Deer Lord – Dark Matter Pt.2

by Mark 'Yeti' Richard · December 2, 2024

Deer Lord is a heavy psychedelic doom/ stoner/ riff rock band from Santa Rosa, California. The Sonoma County power trio formed in 2019 and have released the Deer Lord EP in early 2020 and Dark Matter Pt.1 in February of 2023. Most recently, the band released their first full length album called Dark Matter Pt.2 on Halloween (October 31st) 2024. Deer Lord consists of Sheafer McOmber on guitar and vocals, Ryan Alderman on drums, and Jared Marill on bass.

I just discovered this band last month and have been listening to them constantly since then. I was very impressed with their music and have been digging Dark Matter Pt.1 and 2 ever since. Deer Lord has an excellent and somewhat interesting sound about them that I can’t quite put my finger on. The more I listen, the more I like them! The musical style can be classified as typical within this genre but the songs themselves, are very well written and performed. I also like that the production is not overly crisp and polished. Deer Lord retain an edge of rawness that derives a more heavy rock appeal to their songs. Dark Matter Pt.2 is barely thirty one minutes long but the six tracks articulate a lot of musical substance within each song, and that makes the record a very interesting listen.

The album opens with the title track “Dark Matter”, an eight minute journey through space and time. The opening sample with the cosmic, airy guitar shimmers with punctuated bass guitar and splashing cymbals, sets up the countdown to the psychedelic doom rock expedition. The music is slow and heavy to start, with atmospheric sounding vocals, reminiscent of Psychlona. It gives the song a psychedelic texture while the music amps up the rocking groove. Deer Lord has a really cool organic rock sound with bluesy guitar leads and a heavy dose of doom. “Dark Matter” is a stellar track to open up the record with and covers a lot of musical ground in its execution. The second song “Faster” is a more stripped down rocker with a nice swaggered groove about it. The sound is vintage without sounding dated, if that makes any sense. They incorporate a catchy chorus and Sheafer McOmber’s voice sounds really cool too. The way Deer Lord uses ring out chords with Ryan Alderman’s fantastic drumming and fills, has that classic rock vibe about it. The band writes some banging riffs too that take the song on a whole new level. I like the bottom end bass sound of Jared Marill’s playing too. Again, the vintage rock sound is there but their delivery is modern and happening. “Dogma” is another hard rocker with a hardcore warmth to it. The heavy driving song flourishes into a heavy head tripping bridge that teases a little space rock before diving back into the faster rhythm.

“Intelligent Life” deploys more psychedelic and atmospheric sounds to begin with and is another longer track, around seven and a half minutes. There’s a lot going on with this one, with heavy slabs of doom and groove, to some spaced out jam parts. Deer Lord does a masterful job at blending the styles in a seamless manner with this one. The song is so well written that it doesn’t feel long or drawn out, in any way. The effortless flow of riffs and fluctuations really shine on this track. “Blade” is next and is another excellent song of rocking furry. Acid drenched leads and creative riffs make up the blueprint for this one. The band creates the perfect mixture of sonic dynamics throughout Dark Matter Pt.2. By the time the last song “Pay” begins, Deer Lord has already covered the full spectrum of heavy psychedelic doom and riff rock glory. “Pay” closes out the record with a pummeling of straight up rock made to order. The band really impressed me with this release. I also really enjoy Dark Matter Pt.1 a lot too but this one is a little more cohesive and expansive overall. I can see this band fitting right in with the roster of great bands on labels like Ripple Music, Small Stone Records, or Heavy Psych Sounds.

With the vast number of stoner/ doom and riff rock bands out there today, it’s easy to overlook good artists that offer a different or unique experience to that said style of music. Deer Lord are one of those bands that offer me something special and lasting without sounding totally different for the sake of originality. I believe the band is making the kind of music that they want to without thinking about what’s the latest trend or sound that they need to address. Dark Matter Pt.2 is an exceptional album that will be somewhere in the top echelon of my favorite releases of 2024. I can’t wait to hear where Deer Lord will go from here. This is definitely a band to watch out for in the future.