Below, are three albums I was exposed to when I began my journey through heavy music. There are plenty of characteristics to heavy music, but generally, I would describe it as music that is dense, that lacks ‘breathing room’. People have their reservations about different types of music, myself included, but I wanted to break out of my comfort zone and listen to new genres. How many times have you heard someone say they like all types of music, but only listen to Drake, Cardi B, Post Malone, and Ariana Grande? This isn’t to criticize those artists, but to point out that there is a vast ocean of music available and many people are only swimming a few feet, leaving much to be explored. For me, this journey has been rewarding. I haven’t immediately fell in love with everything I have heard, but I feel like I can connect with music in a wholly different way and that’s what is exciting. Between the three albums discussed below, I believe you will find something new and enjoyable.

Welcome To Sky Valley – Kyuss, 1994

Released in 1994, but not fully appreciated at the time. Kyuss didn’t belong in any conventional metal genre, nor were they akin to their grunge and punk peers of the time. They were a major component of the emerging stoner rock scene in the early 90s. Bringing plenty of heavy riffing and psychedelic grooviness. The down tuned guitars have a spongy, distorted sound and rumor has it, Josh Homme, the guitarist and brains behind most of this record, would play his guitar through a bass cab to get his signature sound. For my guitarists out there, the key to this tone is setting your tone knob very low and using the neck pickup.

This is the quintessential stoner rock album. Loaded with personality and music that reflects the area from which it came, the deserts of Southern California. Kyuss is able to evoke images of blazing down the highway in a muscle car then make you feel like you’re in a smoke filled basement. I never knew I needed to feel those feelings until I heard this album. I highly recommend this one, it might be a refreshing change of pace especially compared to more conventional rock and metal.

Key Tracks: Gardenia, Supa Scoopa and the Mighty Scoop, Space Cadet, Demon Cleaner, Whitewater

Sunbather – Deafheaven, 2013

Long evolving tracks with soft, dreamy passages and thundering blast blast beats with a few ambient interludes intermixed. Sunbather contains triumphant crescendos of post-rock juxtaposed with dreamy, wall of sound, shoegaziness. There is also black metal influence all over the album, showcased by high gain, tremolo picked guitars, but unlike most black metal there is an unmistakable warm feeling throughout this record and the album art reflects that. Deafheaven showcases a culmination of a few distinct genres, mainly, shoegaze, post-rock and black metal. If you can stand the reverb soaked screams of frontman George Clarke you are in for a delight (and the vocals will grow on you, they are filled with emotion and fit the music). This album is constructed starting with a song followed by a shorter interlude that supports the flow of the album. What I love so much about this album are the transitions from dreamy and light to heavy and powerful. The last half of the song The Pecan Tree is a shining example of that transition and is what grasped my attention and started my fandom of this group.

Key Tracks: Dream House, Irresistible, Sunbather, Vertigo, The Pecan Tree

ISIS – Panopticon, 2004

Amazing atmospheres with each and every song on Panopticon. Post-metal giants, Isis, are able to put you in a hypnotic trance that will build up til it breaks then crush you with waves of immaculate distortion. The sound of this album is truly massive and the music feels like it may be coming from the bottom of the ocean. If you are looking for guitar solos or singalongs this album may not be for you, but if you think you’ll enjoy songs that evolve and if given attention, are intensely emotional and engaging, please listen. This is more accessible compared to Isis’ early work and is a wonderful place to start. Personally, I haven’t made myself very familiar with the lyrics or themes of this album, but I know the idea of the title comes from the utilitarian, Jeremy Bentham. His vision of a panopticon is a form of prison with a central tower that overlooks each of the windowless prison cells. Later on, philosopher Michel Foucalt would take this panopticon idea and relate it to hierarchical structures found in education and military systems. Isis frontman, Aaron Turner takes these complex themes of an unseen, central power and crafts a record where the music feels larger than life.

Key Tracks: So Did We, Backlit, In Fiction, Wills Dissolve, Grinning Mouths