Lowrider - Ode to Io (2000)

   The number of stoner rock bands dramatically increased as more people catched it's nostalgic and catchy feeling that made themselves to feel old school already after first listening.
  They also realized that it's not even hard to create something good in this style. Only have to take a groovy theme and to work from the various influences of the '70s or from the early direct influencers, like Lowrider did. But to make something really good, that is able to rise abowe of what the countless other old school, heavily inked and stoned bands do who are about to share their life experiences, is definitely not that easy like to play something catchy. And to play something genuine is impossible since the earliest influencers like Orange Goblin or Kyuss, because the genre simply doesm't offer many opportunities. It's more like about to catch the feeling and to perfom it authentically. Lowrider did it so good in Sweden, that even the original desert rock bands should feel ashamed. The features of late Kyuss are waving back all the time during listening "Ode ot Io". The concept is the same too and they were able to create an album that is the same way intense, psychedelic and sounds badass like a stoner rock masterpiece should sound like. The band wasn't skimpy to operate with the themes in various ways, they tried all possibilities between the borders of sounding cool and badass, so "Ode to Io" is everything but boring and repetitive. It's one of the most enjoyable albums of the late stoner rock era, so the chance of disappontment for the fans of the genre is around zero.

Gorerotted - Mutilated in Minutes (2000)

    Even if Carcass changed style and disappeared lately, their heritage of goregrind didn't, and always had impassioned followers.
   One of them was Gorerotted, and even since the first moments of listening the influence of Carcass is impossible not to notice. "Mutilated in Minutes" had more death metal features than ordinary goregrind have, and the band tried to experiment with melodies too a bit. So not the noise and complete insanity was in main focus, it's kind of an old school album for that, but still a very intense one. Their concept and lyrics are way more simpler (maybe they didn't read much pathological literature), only piling up various splatter and gory topics. So even though probably "Necroticism" was their favorite by Carcass, they still sympathized with old school grindcore and embedded into their style, only replaced the punk influenced simple parts with death metal riffings. But still enough classical references left there to cause enjoyanle moments for the oldest fans of the style. In the age of newly uprising mainstream metal styles Gorerotted sounded quite extraordinary and reminded to the sickest period of metal music.

Immortal Fate - Beautiful (2000)

   Immortal Fate had interesting musical progress during their short active period. They started with a Bay Area thrash influenced demo in 1990, but soon they turned into death metal.
   After the "Faceless Burual" EP that was an excellent example of putrid sound, they arrived to the top of their musical progression by the demo "Beautiful", that was lately released in 2000. The band wasn't joking with experimenting, they reached the most exaggerated points, the contrast of grindcore and death/doom. These ambitions appeared on the EP too by some Autopsy influences, but on "Beautiful" they mastered this style like nobody else did before. In ordinary grindcore simple, melodic, punk influenced themes are responsible for the contrast, but in this case a demoralizing, noisy atmosphere. By that the main view takes a way darker and unfriendlier tone. These ominous, heavy themes guiding the listener into the most putrid hellpit, where only insane grinding awaits. Deep, whispering growling assisting to the main view. Some parts are so brutal on this short record, that they could impress even the well death/grind trained audience. The sound is primitive and noisy, fits perfectly to this style. "Beautiful" is definitely a masterpiece (unfortunately an very underrated and barely known one), musickness on it's defining level.

Goatsnake - Flower of Disease (2000)

   Inspired by the earliest stoner bands, Goatsnake was formed in the mid '90s. They had an intense but less unified full-lenght debut that sounded like the synopsis of their musical influences.
   "Flower of Disease", their second album was like the next step, to find their own style and to forge these various influences into a whole. Previously it seemed like they are more into some groovy, '70s influenced stoner rock, but on the second album they returned like doubtlessly being into stoner/doom. The change wasn't so big, the same influences could be sensed, '70s hard rock and Black Sabbath by the themes and at the quite enjoyable mouthorgan parts, Acid King by the slow speed and atmosphere; but this time the doom features gained wider role. It's like if it was a different, more chilling and balanced band with unified and more mature sound. The main feeling is catchy and heavy the same time, and even though it's stoner/doom, it lacks any kind of too dark or demoralizing impression. At least nothing darker than what was usual in the '70s. Both their message and performance are bright and chilling (stoned), and creating some sort of balance with the old school heavy themes."Flower of Disease" is an excellent nostalgia album and background music for laid back entertainment.

Marilyn Manson - Holy Wood (In the Shadow of the Walley of Death) (2000)

   "Holy Wood" was probably the heaviest, most and most successful Marilyn Manson album, that finally gave the missing strong character to the main concept of the band.
   Many things happenend since "The Portrait of an American Family". They tried a way similar to Nine Inch Nails, to change their style on each album; their name became more and more notorious mostly because of their heavy social criticism, that wasn't welcome by those who they referred to; and Mr. Manson personally was blamed by the social media as a scapegoat for murders committed by teens, that is unfortunately counts as everyday crimes in America. Even though the album officially counts as the first part of an album triology, counted from backwards to make things even more complicated, there isn't much sense in the whole thing, except if most songs of "Mechanical Animals" and "Holy Wood" were written the same time when they made "Antichrist Superstar". The musical and songwriting progression develops with time and there are plenty of influences that are having effect on the musicians with time. The album itself had a quite complex concept in general, that draws a parallel between the American gun culture, the harmful influences of social media, religious obsession, martyrdom, and the birth of Adam Kadmon. And of course the indispensable compromise-less social criticism. The main consequences are the same way tragic as heavy. By "Holy Wood" the band reached the top of their limits too, as musically it was their most mature album, and had a strong influence on the main metal scene too.

Coffin Texts - Gods of Creation, Death & Afterlife (2000)

   Egyptian mythology isn't such a rare topic as many might think. So if someone's not fascinated enough by the genuineness of Nile, there are plenty of others to find too with the same concept. Like Coffin Texts for instance.
   With a stunning high quality debut they appeared, and unlike other bands with the same concept, Coffin Texts showed some endeavor to transmit the feeling of the death cult of Egypt by the music too, not only by the lyrics. That's definitely a genuine feature, and as Apophis was first in the concept, Coffin Texts was the first in it's musical transmitting. With a characteristic, atmospheric rotting sound and distorted vocals they experimented to recall the realm of the ancient, thousand years forgotten gods, and inviting the listener for a walk into the vacant, mysterios tombs of their long decayed followers. Anyway that doesn't sound like a big deal to manage if it's about death metal, so it's a wonder why the others didn't try that before. Immolation and Morbid Angel could be named in first line as their musical influences. "Gods of Creation, Death & Afterlife" is like the remastered version of their same titled demo, and with some song covers was it extented to album-lenght.

Funereal - The Misery Season (2000)

   After Contagion disbanded, they returned as Funereal with some line-up change, and a full-lenght album, that introduced a far more progressed band than what was familiar for the underground audience under the name of Contagion.
   Instead of the simple, raw old school themes a high quality production could be heard on "The Misery Season". It's definitely the work of well experienced musicians. The album starts quite intense and includes strong death/doom influences too at the end. Their music became diversive compared to the old times, and both because of the excellent, well composed themes and the wider perspective. The intense, old school death metal features staying dominant, so "The Misery Season" still has the feeling of the early '90s, but leads further already the same time. It's somewhere between the modern and old school sound of death metal. Their style reminds more to those Northern bands who started with death metal in the early '90s, played already a bit more complex music than most bands that time, and soon changed their style (like old Tiamat or Sentenced for instance). "The Misery Season" also proved that high quality didn't disappear completely from this genre.