Plenty of stoner rock bands get the fuzz down pat. A few more get the truly epochal feeling of the great Sabbath anthems. It's the resolution that fails. In the end, there's a show without an ending. Heavy Temple tells stories. They rise and fall . . . and resolve.

Heavy Temple Lupi Amoris (Magnetic Eye Records)

And yes, the prog fuzz is pretty spectacular all in itself. Heavy Temple goes for it on every song here. Propulsive brain-throttling heaviness that doesn't make a false step. Few five song albums (and given the length of the songs, this is an album) pack this much of a punch.

And boy, does it sound good. Classic Sab is almost lo-fi, of course, but there's no reason to imitate that element. Even within the sea of fuzz, Heavy Temple keeps a clean sheet.

No, this doesn't exist without Black Sabbath. But it's not Black Sabbath, either. Heavy Temple establishes its take on this sound without sounding derivative. A churning, thrilling journey.

Jon Worley