Doom metal

History and character

Doom metal grew out of heavy metal and blues between the early and mid 1970s in the United Kingdom and the United States: Black Sabbath are considered its progenitors (slow riffs, the tritone, Iommi's downtuning), with Pentagram among the founders. Witchfinder General, Saint Vitus, Trouble and Candlemass defined it as a distinct genre between the early and mid 1980s (Pentagram, Saint Vitus, Trouble and Candlemass are called the "Big Four of Doom"); Epicus Doomicus Metallicus by Candlemass (1986) gave epic doom its name.

Subgenres: traditional doom (1970s–80s heavy roots, higher tunings, faster tempos than the rest of doom, mostly clean vocals: Saint Vitus, Pentagram, The Obsessed, Reverend Bizarre); epic doom (operatic or choral vocals, fantasy and mythological lyrics: Candlemass, Solitude Aeturnus); stoner doom (psychedelia, fuzz and effects: Kyuss, Sleep, Electric Wizard); sludge (doom + hardcore, harsh vocals, abrasive guitars: Eyehategod, Crowbar, Melvins); death-doom (the slow tempos and dark atmosphere of doom with the growls and double bass drums of death metal: My Dying Bride, Paradise Lost, Anathema); funeral doom (extremely slow, with keyboards and mournful vocals: Skepticism, Esoteric, Evoken). Post-metal (Neurosis, Isis) is a close relative.

Characteristics: slow, steady tempos, heavily downtuned guitars and bass with heavy distortion that creates a "thick", bass-rich sound, minor tonality and dissonance (especially the tritone), repetitive riffs that pay little attention to conventional harmonic progression, atmospheres of despair, dread and death. On Master of Reality (1971) Iommi tuned down a step and a half on some tracks, and some critics consider that record a foundation of stoner and sludge.

Scales and keys

Minor pentatonic and blues (traditional doom and stoner)

• Formula: 1 b3 4 5 b7 / 1 b3 4 b5 5 b7.
• Example in C# (a step and a half down): C# E F# G# B / with the b5 G.
• Characteristic note: the b5 (blue note) used as a passing tone, and the long b3.
• Use: slow Sabbath-style riffs, slow blues solos with lots of vibrato.
• Real-world example: Black Sabbath — Black Sabbath (tritone G–Db over the octave); Sleep — Dragonaut (fuzz pentatonic riffs).

Aeolian (natural minor)

• Formula: 1 2 b3 4 5 b6 b7. In D: D E F G A Bb C.
• Chords: i Dm, III F, iv Gm, v Am, VI Bb, VII C.
• Use: epic doom (Candlemass: solemn melodies), death-doom (melancholy harmonies), i–VI–VII and i–iv progressions.
• Real-world example: Candlemass — Solitude (slow, solemn D minor; transcriptions vary).

Phrygian

• Formula: 1 b2 b3 4 5 b6 b7. In D: D Eb F G A Bb C.
• Characteristic note: b2 (Eb): the very slow minor second is one of the most "oppressive" sounds of the genre.
• Use: death-doom and funeral riffs, bII–i cadences.

Harmonic minor

• Formula: 1 2 b3 4 5 b6 7. In D: D E F G A Bb C#.
• Use: epic doom and gothic doom (Candlemass, My Dying Bride): solemn, melancholy V–i cadences.

Tritone and chromaticism

• Tritone: 6 semitones (D–Ab), the "diabolus in musica"; Wikipedia names dissonance, and the tritone in particular, as a key trait of doom.
• Slow chromaticism: power chords descending by semitone (D–C#–C).

How to choose

• Traditional doom and stoner: pentatonic/blues with the b5. Epic: Aeolian and harmonic minor. Death-doom and funeral: Phrygian, Aeolian, tritone. Sludge: blues + dissonant chromaticism.

Harmony

Function

Minimal, oppressive harmony: repeated slow riffs that almost ignore conventional harmonic progression; minor key and dissonance (tritone, minor second); extremely long pedals; in the epic and death-doom subgenres, solemn minor progressions (i–VI–VII, i–iv–V).

Tunings

• Traditional doom: standard or half step down ("higher" tunings than the rest of doom). Stoner/sludge: D, C#, C standard, drop B, drop A and lower (Electric Wizard and Sleep are famous for very low tunings). Death-doom: C or B standard.

Riffs and sustain

• Long notes left ringing with feedback, held chords, riffs with rests: the space between the notes is part of the heaviness.

Voicing

• Power chords with octave on the low strings, full minor chords in the epic parts, intervals of a fifth and tritone, arpeggiated clean chords in death-doom (with chorus or reverb).

Typical progressions

Rhythm and groove

Slow and steady: 55–80 BPM in traditional and epic doom, under 50 in funeral doom. Heavy grooves with snare on 2 and 4 (which at that tempo fall very far apart), slow Sabbath-style shuffles in 12/8, sections that double the tempo for contrast ("double-time" restarts with ride), stoner with a hypnotic, repetitive groove. Silence and cymbal tails are part of the rhythm; drummers often play behind the beat.

Drums

Role

The drums have to weigh: few hits, huge, with long tails. Models: Bill Ward (Black Sabbath, jazz swing and free fills), Armando Acosta (Saint Vitus), Jan Lindh (Candlemass), Chris Hakius and Matt Pike-era Sleep, Mark Greening (Electric Wizard), Rick Miah (My Dying Bride).

Kick

• On the main hits of the riff (e.g. 1, "2&", 3: steps 1, 7, 11 at 64 BPM), deep, resonant sound.

Snare

• Full 2 and 4 with rimshot and lots of ambience (left ringing); in funeral doom, one hit every bar (or every two).

Cymbals

• Crash and ride left ringing (long, bell-like tails), crash on 1 and 3 in the heaviest parts, ride on eighth notes in the restarts; gong in funeral doom.

Interaction

• The drums follow the long notes of the riff and leave gaps; in death-doom, double bass drums in the most intense parts.

Sections

• Slow intro (often just guitar with feedback) → main riff → verse → slower or faster section → slow blues solo → return → ending with feedback and crash.

Fills

• Slow, heavy fills on low-tuned toms, triplet fills (shuffle), timpani rolls.

Sounds

• Big kit (24"–26" kick, floor toms), resonant heads, enormous room; in stoner, a vintage 1970s sound.

Typical mistakes

• "Modern metal" drums with a clicky kick and short cymbals: doom needs space and resonance; too many hits and fills.

Bass

Sound

Downtuned, heavily distorted or fuzz bass (Geezer Butler, Al Cisneros of Sleep with a huge sound, Tas Danazoglou of Electric Wizard), with tons of low end and mids: together with the guitars it creates the "thick" sound.

Role

• Doubling the riff an octave below, long notes on the tonic, sometimes slow melodies.

Relationship with the kick

The bass dominates the sub: the kick has to find room with a midrange attack (2–3 kHz) and a punch at 60 Hz.

Examples

• Black Sabbath — N.I.B.; Sleep — Dragonaut; Electric Wizard — Funeralopolis.

Harmonic instruments

Guitars

• Gibson SG (Iommi), Les Paul, guitars with humbuckers; Orange, Laney (Iommi), Sunn, Matamp, Marshall amps; fuzz (Big Muff, Fuzz Face, Russian Big Muff) in stoner.
• Low tunings (see harmony); thick strings.
• Layering: 2 rhythm guitars L100/R100 (same riff), sometimes 3–4 for a wall of fuzz; blues lead guitar in the center; clean or acoustic arpeggiated guitars in death-doom and epic doom.
• Feedback and sustain left ringing; delay and wah in stoner.

Keyboards and more

• Organ and Mellotron (1970s doom), synth and piano in death-doom and funeral doom, violin (My Dying Bride), choirs.

Voicing

• Power chords with octave, minor chords, tritones, long notes.

Melody and vocals

Vocals

• Clean and plaintive in traditional doom (Scott "Wino" Weinrich, Bobby Liebling, Ozzy), operatic in epic doom (Messiah Marcolin, Johan Längquist), growls and spoken vocals in death-doom (Aaron Stainthorpe alternates spoken word and growl), shouted in sludge, mournful and distant in funeral doom.
• Slow melodies, long notes, phrases separated by wide spaces.

Backing vocals

• Epic choirs (Candlemass), gothic choirs and female vocals (gothic doom).

Effects

• Long reverb, delay, fuzz or distortion on the vocals in stoner (Electric Wizard), distant vocals in funeral doom.

Instruments

• Downtuned electric guitars (fuzz, Orange/Laney/Sunn amps).
• Distorted bass.
• Big, resonant drum kit.
• Vocals (clean, operatic, growl).
• Organ, Mellotron, synth, piano, violin (optional).

Drum patterns

Synths and sounds

• Mellotron V — Choirs and strings: 1970s atmospheres and mournful intros: male choirs on long minor chords.
• B-3 V — Organ: Doom and stoner organ (slow Uriah Heep/Deep Purple style): full drawbars, slow Leslie, distortion.
• Augmented Strings — Strings: Gothic strings in death-doom (My Dying Bride, Paradise Lost).
• Solina V — String machine: Cold, mournful pads for funeral doom.
• Piano V — Piano: Melancholy arpeggios in gothic and death-doom.
• Mini V — Leads and drones: Drones and psychedelic leads in stoner doom: low oscillators, slow filter, glide.

Song structure

Form (6:00–15:00; funeral doom over 20)

Stoner (Sleep — Dopesmoker) reaches a single track of over an hour built on the repetition of one riff.

Mixing and mastering

Sonic goal

Thickness, warmth and space: enormous but controlled low end, "wall" guitars full of mids, drums with a wide room and long tails, vocals inside the sound. References: Black Sabbath — Master of Reality (1971), Candlemass — Epicus Doomicus Metallicus (1986), Electric Wizard — Dopethrone (2000), Sleep — Holy Mountain (1992), My Dying Bride — Turn Loose the Swans (1993).

Kick

• EQ: HP 30 Hz; +3 dB at 60 Hz; −4 dB at 350 Hz; +2 dB at 2–3 kHz. Light compression 3:1, 2–3 dB; natural tail.

Snare

• EQ: +3 dB at 150–200 Hz (fat body); −2 dB at 600 Hz; +2 dB at 4 kHz. Long reverb (hall or large room, 2–3 s) that fills the space between hits.

Cymbals and room

• Large, compressed rooms in parallel; cymbals with tails left ringing (no gate).
• Drum bus: 3:1, 2–3 dB; tape saturation.

Bass

• EQ: HP 30 Hz (low tunings: C# is about 35 Hz, A is below 30 Hz in some tunings: too high an HP removes the fundamental); +2 dB at 60–80 Hz; −2 dB at 250 Hz; +3 dB at 700 Hz–1 kHz (fuzz).
• Compression 6 dB; bass split if needed (clean sub + fuzz).

Guitars

• 2–4 rhythm guitars L100/R100; EQ: HP 50–70 Hz (leave the weight!); −2/−3 dB at 200–300 Hz (only where it clogs); full mids at 500 Hz–1 kHz (the character of fuzz and Orange); −2 dB at 3–4 kHz; LP 8–9 kHz for a warm sound.
• No gate: sustain and feedback are part of the sound.
• Lead in the center with delay and long reverb.

Vocals

• Chain: EQ (HP 100 Hz, −2 dB at 300 Hz, +2 dB at 2–3 kHz) → compression 6 dB → saturation/fuzz (stoner) → long reverb (hall 2–3 s) + 1/4 delay.
• Growl (death-doom): as in death metal, but with more reverb.

Keyboards and strings

• Organ and Mellotron L50/R50 with reverb; wide strings, HP 150 Hz.

FX

• Long reverbs, slow-tempo delays, feedback, noises.

Buses and groups

• "Wall" bus (guitars + bass) with light compression and tape saturation.

Sidechain

• Dynamic EQ on bass/guitars keyed from the kick (60–100 Hz) if the kick disappears.

Master

• Target: −11/−8 LUFS integrated (doom benefits from dynamics and transients); true peak −1 dBTP. Watch the low end: check on different systems (headphones, car) and with an analyzer below 60 Hz.

Common mistakes

• Cutting too much low end from the guitars (they lose heaviness); mud at 200–300 Hz from three overlapping instruments; small, dry drums.

Reference tracks for the mix

• Black Sabbath — Black Sabbath (1970); Black Sabbath — Into the Void (1971); Candlemass — Solitude (1986); Saint Vitus — Born Too Late (1986); Sleep — Dragonaut (1992); Electric Wizard — Funeralopolis (2000); My Dying Bride — The Cry of Mankind (1995).

Reference listening

• Black Sabbath — Black Sabbath (1970)
• Black Sabbath — Into the Void (1971)
• Pentagram — Forever My Queen (1973)
• Saint Vitus — Born Too Late (1986)
• Candlemass — Solitude (1986)
• Trouble — The Tempter (1984)
• Sleep — Dragonaut (1992)
• My Dying Bride — The Cry of Mankind (1995)
• Electric Wizard — Funeralopolis (2000)