From Swans to Sunn O))), heavy music isn’t just about volume – it’s about atmosphere, intent and bowel-rupturing physicality
In the Guide’s weekly Solved! column, we look into a crucial pop-culture question you’ve been burning to know the answer to – and settle it, once and for all
There will always be pseuds who’ll claim that, if you really think about it, silence is the heaviest sound of all. But it definitely isn’t, as you would soon discover if you tried to enjoy some silence at an Electric Wizard gig. Speaking of which, I once witnessed a burly metalhead vomiting during an Electric Wizard show, seemingly due to the overpowering, bowel-eviscerating bottom end the Dorset doom band were pumping out. That’s the bar we’re aiming for here. Heaviness should really be measured in terms of the intensity of the music itself, the atmosphere it generates and how quickly it liquefies your innards.