This article is a part
of the heavy metal series.
 Heavy metal
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 Black metal
 Power metal
 Nu metal
 Doom metal
 Christian metal
 Progressive metal
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Doom metal is a type of heavy metal music which developed in the mid 1980s. The sound is slow and creepy, and intended to evoke a general atmosphere of darkness, despair, tension and doom. When the sound developed, bands like Trouble and Candlemass were critically acclaimed for their return to the old school sounds of Black Sabbath and Blue Oyster Cult, though sales were slim; metal audiences at the time were listening to thrash metal or hair metal, and both were swift, hard and energetic, very unlike doom metal.

In the early 1990s, doom metal's popularity grew greatly, and two unique styles developed. The old school imitation of 1970s bands was picked up by stoner metal groups, while a New Orleans metal scene developed a gothic rock/doom metal hybrid that came to be known as sludge metal.

The Doom metal have two more main sub-generes, Doomdeath and Gothic Metal. Doomdeath metal is a mixture of slow creepy doom riffing with death grunts and screams instead of using "vampiric" clean vocals. Goth metal, originally evolved from doom metal and now stands on its own, is taking the slow heavy doom riffing and mixing it with melodic\\gothic elements such as female vocals, melodic keyboards and gregorian chants. The gothic doom metal is usually more quiet and slow then Scandinavian Goth metal and use less special elements. It focuses more on atmosphere than on technique and lyrics. Representive bands of gothic doom metal are Tristita, Ashes You Leave and Paradise Lost, often classified (rightfully) as Gothic Metal bands.

Bands

  • Anathema
  • Candlemass
  • Cemetary
  • Crowbar
  • Evoken
  • Eyehategod
  • Lacrimas Profundere
  • Lake of Tears
  • Memento Mori
  • Morgion
  • My Dying Bride
  • Paradise Lost
  • Pentagram
  • Saint Vitus
  • Solitude Aeturnus
  • Saturnus
  • Substance For God
  • Tristitia
  • Trouble