more on the doom side, so you're probably asking the wrong person :-) Be that as it may, my two favorite stoner releases this year were from Wight and Aleph Null. Have a look at stonerobixxx if you aren't already familiar with the blog, maybe you can find some cool stuff there. In any case, thanks for getting in contact!

The enchanting minimalism of True Widow's stonegaze is something to behold. Wonderful analog saturation carries the repetitious soundscape. A space that I find a pleasure to visit every time, filled with memories of Sonic Youth, alternative rock, stoner and even doom. It's this diversity and the incessant freshness of the riffs that makes Circumambulation a delight. Gaze on.

True Widows plays HW:R from their 2013 Circumambulation

&amp;lt;a href="http://truewidow.bandcamp.com/album/circumambulation" data-mce-href="http://truewidow.bandcamp.com/album/circumambulation"&amp;gt;Circumambulation by True Widow&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;

It's fairly common to hear bands that make stoner sound heavier by making it closer to doom. Slower riffs, variations around the tritone, that sort of thing. Mandala, a stoner 4-piece from Berlin, have a different approach. Their sound leans in more towards metal and hard rock. Tense chromatic shifts and minor scales make for the heavier sound. Their debut from 2011 Fink is a show case of just how good this overlap can get. At times, you'd be forgiven for thinking you're listening to early Melvins, which is necessarily a good thing.

Playing in two weeks in Potsdam, so consider yourself warned!

Mandala plays ...And You´re So Wake That You Think That Song Is About You from their 2011 debut Fink

<a href="http://mandala.bandcamp.com/album/fink" data-mce-href="http://mandala.bandcamp.com/album/fink">Fink by Mandala</a>

German stoner rock? Sure, I've heard it. But with this live power? Don't think so. Wight mix solid songwriting and a clean production tone to deliver a sound that proudly crosses the boundary between space rock, stoner and, frankly, a bit of grunge, which is something I don't hear that often. And the vocals, man, the vocals. Both clear and rough around the edges. They're touring the UK as we speak, so head's up if you're nearby!

Wigth plays All Beyond The Piend Of Being from their 2013 Live auf 603qm

<a href="http://wight.bandcamp.com/album/live-auf-603qm" data-mce-href="http://wight.bandcamp.com/album/live-auf-603qm">Live auf 603qm by Wight</a>

Argentinian Post-rock / Post-metal outfit Un Tenue Caos have dropped an early EP this year as a teaser for their upcoming debut. These are two instrumental tracks with solid studio work and complementary approaches in terms of composition. The first one is more of a post-metal banger, while the second one goes down a more post-rock avenue. Both keep it light on the overall tension, but engaging and distinctly unpretentious. No wonder these guys keep playing gigs. I'm keep an eye out for their upcoming album.

Un Tenue Caos play Acéfalo from their 2013 EP

&amp;amp;amp;lt;a href="http://untenuecaos.bandcamp.com/album/ep-2013" data-mce-href="http://untenuecaos.bandcamp.com/album/ep-2013"&amp;amp;amp;gt;Ep 2013 by Un Tenue Caos&amp;amp;amp;lt;/a&amp;amp;amp;gt;

A whole lotta doom

Hi everyone.

Yesterday I posted the 52th weekly album on this blog. That's a whole year of amplifier worship, which makes this a birthday of sorts. To celebrate, I've put together a simple logo to give this blog a more official look.

To be honest, I wasn't sure things would come this far. It's been in utter shock that I've witnessed myself writing these silly reviews week after week . I love it. It's been a great experience and the music has been fucking awesome. From space rock to black metal, new and old, professional and amateur, and, of course, a whole lotta doom.

Let's see if we can make this work for another year. I think I'm better at this than I was at the beginning, so why stop now? There's still a bunch of stuff I'd like to do with this. I'd love to do mixtapes, even podcasting might be on the horizon. Who knows. We'll just have to wait and see.

Until then, cheers! Jorge

You know dark when you hear it. Slow, harsh, lo-fi. The German 4-piece Dartk Tharr has got it all. I love how the imminent funeral doom is alleviated with some stoner pentatonic licks and harmonic shifts. It withdraws the tension and fuels the excitement in an explosive and unexpected way. I love the delivery of the vocals, as the feminine growl always has a certain clarity to it. This is a great debut.

Dark Tharr play The Blinded from their 2013 debut.

<a href="http://darktharr.bandcamp.com/album/dark-tharr" data-mce-href="http://darktharr.bandcamp.com/album/dark-tharr">Dark Tharr by dark tharr</a>

The swedish trio Salem's Pot have unleashed psychedelic forces of the occult for their latest LP from February 2013. There's reverb, noisy garage production, hypnotising doom riffs, and a certain DIY irreverence that makes this release a fucking riot. Previous releases show a stronger funeral influence, but this latter incarnation is much more Electric Wizard. This makes it immediately familiar, with all the fuzz and heavy bass, but with an unmistakable energy and love for the form that makes it exciting.

Salem's Pot play Watch Me Kill You from their 2013 LP

<a href="http://salemspot.bandcamp.com/album/watch-me-kill-you-run-the-night" data-mce-href="http://salemspot.bandcamp.com/album/watch-me-kill-you-run-the-night">Watch Me Kill You/Run the Night by Salem's Pot</a>

Ever wondered how a great band sounded before they landed a record label deal? Deep, Vol. 1, is a self-published, self-recorded, self-produced album that sounds just like that. Bellow the abrasive, lo-fi production, lays a fundamental understanding of doom composition and riffs. Relentlessly creative, this album is packed with non-stop surprises and an overall sense of freshness that's simply contagious. These guys are going places. You heard it here first!

Deep play Sun from their 2013 Vol. 1

Minks, Belarus, is the headquarters for the 5-piece stoner/sludge outfit Coat. Their debut album Swamp, released last May, is an example of how to go balls-out on a first studio effort. The production is relentlessly noisy and lo-fi, from which the band extracts their immediate punch while staying at bay of sounding amateurish. Amateur is really the last thing on my mind, as the overall direction of the album is well-set and the execution highly efficient. This isn't these guys first time around the block, and hopefully Swamp will get them going around Europe. I sure as hell won't miss it.

Coat plays Hidden Hands from their 2013 Swamp

Released last year, but only recently debuted on the internet, is a split between two established bands in the american doom scene.

The prolific trio Ice Dragon present us with a lo-fi rendition of the occult. A classic 70's dark vibe with drowned out vocals and a killer doom riff that has been stuck in my mind ever since I heard it last year.

Fellwoods, on their side of the bargain, dare hide some truly infectious riffage after a forgettable acoustic intro. While the sound is also a throwback to the 70's, the production is in sharp contrast with that of Ice Dragon's. Crystal clear, bright and incisive. An elaborate complement for to garage approach of the Dragon.

<a href="http://icedragon.bandcamp.com/album/split-7-w-fellwoods" data-mce-href="http://icedragon.bandcamp.com/album/split-7-w-fellwoods">Split 7" w/ Fellwoods by Ice Dragon</a>

<a href="http://fellwoods.bandcamp.com/album/split-7-with-ice-dragon" data-mce-href="http://fellwoods.bandcamp.com/album/split-7-with-ice-dragon">Split 7" with Ice Dragon by Fellwoods</a>

It's taken 5 years, but Toner Low have finally dropped a new album. III is composed of 4 tracks adding up to almost 55 minutes of some of the best doom released this year. The band has abandoned the stoner anchor from their previous album and have left the riffs free to gravitate more towards drone. The result is nothing short of amazing.

And a word about the production. I was seriously taken aback by it. Each chord change is a fucking sonic landside. The low-end is gigantic, the wall of guitar fuzz is an electric monolith, and all this while maintaining space for the drums to expand on the mix. It's a victory, super-tight and absolutely stunning. Make sure to pump up the volume for this one.

Toner Low plays Phase Seven from their 2013 III

&lt;a href="http://tonerlow.bandcamp.com/track/phase-seven" data-mce-href="http://tonerlow.bandcamp.com/track/phase-seven"&gt;Phase Seven by Toner Low&lt;/a&gt;

Southern Lord has just released a remastered version of Sleep's Dopesmoker. You heard me. The original stoner magnum opus 4 years in the making. The hour-long cosmic journey between stoner and drone, where G is the gravitational pull accelerating the riffs.

It bears the question: since so much of the album is the sonic journey, how much of it can you really tweak? Well, apart from added clarity in the guitar and cymbals, and maybe some loudness, not much. The gain on the guitar is still insane, the bass still surfaces to the front of the mix on some sections, the solos are still double-dubbed like in Black Sabbath's Paranoid, the snare drum is still muddy. It's all still there, so it doesn't fall short, but dont' expect any surprises. Except for their chopping up of the mp3 version into 3 separate tracks (faded out, no less!).

Be that as it may, this album is still as original and exciting as it was 14 years ago. A personal favorite of mine I keep going back to. Rivalled, but still unmatched.

Sleep presents the 2013 re-release of their 1999 Dopesmoker.

<a href="http://sleepsl.bandcamp.com/album/dopesmoker" data-mce-href="http://sleepsl.bandcamp.com/album/dopesmoker">Dopesmoker by Sleep</a>

The boys are back in town. A new split between american instrumental doomer's Bonripper and dutch heavy riffers Conan has just hit the Internet, and it's quite a treat.

Bongripper's Zero Talent is probably their best track since Satan Worshipping Doom. A return to form that sounds as exciting as it ever was, filled with black metal, drones and the killer riffs that have put these guys in the forefront of the instrumental doom scene.

Conan's Beheaded is a massive 20 minute dose of cataclysmic doom riffs. While I do think Conan's lack of expansion in style makes their albums loose strength mid-way, this track in particular is a winner. It encapsulates perfectly the sort of congregational trance that makes doom shows unique.

Bonripper meets Conan for their 2013 split.

&amp;lt;a href="http://bongripper.bandcamp.com/album/bongripper-conan-split" data-mce-href="http://bongripper.bandcamp.com/album/bongripper-conan-split"&amp;gt;Bongripper / Conan Split by Bongripper&amp;lt;/a&amp;gt;

Contradictions make characters rich instead of inconsistent. A paradox evident in Undersmile's latest move - to release a split with their alter-ego Comma Wall. Is the split so drastic as to justify a different signature altogether?

Every since Opeth's Damnation, I think all bets are off. In either case, this is a great split. The first half by Comma Wall reminds me of Earth's Hex, but with the very particular droned-out choir the band's front women are known for delivering. The second half by Undersmile presents their traditional sludge sound, but with a heavier doom influence, a small shift in the direction presented in their debut album from last year. Transversing this split is the same sadness, the same eeriness. The expression is calm and almost passive in its first incarnation, only to become active and even destructive on its last incarnation. Sludge, unplugged.

Undersmile meets Coma Wall for their 2013 split Wood & Wire

<a href="http://shamanrecordings.bandcamp.com/album/wood-wire" data-mce-href="http://shamanrecordings.bandcamp.com/album/wood-wire">Wood & Wire by Coma Wall / Undersmile</a>

Earth are a household name in the alternative scene for being one of the most important percussors to drone. After a long hiatus in the late 90's, Earth returned in 2005 with an album that abandoned all ties to their signature sound. Nevertheless, compositions are still rooted in what made Earth distinct. A minimalistic approach to melody and songwriting, an emphasis on repetition and ambiance. Hex; Or Printing In The Infernal Method is when the droners got together to record an American lullaby.

Earth plays The Dirre And Ever Circling Wolves from their 2005 Hex: Or Printing in the Infernal Method

The Dirre And Ever Circling Wolves by Earth on Grooveshark

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