Bands like Black Sabbath and the Melvins made it OK to "drone" within the realm of heavy metal, but this approach wasn't fully explored until Earth hit the scene in the early '90s. Led by guitarist Dylan Carlson, what sets the band apart from the rest of the doom metal pack is that Earth almost always completely bypasses vocals -- usually focusing entirely on a few plodding notes per song -- as evidenced by their 2005 release and first for the Southern Lord label, Hex: Or Printing in the Infernal Method.