2025 Top Ten Stoner Rock Albums (#10-1)

Of course, there are great albums I'm unaware of, but here are my top ten favorite albums I've bought this year:

 

#10: Death Wheelers: The Ecstasy Of Möld

The Death Wheelers get better with each release.  They are now my favorite instrumental stoner rock band.  Every track on this is perfect, and if you told me it should be #1 on the list, I wouldn't argue.

#9: Nightstalker: Return From The Point Of No Return

I've always loved Nightstalker, and this is one of their best albums.  It soothes my soul.

#8: Dozer: Rewind To Return: Rarities, Singles And B-Sides

The fact that Dozer had this much quality unreleased music blows me away.  Even though this is older music, these gems were released this year, making this a top 10 album of the year.

#7: Stonebirds: Perpetual Wastelands

I didn't like this a lot the first time I played it, but I did seek it out again and started a sequence of events which resulted in every single one of these tunes being cemented in my head.

#6: Froglord: Metamorphosis

Froglord does not disappoint!!!

#5: The Riven: Visions Of Tomorrow

In a different era, I think this band would have been huge.  Great musicians and songwriters, and a flawless album.

#4: Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs Pigs: Death Hilarious

This album is also perfect.  The creativity along with the sheer heaviness of their sound makes this band special.  I was close to making this album #1

#3: Wish You Were Here - Pink Floyd - 50 Years Later

An impressive addition to the "50 Years Later" series of tribute albums.  Again, a situation where I didn't like all these covers at first, but they wormed their way into my head to the point where I love every single one.

2: Motorpsycho: Motorpsycho

Motorpsycho are consistently operating on a different plane than everybody else.  How they have been this good for this long is mind-boggling.

#1: Brimstone Coven: The Light Shines Not For Thee

How does anything beat that Motorpsycho album?  While I can't rationalize the answer, I can say that I've just played this one more often.  I've been playing it since I bought it, and that makes it my favorite album of 2025.

Happy New Year!!!!

I didn't have time to make posts for these, but if you're interested, you can find my #30-21 album picks here, and my #20-11 album picks here

Merry Christmas

 

Here's a bunch of good stuff I've been meaning to share:

MOTORPSYCHO

2025's self-titled album is one of Motorpsycho's very best, and that's no small claim.  Motorpsycho has been putting out innovative rock for over three decades, and has not lost its edge in the least.  Calling them Norway's answer to Yes helps describe their talent and creativity, but not their sound.  Here are a couple of my favorites, from one of the very best albums of the year:

This one is what it would sound like if Steppenwolf and Yes had a baby:

And this one shows the band's versatility, with all kinds of classic rock influences:

Motorpsycho's current lineup is two of the original members:

Bent Sæther – lead vocals, bass, guitars, keyboards, drums 

Hans Magnus "Snah" Ryan – lead guitars, vocals, keyboards, mandolin, violin, bass 

KADAVAR:  KIDS ABANDONING DESTINY AMONG VANITY AND RUIN

Kadavar's first album of the year, "I Just Want To Be A Sound", emphasized just how versatile these German rock legends are, and their second album puts a gratuitous quadruple exclamation point on that idea.  The range of musical ideas between these two albums is enormous, and just about every single one of the nineteen tracks will worm its way into your brain and get stuck there for days on end.  Try these two on for size:

The leadoff track says "You thought we went soft?  Think again!"

Track 3 says "You thought this was a heavy album?  This is all kinds of rock, swirled together and it's about to get stuck in your head for good!"

Kadavar are:

Christoph "Lupus" Lindemann – guitars, vocals 

Christoph "Tiger" Bartelt – drums 

Simon "Dragon" Bouteloup – bass 

Jascha Kreft – guitars, keyboards 

And now for two more traditional heavy rock albums:

WINDS OF NEPTUNE

Three veterans of multiple Detroit rock bands came together and produced this masterpiece.

Throwback rock and roll, masterfully executed.

The lead track sets the tone:

And here's another one of my favorites:

Winds of Neptune are:

Ross Westerbur: bass, vocals
Mike Alonso: drums
Kevin Roberts: guitar

WOLFTOOTH: WIZARD'S LIGHT

This Indiana band is not trying to do anything other than satisfy your need for kick-ass rock and roll.  Another winner of an album in late 2025.

This is the track they steer you to on Bandcamp:

And this is another one I love.  Reminds me of about a million tunes I used to rock out to in my teens:

Wolftooth are:

Terry McDaniel: Bass

Jeff Cole: Guitar

Chris Sullivan: Vocals, Guitar

Jeremy Lovins: Guitar

Shane Shook: Drums

Hope you had a great Christmas and got quality time with your family.  Now lull yourself to sleep with all this fine "stoner rock".

Peace!

Happy Thanksgiving

 

I really enjoyed this era of metal; what about you?

This is 25 years old now, but seems like yesterday.

Happy Thanksgiving!

 STONEBIRDS: PERPETUAL WASTELAND

This French band from Brittany has been around since 2008 but are new to me.  Thanks to Ripple Music, I have found them and will definitely be checking out their earlier releases next.  I find this album addictive, and more engaging with each listen.  I love all six tracks, but these are two of my favorites:

 

Stonebirds are:

Fañch Le Corre : Vocal / Guitars
Antoine Delhumeau: Drums
Sylvain Collas : Bass/vocal

Released Yesterday...New Brimstone Coven

 

BRIMSTONE COVEN:

THE LIGHT SHINES NOT FOR THEE

I've only had this for a day, but it's already one of my top few favorite albums of the year, and one of my favorites from this band.

Brimstone Coven are from West Virginia.  They are:

Corey Roth: Guitar, Vocals

Andrew D'Cagna: Bass, Vocals

Dave Trik: Drums, Vocals

You can find this stoner rock/stoner doom gem here on Bandcamp

-ULTRA

 

Sölicitör: Enemy In Mirrors

Seattle's Sölicitör is back with a full-length old-school heavy metal album, not sounding like, 

but clearly influenced by bands like Metal Church and Judas Priest

Sölicitör are (were):

Matthew Vogan - guitars
Patrick Fry - guitars
Damon Cleary-Erickson - bass
Johan Waymire - drums
Amy Lee Carlson - vocals

I say "were", because guitar player Patrick Fry has just left the band, and they are currently looking for a replacement.  If interested, see their Facebook page for requirements and how to apply for the job.

You can find this banger of an album on Bandcamp here.

Stoner Rock Playlist #61

 

My latest playlist;  Share with someone else if you like it.