Recommendations for Sludge/Post-metal

Ah  Sludge, that gorgeous blend of doom metal and hardcore punk. It's a diverse genre in a lot of ways. On the one hand you have a  lot of bands where the hardcore element is still very prominent but is overlain with those sludgy doom riffs, and goes across the spectrum to where hardcore is very much in the background and we have a post-metal palate of aural textures. I'll have a think about recommendations, but here are some obvious ones. If you enjoy the more progressive side, Cult of Luna is a fairly safe bet and is a band that has become increasingly progressive over its discography. Neurosis is another safe bet, again mixing sludge and prog. If you like ISIS, try Pelican or Rosetta. Bands like Melvins or Baroness are also well worth a listen.

For me, many of the more interesting bands are the more obscure ones. Try trawling through the free downloads thread. The more recent links I've put up are mainly metalcore, but go farther back and there's lots of links to some great less known sludge bands.

I'm pretty new to the genre myself. I plan to explore it soon (well, I was thinking of doom/drone/sludge and post-metal separately). But Boris might interest you. I also second Inter Arma. Their newest "EP" (It's actually 45 minutes) The Cavern is fantastic.

I've always wondered why sludge was grouped with post-metal and not doom.

#1 first and foremost:  Neurosis.  All their albums, or at least everything since 1992.  Start with Through Silver and Blood.

You already like ISIS so that's good

Listen to Swans' Children of God if you haven't before (or Filth and Cop; not all metal but a massive influence on the genre, very dark)

Boris' albums Amplifier Worship and Heavy Rocks (2002 album, not 2011 album)

Cult of Luna's album Somewhere Along The Highway

Also check out Intronaut, Om, and Yakuza

The above should give you a good, widely varied look into the world of Sludge metal


Edited by Triceratopsoil - 25 Feb 2015 at 7:54pm

Yakuza - yeah I like them, and Intronaut. Russian Circles and Red Sparrowes are very good bands too, from a different end of the spectrum to Yakuza. Shels I've never listened to - should do something about that I guess.

High on Fire are one of the few bands that I'd label purely "stoner metal" and not either sludge or doom.  There was a lot of debate about which sub they belong in.  It's because of the speed and aggression that I think I decided they have more in common with the hardcore side of sludge metal, than with doom metal - despite their origins (i.e. Sleep)

I can't find where the discussion we had surrounding them before is, I guess the collabs could possibly reopen it, but they aren't really doom-y IMO

Rate your music calls them Stoner Metal, Sludge Metal, Heavy Metal; metal-archives calls them Stoner/Doom Metal; wikipedia calls them Sludge metal, stoner metal, doom metal.  I guess it's a fairly debatable point.  Either way they are awesome



Edited by Triceratopsoil - 25 Feb 2015 at 3:45pm

Currently listening to Neurosis 'Through Silver in Blood', and I can safely say I was really missing out.

^ Haha

Not really an average sludge band, but Obsidian Kingdom is excellent!

Judd Madden has some great moments too.

Consecration is great!