doom metal

Doom metal is a form of heavy metal that emerged as a recognized subgenre in the mid-1980s. It is slow and heavy and intended to evoke an atmosphere of darkness, despair and melancholy. It is very strongly influenced by the early work of Black Sabbath, and a number of early Black Sabbath tracks, such as "Black Sabbath", are often considered embryonic or prototypical doom metal songs.

History of doom metal

Although in the 1970s both Black Sabbath and the American Pentagram performed a kind of music that can be considered proto-doom, neither band is generally considered as an actual doom metal band. In the early to mid 1980s, bands such as Trouble, Witchfinder General and Saint Vitus contributed much to the formation of doom metal as a distinct genre. The form of music played by these artists can be described as being rooted in both the music of Black Sabbath and the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, especially the band Witchfinder General. The slowness of their music is often also seen as a reaction to the constantly increasing speed of contemporary thrash metal and speed metal. Doom first became widely popular with Sweden's Candlemass, who are considered one of the most important and influential doom metal bands: their 1986 album Epicus Doomicus Metallicus is considered a genre-defining release by many fans. Doom metal developed further in the early 1990s, when a number of bands started combining the slow, melancholic, doom metal style that was pioneered in the 1980s with influences from death metal and other forms of extreme metal, including growled vocals. The first band to combine these styles may have been the heavily Celtic Frost-influenced Winter, although this style is generally associated with and made popular within heavy metal by three British bands: Anathema, My Dying Bride and Paradise Lost. Nowadays, the original brand of doom metal with clean vocals is usually labelled "classic doom", whereas the later developed styles which involve growled vocals are commonly called "doomdeath". During the 1990s the doom metal genre developed further styles, although classic doom and doomdeath have remained central to the present. A number of bands, such as The Gathering and Theatre Of Tragedy took the music of Paradise Lost, got rid of some of the slowness and started experimenting with female vocals^*, thereby helping to create the generally more accessible genre of gothic metal. Although this genre is generally considered to be influenced by doom metal, it is not usually considered a subgenre of doom metal: certain elements, such as the slowness and the emphasis on heavy riffing, are often absent. However, other bands emphasized doom's distinctive features and created extreme subgenres such as funeral doom and drone doom, pioneered by Thergothon and Earth respectively. A connection has often been made between doom metal and stoner metal, although each of the two genres developed on its own. The stoner metal of bands like Kyuss or Queens of the Stone Age shares with doom metal a heavy sound and a strong Black Sabbath influence, but generally has a different objective: whereas doom metal aims for melancholy and sadness, stoner metal aims for a groovy and psychedelic sound. A number of doom metal bands, however, such as Electric Wizard or Esoteric, has combined doom metal with psychedelic influences, thereby creating a style which can be considered a hybrid form of doom and stoner metal. ^*It should be noted though, that Paradise Lost themselves already made some use of female vocals on their second album, Gothic from 1990.

Instrumentation

Like most kinds of metal, doom metal is typically based on vocals, guitar, bass guitar and drums. A large number of doom metal bands, especially newer bands, use keyboards as well: in classic doom, however, keyboards still are relatively uncommon. Although more commonly associated with gothic metal, a number of doom metal bands such as My Dying Bride or Funeral have also made use of violins. On the whole, however, doom metal is based on guitars, and heavy guitar riffing is considered an essential part of almost all of its subgenres.

Stylistic divisions within doom metal

Classic doom

Slow, melancholic, riff-based metal influenced by Black Sabbath as well as the NWOBHM movement. Typical examples: Candlemass, Saint Vitus, Reverend Bizarre, Solitude Aeturnus

Doomdeath

A mixture of the classic doom sound with influences from death metal, most notably grunted vocals. Typical examples: Anathema, My Dying Bride, Winter, Unholy, early Katatonia

Funeral doom

Funeral doom can essentially be seen as an even slower, and stripped down, version of doomdeath. Funeral bands generally take the slowness of doom metal to an extreme, and emphasize very strongly an atmosphere of despair and emptiness. Typical examples: Skepticism, Funeral, Thergothon

Drone doom

A style which is more basic than funeral doom, drone doom is generally influenced by noise and ambient. Vocals and even drums are often absent, and the music often lacks any beat or rhythm in the traditional sense. Heavy use of feedback is also typical. Like funeral doom, drone doom typically emphasizes despair and emptiness. Typical examples: Sunn O))), Earth

Psychedelic doom

A hybrid form of doom metal and stoner metal. Typical examples: Electric Wizard, Esoteric, Grand Magus.

Atmospheric doom

An often less heavy and generally more melodic kind of doom metal, often with female vocals. Typical examples: The 3rd And The Mortal, Avrigus, and The Gathering.

Industrial doom

An offshoot of various doom metal genres (mostly doom/death) and sludge, but based on the harsh industrial sounds of bands such as early Godflesh, Skin Chamber and early Swans. It is characterized by heavy usage of abrasive electronic elements, such as samplers or pounding drum machines, serving as a backbone for the more traditional guitar on top. It is mostly atonal and dissonant, and usually shuns melody in favour of sheer aural ugliness. Typical examples: Zaraza, Wraith of the Ropes, Philistine.