The Doom Death Conspiracy

The conjunction of Doom and Death Metal, as it is regarded, merged together at the end of the 80's starting with bands like Paradise Lost, Autopsy, Winter or Asphyx. 

The genre was also referred as Slow Death in some of the media descriptions throughout the last decades.

Doom Death Metal GIF

Aaron Stainthorpe remembered that it was inspired as they liked both Candlemass and Bathory and trying somehow to withdraw more heaviness to the general Death Metal skeleton by adding slow, crushing riffs adorned with keyboards and violin interludes.

As for the lyrical climax the dreariness of life experience must be the main focus here along with dreamy, desperation or dark romantic lines in the XVIIIth and XIXth century poetry fashion when speaking about My Dying Bride.

On the other hand, nowadays, Autopsy and Asphyx are seen as crucial exponents, especially for their each second albums. Their first ones were just pure Death Metal headstones for the genre back in early 90's, and, apparently, the Autopsy mastermind Chris Reifert was not so happy about those kinds of music labels applied to his band, when asked.

 

 

Anyway, the very first release is obviously Paradise Lost debut album where the Death and Doom ingredients are perfectly balanced without any shadow of doubt establishing themselves as masters and inventors of this musical approach.

 

 

Cathedral's "Forest of Equilibrium" issued in 1991 must be also an important piece in the puzzle. Not particular with Death Metal influences ,but very extreme in terms of sound and heaviness. A unique piece of art,with a very original delivery and superbly illustrated by the surrealistic cover.

Later on they moved to a more old school Heavy Metal style. Again, the stoner label is not being accepted by former Lee Dorrian, as we all might know.

British Paradise Lost colleagues, the Halifax band My Dying Bride followed in 1992 with "As the Flower Withers" statement of powerful vocal growls, heavy riffs, keyboards, violin and standout lyrics transporting the listener in a dark romantic voyage from the first intro called "Silent Dance" continuing with "Sear Me" sang in Latin to the last "Return of the Beautiful" song.

The unholy "Peaceville Three" completed the trinity by the Liverpool's Anathema band, as they came at the table with an insanely atmospheric, yet extremely heavy debut named "Serenades" back in 1993.

The Swedish band Tiamat should be taken into the account, here, who started as a regular Death Metal act. 

Their debut album was released back in 1990 entitled "Sumerian Cry" and moved to a totally Death / Doom Metal discourse on their second release "The Astral Sleep" as of 1991 and continued on their third effort called "Clouds" back in 1992 and the much atmospheric collection of songs gathered under the "Wildhoney" title, that hit the metal community worldwide, in the year of 1994.

Starting with the next output named "A Deeper Kind of Slumber" their musical delivery changed the direction into a more Gothic / Rock approach.

Hailing from New York ,Winer's "Into Darkness" 1990 album is quite a great experience and a must-listen when it comes to this genre's classical times. It is an original output, no question about, even that the Saint Vitus riffwork vibes could be found, here and there, when speaking about their instrumental section.

The Finnish band Amorphis and their debut "The Karelian Isthmus" released in 1992 should be mentioned here, as well.

 

Bands like In Ruins and Slumber deserve a listen as well, especially for the sound, music, and the overall atmosphere showcased on their both debut albums.

Other great bands to get into must be Celestial Season's first releases, as for the late 90's their sound moved to a more stoner-metal output. 

The band came back with "The Secret Teachings" by 2020 returning to their Doom / Death conceptual roots.

The list goes on with the Danish band Saturnus with their whole catalog. Such great and memorable music.

Swedish' Draconian's side project Doom:VS, the American band Novembers Doom, Swallow the Sun from Finland, Officium Triste from Netherlands and Katatonia's side project called October Tide.

Conationals of Amorphis and Swallow the Sun the band Unholy with their entire discography is recommended for edification, as well.

With this said we have a general picture about the first wave of what is called Doom / Death Metal subgenre today.

Gothic Metal I.

By the year of 1991 the underground metal scene, especially in Europe,  was populated, mostly, with endless number of death metal bands, many of them copying what the leaders in charge have already done or copying each other.

...And then a "weird" album arrived on the stores' shelves...

Published by Peaceville Records, it was named "Gothic" and released by the British band Paradise Lost.

Gothic Metal GIF

This album was the first one to inflame fans' and other bands' imagination worldwide.

A game-changer,for sure!

The album "goes" into the opposite direction as their contemporaries, so to speak, in terms of speed, mood and the overall melodic delivery.

An experimental album trying to add and encapsulate the Gothic-Rock atmosphere into their traditional Death-Metal roots.

According to Gregor Mackintosh the album's producer statement at hearing was : 

" - You will never go anywhere with this one! It doesn't fit any category!"

Also, Paradise Lost are responsible for creating the Doom / Death Metal style and introducing the "beauty and the beast" vocal duality, just one album earlier, on "Lost Paradise - 1990" with the song "Breeding Fear" being the first attempt in this category.

Prior to that, the idea of Gothic-Rock came from the Punk-Gothic band The Damned who's vocalist Dave Vanian used to dress like Dracula during their live performances.

Later on, acts lebelled by the music press and listeners as New-Wave, Gothic-Rock, Synth-Pop or Death-Rock, well known heroes, like Joy Division , Siouxsie and the Banshees , Bauhaus , Killing Joke , The Cure , The Sisters of Mercy , Fields of the Nephilim , Christian Death or the very avantgardistic Dead Can Dance took the challenge and started to experimence with a more dark, bleak touch, inspired and paved the way for the most of the Gothic-Metal bands we enjoy today.

Many think that the Gothic-Rock genre was created and clearly defined by Bauhaus' - Bela Lugosi's Dead song with its melodic, and / or melancholic song structure, plus the aforementioned dark attitude highlighted (or darklighted) by the specific baritonal vocal output.

On the other hand, another big influence for this new genre was 1987 Celtic Frost's "Into The Pandemonium" release.

This LP was a very controversial one at that time, as well, as they left their traditional Black/Thrash/Death roots for a more experimental approach.

The result was a rejection by some fans, but it was fully embraced by others.
It is an album full of new ,fresh and innovative ideas combining industrial tunes with dark melancholic moments, almost a prophetic act if we see how Gothic-Metal developed in years to come.

Actually, it cannot be drawn a strict line between the Death / Doom Metal and Gothic-Metal, as the genres are quite closely intertwined from the very beginning. 

The same goes for the lyrical content, as for the both styles includes mostly kind of the same content : philosophical or spiritual subjects, moody description of nature, personal drama ,religious issues here and there or sentimental/psychological issues, and rarely social troubles, per say.

Moving back to the inventors of the genre, the absolutely memorable "As I Die" the last track taken from the "Shades of God" album was an instant blow, sending massive waves through the extreme metal community and being the track that managed to polarize and amaze with its powerful feeling, originality and spontaneity. 

  Paradise Lost - Icon GIF

Later on, the song was an inspiration for them,, as well, in terms of song writing for their next "Icon" output released in 1993.

 

Their next albums as above mentioned "Shades Of God - 1992" ; "Icon - 1993" 

and the much praised "Draconian Times - 1995" developed the ideas into a more Gothic Heavy Metal approach,  building a mountain of melancholy, evolving and still keeping their original style, but moving their music to the highest levels and increasing their popularity among the metal audience. 

For example, by the year of 1995 the band was called "the european Metallica" as they dethroned them throughout the scandinavian metal tops published at that time.

My Dying Bride must be the second band who cemented the Doom / Death Metal genre through "As The Flower Withers" first LP published in 1992, then on the second one they were also experimenting with gothic bleak atmospheres throughout the entire album. Especially at the vocal delivery.

"Turn Loose The Swans - 1993" is a classic and a very representative album. Their following LP's as: "The Angel And The Dark River - 1995" ; "Like Gods Of The Sun - 1996" and "34.788%... Complete - 1998" put the band on the top of metal listeners.

Anathema surely being the third and the one to complete the-so-called "Peaceville Three" bands
putting, again, British Metal in the top of the well known innovative movement in the general rock/metal picture.

Their slow and crushing, yet very atmospheric metal was a breath of fresh air in the emerging extreme metal scene.
The first two full-lenghts and two EP's are an important reference in that respect.

Another British band that promised a lot with its first album was Enchantment.

"Dance of the Marble Nacked - 1994" will please any Paradise Lost listener with their melancholic heaviness. 

Sadly, despite the fact that they had a 6 records deal with Century Media, Enchantment disbanded after their much appreciated first full-length album.

On the other side of the ocean, an important pioneering band from the first half of the '90s include Type O Negative from New York. 

Their musical core consists in a very Sabbath-ish riffage mixed with The Sisters of Mercy dark-voice singing.
Some Hardcore-punk reprises can be heard here and there, reminiscent of Peter Steele's (R.I.P.)
songwriting for Agnostic Front or hanging out in C.B.G.B's-club area, but their "Bloody Kisses - 1993" is a memorable and classic LP to get into.

Their following catalog cemented the leader status along with Paradise Lost by providing memorable songs for the overall metal hordes.

The Saviour Machine was a christian oriented Gothic Metal band coming from LA, California.

All of their albums are conceptual and they focused their music and lyrical content around the apocalypse chapter from the bible.

Another act coming from the U.S.A. would be The Bronx Casket Co. of Overkill's bassist D.D. Verni.

Sadly, the only three bands alike to be remembered from the States.

In Europe the idea wasn't much expected to be explored and it was embraced soon, as the second wave of Death Metal of mid '90's started to change or to fade away.

The Gathering must be the next band to mention, especially with their first albums, being recommended for a best musical trip, rich in romantic and gothic atmospheres.

Their later works started to incorporate more and more atmospheric elements, probably due to admiration for Pink Floyd of the main composers, there, and the general sound moved away from the strictly "Goth" musical identity.

However, they are mostly described as Doom-Death, early and Atmospheric Metal with Prog and Alternative influences added within, on their last albums.

Norway provided with bands like Theatre of Tragedy , Tristania and Mortal Love to the general map, whose full discographies are totally recommended in order to achieve the absolutely dramatic, dreamy and the melancholic experience northern Gothic Metal has to offer.

The Gothic Metal scene was enriched by Germany with the, veteran by now, band Crematory with his much melodic and romantic Death Metal accompanied by powerful and memorable keyboard lines.

 Their music has that typical German "exactness" in terms of execution, but powerful, straight to the point and with such melancholic substance.

From "Transmigration - 1993" to "...Just Dreaming - 1994" and the much appreciated "Illusions - 1995" they built a strong and distinctive style not to be forgotten by fans and the metal music history in general.

 
Their following catalog continued mostly on the same musical formulas adding, also industrial influences on some releases, or more or less riff content intensity.

Atrocity is a German band who started to incorporate Gothic Metal tunes as they left Death Metal present on their first two albums.

LP's like "Calling the Rain - 1995" Featuring vocalist Alex Krull's sister, Yasmin Krull ; "Die Liebe - 1995 (in collaboration with the Gothic Rock band Das Ich)" ; "Willenskraft - 1996" are the works to turned the tides on goth and metal waves letting the fans of their first two original albums scratching their heads in confusion.

The German band Evereve, also is about to be mentioned with albums like "Seasons - 1997" ; "Stormbirds - 1998" and "Regret - 1999" combining heaviness with powerful melodramatic lines.

The same goes for the band Dark, who contributed with three albums, much appreciated at that time, starting from 1994.

Pyogenesis will be remembered with "Ignis Creatio - 1992 EP","Underneath - 1992 EP" ; "Waves of Erotasia - 1994 EP" and "Sweet X-Rated Nothings - 1994 LP"...sadly the next records moved their music towards alternative-pop music leaving the goth-metal legions in confusion.

Another band who plays on the quality music specter is Secret Discovery hanging between Metal and Rock,their songs are pretty much memorable Gothic tunes, in this regard!



One of the most important German acts are Darkseed,as they also begin their adventure with Death Metal rawness,then moving towards Gothic Metal through "Midnight Solemnly Dance - 1996" landing on fertile Gothic Metal ground with "Spellcraft - 1997" ; "Romantic Tales - Re-issued 1998" and "Give Me Light - 1999". On the last albums Darkseed combines metal with electronica and Dark Wave inherited from the well known german tradition.

The Austrian band Visceral Evisceration made a significant  standpoint on their "Incessant Desire for Palatable Flesh" back in 1994. 

Heavily influenced by the "Gothic" album, but very much appreciated by the underground fan base of those times. 

At the lyrical section, the band chose to focus around gory dark humor, which can be easily guessed by the way their song titles are named, unlike the contemporaries within this genre.

Lacrimosa the Swiss duo led by Tilo Wolff and Anne Nurmi mixes Gothic Rock with Heavy Metal accompanied by classical instruments and electronica. Originally,on their first album it was more on the Dark Wave style,but as the music evolved metal and classical elements were added gradually to the concept. Their third "Inferno - 1995" album gained international success despite the German language mostly used in their lyrics.

On the next albums Lacrimosa added more and more classical instrumentation in partnership with London a Symphony Orchestra,the Rosenberg Ensemble and the Hamburg State Opera, moving their style to Symphonic Gothic Metal collage.

In the mid '90s from the dark side of Portugal came Moonspell with a quite Black Metal-ish debut "Wolfheart - 1995" that includes, also substantial Gothic vibes and seriously fantastic songwriting, this album is an instant success! The second incarnation as beeing "Irreligious - 1996" totally they totally jumped in the goth-metal wagon delivering a strong ,powerful and representative product.

In years to come metal community was somehow disappointed by their appetite for experimentation, but their last LP's demonstrates that Moonspell is an undeniable force, able to reinvent themselves and to rise again from the ashes, bringing great albums and keeping Gothic Metal fans around their scene.

The second portugese Gothic Metal act, in terms of popularity should be the band Heavenwood.

Their music "goes" more into the Cemetary, Lake of Tears direction, this time.

The band contributed with "Diva" - 1996 ; "Swallow" - 1998 before splitting up, but managed to reform back in 2008 and, since then they brought to the attention albums like : "Redemption" - 2008 ; "Abyss Masterpiece" and "The Tarot of the Bohemians" - 2016

To be continued here...

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