Welcome back to Tag Diving! It’s been a while since we’ve done one of these. You might notice that I look a little different from last time. And have a different name. And am also not the same guy that used to do this. Hope you don’t mind.

If this is your first time here, or maybe it’s just been a while, here’s the haps: tag diving is a lot like dumpster diving, except instead of digging through someone’s trash and finding a half-eaten plum (what a boon!) I root through the bowels of Bandcamp in order to find you something that’s just as scrumptious. I’ve made the executive decision to kick this off with a tag that reminded me of something you might actually find in a dumpster: Fuzz.

It should come as no surprise that we’ve got a lot of stoner doom stuff here. As Brock has famously pointed out, chill stoner doom is one of the genres that I really dig. Actually, it’s kind of the one that really got me into metal in the first place. That said, I’ve always had a lot of beef with the genre too. There are far too many cliches, far too little creativity, and an absolutely unholy number of songs that just go 10h12~0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-10h12~0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0. But I’ve done a little digging and I think I’ve found some pretty fun stuff here.

---

Pale Grey Lore – Eschatology

First off, I love that album art. I know that that art style can be a little cliche in the stoner doom world, but I really dig this one. I don’t know that I have a whole whole lot to say about these boys, but you can imagine their sound as a little bit of a cross between Truckfighters and Bask. One of the things that I really appreciate about Pale Grey Lore is that they vary their tones from song to song. Marathoning a 40+ minute fuzzfest can get old sometimes and I’m really glad that they change up their flavors every few songs. It keeps things feeling fresh and gives you something new to stank face at periodically. The song structures are interesting enough to keep the record from feeling like a slog too, so overall, I’d say you’re in good hands with these lads.

---

Sasquatch – Fever Fantasy

I was pretty sold on this one by the end of the first song. There’s an immediate clarity to the production on this record that I am so, so grateful for. It can get a little muddy with that much fuzz in the mix, but Sasquatch finds a way to sound ENORMOUS while preserving the clarity. According to their Bandcamp page “Their songwriting approach is clear-cut; keep the focus on the hook.” And boy do they. I enjoy their songs just as much when they’ve got the low distorted open strings as I do when they’ve got the more spacey stuff going on. Unlike a lot of other stoner doom groups, they understand that the wah-pedal is a sometimes food and use it both sparingly and to great effect. If I were to make a comparison, I think I’d be most inclined to say they remind me of Elder. Their vocalist is really solid, the art for this album is sick, and I can enthusiastically recommend this one.

---

GOBLYNS – Three Sisters

Let’s have a little break, shall we? This one’s not metal, but it crossed my Bandcamp feed while I was writing this and what do you know! It’s tagged with fuzz too! Three Sisters is a sort of funky indie rock kind of thing. It’s mostly instrumental but honestly I think that they should lean WAY more into the vocal bits than they do. It’s already a fun album as is — it kind of reminds me of The Heavy Eyes, who I really dig — I just think it could use a little more variety. I’ll probably end up listening to some of their earlier albums and keeping an eye out for future releases.

---

The Soviet Space Programme – Space Is Hell

Alright, break’s over, let’s have some noise! This is a concept album about a Soviet kosmonaut whose equipment malfunctions, sending him hurtling off into the void of outer space. The album is meant to represent his last communications with earth before drifting out of range and out of contact. This thing sounds like a Sunn O))) album gone wrong. It’s horribly unsettling, and I mean that in the best way possible. If you, too, have the misfortune of liking noise/drone music, you’ll probably dig this. And as a passing recommendation, check out Colin Stetson’s album Chimaera I. It givers me a lot of the same vibes as Space Is Hell.

---

Hope you enjoyed a couple of these finds! It’s a good thing I’ve got all my shots because I’ll be back next Thursday, and the Thursday after that, and so on and so forth.