Things I'm listening to today:

The Deep Blue: Antarctic Abyss. A fine album of Sleep-worshipping stoner doom with a nice mix of spacey textures and brooding menace. Two songs, about half an hour of brooding, somonolent fuzz.

Church Of Misery: The Second Coming. Absolutely hypnotic, misanthropic stoner metal from Japan. I need to get more by them.

Acid King: III. It's about the awesome guitar tones, and Lori S.'s stoner queen vox. When's the new album coming out?

Deep Purple: The Battle Rages On. An overlooked gem, Blackmore's last moments of begrudged, uneasy yet indubitable brilliance with the band.

Skid Row: Skid Row. Late-80s pop metal at its most fierce, OTT and brilliant.

Skid Row: Slave To The Grind. A much darker, heavier album, but balanced out with mellower moments that transcend the power ballad cliches.

Soundgarden: Down On The Upside. I remember how excited I was when I first heard this album and then how crushed I felt when I heard it would be their last. The excitement still bears up - they went out on a high note.

W.A.S.P.: The Crimson Idol. A conceptual album about the rise and fall of a rock star, apparently. The idea was tackled before, but Blackie Lawless' sleaze/metal epic is still awesome. I wasn't that blown away when he spent a few years basically re-making this album at one point.