Earth is an
American musical group based in
Olympia,
Washington, formed in 1989 and led by the guitarist
Dylan Carlson. Earth's music is nearly all
instrumental, and can be divided into two distinct stages. Their early work is characterized by
distortion,
droning,
minimalism, and lengthy, repetitive song structures. The band's later output reduces the distortion while incorporating elements of country, jazz rock, and folk. Earth is recognized as a pioneer of
drone metal, with the band's
Earth 2 being regarded as a milestone of the genre.