Sludge Metal

Soilent Green formed in 1988 in Metarie, Louisiana (a suburb of New Orleans); the band is named after the 70's sci-fi movie Soilent Green.  After releasing several demos and splits in the early 90's, the band blasted onto the scene after signing with Relapse records and releasing several highly acclaimed records, even being mentioned in Rolling Stone magazine for their 1998 release, Sewn Mouth Secrets.

Graves at Sea are a doom metal/sludge metal outfit from Phoenix, Arizona (now relocated to Oakland, California).  Originally formed in 2002, Graves at Sea disbanded for several years in 2008, but reformed again in 2012 with a new bass player and began writing new music.  Their style is characterized by extremely pained, slow, droning riffs, tortured vocals, and a swampy, sludgy sound.   Graves at Sea will be bringing their unique brand of doom and gloom to Maryland Deathfest in 2014.

The Endless Blockade were a Toronto, Canada based powerviolence band active from 2003 until 2010.  Their sound was an eclectic mixture of hardcore punk and sludge, and even some noise elements.

Lair of the Minotaur are a doom/sludge/thrash crossover band from Chicago, Illinois.  Their songs lyris are based on some of the bloodies tales in Greek mythology.  They have released four studio albums and have toured extensively in the U.S. and Europe.

Uneartly Trance were a doom/sludge act from Long Island, New York.  Unearthly Trance was named from the song "Crown of the Unearthly Trance", which was on the first Thralldom demo; two of three band members once played with Thralldom.  They were considered of the premier bands in the doom metal genre, however, they split up in 2012 after 12 years.

Swarm of the Lotus is a sludge/thrash/hardcore band from Baltimore, Maryland.  The group was active from 1998-2006, and again from 2009-2010.  During that time, Swarm of the Lotus released only 2 full length albums, both of which were very well received in the metal community.  In December 2010, they announced that the band is on indefinite hiatus.  

The Communion is a crossover grind/metal band from Bethpage, New York.  Their sound incorporates elements of many genres, including grind, heavy metal, hardcore, and sludge.

Howl is an American Doom metal band from Providence, Rhode Island, formed in 2006. Signing with Relapse Records in 2009, they released their debut full-length album, Full of Hell, in May 2010.

Birds of Prey is a Southern influenced death metal supergroup, hailing from Richmond, Virginia.  The band formed in 2005 as the side project to five very busy musicians who were all looking for additional creative outlets besides their own pre-existing projects. Composed of Ben Hogg from Beaten Back to Pure on vocals, Erik Larson from Alabama Thunderpussy and Bo Leslie from The Last Van Zant on guitars, Summer Welch from Baroness handling Bass duties and Dave Witte, from numerous bands including Municipal Waste, Burnt by the Sun and Discordance Axis on drums.

Jucifer is a two piece sludge metal band signed to Relapse Records. The band's members include Gazelle Amber Valentine on lead guitar and vocals, and her husband Edgar Livengood on drums. They travel in an RV and are "nomadic in nature", preferring to tour constantly, living in their tour vehicle, rather than following the normal practice of album release/tour/time at home.