Rickster scale of doom.

NEGATIVE REACTION Under the Ancient Penalty(This Dark Reign)--Depressive doomcore the way I like it from these legendary sludgsters from Long Island. It's kind of like mastering an ancient trade over the years, it gets better with the more pain you express. Heavier than ever, and what I envy most is the experimental sawy mix of drones, hardcore, and psychedelics tossed with Sabbath-brand rat salad dressing.

TURUMBAR Ohatura (Doomed Bard)--Dhatura is the crushing new album from Colorado's new masters of the doomiverse. Long sonic anthems buried in monolithic mountains of riffage took me hook, line, and sinker with the first song, "Destined to Ruin." The cover artwork is killer, and if comparisons are needed, think about an earth ride on a well-hung warhorse.

SAD Nothingness (Regimental Records)--SAD plays dismal, pessimistic black metal, Extremely raw and minimal, the best elements are no keyboards and sampling, or lyrically political and religious preferences, It's simply about the seething bleakness of life and the entitlement to fucking nothing!

INTRONAUT Void (Goodfellow Records)--Something raging happens when you get members of Impaled, Exhumed, and Uphill Battle together. Voidis the full-length to follow up the now infamous four-song Null EP, and what started as a side project has new become a full-time band. What comes up for me is Neurosish infected rhythms by way of molten metal sizzling in a tar pit.

ZOROASTER S/t EP (Battle Kommand)-- If you like your doom punishing and brutal, this is it. Atlanta's Zoroaster delivers the goods in terms of amp worshiping and deafening disruption. I'm pretty impressed with the over-driven head swelling rituals of slow and sludgy discord. Heavy nods to Sleep, Grief, and SunnO, and you're shit without this, so just end it.