Doom Metal 101

I was pondering which would be the best dozen or so releases to illustrate the development and characteristics of doom metal. Here I mean traditional or conventional doom metal, other sub-genres like death doom or funeral doom probably deserve their own sections.

To cover the early development of the genre I think you have to include a Sabbath album, but which one?

Another coupke of good examples of the very earliest development of the genre, which may actually illustrate it's earliest development better, may be Pentagram's "First Daze Here: The Vintage Collection" or possibly Bedemon's "Child of Darkness: From the Original Master Tapes".

Any views or suggestions regarding this subject anyone?

I don't think Sabbath have a release that's really a doom metal record as such but if I had to pick one then I'd probably go for "Paranoid" as both "Iron Man" & "Electric Funeral" present a suitably doomy sound. Each album had the odd doom metal track on it here & there but they also offered a number of other sounds too & the first four records are closer to stoner metal than doom in my opinion. I don't think Pentagram's 1970's material was doom metal either. In fact, I'd suggest that the majority of it isn't even metal. Bedemon's "Child of Darkness: From the Original Master Tapes" should qualify though, despite being somewhat of a hybrid with heavy psych. Pagan Altar's "The Time Lord" demo re-release E.P. is another one that documents the very early traditional doom metal sound.

For the earliest proper traditional doom metal releases, I'd be looking at records like Witchfinder General's "Soviet Invasion!" E.P. & Pagan Altar's self-titled album, both of which appeared in 1982.

I understand what you mean Daniel, but I meant a release that indicates the primordial soup that birthed the doom metal ethos, not necessarily an out and out doom metal album. I guess I'm not doing a very good job of explaining what I mean, but the mix of stoner, blues and psychedelic material, combined with Tony Iommi's (by necessity) downtuned guitar sound on early Sabs albums were the amino acids that coded the DNA of future doom metal acts (as most of them will attest) and to ignore their contribution would be disingenuous to my mind. Sabbath tracks like the eponymous track, Into the Void, Electric Funeral and Megalomania all fit the bill as tracks that set the ball rolling. I just can't decide which album best represents the Sabs huge influence on the genre.

"Master of Reality" is generally referred to as Sabbath's doomiest record in my experience while "Vol. 4" is where they maximized their stoner side.

"Master of Reality" is generally referred to as Sabbath's doomiest record in my experience while "Vol. 4" is where they maximized their stoner side.

This very much reflects my own thoughts Daniel, so I think Master of Reality probably best fits the bill.

So now, does anyone feel that Witchfinder General also deserve a spot here? I see Daniel mentioning tbe Soviet Invasion EP, but I have a deep connection to their Death Penalty debut album and can attest to my own personal experience of how my future doom metal fanaticism was shaped by that record. It shook my world when I first heard it all those many years ago and it remains one of my all-time favourites to this day.

If we're gonna talk early doom metal & are including obscure demo tapes then I'm gonna throw out a few really underground ones:

Hammerhead (NWOBHM) - "1978 Demo" demo (1978)

Spitfire (SWE) - "Outer Space" demo (1978)

Tyrant (USA) - "1978 Rehearsal" demo (1978) [i.e. The band that spawned Saint Vitus]

If we're gonna talk early doom metal & are including obscure demo tapes then I'm gonna throw out a few really underground ones:

Hammerhead (NWOBHM) - "1978 Demo" demo (1978)

Spitfire (SWE) - "Outer Space" demo (1978)

Tyrant (USA) - "1978 Rehearsal" demo (1978) [i.e. The band that spawned Saint Vitus]

I was thinking of a more accessible kind of list, maybe aimed at people who are looking to get into doom metal (hence the doom metal 101 tag), rather than one for hardcore fans looking to track the history of doom metal, but whatever you think works best.

I am gobsmacked to see that Metal Academy has only a solitary two-star review for Master of Reality, so I thought I had better address that forthwith. Here we go then:

Doom Metal 101 #1: Black Sabbath - Master of Reality (1971)

Of all their albums "Master of Reality" is the Black Sabbath album that has grown most in stature over the years in my mind. I got into the band around 1976 via "Paranoid" and that was my go-to Sabbath album for many years, alongside "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath", "Sabotage" and the debut, with "Master of Reality" and "Volume 4" taking up supporting roles. The track which kept drawing me back to "MoR" over the years, though, was the masterful closer "Into the Void" which still stands as my favourite Sabbath track of all and is one of their more doomy offerings, it signposting me down the road of future doom metal appreciation. As time has passed and I have become more and more of a doomhead, I have acquired greater appreciation of the doomier material of "Master of Reality" and it now stands as my ultimate Sabs release, despite stiff competition.

Tony Iommi's guitar tone on this third album is perfect, its deep and resonant fuzziness pitches perfectly what would become the signature sound of future acts like Saint Vitus, Pentagram and Electric Wizard, bolstered and boosted by the brilliant and often busy basswork of Geezer Butler, an aspect of Sabbath's sound that is not always given the credit it deserves. Bill Ward's jazz-influenced drumming style takes a more blunt and bludgeoning approach here than maybe it does on some Sabbath albums, although the way his runs switch from side to side on "Children of the Grave" (best experienced through headphones) is a brilliant bit of production work and adds a little something extra to an already brilliant track. Then, of course, there is the irrepressible Ozzy Osbourne whose influence on doom metal vocalists mustn't be underestimated as he showed that you don't need to be an especially technically gifted singer to be effective, as long as you are committed and have a degree of charisma. With rock music being newly dominated at the time by the Robert Plants and Ian Gillans of the world and their ridiculous vocal range, Ozzy stood tall and proclaimed himself their equal, on sheer strength of personality alone.

Then there are the riffs. I have said it before and I will say it again, Tony Iommi can write better riffs in his sleep than all but a select few metal songwriters can ever hope to come up with, having penned some of the most iconic riffs in the history of metal. From the crawling, weed smoke-drenched, oozing of Sweet Leaf, via the choppy, romping "Children of the Grave" and the plodding grooviness of "Lord of this World", to the ponderous lumbering of the opening to Into the Void, where Geezer follows Tony's riff for added gravitas, this is metal riff heaven, with these riffs sowing the seeds of inspiration for so many aspiring doom metal riff writers of years to come. Sure, the stoner element may be fairly prevalent here, but it is difficult to imagine a "Born Too Late", "Dopethrone" or "Forest of Equilibrium" existing as we know them without this album.

"Master of Reality" isn't all just about thundering, fuzz-drenched riffing however, with the album including several moments of quieter reflection, whether it be the soothing acoustic guitar of "Orchid" or the gentle reflectiveness and soul-searching of the psychedelic-sounding and melancholic "Solitude", which thematically, if not musically, also unwittingly helps set the aesthetic for doom metal's future melancholy side. Then there is the track which always baffled me after the dark lyricism and hints at satanic influence of the band's earlier material, the pro-religious "After Forever", which is a bit of a curveball lyrically and stylistically, having a much more upbeat riff and feeling than the rest of the album. The track has grown on me somewhat over the years, but if the album had to lose one, then this would be my choice.

So there we have it, for my money "Master of Reality" is one of the great metal albums, being an influence for both stoner and doom metal and perfecting a guitar sound that still stands tall to this day, over fifty years later, as a signature sound in the metal world.

5/5

"Death Penalty" was no doubt an important record in the birth of the doom metal genre but I have to admit that I've never actually thought of it as a genuine doom release as it's not consistent in its focus on that sound so I think there are more faithful releases for a 101 session. "Friends of Hell" was closer to the mark in my opinion but obviously wasn't as strong a record so I'd be thinking more along the lines of artists like Candlemass, Pentagram (80's releases only), Trouble, Pagan Altar, Saint Vitus & Paul Chain for the early days of doom personally. Pagan Altar's self-titled was probably the earliest one of those but then there would have to be doubts about how many people had access to that record for the first decade & a half of its release as it existed only as an underground demo until its re-release in 1998. The Pentagram & Bedemon compilations are an interesting discussion point too because they're so often referenced as having been a major influence on the early doom scene yet I very much doubt that many people had access to that material until a couple of decades later, particularly Bedemon.

I very much agree with all you say here Daniel, but with Witchfinder General being a new generation, particularly within the context of the NWOBHM, paying massive homage to Black Sabbath, I think, with a contextual viewpoint, that their influence was significant.

I concur with you on the importance of Candlemass, Trouble, Saint Vitus and Paul Chain and I had definitely planned to include some or all of those guys in the next tranche of releases when we get onto doom metal proper.

Speaking of Paul Chain, do you think Death SS have any skin in the game here? Me, I am not so sure, but am open to pursuasion.

Speaking of Paul Chain, do you think Death SS have any skin in the game here? Me, I am not so sure, but am open to pursuasion.

I don't think so. I never considered a record like "Evil Metal" to have more than a doom influence. It's a heavy metal release as far as I'm concerned.

I am looking now at the mid-80s and the dawning of the true doom metal era. Some of the most noteworthy releases from '84/'85 being Trouble's "Psalm 9", Saint Vitus' s/t debut and Pentagram's "Restless/Pentagram". As Daniel said earlier, Paul Chain's "Detaching From Satan" EP is also worthy of a spot. A little later and a definite for inclusion is 1986's debut from the mighty Candlemass, "Epicus Doomicus Metallicus", but I would also like to throw in 1984's "The Day of Retribution" EP from Leif Edling's Nemesis, a band which would shortly evolve into Candlemass.

Any thoughts anyone?

Speaking of Paul Chain, do you think Death SS have any skin in the game here? Me, I am not so sure, but am open to pursuasion.

I don't think so. I never considered a record like "Evil Metal" to have more than a doom influence. It's a heavy metal release as far as I'm concerned.

Agreed.

Cirith Ungol tends to get thrown around a lot with early doom, but it kind of is a case of a band who did a lot without ever really committing to a genre like Death SS mentioned above.

Have you considered Mercy, Messiah's pre-Candlemass band?

Cirith Ungol tends to get thrown around a lot with early doom, but it kind of is a case of a band who did a lot without ever really committing to a genre like Death SS mentioned above.

Have you considered Mercy, Messiah's pre-Candlemass band?

Yeah, Morpheus, I agree that Cirith Ungol, great band though they are, didn't really commit sufficiently to doom metal to justify a place here. I accept that the same could certainly be said of Witchfinder General, but Death Penalty was 1982 and Cirith Ungol's classic "King of the Dead" album came out in 1984 when Saint Vitus, Trouble et al were rearing their doom-laden heads with genuine doom metal releases.

Thanks for bringing up Mercy, I absolutely had their 1985 Witchburner down for this list, but forgot to add it for some reason. I love that record and don't know how I came to omit it. 

I'm gonna disagree on Cirith Ungol's "King of the Dead". I think there's enough genuine doom on that record to justify a dual traditional doom metal/heavy metal tag as the three lengthier doom tracks make up more of the run time than the shorter heavy metal tunes do.

Have you considered the 1982 self-titled debut album from Germany's Warning Sonny? From memory, I described it as avant-garde doom metal when I last revisited it & it's much more well-known than a Nemesis or a Mercy too.

Have you considered the 1982 self-titled debut album from Germany's Warning Sonny? From memory, I described it as avant-garde doom metal when I last revisited it & it's much more well-known than a Nemesis or a Mercy too.

I must confess that I have never heard that record, Daniel, so am unable to comment at this point. I will try to check it out over the next couple of days, although that avant-garde tag is already causing my gag reflex to engage!

Doom Metal 101 #2: Witchfinder General - "Death Penalty" (1982)

Witchfinder General were formed at the onset of the NWOBHM in Stourbridge on the outskirts of England's "Second City", Birmingham. What set them apart from most of the new movement was that they took inspiration, unsurprisingly given where they hailed from, of Black Sabbath rather than the Judas Priests, Motorheads and Budgies of their contemporaries. They released a 7" single in 1981 that saw "Burning a Sinner" backed by "Satan's Children" which failed to make much of a splash and which is now incredibly rare. The following year saw the release of the three-track "Soviet Invasion" EP, which did see the band finally gaining a little traction. It contained a faux live version of "R.I.P.", recorded in the studio with crowd noise added later, at the behest of the label's head honcho, Paul Birch. This would be the track which also closed out "Death Penalty", albeit in a re-recorded and superior form.

Finally, in the autumn of 1982, Witchfinder General released their debut full-length to a mostly positive response from the UK's metalheads and the rest, as they say, is history. Grabbing the attention of every male teenage metal fan in record stores by featuring a famous Page 3 model in a churchyard and in a decided state of undress on the cover, the band then had to deliver within said album's grooves to match the hype thus generated. Fortunately, they did so and their brand of simplistic and youthful Sabbath worship saw them gain a dedicated following within the wider UK metal movement. It is actually a very slight album, its seven tracks barely managing to scrape past a thirty-minute runtime, but each minute is well spent and such is the quality that it is impossible to feel short-changed. The short runtime actually gives the material an immediacy and vitality that some later, more bloated releases just couldn't replicate.

As an aside, the band that recorded "Death Penalty" is actually a three-piece, with bassist Kevin "Toss" McCready having left after the "Soviet Invasion" recording sessions, to apparently be replaced by a guy called Woolfy Trope. In fact, the band hadn't replaced McCready by the time they went into the studio to record the album so the bass parts were supplied by guitarist Phil Cope, and the wholly fictitious Woolfy Trope was credited, with a roadie standing in as "Woolfy" for publicity photos.

I think it is actually a stretch to tag "Death Penalty" as a genuine doom metal album, it was very much a product of its time, with Sabbathian riffs run through a NWOBHM filter resulting in a version of doomy, downtuned heavy metal which does nevertheless provide something of a bridge between Sabbath's 70s psych influences and the grittier 80s UK metal scene with a DIY sensibility resulting from the influence of late 70s punk rock on the UK metal community. To this end I think it is fair to say that "Death Penalty" isn't exactly a lesson in complex songwriting or technical adroitness, but it is chock full of cool and memorable riffs and has a singular personality with a street-level perspective that sets it apart from the crowd. Most of the tracks are mid-paced affairs, with only the title track and, to a lesser extent, "Burning A Sinner" slowing to doom metal pacing, but the downtuned riffs pioneered by Tony Iommi are most definitely present and it is a truth that the earliest traditional doom metal bands very often switched it up to classic heavy metal velocity. Phil's soloing is also a product of intense study of Tony Iommi's technique, sometimes piling note upon note in a fretboard firestorm, as per the opening of "No Stayer" or soaring sky high like the solo at the end of the title track. Drummer Graham Ditchfield channels Bill Ward's blunt style, but I think it is also evident that he doesn't have the technical skill level that the often under-estimated Sabbath drummer possessed, although it still works very well in the context of this album. Then there is Stourbridge's answer to Ozzy in Zeeb Parkes who, like Ozzy, isn't technically a great singer, but who imbues his vocals with such personality that it is easy to forgive him his shortcomings and just go along for the ride. The production is a bit muzzy with a fair degree of echo, as opposed to Sabbath's much more professionally produced efforts where, presumably, much more money was thrown at them, but I think this actually works in Witchfinder General's favour, giving them more of an underground vibe.

Despite the band name and the imagery of the album cover, they aren't so much a horror / satanically-themed band, often with much more prosaic and down-to-earth lyrical themes such as drug-taking, drinking and fucking taking their place alongside the witch hunting of "Witchfinder General" or "Burning A Sinner". As a very young man from a strong working class background at the time of this album's release, these lyrics espousing a love of hokey horror movies, getting hammered and trying to get off at weekends absolutely captured the essence of life for me at the time. I know I may have a severe case of rose-tinted spectacles when it comes to "Death Penalty" and others may well scratch their heads in bemusement at my fanatical advocacy for it, but simple fact is that this is an album I still spin regularly to this day, forty-plus years later and every time I enjoy it immensely, so what more could I possibly want from a record?

Have you considered the 1982 self-titled debut album from Germany's Warning Sonny? From memory, I described it as avant-garde doom metal when I last revisited it & it's much more well-known than a Nemesis or a Mercy too.

I must confess that I have never heard that record, Daniel, so am unable to comment at this point. I will try to check it out over the next couple of days, although that avant-garde tag is already causing my gag reflex to engage!

OK, so I checked this out today and, interesting though it is in it's own right, I don't think I can go along with it as much of a doom metal album to be honest. This sounds much more like quirky post-punk to me with that teutonic industrial weirdness the Germans are good at, any metal-adjacent material being purely incidental. I really don't hear doom metal at all. Post-punk can also be very good at slow and dark, it isn't the sole preserve of doom metal and I think that is what we have here. To be honest by the end I was finding it a little bit irritating as if it was being wilfully weird in an attempt to appeal to art school kids.

Not even close to being the best album by a band called Warning!

Doom Metal 101 #3: Saint Vitus - S/T (1984)

The mid-1980s finally bore witness to the dawn of the doom age. The proto-doom metal of acts influenced by Black Sabbath, such as Witchfinder General, was finally usurped by "true" doom metal from the likes of Trouble, Pentagram and the subjects of this review, Saint Vitus. Forming in 1978 as Tyrant, the band released a demo tape in 1979 which was mostly comprised of tracks that would eventually surface on their first two albums. They changed name in 1981, the new monicker inspired by the Black Sabbath track, "St. Vitus Dance", from the Volume 4 album. Saint Vitus originally found little favour with metalheads as their slower, downtuned style was at odds with the burgeoning speed, thrash and power metal scenes, seeing the band struggling to find a recording deal. Until, that is, they caught the attention of Black Flag's Greg Ginn who signed them to his SST label just because they were so at odds with what was popular in metal at the time. This association finally led to the release of the band's self-titled debut in February of 1984, making it one of the very first official "genuine" doom metal albums. 

For a band that struggled to gain acceptance, the band membership remained remarkably stable in the early years. The quartet of guitarist Dave Chandler, vocalist Scott Reagers, drummer Armando Acosta and bassist Mark Adams who recorded that demo all the way back in 1979, was the same lineup responsible for the debut full-length five years later. Possibly due to their involvement with the hardcore punk scene, Saint Vitus have never really gone in for sprawling albums, keeping their full-length albums quite concise, with the S/T's five tracks weighing in at just 35 minutes. Opening with the paciest track of the five, the eponymous "Saint Vitus", the most striking initial aspect of the band's sound is Dave Chandler's filthy, fuzzed-up and downtuned guitar that sounds like the buzzing of a horde of seriously pissed-off hornets and achieves an atmosphere of darkness that few at the time could match. Chandler is ably supported by Adams' basswork, which is as effective at deepening and strengthening the riffs as Geezer Butler's is on those early Sabbath albums, although Vitus sound way more grimy and brooding than Sabbath ever did in all honesty.

Much like Ozzy and Witchfinder General's Zeeb Parkes, Scott Reagers isn't exactly what anyone would call a technically superb vocalist with a wide range, but his reedy and slightly nasal delivery is actually a lot more robust than you would expect and is well-suited as a counterpoint to the deep and warmly resonant guitar sound with the poor fella occasionally sounding like he has lost the plot mentally. Reagers has often been given short shrift when compared to his later replacement in the band, Scott Weinrich, but as much as I love Wino's grizzled vocals, I feel Reagers' more unhinged style suits the material on this debut better. There is something about the spirit of traditional doom metal that doesn't see technically accomplished vocalists as a requirement. I don't know whether that is down to the spiritual godfathers of the genre featuring Ozzy as their front man or if it is just a preference for dark atmospheres over technical ability, but either way it is a truism and gives an opportunity to singers like Reagers to push themselves to the fore on the strength of their vocal character and knack for creating a unique atmosphere rather than on their range and technical precision.

An underappreciated aspect of Saint Vitus' early material is their ability to write memorable and almost "catchy" riffs and songs without compromising on the inherent darkness of the tracks. The riff and chorus of the eponymous opener is every bit as catchy as Witchfinder General's eponymous track, yet has a far darker vibe to it, mainly down to the filthiness of the guitar sound. A noticeable feature of this album, whether intentional or not, is that after the relatively sprightly opener, it becomes gradually more and more sluggish in tempo, with the two tracks on side two, "The Psychopath" and "Burial At Sea" having slowed to a crawl, as if the energy has been drained from the band as they spiral further and further into darkness. With those two tracks especially, Saint Vitus laid down the commandments for doom metal - play it low, play it slow and keep it dark.

In summation I would cite Saint Vitus as one of the very earliest official full-length albums where a band went all-in and committed totally to the doom metal ethos that Sabbath promised, which, it must be borne in mind, was completely at odds with the zeitgeist of playing faster than everyone else and with an increasing emphasis on technical skill and songwriting complexity. This was a bold move for the time and, in truth, it wasn't until much later that the band gained the respect and kudos they were due for the influence they exerted on a whole genre. In fact, probably on two genres, because it is entirely possible that Saint Vitus' association with Greg Ginn had an influence on the direction of Black Flag's "My War" which was released just a month after "Saint Vitus" and which was a fundamental release in the evolution of sludge metal. All this makes "Saint Vitus" an indispensable release for fans of doom metal.

5/5

Doom Metal 101 #4: Trouble - S/T (Psalm 9) (1984)

Like Saint Vitus, Trouble formed in 1978, but also like their californian counterparts they didn't release their debut album until 1984. In fact Vitus' and Trouble's self-titled debuts were only released a month apart, with "Saint Vitus" issuing forth in February and "Trouble" (later retitiled "Psalm 9") following in March. Preceeding the album, the track "Assassin" was released as a single, backed by a doomy cover of Cream's "Tales of Brave Ulysses", which was decent enough, although Eric Wagner does struggle with some of the higher registers. "Assassin" was chosen as the lead single, I suspect, because of its strong resemblance to NWOBHM stalwarts Diamond Head in an attempt to garner some traction with the fans of the english heavy metallers.

Trouble are well-known for their Christian-themed lyrics but, in all honesty, I never realised this for the longest time because the lyrical content doesn't affect the darkness of the music at all. Their beliefs don't become that apparent until you actually sit down and go over the lyric sheet. The preachiness and happy-clappy demeanour of so many Christian-themed acts was something that Trouble managed to avoid, concentrating more on the music and less on converting the long-haired masses of young metalheads who comprised their prospective audience. This is a band equally at home pouring vitriol on unfeeling leaders with lyrics like "Come on people, let me hear you say, You fuckin' Bastards, you're gonna pay" as they are beseeching their lord for mercy with "I will praise thee O Lord, I will sing praise in thy name, Don't forget the cry of the humble, Have mercy on me".

Instrumentally, "Trouble" has quite a clean and well-produced sound, much more akin to Black Sabbath than the grimy grittiness of Saint Vitus' more distorted and downtuned debut. The band also employ a wider variation of pacing than is often encountered within the context of orthodox doom metal, but make no bones about it, when they want to, they are more than capable of bringing the doom. Despite their penchant for traditional metal-paced riffs, the downtuned and distorted guitar sound often makes the material feel slower and doomier than maybe it actually is. As well as varying the pacing from track to track they are also apt to change the velocity of the riffs within a given track, such as on the opener, "The Tempter," where, after an ominous tympanic intro, the riff crawls unctiously from the speaker and Eric Wagner intones a warning from satan himself before the band change up a gear and kick into a riff Angel Witch would have been proud of as the forces of good rally themselves. This then alternates with the slow, crawling riff as The Tempter tries his powers of pursuasion on man and quickens again when The Good resist. There is even a rocking, bluesy riff accompanying the guitar solo after the second verse, typifying a diversity that more doom-centric releases may lack. That said though, when they embrace a doomier, darker side, such as on "Victim of the Insane" then they are perfectly capable of conjuring up as sinister and ominous an atmosphere as anyone.

Vocalist Eric Wagner is, of course, a legendary name within doom metal circles, although I am sure his vocal style isn't to everyone's taste. Sure, he does sound like a strangled cat occasionally, but, similarly to Scott Reagers on Saint Vitus debut, his higher-pitched style does act as an effective counter and contrast to the low-tuned guitar and bass assault of the riffs. Unconventionally pleasing and technically restricted vocals, of which Wagner's are a solid example, have long since become the norm within doom metal circles and Wagner, Reagers and company, in the spirit of Ozzy Osbourne, were a big factor in that.

I cannot claim that I hold Trouble's debut up as an absolute top-drawer traditional doom metal release as, in all honesty, it doesn't commit enough to the doom aesthetic for me, despite showing promise with the likes of "Victim of the Insane". There are also a couple of clunkers among the tracklisting, with "Revelation (Life or Death)" and the instrumental "Endtime" in particular just not sounding coherent enough within the context of the rest of the album. That said, there is enough quality elsewhere to provide a really solid listening experience and this is ultimately an album that further bridges the gap between traditional heavy metal and doom metal proper and as such deserves the time and respect of all doom metal fans.

4/5