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The Official Doom Metal Recommendations Thread


RelentlessOblivion

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Sort of' date=' but it's still more doom/death. The new stuff is heavier and some passages hint at that, but we still have a progressive styled songwriting and change and tone a great deal. It seems like we've become more death metal as well, thanks to NTNR's riff that I translated into a tremolo passage that reminds me of Incantation by total accident.[/quote'] I love that stupid riff! I like the new song but not as much as the other two. I wonder how it will eventually turn out? I'm dying to finish it!!
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It will be just as good once it's done' date=' we still have work to do on it, but it's got plenty of potential.[/quote'] Speaking of, I've been thinking of riffs since Saturday. Considering we had no riffs for practice I think we did a damn good job of writing. We're more efficient than our Asian. :D
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  • 1 month later...

I've been in a doomy mood since the Doom in June fest (big surprise), so I figured I'd post more videos:

 

Murkrat - Murkrat:

Murkrat are an unusual Australian doom metal band. The band is made up of two girls, but does not take a familiar route to using female vocals. The vocals aren't truly operatic, but are clean and haunting, giving the music a sort of unsettling and creepy feel. The music itself is interesting as well, as there are certainly funeral doom tendencies here, but also traditional doom riffs. A very strange and interesting band here, I hope to hear more from them in the future.

 

Necro Schizma - Discography (compilation):

Necro Schizma were one of the earliest extreme doom metal bands in existence. They only released a couple of demos in the late 80's and early 90's, but it has enjoyed a cult following ever since. This is about as slow and primitive as doom/death gets, almost like Hellhammer played at 1/5 speed, just grim, miserable, heavy shit. I can't speak for how influential this may or may not have been, but it certainly sounds like early funeral doom and extreme black/death doom metal bands took some cues from this.

 

Nortt - Infaero:

Nortt is a black/funeral doom metal band from Denmark. This is a one man band with an extremely bleak sound, fusing some of the most ghastly and haunting elements from both styles into pretty depressing and dark songs. The music is quite atmospheric and not very heavy, and certainly requires some attention to appreciate, but it is quite an impressively harrowing listen.

 

Pantheist - O Solitude:

Pantheist are a Belgian funeral doom metal band with a more experimental and classically influenced take on the genre. There are more clean vocals here than are typical in funeral doom, and they are typically of an operatic nature, as well as a heightened degree of orchestration. There's still plenty of heaviness and bleakness here, but displayed in a much more rich and less minimalistic fashion here. A more involved take on funeral doom, great for new or old fans of the genre.

 

Paramaecium - Exhumed of the Earth:

Paramaecium were one of the earliest and heaviest doom/death bands to hail from Australia. Going up against dISEMBOWELMENT is certainly a tall order, but I mean it when I say this shit is heavy. Great blend of destructive riffs and beautiful melodies, just the way that doom/death should be. This is also a Christian metal band, but this should not dissuade anyone from enjoying the great music on offer here. The lyrical concept is actually quite good and fits the music, making this a fantastic doom/death album overall.

 

Paul Chain - Park of Reason:

Paul Chain is one of the oldest, yet unfortunately least heralded doom metal musicians out there. He has been making doom metal since the early 80's, excellent and original doom metal at that, and very few outside of Italy even know who he is. All of his albums are pretty difficult to find, but are extremely rewarding listens if you can find them. About half of his albums are noise/improv/rock albums, and then albums like this one are doom, but with an experimental twist. Like many Italian doom metal bands, there is a large occult/progressive rock influence, with psychedelic keyboards and Paul's unusual high pitched vocals, but they compliment the heavy riffs very well. Really great stuff here, I'm hoping I can find more of his albums eventually.

 

Pyogenesis - Ignis Creatio

Pyogenesis were a wonderful early German doom/death band. They retained a bit more of their death metal influence here than many of their contemporaries at the time, but not without incorporating the same large melodic excesses and depressive melodies. This is a bit more brutal and straightforward than the Peaceville 3, but still great for fans of their music. Unfortunately, this style didn't last long, as they moved to a more gothic/poppy sound immediately following this album/EP, and then ditched metal altogether to play alternative/pop punk. Definitely a big turn around, but it doesn't invalidate how good this early album is.

 

Rigor Sardonicous - Principia Sardonica:

Rigor Sardonicous are an extremely raw funeral doom band from New York. They lack the usual melodic tendencies that typically accompany the slow pace and heavy riffs that are trademarks of the genre, instead opting for crawling malevolence. The vocals are super low, and coupled with the heavy and non-melodic riffs, this almost feels like brutal death metal played extremely slowly. Definitely not an album I can listen to all the time, but it's certainly a great raw doom metal album when the mood strikes.

 

Saint Vitus - Born Too Late:

Saint Vitus are one of the oldest doom metal bands, following in Black Sabbath's footsteps before most other bands, starting as early as the late 70's. Their sound is certainly similar to Sabbath's, but much slower overall. Wino is also a much better vocalist than Ozzy (as was their original vocalist Scott Reagers), and despite the underproduced nature of this and the somewhat thin guitar and bass tone, it's still pretty damn heavy. Essential traditional doom in every respect.

 

Stoic Dissention - Relinquished (A Crumbling Monument Witnessed by None):

Stoic Dissention were yet another great band that we shared the stage with at Denver Doomfest. These guys play a classy and expansive take on black/doom metal, with an excellent and mature grasp on songwriting, musicianship, and originality. Lots of atmosphere, with building cascades and layers of sound, but not short on riffs either. Excellent stuff, hopefully we'll get to play with them again in the future.

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  • 3 months later...

I guess I'll try for a few more of these, and yes Murph, there is some bleak shit here:

 

Sunn Oa))) - Black One:

Sunn O))) is a strange band, especially considering the bands that Greg and Steve did before. This is from a subgenre called drone doom, which as it sounds, drones on. It's all about the atmosphere, and I'll admit that I don't know much about it, but Sunn O))) seems to be one of the frontrunners in the style. I only have this album from them, which I have to be in the right mood to enjoy, but it can be great. No drums, minimal vocals, just distortion. Great live band, especially when you get to see them with Attila Csihar on vocals.

 

The Wounded Kings - In the Chapel of the Black Hand

The Wounded Kings are a newer doom metal band with a pretty interesting sound. They use female vocals, but a very bizarre variety. They're sort of clean, but really wavering and kind of creepy sounding. The riffs are nice and heavy, with lots of occult atmosphere, giving a feeling of both old school doom and modern doom. I hope to hear more from this group in the future.

 

Umbra Nihil - The Borderland Rituals:

Umbra Nihil are one of the weirdest doom metal bands I've ever heard. The guitar tone is a bit thin, but it sort of adds to the creepy weird feeling you get from the songs. There are elements of all kinds of doom in here, from the 70's to funeral doom, and plenty of bizarre progressive tendencies. This is truly something different.

 

Vallenfyre – A Fragile King:

Vallenfyre is another one of those supergroups you see popping up here and there, and I would say that they’re a great deal better than many of them. While not perfect, they do a great job of crafting old school doom/death in the tradition of old Paradise Lost (Gregor Mackintosh being the key songwriter, his trademark melodies playing a big role), but with a bit more death metal. Nice and crunchy, but with excellent and often morose melodies.

 

Velnias – RuneEater:

Velnias were one of the many talented bands that we played with at Denver Doomfest, though we had the honor of playing with them once before. Always an excellent live band, with candles and incense adding to their atmosphere, their albums are also great. They’re a black/doom metal hybrid, but their melodies are very folky, and the vocals are very powerful. They craft an excellent atmosphere of nature and despair, really a great mixture of styles.

 

Winter – Into Darkness:

Winter were one of the very earliest doom/death bands, and despite being very short-lived, they were quite influential. Their sound owes a great deal to Celtic Frost, using many similar riffs, but of course played much slower. Super heavy, crawling, oppressive, bleak, and raw, this is one of the most primal doom/death offerings out there.

 

Ablaze In Hatred – Deceptive Awareness:

Ablaze in Hatred are a trademark entry from the Firedoom roster. Slow, melodious doom/death with a very somber feel, it’s elegant and sad, if not the heaviest entry in the field. There’s also a great feeling of spacing from their music, not everything is oppressive and suffocating, it’s given plenty of room to breathe and explore the mood. Fans of Swallow the Sun and Draconian should find plenty to enjoy here.

 

Acid Bath – Pagan Terrorism Tactics:

Acid Bath are one of the more famous New Orleans sludge metal bands, and with good reason. While sludge is typically morose and caustic, and that’s still the case here, Acid Bath are a great deal more soulful than many other totally downtrodden sludge bands. The vocals are a big part of that, most are clean sung, but screamed when necessary. The songwriting is also top notch, making for a very deep and emotive listen.

 

Aldebaran – Embracing the Lightless Depths:

Aldebaran are a great new funeral doom band from the Pacific northwest. Their sound could most closely be compared to that of Mournful Congregation, but Aldebaran are a bit more raw and dark, while still retaining a great sense of morose melody. I’ve been told that their early work is more aligned with sludge, but this is pure, yet fairly original funeral doom. Their songs are quite long, but the atmosphere is excellent, and they’re well worth your time.

 

Anhedonist – Netherwards:

Anhedonist are new hopefuls in the field of doom/death, with only a demo and an album under their belts thus far, but they’re making some waves. I’ve been seeing Netherwards on a lot of best of lists from 2012, and after catching them live and picking it up for myself, I can definitely agree with that sentiment here. This is deep, dark, cavernous, and heavy doom/death, and not all of it is super slow. I feel that doom/death should be doom and death metal, not just doom with growls, and these guys definitely have some uptempo death metal passages that would meet this criteria. Their overall sound reminds me of a midpoint between Evoken and Incantation, or Autopsy and Mournful Congregation, but they’re blazing their own trail here, so those descriptors can only get you so far. Just check it out, it kicks ass.

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Re: doom 101

I'm still not overly keen on sludge. A few tracks here and there by Crowbar and Eyehategod have got me interested but then I listen to another and I'm put off again. I'll give Acid Bath a chance but expecting similar results.
I know, I'm not expecting you to go for them, but they're different enough that it was worth a shot. Sent from my HTC PH39100 using Tapatalk 2
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Re: doom 101

I did actually like that song' date=' I'll check out some other tracks before deciding whether they're for me or not.[/quote'] Cool, glad to hear it. Did you say you had almost made it through all of these before this batch? Which other ones should I post more in, or should I just keep the doom rolling for now? Sent from my HTC PH39100 using Tapatalk 2
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Ok well here I've gotten to the end of the Funeral Doom recs, Haven't touched the prog or folk lists at all yet, think I've ticked off all the power metal recs but really I don't know if I need any more of that in my life. Up to Sabbat in the thrash thread, nMe in the black metal thread and Necrosanct in the death metal thread.

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Re: doom 101

Ok well here I've gotten to the end of the Funeral Doom recs' date=' Haven't touched the prog or folk lists at all yet, think I've ticked off all the power metal recs but really I don't know if I need any more of that in my life. Up to Sabbat in the thrash thread, nMe in the black metal thread and Necrosanct in the death metal thread.[/quote'] Alright, so you've still got a ways to go, good to know. Sent from my HTC PH39100 using Tapatalk 2
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  • 8 months later...

It's been a heavy diet of doom for me this morning. I'm listening to Nevertenazra's Seperation Anxiety. You all wield a heavy hammer of doom, plus I enjoy the fancy prog side of Nevertenzra, so please accept that complement BAN and thanks again for the suggestions, I know its a lot of work. I listened to the whole album of Neurosis, souls at Zero, and enjoyed it as much as I've enjoyed any album the first time through. One tune way back in the thread called something like "Angels of Distress" was super beautiful. The Doom Metal can be so beautiful and delicate, so harsh and extreme. I fucking love it. Does anyone have any affection for the band Pagan Alter? Personally I like their crusty folkishness and grim pathos.

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Little known fact: during rehearsal for their second album Nevertanezra crafted a riff so heavy it created a temporary black hole. BAN was lucky enough to escape but his bandmate NTNR was crushed into a singularity... How is Mike anyway? He's vanished from Doommantia, doesn't come here anymore, really is like the dude just disappeared.

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It's been a heavy diet of doom for me this morning. I'm listening to Nevertenazra's Seperation Anxiety. You all wield a heavy hammer of doom, plus I enjoy the fancy prog side of Nevertenzra, so please accept that complement BAN and thanks again for the suggestions, I know its a lot of work. I listened to the whole album of Neurosis, souls at Zero, and enjoyed it as much as I've enjoyed any album the first time through. One tune way back in the thread called something like "Angels of Distress" was super beautiful. The Doom Metal can be so beautiful and delicate, so harsh and extreme. I fucking love it. Does anyone have any affection for the band Pagan Alter? Personally I like their crusty folkishness and grim pathos.
Thanks dude, glad to head that you liked my music. We're working on new stuff right now, but as both Mike and I have kids and we don't have a drummer, it may take a little while before we can release anything. I'm also glad that you're enjoying the videos. As I stated at the start of the thread, I'm not what I would consider a doom metal expert (nor an expert of any genre of music for that matter), but if I can expose people to more stuff that they enjoy musically, then I'm happy. I like what I've heard from Pagan Altar, but have never picked up their albums. I'll have to remedy that one day.
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Little known fact: during rehearsal for their second album Nevertanezra crafted a riff so heavy it created a temporary black hole. BAN was lucky enough to escape but his bandmate NTNR was crushed into a singularity... How is Mike anyway? He's vanished from Doommantia, doesn't come here anymore, really is like the dude just disappeared.
I would say that the riffs on our new material are heavier than those from NTNR, so I'm grateful that my beard kept me anchored to this plane of being, while Mike unfortunately wasn't so lucky. I never really hear from him, so I can't comment on his condition, but he was jealous about missing out on so much awesomeness at Maryland Deathfest.
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