Beloved stoner metal trio High on Fire’s sixth album is a dark, bizarro journey that ranks among their best work to date. The fantastical concept behind De Vermis Mysteriis—which involves the magical serum of a black lotus, and Jesus’ dead twin time-travelling to his brother’s future as a destruction-inducing religious icon—is a tale you might need to be high to fully appreciate. That, or be a fan of H.P. Lovecraft. It doesn’t entirely matter, since the lyrics are almost indecipherable through frontman Matt Pike’s increasingly crusty smoker’s wail. More important is that HOF has retained its ballsy, punishing, bass-heavy style, but the band has become more versatile: Pike actually sings on the stadium-worthy slow jam “King of Days,” while the thrash of tracks like “Fertile Green” is made furious thanks to production by Kurt Ballou of hardcore veterans Converge. Still, HOF’s stoner roots remain and are on display in the grooving epic “Madness of an Architect.” It’s hyperbolic to call High on Fire the Motörhead of this generation, but De Vermis Mysteriis makes the case that they deserve the same level of respect in the metal world.

Playlist picks: “Fertile Green,” “Madness of an Architect,” “King of Days”

During the mid-’90s peak of Primus’ appeal, frontman Les Claypool jokingly described their unique brand of funk-rock as “psychedelic polka.” He wasn’t far off. Green Naugahyde, Primus’ first studio album in 11 years, revives the trio’s rep as a spacey jam band.

But as far-out as Primus sometimes gets, theirs is a tradition with inescapable roots—Claypool’s slap-bass virtuosity and lyrical absurdity—and with its oddly familiar bass lines, Green Naugahyde offers up few surprises aside from the return of jazzier drummer Jay Lane and new murky effects on Claypool’s voice.

The album is their darkest and most socially aware yet, but it still retains that classic Primus quirkiness. Primus have always been an acquired taste, so for those of you who passed on their prior concoctions, this definitely won’t whet any new appetites.

Playlist pick: “Hennepin Crawler,” “HOINFODAMAN”

Primus play Massey Hall (178 Victoria St.) on Oct. 5.

In a genre that puts technical prowess first, metal bands that strip down their sound are playing a game of Russian Roulette: Metallica’s iconic black album won the world over, yet the short-hair-era Load saw them turn to alternative-rock without retaining any of their lauded brutality and intricacy.

Atlanta stoner-metal vets Mastodon have reached similar maturity with their fifth album, The Hunter, enlisting producer Mike Elizondo (Dr. Dre, 50 Cent) to add a leaner, more melodic bent to the sludgy metal sound.

Fortunately, Mastodon’s riff-heavy might has survived; add to that some textured slow burners (“The Sparrow”) and Thin Lizzy-esque grooves (“Curl of the Burl”) and this album has just as much depth as Mastodon’s long-winded, prog-metal opus, Crack the Skye.

The Hunter may be a stadium-worthy masterpiece, but it should also satisfy the sludge-metal purists, which is a sure bet as far as Mastodon is concerned.—Marsha Casselman

Playlist Picks: “The Octopus Has No Friends,” “Dry Bone Valley”