Holy American Trinity

[J.K.]

Inspired by the Unholy German Trinity, here's a poll on this 3 Doom Metal bands that I think are the undisputable pionneers of Doom Metal in North America. While Glam Metal and Thrash Metal where fighting, some bands just stayed out of all this things and play sloooowly like Black Sabbath did 10 years back... And soon they became legendary... What a story

So, simple, which one do you choose and why ?

Also, you can discuss the origin of Doom and it's precursors.

Bonus question: Is calling Black Sabbath a Doom Metal act is just anachronic/non-sense for you ? I think it's weird but acceptable.

[mordred]

Quite clearly SAINT VITUS for me. Their catalogue is almost without faults. The first two albums with Scott Reagers are immortal. The three Wino era albums are great and the reunion album with Reagers is again bloody awesome, it was like nothing had happened, they just picked up where they left off after the first two. (So yeah, C.O.D. is the flaw of their career).

SAINT VITUS is the archetypical doom metal band for me, "The Psychopath" is the only song you need to define doom metal.

TROUBLE were pretty much on the same level with their first two classic records but to me they were never as interesting on the later records, so I'll put them second.

I like PENTAGRAM, especially the debut. I don't put them on the same level as vitus or Trouble though. Maybe a bit blasphemous to say, but I find Pentagram a bit overrated. Still a good band though.

[J.K.]

Yes, the Die Healing album is just incredible, so intense and one of their best. As you say, very few artist are able to make a return like this, too bad they don't continue...

I think I'm gonna vote for SAINT VITUS too. But for me the battle was between VITUS and PENTAGRAM. I just put TROUBLE in third.

[ugobo]

TROUBLE!!!

And yes,i guess you can say that Sabbath planted the seeds of doom.

Sad to hear Trouble without Eric Wagner though...

[Lama]

1) SAINT VITUS
2) PENTAGRAM
3) TROUBLE

As said above, Vitus' discography is, apart from "C.O.D." flawless. One of my favourite bands. I even got the 'V'-symbol tattooed on my leg.

Pentagram is also a favourite band of mine, and although I like the last couple of records, I must admit that the older stuff is better.

Trouble is a great band, but in the company of Vitus and Pentagram I have to put them at place 3. I like everything by them, except the last album.

[J.K.]

Pentagram is also a favourite band of mine, and although I like the last couple of records, I must admit that the older stuff is better.

You mean with Victor Griffin ? If yes, I totally agree.

[Lama]

Pentagram is also a favourite band of mine, and although I like the last couple of records, I must admit that the older stuff is better.

You mean with Victor Griffin ? If yes, I totally agree.

Everything from the first 7" up to "Be Forewarned", incl. the "First Daze..."-compilations. But as I said, the last three albums aren't bad either, but I don't listen to them very often, although I really enjoyed them when they were released. I don't have that with Vitus ; apart from "C.O.D." I listen to all their records on a regular base.

[The Sentinel]

All 3 are great but I vote for Saint Vitus mainly because of "Hallow's Victim". That record has such a great inhuman devastating guitar tone; the whole album is impecabble.

[GJ]

Hard question. But from judging by the average quality of these band's eighties releases I voted Pentagram with Saint Vitus (who put out a lot more stuff of course) being a very close second, whilst Trouble ending up third and quite far distanced by the others (another singer may have helped them as I've never come to terms with Wagner's fractured whining).

[Dark Stranger]

Just voted - how are Trouble last in the voting?

Corroseum guys - get your house in order!

[nightsblood]

So, simple, which one do you choose and why ?

Also, you can discuss the origin of Doom and it's precursors.

Bonus question: Is calling Black Sabbath a Doom Metal act is just anachronic/non-sense for you ? I think it's weird but acceptable.

Picked Pentagram; they're my favorite of the three. Vitus is also essential. TBH I'm not a huge Trouble fan; they're alright but I never got heavily into them. I almost prefer their later hippie phase over their early stuff.

Why Pentagram? 3 killer albums from 84-93, plus lots of cool older material, though a lot of that stuff isn't doom at all. With Vitus, there's the 2 Reagers releases which are both very good, then The Wino Years + COD, then the crushing 'Die HEaling'. I don't mind the Wino material at all- it's pretty damn good- but it's not as strong as the Reagers stuff, so it knocks their catalog down just one notch IMO

Origins of Doom? 2 words: Black Sabbath. Which is why Sabbath is often called a doom band. I understand why it's weird in a way, but lots of bands get put into genres retroactively because, as pioneers developing a new sound, there's no category to put them in when they start Early on, Sabbath was sorta lumped into hard/acid rock- there was no doom category. Same with early US goth bands like Christian Death- at the time they were lumped into Death metal b/c goth wasn't developed per se yet (at least not in the US), and of course Death Metal (and Black Metal) came to mean very different things by the end of the 80s. SO i don't have a problem w/ Sabbath becoming an honorary doom band

[nightsblood]

Pentagram's my favorite of the 3. Killer stuff throughout the 80s and 90s.

Vitus is a strong second. The Wino Years hold them down a notch for me; I like the Wino material but the Reagers stuff is much stronger IMO

Trouble is ok but a distant third. I like the first album and the later hippie stuff, the in-between stuff isn't my favorite

Doom origins = 2 words: Black Sabbath. Which is why Sabbath get retroactively put in the doom category. I can see why some think it's weird, but w/o Sabbath you have no doom metal. And at the time there was no Doom Metal to put Sabbath in. Bands developing a new sound often get lumped into a weird category they don't fit in very well when they start out (like Sabbath being a hard rock band, or Christian Death and Bauhaus being lumped into Death Metal in the early 80s). Years later when the genre takes form people then put them into the scene they created.

[Ernest Thesiger]

Christian Death and Bauhaus being lumped into Death Metal in the early 80s.

I'm sure the term was "death rock". You'd have to be a really silly person to label them DM.

[Keir]

Perhaps a better analogy would be calling Venom a black metal band.

Personally, Trouble is my favorite of the 3, but perhaps that's just because I've never really been a big fan of doom metal.

[ION BRITTON]

Pentagram, mainly due to their first godly album.

Never cared much for Trouble except for the debut. Blame the Zeppelinesque vocals for that.