---
title: "Atmospheric Sludge Metal"
type: "MusicGenre"
url: "https://themetalnet.com/genre/atmospheric-sludge"
parent: "Doom Metal"
bands: 11
era: "late 1990s"
---

# Atmospheric Sludge Metal

**Atmospheric Sludge Metal** is a metal sub-genre, formative in the late 1990s. TheMetalNet maps 11 bands and 30 albums under it.

Atmospheric sludge takes sludge metal’s thick, downtuned heaviness and slows it into something ritualistic and cinematic, building long, dynamic pieces that swell from near-silence to crushing peaks. Neurosis pioneered the approach in the early 1990s, trading hardcore fury for tribal drumming, drone, and dread, and Isis and Cult of Luna refined it into what became post-metal. Expect patient build-ups, layered guitars, and more contemplative themes than street-level sludge. It rewards immersion over immediacy.

## Facts

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Genre | Atmospheric Sludge Metal |
| Level | Sub-genre |
| Parent genre | Doom Metal |
| Formative era | late 1990s |
| Bands | 11 |
| Albums | 30 |
| Formation span | 2006 to 2011 |

## Bands

- [Dark Buddha Rising](https://themetalnet.com/band/dark-buddha-rising) (Finland, 2007)
- [Supercontinent](https://themetalnet.com/band/supercontinent) (United States, 2007)
- [The Moth Gatherer](https://themetalnet.com/band/the-moth-gatherer) (Sweden, 2009)
- [Huldra](https://themetalnet.com/band/huldra) (United States, 2009)
- [Insect Ark](https://themetalnet.com/band/insect-ark) (2011)
- [Sinistro](https://themetalnet.com/band/sinistro) (Portugal, 2011)
- [Ghosts of Glaciers](https://themetalnet.com/band/ghosts-of-glaciers) (United States, 2010)
- [Lakei](https://themetalnet.com/band/lakei) (2011)
- [The Waters Deep Here](https://themetalnet.com/band/the-waters-deep-here) (2006)
- [SUNDR](https://themetalnet.com/band/sundr)
- [SIJJIN](https://themetalnet.com/band/sijjin-76b4d144) (Brazil)

## Where it is played

- [United States](https://themetalnet.com/country/us): 3 bands
- [Brazil](https://themetalnet.com/country/br): 1 bands
- [Finland](https://themetalnet.com/country/fi): 1 bands
- [Portugal](https://themetalnet.com/country/pt): 1 bands
- [Sweden](https://themetalnet.com/country/se): 1 bands

## Bands formed by decade

| Decade | Bands formed |
| --- | --- |
| 2000s | 5 |
| 2010s | 4 |

---

Source: [TheMetalNet https://themetalnet.com/genre/atmospheric-sludge](https://themetalnet.com/genre/atmospheric-sludge). Catalog data from MusicBrainz and Metal Archives. Full site index: https://themetalnet.com/llms.txt