Best New Releases June 2025
Summer is in full swing, heating up both the earth as well as the music scene. Festival season is also going strong, and I've been loving all of the posts of standout performances from some of my favorite heavy underground artists (from the comfort of my air-conditioned abode, that is). To top things off, June also delivered some memorable new albums, including some highly anticipated releases from familiar names as well as some gems from some lesser-known artists and newcomers. Without further ado, let's get into my favorites from the month.
The following albums are exactly what I submitted to the Doom Charts for July, in descending order:
10.) Lorquin's Admiral - (self-titled)
You've probably heard the buzz about Lorquin's Admiral, a supergroup composed of current and former members of Afghan Whigs, the Fizz Fuzz, Hermano, Luna Sol, Orquesta del Desierto, Sons of Alpha Centauri, and Yawning Sons. If you guessed that the sound emanating from this group of seasoned musicians would be filled with soaring desert tones, you'd be 100% correct, but there are a few surprises in store on Lorquin's Admiral's debut album. There are plenty of nods to stoner rock, some bluesy moments, and a whisper of retro rock, but this album rests on a foundation of gunge and alternative rock, alternating between dark and gritty and soothing, soulful moods. Best of all, the unique vocal contributions of husband-and-wife duo Dandy and Dawn Brown, who rotate lead vocal duties, naturally results in a wealth of added variety. This is the perfect album for summer, allowing you to rock out while simultaneously soothing your soul.
Favorite Track: Inexplicable Things
9.) Bloodwood - Dark Simulator
Dark Simulator, the debut full-length album from Australian ambient rock quartet Bloodwood, is filled with beautifully stark contrasts. Across the eight tracks, you'll encounter cold and dense post metal lumbering through ghostly vapors, somber but peaceful interludes lapping at the shores of suffocating despair, dreamy psychedelic visions that lead to revelation and triumph, and resulting light as air moods that glide languidly through planes of blissful contentment. All of this is narrated by adaptable alternative rock vocals that are as soothingly wispy as they are powerful and steadfast. While it's true that Dark Simulator begins in a very sorrowful place, it ultimately unveils a compelling and deeply personal journey that is fully won in the end.
Favorite Track: Empty Cities
8.) Vandhali - After Evil
Vandhali specializes in creating heavy music centered around equally heavy concepts. This Denver-based group harnesses the sinister heft of doom, the commanding power of heavy metal, and notes of trippy psychedelia to relay their dark tales through vocals that alternate between sung and spoken word. Their new EP After Evil delves into the brutal aftermath of evil reign, "revealing a world ruled by fear, torment, and corrupted judgement". Throughout the EP, you'll be entranced by Vandhali's proto doom tones as well as their immersive storytelling, resulting in a multi-faceted and deliciously dark listening experience.
Favorite Track: Scarlet Beast
7.) Organic Destruction - Prophets of Cthulhu
Organic Destruction proves on their sophomore album Prophets of Cthulhu that they are bona fide wizards when it comes to the cornerstone of stoner/doom: a massively heavy, riff-based, lumbering sound laced with mind-warping psychedelia, creating a hallucinogenic experience for the listener that's nearly as physical as it is auditory. However, Organic Destruction really turns both of these elements up to eleven, and that only heightens the experience, sharpening the clarity of the mental journey and deepening the reverberations of riffs that "cut deep into your bones".
Favorite Track: Marching the Shores
You can read my full review of the album here.
6.) Inhale - At the Bottom of the Lake
At the Bottom of the Lake offers up a strong representation of modern psych-drenched doom. This is a sound that emerges from murky depths and diffuses into misty, mind-bending vapors, only to reform again to trudge menacingly along the shores. The vocals, while they could have easily elected to be a sludge-metal growl, opt for an echoing, powerfully melodic approach. By blending the perfect balance of heavy and light into a spellbinding cocktail, Inhale's sound is sure to appeal to doom and psych fans alike.
Favorite Track: Price to Pay
5.) MoD - The Void or the Abyss
On their new album The Void or the Abyss, Dutch grungy stoner rockers MoD set the mood with dense, murky, and somber tones that gradually evolve into more open and optimistic atmospheres. Regardless of the mood each song takes on, each remains a deeply satisfying mix of stoner rock and grunge amplified by the heaviness of doom and intensity of post rock. This release also shows MoD gaining confidence in their signature sound while continuing to perform with palpable authenticity as they make sense of the ups, downs, and changes life brings about through heavy music.
Favorite Track: House of Sand
You can read my review of the album here.
4.) Fusskalt - Faceless Man
After the release of their last album Intercooler in 2018, life hit Danish stoner/desert rockers Fusskalt a bit hard. Responsibilities, the pandemic, and the loss of their lead singer left the band "running on pilot light" until summer 2025, with the release of their EP Faceless Man. With new vocalist Niko taking the reins as frontman, the band delivers what sounds like the very essence of stoner/desert rock: gritty, barreling riffage, coarse but soaring vocals, energetic drumming, and stormy basslines abound. To top it all off, a soulful infusion is added to the mix by way of hypnotic psychedelic rock and vintage heavy rock. Faceless Man brings to mind greats such as Dozer and Greenleaf, but Fusskalt has a special energy all their own that puts a sophisticated touch on the stoner/desert sound we know and love.
Favorite Track: Sirens
3.) 1968 - Royal Bastards
Beloved UK fuzz rockers 1968 are back with Royal Bastards, their first release with vocalist Andrew Valiant and undoubtedly their heaviest album to date. The foundation of dense stoner riffs that dance with hypnotic psychedelic interludes that bolstered the band's sound is still very much in place. However, you'll quickly hear that the ethereal reprieves on Royal Bastards are even more gossamer, and the heavy parts are even more crushing. What's more, the vocals truly take this album soaring over the top, giving an incredibly versatile performance that ranges from gritty growls to heavy metal shrieks to soulful crooning and back again, breathing new life into 1968's sound. Naturally, this results in a multi-dimensional and immersive listening experience sure to dazzle fans of both the rock and metal sides of the stoner music spectrum.
Favorite Track: Softly Spoken
You can read my full review of the album here.
2.) Mad Chicken - Ab Ovo
Mad Chicken is a grungy stoner quintet from Brazil who piqued the interest of the heavy underground with their new EP Ab Ovo, not just for its clever play on the Mad Season Above album cover, but for its unique additions to a familiar sound. Perhaps unsurprisingly, Mad Chicken utilizes a strong foundation of grunge and alternative rock across Ab Ovo's five tracks, evoking strong Alice and Chains and Soundgarden vibes in particular. However, the band also has a knack for surprising their listener with both dense and sludgy and wispy psychedelic interludes while incorporating nods to their home country through the incorporation of tropical percussion and soothing respites amid the heaviness. In spite of its brevity, Ab Ovo is one of the most well-rounded releases I've had the pleasure of hearing this year, spurring an insatiable craving for more of this sound that's the perfect balance of heavy and soothing.
Favorite Track: Below
1.) King Potenaz - Arcane Desert Rituals Vol. 1
Arcane Desert Riutals Vol. 1, the highly anticipated album from beloved Italian doomsters King Potenaz, delivered on its promise to be the band's "heaviest and most atmospheric release to date" in a big way. Everything about the band's sound is elevated... The atmospheric elements are so vividly haunting, you can practically see a ghostly vapor rising before you as you listen. Conversely, the heaviness is even more pulverizing, creating soul-crushing scenes of dread, despair, and doom (naturally). Furthermore, the increased presence of drone takes time to set an evocative scene while strongly emphasizing the sensation of being overcome by ungodly forces. The icing on the cake is hearing a more melodic and expressive side to frontman Giuseppe's vocals, as well as an ultra-powerful guest vocal performance from Jana Maista. In a nutshell, Arcane Desert Rituals Vol. 1 is a modern doom masterpiece for which King Potenaz held absolutely nothing back, weaving darkly captivating tales saturated with evil and dripping with blood.
Favorite Track: Rivers of Death
You can read my full review of the album here.
That's it for June! I hope you enjoy these albums as much as I did.
Don't forget to check out this month's Doom Charts where there are forty albums waiting for you to discover, and as always, be sure to show your favorite heavy underground artists some much-deserved love!
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