Anyone who’s ever said the phrase “It’s not all doom and gloom” is not welcome here. For almost as long as heavy music has existed, doom metal has been sulking in the background, never enjoying massive mainstream success but routinely giving fans sullen masterpieces. Its roots trace all the way back to Black Sabbath in the 1960s, before the subgenre truly hit its stride almost 20 years later.
With doom metal having such a rich landscape of dark, horrible things, it can be hard to know where to dive in. Hopefully this will help. Below, Metal Hammer’s listed just five must-hear albums that sum up the history of metal’s saddest style.
