Doom Metal

As with most Metal movements, Doom Metal can be traced back to Black Sabbath. The spectre of Doom Metal rose up during the '80s when the first wave of these bands, such as Saint Vitus, Trouble and Candlemass, played at slower tempos, relying less on driving riffs than dark, textured atmospheres. Vocalists tended toward operatic vocals focusing on lamenting, desparing subjects. In the '90s, the gothic theatrics of the U.K.'s Paradise Lost and My Dying Bride pushed Metal into even more atmospheric territory with heavy synths and classical instruments to create a brooding and dramatic epic in every song. Through the '90s Doom fed back into more overtly gothic territory with bands such as New York metal chameleons Type O Negative and Italy's Lacuna Coil and also returned to its Black Sabbath roots with Stoner Rock bands Sleep and Kyuss.