Heavy metal music has an instantly recognisable sound. Guitars tend to be distorted, instrumental talent is highly prized, and minor scales are frequently employed.
Subgenres within metal music have their own distinct sounds and characteristics, such as: glam rock; death metal; power metal. Additionally, some bands take an unusual approach to their music by taking more theatrical approaches that don’t take themselves too seriously.
Traditional
Metal music encompasses numerous subgenres, each with their own sound and themes. From atmospheric black metal to the unapologetic aggression of deathcore, there’s something for everyone in metal’s vast sonic mosaic of diverse melodies, powerful guitar riffs, and harsh vocals. Thrash metal’s immense popularity during the 1980s opened up space for other subgenres to emerge and expand its sound further; pushing heavy metal even further beyond its boundaries than before.
Traditional metal, more commonly referred to as trad metal or classic metal, evokes its origins with blues-inspired riffs, heavy distorted guitars and often incorporates psychedelic rock elements. Iron Maiden and Judas Priest are examples of this style that embody this genre.
Folk metal is a subgenre of traditional metal that fuses musical styles from different parts of Europe with metal instruments, producing an eclectic musical blend characterized by ethnic instruments, scales, rhythms and cultural references to history and mythology. Bands such as Eluveitie and Orphaned Land can be considered examples of this subgenre.
Dark metal is a subgenre of metal music that utilizes aggressive vocals to create an oppressive atmosphere, often featuring lyrics with supernatural or horror themes and influences from gothic or medieval music. Additionally, this genre shares many similar aspects with thrash metal in terms of energy levels and tempo.
Viking metal is a subgenre of metal music which draws its inspiration from Norse culture and mythology, producing music which can often be fast and aggressive with influences drawn from thrash metal, black metal and speed metal genres.
Synth metal is a subgenre of metal music which utilizes synthesizers to add electronic elements. This style typically blends heavy guitar riffs with electronic sounds to produce an industrial or futuristic atmosphere, popular among bands such as Killswitch Engage and Parkway Drive.
Dystopian metal is a subgenre of heavy metal that explores and criticizes darker aspects of society and human nature. This subgenre’s hallmarks are dark melodies with harsh vocals, dystopian themes and menacing instrumentals.
Thrash
Heavy metal music encompasses various subgenres, each with their own sound and lyrics. One subgenre known as thrash metal can be identified by fast guitar riffs with harsh overtones, blast beat drumming and raspy vocals; its lyrics often deal with topics such as Satanism, pagan worship or anti-Christian themes; additionally corpse paint is often employed for visual or theatrical effects during performances of this style of metal music.
Subgenres within metal include power metal, progressive metal and symphonic metal – each subgenre featuring elements from other genres like orchestral instruments or classical music – that incorporate into its musical makeup. Furthermore, these types of songs often involve complex arrangements with long and complex songs which may prove challenging to perform on an electric guitar.
Metallica, Anthrax and Overkill were considered part of the thrash metal genre during the 1980s when they released albums that fell within this genre. Other groups that also contributed included Exodus, Kreator and Sadus with Exodus’ album Hell Awaits being especially heavy sounding thrash metal album.
In the early 1990s, death ‘n’ roll emerged as a subgenre of thrash metal. It combined aggressive elements from both forms with rock ‘n’ roll groove elements for an unpredictable sound that explored darker themes with humor or irony in its lyrics.
Other thrash metal bands who have dabbled with this style include Vio-lence and Annihilator; their critically acclaimed debut album Alice in Hell was one of the most technically ambitious releases ever in this genre.
Thrash metal’s signature sound is defined by heavy distortion and palm-muting on rhythm guitar, played together with fast bassists and drummers playing an intricate rhythm pattern. An iconic example is Iron Maiden’s The Number of the Beast; other classic examples can be found in Slayer Raining Blood and Judas Priest Painkiller as well. Heavy metal performers were predominantly male until mid-1980s when women began making waves within this genre; since then more female metal musicians have emerged, particularly within power metal and symphonic metal genres.
Speed
There are various styles of heavy metal music, ranging from traditional to thrash. Heavy metal’s roots lie in both America and Britain and has since disseminated into various subgenres and styles. Black Sabbath are generally recognized for creating what would eventually become heavy metal; other pioneering bands include KISS and Aerosmith who took rock and blues influences to extreme levels – these acts also contributed to shaping its sound with mid-to-fast tempo riffs, thumping bass lines, and extended lead guitar solos – characteristics typical of heavy metal music’s origins and subsequent proliferation across these nations.
Heavy metal music encompasses various subgenres, such as thrash, groove and power metal. Thrash metal stands out among these genres as an aggressive fast-paced genre that combines elements from hard rock and punk music with its trademark sounds of highly distorted guitars played with tremolo picking, blast beat drumming, growled or screamed vocals, dark or violent themes in lyrics and fast tempo. Metallica and Pantera are two bands known for performing this subgenre of heavy metal music.
Groove metal is a subgenre of heavy metal music that blends thrash and hard rock influences, and features slow-to-mid tempos with downtuned guitars and powerful grooves as its signature sound. Additionally, groove metal lyrics often cover social or political issues while often being very aggressive; popular groove metal bands include Lamb of God and Pantera.
Power metal music combines traditional metal elements with classical and symphonic musical influences for its signature sounds, featuring fast-tuned guitar riffs with dramatic, operatic vocals. Power metal has become popular with European and Latin American bands such as Dragonforce, Blind Guardian, Helloween, Kamelot Stratovarius Angra Rhapsody of Fire Nightwish among many others.
Symphonic metal music fuses classical and symphonic influences with heavy metal to produce unique compositions, typically featuring complex arrangements, orchestral instruments, melodic vocals and poetic lyrics that often explore heroic or mythological topics. Nightwish and Epica are two bands widely associated with this style of heavy metal.
Heavy metal encompasses numerous subgenres, such as black and death metal. Black metal is an extreme subgenre characterized by dark, foreboding themes and harsh lyrics, fast tempos, shrieked vocals and heavily distorted guitars played with tremolo pick. Furthermore, black metal features raw recording techniques as well as unconventional song structures.
Djent
Heavy metal music encompasses many subgenres. Extreme metal, power metal, thrash metal – each subgenre has its own sound – but what truly sets heavy metal apart is its creative and aggressive spirit; these genres push boundaries of what music can be while constantly developing into new sounds.
Heavy metal music can be distinguished by its fast tempos, distorted guitar tones and aggressive vocals – as well as exploring darker and more esoteric themes than other genres, such as drugs, the occult or social injustice. There are subgenres of metal specifically dedicated to these darker themes – dystopian metal for example often uses dark or futuristic imagery in its lyrics and artwork.
Space metal is another subgenre of heavy metal music that incorporates various musical styles to produce an immersive sonic landscape inspired by Star Wars franchise. While not as widely accepted as other subgenres, Space metal does have its own distinct sound that will surely please fans of science fiction and heavy metal alike.
Progressive metal is a longstanding subgenre of metal music, known for its intricate guitar riffs and melodic vocals. While its tempos may differ from those found in thrash and speed metal genres, progressive metal still delivers heavy sounds with each song incorporated. Progressive metal bands such as Dream Theater and Fates Warning have made significant advances with this musical genre by incorporating various other musical genres into their sound, producing some innovative work in this subgenre.
Djent is a contentious subgenre of metal that isn’t widely accepted as such; nonetheless, its sound stands out. Djent features unusual tunings on multi-stringed guitars with heavily syncopated rhythms and frequent use of polymeters. Many consider djent simply an offshoot of prog metal; others see enough distinctive elements that define it as its own genre.
Fantasy metal is a subgenre of heavy metal that draws inspiration from fantasy literature and folklore. Using epic and symphonic musical elements, fantasy metal music can either be upbeat or melancholic depending on its composer or band – including Nightwish and Delain among many others. This genre has recently gained in popularity.