2024 #10 - #1 Best Stoner Rock Albums

 2024 Top Twenty Stoner Rock Albums (#10-1)

#10: Wizard Must Die: L'Or Des Fous

This French band has produced a perfect album.  The challenging melodies and rhythms, the layering of sound, the crescendos and decrescendos blew me away from the first listen, and continue to engage me as I find something new to appreciate each time I hear it.

#9: Wizzerd: Kronia / Saturnalia

Montana's Wizzerd released two albums this year.  Why create two smaller albums and not just one longer one?  When you hear them, you'll understand that they both have a different, unique vibe.  Kronia is more aggressive while Saturnalia is more trippy.  But together these albums represent monumental growth from a band who already had instant purchase status for me.

#8: Gnome: Vestiges of Verumex Visidrome

 Belgium's Gnome made my top 10 two years ago with King and have done it again with this instant classic.  This album is going to make a lot of kids want to be in a rock band, and will make a lot of rock bands want to learn these songs.  Truly what hard rock is all about.

#7: Black Pyramid: The Paths Of Time Are Vast

The fourth Massachusetts band in my top 30 (5th if you count Delving).  Black Pyramid not only released their first album in over a decade, but arose and absolutely destroyed.  Best Black Pyramid album, and a stoner doom triumph.

#6: Rifflord: 39 Serpent Power

South Dakota's Rifflord have always played a pedal-to-the-metal style of rock, mixing southern rock, stoner doom and straight-up metal in a unique way.  39 Serpent power shows an evolution in their songwriting however, blending all these influences in a cohesive way that makes you want to hear these tunes again and again and again.

#5: REZN: Burden

I bought my first REZN albums last year and then had the opportunity to see them live, opening up for Elder.  I was already on the bandwagon but when I heard "Burden", it was the perfection of everything I liked about the band.  The symbiotic conjuction of melodic and ultra-heavy is breathtaking at times.  REZN are from Chicago.

#4: High Desert Queen: Palm Reader

High Desert Queen are another band I first heard last year, when I purchased their split with Blue Heron.  Good old fashioned bass,drums, guitar and what I consider elite vocals.  Ryan just has a great rock voice.  Every tune here is a favorite for me, and their music videos for Palm Reader and especially Ancient Aliens are quite entertaining.  Another elite stoner rock band from Austin Texas.

#3: Slower: Slower / Rage And Ruin

Another band that chose two shorter albums over one longer release.  Between the two, we have seven drastically reimagined Slayer tunes along with four original tracks which fit in perfectly with the Slayer "covers".  Bob Balch collaborated with Amy Tung/Barrysmith, Esben Willems, Peter Bergstrand, Scott Reeder, and Laura Pleasants to produce these masterpieces.  Like the two Wizzerd releases, both of these must be owned together.  They are perfect complements to each other.  I may have already listened to these songs as many times as the Slayer classics they were inspired by, and I've listened to A LOT of Slayer in my years.

#2: Brant Bjork: Once Upon A Time In The Desert

If I were asked to pick a single artist that best exemplifies the sounds that the terms "Stoner Rock" and "Desert Rock" are supposed to represent, it wouldn't be Josh Homme or John Garcia; it would be Brant Bjork.  I'll bet if that man burps or farts, stoner rock comes out.  That being said, this combination of Brant, Mario Lalli and Ryan Güt has amplified the mojo five-fold.  Think of every album Brant has been involved in, and understand that this one is the best of them all.  

#1: Big Scenic Nowhere: The Waydown

Okay, so Bob Balch is on my albums #11, 3 and 1, and I'm pretty sure that makes him the 2024 guitar god.  However, an album with this amount of perfection would never have happened without Tony Reed.  Tony played bass and went genius-level in the studio to produce this masterpiece which for me, was never not going to be my #1 album, from my very first listen.

2024 #20 - #11 Best Stoner Rock Albums

 2024 Top Twenty Stoner Rock Albums (#20-11)

I'm confident that all of these albums in my #20-11 are, deservingly, in someone else's top 10. 

 

#20: Leather Lung: Graveside Grin

This Massachusetts band has great musicians, great songwriting, and "CHARASMA".  I have listened to this album on and off all year long.

#19: Black Elephant: The Fall Of The Gods

Back-to-back Black Elephant albums made my year-end top 20 lists.  More great Italian stoner rock.

#18: Mammoth Volume: Raised Up By Witches

When Mammoth Volume got back together, they didn't try to pick up where they left off.  Rather, they embarked on a mission to explore new ideas and boldly go where few bands have gone before.  Try to see how many different band influences you hear in some of these tunes; it's amazing

#17: Greenleaf: The Head & The Habit

While Mammoth Volume is definitely Swedish stoner rock royalty, Greenleaf is easily in the average person's top 5 Swedish stoner rock bands list.  Greenleaf has not slowed down, and have evolved their songwriting and production games.  As with the other albums in this list, this is top ten worthy.

#16: Mr. Bison: Echoes From The Universe

Three Italian bands in a row.  Mr. Bison leveled up on this album, being heavy and polished simultaneously.  There are Yes comparisons to be made at times.  This album is a ten out of ten 

#15: Free Ride: Acido y Puto

Can a Spanish band sound more like California desert rock than California desert rock itself?

Yes

#14: Monkey3: Welcome To The Machine

Sixth European band in a row, Monkey3 are from Switzerland.  These four words will say more than anything else I could write would:

Best Monkey3 album yet.

#13: Planet of Zeus: Afterlife

Make that seven European bands in a row.  There was a time when calling Planet Of Zeus "Greek Clutch" might have pointed you in the right direction, but Planet of Zeus have evolved so much, other bands should be flattered if they get compared to Planet of Zeus.  I wouldn't argue with you if you picked this one for #1 album of the year.

#12: Delving: All Paths Diverge

Nick DiSalvo lives in Germany now; do we call this the eighth European band in a row on this list, or the second Massachusetts band since that's where he started?  I like this as much as any Elder album.  Again, a number-one-worthy album

#11: Fu Manchu: The Return Of Tomorrow

This is instantly one of Fu Manchu's greatest albums, so it's got to be a special year for an album of this caliber not to be in my top 10.  Spoiler alert:  Bob Balch plays on three of my top 20 album picks

2024 #30 - #21 Best Stoner Rock Albums

 2024 Top Twenty Stoner Rock Albums (#30-21)

This is the first time I've ever done a year-end top 30, but I would argue that there was so much great music to come out this year that picking 20 albums wouldn't do the year justice.  I'm confident that all of these albums in my #30-21 are, deservingly, in someone else's top 10. 

 

#30: Duel: Breakfast With Death

Much more "In Your Face" than the previous album, "Breakfast With Death" rocks hard.

#29: 1,000 Mods: Cheat Death

Greek band 1000 Mods have been at it for a decade and a half, and keep getting better with each release 

#28: Cortez: Thieves And Charlatans

Another band that's been making great music for a long time and continues to get better and better.  Cortez is one of four Massachusetts bands to make my top 30 albums of the year

#27: Old Blood: Midnight Climax

Old Blood's "Acid Doom" was one of my favorite albums of 2020.  Here they are again, with a more polished and more musically diverse release that is well worth your time

#26: Sundrifter: An Earlier Time

This is a really impressive album.  Hints of Queens of the Stone Age, Radiohead and lots more.  Excellent songwriting and a unique sound.  Another band putting Massachusetts stoner rock on the map

#25: Sergeant Thunderhoof: The Ghost Of Badon Hill

Sergeant Thunderhoof produced my favorite album of 2022, and the fact that this gem of a follow-up  album is at #25 this year only goes to show how great of a year this has been for stoner rock

#24: UFOMAMMUT: Hidden

Italian masters of all that is heavy continue to tear the bottom end out of our speakers and to floor us with bone-crushing soundscapes.  Hidden is their most creative album yet.

#23: Melvins: Tarantula Heart

Another Melvins release, and another round of musical surprises.  As usual, it will take several listens to lock onto what these Melvins are laying down, but the reward is worth it.  There are usually a couple of tunes per Melvins album that I'm not into, but I very much appreciate every song on this one.

#22: Mirror Queen: Dying Days

A Mirror Queen album is an instant purchase for me, and this one is my favorite so far.  Mirror Queen for me are a modern-day Blue Oyster Cult: fantastically creative arrangements of classic hard-rock sounds

#21: The Obsessed: Gilded Sorrow

Doom legends for four decades now, The Obsessed graced us with this classic early in the year, and it's been getting consistent play here ever since.  Scott's guitar sound is unmistakable, and hall-of-fame worthy.

Creative, Noteworthy, And Just Plain Awesome

WIZARD MUST DIE: L ' OR DES FOUS

11/10 (a.k.a. This Goes To Eleven)

I gave Wizard Must Die's "In The Land Of The Dead Turtles" a glowing recommendation here, but almost never have I loved an album as quickly as I loved L'Or de Fous.  The title is French for Fool's Gold, but this album is real gold.  The amount of attention and detail that went into this album will surely rank it among the best of the decade.  The challenging melodies and rythms, the layering of sound, the crescendos and decrescendos blew me away from the first listen, and continue to engage me as I find something new to appreciate each time I hear it.  Don't think I am likening Wizard Must Die to Tool, but L'Or de Fous has the level of perfection of a Tool album (and actually Florent phrases his vocals in a similar fashion to Maynard at times).

Anyway, enough of my gushing; check out these two tracks that the band put together visuals for, but I can tell you lots more great moments await when you check out the other four tracks (The Disappearance of Camille Saint-Saëns is particularly awesome).

 

Wizard Must Die are from Lyon, France.

They are:

Florent Michaud (guitar, vocals)
Enguerrand Dumas (bass)
Robin Aillaud (Drums, percussions, synths, programming)

You can pick up this masterpiece of an album on Bandcamp here

SLOWER..ER

 

SLOWER: RAGE AND RUIN

Slower has released one of the very best albums of the year...again.

The five Slayer covers they released in January blew me away, and I still listen to all of them on a regular basis.  Now, two more covers and four originals.  In the words of Bob Balch, from the Heavy Psych Sounds Bandcamp page:

"Bob Balch here. This second SLOWER record “Rage And Ruin” consists of Amy Tung/Barrysmith (Year Of The Cobra) on vocals and bass, Esben Willems (Monolord) on drums and myself Bob Balch (Fu Manchu, Big Scenic Nowhere/Yawning Balch) on guitar.

When we started this album the original intention was to cover SLAYER’s EP “Haunting The Chapel” in its entirety. We started with “Chemical Warfare” then went on to “Haunting The Chapel” but once we got to “Captor Of Sin” we realized that tune didn’t want to be slowed down at all. So we started writing our own songs and I’m glad we did. The result is “Rage And Ruin.” Two sides with Slayer songs in the middle bookended by SLOWER originals. We are super proud of this record and can’t wait for you to hear it!!
Mixed and Mastered by the very talented Esben Willems. Recorded at our individual studios."

Check these out:

Possibly the coolest cover tune I've ever heard:

 

And an original that's an instant classic:

If you've been reading this, you know the band is:

Bob Balch: Guitar

Amy Tung Barrysmith: Vocals and Bass

Esben Willems: Drums

You can pick this masterpiece up here

Nothing I can say...

 

October Blessings

 Check Out Some Of The Rock Gold That's Dropped This Month

PLANET OF ZEUS: AFTERLIFE

Years ago I described Planet of Zeus as Greece's version of Clutch, but now I see they are much more than that.  During the sixteen years after their must-own debut album, Planet of Zeus have not lost a single percent of their aggressiveness, yet have consistently increased the quality of production in a way that accentuates their songwriting and musical talents.  

Hear for yourself:

Planet of Zeus are:

BABIS PAPANIKOLAOU: VOCALS, GUITAR
STELIOS PROVIS: GUITAR, VOCALS
GIANNIS VRAZOS: BASS
SERAFEIM GIANNAKOPOULOS: DRUMS

Check out more of Afterlife here.

BLACK ELEPHANT: THE FALL OF THE GODS

Italy's Black Elephant just released a new album yesterday, and I can already tell this will not leave my commuting playlist for a long time.  As quoted from Small Stone Recordings Bandcamp page,

"Heavy Blues, check... Fuzz, check… Psychedelic, check!"

This album will make a lot of top-ten lists at the end of the year.  Listen for yourself:

Black Elephant are:

Alessio Caravelli: vocals and guitar
Massimiliano Giacosa: guitar
Francesco Glielmi: bass
Simone Brunzu: drums

Listen to more of The Fall Of The Gods here.

OLD BLOOD: MIDNIGHT CLIMAX

Old Blood's Acid Doom was in my top 5 albums of 2020, so naturally this was an instant buy for me.  They seem to have replaced "Octopus" on bass, but I can't find the new bass player's name.  Anyway, "Midnight Climax" is creative, polished and professional.  Every member of this band is a master of their craft, and I have to think they are very good live.  Hear for yourself:

You can hear the rest of Midnight Climax here.  Be sure to check out the very heavy ending track, "Snakes".

BONUS:  NEW TONY REED SINGLE: "EVERYBODY'S BLUES"

I've only recently come to appreciate how talented a musician Tony Reed is.  Someday I will post more on this Rock God, but his story is so vast that I will need to do much more catching up with all his work before attempting such an undertaking.  But for now, check out this single, which he calls a throwback to the 80's.  Tell me this doesn't get stuck in your head for quite a while:

This year is promising to be legendary in terms of the great rock it's produced, and wait till you see what's coming down the pike in November.  I'm out for now; continue to rock hard!