2014 was a big year for sludge and doom metal: YOB, Pallbearer, Triptykon, Thou, and a number of other high-profile acts released critically lauded albums. For my money, though, Giant Squid produced the most distinctive and exciting low-and-slow record of the year. It’s pretty much impossible to sum up this Bay Area five-piece’s sinuous approach in a 100-ish-word blurb, and marveling at the way the band effortlessly stacks up serpentine harmonies and oddball instrumentation is one of the fun parts of listening to Minoans. Even more impressive, though, is the way the album balances perspectives. Minoans tells the epic tale of the titular ancient Mediterranean civilization’s collapse, but Giant Squid weave the narrative with such personal intensity that you’d think they lived through it themselves. –Doug [LISTEN]