The History Of Doom Metal

LET THERE BE DOOM

It was a rainy and painful day for the whole mankind. From the very first track the essence of doom was spread throughout the history leaving helpless virgins yell alone. Tony Iomi’s crushingly heavy guitar combined with Bill Ward’s slowly proceeding beat, Geezer Butler’s merciless 4-string slaying and Ozzy’s desperate wails which are the most imitated formula in the history of doom metal compose the first sample of traditional doom metal.

Although the roots of todays doom music can be traced back in the dark heavy rock/ proto metal bands of the early 70’s. Both Black Sabbath and Blue Cheer are probably the most influential forefathers of the would-be doom metal genre which began their crusades by distancing themselves from the light-hearted flower power contemporaries. For instance Blue Cheer’s nihilistically lifeless performances and heavy sounds were quite different to the message of universal peace and love the hippie generation was famous for.

Black Sabbath contributed not only to the sound of doom metal alone but also to the doomed atmosphere by the Christian symbolism of the cross. As a consequence the cross became the ultimate icon of doom metal.

As the years passed by, the Sabbathian sound and imagery was shamelessly utilized by the band’s followers all around the western world. Witchfinder General, Saint Vitus, Count Raven, Pentagram, Trouble, and a band from Sweden which managed to force this formula down the throats of the general heavy metal public



MORE TALES OF CREATION

Some people claim that there was no doom metal prior to Candlemass’ debut “Epicus Doomicus Metallicus”, (1986), an album generally considered to have coined the term in the first place. But this album did not really give a name to doom metal in general-only to epic doom metal, just as the title itself suggests. The more traditional vein of doom had thrived in the metal underground long before Candlemass finally made it widely public, as bands like Pentagram, Trouble, The Obsessed Witchfinder General and Saint Vitus already had a strong following by the time Epicus Doomicus Metallicus took the metal crowds by a storm. A style nowadays known as doom metal, then, flourished in the tradition kept alive by a number of bands, regardless of whether or not it was considered a separately named subgenre of heavy metal. Also according to my knowledge, Witchfinder General had been described as doom metal already in the beginning of the 80’s, in an early issue of the heavy metal magazine Kerrang!.Very soon the label was given to e.g. Pentagram and Saint Vitus and thus a recognizable doom metal genre was born.