Fans of straight-down-the-line stoner rock will already know how reliable DOZER were, particularly when In The Tail Of A Comet, Madre De Mios and Call It Conspiracy (Heavy Psych Sounds) [all 7] were first released in quick succession at the turn of the millennium. Newly revived on swanky vinyl, all three albums still hit the spot. Much like fellow countrymen Lowrider, Dozer rule because they love Kyuss and Fu Manchu more than you.
Long before everyone went potty over a goofy old- school thrash revival, WITCHERY were ripping people’s faces off in the name of speed and fury. Released the same year as The Haunted’s classic debut (also featuring guitarist Jensen, the scamp!) 1998 debut, Restless & Dead [8], is still unbeatable when it comes to vicious, blackened thrash, but both 1999’s Dead, Hot And Ready and 2001’s slightly glossier Symphony For The Devil [both 7] came pretty close. It’s a sound that never gets old and Witchery remain its most brutish (and now, via Century Media, deftly remastered) guardians.
If you fancy some epic, emotionally supercharged doom, SPIRIT ADRIFT should already be on your radar, but just in case, remastered versions of 2017’s Curse Of Conception and last year’s Divided By Darkness (now licensed to Century Media for the UK and Europe) [8] are not to be missed. Mainman Nate Garrett’s gift for angst-ridden opulence and melodic ingenuity is quite something to behold, while his riff strike-rate is ridiculous.
Ultimately, all anyone really needs are copies of HELLHAMMER’s Apocalyptic Raids (Noise/BMG) [9] and DIAMANDA GALÁS’s The Litanies Of Satan (Intravenal Sound Operations) [9]. The former is one of black metal’s unassailable cornerstones, and remains as grim and indelible as it was when a teenage Tom G. Warrior first found an outlet for his pain. The latter is Galás’s 1982 solo debut album – an absurdly intense and frequently terrifying eruption of untethered creativity, multi-octave acrobatics and a near-chewable sense of defiance. There’s nothing quite like it. Faint hearts need not apply.
