Describing themselves as a "dark witch doom duo," BlackLab hail from Japan. They established their stoner doom proclivities with a mix of distorted riffs and ghostly vocals on their debut album, Under the Strawberry Moon, in 2018. Their third long-player, 2022's In a Bizarre Dream, only amplified the distortion on a set that included an appearance by Stereolab's Laetitia Sadier.

Formed by vocalist/guitarist Yuko Morino and drummer Chia Shirasishi, BlackLab emerged from the doom scene of Osaka with their first EP, stylized 1st.EP, in February 2017. Its three sludgy, self-recorded tracks were followed by the band's full-length debut, Under the Strawberry Moon, in early 2018, leading to a record deal with New Heavy Sounds. The label reissued the album later that year. BlackLab's sophomore effort, Abyss, arrived on New Heavy Sounds in 2020 and had a melodic bent slightly more indicative of their name -- a portmanteau of Black Sabbath and Stereolab -- while remaining squarely in metal territory. They followed that up with In a Bizarre Dream in September 2022. Laetitia Sadier of Stereolab contributed lead vocals to the track "Crows, Sparrows and Cats." ~ Marcy Donelson, Rovi