I feel like my overall favorites list is getting too long. I'm splitting it up by rating.

1.Amon Amarth - Jomsviking

2.Qrixkuor - Poison Palinopsia

3.Skepticism - Ordeal

4.Funeral Mist - Devilry

5.Zeal & Ardor - Zeal And Ardor

      View entire list ››

Welcome everybody to a little lesson on the history of Sludge & Stoner Metal. I'm Guib and today I have the immense pleasure to serve as your humble teacher.

Please take a seat and travel with me through time as we explore the very best of those two, often blurred, genres. The goal here is simple, I want to get you familiarized with the styles. I want you to understand where they come from through albums on a timeline and while we're at it get a sweet selection of great releases that you might not know and that, hopefully, will get you hooked to explore even more!

But this is a classroom and in my classroom there are a few rules. We want to keep this clean, clear and prevent having a 500+ albums mess. So here are the rules we'll follow throughout this lesson.

- - - - - The Rules - - - - -

1. We will settle for a maximum of 4 albums per year and they will be listed from oldest to newest. Makes it simple to navigate. Those releases will represent what I consider to be hallmarks of the genres for that year. Essentials if you want, yes? Of course, I'll sprinkle a bit of my personality here and there so you will find some unorthodox choices and some less known albums from time to time. It would be boring otherwise... and also why not?

2. We will begin the journey with Melvins' "Gluey Porch Treatments" released in 1987. Why? Because it is arguably the first album to be widely considered as Sludge.

3. The list will mostly feature studio albums. So no Demos & bare minimum when it comes to EPs if any at all. Thank you.

4. I am not going to include releases by Black Sabbath, Blue Cheer, Hawkwind, etc... I fully understand and recognize the influence older bands had on Stoner Rock, but this is not the list for them.

5. Lastly, not really a rule but more of a note. Considering that we're talking about Sludge & Stoner, it is inevitable that Doom, Post, Progressive, Grunge & Hardcore acts will be featured in this list. Those genres simply go together naturally and are often mixed so do not be alarmed!

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That is it, I hope you will all discover something to enjoy through my little history lesson. Also, do not hesitate to comment below if you agree or disagree with some of my picks. After all, this is a classroom and debate is invited as it can be fun and educative. As long everything's done respectfully, of course.

Enjoy & Have Fun... Class dismissed!

NOTE: I will now add my picks for best album of the year using this format (best of xxxx) in the chosen album's description.

- Guib -

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Guib's best Sludge/Stoner Album Picks

Best Of 2023:
Urne - A Feast On Sorrow

Best Of 2024 So Far:
O Zorn! - Vermillion Haze

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Last Update: April 27th, 2024

1.Melvins - Gluey Porch Treatments

2.Soundgarden - Ultramega OK

3.Oxbow - Fuckfest

4.Melvins - Ozma

5.Soundgarden - Louder Than Love

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Very little metal here! My favorite albums from each year of the 2010s, roughly in order of preference annually. I include several albums from the same artists because some of them (e.g. Susanne Sundfør, SubRosa and Litku Klemetti) released pretty much AOTYs every time they released anything.

1.

2.Owen Pallett - Heartland

3.Susanne Sundfør - The Brothel

4.Robyn - Body Talk

5.Joanna Newsom - Have One on Me

      View entire list ››

1.Gojira - Magma

2.Insomnium - Winter's Gate

3.Moonsorrow - Jumalten Aika

4.Trees Of Eternity - Hour Of The Nightingale

5.SubRosa - For This We Fought The Battle Of Ages

      View entire list ››

1.The Body - No One Deserves Happiness

2.Cobalt - Slow Forever

3.Cult Of Luna - Mariner [Collaboration]

4.The Dillinger Escape Plan - Dissociation

5.Nails - You Will Never Be One Of Us

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1.Saor - Guardians

2.Oathbreaker - Rheia

3.SubRosa - For This We Fought The Battle Of Ages

4.Astronoid - Air

5.Zeal and Ardor - Devil Is Fine

      View entire list ››

Here are my favourite releases (8+ ratings) from 2016! This year, my preferences are ranked in order of how I'd rate them. I didn't manage to listen to an exceptional amount of new music this year, so please feel free to recommend and share some releases I may not have gotten to.

Impression about 2016: A terrible year for prog and alternative metal, if I had to be honest, mostly because my expectations were sky-high for releases from Headspace, Haken, Third Ion and Dissona. On the other hand, Vektor revitalized the stagnant genre of thrash with an incredible release. It was a decent year for post-metal or post-influenced things (Départe, Moanaa, Bossk, Blindead), but it was tough to top some of the gems from 2015 (mainly, Sunpocrisy's Eyegasm, Hallelujah! album). Finally, the combination of krautrock with metal in 2016 tantalized me frequently earlier in the year (exemplified by the music of ZÖN and Vaults of Zin).

1.Départe - Failure, Subside

2.40 Watt Sun - Wider Than The Sky

3.Gorguts - Pleiades' Dust

4.Aluk Todolo - Voix

5.Vektor - Terminal Redux

      View entire list ››

1.Cult Of Luna - Mariner [Collaboration]

2.Oranssi Pazuzu - Värähtelijä

3.Mistur - In Memoriam

4.Thy Catafalque - Meta

5.In The Woods... - Pure

      View entire list ››

2016 - What An amazing year for Metal!

End of the year list for the bands & albums I heard this year - sorted In alphabetical order. List is WIP.

1.Abbath - Abbath

2.Alcest - Kodama

3.Ancient - Back To The Land Of The Dead

4.Antimatter - Welcome To The Machine

5.Borknagar - Winter Thrice

      View entire list ››

1.SubRosa - For This We Fought The Battle Of Ages

2.Vektor - Terminal Redux

3.Khemmis - Hunted

4.Ill Wicker - Untamed

5.Alcest - Kodama

      View entire list ››

Most wanted albums to get right here and now. Ranked from Most to More liked +++.

1.Thy Catafalque - Meta

2.Cult Of Luna - Mariner [Collaboration]

3.Moonsorrow - Jumalten Aika

4.Oranssi Pazuzu - Värähtelijä

5.Crippled Black Phoenix - Bronze

      View entire list ››

Very late starting on this one, been rather unable to keep up with releases over the summer so will try to catch up on as many cool releases as possible in the last couple of months of the year. Be prepared for pithy reviews

1.Ortega - Sacred States

2.Riverside - Eye Of The Soundscape

3.Oathbreaker - Rheia

4.Devin Townsend - Transcendence

5.Allegaeon - Proponent For Sentience

      View entire list ››

Favourite albums of 2016 (including only those which I would rate 7+)

1.Vektor - Terminal Redux

2.Slice The Cake - Odyssey To The West

3.Animals As Leaders - The Madness Of Many

4.Gardenjia - Arkestral

5.Hypno5e - Shores Of The Abstract Line

      View entire list ››

I did not spend much time searching for/listening to music in 2016, so recommendations are more than welcomed. Some of the stuff towards the end of the list are likely to be deleted.

1.Schammasch - Triangle

2.Aluk Todolo - Voix

3.Skáphe - Skáphe²

4.Terra Tenebrosa - The Reverses

5.Départe - Failure, Subside

      View entire list ››

All the other 2016 lists are total garbage.

1.Schammasch - Triangle

2.Mortichnia - Heir To Scoria And Ash

3.Départe - Failure, Subside

4.SubRosa - For This We Fought The Battle Of Ages

5.Ustalost - The Spoor Of Vipers

      View entire list ››