Let’s think of 2021 as the year that will reveal the ultimate artistic expression of all creators out there and, personally I am very excited with what the year promises pertaining to music releases especially in Metal. The year starts with the right foot with this release by Portugal’s Stoner Metal band Miss Lava and their fourth effort Doom Machine (Small Stone). This album explores how psychedelic and experimental sounds mix so well with Stoner Rock/Metal, with passages that go straight from heavy riffs into spacious soundscapes that will transport you somewhere else in the cosmos. 

For fans of bands like Kyuss, Red Fang, and Deaf Radio, Miss Lava brings an album full of extreme emotional energy based on tragic deaths within the band’s personnel. You can expect an album full of really catchy riffs in tracks like ‘Fourth Dimension’ and ‘Magma’ and sonic trips like ‘Brotherhood of Eternal Love’, ‘The Great Divide’, and ‘Alpha’, which is a beautiful interlude for the track ‘The Oracle’. Doom Machine (Small Stone) also includes three bonus tracks on which ‘Feel Surreal’ and ‘Red Atlantis’ stand out with a memorable brand of Stoner Rock as well, differentiating these tracks from the rest album, bringing a more energized type of music than the songs that belong to the original narrative of Doom Machine (Small Stone). 

So, if you’re looking to have a balanced Stoner album to begin the year that includes some beautiful and captivating melodies, Miss Lava is a great way to start. Make sure you blast this album loud and proud, it’ll surely stay in your brain for a while, and the only way to please yourself will be by hitting the play button on your favorite stream platform or in your record player, or wherever you prefer to listen to music. Here hoping that we can see these guys live this year, a very well recommended album! 

You can buy the album here: https://smallstone.bandcamp.com/album/doom-machine

7 / 10

WESLIE NEGRON