Prime Cuts: 5 Heavy Rock Bands You Don’t Want to Miss Out On

The heavy rock scene is still mostly an underground movement. Stoner, doom, sludge, thrash, and even a lot of punk remain in the fringe genre world. That means for the majority of the fans, some digging must be done to find the next obsession. But that is what we love, isn’t it? When the airway powers-that-be aren’t feeding ones appetite, it is time to go hunting. And that’s what I’m here for, to bring back the goods.

I’ve cooked-up 5 prime cuts of Heavy Rock for you to taste and savor. Each band or artist listed has less than 1000 monthly listeners on Spotify. These bands are deserving of a listening audience and we are here to be fed. There’s a good mixture of flavors here, so try them out and see what you love. I should probably stop making food analogies, but I don’t want to!

So, enjoy the feast. Go back for seconds. And share the bounty with others.

1. Nista

This Post-Rock, shoe gaze-doom band from The Netherlands is something to pay attention too. They deliver all the longing and sorrow we each carry at some point in our lives, served up with freshly picked bittersweet melodies. Each song on their EP has a haunting tale to tell, told through a timeless feminine vocal presentation. Heavy bass tones and guitar progressions root each song and keep the lament of the lyrics from swallowing you up. This stuff is very heavy, yet delicate and floating.

Dreamy is a great word to describe the EP, if the dream is in a constant state of incoming rain storm. Gloom and doom are well balanced, along with a little bit of light in the form of gorgeous vocals to bring the whole album together in a formidable soundscape. Here’s where to stream Nista *

The lyrics are timeless. With the melodic shoegaze tones and the innocence of the vocals, I felt as though I might drown in grief a few times and nearly hit pause. But I was saved by heavy guitar progressions, to my great relief. The bass came through for me as well, several times, offering something to grab onto to stay afloat.

 As the songs move along, the theme of the sweet suffering of love is obvious. The talent of the musicians is also clear, with beautiful and heavy melodies that support a sweet and melancholy voice. I imagine seeing this band live would be an utterly transformative experience.  

2. Aiwass

If you are looking for seriously heavy music, the kind that isn’t afraid of living in the darkness and calling it home, then Aiwass is your jam. In the same neighborhood as Ufomamut, Alter of Plagues, and MOL, their tracks are fuzzy, circling things that command attention without ever being obtrusive. Most of the material is in B standard, which makes it all very satisfying to the frission seekers among us.

Aiwass was originally a solo endeavor, started in 2020 by Blake Carrera in the midst of binging on the works of Aleister Crowley. In those early days of productivity, Aiwass toured the Midwest with Twin Wizard. Since then, Aiwass has expanded to include Eddy Keyes on lead guitar, Ben Ivey on bass, and John Quin on drums. Moving from traditional occult inspired doom, they have become an amalgamation of influences, fussing in some sludge, a lot of black metal, and a touch of psychedelia.

More recently, they have pulled from the Celtic music pantheon and delivered a haunting cover of the traditional song, The Cruel Brother. Thus far, that cover is the only Aiwass song that has a second man on vocals, with Keys joining Carrera for the duet. Through out all the Aiwass discography, Carreras vocal dexterity is proven agile from his softer, tonal melodies, to his high whisper screams.

Another album is in the works and I got the privilege of sampling a bit of it. It is going to be worth following them for. Visit their Bandcamp and help get this next release done! https://aiwassband.bandcamp.com/community

We’ve all been fans of Aiwass for a long time. Full disclosure: Blake is also an amazing writer, and a part of the Clean and Sober Stoner/Monster Riff Team!

Here’s the streaming link to Aiwas *

3: Angmondes

The doom metal band Angmodnes hails from Utrecht (The Netherlands), the same town as Nista. They formed in 2013. Their latest album, Rot Of The Souls, was released on March 1st, 2024.

You can read my full review on Clean and Sober Stoner here.

The ethereal and ancient quality of the vocals across the entire album give this collection a timeless and saga like feeling. There is a story to be heard here, an epic tale for the audience to imagine. With phrases like, The mystery of grace is but a desolate wait… you get the sense of being offered poetry that’s lathered in fog and flames.  With stunning time changes, the songs are journeys through darkness that keep climbing towards light. Double kick, incorporation of precise ride and crash cymbals, and brilliantly placed full stops make for a roller-coaster experience. The bass and guitar work are both bright and edgy, adding to the richly layered feel of the tracks.

One thing to note is the quality of the recordings. These tracks would be a treat in some high quality earbuds. Note for note, time change for time change, and cry for cry, this is an album for musicians to be in awe of and the hearer to enjoy. Take a look at their incredible video for their song, The Hours.

Here’s where to stream Angmodnes. *

4. Esben Willems

Monolord has been around quite a while, and they are rather well know. Empress Rising is often sited as a gateway song for people that leads them into the stoner doom realm. I really didn’t know what to expect when their drummer put out a solo album. Knowing his work in Monolord, and a couple other projects, I was prepared for slow, moody, climbing rhythms up a sludgy hillside with droning vocals. But that’s not what came through my JVC’s!

The album, A Glowing Darkness, was written, recorded, and mastered by Esben Willems himself. It is a mixture of powerful punk drum lines, edgy rock and roll guitar, and catchy melodies. His vocals are beyond unique, experimental and raw in a way that makes his lyrics jump into clarity. The whole album is a spooky carnival ride with brief moments of lightheartedness that are splintered by dark riffs. The last track ties everything together with a heavy farewell. This is a thinking musicians album and it is a marvel. At its core, it is a heavy rock album, but it carries an over all tone of theatrics, smoke and mirrors, and nighttime mischief.

I had the pleasure of interviewing Willems in March, 2024, and I got the impression that he’s just a good guy all around who works really, really hard at his craft. He’s a studio musician on many projects, including Slower, and is still in Monolord. He told me the reason he didn’t let himself get help from the numerous other musicians who would have gladly lent their skills to the album was because the thought of making a solo album scared him and he believes we should do scary things. You can hear for yourself here. *

I am so glad he faced his fears. My favorite track on the album is Space Bob, which only has one sentence on repeat in the lyrics. He builds a march that steams forward and builds in to an anthem that might cause whiplash when it ends. I had to save myself, this head caught fire, the round keeps going and you just have to sing along. Check out my interview with Willems.

5. Amautica

This band caught me off guard when I first heard their new 2024 album, Sin Altares. This duo out of Llavallol city, Buenos Aires, Argentina blends heavy rock, nostalgic eighties pop vocals, and latin beats for a uniquely heavy rhythmic sound. There is a bit of surf rock sensibilities

There is not a lot of information to be found about the pair. But we do know the drummer is Romina Dusk, and on guitar and vocals is Eugenio J. Caceres, AKA, “El Guruand” who is a writer, narrator and novelist. We also know they are a committed couple, which is a fairly unique achievement in music, but not unheard of.

The second single release from the new album is La Novia Oscura, is the first song I heard from them and I was instantly intrigued. Vocally, the track is soothing, but the guitars and drums are decidedly heavy, almost punk in their presentation. One thing that makes Amautica interesting is the subtle blending of genre. We hear a little surf rock in the guitars sometimes, with a bit of classic 80’s pop in the dreaminess of the tracks, and plenty of heavy chords that keep the songs in the realm of metal.

We live in a fantastic time for music! There are so many other great bands out there. We will be gathering up more samples for you all to enjoy and delivering them here. Keep your eye out for more prime cuts!

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