Ah Sludge, that gorgeous blend of doom metal and hardcore punk. It's a diverse genre in a lot of ways. On the one hand you have a lot of bands where the hardcore element is still very prominent but is overlain with those sludgy doom riffs, and goes across the spectrum to where hardcore is very much in the background and we have a post-metal palate of aural textures. I'll have a think about recommendations, but here are some obvious ones. If you enjoy the more progressive side, Cult of Luna is a fairly safe bet and is a band that has become increasingly progressive over its discography. Neurosis is another safe bet, again mixing sludge and prog. If you like ISIS, try
Pelican or Rosetta. Bands like Melvins or Baroness are also well worth a listen.
For me, many of the more interesting bands are the more obscure ones. Try trawling through the free downloads thread. The more recent links I've put up are mainly metalcore, but go farther back and there's lots of links to some great less known sludge bands.
