Heavy Underground Band & Album reviews: My favorites in Riff rock/ fuzz/ stoner/ doom/ sludge/ heavy psych/ hardcore & metal

Wolftooth – Wizard’s Light 

Wolftooth is a stoner/ heavy metal band from Richmond, Indiana. The midwestern quartet features Chris Sullivan on vocals and guitar, Jeff Cole on guitar,Terry McDaniel on bass, and Casey Wainwright on drums. They have released 2018’s Self Titled, 2020’s Valhalla, 2021’s Blood & Iron, and their latest, 2025’sWizard’s Light. The band has a classic heavy metal sound that incorporates NWOBHM...

Pale Horse Ritual – Diabolic Formation

Pale Horse Ritual is a heavy fuzzed-out doom metal wrecking machine from Hamilton, Ontario, in Canada. The band consists of: Paco on bass, vocals, acoustic, guitar, James Matheson on lead guitar, Will Adams on rhythm guitar, backing vocals, and keys, and Jonah Santa-Barbara on drums. Their put out an EP in 2024 called Enchantress, and just released their debut full...

Stone Nomads – Empires Of Stone 

Stone Nomads is a heavy power trio from Houston, Texas. They began in 2021, and incorporate a mix of stoner, doom, metal, sludge, and hard driving rock. They have currently released 2022’s Field Of Dreams, 2024’s Beyond The Gates EP,  2024’s …At The Gates Of Solittude, and their latest, 2025’s Empires Of Stone. The band consists of Jon Cosky on...

Bask – The Turning 

Bask is a heavy psychedelic stoner rock band from Asheville, North Carolina. Formed in 2012, the band has released four full length albums including: 2014’s American Hollow, 2017’s Ramble Beyond, 2019’s III, and their latest 2025’s The Turning. The current lineup consists of Zeb Camp on guitar and vocals, Ray Worth on guitar, Jesse Van Note on bass, and Scott...

Orange Goblin – The End Of An Era (1995-2025)

Orange Goblin are a hard rocking stoner metal band from London, England. Formed in 1995, the band have released ten full length studio albums and a couple of live ones. They have decided to call it a day and retire after a thirty year career as a driving force in the heavy underground music scene.  I can’t express enough the...

Suncraft – Welcome To The Coven

Suncraft are a five-piece band from Oslo, Norway. Playing a heavy octane of hard driving rock, the band mixes in an array of different styles into their sound. Their debut album, Flat Earth Rider was released in 2021. They just put out their sophomore album called Welcome To The Coven on November 21st 2025. Suncraft consists of Rasmus Skage Jensen...

Winds Of Neptune – Self Titled 

Winds Of Neptune are a three-piece hard rock band from Detroit, Michigan. Featuring Ross Westerbur on bass and vocals, Kevin Roberts on guitar, and Mike Alonso on drums, the trio formed during the Covid pandemic of 2020. Being sidelined from the global lockdown, the band features members from Flogging Molly, 500 Ft. Of Pipe, and The Meatmen. Winds Of Neptune...

Spaceslug – Lemanis (2024 Remaster)

Spaceslug is a three-piece cosmic stoner doom band from Wroclaw, Poland. Consisting of Bartosz Janik on guitars and vocals, Jan Rutka on bass and vocals, and Kamil Ziółkowski on drums and vocals, the band formed in 2015. Their album releases includes 2016’s Lemanis, 2017’s Time Travel Dilemma, 2017’s Mountains & Reminiscence, 2018’s Eye The Tide, 2019’s Reign Of The Orion, 2020’s...