“I played Doom before I was even into metal. A lot of my love of thrash comes from slaying beasts in Doom”: How Doom and its iconic soundtrack converted the next generation of metalheads

Doom box art from 1993.

The metal-inspired soundtrack for 1993 shoot-’em-up Doom entered the Library Of Congress’ National Recording Registry last week, joining music by the likes of Metallica, Beyoncé, the Beatles and Bob Dylan. In 2024, Hammer interviewed designer John Romero, Bury Tomorrow bassist Davyd Winter-Bates and Periphery guitarist Misha Mansoor to find out how the game was created – and why it made such a lasting impact on heavy music.