Doom and Drone, Sludge and Stone Part 1: Origins

Don't get me wrong, I loves me my speedy, ear bleeding metal. There is some sort of primal satisfaction I get while listening to some fast, harsh, metal. Amon Amarth makes me want to take up arms and join my fellow vikings in arms and have a Ragnorok up in someone's shit.

But for my money, I think that the Doom and Drone of Candlemass or Boris and the Sludge and Stone of Acid Bath and Pentegram are the creme de la creme of metal. So this is the first in a series of posts of why the DDSS (abbreviated for my sake) is the best kind of metal.

Let me provide a quick disclaimer: I am not a musician, I won't be breaking down the intricacies of the G major as opposed to the F Flat or whatever. I am also not a music critic, to be honest I don't understand how one becomes a music critic. I am simply a music fan, I know what I like (which is a lot.)


It is the closest kind of metal to stay true to the roots.

While there are many an argument to who is the greatest metal band of all time, there can be little argument as to the origins of metal, Black Sabbath. The British Invasion is often cited as the birth of modern rock and roll. The Who, The Beatles, Rolling Stones, etc. have all had profound effects on the rock and roll culture at large, yet for some reason Black Sabbath is rarely mentioned in the same breath. I never really understood that, I mean they came along at around the same time, but what they played was something darker than "I Wanna Hold You Hand," something more epic than "Can't Explain," and something more original than "Satisfaction." And that's just the bass player.

When guitarist Tony Iommi tuned his guitars down to make them looser because of an injured hand, nobody could've predicted that metal would be born. To this day, they're one of only a few bands that are metioned with any sort of reverence from accross the music spectrum (Slayer and Metallica being on that list.) Not even metal godfathers Iron Maiden are taken so seriously (Sorry Maiden heads.) I still defy anyone to name another band that has been covered by almost every metal band in existance. From Cannibal Corpse to Hed(pe) (sure they count) everyone has taken on a Black Sabbath song of some sort.

Yet of all the "different" genres of metal that grew out of the Black Sabbath seed, the metal of DDSS has remained the most true to the sound of Black Sabbath. The slow, methodical, focusing of the drop down guitars, the almost funky riffs.

Here is a standard Black Sabbath favorite amongst the DDSS elite.




I doubt you'll hear a Lamb of God song that sounds anything close to that. Now compare that to the Stoner metal icons of Sleep.



It sounds (and looks) like it could've been played at Black Sabbaths peak in the 70s, but this was made in the mid-90s, and they have inspired a whole new generation of Stoner rockers.

Now this isn't to say that all DDSS bands sound like Black Sabbath, not even close, but the bands that slow it down and pump the bass are closer to the spirit of Black Sabbath, whereas most other metal bands have gone the way of more modern day metal gods. For my money, I'll take bands that have a Master of the Sabbath sound, than a band that can strum as fast as Van Halen.