Genre metal: history and development of metal music

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Rock music is currently very popular, the modern variety of rock bands allows you to find your fan in every listener. Despite the fact that the term "rock" itself appeared less than a century ago, there are already several directions of this style of music. In this article, we will consider, perhaps, the most difficult direction - the metal genre.

History of occurrence

Metal itself emerged in the mid-70s in the United States of America under the influence of relatively "lightweight" rock and roll bands. Many fans of this kind of music in the future have observed the weighting of guitar riffs and the breakdown of restrictions in the lyrics, because the framework of blues, jazz and country did not suit everyone. And so it happened - soon the bands began to acquire a heavier color in the performance of their songs: overdriven guitars, a marching rhythm section, aggressive vocals. The fashion for heavy progressive sound grew, and today we can observe representatives of the metal genre in all its manifestations almost anywhere in the world. Metal festivals and concerts are held every year in many countries, and the number of fans of such music is growing incredibly fast.

Featuresgenre

As mentioned earlier, this genre requires distorted aggressive parts that create pressure and intimidation, as well as unique and hard vocals (scream, growl, for example). It has become popular on stage to inject an informal atmosphere through various costumes, props, posters and dark tones in the interior. The metal genre has evolved exponentially, and with it, there have been more and more subgenres.

Metal subgenres

• Heavy metal. Actually, the ancestor of heavy music. The metal genre is built from heavy metal in all its manifestations. The most famous representatives are Black Sabbath and Judas Priest.
• Progressive metal. Technically the most difficult genre of rock music due to the complex guitar parts. Most often, the term "progressive" is also mistakenly perceived as some kind of alternative heavy music that does not fit into the framework of other metal styles. Opeth and Dream Theater are the most popular progressive bands.
• Speed metal. A very interesting genre, which characterizes itself with a speedy and rhythm-crushing technique. Representatives - Metallica and Haloween, for example.
• Thrash metal. It is somewhat reminiscent of speed metal, however, it has a more dissonant and ardent sound, the lyrics are still often protest, reminiscent of punk rock. Havok and Slayer are the place to start listening to thrash metal.
• Groove metal. A more melodic and formal offshoot of thrash, nevertheless an independent metal genre with its own atmosphere and intensity. Machine Head orPantera show this wonderfully.
• Power metal. Fast, complex and popular genre of metal music. A characteristic feature is very high (often male) vocals and medieval lyrics. Quite frequent, complex guitar solos are also common. Of the popular representatives, we recommend Dragonforce and Strotovarius.
• Death metal. Very rough in lyrics and parts, the closest to the heavy metal genre, but with such a violent atmosphere that many death metal concerts are canceled in several countries. Obituary, Deicide and Death are the founders of the genre.
• Doom metal. Perhaps the slowest of the presented heavy genres. So slow and monotonous that the musical pattern and rhythm in general may never change during the entire song. Representatives are many groups, including Candlemass and Anathema.
• Black metal. The most scandalous and ideological genre. Metal songs have little to do with religion unless it's about black metal. Monotony, speed and inverted crosses on the stages provide an increasing popularity every day. Mayhem or Burzum is known to every fan of this trend.
• Viking metal. The name speaks for itself, it is easy to guess what the lyrics of most of the songs of this genre are written about. This direction can often be recognized precisely by the live performances of the bands, because in Viking metal the main thing is the Scandinavian show, through which the call of the ancestors is transmitted. Outstanding representatives - Bathory and Amon Amarth

Hybrid Styles

There isalso a lot of some kind of "hybrid" metal styles, which include the use of several ambiguous subgenres at once. For example, melodic death metal is not a genre in its own right; it is a hybrid style that combines classic death metal with a touch of keyboards or other instruments. Symphonic black metal, by analogy, includes parts of symphonic instruments (sometimes even entire orchestras), but it would also be incorrect to call it a separate genre.

Conclusion

Heavy metal genres are of countless variety: in terms of tempo and speed of playing, lyrics of songs, stage persona, ideology or degree of importance in a particular subculture. Like any other genre, metal is evolving and opening up new horizons for a wide variety of musicians who want to experiment. Individual bands often change the genre of their music from one album to another so that you can enjoy the variety and innovation of new compositions. Love music and develop your creativity!