Year Currently Covered: 2023

Hey folks! Welcome to the greatly coveted Guib Awards! Instead of creating a list every year, I've decided to make a single one that will change yearly to feature my favorite albums of the past one. So this first iteration will feature albums for 2023!

I will not be covering every genre nor a specific one and I won't limit myself to a single album per genre. It will literally be my absolute favorites of the year currently covered or albums that I listened to a lot more than I'd like to admit, so this won't be as big as my usual lists. Also, I will only cover a maximum of 50 albums, all featured on MS and they will be placed in alphabetical order (of the band's name).

Hope some of you will agree with me, but as always... It doesn't really matter, does it?

Cheers to good music and have fun!

Note: Albums with a "√" are albums I voted for in one of the categories of the last MS awards.

Last Updated: April 15th, 2024

1.Altarage - Worst Case Scenario

2.Baroness - Stone

3.Bloodletter - A Different Kind Of Hell

4.Capra - Errors

5.CauseNeffect - Validation Through Suffering

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With over 1300 albums to choose from, it's not easy to narrow down to a top 20. As far as the top albums go, I think this has been a bit of a weaker year than the last few, but there's been some great standout releases.

1.Bees Made Honey In The Vein Tree - Aion

2.Sermon - Of Golden Verse

3.Ne Obliviscaris - Exul

4.The Gorge - Mechanical Fiction

5.Meridian Sun - The Curse

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1.Shylmagoghnar - Convergence

2.Sacred Outcry - Towers Of Gold

3.Fires In The Distance - Air Not Meant For Us

4.Cattle Decapitation - Terrasite

5.Moonlight Sorcery - Horned Lord Of The Thorned Castle

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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: May 3rd, 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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I reckon 735 albums in the first 6 months of this year is a 6-month record I will never match, but let's see how many I get through in Q3 and Q4

1.Bees Made Honey In The Vein Tree - Aion

2.Meridian Sun - The Curse

3.The Gorge - Mechanical Fiction

4.Earthside - Let The Truth Speak

5.Wayfarer - American Gothic

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1.Sulphur Aeon - Seven Crowns And Seven Seals

2.Cattle Decapitation - Terrasite

3.Horrendous - Ontological Mysterium

4.Fires In The Distance - Air Not Meant For Us

5.Wayfarer - American Gothic

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1.Hanging Garden - The Garden

2.Katatonia - Sky Void Of Stars

3.Obituary - Dying Of Everything

4.Runemagick - Beyond The Cenotaph Of Mankind

5.Dødheimsgard - Black Medium Current

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1.Bell Witch - Future's Shadow Part 1: The Clandestine Gate

2.Morne - Engraved With Pain

3.Leiþa - Reue

4.Allochiria - Commotion

5.Blackbraid - Blackbraid II

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2023 here we go. My target for the year is 100+ albums, at a rule of 2 albums a week minimum.

1.Nospūn - Opus

2.Periphery - Periphery V: Djent Is Not A Genre

3.Sleep Token - Take Me Back To Eden

4.Crow Black Sky - Sidereal Light: Volume Two

5.Against Myself - Tides Of Insanity

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Another year begins. This time I'm adding Country of origin next to the rating and genre.

1.Blackbraid - Blackbraid II

2.Wayfarer - American Gothic

3.Varathron - The Crimson Temple

4.Hellripper - Warlocks Grim & Withered Hags

5.Shylmagoghnar - Convergence

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1.Ahab - The Coral Tombs

2.Obituary - Dying Of Everything

3.Riverside - ID.Entity

4.Katatonia - Sky Void Of Stars

5....And Oceans - As In Gardens, So In Tombs

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