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 16th, 2024

1.Melvins - Gluey Porch Treatments

2.Soundgarden - Ultramega OK

3.Oxbow - Fuckfest

4.Melvins - Ozma

5.Soundgarden - Louder Than Love

      View entire list ››

1.Shylmagoghnar - Transience

2.Ostura - The Room

3.The Ocean - Phanerozoic I: Palaeozoic

4.Rivers Of Nihil - Where Owls Know My Name

5.Orphaned Land - Unsung Prophets & Dead Messiahs

      View entire list ››

- From my collection & wishlist (last update)

- One album per band

- Bands & Albums I consider have a strong Doom flavour

- Ranked from best to worst imo

- Everything I know of is there

Let's the Doom begins

1.Candlemass - Epicus Doomicus Metallicus

2.Black Sabbath - Black Sabbath

3.Empyrium - Songs Of Moors And Misty Fields

4.My Dying Bride - The Angel And The Dark River

5.Shape Of Despair - Monotony Fields

      View entire list ››

2018 was a great musical year for me as I finally had enough pocket money to satisfy my CD mania... It took me only three decades...

So here is my top 50 of 2018

Album count: 140
Average rating: 7.13

1.Ihsahn - Àmr

2.Skuggsjá - Hugsjá

3.Judas Priest - Firepower

4.At The Gates - To Drink From The Night Itself

5.Antimatter - Black Market Enlightenment

      View entire list ››

1.Wolves In The Throne Room - Celestial Lineage

2.Bell Witch - Mirror Reaper

3.Burzum - Filosofem

4.Bell Witch - Four Phantoms

5.Warning - Watching From A Distance

      View entire list ››

Heavy, Doom, Black, Death, Thrash, Prog, Power...these are my favorite 100 albums of 2018... STAY METAL!!!

25 Honorable Mentions:

Mortuous - Through Wilderness
Arkheth - 12 Winter Moons Comes the Witches Brew
Lychgate - The Contagion In Nine Steps
Wolfheart - Constellation Of The Black Light
Cosmic Church - Täyttymys

1.Imperial Triumphant - Vile Luxury

2.Shylmagoghnar - Transience

3.Altars Of Grief - Iris

4.Horrendous - Idol

5.Sepulcher - Panoptic Horror

      View entire list ››

1.Ghost - Prequelle

2.Orphaned Land - Unsung Prophets & Dead Messiahs

3.Judas Priest - Firepower

4.TesseracT - Sonder

5.Haken - Vector

      View entire list ››

1.Yob - Our Raw Heart

2.Obscura - Diluvium

3.Horrendous - Idol

4.Imperial Triumphant - Vile Luxury

5.Behemoth - I Loved You At Your Darkest

      View entire list ››

2018 albums repos

1.Tribulation - Down Below

2.Anna Von Hausswolff - Dead Magic

3.Orphaned Land - Unsung Prophets & Dead Messiahs

4.Therion - Beloved Antichrist

5.The Atlas Moth - Coma Noir

      View entire list ››

The best and the worst albums of 2018 in my opinion.

Few notes:
- covering death metal, goregrind, porngrind, deathgrind, grindcore, thrash metal, black metal, crossover, hardcore, stoner whatever.
- in order from best to worst
- rated on a scale from 0 to 10
- few lines so I remember wtf it was about

1.Meat Spreader - A Swarm Of Green Flies Over The Rusty Pot

2.Judas Priest - Firepower

3.Haemorrhage / Hemdale / Meat Spreader - Fallen In Gore

4.Hooded Menace - Ossuarium Silhouettes Unhallowed

5.Cancer - Shadow Gripped

      View entire list ››

1.Slugdge - Esoteric Malacology

2.Yob - Our Raw Heart

3.Obscura - Diluvium

4.Innumerable Forms - Punishment In Flesh

5.Hooded Menace - Ossuarium Silhouettes Unhallowed

      View entire list ››

1.Deafheaven - Ordinary Corrupt Human Love

2.Thou - Magus

3.The Body - I Have Fought Against It, But I Can't Any Longer

4.Panopticon - The Scars Of Man On The Once Nameless Wilderness

5.Zeal & Ardor - Stranger Fruit

      View entire list ››

These are my favourite albums from the year 2018, ranked in order from my most favourite at number 1 to my least favourite.

1.Rivers Of Nihil - Where Owls Know My Name

2.Haken - Vector

3.Alice In Chains - Rainier Fog

4.TesseracT - Sonder

5.Khemmis - Desolation

      View entire list ››

Actually getting onto this year relatively early, let's see what it's got in store for us all.

1.Weedpecker - III

2.Amorphis - Queen Of Time

3.Slugdge - Esoteric Malacology

4.Rolo Tomassi - Time Will Die And Love Will Bury It

5.Aviations - The Light Years

      View entire list ››

1.Striker - Play To Win

2.Between The Buried And Me - Automata II

3.Soreption - Monument Of The End

4.Boss Keloid - Melted On The Inch

5.Turnstile - Time & Space

      View entire list ››