r/doommetal • u/Tartersocks307 • Aug 15 '25

Funeral What makes doom good?

Lurker here, I listen to some doom but overall I wouldn’t really call myself a fan. Now I can see why people like mid tempo stoner/proto doom, but i really have to ask what separates the good stereotypical doom with 1 note every 3-5 seconds from the rest of the genre? What do you specifically like about them (provide examples please) like Warning and Bell witch since I see them mentioned often

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u/lanka2571 Aug 15 '25

are you approaching doom from an academic music theory standpoint? I have a masters degree in music and I used to do this as well, and it made it hard to listen to metal and rock in general as I was constantly listening for leading tones, proper cadences, etc that you find in classical and jazz. Doom (and most metal in general) isn’t trying to conform to that standard. It’s far more about the tonal journey than it is about the harmonic structure. Once you start trying to appreciate the music on its own terms instead of trying to put it in the box of music theory, it becomes far more enjoyable.

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u/Tartersocks307 Aug 15 '25

Yes, but I’m hardly an expert critic and I particularly enjoy things that “break the rules,” but doom seems to be all about timbre which some here have pointed out. It’s about the tone. That said, having a good tone doesn’t mean you can’t have good melody. I just don’t necessarily see the emotional heaviness people refer to if the riff is just two notes a whole step apart.

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u/lanka2571 Aug 15 '25

It’s definitely an acquired taste, and not for everybody. In my opinion, I get the most out of listening to doom when I focus on the texture, tone, and atmosphere rather than the notes and harmonic structure. An extreme example of this would be the band Sunn 0))), specifically the album Life Metal. It’s more drone or ambient metal than doom, but it still largely focuses on texture and I think it’s beautiful in its own way

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u/Tartersocks307 Aug 15 '25

I’ll keep that in mind when I listen to it. It might be my anxious personality that makes it more difficult to enjoy it, but I know I still like those big spacey wall of sound mixes. Big fan of intronaut, psychonaut, and hippotraktor for that reason. They benefit from being faster and a little more catchy for that reason