Doom Metal
tagStarted 1980Peak 1986-1995Last big hit still active
Located in 3 routes
Slow, heavy, and crushing: down-tuned guitars grinding through ponderous, funereal riffs at glacial tempos, thick distortion, and an oppressive, doom-laden atmosphere. Vocals range from mournful clean wails to ominous chants. Directly descended from Black Sabbath, it prizes weight, dread, and the long, suffocating build over speed or virtuosity.
History
Black Sabbath's earliest records seeded it, but it crystallized as a distinct style in the early-to-mid 80s through Saint Vitus, Pentagram, and Trouble in the US and Witchfinder General in the UK. Sweden's Candlemass codified epic, operatic doom with 1986's Epicus Doomicus Metallicus. It later branched into funeral, stoner, and sludge variants.
Defining artists
Essential listening
Sources
- AllMusic (Doom Metal style)
- Wikipedia (Doom metal)
- Encyclopaedia Metallum
- Decibel