Doom Charts
“When the willow bends towards the end of day~ Mark Lanegan
And twilight falls again
To the funny sound that a blackbird makes
Twilight falls again
As no good reason remains, I’ll do the same
Thinking of you…”
We’ve lost another legend. One of the most beautiful growling voices has left us. The dark poet, the bard of the gutter, the troubadour of despair and he who was able to give all that is gray and all that is black that the perfect puncture of light. Mr. Lanegan has given us so much great music and personally I’ve been lucky enough to interview him a couple of times. He was one of my heroes; and his departure has left my nerves barren and raw. And then, when not even barely recovered from that heavy blow… War in the Western world…
I have always been very conscience of the fact that I’m from the Western world and that my world view has been shaped by Western eyes. But even so, even if my news and my media are framed a certain way. It is not state controlled and does not send out pure propaganda. The Doom Charts are not political. As we have stated before. But once again the world is in turmoil. And once again there is no other way around this, then to offer up the obvious: Russia’s leader is quickly descending into dangerous madness. Invading a sovereign country, that wants to go a different route than he prefers. And then, when the world sanctions him for his deplorable actions; threatening the world with nuclear weapons. He has been alone for most of the pandemic and that has not done much good for his sanity it seems… It spells doom for the entire globe, and we cannot let that happen… Even if you are still on the fence about what is happening, even if you believe some of what Russian media has stated; there is no denying the fact that when a world leader threatens the rest of world with nuclear weapons; things have gone too far… We’re almost over the edge…
A wise man and a scribe once stated: “The Edge…There is no honest way to explain it because the only people who really know where it is are the ones who have gone over.” Well, I don’t know about you… But this is an edge I do not want to cross… Let’s all come together now; for it has always been us. The good ones, the ones that want to do good and the ones that know that every extreme view on any subject is pure fear and a way to hope for some for of control… I’m sounding like an old hippie again; but I don’t care. They have always been right… Make Love, Not War…
And now on to business, cause even though there is doom lurking around the corner. We are here to offer up the good form of doom for you all. The heavy rock, heavy metal form of doom. And yes, loads of stonerrock, hardrock, seventies blues inspired rock, psychedelic rock and everything that you can think of that might fit between those genres. Cause the Doom Charts have always been about the heavy; in whatever shape or form. And there is so much of that heavy good stuff being released every month! Cause from the 30 that are mentioned this February edition; there are 28 new ones! So, thank you for all that heavy music, for giving it to us. The energy and the spirit that lies within those notes! And the way it offers up escape for those of us lucky enough to be able to escape…
And escape we shall! Starting with SMED’s self-titled record today and slowly working our way to Kryptograf on Number One. Personal votes went out to: Kryptograf, Fostermother, Obsidian Sea, Hydra, Holy Witch, Sönus, Kurokuma, Mount Desert, Firebreather, Titanosaur, Volcanova & Wovenhand! But we could have voted for all the others as well! So check’m out! Check’m all out!
Welcome to Doom Charts, representing some of the finest bloggers, journalists, radio, podcasters and reviewers from the heavy underground around the globe. Each month, our critics submit their picks for the best new doom, sludge, metal, stoner, psychedelic and heavy rock albums. The results are compiled and tabulated into the chart below. This is a one-stop shop for the best new albums in the world…