ALBUMS YOU MISSED… Is a yearly tradition of highlighting albums I did not have time to review, all of which are above average. I’d encourage folks to never be “done” with records after the release year passes, and recognize that the true fan will continue seeking the best of what is available and not only what is “current” to the greater perceived conversation. The plastic these were (likely) printed onto will take longer to decompose than you will, so, take a minute and see what escaped your periphery and what might stick. Take a deep breath, frown deeply, and think for yourself — If you find something you dig go tell the band on social media and support them with a purchase! If you’d like your music reviewed, read the FAQ and send promos to: grizzlybutts@hotmail.com

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Kicking things off with a less traditional form we’ve got another under-loved gem from Vendetta Records here with Vienna, Austria-based quartet Loather‘s debut full-length. We could consider this a modern form of doom metal with equal basis in atmospheric black metal and post-metal wherein the obvious reference to make is later Agalloch and variations on that form up front though any fan of post-doom or modern atmospheric doom metal and any slightly progressive forms should appreciate the icy trip herein. The main draw here for my taste is the severity of the mood, where sorrow and the cold indifference of winter are palpably expressed and though this is described as “post”-music within reason there is yet some underground roughness and believable emotional moments felt throughout the full listen.

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Hailing from Bamberg, Germany this heavy rock inspired dark-sided traditional doom metal trio are an old straggler from the (recently revived) Barbarian Wrath label who haven’t released a thing since 2016 or so, but you wouldn’t know it because their gig is timeless enough and hasn’t changed drastically in the interim. That is a very good thing as their weirding form of doom-rock retains its grungy, punkish side of ‘Born too Late‘-inspired delirium and should hold the attention of folks looking for stuff similar to Black Wizard (Can) and Saviours but with a tighter grasp on the underground edge of Maryland/east coast doom metal. Sequence isn’t great but the full listen does eventually add up once you’ve hit “Pitch Black Soul” and “Arcane Asylum”.

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Self-described as “melancholic progressive doom” and sporting a haunting tale at the focal point of their fifth full-length album this Chicago, Illinois-based quintet should naturally appear as a logical comingling of the indie-cum-progressive rock flavored ebb of Elder and the occasional Pallbearer-sized fume as ‘The Glass Garden‘ drifts inward. The apex of this is probably “Into the Maze”, a feat which is probably too far-out for the classicist from the first note but best showcases their post-metal sized vision, a showcase of introspection and wandering arrangement rather than pure existential dread. The balance of woven, longform rhythmic threads and a more lively performative register feels like the right sort of pivot beyond their previous LP though they’re still taking their time, relying on the patience of the listener to build up to those grand highs and in this sense my ears quickly became desperate for a heavier turn, making “After the Dream” painful and “Unseen” the major highlight of the spin. One could easily argue away “doom” as a prime sub-genre tag here, this is something like modern (read: understated) progressive metal with a sombre float to its rhythms and I don’t think anyone perusing options labeled “doom” will find what they want. Still, a fine record when we step outside of those expectations.

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St. Petersburg, Russia-based stoner/doom metal trio Grave Disgrace are one of those bands I’ve been following since their very first demos, waiting in the rafters ’til they’d hit upon a point of genius beyond their Electric Wizard-garbled beginnings. In truth, ‘Rest in Peace‘ (2020) was that album and this follow-up goes even a bit more traditional in its slow-burning, riff focused approach to doom metal which is uninterested in the sludged and psych-ranting burn of their earlier work. Per my own experience this type of music is comfort, a doomed and truly downtrodden place to return to for an exacting effect and for my own taste they’ve nailed it in a very simple way. Though I won’t have much to say about it this is easily one of my most listened-to records of 2023 and simply because it doesn’t try too hard and still bulldozes. The one note I could give is that this is the best vocal performance from bassist/vocalist Alexey to date, retaining that Ozzy-esque nasal drain but giving it layers and sticking to a persistent character. Check it out if you like later Reverend Bizarre and Pilgrim.

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Seattle, Washington-based stoner/doom metal trio Sorcia are a cut above in a couple of important ways, they’ve got songs and always a right-ass render to hit you with. If you’re hot on the raw, rough and biting side of sludge metal per the first half 90’s and you’re up for a grunge-adjacent level of alienation you’ll -get- the passion stinking off the first few songs on ‘Lost Season‘, a proper follow-up to the pro but not hairy enough ‘Sorcia‘ back in 2020. Within all of the bluesy, shouting and buzzed-up brunt of it they’ve got a stoner-doom transcendent form of thier own cooking, something like Acid Bath and/or Jerry Cantrell at their most creeped and tuneful but hi-fi and swinging with a trad/psych-doom backdraft to keep things smoking. Wildly underrated.

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For their independently released sophomore full-length album Minneapolis, Minnesota-based doom metal trio Grief Collector bid farewell to legendary vocalist Rob Lowe, seeing as how Solitude Aeternus has reformed, and welcome a new fellowe, Julian Kuster, up front. I wasn’t a huge fan of their work in the past and still have some qualms with their sort of predictable 80’s into the 90’s sort of heavy metal songcraft (“Asunder”) where a bit of alternative metal pokes into view (see: “Slipping into Seclusion”) next to Dio-era Sabbath and Candlemass-esque pieces but I’d felt there was enough substance here for the epic/power doom metal ear. Kuster is at times impressive in terms of his range yet the narrative portions of these pieces, especially within the first third of the album, are overbearing and overdone and when it comes time to carry a tune beyond that over the top character (“Mass Deception”, for example) it falls a bit flat as the strain of each note carries more importance than the lyrics themselves. Power metal and ultra-trad/AOR fans won’t bat an eye, though. Not exactly to my own taste but still worth a recommendation.

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Dismyth hail from the republic of Georgia and their work doesn’t necessarily fit squarely in a stoner or sludge metal box but you’ll undoubtedly get a bluesy traditional doom metal aftertaste from each of their three full-lengths to date. In fact they drive home that feeling/sound and most of their riffs with such repetition that parts of ‘Forest of Sorrow‘ might be kinda imposing to start, especially as “Crawl in Time” trudges through its first half but this is also where the album takes its first unexpected turn, albeit into whispered/growled vocals and a strange sludge thrust. We’re back in the weird side of stoner Bandcamp sludge by the time “Vessel of Lost Souls” hits and while I could hang with it the longform pieces and slow-to-make-their-point nature of the band will likely prove taxing for many. Though this album doesn’t hold up very well and surely overstates itself I’d appreciated the simple, organic sound of the recording and the more impassioned blues-rock side of the vocalists range enough that I’d felt this one warranted a mention.

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You could probably rub up against the fuzz and stoney smell of Hibernaut and quickly puke up a mid-90’s Lee Dorrian reference per the vocals and the rumble of earlier High on Fire at their stoniest in response but these Salt Lake City, Utah-based fellowes get far weirder than that on this ~75 minute debut LP. In that sense eight minute opener “Stygian Nectar” will fill you in but hone in on the drumming for a second and you’ll find an almost death metallic pace applied with its double-bass kicked scatter getting clipped a bit by the enormity of the guitar tones a’ rumbling. Fans of earlier Mastodon and turn of the millennium sludge should instantly appreciate this approach even if it sounds like a clusterfuck as you acclimate to the roar. And you’ll have to adapt because this record is practically non-stop grinding away at stoney, pained and haunting grooves. The potential to zone entirely out within the vortex created is high but I don’t think you’ll need to be baked to enjoy the abysm, especially if you’re already keen to the high-detail scorch of extreme metal as most of this record is either deeply atmospheric or busied within its excess to the point of intense focus. That said some of my favorite moments worked to break through the wall of stoney brawler noise (see: “Lantern Eyed”) and give us a bit more of that ‘Blessed Black Wings‘ movement to keep things pushing or just hit upon a more doom-level lurch (“Kaleidoscope”). If they cut their next deal down to like ~45 minutes and keep the chaos and the brutal drumming alive I’m huge on whatever these folks do next.

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Bergen, Norway-based traditional doom metal trio Strange Horizon shake their gig back to bluesy heavy rock points of origin on this looser, easier-going second full-length album which pulls their work back to a stripped-down and realistic recording. Set in a stark room but warmed by a fuzzy guitar and some Pentagram-esque rockers ‘Skur 14‘ gives us an honest impression of a band unconvinced of the worth of humanity while still having a good time of it, matching some of the album art’s whimsy with a devil may care attitude. “Candles” is probably the jam for most folks’ taste here, it is a fairly short LP at just ~34 minutes and four songs but we get a good sense of their Reverend Bizarre-borne interest and how that has expanded into their own perspective over time. Though the ease of this record might feel like ‘From the Fjords‘-level prog anciency (especially on “Tusser og Troll”) I could see how this’d read bare bones and awkward to a certain type of doom metal fandom. Per my own tastes I’d admired the band showing a bit more of their personality up front, building a repertoire and a vibe on this curious sophomore LP.

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Catalonian epic psychedelic doom metal duo Udol have been carving their own path over the last decade and it all seems to culminate here on this somewhat unassuming debut LP which marries the serious dramatic tone of epic doom metal with big, fuzzed-over riffs. They’ve not shed their stoner-heavy drift so much as utilized it as part of the contrasting dynamic here and it makes for an entirely unique tonality perfectly set within a captivating but not taxing ~40 minute heavy metal record. ‘El Regne‘ is easily one of the most underrated records in this style this year, though I understand the sombre psych rock balladry of “Destí fatal” in the midst of the album’s dramatic peak isn’t going to hit without some patience but this album only grew on me with every listen.

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