Savannah, GA's Black Tusk combine the drive of fellow Savannah residents Baroness with the thick and murky stoner sludge of High on Fire. In 2005, they debuted the self-issued When Kingdoms Fall. Two years later The Fallen Kingdom followed (also self-released). They issued Passage Through Purgatory in 2008, their final self-issued title before signing to Relapse. In 2010 their label debut appeared as Taste the Sin. Bassist Jonathan Athon died in 2014, his final contributions were on 2016's Pillars of Ash. Kylesa's Cory Barhorst helmed the bass chair for 2018's T.C.B.T. and subsequent tour. Following personnel changes, Black Tusk re-emerged as a quartet for 2024's The Way Forward. Emerging onto the metal scene from Savannah, Georgia in 2005, Black Tusk 's self-branded "swamp metal," its particular musical tenets from dirty punk, sludgy heavy metal, and a weighty Motörhead influence. Their sound is loud, proud, slightly blackened, always intense, and extremely murky, as displayed on their best-known offering, 2010's Taste the Sin. The original trio was founded by Andrew Fidler (guitar/vocals), Jonathan Athon (bass/vocals), and James May (drums/vocals), and combined the drive of fellow Savannah residents Baroness with the thick and murky stoner rock of High on Fire. Their self-released first demo, Demos and the Demons, appeared the same year, followed in early 2006 by the full-length When Kingdoms Fall on Wrecked Signal. Two years later, they self-released another album, The Fallen Kingdom, and kept their prolific release schedule going the following year with Passage Through Purgatory, released on Hyperrealist Records. Taking what for them was a long break from recording, Black Tusk gained attention through tours with bands like Weedeater, Pentagram, and Eyehategod. The band eventually signed to Relapse, and in 2010 released their first album through the label, Taste the Sin, featuring cover art from Baroness singer John Baizley. The band's sophomore long-player, Set the Dial, dropped just one year later, and was followed by a pair of EPs, Tend No Wounds and the digital-only Vulture's Eye, in 2013 and 2014, respectively. Sadly, in November 2014, bassist Athon succumbed to injuries sustained in a motorcycle accident. After some soul searching and a real debate as to whether they could continue as a band without their brother in arms, Fidler and May tapped longtime friend and veteran Corey Barhorst musician (Kylesa, Niche) to take over the bass chair. In 2016 they released their much-anticipated third full-length outing, Pillars of Ash, that included the last studio sessions by Athon and served as their final release for Relapse. After intensive touring, followed by writing sessions, Black Tusk re-entered the studio to emerge with T.C.B.T. (Taking Care of Black Tusk) in August of 2018, their debut for Season of Mist. Following tours, the pandemic, and personnel changes, they returned as a quartet for 2024's The Way Forward. ~ Gregory Heaney, Rovi

Horseburner is a stoner metal band based out of Parkersburg, West Virginia. Forming in 2008, this quartet blends elements of sludge, heavy metal and riff-driven rock and roll to compose a sound shaped by a foundation of DIY ethic, gritty production, fuzzy riffs and burly vocals.[1] Since their formation Horseburner have released three studio albums amid a host of other releases, all while frequently touring the United States. 

Brooklyn Sludge-Metal. A fresh take on sludge from this killer Brooklyn trio.  There’s a deceptive elegance to Somnuri’s brand of meaty metal, a mysterious adeptness at simultaneously sounding like gilded seraphs while peeling off thick slabs of syrupy slick sludge metal.

CALI SLUDGE METAL