the Top 10 Sludge Albums of 2022

It's that time of year again. In 2022 we continued to need sludge as we marched further towards an apocalyptic future, here are the best of the current crop. When I am done sorting through the top 10 albums of all the respective genres, I will then compile the top 10 albums of the year. I know many of you are ready for another year to be over with. Hate to break it to you but nothing is getting better next year.  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. However, I listen to five new albums a day so yes, I heard your favorite album and was not impressed. No, I do not care what you think about it. I do hope you can find your next favorite on this list and have 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 2022

10 -Abraham- ""Debris de Mondes Perdus"

 This Swiss band blends the raw attack of noise rock with the heavy oppressive weight of sludge. The punk roots are always known. The throaty yells of the vocals that open the album and the rest of the music gathers around it in a very dark and discordant fashion. The second listen through this album finds it all making a bit more sense though the first listen I was still pretty impressed

Abysmal Hymns: Abraham : "Debris de Mondes Perdus"

9-Gloson-' the Rift" 

This band from Sweden churns out a dark bellowing brand sludge from the more Neurosis school of sonics. It lumbers and the vocals bellow, so they have the basics covered. What I am listening for is what are these guys doing that I have not already heard before. There are also sung vocals buried against the layers of guitar. Not what you expect to come out of Sweden

Abysmal Hymns: Gloson : "the Rift"

8-Druids - "Shadow Work"

This American Sludge band rides the line between droning post- rock landscapes and a more Mastodon like progginess. Armed with sung vocals rather than just throat bellows, they have a leg up when it comes to songwriting. T The vocals are commanding yet sung, think more in the zip code of Baroness here. There is a bong tinted sheen of stoner vibes coasting over the groove. The song takes you on a journey which is more than most bands these days deliver

Abysmal Hymns: Druids : "Shadow Work"

 

7-Helms Alee - "Keep This Be the Way" 

This band continues to take chances, right from the start with the storming drive of the electronic pump the album kicks off with. They might be even more experimental this time around. The vocals are not the vehicle for melody all the time, though they lock into a more aggressive sludge attack by the time we get halfway into the second song. This anchors there songwriting more and gives the needed dynamic to make for a more compelling listen.

Abysmal Hymns: Helms Alee : "Keep This Be the Way"

6-Woorms- "Fatalismo" 

This band from Louisiana got Steve Austin of Today is the Day fame to really dial things in for them on their third album. It mixes the definition of sludge from the 90s with a Clutch style blues drenched swamp rock . The have pocket tight grooves, but do not forget to use atmosphere even amid their most banging angular barrages.

Abysmal Hymns: Woorms : " Fatalismo"

5-Conan-"Evidence of Immortality" 

The 5th album by this British band, carries all the thundering thump that you might expect, though when compared to their earlier work resonates with more sonic heaviness. It opens with a ten-minute pounder. The vocals howl with more conviction. Things are not always at a doomy plod; in fact they are pretty aggressive tempo wise, that aggression is what earned their place here. 

Abysmal Hymns: Conan : "Evidence of Immortality"

 

4-Absent in Body - Plague God" 

In some ways this is the album I wished Amenra had released last year instead to the overly atmospheric one we got instead. This album not only features members of Amera, but drummer Igor Cavelera of Sepultura fame and Neurosis' Scott Kelly. The massive apocalypse of sound they churn up is quite impressive with the industrial strength of its crushing throb

Abysmal Hymns: Absent in Body : "Plague God"

 

3-Crowbar- "Zero and Below" 

Kirk Windstein is back. One of the 90s most enduring metal bands churns with the swampy grooves that put them on the map. These guys have grown on me over the years and the more time I take with this band the more I appreciate them; Windstein is the only original member with Soylent Green drummer Tommy Buckley as the next in line as the closest thing to an original member. There songwriting feels like at times they are taking the torch from Panterra/

Abysmal Hymns: Crowbar : Zero and Below"

2- Fucked Up - "Oberon" 

What is fucked up is how they have decided to just go ahead and become a metal band. These guys have always been weird, so while it is a strange progression from the burlier angular noise rock they were making, this is an absurd leap into the unexpected. I am more surprised by how they are doing it; this sounds like the second coming of Cathedral. With the vocals serving as the main culprit, yes there is also a good dose of Celtic Frost mixed in with other weirdness like synth sounding effects.

Abysmal Hymns: Fucked Up : 'Oberon"

 

1-(16) - "Into Dust"  

After 2020's "Dream Squasher" proved to be a slab of sonic devastation I am still listening to 2 years later, the bar could not be higher for this California band. The continued to bring it with this album firing from all cylinders with their foot to the gas of this tank. The weighty sludge rolls over you, but with a bit of swing and hook.  There is more rock n roll flowing through their veins this time around. It is most commonly bled out on the frets of the guitars. Catchy song writing does not mean they are any less in your face or forceful in their intentions.

Abysmal Hymns: November is Doom- (16) : " Into Dust"

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

Helms Alee : "Noctiluca"

These guys have a muscular sound that is not metal but a form of grungy noise rock with more in common with the Melvins, than any metal or even post rock band. The vocals benefit from better production than I recall hearing on their previous albums. While botht the male and female vocals can trade off with similar aggression , she is the better singer of the two . On "Play Dead" we get a taste of the hooks her voice is capable of conveying. The bass and drums lock in to create so maple grooves. There is angular atmosphere to "Be Rad Tomorrow" .  This is the first time you here some of the post rock that once colored the more muscular sludge leanings.

There hints of a Neurosis style vibe on "Lay Waste Child " . I do like that it leans in a darker direction. While it's more melodic things begin to get weird once the album gets to "Legal Guardian".  Songs like "Spider Jar' might start off with more of a grunge things going going on, but that is not where they end . Instead veering off into a weirder direction. "Pleasure Torture" has an interesting blend of sounds. The harmonies of the female voices is pretty alluring before the dynamics shift. They do have heavy moments that are heavy sonically rather than heavy metal as there is very little that comes from that kind of overtly aggressive energy. The male vocals do convey a more burly energy that comes closer to that.

They dip into a more psychedelic sound with relaxed vocals for "Pandemic".  The album might end with the best song "Word Problems". It takes a dark moody tone and marries to powerful Zeppelin throb that groove / The use of female vocals on the verse and male vocals on a more commanding chorus works well, The vocals carry an intensity almost like Ministry , though musically these guys are far more organic. I will round this one up to a 9.5, as usual Sargent House once again delivers something interesting.

Helms Alee : "Sleepwalking Sailors"

Helms Alee , if you don't know is a three piece from Seattle that features former members of These are Are Snakes, who after catching a few times live always seemed overrated to me despite boasting former members of Botch. So this is what happens when former members or former members, its calling out the second string off the bench. The second it begins to remind me of what Kylesa used to do. It progressive sludge. The shouted vocals of this ilk sound dated to me as they are not really committing to screaming, Mastodon did it in their transition out of metal and now here it is reminding me of the 2000's.

"Pinniped" is more like what I expected from these guys. The post- rock elements are toned down in the first few songs for a beefier stampede of jock rock, so the more indie rock like fare is welcomed and the first song on this album that really resonates with me. "Dangling Modifiers" continues down this path like a more muscular version of Minus the Bear. The angry lumber jack vocals counterbalancing the more indifferent indie rock singing, that could Built to Spill or any other of the dead pan Dinosaur Jr like vocal approaches. They use a similar play on the good cop , bad cop vocal dynamic on the lazy slacker waltz of "Heavy Worm Burden". They make some great moody yet angular rock here, so the overwrought burliness of the more hoarse vocals kind pisses on it at times.

When Dana Jame's lead a song with her vocals , it works better for me than when they start with the more gruff vocals or the laid back slacker one, as both routes seem to hold something to them that I have heard before. Some of the album's best vocal blending comes on "Fetus. Carcass". The heavier build build works better on this one than it has on the rest of the album , because the set up is there. Kinda like how a horror movie isn't as effect if you don't care about the characters so their gruesome deaths are just blood on the screen. They set up "Slow Beef" in a similar fashion and I really like the cleaner guitar tones they use at the onset of the song.

"Animatronic Bionic" kinda fall out of the end section of the previous song. It grows more angular and the metal kick in works better because of this and the riff is just plain catchier. The trend of one song falling right out of the end section of another is "Dodge the Lighting" which literally made me check iTunes as it sounds like a cool ending section to the previous song, though the shouted vocals tend to dominate it.
It leans more towards a meat and potatoes styled post-hard core that doesn't strike me as something I would listen to on a regular basis, but I don't feel like I wasted my time giving these guys a shot, it isn't my thing , but it might be yours. I'll give this album a 7 as it's well executed and there are some interesting songs captured here, round it up a whole point if you mid the early 2000's .