Country music could use some heavy metal influence. Songs about drugs, alcohol and death seem suited for country’s musical style.
Metal and country share an ancestor in blues music, making their compatibility surprising at first listen. Additionally, many country singers such as Brantley Gilbert have adopted many metal guitar chords and dark imagery into their repertoires.
1. Pantera
Pantera has long been recognized for their signature brand of groove metal music. Combining 1980s glam metal with the speed and aggression of death metal to form their unique sound, Pantera helped popularize heavy metal country genre through their powerful performances and hard-edged lyrics.
Pantera’s music has inspired numerous metal artists in recent decades, particularly in the 1990s. That decade saw the birth of death metal with bands like Deicide, Cannibal Corpse and Morbid Angel pioneering it. Death metal is a subgenre of heavy metal that incorporates elements of other genres such as black metal, punk rock and jazz fusion; death metal typically features extremely fast drumming often featuring blast beats as well as intricate guitar riffs and chord progressions.
Fast tempos and distorted vocals characterize this genre, with themes of death and violence frequently present. It was first created by a group of teenagers in Tampa, Florida who were fans of thrash metal but wanted to push its extreme elements further; these teens used lower singing pitches with indecipherable lyrics, playing their instruments faster than ever before, and screaming lower pitched vocals during recordings – creating what is known today as death metal.
Pantera was formed by the Abbott brothers in 1981. At first they auditioned a number of singers – including an apparent David Coverdale lookalike named Matt L’Amour – but ultimately settled upon Phil Anselmo who sang as their lead vocalist.
In 1988, Pantera released their fourth album Power Metal. This marked a radical departure from previous albums; forgoing their previous glam metal image and sound in favor of more technical death metal sounds and techniques. Anselmo also delivered more intense vocal performances, making the album all the more riveting than its predecessors.
Pantera was one of the most successful heavy metal bands of the 1990’s, touring with bands such as Metallica and Slayer and producing multiple platinum albums. Frontman Dimebag Darrell died tragically in 1995 due to a motorcycle accident; bassist Rex Brown and drummer Vinnie Paul filled in for Darrell until 2001 when they collaborated with country singer David Allan Coe under their Rebel Meets Rebel project.
2. Hank Williams III
Hank Williams III is the grandson of country music icon Hank Williams and continues to perform country music as well as punk and metal genres in his performances – often working alongside Mike Patton’s Faith No More band!
Williams’s debut album, Brother of the 4×4, was an energetic tribute to Outlaw Country; while Rebel Within showcased country/punk hybridity. Both albums proved that country music can be more than yodeling and tearjerker ballads; it can be just as heavy and harsh as any other genre.
In an industry where record companies employ people to study what fans want and then implement that research into the pop-machine formula, it is refreshing to witness someone playing country music that stays true to his or her musical tastes – Hank Williams III certainly does that, with great success.
Hank stands out with an independent spirit and sound that stands apart from mainstream contemporary acts – much like Frank Zappa did back in the ’70s – by running his own label and overseeing every element of record production – an approach popular in ’80s underground metal scenes.
His music stands out due to its unique blend of traditional country with metal and punk influences, creating an appealing style that would likely turn off most fans of today’s “country” music – yet one which should feature more innovation like this in order to attract a wide-ranging audience.
Hank Williams III clearly has much talent and creativity within him, being one of the few remaining country artists who takes their legacy seriously while remaining true to themselves musically. It will be fascinating to watch him progress with this approach over time.
3. Cody Jinks
Though country and metal may seem disparate genres, they share many commonalities. Both genres are deeply rooted in working class culture with stylistic traditions that define them; both feature lyrics that often focus on death and sexuality; both address universal themes of anger and frustration.
Cody Jinks is an ideal example of how country and metal music can collaborate. After starting his musical journey as a member of Unchecked Aggression, he moved over to more traditional country sounds – earning over 2.7 million monthly listeners on Spotify alone and touring regularly to backyards, VFW halls, and community centers around the US.
Jinks is part of the outlaw country movement pioneered by artists like Waylon Jennings and Kris Kristofferson. This movement sought to break free from Nashville influence; Jinks continues this legacy without all of the facial piercings or heavy metal regalia associated with his predecessors; his voice falls between tenor and baritone with qualities that could easily recall Merle Haggard or Ronnie Van Zant from Lynyrd Skynyrd.
Outlaw country music is also distinguished by its refusal to sign with major labels or perform at exclusive clubs. As a result, back-street shows with bands performing in garages, basements and abandoned warehouses have become increasingly frequent. Bob Wayne’s Rebel Meets Rebel band was among those that brought Pantera’s style into a mind-bending country project.
Other bands like Nashville Pussy, The.357 String Band and Acid Bath have integrated country elements into their sound to form what has come to be known as cowboy metal music – an amalgamation of styles influenced by doom metal, hardcore punk and gritty country sounds popularized by Hank Williams and Johnny Cash that draws upon various metal subgenres – however this kind of musical fusion seems inevitable for musicians who spend their lives traveling from gig to gig with instruments in tow vehicles or trailers packed full of instruments this kind of musical amalgamation seems natural for musicians!
4. Eagles of Death Metal
Although major metal scenes usually start up in large cities like New York or London, death metal began its journey in sleepy Tampa, Florida. There it produced many bands like Cannibal Corpse, Napalm Death, Morbid Angel and Obituary in its early days; using elements like fast tremolo picking as well as harsh death growls to define this new genre of metal music.
Chuck Schuldiner, best known for being the lead vocalist of Death and considered to be one of the founding figures in death metal music, is widely recognized for helping create this extreme subgenre. Unfortunately, Schuldiner died in 2001; but his legacy lives on through bands he led that have helped reshape heavy metal into more extreme genres of music and created entirely new subgenres such as death metal.
As the genre evolved, Earache Records and Relativity Records emerged as key labels of choice for its flourishing scene, publishing albums by Carcass, Napalm Death, Morbid Angel, Entombed and other death metal pioneers such as Carcass.
Pioneers of Death Metal have often been described as the original trashers of human flesh.” Although some perceive the genre to be overtly violent and Satanic, that’s not entirely accurate; although certain bands do incorporate some occult themes into their lyrics (particularly Black Metal bands), most early pioneers took an approach with more nuanced topics than this.
Death metal may be perceived as extreme music, but there’s nothing intrinsically demonic or demonic about its themes; they resemble those found in country music in many respects. Both genres touch upon issues facing working-class families ranging from poverty and addiction to loss and grief; at times these topics overlap.
Metal and country music may seem an unlikely pair at first, but there are numerous links between the two genres that connect them. Both styles grew from working class roots; both can benefit from having some hard-rocking death metal sensibility to add spice.