The Top 5 Doom, Drone, and Psych Gems You Missed in April
Our picks for April’s most under-appreciated releases feature some shiny new faces and bands that have rocked our socks before.
Stoner Doom from Copenhagen
From the world of stoner doom, Goatsmoker brings us the growling single Gods of Gunzilla. The band’s Insta describes the track as “doomy AF.” True to their word, Goatsmoker delivers six minutes of face-squashing, slab-dragging goodness. This trudging track is the second single since their debut album in 2022.
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Sludge Doom from British Columbia
For those of you who like our doom niiiiiiice and sludgy, it’s time to shake hands with severed arm. Their new 4-track LP, Reaching Murderous for the Banker’s Neck, is visceral and hideous. You won’t be able to turn away. Samples from Werner Herzog movies and other nihilistic works act as sutures keeping this throbbing abomination from leaking pus everywhere. Strap on your PPE and wade into the plodding, down-tuned sludge.
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Psychedelic Metal from Poland
This isn’t the first time we’ve covered a The Howling Eye release, and with the mind-melting psych they’ve been putting out, it probably won’t be the last. This month the Polish trio released a recording of their show at Rifffields Festival 2022. All five songs drip with the energy and sizzle that only a live performance can offer. Things start out introspective and spacey with the medicated track, Erf. Intensity builds. We ride the rainbow for over 13 minutes, staggering through valleys and galloping over riff-topped peaks. The other tracks in the set are cherry-picked from The Howling Eye’s back catalog. Each piece is funkier and more psychotropic than the last. The gods of groove are smiling down at this offering.
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Psych Rock/Sludge from Phoenix
If sludgy desert rock curls your toes, then Phoenix psych fiends Slow Drawl have what you need. Their debut EP, Pile of Bones, will rattle your teeth and shake your coccyx. The bluesy riffs and punk swagger oozing out of Skeleton King send listeners careening through the Sonoran Desert on a peyote trip for the ages. It’s intoxicated, loose, and brassy. After all, “ Need some flesh. Got shit to do. I’ve got some books that are due back soon.”
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Drone Doom from Louisiana
Dhyana is a one-man dronesmith who shapes Buddhist meditation and doom metal together like sand in a zen garden. We’ve vibed with his mind-altering heavy drones once before… okay, twice. Bodhicitta is the band’s eighth full-length album since 2021, yet the sterling quality of Dhyana’s releases never waivers. Commenter Pat said it best,
“Wake up
See email
Buy Album
Every time.”
Spoken like a true acolyte, Pat. We’re with you.
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Don’t let these chunky nuggets from Goatsmoker, severed arm, The Howling Eye, Slow Drawl, and Dhyana get lost at the bottom of the bucket. Check them out on Bandcamp or wherever you buy music.
