Groove Metal

Groove metal, sometimes referred to as post-thrash metal, is an oft-overlooked subgenre of metal that developed in the late 1980s. Taking the unrelentingly fast, aggressive, hardcore punk-tinged formula of thrash metal and focusing it more on groovy syncopation and heaviness rather than outright speed, groove metal sits firmly as an underlying '90s offshoot of metal that never really skyrocketed to stardom like its contemporaries in nu metal, but remains an interesting and vital chunk of metal history.

Though Brazil's Sepultura undoubtedly set the stage that groove metal would eventually inherit, pretty much the only bands in the 1980s playing legitimately groove metal were Biohazard and the early works of White Zombie. Biohazard took elements of crossover thrash and pushed into odd alternative metal territory, creating a fairly sturdy prototype of the groove metal sound. White Zombie on the other hand fused industrial metal with more sludgy, midtempo riffage, something that would become a trademark of the genre as a whole. The 1990s saw an influx of new breath into the style, and no other band represented this new scene quite as well and as wholeheartedly as Pantera.

Pantera was in a league of its own. Having started in the 1980s as an odd blend of glam metal and speed metal, the turn of the decade saw the band shifting so drastically in tone and style, that they were hardly recognizable as the same entity. Part of what made this band so iconic and unique was the dual power of the Abbott brothers, whose stage names were Dimebag Darrell and Vinnie Paul. Pantera released five albums in its career, and each defined a particular era in the groove metal scene, and solidified Pantera's role as the codifiers of the genre. Their 1990 debut, Cowboys from Hell, was particularly influential. Borrowing riffs that wouldn't seem out of place on a Metallica record but also interjecting aspects of Southern rock and even hardcore breakdowns... groove metal was here to stay. In 1992, the sophomore record Vulgar Display of Power did even more to make Pantera's mark not just on groove metal, but on metal music as a whole. To this day, Pantera is acclaimed as one of the greatest metal bands of all time.

Aside from Pantera, the 1990s brought in plenty of new interesting bands to the groove metal world. Among these were thrash metal and crossover veterans that decided to take a detour through this new scene, such as Sepultura, Anthrax, Exhorder, Coroner, Overkill, and Prong, as well as newer bands like Machine Head and Grip Inc. fusing the styles. There was also considerable overlap with alternative metal, significantly funk metal, with bands like Infectious Grooves and 24-7 Spyz crossing into groove metal territory. Straight groove metal came in the form of bands such as 2 Ton Predator, Pissing Razors, and Dearly Beheaded. Metalcore fusion bands also arrived pretty heavily on the scene, such as Merauder, Vision of Disorder, and Earth Crisis.

Recommended '90s groove metal listening:
1. Pantera - Vulgar Display of Power (1992)
2. Sepultura - Chaos A.D. (1993)
3. Prong - Cleansing (1994)
4. Machine Head - Burn My Eyes (1994)
5. White Zombie - Astro-Creep: 2000 (1995)

In the 2000s, groove metal was very closely tied to metalcore. The leading bands in the scene were actually often mistaken for metalcore bands, or at the very least would tour alongside them frequently, often blurring the lines between the two styles and leading to the umbrella term "New Wave of American Heavy Metal," often shortened to NWOAHM (paying homage to the NWOBHM of the 1980s). Bands like Lamb of God, DevilDriver, Chimaira, Five Finger Death Punch, Black Label Society, and Soulfly would appear in this era, many of which have become huge names in the overall metal scene. Machine Head in particular would release some of the genre's greatest works in this decade as well, namely 2007's The Blackening. Many underrated bands showed up as well, such as Trepalium (combining groove metal with technical death metal), Biomechanical, Byzantine, Mnemic, and Raging Speedhorn. Dimebag Darrell also tragically passed away in this time, while playing for the band Damageplan after Pantera's disbanding.

Recommended '00s groove metal listening:
1. Black Label Society - 1919 Eternal (2002)
2. Lamb of God - Ashes of the Wake (2004)
3. DevilDriver - The Fury of Our Maker's Hand (2005)
4. Soulfly - Dark Ages (2005)
5. Machine Head - The Blackening (2007)

In the 2010s, groove metal admittedly waned a bit in popularity. The bigger bands in the scene would handle this change in different ways: Lamb of God continued strong, Five Finger Death Punch moved into a more commercially-accessible alternative metal sound, and Machine Head would... well, release some really cool albums and then nearly fall off the face of the earth with the release of the near-universally hated Catharsis. Unto the Locust was pretty cool though, right? Anyway, the rest of the newcoming groove metal bands in the 2010s often combined groove metal with other metal styles, such as Dyscarnate (groovy death metal?), Rise of the Northstar and Kublai Khan (tough guy beatdown hardcore/metalcore + groove metal), Gojira (progressive metal), Minushuman and System Divide (melodic death metal), Body Count (rap metal), and The Offering (power metal), to name a few.

Recommended '10s groove metal listening:
1. Machine Head - Unto the Locust (2011)
2. Lamb of God - VII: Sturm und Drang (2015)
3. Gojira - Magma (2016)
4. Dyscarnate - With All Their Might (2017)
5. Kublai Khan - Nomad (2017)

Groove metal as a whole has often fallen by the wayside in light of other, more popular genres of metal. Despite this, the bands that do get big (Pantera, Lamb of God, Five Finger Death Punch) often lead new metal listeners into more and more great music. This stations groove metal at a very integral part of the metal listener's journey: the gateway into heavier, darker, and more obscure music. And it serves this job well. Here's to groove metal always shifting, and always introducing.

Note: Hey all! I'm currently on Spring break. I hope everyone is staying safe and healthy out there given the current circumstances. Be sure to be conscious and aware; all it really takes is washing your hands. Thanks so much for reading, and stay tuned for next week!