Film synopsis

Made on a crowdfunded, shoestring budget, this film offers a visceral look into a hazy black hole that lies at one extreme of the musical spectrum.

Doom is a style of heavy metal that’s all about crushing riffs played at sluggish tempos through huge amps, and the foundations of the genre were laid on Black Sabbath’s debut album in 1970.

Doom’s experienced a resurgence in popularity of late, and in this documentary, local filmmaker, Connor Matheson follows the story of Holy Spider Promotions.

They’re a DIY collective who put on doom gigs in Sheffield but they’re constantly up against it, vying for space and attention on behalf of an extreme and polarising form of music.

Through the lens of doom the film explores issues such as drug use, mental health and gentrification, and Connor speaks with luminaries from the scene, including Bill Ward (original drummer of Black Sabbath) and members of Conan, Crowbar, Primitive Man, Slabdragger, Wet Nuns, Kurokuma and more.