Metal Music

The following article has been published in Bloody Zone forum and hope you find it useful. Introduction According to wikipedia Metal music is a genre of music that derives from and is closely related to rock and electric blues, with distorted guitars, loud bass, and generally very powerful drums. Even though Metal genres are sometimes difficult to segregate, they show different characteristics in overall structures, instrument styles (particularly vocals), and tempo. The main subgenres are Classic Metal, Doom Metal, Black Metal, Death Metal, Thrash, Melo-Death, Progressive Metal and Power Metal. Thrash Metal Fast, heavily distorted riffs with a hollowed-out (lacking in mids) tone on the lower strings of the guitar and double bass rolls on the drums define the genre. Thrash can often but not invariably be identified by the vocals, which are gritty and intense but clean, unlike those of Death and Black Metal bands, and typically lack the vibrato of Power Metal. Testament and Kreator are prime examples of the genre. Examples: Anthrax, Megadeth, Metallica, Slayer, Destruction, Kreator, Sodom, Dark Angel, Death Angel, Exodus http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thrash_metal Death Metal The central characteristic of Death Metal that differentiates it from Thrash is the vocals, which are vibrato-soaked "growls" or "grunts" projected from the abdomen rather than the throat. Aside from that, early death metal musicians thickened the scooped-out tone of thrash, added some groove and blastbeats, took the speed and technical riffs of thrash bands like Slayer to even more extreme levels. Lyrics frequently broach on normally taboo subjects such as death and the perverse (or any combination thereof), although this is in no way exclusive to or a defining characteristic of the genre. Good examples include Cryptopsy and Origin. Examples: Autopsy, Bolt Thrower, Cannibal Corpse, Carcass, Cryptopsy, Death, Deicide, Entombed, Morbid Angel, Nile, Obituary, Opeth, Possessed, Suffocation. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_metal Black metal Whereas death metal became faster and more aggressive than thrash through experimentation, black metal was a conscious effort to push music to its audible limits, namely, making it as extreme and abrasive as humanly possible. More emphasis is put on atmospheric effect, and musicianship and complexity are often sacrificed to this end, as solos are often absent and riffs tremolo-picked. Blastbeats are the norm, vocals are shrieked, lyrics use Pagan or Norse imagery, and production is often left intentionally "poor". Emperor and Darkthrone have stuck to this formula with relative consistency. Examples: Venom, Mercyful Fate, Bathory, Hellhammer, Von, Celtic Frost, Darkthrone, Enslaved, Burzum, Mayhem, Immortal and Emperor. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_metal Doom metal In reaction to the perpetual increase in speed of death and black metal, doom metal took the opposite direction in slowing down immensly. Musically and lyrically the focus is shifted from aggression towards depression. Melody is often more prominent and riffs take a more minimalistic approach. Occasional bursts of speed are nevertheless not uncommon. The vocals vary from clean - Solitude Aeturnus and Candlemass take this approach - to deep grunted - as for example used by Disembowelment. Examples:: Alchemy, Anathema (Sometimes considered Death), Lake of Tears, Nemesis, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doom_metal Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metal_music http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_heavy_metal_genres http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Thrash_Metal_bands http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Death_Metal_bands http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Black_Metal_bands http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Doom_Metal_bands Tags: Music, Metal, Gr33n Data