Heavy Metal and subgenre description

[Red Hot Thumbtack In The Eye 0]

Death metal is very fast, very heavy, and most often employs growling vocals that remind some people of the cookie monster. Examples would be bands like Cannibal Corpse.

 

Black metal is similar to Death Metal, except that it tends to be more...um...evil, I guess would be the word. I dunno, it sounds to me kinda like the bastard child of death and power metal, but a statement like that could get me killed. Anyway, black metal can employ keyboards and all other kinds of weirdness, and the vocalists tend to be somewhat different - as opposed to the growling of death metal, they have sort of a scratchy quality in their vocals. Examples would be bands like Immortal, or the One True Mayhem or whatever the fuck they are.

 

I have no idea what goth-metal is. But Nu-metal is stuff like Slipknot; came out in the 90's, doesn't employ solos, and somehow all seems very generic.

 

Anyway, that's the best I can do, since I don't listen to any of these genres; I think I'm close enough though.

 

Anyway, what annoys ME is when people go on about genres as if they think that every single metal song ever released is the exact same. I'll grant that some people take it to the extreme, and describe bands with names like "power-thrash-death-speed-grindcore" which is just absurd.

 

However, the simple fact is that a lot of heavy metal, even though it's all metal, sounds very different. So to only use the name "metal" is meaningless, especially when you're trying to describe some bands to people.

 

If you don't believe me, go download a couple of metal tunes; compare Iron Maiden to Six Feet Under, or Judas Priest to Immortal. They don't all sound the same, and some different genre names are needed in order to clarify things.

 

A post from Metal Maniac in the "Things that annoy the shit out of you...." thread. I'm going to use this post to pimp off an excellent essay about the genres of Heavy Metal and what they mean/meant and what some of the thoughts behind them were. I'm also going to point to some important albums that best represent the respective genres.

 

http://anus.com/metal/about/philosophy/

 

Heavy Metal:

 

'With heavy metal, the style of Black Sabbath was solidified, but deeply hybridized with the progressive rock, Celtic folk and electric blues fusion of Led Zeppelin, having influences also from aggro-prog bands like King Crimson and Jade Warrior. The late 1960s culminated in rock being bored with itself, and after the Beatles went progressive and British and American blues-rock guitarists aimed for more lengthy, complex works, rock essentially turning progressive in nature. "Progressive" is perhaps a misnomer, as there's no "progress" in re-incorporating influences from classical music, but for rock it was progress from the simplistic pop of the 1950s to incorporate new styles and vastly adulterate the blues framework of rock (the blues is a syncopated version of Celtic and German folk-pop, formed in America of the mixture of cultures; like most popular music on all continents, it features easily transposed chord progressions and a basic song structure which allows easy melodic improvisation).....(click above for the rest)"

 

RHTITE recommendations for this genre:

 

Early years of Black Sabbath with Ozzy at the helm.

 

Iron Maiden

 

Y'all should know about these guys, even as an observer who hasn't commited fully to the genre yet.

 

Speed Metal and Thrash:

 

Arguably the first genre to emerge was speed metal, which followed expanded heavy metal structures but used muffled strumming to turn ringing chords into short explosive bursts of bass-intensive sound. This made the music more aesthetically menacing, and for a long time, guaranteed it zero airplay. On the other end of the spectrum, thrash music made less frequent use of muffled chords but took on two forms: metal riffs in punk song structures (Corrosion Of Conformity, Dirty Rotten Imbeciles) and punk riffs in metal song structures (Cryptic Slaughter, dead horse). Speed metal tended to use metal riffs in metal song structures but show the influence of hardcore music in riff texturing, which evoked the sounds of one-chord rhythm riffing, and in general uptempo songwriting and abrupt changes in melodic line within each song. Perhaps the best examples of speed metal were Metallica, Exodus and Slayer; the first two were based around muffled-chord player, while the latter focused on playing quick fluid phrases known for their complexity, and using introductory sequences of riffs like a progressive band in simple, aggressive form.....click above for more

 

I don't recommend nothin from this genre, due to general lack of knowledge

 

Grincore and Death Metal:

 

It is probably a mistake to view grindcore as anything but an extremist extension of thrash, but much as Venom contributed aesthetics in the form of primitive punkish riffing and over-the-top Satanic and occult lyrics, grindcore contributed the biologically distorted vocals which would also be a trait of death metal and black metal. These are achieved by, much as one overdrives an amplifier to distort sound, pitching one's vocal chords in a position too low or too high for the sound produced, and then forcing it through violently (it will become clear around 2020, when these musicians hit their fifties, whether or not this causes a dramatic increase in throat cancer). Hardcore musicians used an approximation of this, much like the growling surly cadences of Wattie with the Exploited, but grindcore took it to a new extreme, in songs which were punkish and abruptly short like those of thrash, but even more inclined toward chromatic and harmonically-nullifying chord progressions. This was a music beyond protest; it destroyed music itself in order to create a wall of sound which was unnacceptable in any social listening, would never get radio airplay and annoyed and disturbed anyone not acquainted with the genre...See above for the article

 

recommendations from this genre:

 

Suffocation - Pierced From Within.

 

Like a band rising out of the sewers, with nyhc middle fingers and accents in full effect, Suffocation created slabs of death metal that took cbgb hard core into it's furthest realm of musical possibility, and turned it into flowing and liquid like extreme music that spawned a million clones(mostly from New York and Florida). Most 'big' death metal bands owe suffocation their utmost gratitude for leading the way.

 

At The Gates - The Red In The Sky Is Ours

 

Swedish death from a time before sweden became a popular jumping off point for the genre. Thus the band was free to roam within the genre, at times taking ideas from thrash or even prototypical black metal (speed picked guitar runs abound on this album), all the while coming across as a newborn in the world, coming up with ideas and beliefs born out of pure musical innocence. Far superior to their much more heralded "Slaughter Of The Soul" outing. Possibly the first and best Death/Black crossover artist, many bands from each genre owe gratitude to At The Gates.

 

Massacra - Final Holocaust

 

French death dealers who decided to use the pure frantic speed and technicality of Reign In Blood and mix it with the rhythm and melody of Arise, and take the style of Slayer and Sepultura to their next logical extension within death metal. A look at what could have been had both of those bands not run out of ideas after their respective runs of high creativity.

 

Gorguts - 2 albums: Obscura and From Wisdom To Hate

 

Where many technical grind bands strived to create a maddening cacophony of noise and seemingly random technicality, Gorguts moved to stretch the boundaries of music itself, let alone death metal. Everything has a place, but the 'place' is so packed with musical data, it can be hard to decipher at first glance. Musicians with ability bordering on the absurd and a consciousness that gives the ability to create discernable music out of pure chaos.

 

Amorphis - Tales From The Thousand Lakes

 

Highly rhythmic Death Metal from the northest of the north countryside of Finland, Amorphis seem to strive to invent a new type of folk incorporating elements from their Swedish neighbours slowed down to provide a view of the gripping music from a storyteller point, instead of the destruction that is prevalent in most other Death styles.

 

Cryptopsy - do a board search and you'll likely find what you need to get started on them

 

Doom and Grunge:

 

During the early 1990s, an offshoot movement of death metal merged with the older style of heavy droning rock that Black Sabbath had pioneered, and formed doom metal, a genre fragment that immediately offered enough possiblity that it rapidly mutated and then died under its own weight.

 

...

 

Influenced in part by Celtic Frost and other classic metal and punk bands, Nirvana burst onto the mainstream radio with a new style called "grunge" that was part metal and punk, but mostly mournful, out-of-the-closet angsty rock which featured droning vocals and simple punklike riffs. Other interesting acts were Mudhoney and Alice in Chains; both enjoyed popularity with metalheads, with the most crossover being with doom audiences. This is in part because musically, these two genres were the most similar, and aesthetically, they both addressed a fatalism which some overcame and others (Goodbye Mr. Cobain) did not....click above for more

 

recommended bands:

 

Early albums Cathedral, before they began their parody of the genre and final evolution into the realm of stoner metal.

 

Nirvana - we all know about them by now

 

Alice In Chains - ditto

 

Black Metal:

 

Unlike death metal , black metal was explicitly melodic in composition, although there were multiple interpretations of how to compose it. Immortal started out resembling later Bathory, but evolved into fast melodies of power chords over incomprehensibly fast, muddled drumming, which demoted the influence of drums to secondary and let guitars function as the primary composition instrument, with vocals (!) being the predominant rhythm instrument. Darkthrone began not far from a hybrid between Swedish death metal and doom metal, but quickly began a tribute to the more extreme aspects of older Bathory, with songs staged dramatically such that a story unfolded and was presented as one might in a theatre, with percussion and pacing to match the scene. Burzum resembled the best of death metal in its smoothly chained collection of riffs and narrative, mimetic composition, but over time moved closer to ambient music. Emperor and Gorgoroth were neoclassical music over traditional drums at a higher pace, with less focus on fills than on counterbalancing internal rhythms within songs. Between these techniques and the range of melody - with varied emotions, moods and developing phrases based on previous motifs - modern black metal represents the highest evolution of metal as a technical and artistic musical genre.

 

Black Metal highest recommendations:

 

Enslaved - Vikingligr Veldi

 

Immortal - All

 

Burzum - All

 

Emperor - In The Nightside Eclipse and Anthems To The Welkin At Dusk

 

Darkthrone - Transylvanian Hunger and A Blaze In The Northern Sky

 

See http://anus.com/metal/about/blackmetal.html for comprehensive reviews of the above Black Metal bands, and many more.

 

Go forth.

 

Oh and Metal Maniac is a horrible horrible person if he thinks anyone should check out Cannible Corpse, even as an example of something.

[Nighthawk 0]

I've never encountered a suitable definition of black metal. Black metal is like pop, in that I know it when I hear it, but it's too loose to define it. Did Venom invent the term, anyway?

 

Also, you know who was good? Exodus.

[Corey_Lazarus 0]

Also, you know who was good? Exodus.

So we finally agree on something musical.

[Corey_Lazarus 0]

Speed Metal and Thrash:

 

Arguably the first genre to emerge was speed metal, which followed expanded heavy metal structures but used muffled strumming to turn ringing chords into short explosive bursts of bass-intensive sound. This made the music more aesthetically menacing, and for a long time, guaranteed it zero airplay. On the other end of the spectrum, thrash music made less frequent use of muffled chords but took on two forms: metal riffs in punk song structures (Corrosion Of Conformity, Dirty Rotten Imbeciles) and punk riffs in metal song structures (Cryptic Slaughter, dead horse). Speed metal tended to use metal riffs in metal song structures but show the influence of hardcore music in riff texturing, which evoked the sounds of one-chord rhythm riffing, and in general uptempo songwriting and abrupt changes in melodic line within each song. Perhaps the best examples of speed metal were Metallica, Exodus and Slayer; the first two were based around muffled-chord player, while the latter focused on playing quick fluid phrases known for their complexity, and using introductory sequences of riffs like a progressive band in simple, aggressive form.....click above for more

 

I don't recommend nothin from this genre, due to general lack of knowledge

Please allow me to do so? Though most of these should come as no shock.

 

Slayer - Reign In Blood

The definitive thrash metal album. 33 minutes of pure, uncompromising speed and shock that still remains unmatched to this day.

 

Metallica - Master of Puppets

Technical mastery with the speed of hardcore punk, and enough melody to keep even non-metalheads listening after nearly 20 years.

 

Megadeth - Rust In Peace

Megadeth's best album, and the best album of any of the "Big 5" in the 1990's.

 

Anthrax - Fistful of Metal

I've never really been an Anthrax fan, but they've always seemed to represent the more "punk" side of thrash metal, so check it out.

 

Exodus - Bonded By Blood

A fun listen. That's all I can really say. Exodus' lyrics have always been terrible, but the music is solid, featuring such metal classics as the title track, "Bonded by Blood," and "Piranha."

[Nighthawk 0]

Funny story about Exodus, I used to have this tape of them a friend of mine had made for me. He had painted the tape with white out and written "BRUTAL DEATH METAL OF SATAN" on it with a drawing of a skull. This was 6th grade, I think. I was in a religious school at the time. I had my tape confiscated and was sent to the office, where I said I found it in the trash and had no idea what was on it. They put it in, and it was my friend's little sister singing songs from the Wizard of Oz. That was side B.

[The Metal Maniac 0]

Oh and Metal Maniac is a horrible horrible person if he thinks anyone should check out Cannible Corpse, even as an example of something.

 

It wasn't so much that I thought people should listen to Cannibal Corpse, as it was that I couldn't think of another death metal band at the moment.

[Slayer 0]

Doom and Grunge

The sound you hear is the credibility draining out of this essay after this grouping

[Steviekick 0]

I'll try to tackle the goth-metal description, since it isn't really given. I consider it to be related to doom metal as far as slow guitars and such, but mostly with clean vocals, using keyboards to build atmosphere, and themeatically about depression, alienation, and religous obesrving. This would be bands like Type O Negative, Theatre of Tragedy, Sundown, and the later Tiamat releases. There are also the girly-goth metal bands like the Gathering and Lacuna Coil.

 

Where I get lost is when bands like ...And Oceans, the Passenger and the Kovenant, both of which kind of get labeled as either being black metal or goth metal.

 

And what do you guys consider Sentenced to be?

[Nighthawk 0]

girly-goth metal bands

I like these.

[Slayer 0]

And what do you guys consider Sentenced to be?

Initially doom metal in the truest sense, it's hard to classify them now since they still do gloomy lyrics but to faster metal.

 

And in the list of notable doom bands you forgot the "Big 3" UK doom bands, namely Paradise Lost, My Dying Bride, and Anathema (pre-Judgement)

[Steviekick 0]

girly-goth metal bands

I like these.

Same here. I grew to like them, but I despised them for the longest time.

[Steviekick 0]

And what do you guys consider Sentenced to be?

Initially doom metal in the truest sense, it's hard to classify them now since they still do gloomy lyrics but to faster metal.

 

And in the list of notable doom bands you forgot the "Big 3" UK doom bands, namely Paradise Lost, My Dying Bride, and Anathema (pre-Judgement)

That's kind of what I thought, but lately they've sounded more mainstream hard rock in a Sabbathy sense.

 

I'm not too up on my Doom metal, but I like a lot of what I've heard.

[Corey_Lazarus 0]

Doom is hit very hit-or-miss for me. I love My Dying Bride's music, but the vocals are kinda boring. Good to see somebody else recognizes Theatre Of Tragedy and Tiamat.

 

How would you group later Samæl?

[Nighthawk 0]

Depends what point of their career you mean. Words like gothic and symphonic would come up. On a related note, I always liked this cover:

 

[Steviekick 0]

I'd say that Samael can fit into the whole doom/goth area, but closer to the doom side.

[Steviekick 0]

I'd say that Samael can fit into the whole doom/goth area, but closer to the doom side.

[Red Hot Thumbtack In The Eye 0]

The sound you hear is the credibility draining out of this essay after this grouping

 

I don't think the writer is grouping them more than he's adding them almost as sidenotes in the metal realm since neither of them have had the impact on the music as a whole compared to the other genres. There is a little bit of comparison to be made between each style and fan.

 

"Influenced in part by Celtic Frost and other classic metal and punk bands, Nirvana burst onto the mainstream radio with a new style called "grunge" that was part metal and punk, but mostly mournful, out-of-the-closet angsty rock which featured droning vocals and simple punklike riffs. Other interesting acts were Mudhoney and Alice in Chains; both enjoyed popularity with metalheads, with the most crossover being with doom audiences. This is in part because musically, these two genres were the most similar, and aesthetically, they both addressed a fatalism which some overcame and others (Goodbye Mr. Cobain) did not. Fatalism is the belief that one can do nothing about one's fate but mourn it as a means of accepting it; it is easily confused with nihilism, or a belief in nothing but the inherent value of ultimate reality, and general negativity, which can be either a form of aggression or passive self-pity like fatalism. Doom metal explored these areas, but what pleased the crowd most were bands that did not escape their fatalism, thus soon the genre shot its wad and died. Grunge suffered a similar fate, modulating gradually into pop-punk which was musically like grunge infused with candy rock and energetic punk rhythms, giving people on the radio a break from the grim as the Clinton administration (counterculture liberalism triumphing over "the establishment") and the Internet boom (newfound wealth, a new frontier) developed.

 

I've never encountered a suitable definition of black metal. Black metal is like pop, in that I know it when I hear it, but it's too loose to define it. Did Venom invent the term, anyway?

 

Yes, Venom invented the term.

 

As far as descibing the music, as far as the music itself, it's fucking hard to do because when you listen to Burzum's 'Det Som Engang Var' and Emperor's 'In The Nightside Eclipse' or Summoning's "Dol Guldur', you're listening to black metal, but all the bands are vastly different in aesthetic and music.

 

I had a great article on this computer about the conceptualizers of the genre (Immortal, Burzum, Darkthrone, Emperor, Enslaved, etc) and some feelings about what they were doing, but I can't find it.

 

"Black metal is dark and fast music using melodic development to express its themes. Of all the metals, this is the most communicative with the modern listener, expressing nihilism and a heroic anti-social assertion of the self. Evolving simultaneously with death metal, this genre includes all of the technique and rhythmic intensity of the former with more emotive and comprehensible poetic communication within the music."

 

It might be best to say that you Just Know when you're hearing it. Whether you understand it beyond that is another story completely.

 

Goth example:

 

This would be bands like Type O Negative

 

Type O were never gothic, not even close. Heavily made up kids with blogs and scars of manic depression and attention whoring say they are, but they are simply a speed metal band who turned tongue in ass doom metal band to pop metal continuation of the beatles and Black Sabbath.

 

Good Metal band, not goth.

 

That's kind of what I thought, but lately they've sounded more mainstream hard rock in a Sabbathy sense.

 

I'm not too up on my Doom metal, but I like a lot of what I've heard.

 

Generally, the average for doom metal band's conversion to straight up metal or more pop styling is about 3 albums and 2 demos.

 

Even bands like My Dying Bride have incorporated some more accessible styles to go with their clinging to their doom metal.

[Guest Agent of Oblivion]

Type O is less a band and more of a science experiment, I think. It's nothing but Beatles and Sabbath riffs dressed up all suicidal and presented to metalheads. They're fucking genius, really.

 

Other than that, I fling my semen at this thread.

 

Listen to some Bolt Thrower. OLD SCHOOL OR NO SCHOOL

[Red Hot Thumbtack In The Eye 0]

You especially need Gorguts

[Red Hot Thumbtack In The Eye 0]

As an afterthought for this thread, if anyone wants to hear what a proper blending of gothic and black metal is, forget Cradle Of Filth and catch a listen to Gehenna's first album "First Spell". Spacious like black metal with the romanticism of goth, and no circus junk like on the Cradle Of Filth records.

[SinToxic 0]

COF hasnt been black metal for a decade.

 

I would also like to add a recommendation of a Greek black metal band with a doomy atmospheric edge, female soprano vocals/male death growls called On Thorns I Lay. Mainly the album Orama. This album and other albums by the band can even be relaxing sometimes but if you want something more visceral then go for Rotting Christ who rarely disappoint.

[Red Hot Thumbtack In The Eye 0]

Of the On Thorns...material I've heard, they are absolutely not black metal by any stretch. They came off as terribly generic to me actually.

[SinToxic 0]

Of the On Thorns...material I've heard, they are absolutely not black metal by any stretch. They came off as terribly generic to me actually.

If you were trying to hear straight black metal you would not hear it from them and sometimes it's hard to make out a sound with multiple directions taken by the band especially since their music sounds (melodically) like it was recorded from the ocean. Personally i find one dimensional genres boring. Their latter albums though have strayed away from black metal altogether.

[Red Hot Thumbtack In The Eye 0]

If you were trying to hear straight black metal you would not hear it from them

 

I never said I was listening to them to hear Black Metal. I heard them because it was recommended to me. It wasn't Black Metal.

 

and sometimes it's hard to make out a sound with multiple directions taken by the band especially since their music sounds (melodically) like it was recorded from the ocean.

 

Figuring out what a band is doing isn't really rocket science.

 

Personally i find one dimensional genres boring.

 

I presume you're talking about Black Metal as a genre here?

[SinToxic 0]

Any genre on its own actually, except classic metal which i take straight.

 

While it might not be rocket science, I often see people describe a band they listen to a few times by either comparing it to something else or by stating their dislike for them which I think could also cause one to overlook the depth of an album as a whole. Then again one man's depth is another man's asshole.

[Nighthawk 0]

On Thorns I Lay? Oh please... that sounds like the name of one of my 15 year old girlfriend's bands.

 

Rotting Christ is, in my opinion, the worst band in the world.

[SinToxic 0]

blinded metal abomination in a metal thread, and not even one emo band was brought up yet. No wonder I rarely post in the music forum.

[Nighthawk 0]

Without cheating, guess which song title is Scandinavian Doom Metal, which is Nu Goth Industriorap Metal and which is British Dance Pop.

 

"Amir of the Desert"

"Crickets Sing for Anamaria"

"The Edge of Heaven"

[Red Hot Thumbtack In The Eye 0]

Any genre on its own actually, except classic metal which i take straight.

 

well, I do hope that you're not marking any genre of Metal in the way.

 

by stating their dislike for them which I think could also cause one to overlook the depth of an album as a whole.

 

Really, what the fuck does this even mean? If I don't like On Thorns I Lay, I'm not going to subject myself to them in the hopes of finding that elusive something that will gain my acceptance.

 

blinded metal abomination in a metal thread, and not even one emo band was brought up yet. No wonder I rarely post in the music forum.

 

Ok, I'll be all hostile to for no real reason, except that I'm right on the mark with all my posts in this thread so far.

 

Stick to the shit that you have a half decent grasp on.

 

"Amir of the Desert" - British Dance Pop

 

"Crickets Sing for Anamaria" - Nu Goth

 

"The Edge of Heaven" - ScandiDoom

[Crimson Platypus 0]

Speed Metal and Thrash:

 

Arguably the first genre to emerge was speed metal, which followed expanded heavy metal structures but used muffled strumming to turn ringing chords into short explosive bursts of bass-intensive sound. This made the music more aesthetically menacing, and for a long time, guaranteed it zero airplay. On the other end of the spectrum, thrash music made less frequent use of muffled chords but took on two forms: metal riffs in punk song structures (Corrosion Of Conformity, Dirty Rotten Imbeciles) and punk riffs in metal song structures (Cryptic Slaughter, dead horse). Speed metal tended to use metal riffs in metal song structures but show the influence of hardcore music in riff texturing, which evoked the sounds of one-chord rhythm riffing, and in general uptempo songwriting and abrupt changes in melodic line within each song. Perhaps the best examples of speed metal were Metallica, Exodus and Slayer; the first two were based around muffled-chord player, while the latter focused on playing quick fluid phrases known for their complexity, and using introductory sequences of riffs like a progressive band in simple, aggressive form.....click above for more

 

I don't recommend nothin from this genre, due to general lack of knowledge

Please allow me to do so? Though most of these should come as no shock.

 

Slayer - Reign In Blood

The definitive thrash metal album. 33 minutes of pure, uncompromising speed and shock that still remains unmatched to this day.

 

Metallica - Master of Puppets

Technical mastery with the speed of hardcore punk, and enough melody to keep even non-metalheads listening after nearly 20 years.

 

Megadeth - Rust In Peace

Megadeth's best album, and the best album of any of the "Big 5" in the 1990's.

 

Anthrax - Fistful of Metal

I've never really been an Anthrax fan, but they've always seemed to represent the more "punk" side of thrash metal, so check it out.

 

Exodus - Bonded By Blood

A fun listen. That's all I can really say. Exodus' lyrics have always been terrible, but the music is solid, featuring such metal classics as the title track, "Bonded by Blood," and "Piranha."

I listened to a lot of Testament back in the day along with all mentioned in this quote. Still my favorite music.