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Doom metal is an extreme form of heavy metal music that typically uses slower tempos, low-tuned guitars and a much "thicker" or "heavier" sound than other metal genres. Both the music and the lyrics intend to evoke a sense of despair, dread, and impending doom.^[1] The genre is strongly influenced by the early work of Black Sabbath,^[1] who formed a prototype for doom metal with songs such as "Black Sabbath", "Electric Funeral" and "Into the Void". During the first half of the 1980s,^[1] a number of bands from England (Pagan Altar, Witchfinder General), the United States (Pentagram, Saint Vitus, Trouble) and Sweden (Candlemass, Count Raven) defined doom metal as a distinct genre.

Characteristics[link]

This section requires expansion.

Instrumentation[link]

The electric guitar, bass guitar and drum kit are the most common instruments used to play doom metal, although keyboards are sometimes used. Guitarists and bassists often downtune their instruments to very low notes and make much use of distortion. This produces a very "thick" or "heavy" guitar tone, which is one of the defining characteristics of the genre. Along with the usual heavy metal compositional technique of guitars and bass playing the same riff in unison, this creates an impressively loud and bass-heavy wall of sound. Another defining characteristic is the consistent focus on slow tempos,^[1] and minor tonality with much use of dissonance (especially in the form of the tritone).

Vocals[link]

Traditional doom metal vocalists favor clean vocals, which are often performed with a sense of despair, desperation or pain; imitating the high-tone wails of Ozzy Osbourne, Bobby Liebling, and Zeeb Parkes. So-called "epic doom" vocalists often take it a step further, singing in an operatic style. Doom metal bands influenced by other extreme metal genres often use growled or screamed vocals.

Lyrical themes[link]

Lyrics in doom metal play a key role. Often, they are pessimistic and include themes such as: suffering, depression, fear, grief, dread, death and anger. While some bands write lyrics in introspective and personal ways, others convey their themes using symbolism – which may be inspired by literature.

Some doom metal bands use religious themes in their music. Trouble, one of the genre's pioneers, were among the first to incorporate Christian imagery. Others have incorporated occult and pagan imagery. For many bands, the use of religious themes is for aesthetic and symbolic purposes only. Examples include lyrics/imagery about the Last Judgment to invoke dread, or the use of crucifixes and cross-shaped headstones to symbolize death.

Furthermore, some doom metal bands write lyrics about drugs or drug addiction. This is most common among stoner doom bands, who often describe hallucinogenic or psychedelic experiences.

History of doom metal[link]

Tony Iommi's guitar style greatly influenced and defines doom metal.

This section requires expansion.

Origins (1970s)[link]

Doom metal is among the oldest forms of heavy metal, rooted in the music of early Black Sabbath.^[1] Black Sabbath's music is itself stylistically rooted in blues, but with the deliberately doomy and loud guitar playing of Tony Iommi (who often used the tritone in his playing and composition), and the then-uncommon dark and pessimistic lyrics and atmosphere, they set the standards of early heavy metal and inspired various doom metal bands to come. In the early 1970s both Black Sabbath and Pentagram (also as side band Bedemon) composed and performed this heavy and dark music, which would in the 1980s begin to be known and referred to as doom metal by subsequent musicians, critics and fans.

Aside from Pentagram and Black Sabbath, other groups from the 70's would heavily influence the genres development. Blue Cheer is often hailed as one of the first stoner metal bands. Through the use of loud amplifiers and guitar feedback, their debut Vincebus Eruptum created a template for other artists to follow.^[2] Though lacking the pessimistic lyrical content of their contemporaries, Welsh heavy metal band Budgie would also produce heavy songs which were amongst the loudest of their day, stylistically influencing various doom metal acts.^[3] Other notable groups include Sir Lord Baltimore^[4], Buffalo^[5], Leaf Hound^[6], and Iron Claw^[7].

Development (1980s)[link]

During the early-mid 1980s, bands from England and the United States^[1] contributed much to the formation of doom metal as a distinct genre. In 1982, English pioneers Witchfinder General released their debut album Death Penalty. During 1984 and 1985, three American pioneers also released their debuts; Saint Vitus released their eponymous album, Trouble released Psalm 9 and Pentagram released Relentless. The Swedish Candlemass would also prove influential with their first record Epicus Doomicus Metallicus in 1986 (and prior to that, as Nemesis and the 1984 album Day of Retribution), from which the genre takes its name.^[1]

Some doom metal bands were also influenced by the underground gothic rock and post-punk scene of the 1980s, showing similarities with the dark themes addressed through lyrics and the music atmosphere, both music styles deal with. A doom metal band like Mindrot was often described as a cross-over between death metal and gothic rock.^[8]

Stylistic divisions[link]

Traditional doom[link]

At the beginning of the 1990s, experimentation within doom metal became widespread, and the genre diversified as a result. Today, bands who continue the style of the genre's pioneers are often referred to as traditional doom metal. Traditional doom metal bands more commonly use higher guitar tunings, and do not play as slow as many other doom bands. Traditional doom bands typically play slow to mid-tempo songs with a thick and heavy sound. Vocals are usually clean with the occasional growl or scream. The lyrics in traditional doom usually are eerie and dark like other doom metal divisions. Some modern bands that play traditional doom metal are Ogre, Reverend Bizarre, and Witchcraft.

Epic doom[link]

Epic doom has a heavy classical influence. One of the main characteristics are the Vocals; vocalists typically employ clean, operatic and choral singing. Lyrics and imagery are typically inspired by fantasy or mythology, while the drumming is performed in a bombastic fashion. However, distinguishing epic doom from traditional doom may be difficult. Examples of prominent epic doom bands include Candlemass, Solitude Aeturnus, Solstice and Doomsword.

Stoner doom[link]

Jus Oborn of Electric Wizard.

Stoner doom, stoner metal or psychedelic doom describes doom metal that incorporates psychedelic elements, to varying degrees. Stoner doom is often bass-heavy and makes much use of guitar effects such as fuzz, phaser or flanger. Stoner doom could be viewed as the heavier and slower form of stoner rock, as the two styles emerged simultaneously. It was pioneered in the early–mid 1990s by bands such as Kyuss, Sleep, Acid King, Electric Wizard, Orange Goblin, and Sons of Otis.

Sludge doom[link]

Sludge doom (also known as sludge metal) is a style that combines doom metal and hardcore punk, and sometimes southern rock. Many sludge bands compose slow and heavy songs that contain brief hardcore passages.^[9][10] However, some bands emphasise fast tempos throughout their music.^[11] The string instruments are heavily distorted and are often played with large amounts of feedback to produce an abrasive, sludgy sound. Drumming is often performed in typical doom metal fashion, but drummers may employ hardcore d-beat or double-kick drumming during faster passages. Vocals are usually shouted or screamed, and lyrics often focus on suffering, drug abuse, politics and anger towards society. The style was pioneered in the early 1990s by bands such as Eyehategod,^[9] Crowbar,^[10] Buzzov*en,^[11] Acid Bath,^[12] and Grief.^[13]

Funeral doom[link]

Funeral doom is a style of doom metal that crosses death/doom with funeral dirge music. It is played at a very slow tempo, and places an emphasis on evoking a sense of emptiness and despair. Typically, electric guitars are heavily distorted and dark ambient aspects such as keyboards or synthesizers are often used to create a "dreamlike" atmosphere. Vocals consist of mournful chants or growls and are often in the background. Funeral doom was pioneered by Mournful Congregation (Australia), Evoken (United States), Funeral (Norway), Thergothon (Finland), Skepticism (Finland) and Corrupted (Japan).^[14] It is unclear whether the genre's name was derived from the band Funeral (one of the genre's pioneers) or from the genre's affiliation with funeral dirge music.

Drone doom[link]

Sunn O))) performing live.

Drone doom (also known as drone metal) is a style of doom metal that is largely defined by drones; notes or chords that are sustained and repeated throughout a piece of music. Typically, the electric guitar is performed with large amounts of reverb and feedback^[15] while vocals, if present, are usually growled or screamed. Songs are often very long and lack beat or rhythm in the traditional sense. Drone doom is generally influenced by drone music,^[15] noise music^[15] and minimalist music.^[15] The style emerged in the early 1990s and was pioneered by Earth,^[16] Boris and Sunn O))).^[15]

Death/doom[link]

Death/doom is a style that combines the slow tempos and pessimistic atmosphere of doom metal with the deep growling vocals and double-kick drumming of death metal.^[17] Influenced mostly by the early work of Hellhammer / Celtic Frost, the style emerged during the late 1980s and gained a certain amount of popularity during the 1990s.^[17] Arguably, the first band to delve into this style of slow-paced death metal were the Pittsburgh-based Dream Death, who only released one full-length album before evolving into the traditional doom metal band Penance. They were shortly followed by the band Goatlord out of Las Vegas, Nevada. Death/doom was also pioneered by bands such as Winter,^[18] Disembowelment,^[18] Paradise Lost,^[18] Autopsy, Anathema and My Dying Bride.^[18]

Black/doom[link]

Black/doom (also known as blackened doom) is a style that combines doom metal and black metal.^[19][20] Examples of blackened doom bands include Forgotten Tomb, Woods of Ypres,^[21] Dragged Into Sunlight^[22] and Vhernen.^[23]

Gothic metal[link]

The term is often confused with death/doom, especially since a lot of gothic metal bands have a death metal past. Gothic metal refers to a development in the 1990s out of doom metal and death metal, as more bands started using strings, keyboards and female vocals. Beside the typical slow riffs were female vocals or Gregorian chants, or both, quite often with melodic keyboard sounds also added. Atmosphere seems more important than technique like in death metal and the music often sounds more feminine than doom metal. There are sometimes elements of gothic rock, but many bands prefer to refer to their music as symphonic metal. The Netherlands and Scandinavia are the most important places within this genre.

Bands with female singers like Tristania, Theatre of Tragedy and The Gathering were the pioneers. Other bands with this style are The Sins of Thy Beloved, Ashes You Leave, Draconian and Sirenia. By extension we can also add bands with male singers such as Type O Negative and Tiamat.^[24]

See also[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Doom metal music groups

• List of doom metal bands
• Doom Shall Rise, a doom metal music festival
• Emissions from the Monolith, a doom metal music festival
• Post-metal

Notes and references[link]

External links[link]

• Doom metal at Allmusic

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My Dying Bride
Four members of My Dying Bride live. Left to right, then clockwise: Aaron Stainthorpe, Andrew Craighan, Sarah Stanton, Hamish Glencross.
Background information
Origin	Bradford, West Yorkshire, England
Genres	Doom metal, death/doom, gothic metal
Years active	1990-present
Labels	Peaceville Records
Website	www.mydyingbride.org
Members
Aaron Stainthorpe Hamish Glencross Andrew Craighan Dan Mullins Lena Abé Shaun MacGowan
Past members
Martin Powell Yasmin Ahmed Calvin Robertshaw Bill Law Rick Miah Shaun Steels Adrian Jackson Sarah Stanton Katie Stone

My Dying Bride are an English doom metal band formed in Bradford, England in 1990. To date, My Dying Bride have released eleven full-length studio albums, three EPs, one demo, one box set, four compilation albums, one live album, and one live CD/DVD release. Along with bands such as Anathema, Paradise Lost, and Katatonia, they are one of the forerunners of the death/doom metal genre. While bands like Paradise Lost and Katatonia have expanded their musical styles beyond doom metal, though Paradise Lost later returned to the genre, My Dying Bride has continued to play doom metal since its foundation.

Biography[link]

Early years (1990 - 1992)[link]

My Dying Bride were formed in Bradford in the north of England in June 1990 after guitarist Andrew Craighan and drummer Rick Miah co-formed the band after they had split from Abiosis, joining vocalist Aaron Stainthorpe and guitarist Calvin Robertshaw while ending Abiosis. After six months of rehearsing, the band recorded and released their demo, Towards the Sinister, which was produced by Tim Walker of Voltage Records. Its title was taken from a line in the song "Symphonaire Infernus et Spera Empyrium". The band would soon release their first single, "God Is Alone", on a small French label called Listenable. After the single had sold out almost immediately, they were picked up by Peaceville Records, and they could release their first EP, Symphonaire Infernus Et Spera Empyrium, which also featured their latest recruit, bassist Adrian Jackson. The EP was soon followed by their first full-length album, As the Flower Withers.

Turn Loose the Swans (1992 - 1994)[link]

As the Flower Withers was followed by a big tour in the UK and the mainland Europe, and in 1992 they recorded their next EP, The Thrash of Naked Limbs. Another tour was planned, but cancelled when their current drummer had a bad fall while shooting the accompanying video. In 1993, Martin Powell joined as My Dying Bride's keyboardist and violinist, and they started the recording of their second studio album, Turn Loose the Swans. With the joining of Martin Powell, the usage of violin increased even more since their As the Flower Withers album. The album was followed by a tour and the release of another EP, I Am the Bloody Earth, in 1994.

The Angel and the Dark River (1995)[link]

1995 saw the release of My Dying Bride's next album, The Angel and the Dark River. The album was followed with a successful tour with some of their first festival gigs, and soon after the fans saw the release of their first compilation album, Trinity, a collection of songs from their first three EPs. In the end of 1995, My Dying Bride travelled on a three month tour with metal band Iron Maiden.

Like Gods of the Sun (1996 - 1997)[link]

This section requires expansion.

Like Gods of the Sun continued in the direction of The Angel and the Dark River, in that it did not contain any growling vocals by Aaron Stainthorpe. This was the fourth, full length album of My Dying Bride featuring songs like "A Kiss to Remember", "For You" and "For My Fallen Angel". "For My Fallen Angel" is strictly an orchestral composition with sections of violin and synth. It is also the last MDB album to feature a violin, until For Lies I Sire.

"34.788%...Complete" and hiatus (1998 - 2001)[link]

The somewhat experimental 34.788%...Complete was next, which, along with the following The Light at the End of the World, polarized fans over the band's new direction. My Dying Bride entered a hiatus after this, releasing two retrospective albums Meisterwerk 1 and Meisterwerk 2. The Meisterwerk albums are compilations that contain previously released and rare material from My Dying Bride. At the end of the hiatus Calvin Robertshaw left the band to become their tour manager and was replaced by Hamish Glencross.

The Dreadful Hours (2001 - 2004)[link]

Originally released in 2001, The Dreadful Hours featured new material with the seventh release. The album was again engineered by Mags and co-produced by guitarist Andrew Craighan. Between 2003 and 2004, the band's label, Peaceville, re-released their entire back-catalogue in digipak format, with bonus tracks consisting of demos, remixes, and live performances added to each release.

Songs of Darkness, Words of Light (2004 - 2005)[link]

2004's follow-up Songs of Darkness, Words of Light showed a band continuing to expand and refine their sound and purpose. A substantial increase in live performances — once an unheard-of rarity — has led to much greater recognition by a new generation of fans.

The band's next release came in May 2005, when they released the fancifully titled Anti-Diluvian Chronicles, a fully-fledged best of box set featuring three discs and thirty tracks.

A Line of Deathless Kings (2006 - 2007)[link]

The band spent the winter of 2005/2006 writing material for new studio album A Line of Deathless Kings. The album was released on October 9, 2006. It was preceded by the EP Deeper Down on September 18. Shortly before the release of A Line of Deathless Kings, Shaun Taylor-Steels announced his permanent departure from the band due to persistent problems with his ankle.

In early 2007, Jackson announced his departure and session-drummer John Bennett from The Prophecy could no longer stay, citing a lack of time due to work commitments. Replacements were found in Lena Abé on bass and Dan Mullins on drums.^[1]

For Lies I Sire (2009 - present)[link]

My Dying Bride playing at Tuska 2009.

In November 2008, My Dying Bride began work on their tenth studio album, entitled For Lies I Sire, which was released on March 23, 2009. Due to Sarah Stanton's pregnancy, she had been replaced on keyboards by Katie Stone, who was announced on June 27, 2008 as an official member of the band; she performed violin on For Lies I Sire. Soon after the album's release, she was replaced by Shaun MacGowan.

October 26, 2009 saw the release of My Dying Bride's new EP/DVD, Bring Me Victory. Except for the title track and its video, it also includes a doom metal cover of the traditional song Scarborough Fair, a cover of Failure by Swans and a live version of Vast Choirs (originally from As the Flower Withers), performed at Graspop 2008.^[2]

To commemorate the 20th anniversary of My Dying Bride's existence, the compilation album Evinta was released on May 30, 2011. Evinta featured previous My Dying Bride material re-worked as neo-classical and ambient songs.^[3] Soon after, the band announced the release of the EP The Barghest O' Whitby, which was released November 7, 2011, and consists of a single, 27-minute track.^[4][5]

On April 17, 2012, it was announced that in a one-off show in Leeds, My Dying Bride will headline the Jagermeister stage at Damnation Festival 2012. The report on the festival's official website also stated that new album material would be premiered during the show.^[6]

Members[link]

Current members[link]

• Aaron Stainthorpe - vocals (1990-)
• Andrew Craighan - guitar (1990-)
• Hamish Glencross - guitar (1999-)
• Lena Abé - bass (2007-)
• Dan Mullins - drums (2007-)
• Shaun Macgowan - keyboards/violin (2009-)

Former members[link]

• Martin Powell - keyboards, violins (1991–1998)
• Calvin Robertshaw - guitar (1990–1999)
• Yasmin Ahmed - keyboards (1998–2002)
• Bill Law - drums (1998–1999)
• Rick Miah - drums (1990–1997)
• Shaun Taylor-Steels - drums (1998–2006)
• Adrian Jackson - bass (1991–2007)
• Sarah Stanton - keyboards (2002–2008)
• Katie Stone — violin, keyboards (2008–2009)

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 id:Keyboards           value:yellow     legend:Keyboards
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 bar:Craighan text:"Andrew Craighan"
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 bar:Ahmed text:"Yasmin Ahmed"
 bar:Stanton text:"Sarah Stanton"
 bar:Stone text:"Katie Stone"
 bar:Macgowan text:"Shaun Macgowan"

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 bar:Stainthorpe from:06/01/1990 till:end color:Vocals
 bar:Craighan from:06/01/1990 till:end color:Guitars
 bar:Robertshaw from:06/01/1990 till:01/01/1999 color:Guitars
 bar:Glencross from:01/01/1999 till:end color:Guitars
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 bar:Ahmed from:01/10/1998 till:01/01/2002 color:Keyboards
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 bar:Stone from:01/01/2008 till:01/01/2009 color:Violin
 bar:Macgowan from:01/01/2009 till:end color:Violin

Session members[link]

• Jonny Maudling – keyboards (Bal-Sagoth)
• Michelle Richfield – female vocals on the "34.788%... Complete" album
• Yasmin Ahmed – keyboards (1999–2002)
• John Bennett – drums (2005–2006)
• David Gray – drums (Akercocke)

Discography[link]

Studio albums[link]

• As the Flower Withers (1992)
• Turn Loose the Swans (1993)
• The Angel and the Dark River (1995)
• Like Gods of the Sun (1996)
• 34.788%...Complete (1998)
• The Light at the End of the World (1999)
• The Dreadful Hours (2001)
• Songs of Darkness, Words of Light (2004)
• A Line of Deathless Kings (2006)
• For Lies I Sire (2009)
• Evinta (2011)

Live albums[link]

• The Voice of the Wretched (2002)
• An Ode to Woe (2008, also contains DVD version)

Compilation albums[link]

• The Stories (1994) (box set)
• Trinity (1995)
• Meisterwerk 1 (2000)
• Meisterwerk 2 (2001)
• Anti-Diluvian Chronicles (2005)

Demos, singles and EPs[link]

• Towards the Sinister (1990, demo)
• God Is Alone (1991, 7")
• Symphonaire Infernus et Spera Empyrium (1991, EP)
• The Thrash of Naked Limbs (1992, Single)
• Unreleased Bitterness (1993, 7")
• I Am the Bloody Earth (1994, Single)
• The Sexuality of Bereavement (1994, 7")
• Deeper Down (2006, Single)
• Bring Me Victory (2009, EP)
• The Barghest O' Whitby (2011, EP)

Video releases[link]

• For Darkest Eyes (1997)
• Sinamorata (2005)
• An Ode to Woe (2008, also contains CD version)^[7]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: My Dying Bride

• Official website