Heavy Metal Textbooks

2019 Top Twenty Stoner Rock Albums (#10-1)

Here are my top ten albums of 2019, as a playlist for those who have the time to listen.  
You can see my picks for albums #11 through 20 in the post below.
Each tune is one I've never posted or included in a playlist.  
Since these are the best albums of the year, they're deep enough that I don't need to 
re-post in order to make a great playlist:

          

#10: "Haze County" by Crypt Trip

          Is is possible for a throwback rock band 

          to sound more authentic than the actual   

          era they based their sound on?  Nobody
          does retro '70's rock better than Crypt Trip.  
          Top ten two years in a row

#9:    "Ancients" by Black Lung 
        

          Flawless rock album, top to bottom.  

          Fresh songwriting, expert production,
          great energy.  Can't say enough about
          this one    

#8:   "Reign Of The Orion" by Spaceslug

         Top ten three years in a row, Spaceslug 
         is not only prolific, but manage to   
         evolve with each album while  
         maintaining their disctinctive sound.
         One of the greatest heavy bands of
         this decade.




#7:    "Head Pains" by Rainbows Are Free

          I love this band.  Inspired songwriting,  
          great musicianship and elite vocals.
          I'm still finding new things to 
          appreciate in this album.

#6:   "Opera Villains" by Glitter Wizard

         This album is a masterpiece of hard

         rock, with as much thought put into it

         as a classic opera.  Not many bands 

         have produced an album this great.
         A timeless work of art.

#5:   "Death And Consolation" by The Well

          
        Distinctive songwriting, expert
        musicianship, and Ian and Lisa's 
        unique, haunting complementary
        vocals.  Another must-own release by
        one of the bands that put Austin Texas
        on the stoner rock map.

#4:   "Strange Vibration" by Skunk
          

        Here's another band that almost sounds 
        more like 1970's rock than the actual
        vintage bands themselves.  Brilliant 
        writing too.  Skunk sat at number 1 on
        my best albums list in 2017, and this

        album is just as good.  I'll be playing
        this album years from now.

#3:   "Doomus Abruptus, Vol. 1" 
          by Scissorfight

         Portsmouth, New Hampshire's stoner 
         rock legends have risen from the ashes 
         to bring us another raunchy, gritty and
         dirty stoner rock classic.  This album is 
         entertaining from beginning to end, 
         and maintains the unrelenting energy
         Scissorfight is known for.

#2:   "The Brink" by Solace

        Another seething, relentless classic from  
        one of my favorite stoner rock bands of 
        all time.  Worried about the loss of 
        vocalist Jason?  Fear not.  Solace has 
        knocked this one clear out of the park. 
        There isn't a Solace album that I don't
        still listen to, and now I have another.

#1:   "Fear Inoculum" by Tool

          

        When the greatest rock band of all time

        releases a new album, it naturally must 
        sit on top of any top ten list.  While it  
        can be easily argued that Tool isn't really
        a stoner rock band, it's inarguable that 
        Tool appeals to heavy metal, stoner,
        prog and classic rock fans alike.  Tool's 
        music is genius, and in a year when this
        band finally agreed to release their music 
        digitally, they have also set a new 
        standard for physical copies, with a video
                                                                        and music player included with the CD.

Stay safe tonight and make sure that rock music is played loud as you welcome in the new decade

-ULTRA