| Death-doom | |
|---|---|
| Other names |
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| Stylistic origins | |
| Cultural origins | Late 1980s |
| Derivative forms | |
| Fusion genres | |
Death-doom (also known asdeath-doom metal[4] ordoom-death)[5] is a fusion genre ofdeath metal anddoom metal. It combines the slowtempos and pessimistic or depressive mood of doom metal with the deepgrowling vocals anddouble-kick drumming of death metal. The genre emerged in the late 1980s and gained a certain amount of popularity during the 1990s, but had become less common by the turn of the 21st century.[5] In turn, death-doom gave rise to the closely related genre offuneral doom as well as to the more melodic, gloomy and romanticgothic metal.[6]
The first signs of the death/doom genre originated in the mid-1980s when early progenitors like Dream Death began to mix traditionaldoom metal with the sounds of the nascentdeath metal scene.[7] Early records in the 1990s by such bands asAutopsy,Winter,Paradise Lost,My Dying Bride andAnathema combined the doom sound of mid-1980sCeltic Frost andCandlemass with growling vocals, female vocals,[8] keyboards and, in the case of My Dying Bride, violins. The influence of these bands has been acknowledged by the likes of gothic metal bandsWithin Temptation,Lacuna Coil,The Gathering, Celestial Season andSaturnus.[5][9] The tag of death/doom seemed to become less popular towards the end of the decade as many of the scene progenitors abandoned their early sound to embrace a more accessible or palatable direction.[5]
However, the style persists in the form offuneral doom, a genre that crosses death-doom withfuneral dirge music.[3] It is played at a very slow tempo, and places an emphasis on evoking a sense of emptiness and despair.[10] Typically, electric guitars are heavily distorted anddark ambient aspects such askeyboards orsynthesizers are often used to create a "dreamlike" atmosphere. Vocals consist of mournful chants or growls and are often in the background. Funeral doom was pioneered byMournful Congregation (Australia),Esoteric (United Kingdom),Evoken (United States),Funeral (Norway),Thergothon (Finland)[11] andSkepticism (Finland).[12]
