About Screaming From the Heavy Underground

 

How it Started

After jumping headfirst into the underground stoner/doom music scene on social media in May of 2023, I quickly became aware that there is a plethora of undiscovered talent out there. I'm not talking about bands that are just "pretty cool" or "ok". I mean skilled musicians who can sing, write a song, play an instrument, or a combination of those things just as good or better than those in mainstream music. Once I started contributing to the Doom Charts in September 2023 and started keeping closer tabs on the bands I'd nominated, it became even more apparent that many of these bands just fall by the wayside. I have to be honest, this made me incredibly frustrated and emotional at times at the injustice of it all. After rooting for these bands and cheering them on, it crushed me to see them just kind of disappear. 

This is not the fault of the bands themselves. Most often, it's due to lack of money. Resources eventually dry up, and that's a bit difficult to remedy, especially in lousy economic times. However, what we can do is make an effort to spread the word about some of this amazing talent to as many people as possible, fans and professionals in the industry alike, to ensure they're being heard by the right people. So, I created Screaming From the Heavy Underground in December 2023, as an extension of my social media pages, with the intention of sharing some of these amazing bands with an even larger audience. I am, it seems sometimes, screaming to be heard from the abyss to anyone who is remotely interested in heavy underground music, hence the name. 

This is truly a labor of love for me. I make absolutely no money doing what I do, and I don't have much interest in doing so. Listening to an ungodly amount of heavy underground music and interacting with other fans and bands is incredibly fun and fulfilling for me. I can't tell you exactly why music means so much to me; all I know is that nothing else has the power to touch my heart, make me happy, or comfort me when I'm feeling down in the same way that music does. As for why I feel compelled to be a cheerleader and advocate for underground bands, I certainly know that it's soul crushing to create something that you put your entire heart and soul into only to have it cast aside. This is especially true when you may only get one chance at making it. I absolutely hate watching that happen to good people and if I can help prevent a handful of bands from slipping through the cracks, then everything has been worth it. 

Goals

It's my ultimate hope that the Doomcakes pages and Screaming From the Underground will become much bigger one day, expanding my reach and making connections, allowing me to do a lot more to help spread the word about talent in heavy underground music. 

My long term goal is to be able to do some legitimate PR work for underground bands. 

What I Do

I primarily cover stoner/doom music and its subgenres (desert rock, psychedelic rock, sludge, etc), alternative rock, and grunge. I write about both new releases and older music. In fact, one of my favorite past times is uncovering older underground music that deserves to see the light again or for the first time. I have a very unofficial specialty in German stoner rock. This actually wasn't intentional; at one point in late 2023 I noticed that a solid 75% of the stoner rock I found myself getting massively into comes from Germany, and it's been that way ever since. 

I'm often asked if I do reviews. The short answer is sort of. I don't really like to call them reviews because I'd feel a bit pretentious doing so. However, if I like something, I'm more than happy to write about why I like it, writing what I affectionately call, "Stephanie Says Nice Things About an Album". Conversely, if something isn't quite suited to my personal taste, I don't feel comfortable writing about it, because that's just not fair to the band. Sure, constructive criticism can be helpful, it's just not what I do here, nor is it my place. If I don't like something, there's someone out there who will absolutely love it, and will give it the proper representation it deserves. 

Screaming From the Heavy Underground is a one-woman operation, so I don't write a large number of reviews. When I do write one, it's usually quite in depth and heartfelt, about albums that genuinely resonate with me. In that same vein, as I'm not a musician (although I do have some experience playing music), I write primarily about what music means to me on an emotional level. I can't critique your guitar playing, but I can tell you what images in paints in my brain and conjures in my soul. 

*Note: I won't write about AI generated music under any circumstances. 

Contact

You can send me your music and inquiries in the following ways:

• Email: doomcakes0130@gmail.com
• Direct message on Facebook and Instagram

Thanks for stopping by to check out my blog, and I look forward to hearing from you! 

🖤

Stephanie