1984-1986United Kingdom / United States

Doom Metal

Also known as Doom

A slow, crushing metal style that emerged in the mid-1980s from Black Sabbath’s shadow and was sharpened by bands like Saint Vitus, Pentagram, Trouble, and Candlemass.

Origins and context

A heavy metal offshoot that crystallized in the mid-1980s from Black Sabbath’s sludgy, down-tempo approach and the underground scenes that resisted faster metal trends.

United KingdomUnited StatesSweden

The sound

Tempo: Slow

Instrument palette

The voices and tools most associated with this sound.

Electric guitar
Bass guitar
Drums
Vocals

How to listen

Listen for

Long, unhurried riffs
Thick low-end guitar tone
An atmosphere of dread and release rather than speed

History

Doom metal took shape in the mid-1980s, growing out of Black Sabbath’s slow, ominous blueprint and the underground metal scenes that kept that approach alive when speed and flash were in fashion. AllMusic places the style’s early formation in the mid-'80s and points to Saint Vitus, Trouble, and Candlemass as key names; Encyclopaedia Metallum likewise describes Saint Vitus and Pentagram as among the first true doom metal bands, while Candlemass is identified there as an originator of epic doom metal. In the U.S., Saint Vitus and Pentagram helped define the genre’s slow, down-tuned core, while in the U.K. and Sweden the style branched into more ornate and atmospheric forms. Later offshoots such as stoner doom, funeral doom, and epic doom widened the palette, but the center still holds: big riffs, long decay, and a feeling that each chord arrives with weather in tow.