The Heavy Desert Podcast – My Top 10 Favorite Albums of the 2nd Quarter (April, May, & June) of 2026
I had the pleasure to discuss my Top 10 Favorite Releases for the second quarter of 2026 with Dan from The Heavy Desert Podcast. It was an another dense quarter of new releases and there were a few excellent albums that I didn’t get to listen to that much in time for our show. The records that come to mind are the latest releases from: Broadslab, Child, Green Desert Water, Okay You Win, and Plaindrifter. Again, my order would probably look a lot different today than it did when we aired the episode. Since doing these top ten shows, Dan and I think that this was our greatest collection of releases in any given quarter. It was truly amazing on how many exceptional albums came out between April and June. Listen to our episode here :
Here are my picks with a review link for each album , with an additional 30 honorable mentions. Check out all of these amazing recordings and bands. I would encourage you to go to the 2026 Albums Menu list and check out all of the reviews to maybe discover your next favorite band. I only review albums and bands that I really like or love, so every single review is essentially an honorable mention. As usual, the second quarter of 2026 was a massive output of fantastic releases! I want to thank all of the amazing bands and all the wonderful people involved in the heavy underground music scene. Thanks for supporting my blog and The Heavy Desert Podcast. I appreciate all of you very much!
~Mark ‘Yeti’ Richard
10. SEUM – PARKING LIFE
9. DEMONS MY FRIENDS – SURVIVE/ YOURSELF
8. ABRAMS – LOON
7. GOZU – VI
6. RESTLESS SPIRIT – SELF TITLED
5. THE QUILL – MASTER OF THE SKIES
4. TRUCKFIGHTERS – MASTERFLOW
3. THE HEAVY EYES – FOCUS
2. CROBOT – SUPERMOON
1. CORROSION OF CONFORMITY – GOOD GOD / BAAD MAN
HONORABLE MENTIONS; (In Alphabetical order!)
ALL THEM WITCHES – HOUSE OF MIRRORS
BIRD – MONDO OCCVLTO
BIRDS OF VALE – DIMENSIONS
BONG VOYAGE – HEDONISTIC HARD ROCK
BROADSLAB – THE FIFTH ESSENCE
BRONCO FORTE – LIGHTENING SCARS
CHILD – REBIRTH
ELDER – THROUGH ZERO
ELEFUS – TIME TO BEND
FUZZRIDER – DESERT BOOGIE
GODDESS – RITUAL OF THE CLOVEN HOOF
GREEN DESERT WATER – EERIE MEADOWS
KHEMMIS – SELF TITLED
MASHEENA – LET THE SPIDERS IN
MONOLORD – NEVERENDING
MOTHER IRON HORSE – SELF TITLED
OKAY YOU WIN – END OF DAYS
OL’ TIME MOONSHINE – NOW I BLEED
PLAINDRIFTER – GESTALT
PRIMITIVE RING – SELF TITLED
RED DESERT – SELF TITLED
REDWOOD – HYPERSPACE
ROBOT GOD – ONTO THE AFTERLIFE
SEA OF SNAKES – MAGMANTUS EP
SÖNUS – PLANES OF TORMENT
SPIRIT ADRIFT – INFINITE ILLUMINATION
STEPMOTHER – ABSURDUS MANIFESTUS
TIDAL WAVE – VOLUME TREE
WHITE TUNDRA – STORIES FROM THE DARK
WITCH RIPPER – THROUGH THE HOURGLASS
