03 Nov 05
Originally posted by Brother Edwinwikipedia does pretty well:
Hi, I have heard people talk of metal. What are the following?
Metal.
Heavy metal.
Nu metal.
Death metal.
Thrash metal.
Black metal.
Power metal.
Metal music
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For information on the subgenre of metal that includes bands like Black Sabbath and Iron Maiden, see Heavy metal music
Metal is a genre of music that derives from and is closely related to rock and electric blues, with distorted guitars, loud bass, and generally very powerful drums. The focus on musicianship is much more marked than in other forms of rock, and there is a great emphasis on speed and "heaviness".
Contents [hide]
1 Subgenres
1.1 Thrash
1.2 Death metal
1.3 Black metal
1.4 Doom metal
2 History
2.1 Origins
2.2 Evolution
3 External links
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Subgenres
Metal music is made up of a number of subgenres, similar to rock music as whole. Even though Metal genres are sometimes difficult to segregate, they show different characteristics in overall structures, instrument styles (particularly vocals), and tempo. The main subgenres are Classic Metal, Doom Metal, Black Metal, Death Metal, Thrash, Melo-Death, Progressive Metal and Power Metal. Smaller sub-genres include Gothic Metal, Folk Metal and Industrial Metal as well as others like Speed Metal and Viking Metal whose independent existence is the subject of much debate. Some subgenres that many neophytes and mainstream sources generally group with metal are not considered part of metal by most critics or fans of the genre. Those genres are hair metal and nu-metal, among others. Grindcore is also sometimes considered a Metal subgenre, although it is derived primarily from Punk, evolving as an extreme form of Punk Metal. It should be noted that while Heavy Metal is often considered a subgenre of metal, one also sometimes sees the term Heavy Metal used synonymously with Metal in general.
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Thrash
Thrash is essentially the Traditional Metal of Black Sabbath combined with the speed and aggresiveness of Motorhead taken to even higher levels. Fast, heavily distorted riffs with a hollowed-out (lacking in mids) tone on the lower strings of the guitar and double bass rolls on the drums define the genre. Thrash can often but not invariably be identified by the vocals, which are gritty and intense but clean, unlike those of Death and Black Metal bands, and typically lack the vibrato of Power Metal. Testament and Kreator are prime examples of the genre. Other important thrash metal bands rose in the 1980s, also known as "The Big Four Of Thrash" of thrash. They are Metallica, Slayer, Anthrax and Megadeth.
Death- the band[edit]
Death metal
The central characteristic of Death Metal that differentiates it from Thrash is the vocals, which are vibrato-soaked "growls" or "grunts" projected from the abdomen rather than the throat. Aside from that, early death metal musicians thickened the scooped-out tone of thrash, added some groove and blastbeats, took the speed and technical riffs of thrash bands like Slayer to even more extreme levels. Lyrics frequently broach on normally taboo subjects such as death and the perverse (or any combination thereof), although this is in no way exclusive to or a defining characteristic of the genre. Good examples include Cryptopsy and Origin.
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Black metal
Whereas death metal became faster and more aggressive than thrash through experimentation, black metal was a conscious effort to push music to its audible limits, namely, making it as extreme and abrasive as humanly possible. More emphasis is put on atmospheric effect, and musicianship and complexity are often sacrificed to this end, as solos are often absent and riffs tremolo-picked. Blastbeats are the norm, vocals are shrieked, lyrics mainly use Pagan or Satanic imagery, and production is often left intentionally "poor". Emperor and Darkthrone have stuck to this formula with relative consistency.
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Doom metal
In reaction to the perpetual increase in speed of death and black metal, doom metal took the opposite direction in slowing down immensly. Musically and lyrically the focus is shifted from aggression towards depression. Melody is often more prominent and riffs take a more minimalistic approach. Occasional bursts of speed are nevertheless not uncommon. The vocals vary from clean - Solitude Aeturnus and Candlemass take this approach - to deep grunted - as for example used by Disembowelment.
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History
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Origins
The term "heavy metal" was putatively coined by the 60s rock band Steppenwolf in their most popular song, 'Born To Be Wild' with the line "heavy metal thunder...". Various accounts have the term first being applied to a style of music in description of Psychedelic Rock acts like Cream or The Jimi Hendrix Experience. The genre's inception, however, did not occur until the release of Black Sabbath's eponymous first album, which combined thundering basslines, irregular song structures, and, most importantly, heavily distorted, power-chord-laden and often down-tuned or palm-muted guitar riffs to form the first true metal album. Black Sabbath's influences can facilely be traced back to the bluesy hard rock of bands like Led Zeppelin and Cream, but modern metal as a whole owes as much to the modal hard rock of Deep Purple (as well as guitarist Ritchie Blackmore's subsequent band, Rainbow) and early Progressive Rock bands like King Crimson and Jethro Tull that layed the musical foundations for future innovators.
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Evolution
Black Sabbath's self-titled debutBlack Sabbath were the seminal and first real metal band, belonging to the sub-genre Heavy Metal (which in recent years has increasingly become known as Traditional Metal or Classic Metal, both for accuracy and to avoid confusion), as well as being innovators of the Doom Metal sub-genre with their first three albums. Metal then progressed through Judas Priest and Power Metal progenitors Iron Maiden and Dio on the one hand, while bands such as Motörhead, Paul Di'Anno-era Iron Maiden, and early thrash like Overkill and Metallica infused punk aesthetics and extreme speed into Black Sabbath's template on the other. Beginning with Judas Priest, metal bands quickly began to look beyond Sabbath's almost exclusive use of the blues scale to incorporate diatonic modes into their solos. This has since spread throughout virtually all sub-genres of metal (some Doom, following in Sabbath's footsteps, being the main exception) and along with an overriding sense of musicianship are the main contributions classical and jazz (via progressive rock) have made to the genre.
Venom- Black MetalIn the early and mid 1980s the burgeoning sub-genre of thrash began to split further into Death Metal, led by Possessed and Death, and Black Metal (a term coined by Venom, who despite which lacked most integral characteristics of the genre, such as the buzz-saw vocals), in which Bathory (generally considered the first 'true' black metal act) and Mayhem were key players early. Progressive Metal, a fusion of the progressive stylings of bands like Rush and King Crimson and Traditional Metal began in the 80's, too, behind innovators like Fates Warning and later Queensrÿche, who enjoyed substantial mainstream acceptance and success in the hair metal era. Melo-Death, in many ways similar instrumentally to Iron Maiden, but with high-pitched death vocals instead of semi-operatic, arose out of the Gothenburg scene circa 1990, with Dark Tranquillity (and vocalist Anders Friden's later band, In Flames) and At the Gates at the forefront. The modern forms of Doom Metal and Power Metal came into existence around the same time period with Candlemass and Helloween, respectively.
Evolution continued at a rapid pace throughout the nineties, notably the Stoner Metal and Sludge Metal (both sub-sub-genres of Doom) movements, which drew heavily from Stoner Rock band Kyuss, and industrial bands such as Fear Factory that assimilated synthesizers into a more traditional Death Metal sound. Black, Death and derivatives are the predominant styles in most metal scenes today, but it is progressive acts like Dream Theater and Opeth that (aside from nu-metal, metalcore, and aging thrash and classic metal bands) garner the highest record sales.