Heavy Underground Band & Album reviews: My favorites in Riff rock/ fuzz/ stoner/ doom/ sludge/ heavy psych/ hardcore & metal
Spirit Adrift is a heavy metal band formed in Messa, Arizona by Nate Garret. The multi-instrumentalist performs and records all the instruments in the studio (vocals, guitar, bass, drums, piano, and synth). The live line up also features Tom Draper on guitar, Sonny DeCarlo on bass, and Michael Arellano on drums. Formed in 2015 and now residing in Austin, Texas,...
Myar is a stoner doom/ heavy psych band from Lille, France. They consist of Nina Hirsch on bass, Julien Scymaniak on drums, Victorien Guy on guitars, and Paul-Antoine Vinchent on guitars. Myar just released their debut album called Bleak Mountains on April 4th 2026. It contains six tracks at thirty six minutes long. “As A Line” begins with a fuzzy...
Masheena is a hard rock band from Bergen, Norway. They are known for their crunchy desert riffs and ginormous melodies. They consist of Luis-Alberto Salomon on guitars and vocals, Tarjei A Heggernes on bass, and Bård Heavy Nordvik on drums and percussion. They have released their debut album in 2023, called West Coast Hard Rock. The band has returned with...
Sea Of Snakes is a stoner/ doom metal band from Los Angeles, California. Formed around 2020, the band consists of Jason Busiek on vocals, Jim McCloskey on guitar, Greg Noriega on bass, and Chris Lowbridge on drums. Their releases include 2021’s World On Fire EP, their debut album, 2022’s The Serpent & The Lamb, and their sophomore, 2024’s Bow To...
Bronco Forte is a four-piece heavy rock band from Los Angeles, California. The band consists of Chris Klepac on guitar and vocals, Sako Injaian on guitar and vocals, Jen Glomboski on bass and vocals, and Geoff Summers on drums. The band released their debut Self Titled EP in 2023 and most recently their debut full length album entitled Lightening Scars...
Surf Through Death is a stoner rock/ heavy psych trio from Arizona. The band consists of Mike Upsahl on bass and vocals, Chan Schulman on guitar, and Shane Ocell on drums. They have released 2020’s Self Titled EP, 2022’s II, and their latest album, 2026’s III. The band has a great desert rock sound that packs the fuzzy riffs with...
Bird is a three-piece band from Naples, Italy. They play a combination of old school hard rock, blues, heavy psych, stoner and doom. They have released their debut, 2021’s The Great Beast from the Sea and various singles throughout their inception. They consist of Simone Pennicci on vocals and guitar, Pietro La Tegola on bass and backing vocals, and Johnny...
Truckfighters are a stoner/ desert rock band from Örebro, Sweden. Formed in 2001, they have released six full length albums including: 2005’s Gravity X, 2007’s Phi, 2009’s Mania, 2014’s Universe, 2016’s V, and their latest, 2026’s Masterflow. They also released 2023’s The Fuzzsplit Of The Century (Split with Firestone) and a live album, 2016’s Live In London. The original and...
Corrosion Of Conformity Is a hard rocking and pioneering heavy metal band from Raleigh, North Carolina. They formed in 1982 and started as a hardcore/ punk band, ultimately helping create a new genre called crossover. The original lineup featured guitarist Woody Weatherman, bassist Mike Dean, and drummer Reed Mullin. With other bands like DRI, Cryptic Slaughter, SOD, etc, emerging, the...
Seum is a doom n’ bass trio from Montreal, Canada. They play a heavy style of sludge/stoner metal, hardcore, and doom with no guitars! They consist of Gaspard Carrey on vocals, Piotr Ignatowicz on bass, and Frédéric Lepoutre on drums. They released two full length albums thus far, 2021’s Winterized and 2023’s Double Double. They also have a few EPs,...