What type of music goes best with DooM?

I tried listening to all manner of music with Doom but ultimately I decided that only midi really fits in with it somehow. Maybe because it's evocative of its era.

Ultraviolet said:

I was just thinking that a classically-trained musician/composer would probably be capable of producing electronica that Fredrik would like. One would probably give up and return to what one already knows how to do before one could learn the tools/software/terminology/technology and all the possibilities, but if one was really determined to explore another field of music, with that kind of background one could really tear it up in the electronic scene.

Das Ich covered that concept over the course of their career, in fact some of their earlier stuff was straight-up classical, but I think he's talking about standalone industrial, not an industrial/classical hybrid.

but I think he's talking about standalone industrial, not an industrial/classical hybrid.

Indeed. And generally speaking, I find music that doesn't stick strictly to a well defined genre to be better.

I personally find that music should just be instinctual - it should just evoke something in you automatically, whether it is simple or unbelievable complex and regardless of genre. I think that people who talk about it from a logical point of view (too simple, sticks to one genre's conventions etc,) just end up coming off as pretentious and IMO miss the point of music entirely. I think you lose some of the power it has for you, that simple connection you get with it, if you look at it that way.

Whether it's been on MTV or not, it doesn't goddamn matter - just like what you like and fuck looking for intellectual reasons for doing so.

Pff, please. Without pretense there would be no scenes, no fun.

I, personally, find that no music goes well with Doom. Without the music blaring in the background, the atmosphere is greatly heightened, and therefore, it's even more fun to play. But that's my opinion of course.

If I may make some comments and recommendations to Frederik:

True, there's a number of industrial groups like KMFDM who are relatively simple and get boring in a hurry, but there's some really complex, innovative and unusual stuff that usually doesn't come into the public eye. As a commercial entity, industrial is more a fusion of metal with some electronic and effects thrown in for good measure, but the genre as a whole is far more expansive and unusual than that.

For instance, you have the noise/ambient work of Throbbing Gristle; the electronic/dub feel of Cabaret Voltaire; and the ultra-gritty, harsh rhythmic work of Einstürzende Neubauten. And those are just the bands that defined the sound within the first four years or so.

As Danarchist said earlier, industrial's really branched out into a number of permutations these days, the most well-distributed being EBM (which is essentially a fusion of industrial and synthpop beatwork, trance and synthpop instrumentation and chord structure, and a bit of goth "attitude") and industrial metal (who stick with a guitar-based sound but accentuate it with electronic beats, sounds and effects). Unfortunately, in my experience these are also the most stagnant and uniform branches of industrial, and can leave somebody without more listening in the genre bored. I personally prefer the more experimental and electronic-oriented aspects of industrial, especially in groups like Download, Coil and the like. There's a huge amount of innovation and skill in groups like these, and they definetely break the usual public perception of industrial.

There's also a branch of music that I can only describe as "dark electronic," which has a definite industrial foundation but combines it with numerous different influences. This includes groups like NIN (who for the most part isn't properly called industrial), Soma, Snog, Haujobb and Meat Beat Manifesto (who have a HUGE dub influence). A great deal of good music can be found in this segment as well.

As for more classical-oriented electronic music, you might want to start off with some of the works of Karlheinz Stockhausen, who basically brought the classical sound into electronic execution. Philip Glass also uses electronic in conjunction with just about every other instrument possible for a very dramatic effect, often akin to classical, symphonic and orchestral music. Listen to some of the work of Neu!, and see how their sound segues into the hugely influential electronic of Kraftwerk. Listen to some Brian Eno, Global Communication, Bola, Air, Bjork, Boards of Canada and Mum, and listen to how they use nuance and suspense to amazing effect. I guarantee electronic music will seem a lot different to you after that.

/edit And Danarchist, Hocicio are a South American industrial group. They're not particularly unusual but what I've heard from them is good stuff. :)

I listen to whatever's in my CDplayer.

/me sneaks Elton John (not a CD, Elton John himself) into ravage's CD player

Ubik said:

I personally prefer the more experimental and electronic-oriented aspects of industrial, especially in groups like Download, Coil and the like. There's a huge amount of innovation and skill in groups like these, and they definetely break the usual public perception of industrial.

Yeah, Coil and Download are a couple of my favorites because each track is like a different experience, and each album kinda has its own sound (for example, Download's Charlie's Family (which was the soundtrack to some movie apparently) is very suspenseful and creepy, making it feel like you're being stalked by a serial killer or something. Then Coil's Musick to Play in the Dark is pretty calm and somber, and the long tracks give you time to think about the lyrics and music.

Ultraviolet said:

I was just thinking that a classically-trained musician/composer would probably be capable of producing electronica that Fredrik would like. One would probably give up and return to what one already knows how to do before one could learn the tools/software/terminology/technology and all the possibilities, but if one was really determined to explore another field of music, with that kind of background one could really tear it up in the electronic scene.

Heh...kinda sounds like Walter/Wendy Carlos, except he/she mostly just reproduced classical on the Moog. He/She did have some original pieces though, like Timesteps (a personal favorite of mine...heard in part on the Clockwork Orange soundtrack), as well as the soundtracks to movies like The Shining and Tron.

Also, as Lüt said, Das Ich has a lot of classical-sounding stuff and stuff blended with classical, as does Kramm.

W007 for my new avatar! Epilepsy galore! (Maybe that should be my title.)

EDIT: Dan: Who's that in your avatar?

Ultraviolet said:

EDIT: Dan: Who's that in your avatar?

Dan Woodward

the_Danarchist said:

Dan Woodward

Dan Woodward as in YOU, Dan Woodward, or Dan Woodward, one of the reporters who exposed Nixon? Er... or was his first name even Dan?

He means himself heh ;P

Oh. Well that's a very nice picture, actually.

Thanks.

I think I need to update. I have longer, scraglier hair and some beardness now.

I need a pic of myself at that angle on a relatively good hair-day. We'd look a lot a like, nose and cheekbones aside. I could even do my The Crow style makeup ala 10th grade...

Ultraviolet said:

Oh. Well that's a very nice picture, actually.

Hahaha, you is gay!!

/me points fingers and runs away.

Anyway if I listened to whatever was in my cd player whilst playing doom I dunno htf I'd concetrate.

pritch said:

Hahaha, you is gay!!

/me points fingers and runs away.

/me cries

HARDCORE GANGSTA RAP!

Jazz fusion.

the_Danarchist said:

Jazz fusion.

Finally, someone sees the light.

Fredrik said:

There are maybe two or three different emotions that industrial music manages to convey (judging from the 20 or so industrial artists I've heard).

Not everyone is as much a sensitive artist as you are, Fredrik. Go eat some quiche and watch life-time, god..


Anyway, I typically have the PSX doom/Quake soundtrack in a wad in my /skins directory at some point or another, the midi bores me to death after all this time.

the_Danarchist said:

Jazz fusion.

Chillout/downtempo!

The Merovingian

wtf it says your registered in 75...WTF

Something I just randomly discovered:

The music from the first level of Metal Slug X goes REALLY REALLY well with DOOM, as long as you're playing a really kill-heavy level :D

I've been playing all my goth-industrial compilation CDs that I bought at Hot Topic a lot recently. Doesn't have much to do with Doom, though I have been listening to them during CS matches.

Big band/swing...

Best music ? Gotta be Rob Zombie's "dragula" or Marilyn Manson's "fight song". Oh yes.