Drone metal
| Drone metal | |
|---|---|
| Stylistic origins | Doom metal[1] Drone music[1][2] Avant-garde metal[1] Noise music[1][3] Black metal[3] Minimalist music[1][2] Sludge metal[1] |
| Cultural origins | Early 1990s, Seattle, Washington and Tokyo, Japan |
| Typical instruments | Electric guitar − Bass − Drums − Vocals |
Drone metal (also known as drone doom metal[4] and power ambient[5]) is a style of heavy metal that melds the slow tempos and heaviness of doom metal with the long-duration tones of drone music.[1][2] Drone metal is sometimes associated with post-metal or art metal.[6]
Characteristics
Typically, the electric guitar is performed with a large amount of reverb or audio feedback[1] while vocals, if present, are usually growled or screamed. Songs often lack beat or rhythm in the traditional sense and are very long. The experience of a drone metal performance has been described as "not unlike listening to an Indian raga in the middle of an earthquake", by novelist John Wray, in the New York Times.[1] Wray also states that "It's hard to imagine any music being heavier or, for that matter, very much slower".[1] A pioneer band of drone metal, Sunn O))), have indicated a kinship with sound sculpture.[1] Jan Tumlir indicates a "sustained infra-sound rumble of sub-bass–-so-called brown noise".[2]
Musical influences
Drone metal music blends elements from a variety of musical influences, including rock/metal like Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, Celtic Frost, Flower Travellin' Band, The Melvins and Slayer[1], as well as minimalist composers such as La Monte Young and Tony Conrad.
Connections with other art forms
Stephen O'Malley from Sunn O))) collaborated on an installation with artist Banks Violette, who has likened drone metal to the work of Donald Judd.[1] Tumlir locates a precedent in Robert Rauschenberg.[2] Violette points out, however, that drone metal is "as much a physiological phenomenon as an acoustic one",[1] with an attendant physicality. O'Malley has also mentioned an appreciation for Cormac McCarthy and Richard Serra.[4] Rhys Chatham's Essentialist included projections by Robert Longo.[7]
History
1990s
Drone metal was first established by Earth,[8] a group from Seattle, Washington, formed in 1990, who have been described as "minimalist post-grunge".[1] Earth took inspiration from the sludge metal of Melvins and the minimalist music of La Monte Young, among other sources. Stephen O'Malley's group Burning Witch, formed five years later, also in Seattle, continued in this tradition, incorporating unusual vocals and bursts of noise. The group initially recorded for the prominent powerviolence label Slap-a-Ham. O'Malley's subsequent group, Sunn O))),[1][2] initially formed as a tribute to Earth, is most responsible for the contemporary prominence of the drone metal style. Godflesh is also a stated influence on many groups. Boris,[9][1] from Tokyo, also developed a style of drone metal, parallel with the Seattle groups, as did Corrupted, from Osaka.
2000s
Nadja (Toronto, Canada), Black Boned Angel (Wellington, New Zealand), Khanate (New York City), Growing[3] (New York City), KTL (Washington/London), Teeth of Lions Rule the Divine (Nottingham, England) and Moss (Southampton, England) are prominent drone metal groups who formed in the early 21st century. Noise musicians, such as Kevin Drumm, have also worked in the style.[10] Rhys Chatham's Essentialist project is a contribution to drone metal by an elder composer,[7] attempting to "arrive at an a priori essence of heavy metal, reducing it to a basic chord progression".[11]
See also
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r John Wray, "Heady Metal", New York Times, May 28, 2006. [1] Access date: August 18, 2008.
- ^ a b c d e f g Jan Tumlir, "Primal dirge", Artforum, April 2006. [2] Access date: August 22, 2008.
- ^ a b c d James Parker, The Boston Phoenix, June 15, 2006. [3] Access date: August 22, 2008
- ^ a b Brandon Stosuy, "Heavy Metal: It's Alive and Flourishing", Slate, August 19, 2005. [4] Access date: August 22, 2008.
- ^ William York, Allmusic, Sunn O))) Biography, [5] Access date: August 23, 2008.
- ^ Jon Caramanica, "The Alchemy of Art World Heavy Metal". International Herald Tribune, September 20, 2005. [6] Access date: August 25, 2008.
- ^ a b Steve Smith, "Where Classic Avant-Garde Gets a Hint of Heavy Metal", New York Times, September 13, 2006. [7] Access date: August 28, 2008.
- ^ Jason Jackowiak, Splendid, September 14, 2005. [8] Access date: August 23, 2008.
- ^ Oliver Spall, "Sunn O))) and Boris present Altar", Flavorpill, December 10, 2007. [9] Access date: August 22, 2008.
- ^ Joe Panzner, Sheer Hellish Miasma review, Stylus, September 1, 2003, [10] Access date: August 23, 2008.
- ^ Chad Radford, "Essential Listening", Creative Loafing, October 23, 2006. [11] Access date: August 28, 2008.
