I've been listening to some DSBM, funeral and death/doom and I love em and I love lot of bands in my checklist from these genres but I'm kinda fed up with the harsh vocals. I want something simpler where I can understand the lyrics. Where the vocals sound human so I can relate to the music easily. I was thinking something along the line of pop or rock music. I guess trad doom would work as long as the band focuses of despair and melancholy

Not exactly "mainstream" but you could check out Dan Barrett's two projects, Giles Corey and Have a Nice Life. Giles Corey is an acoustic/folk sort of thing, and HANL is a post-punk sorta thing.

http://gilescorey.bandcamp.com/album/giles-corey
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Pp9DC56hh8

It's almost cliché to mention them in regards to depressing music, but Joy Division, especially the second album "Closer". They were starting to move away from their punk roots by this point; to paraphrase the band's designer Peter Saville, while the first album "Unknown Pleasures" is like a streetlit Manchester underpass at night, "Closer" is like the city's cathedral. The final two tracks especially are particularly harrowing, I find them very hard to listen to.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zcKGqgwLzjA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3m4xjzZr6fo

I am familiar with Joy Division and I actually like Unknown Pleasures more but thanks anyway

Passenger's "Let Her Go"

wait, what?


anyway, perhaps gary jules' cover of tears for fears' mad world, or some poets of the fall

or to be super obvious...

I have watched Donnie Darko and love that Gary Jules song. Also a big fan of Poets of the Fall but songs like Late Goodbye is exactly what I am looking for. I'm obviously familiar with Johnny Cash. Thanks for trying though

how about mazzy star's into dust

Also familiar with them and Hope Sandoval's another band. Like all their albums

Check out Depeche Mode's "Playing The Angel" album, especially the songs "A Pain That I'm Used To", "Suffer Well" and "The Sinner In Me".

well damn, i'm gonna have to break out the big gun of pain

Alice in Chains is as far as depressive mainstream could get. Also, a decent amount of their material is semi-doom metallic.
I guess you're already familiar with them.




Newer Marillion could do the trick although they are not at all metal or hard rock and not quite mainstream these days. Atmospheric/alternative/prog rock.


And last but not the least is the great Tom Waits.

I love Tom Waits. I'll check out Alice In Chains and Marillion. I never really cared about AiC before and didnt know Marillion was depressive. thanks

As others said, Joy Division.
Also, mid career Katatonia, Paradise Lost and Anathema will probably do it for you.

Marillion doesn't come across as depressive to me. "Bitter sweet melancholy" sums them up pretty well.

While this is probably not what you are looking for, I can think of nothing but "The Angelic Process" when I think of depressive music.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G9ZiU7ahZso

A band that sounds melancholic pretty much at all times is "God is an Astronaut" but I think they're mostly instrumental...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKFDYdaSyng

A band that seemed pretty melancholic to me was "The Foreshadowing", especially the first album, because "Oionos" is crap.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=97zt-Y1T9N8

And a band that used to have some fairly emotional songs in my opinion was "How like a winter", although I'll be linking my favorite song from the album (and they don't really sound alike):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eA-k3JofHZU

Yea, you've nailed it.



I don't think the second album is anywhere near as crap. It even features a great cover of Sting's "Russians". They're probably heading to a more heavier direction with the upcoming album as the third record was almost traditional doom with very few shade of gothic rock. But the OP is looking for mainstream music and I don't think The Foreshadowing are even semi-mainstream. However, they do possess the sound he's looking for.

I love The Foreshadowing, Anathema, Katatonia and Paradise Lost. I'm already aware of almost all the depressive stuff metal has to offer. I made this thread to find out whether I was missing anything. I've known about Marillion and AiC but never really give them a listen so I will listen to them more. I'm not really looking for a specific sound though. I just want to understand the lyrics thats melancholic/depressive while I listen to the music

Hey!

Maybe you can try ROME, a Luxembourg based Dark Folk band. Haven't heard of them until recently, but they sure are good. I was quite surprised actually to see such a good band come from where I live. I haven't listened to everything, but they sure have some depressing songs!



Cheers!

Hey, ColeMiner, have you heard ShamRain? Not metal or anything heavy but definitely melancholic/depressing atmospheric rock with gothic tinges. Mostly their older stuff with Entwine vocalist Mika Tauriainen is brilliant. I guess your criteria of 'mainstream' music is holding me back from more recommendations.

Pallbearer, warning, 40 watt sun, and later Woods of Ypres are all great depressing doom bands with clean easy to understand vocals. A lot of traditional doom has non harsh vocals as well. None of these are very mainstream though

You think late Katatonia/Anathema is metal?

So, perhaps my favourite subject...

Death in June up to 1995, in particular Nada!, The Wörld Thät Sümmer, Brown Book, But, What Ends When The Symbols Shatter? and Rose Clouds Of Holocaust

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WfjXMV6Y9dk

Plus related project 6 comm

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3QWjqD-BVXA

Fever Ray - interesting side project of Swedish electronica group The Knife...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3GdaaPsIaQE

Low - I could live in hope

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4AzLgswmJxA

Nick Drake - various songs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oE6PfDsYVjA

Nico - Desertshore

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fgG3EaOCh_c

Of the Wand and the Moon - Lone Descent

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1BTiOIVWsec

Radiohead - Kid A (in case it wasn't obvious... good luck understanding the words though)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i6XKgvKZy10

Rome - lots of albums, esp in my opinion Nos Chants Perdus

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jtkLc50cpRc

Scott Walker - Tilt

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uZK0m7HfH2E

Swans - White Light from the Mouth of Infinity, plus lots of other things / side projects

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHR70i9OQEA

Townes van Zandt - not one consistent album, if you ask me

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DW4XgQvcDsQ

Гражданская оборона - Русское поле экспериментов Russian punk band, but their acoustic songs are particularly good...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4IvO78Fq_Ww

And of course many more, but that should be a start!

Keeping it towards shoegaze, someone posted this in another forum and I liked:

They were. They are in the archives. They are a part of the metal scene. Anyway while Dead End Kings was really melancholic Distant Satellites wasn't. It is too bright and optimistic for me. I obviously don't think those albums are metal but these bands do come from a metal background

These songs arent metal at all, this is true mainstream public radio shit, you may hate it, but give it a try.

I think this song that recently has gained some buzz on the radio is depressing as shit, especially if you watch the video. The sound is surprisingly dark for modern radio as well. But basically is about religious peeps beating a gay guy and burning him to death for being gay.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MYSVMgRr6pw

Also one more, about a dude who sees his ex at a party, and what he goes through during that, one of the only songs ive ever heardon mainstream radio that has no chorus, or repeating parts, the entire song is just a buildup, really nice lyric writing and a cool idea.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m53cWa-CdUg


Also I second Death in June, that's metal music in folk form honestly, absolutely brutal from a desolation standpoint.

There's such a thing as non-depressing mainstream music? About 30 seconds of any pop-radio station is all it takes to make me want to kill myself.

it tends to be more aggravating than depressing - makes me more homicidal than suicidal

The OP is actually misleading. He could've posted something like 'depressing heavy music with clean vocals.'

No, I'm not only looking for heavy music. The recommendation I dig the most from here is Rome. I'll go through all of their albums. I couldn't find much stuff of ShamRain online. They are the second band I'm most interested in. It doesn't have to be heavy. Although I don't mind if it. I'm just looking for obvious bands that I might have missed as I don't have much idea about the mainstream. For example, someone mentioned Swans and I love them. Then theres Alice in Chains whom I would've never given a chance if they weren't mentioned in this thread. I also checked out Mad Season and love them. So there may be other bands I missed because of my Ignorance. This is why I made this thread and so far I've got some pretty interesting recs. So please keep 'em coming

I'd suggest early Cure albums, notably Seventeen Seconds, Faith, and Pornography. My personal favorite is Faith, which has this slow, languid, pastoral feel to the music (for the most part). Pornography is depressing, but more in a schizoid mind way...if that makes any sense.

Other suggestions would be Joy Division, Low, Red House Painters, and early Projekt Records releases (Black Tape For a Blue Girl, Love Spirals Downwards, Soulwhirlingsomewhere, etc). That last one might not be very pop or mainstream, but I thought I would add it.

In all seriousness, there's a hell of a lot of mainstream rock from the 90s that was depressing as hell. All that stuff like Soul Asylum, Candlebox etc etc. Also the Eagles have downer songs like "The Sad Cafe", "The Last Resort", "Wasted Time", "Lyin' Eyes" for example.

Ahh, I may have got that 'heavy' part wrong. Anyway, ColeMiner, if you give me a mail id I'll send you Deeper Into the Night EP and Someplace Else.

I do not know every Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds release, but my friend always plays his songs and they are pretty depressive if you ask me.

Some Massive Attack stuff, maybe? Especially the stuff from Mezzanine.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xiK2JlBpzvI

Mirel Wagner might be up your alley, too. This is from When the Cellar Children See the Light of Day.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9cmrU7xH5M

Not mainstream, but sad and dark with clean vocals, Evæl

https://evael.bandcamp.com/releases

Again not mainstream (closer than Evæl, though) maybe try some Lisa Germano? From Geek the Girl.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8TnVWI9z7-4

The Red House Painters from their self-titled (better known as The Rollercoaster Album)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68xg_Rky4MY

Could also try Slowdive, this song is from Pygmalion

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jphrbNd ... ACD0D68C02

Love Spirals Downward, from Ardor

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KVW60v1rDjs

Antimatter, song is from Leaving Eden

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DwQsY1gma4k

EDIT: Oh, try Elbow, too! From Leaders of the Free World.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uM95IKmEh6I

Here's a few I like although some are probably not that mainstream!

70's prog rock band King Crimson has a mournful tune called "Epitaph" but I prefer Spanish band Asgaroth's cover;
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4inpbO1Rd0

Aerosmith's "Seasons of Wither" and "You See Me Crying" are equally mournful;
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_GchifNRh0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=szWVgukqi78

Soundgarden's "Fell On Black Days";
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1vBPvektSE

Smashing Pumpkins' "Once Upon A Time";
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QxVp6_K584s

Erykah Badu's "Telephone";
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8DAJBI7NHM

Nine Inch Nails' "Right Where It Belongs";
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jAyfGzSaz0

Half of Fates Warning's A Pleasant Shade Of Grey album, especially "Part XII";
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RInPHt2gP58

My Dying Bride's "Two Winters Only";
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CmQ34GL-fzk

Wipe Away's "The Key" if you can stand the female vocals and weird mood shifts;
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-8lQswE3yE

Divinity Destroyed's "Crestfallen";
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cQmQ7rKKr8I

My Personal Murderer are a great depressive rock band.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rG4hkuEs_sw

I would recommend later Everything but the Girl, for example the Temperamental album. Check it out, it's worth it. Walking Wounded and Amplified Heart are also great albums.

Rihanna

I came here to recommend (1989) The Cure - Disintegration.