…YOU MISSED • As part of our yearly recap the …You Missed series attempts to collect interesting releases I’d otherwise missed, didn’t cover, or didn’t appreciate until later. This is -NOT- a best of, but a collection of interesting curios worth mentioning as we reflect upon the year. // In an attempt to be more conversational these are more easygoing and casual than longform reviews, so relax 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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The general pitch for Rome, Italy-based quartet AGANOOR‘s debut full-length album, ‘Doomerism‘, is something like stoner/doom metal with a gothic rock twinge wherein they’ve suggested Cathedral, Danzig and even Tiamat as inspiration. How this translates to the average ear is more along the lines of the alt-rock/grunge side of stoner metal with some gloomy psychedelic doomed turns, ebbing into the 90’s gothic metal side with songs like “Emerald Lake” and “Morbid Skin”. Mid-paced, slow to reveal dirges are the band’s specialty but there is some semblance of 80’s doom in some of their more standout riffcraft, such as that found on “Icarus”. Side A definitely felt like it was going somewhere interesting but I’d found Side B lost the tension, changed the air in the room a bit and without all-too memorable results beyond the aforementioned “Emerald Lake”. These folks don’t quite hit that ‘World Coming Down‘ level of songcraft here but this is a solid enough debut.

Although Uppsala, Sweden-based quartet ALKEMIA features familiar faces from Sarcasm, Imperial Domain et al. and bears some of those same traits per the artists involved their debut full-length album, ‘Depulsus‘ aims squarely for the gothic doom, dark metal and death/doom metal that’d defined its own niche in the early 90’s. You’ll likely get a ‘Dance of December Souls‘ vibe from some of the early tracks and there is a bit of Paradise Lost circling in mind on songs like “Sorcery Embers” for the most part these folks manage their own take on this sound, one which is both patient and perhaps more active in its course than many similarly categorized acts. Between the strange cover art and obscure themes this one isn’t so inviting or approachable on sight but any fan of early 90’s death/doom with a heavy dark metal atmosphere should appreciate how this record develops. Hard to pick a favorite of the six pieces here but I think the twisted hand of “Lamenting Serenades of Eden” and the cold distance of “Purity of Oblivion” are the crux of it.

Rochester, New York-based project BLIZARO is John Gallo‘s (Orodruin) font of 70’s progressive rock tapped horror-doom, possessed fare inspired by the early Italian scene and obscure doom in general. ‘Light and Desolation‘ is his third LP since forming in the early 2000’s and as such we know these are few, far between, and generally dense with quality esotericism. Vintage guitar sounds, analog synth and forlorn narration lend a creeped and surreal atmosphere to this work though it is the shambling riffcraft that pushes things along its first half. Things take a darker turn on “Glare of the Light and Desolation” later on but nothing out of the realm of Candlemass-esque dreariness and the Paul Chain inspired experimentation one’d expect from this band. Side A is one great piece after another and I suppose Side B mostly stands out for closer “Warriors of the New Lands”, one of the better songs on the album for my own taste. Hugely underrated band in general, probably their best release to date.

You might remember Fasano, Italy-based trio KING POTENAZ from their unassuming debut back in 2023 and while it was a starter record, a somewhat green but well-concieved stoner metal glide, here a couple of years later they’ve managed something more immersive and “classic” in the stoner/doom metal realm. When I say classic I suppose it is the tried and true blend of Electric Wizard-level fuzzed and scuzzed sounds and Sleep‘s spaced venturing within longer form songs. Through the course of four songs and roughly ~40 minutes ‘Arcane Desert Rituals Vol. I‘ offers a sometimes snarling, pleasantly surreal form of slow roaming stoner-doom comfort food. Sparse vocals convey something akin to despair, dread in a barren slow-motioned space that hangs in the air like ritual-bound smoke, and this is the major impact of the full listen per my experience. Some of the harsher barks on the album (re: “Sabbatum Sanctum”) give some indication of narrative but I’d been more impressed by the characterization offered by the guest vocals on “Ariadne, The Serpent Witch”, recalling the earlier eerie of a band like Messa sans the post-metal affect. These folks seem to have done some work in helping to distinguish their craft from the horde while still producing a definitively stoner/doom metal outing and I’d found that rare enough in my travels.

The loss of Luther “Luce” Veldmark (VIIHB, Hooded Priest, et al.) still hangs heavily over Santiago, Chile-based doom metal quartet KING HEAVY just a few years after his passing, he’d been a big personality for the band’s first decade including their first two albums and numerous other releases. You’ll recall I’d reviewed their second album and recommended it as a representative of their region’s doom metal underground, appreciating the late 80’s underground doom estrangement and the ‘epic’ inspiration for their craft. Album number four, ‘Atlantic Reborn‘, offers a collection of odds and ends, most of it previously unreleased alongside a handful of classics and an early rehearsal track all of it reprising their original vocalists Marcolin-worthy tonality. The hill to climb here to start is the nearly ten minute exposition of “Atlantic Slayer Reborn”, a piece which still recalls classic epic doom metal style but reflects an anxious and distraught scene and this carries through the three originals that open the record. You’ll want this record if you’d appreciated their past work as a point of closure and a reminder of their traditional yet strange brew.

Conversation surrounding Seattle, Washington-based duo YEAR OF THE COBRA typically targets the impact of minimalism with regard to mammoth-toned and dramatically stated doom metal sans the use of guitars, emphasizing the weight of the rhythm section squared between the two. From my perspective it becomes absurd to consider their work minimal beyond its practical, regimented modus as these are big, bold and connective pieces built upon quickly-snapped through hooks and stoney rumbling pace… Though they are built for efficacy these aren’t sparse or skint acts in any sense. Step one foot into their portal via songs like “War Drop”, “Daemonium” or the bopping “7 Years” and their songcraft should speak to grungy shades of doom-rock worthy of fans of L7 and Daevar alike, this is the sort of amped and catchier step beyond their 2019 LP. Though ‘Year of the Cobra‘ isn’t uniformly tonal there does seem to be some extra attention paid to the flow of the tracklist, it all gels together as a representative statement deep in its feelings thanks to their push to bring something more connective to the table (re: “Alone”, closer “Prayer”).

Despite the immense depth of spirit and thoughtful hand applied to their work Bogotá, Colombia-based quintet CÓNDOR remain admirably clandestine, a secreted gem of the South American metal underground with roots that stretch between folken naturalism, dramatic melodic death/doom metal, and their own deeply woven contrapuntal ventures. For album number five they appear to have reigned in some of the more raw, rehearsal room enriched musings of past releases for something slightly more direct-to-cinema in its presentation. The whole of ‘Aurë Entuluva‘ writhes and rants a la an earlier Opethian conception at face value but soon revels nods to epic heavy metal, jazz fusion-esque sprawl, and their general dedication to atmospherically rich yet still clashing loudly bizarro extreme doom. While I wouldn’t recommend heading into this one ready to extract any too obviate trope or clear sub-genre in reflection the mood should naturally speak to the spiritual shout from atop the plateau these folks’ve always offered. A brilliantly off-color and challenging record which notably manages its own curious bliss on the roll through.

Galliano, Louisiana-based solo act DHYANA have been waging a war of attrition upon the arrogance of the human spirit since roughly 2021 having released thirteen albums since then and three alone in 2025. While drone/doom metal naturally allows for quick iteration there is yet nuance to each of these meditations as we find within ‘Arahant‘, a seeming dedication to the enlightenment away from the wheel of life and death and a core goal of Buddhism. Big Orange amped riffs, faux sitar, and a shambling rhythm section basically find their jam and zone in per each of these songs… feats which should naturally root out the restless and likely compel the stoned among us. Fans of Zaum, Om, Breath and such of course should apply but keep in mind this album is basically mantra (well, vocal) free and offers little more than droning passage and doomed repetition. Of the three records they’d released this year this one is a good intro (esp. the title track) but I’d suggest skipping around their discography and seeing what works for you.

Inglewood, California-based solo death/doom metal solo act SERENITUS has finally manifested a full-length and their new-old school approach to the sub-genre generally holds up for this ~50 minute first delve. The dull-thrashing, Celtic Frost-amped trod of opener “Cosmic Solitude” is a fine showcase of what is both admirably classicist about their efforts and also glaring in its modernisms between fairly flaccid faster paced riffing, choppy randomized leads, and a strangely digital sounding rhythm guitar tone. While I’d found this record more an imitation of death/doom metal aesthetic that didn’t necessarily mean that it was void of compelling detail as the progression through the full listen does offer the greater effect of early-to-mid 90’s death/doom metal. I’d found my angle into their realm via the expanse offered by “Oizys’ Grasp”, a sort of warts-and-all piece which could’ve used some editing of its cursorial riffcraft here and there but generally slugs along a raw and bristling path. That knack for dragging the ear through turmoil, breaking up the flow of the riff-and-rhythm on their pummel though is the key potential expressed here. If you are a fan of Sanctuarium, Ceremonium, or Decomposed (U.K.) you’ll undoubtedly hang with ‘Tranquillity in Insanity‘.

Reykjavík, Iceland-based solo funeral doom metal act ELDROVIAN comes from anonymous musician Eldrovian, an artist endeavoring to feed the din of the abysm’s maw, the rattling of gatling-churned teeth directly into the ear so that your soul might be struck with the cold melancholy of the universe and be plunged into heart-stopping dread. A relatively new artist, they’ve released three EPs and one full-length album this year and I’d generally recommend ‘Noctivorus‘ as a prime entry point if only for the sake of opener “Pale Womb”, a brain-wriggling, gasped rant in passage through cold dead space. The use of hollowly rasped and chasmic vocals beside a thunderous, miasmic stroke of distortion offers one of the most intoxicatingly frothing funeral doom metal soundscapes I’d heard this year, think of Esoteric and maybe Portal at once and you’re somewhere nearby.

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