ROBOTS OF THE ANCIENT WORLD is a stoner doom band from Portland, Orgeon. They formed in 2014 and "Mystic Goddess" is their second full length album. They also released two EPs. Their full length debut "Cosmic Riders" was/is a solid release but "Mystic Goddess" steps the band's sound up to the next level in every way it could happen.

The vocals are the improvement I noticed first—-Caleb's voice is much more in the front of things and has much more clarity. As much as I love doom metal, so many vocalists who sing in clean tones are just average at best. Caleb? His voice is spot on and very capable. He can be raucous, gentle, stoner or even handle a blues style..the man is immensely talented. And let's talk about the riffs. Damn, this album is a riff fest if I ever heard one. Any fans that praise the power of a great riff need this album because Justin and Nico just don't let up for a second.

Trevor's bass and Harry's drums are a huge rhythmic, monstrous team. Without them, the album would certainly sound much smaller than it does. And it sounds IMMENSE. The production and mixing here could swallow the world. Near perfect for me. The band exudes confidence with putting the title track up for introducing the album. And it works because...just damn, what a song! It begins hazy and smokey as you would expect from anything involving the stoner doom genre. But this band is far more talented than your average BLACK SABBATH clone and the song is immediately convincing. The bass takes the reigns while the guitars trip out. Around the two minute mark, the drums kick up a notch and the fuzz comes off the bass in riffs. The riffs are so sweet and play off the vocals just wonderfully.

At times, the band is unbelievably heavy but they are always mixing things up by infusing rock and blues for a dynamic sound that never gets old. "Agua Caliente" gets a bit sludgy and that set up choppy riffs in the beginning could cut a person in half. The song dips down onto the low end and pulls put psychedelic guitar solos and bass tones. It crawls its way back up and brings back those destructive groove filled riffs. "Unholy Trinity" is one of the darker tracks and that guitar tone is biting.  That slow groove is pulverizing and commands non stop head banging. The smokey vocals are icing on the cake too and the whole song just has this dark yet somehow stoner minded laid back feel too. As the song gets even nastier so do the vocals. The drums join in too for a rousing experience.

"Lucifyre" is nearly eleven minutes long and is a fitting tribute to their sound a testimony to their power. The bass hits hard with the drums while the guitar unwinds like the pulling of a string. All the stops are pulled out and the song becomes a psychedelic dirge that even feels ethnic in spots. Caleb channels Danzig here quite a bit which doesn't get any complaints to me. Once the riffs kick in and the vocals get louder, the song just rocks balls out. The middle portion sees the return of their trippy side and it combines with the doom so well that it seems expansive and endless.

An album like "Mystic Goddess" is how a band can avoid the dreaded sophomore slump! Any fan of the bands previous works will undoubtedly be blown away but this is an ear catcher that will gain them a legion of new fans.