the Top 50 Heaviest Albums of All Time : 30 - 21

With the world ending we need the heaviest sound track possible. We continue to countdown the heaviest albums ever. May your ear drums bleed as it all burns down.


30- Napalm Death - " Scum"


This shit storm of chaos hit's your ears like fucking barbwire. In 1987 it was way ahead of it's time. 

29-Ilsa - "Corpse Fortress"

The raw power of this album shows the difference between sludge and doom is the punk influence that drips from sludge. These guys took that and went darker. 


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28 Naga - " Inanimate"

These are a sludge band much like Ilsa. They just beat those guys out on this list because their is a black metal influence that brings the evil. 

27-Bloodlet - " the Seraphim Fall"

These guys were competing with themselves. This album beat out "Entheogen" because it's darker.  Darker always is heavier.  

26-Acid Bath - "When the Kite String Pops" 

If this was a list of my top 50 favorite metal bands of all time , these guys who went on to become Goatwhore, would have been in the top 10. But's it's not . 

25 - Fistula -"Vermin Prolificus"


The higher we get in this list the harder it was to make some of these calls. I like "Longing For Infection" better as an album, but this is not a list of best album's it's a list of heaviest albums. 

24-Converge- "When Forever Comes Crashing" 

The best hardcore band to come out of the 90s . It is amazing to think there are 23 albums heavier than what these guys dish out here. 

23- Carcass- Necroticism, Descanting the Insalubrious"

When compared to this album "Heartwork" seemed like a sell out. 

22- Disma - "Towards the Megalith"

Their guitar tone sounds like it was scraped from the sewers of hell. The vocals are equally ugly. 

21-Portrayal of Guilt - " Suffering is a Gift"

Kids today can't be bothered with just sticking to one genre. Grind core fits the best if you need to define them.

the Top 10 Sludge Albums of 2019

It's that time of year again, to sort through the top 10 albums of all the respective genres and then compile all the number ones into the top 10 albums of the year. Then I will make the top 10 lists for the decade. To be blunt 2019 is  the decade's weakest year for music.  Especially when it comes to new artists, as 7 of the 10 bands are veterans  to our lists here. You had to search much harder to find ten albums that rose above, yet that is what I did. In fact I might have complied more than in the past, as I split up the genres more. In past years sludge was lumped in with stoner rock. This was because it was basically bong worshiping metal that was not doom.  I think this points out the distinction between doom and these genres even further.  You will see here how there is more of a feral sonic rawness to these bands than doom. While they might lumber quite a few pick up the pace a good deal and pull influence from black metal and death. Not looking for Neurosis worship here.  As in past years I am  giving a brief explanation as to why these albums stand over the peers in lower positions on the list. The very fact these bands made it on the list speaks to how great these albums are so it's not a slight that the number 8 album is above the 9th album, there is something that just gives it an edge that makes me want to listen to it more. After all we can try to look cool and pick the hippest bands for a list, but at the end of the day what makes an album the best is that it makes you want more, you look forward to listening to it again. Sure you can  bitch and complain about your favorite band not being on the list, I listen to five new albums a day, so yes I heard your favorite album and was not impressed and no, I do not care what you think about. I do hope you can find your next favorite on this list and  included links to reviews of these albums if you want to check out audio on these guys. Anyways here are the top 10 Sludge albums of 2019 .

10- Bather- " s/t"

On the crust side of sludge, this album has a balance of raw attack and atmosphere guitars . They create a creepy mood to provide a more bleak current to these songs. With a sound that is  dense and heavy, this is  done with taste and attention to serving the songs

https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2019/05/bather-st.html

9- Weird Tales - "Hell services cost a lot

" One thing I like about making these lists is it reminds me of albums that came out earlier in the year that I in turn rediscover. This Polish band is great, so don't let this become an album you sleep on. The vocals are more sung than the typical gruff barking sludge employs not making it any less heavy. Lots of freaked out drug crazed rock n roll influence.



 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2019/01/weird-tales-hell-services-cost-lot.html

8-Oceanwake- "Lights Flashing in Mute"



The Finnish are not known for sludge, so this is not straight up sludge. There are elements aside from death metal here. Some touches of post-rock and flourishes of almost neo folk. The production serves it well, for the ambitious scope of what they are doing these guys hit all the marks. The reason it beat out Bather, these guys have more dynamic range.


 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2019/07/oceanwake-lights-flashing-in-mute.html

7- Aseethee - "Throes" 


They defy the conventions of sludge . While this album sounds great , there are songs and not just drone. This is a band doesn't play it safe and they break way from the pack to do their own thing.It beat out Oceanwake for this spot because they are more refined in their heaviness, making them heavier.

 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2019/05/aseethe-throes.html

6-Naga - "Void Cult Rising"


More uptempo and feral than the last album, more feral but not as dark. There is a warmer mix than I remember the . The blackened touches are sparse, but the riffs are still fucking mean.There sound is really dialed in on this album, might not be as heavy as Aeethee, but they captured an overall better quality of sound


. https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2019/12/naga-void-cult-rising.html

5-Cult of Luna-" A Dawn to Fear"

This album firmly reestablishes their return. The are lots of layers and dark melodies buried with in them. The vocals are the throaty growl. The mix of groove and atmosphere is strong. Despite the two bands vocals being pretty much the same these guys used said groove to beat out Naga.

 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2019/09/cult-of-luna-dawn-to-fear.html

 4-Dead to A Dying World - "Elegy"

 This is blackened sludge, yet I can hear where people might be quick to call it post-rock. This album also features guest performances by two former Swans members, Jarboe and Thor Harris, who appear on "Vernal Equinox" . So how can they go wrong ? The album is really dialed in when it comes to the sense of dynamics. In fact it is the expansive sense of dynamics that Cult of Luna can't compete with.

 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2019/04/dead-to-dying-world-elegy.html

3-Helms Alee- "Notiluca"

 When I went back to listen to this album again it clicked with me how great it is. I can appreciate being hooked on Fistula albums, but even though this is not the most crushing sludge album of the year, the songs are fucking well written and make this worth repeated listens and stand the test of time . Yes there is noise rock and a prevalent Melvins influence to this album, this doesn't make them any less sludge, in fact it puts them head and shoulders over most of their peers.

 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2019/04/helms-alee-noctiluca.html

2- Fister -"Decade of Depression"

It was a tough call between this and the album that beat it out for the top spot. Yes, this album is more than half covers. It is not the only only covers album that is going to do well this year. They fucking wreck these songs. I mean picking Slayer and Danzig tunes and laying them to waster is impressive. The album sound great it is crushingly heavy, but still musical. It's this vulgar display of raw power that beat out the more diverse sounds of Helms Alee.


 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2019/09/fister-decade-of-depression.html

1- Lord Mantis - "Universal Death Church"

This wildly feral sludge band often chugs it's way towards making raw and nasty death metal. Sanford Parker who produced the album made some interesting choice on what he choose to to with the vocals. The sonic darkness of the throb these songs take on is just the kind of heavy I look for in music. This one beat out Fister for top spot as the power of this band's originals out muscled the Fister album that found it's strongest moments to be covers.

 https://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2019/11/lord-mantis-universal-death-cult.html

Naga : "Void Cult Rising"

I really loved "Inanimate" so have high hopes for this one. It's more uptempo and feral than the last album, more feral but not as dark. There is a warmer mix than I remember the . The blackened touches are sparse, but the riffs are still fucking mean. The second song finds a more morose tone spreading. The vocals are not in the rasped snarl, but more of a throaty yell typical of sludge. It gets almost into a more Isis like territory as the song progresses. "Bedim the Sun" is marginally more melancholy. The guitars leave room for the raspy vocals and eventually they do build up into a nasty blasty section. I am not sure that it is the best thing for the song.

The black metal thing for them is weird. I guess blackened sludge could be used on the previous album this is too warm to really be black metal.  I like black metal, I think a little blackness with these guys goes a long way and maybe using the atmospheric dissonance of black metal instead of the blast beats might be a better investment. "Thanatou" almost has a rock n roll feel to how it rambles . There are some darker touches of atmosphere that also helps add a wider range of sonic color to the album.. There is certainly a greater sense of sonic heaviness to this song.  They ride this throb for sometime before blasting back off. This album is certainly at least from a guitar stand point more melodic than the previous one. The guitar tones change getting more post rock like for " Pyre".  It jams off into being more of a drone.

The album ends with the almost fourteen  minute title track. Things get really melodic . It breaks down into a clean guitar tone. The vocals seem to have more purpose on this song and are less of an after thought. At times this kind of scream vocals seems more like an obligation than adding to the song. The last riff they jam on with beyond epic. I will round this one up to a 9 as it is very well done.   If you like raw sludge with a touch of darkness then these guys are still for you.

the Top 10 Doom Albums of 2016

This was a rough year for the genre and the universe, by the end of it I need more gut wrenching than I got but these are the best of the bunch I did get. There are many shades of doom here, a sense of loss and mourning is what I need from doom, more darkness than death metal so that is reflected here.If you want to hear these guys you can find something to listen to via the review links included in our countdown of 2016's best doom albums.


10- Mammoth Weed Wizard Bastard- "Y Proffwydd Dwyll"-

This band's name is almost too over the the top for me to take them seriously, but you don't have to get more than half way into the first song before it is hard to deny them. Hailing from Wales these kids have only been at it for a couple of years making this their second album. The guitar sound is big and dense like sludge , but they have enough somber atmosphere to qualify as doom. The croon of the female vocals is not what you would think to pair with the music churning under their melodies.Jessica Bell's voice sets this band apart in a way that leaves the bulk of their more burly barking counterparts in the dust.

 http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2016/12/catching-up-with-2016-mammoth-weed.html


9-Swamp Witch- "the Withering Bog"


 The hunger for new doom awoke in time for me to dip into the new album from Oakland's Swamp Witch. The vocals are a low death metal growl, but everything else paints the perfect picture of doom. From the first song I was delighted to hear that the album cover perfectly matched the murky darkness being dragged from these sonic waters. http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2016/07/swamp-witch-slithering-bog.html

8-the Howling Void- "the Triumph of Ruin"

The album cover doesn't lie. What is inside sounds just like the images appearing on the 5th full length from this one man project out of Texas. The album opens with a weird mix of tremolo picked guitar running over a track that is otherwise doom paced to create a unique dynamic tension. The vocals are sung , but low in the mix and used more as a passing texture. This is a beautiful album, it walks the line between black metal and doom, with the doom side winning out so if you are a fan of either genre then this is worth a listen. A word of warning to those who prefer the harsher side of either genre , this album really cares about it's lushness.


 http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2016/01/the-howling-void-triumph-of-ruin.html

7-Lycus- "Chasms"

 An album that defied  the boundaries of my favorite sub-genre, but are undertaken so masterfully it's hard to complain. Where 2013's "Tempest" had a more mournful elegance the new slab of density from this band finds a more aggressive and raw rumble.The drums give them the thundering opener "Solar Chamber" more propulsion than the band found on the entire last album, just in the first nine minutes. Some of the shift in sonics are due to a line up changes with bassist Brett Tardiff and guitarist Dylan Burton joining the band.< http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2016/01/lycus-chasms.html

6- Naga- "Inanimate"


The  third album from this Italian trio opens up with a throb showing that it's possible to still be a doom band and not have to crawl along, it's about as fast as a band wants to be without crossing over into sludge. Very hateful mood carries a darker attitude than many black metal band who lose the mood because they are so preoccupied with blast beats. It's what I want out of bands that go in this direction. Dark as it is dense and not so rough around the edges that it loses it's ambiance and kills the mood. If you like doom with teeth and devoid of Black Sabbath worship these guys got ya.
http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2016/07/naga-inanimate_18.html

5-Spirit Adrift-"Chained to Oblivion"

 Found myself a little torn between whether this band wants to be Candlemass or Pallbearer. Granted everyone one knows Candlemass came before, but there is something in the moody way the vocals are delivered that thinks they might owe more to Pallbearer, who has been out long enough now that we will start to see other bands aside from Khemmis come out trying to cop their sound. They aren't afraid to pick up the pace and the overall end result was pretty rocking, if you are looking for some melodic doom this is worth your time

. http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2016/08/spirit-adrift-chained-to-oblivion.html

4-Heavydeath-"In Circles We Die"

 there is a raw Celtic Frost like vibe to the brand of deathly doom this Swedish band has returned to  grind out. Very rough around the edges, there is still a well balanced sense of atmosphere even when they chug into the more sludge like "Slumbering Monolith" though I prefer what they were doing on the albums opener. The growls are low and gurgling though still deliver the lyrics in a way that can be understood in one listen.Overall the production on this album is a notch above their previous full length. They incorporate a wide range of guitar tones and atmospheric sounds making for a more well rounded experience
http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2016/09/heavydeath-in-circles-we-die.html

3-Obed Marsh-"Innsmouth" With nasty rasped vocals this sludged dipped doom band delves into Lovecraft. It sounds like their singer is being turned into an aspect of Dagon as he croaks his guts out. It's the gloomy lethargy the opening song is paced with that solidifies this as doom in my book.Going into this know that for the duration you are in for crushing doom with the filth of death metal coating it. These guys should get props for having some of the wickedest growls set to record this year. Normally after a few songs growling can get old for me if it is not varied yet here it works. http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2016/08/obed-marsh-innsmouth.html




 2-Beastmaker - "Lusus Naturae"

 While this band from California indulges in Sabbath worshiping lumber of your more mainstream doom, the manage to have a sound that sets themselves apart from their peers. It's by the third song "Arachne" the vocals are beginning to sound like Acid Bath era Dax Rigg's drugged out baritone that this is most evident. This is fine with me as I prefer this to some one doing a half ass Ozzy impersonation.The bands strengths lie in not playing by the doom rule book and dipping into this darker sound.Still fans of more traditional forms of doom will find lots to love about this album.


http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2016/03/beastmaker-lusus-naturae.html

1- Khemmis - "Hunted"

At times more NWOBHM than doom and "3 Gates" starts off to uptempo to be doom at all, but in the end it got the most play time and had enough melancholy to qualify as doom, after all Black Sabbath albums didn't always crawl all the way to the finish line so something can be said for the dynamics.This one earned it space at the top not because it was the most dismal, but because I listened to it the most, which at the end of the day is what matters.

http://abysmalhymns.blogspot.com/2016/09/khemmis-hunted.html

Naga : " Inanimate"

The  third album from this Italian trio opens up with a throb showing that it's possible to still be a doom band and not have to crawl along, it's about as fast as a band wants to be without crossing over into sludge. Very hateful mood carries a darker attitude than many black metal band who lose the mood because they are so preoccupied with blast beats.These are ten minute songs, but there is not much in terms of fat to trim so I can hang with that. "Hyele" some how manages to get even heavier than the first song. The verses give the sog a little room to breathe and a slight atmosphere, but they return to crush you. Production wise there is a very raw and dirty sound that still sounds big without feeling like they are crowded into their practice space recording this. The guitars are very nuanced with melodies rather than just beating you with a slab of distortion.


 They do summon up a denser rumble and pick up the pace on the more sludge like "Loner". The pace causes this song to clock in at only four minutes. It's much more straight forward with the dry midrange harsh yells mixed back into the guitars. This falls somewhere between Motorhead and Hell Hammer. I prefer when this riff slows a little mid way into it before churning back up the momentum. They are back to an uglier and burlier groove on their cover of "the Money Will Roll Right In". They lock in on this one and ride it into a chaotic darkness, that owes little to it's grunge roots. I;ll give this album a 9.5. It's what I want out of bands that go in this direction. Dark as it is dense and not so rough around the edges that it loses it's ambiance and kills the mood. If you like doom with teeth and devoid of Black Sabbath worship these guys got ya.

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