Sludge Metal

Just the term "sludge metal" will pretty much tell you what you need to know about its sound. Sludge metal, sometimes simply referred to as sludge, combines the slow tempos and dark, depressive atmosphere of doom metal with the harsh aggression of hardcore punk. As a result, it hits a sweet spot at mid-tempos, trudging along like a punk song hindered by a thick muck. It's visceral, raw, dirty, and often controversial: this is sludge metal.

Sludge metal saw its beginnings from one of hardcore punk's key artists Black Flag. The release of its 1984 album My War saw the band shift from their trademark hardcore sound to something slower, more calculated, and more sinister. This signaled the beginnings of the sludge sound. For the remainder of the 1980s, bands began to pick up on this sound. Bands like Melvins, Gore, YDI, and Godflesh all took major influence from this style, and implemented the thick, muddled guitars and doom influence into their subsequent albums.

Recommended '80s sludge metal listening:
1. Black Flag - My War (1984)
2. YDI - Black Dust (1985)
3. Gore - Mean Man's Dream (1987)
4. Melvins - Gluey Porch Treatments (1987)
5. Godflesh - Streetcleaner (1989)

Once the sludge sound had solidified itself in metal and punk circles, it witnessed a small boom in the 1990s. Most of the genre's biggest names reached their peaks in this decade, with fantastic releases from bands such as Acid Bath, Eyehategod, Grief, Fudge Tunnel, Buzzov•en, Noothgrush, Crowbar, Iron Monkey, Dystopia, Corrupted, Corrosion of Conformity, and Neurosis dominating the scene. Melvins and Godflesh continued strong in the genre as well, releasing continuously fantastic albums, and even getting other bands in similar scenes, such as industrial metal bands like Ministry, involved as well.

Recommended '90s sludge metal listening:
1. Corrosion of Conformity - Blind (1991)
2. Crowbar - Crowbar (1993)
3. Eyehategod - Take as Needed for Pain (1993)
4. Melvins - Houdini (1993)
5. Acid Bath - When the Kite String Pops (1994)

The main subgenre of sludge metal is an offshoot called atmospheric sludge metal. By adding loud-soft dynamics and reverb-laden textures to the sludge metal formula (stylistically similar to that of post-metal), atmosludge creates a crushingly heavy sound. Early bands like Neurosis were the first to implement this style in the mid- to late-1990s, but were quickly followed in the early 2000s by bands such as Isis, Cult of Luna, Old Man Gloom, and Dirge. Since then, atmosludge and post-metal have both garnered massively progressive reputations within the metal realm, leading to leagues of incredible releases from later bands such as Minsk, Rosetta, Pelican, Amenra, The Ocean, and Holy Fawn.

Recommended atmospheric sludge metal listening:
1. Neurosis - Through Silver in Blood (1996)
2. Isis - Panopticon (2004)
3. Rosetta - The Galilean Satellites (2005)
4. Cult of Luna - Somewhere Along the Highway (2006)
5. The Ocean - Precambrian (2007)

In the 2000s, atmosludge was the primary incorporation of sludge metal. Isis and Cult of Luna loomed as quite a force to be reckoned with, but there were other significant sludgers coming onto the scene; the most notorious of which was Mastodon. Though now one of the most prominent forces in progressive metal, Mastodon were once just as formidable as a sludge metal act. Following in a similar "progressive sludge" vein were bands like Intronaut, Baroness, and the previously mentioned The Ocean. Also new to the scene were High on Fire, Ufomammut, YOB, and Kylesa.

One of the common factors that often mixes up newcomers to the genre is the distinction between sludge metal and stoner metal. Though the styles are fundamentally very different, there is a fairly constant overlap between the two. Bands like Corrosion of Conformity, Kylesa, High on Fire, the Melvins, and Boris often take major influence from both sides of the spectrum, resulting in a slow, doomy, often-swung style of crossover metal. Stoner metal bands like Down, Electric Wizard, and Sleep often take influence from sludge metal from the other direction too, though remain firmly rooted in the stoner genre over sludge.

Recommended '00s sludge metal listening:
1. Boris - Heavy Rocks (2002)
2. Mastodon - Leviathan (2004)
3. High on Fire - Blessed Black Wings (2005)
4. Baroness - Red Album (2007)
5. Ufomammut - Idolum (2008)

In the 2010s, sludge metal finds itself in the same throne it has always been in; continuing to dominate artistic metal circles with subtle and gradual innovations. Atmosludge still maintains incredible output with bands like Blindead, Ulcerate, Year of No Light, Sólstafir, and Oathbreaker. True sludge metal is being held up by bands such as Thou, Bongripper, Corrupted, Hell, and Cult Leader (born from the ashes of Gaza). A new trend in modern sludge metal is the increased influence from other contemporary metal developments such as blackgaze or mathcore, both known for boasting dense and inaccessible sounds.

Recommended '10s sludge metal listening:
1. Bongripper - Satan Worshipping Doom (2010)
2. Blindead - Affliction XXIX II MXMVI (2010)
3. Sólstafir - Svartir Sandar (2011)
4. Thou - Heathen (2014)
5. Cult of Luna and Julie Christmas - Mariner (2016)

Continuously pushing for innovation without losing touch with roots is a goal that most musical genres aim for but very rarely capture. Sludge metal is one of those few that does this effortlessly. Sludge is unforgivingly heavy and thick, and owns this quality to its fullest possible extent. This is why the genre continues to draw in new fans, new bands, and new groundbreaking progressions: a simple but effective core element. No over-complication, no over-compensation, just pure sludge. And that's the way we like it.

Note: Hey everyone! This will be my last week before going to study away in the desert of New Mexico for the semester. I will do my absolute best to continue writing and releasing these on some sort of schedule, but it may not be every Friday considering the indefinite nature of my internet access. I'll be doing the same amount of advertising I usually do with subsequent updates, but likely on less of an established schedule. Thanks for reading, as always!

Alternative Metal

Alternative metal, put simply, is a collaborative effort between metal and non-metal styles. There is no one particular alternative metal sound, but rather an amalgam of outside influences being thrown into the metal melting pot. Though, to some, today it seems as though alternative metal has now become synonymous with "pop metal," it is undeniable that the genre stems from somewhere original, creative, and groundbreaking.

Alternative metal is one of those rare types of music that actually began with one of its subgenres. In this case, it first arrived in the form of rap metal. Judging by the name, the concept is not difficult to comprehend: metal music with rapped vocals. It first found its footing with the well-known thrash metal band Anthrax and their collaboration with the legendary political hip hop group Public Enemy on the track "I'm the Man." Anthrax wore their influence from early rap rock groups like Beastie Boys on their sleeve, and from that point on, rap metal was born. Bands like Lone Rager, Biohazard, Faith No More, Body Count, Stuck Mojo, Senser, and the kings of the style Rage Against the Machine followed suit. The genre has since mostly fallen off, though seems to be coming back with bands such as Fever 333.

Recommended rap metal listening:
1. Body Count - Body Count (1992)
2. Rage Against the Machine - Rage Against the Machine (1992)
3. Biohazard - Urban Discipline (1992)
4. Senser - Stacked Up (1996)
5. Stuck Mojo - Pigwalk (1996)

Alongside rap metal's inception, standard alternative metal took root in the mid-1980s. Heavier alternative rock bands like Jane's Addiction and hardcore punk legends Bad Brains were some of the first to introduce metal aspects to non-metal sounds. Other bands like The Big F and Last Crack did the same. However it wasn't until the early 1990s when the sound really took off, with bands like Helmet, Warrior Soul, Life of Agony, Therapy? and Rollins Band taking the reigns on the early wave. Established metal bands like White Zombie, Prong, Sepultura, and Melvins also began to show influences of alternative metal.

Recommended first wave alternative metal listening:
1. Bad Brains - I Against I (1986)
2. Warrior Soul - Last Decade Dead Century (1990)
3. Helmet - Meantime (1992)
4. Life of Agony - River Runs Red (1993)
5. Therapy? - Troublegum (1994)

Though not an established style of metal per se, grunge was a hugely popular yet short-lived offshoot of alternative rock that erupted in the early to mid-1990s. Despite bands like Nirvana and Pearl Jam being much more closely related to punk and alternative music than metal, others like Alice in Chains and Soundgarden were massively important driving forces in early alternative metal. The genre combined elements from all over the musical underground, congealing into one single depressive, angsty flannel shirt covering the entirety of Seattle, Washington for the better half of a decade. Then Kurt Cobain of Nirvana passed away and post-grunge happened. We don't talk about that, though.

Recommended grunge listening:
1. Mother Love Bone - Apple (1990)
2. Pearl Jam - Ten (1991)
3. Nirvana - Nevermind (1991)
4. Soundgarden - Badmotorfinger (1991)
5. Alice in Chains - Dirt (1992)

Another alternative metal trend of the 1980s that caught on a bit more than rap metal was funk metal. Being very rhythmic in nature, funk metal revolves around the core values of metal and punk, but plays in the context of funk. As a result, this unlikely combination of styles produced a wealth of creative output in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Such bands to take on this niche sound were Faith No More, Primus, Fishbone, 24-7 Spyz, Infectious Grooves, Praxis, mid-career Extreme, Living Colour, and sometimes even funk rock bands like Red Hot Chili Peppers and 311 would dabble in funk metal territory.

Recommended funk metal listening:
1. Living Colour - Vivid (1988)
2. Faith No More - The Real Thing (1989)
3. Primus - Frizzle Fry (1990)
4. Fishbone - The Reality of My Surroundings (1991)
5. Extreme - III Sides to Every Story (1992)

As the latter half of the 1990s drove on, alternative metal finally began to create a unified shape. Though influences still poured in left and right, there was a general thick, ebbing and flowing atmosphere to most of the alternative metal bands at the time. Focusing heavily on experimentation within alternative metal blueprint, bands started incorporating ideas from progressive metal, shoegaze and dream pop, gothic rock, post-industrial music, and all forms of experimental music to carve their own unique niches in the genre. Such bands included Deftones, Tool, Marilyn Manson, System of a Down, Dir en Grey, Mr. Bungle, Katatonia, and many others.

Recommended second wave alternative metal listening:
1. Faith No More - Angel Dust (1992)
2. Tool - Ænima (1996)
3. Marilyn Manson - Antichrist Superstar (1996)
4. Deftones - White Pony (2000)
5. System of a Down - Toxicity (2001)

One wave of alternative metal that became near-synonymous with late-'90s metal was the nu metal explosion. Combining both the hip hop and funk influence from alternative metal's previous subgenres, a new level of angst and insecurity was reached in the nu metal crowds. Baggy pants, backwards-turned flat-bills, and rapped/screamed vocal duality characterized the nu metal wave. Started and then quickly abandoned by Deftones, and carried by Korn, Slipknot, Limp Bizkit, and Coal Chamber, nu metal gained huge commercial success. As the 2000s began, bands like Linkin Park, Papa Roach, Sevendust, Disturbed, Mudvayne, and Static-X continued the trend. The sound fell off around the mid-2000s, but there has been a recent revival with metalcore-hybrid bands like Sylar, Ded, and Emmure.

Recommended nu metal listening:
1. Korn - Korn (1994)
2. Deftones - Around the Fur (1997)
3. Slipknot - Slipknot (1999)
4. Mudvayne - L.D. 50 (2000)
5. Linkin Park - Hybrid Theory (2000)

In the 2000s and 2010s, alternative metal has witnessed a downward fall in terms of creativity. Though bands like Tool and Deftones continued to release quality material, influence from post-grunge and radio rock melded into alternative metal. Not only did the once energetic and creative nu metal bands like Korn and Slipknot quickly devolve into by-the-numbers alternative metal, but bands like Three Days Grace, Breaking Benjamin, Chevelle, Seether, and many others come onto the scene all sounding very similar. While these bands all found massive successes around this time, and did admittedly spawn a generation of metal listeners by creating an easily-accessible gateway into heavier music, it is undeniable that the vibrant creativity of the original waves had stalled. That's not to say that original bands aren't appearing at all though, as hope lies in bands such as Alter Bridge, Devin Townsend and his endless experimentation, Machinae Supremacy, Junius, Klone, and Moon Tooth.

Recommended third wave alternative metal listening:
1. Katatonia - The Great Cold Distance (2006)
2. Tool - 10,000 Days (2006)
3. Devin Townsend Project - Addicted (2009)
4. Deftones - Koi No Yokan (2012)
5. Alter Bridge - Fortress (2013)

Alternative metal, despite its relative fall from grace, is undoubtedly serving a valiant purpose. It serves as a perfect introduction for young, malleable minds into the beautifully expansive world of what metal music can be. Nearly every Napalm Death fan once started out as a Three Days Grace fan. Alternative metal, and alternative music in general, provides a new perspective on a pre-existing layout; a way to look into another world from another's eyes, and step back to see the bigger picture.

Note: Hey all! I wrote this on a bus in NYC. I recently moved from South Carolina to New York, so things have been pretty hectic. As a result, I didn't get much time to proofread this one initially. If anything is wrong or odd, let me know! And if not, I done good! Thanks so much for reading, if you are reading this, and I'll see y'all next time.

Progressive Metal

Progressive metal is, by nature, difficult to define with any one particular sound. This is likely why it is my personal favorite metal subgenre. It is characterized by complex, intricate, layered songwriting, with the musicianship displaying both technical proficiency and sense of interplay. Lyrical content is all over the place, but often held together by album-spanning concepts, often original stories or retellings of literary classics. Introspective, multifaceted, and ever-changing, this is progressive metal.

In the mid-1980s, progressive metal was on its first legs. Taking influence from melody- and story-focused heavy metal bands like Iron Maiden as well as thrash metal bands like Metallica. The very first progressive metal bands were simply technical thrash metal bands with a more introspective edge; bands like Voivod, Watchtower, and Deathrow were the primary forces. Similarly, there came a very grandiose yet simpler style that took much more heavy metal influence, leading to bands like Queensrÿche and Fates Warning. Progressive metal guitar virtuosos like Jason Becker and Vinnie Moore also began to arise in this time, leading to an eventual boom in instrumental progressive music.

Recommended '80s progressive metal listening:
1. Fates Warning - Awaken the Guardian (1986)
2. Queensrÿche - Operation: Mindcrime (1988)
3. Voivod - Nothingface (1988)
4. Crimson Glory - Transcendence (1988)
5. Watchtower - Control and Resistance (1989)

One of the most significant developments in the entire progressive metal genre was the introduction of Dream Theater. Known even today as "the" progressive metal band, these guys had everything. Whether it was crunchy metal riffs, 15-minutes of odd progressive time signatures, catchy pop hooks, or soaring melodies, Dream Theater could pull it off like none other. The combination of all these aspects was central to the development of the established traditional progressive metal style. Bands like Seventh Wonder, Psychotic Waltz, Vanden Plas, Symphony X, and many others would follow this blueprinted sound.

Despite the development of a central sound, progressive metal in the '90s still exploded into a variety of directions. Most of the more traditional sounding artists began to experiment with less flashy instrumentalism, instead focusing on the development of characters, stories, or atmosphere like Pain of Salvation, Ayreon, and Devin Townsend. Others combined progressive music with death metal, leading to a wave of bands like late career-Death, Atheist, Edge of Sanity, Cynic, and Opeth. Nevermore carried on the progressive thrash metal torch, though in a way fairly far removed from the Voivods and Watchtowers of the previous decade. Other bands like Meshuggah would carve a niche in intensely polyrhythmic music, creating thick, chuggy patterns of palm muted ones and zeros. This will be expanded upon shortly.

Recommended '90s progressive metal listening:
1. Dream Theater - Images and Words (1992)
2. Cynic - Focus (1993)
3. Symphony X - The Divine Wings of Tragedy (1997)
4. Devin Townsend - Ocean Machine: Biomech (1997)
5. Opeth - Still Life (1999)

In the 2000s, extreme progressive metal rose to the forefront. Existing bands like Opeth and Meshuggah led the charge, influencing countless other bands to create heavy, unpredictable progressive music. Among these were Mastodon (combining the sound with sludge metal and stoner metal), Between the Buried and Me (combining with metalcore),  Enslaved (combining with black metal), Gojira (combining with death metal and groove metal), maudlin of the Well (combining with avant-garde metal), Orphaned Land (combining with folk metal), and the biggest of them all: Tool, who introduced a layer of accessible alternative metal into the prog sound (along with Soen, Rishloo, and Porcupine Tree). As you could probably notice, the 'progressive' tag can go with pretty much any other style of music, allowing for a versatility that a lot of other metal genres do not have.

Recommended '00s progressive metal listening:
1. Tool - Lateralus (2001)
2. Opeth - Blackwater Park (2001)
3. Pain of Salvation - Remedy Lane (2002)
4. Between the Buried and Me - Colors (2007)
5. Mastodon - Crack the Skye (2009)

Another new style around this time is what has now come to be called "djent." Based off of the work of those polyrhythmic monsters Meshuggah, djent encapsulates the side of progressive metal that is far more rhythm-based than lead-based. The technicality in djent is a result of its angular rhythmic patterns and jolting changes in meter, rather than crazy shredding or long songs. The style has since broken up into three distinct scenes. The first is the metalcore-based bands, starting with artists like SikTh, Periphery, Monuments and Erra, and eventually leading to a wave of deathcore/djent bands like Born of Osiris and Veil of Maya. The second is the atmospheric style, staying closer to the progressive metal roots, with bands like TesseracT, Textures, Uneven Structure, and Skyharbor. The last, which will be elaborated upon further, is the instrumental wave, not-as-commonly-referred-to-as-it-should-be as "instrudjental," spearheaded by bands like Animals as Leaders, Scale the Summit, and Cloudkicker.

Recommended djent listening:
1. Meshuggah - Nothing (2002)
2. SikTh - Death of a Dead Day (2006)
3. Textures - Silhouettes (2008)
4. TesseracT - One (2011)
5. Periphery II: This Time It's Personal (2012)

The 2010s saw a natural evolution in all facets of progressive metal. First and foremost would be the apparent continuation of extreme prog. Bands like Enslaved, Ne Obliviscaris, Gojira, Persefone, Horrendous, and Between the Buried and Me all have pushed their sound further and continued experimenting, releasing both career- and genre-defining releases. Progressive post-metal is also a trend, with bands like the Ocean and Intronaut. Thy Catafalque, Devin Townsend, Diablo Swing Orchestra, Dir en Grey, and more continue to release creative and inventive slabs of avant-garde progressive metal.

The instrudjental movement is now booming as well, with a plethora of bands and even more solo artists beginning to release their "bedroom prog." Artists like Plini, Sithu Aye, Chimp Spanner, David Maxim Micic, Jakub Zytecki, Widek, and Nick Johnston all formed a sort of prog/jazz metal collective. Bands like Chon, Polyphia, Night Verses, Arch Echo, and Strawberry Girls introduce the outside influence of jazz fusion and math rock as well.

Most surprisingly, however, is the introduction of a traditional prog metal revival. While progressive metal undoubtedly took a detour through the extreme and innovative styles listed before, there is still plenty of fire left in the Dream Theater corner. Bands like Haken, Leprous, Caligula's Horse, Artificial Language, Threshold, Seventh Wonder, late career-Amorphis, Chaos Divine, and many others continue to write more traditionally-styled progressive metal. Progressive rock is also back in a big way, with bands like Agent Fresco, 22, Thank You Scientist, Bent Knee, all coming onto the scene, as well as seasoned bands like Coheed and Cambria and the Dear Hunter continuing to release masterpieces.

Recommended '10s progressive metal listening:
1. Enslaved - Axioma Ethica Odini (2010)
2. Leprous - Bilateral (2011)
3. Ne Obliviscaris - Portal of I (2012)
4. The Ocean - Pelagial (2013)
5. Haken - The Mountain (2013)

When your genre is characterized by new innovation and progression, it becomes very difficult for it to go stale. That's what makes progressive metal such a unique and engaging genre of music. It has no specific sound, but rather a collective of sounds that just don't fit anywhere else. It is defined by not being able to be defined, and that spells for a wonderful genre with lots of longevity. Saying that Queensrÿche and Enslaved are in the same genre may be a stretch for those that don't know just how vast the progressive music spectrum is, but for us (yes, you, dear reader), it paints a picture of the splendid blooming tree that is progressive metal.

Power Metal

In a genre of music dominated by death, corruption, hatred and despair, power metal shines as a brilliant example of a subversion of expectations. Influenced heavily by heavy metal pioneers like Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, and particularly Dio, power metal boasts upped grandiosity, machismo, and energy of truly epic proportions. Fast and heavy yet melodic and clean, with soaring, operatic clean vocals telling tales of bards, wizards, demons and dragons. Yes, my friends. The fantasy-lover's favorite metal style. Allow me to introduce you to power metal.

Before I begin to divulge the timeline of power metal, I must establish something key: there are two very different types of power metal, and both arose around the same time in the mid-1980s. The first hails from the United States. United States power metal, referred to henceforth as simply USPM, draws directly from heavier, rawer styles such as heavy metal and thrash metal. Singing methods are often much more gruff, and the lyricism leaning more towards war or metal themes. European power metal, known sometimes as melodic or "true" power metal, is significantly lighter in essence, and is generally what folks think of when the term power metal is used. It is much more rooted in fantasy literature and media, and in Western classical music in songwriting.

USPM is the much more short-lived sound in the power metal timeline, having seen its glory days nearly immediately in its inception. Many bands came bursting onto the scene hot and ready to go, with the most notorious being Manowar. Their simple but effective headbanging riffs combined with their rippling oiled pecs created the perfect outlet for every overly-macho metalhead out there. Soon to follow were many precursors to the progressive metal movement, such as Crimson Glory and Fates Warning. Other key bands included Riot, Helstar, and Omen. Their style revolved around inserting a very grand, orchestrally-influenced sound into the simplistic riffage where heavy metal found its origin. Into the 1990s, bands like Iced Earth and Virgin Steele would carry the torch, but often pale in representation considering the booming culture of its European counterpart.

Recommended classic USPM listening:
1. Manowar - Hail to England (1984)
2. Crimson Glory - Crimson Glory (1986)
3. Riot - ThunderSteel (1988)
4. Virgin Steele - The Marriage of Heaven and Hell Part Two (1995)
5. Iced Earth - Something Wicked This Way Comes (1998)

European power metal, on the other hand, continued to grow in relative splendor. Taking major influence from speed metal, the neoclassical stylings of bands like Helloween, Gamma Ray, and Stratovarius captivated audiences. Influence from Tolkein's The Lord of the Rings reigned true with the band Blind Guardian, retelling the tale through song. Other bands like Rhapsody, Sonata Arctica, and Kamelot would introduce full orchestras into their sound, effectively leading to the symphonic metal subgenre. Still, other bands like HammerFall, Running Wild, Grave Digger, Cloven Hoof, and Edguy would remain influenced by classic heavy metal, giving nods to the USPM scene. Soon, oodles of melodic power metal bands began to pop up here and there, sometimes not even in Europe, such as Angra from Brazil, or X Japan from Japan.

Recommended classic melodic power metal listening:
1. Helloween - Keeper of the Seven Keys Part I & II (1988)
2. Gamma Ray - Land of the Free (1995)
3. Stratovarius - Visions (1997)
4. Blind Guardian - Nightfall in Middle-Earth (1998)
5. Rhapsody - Symphony of Enchanted Lands (1998)

In the new era, power metal bands began to show themselves in a variety of forms. Some of the genre's biggest artists like Kamelot and Sonata Arctica found influence from the progressive and symphonic metal they'd influenced, sometimes allowing these styles to overtake the power metal that had initially skyrocketed their careers. Some bands, like DragonForce, take their speed metal influence to the extreme, playing with such technical proficiency that it took the household implementation of Guitar Hero for their band to even be noticed. That's just a joke, by the way. DragonForce is a great band and deserve the following it has. Other bands like Sabaton did the exact opposite, slowing down the flashy leads that European power metal had become so characterized by, and lowering the octave of the lead vocalist to create a much heavier, headbanging sound. Continuing to push the envelope are artists such as Avantasia, which creates a sort of "power metal opera" with artists from other bands collaborating into a gigantic tour de force of powerful greatness. Bands like Theocracy, Gloryhammer, Powerwolf, and Galneryus continue into the 2010s; invoking different influences and sounds to the power metal formula.

Recommended new power metal listening:
1. Sonata Arctica - Silence (2001)
2. Lost Horizon - A Flame to the Ground Beneath (2003)
3. Kamelot - The Black Halo (2005)
4. Galneryus - Resurrection (2010)
5. Sabaton - Carolus Rex (2012)

Overall, power metal exists to appeal to the glorious and fantastical mindset that dwells within all of our hearts. To go from town to town on horseback, becoming the daring knight to overtake the dragon and claim its treasures, all the while getting the girl and winning the admiration of the folks of the land. This fantasy adventure lies as a subtle reminder of the banality we see so often in our world, and from which we desperately wish to escape. Power metal is, at its core, a brilliantly cheesy form of escapism, and we wouldn't have it any other way.

Note: Hey everyone! Sorry that this entry is so short. It's nearly midnight and I'm really tired, but I wanted to whip this bad boy up since I was already two days late. Hope everyone is doing well, hope you're continuing to learn from and enjoy my writings, and stay tuned for next time!

Death Metal

Death metal: likely the most recognizable titan of musical extremity. Where black metal encapsulates its listener in the lightless shroud of Satan's cold grasp, and grindcore pummels the listener into the dirt with its bursts of anarchistic rage, death metal brutally tears into your midsection with a rusty scalpel and feasts upon your innards. Fueled by gore, hatred, and slaughter, death metal crafts chugging low-end riffs, technical lead guitar lines, and boasts double kick drum patterns at mach speeds. For such a violent and inaccessible genre, is has accumulated quite a following, reaching even celebrities of Jim Carrey's caliber. Touching the hearts of the listener both emotionally and physically, let's delve into what death metal is all about.

Death metal took its form from the heavier bands in the thrash metal scene. Bands such as Slayer, Kreator, and Morbid Saint built their sound around incredibly fast, palm-muted riffing and more controversial, bloody lyrical content. This eventually led to the initial wave of death metal, borrowing heavily from thrash sounds. Bands like Possessed, Autopsy, Master, Terrorizer, and Necrophagia led the charge with this ultra-violent style of metal.

Similarly to how black metal shifted to its most well-known form in Norway, death metal did something similar in Florida, particularly the Tampa area. Death metal bands were popping up left and right in this location throughout most of the mid- to late-'80s. Morbid Angel, Obituary, Cynic, Deicide, Massacre, Malevolent Creation, Atheist, Brutality, Nocturnus... the list is immense. None of these bands, however, had such a booming impact on the metal genre as Death. With such a simple name, Death paved the way not only for the creation of the death metal sound, but for nearly every innovation on the style for the entirety of its career, thanks to the musical mastermind Chuck Schuldiner. Death metal proved its influence and lasting power early on in its development, and the inspiration hasn't wavered.

Recommended classic death metal listening:
1. Possessed - Seven Churches (1985)
2. Death - Leprosy (1988)
3. Autopsy - Severed Survival (1989)
4. Morbid Angel - Altars of Madness (1989)
5. Obituary - Slowly We Rot (1989)

Almost as if in a direct response to America's now-Metropolis of death metal greatness, our friends across the pond in Europe decided to take a crack at joining this first wave of death. The Netherlands provided solid slabs of death metal in the form of bands like Pestilence and Asphyx. The United Kingdom came through with Carcass, Bolt Thrower, and Napalm Death (all of which had influence in the grindcore genre as well). Most notably though, were the contributions of Sweden. Recognized by some as an entire subgenre of itself, Swedish death metal featured a much sludgier, dirtier, and yet somehow more melody-driven sound than the accustomed American brand. Bands like Entombed, Grave, Dismember, and Unleashed made names for themselves in no time by delivering sweet, sweet death metal to the European masses.

Recommended European death metal listening:
1. Pestilence - Consuming Impulse (1989)
2. Entombed - Left Hand Path (1990)
3. Dismember - Like an Ever Flowing Stream (1991)
4. Carcass - Necroticism: Descanting the Insalubrious (1991)
5. Bolt Thrower - Those Once Loyal (2005)

One of the first genre offshoots of death metal was the invention of deathgrind. This style, as the name would suggest, fuses the technicality and brutality of death metal with the speed, political themes, and concise song structures of grindcore. Early grindcore groups like Carcass, Napalm Death, and Repulsion were the jumping-off points of deathgrind, with bands like Napalm Death eventually writing in the style later in its career. Terrorizer, Macabre, Exhumed, Misery Index, and Brutal Truth are all key figures in the genre, bouncing back and forth between genre tropes to create a unique blend of extremity. Not for the faint of heart, a trait shared by most grindcore spinoffs.

Recommended deathgrind listening:
1. Terrorizer - World Downfall (1989)
2. Brutal Truth - Extreme Conditions Demand Extreme Responses (1992)
3. Napalm Death - Enemy of the Music Business (2000)
4. Misery Index - Heirs to Thievery (2010)
5. Cattle Decapitation - Monolith of Inhumanity (2012)

Technical death metal, often simply referred to as tech death, is a style of death metal focusing heavily on technical difficulty. The musicianship of your average tech death band is to be stretched as far as humanly possible, resulting in incredibly complex and demanding songwriting. Tech death bands, due to implementing far more experience in music theory, tend to bring new vibes into the death metal formula with dynamic textures and exotic scales. Bands from the Florida death metal scene such as Atheist, Cynic, Nocturnus, and later-career Death would spearhead this movement. At its height, bands like Cryptopsy, Nile, Decapitated, Necrophagist, and Gorguts would continue it. Tech death remains one of the most popular styles of death metal today, flourishing in its own scene with bands such as Obscura, Beyond Creation, and Archspire leading the pack.

Recommended technical death metal listening:
1. Atheist - Unquestionable Presence (1991)
2. Death - Symbolic (1995)
3. Gorguts - Obscura (1998)
4. Decapitated - Winds of Creation (2000)
5. Necrophagist - Onset of Putrefaction (2004)

Born from a combination of the tech death and Florida death scenes, brutal death metal is a genre that intends to fully up the ante of death metal's extremity. Triggered blast beats at high speeds, chunky and blazing riffing, and often including midtempo midsections are all characteristics of the genre. First wave bands like Suffocation, Mortician, Pyrexia, Cannibal Corpse, and Dying Fetus exemplify a slow-burning, hatred-fueled style of death metal based around raw aggression. Tech death bands like Cryptopsy and Nile soon enter the fray as well, not allowing impressive musicianship to downplay the sheer brutality and heaviness of their sound.

Recommended brutal death metal listening:
1. Cannibal Corpse - Tomb of the Mutilated (1992)
2. Suffocation - Pierced from Within (1995)
3. Cryptopsy - None So Vile (1996)
4. Nile - Black Seeds of Vengeance (2000)
5. Dying Fetus - Destroy the Opposition (2000)

Once the 1990s began, death metal had found numerous ways to up its extremity factors. However, a handful of bands in Gothenburg, Sweden had the blueprint for a new style of death metal that did the opposite. Known as "the Gothenburg three," the bands Dark Tranquillity, In Flames, and At the Gates shaped a new brand of death metal, known as melodic death metal. With the subtle aid of Carcass, Amorphis, and Edge of Sanity, melodeath quickly caught on as one of the most commercially successful and widespread genres of death metal. Invoking the melodies and harmonies of early NWOBHM bands like Iron Maiden, melodeath bands focused on both catchy hooks and memorable leads, as much as they would give focus on heavy riffs and brutal vocals and lyrics. This style reigns incredibly successful even today, with golden age bands like Children of Bodom, Amon Amarth, Wintersun, and Arch Enemy still going strong with newcomers like Insomnium and Mors Principium Est. From a less melodic but similarly elegant standpoint, symphonic death metal bands like Fleshgod Apocalypse and Septicflesh began appearing around this point in the timeline as well.

Recommended melodic death metal listening:
1. Carcass - Heartwork (1993)
2. At the Gates - Slaughter of the Soul (1995)
3. Dark Tranquillity - The Gallery (1995)
4. In Flames - The Jester Race (1996)
5. Insomnium - Above the Weeping World (2006)

Similarly to how mid-career classic black metal bands like Darkthrone and Satyricon took considerable influence from the classics and began the black 'n' roll movement, death 'n' roll began around the same time. Bands like Entombed and Carcass released albums with seemingly random influence from classic hard rock and heavy metal bands, inspiring a handful of smaller death metal bands to ride this scattered trend. Bands such as Xysma, Gorefest, Death Breath, Helltrain, Doomriders, Black Breath, and Debauchery picked up the death 'n' roll torch and went with it all the way through the subsequent decades from the 1990s onward.

Recommended death 'n' roll listening:
1. Entombed - Wolverine Blues (1993)
2. Gorefest - Erase (1994)
3. Carcass - Swansong (1996)
4. Doomriders - Black Thunder (2005)
5. Death Breath - Stinking Up the Night (2006)

Death metal has its fair share of fusion genres as well. Combining with other prominent metal genres has led to debate as to whether or not to include these as true subgenres or simply spinoffs. Progressive death metal, blackened death metal, and deathcore will be the key three discussed here. Progressive death metal bands are often lumped into the tech death scene, though I find them to be distinct enough in style and execution to warrant quick discussion. Bands can be progressive without being overly technical. Many progressive death metal bands simply fall under or take influence from progressive metal as a whole, such as Cynic, Gojira, and Opeth. Blackened death metal is simply death metal with black metal influence. This includes Behemoth, Hate, Belphegor, and many other bands. Some confuse this term with war metal, a subgenre of black metal, though I think there's enough distinction to be made. Lastly, we have deathcore. No one is arguing (to my knowledge) that deathcore isn't a genre, but whether or not it is a subgenre of death metal or not is up for debate. Most would consider it a subgenre of metalcore, but the death metal influence is too obvious not to include the genre in the death metal discussion. Deathcore includes bands such as All Shall Perish, The Red Chord, Despised Icon, and Whitechapel.

Recommended progressive death metal listening:
1. Cynic - Focus (1993)
2. Edge of Sanity - Crimson (1996)
3. Opeth - Morningrise (1996)
4. Death - The Sound of Perseverance (1998)
5. Gojira - From Mars to Sirius (2005)

Recommended blackened death metal listening:
1. Necrophobic - The Nocturnal Silence (1993)
2. Hate - Awakening of the Liar (2003)
3. Behemoth - Demigod (2004)
4. Belphegor - Goatreich: Fleshcult (2005)
5. Akercocke - Words That Go Unspoken, Deeds That Go Undone (2005)

Recommended deathcore listening:
1. The Red Chord - Fused Together in Revolving Doors (2002)
2. All Shall Perish - The Price of Existence (2006)
3. Despised Icon - The Ills of Modern Man (2007)
4. Whitechapel - This is Exile (2008)
5. After the Burial - Rareform (2008)

The most recent development in death metal is the creation of slam death metal. What characterizes this genre, you ask? Well, my friend, are you familiar with the concept of "slamming?" You respond with, "Why Zach, who do you take me for? Of course I know what slamming is! It's that one riff at 2:52 in Suffocation's 'Liege of Inveracity' right?" You would be quite right, you scholar you. So get this: they really out here making an entire genre based around a single riff. Even stranger than that concept, is the fact that it's still getting oodles of new bands contributing and building off of this sound, and the genre continues to flourish. Drawing from the brutal death metal of Suffocation and Pyrexia, slam bands like Devourment, Internal Bleeding, Abominable Putridity, Katalepsy, 7 H.Target, and Cephalotripsy created a genre of death metal based in pure filth and horror. Slam themes draw from the goriest, most depraved recesses of humankind's morbid curiosity. As a result, brutal death metal continues to dig itself deeper and deeper underground.

Recommended slam death metal listening:
1. Suffocation - Effigy of the Forgotten (1991)
2. Internal Bleeding - Voracious Contempt (1995)
3. Devourment - Butcher the Weak (2006)
4. 7 H.Target - Fast-Slow Demolition (2012)
5. Katalepsy - Autopsychosis (2013)

Death metal, whether you like it or not, is an undeniable cultural phenomenon. Even folks who have never heard a lick of death metal in their lives know what the term means (generally speaking). Death metal has become synonymous with extreme music, festering in the depths of the underground music scene, lying in wait to steal your innocent Metallica-listening 13 year old and transform him into a metal purist... But fear not, horrified parental figures, because death metal is more than just a stereotype. It exists to shed light on the pits of the human mind, to open up the realm of dark fantasy into the musical world and ask "what if?" The sheer weight that death metal carries and the wide spread of all the ways the sound can be performed furthers death metal's lasting power. It's honestly amazing how bands like Scar Symmetry can be considered under the same genre umbrella as bands like Kraanium. Such is the way of death metal.

Black Metal

Corpse paint. Blasphemy. Arson. What else could it be but black metal? The classic genre that concerned mothers everywhere desperately tried to dissuade their disenchanted youths from, black metal has prevailed as a prominent form of underground music since its very inception. According to a study done by the Heavy Metal Encyclopedia, it has the highest number of recognized bands in all of the metal subgenres, which is saying a lot. So what is it about black metal that amassed such a devoted and widespread following?

Taking huge influence from the speed metal band Venom and their occultish themes, the first wave of black metal (commonly referred to as "proto-black metal") took its initial steps in the early 1980s. A handful of bands rooted in the thrash metal sound began to utilize now-common black metal tropes such as lo-fi production, tremolo picked riffs, and more unorthodox vocal styles. This trend began with a band called Hellhammer, but quickly spread. Soon, bands like Tormentor, Master's Hammer, Sarcófago, and most notably Bathory began to pop up across the globe. Despite being labeled as black metal by underground sources at the time, the established sound and visual representation that folks associate with black metal today wouldn't appear until later.

Recommended 1st wave black metal listening:
1. Hellhammer - Satanic Rites (1983)
2. Sarcófago - I.N.R.I. (1987)
3. Bathory - Blood Fire Death (1988)
4. Tormentor - Anno Domini (1989)
5. Master's Hammer - The Mass (1989)

In the snow-covered forests of Norway, a new sound was forming. Building upon the groundwork laid by the proto-black metal bands, this new wave would up the ante in many ways: more fearsome, forlorn, shrieking vocals, faster, more sinister music, and a lifestyle based around the true black metal code. This was the second wave of black metal, known commonly as "raw" or "true" black metal. Many of the second wave bands were overtly Satanic, not stopping at simply using imagery or lyricism, but outright committing church burnings, with some even being involved in murders. The trend of wearing corpse paint during performances began here, and come showtime bands would often commit rituals or even sacrifices to up their black metal cred. Legendary bands like Darkthrone, Emperor, Taake, Satyricon, Burzum, and Immortal would arise from this movement, but it wasn't until one particular band that the genre would become (in)famous: The most notorious of the second wave black metal bands was undoubtedly Mayhem. When their vocalist killed himself, the bandmates took a picture of his corpse and used it for their next album cover. When disputes over property rights arose, the bassist stabbed the next vocalist twenty-three times in the chest. It was apparent that Mayhem meant business. With a sound heard from the pits of Helvete to the furthest reaches of the world, this new black metal style would continue to influence artists for decades to come.

Recommended 2nd wave black metal listening:
1. Darkthrone - A Blaze in the Northern Sky (1992)
2. Emperor - In the Nightside Eclipse (1994)
3. Burzum - Hvis lyset tar oss (1994)
4. Mayhem - De Mysteriis dom Sathanas (1994)
5. Immortal - At the Heart of Winter (1999)

Once the 1980s began to draw to a close, a new subspecies of black metal took form. War metal, known to some as bestial black metal, is a very niche style of underground music, drawing heavily from death metal and grindcore, but staying true to the standard raw black metal formula. As its namesake would imply, war metal ups the violent lyrical content, often turning to subjects like nuclear war and the Holocaust for inspiration. Musically, the style shares more similarities with the first wave of black metal, rather than the second. Bands like Blasphemy, Archgoat, Beherit, and Bestial Warlust kicked the style off, but the genre didn't actually end up gaining much traction until the 2010s, with bands like Teitanblood, Revenge, and Infernal Coil all releasing genre-defining albums.

Recommended war metal listening:
1. Blasphemy - Fallen Angel of Doom... (1990)
2. Bestial Warlust - Vengeance War 'Til Death (1994)
3. Archgoat - Whore of Bethlehem (2006)
4. Teitanblood - Death (2014)
5. Revenge - Behold.Total.Rejection (2015)

The next subgenre of black metal to arrive in the scene was symphonic black metal. This style, as the name would suggest, introduced Western classical music, symphonic, and orchestral elements into the black metal sound, providing a grandiose, epic atmosphere. It was spearheaded by Emperor, one of the biggest and earliest second wave groups, and other bands like Summoning and Arcturus. Soon, however, the style gained major traction, producing some of the most popular bands in the scene today: Dimmu Borgir, Cradle of Filth, and Carach Angren.

Recommended symphonic black metal listening:
1. Arcturus - Aspera Hiems Symfonia (1996)
2. Cradle of Filth - Dusk... and Her Embrace (1996)
3. Dimmu Borgir - Enthrone Darkness Triumphant (1997)
4. Emperor - Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk (1997)
5. Summoning - Stronghold (1999)

Melodic black metal, or meloblack for short, is a style of black metal that first arrived around the same time that symphonic black metal did. Meloblack placed significantly more focus on melody, harmony, and clean production than raw black metal, though keeping the genre's characteristic cold atmosphere, evil lyrical themes, and musical ferocity. Bands like Dissection, Sacramentum, Dawn, and Rotting Christ were the originators of the style, but it has since branched out to influence other groups such as Windir and Melechesh.

Recommended melodic black metal listening:
1. Dissection - Storm of the Light's Bane (1995)
2. Rotting Christ - Triarchy of the Lost Lovers (1996)
3. Sacramentum - Far Away from the Sun (1996)
4. Dawn - Slaughtersun (Crown of the Triarchy) (1997)
5. Windir - Arntor (1999)

Atmospheric black metal, commonly referred to as ambient black metal or, later, cosmic black metal, is a style of black metal focusing heavily on drenching the listener in atmospheric, dreamy textures and soundscapes. The aggression of previous black metal styles may or may not be present in this genre, as the washy, reverb-laden sounds produced by layers of guitars and keyboards may depict a less oppressive and animalistic nature. Bands such as Burzum, Summoning, and Blut Aus Nord began the genre back in the early 1990s, but atmoblack has become arguably the most popular style of black metal in the 2010s with bands like Wolves in the Throne Room, Agalloch, Deafheaven and ColdWorld.

Recommended atmospheric black metal listening:
1. Burzum - Filosofem (1996)
2. Agalloch - Pale Folklore (1999)
2. Drudkh - Blood in Our Wells (2006)
3. Wolves in the Throne Room - Two Hunters (2007)
5. ColdWorld - Melancholie² (2008)

Pagan black metal, also sometimes referred to as folk black metal or simply Pagan metal, is a style of black metal that exemplifies elements from traditional folk music. This usually consists of utilizing regional instrumentation such as the violin or hurdy-gurdy, and focusing on Pagan themes and visuals. This genre is tied closely to folk metal as well as atmospheric black metal. Started by bands such as Primordial, Ulver, and Kampfar, Pagan black metal takes the black metal sound in a much more meditative route; focusing on naturalistic and simplistic Pagan elements rather than the disassembly of modern organized religions.

Recommended Pagan black metal listening:
1. Ulver - Bergtatt: Et eeventyr i 5 capitler (1995)
2. Primordial - A Journey's End (1998)
3. Drudkh - Autumn Aurora (2004)
4. Negură Bunget - OM (2006)
5. Moonsorrow - Jumalten aika (2016)

Depressive black metal, known also as depressive suicidal black metal (DSBM), is essentially black metal with a doom metal attitude. Focusing on the dreariest, most drab aspects of existence, DSBM wallows in self-pity and despises every moment of its miserable collective life. Lyrical themes tie into exactly this, with an atmospheric wall of sound placed over forlorn shrieks and sobs as vocal styles. Needless to say, the genre is small and very niche, but its fanbase is dedicated to the craft. The genre carries an aura of mystery and vagueness to it, particularly in the grotesque appearance of the genre's posterchild, Nattramn from the band Silencer.

Recommended depressive black metal listening:
1. Bethlehem - Dictius te necare (1996)
2. Silencer - Death... Pierce Me (2001)
3. Leviathan - The Tenth Sub Level of Suicide (2003)
4. Shining - V: Halmstad (2007)
5. Gris - Il était une forêt... (2007)

In the new millennium, black metal has seen itself undergo a few different incarnations apart from established subgenres. Bands like Enslaved have introduced progressive metal elements into their sound with albums like Below the Lights. Classic bands like Immortal and Taake continue to release great slabs of classic-sounding black metal. Bands like Thorns come along to introduce electronic and industrial metal elements into the mix. Weakling boasts a very particular type of atmosphere, and Darkspace takes atmosphere to near ambient music levels. Falkenbach combines with Viking metal, Deströyer 666 with thrash metal, and Deathspell Omega with avant-garde metal. Oranssi Pazuzu introduces psychedelic rock elements. Even after all of these stylistic offshoots, new black metal bands continue to write interesting and engaging music in a more classic style, such as Inquisition, Batushka, and Mgła. This proves that black metal is not simply a niche of its own, but can find a place in nearly every other musical niche in which there is to experiment, directly contributing to its longevity.

Recommended '00s & '10s black metal:
1. Weakling - Dead as Dreams (2000)
2. Enslaved - Below the Lights (2003)
3. Deathspell Omega - Paracletus (2010)
4. Mgła - Exercises in Futility (2015)
5. Batushka - Litourgiya (2015)

One of the most unorthodox pairings that black metal found itself in is a subgenre called black 'n' roll. Hearkening back to the simpler, power-chord based playing of the first wave of black metal, black 'n' roll bands take influence from classic hard rock, blues rock, and heavy metal bands. Classic black metal bands such as Darkthrone, Satyricon, and Impaled Nazarene began the style through experimentation and evolution of their sound, and before long there were bands such as I, Khold, Zeal & Ardor, Chapel, and Kvelertak performing the sound as well.

Recommended black 'n' roll listening:
1. Khold - Phantom (2002)
2. Satyricon - Volcano (2002)
3. I - Between Two Worlds (2006)
4. Vreid - I Krig (2007)
5. Kvelertak - Kvelertak (2010)

The most recent style of black metal is what is commonly referred to as blackgaze, post-black metal, or hipster black metal. This sound takes a significant departure from the genres of the prior years, instead opting for a brighter, dreamier sound. As an offshoot of atmospheric black metal, wall of sound production and huge, reverby guitars are an absolute must. Some bands like Deafheaven and An Autumn for Crippled Children prefer to create a brighter, post-rock influenced sound. Others such as Alcest and Lantlôs dwell in a more shadowy, shoegaze-based sound.

Recommended blackgaze listening:
1. Alcest - Écailles de lune (2010)
2. Lantlôs - .neon (2010)
3. Woods of Desolation - Torn Beyond Reason (2011)
4. Deafheaven - Sunbather (2013)
5. An Autumn for Crippled Children - Try Not to Destroy Everything You Love (2013)

Across all of its varying incarnations, anywhere from Teitanblood's oppressive battering ram of a sound to the dreamy textures of Deafheaven, black metal has undeniably shaped and influenced both metal culture and societal counterculture since its inception. Its rebellious, DIY aesthetic draws upon the primal urge for youthful arrogance, similarly to what punk rock had done in prior decades. The scope of inspiration to be drawn from black metal is immense, and will continue to inspire the dark, cold, and eerie corners of the mind for years to come.

Thrash Metal

One of the most notorious of the metal styles, thrash metal remains an influential and timeless sound over thirty years after its inception. The sheer speed, ferocity, and aggression with which the key bands in the style play creates an outlet for the everyday struggles of the listener. The themes (ranging from the sociopolitical to the supernatural to prideful metal-meta) have taken their root and spread influence to nearly every subsequent subgenre. Thrash metal, characterized by pure speed and anger, created the perfect blueprint not just for the metal of the future, but for all forms of extreme metal thenceforth.

As the 1980s opened its doors, metal was riding a high. While the biggest heavy metal bands from the 1970s like Judas Priest and Iron Maiden were taking the world by storm, a new wave of music had solidified its hold on the underground. Subsequent speed metal releases would soon develop into a much darker, more sinister style of music with the addition of "proto-"harsh vocals like yelling and even fry growling in some cases. Songs were longer, faster, more intricate... and thrash metal took its first steps.

Thrash metal first reared its head in the Los Angeles area of California as a direct response to the wave of glam metal showing popularity in mainstream rock and metal circles. To some, the pop-infused melodies and flair for flamboyant theatrics were the antithesis of the original metal spirit; the slow, plodding evil of Black Sabbath or the grandiose epics of Iron Maiden were being besmirched by permed hair and neon spandex pants. As a result, bands like Exodus, Metallica, and Slayer were formed, hearkening back to metal's roots, but with a new raging fire in its spirit. From this, the Big 4 was formed. The Big 4 of thrash metal represent the genre's biggest and most influential artists: Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth, and Anthrax. Other bands with the same musical ideas popped up all over the United States, such as Death Angel, Testament, Overkill, and Vio-Lence. Germany had a thriving thrash scene as well, with the Teutonic 4 being formed as well: Sodom, Destruction, Kreator, and Tankard. Voivod emerged from Canada, Celtic Frost from Switzerland, Sepultura from Brazil... soon, thrash metal had taken over the world.

Recommended Big 4 listening:
1. Metallica - Master of Puppets (1986)
2. Slayer - Reign in Blood (1986)
3. Anthrax - Among the Living (1987)
4. Megadeth - Rust in Peace (1990)

Recommended non-Big 4 '80s thrash metal listening:
1. Exodus - Bonded by Blood (1985)
2. Kreator - Pleasure to Kill (1986)
3. Testament- The Legacy (1987)
4. Sepultura - Beneath the Remains (1989)
5. Overkill - The Years of Decay (1989)

One band from the Big 4, Anthrax, was the oddball of the bunch. Being the only band formed in New York rather than California, Anthrax had developed a significantly different style of thrash than its contemporaries. Utilizing much more tongue-in-cheek humor, pop culture references, and shorter songs, Anthrax took noticeable influence from hardcore punk. Eventually, this would lead to an entire spinoff genre, aptly named crossover thrash. This hybrid genre of thrash and hardcore can be differentiated from similar styles like thrashcore by its leanings towards metal over punk. Bands like Stormtroopers of Death (S.O.D. for short), Suicidal Tendencies, Carnivore, D.R.I. (Dirty Rotten Imbeciles), and Nuclear Assault would follow in Anthrax's footsteps and combine the two styles.

Recommended crossover thrash listening:
1. D.R.I. - Dealing With It! (1985)
2. S.O.D. - Speak English or Die (1985)
3. Nuclear Assault - Game Over (1986)
4. Carnivore - Retaliation (1987)
5. Suicidal Tendencies - How Will I Laugh Tomorrow When I Can't Even Smile Today (1988)

Many established thrash metal bands released phenomenal albums in the early 1990s, but the style wouldn't find itself as popular as the decade continued. When Metallica released their self-titled album, known colloquially as "the Black Album," in 1991, the shape of metal was changed forever. Metallica had stepped away from the intricacy and speed of their first four albums in favor of a more polished production style and more mid-tempo riffs. As a result, this revitalized form of classic heavy metal exploded in popularity. Metallica became one of the biggest bands in the world, and most other thrash bands made significant changes to their sound as a result. Classic-sounding thrash metal took the backseat in the 1990s, resulting in the development of groove metal (which will be discussed in a future entry) and technical thrash metal. Metallica would become more of an experimental hard rock band, Slayer would experiment with groove metal, Megadeth went straightforward heavy metal, and Anthrax (with the arrival of vocalist John Bush) would become more of an alternative metal band.

Recommended '90s thrash metal listening:
1. Morbid Saint - Spectrum of Death (1990)
2. Kreator - Coma of Souls (1990)
3. Sepultura - Arise (1991)
4. Demolition Hammer - Epidemic of Violence (1992)
5. Testament - The Gathering (1999)

Technical thrash metal is a subgenre of thrash that places extra emphasis on complex songwriting and demanding instrumentals such as that of Annihilator, Coroner, Sadus, and Artillery. Though the style never caught on as much as its parent genre in terms of popularity, its reach of influence is undeniable, as this style of metal would lead to the development of the first progressive metal bands, such as Watchtower, Voivod, and Mekong Delta. It was also an obvious precursor of technical death metal.

Recommended technical thrash metal listening:
1. Sadus - Illusions (1988)
2. Voivod - Dimension Hatröss (1989)
3. Annihilator - Alice in Hell (1989)
4. Coroner - No More Color (1989)
5. Mekong Delta - Dances of Death (And Other Walking Shadows) (1990)

The 2000s saw a bit of a renaissance in terms of the classic thrash sound. Though much of the charm of the Big 4 had dissolved in the 1990s, the underdogs continued going strong, with bands such as Exodus, Testament, and Kreator releasing fantastic comeback albums as the decade progressed. Machine Head combined the genre beautifully with groove metal, as Nevermore did with progressive metal. Crossover thrash also saw a resurgence, with the most significant band being Municipal Waste. Classic thrash had some revivalists such as Evile and Violator.

Recommended '00s thrash metal listening:
1. Kreator - Violent Revolution (2001)
2. Exodus - Tempo of the Damned (2004)
3. Nevermore - This Godless Endeavor (2005)
4. Machine Head - The Blackening (2007)
5. Testament - The Formation of Damnation (2008)

In the 2010s, thrash metal continued to be led by the underdogs of the '80s scene, continuing to release consistent releases amongst the new bands that popped up. Artists like Power Trip, Skeletonwitch, Heathen, Suicidal Angels, and Deceased... held the torch in the classic style. However, technical thrash's resurgence is the most significant in terms of the genre in the new decade: bands such as Havok, Revocation, and the mighty Vektor have released some of the 2010s' best metal records.

Recommended '10s thrash metal listening:
1. Overkill - Ironbound (2010)
2. Havok - Time is Up (2011)
3. Revocation - Chaos of Forms (2011)
4. Power Trip - Nightmare Logic (2017)
5. Vektor - Terminal Redux (2018)

Normally, I close these entries with some spiel about how the genre, despite its waning relevancy in the grand scheme of metal, is ultimately still important and influential today. With thrash metal, though, this doesn't need to be said. Thrash has continued to be a vibrant, creative, driving force of metal music since its inception, and will likely continue to be simply due to its stretch of influence and the value of its inspiration. Most everyone's first metal band is Metallica, and there's nothing quite as special as hearing Master of Puppets for the first time. Thrash is responsible for decades' worth of newcomers to the metal community, and arguably for that purpose alone, it will always be one of the most relevant and most essential aspects of the metal family tree.

Speed Metal

One of the most nebulously defined genres of metal has always been speed metal. Obviously, judging from its moniker, speed metal is fast. Yes, this is true, but there are plenty of metal styles that are characterized by being fast. Thrash metal, grindcore, death metal... all of these styles make liberal use of high tempos. What differentiates speed metal? Well, for starters, speed metal tends to vary regionally; early English speed metal takes from heavy metal, specifically the NWOBHM movement. American speed metal tends to point more towards the development of thrash metal. Speed metal originating from other European countries often sounds more indicative of later power metal. The general consensus is that speed metal is faster and heavier than traditional heavy metal, but lacks the outright aggression and harsh aesthetics of later thrash metal bands.

This style found its origins in the United Kingdom, with bands from the NWOBHM movement like Iron Maiden, Diamond Head, and Tank leading the charge in electrifyingly fast metal music. Despite these bands laying an obvious groundwork, the band that is most often credited with "inventing" speed metal is Motörhead. With songs like "Overkill" and "Ace of Spades," the signature double kick-drum playing had simply not be done in this fashion before. Metal listeners in the late 1970s were awestruck by the speed and ferocity with with Motörhead performed. Within the confines of the NWOBHM movement though, Venom was the band that solidified the sound most purely (also leading directly to the creation of thrash and black metal as well).

As the 1980s hit, speed metal began to take a form of its own. In the United States, thrash metal was taking its first fledgling steps, and thus bands like Slayer, Anthrax and Megadeth began releasing demo material. Though almost all signature thrash metal bands take major influence from NWOBHM, these bands' early works would cross into speed metal territory far moreso than their contemporaries. Early power metal bands often began as speed metal bands as well, with some of the genre's key releases coming from popular names such as Helloween, Running Wild, and Blind Guardian. More important still were the "pure" speed metal bands showing up around this time, with the sound gaining traction with bands such as Exciter, Helstar, Liege Lord, Agent Steel, Whiplash, and Scanner.

Recommended '80s speed metal listening:
1. Venom - Welcome to Hell (1981)
2. Exciter - Heavy Metal Maniac (1983)
3. Agent Steel - Skeptics Apocalypse (1985)
4. Helloween - Walls of Jericho (1985)
5. Helstar - Nosferatu (1989)

By the 1990s, most of the initial speed metal bands had moved onto their solidified styles. Helloween, Blind Guardian, and Running Wild had all released some of the most iconic and recognizable power metal releases of all time. Megadeth, Slayer, and Anthrax did the same for thrash metal, though Megadeth's Rust in Peace still remains one of the genre's magnum opuses. Much of the buzz that speed metal had generated in its early years has now dissipated in favor of the styles that it influenced, with true, pure speed metal being harder and harder to find as the years progress. Early bands like Agent Steel, Whiplash, and ADX continue to release music, but it often lacks the punch that their initial works had acquired. Despite this, the genre remained steady in the underground, often in foreign settings, with bands like Vatican, Hermética, Bewitched, and Su Ta Gar.

Recommended '90s speed metal listening:
1. Megadeth - Rust in Peace (1990)
2. Vatican - Answer to the Master (1990)
3. Hermética - Ácido Argentino (1991)
4. Bewitched - Diabolical Desecration (1996)
5. Agent Steel - Omega Conspiracy (1999)

In the 2000s, speed metal mostly continued its downward descent. Classic bands like Enforcer and Agent Steel continue their underdog stories, while other power metal fusion bands such as Stormwarrior and Timelord began to pop up here and there. It wasn't until the 2010s where speed metal began to see a bit of a revival. An uptick in the classic '80s influence began to show itself in the form of bands such as Midnight, Hellripper, Vulture, Striker, Ambush, Chapel, Speedripper, Black Viper, and Deathhammer.

Recommended '00s and '10s speed metal listening:
1. Stormwarrior - Heading Northe (2008)
2. Midnight - Satanic Royalty (2011)
3. Enforcer - Death by Fire (2013)
4. Ambush - Firestorm (2014)
5. Hellripper - Coagulating Darkness (2017)

As unlikely as it is for speed metal to become a "popular" form of metal, its undeniable charm and influence on countless waves of metal will be noted for as long as the genre exists. As most of the earlier forms of metal have shown in previous entries, it doesn't matter whether or not a genre's revival wave gains traction or not. As long as the classic releases continue to age well, captivate, and inspire future music, speed metal will continue to be relevant.

As I promised on the hardcore punk entry, this is a much shorter entry. Speed metal's history is brief, but its influence is undeniable. The genres that we'll discuss from this point onward will be more and more relevant in today's age, as they've continued to evolve instead of dissolve and reappear in sporadic spots in later decades, as these past few tend to have done. Thanks to whoever actually reads these little things!

Hardcore Punk

For a long period of time, punk rock and heavy metal were at each other's throats. The simple, DIY aesthetic of punk clashed with metal's grandiose sensibilities and polished sound, yet both genres filled the niche of aggressive, loud, and fast music being played for the disenchanted youth. Thus, the genres often shared an overlap in influence, despite the divide between fanbases. Early punk rock bands such as Ramones, Sex Pistols, Misfits, The Damned, and The Clash helped create a style of music that could both be understood, written, and played by those with minimal knowledge of music theory. The very short and fast songs very rarely meandered from a simple three or four power chords, focusing far more on raw emotion and delivery than musical intricacy.

Disclaimer: This entry will contain a lot of subgenres.

Hardcore punk, often just referred to as hardcore, is a term given to punk rock that excels in its extremity. Where the punk bands played fast, the hardcore bands played faster. Where the punk bands were heavy, the hardcore bands were heavier. Every aspect of the punk framework was emphasized, anywhere from anti-establishment lyrical themes, speed and aggression, and the DIY aspect. Bands like The Germs, The Middle Class, Black Flag, and Bad Brains started this wave off with a bang, releasing a great deal of keystone albums right off the bat. Soon after this initial handful of bands, the first wave of hardcore took off. Other bands throughout the late 1970s and early 1980s such as Circle Jerks, Minor Threat, horror punk legends Misfits, Adolescents, Dead Kennedys, and countless others would bring hardcore to the center of underground music. Post-hardcore (which will be discussed in much more detail in a later entry) began to take shape towards the end of the 1980s, with bands like NoMeansNo, Hüsker Dü, and Fugazi taking the reigns. Hardcore was full of life, energy, and ideas.

Recommended 1st wave hardcore listening:
1. Germs - (GI) (1979)
2. Dead Kennedys - Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables (1980)
3. Black Flag - Damaged (1981)
4. Bad Brains - Bad Brains (1982)
5. Misfits - Walk Among Us (1982)

One of the first noticeable differentiations within the hardcore scene appeared on the cusp of the 1980s. As hardcore had only caught on in the last two years or so of the 1970s, it was still very much a fledgling genre. Crust punk, however, took its formula to another level. Crust punk (sometimes known as crustcore or stenchcore) embodies everything that the grimy underground scene of punk music was at the time. It formed around the anarcho-punk movement of the 1970s, combining visceral imagery and a raw, sludgy tone to that of the preexisting hardcore sound. As a result, bands like Discharge, Amebix, and G.I.S.M. (also part of the Japanese hardcore scene) forefronted a new subgenre. Crust punk still goes strong even into the new millennium, with bands like His Hero is Gone, Tragedy, and Fall of Efrafa continuing to innovate within the style. One key aspect of crust was how suspiciously metal-influenced it sounded, with some bands like Discharge playing a style of crust punk known as D-beat, influenced heavily by early speed metal bands like Motörhead. And this is certainly not where the crossover stopped.

Recommended crust punk listening:
1. Discharge - Hear Nothing See Nothing Say Nothing (1982)
2. G.I.S.M. - Detestation (1983)
3. Amebix - Arise! (1985)
4. His Hero is Gone - Monuments to Thieves (1997)
5. Tragedy - Vengeance (2002)

As the '80s progressed, so did both metal and hardcore. Hardcore had amassed a gigantic underground following and had broken off into a few distinct subgenres. Metal had exploded both underground and in the mainstream with thrash metal and glam metal, respectively. The turning point by which both genres decided to put aside their differences and fuse was with a little thing called thrashcore. Thrashcore is not a very widespread style of music, and was only played by a few key bands such as D.R.I., Septic Death, and Charles Bronson. However, its influence will reign true as metal and hardcore continue to fuse further down the road. At the same time as this genre coming to fruition, a special wave of music originating in New York comes to be; aptly referred to as New York hardcore, known colloquially as NYHC. This scene, though not being incredibly sonically different from the initial hardcore wave, was integral to the development of the genre as a whole: countless new and exciting bands got their start from being active in this scene, such as Agnostic Front, Madball, Sick of It All, Judge, Gorilla Biscuits (also a key figure in another upcoming subgenre), and Cro-Mags. An additional aside: crossover thrash (a style which will be discussed further) developed directly alongside the NYHC movement, with bands such as Ludichrist, Leeway, and Crumbsuckers.

Recommended NYHC and thrashcore listening:
1. D.R.I. - Dealing With It! (1985)
2. Cro-Mags - The Age of Quarrel (1986)
3. Judge - Bringin' It Down (1989)
4. Sick of It All - Scratch the Surface (1994)
5. Madball - Demonstrating My Style (1996)

Melodic hardcore developed in the mid-1980s, and placed emphasis on much more melodic vocal styles and musicianship than before, allowing for more subtlety and introspection in the already-allotted hardcore blueprint. Melodic hardcore bands would introduce more artistic elements to their sound, similarly to the aforementioned post-hardcore, and were always open to musical experimentation and progression. As a result, melodic hardcore has gone through many different phases since its inception. Initially, it had close ties to the NYHC movement (Gorilla Biscuits), but then became more of a skate punk thing in the 1990s (Pennywise), before seeing a revival in conjunction with modern metalcore (Stick to Your Guns, Counterparts). Melodic hardcore's founding bands included Dag Nasty (very influential on emocore), Descendents (very influential on pop punk), and Bad Religion, all of whom have released incredibly important and influential albums to the scene.

Recommended melodic hardcore listening:
1. Dag Nasty - Can I Say (1986)
2. Bad Religion - No Control (1989)
3. Gorilla Biscuits - Start Today (1989)
4. Leatherface - Mush (1991)
5. Modern Life is War - Witness (2005)

Around the same time as melodic hardcore developed, creating a more accessible and less aggressive offshoot of the sound, noisecore came along and did the exact opposite. Noisecore is, to put it bluntly, one of the most abrasive and chaotic forms of music to ever exist. Setting the precedent for grindcore, noisecore songs are mostly short, compressed bursts of noise, accompanied with harsh vocals and blast beats. The metal influence at this point is uncanny, with styles such as death metal and black metal developing around the same time. Lyrical content is either tongue-in-cheek gross-out humor, or scathing political commentary, but it will regardlessly be delivered in a way that is near-indecipherable. The genre (for obvious reasons) has never entered the mainstream, not even in the overall hardcore scene, and thus noteworthy releases are made with large gaps between years, but the avant-garde genre still thrives (particularly in the Japanese scene) and continues to pull itself through the years.

Recommended noisecore listening:
1. Confuse - Indignation (1984)
2. The Gerogerigegege - Instruments Disorder (1994)
3. Melt-Banana - "Charlie" (1998)
4. Today is the Day - Sadness Will Prevail (2002)
5. The Locust - Plague Landscapes (2003)

Some of the most notable fusions of metal and hardcore developed from 1983-1990. The three most discussed examples are crossover thrash, grindcore, and metalcore. All of these styles have been mentioned somewhere prior in this entry, and each will be given more analysis in future entries, so I will keep this brief and save my recommendations for when those come out. But for now, I will give IMDb-style summaries of each:

1. Crossover thrash combines hardcore and thrash metal, and is characterized by heavy thrash riffs, vocal styles, thematic elements, and even guitar solos. (S.O.D., Suicidal Tendencies, etc.)
2. Grindcore is a style of music that developed from the UK's crust punk scene, resulting in an incredibly fast, dirty-sounding and powerful genre that revolutionized the "microsong" concept seen so often in extreme music. (Napalm Death, Repulsion, etc.)
3. Metalcore is another fusion genre, characterized by more usage of breakdowns (when the song slows its tempo and induces chronic headbanging) and dissonance in its musicianship. (Integrity, Earth Crisis, etc.)

As the 1980s draw to a close, the west coast United States gets word of grindcore, and a substyle of hardcore dubbed powerviolence begins development. Having the structure and intensity of grindcore, but often interjecting slow, sludgy riffs midway through the runtime (or as an outro), powerviolence quickly caught on, with waves of bands such as Infest, Spazz, and eventually Nails and Magrudergrind carrying the torch. As post-hardcore (and its spinoff emocore) evolves into emo and screamo, the initial wave of screamo bands started to take notes from this powerviolence style, creating the portmanteau of emoviolence. Bands from this scene include Orchid, pageninetynine, and Jerome's Dream.

Recommended powerviolence listening:
1. No Comment - Downsided (1992)
2. Spazz - Crush Kill Destroy (1999)
3. Orchid - Chaos is Me (1999)
4. Infest - No Man's Slave (2002)
5. Nails - Unsilent Death (2010)

Each of the subgenres initially developed in the 1980s continue to thrive in their own circles throughout the 1990s, but it is actually those that combined with metal that created some of the most significant output. Metalcore produced the subgenre of mathcore, which has had consistently inventive and creative releases since its inception. Grindcore reigns supreme with more and more influence from death metal, as seen in bands such as Brutal Truth and the great Napalm Death. Crust punk, melodic hardcore, and post-hardcore are all reaching their heyday. Despite all the subgenre success, classic hardcore punk finds itself taking the backseat to other styles of alternative music, such as pop punk, emo, and grunge. Though there are certainly significant albums being released in this time, such as Poison Idea's Feel the Darkness, hardcore seems to have faded in comparison to the genres it created.

Recommended '90s hardcore:
1. Poison Idea - Feel the Darkness (1990)
2. Bad Religion - Against the Grain (1990)
3. Refused - The Shape of Punk to Come (1998)
4. Botch - We Are the Romans (1999)
5. Catharsis - Passion (1999)

The most recent development in hardcore subgenres was introduced in the early '90s. The idea is called beatdown hardcore, commonly referred to as simply beatdown, or if you're checking Wikipedia it could be called heavy hardcore (a name I personally find to be redundant). Beatdown took metalcore's idea of the breakdown and turned it up to eleven. Much of hardcore's recent "tough guy" demeanor and imagery owes itself to this style, as its aggression and boastful lyrical content often reflect a sense of overconfidence and "violent inspiration," something on which prior punk styles tended to be more neutral. Much of beatdown's sound is a result of the first wave of NYHC, with bands like Madball and Hatebreed starting the (mad)ball rolling on the sound. The style has seen a recent revitalization with Terror, Rise of the Northstar, and Knocked Loose.

Recommended beatdown listening:
1. Madball - Set It Off (1994)
2. Hatebreed - Satisfaction is the Death of Desire (1997)
3. Terror - One With the Underdogs (2004)
4. Rise of the Northstar - Welcame (2014)
5. Knocked Loose - Laugh Tracks (2016)

Hardcore in the new century is almost completely overrun by its subgenres. In the 2000s, much of the output was either mathcore (Converge, The Dillinger Escape Plan) or grindcore (Pig Destroyer, Discordance Axis). The 2010s continued the trend, focusing heavily on mostly metalcore. As bands in that genre stray further from the initial hardcore sound, metalcore becomes a beast of its own to discuss. Grindcore and powerviolence are being kept fresh by bands like Nails, Cattle Decapitation, and Wormrot. Hardcore and black metal have even joined in the case of Kvelertak. Despite all of the attention given to the subgenres, hardcore fans have shed light on a variety of more classic-sounding bands, such as Have Heart, American Nightmare, Outbreak, Ceremony, and Righteous Jams.

Recommended '00s and '10s hardcore listening:
1. Pig Destroyer - Prowler in the Yard (2001)
2. Converge - Jane Doe (2001)
3. Cursed - Two (2005)
4. Kvelertak - Kvelertak (2010)
5. Terror - Keepers of the Faith (2010)

Hardcore punk remains one of the most versatile and influential styles of music, not only in the extreme music community, but in rock as a whole. Whether it's an old Dead Kennedys record or the newest Otoboke Beaver (seriously, Japanese hardcore is great; do research on that genre if you're interested, because I omitted that substyle from this entry for the sake of brevity) album, hardcore will always have a solidified place in the history of music. Rock, punk, and metal all rely on the existence of hardcore, and thus it holds an insane amount of worth in the bigger musical discussion.

[Side note: Hope you enjoyed this incredibly long entry! Hardcore has a LOT of history, but I wanted to keep my overall blog about metal, so I didn't want to split this up into multiple entries. Next week's will be very much shorter, and open up more room for any sort of possible discussion. Thanks for checking this out!]

Doom Metal

Doom metal is a style of metal music that intends to wash its listener in an atmosphere of impending doom. Where some genres of metal focus on speed, virtuosity, or violence, doom metal prefers to plod along at a more dismal pace, placing emphasis on the spaces between notes rather than the notes themselves. Doom metal sounds thick, dense, and foreboding, and lyrical themes tend to revel in, as RateYourMusic puts it, "despair, tension and dread."

In 1970, a British band by the name of Black Sabbath released their eponymous debut album. As I have made clear in my previous entries, this album was monumentally important in terms of kickstarting the metal genre. While shaping hard rock into the new form of heavy metal, it also inadvertently paved the way for the traditional doom metal movement. Where Black Sabbath set the foundation, many bands picked up the torch. However, instead of speeding up the metal sound like Judas Priest and Iron Maiden did, they opted to keep it at the same slow tempos that Sabbath had put into place. Bands like Pagan Altar, Trouble, Saint Vitus, Pentagram, Bang, Witchfinder General, and the mighty Candlemass all made huge developments in continuing the traditional sound throughout the '70s and '80s.

Recommended traditional doom metal listening:
1. Black Sabbath - Black Sabbath (1970)
2. Saint Vitus - Saint Vitus (1984)
3. Trouble - Psalm 9 (1984)
4. Pentagram - Pentagram (1985)
5. Candlemass - Epicus Doomicus Metallicus (1986)

In the 1980s, doom metal continued on its merry way. The traditional style was seeing much success in its own circles, particularly in Candlemass, who inspired a wave of bands with more operatic vocal approaches to sometimes dub themselves "epic doom metal." However once the late-80s and early-90s hit, another wave of new ideas materialized in the form of death doom metal. As the name implies, death doom metal consists of the fusion of death metal (a style that was manifesting heavily in both Florida and Sweden around this time) and doom metal. This incorporated faster tempos (though not far beyond mid-paced) and harsh, growled vocals. Lyrical concepts stayed in the bleak, despair-ridden facet though, and thus a subgenre was born. It was spearheaded by "The Peaceville Three," which was a nickname given to three United Kingdom-based bands that all started this style out of Peaceville Records: Paradise Lost, Anathema, and My Dying Bride. Other bands like Katatonia, Saturnus, and Swallow the Sun soon appeared, all taking after this new sound.

Recommended death doom metal listening:
1. Paradise Lost - Gothic (1991)
2. My Dying Bride - Turn Loose the Swans (1993)
3. Anathema - The Silent Enigma (1995)
4. Katatonia - Brave Murder Day (1996)
5. Saturnus - Paradise Belongs to You (1997)

Once the 1990s were in full swing, doom metal began to branch itself out into newer territories. Subgenres that took a liking to slower or midtempo riffs, as well as massive amounts of psychedelic-sounding fuzz and distortion, began to overlap with the doom metal sound, resulting in three distinct fusion waves: stoner metal, drone metal, and sludge metal. Though all of these genres hold their own in the grand scheme of things, it is undeniable that doom metal influences and combines with these genres quite often. Each genre places emphasis on harsh sound, depressive lyricism, slow tempos, and other traits that define doom metal, and thus fit right into place like pieces of a puzzle. In the stoner doom corner, bands like Cathedral, Sleep, and Electric Wizard carry the torch. Sludge doom consists more of bands such as YOB and Ufomammut. Drone doom lies more in experimental groups such as Melvins, Sunn O))), and Jesu.

Recommended doom fusion listening:
1. Sleep - Sleep's Holy Mountain (1992)
2. Melvins - Lysol (1992)
3. Electric Wizard - Come My Fanatics... (1997)
4. Ufomammut - Snailking (2004)
5. YOB - The Unreal Never Lived (2005)

Another wave of doom metal that took the stage in the late-1990s was funeral doom metal. As the name would suggest, funeral doom took the "slow" factor of doom metal and turned it up to eleven. Funeral doom metal songs move at a glacial pace, slowly creeping along and unfurling like a Lovecraftian horror lurches through the cosmos. It is often as introspective and philosophical as it is depressive and suffocating in nature. These bands and the music they create thrive on creating a vast, cold atmosphere; utilizing reverb and delay to provide a spacey and distant sound. Bands like Thergothon, Skepticism, and Esoteric deliver this dirge-like style, and have influenced wave after wave of others in the genre.

Recommended funeral doom metal listening:
1. Thergothon - Stream from the Heavens (1994)
2. Skepticism - Lead and Aether (1997)
3. Esoteric - The Pernicious Enigma (1997)
4. Evoken - Quietus (2001)
5. Shape of Despair - Angels of Distress (2001)

As the new millennium turned around, doom metal had established unique and devoted cult followings in all of its facets. Regardless of the genre's lack of popularity at all in the mainstream, bands continued to innovate and progress. Electric Wizard released their monumental magnum opus Dopethrone, as did Sleep with Dopesmoker, both playing heavily into the marijuana-fueled mindspace of the stoner metal genre. Notable releases also came from Celtic Frost, a proto-extreme metal band never afraid to push the envelope and venture into uncharted territory, as well as the elusive and atmospheric Warning. Even traditional doom metal found itself in a bit of a revival with bands such as Reverend Bizarre and Hour of 13.

Recommended '00s doom metal listening:
1. Electric Wizard - Dopethrone (2000)
2. My Dying Bride - The Dreadful Hours (2001)
3. Sleep - Dopesmoker (2003)
4. Celtic Frost - Monotheist (2006)
5. Warning - Watching from a Distance (2006)

The 2010s has also witnessed a surge in doom metal innovation. With Ghost coming into popularity, elements of doom metal are being reintroduced to modern rock radio. Ever since Black Sabbath, doom metal has been deemed too inaccessible for mainstream consumption, but through Ghost's unique blend of psychedelia and classic hard rock, many have been introduced to the wonderful world of metal history. Many breakthrough bands are coming out of each of the subgenres: death doom has produced The Ruins of Beverast, funeral doom has given us Bell Witch, and sludge-influenced doom like Subrosa and Sumac are gaining more and more attention each day. Traditional doom metal and heavy psych are being brought back with bands like Uncle Acid or Graveyard. Even Sleep made a huge comeback with their 2018 album The Sciences.

Recommended '10s doom metal listening:
1. Uncle Acid & the Deadbeats - Blood Lust (2011)
2. Subrosa - More Constant Than the Gods (2013)
3. Triptykon - Melana Chasmata (2014)
4. Bell Witch - Mirror Reaper (2017)
5. Sleep - The Sciences (2018)

Doom metal remains, to this day, a prevailing example of a simple idea with many executions. It's not rocket science to figure out that much of metal revels in cynical pessimism, as most bands tend to create music based around many negative subjects. But in doom metal, negativity is not just the driving force behind the music, but behind the entire idea. To stare straight into the empty void and not find purely hopeless emptiness, but rather inspiration, is at the very least admirable. Doom metal's massive prevalence in metal culture from its very beginnings just proves the longevity of such an idea: that our purest sadness and emptiness can be shaped into something widely influential and ever-growing.

Heavy Metal

Heavy metal, in its purest form, is referring to what now may be cited as "classic" or "traditional metal," and rightfully so. Since its inception, metal music has branched out into facets so far removed from its beginnings, that its plethora of subgenres are much more necessary than one would think. Try comparing Black Sabbath to Ingested: both bands are undeniably metal, but that's essentially where the resemblance stops. This is due to the sheer openness to creativity for which metal provides a blueprint; a style of music based solely around what the musicians feel, rather than what they play.

Jumping right in, as I discussed in my entry on hard rock, Black Sabbath arguably "invented" metal music with the release of their self-titled record in 1970. Tony Iommi centers the very first riff on the album (on the titular track) around a slow, plodding tritone. This signifies to the listener that what they are about to experience is dark, brooding, ominous, and certainly unorthodox or the time. Combined with Bill Ward's powerful drumming, Geezer Butler's massive bass tone, and Ozzy Osbourne's unmistakable funeral croon, Iommi's playing style had solidified itself at the forefront of a musical movement that would remain headstrong for the next four decades ahead.

Another key spearheading figure of '70s metal was Judas Priest. This band, hailing from the United Kingdom as well, created heavy metal fashion. Black leather donning metal studs, biker imagery, dark sunglasses, and a tough-guy attitude all came to fruition with this band. While producing some of the most iconic looks of the metal genre, they were cranking out music that was equally as iconic. Priest solidified the power chord riffage that we all know and love from this genre, effectively removing the blues from hard rock, setting the metal sound in stone. Many bands around that same time would soon follow with this sound and/or look, such as Motörhead, Rainbow, Budgie, and Scorpions.

Recommended '70s heavy metal listening:
1. Black Sabbath - Black Sabbath & Paranoid (1970)
2. Budgie - Never Turn Your Back on a Friend (1973)
3. Judas Priest - Sad Wings of Destiny (1976)
4. Rainbow - Rising (1976)
5. Motörhead - Overkill (1979)

As the 1970s bridged into the 1980s, a reaction was occurring. As many of the works by classic hard rock bands such as Deep Purple and Led Zeppelin begun to plateau, metal needed something new to pick itself up. This influence came both from punk rock and Western classical music. The sheer ferocity and speed of punk combined with the eloquence and harmony from classical music fit perfectly into the grandiosity of metal music. Thus, the new wave of British heavy metal, NWOBHM for short, was formed. Though many key metal figures (Sabbath, Priest, Motörhead) had all been British anyway, it wasn't until bands like Quartz, Diamond Head, Angel Witch, and Samson came onto the scene where fast, melody-driven metal would arrive.

One band stood out amongst the crowd of others in the NWOBHM movement: Iron Maiden. Known to some as "the Beatles of metal," Iron Maiden took the sound that Sabbath and Priest had laid out for them, and injected it with the most (unironically) epic aspects possible. Lyrics about literature and mythology, multifaceted songs with lengths surpassing the ten-minute mark, and double (sometimes even triple) layered harmonies to fill out the sonic space they were given... Iron Maiden truly pushed the envelope and created a style of metal that became incredibly influential.

As the NWOBHM scene progressed, bands started to switch up the formula. Bands like Diamond Head and Saxon were wildly influential on the thrash metal scene. Pagan Altar and Witchfinder General spearheaded the genre of doom metal. Def Leppard and Girlschool would inject pop melodies into their metal, with Def Leppard eventually going full glam metal. Venom would prove to be one of the sole influencers of extreme metal. Others still, like Grim Reaper, Tygers of Pan Tang, and Satan would carve out the niche for power metal and progressive metal. Alas, despite how wildly influential and diverse the NWOBHM scene was, it didn't last very long into the 1980s, becoming one of the more ephemeral points in metal's history.

Recommended NWOBHM listening:
1. Diamond Head - Lightning to the Nations (1980)
2. Saxon - Strong Arm of the Law (1980)
3. Angel Witch - Angel Witch (1980)
4. Iron Maiden - The Number of the Beast (1982)
5. Satan - Court in the Act (1983)

The 1980s saw an explosion in the popularity of heavy metal. With Black Sabbath's Ozzy Osbourne going solo and the introduction of glam metal and MTV, metal began to become more of a household terminology. Many '70s metal bands like Iron Maiden, Motörhead, and Judas Priest continued to release albums to critical acclaim. Rainbow frontman Ronnie James Dio would go on to not only replace Osbourne in Black Sabbath, but to also form the band Dio, which becomes wildly influential on power metal. New bands like Mercyful Fate and Accept lay groundwork for future metal genres like black metal and speed metal, respectively.

Recommended '80s heavy metal listening:
1. Motörhead - Ace of Spades (1980)
2. Judas Priest - Screaming for Vengeance (1982)
3. Dio - Holy Diver (1983)
4. Iron Maiden - Powerslave (1984)
5. Mercyful Fate - Don't Break the Oath (1984)

Much of the heavy metal in the 1990s was directly involved in the U.S. power metal scene with bands like Iced Earth, Savatage, and Virgin Steele. Many of the '70s and '80s metal bands had since exhausted their glory (with events such as vocalist Bruce Dickinson leaving Iron Maiden), leaving an empty niche for other bands to fill their spots. Ex-glam bands like W.A.S.P. would show their chops with a more grounded, mature sound. Others, like the giants of thrash metal Metallica and Megadeth, would go on to write wildly successful and influential albums in this simplified style. Metallica's self-titled record would eventually become the highest-grossing metal album of all time, establishing many of the most recognizable songs in the entire genre.

Recommended '90s heavy metal listening:
1. Judas Priest - Painkiller (1990)
2. Metallica - Metallica (1991)
3. Megadeth - Countdown to Extinction (1992)
4. W.A.S.P. - The Crimson Idol (1992)
5. Bruce Dickinson - The Chemical Wedding (1998)

The 21st century established many comebacks from classic artists. Iron Maiden releases The Book of Souls, Judas Priest Firepower, and Black Sabbath even released 13 before calling it quits. Even artists like Pagan Altar, Satan, and Accept released fairly high quality comeback albums in the 2000s and 2010s. Though the genre's popularity is waning due to the rising influence of other metal subgenres, new blood is still being breathed into this style. In the 2000s, notable new artists were Slough Feg, Nevermore, and Grand Magus. The 2010s brought bands like Chapel of Disease, Hell, Battle Beast, Tribulation, and the ever-popular Ghost to the forefront.

Recommended '00s and '10s heavy metal listening:
1. Iron Maiden - Brave New World (2000)
2. Nevermore - Dead Heart in a Dead World (2000)
3. Slough Feg - Traveller (2003)
4. Ghost - Meliora (2015)
5. Judas Priest - Firepower (2018)

Though heavy metal in itself has found itself in the shadow of the subsequent subgenres it had created, it nevertheless remains a vital part of rock music. Whether it's reflecting on the metal giants of the prior decades or looking to the underground for more new artists, traditional heavy metal will always be a relevant, driving force in music culture. Stay tuned every week for new genre discussions!