Best New Releases December 2023

I've always been under the impression that not many new releases come out in December. While it may be true that the numbers of new releases decrease a bit in the last month of the year, what did come out certainly didn't lack in quality. I'm not sure if maybe I just got lucky and several of these albums were really suited to my personal tastes or what, but I found some absolute gems to present to the Doom Charts this month. Hopefully you guys will dig them as much as I do; I really can't recommend these albums enough. I'm also going to write a little something nice about each of them since this is a bit of a shorter list...and I REALLY liked all of these albums! In fact, three of them made it onto my Top 25 Underground Releases list! 

The following albums are what I submitted to the Doom Charts this month, in ascending order.

MANDALA - KINGS CREEK

Mandala is one of those bands that can do a little bit of everything, and everything they do, they do well. This stoner/psych band from Luckenwalde, Germany does a phenomenal job of melding groove-heavy stoner rock with hard rock, grunge, blues, and a dash of punk for good measure. Keeping their melodies somehow both smooth and gruff, Mandala's songs have a tendency to take some clever twists and turns. Every song on the album provides a unique atmosphere and style that will always keep the listener on their toes. Kings Creek is an incredibly well thought out composition that will pull you in and keep you hooked with its hypnotic groove and ample variety. This is an album that I'm liking more and more every time I listen to it; it's been on very heavy rotation for me this week in particular.   

WARCOE - A PLACE FOR DEMONS

Warcoe, a doom outfit from Italy, serves up a hearty slab of "groovy doom from the abyss" as they so aptly put it. Their new album, A Place For Demons, has proven to be a solid representation of doom metal that is overall faster-paced than what we often see from modern bands the the genre, and that pays some major homage to its traditional doom/heavy metal roots. As the ironically impatient doom metal fan with a penchant for the old school, I found this to be an incredibly refreshing listen that will never bore you.    

SATURNA - THE RESET

The Reset was another album from December that got a spot on my end of year list as well as the lists of many of my colleagues. This was a very highly anticipated album this year, and for good reason. Everything about Saturna is big; big epic sound that could beautifully fill a stadium, big guitar, big powerful vocals, and intensely emotive and relatable lyrics. What's more, this music sounds like it's from another time, namely the late 70s/early 80s. The coolest part is that retro sound, beautifully demonstrated by Saturna, is resonating with younger generations who follow the underground scene. The rise of music streaming services and social media in the last twenty or so years has made music a lot more accessible to fans. As a result, it's much easier to explore bands of eras past, and today's bands are really doing a great job of putting a modern spin on that retro sound. Saturna is certainly one of the best at this.  

JOSIAH - REHCTAW

Josiah returns with their most serious and experimental work to date, rehctaW. Centered around the idea of a hellish, post-apocalyptic future, this album delivers on its promise to be, in the band's own words, "lysergic proto-metal for the dystopian loner." Featuring an equal amount of groovy, psychedelic, riff-heavy tracks and more experimental, eerie numbers, this album makes it easy to imagine yourself in a nightmarish survival landscape, filled alternatively with dread, anxiety, and adrenaline.  

HOLY GIANT - DIVINERS AND DIVIDERS

Many stoner/doom bands create music with some very epic themes, be it a dystopian future, a fantastical adventure, or anywhere in between. Holy Giant knocks this concept out of the park by weaving tales of space pilgrimage, the occult, mythology, ritualistic ceremony, and general impending doom. They do this while rattling your insides with earth-shaking riffs (the band aptly describes themselves as "earthquake makers", after all), and they even incorporate a bit of throat singing. It really doesn't get much more epic than that.  

LORD BRAIN SHIVA - TRISULA

Lord Brain Shiva got my attention with their song Al Cisneros. I think it's safe to say that most stoner/doom fans are going to want to hear what that's all about. I'll give you a bit of a clue: it's a hint at the utterly mesmeric experience that is Trisula, Lord Brain Shiva's third album. The band sought out to build upon their concept of "Himalayan Sludge" and create some longer tracks that utilize both Eastern and Western styles of music. They achieve this on the album with primarily lumbering, hypnotic songs that are sure to entrance you. This album is essentially a meditative experience for the sludge fan, and I'm here for it.  

SEDONA CRYSTAL BITCH - SYMPATHY FOR THE SHE DEVIL

This is witchcraft in its most delicious form. Sedona Crystal Bitch is dark desert rock from Oklahoma City dripping with doom and a metric ton of girl power. I don't mean the Spice Girls' kind of girl power, more like the "she bathes in the blood of her enemies" kind. After my own heart, this one.  

DIGITAL CARBS - CONFORM DEFORM

Digital Carbs is an indie/psych/prog rock band from Munich whose sound has a very dreamy, spaced out quality. They're very reminiscent of alternative rock bands of the 1990s, like a modern day Radiohead. Conform Deform sounds, to me, like serenity in the midst of chaos...like somehow being able to slow down and focus on the beauty of the water while drowning.  

And there you have it, the best of December 2023 according to yours truly. I hope you guys enjoy these amazing bands as much as I did. Don't forget to check out this month's Doom Chart for even more new music to discover! 

Until next month! 

-Stephanie