From the early days of Black Sabbath to the modern-day Death/Doom-Metal of My Dying Bride - A complete historical overview of our

beloved genre.

Early doom bands of the seventies...

Most people agree that Black Sabbath is amongst the most influential bands for all heavy metal in general, and Doom-Metal is no exception. Their early albums 'Black Sabbath', 'Paranoid', 'Master Of Reality', 'Vol. 4', 'Sabbath Bloody Sabbath', and 'Sabotage' are all without doubt, masterpieces, and without them Doom-Metal (or even metal in general) would not exist at all. Whilst Black Sabbath were definitely well ahead of their time, and as such one of a kind, they certainly weren't without their contemporaries (Pentagram, Blue Cheer, Black Widow). Some of the earliest prototypes of Doom-Metal were in fact songs of the late sixties and early seventies that, whilst not wholly doomy, contained countless great riffs that came to shape the sound of DoomMetal in later years. Such songs include Iron Butterfly's 'Inna Gadda Da Vida'. One of Black Sabbath's main contemporaries - Pentagram - can be counted as one of the earliest Doom bands around, often intertwining with the band Bedemon one could perhaps best label their style of music as "Proto Doom". Black Sabbath has a huge impact on their sound but they focused more on the doomy side of this style. Thus creating some of the first ever Doom-metal records!

The eighties...
The 1980s brought with them the first bona fide Doom-Metal acts. This was the era in which bands such as Def Leppard, Warrant, and Bon Jovi came to the foregrounds and professed to be "heavy metal", and where thrash/speed and death metal bands ruled the metal scene. The press also applied the term "heavy metal" in a nasty pigeonholing manner to any band that wore tight spandex and big hair. Whilst there are so many bands during that time that were truly deserving to fly under the banner of DoomMetal, they were vastly outnumbered by these Glam-metal acts. The eighties were also known for the end period of the NWOBHM, another semi-fast style of metal. So in an era where speed was the prominent factor in extreme music, Doom-Metal acts where greatly outnumbered, but this is the era where Doommetal was mostly developed and created a name for itself. One 80s band that made Doom big was Trouble. Originally from Chicago, this band got together in 1979 but gained popularity from 1984 onwards. Trouble's music stands for slow, dragging heavy metal, clearly influenced by Black Sabbath. Due to Christian beliefs of the band and its effect on their lyrics the

band initially fell under the label White-metal. Saint Vitus, another early doom-oriented band, had perhaps the biggest influence on the Doom-metal landscape (together with Candlemass). Their early work was on SST (Greg Ginn from Black Flag's label) and was mostly fronted by Wino who gained more fame later with semi-doom majors The Obsessed. Wino became one of the most legendary figures of Doom-metal in his own right. From his beginnings with The Obsessed, moving on to St. Vitus, and re-forming The Obsessed, he became one of the most prominent and influenctial figures within the Doom-metal scene. He now frequents the Stoner scene with his current band Spirit Caravan. In 1986, Swedish band Candlemass released the album 'Epicus Doomicus Metallicus', a milestone in early Doom-Metal. Once called "the heaviest band in the world" they picked up where Black Sabbath left off in 1976. The material on 'Epicus Doomicus Metallicus' was in the same style as old Black Sabbath (with Ozzy) but with modern contemporary influences. Candlemass' best years were those with vocalist Messiah Marcolin, a man with an exceptionally clear, deep voice. For doom newbies the CD 'As It Is, As It Was: The Best Of Candlemass' (Music For Nations, 1994) gives a good overview of their works. Another doom pioneer in the late eighties was Lee Dorrian's band Cathedral. When Lee left Napalm Death in 1989 nobody expected such a volte face. As opposed to Napalm Death's ultra-fast music Cathedral's first releases were ultraslow, super-heavy doom in its purest form. Check out the albums 'In Memorium' and 'Forest Of Equilibrium'. Cathedral's later works are more seventies-rock oriented and the doom atmosphere has slowly faded away. One label that was very important to this first generation of Doom-metal, and was mainly active during the very end of the eigthies to the mid nineties, was the Hellhound Label. This label signed a great deal of Doom-metal acts whose sound later became known as the "hellhound sound", industriously forming a clear foundation for future Doom-metal acts to build upon. Bands like The Obsessed and Count Raven released many records through this label.

The nineties...
The early 90s heralded a change in the Doom-Metal landscape. With Death-metal having taken over the metal torch halfway through the eighties, Doom-Metal enjoyed a revival. New bands emerged that sought a mix between original Doom-Metal and Death-metal. Early pioneers like Winter with their release 'Into Darkness' in 1990 and Thergothon with their brilliant demo 'Fhragn-nagh Yog-Sothoth' in 1991 broke through the original boundaries of traditional Doom-Metal and formed the building blocks for modern day DoomMetal. Lets also however not forget a band like diSEMBOWELMENT. Bands like Winter, Thergothon and diSEMBOWELMENT could not gain the success later doom bands would have with this new style. Three bands from England, whom all shared the same label, Peaceville, propelled the Death/Doom genre to the level at which it stands today; Paradise Lost being the first with their release of 'Lost Paradise' in 1990 (which still had a strong

death-metal influence). With 'Gothic' in 1991 they however almost single-handed set the standard for modern-day doom. Fellow label mates My Dying Bride succeeded in opening the gates for countless new Doom-Metal bands. Their first official release on Peaceville, 'Symphonaire Infernus Et Spera Empyrium', in 1991 already showed this band was destined for greatness and with their second full length 'Turn Loose the Swans' in 1993 they set their status as the largest modern-day Doom-Metal band. Another influence on this new form of Doom-Metal was the third Peaceville band called Anathema. Despite being one of "the big three" they always remained the smallest and least influential. Also worth mentioning is that at the beginning of the ninties, a band called Earth (no, not Black Sabbath with their orignal name) created some of the heaviest Sabbath influenced music ever. This band became a huge influence on so-called "Drone Doom", an extreme form of Doom-metal. Nor can we overlook the rise of an odd child within the Doom family, Sludge Doom; very heavy, miserable sounding Doom-metal that perhaps lacks the mournfull and emotions of Doom but fills those with pure filth, discust and anger. Of course also attoning to the teaching of Black Sabbath. Midway through the nineties the need for experimentation within the metal genre as a whole also touched the Doom-Metal genre. Bands like The 3rd and the Mortal created a more atmospheric type of doom with albums like Tears Laid in Earth' and were one of the first metal bands to have a fulltime female lead singer. Following in the wake of Thergothon, slower and more extreme acts than normal Death/Doom also started to emerge like Funeral, Skepticism and Esoteric. The experimentation "disease" lead to the many different types of Doom-Metal we know today. From the slow and emotionless sounds of Esoteric, Evoken and Skepticism to the Gothic/Doom-Metal hybrids like Theatre of Tragedy. And let's not forget that there is a whole host of new and old bands who still play the orignal style of Doom from the 80s. Owing to this flurry of experimentation, the boundaries between genres faded and various great Doom-Metal giants moved away from the sound they helped create, giving the whole Doom-Metal genre a creative input of which we have not yet seen the last. The new millenium has already proven that by making 2001 one of the best years for heavy Doom since the early ninties. This indeed promises much for the future...

Doom metal
Doom metal is a form of heavy metal that emerged as a recognised subgenre in the mid1980s. It is slow and heavy and intended to evoke an atmosphere of darkness, despair and melancholy. It is strongly influenced by the early work of Black Sabbath, and a number of early Black Sabbath tracks, such as "Black Sabbath", are often considered embryonic or prototypical doom metal songs. [edit]

History of doom metal

Although in the beginning of the 1970s 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. From the late 1970s to mid 1980s, bands such as Trouble, Saint Vitus and Witchfinder General contributed much to the formation of doom metal as a distinct genre. The form 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 slowness of their music is often also seen as a reaction to the constantly increasing speed of contemporary thrash metal and speed metal. Doom metal first became widely popular with Sweden's Candlemass, who are hailed in the mainstream metal press as one of the most important and influential doom metal bands; their 1986 album Epicus Doomicus Metallicus is considered a genre-defining release (at least within the epic subgenre of doom metal). According to the proponents of the classic doom metal style, the most prototypical doom metal band would be Saint Vitus, who released their self-titled debut album in 1984 - two years before doom metal as a genre was recognised in the mainstream metal press. Doom metal developed further in the early 1990s, when a number of bands started combining the slow, melancholic, doom metal style that was pioneered in the 1980s 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 made popular within mainstream heavy metal by three British bands: Paradise Lost, My Dying Bride and Anathema. Nowadays, the original brand of doom metal with clean vocals is usually labelled "traditional doom." During the 1990s the doom metal genre developed further styles, although classic doom and death/doom have remained central to the present. A number of bands, such as The Gathering and Theatre of Tragedy took the music of Paradise Lost, got rid of some of the slowness and started experimenting with female vocals,[1] thereby helping to create 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. It has been argued that a nexus exists between doom metal, stoner metal and psychedelic music, although each of these genres have developed on their own. The stoner metal of bands like Kyuss, Monster Magnet and 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 dark atmospheres, stoner metal aims for a groovy and psychedelic sound. A number of doom metal bands, however, such as (later) Cathedral and Electric Wizard, have combined doom metal with psychedelic influences, thereby creating a style which can be considered a hybrid form of doom metal and psychedelic rock. [edit]

Instrumentation
Like most kinds of metal, doom metal is typically based upon an instrumentation of vocals, guitar, bass guitar and drums, and heavy guitar riffing is considered an important feature within almost all of its subgenres. Some doom metal bands, especially newer bands, also use keyboards. 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 and large a genre of guitaroriented music. [edit]

Stylistic divisions within doom metal

[edit]

Traditional doom
Slow, melancholic, riff-based metal influenced by Black Sabbath as well as the NWOBHM movement. Typical examples: Saint Vitus, Pentagram, Candlemass, Solitude Aeturnus, Solstice, Reverend Bizarre. Four "waves" have so far been recognised in the history of traditional doom: the first one started with the originators of the entire genre, the proto-doom bands Black Sabbath and Pentagram; the second one has been located in the mid-1980s, especially in the work of Saint Vitus and Candlemass; the third one started with the success of Cathedral's debut album Forest of Equilibrium; the fourth one has recently been affiliated with Reverend Bizarre. [edit]

Epic doom
A similar form to traditional doom with a stronger medieval and/or fantasy influence. Epic doom traces its roots through more traditional metal such as Manowar and Iron Maiden in addition to emulating the concepts of pre-doom bands such as Black Sabbath. A number of bands who embraced this style emerged from the West Yorkshire region of England in the mid/late 1980s, such as Solstice, and Mourn. [edit]

Death/doom
A mixture of doom metal with a number of elements from death metal, most notably growled vocals. Typical examples: Winter, early Paradise Lost, My Dying Bride, Anathema, Katatonia, Swallow the Sun. [edit]

Funeral doom
Funeral Doom is a style that takes the slowness of doom metal to further extremes, and that puts a strong emphasis on an atmosphere of despair and emptiness. The style can be seen as a departure from death/doom, slowing down the music even further, and frequently incorporating influences from ambient music, creating a sound which is distorted and gloomy, but often dreamy at the same time. Vocals are usually growled, but are often much less in the foreground than in other styles of music, and are rather used to provide an additional texture to the music. The style was originally pioneered by Thergothon, and later also by Skepticism and Funeral; modern examples include Mournful Congregation, Shape of Despair, Stabat Mater, and Until Death Overtakes Me. [edit]

Drone doom
Also known as drone metal, drone doom is a style which is even more minimalistic and inaccessible than funeral doom. Generally influenced by noise and ambient music, the music often mainly consists of distorted downtuned guitars and bass, usually with lots of reverb applied to the final mix, with clear (melodic) themes being a rarity. Drone doom tracks are generally long, with typical drone tracks lasting between ten and thirty minutes; some drone doom releases even consist of only one album-long track. Vocals and even drums are often absent, and the music often lacks any beat or rhythm in the traditional sense. Like funeral doom, drone doom typically emphasizes despair and emptiness, although apocalyptic and cryptic themes are also common. Innovator Stephen O'Malley, heavily influenced by Earth, can be largely credited with the creation of drone doom as a recognised subgenre, being or having been involved with seminal acts such as

Burning Witch and Sunn O))). Sunn O))) and their predecessor Earth can be considered the two most influential bands of the genre. See also: Drone music [edit]

Stoner doom
A hybrid form of doom metal and stoner rock. Typical examples: (late) Cathedral, Sleep, Acrimony, Eternal Elysium, Spiritual Beggars. A significant borderline case are Electric Wizard, whose music can be seen as a mixture of traditional doom, stoner doom, and sludge doom. Australian doom/stoner band Pod People, have coined the term "stoom" (an portmanteau of 'stoner' and 'doom') to describe this style of music. [edit]

Sludge doom
Main article: Sludge metal Combining the thick, riffing sound of stoner doom with the raw abrasiveness and shrieked vocals of hardcore, sludge is at the outer limits of doom metal and is an acquired taste (although a couple of bands, such as Eyehategod and Crowbar, are fairly well known within the metal community). Even though many sludge bands sport the "booze 'n' bongs" image synonymous with stoner rock, they lack the stoner rockers' positive outlook on life, with lyrical themes typically centered around misery and hatred. Typical examples: Eyehategod, Crowbar, Cement Pig, Grief.

Ce este doom metal?

Stilul muzical care face obiectul cercetarii noastre - doom metal - poate fi caracterizat drept dramatic, plin de tristete, romantism, depresie si melancolie. Emana o atmosfera ntunecata si meditativa, de o intensitate ce nu poate fi regasita n nici un alt gen. In acest sens, pe lnga instrumentele binecunoscute de care se foloseste ntregul gen metal, multe din formatiile de doom se folosesc, de instrumente armonice care apartin mai degraba muzicii clasice, precum vioara, pianul, flautul s.a. Diversitatea genului este extrem de mare, de la doom-metal lent, la ritmurile medii, foarte armonice si, ocazional, episoade de doom-metal foarte rapid si energic. Un numar mare de trupe folosesc voci normale, curate si chitari lente, "urletele" sau riffurile grele nereprezentnd o trasatura esentiala. Profunzimea muzicii este o caracteristica importanta a doom-metal si poate mbraca forme variate, de la sunetele guturale ale unor formatii precum Paradise Lost, la riffurile la Sabbath ale celor de la St. Vitus, la sunetele transcedentale ale trupei Lake of Tears, sau depresia romantica ce se regaseste n melodiile celor de la My Dying Bride. Versurile genului se axau initial pe un sentiment al pierderii sperantei care constituie si n prezent o trasatura a genului. Multe din versurile recente, nsa, prezinta un nivel de implicare mult mai personal, concentrndu-se asupra unor experiente personale de genul dragoste, tristete, pierderi insurmontabile, pierderea credintei sau altele. Textele religioase au nceput si ele sa fie privite ca surse potentiale pentru versuri si idei, de cele mai multe ori, nsa, acestea prezinta o conotatie simbolica si nu ar trebui percepute ad literam. In ceea ce priveste limba n care sunt scrise aceste versuri, limbile straine sau cele vechi,

precum latina, spaniola, franceza, greaca sau chiar japoneza au devenit destul de populare n cadrul textelor doom-metal si adesea pot conferi o nota de arta baroca. Formatiile doom-metal acorda, n general, o atentie deosebita designului diverselor aspecte vizuale legate ntr-un fel sau altul de muzica proprie: copertele albumelor, logo-uri, grafica numelui formatiei si altele. In acest sens se folosesc de anumite prototipuri, cum ar fi fotografii ntunecate, sumbre, chiar sinistre, precum flori ofilite, biserici si statui, influente draconice sau clasice etc. In aceeasi directie se nscrie si alegerea numelui trupei, al albumelor sau al melodiilor. Astfel, ele pot fi recunoscute destul de usor, multe formatii de gen folosind nume mai putin comune, cu relevanta mitologica, poetica sau istorica. Doom-metal se prezinta, n ansamblu, ca un stil destul de dificil de ascultat si de nteles, din mai multe motive. In primul rnd nu este vorba de un gen comercial: multe din melodii dureaza, n medie, ntre 6 si 8-9 minute, recordurile n materie depasind 20 de minute. In al doilea rnd, natura versurilor implica un anumit nivel de informatie culturala, pentru a descifra si nteleger referirile istorice si mitologice foarte numeroase. Imaginea genului doom-metal este perceputa, nsa, cu totul diferit. In opinia publica s-au nradacinat o serie de prejudecati care fac ca stereotipul fanului doom-metal sa fie asociat cu satanismul, tendinta catre suicid, depresia. Genul nu are nici o legatura anume cu vreun cult sau altul, desi versurile pot cuprinde, dupa cum am spus, numeroase referinte mitice sau religioase, care se limiteaza, nsa la o valoare simbolica. De asemenea, motivul pierderii credintei sau ncrederii (eng: faith), adesea abordat n versurile doom, poate fi usor interpretat ca fiind de sorginte satanica. Mesajul aflat n spatele acestora rezida, de fapt, n tristetea si durerea care fac pe cineva sa-si piarda credinta / ncrederea si n nefericirea care rezulta din aceasta, fiind, mai degraba, un substitut simbolic pentru suferinta. Mesajul doom-metal nu promoveaza suicidul si nici nu ar putea conduce la tendinte suicidale. Sinuciderea este, adesea, o consecinta a unei tulburari, dezordini mintale, cum ar fi depresia care, la rndul sau, are la baza o combinatie de factori. Multi medici o vad ca pe o disfunctionalitate a sinapselor serotoninice si norepinefrinice, ceea ce cauzeaza un dezechilibru chimic la nivelul creierului. Muzica indiferent de gen - constituie, de obicei, una dintre putinele pete de culoare din viata unei persoane suferinde de depresie. Ca un ultim argument, mai mult de 99% din numarul de acte suicidale (iar numarul acestora pare sa nregistreze o crestere progresiva n ultimii 10 ani) implica persoane care nici nu au auzit vreodata de doom-metal ca gen muzical.

Doom Metal (See also) heavy metal psychedelic metal

Doom metal is a variation of heavy metal music which is slow and dark and filled with tension. Black Sabbath's early albums were a great source of inspiration for the genre . Bands like Trouble and Candlemass combined these influences with more modern ones to clearly define the genre in the late 80's. Originally from Chicago, Trouble formed in 79 but did not become popular until 84. Their music is slow and darkly melodic with slow grinding guitars reminiscent of Black Sabbath. Often confused with death metal Doom metal is much slower and not as closely associated with occult themes. Trouble were actually Christians and were originally labeled white metal by the label crazed media. In 86 Swedish born band Candlemass released Epicus Doomicus Metallicus combining early heavy metal influences ala Sabbath and fusing them with modern-day influences. A band from England called Paradise Lost was a very strong influence on the current doom metal movement.

In the early 90s doom metal once again became popular. New bands like Winter broke through the original boundaries of the genre and moved it forward to a more modern style. In the mid 90's bands like The 3rd and the Mortal created albums like Tears Laid in Earth' featuring a female lead singer and leading to a more atmospheric hybrid of doom metal. Slower and more extreme acts like Funeral, and Esoteric began to make their presence known in the doom genre. Doom metal is still a viable genre and its influences are also felt in other genres which absorbed its influences like psychedelic metal for one.

Short History of Doom Metal

Doom Metal: Doom Metal really comes from Black Sabbath's first three albums: the slow, evil riffs, the heavy groove and the bleak lyrics. But then a lot of metal is derived from Sabbath, so this particular facet of their sound just kind of lay around until St. Vitus and then Candlemass came along and did something with it. Candlemass are really the fathers of Doom Metal, and pretty much every Doom band today has either been inspired by them or compared to them at some point. The essence of Doom is slow, crushing riffs, long epic songs, and a general atmosphere of bleakness and despair. Doom bands sing about death, mourning, ruin and tragedysometimes all at once. Exact lyrical focus varies a bit, with some bands being more reality based, and some writing fantastical lyrics about ruined kingdoms and lost races. There are now two real schools of doom. One is the traditional style with a melodic vocal approach that generally follows in the footsteps of Candlemass. Modern examples include While Heaven Wept, Solitude Aeturnus, and Doomsword. In the early 90's bands emerged that combined the musical approach of classical doom with a Death Metal vocal style. Paradise Lost and My Dying Bride were the pioneers of this style, which now has quite a tradition of its own. Runemagick and Morgion would be two bands of this school. You will sometimes hear mention of a subset called Funeral Doom', which is championed by bands like Pantheist and Tyranny. Funeral Doom is essentially Doom with death vocals played even slower than is usual in Doom Metal: in other words, unbelievably frigging slow. Pioneers: Black Sabbath, Candlemass, St. Vitus. Notable Bands: Paradise Lost, My Dying Bride, Doomsword, Morgion, Solitude Aeturnus, While Heaven Wept, Pantheist.

Doom
This was the answer to the "Summer of Love" type lyrics from the 70s, that was described as happy harmonious and down to earth, peace, love happiness and the entire hippie thing, molded into music. The lyrics of drug abuse, atomic war, paranoia, love gone so very wrong, death, mystical occult themes and such were the kick in the brew that bands like Black Sabbath churned out, the band that created this ominious sounding subgenre. Then came the legions after them. Other bands picked up on the misery filled, agonized and emotion style, the moaning rhythmic measures and and pulsing drums with tribal convictions. Some of the bands wrote lyrics with horror themes while others stayed true to the lyrics that sabbath were writing back in the beginning. Also an operatic style of doom was unleashed upon the unsuspecting world. Alot of gothic bands are also swallowed up by the doom metal title. Bands include: Black Sabbath, Candlemass, Trouble, Mercy Doom, Witchfynde, The Obsessed, Saint Vitus, Witchfinder General, Paradise Lost, Cathedral, Morbid Doom, Count Raven, and more