Doom metal
Encyclopedia
Doom metal is an extreme
form of heavy metal music
that typically uses slower tempo
s, low-tuned guitars and a much "thicker" or "heavier" sound than other metal genres. Both the music and the lyrics intend to evoke a sense of despair, dread, and impending doom.
The genre is strongly influenced by the early work of Black Sabbath
, who formed a prototype for doom metal with songs such as "Black Sabbath
", "Electric Funeral
" and "Into the Void
". During the first half of the 1980s, a number of bands from England (Pagan Altar
, Witchfinder General
), the United States (Pentagram
, Saint Vitus
, Trouble
) and Sweden (Candlemass
, Count Raven
) defined doom metal as a distinct genre.
, bass guitar
and drum kit
are the most common instruments used to play doom metal, although keyboards
are sometimes used. Guitarists and bassists often detune
their instruments to very low notes and make much use of distortion. This produces a very 'thick' or 'heavy' guitar tone, which is one of the defining characteristics of the genre. Along with the usual heavy metal compositional technique of guitars and bass playing the same riff in unison, this creates an impressively loud and bass-heavy wall of sound
. Another defining characteristic is the consistent focus on slow tempo
s, and minor tonality
with much use of dissonance
(especially in the form of the tritone
).
, Bobby Liebling, and Zeeb Parkes. So-called "epic doom" vocalists often take it a step further, singing in an opera
tic style. Doom metal bands influenced by other extreme metal genres often use growled or screamed vocals.
, 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 by literature
.
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 incorporated occult
and pagan
imagery. For many bands, the use of religious themes is for aesthetic and symbolic purposes only. Examples include lyrics/imagery about the Last Judgment
to invoke dread, or the use of crucifix
es and cross-shaped headstones to symbolize death.
Furthermore, some doom bands write lyrics about drugs or drug addiction. This is most common among stoner doom bands, who often describe hallucinogenic or psychedelic
experiences.
, rooted in the music of early Black Sabbath
. Black Sabbath's music is itself stylistically rooted in blues
, but with the deliberately doomy and loud guitar playing of Tony Iommi
(who often used the tritone
in his playing and composition), and the then-uncommon dark and pessimistic lyrics and atmosphere, they set the standards of early heavy metal and inspired various doom metal bands to come. In the early 1970s both Black Sabbath and Pentagram
(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 as doom metal by subsequent musicians, critics and fans. Blue Cheer
have also been regarded as pioneering doom metal. Though lacking the pessimistic lyrical content of their contemporaries, Welsh
heavy metal band Budgie
would also produce heavy songs which were amongst the loudest of their day, stylistically influencing various Doom acts.
released their debut album Death Penalty
. During 1984 and 1985, three American pioneers also released their debuts; Saint Vitus
released their eponymous album
, Trouble
released Psalm 9 and Pentagram
released Relentless
. The Swedish Candlemass
would also prove influential with their first record Epicus Doomicus Metallicus
in 1986 (and prior to that, as Nemesis and the 1984 album Day of Retribution), from which the genre takes its name.
Some doom metal bands were also influenced by the underground goth rock and post-punk
scene of the 1980s, showing similarities with the dark themes addressed through lyrics and the music atmosphere, both music styles deal with. A doom metal band like Mindrot
was often described as a cross-over between death metal
and goth rock.
, Reverend Bizarre
, and Witchcraft
.
tic and choral
singing. Lyrics and imagery are typically inspired by fantasy
or mythology
, while the drumming is performed in a bombastic fashion. However, distinguishing epic doom from traditional doom may be difficult. Examples of prominent epic doom bands include Candlemass
, Solitude Aeturnus
, Solstice
and Doomsword
.
elements, to varying degrees. Stoner doom is often bass
-heavy and makes much use of guitar effects such as fuzz, phaser
or flanger
. Stoner doom could be viewed as the heavier and slower form of stoner rock
, as the two styles emerged simultaneously. It was pioneered in the early–mid 1990s by bands such as Kyuss
, Sleep
, Acid King
, Electric Wizard
, Orange Goblin
and Sons of Otis
.
, and sometimes southern rock
. Many sludge bands compose slow and heavy songs that contain brief hardcore passages. However, some bands emphasise fast tempos throughout their music. The string instruments are heavily distorted
and are often played with large amounts of feedback
to produce an abrasive, sludgy sound. Drumming is often performed in typical doom metal fashion, but drummers may employ hardcore d-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 early 1990s by bands such as Eyehategod
, Crowbar, Buzzov*en, Acid Bath
, Grief
.
with funeral dirge music
. It is played at a very slow tempo, and places an emphasis on evoking a sense of emptiness and despair. Typically, electric guitars are heavily distorted and dark ambient
aspects such as keyboards
or synthesizer
s 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 by Funeral
(Norway), Thergothon
(Finland), Skepticism
(Finland) and Corrupted
(Japan).
It is unclear whether the genre's name was derived from the band Funeral (one of the genre's pioneers) or from the genre's affiliation with funeral dirge music.
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Drone doom (also known as drone metal) is a style of doom metal that is largely defined by drones
; notes or chords that are sustain
ed and repeated throughout a piece of music. Typically, the electric guitar is performed with large amounts of reverb and feedback
while vocals, if present, are usually growled or screamed. Songs are often very long and lack beat
or rhythm
in the traditional sense. Drone doom is generally influenced by drone music
, noise music
and minimalist music
. The style emerged in the early 1990s and was pioneered by Earth
, Boris
and Sunn O)))
.
and double-kick drumming of death metal
. Influenced mostly by the early work of Hellhammer
/ Celtic Frost
, the style emerged during the late 1980s and gained a certain amount of popularity during the 1990s. Arguably, the first band to delve into this style of slow-paced death metal were the Pittsburgh-based Dream Death, who only released one full-length album before evolving into the traditional doom metal band Penance
. They were shortly followed by the band Goatlord
out of Las Vegas, Nevada
. Death/doom was also pioneered by bands such as Winter
, Disembowelment
, Paradise Lost
, Autopsy
, Anathema
and My Dying Bride
.
The term is often confused with death/doom, especially since a lot of gothic metal bands have a death metal past. Gothic metal refers to a development in the 1990s out of doom and death metal, as more bands started using strings, keyboards and female vocals. Beside the typical slow riffs were female vocals and/or Gregorian chants, quite often with melodic keyboard sounds also added. Atmosphere seems more important than technique like in death and the music often sounds more feminine than doom metal. There are sometimes elements of goth rock, but many bands prefer to refer to their music as symphonic metal
. The Netherlands and Scandinavia are the most important places within this genre.
Bands with female singers like Tristania
, Theatre of Tragedy
and The Gathering
were the pioneers. Other bands with this composition are The Sins of Thy Beloved
, Ashes You Leave
, Epica
and Sirenia
. By extension we can also add bands with male singers such as Type O Negative
and Tiamat
.
Extreme metal
Extreme metal is a loosely defined umbrella term for a number of related heavy metal music subgenres that have developed since the early 1980s. The term usually refers to a more abrasive, harsher, underground, non-commercialized style or sound nearly always associated with genres like black metal,...
form of heavy metal music
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
that typically uses slower tempo
Tempo
In musical terminology, tempo is the speed or pace of a given piece. Tempo is a crucial element of any musical composition, as it can affect the mood and difficulty of a piece.-Measuring tempo:...
s, low-tuned guitars and a much "thicker" or "heavier" sound than other metal genres. Both the music and the lyrics intend to evoke a sense of despair, dread, and impending doom.
The genre is strongly influenced by the early work of Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath are an English heavy metal band, formed in Aston, Birmingham in 1969 by Ozzy Osbourne , Tony Iommi , Geezer Butler , and Bill Ward . The band has since experienced multiple line-up changes, with Tony Iommi the only constant presence in the band through the years. A total of 22...
, who formed a prototype for doom metal with songs such as "Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath (song)
"Black Sabbath" is a song by British heavy metal band of the same name, written in 1969 and released on the band's debut album, Black Sabbath...
", "Electric Funeral
Electric Funeral
"Electric Funeral" is the fifth song from Black Sabbath's second album Paranoid, released in 1970. The song deals with nuclear war and its aftermath...
" and "Into the Void
Into the Void (Black Sabbath song)
"Into the Void" is a song by Black Sabbath, released in 1971 on their album, Master of Reality. An early version of "Into the Void" called "Spanish Sid" was released on the deluxe edition of Master of Reality...
". During the first half of the 1980s, a number of bands from England (Pagan Altar
Pagan Altar
Pagan Altar is a doom metal band from England. They are regarded as one of the pioneers of their genre.-Biography:Pagan Altar, formed 1976 by Alan and Terry Jones in Brockley, England...
, Witchfinder General
Witchfinder General (band)
Witchfinder General is a doom metal band from Stourbridge, England. They were part of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal scene and have been cited as a major influence on the doom metal genre.-Biography:...
), the United States (Pentagram
Pentagram (band)
Pentagram is a American heavy metal band from Virginia, most famous as one of the pioneers of doom metal. The band was prolific in the underground scene of the 1970s, producing many demos and rehearsal tapes, but did not release a full-length album until reforming in the early 1980s with an almost...
, Saint Vitus
Saint Vitus (band)
Saint Vitus is an American doom metal band from Los Angeles, formed in 1978. They consist of founding members Dave Chandler and Mark Adams , alongside sporadic singer Scott Weinrich and recently added drummer Henry Vasquez...
, Trouble
Trouble (band)
Trouble is an American doom metal band noted as one of the pioneers of their genre, alongside bands such as Candlemass and Saint Vitus. The band created a distinct style taking influences of the British heavy metal bands Black Sabbath and Judas Priest, and psychedelic rock of the 1970s...
) and Sweden (Candlemass
Candlemass
Candlemass are an influential Swedish doom metal band established in 1984 by Leif Edling , their leader and songwriter. The band is originally from Stockholm. After releasing five full-length albums and touring extensively throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, Candlemass disbanded in 1994, but...
, Count Raven
Count Raven
Count Raven are a doom metal band established in 1989 in Sweden. In 1990-1996 Count Raven released four studio albums, described as "classic" to the genre, then broke up in 1999...
) defined doom metal as a distinct genre.
Instrumentation
The electric guitarElectric guitar
An electric guitar is a guitar that uses the principle of direct electromagnetic induction to convert vibrations of its metal strings into electric audio signals. The signal generated by an electric guitar is too weak to drive a loudspeaker, so it is amplified before sending it to a loudspeaker...
, bass guitar
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
and drum kit
Drum kit
A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
are the most common instruments used to play doom metal, although keyboards
Keyboard instrument
A keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
are sometimes used. Guitarists and bassists often detune
Guitar tunings
Guitar tunings almost always refers to the pitch of the open string, though some tunings may only realistically be attained by the use of a capo on an unmodified instrument....
their instruments to very low notes and make much use of distortion. This produces a very 'thick' or 'heavy' guitar tone, which is one of the defining characteristics of the genre. Along with the usual heavy metal compositional technique of guitars and bass playing the same riff in unison, this creates an impressively loud and bass-heavy wall of sound
Wall of Sound
The Wall of Sound is a music production technique for pop and rock music recordings developed by record producer Phil Spector at Gold Star Studios in Los Angeles, California, during the early 1960s...
. Another defining characteristic is the consistent focus on slow tempo
Tempo
In musical terminology, tempo is the speed or pace of a given piece. Tempo is a crucial element of any musical composition, as it can affect the mood and difficulty of a piece.-Measuring tempo:...
s, and minor tonality
Minor scale
A minor scale in Western music theory includes any scale that contains, in its tonic triad, at least three essential scale degrees: 1) the tonic , 2) a minor-third, or an interval of a minor third above the tonic, and 3) a perfect-fifth, or an interval of a perfect fifth above the tonic, altogether...
with much use of dissonance
Consonance and dissonance
In music, a consonance is a harmony, chord, or interval considered stable, as opposed to a dissonance , which is considered to be unstable...
(especially in the form of the tritone
Tritone
In classical music from Western culture, the tritone |tone]]) is traditionally defined as a musical interval composed of three whole tones. In a chromatic scale, each whole tone can be further divided into two semitones...
).
Vocals
Traditional doom metal vocalists favor clean vocals, which are often performed with a sense of despair, desperation or pain; imitating the high-tone wails of Ozzy OsbourneOzzy Osbourne
John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne is an English vocalist, whose musical career has spanned over 40 years. Osbourne rose to prominence as lead singer of the pioneering English heavy metal band Black Sabbath, whose radically different, intentionally dark, harder sound helped spawn the heavy metal...
, Bobby Liebling, and Zeeb Parkes. So-called "epic doom" vocalists often take it a step further, singing in an opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
tic style. Doom metal bands influenced by other extreme metal genres often use growled or screamed vocals.
Lyrical themes
Lyrics in doom metal play a key role. Often, they are pessimistic and include themes such as: sufferingSuffering
Suffering, or pain in a broad sense, is an individual's basic affective experience of unpleasantness and aversion associated with harm or threat of harm. Suffering may be qualified as physical or mental. It may come in all degrees of intensity, from mild to intolerable. Factors of duration and...
, depression
Depression (mood)
Depression is a state of low mood and aversion to activity that can affect a person's thoughts, behaviour, feelings and physical well-being. Depressed people may feel sad, anxious, empty, hopeless, helpless, worthless, guilty, irritable, or restless...
, fear
Fear
Fear is a distressing negative sensation induced by a perceived threat. It is a basic survival mechanism occurring in response to a specific stimulus, such as pain or the threat of danger...
, grief
Grief
Grief is a multi-faceted response to loss, particularly to the loss of someone or something to which a bond was formed. Although conventionally focused on the emotional response to loss, it also has physical, cognitive, behavioral, social, and philosophical dimensions...
, dread, death and anger. While some bands write lyrics in introspective and personal ways, others convey their themes using symbolism – which may be inspired by literature
Literature
Literature is the art of written works, and is not bound to published sources...
.
Some doom metal bands use religious themes in their music. Trouble
Trouble (band)
Trouble is an American doom metal band noted as one of the pioneers of their genre, alongside bands such as Candlemass and Saint Vitus. The band created a distinct style taking influences of the British heavy metal bands Black Sabbath and Judas Priest, and psychedelic rock of the 1970s...
, one of the genre's pioneers, were among the first to incorporate Christian imagery. Others have incorporated occult
Occult
The word occult comes from the Latin word occultus , referring to "knowledge of the hidden". In the medical sense it is used to refer to a structure or process that is hidden, e.g...
and pagan
Paganism
Paganism is a blanket term, typically used to refer to non-Abrahamic, indigenous polytheistic religious traditions....
imagery. For many bands, the use of religious themes is for aesthetic and symbolic purposes only. Examples include lyrics/imagery about the Last Judgment
Last Judgment
The Last Judgment, Final Judgment, Day of Judgment, Judgment Day, or The Day of the Lord in Christian theology, is the final and eternal judgment by God of every nation. The concept is found in all the Canonical gospels, particularly the Gospel of Matthew. It will purportedly take place after the...
to invoke dread, or the use of crucifix
Crucifix
A crucifix is an independent image of Jesus on the cross with a representation of Jesus' body, referred to in English as the corpus , as distinct from a cross with no body....
es and cross-shaped headstones to symbolize death.
Furthermore, some doom bands write lyrics about drugs or drug addiction. This is most common among stoner doom bands, who often describe hallucinogenic or psychedelic
Psychedelics, dissociatives and deliriants
This general group of pharmacological agents can be divided into three broad categories: psychedelics, dissociatives, and deliriants. These classes of psychoactive drugs have in common that they can cause subjective changes in perception, thought, emotion and consciousness...
experiences.
History of doom metal
Origins (1970s)
Doom metal is among the oldest forms of heavy metalHeavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
, rooted in the music of early Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath are an English heavy metal band, formed in Aston, Birmingham in 1969 by Ozzy Osbourne , Tony Iommi , Geezer Butler , and Bill Ward . The band has since experienced multiple line-up changes, with Tony Iommi the only constant presence in the band through the years. A total of 22...
. Black Sabbath's music is itself stylistically rooted in blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
, but with the deliberately doomy and loud guitar playing of Tony Iommi
Tony Iommi
Anthony Frank "Tony" Iommi is an English guitarist and songwriter best known as the founding member of pioneering heavy metal band Black Sabbath, and its sole continual member through multiple personnel changes.Iommi is widely recognised as one of the most important and influential guitarists in...
(who often used the tritone
Tritone
In classical music from Western culture, the tritone |tone]]) is traditionally defined as a musical interval composed of three whole tones. In a chromatic scale, each whole tone can be further divided into two semitones...
in his playing and composition), and the then-uncommon dark and pessimistic lyrics and atmosphere, they set the standards of early heavy metal and inspired various doom metal bands to come. In the early 1970s both Black Sabbath and Pentagram
Pentagram (band)
Pentagram is a American heavy metal band from Virginia, most famous as one of the pioneers of doom metal. The band was prolific in the underground scene of the 1970s, producing many demos and rehearsal tapes, but did not release a full-length album until reforming in the early 1980s with an almost...
(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 as doom metal by subsequent musicians, critics and fans. Blue Cheer
Blue Cheer
Blue Cheer was an American psychedelic blues-rock band that initially performed and recorded in the late 1960s and early 1970s and was sporadically active until 2009...
have also been regarded as pioneering doom metal. Though lacking the pessimistic lyrical content of their contemporaries, Welsh
Welsh people
The Welsh people are an ethnic group and nation associated with Wales and the Welsh language.John Davies argues that the origin of the "Welsh nation" can be traced to the late 4th and early 5th centuries, following the Roman departure from Britain, although Brythonic Celtic languages seem to have...
heavy metal band Budgie
Budgie (band)
Budgie is a Welsh Hard Rock/Heavy Metal band from Cardiff. They are widely considered as one of the first heavy metal bands and a seminal influence to many acts of that scene, with fast, heavy rock being played as early as 1971. The band has been noted as "among the heaviest metal of its day"...
would also produce heavy songs which were amongst the loudest of their day, stylistically influencing various Doom acts.
Development (1980s)
During the early-mid 1980s, bands from England and the United States contributed much to the formation of doom metal as a distinct genre. In 1982, English pioneers Witchfinder GeneralWitchfinder General (band)
Witchfinder General is a doom metal band from Stourbridge, England. They were part of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal scene and have been cited as a major influence on the doom metal genre.-Biography:...
released their debut album Death Penalty
Death Penalty (album)
Death Penalty is the debut album by British heavy metal band Witchfinder General. It was released in 1982 on Heavy Metal Records. The album received some criticism for the cover photograph, which featured topless model Joanne Latham. The photograph had been taken in the yard of St Mary the Blessed...
. During 1984 and 1985, three American pioneers also released their debuts; Saint Vitus
Saint Vitus (band)
Saint Vitus is an American doom metal band from Los Angeles, formed in 1978. They consist of founding members Dave Chandler and Mark Adams , alongside sporadic singer Scott Weinrich and recently added drummer Henry Vasquez...
released their eponymous album
Saint Vitus (album)
Saint Vitus is the 1984 eponymous debut album by doom metal pioneers Saint Vitus released via SST Records. It was released as an LP and later as a CD. Both formats are currently difficult to find. "White Magic/Black Magic" and "Saint Vitus" are included on the compilation album Heavier Than Thou...
, Trouble
Trouble (band)
Trouble is an American doom metal band noted as one of the pioneers of their genre, alongside bands such as Candlemass and Saint Vitus. The band created a distinct style taking influences of the British heavy metal bands Black Sabbath and Judas Priest, and psychedelic rock of the 1970s...
released Psalm 9 and Pentagram
Pentagram (band)
Pentagram is a American heavy metal band from Virginia, most famous as one of the pioneers of doom metal. The band was prolific in the underground scene of the 1970s, producing many demos and rehearsal tapes, but did not release a full-length album until reforming in the early 1980s with an almost...
released Relentless
Relentless (Pentagram album)
Relentless is the debut album from Pentagram. It was initially self-released in 1985 as Pentagram but was re-issued by Peaceville Records in 1993 with the new moniker and a new track listing. It was released as a 2CD split with Day of Reckoning in 1996 and then re-released again in 2005 as a digipak...
. The Swedish Candlemass
Candlemass
Candlemass are an influential Swedish doom metal band established in 1984 by Leif Edling , their leader and songwriter. The band is originally from Stockholm. After releasing five full-length albums and touring extensively throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, Candlemass disbanded in 1994, but...
would also prove influential with their first record Epicus Doomicus Metallicus
Epicus Doomicus Metallicus
Epicus Doomicus Metallicus is the debut album of the Swedish Doom metal band Candlemass, released June 10, 1986 on Black Dragon Records. It was re-issued in 2003 with a bonus live CD...
in 1986 (and prior to that, as Nemesis and the 1984 album Day of Retribution), from which the genre takes its name.
Some doom metal bands were also influenced by the underground goth rock and post-punk
Post-punk
Post-punk is a rock music movement with its roots in the late 1970s, following on the heels of the initial punk rock explosion of the mid-1970s. The genre retains its roots in the punk movement but is more introverted, complex and experimental...
scene of the 1980s, showing similarities with the dark themes addressed through lyrics and the music atmosphere, both music styles deal with. A doom metal band like Mindrot
Mindrot
Mindrot was a doom metal band formed in 1989 by Adrian Leroux and Matt Fisher in Orange County, California. They disbanded in 1998.-Biography:...
was often described as a cross-over between death metal
Death metal
Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal. It typically employs heavily distorted guitars, tremolo picking, deep growling vocals, blast beat drumming, minor keys or atonality, and complex song structures with multiple tempo changes....
and goth rock.
Traditional doom
At the beginning of the 1990s, experimentation within doom metal became widespread, and the genre diversified as a result. Today, bands who continue the style of the genre's pioneers are often referred to as traditional doom metal. Traditional doom metal bands more commonly use higher guitar tunings, and do not play as slow as many other doom bands. Traditional doom bands typically play slow to mid-tempo songs with a thick and heavy sound. Vocals are usually clean with the occasional growl or scream. The lyrics in traditional doom usually are eerie and dark like other doom metal divisions. Some bands in modern times that play traditional doom metal are OgreOgre (band)
Ogre is an American heavy metal band from Portland, Maine.-History:Ogre formed in 1999 when Ross Markonish and Will Broadbent grew tired of their current prog/drone/trance band, Hello Monster, and decided to start a 70s hard rock and heavy metal influenced project. They placed an ad in the local...
, Reverend Bizarre
Reverend Bizarre
Reverend Bizarre was a doom metal band from Finland. They played slow and heavy traditional doom with dramatic vocals, following in the footsteps of bands such as Saint Vitus, Pentagram and Black Sabbath....
, and Witchcraft
Witchcraft (band)
Witchcraft is a Swedish hard rock band founded in 2000.-History:Magnus Pelander formed Witchcraft in 2000 in order to record a tribute to Pentagram's Bobby Liebling and Roky Erickson. The "No Angel or Demon" single was released in 2002 by Primitive Art Records which caught the ear of Lee Dorrian's...
.
Epic doom
Epic doom has a heavy classical influence. One of the main characteristics are the Vocals; vocalists typically employ clean, operaOpera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
tic and choral
Choir
A choir, chorale or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform.A body of singers who perform together as a group is called a choir or chorus...
singing. Lyrics and imagery are typically inspired by fantasy
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
or mythology
Mythology
The term mythology can refer either to the study of myths, or to a body or collection of myths. As examples, comparative mythology is the study of connections between myths from different cultures, whereas Greek mythology is the body of myths from ancient Greece...
, while the drumming is performed in a bombastic fashion. However, distinguishing epic doom from traditional doom may be difficult. Examples of prominent epic doom bands include Candlemass
Candlemass
Candlemass are an influential Swedish doom metal band established in 1984 by Leif Edling , their leader and songwriter. The band is originally from Stockholm. After releasing five full-length albums and touring extensively throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, Candlemass disbanded in 1994, but...
, Solitude Aeturnus
Solitude Aeturnus
Solitude Aeturnus is an American doom metal band that was started in spring 1987 as Solitude, in Arlington, Texas. Their vocalist, Robert Lowe, is also the current singer for the influential doom metal band Candlemass...
, Solstice
Solstice (UK band)
Solstice is an epic doom metal band from England, founded by Rich Walker after the breaking up of his previous hardcore punk / grindcore bands Sore Throat and Warfear...
and Doomsword
Doomsword
DoomSword is a heavy metal band from Varese, in northern Italy with strong influences from epic themes such as ancient and medieval history, fantasy literature and European mythology...
.
Stoner doom
Stoner doom, stoner metal or psychedelic doom describes doom metal that incorporates psychedelicPsychedelic rock
Psychedelic rock is a style of rock music that is inspired or influenced by psychedelic culture and attempts to replicate and enhance the mind-altering experiences of psychedelic drugs. It emerged during the mid 1960s among folk rock and blues rock bands in United States and the United Kingdom...
elements, to varying degrees. Stoner doom is often bass
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
-heavy and makes much use of guitar effects such as fuzz, phaser
Phaser (effect)
A phaser is an audio signal processing technique used to filter a signal by creating a series of peaks and troughs in the frequency spectrum. The position of the peaks and troughs is typically modulated so that they vary over time, creating a sweeping effect...
or flanger
Flanging
Flanging is an audio effect produced by mixing two identical signals together, with one signal delayed by a small and gradually changing period, usually smaller than 20 milliseconds. This produces a swept comb filter effect: peaks and notches are produced in the resultant frequency spectrum,...
. Stoner doom could be viewed as the heavier and slower form of stoner rock
Stoner rock
Stoner rock or stoner metal is a subgenre of heavy metal, combining elements of psychedelic rock, blues rock, traditional heavy metal and doom metal. Stoner rock is typically slow-to-mid tempo and features a bass-heavy sound, melodic vocals, and 'retro' production...
, as the two styles emerged simultaneously. It was pioneered in the early–mid 1990s by bands such as Kyuss
Kyuss
Kyuss is a rock band, originally from Palm Desert, California. After forming in the late 1980s and releasing an EP under the name Sons of Kyuss in 1990, the band shortened its name to Kyuss. Over the next five years the band released four full-length albums, and one last split EP in 1997 with...
, Sleep
Sleep (band)
Sleep is a stoner doom metal band from San Jose, California. Active during the 1990s, Sleep earned critical and record label attention early in their career. Critic Eduardo Rivadavia describes them as "perhaps the ultimate stoner rock band" and notes they exerted a strong influence on heavy metal...
, Acid King
Acid King
Acid King is a stoner metal band from San Francisco, California. It was formed in 1993 by frontwoman Lori S., drummer Joey Osbourne and bassist Peter Lucas. Acid King have since recorded three studio albums and three EPs with a series of bassists....
, Electric Wizard
Electric Wizard
Electric Wizard are a stoner metal band from Dorset, England that formed in 1993. The band have since recorded seven albums, at least three of which are now considered to be landmarks of their genre: their self-title debut, Electric Wizard, Come My Fanatics..., and Dopethrone...
, Orange Goblin
Orange Goblin
Orange Goblin are a stoner metal band from the United Kingdom that formed in 1995. The band's lineup currently consists of singer Ben Ward, guitarist Joe Hoare, bassist Martyn Millard, and drummer Chris Turner.-History:...
and Sons of Otis
Sons of Otis
Sons of Otis are a stoner rock/doom band from Toronto, Canada. Sons of Otis was formed by Ken Baluke in Toronto sometime around the years 1992 and 1993. Strongly influenced by the underground heavy music of the time , their first release, "Paid To Suffer", came out in 1994...
.
Sludge doom
Sludge doom (also known as sludge metal) is a style that combines doom metal and hardcore punkHardcore punk
Hardcore punk is an underground music genre that originated in the late 1970s, following the mainstream success of punk rock. Hardcore is generally faster, thicker, and heavier than earlier punk rock. The origin of the term "hardcore punk" is uncertain. The Vancouver-based band D.O.A...
, and sometimes southern rock
Southern rock
Southern rock is a subgenre of rock music, and genre of Americana. It developed in the Southern United States from rock and roll, country music, and blues, and is focused generally on electric guitar and vocals...
. Many sludge bands compose slow and heavy songs that contain brief hardcore passages. However, some bands emphasise fast tempos throughout their music. The string instruments are heavily distorted
Distortion (guitar)
Distortion effects create "warm", "dirty" and "fuzzy" sounds by compressing the peaks of a musical instrument's sound wave and adding overtones. The three principal types of distortion effects are overdrive, distortion and fuzz. Distortion effects are sometimes called “gain” effects, as distorted...
and are often played with large amounts of feedback
Audio feedback
Audio feedback is a special kind of positive feedback which occurs when a sound loop exists between an audio input and an audio output...
to produce an abrasive, sludgy sound. Drumming is often performed in typical doom metal fashion, but drummers may employ hardcore d-beat
D-beat
D-beat is a style of hardcore punk developed in the early 1980s by imitators of Discharge, for whom the genre is named. Discharge may have themselves inherited the beat from Motörhead. The first such group was The Varukers.The vocal content of D-beat tends towards shouted slogans...
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 early 1990s by bands such as Eyehategod
Eyehategod
Eyehategod is an American sludge metal band from New Orleans who formed in 1988. They have become one of the most well known bands to emerge from the NOLA metal scene...
, Crowbar, Buzzov*en, Acid Bath
Acid Bath
Acid Bath was a seminal American sludge metal band from Houma, Louisiana that was active from 1991 to 1997. Acid Bath combined doom metal roots with influences from black metal, death metal, gothic rock, blues, folk, and country...
, Grief
Grief (band)
-Biography:Grief was founded in 1991 by Disrupt guitarist Terry Savastano and drummer Randy Odierno . They broke up in 2001 mainly due to drummer problems - something that was an ongoing problem for the band from the start. They also cited what they called a "hostile environment for doom metal bands"...
.
Funeral doom
Funeral doom is a style of doom metal that crosses death/doomDeath/doom
Death/doom, sometimes writes as death-doom or deathdoom, is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal. It combines the slow tempos and pessimistic or depressive mood of doom metal with the deep growling vocals and double kick drumming of death metal...
with funeral dirge music
Dirge
A dirge is a somber song expressing mourning or grief, such as would be appropriate for performance at a funeral. A lament. The English word "dirge" is derived from the Latin Dirige, Domine, Deus meus, in conspectu tuo viam meam , the first words of the first antiphon in the Matins of the Office...
. It is played at a very slow tempo, and places an emphasis on evoking a sense of emptiness and despair. Typically, electric guitars are heavily distorted and dark ambient
Dark ambient
Dark ambient is a subgenre of ambient music that features foreboding, ominous, or discordant overtones. Although it had its roots in the 1970s, Dark ambient emerged in the 1980s and 1990s with the introduction of newer, smaller, and more affordable Effects units, synthesizer and sampling technology...
aspects such as keyboards
Keyboard instrument
A keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
or synthesizer
Synthesizer
A synthesizer is an electronic instrument capable of producing sounds by generating electrical signals of different frequencies. These electrical signals are played through a loudspeaker or set of headphones...
s 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 by Funeral
Funeral (band)
Funeral are a Norwegian funeral doom band formed in 1991 by Thomas Angell and Anders Eek; soon afterward, Einar Frederiksen joined as bassist and songwriter and Christian Loos joined as guitarist...
(Norway), Thergothon
Thergothon
Thergothon was an influential Finnish doom metal band. They were one of the pioneers of the funeral doom subgenre, starting with their demo Fhtagn nagh Yog-Sothoth and continuing their raw, depressing style with their only album, Stream from the Heavens...
(Finland), Skepticism
Skepticism (band)
Skepticism is a funeral doom metal band from Finland. Formed in 1991, they are regarded as one of the pioneers of the genre.-Overview of studio work:...
(Finland) and Corrupted
Corrupted (band)
Corrupted are a Japanese doom/sludge metal band. They are known for their antipathy towards mainstream acceptance, even in their subgenre, which naturally tends towards obscurity. This is reflected not only in their dark and oppressive musical style but their reclusive nature, avoiding interviews...
(Japan).
It is unclear whether the genre's name was derived from the band Funeral (one of the genre's pioneers) or from the genre's affiliation with funeral dirge music.
Drone doom
Drone doom (also known as drone metal) is a style of doom metal that is largely defined by drones
Drone (music)
In music, a drone is a harmonic or monophonic effect or accompaniment where a note or chord is continuously sounded throughout most or all of a piece. The word drone is also used to refer to any part of a musical instrument that is just used to produce such an effect.-A musical effect:A drone...
; notes or chords that are sustain
Sustain
In music, sustain is a parameter of musical sound over time. As its name implies, it denotes the period of time during which the sound remains before it becomes inaudible, or silent.Additionally, sustain is the third of the four segments in an ADSR envelope...
ed and repeated throughout a piece of music. Typically, the electric guitar is performed with large amounts of reverb and feedback
Audio feedback
Audio feedback is a special kind of positive feedback which occurs when a sound loop exists between an audio input and an audio output...
while vocals, if present, are usually growled or screamed. Songs are often very long and lack beat
Beat (music)
The beat is the basic unit of time in music, the pulse of the mensural level . In popular use, the beat can refer to a variety of related concepts including: tempo, meter, rhythm and groove...
or rhythm
Rhythm
Rhythm may be generally defined as a "movement marked by the regulated succession of strong and weak elements, or of opposite or different conditions." This general meaning of regular recurrence or pattern in time may be applied to a wide variety of cyclical natural phenomena having a periodicity or...
in the traditional sense. Drone doom is generally influenced by drone music
Drone music
Drone music is a minimalist musical style that emphasizes the use of sustained or repeated sounds, notes, or tone-clusters – called drones. It is typically characterized by lengthy audio programs with relatively slight harmonic variations throughout each piece compared to other musics...
, noise music
Noise music
Noise music is a term used to describe varieties of avant-garde music and sound art that may use elements such as cacophony, dissonance, atonality, noise, indeterminacy, and repetition in their realization. Noise music can feature distortion, various types of acoustically or electronically...
and minimalist music
Minimalist music
Minimal music is a style of music associated with the work of American composers La Monte Young, Terry Riley, Steve Reich, and Philip Glass. It originated in the New York Downtown scene of the 1960s and was initially viewed as a form of experimental music called the New York Hypnotic School....
. The style emerged in the early 1990s and was pioneered by Earth
Earth (band)
Earth is an American musical group based in Seattle, Washington, formed in 1989 and led by guitarist Dylan Carlson.Earth's music is nearly all instrumental, and can be divided into two distinct stages...
, Boris
Boris (band)
is a Japanese experimental rock band, known for often combining and switching between different music genres including drone metal, sludge metal, noise rock, psychedelic rock, ambient and pop...
and Sunn O)))
Sunn O)))
Sunn O))) is an American doom metal band known for its synthesis of diverse genres including drone, ambient, noise, and black metal. Supported by a varying cast of collaborators, the band has two core members: Stephen O'Malley and Greg Anderson .-History:Sunn O))) is named after the Sunn...
.
Death/doom
Death/doom is a style that combines the slow tempos and pessimistic atmosphere of doom metal with the deep growling vocalsDeath growl
A death growl, also known as death metal vocals, guttural vocals, death grunts, and harsh vocals among other names, is a vocalisation style usually employed by vocalists of the death metal and black metal music genre, but also used in a variety of heavy metal and hardcore punk subgenres.Death...
and double-kick drumming of death metal
Death metal
Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal. It typically employs heavily distorted guitars, tremolo picking, deep growling vocals, blast beat drumming, minor keys or atonality, and complex song structures with multiple tempo changes....
. Influenced mostly by the early work of Hellhammer
Hellhammer
Hellhammer was an influential extreme metal band from Switzerland, active during 1982–1984. They are regarded as being one of the first extreme metal bands and are a key influence on later black metal and death metal bands.-Biography:...
/ Celtic Frost
Celtic Frost
Celtic Frost was a metal band from Zürich, Switzerland. They are known for their heavy influence on the extreme metal genres. The group was first active from 1984 to 1993, and re-formed in 2001. Following Tom Gabriel Fischer's departure in 2008, Celtic Frost decided to break up again...
, the style emerged during the late 1980s and gained a certain amount of popularity during the 1990s. Arguably, the first band to delve into this style of slow-paced death metal were the Pittsburgh-based Dream Death, who only released one full-length album before evolving into the traditional doom metal band Penance
Penance (band)
-Biography:Penance was born from the ashes of Dream Death, when several members decided to pursue a more traditional doom direction. Dream Death existed during mid eighties and played a mixture of doom, hardcore and thrash metal....
. They were shortly followed by the band Goatlord
Goatlord (band)
-Biography:Goatlord began in 1985 although they did not release their first demo until June 1987. Their initial offering was a mixture of sludge and death metal only titled 1987 Demo. A cult following grew and tape-traders re-named this first demo as Forever Black Dwell in Hell, a line take from...
out of Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas metropolitan area
The Las Vegas Valley is the heart of the Las Vegas-Paradise, NV MSA also known as the Las Vegas–Paradise–Henderson MSA which includes all of Clark County, Nevada, and is a metropolitan area in the southern part of the U.S. state of Nevada. The Valley is defined by the Las Vegas Valley landform, a ...
. Death/doom was also pioneered by bands such as Winter
Winter (band)
Winter is an American death/doom band from New York. They take their name from the Amebix song of the same name. The band will be performing at the 2011 Roadburn Festival in the Netherlands.-Members:Line-Up* John Alman - vocals, bass...
, Disembowelment
Disembowelment (band)
Disembowelment is a Australian death/doom band from Melbourne, Australia that was formed in November 1989 out of the ashes of two-piece grind band Bacteria, featuring drummer Paul Mazziotta and guitarist/vocalist Renato Gallina...
, Paradise Lost
Paradise Lost (band)
Paradise Lost are a heavy metal band that formed in 1988 in Halifax, England.-History:Their first three full-length albums are examples of the death/doom style, although the latter two incorporated some melodic and gothic elements...
, Autopsy
Autopsy (band)
Autopsy is a death metal band, founded in 1987 in the United States by Chris Reifert. They disbanded in 1995, but have reunited as of July 2009.-Biography:...
, Anathema
Anathema (band)
Anathema are an English band from Liverpool primarily known for their ever evolving sound. Beginning as pioneers of the death/doom metal sub-genre, their later albums have been associated with genres such as alternative rock, progressive rock, art rock, new prog, and post-rock.-History:Anathema...
and My Dying Bride
My Dying Bride
My Dying Bride are an English doom metal band formed in 1990. To date, My Dying Bride have released eleven full-length studio albums, three EPs, one demo, one box set, four compilation albums, one live album, and one live CD/DVD release. The band released their tenth studio album, For Lies I Sire,...
.
Gothic metal
The term is often confused with death/doom, especially since a lot of gothic metal bands have a death metal past. Gothic metal refers to a development in the 1990s out of doom and death metal, as more bands started using strings, keyboards and female vocals. Beside the typical slow riffs were female vocals and/or Gregorian chants, quite often with melodic keyboard sounds also added. Atmosphere seems more important than technique like in death and the music often sounds more feminine than doom metal. There are sometimes elements of goth rock, but many bands prefer to refer to their music as symphonic metal
Symphonic metal
Symphonic metal is a term used to describe heavy metal music that has symphonic elements; that is, elements that are either borrowed from classical music or, as with progressive rock music, create a style reminiscent of it, e.g...
. The Netherlands and Scandinavia are the most important places within this genre.
Bands with female singers like Tristania
Tristania (band)
Tristania is a band from Norway, formed in 1996 by Morten Veland, Einar Moen and Kenneth Olsson. Tristania's music is usually classified as symphonic gothic metal with doom/death metal influences , due to its strong ties with the goth metal's history...
, Theatre of Tragedy
Theatre of Tragedy
Theatre of Tragedy was a Norwegian band from Stavanger, active between 1993 and 2010. They are best known for their earlier albums, which provided a great deal of influence to the gothic metal genre.-Biography:...
and The Gathering
The Gathering
- Film and television :* The Gathering , a made-for-TV drama starring Edward Asner and Maureen Stapleton* The Gathering , a thriller/horror film starring Christina Ricci...
were the pioneers. Other bands with this composition are The Sins of Thy Beloved
The Sins of Thy Beloved
The Sins Of Thy Beloved is a gothic-doom metal band from Bryne, Norway.- Biography :The band was formed in November 1996 by Glenn Morten Nordbø, Arild Christensen and Stig Johansen. The band was initially called "Purgatory" but they soon decided to change their name to something less common...
, Ashes You Leave
Ashes You Leave
Ashes You Leave is a Croatian metal band formed in 1995 who is currently signed to Sleaszy Rider Records. They have so far released two demos and five full-length studio albums.-History:...
, Epica
Epica (band)
Epica is a Dutch symphonic metal band founded by guitarist and vocalist Mark Jansen subsequent to his departure from After Forever. They are known for their symphonic sound and the use of female vocals and male growls performed by Simone Simons and Mark Jansen, respectively. All six members write...
and Sirenia
Sirenia
Sirenia is an order of fully aquatic, herbivorous mammals that inhabit swamps, rivers, estuaries, marine wetlands, and coastal marine waters. Four species are living, in two families and genera. These are the dugong and manatees...
. By extension we can also add bands with male singers such as Type O Negative
Type O Negative
Type O Negative was a gothic metal band from Brooklyn, New York City. The band also incorporated elements of doom metal and thrash metal. Their dramatic lyrical emphasis on themes of romance, depression, and death resulted in the nickname "The Drab Four"...
and Tiamat
Tiamat (band)
-Biography:Initially, the band played straightforward black metal under the name Treblinka. After having recorded the album Sumerian Cry in 1989, vocalist/guitarist Johan Edlund and bassist Jörgen Thullberg parted ways with the other two founding members, and subsequently changed the name to Tiamat...
.
See also
- List of doom metal bands
- Doom Shall RiseDoom Shall RiseDoom Shall Rise is the world's biggest doom metal festival. It is held annually at the Chapel in Göppingen, Germany since 2003.-2003 lineup:*Dawn of Winter*Doomshine*Dreaming*Forsaken*Revelation*Reverend Bizarre*Semlah*Mirror of Deception*Subversion...
, a doom metal music festival - Emissions from the MonolithEmissions from the MonolithEmissions from the Monolith is an annual heavy metal festival that showcases mainly doom metal and sludge metal bands, considered to be the premiere heavy/doom/sludge metal festival in the US...
, a doom metal music festival - Post-metalPost-metalPost-metal is a music genre, a mixture between the genres of post-rock and heavy metal.Hydra Head Records owner and Isis frontman Aaron Turner originally termed the genre "thinking man's metal", demonstrating that his band was trying to move away from common metal conventions...
External links
- [ Doom metal] at Allmusic
- www.doommetalmuziek.nl.ae