Doom Metal

Last week we discussed the most uplifting subgenre of heavy metal: power metal. This week it’s time to discuss the most depressing subgenre of heavy metal: doom metal. Initially pioneered by Black Sabbath, doom metal has gained a strong underground following in the heavy metal community.



Doom metal is distinguishable by several musical characteristics. Guitars and basses are usually tuned down, and they make heavy use of distortion. In doom metal, it is essential that guitarists have a very thick and dense tone. The tempo of doom metal music is usually slow to create a drawn-out, bass-heavy sound. The vocals in doom metal are usually clean singing, but the vocal tonality is always one of despair. When growling is used in doom metal, it’s almost always very deep, usually even more so than in death metal. Lyrics are very important in doom metal, and are typically depressing in nature.



Doom metal basically began with Black Sabbath. The early Ozzy-era music was the basis for which the entire subgenre is derived today. Tony Iommi had an immense guitar tone that was very unique for its time, and every subsequent doom band took influence from that raw, thick tone. Other important pioneers of the genre include Pentagram, Trouble, Saint Vitus, and Candlemass. Pentagram was formed in the early 1970s, but they didn’t release any albums until the early 1980s. Lead by Bobby Liebling, the band had a revolving line-up of musicians that were each well-known throughout the underground heavy metal community. Pentagram continues to perform today, though they still remain a prolific act.



Trouble was another pioneer of doom metal. Their first two albums, Psalm 9 and The Skull, are considered to be landmark doom metal records. Trouble eventually evolved into a stoner metal band, and has had an extensive history consisting of many long periods of inactivity. Nevertheless, Trouble is still recognized as one of the most important pioneers of doom metal.



Saint Vitus is a notorious act, having experienced a moderate amount of success particularly when they were fronted by Scott “Wino” Weinrich. Weinrich is one of the most notable musicians in doom metal, and is also held in high regard for his work in The Obsessed. Saint Vitus is finally about to release their eighth studio album, Lillie: F-65, which is their first album with Weinrich back on vocals in 22 years.



Candlemass is a Swedish band and they helped to popularize doom metal throughout the region in the 1980s. Leif Edling is the main songwriter for the band and is very highly regarded within the doom metal community. Candlemass have broken up several times throughout their history, but they continue to perform today.



Doom metal has changed a lot since its early days. The subgenre is now very frequently combined with stoner metal, sludge metal, gothic metal, and death metal in order to create unique hybrids. Furthermore, the subgenre is one in which many bands choose to innovate and test musical limits. That is particularly noticeable with the band, Neurosis, which is a musically diverse band that has based much of their music around doom metal. Doom metal is a respected genre in the heavy metal community, and has a very large underground following today.