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Doom metal is a subgenre of heavy metal, which emerged as a recognized genre in the mid 80s. The sound is slow and heavy and intended to evoke an atmosphere of darkness, despair and melancholy. It is, like most kinds of metal, strongly influenced by the early works of Black Sabbath. However, it is often said that the influence of Black Sabbath on doom metal has been especially large, and a number of early Black Sabbath tracks, such as the track Black Sabbath, are often considered primitive yet prototypical doom metal songs.
History of doom metal
Although in the 70s 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 80s, bands such as Trouble, Witchfinder General and Saint Vitus made large contributions to the foundation of doom metal as a genre. The brand of music played by these artists can be described as being rooted in both the music of Black Sabbath and, especially in the case of Witchfinder General, the New Wave of British Heavy Metal. The slow music is often also seen as a reaction on the, at that time, constantly increasing speed of the thrash metal and speed metal styles. The genre first rose to popularity with the advent of Sweden's Candlemass, who are up to now considered as one of the most important and influential doom metal bands: especially their 1986 album Epicus Doomicus Metallicus is considered a genre-defining release by many fans.
Doom metal was given a new impulse in the early 90s, when a number of bands started combining the slow, melancholic, doom metal style that was pioneered in the 80s 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 was brought to the front of the metal scene 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".
Within the 90s, the doom metal genre experienced some further branching, although classic doom and doomdeath have remained the main exponents of the genre up to today. A number of bands, such as The Gathering and Theatre Of Tragedy took the music of Paradise Lost as a starting point, got rid of some of the slowness and started experimenting with female vocals*, thereby paving the way for 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. Other bands took the opposite road and ventured into much more extreme and inaccessible territories, which led to the formation of 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 upon an instrumentation of vocals, guitar, bass guitar and drums. A large number of doom metal bands, especially newer bands, have also incorporated keyboards into their music: 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 in their music. On the whole, however, doom metal remains by large a genre of guitar oriented music, and heavy guitar riffing is considered an important aspect within almost all of its subgenres.
Stylistic divisions within doom metal
Classic doom
Slow, melancholic, riff-based metal which is generally 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 the presence of grunts. Typical examples: Anathema, My Dying Bride, Winter, Unholy
Funeral doom
Funeral doom can essentially be seen as an even slower, and stripped down, version of doomdeath. Funeral bands generally take the typical slowness of doom metal to the extreme, and emphasize very strong on elements of despair and emptiness in the atmosphere. Typical examples: Skepticism, Funeral, Thergothon
Drone doom
A style which is stripped down even further 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 of the word. Heavy usage of feedback is also a typical element within the music. With regards to the atmosphere, like funeral doom, drone doom typically exemplifies emptiness and despair. Typical examples: Sunn O))), Earth
Psychedelic doom
A hybrid form between 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 accompanied by 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 rooted in the harsh industrial sounds of bands such as early Godflesh, Skin Chamber and early Swans. Characterized by heavy usage of abrasive electronic elements, such as samplers or pounding drum machines, serving as a backbone for the more traditional guitar onslaught that is layered on top. Mostly atonal and dissonant, usually shuns melody in favour of sheer aural ugliness. Typical examples: Zaraza, Wraith of the Ropes, Philistine.
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