Mindkult: "Lucifer's Dream"

Timeless opium tunes at the edge of the cosmos

Looking for something that takes the edge off every day life? Then let Mindkult's cyclopean riffs crush you with sludgey heaviness instead of your day job and money troubles!

Temple of Void: "Lords of Death"

Hear and obey the gospel of the riffage!

While we grieve the loss of Lasse Pyykkö as the defacto vocalist of Hooded Menace, we can at the very least take solace in the fact that Temple of Void's newest album, Lords of Death, holds the death-doom torch high enough to burn the face of God.

H.P. Lovecraft: "I-II"

Highly overlooked band from one of the most exciting eras in music

It was far from horrific or esoteric when H.P. Lovecraft, the American rock band named after the famed weird horror author of the same name, rode the wave of psychedelia in the late 1960s in the US. Created partly by folk singer George Edwards, H.P. Lovecraft's only two true albums (a few others were later released under Lovecraft and Love Craft without Edwards) feels a bit more backwards-reaching than similar contemporary bands.

Evil: "Rites of Evil"

Goat-headed pentagram and old English font; That's exactly how this band sounds

Japan's new prime Buddhist thrash metal trio Evil let lose with all the dirty ferocity that one can expect from a group signed to Nuclear War Now! Productions. If you're even a little familiar with the label, you should already have a pretty good idea of the type of lengths this band will go to in order to create that menaching thrash atmosphere.

Sons of Crom: "The Black Tower"

The strongest arm in modern heavy metal

I can tell by the quality of The Black Tower that my lacking acquaintance with the duo's album debut from 2014, Riddle of Steel, is a huge mistake that will soon have to be mended. From the name one would expect fairly traditional heavy metal, but The Black Tower is anything but bound by the shackles of tradition.

Sasquatch: "Maneuvers"

Retrospective stoner metal just the way we like it

As far as stoner metal goes, Sasquatch steer straight for the same pitfalls as many others; Their focus isn't on being original - They're clearly followers of classics like Fu Manchu and Kyuss. Rather, the focus lies with the simple enjoyability of their primal flow, the heavy-handed groove of a well-crafted rhythm section, and the craftsmanship of the riff.

Kimi Kärki: "Eye for an Eye"

Partially derivative, but much more so coloured through by his own style and aesthetic

Kimi Kärki should be known to most fans of doom metal as the lead guitarist of Reverend Bizarre and Lord Vicar. But he's a man of many talents, as his lengthy career would suggest; He's also involved in progressive rock outfit Orne, psychonauts Uhrijuhla and Berliner Schule-revivalists E-Musikgruppe Lux Ohr. Furthermore, he's quite adept as a classic folk guitarist, songwriter and vocalist, as evident on both his solo debut, The Bone of My Bones, and now on his sophomore effort, Eye for an Eye.