Metal - Endless Subgenres

I like opinion pieces. Here's mine on the tree of metal basically. I'll admit here that I am no aficionado when it comes to metal. Do I love it and have been listening to it for like 20+ years? Well yes, but I tend to look for what hits home for me rather than the fascination of it's culture or endless branches.

Of course, like every other metal guy though... I've made the rounds across a ton of different genres of all kinds. So my opinion on this is how I like my life to be - wild and simple... and much like life. It's not either of those things.

Metal is extremely expansive. You have everything from bands claiming to be "doom" or something and hit one note lasting for like 8 measures at 40 bpm to grind and noise metal that you legit can't understand, it's nonsensical, technical, fast and complete insanity. Of course everything in between. Metal tends to push boundaries on everything... that's pretty much how it came to be in the first place.

What is a Subgenre?

So metal is basically defined by it's heavy style of distorted guitars, but also has a ton of unique things; double bass, screaming/guttural vocals, crazy technicality, and the list goes on. As you can imagine, that's going to breed a lot of different sounds... which is where subgenres come into play. You know it's metal, so you have some idea of what to expect, but there's really no telling what you'll get into and what you won't. If you're just getting into metal and stumble across... something like "The Locusts" - then you probably will never pick it up again. On the flip side, if you like a handful of metal bands, how in the world do you find something of similar style? Yes, subgenres.

What is a subgenre to metal?

I've already said it, but it's the sound. Death metal sounds different than metalcore. Hardcore sounds different than industrial. Progressive sounds different than drone. Doom sounds different than thrash.

Basically what I am saying here is that the subgenre tells you what you are potentially getting into, or what you're about to hear. Now albeit, metal keeps pushing, blending, and mixing them all, so it's always a mystery.

How do you know what subgenre something is?

Well... there's two real good identifiers when you're looking. Obviously there's more ways, but here's what I have for you.

1. Word of mouth - you have reviewers, algorithms, friends (hopefully), and all the things online to tell you what something is.
2. The album art - while it's not sure-fire every time, it's usually an indicator since most subgenres have specific styles that often attribute to different visualizations of it in a similar vein.

Sounds great... what's the problem?

There's too many. Like... way too many. Consider this foreshadowing to what's about to come. Like get this - there's doom and funeral doom. There's technical death metal, and brutal death metal. There's black metal, and blackened death. There's 8-bit. There's metalcore and melodic metalcore. Yeah... it's kind of insanity at this point.

This is kind of where my list will feel incomplete to your average metal elitist, who tends to classify everything specifically and intentionally.

It's my opinion. Leave me alone.

Yes, I said it. At the top of my tree, there's aren't 5, 10, or 15 - there's just 4. Let's tear this down;

• Death Metal - Blast beats, technicality, and extremes
• Modern Metal- Simple songs, simple style, with the heaviness of metal.
• Heavy Metal - it doesn't go to extremes, it stays in lanes with specific sounds tailored to certain types of people.
• Classic Metal - Metal that tends to lean into older sounds, or is older in general.

"But, but there's so many more!" - yeah, here's the thing person... this buckets the sound quite neatly. Imagine it like a theme park - you likely don't want to do everything there. Some people just come for the experience and food, others come for the thrill, some come with kids because they have to. Metal is sort of the same way, but the way I have it laid out is more like the theme parks themselves.

Death Metal

This genre hits most extremes. I'll talk about why, because it was basically founded on the idea of being that way. I bucket the following subgenres underneath this umbrella - death, tech death, melodeath, black, grind, noise, etc.

Modern Metal

This genre is what I would consider the most "accessible" of what you can get with metal, though some of it may be too extreme for average non-metalheads. I might ruffle some feathers here, but these are the subgenres of this bucket - metalcore, deathcore, progressive, symphonic, etc.

Heavy Metal

Do you like heavy, but rather like the feel of something a little more uplifting, generic, or otherwise simplistic? Well these subgenres may be for you - power metal, hard rock (teetering into metal), metal with no screaming, war metal, stoner, doom, nu-metal, etc.

Classic Metal

These are often genres that carry a classic vibe, or are classic themselves. This may include... my God the potential backlash here - thrash, hair metal, speed metal, drone, psychedelic, or anything that was made pre 1990 basically.

I think... let's talk about them in a different order.

I personally would describe most genres here as sounding... well tired. Most of these genres are far too saturated, overplayed, and often very repetitive. Obviously with the word "classic" I definitely mean older, but I also mean older genres too. Aged and still as relevant as ever. That doesn't mean people don't enjoy what's here though. This is definitely one of the genres where you often won't find someone who enjoys both classic metal and death metal, because they're far too different from each other to adapt to both.

Let's take thrash as the example. Basically one of the first real big genres of metal in general. It hit mainstream, and over time bands started adapting the roots of thrash into their original styles and created these awesome hybrid sounds, with the soul of thrash, and the sound of something else. Thrash itself though... is speed metal with technicality, yelling/screaming, and often in today's times, political. There's only so much you can do when rhythm and melody is secondary to vibe. There are some amazing bands here, but they just aren't polished and modern, and some of you may like that.

Other genres listed here tend to sit on a very thin line of being metal or not. Before metal was really it's own thing, a lot of folks used rock influence to make something heavier, and it works very well. That rock edge though, is really what gives them such a different vibe than the other 3 major genres I listed. Rock is very old, often outdated, and while it does innovate, often bands are pulling from the same 10 tricks they've always used, but these bands fuse it with the extremity, sound, and expansive nature of metal that results in something newer sounding, while maintaining a familiar feel from the past.

All the genres here really focus on sounding as "natural" as possible, often production sounds more like a live performance than a tight recording. Often you'll find a lot of low budget videos, album art that I would call cheesy (like some eagle flying about a city on fire or something), or just a straight band logo with guns, blades, or something that is fast and destructive. The album art is either trippy with some insanity involved, or some generic like stock image of something they deem important, or just the logo, that typically looks like something you'd make using WordArt.

Ha, so now we'll go from the past to the present with the modern sound of metal. I am sure most of you heard it as soon as I said it, the sound of a TikTok band's single ringing through your phone 17 times in 5 minutes. That is what I am talking about here, but I want to expand on that term "modern metal" - because I don't just think it applies to the metalcore genre only; it belongs to so much more.

In my opinion, there are two real defining factors on what makes this genre... um... modern? What makes it a thing basically.

The first is modern production. Most modern bands are clean. They’ve dialed in tones, they’re tuned and ready, and they tirelessly work to make their best songs sound professional. Often production elements will make the music pop, either with synths, electronics, or just with really good mixing. Instrument are clear and heard.

Second is the punchy nature of the music. While yes melody is important to the catchiness of the modern scene, that focus on rhythm, timing, and build up really define the genre as a whole.

Also modern bands tend to focus more on songwriting than these other genres. You can’t deny the progressive scene’s ability to do this so well. Metalcore and deathcore also make very flowing songs, choosing to branch out and move in different directions very intentionally. Even the wildest of bands have purposes for it.

Album art tends to be much like the music; clean, precise, and thoughtful. Oftentimes they'll go for a vibe. If they're making horror type music, you'll see that pretty clear. If it's precise and machine like, you might see machinery or robotic things on the front. If they are more emotional, then you'll find some sort of representation of the emotional weight of the album.

GENRE SPLIT

So unlike classic metal with one wide umbrella, underneath modern metal, I can classify it with three different categories into... sub-subgenres. There's a reason, and you'll see why.

Modern Metalcore

This sound is so huge, that you can't deny it. You hear it everywhere. Literally. It's been through the rounds and it seems to be the thing that's lasting the most. Here you will find simplistic song structures, based around catchiness, a good breakdown, or cool moments in the song. Lots of clean singing, soaring guitar work, and drums and bass that tend to stand back and drive the song forward.

Modern Extreme

There's more beyond deathcore here, but I've never really been a fan of deathcore as a term. To me, it doesn't describe the music like I see it. It's about taking something to the extreme. How tech can you get? How impressive is your drummer? How heavy is your breakdown? How controversial is your music? Can you actually get any faster? How many crazy elements can you cram in there and still be heavy?

Modern Melodic

So this one is reserved for the progressive and symphonic areas of the genre. Many bands blend styles and instruments together to create almost movie like tracks and tunes. On the other end, some focus on the theory, progressive, and structure of the songs to build stories. It's all around the melodic or structural effort of the song though, leaving much of the rest behind.

I know, the blanket term, but it's evolved to be something a little different. This genre tends to leave out the screaming and yelling and favor typical vocals, more in line with operatic, classic, or distorted feels. I also include "hard rock" here because let's be real; most hard rock meets the definition of metal, and it's how most of the modern generations get into it in the first place.

I'll start with the album art because it's a huge problem for me. It's often the most effortless in terms of trying to capture attention. You'll often see battle scenes, some sort of "mascot," or in general low effort visuals, often seeming like it's old school or AI built. Not that the artists don't deserve respect, they absolutely do, but it doesn't really appeal all that much to me personally. Seems like the awesome art on Magic cards.

Often these band are just a hair below, if not meet the production standards of metalcore, but instead of moving to extremes, or focus on being heavy, they are often really focused on groove. A good heavy metal song makes you move, at least headbang or something.

GENRE SPLIT

Only two this time, because I categorize them in the same way.

Heavy Rock

I like to call this the "5 Finger Death Punch" category. Still friendly enough to play on the radio, but heavy enough that it scares people away. It's hard for me to really pin down what it is, but I just imagine rock music with a metal edge. Yes, power metal also falls into this category... since it's more like folk music with a metal backing track.

Blended Metal

This genre is where you'd place bands in the nu-metal category, but it doesn't only apply to the genre, or I'd just call it "nu-metal." This genre tends to simply blend modern styles of music with a heavy edge, most notably pop and hip hop. You'll have rap artists who use metal as the instrumentals, or you'll certain instruments, electronic elements (say industrial), or tropes of other genres infused with metal.

It's like having a large collection of eclectic uncles in the room. This genre is the extremity of metal, and it's what most people think of when you say "I listen to metal" stuff. It is also where the most lines are blurred, and there's reasons for this.

To understand death metal is to understand it's roots. Bands like Cannibal Corpse didn't set out to make accessible music... no in fact they were out to do the exact opposite; they wanted to make unlistenable "anti-music" music. From the beginning, death metal trudged through the land with primitive, heavy, unintelligible and undeniable force. If you wanted melody, you got noise. If you wanted rhythm, you just got assaulted with booms. If you wanted song structure, you ended up with riff salad. Death metal hated everything you loved about music...

... and then turned it into a genre. It was founded on extremes, and it continues to be exceptionally extreme. How you might ask? Tech death took talent to the extreme. Melodic death took melody to the extreme. Grind took speed to the extreme. Noise took everything to the extreme. Black metal took tone and mood to the extreme.

Over time, the genre ended up leveling out. Now in modern times, death metal basically has it's tropes of blast beats, melody infused speed, rhythmic aggressive, and buzzsaw tones.

Album art for death metal... is some of the most impressive art I've EVER seen in my life, ranging from downright beautiful, to absolutely so detailed that you could write a thesis on the intricacies of it. I know when something is going to in the death metal realm by it's cover, it's undeniable. Even sometimes just have proper landscapes, or photo choices just really put the nail in the coffin here.

GENRE SPLIT

You guessed it. This genre is HUGE, so there's no way I can simply leave it right here on the cutting floor without separating the limbs.

Straight Death

This genre basically keeps the core elements of death metal in tact and just let's the creativity in the "anti-music" run wild. All the death genres here have their foundation in the straight death category. This is just that... death metal without the bells and whistles.

Melodeath

Not unlike it's distant cousin modern metal, melodeath takes the idea of death metal and infuses a lot of melodic and structural influences in on it, while still maintaining the qualities of what make death metal... deathy I guess. The range in this genre is very wild, because at it's core is the anti-music of death.

Extreme Death

This is the category where folks are still trying to press the lines on what music actually is. Much like modern extreme, this basically dials whatever it can to 15 (not 10 or 11) and runs to town with it. Again, it's the core of death metal, just piled with extremities. How fast can you go? How low can you tune? How dumb can your music be? If I just played random crap and uploaded it, would it be good? The production is too tight, it needs to sound like trash.

Technical Death

Yes, it deserves it's own category, but I want to explain why. Technical death isn't just "play the most insanely technical things ever," but it focuses on finesse. This could be in guitar, bass, drums, or even vocals, but it also exists in the songwriting. Some bands out there have some serious talent on what they can make a song out of, or how they can build a song, which also 100% lines up with being "technical." Imagine the progressive genre, but with a core of death metal.

Why do I categorize things this specific way? Well it's very particular to me.

See... I don't like classic metal if you couldn't tell. I lump them into a category and basically write them off as soon as I hear them. I can't name a single band in this category that I truly enjoy. It's just not my cup of tea. However for the other genres, that's not really the case... except it is.

In the death metal scene, I don't really like straight death or extreme death. I might give a band or two a listen, but most don't appeal to me. Tech death and melodeath however, are my two favorite genres because of the emotion, finesse, and great songwriting in each.

Modern extreme is another write off for me. I tend to always love it on first listen and never turn it on again. However the melodic and modern bands do often catch and hold my attention. In both of those, most bands tend to be good, but not great. When they are great, man are they great.

Heavy metal... well, it's hit or miss on either category. I tend to write off most bands in both, but every now and then... one just really sticks with me. It's not often though, but I recognize the two different categories.

Maybe one of these days, I'll actually put a bunch of bands names in here for you... as of right now, I don't have time to dig through my catalog and really give you a good breakdown.

This was fun for me at least!