Demon Lung's The Hundredth Name

Billy Anderson, producer of The Hundredth Name, played on the Melvins’ Houdini and engineered Sleep’s Dopesmoker, so it’s hardly surprising that this LP shares sludgy sonic space with those stoner-rock classics. But more than anything, the album reflects the vision of its creators, the members of Demon Lung, a Las Vegas-based doom-metal outfit with the stuff to take its music far beyond Nevada’s borders. Everything about the band’s debut screams “epic,” from frontwoman Shanda Fredrick’s sinister vocals to the lyrical concept (about Satan’s son coming to mess with Earth) to compositions that churn along unhurriedly without losing steam. Mid-record odyssey “Heathen Child” is a particular highlight, shape-shifting from a creeping head-banger into a bleak enchanter by song’s end. By the time you complete the disc’s 53 dark, distorted minutes, you’ll need to cuddle with your favorite stuffed animal before going back in for another heavy spin.