Sputnik Music Forums - The different genres of metal

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i have seen where they list as many as 25 differnet genres of metal before it is almost stupid how many differnt categories there are for metal these days
to me metal is metal but there is for sure a difference between black, death and heavy metal, i see those 3 as being totally differnt styles adn any otehr style of metal will incorperate 1 or more of those styles with it's on unique style

[QUOTE=clearvision]Heh i enjoyed reading this flamefest. However can't we just call music, music? And am i the only one who will just listen instead of trying to work out genres and so on...while im posting, catogorise HIM[/QUOTE]

agreed i just get interested in all the movements and besides its good that bands do tend to fall in a specific catagory it makes it easier to judge what type of music you do and dont like for instance i dont like death,black,power, and nu-metal not that there arent exceptions but generally i keep away from bands in those genres

Good music is good music and thats all that matters

Sorry Kreator sir. Please forgive me...their album is called love [B]metal[/B]

[SIZE=1]*crawls back to guitar forum!*[/SIZE]

i dont like HIM, quite frankly i think they suck.

what ever happened to old rock like deep purple, led zepplin so on.....?
thats the good stuff
GuItarFreEk xx

"i dont like HIM, quite frankly i think they suck."

No one gives a flying fu<k on your opinons of HIM. I just wanna know where they are catogorised. This isn't an opinion thread it's a classification thread. Though this may relate back to opinions it is not of whether they are good or bad but where they fit in the wide metal genre! You n00bs have alot to learn...

A pretty good list. You gave details and descriptions of the different genres.

The only things I noticed were : Shadows Fall and Killswitch Engage are definitely NOT Traditional heavy metal, and Slipknot cannot really be considered nu-metal, as their music is almost never played on the radio, and Vol.3 breaks the tradition of simple music with easy or no solos.

Other then this, good job.

This is great but could sumone gimme an example of what grindcore is? i heard it sumwhere and dont have a clue what it is.

[QUOTE=LegionsofMarduk]wow...I honestly didn't expect this to go over as well. I wasn't trying to hit every single sub-genre. I was just going for the one's that are asked about frequently here.[/QUOTE]

[COLOR=DarkOrchid]very cool :thumb: , but what catagory do cradle of filth and children of bodom fall into?[/COLOR]

cradle are black metal and children of bodom are melodic death

[QUOTE=Kreator]cradle are black metal and children of bodom are melodic death[/QUOTE]

HA! If cradle is black metal I guess that makes Slipnkot hardcore death... which it isnt. Cradle is to commercialised/mainstream to be labeled REAL black metal.

Not that there is anythin wrong with Cradle (I dont like them... but thats just me) they just dont exactly fall into real Black

Black metal doesn't have to be non-comercialised. Just cause alot of people like it, it can still be black metal. It relates back to the nu-metal thing

nice list man, dont see many people try to make that up

[QUOTE=Cacophonious]HA! If cradle is black metal I guess that makes Slipnkot hardcore death... which it isnt. Cradle is to commercialised/mainstream to be labeled REAL black metal.

[/QUOTE]
slipknot are still nu metal ;) well then they are unreal black metal

many ppl asked what HIM are...

theire are like 1000 bands in finnland that sound very similar to HIM.

just they dont sing in english so they never made it big (a lot of them better than HIM in my opinion)

the genre is calle "Suomi Rokko"

.....

another genre that hasent ben mentioned yet (i think) is "medieval metal"

personal fav: "In Extremo" (though i dont think youd have heard of them in the us... some songs would be "Die Gier" or "Der Wind" or "Der RattenfÃ¤nger"

cheers

FK

edit:

and of course cradle is black metal... no matter how popular they become they will allways stay it... just like dimmu borgir

thankyou father..i knew HIM were some kind of genre lol

Am i being an un-observant idiot or has power metal been missed of the list of genres?

i think you are being un-observant...

[QUOTE=br3ad_man]Ok, here are all the genres of metal listed on allmusic.com:

Power Metal
Punk Metal
Stoner Metal
Scandinavian Metal
Doom Metal
New Wave of British Heavy M
Symphonic Black Metal
Pop-Metal
Neo-Classical Metal
Progressive Metal (done)
Industrial Metal (done)
British Metal
Alternative Metal
Funk Metal
Hair Metal
Thrash (done)
Death Metal/Black Metal (done)
Grindcore (done)
Speed Metal (done)

I wrote â€œdoneâ€? next to the ones Iâ€™m pretty sure are doneâ€¦.everyone should feel free to write definitions.

Once they are all done, Marduk should edit his original post to include all the genres[/QUOTE]

Hair metal and power metal are the same deal man.... key bands: bon jovi, scorpions, twisted sister (not realli metal but you get the point) and any other bands with somewhat transvestive looking members

who is mustard plug?

what about avant-garde metal!

badass list, i'm not going to bother you with such questions like "why didn't you list the children of bodom under key bands for the black metal section?" but all in all, badass.
I didn't get a chance to read the whole thread, just the first page, and as the big mouthed critic i am, i'll have to reply to some stuff.

System of a Down is half nu-metal, and half whatever else they want to be, their weird dude, they're from Armenia. most Nu-Metal bands don't have the balls to do a swing breakdown with arabian guitar riffs over it.

and Hardcore, oh god.
Hardcore started in the 80's, and at that time, it was faster than punk, because the punk of the 70's wasn't really all that fast, just really raw (which is a nice way of saying sloppy as hell). Since then, punk as sped up a bit, and hardcore actually has slowed down (at certain points). The real main difference is that punk songs pretty much never change tempo, double-time drums the whole song, usually 1 or 2 chord progressions, and nothing spectacular. Hardcore is somewhat simple, but they at least switch it up a bit. If you really want to hear the comparison, download "hello pricks" by Sick Of It All (for hardcore) and for punk download....i dunno, anything by The Casualties, The Unseen, The Virus, anything that starts with "The". Punk bands have the stupidest names. although i guess metal band names aren't that much better.

Like i said, i didn't read the whole thread so i may either be repeating someone else, or maybe you guys just totally changed topic and i feel stupid now.

[QUOTE=Matyrdom]who is mustard plug?[/QUOTE]

Mustard Plug was a ska band that was fairly popular during the 3rd wave of ska like in '97 or '98. They never hit the radio, but anyone who was into ska definately at least heard their name mentioned.

But it doesn't matter. Nobody listens to ska anymore.

[U]Nu-metal[/U]
Nu-metal is the newest craze to hit mainstream rock radio. Without trying to bash it too much, generally speaking the music structure is very simplistic. Lyrics cover subjects that are close to todays teens (depression, abuse, drugs etc). There are very few guitar solos and the one's that are there are typically very simple and short. Vocals can range from the more metal influenced to a fusion of metal and rap. Guitars are often downtuned or drop tuned. This genre is generally not very popular among listeners of other metal music, but it is the newest craze and therefore very promoted and heavily played on the radio. Bands: Slipknot, Mudvayne, System Of A Down, Papa Roach, P.O.D., Linkin Park, Disturbed.

I think Slipknot has sort of balanced between nu-metal and death metal...the lyrics are usually about how american society is scapegoating and blaming things like columbine and 9/11 on them...plus they're starting to incorporate solos in their music, and they are neither simple nor short.

woops, that was supposed to be a quote

i never heard a single slipknot son gon the radio. they'd cause car crashes dammit

One Question.. what do you guys reckon Static-X would be classified under?

great effort, interesting read in the black metal part, I personally wouldn't even listen to a band no matter how good the music was if they were ignorant enough to promote racism of any kind in their lyrics, would just be a waste of talent IMO, just me though

[quote]i never heard a single slipknot son gon the radio. they'd cause car crashes dammit[/quote]

i used to hear wait and bleed on the radio
not that i like slipknot, im just saying ive heard them

i think the list is pretty nicely done, i learned quite a bit though

what type of metal are van halen and guns and roses?

Static X - nu metal

Van halen - hair/pop metal?

GnR - sureley they are a rock band?

industrial metal - static x, ministry? admittedly static x's newer stuff is more nu metal

what's hair/pop???:lol:

[QUOTE=LegionsofMarduk]At the request of the mods, I'm making this thread to get stickied. Seeing as how there are numerous threads asking "What's the difference between genre X and genre Y?", hopefully this will curb some of those. NOTE: This is a very general guideline and not a definitive carved in stone definition. While I may put a band in with one genre, that doesn't mean that they might not fit into more than one sub-genre. I think most people here know my main area of interest is death and black metal so if you disagree with some of my opinions or band lists...fine.

[U]Traditional heavy Metal[/U]
This is kind of a "catch all". There are plenty of sub-genres, but there are lots of bands that don't fit any sub-genre and can't really be called anything except "heavy metal". This can be basically anything from the old school British heavy metal invation to the newer stuff coming out today (not to be confused with nu-metal). This is what most people think of when they hear "Power metal" or such terms. Lots of different styles can be considered traditional heavy metal. Some bands: Iron Maiden, Judas Preist, Iced Earth, Godsmack, Manowar, Killswitch Engage, Shadows Fall etc etc etc etc.

[U]Thrash metal[/U]
Thrash really started to come into play in the early 1980's. It was in one way, an answer to the more popular "hair metal" bands of the time. Thrash grew out of older metal such as Black Sabbath combined with chunkier riffs, speed, agrresive vocals, and even some punk. Thrash metal is concentrated more heavily on speed and aggression than it's predacessors. Key bands: Metallica (old stuff), Slayer, Anthrax, Kreator, Sodom, Megadeth, Exodus, Overkill, Nuclear Assault, Sabbat (UK), Darkane etc etc.

[U]Doom Metal[/U]
Where thrash metal concentrates on being fast and aggressive, doom concentrates on being slower, lower and groovier. Many consider Black Sabbath to be the fathers of doom. Typically the music is slow and heavy. Guitars are tuned down and the vocals are usually clean, although growls do slip in on occasion. Also, while death and black metal are generally more aggressive lyrically, doom metal is very meloncholic, depressive and gives an extremly dark vibe. The music can range quite a bit from the extremely slloooooow all clean vocals, to the faster (but still relatively slow) doom/death bands. Check out [url]http://www.doom-metal.com[/url] for some good information and a pretty large list of bands. Key bands: Candlemass, St. Vitus, Unsilence, My Dying Bride, Katatonia, Paradise Lost etc etc.

[U]Death Metal[/U]
Death metal is the opposite end of the spectrum from doom metal. There are a few different schools of death metal. Generally speaking though, the music is fast, aggressive, low. The bass line is usually more pronounced than in other metal sub-genres. The vocal style is trademark to death metal. Usually vocals are growled or grunted. Blast beat drums are very prevalent. The most common misconception is that death metal is all about death and gore and killing and the likes. This is most certainly not the case. While many bands do sing about this type of thing, there are tons of great bands that do not limit themselves to lyrics like that. Lyrics can range to include religion, spirituality, fantasy and beyond. The music can range from the very aggressive and brutal (Aborted, Iniquity, Suffocation) to the more melodic (Ebony Tears, At The Gates) to the very technical (Atheist, Cynic). Key bands: Lykathea Aflame, Mithras, Morbid Angel, Behemoth (older stuff was black metal), Opeth, Immolation, Blood Red Throne, Entombed, Unleashed, Sinners Bleed.

[U]Melodic death metal[/U]
An obvious sub-genre to death metal, it's becoming popular enough that I think it deserves it's own little section. Basically, it incorporates more melody. What it lacks in brutallity, it more than makes up for in melodic grooves. The vocals are typically not as harsh, there may or may not be as many blast beats. Key Bands: At The Gates, In Flames, Ebony Tears, Carcass (Heartwork mainly), Aeternus, Amon Amarth, Kalmah, Norther.

[U]Black Metal[/U]
My own personaly favorite and particular area of expertise. Black metal and death metal are quite closely related. While death is focused on the shear brutallity, black metal is focused more on creating atmosphere. The music is typically higher pitched with less of a bass line. Some bands incorporate the use of keyboards or synthesizers. The production is quite often pretty bad giving it a raw or "trOO necro" quality. Tremelo picking abounds, blast beats are not as prevalent as in death metal but are still there quite often. The vocals are generally high pitched shreiked or screamed. The music can range from the "trOO necro" bands (Darkthrone) to the more melodic (Naglfar) to the very sophisticated orchestral atmospheric (Arcturus). A common misconception about black metal is that all the bands are Satanist and sing about Satan. While many bands are Satanic or anti-christian (note the distinct difference), that is not the case with all black metal bands. Lyrics can range from Satanic to fantasy to witchcraft to just about anything. Many black metal bands are very paganistic in ideology and see the christian church as an intruder in their native lands, leading to the very deep seeded hatred for christianity. Unfortunately, black metal also has a sub-genre known as NSBM. National Socialist Black Metal. While I do listen to quite a few of those bands because I like the music, lyrically many black metal bands are very racist against not only Blacks or Jews, but anyone of non-aryan decent. Key bands: Burzum, Mayhem, Darkthrone, Nargaroth, Emperor, Bathory, Immortal, Beherit, Graveland, Gorgoroth, Moonblood, Samael.

[U]Progressive metal[/U]
A newer genre (relatively speaking), prog metal incorporates the general aggression of heavy metal with the progressive rock sound of the late 70's. Generally speaking, the music has lots of different aspects including key and time changes, unique riffing and such. The level of musicianship is typically extremly high. Dream Theater is by far the most popular band in this genre. The music is generally quite technical. Key Bands: Dream Theater, Queensryche, Spiral Architect, Spastic Ink, Aghora, Gordian Knot, Racer X.

[U]Nu-metal[/U]
Nu-metal is the newest craze to hit mainstream rock radio. Without trying to bash it too much, generally speaking the music structure is very simplistic. Lyrics cover subjects that are close to todays teens (depression, abuse, drugs etc). There are very few guitar solos and the one's that are there are typically very simple and short. Vocals can range from the more metal influenced to a fusion of metal and rap. Guitars are often downtuned or drop tuned. This genre is generally not very popular among listeners of other metal music, but it is the newest craze and therefore very promoted and heavily played on the radio. Bands: Slipknot, Mudvayne, System Of A Down, Papa Roach, P.O.D., Linkin Park, Disturbed.

Again...this is NOT a definitive list. It not by any stretch of the imagination complete. I'm sure if we really wanted to we could come up with a good 20 or so more sub-genres. It is meant as a [i]general[/i] guideline for the noob who's just getting into metal that otherwise would have posted a "What's the difference" thread. Feel free to agree or disagree. With any genre, there are bands that cross over and blur the lines. Your best bet if you're new to any genre of metal is to go out find a list of bands in the genre you're interested in. Download a couple songs from a bunch of different bands and then make your own distinctions.[/QUOTE]

You forgot rap-metal, also called rapcore. POD and Linkin Park are definitely in that category, along with Limp Bizkit and maybe Papa Roach. Papa Roach is really in between nu and rap metal. I know this isn't a definitive list, but rapcore is one of the more popular subgenres and it should be on the list.

[QUOTE=youboringlittlecunt]what's hair/pop???:lol:[/QUOTE]
Hair/pop is a mix of hair metal (hard rock) and the pop music of the time. For example, Van Halen is like a mix of GnR and Dire Straits, more on the GnR side. Anyone who wants to correct me can.

I ment hair metal or pop metal...

Don't take my opinons as exact as i have only learned of some genres through this thread, i'm no expert!

[QUOTE=lSehnsuchtl]One Question.. what do you guys reckon Static-X would be classified under?[/QUOTE]
industrial.. i'm right :p

Fu<k you some of their stuff is so nu-metal!

What the!? Static-X = Nu-Metal? You guys have no freaking idea what the hell your talking about. Just because something doesnt have grunting or talking about rotten entrails being ripped from someones chest, it doesnt classify it as nu-metal. Its industrial.... like, TRY THEY WORKED WITH TRENT REZNOR for a while... but then again, you people would call trent reznor emo or something ****ty like that because he shows emotion and incorperates philosophy into his music.

All respect for this thread: Lost.