Sludge Metal Albums

Down's fourth album, due from Nuclear Blast on 20 November 2026. It is their first full-length since Over the Under in 2007, and King Diamond sings on "Merciful Fate".

High on Fire's ninth studio album, from April 2024, folding Turkish and Middle Eastern music into their sludge.

Chat Pile's debut album, from July 2022: nine songs built on real events in Oklahoma City.

Baroness's fourth album, from December 2015 and the first they made after the 2012 bus crash.

Down's second six-song EP in the Down IV series, from May 2014, and the only record they made with Bobby Landgraf on guitar in place of Kirk Windstein.

The eighth Corrosion of Conformity album, from February 2012: self-titled, and made as a trio without Pepper Keenan.

Down's first six-song EP in the Down IV series, from September 2012 and also known as The Purple EP. It was their first new music in five years.

The third album by Miami's Torche, from 2012: thirteen songs in under forty minutes, heaviness and bright melody in the same place.

The fourth album by Iceland's Solstafir, out in October 2011: a double record, six songs on each disc.

Baroness's second album, issued by Relapse Records on 13 October 2009. It scored 87 on Metacritic, in the range the site calls universal acclaim.

Kylesa's fourth album, issued by Prosthetic Records on 17 March 2009. The band plays it with three singers and two drummers.

Down's third album, from September 2007, also known as Down III: Over the Under. Its anger comes out of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina.

High on Fire's third album, issued by Relapse Records in 2005. Steve Albini produced it, and it is the only one with Joe Preston on bass.

Neurosis's eighth album, from 2004. It pulls back the folk leanings of its predecessor and moves closer to post-rock, with more industrial textures.

Pig Destroyer's third album, issued by Relapse Records in 2004. Its subject is an obsession with an unnamed woman.

Down's second album, issued by Elektra in March 2002. The subtitle comes from the lyrics of Led Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven".

Neurosis's seventh album, from 2001. It turns towards clean singing and acoustic instruments, and Decibel placed it eighteenth in its metal albums of the decade.

Isis's first full-length album, issued in 2000 by Escape Artist and Hydra Head Records.

Neurosis's sixth album, released in 1999. It is the first they made with Steve Albini, and a reference point for what is called post-metal.

Down's debut, issued by EastWest in 1995. The title abbreviates New Orleans, Louisiana, and the record keeps the damp of the American South inside it.