Metal music: Encyclopedia II - Metal music - Subgenres

Metal music - Subgenres

Metal music is made up of a large number of subgenres, similar to rock music as whole. Even though Metal genres at times are difficult to segregate, they usually show different characteristics in overall structures, instrumental and vocal styles, and tempo. Sometimes a trait of a genre is common in several more genres however, and metal genres are normally grouped by their combination of these traits.

Metal music - Black Metal

Evolving from thrash metal, black metal has a dark, cold atmosphere replacing the head-on brutality of thrash metal. Though not as brutal as death it is still considered to be on the more extreme wing of the metal scales. The bass is usually played in tremolo, vocals are usually shrieked, screamed, rasped or grunted, with the lyrical themes being very often (though not always) satanist, occult, or anti-Christian in nature. The production quality of the music is often very poor, most likely an established tradition of opposing the commercial record and music industry back in the subgenre's hayday, from the late '80s to the early '90s.

Black metal's origins have been put to a few bands (the name black metal, is usually acredited to Venom, who coined the term, with their album called Black Metal), though the style itself is thought to have came out of Norway and many of the members of the scene were known to have been involved with the church burnings that took place in Norway in the 1990s. Black Metal is now found throughout the world, with each region seemingly attributing their culture differently to the Black Metal sound.

Metal music - Death metal

Death metal is a subsidary of thrash metal pushed to more brutal extremes, with strange chord progressions, exotic scales and erratic time changes. Double bass drums are universally implemented, as well as rapid snare drums, blast beats, and chaotic cymbal crashes. Vocals are usually growled, but also can be shrieked, yelled, or screamed. Current death metal bands often dabble in neo-classicism, Jazz-fusion, medieval music, or folk and symphonic endeavors. The lyrical content usually deals with the darker side of human imagination, dealing with blood, death, gore, and satan. However, Death Metal is not limited to just blood, death, and gore. It can also range out to philosophy and even politics.

Metal music - Doom metal

While most other metal genres emphasize fast tempos and technical proficiency, doom metal stresses emotion – usually melancholy, depression, and tragic irony. Doom Metal plays slower/mid tempos, with down tuned riffs and dark, somber, melodic harmonies. Most Doom Metal makes use of Death and Black Metal vocals, but clean ones are also often used to enhance the sullen atmosphere and dark mood of the music. Classical instruments are often used as well, like the piano or violin.

Metal music - Folk metal

Folk metal embraces metal bands that are influenced by folklore from varying cultures and origins. Originally started as a mixture of folk rock, power metal and black metal, the term has progressed to encompass many folk-themed metal bands, that use folk based lyrical themes andmposition, including instrumentation.

Metal music - Glam Metal

Glam metal was a popular style of metal in the 1980’s referred to by detractors as “Hair metal“. The sound; as the name suggests lies somewhere between the metal sound of Black Sabbath and the glam sound of the Sweet. Many of the bands donned make-up to achieve an androgynous look, similar to that of 70’s Glam rock bands such as Alice Cooper.

Metal music - Gothic Metal

Gothic metal is a genre that synthesis the guitaring styles of doom metal, black metal and death metal with its own unique use of heavy keyboard atmospherics, romantic and story like lyrics and dual vocalists.

Metal music - Grindcore

Grindcore is influenced by thrash metal, and also hardcore and punk, taking its name from the "grinding" sound made by the atonal riffs 'grinding' into one another. The style is characterised by a vocal style similar to death metal, rapid fire "blast beats" from double-kick drums and short songs. There are grindcore bands that are more hardcore than metal, but most bands today are heavily influenced by death metal.

Metal music - Heavy Metal

Heavy Metal is the original type of Metal Music, from which metal music derived its name, which started in the mid '70s. The genre is personified by rasping vocals and long guitar solos. Lyrically the genre has no true focus, covering varying subjects with no set ideology, however heavy Metal bands are often a known joke towards these subjects and do not take themselfs seriously. Because this genre started all the Metal music movement, some people think that Heavy Metal and Metal are the same thing. Others however, assert that this assumption is outdated and wrong, since the words Heavy Metal are more frequently used to define that type of Metal Music played by bands mainly in the late 1970s, and 1980s, that is borderlined with Hard Rock.

Metal music - Industrial Metal

Industrial metal features elements of industrial music, techno, and heavy, distorted guitars. Synthesizers and drum machines are heavily used in this sub-genre.

Metal music - Metalcore

Metalcore is defined usually by bands whose music combines both the raw vocals and beat of American hardcore (generally within the Northeast US) with the guitars more often used in European thrash metal and melodic death metal.

Metal music - Neo-Classical Metal

Neo-classical metal incorporates elements from classical music, into the normal heavy metal sound, including tempo's, instrument usage, and even melodies. Yngwie J. Malmsteen is a known proponent of this branch of metal.

Metal music - Nu Metal

Nu metal often features a pronounced hip hop influence, and guitar technique which is often different from other metal genres. It is widely argued that nu-metal is a misnomer, stating the genre has very little to do with heavy metal.

Metal music - Power metal

Power metal is a more upbeat genre than most metal genres, taking heavy influence from thrash metal and heavy metal, with more progression replacing the electro-blues style, more virtuosity in the guitar leads and solos, and stressing, jaunty tempos. Power Metal often emphasizes on clean, melodic, high-pitched vocals, fast pacing that is mostly driven by double kick drumming and melodic lead guitar. The rhythm guitar is defined by straight power chord progressions. Power metal leans towards the positive, happy side of life seeking to empower the listener and inspire joy and courage. Power metal usually has fantasy or science fiction themes though this is not always the case. The subgenre is sometimes not accepted by some metal enthusiasts because it is often in the commercial light and as such is not underground music. Most power metal bands are continental European, though this is not always the case with bands like Jag Panzer, Iced Earth and a few others coming from the U.S.

Metal music - Progressive metal

Progressive metal focuses on sophistication and complexity through constant time and tempo changes, and solos with heavy emphasis on extended instrumental segments. Vocals are generally melodic, with lyrics often touching on philosophical, spiritual, and/or political themes, and instrument virtuosity is a must. Progressive Metal is normally seen to be closely related to progressive rock, commonly through earlier works of Queensrÿche and Rush.

Metal music - Symphonic Metal

Symphonic metal varies in form. It is known most commonly to be said to refer to any bands that use orchestral elements in their music. These include full orchestras, opera themes, vocals or keyboarding akin to that of opera or symphony music, and a more upbeat and soft nature than other metal genres.

Metal music - Thrash metal

Thrash metal originated, and remains, heavy metal with tempos influenced more predominantly by hardcore punk. Thrash Metal also caused the tritonal chord to be heavily associated with Metal and intensity a key ingredient throughout most Metal genres. Thrash Metal songs are usually fairly complex, and frequently contain constant time and tempo changes. Thrash Metal replaces melody with brutality and speed, with the use of ample distortion. Thrash also started the use of double bass drums in Metal. Vocals are usually yelled, screamed, or snarled, though, at the same time, melodic.

As is true for many of the terms in this list, the moniker "thrash metal" was not always embraced by its supposed representatives; early on, Metallica referred to themselves as "power metal" (conflicting with the above definition of this term). Conversely, many bands, like Kreator, came up with equally obscure classifications for themselves, such as hate metal.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Subgenres", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki