Mushroom Beard
Title:Mushroom Beard
Label:Pale Wizard Records
Released 30 October 2026
Mushroom Beard have crawled out of Stoke‑on‑Trent like three wizards who’ve spent too long inhaling incense smoke and arguing about riffs in a candle‑lit basement. Their debut album isn’t just doom it’s doom dipped in cosmic gravy, sprinkled with psychedelic breadcrumbs, and served on a giant hallucinogenic elephant marching straight through your frontal lobe.
This thing doesn’t just “dissolve the brain”…
It melts it, stirs it, seasons it, and pours it back into your skull like some kind of mystical soup.
The opener "March Of The Shroom Elephant" stomps in like a prehistoric beast that’s eaten too many magic mushrooms and decided to start a religion. The spoken‑word intro feels like someone whispering forbidden lore into your ear while you’re lying on the floor staring at the ceiling fan.Then the riff hits pure Iommi worship, thick enough to spread on toast. "Elden Beard" tops ten minutes of melancholy chords, cosmic sludge, and riffs that feel like they’re dragging you through a swamp made of liquid anxiety. It’s long… but somehow not long enough. Like a bad trip you secretly enjoyed. "Bringer" brings Hammond organ, doom and groove.There’s the overwhelming sense that Mushroom Beard have been around for centuries, living in a cave, waiting for the right moment to ruin your day.
Dan Flitcroft from Sergeant Thunderhoof shows up like a psychedelic shaman, sprinkling extra cosmic dust over "Speech Of The Leaf And Beard" It chugs. It swirls. It feels like being hugged by a moss‑covered tree that’s definitely sentient.
My favourite "Fungal Shade" This track doesn’t just float it levitates, like a giant mushroom drifting through a rainforest while whispering ancient secrets.
If you listen in the right setting (candles, incense, questionable snacks), you WILL see things.
Maybe even the Shroom Elephant again. "Khala – Shai" The instrumental closer is a slow‑burning ritual. Bass lines rumble like tectonic plates. Guitars shimmer like cosmic dust. Layers build until you’re not sure whether you’re listening to music or ascending into another dimension. Mushroom Beard have created a doom album that feels like a spiritual awakening, a bad trip, and a cosmic cuddle all at once.
It’s heavy, weird, mystical, and absolutely glorious. If you can’t get your hands on actual mushrooms this season, don’t worry this album will fry your brain just fine.
NB:Vic Silverchild’s cover art looks exactly like what this album sounds like:
a psychedelic doom odyssey painted by someone who’s definitely seen some things!
Review: Seb Di Gatto Score:8.5/10
Tracklisting:
1. March of the Shroom Elephant
2. Elden Beard
3. Bringer
4. Speech of Leaf and Beard
5. Fungal Haze
6. Khala-Shai
https://www.mushroombeard.com/
