Caltrop

While citing Black Sabbath as an influence for any heavy band makes for easy stoner rock shorthand, North Carolina's Caltrop is one of the few shining examples where the influence can actually be heard. The quartet, hailing from Chapel Hill, was formed in 2005 by Sam Taylor (guitar/vocals), Murat Dirlik (bass/vocals), Adam Nolton (guitar), and John Crouch (drums). With thick, fuzzed out riffs leading the charge on most of their songs, Caltrop exists at the improbable intersection of Sabbath and the Allman Brothers Band, creating detuned, psychedelic dirges with a soulful Southern blues/rock inflection. Add a touch of the long-form, post-metal song structures of bands like Baroness and Earth, and you begin to see what makes the group tick. In 2006, the group self-released an eponymous demo, and in 2008 they released their first full-length outing, World Class, on Holidays for Quince.