November is Doom- The Top 10 Stoner Rock Albums of 2021

 

Do you smoke weed? Have you continued to smoke more this year?  Here are the albums you should have been listening to. These are album that are not prog or doom, falling somewhere in the middle with more than likely a heavy doses of bong blues to them Ok now that that is out of the way, much like in years past   sort through the genre lists before making the overall top ten of the year list. I know many of you are ready for this year to be over with. Hate to break it to you but nothing is getting better next year. 

 The fact these artists made it on the list speaks to how great these albums are, so it's not a slight that the number 8 album is above the 9th album, there is something that just gives it an edge that makes me want to listen to it more. After all we can try to look cool and pick the hippest bands for a list, but at the end of the day what makes an album the best is that it makes you want more, you look forward to listening to it again. Sure, you can bitch and complain about your favorite band not being on the list. However, I listen to five new albums a day so yes, I heard your favorite album and was not impressed. No, I do not care what you think about it. I do hope you can find your next favorite on this list and have included links to reviews of these albums if you want to check out audio on these guys. Anyways here are the top 10 stoner rock a albums of 2021

10- Hot Ram -" Electric Medicine" 

This is almost more of an honorable mention this Atlanta band might have missed the hipster wave of popularity but are confident and doing their own thing. The vocals are set back into the guitars often more barked than sung.  They are not too stoned to keep things moving as rather than the typical lumber they come at a pretty brisk pace

Abysmal Hymns: November is Doom- Hot Ram- "Electric Medicine"

9- Jess and the Ancient Ones - "Vertigo"

They move in a heavier direction with a slightly weird mix but it is darker.  While they have typically been a more retro 'occult rock| type sound, there is slight Sixousie tinge to the vocals. Vried influences color this album but the keyboards anchor them back in the more 60's style sound  

Abysmal Hymns: Jess and the Ancient Ones : "Vertigo"

 

8-Red Fang -Arrows"

 Their 5th album so they know what they are doing. Grinding weighty riffs and gruff vocals smoothing out into more melodic choruses. This hookier sound that is more like if the Foo Fighters were a metal band.

Abysmal Hymns: Red Fang : "Arrows"

 

7- Appalooza - the Holy of Holies" 

Grunge is not far removed from stoner rock as bands like Soundgarden and Screaming Trees really blurred the lines. i This band offers a modern and sometime heavier take on that sort of thing, at times they are not far removed from Godsmack. However, the smoke better which has inspired their dynamic and darker slant that drew me into this album. 

Abysmal Hymns: Appalooza : "the Holy of Holies"

6-Confusion Master -"Haunted" 

 Not sure why Cthulhu is on the album cover as there is nothing Lovecraftian about the lyrics, though they are horror movie inspired. They are heavy as fuck, but still care about the songs. Often using samples well to set the mood and jams the fuck on on burly grooving riffs that are inspired by an evil bong.,

Abysmal Hymns: November is Doom- Confusion Master- "Haunted"

 

5- Psychic Hit : " Solutio"

This band did not just fall off a turnip truck in California, these guys come from the likes of Hawkwind  and Funeral Chant. They know how to tap into early 70s metal recalling even Judas Priest. Their other heavy boogies pull from Thin Lizzy and Alice Cooper. Powerhouse vocalist, Ariana Jade as enough sass and sultry to her voice to feel like a legit proto metal front woman.

Abysmal Hymns: Psychic Hit : " Solutio"

4-King Buffalo- " the Burden of Restlessness" 

This band from New York graced our best of 2020 stoner rock albums and they are monsters; when it comes to writing as they have unleashed a new batch of exotic grooves that borders on being progressive though the bulk of what they do when not using a taunt Tool like snake of a riff is to drone on it until the drugs simmer some.

Abysmal Hymns: November is Doom- King Buffalo : "The Burden of Restlessness"

3-Book of Wyrms - "Occult New Age" 

Retro tinged stoner proto metal not unlike the kind that rose to a new level of popularity just over a decade ago is back with this band from Virginia. The Lindseys are a husband-and-wife team, with Sarah singing and Jay playing bass. The guitars are pretty dominate in the mix of these very jammy tunes. They move at the pace of Ted Nugent with more boogie than doom lumbering, though the Sabbath influence can be felt, thought at no point in time do they feel like a tribute band which is one thing I like about them

 Abysmal Hymns: Book of Wyrms : "Occult New Age"

2-Hippie Death Cult - "Circle of Days " 

Their 2019 album was awesome, so I will settle for an EP   There is more of a Sabbath vibe to the groove here They have a jammy feel, but are always moving the song. The great solos are great the vocals bellow and they coast along until drifting back out into a haze of pot smoke

Abysmal Hymns: November is Doom : Hippie Death Cult : "Circle of Days"

1-Boss Keloid - "Family the Smiling Thrush" 

On the more progressive side of bong , this album finds it exhaled in an angular yet ballsy manner than flirts with metal. The grooves are formed from odd times. The vocals are more blues based perhaps not as commanding as Clutch, but cut from a somewhat similar cloth. The guitar tone is weird it sounds to be harmonizing with synths.

Abysmal Hymns: Boss Keloid : " Family the Smiling Thrush"

Red Fang : "Arrows"

 These guys are a band that has been on my periphery as I have friend who are really into them , but I never gave more than a few listens here and there .  This is the stoner metal band's 5th album so they know what they are doing. The first actual song finds them grinding into a very weighty riff with gruff vocals on the verse and smoothing out into a more melodic chorus. Pretty typical modern metal formula. It borders of being sludge thanks to the raw rough guitar tone. The title track finds them tightening thing up into a hookier sound that is more like if the Foo Fighters were a metal band. The vocal melody is streaming radio ready for sure. "My Disaster" is more up-tempo in it's rumble. The drums were recorded in an empty pool, which places into some of the condensed boom to the stripped down yet tinged with noise sound of this album. 

"Two High" has enough rock boogie in it's groove to make it catchy. This shows that yes you can play heavy music and still be catchy .  There is a darker Melvins like feel to "Anodyne" . The melody to the song is not as memorable but the song itself works well. There is more of a sludge stomp to "Fonzi Scheme" which might be the album's best song title. As for the song itself. The vocals feel more like something Baroness would do. You are comparing this to too many bands , you the fan of the band screams . If you are under the misguided assumption that these guys are the most original thing going , then you are already a lost cause and you can stop reading. In fact stop reading this blog all together , since my mission statement is to give the brutal honest listen stripped of fan trappings, even when it is a band I like.  I prefer when things get darker and more depressive on the song " Day's Collide" .  I think when this mood is created , the throb of it gives everything more room to breathe .It also provides a contrast to when they give your ears a burly beatdown when it builds back up.  

"Rabbits In Hives" is basically a punk song that proves, punk is not what they are best at. There is a more grunge tinged feel to the melody of "Why", when it builds up at the chorus it is more par for course metal if we are talking the 90s . So kids who did not live through that might be amazed. They come back to pounding you with the angular blitz that is "Dr. Owl" . As a song it does not do a helluva lot for me, great bass tone though, I was also always ifffy on AMP Rep bands. If noise rock is your thing then you might like moments like these more than I. The vocals just kind of descend into reckless bellowing. "Funeral Coach" shows that this can be like Burger King and I can have it my way, both really heavy and very melodic. In all genre's of heavy music vocals are one of the more disposable elements , second to bass. The great bands have  great bass players and vocalists which sets them apart. I would say these guys are a very solid band. Great might be a strong adjective though this album is their strongest to date so I will give it a 9.  

Red Fang : "Only Ghosts"

This is my first time really given these guys a shot . In the past when I heard them I thought they were a little derivative of Kyuss. While they are not re-inventing the wheel here, and are arguably taking more inspiration from the more hooky direction Torche went in back in 2008 on "Meanderthal", the songs are well written and by the time the vocals switch over into the hook, I am enjoying myself.  The riff to "Cut It Short " owes more to Devo's "Girl You Want" or Kiss' "Rocket Ride" than any Black Sabbath song. Ross Robinson did a good job here. I like the production on the vocals and there is a great bass tone this album. I am not sure this is what I would call metal as is rocks about as hard as the Foo- Fighters or Queens of the Stone-age. I do know my wife will more than likely dig this album due to that fact. So this is going to open some doors for the band. I'm not familiar enough with their older material to scream sell-out. Some of their fans who latched onto the band for their Sargent House debut, might think recording with Korn's producer is selling out.

The more husky vocals to "No Air" bring a more muscular attack to their sound with their barbaric bellow. The band locks in behind them and the drummer's playing is particularly impressive on this song. It's still more stoner rock and not what I would call sludge or doom. While it's driving "Shadows" doesn't feel like it's focus is as tightly wound as the previous songs. Midway into the song it veers off into some angular math before locking back in.  The song's are all tightly compressed to the three minute mark. I like the taunter groove of  "Not For You" that reminds me more of Quicksand or Helmet. The first song that comes close to being metal is  "the Smell of the Sound" which carries a weighty stomp.  The energetic "the Deep" roars ahead with a lot of momentum, but to me doesn't feel like it works off the same strengths that have made this album shine and feels more like filler.

There is a burly roar summoned to "I Am a Ghost", but despite having a more groove than "the Deep" doesn't strike me as being as inspired as the other songs on this album. The don't take their feet off the gas for "Living in Lye" which sticks to the more roaring vocals. I'll around this up to a 9, not sure if I need the last three songs on my iPod the strong song are really strong, when the album picks up steam it loses some in the songwriting department by trying to go with a more Motorhead formula that doesn't work as solidly for them. If you are already a fan of this band I'm sure you still be on board for this one and the first half of the album is good enough to hook new listeners in.