Have you ever heard an album you'd call "doom rock?"

First Post May 13, 2023 06:05 PM

Not metal, not Sabbath.  This is the closest I can think of: Whatchimacallit by Brick Layer Cake.

May 13, 2023 08:54 PM

I'd suggest that there are a few Danzig tracks that fall into that category as they have that doomy Black Sabbath atmosphere but still sit well within the confines of rock. A lot of those 70's inspired heavy psych & stoner rock bands like Witchcraft probably fall into that category too. In truth though, I've never felt the urge to label a release as doom rock. I tend to go one way or the other.

May 13, 2023 11:36 PM

Doom rock is apparently a nickname for occult rock, and a few early bands of the genre such as Blue Oyster Cult and Coven are considered influential in developing heavy metal, doom metal, sludge metal, and stoner metal. I've heard a few songs by Uncle Acid & the Deadbeats, would they be considered doom rock, considering their slow tempo yet focused on rock more than metal in their recent material?

May 14, 2023 12:35 AM

By definition stoner rock can include doom riffs. I see Uncle Acid & the Deadbeats as sitting in the stoner metal/rock & heavy psych space personally. Is doom rock essentially stoner rock without the psychedelics? I don’t think so. I think it’s very much an interchangeable term for the occult hard/progressive rock bands that Andi mentioned.

May 14, 2023 05:34 AM

Doom is also about an atmosphere of dread, something rock can potentially create without metal guitars.  Stoner can have various atmospheres.  In fact, I would even say Songs for the Deaf has some noticeable punk rock and post-hardcore in it.

May 14, 2023 10:12 AM

Black Widow's Sacrifice from 1970? Latterly, Blood Ceremony have quite a few tracks that would suit the descriptor I would suggest. There are probably loads of examples, slower songs that conjure an atmosphere of dread aren't restricted to metal by any means. Early-70's underground  heavy psych is almost certainly full of such tracks.

May 14, 2023 01:41 PM


Black Widow's Sacrifice from 1970? Latterly, Blood Ceremony have quite a few tracks that would suit the descriptor I would suggest. There are probably loads of examples, slower songs that conjure an atmosphere of dread aren't restricted to metal by any means. Early-70's underground  heavy psych is almost certainly full of such tracks.

Quoted Sonny

Now I'm getting eager to see what a RYM top 100 doom metal chart would look like.

May 16, 2023 04:24 AM

I think some Deathrock falls into that category, I know Christian Death (at least the first three/four albums) tends to fit that description. Getting more into regular goth rock, but there's also The Danse Society, especially VI, and The Chameleons.

May 17, 2023 07:48 PM

Lots of Slowcore. I find the less folky end of the genre to basically be Doom Rock. Wider Than the Sky by 40 Watt Sun is a great example, as are Low's first few albums. Codeine are this taken to the extreme, being incredibly heavy for a non-metal band. 

Dark/Depressive/Atmospheric Alternative Rock Albums like Alternative 4 by Anathema, or some mid-career Katatonia (Last Fair Deal Gone Down most of all) .

Some of the darker, more depressive Shoegaze bands creep into this territory occasionally (Nowehre by Ride, or My Bloody Valentine or Slowdive at their most depressive)