The top ten Progressive Sludge Metal albums from the last five years

That title’s a bit of a mouthful, isn’t it? I can’t actually say it out loud without tripping over my tongue. Anyway. I want to say that I’m openly a big fan of progressive sludge metal. I like fat, meaty riffs and bands who are clever with their music, and I don’t care who knows it. Put those two together and you get progressive sludge. There should be more progressive sludge out there, I want to discover more progressive sludge bands, and everyone should listen to progressive sludge.

What does progressive sludge sound like? Well, there’s not necessarily a straight answer. There’s songs on albums included in this list that sound nothing alike each other. All bands on here are devout followers of The Riff™, but do vastly different things with it. There’s elements of black metal on here, all the way to reggae. Alright, then, at what point does sludge metal become progressive sludge? I don’t know, to be honest. This is all down to my judgment. Feel free to vocally disagree with me in the comments and call me a poser. I don’t mind, in all fairness – leaving comments regardless is good for our page reach. If the article was about the best recent sludge metal albums (without the ‘progressive’) then yeah, it would probably look quite different. I hope you haven’t got any more questions, because clearly, I don’t have any answers. Most of these bands are from the UK, because that’s where I’m from. If anyone’s got any good underground progressive sludge from the rest of the world, feel free to tell me about it. I love progressive sludge. Did I mention that already?

Bloody hell. Shall we get on with the list, then? In no particular order…

1.     Mastodon – Emperor of Sand

When you think of the genre, Mastodon are probably one of the first, and most obvious bands to come to mind. Emperor of Sand is huge in every sense. Others may prefer Once More ‘Round The Sun from the 2010s, but Emperor eclipses it for me. There’s a lot of variety (compare Andromeda to Show Yourself, for example) but the high points are other-wordly. Take Roots Remain, Jaguar God, Precious Stones, Scorpion Breath, or the iconic Steambreather, put them on one album and try and tell me that this isn’t a band at the very top of their game, and I won’t be convinced. Not bad at all for a band’s seventh studio album. With soaring melodies, infectious riffs and mindbending progressive sections, the Mastodon-shaped throne in the metal universe is well-deserved and well-placed.   

2.     Hark – Machinations

Jimbob Isaac is probably better known in most circles for his work in Taint, but I first came across him with Hark one Bloodstock, and they blew my mind. Machinations came out soon after that, bringing everything they did on Crystalline up a notch. The tunes were more memorable, the highs more euphoric, the gritty bits made me do that weird, gurny facial contortion just a bit more inhumanely when a dirty little riff came on. For example, there’s a lovely intro to Nine Fates, drifting through keys before settling on a groovy, chunky stoner riff. The Purge is a colossal closing track, too, showing off everything they’re capable of doing, with some awesome bass work midway through. Fortune Favours the Insane has some real mindbending guitar wizardry. Unfortunately Hark called it a day at the end of that year. Damn you, 2017. They live on in my sludgy little heart, though.

3.     Baroness – Purple

I don’t know where to start with Purple. It’s just incredible. I can listen to it over and over. Out of all of these picks, it’s probably the most straightforward rock album, with Morningstar and Desperation Burns the closest we get to sludge. Baroness’ earlier studio output is definitely heavier, but if changing up your sound and doing something new isn’t progressive, what is? Kerosene is in 7/8, anyway, that’s pretty proggy. You can’t understate the euphoria of this album, especially in the context of the band’s bus crash only a couple of years prior. Whether catchy hard rockers like The Iron Bell or Shock Me, or the sprawling brilliance of Chlorine & Wine, this is an album to be celebrated. And played loud.

4.     Conjurer – Mire

Mire’s got everything from black metal, post-metal, hardcore, and yeah, sludge and progressive metal in the mix. They do this and still sound like one unified band. I don’t really know how. Conjurer have become one of the biggest names on the UK metal scene since Mire came out. It surely can’t be long before they receive more global recognition. Hollow is my favourite track, with its key changes, doomy intro and the supreme power of the riff throughout. Retch is probably the most iconic, though. I was told that it was meant to be a Napalm Death-style burst of hate; fast, unforgiving and short, before the breakdown was added later. There’s a fun fact for you all.

5.     Boss Keloid – Melted on the Inch

Next on the list is Boss Keloid. It’s curious how this album can be considered the same genre as Conjurer’s Mire, isn’t it? On the other side of the prog-sludge coin, but equally as good, Boss Keloid’s trippy third full-length is a true journey, with rich melodies, beautiful quiet-loud contrasts and powerful, uplifting lyrics. The reggae-inspired intro to Peykruve is genius, although listen to how Lokannok climaxes and try and tell me this isn’t a heavy album as well? Jromalih is my personal highlight, especially that chunky riff in the key of C# that comes in at the end. You know the one. The one that makes you want to punch a wall. Yeah, that one. I asked one of them after a gig last year and the song names don’t mean anything, and are intentionally just nonsensical. Now you know, too.

6.     Desert Storm – Sentinels

Speaking of that Boss Keloid gig last year in the above paragraph, I discovered another one of my favourite bands that day on the support slot. Desert Storm were touring Sentinels, their most recent album, and they played a blinder. Sentinels is full of ambition, genre-hopping, and guitar tuning changes. Compared to their previous albums, it’s their heaviest. Drifter and The Brawl are stoner anthems, Gearhead is a prog-metal masterpiece, and Journey’s End is as heavy as your uncle after Christmas dinner. Too Far Gone even flirts with extreme metal. In honesty, choosing Sentinels over Omens was a bit of a toss-up, although Omens isn’t technically out yet and thus isn’t from ‘the last five years’… Don’t sit on it when it comes out. Check out The Grand Mal, the Cole brothers’ side project, if you like stoner rock, too.

7.     Dvne – Asheran

I first heard Asheran a couple of years back and keep returning. The Edinburgh quartet blend post-rock atmospherics with doom and sludge, all done through outstanding musical intelligence. Viridian Bloom has a gorgeous opening chord progression, and Descent of the Asheran, the album’s centrepiece, mixes up major keys, sludge riffs and proggy glory in a stunning fashion. Thirst goes into more extreme, blackened territory, as well. The boys are capable of a lot, and don’t hold back on this album – although they don’t needlessly show off. Dvne are one of two bands on this list I’ve not seen live. If any of you are reading this, fancy coming to the West Midlands and playing down here once lockdown is over? Can my band get on a support slot? Cheers. Nice one, lads.

8.     Barbarian Hermit – Solitude and Savagery

I only heard this album for the first time after I’d started writing this list. It’s ace, though. Barbarian Hermit show an impressive amount of ambition, going through stylistic, dynamic, and key changes – and they pull it off to devastating effect. There’s plenty of headbang-worthy moments, although the start of Black Mass almost reminds me of Jail, from Down’s classic debut. Indeed, Barbarian Hermit mix a healthy dose of psychedelia into their stoner sludge stylistics. The heavy riffing throughout Solitude and Savagery is just brilliant, though, and Ed demonstrates an impressive vocal range. I really like their approach to composition, and the way the songs progress. The longer songs don’t outstay their welcome at any point, and the epic Lanieka even reaches the 11-minute mark. I only wish there was more. Give it a go, you won’t regret it.

9.     Those Snakes – Widowmaker

An album born out of a lot of suffering and grief, Those Snakes’ second album is a psychedelic riff-fest from start to finish. Produced by Russ Russell, they mix sludge and 70s rock together in a cauldron and send it to space. There’s a nice amount of variety, while still sounding like one band. Of Smoke and Fire is brutal, but is definitely still the same band playing the gentle Catharsis or the trippy Astral Planes. Yeah, it might get compared to Mastodon, but for all the right reasons, in this case. There’s a lot of Mastodon-inspired clones out there at the moment, but Those Snakes are in a league of their own. Ghosts of Tomorrow and Serpent Goddess just rule. I hope to see the band progress and get bigger, because I do think they deserve it, and this album is just so strong. In February I included Widowmaker in my monthly top picks.

10.  King Corpse – Sacred Crimson

The Black Country sludge boys told me they didn’t think that Sacred Crimson was all that progressive, really, about a year back. I’m inclined to disagree. With intelligent chord voicings, unusual song structures and two sprawling epics, it’s certainly progressive. Is it sludgy, then? Yeah. Give Exhumation a blast. Job done. Is it any good? It’s fantastic. Climb My Bones is my favourite, with lovely vocal harmonies juxtaposed with Jack’s gritty, old-school screech. They do a really clever thing around the six-minute mark where you think the song’s over, and then they carry on after a quick rest. Throughout, each instrument shines, and they work very well as a unit. King Corpse have earned their spot on this list (even if it’s technically an EP, not an album), and more people should be taking notice of them. Ben loved Sacred Crimson as well, check out his review.

Honourable mentions go out to Pijn & Conjurer – Curse These Metal Hands, Boss Keloid – Herb Your Enthusiasm, and Baroness – Gold & Grey. I didn’t want to include one band twice. Other albums you might like include Intronaut – Fluid Existential Inversions, Opium Lord – Vore, Khemmis – Hunted and Hyborian – Volume II.

Thanks for reading. Stay sludgy. And stay indoors, lockdown isn't over yet.

MN