Harking back to the glory days of Black Sabbath and similar proto-doom bands such as Pentagram and Witchfinder General, Doom Metal officially emerged in the mid-1980s and has remained eternally unfashionable, yet beloved by its fans ever since. Performed by musicians who truly worship the riff, Doom Metal incorporates slower tempos (particularly in comparison to the Thrash Metal and Hair Metal sound popular at its emergence) and a thick-as-molasses guitar sound that positively rumbles from your speakers, this genre evokes an undeniable sense of despair, dread and impending doom with every note and vocalisation. Commerciality and record sales are never high on the list when you form a Doom band, this is music made by traditionalists who lurk in the shadows, eternally embracing the morbid and mournful elements of life. As previously mentioned, huge, impenetrable riffs are at the core of this genre; gloriously thick, monumentally crushing riffs robust enough to build a house on and then weighty enough to sledgehammer it down once you've finished, essentially pure, unadulterated power put to music. So, brace yourself for a megalithic attack on your senses, Doom Metal is here to herald the end of days....
10. Trouble - Psalm 9
Track List: 1.The Tempter 2. Assassin 3. Victim of the Insane 4. Revelation (Life or Death) 5. Bastards Will Pay 6. The Fall of Lucifer 7. Endtime (instrumental) 8. Psalm 9 9. Tales of Brave Ulysses (Cream Cover)
Recommended Track: The Tempter, six and a half minutes of Doom incorporating epic tempo changes and blistering lead guitar work. Released in 1984, Trouble's debut is considered one of the first official Doom Metal albums ever released and what an entrance they made. Guitarists Bruce Franklin and Rick Wartell conjure mesmerising, elephantine riffs that hit you like a freight train while vocalist Eric Wagner wails and howls around them; a thrilling combination which demands to be listened to loud! On its release Trouble were often dismissed as mere Black Sabbath clones but this was an unfair judgement, they simply took Sabbath's blueprint and ran with it, adding a spiritual, Bible-inspired Christian slant to their lyrics and creating an exciting new sub-genre in the process. Sabbath were Blues-inspired Heavy Metal at heart, Trouble were Doom through and through. Whether they are bringing the doom on opening track The Tempter or embracing a more refined classic rock sound on Assassin, this album is utterly essential whichever way you cut it.