Magus

Concluding a massive release cycle that included three genre-specific EPs released earlier in the year, the Louisiana collective's fifth full-length album is a staggering sludge metal opus. The incredibly dense, crawling guitar riffs are juxtaposed with occasional clean acoustic passages and Bryan Funck's harrowing vocal shrieks. It is a profoundly bleak, philosophical meditation on suffering and resilience within the doom metal landscape.