I think its a great list but you're really pidgeon holing these genres as if they are absolute. Trying to delve into the characterization of bands really defeats the point of music to me. If you spend all of your time sorting bands into categories I think you miss a lot of what they are saying. The only categorization there needs to be in music is good and bad.

Also Im interested to know where you would rank Tool and APC.

[QUOTE=Kreator]i have a new genre. sludge metal :cool: *found on allmusic.com*[/QUOTE]

I believe sludge metal is like doom metal without the atmospheric and symphonic attributes. Seeing as doom metal is slow and sluggish, but also sets the mood of gloom and depression. Sludge on the other hand is slow and sluggish like doom, but is focused on being raw and doesn't try to create that emotional atmosphere. Now, that's just a speculation and I may be totally wrong about this, but that's just what I gathered.

[QUOTE=christonastick]Also Im interested to know where you would rank Tool and APC.[/QUOTE]
I would rank Tool as just hard rock, and APC as alternative rock; not metal.

Been reading this entire thread :eek: and so far I've seen some good and many not soo good points. I think this table will help clear up a lot:
[URL]http://hjem.get2net.dk/hosser/hosserspis/a%20brief%20history%20of%20metal.gif[/URL]

[QUOTE=$yk0_H]Been reading this entire thread :eek: and so far I've seen some good and many not soo good points. I think this table will help clear up a lot:
[URL]http://hjem.get2net.dk/hosser/hosserspis/a%20brief%20history%20of%20metal.gif[/URL][/QUOTE]

thats a pretty cool table.:thumb:

ok slipknot's first album was Nu-metal in the sense that it mixed alot of rhythm and rap type licks, the second album cam closer to death metal in my opinion except for the down trodenn guitars, and the third album is just ****ing different, it's hard to genrenize these guys really, but i've heard them mostly referred to as Shock Rock, as is Mudvayne, which has also been comonly reffered to as Math Metal , but that has more to do with their writing process

I'm sure this has been asked.. but what genre would Avenged Sevenfold fit in? Whoever answers... would you mind explaining it?

[QUOTE=Hardcore Hero]ok slipknot's first album was Nu-metal in the sense that it mixed alot of rhythm and rap type licks, the second album cam closer to death metal in my opinion except for the down trodenn guitars, and the third album is just ****ing different, it's hard to genrenize these guys really, but i've heard them mostly referred to as Shock Rock, as is Mudvayne, which has also been comonly reffered to as Math Metal , but that has more to do with their writing process[/QUOTE]
iowa was now where near death metal. are there blast beats? or even solos? :evil:

stfu

Ok, im need to clear things up

a) (From Wikipedia, indepth Encyclopedia)

System of a Down is a [COLOR=Red]Heavy Metal/Eclectic Metal[/COLOR] band from Los Angeles. All four members are of Armenian ancestry, and some of their songs are about Armenian history and politics. Their diverse instrumentals range from baritone electric guitars, electric mandolins, sitars, 12-string classical guitars to many other east asian instruments. Their main influence is noticebly the heavy metal veterans known as Black Sabbath, but they have many other musical influences such as jazz, fusion, Armenian folk music, classic rock, blues and industrial metal.

[COLOR=Red]Though System of a Down is commonly refered to as a "nu metal" they do not really fit in this category, with the exception of their down-tuned guitars. System of a Down have never incorperated rapping or turntables in their songs, and they do include solos in some of their songs. Guitarist Daron Malakian personally said to Guitar World that he was glad that System of a Down had not slipped into that subgenre of heavy metal.[/COLOR]

Nu-metal bands admit to being Nu-Metal... Daron Malakian specifically said they arent...

b) There have been a few categories missed:


Neo-classical metal: This complex form of music is heavily influenced by classical music. The chord progressions, arpeggios, broken chords, and speedy scale runs of neo-classical metal are borrowed for the most part from Johann Sebastian Bach, Antonio Vivaldi, Niccolo Paganini Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Ludwig van Beethoven. All reknown neo-classical guitarists are classically trained virtuoso players and base many of their works off of the Harmonic Minor scale and the Phygarian Scale. They are the players best known as the Guitar God. Artists include:
Cacophony (Jason Becker & Marty Friedman of Megadeth)
Steve Vai
Ark-Storm
Jason Becker
Paul Gilbert
Michael Angelo Batio
Billy Sheehan
Yngwie J. Malmsteen

Goth metal is a crossover between doom metal , heavy metal music and goth music itself. It developed in the early 1990s in Europe and the United States. Originally, Gothic metal evolved from doom metal, where bands like Celtic Frost (Switzerland) and some years later Paradise Lost (U.K.) and Theatre of Tragedy (Norway) added female vocals and melodic keyboards to heavy doom riffs and death grunts. Bands such as Type O Negative (U.S.), My Dying Bride (U.K.), and Anathema (U.K.), focused on eerie keyboards and gloomy atmosphere as well. Paradise Lost's Gothic is widely considered to be the first Gothic metal song ever created, introducing duet of female vocals and death grunts. That's a mistake though, as Celtic Frost combined operatic female vocals and death grunts already in 1987 on their third album Into The Pandemonium. This album was a main influence for Paradise Lost, The Gathering and many more. In general, Gothic metal lyrics focus on a variety of subjects: religion and God, heaven and hell, romance, horror, depression, bereavement, emptyness, and death.

Industrial Metal: hard to describe.... very varied. bands include Static-x, Nine Inch Nails, Kitty, etc.

there are more gendres but im too lazy to post them at the moment

Oh yeh.... i forgot to add... Mudvayne is Math Metal... not Nu-Metal.

Math metal refers to a style of avant/noise rock that emerged in the 1990s. It is characterised by complex, atypical rhythmic structures, stop/start dynamics and angular, dissonant riffs seen by some as mathematical in their complexity bands include Jesus lizard, Tool, Mudvayne, Big Black etc.

Ok, I gotta hit the sack for work, so I didn't read the whole thread, but , just to be a jerk.......where's the "Funk Metal" style of PRIMUS?

all in all i think that the categories are nicely done



way to go!!!!

Cacophonius: All the "missed" genres you explained had already been defined. Sorry.

On the second page, I gave an explanation of Industrial

[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]

How dare you call SLipknot and Mudvayne Nu-metal...they do not rap so much as scream and even sing.....i would rather have put them in the "heavy metal" genre.
God i just cant believe you would put these evil geniuses under the same category as linkin Park or POD....EW :angry:

[QUOTE=Borders&Shading]I'm sure this has been asked.. but what genre would Avenged Sevenfold fit in? Whoever answers... would you mind explaining it?[/QUOTE]

[U]hardcore, metalcore, punk-metal[/U]...something like that...i dont like that band much but i hear it is [U]screamo[/U]... :evil:

[QUOTE=Cacophonious]Oh yeh.... i forgot to add... Mudvayne is Math Metal... not Nu-Metal.

Math metal refers to a style of avant/noise rock that emerged in the 1990s. It is characterised by complex, atypical rhythmic structures, stop/start dynamics and angular, dissonant riffs seen by some as mathematical in their complexity bands include Jesus lizard, Tool, Mudvayne, Big Black etc.[/QUOTE]

All i have to say is thank you for this comment.... :thumb:

[QUOTE=muahhaha]How dare you call SLipknot and Mudvayne Nu-metal...they do not rap so much as scream and even sing.....i would rather have put them in the "heavy metal" genre.
God i just cant believe you would put these evil geniuses under the same category as linkin Park or POD....EW :angry:[/QUOTE]
stfu

i'm a new member and the list helps alot

Man thats a great list, im happy that someone's finally done it....although, there is the New Wave of British Heavy Metal "NWOBHM" where you could put judas priest, iron maiden, etc....

[QUOTE=LegionsofMarduk]The reason I put Godsmack in Heavy Metal and not nu-metal is because even though their songs are drop tuned and relatively simple, the vocals are a lot closer to that of more traditional metal that those of nu-metal. And they have guitar solos in almost every song. No they may not be all out shred solos, but the solos are there and they're longer than a few short notes.

As far as Tool goes...I really don't know what I'd call them. The only 2 albums I have are Undertow and Aenima (sp?) which are kind of hard to really classify. I'd always called them hard rock but that's just me.[/QUOTE]
yu spelled aenima correctly

whats rap/rapcore metal. ive been told that disturbed is categoried as this and by others that they are [U]alternative[/U] rapmetal. could somebodey (preferably legions) clear this up.

[QUOTE=muahhaha]How dare you call SLipknot and Mudvayne Nu-metal...they do not rap so much as scream and even sing.....i would rather have put them in the "heavy metal" genre.
God i just cant believe you would put these evil geniuses under the same category as linkin Park or POD....EW :angry:[/QUOTE]
1:hes not saying that theyre anything like LP or pod. they would have (if legion would have taken the time to specify) fit into a copletely different sub-topic than mudvayne or slipknot(which im not so fond of). chill out!

2:i dont care much for LP park either but i dont coplain about, i ask questions

3:whats wrong with pod(please answer) :cool:

Would goth metal be included in that list? Where would bands like Lacuna Coil and Within Temptation fall under if not Goth? Or is that not considered metal or rock or anything at all?

^^^ lacuna coil and within temptaion are gothic...

nice list. Only if nu-metal could be erased from the metal world.

why??? it's still metal.

wow, im a younger member, and i never realized there were so many sub-genres. im a little ashamed, i havent heard of many of the bands outside of nu-metal, traditional, and thrasher.

nice list nu metal is the way to go

[QUOTE=metalhead81]wow, im a younger member, and i never realized there were so many sub-genres. im a little ashamed, i havent heard of many of the bands outside of nu-metal, traditional, and thrasher.[/QUOTE]
You should get into some of them. You're in for a treat...

[QUOTE=metalhead81]wow, im a younger member, and i never realized there were so many sub-genres. im a little ashamed, i havent heard of many of the bands outside of nu-metal, traditional, and thrasher.[/QUOTE]
what has that do to with your membership here?