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Released: 2025 Genre: Post - punk Sounds Like: Fugazi, Girls Against Boys, Rival Schools Homeland: North Carolina What makes Cheeks elite and sit atop OHMs Peak? Cheeks brings a refreshing vibe to the punk rock scene. Their fusion of punk and math rock evokes a nostalgic 90s atmosphere. Occasionally, a touch of psychedelic heaviness emerges; take a listen to the track Dream Boat. The vocals have an ideal tone for this music style. Neither overpowering nor underwhelming, they have a homegrown feel. The production is excellent and not overly polished; we believe it would translate perfectly on tour. Track Listing: Sound Of The Devil 4:33 transmission interrupted 3:36 Danger Squeeze 4:21 Dream Boat 4:26 Butchery Summer 5:12 hi list 2 die list 3:21 Flap Jackets 5:04 Dive deeper into Cheeks with our Q&A with the CHEEKS. OHMs Peak: Your sound is mature beyond years with a myriad of rock, post-punk, noise rock, and hardcore. Tell us how you formed and provide us some background on your previous endeavors. CHEEKS: Our sound is 5 people living in a pre-dystopian society, moving through the crushing pressures of our lives mixed with drugs. We all feel that our lives and previous endeavors have been leading up to our present-day band. Fate formed us. OHMs Peak: All 7 tracks resonate and only get better with each listen. The closer, ‘Flap Jackets,’ is a whirlwind of great contrast. How did the darker track come about, and what is the track about? CHEEKS: Lyrically, I would say the song is a day in the life of my brain. One foot in front of the other, trying not to blow it, that sort of thing. And of course the fact that we're all here together doing just that, simultaneously, but ultimately in this one brain and body of ours. All by ourselves yet surrounded by one another, just floating out in space. It all spins on the head of a pin. That said, if someone connects to it and finds some meaning in it for themselves, then all the better. Musically, I believe Alex came in with a great idea, and everyone else expanded upon it and dusted it with their unique and personal majick, and wala! A new Cheeks song was ushered into the world. OHMs Peak: How did the band name ‘Cheeks’ come about, and what does it signify? Our record release was definitely the most memorable performance to date. We played at Fleetwood’s Rocknroll Chapel in Asheville, NC. Among other things, it was special because it signified the end of an era with the 5 of us and the birth of a new chapter for CHEEKS. Cheeks was made up randomly one night lol. Spread the word!! OHMs Peak: What bands most influenced your sound, and which band NOT in your genre would you want to play live with that would most complement your sound? CHEEKS: Some of the bands' influences would be Jesus Lizard, Drive Like Jehu, and the Cramps. Playing with someone like Brian Jones Massacre would be cool. OHMs Peak: Cheeks is stranded on an island with only a solar-powered turntable and majestically powered solar Bluetooth speakers. The band collectively can only choose one album. Which album do you agree to? CHEEKS: We agreed that if we had to choose one record, it would be the first Stooges album. CHEEKS are: Alex, Tony, Cheryl, Luke, and Chadwick Follow CHEEKS: Instagram Grab some CHEEKS Merch Music (vinyl, CDs, digital, shirts, etc.)

Released: 2025 Genre: Punk, Noise rock, Heavy rock, Math rock Sounds Like: Shellac, Drive Like Jehu, Unwound Homeland: Brighton, UK What makes Deep Living elite and sit atop OHMs Peak? Deep. Living guides us through a variety of genres, including punk, noise, stoner, and math rock. It’s incredibly diverse and our top album of 2025. Frontman Barney Wakefield's vocals perfectly suit this style of music. His blend of desperation and punk tones enhances the music seamlessly without overwhelming it. The production is spot on, with each instrument standing out clearly. Every time we listen, we notice different nuances. Track Listing: Year Of The Ox 4:15 Take A Seat 4:02 The Lights Were Not Familiar 3:33 Dear Phantom 4:01 Goes Fast 1:22 Memories Of Road 6:32 Hospital Chips 4:00 We Bring Power :36 The Bridge 1:50 The Shape Of The Fire 3:57 Motions 2:51 Deep Living 7:08 Dive deeper into Deep Living with our Q&A with the vocalist Barney Wakefield. OHMs Peak: ‘Deep Living’ has been our # 1 album of the year three months in a row. It is absolutely chock full of brilliance. You cross over so many genres, what influenced you the most in developing your sound over the years. Barney Wakefield: Well first of all, thank you very much for the kind words. We really appreciate it! The initial canvas we loosely drew from when we first started back in 2014 was Harvey Milk, Pissed Jeans, The Men, Hot Snakes, and other stuff along those lines…  Since then, because we all listen to different types of stuff separately that we’re individually influenced by, our sound has changed and developed over the years from how it started out to now, which we hope covers a slightly wider range of stuff, but is still in keeping with what we’re about. Jon our guitarist for example is into plenty of pop music and Motown type stuff, and likewise I’m personally influenced at the moment by artists like Aesop Rock & Talk Talk, and whilst none of us ever aim to create or replicate these types of styles, the influence of our specific tastes might seep in somehow. 'Green album' era Weezer was something me and Graham (drums) were digging and discussing a lot when we were writing thr album, but I don't think it's evident in the music neccessarily...!   OHMs Peak: ‘Take A Seat,’ gun to our head, would be our favourite track on the album. Take us through the making of this track….between its jaw dropping changeups and quirky melodies… how did it come to fruition. Barney Wakefield: This is a fairly old song now compared to the others on the album - it started off as an initial idea with our old line-up, and our newest recruit James bought his own take on it once we re-set activities with the line-up we have now. It went through many variations before we got to the version that we have now. Most of our songs start with an idea from Jon, which we collectively build on and shape as a group. I think this one probably came quite easy, but I truly can't remember now how this one worked out! It’s one of our favourite songs to play live for sure, and it kinda covers various aspects of our sound, and ebbs and flows nicely. It would likely be the song I’d pick to introduce someone new to what we do.   OHMs Peak: What was Lower Slaughter’s most memorable live performance? Where was it held and why was the night so special? Barney Wakefield: With our previous line-up, playing at the Cosmic Carnage all dayer at the Brixton Windmill around 2016-ish was a pretty amazing one. We were on at the right time where everyone was in a very lively mood and keen for dancing, and it’s the only gig to date where I’ve crowd surfed whilst playing…still searching for that feat again! More recently, supporting Melt Banana in Brighton was a pretty big highlight. We were opening the show at a venue that’s way bigger than we’re used to playing, and we were expecting it to be fairly quiet during our set. We walked on stage and the place was packed, all we could was just a sea of heads that extended all the way to the back of the room. We just ploughed through our set with as much energy as we could, and I remember coming off stage thinking we’d had a goodun’ that night! Supporting The Men a couple of years ago in London was amazing too. ‘Open Your Heart’ was a big album for us, so it was an honour to share a stage with them. OHMs Peak: What band NOT in the math rock genre would you love to tour with that would most compliment your sound? Barney Wakefield: I reckon Status Quo in their early days would have been a good laff!    OHMs Peak: The album cover provides a serene and intriguing landscape, who came up with the concept and meaning behind the image? Barney Wakefield: The photo on the front cover was taken a fair few years ago now by an old friend of ours when he was travelling around the world. I believe this particular photo was taken somewhere near Penzance-way. I first saw it when he put it on their photobucket page (remember that site?!), and it caught my eye at the time and I always tucked it somewhere in the back of my head for many years after.  When it came to thinking about artwork, that photo came back to me as a fairly striking but simple image to illustrate the general narrative arc and musical mood of the album, which in a nutshell was to loosely convey the sense of navigating through the emotions of fear and trauma within a beautiful and safe surrounding, and coming out the other side positively.  Plus it didn’t come across as a straight ‘rock album’ type album cover, which was intentional on our part. I personally love album covers that both convey the general tone of the music, but don’t come across as a stereotypical portrayal of a certain genre or style. Yo La Tengo’s ‘And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out’ for example was a big visual inspiration for this one. That is such a beautiful and powerful image that at first glance doesn't tell you what the sounds contained within will necessarily be, but it portrays the feeling of the songs so perfectly. 'Hex' by Earth is another example. ‘What Burns Never Returns’ by Don Cabellero is another great one that sums that up. And their second album for that matter- that cover is so great!   OHMs Peak: Lower Slaughter is stranded on an island with only a solar powered turntable and majestic powered solar blue tooth speakers. The band collectively can only choose one album. Which album to you agree to? Barney Wakefield: We tend to default to something like ‘Classic Rock FM’ when we’re on tour in the van, as we can never collectively agree on one single thing to listen to.  That said, we’ve concluded that a ‘Now That’s What I Call Music’ compilation from the late 80s/early 90s would suffice nicely. Something for everyone, several discs’ worth…done! Lower Slaughter are: James Gardiner – Bass Graham Hebson – Drums Barney Wakefield – Vocals Jon Wood – Guitar Follow Lower Slaughter: Instagram / Facebook Grab some Lower Slaughter Merch Music (vinyl, CDs, digital, shirts, etc.)

Released: 2025 Genre: Sludge, Doom Sounds Like: Amenra, Cult of Luna Homeland: Seattle, Washington What makes Psychic Pain elite and sit atop OHMs Peak? Psychic Pain consists of 5 tracks filled with raw, emotional atmospheric sludge. Serial Hawk has steadily amassed an impressive body of work. Their relentless sludge sound is oddly soothing. The production is impeccable, with each instrument standing out clearly. Every time we listen, we notice different nuances. Track Listing: Pulsate 3:41 Raw Wound 7:30 Drift Away 8:12 Psychic Pain 11:34 Caged 5:53 Dive deeper into Psychic Pain with our Q&A with the Will Basin of Serial Hawk. OHMs Peak: Would love for a brief glimpse into your process and time commitment in making the album. Will Basin: Some of these songs were written as far back as during covid times in 2020 but ultimately a turning point occurred during November of 2023. I was in a pretty dark place personally and musically, and then out of no where, unexpectedly I had an opportunity to play roadie for the band Ulcerate. -It was such a gift and inspiration to spend time with them on the road. When I returned home I knew that I had to dig deep, push forward and see through many of these songs and ideas that I had been avoiding. So a few months later during spring on 2024 we began recording what would be our next two records. One manifested into ‘Psychic Pain’ and the other is on the way! OHMs Peak: As heavy as the album is, the track 'Drift Away' really stands out for us. It's a beautifully written track that is easy to get lost in. What is the meaning behind this glorious tune? Will Basin: This particular song is one of the more personal and forthright songs on the record. It’s about being self destructive, drifting away from your true self, confronting those demons, getting through. OHMs Peak: As a band, you write some complex and thoughtful doom/sludge on all your albums. What influences does each member bring to the table to create these songs. Will Basin: I feel like our music is almost like a soundtrack that paints a picture of a massive landscape of nature or of the depths of space and the vast universe. -That’s at least what we’re reaching for. We toured pretty heavily for about the first ten years of being a band, exploring a lot of places, driving a lot of miles, seeing a lot of things. I feel like that as well as what we’ve all experienced growing up, especially since we started in 2010, has all really contributed to our music. OHMs Peak: What was your band’s most memorable live performance? Where was it held and why was the night so special? Will Basin: More recently we played in a big old barn on a beautiful piece of land in Quilcene, Washington. We played with EARTH and it was a magical night filled with so many great people supporting music and each other. Life affirming on many levels. OHMs Peak: What band NOT in the doom/sludge genre would you love to tour with that would most compliment your sound? Will Basin: Hm, that’s tough because sometimes it’s hard to feel like we fit in with the scene or whatnot and I think we get passed over a lot and get lumped into a category of like ‘just another stoner rock band’, and sure maybe the band name has kinda pigeonholed us in that regard, haha, but personally I feel like we could tour with any band that is loud, heavy, melodic, dark or textural. I’ve taken inspiration from bands like Hum, Failure, Mogwai, Sunny Day Real Estate, Smashing Pumpkins, Tortoise, MBV, JAMC, heck even Radiohead and Sonic Youth, I could go on and on! OHMs Peak: The album art reflects your music perfectly. Can you provide a backdrop into the making of this album cover? Will Basin: It’s called the Soul Nebula (also called the Embryo Nebula) I have a friend who is really into Astro Photography, he set up his equipment outside on a clear night for several hours and gathered some incredible data on this nebula with, I believe it was a Hydrogen-alpha filter, so it’s all red, but I guess technically depending on what gasses you want to capture then the color will render that? I love this image, many light years away, painful and beautiful. OHMs Peak: Serial Hawk is stranded on an island with only a solar powered turntable and majestic powered solar blue tooth speakers. The band collectively can only choose one album. Which album to you agree to? Will Basin: FFS, probably Wish You Were Here Serial Hawk are: Will Bassin, Adam Holbrook and Karter Rosner Follow Serial Hawk: Facebook Grab some Serial Hawk Merch Music (vinyl, CDs, digital, shirts, etc.)

Rotation11.com is committed to expanding your heavy rock and metal music collection by introducing you to bands who fly under the radar and more importantly expose talent that would otherwise go unnoticed. Embark on a journey to explore the elite in heavy music. Covering Doom, Stoner, Psychedelic and all heavy sub-genres. Our goal is to bring fourth the heavy albums that hit majestic heights. How does an album reach OHM's Peak? Our Rigorous Screening Process (RSP) searches through vast landscapes to bring you the finest in elite heavy music. We do the work, you enjoy the majestic sonic vista. Contact us via email at info@ohmspeak.com or message us on Social . About OHM's Peak Black Metal (6) 6 posts Black metal (1) 1 post Death Metal (3) 3 posts Doom (32) 32 posts Experimental (1) 1 post Garage Rock (4) 4 posts Grunge (2) 2 posts Hard Rock (14) 14 posts Hardcore (17) 17 posts Heavy Metal (1) 1 post Heavy Rock (17) 17 posts Math Rock (12) 12 posts Metal (11) 11 posts Noise Rock (3) 3 posts Noise rock (5) 5 posts Post Hardcore (1) 1 post Post Metal (20) 20 posts Post Rock (4) 4 posts Power Metal (1) 1 post Progressive Metal (7) 7 posts Progressive Rock (6) 6 posts Psychedelic rock (29) 29 posts Punk (15) 15 posts Shoegaze (2) 2 posts Sludge (30) 30 posts Space Rock (5) 5 posts Stoner Rock (60) 60 posts metalcore (1) 1 post

Working to develop and unleash our OHMs Top 10 Elite! This list is fluid and based on a variety of editors and fan engagement coupled with shear musical prowess. OHMs Top 10 Elite A fluid ranking of this year's best heavy albums enabled by editors, fan feedback and sheer musical prowess. October 2025 #1 Lower Slaughter Deep Living Post-punk, Noise rock #2 Faetooth Labyrinthine Doom #3 Chat Pile In The Earth Again Noise rock #4 Dozer Rewind to Return Stoner rock #5 Wombo Danger in Fives Post-punk, Psychedelic #6 Agriculture The Spiritual Sound Post metal, Hardcore #7 coastlands Coastlands Post-metal, shoegaze #8 Sunbreather Sunbreather Stonerrock #9 Witch Fever Fevereaten Punk, Grunge #10 Serial Hawk Psychic Pain Psychedelic doom September 2025 #1 Lower Slaughter - Deep Living #2 Faetooth - Labyrinthine #3 Slomactics - Atomicult #4 Lowheaven - Ritual Decay #5 Bask - The Turning #6 Blessings - Blodstrangen #7 Castle Rat - The Bestiary #8 The Big Rip - Olympus Mons #9 Black Helium - The Animals are Coming #10 - Fleshwater - 2000: In Search of the Endless Sky August 2025 #1 Lower Slaughter - Deep Living #2 The Big Rip - Olympus Mons #3 Blessings - Blodstrangen #4 Lowheaven - Ritual Decay #5 Pile - Sunshine and Balance Beams #6 Adrift - Dry Soil #7 LVMEN - Amen #8 McClusky - The World is Still Here... #9 Black Helium - The Animals are Coming #10 - Sheev - Ate's Alchemist July 2025 #1 Lower Slaughter - Deep Living #2 Conan - Violence Dimension #3 Adrift - Dry Soil #4 Fomies - Liminiality #5 Black Helium - The Animals are Coming #6 LVMEN - Amen #7 Pothamus - Abur #8 Torpedo Torpedo - Arrows of Time #9 McClusky - The World is Still Here and So Are We #10 - Bloodwood - Dark Simulator Black Metal (6) 6 posts Black metal (1) 1 post Death Metal (3) 3 posts Doom (32) 32 posts Experimental (1) 1 post Garage Rock (4) 4 posts Grunge (2) 2 posts Hard Rock (14) 14 posts Hardcore (17) 17 posts Heavy Metal (1) 1 post Heavy Rock (17) 17 posts Math Rock (12) 12 posts Metal (11) 11 posts Noise Rock (3) 3 posts Noise rock (5) 5 posts Post Hardcore (1) 1 post Post Metal (20) 20 posts Post Rock (4) 4 posts Power Metal (1) 1 post Progressive Metal (7) 7 posts Progressive Rock (6) 6 posts Psychedelic rock (29) 29 posts Punk (15) 15 posts Shoegaze (2) 2 posts Sludge (30) 30 posts Space Rock (5) 5 posts Stoner Rock (60) 60 posts metalcore (1) 1 post

OHMs Peak brings you artists and their work in the rock music community. See inspiring album covers and posters in heavy metal, stoner rock, doom, etc. OHMmage to the Artist Artist: Cauê Piloto (Brazil) Inspiration: Bruegel, Hieronymus Bosch, John Martin, Turner, Beksinski Artist: Nicolas Fantoni (Brazil) Inspiration: SYoshitaka Amano, Yoji Shinkawa, Ayami Kojima Artist: Timon Kokott Art Work (Germany) Inspiration: Dan Seagrave, René Magritte, Caspar David Friendrich and H.R. Giger Artist: Soares Illustration & Design (Portugal) Inspiration: Salvador Dali, William Morris, Wes Wilson and Ken Taylor Artist: Bloodyspirit (France) Inspiration: GODMACHINE, Defame and Mark Riddick AlexEckmanLawn (USA) Inspiration: Dave Mckean, Katsuhiro Otomo and Moebius Darren Grealish (USA) Inspir ation: Andy Warhol and Marc Rude Nouvo Creative (United Kingdom) Inspiration: Frances Macdonald MacNa ir and Alphonse Mucha Threadbare Artwork (Belgium) Inspiration: Sarah Moon an d Kyle Cooper Alexander Hettel Artwork (Germany) Inspiration: Salvador Dali, H.R. Giger and John Dyer Baizley Jesse DeNobrega Inspiration: Brian Chippendale, used CD stores, Yoko Ono, Love Love Hill Lex Percepied (Buenos Aires, Argentina) Inspiration: Dali, Drugs, Psilocybe, Spacerock Mihai Manescu Illustrations Inspiration: Al. Durer, H.R. Giger, Zbigniew M. Bielak, Ken Taylor Ghost Ghost Teeth (California) Inspiration: My daughter Missfelidae Illustration (Linz, Austria) Inspiration: Jean Giraud Moebius, Caw Cooper and Moki Mioke Nikita Kaun (Russia) ZONUMENT - Artworks (United Kingdom) Inspiration: 2000AD Artists, John Hicklenton and Simon Bisley Jo Riou (France) Inspira tion: Art Nouveau, Heavy metal artists from 70's, 80's Miodeus (Poland) Inspiration: Old horror and sci-fi movie posters Khoa Le (Vietnam) Inspiration: Myself Irrwisch Art Design (Austria) Inspira tion: LP cover artworks from Dad Vasco Duarte (Portugal) Inspiration: Victo Ngai, Moebius, Sergi Brosa, Alphonse Much a Roberto Toderico (Italy) Inspira tion: Simon Bisley, Roger Dean, Gustave Dore Burning Moon (Belgium) Inspiration: Zoé and Nicolas SkullCult Inspiration: HR Giger, Aubrey Beard sley, Albrecht Dürer Jared Nichols (US) Inspiration: My Alexander Calder, David Gilmour, Frank Zappa Eliran Kantor (Berlin, Germany) Inspiration: John Kricfalusi, Terry Gilliam Antoine Defarges (France) Inspiration: Alphonse Mucha Chris Panatier (USA) Inspiration: Jeremy Geddes, Mucha, John Baizley Marie Bergeron (Montreal, Canada) Inspiratio n: Sam Spratt, Olly Moss, Erik Jones, Kim Jung Gi Barbara Ana Gomez (London) Inspiration: Alphonse Mucha, Yuko Shimizu, Paul X. Johnson Distorted Designs (Berlin,Germany) Inspiration: Pierre-Alain D. and Nekr Merrilee Challiss (Birmingham, Alabama) Inspiration: Gustav Klimt, African & Aboriginal art Sgraffito Art Illustrations (Iceland) Inspiration: Early 20th Century Illustration Dominic Sohor (Bolton, UK) Inspiration: Tony Hart Dale Simpson (England) Inspiration: Rick Griffin Art is the gateway to see and feel what a band represents. When seeking out artists, what draws you in, the album cover? Well, there’s no better feeling than discovering that heavy gem with terrific artistry and music to match. See our favorite artists and their work here. Artist: Eeviac (Brazil) Inspiration: Storm Thorgerson, Winston Smith, Frank Kozik Black Metal (6) 6 posts Black metal (1) 1 post Death Metal (3) 3 posts Doom (32) 32 posts Experimental (1) 1 post Garage Rock (4) 4 posts Grunge (2) 2 posts Hard Rock (14) 14 posts Hardcore (17) 17 posts Heavy Metal (1) 1 post Heavy Rock (17) 17 posts Math Rock (12) 12 posts Metal (11) 11 posts Noise Rock (3) 3 posts Noise rock (5) 5 posts Post Hardcore (1) 1 post Post Metal (20) 20 posts Post Rock (4) 4 posts Power Metal (1) 1 post Progressive Metal (7) 7 posts Progressive Rock (6) 6 posts Psychedelic rock (29) 29 posts Punk (15) 15 posts Shoegaze (2) 2 posts Sludge (30) 30 posts Space Rock (5) 5 posts Stoner Rock (60) 60 posts metalcore (1) 1 post