Mergers of stoner and doom metal are frequent enough that the two styles blur. Consider the recent reissue of Sleep's Dopesmoker: if it's a stylistic pinnacle (OK, it is), mantric repetition and drowsy, chanted vocals are the stoner metal way. Yet Wisconsin's Droids Attack occupies the doom-free end of the stoner rock spectrum—the second way, if you will. This hard-riffing trio brings power-metal energy to smoked-out jams, suggesting Clutch without all the silly posturing. Headlining duo Ruscha brings crushing instro-rock that pairs The Melvins' swing with Lightning Bolt's stamina. Really, this is Quasi for nihilists. Also, Blood Red Sky and Self Inflicted. —Corbie Hill