Windhand - Soma (2013)

For those waiting for the next Electric Wizard album, this should do quite nicely to tide you over. This is an absolute monster of an album. With bone crushing riffs, an extremely hazy atmosphere, and beautifully distant vocals, this is definitely one of the best doom albums of the year and one that takes the original Black Sabbath sound to far darker places than Iommi and co. could ever have imagined. Simply put, "Soma" is HEAVY. The gargantuan half-hour track "Boleskine" alone is one of the punishingly heavy things ever recorded. It's very repetitive, as a lot of doom is, but the repetitiveness creates this eerie, ritualistic atmosphere that is the real charm for me about this album. And this charm extends into acoustic territory on the gorgeous track "Evergreen" which reminds me a lot of Hexvessel. I think "Soma" is a bit of a step-up from the self-titled debut album since the vocals are a bit catchier but both are amazing slabs of doom that no doom fan should miss out on.

9/10