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Dopelord Fuzzed Out Prague's Children Of The Haze At Subzero. Doom Doesn't Just Exist, It Thrives In The Czech Republic.

When the weather turns cold, misty and generally depressing in general, most of you would probably relate it to black metal. Am I right? However, in this case you would be wrong, tonight’s weather was the perfect backdrop for tonight’s show, Poland’s Sabbalicious stoner doom band, Dopelord. I had the honor of covering them during their most recent tour stop in Prague, Czech Republic.

The show took place at the underground (literally) music venue called Subzero which is located approximately a half hour’s walk from Old Town Prague on the west side of the Vltava River that splits the city in half. Subzero’s stage room is located down two flights of stairs below the venue’s entrance doors.

Subzero’s layout is simple, there’s a small, wooden battered bar to the left and just to the right is where bands hock their wares via a white plastic folding table like the ones you find at local band gigs. The venue and vibe was perfect for a gig like this. I’m guessing on a hunch that Subzero probably could hold 200 people comfortably but tonight’s tally was probably around 80 to see Poland’s most popular doom band at the moment.

The last time I saw Dopelord was at 2024’s Brutal Assault Festival that coincidently enough takes place in the Czech Republic every summer. I was wowed by their stage presence and their groove. Let’s be real, stoner doom is a genre that basically remixes Black Sabbath riffs and regurgitates them into a mishmash of notes and rhythms until it’s technically not considered Black Sabbath anymore. It’s a fun genre, but not necessarily mind blowing. Dopelord is a band that does it very well with the difference being they are a terrific live band and have always sounded great every time I’ve seen them. This time was no exception.

Dopelord Fuzzing It Up In Prague

With a thin black cloth glove on his left hand, vocalist and bassist Piotr Zin stepped on stage wearing his legendary black and purple striped slacks and the band tore into “The Chosen One” from their most recent album, “Songs for Satan.” The crowd had filled in any open area near the stage by this point and the headbangers up front were whipping Dopelord with locks of hair that would put most festival crowds to shame. “Children of the Haze” (probably their most singable anthem) was next which just only intensified the headbanging.

Piotr Zin

Dopelord’s set consisted of a nice sampling of favorites from their releases dating back to 2012’s “Magick Rites.” One of the highlights from the show was when they played “Hail Satan.” Guitarist Pawel Mioduchowski, who does the lead vocals on the song, encouraged the crowd to sing along to the chorus (Those lyrics being “Hail Satan” if you couldn’t guess by the song title) with they did with much delight. This is another example of what makes Dopelord stand out from the sheer amount of stoner doom bands out there.

Pawel Mioduchowski

Dopelord concluded their set with an encore of “Doom Bastards.” I scanned the crowd and I can say with almost certainty there were more people now at the show than when Dopelord started their set. When I first moved to Prague, I was told by a local promoter that doom metal doesn’t attract enough fans to book mid-level doom bands. The band in question was one of Greece’s most popular stoner doom bands, Acid Mammoth. I was surprised by the promoter’s excuses on why they couldn’t be booked.

Tonight’s turnout in Prague negated the promoter’s poor turnout excuses. The underground doom metal scene here is robust and Dopelord’s draw tonight confirmed that TRVE stoner doom is alive and well in Prague. The fuzz and buzz that Dopelord brought tonight left a heavy impression on me and everyone else that was there. We are ALL children of the haze…

Check out some video footage from the show below!

More photos from the gig can be found HERE!