Over the past three decades, Pacific Northwest drone metal pioneers Earth have been creating a weighty hum uniquely their own. Their ever-shifting lineup has, over the years, included luminaries like Slim Moon, Joe Preston, Karl Blau, Lori Goldston, and even (for one recording session) Kurt Cobain. While their ’90s Sub Pop releases are modern doom reference points, for the past decade they've hit their stride with a sound like a southern rock 45 played at 33—heavy and anthemic, murmuring and lush. Onstage, they transcend genres, musical lineages, and even their own past. The result is hypnotic and beyond words. by Joshua James Amberson