Seattle droner legends Earth stretch out their songs as slowly as the seasons slide across the planet’s skin; this is as wonderful a thing as it is a rare one

Southern sludge-metal veterans Crowbar have been out-brutalising metalcore for two decades; they may not be flashy showmen, but they’re a fucking fierce band.

Leeds lads Humanfly bring the bludgeon – and a side-serving of post-metal post-apocalyptic bleakness – on new album Darker Later. Play it loud.

Georgia psyche-metal stalwarts Kylesa knock it out of the park on their latest album Spiral Shadow; sit down, press play and blaze up a large one.

Sludge-pop progenitors Torche have returned – though their new EP/album Songs For Singles is more short sharp heavy pop than sludge, most of the time.

If it’s the guitar work of Kyuss you love, then Been Obscene have got your back with The Magic Table Dance… but there ain’t much else of note on it, sadly.

Don’t let the hipster imagery put you off too much: Tweak Bird have got all the glorious dumb noise-riffola but not much of the irony on their debut album.

Set the controls for the heart of the sun: Carlton Melton start inside a geodesic dome and end up in the far reaches of outer space. Pass It On, man.

Solace take the Small Stone staple of stoner riffola and spice it up with a generous pinches of thrash and hardcore on their fifth studio album, A.D.

Corsair‘s background as a Sabbath tribute band shows through on the Alpha Centauri EP, as does a rather muddled conception of what “progressive” rock actually is.