Metal, a style of music that is said to be the offspring of a cross-pollination of hard

rock and Western classical music, has been continual development since 1970. The
genesis of the genre is generally regarded to be 1970, with the release of Black
Sabbaths self-titled LP. Since then, the genre has given rise to a diversity of
subgenres, each as different from each other as they are to their parent; but all
metal shares, at base, a similar worldview: it is the means in which that worldview is
presented that is subgenre-specific.
Today, metal consists of, in order of genesis: heavy metal, death metal and black
metal. Doom and speed metal are generally regarded as styles of heavy metal, if not
a subgenres in their own right. Thrash metal is a speed/death hybrid. Finally, the
fusion genre of grindcore, whose development is tied to that of death metal, is at
times included under the umbrella of metal, being a fusion of speed metal and punk
hardcore.
Many of the subgenres of metal can be regarded as reactions. They are reactionary in
that their existences are a response to a perception of lack, either in their parent
genre, or else outside metal. Heavy metal was a response to hard rock; thrash
metal, which was a fusion of early punk with speed metal, was itself a response to a
lack of extremity in speed metal. Death metal, its direct descendant, was a reaction
to the steadily increasing commercialisation of late 80s thrash. Black metal, also
descended from thrash, was a reaction to something similar in early 90s death
metal. Lastly, doom metal was a reaction to the increasing speed of most all other
metal subgenres, and is thus the only one of them that eschewed speed for its
inverse: plodding slow riffing.
What is variously regarded as metal in mainstream media is anything but. Most are
subgenres of a sort of hardcore punk, with influences from hip-hop, rock or metal.
These genres have come to be known variously as metalcore, deathcore, n-metal,
and math metal. The bands active in these genres have aligned their styles to more
resemble older metal styles, thus effecting an assimilation of metal in the eyes of
most people. These styles do not share in the genetic lineage of traditional metal.
They are a phenomenon external to this. They look in without understanding the
underlying values of what made metal so much greater, or even so different, to
almost anything that had become before, and in many ways, since. By attempting to
emulate as it appears, and not as it is in and of itself, they have managed to master
the outward aesthetic of metal, but not the inward mechanism to which that
aesthetic is a resultant.
So, weve covered metals origins, and given some context to the relation of its
subgenres with respect to each other and to their parent; but what do they sound
like? The following is a schematic of the genre aimed at addressing that very query.

Heavy Metal
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Heavy metal
This is what stuff like Black Sabbath, Pentagram and Dio sound like. Slow to
moderate pace, soaring vocals, simple cyclic to complex narrative structures.
Notables: Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, Pentagram, Dio, Helstar.
Doom Metal
Like heavy metal, but slower, doom metal comes in two main styles: one is death
metal influenced and the other is pure heavy metal. Very slow to moderate pace,
with vocals that are clean to low-pitch distorted. Lyrical content is generally morose,
and is about death and negative nihilism (fatalism). Black Sabbaths debut is a
direct progenitor. Notables: Skepticism, Evoken, Ras Algethi, Unholy, Winter, Saint
Vitus.
Substyles
Doom-death
Generally regarded as fusion genre of traditional doom styles with
that of older death metal, it is slow to moderate-paced. It tends to
melody, moreso than funeral doom, and places less emphasis on
atmosphere. It has its origin in the United Kingdom and the United
States in the early 90s. There are two variants of this style,
depending on the amount of influence of either genre. It is doomdeath when the primary influence is doom metal, and deathdoom when the primary influence is death metal. Notables: My
Dying Bride, Unholy, Ceremonium, Runemagick,
diSEMBOWELMENT, Paradise Lost, Winter.
Funeral doom
The slowest variant of doom, funeral doom takes influence from
death metal and ambient music to achieve drawn out, glacial
pacing with complex development. Emphasis is on atmosphere. It
has its origin in Finland and the United Kingdom in the early-mid
90s. There are two substyles or approaches within this style: one
is primarily ambient influenced and the other primarily heavy
metal influenced. Notables: Skepticism, Evoken, Esoteric,
Mournful Congregation, Thergothon, Tyranny, Worship.
Traditional doom
This is the lineage of doom that has experienced the least
evolution, being almost unchanged from Black Sabbaths
blueprints. Much of the change that has occurred has been since
the early 80s, with the reduction of blues influences. Slow to
moderate paced, this style has comes in two substylings: a
Sabbath-esque variant and an epic variant, which is itself
influenced by 80s speed metal. Vocals are always clean-sung and
songs are moderate to long. It has its origins in the United
Kingdom in the early 70s, with major changes during the early to
mid 80s. There is a fusion of this and stoner rock labelled stoner
metal, with a more laidback, rhythmic approach and lyical content
revolving around drug-use. Notables: Cathedral, Candlemass,
Reverend Bizarre, Saint Vitus, Black Sabbath, Pentagram, Pagan
Altar.
Speed metal
This is a faster, more digestable variant of heavy metal that traces its origins to the
late 70s to early 80s. It uses simple song structures, usually employing the versechorus structure of rock music. Vocals are high pitched and clean, and usually
melodic. Speed eventually gave birth to the substyles of epic, hair and glam metal in
the early to late 80s. This subgenre has been used as genetic material for later
fusions of other metal styles. Notables: Venom, Megadeth, King Diamond, Manilla
Road, Prong.
Thrash metal
The most extreme of the metal subgenres up til the late 80s, thrash began
as a fusion of speed metal and death metal in the mid 80s. Pace is
moderate to fast with structure ranging from simple to complex narrative.
Vocals are clean to semi-distorted mid to high pitch. Drumming is punkinfluenced, D-beat variant with liberal use of double bass. Split into two
geographical substyles, European and American. Notables: Slayer,
Exodus, Dark Angel, Testament, Sodom, Overkill, Kreator.
NWOBHM
Origins in the late 70s and early 80s, New Wave of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM)
band allied punk riffing with more complex phrasing architectures. Fantasy and
mediaeval lyrical concepts. Notables: Iron Maiden, Saxon, Mtorhead, Judas Priest,
Diamond Head.

Death metal
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Death metal
Death metal began as a more extreme variant of American-style speed/death. There
is wider variation in pace from slow to very fast, liberal use of the blastbeat, double
bass, and lower guitar tuning. Structures are primarily complex narrative, and less
commonly simple verse-chorus. Lyrical content is primarily death, violence, gore,
war, and destruction. There are a variety of substyles within the genre. Notables:
Slayer, Possessed, Sepultura, Celtic Frost.
Technical death
This style originated in both the United States and Canada during the early-mid
90s. It is characterised by highly technically proficient instrumentation, complex
narrative structures, and moderate to high speed. Overall emphasis is on
technicality, with much recursion. Notables: Gorguts, !T.O.O.H.!, Crimson Massacre,
Demilich, Appalling Spawn, Illogicist, Martyr.
Percussive death
A form of technical death, this variant places emphasis on explosive power, and
originates from New York and Florida-style death metal. Notable in its extensive use
muffled-strumming. Notables: Suffocation, Deeds of Flesh, Kataklysm, Cryptopsy,
Pyrexia.
New York death (NYDM)
This substyle places allies the explosive, strum-muffled approach of percussive
death with street-wise punk hardcore. Structures are complex narrative, vocals are
guttural, riffing is chunky and low-end. Notables: Suffocation, Incantation,
Immolation, Morpheus Descends, Baphomet, Skinless.
Floridian death
Simpler and more straightforward than the percussive style, it allies the latters
pulsing rhythm to a bolder form, giving it a more heavy metal feel. Notables:
Nocturnus, Morbid Angel, Deicide, Death, Monstrosity.
Swedish death
Highly melodic, with long phrasing and fuzzy production, Swedish death had a large
impact on Scandinavian black metal. Notables: At the Gates, Entombed,
Dismember, Intestine Baalism, Unleashed, Hypocrisy, Therion, Thou Shalt Suffer.
Progressive death
This is progressively-styled, technical death metal with heavy jazz and classical
influences. Notables: Demilich, Morbid Angel, Atheist, Atrocity, Cynic, Pestilence,
Death.
Deathgrind
A stylistic fusion of death metal with the simpler structures and rhythmic expectancy
riffing of grindcore. Lyrical content is similar to that of grindcore. Instrumentation is
generally technical. Notables: Acerbus, Hemdale, Impaled, Exhumed, Blood, Lord
Gore, Dying Fetus.
Phrasal
Highly phrasal with intricate melodic construction and rhythm, and long narrative
structuring. Notables: Massacra, Vader, Hypocrisy, Morbid Angel.
Gothenborg (melodic death)
Swedish death metal in the more melodic vein. Sometimes technical, mostly rockinfluenced. Most bands going under this moniker today sound like Iron Maiden with
death metal stylings. This style had its genesis in the early 90s, in Sweden.
Notables: At the Gates, Dissection, Sacramentum, Grotesque, The Abyss, Bloodbath,
Hypocrisy.
Death-doom (doomy death)
The fusion genre of traditional doom styles and older death metal, doom appears in
death metal as slow-paced death metal in the vein of the old school. Notables:
Divine Eve, Runemagick, Ceremonium, Asphyx, Autopsy, Incantation,
Phlebotomized.
Deathrash
Speed metal played with death metal chording and vocal technique. Notables: God
Dethroned, Dew-Scented, Amoral.

Black metal
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First Wave
The style of black metal which emerged in the mid to late 80s, courtesy of Bathory.
Sounds like European speed with longer, more liquid phrasing, high pitch distorted
vocalisations, and the beginnings and rudimentary atmospherics. Notables: Bathory,
Celtic Frost, Hellhammer, Sodom.
Ambient black
Elegant, atmospheric; ambient black is as style originating in the early 90s with
Burzums early releases. Later spawned a variant commonly labelled depressive
black metal, which is essentially most of the same thing but with an emphasis on
self-pitying, negative nihilism. Notables: Burzum, Wigrid, I Shalt Become,
Arckanum, Forgotten Woods, Striborg, Xasthur.
Epic black
A diverse substyling that blends folk nationalism with the roving melodies of
Bathory-style black metal, drawn out by complex narrative architectures. Notables:
Burzum, Bathory, Drudkh, Walknut, Graveland, Woodtemple, Temnozor, Nokturnal
Mortum.
War metal
A fusion genre rooted in both black metal and death metal, with equal doses
grindcore, war metal takes the extremity of its parent genres and turns it into
violent, grinding microsymphonies of noise. Orginated in Canada in the early 90s.
Notables: Blasphemy, Conqueror, Zyklon-B, Axis of Advance, Revenge, Antaeus,
Proclamation.
Ritual black
Simple and elemental, with unchanging, constant beats and use of repetition to
produce a trance or ritualistic atmosphere, ritual is black metal influenced by
electronic music. Notables: Von, Archgoat, Beherit, Black Witchery, Ildjarn.
Minimalist/deconstructivist
Simple and chaotic, emphasis was on communication of content. Related to ritual.
Notables: Havohej, Profanatica, Krieg, Ildjarn, Beherit, Belial, The Royal Arch
Blaspheme.
Melodic black
Using melody in structure in order for it to serve as the fundamental principle in this
style, overlaid on usually one-dimensional percussion, but not always. On account of
the proliferation of post-1995 Transilvanian Hunger clones became disparagingly
known as Norsecore. Notables: Darkthrone, Gorgoroth, Emperor, Summoning,
Immortal, Ancient, Kvist.
Black/death (blackened death)
These are bands either playing death metal with black metal strumming technique,
or black metal bands using death metal strumming technique. Notables: Behemoth,
Belphegor, Belial, Luciferion, Teitanblood, Necrophobic, Angelcorpse.

Grindcore
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Traditionalist grind
These bands use open intervals and drawn out structures. Notables: Repulsion,
Assck, Terrorizer, Blood, Brutal Truth, Impetigo, Rotten Sound.
Blasting grind
Chaotic and out of time rhythms, sometimes repetitive to the point of trance, this
frantic style produced microsymphonies of pure noise. Notables: Napalm Death,
Agathocles, Exhumed, Hemdale.
Goregrind
A style obsessed with gore, this variant is like blasting grind, but with certain
elements that set it apart. A related substyle called porngrind shifts the emphasis
from gore to sex. Vocals are low-pitched and crepitant, and the use of sampling is
widespread. Notables: Carcass, Regurgitate, G.U.T., Dead Infection, Gruesome
Malady, Lymphatic Phlegm, Cock and Ball Torture.
Crustcore
From Discharge, this is melodic or rhythmic hardcore integrated into furious grind.
Notables: Extreme Noise Terror, Cripple Bastards, Sublime Cadaveric
Decomposition, Sore Throat, Assck.
Deathgrind
A stylistic fusion of death metal with the simpler structures and rhythmic expectancy
riffing of grindcore. Lyrical content is similar to that of grindcore. Instrumentation is
generally technical. Notables: Acerbus, Hemdale, Impaled, Exhumed, Blood, Lord
Gore, Dying Fetus.