Memphis thrash metal project from the Tennessee underground.

Anatomy of Habit is a Chicago post-metal and doom collective formed in 2008 by vocalist Mark Solotroff and guitarist Alex Latus, blending post-metal, sludge, post-punk, death-rock, and drone influences into extended, atmospheric compositions. The band released their debut on their own before issuing Ciphers + Axioms in 2014 on Relapse Records, followed by Even If It Takes a Lifetime (2021) and Black Openings (2023). Their sound is notably slow and enveloping, drawing from industrial and experimental traditions as much as from metal.

Los Angeles sludge metal trio laying waste since 2014. Three releases of corrosive, tar-thick heaviness that channels the smog-choked sprawl of LA into music that feels like breathing in exhaust fumes — oppressive, toxic, and oddly addictive.

Pittsburgh sludge metal project whose 2023 self-titled debut wallows in the kind of slow, agonizing heaviness the Steel City specializes in. The name is truth in advertising — this is music designed to crush.

North Carolina sludge metal project.

Piedmont Triad sludge metal project from the North Carolina underground.

Quakertown sludge metal project from the Pennsylvania underground.

Ashburn sludge metal project from the Virginia underground.

Chicago sludge metal duo dealing in literary-tinged heaviness since 2015. Their single titles — Things Have Learnt to Walk That Ought to Crawl and Vincent — hint at a band drawing from horror literature and dark art as much as the sludge metal playbook.