Spring is here. The flowers are blooming where I am in Tennessee, and the weather is already heating up. I blame some of that on climate change, and we have undoubtedly crossed some point of no return where we will continue to destroy the planet until possible extinction-level events.
So, what better way to reckon with this widespread death and destruction than to check in on stoner rock, doom metal, and the heavy underground?
Sorry to make light of all of this. It is more so a defense mechanism against the brutality of the world and the sad state of things. Anyways … here are some recent heavy underground releases on The Third Eye’s radar:
Beltane by BRÜLE
Heavy doom trio BRÜLE‘s Beltane arrives May 1, 2026. Their PR campaign for the record began with “Thélème,” a shadow-drenched video steeped in ritual imagery, now available, which you can watch below:
Named after the Celtic festival marking the passage from darkness into light, Beltane unfolds as both a thematic and artistic rite of transformation. The record moves through occult doom and fiery heavy rock, channeling the spirit of Cathedral, Green Lung, and Dead Witches while exploring ancient religions, fallen gods, and the pull of the unknown.
“Thélème,” the album’s only French-language track, draws from François Rabelais’ imagined Abbey of Thélème—a utopian space governed by personal will—later echoed in Aleister Crowley’s maxim, “Do what thou wilt.”
As vocalist/guitarist Arno Bechet explains, singing in French strips away distance: “You can’t hide your feelings. Even if the lyrics remain cryptic, they come from a more exposed place.”
The video was shot and directed by J.J. Paterson, Lena Filliastre, and Arno Bechet. Beltane was recorded by Mathieu Lesieur at Record It Studio in Perpignan, with mixing and mastering handled by Bechet.
Formed in 2023, BRÜLE—Bechet (vocals/guitar), J.M. Prats (bass), and Carla Boccand (drums)—blend slow, ritualistic heaviness with themes of paganism and alchemical transformation. Their debut, L’Œuvre Au Noir (2024), introduced that vision. Beltane continues it, pushing further into fire, shadow, and rebirth.
Bad Milk by Yeast Machine
Yeast Machine is five friends living under one roof in Tübingen, Germany, trading riffs as easily as they trade furniture and floor space. Two years after their debut, Sleaze, they return with Bad Milk, a tightly wound, ten-track burst that distills their collective energy into a sharp, half-hour hit.
Sonically, Bad Milk draws on a familiar yet well-worn lineage. There’s the weight and atmosphere of ’90s grunge and alternative rock at its core, layered with the sunburnt fuzz and looseness of early-2000s stoner and desert rock. But Yeast Machine doesn’t sit comfortably in nostalgia—they push that foundation forward, threading it with a restless, contemporary edge.
The record itself moves fast and hits hard, constantly on the verge of spilling over like, well, a glass of bad milk, I guess. It’s the kind of album that doesn’t linger so much as surge, each track feeding into the next with a live-wire intensity. There’s a sense that these songs were built in close quarters and meant to be played loud, the kind of material that translates directly from living room jams to packed, sweat-soaked rooms.
Two The Max! by To The Max!
TO THE MAX! is a heavy rock trio out of Verona, Italy, built on long-standing friendships. Alessandro Marchi (drums, vocals), Nicola Marchi (guitar, vocals), and Mattia Fraccaroli (bass, backing vocals) come from a patchwork of past lives—thrash, black metal, sleaze rock—but what binds them is a push toward something more personal and immediately recognizable.
The band took shape in mid-2020, during the pandemic lockdowns, when the three retreated to a rehearsal room with a simple directive: strip away expectations and follow instinct.
By 2021, armed with a self-recorded five-track demo, TO THE MAX! moved quickly onto stages across Italy and beyond, playing clubs, pubs, and festivals with a kind of restless momentum. Their live run has taken them to venues such as Bloom in Mezzago, Le Brin De Zinc in France, Sala Barracudas in Madrid, ZZ Pub in Málaga, and G5 in Vienna, as well as festival appearances at Isola Rock, Rock Camp, Metal Machine, and Rock The Station.
Their debut album Midnight Tea followed—recorded in 2022 and self-released on CD and digital platforms in 2024—capturing that early urgency and range.
That forward motion continues with their second full-length, Two The Max!, released this month via Go Down Records on vinyl and digital.
There’s not much pretense here. Just three guys who like rock ’n’ roll and aren’t trying to dress it up as anything else. Even the name tips their hand. After wading through so much self-serious, high-concept “art rock,” that kind of directness feels refreshing every so often.
That’s a wrap, for now. If you’re craving any more sounds from the heavy underground, check out our Stoner Rock playlist on Spotify:
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