2023 Top Ten Stoner Rock Albums

 2023 Top Twenty Stoner Rock Albums (#10-1)

The second half of my top 20 heavy rock albums list for 2023. One song from each album, beginning with album #10 and finishing with album #1. I understand I'm sure to be missing some great albums that came out this year, but am just sharing my favorite purchases of the year. Artist/Album/Track info is displayed for the first 10 seconds of each tune.

#10: "Cosmic Evoked Potentials" by L'Ira Del Baccano

Italian instrumental band with real technical precision.  Excellent songwriting here.  I've been listening to this since it came out in March

#9: "Fuzzrider" by Fuzzrider

Greek guitarist and vocalist Jim Lord has returned with a new band and 8 great tracks with his distinctive sound

#8: "Medicine" by Goat

The mysterious Swedish band has put out another album.  Of course it's really nothing like their others, and of course it's another masterpiece.  This one's got a real trippy, hippy vibe.  Goat can do no wrong in my book.

#7: "Superskull" by Black Rainbows

Italian stoner rock legends return with one of their most aggressive and catchy albums yet.  Also, another candidate for album cover of the year.

#6: "Enveletration" by Sandrider

This unique Seattle trio has their own style, which includes elements of punk, metal and stoner.  This is their best album to date, and one of the best albums of the year.  Every tune is great.  They also recently put out one of the best EPs of the year, also worth your while.

#5: "Sons Of Froglord" by Froglord

This British rock band with the weird face masks really knows how to write great tunes.  I love every one of these eleven tracks.  I refer to their sound as "groovy doom".  

#4: "Low Desert Surf Club" by Fire Down Below

The third album from this Belgian band is truly special.  They've really nailed that classic "desert" fuzz sound.  Obviously one of my favorite few albums of the year, and Cocaine Hippo is one of my favorite songs of the year.

#3: "Thunder Ape" by Bahboon

Even though their first album came out in 2015, I just found this Japanese band this year, and what a great surprise this album was.  Each song has a different atmosphere, and each one is polished and perfect.  I'll be listening to this for years to come.

#2: "Margarita Witch Cult" by Margarita Witch Cult

This British band caught my attention with an EP last year.  Even though the quality of the recording was rough, I listened to those two tunes countless times because the songwriting was so good.  This new album has nine new tunes that have all been stuck in my head since the album was released, in April.

#1: "The Old Ways Remain" by Blood Ceremony

Not just album of the year, this is one of the very best albums I've ever bought in my life.  The musicianship and songwriting here stack up with any rock album of any era.  The song I chose for this playlist is not typical of the album, but none of the songs is.  Each is its own masterpiece, and every note of every tune has wormed its way into the inner recesses of my brain.   

Notable Omission:

"In Times New Roman" by Queens of the Stone Age deserves to be in my top 10.  Few individuals have helped to shape the genre we call Stoner Rock like Josh Homme has, and this is as perfect an album as he's ever been involved with.  Yet, I am still unwilling to take any of these other albums off my list.  I'd like to spread the word on relatively lesser-known albums as the year closes.  I'm pretty confident this new Queens of the Stone Age album has already reached a pretty vast audience.

Best EPs:

"Kiss The Boot" by Glitter Wizard

"Aviary/Baleen" by Sandrider

"Parable Of The Taxidermist's Dilemma" by Mississippi Bones

"Fu30, Pt. 3" by Fu Manchu

"Lady Cadaver" by Tumble

Stay safe out there, and Happy New Year!

BLOOD CEREMONY: THE OLD WAYS REMAIN

"The old ways remain" is a lyric from one of the most dramatic parts in Blood Ceremony's classic song Witchwood from their Eldritch Dark album ten years ago.

Now their first album in seven years is a complete rock triumph.  There is no such thing as a best song on this release, but here's a truly beautiful one:

Never mind album of the year; The Old Ways Remain may very well end up being the album of the decade.

Toronto's Blood Ceremony are one of my favorite bands ever, and this is just as good as my previous favorite, The Eldritch Dark.  My posts may slow down, because I don't see myself listening to too much else anytime soon.

Blood Ceremony are elite songwriters and musicians.

Please take note:

Alia O'Brien: Vocals, Flute, Organ

Sean Kennedy: Guitar

Lucas Gadke: Bass, Vocals

Michael Carrillo: Drums

Shocked if this ends up not being the best album of 2023

 

BLOOD CEREMONY: Lord of Misrule

I Was Late to the Table

..but when I got there the food was no less delicious.  Lord of Misrule came out early this year and somehow I missed it until late September.  It has been in my car playlist ever since.  I spend all too much time in the car due to a lengthy commute, so I need to have good tunes, and like to rotate the albums in my playlist frequently.  But Lord of Misrule needs to stay in my car for quite some time.

What makes Blood Ceremony so cool is the way they take Sabbath-inspired guitar playing and seamlessly mix in flute, organs and folk-music themes.  Some bands with female vocalists tend to over-feature the vocals, and give the feeling that the singer really likes to listen to herself.  Alia O'Brien however, is a true rock singer - her singing is all about the tune, and not about herself.  And Sean Kennedy is a guitar virtuoso, always playing the most perfect and tasteful licks, whether playing distorted or clean.  The whole band are true rock professionals, and have yet to release any tune that is unworthy.  Check out "The Rogue's Lot".  It's subtle, but the bass and drum playing are super tasteful and are a big part of the guitar sounding so good.

And here is a playlist containing all four albums' opening tracks: The classic "Master of Confusion" from 2008's debut self-titled album, "The Great God Pan" from Living With The Ancients, "Witchwood" from The Eldritch Dark and finally "The Devil's Widow" from the new album.  Openers like these illustrate the ambition and straight-out balls that Blood Ceremony bring to the table.  If you drop out of any of these tunes early, you are truly missing out.  If not familiar with Blood Ceremony, grab yourself a beer or light something up and check out this truly unique rock band:

Pick up "Lord of Misrule" or any of Blood Ceremony's other releases here:Blood Ceremony on Rise Above Records.  The CD comes with lyrics, which are occult-inspired and thoughtfully written.

Blood Ceremony are:

Alia O'Brien: vocals, flute, wurlitzer, organ, mellotron

Sean Kennedy: guitars, chants

Lucas Gadke: bass, backing vocals

Michael Carrillo: drums, chants

Got another 2016 review for next weekend that I'm quite stoked about.  Until then, enjoy Grownman and his new writer Michael Jacques' posts, and stay heavy.     -ULTRA