I’ve heard the word sludge used to classify bands from Pro-Pain to Neurosis to Grand Funk Railroad, so let’s be clear right off the bat that when I talk about sludge, I mean ultra-aggressive, screaming doom, played slow, played angry. It’s a term as nebulous as any other, but going from that specific definition, and considering the bands I’m about to recommend who play it, we should have a pretty good basis to work from.

There are some acts who take sludge to vicious extremes — see Fistula or Sollubi — blending in elements of black metal or SunnO))) style drone minimalism, but I’m not talking about them either. Where to start with sludge is the root of the subgenre, the key formative groups who’ve made it possible for a new generation to pull the sound in the multiple directions they have.

Because I couldn’t narrow it down to five, here are seven killer sludge bands to start with:

Crowbar: Their later material actually has little in common with what’s currently thought of as sludge, but 1991′s Obedience thru Suffering and 1993′s Crowbar are essential to understanding what the sound has become. The latter (recently reissued) is a better starting point for its more memorable songs.

Eyehategod: As much an influence in lifestyle and persona as for their music, the New Orleans gods of sonic fuck-all have nonetheless produced some of sludge’s most classic material. Just not in the last decade. At all. Start with 1993′s Take as Needed for Pain.

Negative Reaction: Their early stuff was more geared to sci-fi, which made the long-running Long Island outfit unique among their viscous peers. 2000′s endofyourerror saw them start to veer away from that into more personal lyrical territory, but it’s a stunningly abrasive listen nonetheless.

Buzzov*en: Dude. To a Frown. Dude.

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So as Blabbermouth reported yesterday, Boston evil doomers Grief are done. It’s enough to beg the question, “Hey, Grief were still together?” Here’s the statement from bassist Eric C. Harrison as quoted on that site:

Our reasons for disbanding are our reasons. We have chosen not to get into it but it may or may not include the following reasons.

* Jeff [Hayward; vocals, guitar] has finally become Rip Van Winkle and will be asleep for the next 50 years.
* Ray [McCaffrey; drums] has finally eaten so much that he can not fit out of the door to his house and is unable to leave home
* John [Heidenrich; guitar, vocals] has become so death metal that we’ d have to actually be ghosts to jam with him and none of us feel like it.
* Eric finally became an actual dog and has not learned how to play bass or do artwork with his paws.

We will not be playing the Maryland Deathfest in May of 2009.

We’re sorry for anyone that this disappoints, but whatever. Shit happens.

Well, that does it. Thanks for the sarcasm, see you guys in two years for the reunion tour.