The next genre is
Doom Metal. Here are my picks:
Trouble - Live (1983): Hey you may call it cheating since this is a demo tape. And I could easily pick Trouble's debut Psalm 9 but the mere fact they left such an amazing song like The Last Judgement out is simply enraging. So, with this gem, not only we can get to listen to that monster of a track and other early material (Death Wish - parts 1 and 2) but also the best takes from their first two records like Revelation (Life Or Death), Endtime, Victim Of The Insane, Wickedness Of Man or Fear No Evil. Plus we get as a bonus Eric Wagner (RIP) and his compadres pulling a couple of superb covers of Angel Witch and Accept. Absolute classic.
Candlemass - Epicus Doomicus Metallicus (1986): Next is the monumental Candlemass debut and let's get real here: if it's a fact Black Sabbath draw the first sketches and bands such as Trouble, Pentagram, Witchfinder General or St. Vitus brought them the 80's with little adjustments, this is the album that established Doom Metal as a genre. Slow as hell, heavy, dark, bleak yet full of epic flavor masterpieces such as Solitude, Demon's Gate, Black Stone Wielder and A Sorcerer's Pledge served ever since as the blueprint as much as Sabbath when it comes to Doom Metal. Mandatory!
Confessor - Condemned (1991): Now these North Americans created some really peculiar sound within the genre. While the tempo is slow and the guitar section is 100% heavy as hell Doom Metal, these dudes dive deep in unorthodox time signatures full of break beats anchored by the amazing work of drummer Steve Shelton in a fashion much more common in a style like Prog Metal. On top of all this Steve Jeffrey's vocals are pure Heavy/ Power Metal high pitch like, something that adds an even more unique flavor to Confessor. So this is far from an easy listening but once you get the taste for tunes like the title track, Prepare Yourself, Collapse Into Despair, Eve Of Salvation or Alone this record reveals itself to be as addictive as fascinating.
Paradise Lost - Shades Of God (1992): Paradise Lost are truly one of my favorite bands. And while this is not my #1 album of their catalogue and they already had two Death Doom records in their pocket by now (with the sophomore Gothic also establishing the foundations of the Gothic Metal sound the band would later perfect) this is by far my favorite Paradise Lost when it comes to doomy soundscapes. The boys kinda stripped the whole thing of keyboards and arrangements and while Greg's leads always have tons of 80's Goth Rock in it and Nick's vocals are still deeply rooted in death metal, everything else is 100% Doom Metal. And what a monster this is! Of course there are a couple of songs that are a bit more Goth like (namely Crying For Eternity or the anthemic As I Die) but either by long crushing mammoths like Your Hand In Mine, No Forgiveness or by faster stuff like Daylight Torn and Pity The Sadness (another of the band's staples) this record is class incarnated. As a curiosity this was the first CD I bought (back in the day) and of course I still own it. A classic of all sorts.
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Pyogenesis - Ignis Creatio (1992): Speaking of Paradise Lost, it's more than evident that this German quartet took some notes from Gothic while recording their debut. Nevertheless even recurring to some of the gimmicks the northern Englishman did on their sophomore (female vocals, keyboards) Pyogenesis pulled a sound of their own that never stopped evolving ever since. Still Burns In Fire starts i a somewhat copycat like way but once the song goes uptempo reveals itself to be as original as exciting without losing its doom brand. The second half of Like Tears In The Dust is another highlight with once again the growling of Tim working perfectly alongside Flo's clean singing. On Soulwings is another excellent Doom/ Death tune and Underneath Orion's Sword pounding rhythm backed up by a layer of keyboards is nothing short of impressive for a low budget debut. Overall Pyogenesis managed to do a lot with the little means and experience they had. And by a lot I mean nothing more nothing less than contributing strongly to an emerging sub genre with an hell of a record.
Anathema - Serenades (1993): Some may not be aware but Prog rockers Anathema began as a Doom Death act like their friends Paradise Lost and My Dying Bride. And a really excellent one to be fair as their debut album prove so. Brothers Cavanaugh were by then only taking charge of the six strings with the roaring voice of Darren White echoing through slow dirges like Sweet Tears, Sleep In sanity or They Always Die. The only exception is Sleepless where Vincent shares vocal duties in a track that, alongside J'ai Fait Une Promesse and its female vocalizations a la Into The Pandemonium pull the veil on what would be Anathema's direction on the following album. As for Serenades it deserves all the praise it had back then (alongside the early EPs) working as a huge stepping stone on the genre.
My Dying Bride - Turn Lose The Swans (1994): As I mentioned before once you mention early Doom/ Death there are 3 bands you immediately think of. One is Anathema, the other Paradise Lost and the the third their Yorkshire fellas My Dying Bride. By 1993 the band had already released two Eps and a full length that established their sound: absurdly slow and dire long tunes peppered with Martin Powell's violin and Aaron Stainthorpe's deep growls. But this time the band was determined to up their game in a jaw dropping fashion. It all starts with some sort of continuation of their debut's opener, properly titled Sear Me MCMXCIII presenting nothing else than Aaron's new found clean vocals alongside Martin's keyboards and violin in a absurdly amazing display of musical beauty. Your River follows and this is by far one of tyhe band's best compositions ever exploiting new and old elements. And while there's not a single song here I'd rate below excellent I must also give special attention to The Songless Bird's upper tempo, the dark yet involving ambiance of Black God but especially the masterpiece that is The Crown Of Sympathy. So there you have it. To give you a snapshot of what I think about Turn Lose The Swans not only I consider it to be the band's best work and one of Doom metal's best hours, I simply view it as one of the best records in metal history.
Tiamat - Wildhoney (1994): For their fourth album Tiamat made a record that could be entitled "what if Pink Floyd made Doom Metal". And while tracks like Do You Dream Of Me, Pocket Sized Sun and Planets are almost entirely within Pink Floyd's scope the remainder of the album explores the aforementioned mixing of genres in a masterful fashion. Either by heavier and more intense tunes like Whatever That Hurts and The Ar or by much lighter and melodic approaches on Gaia or Visionaire, Wildhoney is an impressive and unique album, that confirms Johan Edlund and Johnny Hagel as one of the most creative duos of the early 90's and that when made in Sweden, Doom Metal is to be taken seriously.
Cathedral - The Carnival Bizarre (1995): Up to more classic Doom with Cathedral's third album. Now I was tempted to go with their debut Forrest Of Equilibrium since it's one of their slowest and heaviest as well as one of the first Doom/ Death albums (and the only full length the band did regarding that sub-genre of Doom) but in the end this album is too good and varied not to be picked. You get absolute retro 70's Sabbath vibes on blasters like Vampire Sun, Hopkins or Electric Grave or slow grinding yet groovy tunes such as Palace Of Fallen Majesty, Fangalactic Supergoria and Night Of The Seagulls. Some may find Lee Dorrian's voice annoying but fortunately that's not my case. Other than that this album is astonishing (and to be fair almost the entirety of their catalogue is but this one is probably my favorite) cementing Cathedral as the masters of retro Doom in the 90's.
Process Of Guilt - Erosion (2009): My last pick goes to what I consider to be one of the best records made in my country. I already knew their work since their demo EP and indeed it was excellent material (as was their debut full length). But nothing could prepare me for Process Of Guilt's state of the art sophomore. Hailing from the beautiful town of Évora lost among the country's torrid inland plains, P.O.G. absolutely blew my mind with the conceptual masterpiece that is Erosion. Bathing their Death Doom with some Post Metal elements here and there this record is simply massive, desolate and yet strangely beautiful. Tracks like Corrosion and Abandon are absolute top notch and to a certain point innovative material while The Circle is an instrumental that ventures a deep further into experimentation. But I have to single out Waves... simply put one of the best Doom Death songs I've ever listened to. The emotional charge and riff power on this thing is gigantic, intimidating yet melodic as few others managed to achieve. On their following albums the band would go for a more Sludge/ Post Metal style and while still releasing quality stuff nothing they did since compares to the monument that is Erosion.
Honorable mentions: As always there are excellent bands/records that didn't made it. Stuff like
Saint Vitus' debut,
Evoken's Quietus or
Winter's Into Darkness come immediatelly to mind.
So, what are your choices when it comes to doom and gloom?
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