SkullDozer – High Tide

by Mark 'Yeti' Richard · August 2, 2025

SkullDozer is a heavy stoner rock/ metal band from Portland, Oregon. The quartet consists of Ben House on vocals, Justin Morgan on guitars, Jay Erbe on drums, and Dylan Wills on bass. They have released a four song EP in 2018 called BEEKEEPER, a full length album, 2019’s Killing Season, and a couple of singles dating back to 2014 and 2015. They started out as a three-piece and added a bassist for their latest and second full length, 2025’s High Tide. High Tide was released on July 4th 2025 on Beekeeper Records. It contains seven tracks and is around forty four minutes long.

“Bloody Ground” bulldozes right out of the gate. Planting a hard driving and colossal doom riff, the music is fuzz filled and distorted, drenched in feedback, and sludging in brutality. The vocals are a great mix with the high register expressions powering with emotive convictions. The end sequence of harmonies and grungy riffing is a fine touch to an already devastating song. “Sign Of The Times” is a potent riff machine of metal and intense vocals. The thrashy number erupts into a glorious guitar solo that progresses into a heavy meltdown. SkullDozer are pretty viscous in their sonic manipulation of vintage thrash and pummeling heavy metal rock. The demolishing title track “High Tide” is a tsunami of heavy doom. The savage riffing and bludgeoning rhythms are absolutely crushing! The end sequence to “High Tide” is unrelenting and connected to the groove. The band are hell bent on ear bleeding disruption.

“Erosion” is another brutal cascade of hammering doom. The old school flavor of metal in its purest form, trampled with death and destruction-induced riffs. The song is a total smasher. “Mass Production” begins with noisy feedback led into a fuzzy bass riff. Everything kicks into a metal chugging rhythm enhanced with Ben House’s soaring vocals. The SkullDozer sound has a strong Sabbath influence combined with 1980’s thrash. The songs are dense with heavy riffing and grooving heavily in the doomy blues. “Misanthromation” is an another classic example of the avalanche of riffs that are caving in on my eardrums. The vintage vibes are there but the sound is massive and expansive. The guitar leads are mind bending and will put you in a trance. However, it all ultimately comes back down to the almighty riff, that takes the hook. SkullDozer supplies us with amplitudes of devastating riffs. The production is fantastic too, and it adds a vital element to the sound. It’s hard to explain but it delivers an absolutely organic tone that resonates with the heavy and crushing riffs.

The seventh and final track is called “Hand Of Fate”. It’s a wrecking ball of doom and stoner rhythms laced in Black Sabbath. They incorporate some noisy guitar tones into the mix and obliterate through and through. I am super impressed with how fantastic this band is! SkullDozer has created a heavy dose of killer songs with High Tide, that will surely satisfy all fans of heavy metal and hard rock music alike.