A new band on the scene is a great thing for a litany of different reasons, but it’s not too terribly often that we’re able to come face-to-face with a new name on the block that manages to not just offer us something interesting but blow us away in such a form that is undeniable for everything that’s brought to the table. Any fresh act that’s able to grab our attention is more than enough reason to celebrate, yet it’s every few months that we’re given something none of us could have possibly expected. In no small form, Mushroom Beard is absolutely the sort of act that we desperately have been needing but never could have anticipated.
Records like this are precisely why the underground remains a magnificent treat for those of us that comb its depths. Coming out of nowhere and doing so much for the entirety of the genre in just six tracks, Mushroom Beard offers us an undeniably psychedelic brand of stoner doom that knows not just how to transport you into another realm but keep you absolutely rooted in place, begging for more as the riffs, rhythms, smoke, and magnificence of this eponymous record wash over you without hesitation nor compromise. Forty-six minutes of some of the trippiest doom metal that 2026 has thrown my way by an absolute long shot, it would be an understatement for me to say that Mushroom Beard has blown me away! It doesn’t reinvent the genre, nor does it challenge our perception of what the sound can be, but it’s a masterful showcasing as to all that’s truly possible when put in hands that are fresh and undeniably passionate. Doom metal has a lot of glory to call its own with stoner doom having more than enough to stay relevant for quite a long time, but it’s been forever since we’ve come across a band quite like Mushroom Beard. All the right pieces are here from the heaviness to the aura to the irrefutable craftsmanship that’s on full display throughout the whole of the record, and it’s time after time that Mushroom Beard proves itself to be a name that already demands our respect and commands our attention!
Acts such as this only come around once every few years. It’s anyone’s guess as to where Mushroom Beard is going to end up in the coming years, but it’s virtually impossible to deny the masterful foundation that the band finds itself with thanks to everything they poured into their self-titled debut. Undoubtedly one of the most fascinating creations of the year, Mushroom Beard is a name anyone and everyone would do well to investigate.
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Thank you so much for the great review – Stig Mushroom Beard