"Doom metal was born in the eighties and like almost any metal genre hugely inspired by Black Sabbath. The debate about Black Sabbath actually being doom metal or not still rages on to this day, but no matter your opinion, their influence on the doom genre has been enormous. While doom metal has some of its roots in blues music, the blues sound is dropped, but the blue note not. The slow, pessimistic and heavy sound played by mostly downtuned guitars is a trademark. In the eighties the typical Black Sabbath sound was developed further by bands like Candlemass, Saint Vitus, Trouble and Pentagram, in the form of traditional doom. In the nineties doom metal developed even further and combined it's sound with influences from almost any other metal genre and even took influences from outside the metal genre. This experimentation caused a huge diversity in bands within the doom metal genre. With doom subgenres as depressive black, doom/death, funeral doom, sludge, gothic doom, (ambient) drone doom and so on." Suggested Listening: 1. Candlemass - Nightfall 2. Reverend Bizarre - In the Rectory of the Bizarre Reverend (above left) 3. Saint Vitus - Saint Vitus 4. Warning - Watching from a Distance 5. Worship - Dooom 6. Solitude Aeturnus - Beyond the Crimson Horizon 7. Cathedral - Forests of Equilibrium 8. Pagan Altar - Mythical & Magical 9. My Dying Bride – Turn Loose the Swans 10. Thergothon - Stream From the Heavens Drone/Stoner/Sludge "A big potpouri of genres thrown on a pile, it might seem. But on closer inspection closely they're related. The genres named in this category are influenced by or developed out of the already broad genre of doom metal. Drone took the slow and heavy riffing of doom metal even further. With downtuned guitars and riffs hardly decipherable, this is a very extreme genre that is mainly the terrain of bands like EARTH, Boris and Sunn O))). The stoner metal genre, also hugely influenced by Black Sabbath, took the blues aspect more into account. But not only the blues sound, also the psychedelic sound of Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin and others were taken in. All in all this created a gerne of mellowed, laid back music, with a profound love for psychedelic and mariuhana induced excursions. Main bands: Sleep, Bongzilla and Weedeater. Sludge metal came to be as doom metal musicians starting adding agressive and abrasive hardcore influenced sounds to their compositions. Starting out with bands as Crowbar and Eyehategod, the genre developed over the years with bands as ISIS and Neurosis who added a more atmosperical and layered sound." Suggested Listening: 1. Sleep - Sleep's Holy Mountain 2. Sunn O))) - Black One 3. Nadja - Thaumogenesis 4. Boris - Amplifier Worship 5. Om - Conference of the Birds 6. Electric Wizard - Dopethrone 7. Bongzilla - Amerijunaican 8. The Angelic Process - Weighing Souls With Sand 9. Ufomammut - Snailking 10. Melvins - Houdini Any other fans?
I like doom metal better in theory than I do in practice. Some old St. Vitus is pretty good, but I wish it was better. Early Sub Pop/SST-era Soundgarden owes a debt to St. Vitus, but I prefer Soundgarden. I haven't followed drone much, but I absolutely love the first two Earth records, and I can't imagine a list of essential drone that excludes them. Nothing I've heard by Sleep, for instance, even comes close. By the third Earth record, Dylan Carlson had become a hopeless junkie; I haven't heard any of his post-recovery records, but they get good reviews. Chad was lucky enough to have seen Earth! My brother and I tried, but Carlson canceled the show. We only learned about the cancellation after we had driven 90 miles to see Earth. This was during his heroin days. I'd also quibble with the Melvins selection you have here. It's definitely a good record, but Bullhead, Eggnog, and Lysol are all untouchable. You have any of those?
I'm a huge Saint Vitus fan as I live in Maryland and absolutely love the early doom metal that came out of this area. I've interviewed Dave Sherman from Earthride, Spirit Caravan, and Wretched for my radio show, as well as Gary Isom from Unorthodox, Hounds of Hasselvander, Spirit Caravan, and currently drumming for Pentagram. I would love to get an interview with Wino, but he's hard to track down. My favorite drone is Nadja, but I understand the importance of Earth as well. I meant to see them with Kayo Dot but wasn't able to make it. As far as the Melvins suggestion, I think that Houdini is a good starting point. Although admittetly, I don't have Lysol. I'll have to look out for it.
Curious: do you have Bullhead? I saw the Melvins four or five times in the early 90s. They were absolutely tremendous every time. Have you seen them since Big Business melded with them? I've heard good things.
Yeah, I have Bullhead. Ridiculous album. I'm yet to see the Melvins, but they are coming here to Maryland this summer with Big Business and I am really excited.
I love these genres. One album I have to recommend and I'm surprised hasn't been mentioned is Kyuss. They had a short career but released a handfull of albums that were just amazing, namely Welcome to Sky Valley, and Blues for the Red Sun. Josh Homme of Queens of the Stone Age fame was in this band and showed just how great of a guitar player he is and all this stuff with Kyuss is infinitely better than anything he was able to follow up with Qotsa. Monster Magnet is another favorite of mine. They are labelled more as "space rock/metal" but their early albums exhibit stoner metal traits. Spine of God and Superjudge are generally considered classics in the genre and is a monster of an album. I've also found that fans of stoner and sludge metal often also like bands that are now categorized as 'post-Metal', such as Neurosis, Cult of Luna, Isis, Pelican, and Red Sparrowes to name a few, and I'd also recommend as well.
Other Doom Acts: Acid Bath, Abdullah, Agalloch, Anathema, Cathedral, Catacombs, Dead in the Water, Draconian, Esoteric, Forest of Shadows, Forsaken, Mourning Beloveth, My Dying Bride, The Prophecy, Sleep, Solitude Aeturnus, Swallow the Sun, Trouble, Type O Negative, Daylight Dies Some of these bands cross genres including more progressive to even some death metal elements but they're all worth checking out.
And thanks to you I just checked out Ufomammut for the first time and it's the greatest thing I've heard in a long time. Incredible!
Kyuss are great indeed. They were one of my gateways bands that enabled me to explore the genre even further. I haven't heard much Monster Magnet, but I'll check out the albums you mentioned. As far as other stoner albums go, I suggest these: 1. Spiritual Beggars - Ad Astra 2. Clutch - Clutch 3. Orange Goblin - Healing Through Fire Post metal is another genre I definitely get into. Give these a try: 1. Rosetta - The Galilean Satellites 2. Jesu - Silver
-Acid Bath are cool, although I don't have any albums. -I'm seeing Abdullah later this month! Can't wait. -Agalloch are a good folk metal band. I'm a fan of everything they've done except their most recent EP. -Cathedral are an essential band to check out. Love them. -The only Trouble album I have is Psalm 9, but it rules. -Draconian, Esoteric, My Dying Bride, and Swallow the Sun aren't really my bad.
Of all the bands mentioned the only one I can stomach regularly is Isis, and to me I consider them sort of post hardcore or experimental metal, ala Dillenger Escape Plan or Eighteen Visions, etc. I do appreciate that there's a non-mainstream metal/core thread around though Kudos!
I've been getting into a lot of this stuff lately. The odd thing is that I used to have the Cathedral album you mentioned a long time ago. My interest in metal kind of trailed off but has picked up quite a bit in the last year or so.
Yeah, there's a venue or two around here booking a lot of good metal shows. I've recently seen Torche, The Sword, Harvey Milk, Pelican, etc. and have upcoming shows by Clutch, Weedeater and some others.
I've never checked out Pentagram. I'll give it a shot. By the way I finally got Idolum and I love it. Although I am surprised by the mixed to rotten reviews it has received. This genre will always continue to split people. I think Ufomammut deserve much more exposure.
metal-observer.com I go there quite frequently because of the fantastic archive and I generally trust most of the reviewers but this guy was off.
I've got a few more suggestions for bands to check out: The Abominable Iron Sloth Doom:VS Bongzilla Saint Vitus Witchfinder General Trouble Graves at Sea Buried At Sea Church of Misery Spirit Caravan Candlemass Sourvein Witchcraft Bongripper Fistula Let me know what you think! Also, if you need me to upload something, just let me know.
Candlemass kicks major ass, King of the Grey Islands has some killer tracks. I still have to check out their earlier stuff. Here are some of my favorite "modern" metal bands, definetley worth checking out in my opinion. Agalloch Amon Amarth Arch Enemy As I Lay Dying Between the Buried and Me Blood Stain Child Porcupine Tree Dark Tranquility Mercenary Scar Symmetry Into Eternity Edguy Disarmonia Mundi Evergrey God Forbid Insomnium Machine Head Mastodon Mors Principium Est Paradise Lost Novembre Pyramaze Raintime Soilwork Sonic Syndicate Symphony X