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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

Old school death metal1989

Second genre

Death-doom1990

Head to headOld school death metal vs Death-doom
Old school death metal: heaviness 10, melody 3, speed 8. Death-doom: heaviness 10, melody 6, speed 3.Heaviness10 / 10Melody3 / 6Speed8 / 3
Each corner is a ten-point rating. The further out, the higher.

The difference, by ear

Death-doom slows the same riffs further and adds melody and clean passages. The tempo is the tell.

Both are growled or screamed, but death-doom is much slower: 50 to 90 bpm against 120 to 220. Songs run longer in death-doom: usually 6 to 10 minutes, against 3½ to 6 minutes in old school death metal. To hear the difference, play Autopsy next to My Dying Bride. Both grew out of death metal, old school death metal first and death-doom a year after.

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

In figures

Heaviness
Old school death metal10
Death-doom10
level
Speed
Old school death metal8
Death-doom3
−5
Melody
Old school death metal3
Death-doom6
+3

Old school death metal

1989 · Florida / Stockholm

Where it sits

Heavy metal › Death metal › Old school death metal

In short

The sound of the first wave: either the Swedish HM-2 buzzsaw or the cavernous American murk, with no showy technicality.

How it sounds

  • Thick, buzzing guitar tone - either the Swedish HM-2 or the cavernous American murk.
  • Variable tempos, with slow doom passages between the fast sections.
  • Analogue production with real drums, no triggers and no quantisation.

Key acts

  • Autopsy
  • Dismember
  • Bolt Thrower
  • Incantation

Start here

The pickAutopsy - Mental Funeral. Death metal that crawls rather than runs.

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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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