Doom metal

[lord.aspie]

diSEMBOWELMENT is a death metal band as far as I am concerned. Albeit, one that ventures into ambient and doom metal territory.

Doom metal = Skepticism, Cathedral, Thergothon ect...

Heavy metal = Black Sabbath, Pagan Altar, Pentagram, ect....

[Wolfgang]

Metal fans, especially newer ones who were not there for the golden ages love to break metal down into finite genres and groupings, which leads to tremendous arguments about what a band "is" or "isn't". But the nature of metal before the crystallization of Death and Black metal between 88 and 91 or so shows that it is a flawed outlook. If you read old zines from the 80s with interviews from Slayer, Kreator, Possessed, Bathory, Sodom, Sarcofago, Sepultura, Venom and Exodus you will find quite random applications of "thrash" "death" "black" and "speed" metal between all of those bands, with many bands being called or claiming multiple titles in the same interviews. Exodus being called Black Metal. Bathory Death Metal etc.  As best as I can tell, "death" became associated more with modern musical notions of Death Metal starting in 88 with Florida bands. Simultaneously, the Grindcore movement which later basically consciously converged with death metal started at the same time. Black metal was still being used often by many of these bands, and did not become associated with the modern notions until 1991 or so when Norwegians specifically differentiated it as a distinct genre.

So terms like "first wave Death Metal" and "first wave Black Metal" are interchangeable, before 88 there were absolutely no finite genres. Extreme metal was all one genre. How power metal fits into this construct I don't know exactly. Somewhere in the early 90s it became identified with less aggressive, more heavy metal oriented speed metal forms. I'd have to look at 80s power/speed metal interviews to get a better idea. But in the 80s it was also associated with the pre-genre super construct as exemplified by Metallica using the term.

Bands can be many genres at multiple times. Black Sabbath is hard rock, classic rock, psychedelic rock, heavy metal, and doom metal equally and at the same time. All genres are equally valid.

Heated genre arguments that try and place bands firmly into different baskets or support the post 2000 internet notion of a linear development of heavy>speed>thrash>death>black are short sighted and for newbies and/or posers. Metal and music does not evolve like species do, where there are no gene transfers between lineages, it evolves more like religion, yet even more amorphously.

[we hope you die]

It's also not conducive for originality these days. People decide to start up a death metal band in the style of blah blah, or a black metal band in the style of blah. There's too much history the temptation to imitate it is too great and means that no one has their own identity any more.

[Wolfgang]

It's also not conducive for originality these days. People decide to start up a death metal band in the style of blah blah, or a black metal band in the style of blah. There's too much history the temptation to imitate it is too great and means that no one has their own identity any more.

This is especially true in some doom schools. However, of all the styles, I can appreciate a less than original doom/stoner band if they do it particularly well or than in other styles.

[holy ghost]

most doom metal is just slowed down 1970s hard rock played on a detuned SG.

That description sounds pretty good to me...

[Nightspirit]

Funeral doom, however, really is something of its own sub-sub-genre. It takes the high/low guitar dichotomy of early Emperor to a new level of complex orchestration: think of the layered riffing on diSEMBOWELMENT or Thergothon's full-lengths. When you hear a funeral doom riff, you know it's different. In fact, funeral doom bands and "regular" doom bands ran into quite a bit of conflict back in the day, as a cursory examination of the thank you lists in the liner notes of Electric Wizard's and Estoeric's early album attests.

Didn't know that last bit, interesting. I find Funeral Doom to be the most enjoyable of all the Doom Metal's. In recent years I stumbled across this gem (or I think of it as one anyway)...

AHAB- "The Call of the Wretched Sea" : This is a concept band really, and a very cool one, which I think is a self-explanatory worship of the Melville work.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R2MLQdVFu4c

That's the entire album in one youtube video. I think you'll enjoy that if you don't own it already.

[David_Brent]

Honestly, I like Evoken and Shape of Despair.

[Whisper]

As has been said before, it needs to be understood that doom metal constitutes a distinct musical language within the realm of Metal music. Its approach can neither be compared to the essentially heavy metal nature of "proto-doom" bands such as Saint Vitus, Black Sabbath, Pentagram, Witchfinder General etc. or the more slow death metal stuff such as diSEMBOWELMENT, Ceremonium, Asphyx among seemingly countless others. For top-tier examples of Doom as an essence in and of itself, attempt immersing in: Worship (Last Release before Doomsday, although later stuff still retains an undeniable standard of quality), Funeral (Nor) (Tragedies and Beyond all Sunsets, although Tristesse does have its fair share of moments), Skepticism (Stormcrowfleet, of course. Haven't given much attention to other efforts), Mournful Congregation (everything up to and including The Monad of Creation, with it and An Epic Dream of Desire to be mostly considered), Thergothon, and perhaps Ras Algethi.

Edit: Evoken (A Caress of the Void)

[Everdarkgreen]

Didn't know that last bit, interesting. I find Funeral Doom to be the most enjoyable of all the Doom Metal's. In recent years I stumbled across this gem (or I think of it as one anyway)...

AHAB- "The Call of the Wretched Sea" : This is a concept band really, and a very cool one, which I think is a self-explanatory worship of the Melville work.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R2MLQdVFu4c

That's the entire album in one youtube video. I think you'll enjoy that if you don't own it already.

This album impressed me initially, but as time wore on, it simply became tiresome. The problem Ahab suffers is that like most other failed "doom metal", it meanders about without going anywhere, the structures are derivative and there are simply better bands (as enumerated in this thread).

I don't mind focus on tempo as a defining aspect of your aesthetic, but Ahab lacks any substance or movement to be worthwhile while in that tempo. It seems like they are too comfortable with their aesthetic to actually bother doing anything with it. It's really quite safe. The same goes for Mournful Congregation which seems promising at first, is also aesthetically pleasant, but has nothing in the way of real substance or spirit. Why listen to either when I can pop in Skepticism?

[Nightspirit]

Didn't know that last bit, interesting. I find Funeral Doom to be the most enjoyable of all the Doom Metal's. In recent years I stumbled across this gem (or I think of it as one anyway)...

AHAB- "The Call of the Wretched Sea" : This is a concept band really, and a very cool one, which I think is a self-explanatory worship of the Melville work.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R2MLQdVFu4c

That's the entire album in one youtube video. I think you'll enjoy that if you don't own it already.

This album impressed me initially, but as time wore on, it simply became tiresome. The problem Ahab suffers is that like most other failed "doom metal", it meanders about without going anywhere, the structures are derivative and there are simply better bands (as enumerated in this thread).

I don't mind focus on tempo as a defining aspect of your aesthetic, but Ahab lacks any substance or movement to be worthwhile while in that tempo. It seems like they are too comfortable with their aesthetic to actually bother doing anything with it. It's really quite safe. The same goes for Mournful Congregation which seems promising at first, is also aesthetically pleasant, but has nothing in the way of real substance or spirit. Why listen to either when I can pop in Skepticism?

No you're absolutely right. In fact, I see in those words a lot of my own convictions. At the end of the day, it's not worth seeking out over more important priorities. Ahab is no Skepticism, that's for sure. They (Ahab) did stick out amongst the horde of idiots raping Doom Metal for it's tempo-irony, plus they are a concurrent outfit, and it's good to see bands going in the artisan's direction over the meaningless dribble seen elsewhere. It was a random-chance buy at the record store and it was worth it for the situation, and given that scenario I do indeed revisit the album.