Published: 25 Apr 2025 / Last Update: 20 Jun 2025
The world of doomgaze merges the heavy, cavernous riffs of drone doom with the atmospheric textures of shoegaze — sometimes lush, sometimes harsh. The result is often a sound that’s immersive, slow-burning, and emotionally dense. This list is intended as a starting point for anyone looking to explore the subgenre further, highlighting key albums that offer a broad introduction to its multifaceted nature.
Narrowing down this selection wasn’t easy. As the genre continues to evolve, future lists will highlight emerging voices and new directions, delving even deeper into its development.
If you’re unfamiliar with doomgaze, this list may lead you into uncharted, occasionally challenging musical terrain. With its focus on extended, droning riffs and expansive soundscapes, the genre can feel intense, but for those seeking a heavy yet atmospheric experience, it’s incredibly rewarding.
And if you’re looking for more, we also have a constantly-updated doomgaze playlist on Spotify, where you can discover more from this unique genre.
As always, if you have questions—whether you’re unsure where to start, curious about bands with a similar sound, or need more recommendations—don’t hesitate to reach out in the comments. We’re happy to help you navigate this sonic journey!
Without further ado, here are our top 50 doomgaze albums you need to hear:
1-10: Top Picks
(in no particular order)
The Angelic Process – Weighing Souls With Sand (2007)
Built on towering layers of distortion, distant vocals, and overwhelming volume, Weighing Souls With Sand feels like a personal collapse rendered in sound. It’s heavy in every sense — emotionally, sonically, and thematically — sitting firmly on the abrasive, gritty end of doomgaze rather than its more ethereal corners. A foundational work in the genre’s evolution.
Jesu – Conqueror (2007)
Conqueror trades Godflesh’s industrial harshness for slow-moving guitars, soft vocals, and layers of dense, melodic fuzz. It’s heavy but strangely serene — a kind of emotional weight that feels more like longing than rage. One of the most influential albums in shaping the doomgaze sound.
This Will Destroy You – Tunnel Blanket (2011)
When it came out, Tunnel Blanket surprised many longtime fans with its stark departure from the band’s earlier, classic post-rock sound. In place of soaring crescendos came towering walls of distortion, slow-burning structures, and a much darker emotional palette. Tracks like “Little Smoke” and “Black Dunes” give a clear sense of the album’s intent—they’re more like rituals than songs.
Have A Nice Life – Deathconsciousness (2008)
Bleak, sprawling, and deeply personal, this album merges shoegaze and post-punk into a haunting meditation on death and meaning. With lo-fi textures and distant vocals that deepen the sense of emotional detachment, it became a cult classic through word of mouth. Not traditionally “heavy,” but the weight is undeniable.
USA Out Of Vietnam – Crashing Diseases And Incurable Airplanes (2014)
An apocalyptic sound collage—loud, lush, and oddly serene. It’s metal, psych, and ambient all crashing at once.
Nadja – Skin Turns To Glass (2008)
One of the more prolific and influential acts in the doomgaze underground, Nadja specialize in longform compositions that blur the line between beauty and bleakness. Skin Turns to Glass is an early example of that approach — smearing time with looping, tectonic riffs and buried melodies. It might not be everyone’s cup of tea, with its length and repetition, but for those drawn to slow-burn immersion, it’s mesmerizing.
King Woman – Created In The Image Of Suffering (2017)
A storm of doom-laden riffs and anguished beauty, this album channels spiritual trauma into something both heavy and haunting. Led by Kris Esfandiari’s hypnotic vocals and towering guitar work, it blends crushing heaviness with a sense of vulnerability that feels deeply personal.
Daxma – Unmarked Boxes (2021)
Inspired by the poetry of Rumi, Unmarked Boxes moves with a patient, meditative intensity. Long, droning passages swell into moments of crushing beauty, blurring the line between post-metal, doom, and shoegaze. It’s expansive but never aimless — a slow-burning reflection on grief, transformation, and letting go.
Sugar Horse – The Live Long After (2021)
Chaotic yet deliberate, The Live Long After smashes together post-metal, shoegaze, and sludge into something strange and electrifying. Angular riffs and soaring melodies twist through off-kilter structures, giving the album a constant sense of tension and surprise.
Vanessa Van Basten – La Stanza Di Swedenborg (2008)
A hidden gem from Italy’s underground, La Stanza di Swedenborg walks the line between post-rock and drone metal — at times euphoric, at times sinister, always steeped in atmosphere.
11-25: Further Recommendations
(in no particular order)
(DOLCH) – Feuer (2015)
A mysterious German duo whose debut forms part of an ongoing trilogy (Feuer, Nacht, Tod), (DOLCH) blend doom, darkwave, and ritualistic gloom into a dense, haunting sound. Feuer drapes its lengthy tracks in shadow — from droning guitars to captivating female vocals — creating a ritualistic atmosphere that feels both intimate and otherworldly.
You Big Ox – I Hate It Here Too (2024)
Equal parts crushing and cathartic, I Hate It Here Too layers massive, slow-moving riffs with distant vocals and shoegaze-laced melancholy. Despite its heaviness, there’s a surprising sense of clarity beneath the distortion — a raw, modern take that balances vulnerability with volume.
Oldest Sea – A Birdsong, A Ghost (2023)
A slow-moving blend of funeral doom, post-metal, and ambient folk, A Birdsong, A Ghost leans heavily on atmosphere and emotional weight. Its sparse instrumentation and haunting vocals evoke a quiet, slow-burning sorrow — a patient and immersive listen that lingers long after it ends.
The Angelic Process – Coma Waering (2002)
Even rawer and more abrasive than its follow-up, Coma Waering lays the groundwork for The Angelic Process’s signature sound: an overwhelming mix of distorted noise, cathartic intensity, and desperation. It’s less polished but no less devastating — a chaotic, beautiful storm that helped shape doomgaze before it had a name.
A Film In Color – They March In Endless Circles (2018)
For fans of Tunnel Blanket, this hits a similar zone. A long-form post-rock–gaze blend with a doom-inflected edge—slow, textural, and emotionally weathered.
GENA – Slow Day (2015)
Born from the depths of Russia’s colder landscapes, Slow Day weaves thick, distorted riffs with ambient shoegaze, creating an expansive yet isolating atmosphere.
ISON – Andromeda Skyline (2018)
Expansive and cosmic in scope, Andromeda Skyline pairs synth-driven atmosphere with brooding doom riffs and ethereal female vocals. It moves at a glacial pace, layering shimmering textures over a deep emotional undercurrent. Feels like doomgaze set adrift in deep space.
Jesu – Everyday I Get Closer To The Light From Which I Came (2013)
Jesu’s trademark blend of bright, melodic moments and introspective depth is fully intact here, though this album leans further into ambient textures and emotional nuance. Slow, warm, and meditative, it trades sheer weight for atmosphere — a significant entry in Broadrick’s ever-evolving catalog.
Am Himmel – As Eternal As The Starless Kingdom Of Sorrow (2022)
Combining gothic catacombs and cosmic darkness, As Eternal As The Starless Kingdom Of Sorrow weaves black metal intensity with mystical synth layers to create a chilling, surreal atmosphere. Particularly recommended for fans of The Angelic Process.
Have A Nice Life – Time Of Land (2010)
A lesser-known entry in their discography, this 4-track EP captures the hypnotic qualities of Deathconsciousness in a more restrained form.
Seirom – 1973 (2012)
From the mastermind behind Gnaw Their Tongues and Aderlating, SEIROM’s 1973 offers a contrast to his darker works, blending the hypnotic qualities of drone metal with the warmth of ethereal synths to create beauty from the bleak.
Holy Fawn – Death Spells (2018)
Not strictly doomgaze but circling its edges, Death Spells pulls from ambient, post-rock, alt-rock, and blackgaze to build its towering sound. Tracks like “Dark Stone,” “Sleep Tongue,” and “Seer” lean especially heavy — thick with distortion, buried vocals, and a sense of vast, emotional weight. A genre-blurring release that still hits all the right nerves.
Wolvennest, Der Blutharsch And The Infinite Church Of The Leading Hand – WLVNNST (2016)
A collaboration of diverse musicians, WLVNNST blends pulsating beats, eerie synthesizers, and black metal influences, creating a hypnotic, dark atmosphere where ambient vocals deepen the sense of mystery and intrigue.
Fourteen Nights At Sea – Minor Light (2015)
Minor Light stretches slow, repetitive guitar lines across wide ambient spaces, more about tension and mood than climax.
Iress – Flaw (2020)
Heavy, hazy, and emotionally raw, Flaw blends doom-laden riffs with dreamlike textures and soulful female vocals. A strong recommendation for fans of King Woman and similarly emotive doomgaze.
26-50: Extended List
(in no particular order)
A Sea Of Dead Trees – Garmonbozia (2021)
Listen: Spotify | Bandcamp
Antethic – Ghost Shirt Society (2017)
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BleakHeart – Dream Griever (2020)
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Blood Pact – Heaven (2023)
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Codeia – “don’t be afraid”, she whispered and disappeared (2017)
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Cold Body Radiation – The Orphean Lyre (2017)
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Dead Swords – Enders (2019)
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Dreamswell – Spoiled (2019)
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Fvnerals – Wounds (2016)
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Give Up To Failure – Burden (2020)
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Hyatari – They Will Surface (2008)
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Iroha – Iroha (2011)
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Jesu – Ascension (2011)
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King Woman – Celestial Blues (2021)
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Mountaineer – Bloodletting (2020)
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Nadja – The Stone Is Not Hit By The Sun, Nor Carved With A Knife (2016)
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Planning For Burial – Below The House (2017)
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Outlander – The Valium Machine (2019)
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Pallow – Blueprints For An Empty Vessel (2017)
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Solip – Without (2017)
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Spotlights – Seismic (2017)
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Through A Glass, Darkly – Through A Glass, Darkly (2017)
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Transitional – Stomach Of The Sun (2010)
Listen: Spotify
Vanessa Van Basten – Vanessa Van Basten (2009)
Listen: Spotify
Want more? Our companion playlist features highlights from these albums and beyond, and it’s regularly updated with new releases. Feel free to follow if you’d like to stay in the loop.
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