genres

METAL GENRES

Metal genres is a sticky subject and rarely does metal fans agree on where to draw the lines between the genres. Especially since some bands defy the genres and sometimes can be categorized as several genres. But since this is a metal site and I talk about these genres It's would be a good thing if we are on the same page because I refer to these genres quite a bit on this site and in my YouTube videos. So I'm going to do a short description of the most common genres. So here we go.

HARD ROCK

Classic Hard Rock are bands that don't have the full heavy metal thing going on. It was huge in the 70s but slowly was replaced by classic heavy metal towards the 80's or hair metal and such. Hard Rock is often bluesier than your typical hair band and of course softer than heavy metal.

Noteable bands: Led Zeppelin, Rush, AC/DC, Van Halen, KISS, Aerosmith & Deep Purple.

HEAVY METAL (Traditional or Classic)

Heavy Metal is kinda like hard rock but a little heavier and with more riffing. Heavy Metal stripped away the bluesy riffs and the jazz styled drumming. This is the most classic of sounds when it comes to metal.

Noteable Bands: Judas Priest, Accept, Saxon, Riot, Iron Maiden & Motörhead.

THRASH METAL Standard typical thrash metal, think 80's Metallica, Testament, Slayer, Megadeth or Anthrax to name a few. Crunchy riffs, fast paced but not extreme enough to fall into the death metal category. but definitely a step up from your typical 80's heavy metal band.

Noteable bands: Testament, Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer, Anthrax, Sodom, Kreator, Exodus and Overkill.

POWER METAL (American or USPM)

There are really two schools of Power Metal. The American style that were born out of bands like Dio, Manowar, Rainbow and such. Often with sword and sorcery or fantastical themes. It was popularized in the early to mid 80's. Power Metal is generally a little more powerful than your late 70's heavy metal but it's not as aggressive as thrash or as slow as doom, it kinda sits in between those genres. It was to some degree the American answer to the NWOBHM but with a meatier sound overall.

Noteable bands: Metal Church, Omen, Savatage & Jag Panzer 

POWER METAL (European or melodic)

The European Power Metal style is quite different, it's more up tempo but also with a bigger emphasis on melodies and with an overall more cheerful and positive approach than the American style. This style more or less took over in 1987 when the American bands all kinda dissappeared due to thrash metal taking over. Noteable bands: Helloween, Blind Guardian, Gamma Ray, Rage & Running Wild.

SPEED METAL

Sometimes confused with thrash metal due to a band like Megadeth being referred to as Speed Metal. Speed Metal slightly predates thrash. It can be as fast as thrash but rarely as aggressive but more with it's roots in the NWOBHM (New Wave of British Heavy Metal) or perhaps with some punk influences. Speed Metal is also a category where it's hard to point out what bands belong to it since the genre more or less died out towards the mid to late 80's. Speed metal could be described as a faster type of heavy metal, With speed and intensity but often with a looser playing style than thrash.

Noteable bands: Exciter, Raven, Anvil, Savage Grace & Abattoir

DOOM METAL

Doom Metal is basically the opposite of Speed Metal. Slow and pounding songs about death, sorrow and sadness. Slightly more occult than your regular genre and with lots of darkness to it.

Noteable bands: Trouble, Candlemass, Saint Vitus, Cathedral, Count Raven & Pentagram. 

EPIC HEAVY METAL This is also a genre that is quite hard to define. It's a style that sits somewhere in the middle of American Power Metal, Heavy Metal and Doom Metal. It's more epic in it's approach and with lots of sword and sorcery imagery and lyrical themes. Some of these bands could also be referred to as American Power Metal bands since it's the closest relative. Noteable bands: Manowar, Manilla Road, Doomsword, Cirith Ungol & Dark Quarterer.

BLACK METAL

Black Metal throws all the conventions of classic metal out the window. Black Metal is played fast and without the crunchiness of thrash but instead a focus on moods and atmospheres. Shrieking vocals, depressing lyrical matters and some devil worship and occult themes on top of that.

Noteable Bands: Darkthrone, Burzum, Bathory, Immortal, Emperor & Mayhem.

DEATH METAL

Death metal has the same origins as thrash but it also built a lot on thrash. Cookie monster vocals with a lot of speed and brutal aggression behind it. War and gore are common themes. 

Noteable Bands: Death, Entombed, At The Gates, Morbid Angel, Carcass, Obituary & Cannibal Corpse.

GLAM METAL

Big hair, makeup, dressing in womens clothes and lots of partying. That was what was in during the late 80's. Some bands qere quite untolerable with more focus on the partying side than the music side but there were a bunch of good bands with great musicians in some of these bands as well.

Noteable Bands: Mötley Crüe, Dokken, Twisted Sister, Poison & WASP.

CROSSOVER

Crossover or Crossover Thrash is a fusion of Hardcore punk and thrash metal. The lyrical themes were often about social, political or enviromental issues and the songs were kept short. Add to that shouting punkish vocals. The music itself was more simplistic and most often not as melodic as your regular thrash band. With an overall less focus on flashy guitar leads. 

Noteable bands: Suicidal Tendencies, Crumbsuckers, C.O.C., D.R.I., Cryptic Slaughter, S.O.D., Nuclear Assault, Cro-mags, Agnostic Front & M.O.D.

GROOVE METAL

Groove is not a sub-genre of thrash, I would more describe it as the next step in the evolution of metal music. This is what many thrash metal bands evolved into in the 90's. Rhytmic and often played in a more mid-tempo style than thrash. Fat modern 90's production, more focused on heavy riffs than speed. Shouting aggro vocals.

Noteable bands: Pantera, Exhorder, Grip Inc., Machine Head & Soulfly.

PROGRESSIVE METAL

Progressive Metal is an umbrella term that holds everyone from Queensryche to Death. So to distinguish them a bit from each other we could call Queensryche a progressive power metal band and Death a progressive death metal band. Progressive metal has a lot of tempo changes and a in general it's more experimental, cerebral or even "pseudo-classical". 

 Noteable bands: Queensryche, Voivod, Death, Symphony X & Dream Theater.

NWOBHM (New Wave of British Heavy Metal)

Not really a genre but a term that had a lot of bands under it, the NWOBHM was a movement of British heavy metal bands that more or less cemented the style as today are referred to as heavy metal or classic or even traditional heavy metal. The NWOBHM movement started in around 1979 and it just lasted for a few years up until 83-85 or so. Everyone from Saracen to Venom got lumped together under the NWOBHM tag even if they soundwise were quite far from each other. But as we look back upon it, Saracen and Venom gets closer to each other due to how much metal has changed over the decades since.

Noteable bands: Iron Maiden, Saxon, Venom, Witchfinder General, Raven, Angel Witch & Tank.

NWOTHM (New Wave of Traditional Heavy Metal)

NWOTHM are practically modern day bands worshipping old school heavy metal of the late 70's and early 80's. Think Judas Priest, Motorhead, or the whole NWOBHM (See above) wave.

Noteable bands: Enforcer, Skull Fist, Helvetets Port, Haunt, Riot City & Cauldron.

MODERN METAL This is somewhat of a lazy term and not really a genre. Modern metal started in the late 80's but it was in the early 90's with bands like Pantera, Sepultura and Machine Head that modernized metal. More aggressive or shouted singing, less guitar solos, though guy vocalists, rapping vocalists, clicking drums, lifeless productions. It's all part of of a wave that forever changed metal for the worse. Not saying that early 90's Sepultura or Pantera was the worst thing on the planet but it certainly inspired the shittiest bands of all time like Korn, Slipknot, Linking Park, System of a Down and all those garbage bands. I throw groove (to some extent), Nu Metal, Rap Metal and all of that stuff in the Modern metal section.

Since this is a site that focuses on the more traditional metal styles there won't be any Nu Metal or Rap Metal on this site and probably not that much symfonic metal, sludge, shred, slam or glam metal either since that don't interest me that much. So if you're curious of those, then google is a good option.

/Ruthless