What is Doom metal and how is it different from Sludge metal?
Well, both are heavy metal, both are played generally at a slower tempo, and with distorted and ‘thick’ guitar sounds.
So what actually makes them different from each other?
In fact, IS there a difference between them?
Before we answer these questions, let’s answer the question of; how did we even get here?
An analogy
Let me give a really silly analogy.
On December 17th, 1903, the Wright Brothers took their inaugural flight in the Wright Flyer.
On July 20th, 1969, just 66 years later, man first stepped on the moon.
In 66 short years, we got from a flight of just 36m, shorter than the wingspan of the Boeing 747 (that is my favourite fact ever), to a flight of 393,309 miles.
That’s a lot of development in a very short space of time.
A similar thing can be said about heavy metal and its genres and sub-genres.
Heavy metal music did not exist until Black Sabbath released their self-titled album on February 13th, 1970.
Well, that’s according to Andrew O’Neil, who I do consider to be a bit on an expert on the topic.
The term heavy metal didn’t exist until it was coined by either Lester Bangs or Mike Saunders, but both first used the term in 1970.
There is some debate about which of them used the term ‘heavy metal’ first, but that’s another story.
Anyway, for a long time, that’s what we had.
There was Rock music and there was Metal music. No more division needed.
Until there was.
The Divide
At some point, heavy metal became too varied to exist all under one label, so it needed to spread.
Nowadays, we have so many sub-genres of metal music that there is a Wikipedia article just to list the different genres.
That Wikipedia article (the best source for heavy metal historical information, as we all know) currently lists a whopping 71 genres and sub-genres of heavy metal!
Now we know just how split heavy metal has become, let’s go back to the original question – what is the difference between Sludge and Doom metal, and how did they start?
Which came first?
Defining the exact time that a sub-genre of heavy metal came into force is very hard to pin down.
It’s all subjective and simply based on what the musicians at the time were thinking and creating.
When did one band start to move away from simply heavy metal and start a new subgenre, and when do we say that it becomes a subgenre in its own right?
It’s almost impossible to say with any degree of certainty!
That being said, Doom metal came first.
Doom Metal
Doom metal is characterised by slow tempos, low-tuned guitars and a very heavy sound, with lyrics that are often depressing and pessimistic in content.
The subgenre was pioneered by Black Sabbath, being seen as proto-doom. Plenty of Black Sabbath songs have elements of Doom metal, with the slow tempo and very pessimistic lyrics.
Doom Metal was then developed by larger bands such as Pentagram, Witchfinder General, and Necromandus.
The name ‘Doom metal’ officially comes from an album by another pioneer of the subgenre, Candlemass, who released ‘Epicus Doomicus Metallicus’ in 1986.
You may thing Doom metal is enough of a tangent, but actually Doom metal can be further divided into epic doom, extreme doom and alternative doom, amongst many others.
The lyrical content of Doom metal is often pessimistic to the extreme. Songs are often about topics like paranoia, depression and despair.
Electric Wizard are a very typical Doom metal band, and here’s some lyrics from one of their songs, often considered as one of the best Doom metal songs ever: Funeralopolis
I don’t care, this world means nothing
Funeralopolis – Electric Wizard
Life has no meaning, my feelings are numb
Faceless masses filed like gravestones
Sacrificed for the glory of one
So that’s Doom Metal.
What is Sludge metal?
It is difficult to describe this subgenre without repeating myself.
So, sludge metal also uses slower tempos, with downtuned guitars. Much like Doom Metal.
However, Sludge also incorporates elements from hardcore punk: shouting vocals, and a harsh, abrasive sound.
Sludge began as bands started to combine the slower, heavy riffs of Black Sabbath with the agressive but slower punk sound from Black Flag.
The Melvins are considered one of the first bands to really play Sludge Metal, with their first album, Gluey Porch Treatments.
Sludge Metal is basically a sub-subgenre, as its essentially a variant of Doom. It is sometimes referred to as Sludge Doom.
Sludge then went on to influence grunge music, which then went on to define the 90s.
The lyrics of Sludge metal are often also pessimistic, like Doom Metal, but also angry and bitter.
Sooth the sayer revels in my death
High On Fire – Blessed Black Wing
Some would think I’m just a lunatic
The blood I bleed must be black indeed
Speak the devil in my time of need
There is typically a more political bent to Sludge Metal than there is with Doom Metal, and that is the punk influence again.
Much of the grunting and screaming vocals of contemporary sludge is influenced by the politicised rage of hardcore, not metal – which usually had its greasy banging head too far up its own scrawny arse to get angry over ‘issues’ and ‘the right’.
Adam Stone – The Sleeping Shaman
Wrap up
Doom and Sludge metal are similar but distinct music subgenres.
The differences are mostly in the sound: Doom Metal has a slow tempo and long, downtuined guitar notes.
Sludge Metal is slowER than typical metal music and the guitars are also downturned, though it is usually faster than Doom Metal and the drums are more prominent.
The vocals are also significantly different. Sludge Metal has more abrasive vocals, more shouting compared to a more subdued low droning singing in Doom Metal.
When you listen to both styles of music, you can tell that they are distinct sounds, though they have elements in common.
Maybe one subgenre appeals to you more, maybe you like both equally, or maybe you don’t like the sound of either.
But with heavy metal branching out in so many directions and so quickly, there is almost certainly one sound out there that fits you perfectly.
You just need to find it.
