Doom metal is anextreme subgenre ofheavy metal music that typically uses slowertempos,low-tuned guitars and a much "thicker" or "heavier" sound than other heavy metal genres.[6] Both the music and the lyrics are intended to evoke a sense of despair, dread, and impending doom.[2] The genre is strongly influenced by the early work ofBlack Sabbath,[2] who formed a prototype for doom metal. During the first half of the 1980s,[2] a number of bands such asWitchfinder General andPagan Altar from England, American bandsPentagram,Saint Vitus,the Obsessed,Trouble, andCirith Ungol, and Swedish bandCandlemass defined doom metal as a distinct genre. Pentagram, Saint Vitus, Trouble and Candlemass have been referred to as "the Big Four of Doom Metal".[7]
Theelectric guitar,bass guitar, anddrum kit are the most common instruments used to play doom metal (althoughkeyboards are sometimes used), but its structures are rooted in the same scales as inblues.[1] Guitarists and bassists often down tune their instruments to very low notes and make use of large amounts ofdistortion, thus producing a very "thick" or "heavy" guitar tone, which is one of the defining characteristics of the genre.[8] Along with the usual heavy metal compositional technique of guitars and bass playing the same riff in unison, this creates a loud andbass-heavy wall of sound. Another defining characteristic is the consistent focus on slowtempos,[2] andminor tonality with much use ofdissonance (especially in the form of thetritone), employing the usage of repetitive rhythms with little regard to harmonic progression and musical structure.[8]
Traditional doom metal vocalists favor clean vocals, which are often performed with a sense of despair, desperation, or pain; imitating the high-tone wails ofOzzy Osbourne (Black Sabbath),[9] Frank Ferrara (Bang), Bobby Liebling (Pentagram),[8] and Zeeb Parkes (Witchfinder General). So-called "epic doom" vocalists often take it a step further, singing in anoperatic style. Doom metal bands influenced by other extreme metal genres often use growled or screamed vocals, as is the case ofdeath-doom,black-doom, andfuneral doom.
Lyrics in doom metal play a key role. Influenced by notableblues musicians likeRobert Johnson andSon House,[1] normally they are gloomy and pessimistic,[9] including themes such assuffering,depression,fear,grief, dread, death, and anger. While some bands write lyrics in introspective and personal ways, others convey their themes using symbolism – which may be inspired byoccultarts andliterature.[1]
Some doom metal bands use religious themes in their music.Trouble, one of the genre's pioneers, were among the first to incorporate Christian imagery. Others have incorporatedoccult andpagan imagery.[10] For many bands, the use of religious themes is for aesthetic and symbolic purposes only. Examples include lyrics/imagery about theLast Judgment to invoke dread, or the use ofcrucifixes and cross-shaped headstones to symbolize death.
Furthermore, some doom metal bands write lyrics about drugs or drug addiction. This is most common among stoner doom bands, who often describehallucinogenic or psychedelic experiences.
The first traces of doom in rock music could be heard as far back asthe Beatles' 1969 track "I Want You (She's So Heavy)".[11][12]Black Sabbath are generally regarded as the progenitors of doom metal.[2] Black Sabbath's music is (in and of) itself stylistically rooted inblues, but with the deliberately doomy and loud guitar playing ofTony Iommi, and the then-uncommon dark and pessimistic lyrics and atmosphere, they set the standards of early heavy metal and inspired various doom metal bands.[8] In the early 1970s, both Black Sabbath andPentagram (also as side band "Bedemon") composed and performed this heavy and dark music, which would in the 1980s begin to be known and referred to asdoom metal by subsequent musicians, critics and fans.[1] Joe Hasselvander, Pentagram's drummer also cited bands likeBlack Widow,Toe Fat, Iron Claw,Night Sun, and Zior as pioneers of the doom metal sound.[13]
Aside from Pentagram and Black Sabbath, other groups from the 1970s would heavily influence the genre's development.Blue Cheer is often hailed as one of the firststoner metal bands. Through the use of loud amplifiers and guitarfeedback, their debutVincebus Eruptum created a template for other artists to follow.[14]Uriah Heep released "Demons and Wizards" album include "Easy Living" in 1972.[15] Though lacking the pessimistic lyrical content of their contemporaries, Welsh heavy metal bandBudgie would also produce heavy songs which were amongst the loudest of their day, stylistically influencing various doom metal acts.[16]Led Zeppelin'sNo Quarter is considered as one of the earliest examples of a doom metal song made by a rock band.[17] Early doom metal was also influenced by Japanesepsychedelic rock albums, such as Kuni Kawachi & Friends'Kirikyogen andFlower Travellin' Band'sSatori.[18]Bang's 1971 self-titled debut is considered an important forerunner to doom metal.[19][20] Other notable groups includeSir Lord Baltimore,[21]Buffalo,[22]Necromandus,[23]Lucifer's Friend,[23] andLeaf Hound.[24]
During the early-mid-1980s, bands from England and the United States[2] contributed much to the formation of doom metal as a distinct genre. In 1982, English pioneersWitchfinder General released their debut albumDeath Penalty. During 1984, two American pioneers also released their debuts—Saint Vitus released theireponymous album andTrouble releasedPsalm 9. That same year, American bandCirith Ungol (formed in 1971) released their second studio album,King of the Dead—regarded by many as an early influence on doom.[25][26] The following year, American bandPentagram would go on to release their debut,Relentless. The SwedishCandlemass would also prove influential with their first recordEpicus Doomicus Metallicus in 1986, from whichepic doom metal takes its name.[27]
Some doom metal bands were also influenced by the undergroundgothic rock andpost-punk scene of the 1980s, showing similarities with the dark themes addressed through lyrics and the atmosphere both music styles deal with. A doom metal band likeMindrot was often described as a cross-over betweendeath metal and gothic rock.
In one of the greatest doom metal outputs, Finnish groups focus more on the depressive mood of the genre, evoking an intense grieving feeling.[28] The bands play with very slow tempos and melodic tones, creating an atmosphere of darkness and melancholia.[28][29] This scene was kick-started by the bandRigor Mortis (which, due to an older US band with the same name, changed their name to Spiritus Mortis), which originated in 1987.[30][31] Notable bands includeReverend Bizarre,[32]Minotauri,[31]Dolorian,[28]Shape of Despair,[28]Thergothon,[28]Skepticism,[28] andUnholy.[33]
Pioneered by black-doom bands likeOphthalamia,Katatonia,Bethlehem,Forgotten Tomb, andShining, depressive suicidal black metal, also known as suicidal black metal, depressive black metal, or DSBM, is a style that melds thesecond wave-style of black metal with doom metal,[75] with lyrics revolving around themes such as depression, self-harm, misanthrophy, suicide, and death.[76][77] DSBM bands draw thelo-fi recording and highly distorted guitars of black metal, while employing the usage of acoustic instruments and non-distorted electric guitar's timbres present in doom metal, interchanging the slower, doom-like, sections with fastertremolo picking.[75] Vocals are usually high-pitched like in black metal, but lacking of energy, simulating feelings like hopelessness, desperation, and plea.[75] The presence of one-man bands is more prominent in this genre compared to others.[75] Examples of bands includeXasthur,[78]Leviathan,[75]Strid,[75]Silencer,[76][77] Make a Change... Kill Yourself,[75] andI Shalt Become.[76][77]
Blackened death-doom is a genre that combines the slow tempos and monolithic drumming of doom metal, the complex and loud riffage ofdeath metal and the shrieking vocals ofblack metal.[79] Examples of blackened death-doom bands include Morast,[79] Faustcoven,[79]the Ruins of Beverast,[79] Bolzer,[79] Necros Christos,[79] Harvest Gulgaltha,[80]Dragged into Sunlight,[81] Hands of Thieves,[82] andSoulburn.[83]Kim Kelly, journalist fromVice, has called Faustcoven as "one of the finest bands to ever successfully meld black, death, and doom metal into a cohesive, legible whole."[79]
Drone metal (also known as drone doom) is a style of doom metal that is largely defined bydrones; notes or chords that aresustained and repeated throughout a piece of music.[91][92][93] Typically, the electric guitar is performed with large amounts ofreverb andfeedback[91] while lacking the presence of drums and vocals.[64][94] Songs are often very long and lackbeat orrhythm in the traditional sense.[64] Drone metal is generally influenced bydrone music,[91]noise music,[91] andminimalist music.[91] The style emerged in the early 1990s and was pioneered byEarth,[95]Boris, andSunn O))).[91]
Gothic-doom, also known as doom-gothic, is a style that combines more traditional elements of doom metal withgothic rock.[102][103] Gothic-doom bands usually play at slow and mid-tempos and employ the usage of instruments that are more related toclassical music, alongside traditional doom metal instruments, in order to create darker and meditative atmospheres.[102] Doom-gothic lyrics combines the dramatic and romantic elements of gothic rock with the sorrowness and melancholy present in doom metal, while being more introspective and focused on personal experiences such as love, grief, irreparable loss, loss of faith, etc.[102] Unlike ingothic metal anddeath-doom, gothic-doom bands prefer the use of cleaner vocals instead of employingdeath growls,[103] although some of them employ harsher vocals occasionally, and avoid the usage of death metal-like riffage.[102] Bands labelled as gothic-doom include Weeping Silence,[104]the Foreshadowing,[103] Grave Lines,[105]Artrosis,[106]Ava Inferi,[107]Draconian,[108] andType O Negative.[109]
Sludge metal (also known as sludge doom[8][67]) is a style that combines doom metal andhardcore punk.[8][67][2][94] Many sludge bands compose slow and heavy songs that contain brief hardcore passages.[35][39] However, some bands emphasise fast tempos throughout their music.[115] The string instruments are heavilydistorted and are often played with large amounts offeedback to produce an abrasive, sludgy sound.[116][37] Drumming is often performed in typical doom metal fashion,[citation needed] but drummers may employ hardcored-beat or double-kick drumming during faster passages. Vocals are usually shouted or screamed, and lyrics often focus on suffering, drug abuse, politics and anger towards society. The style was pioneered in the late 1980s by theMelvins, and in the 1990s by bands such asEyehategod,[35]Crowbar,[39]Buzzov*en,[115]Acid Bath,[117] andGrief.[118]
Sludgecore further combines sludge metal with hardcore punk, and possesses a slow pace, a low and dark pitch, and a grinding dirge-like feel.[119] Bands regarded as sludgecore include Acid Bath, Eyehategod,Soilent Green,[120][121] Black Sheep Wall, Admiral Angry, andThe Abominable Iron Sloth.[122] Crowbar mixed "detuned, lethargic sludged-out metal with hardcore andsouthern elements".[123]
Influenced by 1970s and 1980sheavy metal,[139] traditional doom metal bands more commonly use higher guitar tunings, and do not play as slowly as many other doom bands.[64] Traditional doom bands typically play slow to mid-tempo songs with a thick and heavy sound with the electric bass following the melody line, and sometimes employ the usage of keyboards, although assuming a secondary role on traditional doom metal songs.[9] Vocals are usually clean with the occasional growl or scream.[64] The lyrics in traditional doom usually are eerie and dark like other doom metal divisions. Some bands who play traditional doom metal areOrodruin,[140][141]Reverend Bizarre,[142]Witchcraft,Saint Vitus,[9] andCount Raven.[9]
^"Doom Metal Music Guide: 11 Doom Metal Bands".MasterClass. 1 September 2021.Unlike Sabbath, who initially viewed itself as a blues act, Pentagram is considered a founder of the doom metal genre, along with contemporaries Trouble, Saint Vitus, and Candlemass.
^Jahdi, Robin (24 June 2015)."The 40 best post-metal records ever made".Fact. Retrieved11 November 2017.The truth is post-metal takes in all of these elements without being entirely any one of them. So we'll be featuring nothing totally proggy, like Ayreon; nor pure doom, like Electric Wizard; nor your modern black metal fellows like Leviathan, Wolves in the Throne Room, or Velvet Cacoon, though their peaks certainly coincided with post-metal
^K. Kahn-Harris,Extreme Metal: Music and Culture on the Edge (Berg Publishers, 2007),ISBN1-84520-399-2, p. 31.
^abcdeIrwin, William (September 2012).Black Sabbath and Philosophy: Mastering Reality. John Wiley & Sons.
^"Doom Metal Music Guide: 11 Doom Metal Bands".Doom metal lyrics often describe paranoia, despair, political upheaval, and depression. They sometimes touch on witchcraft and pagan themes as well.
^abChriste (2003), pg. 345, "Beginning with the overlooked Lucifer's Friend and Necromandus in the early 1970s, doom crawled through the 1980s with Trouble, Witchfinder General, the Obsessed, Candlemass, Pentagram, and Saint Vitus, then into the 1990s with Cathedral, Sleep, and Burning Witch."
^^ Sleazegrinder (March 2007). "The Lost Pioneers of Heavy Metal". Classic Rock.
^abcdefghijEbner, Arne (25 July 2010).Ästhetik des Doom(PDF) (Bachelor) (in German). Macromedia University of Applied Sciences for Media and Communication – Cologne. Archived fromthe original(PDF) on 4 March 2016. Retrieved18 August 2018.
^Sharpe-Young, Garry."MusicMight – Kyuss biography". MusicMight. Archived fromthe original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved10 December 2007.[Kyuss] almost single handed invented the phrase 'Stoner Rock'. They achieved this by tuning way down and summoning up a subterranean, organic sound...
^"Stoner Metal".AllMusic. Retrieved22 May 2009.Stoner metal could be campy and self-aware, messily evocative, or unabashedly retro.
^Rivadavia, Eduardo."Kyuss biography".AllMusic. Retrieved10 December 2007....they are widely acknowledged as pioneers of the booming stoner rock scene of the 1990s...
^abcdMettler, Mike (28 March 2014)."A Desert Soundtrack".palmspringslife.com. Palm Springs Life. Retrieved30 April 2015.
^abLinn, Robin; Lalli, Mario (19 July 2013)."The strange births of Desert Rock". The Sun Runner, Journal of the Real Desert. Archived from the original on 19 September 2015. Retrieved30 April 2015.
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