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Compare

Two genres, side by side. The ratings are editorial judgements on a ten-point scale, not measurements. Where they come out level, the difference is in the prose underneath them.

First genre

Death-doom1990

Second genre

Sludge metal1989

Head to headDeath-doom vs Sludge metal
Death-doom: heaviness 10, melody 6, speed 3. Sludge metal: heaviness 10, melody 4, speed 3.Heaviness10 / 10Melody6 / 4Speed3 / 3
Each corner is a ten-point rating. The further out, the higher.

The difference, by ear

Sludge shares the tempo and screams rather than growls, and it is furious where this is mournful.

Both are growled or screamed and move at much the same pace, around 50 to 90 bpm. To hear the difference, play My Dying Bride next to Eyehategod. They share a root in heavy metal, and sludge metal came first, by a year.

Put together from each genre's vocals, tempo, song length, key acts and place in the tree.

In figures

Heaviness
Death-doom10
Sludge metal10
level
Speed
Death-doom3
Sludge metal3
level
Melody
Death-doom6
Sludge metal4
−2

Death-doom

1990 · United Kingdom

Where it sits

Heavy metal › Death metal › Death-doom

In short

Guttural vocals at funeral tempo. Bands from Yorkshire invented the combination and then invented gothic metal too.

How it sounds

  • Very slow tempos with long riffs and sustained chords.
  • Guttural vocals over minor harmony, sometimes with violin or keyboards.
  • Eight- to twelve-minute songs with slow dynamics and oppressive atmosphere.

Key acts

  • My Dying Bride
  • Paradise Lost
  • Anathema
  • Winter

Start here

The pickMy Dying Bride - Turn Loose the Swans. The violin matters as much as the guitar.

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Sludge metal

1989 · New Orleans, USA · 1 subgenre

Where it sits

Heavy metal › Doom metal › Sludge metal

In short

Doom plus filthy hardcore: feedback, screamed vocals and a guitar tone like Louisiana mud.

How it sounds

  • Thick fuzzed guitar with feedback left running between riffs.
  • Alternation between very slow tempos and hardcore outbursts.
  • Screamed or howled vocals with lyrics about addiction, poverty and rage.

Key acts

  • Eyehategod
  • Crowbar
  • Melvins
  • Acid Bath

Start here

The pickEyehategod - Take as Needed for Pain. The feedback between tracks is part of the album.

Full page →