Has everybody here made sure to listen to Skepticism's "Alloy"? I realize most people never look past "Stormcrowfleet", and I'm here to say that if this applies to you, you are making a big mistake. Yes, "Stormcrowfleet" is a great album, but the more I listen to "Alloy" the more it becomes not only my favourite Skepticism album but my favourite funeral doom album. Absolutely 100% essential listening!

I find that Alloy is actually one of my favourite Skepticism albums, I don't know why exactly but I think it may be because how more prominence is given to the vocals. It sort of abandons that barren soundscape feeling they have for a more rhythmic, albeit still turtle slow, approach. I like it very much but I can see why people would dislike it.

On the other hand, anyone ignoring Aes is a dumb idiot!

Well I haven't listened to neither Alloy nor Farmakon. You have convinced me to listen to Alloy though. I didn't liked The Process of Farmakon at all, so I think I dismissed everything Skepticism did after it.

"Farmakon" is kinda decent, but I can't say I'm a huge fan of it. It's listenable background music but doesn't impress me much. Like a weaker version of "Lead and Aether."

Farmakon is the weird cousin that sometimes appears but never leaves a lasting impression.

Evoken new album is a classic in the making. And there's Faal's "The Clouds Are Burning"

On that discussion, can anyone recommend me some more bands like Skepticism. Bands that heavily relies on organs and keyboards. Bands that dont have those crushing riffs that want to bury you under the rock. Bands that are more quiet and sombre in nature, gives you a rather floating/ethereal feeling.

Try Thergothon if you don't know them, they're pretty much the band that influenced Skepticism. Catacombs also relies on that hypnotic atmosphere although it has much more of a death metal influence. Still some songs are really quiet and relying on little details.

Shape of Despair are one of the more heavily keyboard oriented funeral doom bands, maybe they would be a good place to start.

Hey guys, listen to Ataraxie. You won't regret it. Necro out.

"L'ataraxie" owns the world

Slow Transcending Agony is really good doom/death, I think I might like Funeralium just a little more though...

Check out Fall, Obsidian Night by Remembrance. Couldn't fit your description any more perfectly.

After nearly a year listening to Paragon Of Dissonance I've finally decided it was time to travel back in Esoteric's discography, although I fear this task will probably take the remaining years of this decade to achieve, such is the monolithic size and length of the band's records. The stage is set on a rainy Autumn day and I'm listening TMV for the first time, and boy is it one hellish ride or what?! It's just so massive that I think it will take me yet another year to fully grasp it before I can continue my journey to their earlier efforts.

Damn, massive is really a euphemism here!

Good job, saving the best (Esoteric Emotions) for last.

I'm really scared of the idea of listening to The Pernicious Enigma, I really am!

Good to know. I love both Stormcrowfleet and Lead & Aether, however, I found Farmakon incredibly weak, so perhaps I will enjoy Alloy more.

Like people said above, Farmakon is kind of the weak spot of their discography, while Alloy, at least in my humble opinion, is the best album they did since Stormcrowfleet.

A few months ago I think someone asked for death/doom with flutes other than Grindmaster Dead. Is there such a thing? Preferrably without female vocals or any gothic metal elements. I love the flute in Grindmaster Dead, but it only works because it has such a strong trad doom influence rather than any symphonic/gothic stylings.

I think that was me.

Someone suggested Dissolving of Prodgiy. Their album Stvanice has a lot of flute in it. It's definitely not as brutal or atonal as Grindmaster Dead, but it works for me. There's no female vocals. There's a little bit of somewhat low "clean" singing, which I think would be the only gothic element, but it's not exactly 100% clean. There's a good amount of acoustic guitar too.

Dissolving of Prodigy - Rozmluva s Vetrem

Their other albums have some sporadic flute, but no where near as much as this album.

Looking for bands/ songs similar to Evoken's "Tending The Dire Hatred" and "Of Purest Absolution." More specifically with the really crushing guitar riffs and low death growls. Possibly something a little more straight-forward, and not as spacey. Thanks in advance.

Is there anything similar to Thorns of the Carrion's Gardens of Dead Winter? Death/doom with cheapo weepy synth?

I dunno, I found Shroud of Bereavement to have "cheapo weepy synth", though I'm not sure I'd recommend them. There do seem to be people who enjoy them a lot, but I'm definitely not one of them.

I haven't heard Thorns of the Carrion anyway, so I'm not sure how similar they are in style. Do you perhaps have a YouTube link for the song you inquired about?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QP_Idr4o ... ure=relmfu
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vJF468ubcek

The first album is pretty amateurish. Their old drummer tells me the band thinks the album is a joke these days, but it has it's charms. A lot of the synth stuff is used in interludes, like that second link I have there. I'll post something from the second album, since it's more refined. Clean vocals, better implemented synths, etc.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fEWWwwjR ... re=related

The Memory You've Become by In Somnis is a fantastic album that should fit what you're looking for. Death/Doom with a sort of folk/medieval atmosphere to it. The album is free to download here.

Here's a song just in case you're too skeptical to download it.

I am fairly well versed in the death doom genre and prefer my death doom on the more death side of the equation. I am not a fan of romantic/gothic death doom, besides My dying Bride's turn loose the swans the genre really holds little appeal to me.

I have been listening to a lot of doomy death metal as of late and am looking for more. For example i just discovered descend in to the aburd by Fleshcrawl and it was right in line with my tastes. Some other examples of the doomy death i have been listening to and am looking for more of would be: autopsy, disembowelment, winter, hooded menace, coffins, early morgion, incantation, etc.

I also wondering if the early Evoken records are more death doom than funeral doom. I own from quietus forward but have yet to hear their first recordings and am interested to see if they progressed from a death doom band into funeral doom....

I think Evoken has been pretty funeral-ish from the start, they're named after a Thergothon song after all. Their first demo does however have some fast death-y parts. I'd still call that demo funeral doom, but there's a death/doom edge to it.

As for death-heavy, 100% goth-free death/doom, there's plenty of bands to check out. I figure most of them aren't on YouTube, but they can be easily pirated if one so desires. You could start with Vore from the United States, listed as "death metal" on the Archives, which they are, but often playing somewhere in between a mid-paced tempo and a slow, crawling speed.

Another two essentials are Sempiternal Deathreign's album, which is a mixture of death/thrash and traditional doom metal in the Black Sabbath vein, and Necro Schizma, also from the Netherlands, who are just about the most primitive band you're gonna find in the whole field of death/doom, orienting themselves on the slow(est) moments of Hellhammer, raw, in-your-face, sloooooow, and just about as "romantic" as a rotten zombie with intestines hanging out of its torso.

Another Dutch band would be Delirium - pure Celtic Frost worship. You might like. Crimson Relic from the United States falls in the same category of bands who really like Tom Warrior's most famous band, and they do it will. Simple but effective.

Last but not least, you may have heard them already since they just recently put a well-received new album out, but Derkéta from the United States. Crushing death/doom with the emphasis on death. Their demo compilation is essential, and more death-y than their full-length, the latter took a while to grow on me but now stands as one of my favourites in the entire genre. For this band I'm actually pretty sure there's material on YouTube since they're easily the most well-known of the bands I listed.

That's all for now, hopefully containing some stuff you'll be happy with. I could probably think of more, but I prefer not to flood people with 50 recommendations in a single post and instead give you time to go through what I have recommended so far.

But that's my favorite kind...!

i just checked out Derkéta's album and it is killer stuff i will look in to the others you mentioned as well thanks.

Also try Crimson Relic.

I mentioned them in my post. 4th paragraph.

God damnit... That's what I get from reading posts on the diagonal.

I should known you'd mention them.

Definitely something that should be heard. I love the timpani.

They're one of the defining death/doom bands, funeral doom is more like Skepticism, Funeral, Until Death Overtakes Me, Shape of Despair, & Worship. Thergothon is a definite influence, which retrospectively is called funeral doom, but I dont think that detracts from the clear death metal influences Evoken has also adopted, funeral-ish paced sections alone doesn't make it funeral doom. I think they're comparable to bands like Morgion & Dusk (USA), more so then most funeral doom band, which have more ambient/dirge influences. I have to say I'm puzzled on their genre confusion at some places...
Here, some examples:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6n0sR4b_xXc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QoOqTmJaq-I
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ud1LIYuH ... re=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QLQ8yU8Nb1Y

Compared to:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vKajqoXTH7k
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EGr7t8hfhuo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1cbAOraF7eQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0oy7yMCQX60

Nah, Evoken is funeral doom/death, not only doom/death. They have a huge depressive and gloamy edge most doom/death bands don't have. When I think of doom/death, I think of Runemagick.

There is a heavy influence from "Alloy" in certain Malpais songs.

So... New Worship's almost out

GREAT!!!

damn, I wasn't even aware they were recording a new one

I've only heard "Last Tape/CD/Vinyl/Whatever..." and "Dooom" once each, gotta remedy that some time. Not too well-versed in funeral doom, I prefer death/doom. I do listen to Skepticism and Thergothon a lot, and Esoteric and Mournful Congregation occasionally, but beyond that I only know like 10-15 bands.

Last Tape is legendary but Dooom was seriously way too drawn out and boring as hell.