The Best Sludge Metal Album - Metal Storm Awards 2025

Baan - Neumann

Baan is a South Korean quartet that wants to wear many hats but without the hat hair that comes with it. Or as they put it: “Doom but not boring. Screamo but not crying. Hardcore but not macho. Shoegaze but not sucks” [sic]. It is an interesting proposition to say the least and their sophomore record, Neumann, makes a fruitful attempt at this self-imposed mission. Baan focuses mostly on atmospheric sludge that feels largely instrumental due to the vocals being drowned out by the triumphant, fuzzy riffs and muscular, Mastodon-esque drumming. But what really gives Neumann that wild, passionate, and warm sound, making Neumann a great soundtrack for a road trip through the desert, is the emphasis on noise elements. Feedback and static are the key elements behind Baan’s free-spirited nature.

Drofnosura - Ritual Of Split Tongues

With such striking artwork and a place on the Transcending Obscurity roster, one would rightfully expect something odd and uncomfortable from Drofnosura's Ritual Of Split Tongues, and one would not be disappointed. Sludge is but one part of this record's unique equation, which also factors in doom, post-metal, disso-death and grunge, with the diverse vocal range (featuring contributions from all 3 members) spanning spoken word, pained shrieks and eerie cleans. The atmosphere is consistently bleak and disquieting, yet with a slight air of restraint in spite of the bludgeoning sludge and grim dissonance, and by the end of its hour-long runtime, listeners will feel themselves oddly compelled to surrender to the abyssal figure on the album cover.

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Mantar - Post Apocalyptic Depression

The German sludge duo Mantar show to us once again what can be achieved with just one guitar and a drum kit on their 6th album to date, Post Apocalyptic Depression. Through a striking combination of sludge, doom, grunge, crust punk, and blackened elements, this crazed duo offers a total no-nonsense headbanger of pure unrelenting breakneck ferocity and endless groove from the get-go. It's still just as raw, powerful, and aggressive as their previous work, yet it's surprisingly more mature and composed compared to the chaos instilled on those earlier offerings. This makes Post Apocalyptic Depression one of the most intriguing and thrilling releases of sludge in 2025, proving you needn't be a quintet of highly technical musicians to give listeners what they really need: a wild, 35-minute headbanging session to some dirty, grimy, yet groovy and surprisingly sophisticated sludge.

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Mares Of Thrace - The Loss

A lot has been said about metal's emotional catharsis and its ability to put negative emotions into ugly art. Sludge, one of metal's ugliest and gnarliest of sounds, is thus a perfect catalyst for putting grief and the anger and frustration that come with it on display. The Loss is not only Mares Of Thrace making up for the decade of absence that preceded the previous album, The Exile, but also a dense and murky exploration of the grief coming from the bandleader's loss of their father, and the album's range - from the mellower moments to the more caustic and hardcore-infused performance - perfectly captures all that emotion, especially evident in the grief-stricken vocals.

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Primitive Man - Observance

Primitive Man is a band that can be accurately described only in grunted monosyllables and the smashing of heads against concrete walls.  Their albums are massive, filthy, noisy, and relentless.  It's not that there aren't other bands out there playing massive filthy noisy relentless blackened sludge, but there's something uniquely exhausting about Primitive Man, a sense of scale, a total commitment to extremity, that makes them stand out.  Observance perpetuates that feeling of excess in both length and density.  If you're at a place in your life where you need to be punched in the face by music, then Primitive Man is exactly what you need, no bones about it.  If not, you might find it unbearable.  But that's where the height of sludge is.

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Pyres - Yun

One Year Of Sleep turned into a dozen, but Canada's Pyres have finally followed up their debut record, and what a welcome return it is. The progressive sludge/stoner style on Yun hits all the right marks in making the most out of each style; at its most bare-chested and raucous, it treats listeners to swaggering sludge riffs and roaring vocals, but there's also the Southern rock licks and sludge-lite melodicism of Baroness to be enjoyed, as well as stoner rock grooves more akin to The Sword. The progginess bleeds into the complexity of some riffs, but there's also expansive ambition demonstrated on the record's longest tracks, which also dig into the doomy vibes of acts such as Pallbearer and Yob.

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Rwake - The Return Of Magik

It took Rwake 14 years to release the successor of Rest, but The Return Of Magik definitely marks a grand return. Sludge, stoner, doom, post-metal, and southern tunes constitute a totally engrossing sound, with both male and female vocals offering additional layers to music that is already very layered. New lead guitarist Austin Sublett provides solos that are nothing less than jaw-dropping, while the tribal drumming of Jeff Morgan offers a ceremonial and almost religious aspect. The Return Of Magik is original, immersive, and progressive, but its strongest feature is that one can take any one of the songs on it, extend it in perpetuity, and never get tired of it.

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Throne (ITA) - Ossarium

After 8 years, Throne (ITA) are back with their third album, this one coming for the first time via Dusktone Records. The Italian sludge doomsters mark the major label occasion with a record that evolves beyond the bluesy old-school sludge of their preceding record in favour of a darker, heavier and more atmospheric sound on Ossarium. There are monstruous buzzsaw death doom riffs, thick sludgy grooves and howling roared vocals, but the album also plays around very effectively with more atmospheric and melodic elements, particularly in its second half, bringing a rich expansiveness to what was initially a suffocating and punishing experience.

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Trudger - Void Quest

When it comes to 'killer riffs per minute' ratio, no album released in 2025 gets close to Trudger's Void Quest, a remarkable comeback sophomore record arriving over a decade after their debut release Dormiveglia. At a taut 35 minutes in length, Void Quest is crammed full of juicy riffs, licks and solos, with both multiple members' background in Dvne and a clear influence from early Mastodon coming through clearly in the remarkable instrumental proficiency displayed by the delicious guitar licks and rhythmic complexity. That said, Trudger offer immediate gratification through primal roars and pummeling sludge grooves to go with that technical skill, providing the best of both worlds on a records that proves itself to be more than worth the prolonged wait.

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Voidhammer - The Besieger

Hear the battle cry of The Besieger, the master of the art of war! Self-described as “blackened battle stoner doom”, the style of Voidhammer demonstrates influences from High On Fire, Conan, and Bolt Thrower. With a slow yet unrelenting pace, the doom rhythm grinds forward like a tank, steamrolling everything in its path. The powerful vocals lead the charge and the strong drum beats make you want to march ahead, towards cosmic battle. And, atop the supermassive foundation, Voidhammer’s soundscape is energized by incredibly groovy lead guitar riffs. The Besieger is a very, very impressive debut for this one-man project, showcasing catchy rhythm, melodic atmosphere, destructive vocals, and finest doom guitar work. If you want headbang-inducing fun amid crushingly heavy battle hymns, it's time you've felt the mighty strike of the Voidhammer!

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