When VERMILION WHISKY sings, “Don’t think you should come ‘round anymore” in “Down On You,” ya know they mean it. Here’s a band without pretense or gimmick, exuding a natural confidence borne of cold brews, good company, and dank, humid Louisiana nights. The LaFayette band’s latest offering is called 'Crimson & Stone’ (2023) and you’re about to hear the first single, premiering today at Doomed & Stoned.

“Good Lovin” takes off to a strumming guitar stride, with the blurry haze of dawn on the horizon. Thaddeus Riordan’s throaty vocal style is in the same neighborhood as Keith Gibbs of Sasquach and his intonation is comparable to Kent Stump of Wo Fat. Give the track a listen and see if his singing doesn’t resonate deep down in your soul.

Ross Brown’s riffage is downtuned, but warm, conjuring Black Sabbath vibes dirty with alcohol, tobacco, and firearms. Don’t miss the sizzling guitar solo three minutes in. Meanwhile, the rhythm section Jason Decou (bass) and Wade Perkins (drums) trudges on with hearty aplomb.

Vermilion Whisky adds:

“Good Lovin” is a straight up the middle fastball. With an infectious groove, this track sucks you in and doesn’t let go, much like the fiery protagonist described throughout this reminiscent true tale of early wake up calls and intimate encounters.

The recording gives real presence to each of the instruments. Nothing sounds boxy or claustrophobic. You get a real sense that the band is performing live, right there in your earphones.

Keep your eyes peeled for Crimson & Stone, coming out May 26th. Stick it on a playlist with Corrosion of Conformity, Down, and Crowbar, and stir in a dab of Eyehategod for good measure.

Give ear…

SOME BUZZ

Grab-you-by-the-collar Louisiana metal outfit Vermilion Whiskey is preparing to release their latest album, 'Crimson & Stone’ (2023), on May 26th. The album varies from head-nodders to fist-pumpers, with no pretensions of being anything other than a heavy hunk of good ol’ southern style.

The American South is steeped in rich musical tradition. In a time when metal is in a constant cycle of who can be the most brutal, we often forget where the tradition started and its signature sound. Leading the stripped bare and played loud is hard rocking stoner metal outfit Vermillion Whiskey. The Louisiana-based band is southern-fried hard rock at its finest.

Vermilion Whiskey released '10 South’ in September of 2013 and their booze-and-blues soaked riffing soaked through the floorboards of the local bar scene. With the kind of honest bar-rock conviction you’d expect to find from a “working man’s band,” they soon spread regionally across South Louisiana, growing a loving fanbase and gaining momentum.

Their sophomore album 'Spirit of Tradition’ was released on Feb 17th, 2017 to positive reviews as their regional presence grew, and Vermillion Whiskey began to share the stage with bands like Crowbar, Mothership, Wo Fat, and many others.

Hitting the studio hard in early 2022, the band is currently preparing to release their 3rd album 'Crimson & Stone’ on May 26th and eager to return to playing live shows across their regional Gulf Coast stomping ground and beyond. The band recruited Tommy Buckley of Crowbar/Soilent Green to rehearse and record drum tracks and also found current live drummer Wade Perkins, who was instrumental in helping to produce drum tracks alongside Tommy and Duane Simoneaux at OCD Recording and Production in New Orleans, Louisiana.

This newest offering is a blend of classic Vermilion Whiskey southern hard rock, driving stoner riffage, dabs of dissonant overtones, and a heavy helping of pure Louisiana sludge.

It’s been another big week for new discoveries, with my latest find being KARMA VULTURE. The Tennessee trio of Conor Spellane (bass, vox), Will Hammond (guitar), and Ben Foerg (drums) are one of those bands with a special something, full of grit and fiesty spirit like Austin’s Holy Death Trio, Cleveland’s Mollo Rilla, or Portland’s Hippie Death Cult. They got spunk, is what I guess I’m trying to say.

The four tracks on their March EP ‘Death By Comfort’ (2022) know what they’re aiming for and execute with surety (check out “Better Luck Next Time, for instance). The whole recording and production crew did a superb job of capturing the guitar tone, especially – it’s smooth, baby, real smooth (dig "All About You”).

Wait until you hear the track that Doomed & Stoned is gracing your midweek with. “Cheer Up” is the ideal song to fall in love with Karma Vulture and we’re giving you a music video to go along with. A must for fans of Queens of the Stone Age and anyone who just wants to have a good time.

Give ear…

SOME BUZZ

Everybody duck and cover! For a comfortable death comes swiftly. And Karma Vulture are dangerous men, dealing with both comfort and death on a daily basis. Thus their new EP, “Death by Comfort”, out now.

Yes, death swoops in from above, with soaring guitar lines and searing falsettos. Death also erupts from below, with rumbling bass lines and thunderous drums. And it also approaches laterally. But its comfortable, remember that.

So give “Death by Comfort” a spin. It’s a doozy of an EP from an up-and-coming band with a bright future. We here at Bent Knee are stoked on the spate of Karma Vulture releases we have for you, just over the horizon. This is just the beginning.

Right from the Brazilian city of Curitiba, supported by elements of stoner metal and rock ‘n’ roll, the band LOW TIDE RIDERS needs no further comment. Their crisp, well-filled sound also embraces elements of southern metal, backed by pulsating bass lines, sharp and wise drumming work, complemented by raw and rough vocals and chunky riffs.

Formed by experienced names from the local underground scene the quartet officially debuted in the studio in 2020 with the The Road, featuring four mature and strong tracks released by the specialized Brazilian label Abraxas Records.

Now Low Tide Riders bring out a vibrant and explosive new track titled “Wicked,” which will be a part of their forthcoming studio EP. Check it out below!

Things are about to get dicey in here as Doomed & Stoned cuts loose ”On The Run,” the first single from the upcoming third full-length by evocative Berlin band REDSCALE, last featured in these pages for the world premiere of their sophomore record, ‘Feed Them To The Lions’ (2019).

This opening track to new album, ‘The Old Colossus’ (2021) begins with a super retro guitar lead-in, “On The Run” presents a vibrant picture of what to expect from the newest release by the Berlin Based band’s impressively tight and powerful contemporary stoner rock/metal milieu.

Melodically massive and as meticulously well-produced as it is played, “On The Run” gives us a riveting account of fight or flight to a destination unknown, through a crumbling world to a place of new beginnings and shelter from the storm. An emotive maelstrom of whaling riffs and huge cordage chug along with massive hooks and a beastly rhythm section driving compelling vocals which communicate a gripping urgency and chorus that’s chant worthy to the max.

A shredding solo rounds out the last half of the track and into the final chorus leaving the listener hanging breathless on the edge of anticipation for what’s to come next from these German riff monsters.

Look for Redscale’s The Old Colossus on Majestic Mountain Records, due out on October 15th (pre-orders announcing soon).

New music from post-doom instrumentalists and Doomed & Stoned Festival alumni CLOUDS TASTE SATANIC! This is the first listen to the special kind of sound you’ll hear on the forthcoming album, ‘Cloud Covered’ (2021) from the Brooklyn band that never ceases to impress!

Some insights from guitarist Steve Scavuzzo:

“For anyone not familiar, this is a video for our version of the Chicago song If You Leave Me Now, written by Peter Cetera. When we were deciding on songs to cover for the 'Cloud Covered’ and 'Satanic Singles’ projects, Greg (Acampora/Drummer) insisted that we do this song. While we all were Chicago fans to some degree, there were several other tunes by them that were clearly more riff orientated and probably better suited for our brand of doom.

Despite a healthy debate, Greg would not budge and so here we are. We are all happy with the way it turned out but could never figure out why he was so insistent on doing it. We suspect that it was because it gave him another chance to introduce wind chimes into a Clouds song (a habit he introduced on day one and has not given up since, much to the rest of the bands collective sorrow).

In the end, the song was done, the chimes are there and the drummer wins again. Greg also directed the video, the theme of which appears to be watching Chicago on acid. Not an unreasonable goal.”

Indeed, everything the band touches is a trip worth taking and repeating, again and again. The new album releases digitally on March 19th and is available in an array of spectacular vinyl editions (pre-order here). And now tune in, turn on, and rock out to the fantastic instrumental stylings of Clouds Taste Satanic as they bring us the new music video, “If You Doom Me Now.”

Adds Steve: “Get your Peter Cetera on if you dare!”

Give ear…

In hard times, the underground prospers. There’s something about future uncertainty and economic despair that brings out both the blues and the beast in heavy music. This is especially true in doom. When I’m feeling depressed, I don’t want to listen to G N'R, I want a good dose of Saint Vitus.

Everyone asked me when I was holding the first Doomed & Stoned Festival in Indianapolis, “Why there?” Because that’s right in the middle of the grit of the underground, drawing in bands from all points to the hive of scum and villainy that was The 5th Quarter Lounge (RIP).

One of the bands I wished we’d booked (not that we had a whole lot of negotiating room with 24 bands on the bill) was Massachuets metallers CONCLAVE, featuring former members of Warhorse, Desolate, Benthic Realm, and PanzerBastard.

Comprised of Jerry Orne (bass/vocals), Jeremy Kibort (guitar), Chris Giguere (guitar), and Dan Blomquist (drums), Conclave first came to light in 2014 with an excellent EP called Breaking Ground which comes highly recommended, if for no better reason than that beauty of the track, “Walk The Earth (No Longer)” – those tortured guitar leads are genuinely moving. Then came along Conclave’s Sins of the Elders in 2016. Aside from a lonely single in ‘18, the band has been largely silent on the recording front, but that’s all about to change.

'Dawn of Days’ (2021) is the gritty doom quartet’s new full-length. “Unbeknownst to us at the time,” Conclave reflect, “these songs were being written with a global pandemic on the horizon. As the album was finished being penned, the US was in it’s first phase of lockdowns and the possibility of recording in 2020 looked bleak. We waited until businesses were allowed to reopen thinking the worst was behind us and dove headfirst into getting the album recorded. We had no idea that it was only the first wave of the virus and that we were essentially recording with it in full swing.”

A surprisingly balanced album, lyrically, the band notes: “These songs are our take on the world for all it’s beauty and all its ugliness. When all is said and done and all is gone; it’s time. Time for a new dawn. Dawn Of Days. A new beginning. A horrible, bleak, new beginning. Five songs for the devastated, the broken, the enraged.”

I, for one, am ready! “Haggard” is the first single to be revealed. I’d pit Conclave’s singer against just about any other in his class for Orne’s roaring, bestial vox. Underneath, the rumbling drumbeat of impending doom, care of Blomquist’s veteran rhythmic ire. Turn it up high and strike fear in the hearts of those who lurk nearby!

Regarding the music video before us, we’re told:

Haggard is the first song that was written for the new album 'Dawn Of Days’ so we felt it was fitting to release it as the first single. The song is about a woman being born into a life of oppression and pain with no hope of ever breaking the physical and mental shackles that her Masters bestowed upon her at birth. Living a lifetime of pain, void of any hope or peace.

Look for Dawn of Days to be released on April 23rd via Argonauta Records, with pre-orders announcing soon! And now, Doomed & Stoned presents the worldwide debut of “Haggard,” with live footage shot by Dave “Quaggz” at Great Scott in Boston.

Give ear…

Lyrics

No hope remains, life led in chains.
No respite from anger and pain.
Delicate edges have burned away.
Hardened veins leading to fragile decay.
Fragile decay. Wasted life the heaviest weight.
Servitude the curse of fate.
No salvation peace or rest.
Stiffened hands and broken back.
Broken back.
Swallowed fury of long ago.
Misery the only thing known.
Ever closer to going insane.
Memories bring haunting, mocking disdain.

Some Buzz

Massachusetts heavy doom collective Conclave have signed with Italian record label Argonauta Records for the worldwide release of their sophomore album entitled, 'Dawn of Days,’ to be released on colored and black vinyl, CD and digitally in the spring of 2021.

With a musical resume that includes such acts as WarHorse, Panzer Bastard, Desolate, Tenebrae, and Benthic Realm, along with several other bands and projects over the decades, this album is the crushing culmination of all the members’ experience. Continuing to be anything but categorical in their song writing, combining melodic doom, pounding sludge and heavy grooves, their sound appeals to fans of all genres of heavy music.

'Dawn of Days’ was recorded and engineered by Eric Sauter at Blackheart Sound in Manchester New Hampshire, and was mastered by Esben Williams at Berserk Audio (Monolord) in Gothenburg, Sweden during the Spring and Summer of Rona, 2020. With an endless supply of depressing uncertainty and rage coursing through the United States in 2020, Conclave used that energy to forge 5 new staggeringly heavy and atmospheric songs. There is no catering to trends or watering down the riffs with this band. It’s pure and honest metal in an uncompromised form.

Doomed & Stoned’s resident sludge-monger continues his quest to interview the filthiest doom and southern sludge bands on the planet! This week, a one-on-one with guitarist Ritchie Randall from long standing Jopllin, Missouri act GRAVEHUFFER, right on the heels of their just third album ‘NecroEclosion’ (2021 - Black Doomba Records) – an explosion of crusty grindcore and doom. (Editor)

Ritchie, tell us about your role in Gravehuffer.

I play guitar and do a little bit of the vocals. I write the riffs and Mike, the bass player, and I collaborate on all that. This time was kind of cool, because our drummer – our new drummer Jay Willis – he even wrote some riffs for this record. He wrote probably four or five. There were a couple of songs. That was his stuff. It has been really cool, with a collaborative effort this time.

Who else is in the band and what do they do?

Travis McKenzie is our brand new vocalist. He actually started when we were recording this record, which is kind of crazy. I think he joined us in February, possibly. He started hitting the ground running! We literally threw him in the fire. Our drummer, Jay Williis, has been with us for a year-and-a-half, I think. Previous to that, Larry Deerdorf was our drummer and he had been with us since 2008. Mike Jilge is our bass player. It has been Mike and myself since '08.

Can you explain about how the vocals are written and recorded? Sometimes they sound layered a bit. Do you have effects on the vocals?

There are very little effects on the vocals, maybe a little delay or reverb. Yeah, there is some layering. Yeah, it’s cool. Jay, our drummer, he actually sang a good bit of vocals and Travis sang I would say 50/50. We didn’t want to get Travis in the band while we were in the middle of recording and say, “Do all the vocals, dude!” (laughs) It was more of a collaboration with Jay and Travis.

Jay had been a singer in other bands prior to coming to Gravehuffer. The drummer thing I guess he did out of necessity. That’s what he told us. He has this really cool voice. He has a kind of hardcore-meets-black metal vibe going on. Travis has more kind of the spastic, crusty style of vocals. The stuff I do is more shouting, yelling in key, and some of the guttural stuff too. My contribution vocally is a lot less, but we are all in there singing at some point. Sometimes all three of us on a song.

I pick up some hardcore hints from Gravehuffer. There are sick ass riffs on track three, “Sights To The Sky.”

Thanks, man. I appreciate that because all those riffs were riffs I had on my phone. We all pulled our riffs together and just dumped them in our bass player Mike’s computer at his home studio. That was an amalgamation of two or three riff ideas. We put the riff ideas in his computer and it came out really cool. “We need to use the first half of that riff and then end with this riff.” I remember I wanted to use those parts for this song. Particular riffs I was adamant on using, for sure. I appreciate you noticing that.

I checked out your previous albums on Bandcamp, bought both Gravehuffer posters. Andre the Giant and the other one are pretty badass.

We have a song on the new album NecroEclosion and thought that would be cool, to have artwork to match.

“Death Before Disco” is badass! Reminds me of S.O.D. or M.O.D. with having the humor and acting some parts out.

We covered like a minute of the Bee Gees’ “You Should Be Dancing.” We had a friend play horns on this one. It was a lot of fun! Yeah, S.O.D.! Dude, we are in our mid-40s.

I am 44.

Right on, yeah. That is like totally our thing. We like to mix in the humor. Way back, they had these shirts that Mike had, or he wanted one, that said “Death before Disco.” Ever since we were in a band in the '90s, we were in a crust punk band called Initial Detonation. We released a couple 7-inches and toured a bit. Mike had wanted to do this for like 20 years. He was finally like, “I am going to learn a Bee Gees bass line and we are going to do this damn song!” (laughs) We all learned our parts. We had a friend of ours from Metal devastation Radio [and] he is the one who announces us on the song.

The whole skit in the beginning of the song had me rolling!

It was a lot of fun to record. We were worried about putting it on the album. I think that most people who are into us get the whole cheeky punk thing that we do.

Having fun! I’m glad you put the song on there!

We thought why not, you know? We have done it on every album, so why not?

More bands need to take those artistic avenues. I appreciate when bands take the directions they need to later on, after putting an album or several out there. Some fans won’t like it or understand it, and that’s okay.

Yeah, totally valid. We decided, “You know what? We are going to do what we want.” We shouldn’t second guess what people are going to think. We squashed that pretty quick. I will admit I thought, “Should we be doing this?” (laughs) Mike and I pretty much don’t care what people think. It’s not that we don’t care, it’s just that we don’t let it affect what we write. Jay, our new drummer, wasn’t sure about it at first. He is new coming into this thing and wasn’t sure what our fans thought at all. He has played a few shows, but this is his first album. I don’t blame him for that.

The song “Smaller Than Death,” is about Andre the Giant.

That one is about Andre, yes.

I love it! It’s nice and sludgy. Real thick and chunky. So what does Andre the Giant mean to you and Gravehuffer?

Mike had brought up the idea for writing a song about Andre. He just watched this documentary on HBO about Andre the Giant. He was really inspired by it and that’s basically where that came from. I always loved Andre when I watched wrestling in the '80s.

Oh yeah, me too!

He was like the first wrestling superstar. We thought it would be cool to write about wrestling but also his life, as well. He grew up in France then came over to America to be a wrestler. He wasn’t really interested in being famous. Everyday life was a challenge for him being a giant outside the ring. We wanted to make sure that we put that in there! We needed to make it more than just wrestling. He could have been viewed as a sideshow freak. That was a thing back then. He used his size to his advantage to become an amazing wrestler. He was a character, as well. He had a charisma about him that we related to a lot.

Have you ever seen any of the “Andre the Giant has a posse” stickers?

No, I haven’t seen those.

They are big where I am at, because the guy who created it is from here.

Oh really? Cool!

I’ll send you some stickers. I think you’ll like them. This guy Shepard Fairey is from Charleston S.C. and created them and “Obey.” He also did the iconic Hope picture for Obama years ago.

Really? Interesting.

He has traveled all over the world doing graffiti, posters, and sticking up these Andre stickers.

That is definitely something that we would love to be a part of, I think. (laughs)

I loved Andre the Giant from wrestling and especially from The Princess Bride. He was a gentle giant.

Exactly! Yes! I think the lyrics have “gentle giant” in there.

Gravehuffer is signed to Black Doomba Records?

Correct.

You guys have merch available through Seasons Of Mist as well, right?

Yeah. Shirts, tank tops, and hoodies.

Grave huffer also has masks right? You’re one of the first bands I saw making masks. More bands have that now.

Yeah, they have sold pretty well. We have marked them down to $6.66.

Sweet!

So what makes Gravehuffer laugh?

That is an interesting question. I don’t think I have ever been asked that. We find humor in off the wall fucked-up stuff. (laughs) I can’t think of anything in particular off the top of my head. S.O.D. and M.O.D. Stuff like that. Probably a typical humor. Mike, our bass player is like 6’ 5" probably weighs about 300 lbs but he’s like a big kid. We used to work together in the same office. I did printing, he did mail. I would be at my desk and he would fart. It would be very loud and like 10 seconds long! I would be like, “Oh, my god, what was that?” We would die laughing! He is just a big kid. Honestly, he cracks me up more than anything. The other day I came to the band room and he was watching Sanford and Son. We just sat and watched it for about an hour. We tend to like old comedies, poop and fart jokes.

Sounds like what makes me laugh.

Yeah! We are ridiculous! (laughs) I sent Mike a YouTube video where a guy in Walmart took an intercom phone and farted in it. (laughs)

I’ve seen that. It echoes and reverberates through the whole building.

I wish they would have filmed him for about 3 more seconds because the reverb just keeps going! (laughs) That is stuff that makes us laugh. We are just like little kids. We’re 8 years old! (laughs)

Tell me about writing the song “Ghost Dance” and what it means to you and the band.

As far as the music is concerned, that main riff Mike and I came up with. Actually, Mike came up with the first half of it and then I came up with the second half of it. Most times that’s what happens where someone will start a riff or lyrics and someone else will hear something a little different and add on to it or finish it. The chorus section was a collaboration between all of us. I remember coming up with that part and having Mike and Jay were telling me, “Hey, why don’t you just write the top string during that section?” It is cool how that whole song came together. When the song changes and becomes more intense we don’t tell each other what to play, but we tell each other what we are hearing. It goes through our filter and then we play it, “Yeah that’s perfect!” It is a pretty cool way of writing. The last part is kind of melodic and Mike said to pick a melody to play over it, so I did and that’s how that came about.

As far as the subject matter, I always thought it would be appropriate to write about Wounded Knee. That is something I feel strongly about. Travis, our new singer, that was the second set of lyrics he wrote. The first was “Death Before Disco” and “Ghost Dance” was the second. We were like, “Travis this is really good!” We haven’t ever seen his lyrics prior to Gravehuffer and he knocked it out of the park. We thought it would be a good idea to create a lyric video especially considering the subject matter. That is pretty much how “Ghostdance” came together, ya know?

Awesome! What has been an awkward moment for Gravehuffer as a band?

An awkward moment? Let me think.

like trying to get across the Canadian border and you got grass on you.

(laughs) Right, right. We’ve never played outside the US yet. We don’t have any crazy things like that. I don’t know. We haven’t had many awkward moments as a band. Nothing like really crazy. I do remember one time we were playing at a place called The Bottleneck in Kansas. We’d played there a couple times prior, but for whatever reason we were outside the back door and knocking and no one was coming. This is where the bands load in and out. I guess no one was back there at the time, so I text the promoter and he gets ready to come out.

While we are waiting to get inside and load in, there is someone coming down the alley the wrong way and he is wanting us to move. Hey, no, we are not going to move! So the guy just starts yelling at us and starts cussing at us. So the promoter finally comes out and starts laying into the guy who is telling us to move. “You need to move, you’re going the wrong way down a one way street!” The guy was getting really mouthy and Mike stood up and you have to worry! (laughs) I saw him shove someone and that was the end of it! He is a big guy and I wouldn’t want to ever make him mad. That was definitely an awkward moment.

There have been a couple instances like that. There was another instance where we were playing in Iola, Kansas and a guy came out and he was really drunk. He was saying how much he really liked us. He started talking about being in prison and it got weird quick and getting a little too personal. So Mike again stood up and I was like, “Oh no!” I am looking at Mike going, “No no no!” That’s about it, where stuff could have gotten out of hand. People are just acting weird.

Where do we find Gravehuffer’s music? Bandcamp, Spotify?

Yes, we are on both. I usually send people to Bandcamp.

I love Bandcamp!

Bandcamp is terrific! It is so artist friendly and having merch on sale there. Dude, we have like 15 or 20 items up there.

I got the Gravehuffer patch a while back and recently got those posters. Is there anything else you want to promote or plug before we end this?

As far as the new album is concerned, it’s at Black Doomba Records. It’s on three-color vinyl, with yellow, red, and black splatter.

Nice!

It’s on a180 gm vinyl. It also comes with two signed posters for the first 50 editions. The next 50 after that have the same posters, just not signed. Each vinyl is hand numbered by Tommy Stewart. One more thing. We were talking about “Ghostdance,” off the album NecroEclosion. The next one is “Causes.” It was the last song to be recorded for lyrics. The reason why is our drummer Jay and our singer Travis were supposed to collaborate on lyrics and just never happened. It was the last week in the studio and we needed to turn the record into the label and crunched for time. Our old singer James had suggested that we used a friend for this song. This particular friend had passed away a few years ago. We got the blessing from the family to use a poem of his for the lyrics for the song. The poem fits the song perfectly. We didn’t edit or add anything. In the song where the horns come in is where the poem actually ends. It couldn’t have fit anymore perfectly! It is dedicated to our friend Ryan Smith.

Very amazing!

It turned out very cool. It might not stick out, but it definitely has a different vibe from the rest of the record.

It sounded like an older song. A bit hardcore.

Our bass player wrote that entire song on bass. It was a pretty unique way of going about it. Our drummer Jay when he recorded the drums he did it in one take. (laughs)

Holy shit!

I know, right?

I know studio time can be expensive.

Yeah, it’s a unique song. We have artwork for that song that fits it really well. It fell together so well.

When Redux Records (sub label of Magnetic Eye Records) announced its intention to do a front to back cover of the seminal Alice in Chains ‘Dirt’ (1993), I was naturally excited. Covers, after all, are the sincerest form of flattery in the heavy music scene. Putting aside that AIC are my favorite band of all time (rivaled only by Soundgarden), I was anxious to audit the result of this ambitious experiment – after all, not many cover songs have been recorded in the doom-stoner scene of the hallowed Seattle band. The one track I had my doubts about was “Rooster.” It ranks in the bottom 10 of my least favorite songs from the AIC discography. Maybe it’s because it was repeated way too much for its own good on alt rock radio in the '90s.

Then along came HOWLING GIANT’s contribution to 'Dirt (redux)’ (2020). Suffice it to say, I was flabbergasted, dumbfounded, and worshipful by their treatment of “Rooster,” originally penned by Jerry Cantrell. The Nashville quartet succeeded in doing what few bands have ever done while covering another band’s revered work: reinterpreting, nay, reimagining the song entirely. Yes, it follows all the predictable beats, hooks, choruses, and cues as the original, but it has reached an exalted state in its new form. Call it a reincarnation, if you prefer.

No lie, I could listen to this song on repeat all day (and do so many times over the last summer). It brought me to tears, especially during a time when pandemic unemployment, lockdown restrictions, uncertainty about keeping the house, loss of a loved one, and manic depression nearly swallowed me whole. Its optimism is palpable. It was something I could reach for, feel, believe in.

Howling Giant really gave us something transcending the semi-biographical subtext of the original “Rooster.” In 2020, they gave us an anthem we could all sing. Its spirit is captured definitively in the rapturous chorus, with Howling Giant’s own emphatic elongation: “You know WE…ain’t gonna die!” Nothing deserved a hellllll yeah from me more earnestly than that this singular moment of hope in the song.

What were your favorite tracks of 2020? Leave a comment below and let us know! As 2021 unwraps, we want you to join us on a quest to find the best in heavy underground music. Give Doomed & Stoned a follow on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for daily updates and subscribe to our weekly podcast for our choice cuts from the latest doom metal and stoner rock spins!

It is high time that we give DOPELORD their due. From their massive compositions and forlorn choruses to their irradiated guitar tone, powerful rhythm section, and thrashy romps, the Polish quartet have captured not merely the essence of doom, but its spirit. They are, for all intents and purposes, the reigning heavyweight champs of melodic doom.

I think it fair to say Dopelord ruled the last decade, and began the next just as strong with their fourth LP, ‘Sign of the Devil’ (2020), reviewed by Drew Nez in March. If you haven’t already done so, give this colossus a spin! Doomed & Stoned is proud to declare it our 2020 Album of the Year! You can browse the complete rankings here.

Before the break of dawn
Dark magick will be shown
We’re ready for the flight
It’s time to test our might

Let’s set this world on fire
And watch the flames go higher
We’ve never stood a chance
Here comes the final dance

We’re flying high
To the moon and the stars
As we’re flying high
World beneath us dies.

What was your top album of 2020? Leave a comment below and let us know! As 2021 unwraps, we want you to join us on a quest to find the best in heavy underground music. Give Doomed & Stoned a follow on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for daily updates and subscribe to our weekly podcast for our choice cuts from the latest doom metal and stoner rock spins!

“Psychosis” is the most disgusting, vile song I’ve come across at the start the New Year. And I do mean that as a high compliment. These doomy strains originate with Long Island band KING BASTARD, who are so new they’re not yet in Metal Archives. I suspect after this weekend they will be, for their sound is nigh impossible to ignore.

Last October, they sat down with Lunar Space NYC to share their story, and I would subsequently be in contact with them in the months that followed, blown away by the aforementioned track (along with their three demos and compelling live album).

King Bastard’s beginnings trace back to that fateful moment in Stony Brook, New York where “Izzy (synth), Arthur (bass), and Mike (guitar) all met on the first day of university orientation, because Mike was wearing a Sleep shirt. We started King Bastard in 2018, after Izzy bought her synth. We had a drummer named Spencer Flash for the first couple months, and he was…new to the kit. Eventually, we found our current drummer Matt, and that’s when things got serious.”

Serious enough to take a few glamor shots, get some album art together, and start jamming out enough “psychedelic filth” to fill a formal full-length. “We laid down live jam tracks for our album at the Thousand Caves, Colin Marston’s studio. Most of the legendary bands we love recorded their albums in a live setting (Dopethrone, Holy Mountain), so we figured we’d do the same. We’re currently finishing our album, It Came from the Void. We’re overdubbing guitar solos and all that extra seasoning at Mike’s place, totally DIY, and we think the results speak for themselves.”

That last part is indeed true, as we’re all about to witness when “Psychosis” cuts loose on January 15th. “Despite being primarily instrumental, the song is about an astronaut being sent from earth to colonize another planet and ultimately meeting his demise. Our album is a concept album following the journey of a group of cosmic colonists. The lyrics are in reference to Vladimir Komarov whose last words can be heard at the end of the track.” Concept album? Why, you just said the magic words for me!

Tin can sarcophagus
Entombs me alive
Bright Soviet fireworks
Burn crimson red in the sky

Tin can sarcophagus
Entombs me alive
**** my superiors
The cost of human life

Over the last couple of weeks, King Bastard’s been stirring up a storm of grassroots buzz about the “Psychosis.” It is, after all, a kind of down payment on the doom that is to come when ‘It Came From The Void’ (2021) is finally revealed. For now, I promise you “Psychosis” will dominate your weekend. Here it is, with a music video to boot (directed by Brendan McGowan and 1AD Connor Robertson).

Give ear…

Here’s a band that impresses me more and more every time we check in with them. CB3 is the name and psychedelic stoner jamming is their game!

We were last visited by Charlotta’s Burning Trio last February, when Doomed & Stoned debuted their second studio LP Aeons, just days before the 2020 pandemic blanketed the globe. At the time, I gushed: “This five-tracker is an explosive jam rock experience, with 110% of the live raw energy that has led to CB3 being referred to as The King Crimson of Malmö.”

The true essence of CB3 is, in fact, the concert experience, where every song has a chance of evolving into something different and new through intricate and brilliant improvisation. Despite limited opportunities to play gigs last year, the band was determined to capture the essence of their exciting live experience so fans could enjoy the music as it’s always been intended.

The album features three songs from Aeons – almost a solid half-hour of soul-stirring, mind-blowing cosmic jams. All three tracks are accompanied by live music videos, the third of which Doomed & Stoned is revealing today.

‘Aeons Live Sessions’ (2021) becomes available on streaming platforms everywhere January 15th, in addition to being pressed on limited edition 12” vinyl via The Sign Records. Recorded en vivo at Signalverket in Malmö, “Sonic Blaze,” “Acid Haze,” and “Warrior Queen” are an absolutely intoxicating instrumental brew.

Now, close your eyes, set your mind free, and drift away into the musical universe of CB3, as they summon the “Warrior Queen” to life!

Give ear…

Restless in repeatedly knocking, hand of time, threw off the stars, from the veil of night. Waking agonizing cities from their light sickend dreams, only to fall back into their endless shivering coma. Flood of electric lights finally drown the blind eyes of soulless people witnessing their own demise.

The memories of “better days” were torn into pieces like ragged clothes, only to sooth the everlasting cry of the children who were brought into this world by loveless, mechanical acts of fornication. The world of Man is devoured by his own greed and contempt. You’ve been warned! You’ve been warned! Why didn’t you listen then?

“This is it,” he said. Whoever was, he who created this world, finally was done. Needles slightly swoon into the groove of the plastic disc, and then comes a hissing sound, drowning out the echo of a man struggling for his last breath. Even if the body was stiff and cold, it swang to the rhythm of the song…

If there was ever a time for the blues, it’s now. I’m not talking about just feeling low, I’m talking about rediscovering the roots of rock n’ roll, and in large part metal (especially doom). That isk the Blues greats of yesteryear. One band aims to lead the charge: WEIRD TALES.

The Polish psychedelic doom trio are thickening the plot of the New Year with their with a brand new EP, curiously titled ‘Y'all Motherfuckers Forgot 'Bout Good Ol’ Son Of A Bitchin’ Blues’ (2021). Which, like everything else from this twisted threesome, dares to go far beyond the confines of what you would expect from a traditional doom album.

With this record, Weird Tales pays homage to the true founding fathers, where it all began – the kings of blues! Without blues, there is no rock, without rock there is no doom metal, and without doom metal, well, let’s not even speculate where Weird Tales would be.

The concept of this album is as simple as it is devious: pass the blues through the Weird Tales prism, twisting and bending it around until it’s barely recognizable. Catch the essence of each track, wrap it with heavy riffs, and extrapolate. The result? One of the heaviest blues albums ever put forth, certainly in recent years.

Weird Tales adds:

“How sick we are of covers! It’s always the same, note-by-note covers, slowed down, tuned down – the DOOM covers. How we are bored by it! The only acceptable form of cover is an abstract one. A new self-contained, original piece of music. Whole new riffs and arrangements. And still, it is a cover. It’s bound to the original with its intention and message. The cover that is a rethinking of the original, becoming its evolution.

"With this EP, we’re retelling with our own language the killer blues of four men: Lonnie Johnson, Skip James, Blind Willie Johnson, and Muddy Waters – the four motherfuckers who knew what this is all about, done way before you were born. It is our vision of what is the most important in this blues. Our blues in 2021.”

As expected, Weird tales deliver gritty, sludge-covered interpretations of grim classics like “Got The Blues For Murder Only” and three more. It’s a wild, slow headbang and foot stomp you won’t want to miss. Look for the new EP to release this Friday, January 15th, on Interstellar Smoke Records (pre-order here). In the intervening days, Doomed & Stoned will be streaming it all…loudly.

Give ear…

North Carolina’s COSMIC REAPER return! We were first introduced to the Charlotte four-piece with their 2017 EP Demon Dance. Since then, they’ve been signed to Heavy Psych Sounds and are gearing up to release their first full-length eponymous record.

Some Buzz:

Dripping with a classic ‘70s attitude, mixing sci-fi oriented lyrics, brief but satisfying moments of prog exploration, all while keeping one foot firmly planted in modern doom, you start to get an idea of the interstellar journey that awaits. The heaviest elements are there and are guaranteed to move planets. The stars align and engines ignite as Cosmic Reaper claws at the soul of the genre.

Today, Doomed & Stoned premiere’s “Hellion,” a six-minute song the band describes as “a solid slab of pure, unadulterated doom that is sure to be your soundtrack to 2021’s apocalyptic start.” With big Electric Wizard vibes and Cosmic Reaper’s signature sound, “Hellion” rips at the fabric from underneath.

Cosmic Reaper comes to terrifying life on March 16th (pre-order here). Until then, here’s a little something to whet your appetite!

Give ear…

Hello and thank you very much for your time! Introduce yourself and tell me what you do in the band.

Anthony: Hi, Shawn! Thanks for chatting with us. My name is Anthony Gaglia and I am the singer.

I need to tell you, Anthony, I love your slimy voice! Your voices complement music like wine with food!

Thanks man! I’m aware of it. It’s fun to be on a project where I can really let go.

Tell me about your latest release Satanic Melodies. Is this your debut?

Anthony: It is! The project is the creation of Ignacio. I was lucky that they asked me to be a co-parent. However, writing lyrics and singing for this band has been amazing for me, and we have some amazing new music in the works for all of you.

Where is everyone from?

Anthony: I’m from Portland, Oregon.

Ignacio: Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Chad: San Francisco.

José: Coronda, Santa Fé, Argentina.

Do you guys play in other bands? If so, tell me a little about it.

Anthony: I play guitar and lead vocals on LáGoon.

Ignacio: I play bass in Luciferica.

Chad: I have several projects: Hour of 13, Agrabbati, Subklinik, just to name a few.

José: Drummer of Fulanno

What are your instruments and setup for Crooked Whispers?

Ignacio: Rickenbacker 4001 (1978), Orange AD200b and Ampeg Classic cabinets.

Chad: Gibson Les Paul Std, Gibson SG and MesaBoogie amp.

José: GRETSCH Catalina club rock, hype 26 “, Ride Paiste” Rude mega bel “24”

What influences Crooked Whispers musically and outside of music?

Anthony: Anything in terms of heavy music is an influence on me personally and outside of musical skateboarding and my family are my main driving forces.

What makes you laugh?

How scared some people are at any mention of Satan and the current state of “popular music.”

When you’re not making the best doom music, what do you do?

More music, Doom or not.

Where do you go to see shows in your area?

Anthony: Man, there are too many to name, but in Portland our favorite place is the Kenton Club.

What has been an awkward moment for Crooked Whispers? Anthony: I don’t think we’ve had one yet.

Ignacio: When I want to say something and I don’t know how to say it in English. (laughs)

What about your merch? I would love to have a t-shirt or vinyl if and when you guys have more stuff out there!

Anthony: I’ll let Ignacio answer that!

Ignacio: of course man! We’ll have our copies of Satanic Melodies soon, and more shirts are on the way!

Crooked Whispers had a limited run of 15 t-shirts. How fast did those things fly?

Something like 8 minutes!