Pallbearer: Foundations of Burden (2014)

Another example of trying, thinking the failure is on my part. Pallbearer put out one of the greatest rock albums of all time (IMHO) with 2017’s Heartless; I still contend “I Saw the End” has one of the truly great metal solos of the 2000s, and both “Dancing in Madness” and the title track show the breadth of the band’s sonic vision. But nothing else truly connected with me, despite owning the original Foundations of Burden on CD as well as all the band’s follow-ups on vinyl. When the 2025 remix came out last year, I made a decision to take one last plunge: maybe the new mix would win me over? Let’s get into it after the jump, and maybe talk about efforts like this in the process.

ChrisJanuary 9, 2026January 9, 2026Leave a comment

The 9C Files, Vinyl

The 9C Files: Kryptograf’s Kryptonomicon

Shocking, I know: the stoner rock guy fell hard for the new album by Scandinavian retro rockers Kryptograf. What can I say? I’m an easy mark, one made easier by the fact that since their 2020 self-titled debut the group have been churning out an intoxicating brew of stoner rock and doom in the vein of classic Black Sabbath mixed with more modern sensibilities – think Witchcraft in their heyday. And had Kryptograf stayed the course with album number three, the wonderfully titled Kryptonomicon, I would have been content. But rather than stayed glued to a proven formula, there are enough tweaks here that I came away even more impressed with how the band can absorb influences and spit them out in a cohesive whole uniquely their own.

ChrisDecember 28, 2025December 28, 2025Leave a comment

Vinyl

Kal-El: Astral Voyager Vol. 1 (2025)

The Norwegians have practically cornered the market when it comes to modern progressive rock, so why not desert/stoner rock as well? Kal-El has in just over a decade carved out a very nice discography of hard, anthemic rock that straddles stoner metal, doom, desert rock, and even some subtle shades of psychedelia. Full length number six Astral Voyager Vol. 1 wraps the band’s vibe in a grand science fiction concept as well as some killer album art, with Vol. 2 promised for later in the year. This is my second release from Blues Funeral Recording’s PostWax Unlimited series, and a welcome surprise that has me eager to dig deeper into the band.

ChrisMay 21, 2025Leave a comment

Vinyl

Fires in the Distance: Air Not Meant For Us (2023)

I’m waiting for a record to arrive before I start my next series, so in the meantime I’m going to hit a couple one-offs that fall under the general category of “impulse buys” – those albums that, whether drunk or excited or something else caused me to hit the buy button before really thinking. Sometimes it pays off, as is the case with Air Not Meant For Us, the second album from Connecticut’s Fires in the Distance. Taking cues from melodic, progressive death metal and injecting a healthy dose of gloom and doom make for a dynamic and exciting album, one that crept back into my ears on a playlist as I was drifting off the sleep, forcing me to take attention and buy a copy before the inevitable slide back into the black.

ChrisMay 7, 2024May 6, 2024Leave a comment

Vinyl

Megaton Leviathan: Mage (2018)

Day 3 of the #mayvinylchallenge is Favorite Color or Effect, but truth be told I really prefer black vinyl. Initially there was an attractiveness to colored, splattered, or marbled vinyl but over time the glee of obtaining a limited edition variant lost its appeal. The beauty of a clean, silly black vinyl however, did not. That being said, there is a joy to be had when album art and vinyl combine and coordinate for a beautiful presentation. I presented a few option on my Instagram page, but for purposes of today’s entry we’re going with the synth-heavy doom of Megaton Leviathan and their third release, Mage.

ChrisMay 3, 2021Leave a comment

Vinyl

Sans Soleil: A Holy Land Beneath a Godless Sky (2014)

I came across the #mayvinylchallenge on Instagram, and thought that was a good way to find my way back (yet again) to this blog. I’m posting my entries here, but thought it would be nice to add some brief notes here about my choices. Day 1 was about One Album Wonders, I was helpless, unable to pick anything other than A Holy Land Beneath a Godless Sky, the sole record from Sans Soleil. It’s a gloriously somber, elegiac record, one I would have never discovered were it not for the boundless taste of Mr. Erik Highter, facilitator of so much of what I’ve fallen for over the last few years.

ChrisMay 2, 2021Leave a comment

Consuming the Tangible

We are what we consume

Tag: doom

Pallbearer: Foundations of Burden (2014)

The 9C Files: Kryptograf’s Kryptonomicon

Kal-El: Astral Voyager Vol. 1 (2025)

Fires in the Distance: Air Not Meant For Us (2023)

Megaton Leviathan: Mage (2018)

Sans Soleil: A Holy Land Beneath a Godless Sky (2014)