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Shin Godzilla

Doom and Metal: A Comprehensive Comparison

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Put this together an hour or two ago. Admittedly, the editing and video are both somewhat shoddy, but the point still gets across quite nicely. Some key differences between this video and others:

+ E1M6's music is compared to "Sanity Obscure" by Believer. This used to be on the Doom Wiki's Doom music chart, but was deleted for some reason.

+ E2M2's music is compared to "Mr. Doctor" by Devil Doll, as opposed to the more popular choice, "Call of Ktulu" by Metallica. The similarity between the start of E2M2's music and the violins on "Mr. Doctor" caught my ear the first time I listened to the latter.

+ E3M8 is compared to "Sargent D & the S.O.D." by Stormtroopers of Death, as opposed to the more popular choice, "Silent Scream" by Slayer.

+ Map01 is compared to "Hangar 18" by Megadeth.

+ Map02 is compared to "Samba Briza" by Atheist. This is currently on the Doom Wiki's Doom II music chart.

+ Map09 is compared to "Sex Type Thing" by Stone Temple Pilots.

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Wow.. I really enjoyed watching this, or listening I should say. Very awesome comparisons I didn't even think of. I was waiting to hear Map 23 then Them Bones, I'm glad you put that in!

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Some of these are fairly obvious when you listen to them, especially the ones based off of songs by Pantera, Slayer, Megadeth, and Alice in Chains. Some of the comparisons though didn't really seem that substantial, for example E2M2 and MAP02.

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I agree with EarthQuake, the E2M2 and MAP02 comparisons were a little bit of a stretch.

Other than that, I think this is the most thorough compilation I've yet seen. My only real suggestion is that you maybe add a bit more of a visual element to it, although I have no clue as to what that element might be.

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A visual element could be recordings of someone playing the levels the music is for.

From what I've gleaned "Mr. Doctor" is Devil Doll's leader, and they've recorded 1 piece albums (1 song, divided into parts if for a CD). It's more likely that Metallica plagiarized the band or vise versa, and that the MUS sounded a bit like Devil Doll's song only because of the instrumentation. Romero has always liked "prog" metal, so he might have used a Devil Doll CD (even though it's obscure) in any case.

Coincidences may often make stuff based on the same source sound more like each other than they do to their source.

I remember that on MP3.com Bobby Prince wrote a blurb about The Healer Stalks (Map02's music), saying it was based on a "latin" song. It's also possible that both the MUS and the metal song are based on the same popular or traditional piece, or that Bobby Prince was given the Atheist disc and he identified the source, then listening to both versions while mixing the MUS.

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Hellish Godzilla said:

the Doom Wiki's Doom music chart

Oh, I just noticed that.

I see nobody's noticed E2M6 is based on one of the earlier string melodies in "Going After Newt" from the Aliens soundtrack by James Horner.

But then I'm probably the only person here with a couple hundred soundtracks who listens to them on a regular basis.

Also, E1M1 is best linked with "Hooked" from D.R.I.'s '87 album Crossover. Rob Halford ripped off one or both of them for the more-recent "Hell's Last Survivor" track.

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Lüt said:
I see nobody's noticed E2M6 is based on one of the earlier string melodies in "Going After Newt" from the Aliens soundtrack by James Horner.

heh

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Eventually, but wikis always have "too much" to fix on them. :p

It should be mandatory for the wikis to cite the released "discards" pack of music Romero uploaded, as a bunch of those MIDIs, some of which are earlier versions of the ones included in the game, say what they are based on in their comment/title field.

AC/DC's "Big Gun" really has a fitting name for DOOM (cf BFG).

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Thanks for all the feedback, people. I have to agree that the E2M2 comparison is stretching it somewhat, considering that the chord progression they both display is not terribly unique, but I figured I'd throw it in there anyway. :P As for the visuals, I was gonna do a slide show of various Doom pictures (posters, cover art, etc.), but I got caught up in the audio portion and was too tired to put together anything substantial. Also, I neglected a chance to compare E3M2's music to "Leather Rebel" by Judas Priest while I was at it. I'll try and take care of all this in an updated version, whenever I get around to it.

LO_ot said:
I see nobody's noticed E2M6 is based on one of the earlier string melodies in "Going After Newt" from the Aliens soundtrack by James Horner.


I knew about that one, but haven't been able to track down an MP3.

Also, E1M1 is best linked with "Hooked" from D.R.I.'s '87 album Crossover.


I just downloaded this one, and as soon as I heard the opening riff I realized just how right you are.

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That was really nice to hear...most of the comparison are pretty good...Metal and Doom just mix perfectly..i am happy to like both =P

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StupidBunny said:

I agree with EarthQuake, the E2M2 and MAP02 comparisons were a little bit of a stretch.

Well in fact I think the E2M3 comparison everyone else is making is farfetched. Tho I agree I don't know that original song, all I usually hear when comparing it to E2M3 is the opening beats. But really, some opening rythms like that don't constitute something original. As I know so far, after the beats, the Pantera song goes into something completely different to the intermission music.

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printz said:

Well in fact I think the E2M3 comparison everyone else is making is farfetched. Tho I agree I don't know that original song, all I usually hear when comparing it to E2M3 is the opening beats. But really, some opening rythms like that don't constitute something original. As I know so far, after the beats, the Pantera song goes into something completely different to the intermission music.


I never really agreed with the E2M3/"Regular People" comparison, either, to be honest. You're right in that they do sound completely different after the opening drums - and considering how similar the Doom versions are to the source material, it doesn't quite fit. Just a wild guess, but I'm starting to wonder if E2M3 is based on another hardcore punk song, like with E1M1 and D.R.I's "Hooked." I'm also curious as to what E1M9's music might be based on - as far as I know, it's the only metallic-sounding song on the Doom soundtrack that hasn't been connected to anything else.

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Some tracks seem to have been changed considerably, and that seems to be why it's so hard to identify some of them. In any case, it's 100% certain that one of the influences is Pantera, so if there's a beat sequence that's just like one in a track of theirs, it's not far-fetched to consider it, even if the rest of the song is not clearly identifiable. Three of the tracks in the "unused" pack say they are based on Soundgarden's Outshined. Two of those (un32, un36) are more similar, while the third (un37) is D_E3M2, which I can't easily link to the Soundgarden track by hearing it.

Hellish Godzilla said:
Just a wild guess, but I'm starting to wonder if E2M3 is based on another hardcore punk song, like with E1M1 and D.R.I's "Hooked."

I wouldn't take what Lüt said above for granted; that Judas Priest may have borrowed from the song is one thing, what Bobby Prince used as a base (mostly from what Romero handed to him) is another. Which song came first isn't necessarily relevant when both were available during DOOM's development. In the wiki a note can be added saying any inspiring song is based on another, to address people saying "oh, no but that's based on...", though. In cases where it's unclear, one simply notes both possible sources.

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myk said:

Some tracks seem to have been changed considerably, and that seems to be why it's so hard to identify some of them. In any case, it's 100% certain that one of the influences is Pantera, so if there's a beat sequence that's just like one in a track of theirs, it's not far-fetched to consider it, even if the rest of the song is not clearly identifiable. Three of the tracks in the "unused" pack say they are based on Soundgarden's Outshined. Two of those (un32, un36) are more similar, while the third (un37) is D_E3M2, which I can't easily link to the Soundgarden track by hearing it.


Point taken. However, on the topic of the unreleased music, there's a possibility that un37 was mislabeled: un36 is actually "Slaves and Bulldozers," not "Outshined" as the file info states.

I wouldn't take what Lüt said above for granted; that Judas Priest may have borrowed from the song is one thing, what Bobby Prince used as a base (mostly from what Romero handed to him) is another. Which song came first isn't necessarily relevant when both were available during DOOM's development.


It's probably worth noting that the Halford song Lut referenced was released in 2000. Still, I see where you're coming from. I didn't make the video to say, "Hey, this is definitely the inspiration for this track," but just as a general comparison.

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LO_ot said:

Also, E1M1 is best linked with "Hooked" from D.R.I.'s '87 album Crossover. Rob Halford ripped off one or both of them for the more-recent "Hell's Last Survivor" track.


Alot of people say that it's based on either No Remorse, Behind The Crooked Cross, or Master Of Puppets. I always felt that neither of these were accurate and you have just proved me right! I guess they don't call you LO_ot for nothing cause you got the loot.

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printz said:

Well in fact I think the E2M3 comparison everyone else is making is farfetched. Tho I agree I don't know that original song, all I usually hear when comparing it to E2M3 is the opening beats. But really, some opening rythms like that don't constitute something original. As I know so far, after the beats, the Pantera song goes into something completely different to the intermission music.


I was pretty skeptical about this, too. The opening beat on these songs are both pretty generic, so it's quite possible that they could have been created independently by Bobby Prince, or taken from somewhere else. I would like to hear the rest of the Pantera song, just so see if there's any other similarity.

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StupidBunny said:

I was pretty skeptical about this, too. The opening beat on these songs are both pretty generic, so it's quite possible that they could have been created independently by Bobby Prince, or taken from somewhere else. I would like to hear the rest of the Pantera song, just so see if there's any other similarity.


Here you go

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I always find it really upsetting when Bobby Prince's blatant plargiarizations are pointed out to me. And some of those are absolutely undeniable.

The most obvious one in my opinion is "Bye Bye American Pie". I'm pretty sure that "cover" didn't even fool me when I was 9 years old. I'm probably just gonna start substituting "Them Bones" whenever I play that level. Of course, the chances of me playing that far into a Doom 2 WAD are slim indeed.

Still, it makes me happy that his best works ("Dark Halls", "Suspense", "Demons on the Prey", and of COURSE, "Waltz of the Demons") remain apparently unplagiarized.

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Grimm said:
Still, it makes me happy that his best works ("Dark Halls", "Suspense", "Demons on the Prey", and of COURSE, "Waltz of the Demons") remain apparently unplagiarized.

They might be original, although I'm thinking that if any of those (except maybe D_E1M3, which could be metal) are based on something it's likely from movie scores. Same goes for the music for Map28.

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Almost as bad as the ripping off is his application of the same stupid blues progression (I think I'm terming that right) to almost every single song.

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Richo Rosai said:

the same stupid blues progression (I think I'm terming that right) to almost every single song.

You may not like it, but I do...

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deathbringer said:

Wasn't there some death metal band who where either called BFG9000, or made a song with that title, or both?

You might be thinking of this but I don't know if they ever had a song called BFG9000 or not. Metal-archives doesn't have them listed nor anything else that turned up "bfg 9000" on a search.

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Grimm said:

The most obvious one in my opinion is "Bye Bye American Pie". I'm pretty sure that "cover" didn't even fool me when I was 9 years old. I'm probably just gonna start substituting "Them Bones" whenever I play that level.


I've done that, and the funny thing is the AiC song sounds much more cheerful than Prince's piece.

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Well either way, I still LOVE Prince's work. Plagiarized or not, it fit Doom perfectly. It wouldn't have been the same game without it, in my opinion.

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printz said:

You may not like it, but I do...


Like it or not, it's still further indication of a lack of creativity and/or laziness.

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LO_ot said:

Also, E1M1 is best linked with "Hooked" from D.R.I.'s '87 album Crossover. Rob Halford ripped off one or both of them for the more-recent "Hell's Last Survivor" track.


I was just going to post that!!!! what a fucking killer song/album that is too! the riff is pretty much identical to the doom midi without the change/rest at the end of the verse of the riff... this song might be hard to find to download so I'll make a sample:

http://download.yousendit.com/FA61C6DB77A06AC2

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