The difference, by ear
Both use long forms and volume. Post-metal builds and releases; drone refuses to do either.
Post-metal / atmospheric sludge is part sung, part screamed where drone metal is mostly instrumental, and much faster: 60 to 120 bpm against 10 to 40. Songs run longer in drone metal: usually 15 to 60 minutes, against 8 to 15 minutes in post-metal / atmospheric sludge. To hear the difference, play Earth next to Neurosis. They share a root in doom metal, and drone metal came first, by four years.
In figures
Drone metal
Where it sits
Heavy metal › Doom metal › Drone metal
In short
Sustained notes at extreme volume, with almost no rhythm. You listen with your body more than your ears.
How it sounds
- Chords or notes sustained for minutes at a time, with no perceptible rhythm.
- Extreme concert volume, with the emphasis on low frequencies felt physically.
- Controlled feedback and texture in place of melody or structure.
Key acts
- Earth
- Sunn O)))
- Boris
Start here
The pickEarth - Earth 2. Seventy-three minutes, three tracks, almost no change.
Full page →Post-metal / atmospheric sludge
Where it sits
Heavy metal › Doom metal › Sludge metal › Post-metal / atmospheric sludge
In short
Sludge with post-rock logic: long songs, crescendos and instrumental passages. Neurosis invented the form.
How it sounds
- Eight- to fifteen-minute pieces with long crescendos in post-rock logic.
- Delay and reverb guitars for the quiet passages, massive distortion at the peaks.
- Vocals used sparingly, as an accent, often howled from a distance.
Key acts
- Neurosis
- Isis
- Cult of Luna
- Russian Circles
Start here
The pickIsis - Oceanic. The most accessible album in the genre, and no weaker for it.
Full page →