Best of 2026 (May - August)

 2026 STONER ROCK & METAL

May - August

Stoner Rock Playlist #33

 

Best of 2025 May - August

 

STONER ROCK #27 

I uploaded an old playlist to YouTube.  I hope you find some tracks you'll enjoy. 

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.

New Playlist

 

STONER ROCK #55

After a lot of older playlists, here's a more recent one. As usual, you can catch the Album/Artist/Track info during the first 15 seconds of each song. Again, just sharing music I like in an order that sounds nice. You likely also know that I like to provide the country of origin for each band. While showing the limitations of my musical familiarity, this also attests to the variety of places on earth where we can find people who share our taste in music. Here we have bands from: Argentina Belgium Italy Norway Poland United States

Labor Day Plays

I've historically done a top ten tracks playlist from each third of the year, but here I'm just posting a playlist of awesome Stoner Rock from albums released from May 2023 through August 2023.

This playlist features bands from: Canada England Italy Mexico Netherlands United States

Cheers!

 STONER ROCK #53

This might be my best playlist to date, but the views will tell me if others agree

Almost 360 degrees of stoner rock styles, featuring bands from: Brazil England France Germany Italy Russia Switzerland United States Volume is encouraged!

STONER ROCK #52

A mix of old and new rock from: Canada Croatia Greece Italy Norway Russia Sweden United States Note: The correct title of track #3 is "The Evil Behavior Of Ordinary People" (I inadvertently cut off the word people in the video)

Get a load of this........

LONG AND HEAVY

Selection of Stoner Rock from January - April 

I usually do a top ten from each third of the year, but this time I decided to go with an extended sampler of some of the best from the first four months of 2023.  It's a time commitment, but this has gotten some good traffic on YouTube, so I'm posting it here in case you weren't among those folks.

Here's the track info:

These bands are from:

England Germany Italy Norway Sweden Ukraine United States

More soon!

STONER ROCK #49

Mostly oldies but classics here.

Features music from Australia, Canada, England, Germany and the U.S.

Here's the track info:

I posted this last weekend on Youtube and it's already gotten some good traffic, but I'm posting it here too in case you haven't caught it.

I'll post a couple of cool newly released tracks tomorrow night.

Until then, stay heavy

 

 STONER ROCK #48

LET'S GET TRIPPY WITH IT

New and old music come together and get trippy. Featuring music from: Chile Croatia Italy Norway Poland Sweden United States

Enjoy!

 

2022 Best Of: January - April 

As usual with my triannual top ten lists, order is solely based on flow, with the exception that the last tune is my favorite out of the ten.

Here is the list:

I'll challenge anyone else's list with this one...

-ULTRA

 

2021 Top Twenty Stoner Rock Albums (#10 - 1)

This playlist provides a taste of the very best rock albums of the year, in my opinion.

Each tune is one I've never included in a post or a playlist.  
Since these are the best albums of the year, I can make a great playlist without repeating:

          

#10: "A Better Dystopia" by Monster Magnet

The cast has changed, but Dave Wyndorf always surrounds himself with great talent, and 'A Better Dystopia' stacks up with the best of Monster Magnet's albums.

#9: "Memorial" by Spaceslug

I was still finding more to appreciate about last year's "Leftovers" and now I get a full length release right before Christmas.  Spaceslug is one of the very best stoner/heavy psych bands on the planet.    

#8:  "Working With God" by Melvins

The fact that the Melvins do whatever they want makes them awesome, but it also means I don't like everything they record.  This is one Melvins album where I appreciate everything on it.  The Melvins have managed to stay energetic and fresh for decades.

#7:  "In Carne Persona" by Duel 

Duel's best album so far, and it's top ten status for 2021 is indisputable.  Almost every song has a truly creative opening, and keeps you listening to the end.

#6: "The Burden Of Restlessness" by King Buffalo

King Buffalo made my top 20 last year, but are in my top 10 this year.  How they not only produced another album so quickly, but upped their game and took their songwriting to the next level is amazing

         

#5: "Hushed And Grim" by Mastodon 

          
Almost 90 minutes of new Mastodon.

Enough said.

#4:  "Like No Tomorrow" by Wedge        

One of the first albums to come out this year, and still one of the best.  Wedge has an authentic classic rock sound with inspired, catchy songwriting.  I'll be playing this album for years to come.

        

#3:  "The Family" by Dirty Pagans

Another January release that's stood the test of time, 'The Family' is raw power, with tasteful doses of  falsetto vocals that would make King Diamond proud.

#2:  "Endless Searcher" by Maha Sohona

Maha Sohona is a 122 foot tall demon who is able to spread disease and possess humans(*).  Sweden's rock band Maha Sohona has produced 2 albums, and both are heavy psychedelic masterpieces capable of possessing your entire attention span for their entire duration.

#1:  "Dunbarrow III" by Dunbarrow

As I've said before, Dunbarrow has become the gold standard for the genre that originally inspired them.  

I Wish You A Safe And Happy New Year's Eve!
-ULTRA