Top 5 On Friday – Heavy Psych Sounds Records: 5 Favorite Albums From 2024
Last week, I submitted my five favorite albums of 2024 from the label, Blues Funeral Recordings (here). Today, I’m gonna do the same thing for Heavy Psych Sounds. This idea started a couple of weeks ago when I posted about my five favorite underground record labels (post here). Heavy Psych Sounds from Italy, has been very active this past year releasing new material practically every week, or at least it seemed that way. They have been so involved with many great bands and artists and continue to expand their roster with many more. They even re-released a lot of the old Pentagram records and will be releasing their latest album in a couple of weeks. Anyways, this was a tough decision to make because they too put out such a high quality of excellent music.
https://www.heavypsychsounds.com
5. ACID MAMMOTH – SUPERSONIC MEGAFAUNA COLLISION
Acid Mammoth from Athens, Greece delivered a crushing album with Supersonic Megafauna Collision. The album came out this past May and contains six tracks. Doom metal done right with Black Sabbath as their guide. Check out the full review of the album here.
https://acidmammoth.bandcamp.com
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4. SLOWER – SLOWER & RAGE AND RUIN (tie)
I’m breaking the rules here and putting both Slower albums together on this list. I can’t decide which one I like more because they are both great. Slayer songs done in a slow and doomy fashion equals awesome. The super group features Bob Balch on guitars, Esben Willems on drums, and Amy Tung Barrysmith on vocals and bass on Rage And Ruin. Those three play on both albums and the Self Titled features other guest musicians also. Releasing two records in the same year is pretty rare nowadays, but Slower achieved that with the Slayer covers and including original material on Rage And Ruin. The Self Titled was released at the end of January (review here) and Rage And Ruin came out in early November (review here).
https://heavypsychsoundsrecords.bandcamp.com/album/slower-rage-and-ruin
https://www.heavypsychsounds.com/bands/slower.htm
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3. MARIO LALLI & THE RUBBER SNAKE CHARMERS – FOLKLORE FROM THE OTHER DESERT CITIES
I discovered this excellent collaboration towards the end of the year and I was completely floored! The band is a super group of sorts and features the same lineup as the Brant Bjork Trio (review here), with the addition of vocalist and poet, Sean Wheeler. Folklore From The Other Desert Cities was recorded from a live performance in Australia and tweaked by Mathias Schneeberger to sound amazing. The album was released this past March. Mostly improvised and partially structured, the album is a musical and poetic journey that is just amazing. Check out the full album review here.
https://www.heavypsychsounds.com/bands/mario-lalli-and-the-rubber-snake-charmers.htm
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2. SPIRIT MOTHER – TRAILS
Another surprise favorite of mine this year was Spirit Mother. I am so enthralled with Trails that I still listen to this album quite frequently. The album came out this past September and I actually have a greater love and appreciation for it now than I did when I initially wrote the album review (check it out here). There’s a reason why Trails made my top twenty list this year, it’s an absolute treasure! The violin playing is so fitting with the rest of the music and the songs range from lush to heavy with a blissful and dynamic structure.
https://www.spiritmotherofficial.com
https://spiritmother.bandcamp.com
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1. DUEL – BREAKFAST WITH DEATH
Duel, from Austin, Texas impressed me so much with Breakfast With Death! There is something so authentic in their sound and delivery with the rocking metal and thrashing music that they execute. The band has some real grittiness to their sound with the rawness and ferocity of these songs. Not to mention, the talent of the musicians themselves with the guitar harmonies, great vocals, and riff fueled aggression throughout Breakfast With Death. This was my first exposure to Duel and when I listened to their back catalog, I couldn’t believe how they used to sound either. Not what I expected, with the Pentagram/ proto metal and progressive musical sound. The new direction reeled me in but I have a thorough appreciation for the band as a whole. My thrash and heavy metal roots were completely satisfied with Breakfast With Death, which rarely happens in music made today. Every song on this album is a banger and Duel was my number three pick in my top twenty favorites of 2024. I still listen to this album regularly since it was released back in July. Check out my full album review here.
