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If
you think a genre (or something else) is missing here
(or if the existing description of a genre is very short,
incomplete or incorrect in your opinion), please feel
free to contribute your text (perferably between 40
to 400 words). Simply e-mail
it to me. I'd be grateful. Don't forget to mention your
name (if you wish I'll provide a link to your homepage
if you have one).
List: A.O.R.,
Acid Rock, All girl
bands, Alternative, Ambient
Metal, Arena Rock, Art-Rock,
Black Metal, Blues
Rock, Chord (Power), Christian
Metal, Crossover, Crowdsurfing,
Crust, Dance Metal,
Death, Death Grunt,
Distortion, Doom,
Emo, Epic Metal,
Female, FM Metal,
FM Rock, Funk Rock,
Funk Metal, Garage
Rock, Girl bands, Glam
Rock, Glam Metal, Glitter,
Gothic, Gothic
Metal, Grind, Grunge,
Grunt, Guitar Gods,
Guitar Lick, Guitar
Riff, Guitar Rock or -Pop,
Guitar Solo, Hair
Metal, Hardcore, Hard
Rock, Hatecore, Headbanging,
Heavy Metal, Heavy
Rock, Industrial, Industrial
Metal, Jazz Rock, Kerrang,
Kloshki Murpik, Kraut-Rock,
Lick (Guitar), Mainstream,
Manticore, Marblecore,
Metal, Metalhead,
Moshing, Neo-Classical
Metal, Neo-Progressive (or Neo-Prog),
New Wave of British Heavy Metal,
Noise, Nu-Metal,
NWOBHM, Oi!, Plugging,
Pomp Rock, Postpunk,
Power Chord, Power
Metal, Powerpop, Progressive
Rock, Progressive Metal, Psychedelic
Rock, Psychobilly, Punk,
Rap Metal, Religious,
Riff, Shredder,
Ska Punk, Skate (skatepunk),
Sludge Metal, Sleaze
Rock, Solo (Guitar), Southern
Rock, Space Rock, Speed
Metal, Stack, Stagediving,
Stomper, Stoner,
Straight edge, Symphonic
Black Metal, Symphonic Rock,
Thrash (Thrash Metal) , Trash
(Trash Metal), White Doom, White
Metal, Women in Rock, Any
Missing genre!, Anything else missing
Acid
Rock
Acid Rock was the heaviest, loudest variation of psychedelic
rock. Drawing from the overblown blues improvisations
of Cream and Jimi Hendrix, acid rock bands relied on distorted
guitars, trippy lyrics, and long jams. Acid rock didn't
last too long — it evolved and imploded within the
life span of psychedelia — and the bands that didn't
break up became hard rock bands. Bands: Blue Cheer,
Iron Butterfly, Quicksilver Messenger Service,...
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Album
(or Adult) Oriented Rock (or Radio) (A.O.R.) (+ Pomp Rock)
A.O.R. (a kind of FM Rock) is a poplike style of
(Hard) Rock. It's melodic, sounds
commercial (especially in the American context of the
early eighties) and is extremely fit for mainstream
airplay. Where A.O.R. becomes more bombastic the term
Pomp Rock (from 'Pompous') is used. There are resemblances
to symphonic rock as well. In fact, bands like Toto and
Saga are mainly A.O.R. acts with Symphonic influences.
The genre starts to smell odd when equally sweet sounding
but not so tasteful Hard Rock bands like Europe
and Winger start flashing their dyed armpits. Bands
like these are also often called FM
Metal bands. Bands: Foreigner, Journey, Charlie, Boston,
Toto, Saga, Heart, Europe, Winger,…
(Foob)
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Alternative
Its funny to me, because alot of these styles of music
are offspring of each other. Alternative music was a word
that really became popular in the 80's when all the pretty
metal (Winger, Warrant)
was starting to be seen as uncool. So people looked for
an alternative to what Mtv and the radio
stations were jamming down their throats everyday. But
no sooner had kids had some secret stone in their pocket,
Mtv saw the commercial potential of the need for different
music and turned Alternative music into mainstream
music. Now, Alternative music is the term that the business
uses for whats hip, new, fresh, whatever.. even though
its the same old shit and its all been done before.
(Mike Witmer of 'Backslider')
Alternative and grunge resources: http://www.nerdworld.com/nw216.html
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Ambient
metal
A type of Metal that mainly generated from the Doom-
and Black Metal scene. Apart from
the typical instruments used in Metal (guitars, drums
and bass) synthesisers and often also ancient instruments
are used to create a gloomy (or sometimes sweet) atmosphere.
The less heavy an Ambient Metal band becomes, the more
it approaches the realm of New Age music, even more so
if, as is the case with a few bands, a certain dosage
of Folk in introduced. The lyrics are often pagan in nature.Bands:
Burzum, Immortal, Ancient, Behemoth,...
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Arena
Rock
When in the seventies bands like Reo Speedwagon, Styx,
Boston, Journey and Foreigner started becoming really
popular and had the capacity of filling entire arena's
one started calling these bands Arena Rock bands. In this
sense Arena Rock is not a genre in itself...
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Art
Rock
A type of Progressive Rock
but with a more experimental approach. In essence this
makes it a kind of avant-garde offshoot of Progrock.
While Progrock was influenced by more traditional classical
(symphonic) music and folk, Art Rock steered away from
that concept by putting the emphasis on sonic experiments,
while still using the often very intricate song structures
found in Progrock...
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Blues
Rock
All early Hard Rock groups (Cream,
Jimi Hendrix Experience, Ten Years After,…) were
firmly rooted in Blues. A lot of artists stayed true to
that tradition and continued to use a mix of Rock (with
distorted guitars) and Blues (Soul sometimes also).
The emphasis most often lies on extensive lingering guitar
soloing. Bands like Status Quo, Spider,
the Dutch band Normaal and Big Bill from
Belgium are influenced by Boogie rather than Blues.
Solos play a less important role here. The difference
between Blues Rock and Jazz Rock isn't
always clear since some bands draw their influences from
both genres. Bands: Jimi Hendrix, Cream, Rory Gallagher,
Ten Years After, Lonnie Mack, Robert Cray, Robin Trower,…
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Black
Metal and Symphonic Black Metal
Originally Black Metal was a sub division of Heavy
Metal. It is named after the album Black Metal
of the British band Venom who are generally regarded as
the first representant of this genre. In the first half
of the eighties the term was also used to indicate any
Metal act whose lyrics dealt with the occult (among others
the American Speed/Thrash band Slayer). In fact,
in the beginning there existed a certain rivalry between
the fans of Venom and the Swedish Mercyful Fate
(of which the vocalist King Diamond later
on started a semi-succesful solo carreer) with both sides
claiming that theirs was the true Satanic Black Metal
act. Mercyful Fate (who, if I'm not mistaken, never claimed
to be playing Black Metal) produced some rather high quality
Heavy Metal with high pitched vocals. This could not have
been more different from early Venom with its dark muddy sound,
sloppy playing and coarse (grunt-like) vocals. Anyway,
the Venom sound inspired a lot of new bands (such as Hellhammer
from Switzerland) to do the same. Their songs were mostly
characterised by high velocity Speed
Metal-like or Thrash-like music
but with a darker, filthier sound, somewhat easier song
structures and of course Satanic lyrics. Nowadays the
term Black Metal is used for Thrash and especially Death
acts whose lyrics deal with the occult. Initially it was quite impossible
to distinguish a Black from a Death act on a musical basis
alone except that the tendency in Black Metal seemed to
be that they were going for a slightly thinner and sharper
sound (this might have a lot to do with the production).
Incidents in the Norway Black Metal scene (including murder
and arson) has provided the genre with a negative image,
much to the regret of the Venom members who later said
never to have taken their own Satanic image seriously.
Pioneers: Venom, Hellhammer, Celtic Frost,…
(Foob)
Alexxx213 wrote : you said death and black were
indistiguishible musically. That's incorrect. death metal
and black metal sound completely different. Most death
metal vocals are gutteral while most black metal vocals
are screamed. Black metal often had keyboards, death metal
rarely does. Black metal is very melodic. death metal
generally isn't (unless it's swedish). Black metal is
mostly satanic. Death metal doesn't have to be at all.
Foob wote: Alexxx213 is absolutely right. The addition
of synths and the high pitched screaming singing style
has set more recent Black Metal apart from Death. The difference has
become very obvious to anyone who's into extreme forms
of Metal. With the incorporation of classical and Gothic
influences (as well as the introduction of rather soft
voices and even female, ethereal voices) a new offshoot
genre was born even, that of Symphonic Black Metal.
Nowadays this offshoot is a totally indepedent genre which
has evolved into something that sometimes sounds very
different from classic Black Metal (for a start, you will
no longer find as many high speed songs and the agressiveness
of the sound may sometimes be almost entirely gone). Important
pioneers of the Symphonic Black Metal genre are Tiamat,
Samael and early The Gathering.
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Boring
Fart
Bob Dylan(Foob)
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Christian
Metal (+ other religions)
Also known as White Metal and in the case of Doom
band Trouble as White Doom. It's quite the
opposite of Black Metal. Their lyrics
convey a so called positive religious message instead
of a dark negative one. Some bands even quote from the
bible. Musically Christian Metal can be any kind of Metal
(even Death: Mortification).
The first Christian Metal bands to gain any recognition
(in the early eighties) were the Glam
band Stryper and the Doom band Trouble. Before
that there must have been religious Hard
Rock bands too but the only one I can think of is
The Resurrection Band. Other religions have their
representatives in Metal and Hardcore
as well such as Hare Krishna Hardcore act 108
and the Cro Mags who in their later carreers turned
into Buddhists. The North American Indians
are represented as well (although not necessarily in the
religious sense) by the late seventies, early eighties
Hard Rock band Blackfoot. Honorable mention: the
Israeli Death & Doom band Orphaned Land who
tried to build a bridge between Islam and Judaism
drawing lyrical and musical folk influences from both
religions. Now all we need next is a bushmen Punk
group. (Foob)
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Crossover
Indicates music consisting of different kinds of music,
or one kind of music heavily influenced by another. In
the Punk- & Metalscene it was used in a much narrower
sense to indicate Punk and Hardcore influenced Metal and
Metal influenced Punk and Hardcore.
Seb
says: crossover is a mixture of thrash
and hardcore music.
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Crowdsurfing
Being carried over people's heads (by the people in the
crowd holding their arms up) and "surfing" back
and forth this way. Of course this only goes well if the
crowd is cooperative and if you're not too heavily built.
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Crust
Seb
says: Crust bands are bands that plays dis-style, only
faster.
(If you know a somewhat longer definition, please send
it and I'll add it to this page; Foob)
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Dance
Metal
Many (if not most) metalheads will
argue that Dance rhythms have no place in Heavy
Metal music. In fact, it might be concidered pure
blasphemy by purists of both sides to try and combine
danceable rhythms with Metal. Few are the Metal bands
that have experimented with Techno or other such dance genres. Of course one could argue that
Industrial Metal has spawned heavy
and energetic sounding songs one could also dance to,
but that's another story. 'Industrial' isn't 'Dance' in
the pure sense of the word. When I say 'Dance' I mean
Techno, Jungle and the likes. How many bands have been
known to combine heavy metal guitars with techno (or similar)
drum rhythms? Well, in the nineties there are but very
very few bands that began experimenting with it, the most
important being the Dutch instrumental combo Kong.
Also the band Waltari from Finland, has been putting
one or two danceable tracks on each of their CD's. The
extreme Death Metal band Brutal Truth had one Dance
remix of a song on an EP, which was quite remarkable as
well. I would also like to mention Pop Will Eat Itself
(not a Metalband), who use Rock guitars (or Rock guitar
samples, maybe) in some tracks. There are probably some
more examples (although not many, I'm sure) but I guess
I have mentioned the most important first steps toward
this new genre which is tentatively called Dance Metal.
At the beginning of the twenty-first century Dance Metal
is still a rarity. At this moment (mid 2002) I can only
think of two bands in the area. The first one is called
The SUN Project, which incorporates Heavy Guitars
into pure repetitive dance tracks without vocals. The
second one I know very well because myself, as well as
the other Dakka Dakka DJ Stel, are contributors to the
project. It's called Unk! and it puts classic Metal
structures (song structures with vocals, themes, choruses,...)
on a sublayer of Danceable drum rhythms (so, in fact the
exact opposite approach of SUN Project). However, despite
the fact that I can at this moment only give you two examples,
I have a hunch that more bands will pick up on it (or
maybe some already have somewhere), and that Dance Metal
will become a fact, be it under this name or another.
Bands: SUN Project, Unk!
(Foob)
PS: We're very interested in bands following the same
experimental path, and we'd like to give those bands airplay
in the show, alongside the other Metal genres. So, If
you know of a Dance Metal band, have them contact
Dakka Dakka.
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Death
Metal
Grew organically from the Thrash
genre. In fact, Death is the extremest form of Thrash,
often as fast as humanly possible and with so-called 'Grunt'
vocals or 'Death Grunts' (sounds like animal growls. The
vocal equivalent of a cesspool). The topics are commonly
death, mutilation, war and other such cheerful things.
In the early nineties Death Metal was simply a race in
heaviness and speed but more recent years sees a lot of
Death bands bands turning back to a more controlled and
thought over approach (and therefore a bit more back into
the Thrash direction) while others are even experimenting
with other musical influences (progressive,
gothic, Industrial,…).
Nearly always the extremely heavy sound and the Grunt
vocals remain preserved however. Pioneers: Death, Morbid
Angel, Deicide,… Others: Sinister, Entombed, Exoto,
Massacre, Mortification, Dismember, Autopsy, Fear Factory
(combined with Industrial),… (Foob)
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Distortion
Life in guitarland hasn't been the same since Jimi Hendrix
and bands like Cream started cranking up the volume up
to a level that the sounds became distorted (playing on
broken or deliberately mutilated amps made things even
"worse"). From that time onward clean sounding guitars
were left to friendly and inoffensive bands like the Shadows
who were dominating the guitarscene prior to the rise
of distorted guitars. Nowadays choosing the right distortion
effects pedal (and settings of it) has become something
of a quest for many guitarplayers. There's a taste for
everyone: just compare the sound of Stoner
to that of Punk, or that of Progressive
Rock to that of Death.
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Doom
Doom is an extremely slow and pondering kind of Metal.
The emphasis lies on a heavy distorted guitar sound and
mostly depressing topics (death, disease, war and often
also fantasy with a touch of the occult). Of course any
Doom fan can tell you that the band that stands as the
icon in the genre is Black Sabbath. In fact, early
doom bands from the eighties do nothing more than recreating
the depressing, mystic atmosphere that was invented by
Black Sabbath in the early seventies. The Grunt
vocals in Doom won't appear before the early nineties
when that style of singing emerged along with the Death
Metal genre. Before that most Doom vocalists were
doing it the eighties Heavy Metal way (clear, melodic
vocals). Doom shows similarities with Gothic in this aspect
that the both genres strife to create a heavy mood. Some
early Grunge bands also leaned heavily
towards Doom Metal (early Nirvana, The Melvins,…).
Nowadays Doom bands often experiment with influences from
other genres (but often from Gothic, Seventies Rock and
Psychedelia). This had produced some very original hybrids
such as Cathedral, My Dying Bride and The
Gathering. Bands: Saint Vitus, Candlemass, Cathedral,
My Dying Bride, Solitude Aeturnus, Amorphis, Crematory,
Dream Death, Stillborn, Penance, Count Raven, Revelation,
Pentagram, The Gathering, Lake of Tears,… (Foob)
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Emo
On 1 May 1997 DAVe
B. wrote: "Emo is a type of music, which is derived
from early 80's hardcore. I don t know the whole story,
but emo combines hardcore with more melodic and experimental
music. Fugazi is the easiest example of a band
I can name that is considered to be "emo" .
Also bands like Promise Ring and Texas is the
Reason play this vein of music." On 1 May 1997
Kevin
Hirsch wrote: "Emo is generally said to have
started with DC bands like Embrace (Ian MacKaye's
band after Minor Threat and before Fugazi) and
Rites of Spring (Guy Picciotto's band also
before Fugazi), but is in no way limited to them, around
'85. The sound was basically a slower more emotional (hence
the name "emo") post- version of hardcore. The
vocals are usually sung in "whiny" (for lack
of a better word) sort of way. Emotional in this context
generally connotes "vulnerability" and/or "troubledness",
which is different from the emotionality of the screaming
and thrashing generally associated with hardcore. This
open emphasis on "vulnerability" and/or "troubledness"
represented a major break in the hardcore/punk scene at
that time, for it prided itself on tough- and hardness,
as it generally does today. Hence, the long running feud
between hardcore (sXe) and emo kids. As for emo today,
as most other sub-genres, it has spawned many (sometimes
extremely opposite and/or contradicting) hybrids that
all stake claim to the label, rendering it somewhat useless.
Here are some examples: there's political, scream-and-flail-on-the-floor,
emo like Frail, Swing Kids, Impetus Inter,
and a slew of San Diego based bands; there's the really
slow, discordant, artsy emo like Cap'n Jazz, Joan
d'Arc, Evergreen, etc.; then we have the more
popular melody/pop-oriented bands like Texas is the
Reason, Sensefield, Mineral, Promise
Ring, Split Lip (now Chamberlain), etc.;
and last but not least we have the slow, stop-and-go,
melody-thrash alternating groups like Amber Inn,
Still Life, and others I can't think of right now."
On 31 Aug 1997 PolarityHC
write: "I believe that Al Flipside called
Embrace "emo" and Ian was like "huh",
but for some reason the name stuck." On 03 Oct 1997
XXMARTINXx
wrote: "I think the band Verbal Assault invented
the word emo and Embrace, as good as they were, weren't
the first "emo" band. Dag Nasty, 3,
and 7 seconds all had an emo sound before them."
(Lars
Norved)
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Epic
Metal
Epic Metal bands are simply Metal bands
(or Speed Metal bands) whose lyrics
are fantasy stories about legendary heroes, viking mythology,
medieval battles and the likes. Pioneers: Cirith Ungol,
Manowar, Manilla Road, Brocas Helm,… (Foob)
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FM
Metal
FM indicates that this type of music is fit for mainstream
airplay. It's closely releated to A.O.R.
or FM Rock but overall it sounds slightly heavier. Often
FM Metal is not considerd real Metal by the Heavy
Metal fans but (at best) something that should be
wrapped up and given as a birthday present to your younger
sister (or your mother). Nevertheless, even real Metal
bands like Judas Priest knew periods in which they
were shamelessly aiming for airplay and therefore playing
FM Metal. Bands: Poison, Giant, Blue Murder, Skid Row,
White Lion,… (Foob)
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Funk
Rock (+ Funk Metal)
As a mixture of Hard Rock with
Funk influences the genre dates back to the first half
of the seventies with bands such as Mother's Finest
(consisting mainly of Black musicians), Grand Funk
and Les Dudek as the best known representatives.
In the eighties and Nineties the genre is back in a more
updated version (also sometimes referred to as progressive
funk) mixing Metal (and sometimes also Hardcore and Punk)
with Funk (including the slap bass playing). This typical
form of Crossover (often also intermingled
with the Funk offspring genre of Rap)
brought forth some of the most stimilating bands on the
scene, such as Red Hot Chili Peppers and Living
Colour. Funk influenced Rock (or Rock unfluenced Funk)
styles seem to be the only hard music styles in which
black musicians make up a somewhat higher percentage.
The only all black regular Heavy Metal bands I know of
are Znöwhite, (early) Sound Barrier and
Jupiter.
The late 20th century/early 21st century revival of
the genre is also sometimes referred to as Progressive
Funk.
Pioneers: Mother's Finest, Grand Funk (Railroad),
Les Dudek, Flint, Snafu,… bands. Eighties and
nineties bands: Red Hot Chili Peppers, 24-7-Spyz,
Living Colour, Primus, D-Extreme, White Trash, Electric
Boys, Lucy Brown, The Good Guys, JJ Jumpers, Blakasaurus
Mex, Shock Council,… (Foob)
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Garage
Rock
"Primitive" rock where the studio polish of mainstream
groups is replaced by the raw energy of the music. The
name comes from the location where the groups practiced
and the minimalist conditions of recording faced by most
of them. They often literally practiced and even sometimes
recorded in their parents garage or basement. The recordings
were usually produced by tiny labels and had a very limited
local distribution (sometimes just a few dozen copies)
if any at all. This "cruder" type of music exploded in
America (the heartland of garage rock) when young white
rock and rollers became energized by the groups of the
British Invasion. The main phenomenon lasted from about
1965 to 1967. The music is characterized (in a very general
manner) by loud fuzzy electric guitars, cheesy Farfisa
organ riffs, and ferocious voices. Of course, there is
also some garage rock today, but this
page is about the period that started it all : the
1960s.(Defintion according to the Mystic
Fog Garage Rock page)
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Glam
Rock (+ Glam Metal, Sleaze Rock and Glitter)
Glam Rock or Glam (from the word 'Glamour'), as
well as it's even simpler offshoot Glitter, is
characterised by excessive make up, platform shoes and
glitter. The songs are simple and meant to be consumed
in as much copies as possible by a public that's mainly
built up of teenagers. Glam Rock is based on old fashioned
rock and roll tunes but the music of some of the later
bands could just as easily be desribed as Hard
Rock. According to some the godfather of the genre
is Little Richard whose extravagant appearance,
combined with macho Rock & Roll would form the starting
point to what was also called in contempt Glitter Rock
or even Fairies Rock. The peak of the genre is
situated in the early seventies and it produced a series
of rather silly bands (such as Mud and The Osmonds)
but also a number of more intelligent representants (T.Rex,
David Bowie,…). Even though the musical outlines
of Glam vary from the fifties pastiches of The Rubettes,
to the arty Rock of Roxy Music and the raw Rock
'n' Roll of Slade it's the injection of Hard Rock
that sees the genre through the seventies. Bands responsible
for this are among others The New York Dolls and
of course Alice Cooper and Kiss. The Early
eighties sees the rise of a new wave of Glam Rock bands.
Hanoi Rocks, Adam and The Ants, Bow Wow
Wow, Sigue Sigue Sputnik and especially a lot
of Hard Rock bands that are indicated as so called Glam
Metal bands: Twisted Sister, Motley Crüe,
L.A.Guns, Wrathchild,… Among a lot
of Hard Rock and Heavy Metal fans these newcomers were
often called Poser bands to point out that in their
opinion the pose was more important to these bands than
the music (which was indeed often the case). This is the
reason why many such bands (such as Guns 'n' Roses
and Sleeze Beez) nowadays prefer to call themselves
Sleaze Rockers and altered the somewhat fairy image
of the seventies Glam bands. The ultimate Glam Metal band
is of course the American traveling circus called Gwar.
Their shows are a tasteless humoristic orgy of (fake)
blood and outrageous costumes. Bands (sixties and
seventies): Little Richard, Gary Glitter (hence the Glitter-subgenre
of which The Sweet and Mud and a few others were a part),
T-Rex, David Bowie, Alice Cooper, Kiss, New York Dolls,
Angel, Catapult, The Sweet, Bay City Rollers, Cockney
Rebel, Mott the Hoople, Slade, Suzi Quatro, Sparks,…
Bands (eigties and nineties): Adam and the Ants,
Hanoi Rocks, Twisted Sister, Motley Crüe, Girl, Faster
Pussycat, Guns 'n' Roses, Wrathchild (U.K.), Madam X,
The Snowmen, Gwar,… (Foob - partially translated
from 'Oor Pop Encyclopedie')
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Gothic
Related to New Wave and also known to some as Postpunk.
In 1982 this genre was invented by the English music press
and originally named 'positive punk'. It was used to indicate
bands that had a predilection for the theatrical and the
bombastic. The emphasis lies on a certain image that's
characterised by black clothing, heavy make up and a predominantly
passive attitude, which is the reason why the gothic genre
got negative predicatives like 'hollow', 'pathetic' or
'overdone'. Apart from that the 'Goth' that stayed true
to the image of the genre had to put up with derogatory
qualifications like 'black raven' and 'bat'. The musical
elements are: dark occult lyrics (often dealing with vampires),
a wide expanding guitar sound, slow resounding rhythms
and whenever possible a sinister sepulchral voice. Pioneers:
Bauhaus, Killing Joke, Siouxsie and the Banshees,
The Sisters of Mercy, Theatre of Hate,… Others:
Christian Death, The Cranes, Fields of the Nephilim, Dead
Can Dance, Nosferatu, Das Ich,… (From 'Oor Pop
Encyclopedie')
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Gothic
Metal
This genre, as the name indicates, is a mixture of Gothic
and (Heavy) Metal that began to see
the light of (a dark and cloudy) day in the early nineties.
It has the sinister atmosphere of Gothic but with the
heavy guitar sounds found in Metal. Some might make the
remark that the crunchy guitars take away some of the
atmosphere that can be found in the original Gothic genre.
One can indeed hear that Metal bands (mostly Doom and
Death
bands) that started to incorporate Gothic elements in
their music often started using a somewhat less heavy
guitar sound to solve this "problem". Because
of its predominatly slow rhythms this genre also shows
a lot of similarities with Doom Metal.
Pioneers: Christian Death, Paradise Lost, Type
O Negative,… Others: Cemetary, Secret Discovery,
Anathema, Love Like Blood, End of Green, Mindrot,…
(Foob)
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Grind
Rikard
Björklind says: Grind or grindcore can be generalised
as very fast music. It's easy to recognise when you hear
it because of the drummer who "grinds". It's simply the
fastest drumbeat that can be played on a set of drums
without getting into details. The rest of the music can
vary. Grindcore is often punk music
with grinding drums. When referring to grind as a music
style, it's often this style that is thought of. Some
bands play grind with metal influences. Death
metal songs have often got parts of grind in it.
Seb
says: pure grindcore can be seen as extremely fast hardcore.
Many of the early grindcore bands had political lyrics
in the beginning. Now Death Metal influences are becoming
more imminent resulting in something like extremely fast
Death metal. But there there are still more crossover
styles of grind combined with other genres. The drumming
speed is just really fast!
The grind webring: http://home1.2.sbbs.se/radon/
Pioneers: Napalm Death.
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Grunge
From the Seattle website FAQ
page: "Grunge" exploded out of the garage band sound
of the early 90's. Raw and ragged, the sound gained an
immediate following with Gen Xers, those characters variously
described as none-too-hopeful about the future, a little
scared, a little more bitter, a lot discontented. The
ripped jeans, faded flannels, down and dirty look perfectly
complemented the sound. If "grunge" was the 90's version
of punk, then perhaps "glam" describes the next generation
of the music. Today, many of Seattle's hippest clubs are
steeped in the rise of the "cocktail culture," an eclectic
combination of martinis and manhattans, faux furs and
feathers, satin and ... more satin. The music tends toward
danceable tunes, Tony Bennett worship, even a disco beat.
Others will tell you it's the "industrial" sound that's
currently in vogue -- a more-raw, more-ragged sound than
grunge. Does "Killswitch Click" tell you anything? (That's
the name of one Seattle band pounding the industrial beat.)
Still others swear there's a post-modern folk sound beginning
to emanate from Seattle clubs. Most all music critics
agree, however, that the Seattle sound is magic -- that
its steady beat propels musicians to commercial success
at a phenomenal rate.
El
Phantasmo says: I'm not clear on the precise definition
of grunge. Many of you will think of Nirvana, but they
weren't the first - oh no! I suppose if you want to trace
the roots of grunge, you'd look at Soundgarden,
who came about in the mid-eighties. There are quite a
few more grunge bands, and grunge was dubbed the music
of the nineties but it has died away since Kurt Cobain's
death.
Melissa
Benner wrote: The Grunge generation is said to have
originated as a marraige between Seattle's hesher and
punk scenes. The hesher scene consists
of someone who listens to metal or thrash
music. Their style includes acid-washed pants, long hair
on both sexes, and the usual leather jacket with the randomly
placed band names. Hesher comes from a Philadelphian term,
that I never even heard of until researching grunge.
The punk scene is both a form of music and a way of life.
Punk rockers tend to think everything should include anarchy
or some kind of rebellion. As stated by a member of the
punk scene,"Society as we know it is both artifical and
rotten and should be rejected, if possible replaced with
anarchy." This is only one of their many philosphies,
but we don't need to get into them. Grunge holds very
little of punks philosphies as valuable.
Along with their philosphy comes the look of punk rock.
Punk rockers attire consist of ripped clothes, wearing
clothes inside out, spikes, and leather. Their hair is
another story though. It sometimes consists of cuts that
are designed to scare their mothers on purpose. Another
form of rebellion. Punker's dye their hair various shades
and sometimes even spray paint it.
Grunge music is really what started everything. The scene
focused on bands such as Nirvana, Soundgarden,
Alice in Chains, Stone Temple Pilots, and
Pearl Jam in the beginning. Grunge may or may not
have been a wise term to use for a delinquent youth generation.
Historical perspective shows that it is best used to describe
a record company phenomenon. By the early 1990's pop music
was just plain boring! Due to this fact generation X turned
to a more alternative sound. They found this sound to
be produced by college radio and small time record label
companies. Meanwhile rock radio staions professed their
air play of classic rock as invaluable to today's youth.
Wrong not only was the grunge movement turning to new
areas, but they were forming their own music.
Nirvana was the first grunge band to hit it big on the
scene. Not only did they acqire radio-friendly songs for
air play, they also were being played on MTV's alternative
shows. The grunge people went wild. Finally music they
liked was being heard on real radio shows. And yes even
MTV.
The grunge generation weren't the only people to go wild.
Record companies saw big opportunity. The music was recieved
so well by today's youth that they literaly stripped Seattle
clean of good grunge bands. Then they began their search
of other cities. But truthfully to be grunge you must
have some Seattle roots or today you are just considered
"alternative".
For more descriptions, history, etc... of Grunge, go
here.Bands: Nirvana, Stone Temple Pilots, Tool,
Soundgarden, Mudhoney, Pearl Jam, Alice In Chains, Smashing
Pumpkins, Hole,...Alternative and grunge resources:
http://www.nerdworld.com/nw216.html
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Grunt
Or Death Grunt.
A style of singing used in Death
(and often also in Doom) that resembles
low animal growls (or the distorted voices of Venom's
Cronos and Motörhead's Lemmy very
early in the morning after a heavy night). Grunt vocalists
seem to be trying to reach the sub tonal levels of the
vocal register.
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Guitar
Gods / Guitar Virtuosos / Shredders
Technically very skilled musicians that like to show of
their abilities in difficult guitar soloing and sometimes
also intricate song structures leaning towards jazz
and progressive. Some do this
with style (actually even making good (mostly instrumental)
songs) while others are just pathetic wankers with an
ego problem. Most Guitar Gods operate within their own
project that carries their name. Some bass players too
achieve the status of Guitar God (such as the American
Mr. Big's Billy Sheehan). This 'Godlike'
status is often self claimed though. Pioneer: Eddie
Van Halen Others: Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, Ingwie
Malmsteen (check out his first album, the only really
good one he ever did), David T. Chastain, Michael Harris,
Alex Masi, Tony Macalpine, Dofka, Danny Masters,…
(Foob)
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Guitar
Lick
A short melodic phrase used for musical punctuation. Often
played in a call-and-response form along with the vocal
melody. It's roots are in the blues but carried over heavily
into all forms of rock and some country. Differs from
a riff in that the phrase is not repeated.
(Billy
N. Logic)
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Guitar
Pop / Guitar Rock
Rock or Pop in which the guitar plays a
prominent role. Or what did you think?
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Hardcore
Nick
& Strongarm say Hardcore is music driven by belief,
energy and unity. Plooban@cs.com
wrote: Hardcore is a term that can be applied music to
any genre that stays close to its genuine roots. Hardcore
sometimes refers to techno, but it is more commonly used
in punk. Hardcore is said to have
grown in the 80's as a response to the New Wave and post
punk bands. Black Flag, Cro Mags, Agnostic
Front, Dead Kennedys and about every 80's punk
band can be described as hardcore. It meant a band played
more bombastic, louder and faster than everyone else.
Some say that today's hardcore is indistinguisable from
bad metal.
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Hair
metal
Derogatory name for FM Metal used because
of these band's tendencies to have rather big woman-like
hairdo's.
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Hard
Rock
the names Hard Rock and Heavy Metal
have both often been used to indicate the same kind of
music. However a more accurate view is that Heavy Metal
(with its late seventies and its eighties representants
like Judas Priest and Iron Maiden) is an
offspring of the Hard Rock genre (which is 5 to
10 years older). The earliest Hard Rock bands were firmly
rooted in Blues. They simply added
distortion to the guitar sound, a higher noise volume,
bigger amps and a macho image. With this in mind it's
no wonder that the Hard Rock scene (and the scenes of
all its subdivisions and offspring genres) is male dominated.
It is said that real Hard Rock came into existance in
1966 or '67 when bands like Jimi Hendrix Experience
and Cream crancked up the volume. They were followed
soon after by Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple,
Blue Cheer, Iron Butterfly, Ten Years
After, Mountain and MC5. Another few years
later saw an overwhelming boom of new Hard Rock bands,
some of which still exist to this day. Late sixties
and seventies bands: The Jimi Hendrix Experience,
Cream, Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, Blue Cheer, Iron Butterfly,
Steppenwolf, Ten Years After, MC5, Mountain, Black Oak
Arkansas, Aerosmith, Black Sabbath, UFO, Rainbow, Whitesnake,
Thin Lizzy, Kiss, Motörhead, AC/DC, Bad Company, Uriah
Heep, Cheap Trick, Sensational Alex Harvey Band, Ted Nugent,
Nazareth, Montrose, Foghat, Mr.Big (Canadian), Warhorse,
Tractor, T2,… (Foob)
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Hatecore
A definition taken from the Rotten Records website:
What is hatecore?, you ask. Well, imagine elements of
speed, death, grind, and industrial all rolled into one
and then completely shattered. Penny Burns wrote
on this
page : "Hatecore"
is loud, angry music with a message of hatred towards
ethnic and religious minorities. Through record sales
and tours, White Power groups are making millions of dollars
a year to finance their message of hate. On first listen,
some of these songs might sound like regular hardcore
or heavy metal, but the lyrics are meant to insight rage
against any non-white group and encourage kids to join
the ranks of the white supremacist army. Slimey
wrote: Hatecore bands are mostly skinhead hardcore
bands with negative racist messages or neo-nazi sympathies.
Most Hardcore bands are no Hatecore bands though. Also,
I'm not sure if all bands who claim to be playing Hatecore
are racist. Some seem to be homophobic, others simply
seem to hate humankind as a whole, without going into
details like racism or nazism. Foob wrote: Make
no mistake. the Dakka Dakka radio show does not stand
behind the ideas of racism and extremism held by Hatecore
bands like for example the Neo-Nazi Hardcore act Skrewdriver.
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Headbanging
As most kinds of Heavy Metal music aren't
danceable (apart from some Industrial
Metal and the more recent genre of Dance
Metal), Metalheads had to find
some other way to express themselves at live shows. Thus
headbanging was invented. It consists mainly of energetically
shaking one's head forward or backward or in a full vertical
circle to the rhythm of the music. A stiff neck in the
morning is the usual result. As Many Metalheads have long
hair, the vision of all that hair moving around in all
directions is an abomination to the countless chaetophobics
(people with a fear of hair) visiting Metal
concerts (just joking, of course). (Foob)
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Heavy
Metal
The name 'Heavy Metal' popped up in 1967 in the song Born
to be Wild by Steppenwolf, indicating the sound
of a motorbike ("Get your motor running. Heavy Metal
thunder!"). In its widest sense some people (especially
in the early eighties) used the name Heavy Metal (or simply
Metal) to indicate all kinds of heavy Rock. In
this sense bands like Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix Experience,
Cream and Steppenwolf are Heavy Metal bands. However,
in a somewhat narrower (and more often used) sense Heavy
Metal is a genre that originates directly from Hard
Rock but with (on average) faster rhythms, and overall
a slightly more brilliant and heavier sound. The line
between Hard Rock and Heavy Metal has never been very
clear and the somewhat silly question of what band was
the first real Heavy Metal band has not been resolved.
Some say the first Metal album was Black Sabbath.
Black Sabbath indeed was the first band to deviate
from the blues inspired Hard Rock of the seventies to
produce the dark and pounding sounds that would turn them
into one of the most influential bands in Metal. This
would mean the genre originates back to 1970! Others say
the first real Metal album was Judas Priest's second
Sad Wings of Destiny (1976), a fast paced, agressive
sounding slab of vinyl (especially for those days). A
bit later on we saw the rise of a lot of new Metal bands.
Since most of these bands in those days came from Great
Brittain the abbreviation N.W.O.B.H.M. (New
Wave of Brittish Heavy Metal) was used to indicate
the (Brittish) early eighties Metal scene. The leaders
of this new wave were undoubtfully Iron Maiden
and Def Leppard (if you agree to call the latter
Metal and not Hard Rock). Nowadays when a lot of people
say 'Heavy Metal' they think of all genres that originated
from it (including Thrash, Speed,
Doom, Death,
Black Metal,…). The fans of
these sub genres could not agree less since indeed a band
like Sepultura or Slayer is something quite
different than Judas Priest or Iron Maiden. And of course,
as always there are bands operating in the undefined areas
between Metal and the related genres making it impossible
to draw a clear line (which is just as well). Pioneers:
Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Def Leppard,…
Others (eighties): Saxon, Angelwitch, Diamond
Head, Jaguar, Grim Reaper, Killer, Holocaust, Tysondog,
Raven, Blitzkrieg, Fist, Tank, Accept, Tokyo Blade, Cirith
Ungol, Anvil, Virgin Steele,… (Foob)
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Heavy
Rock
Often used as a synonym for Hard Rock.
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Industrial
(+ Industrial Metal)
The (originally) all European Industrial genre (initially
called Electronic Body Music or EBM) was
born in the early eighties and is characterised by monotonous,
machinelike (therefore 'Industrial') rhythms and sound
experiments. The main influences are Cabaret Voltaire,
Suicide, Neue Deutche Welle acts like D.A.F.
and Liaisons Dangereuses and British Synthesiser
bands like Depeche Mode. Kraftwerk can be
seen as one of the earliest sources of the genre. EBM
consists of heavy synthesiser sounds layered on top of
rectilinear beats and had but one goal: incite people
to dance. The Belgian band Front 242 and the British
Nitzer Ebb are commonly regarded as the pacemakers.
In the second half of the eighties Industrial gets a second
youth when influences from other dance genres (techno
dance, etc…) start seeping in and new names are given
(electro, electrowave, electrobeat). In this sense one
could say Industrial benefited from new dance genres (such
as techno) which it helped to create. In 1988 the album
The Land of Rape and Honey by Ministry stands
as a new breaking point. The combination of the dark Industrial
tones originating from computer and heavily distorted
(often sampled) guitars sees the rise of a new kind of
Industrial, more extrovert in nature. In the early nineties
the term 'Industrial' is used to indicate all kinds of
apocalyptic repetitive music that for the greater part
is electronically generated. New and even more apocalyptic
hybrids are born when avant garde bands from (Speed)
Metal, Hardcore
and Punk start using the same repetitive
substructures. Even a veteran like Geezer Butler
(from the legendary seventies Hard
Rock band Black Sabbath) adventures in Industrial
Metal with the help of a few younger musicians while also
the old eighties Gothic act Killing Joke returns
with a loud Industrial Metal sound. Eighties: Front
242, Nitzer Ebb, Einstürzende Neubauten, Neon Judgement,
Revolting Cocks, Foetus, The Cassandra Complex,…
Nineties: Ministry, Nine Inch Nails, Killing Joke,
Dogpile, Die Krupps, Terminal Power Company, O.L.D., Skinny
Puppy, G.G.F.H., Godflesh, Pitch Shifter, Minister of
Noise, T.A.S.S., Scorn, Oomph!, Fear Factory, Cubanate,
Think About Mutation, Y-Front, Near Death Experience,
Meathead,… (partially translated from 'Oor Pop Encyclopedie')
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Jazz
Rock
As the name indicates this is a mixture of Rock and Jazz,
combining the power and distorted guitars of Rock with
the intricate songs structures and sometimes also some
of the instruments of Jazz. Some Progressive
Rock band can be considered Jazz Rock as well. Bands:
Jethro Tull (early), Tiger, Camel, If, …
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Kerrang
A loud chord sometimes used to accentuate the end of a
song (usually together with the other instruments). The
snares of the guitar are struck hard and fast. Kerrang!
Is also the name of a British music magazine.
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Kloshki
Murpik
Also known as Jeff Vandenbergh, a kind of music only played
by a tribe of very small Belgians with large hats made
of wood. Band: Martha Van Bollenkop (also known
as Jim Bob Jef). (Foob)
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Krautrock
The 70's German leg of Prog-Rock
and Art-Rock was called Krautrock.
They differentiated themselves from the English Progrock
bands by incorporating more mechanical and electronic
elements in their songs, stretching early synthesisers
to their limits and splicing together seemingly unconnected
reels of tape resulting in a more droning, pulsating sound.
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Mainstream
A term used for all kinds of music (not only Rock) that
stays safely within the borders of what's generally accepted
(by the biggest mass of people) as good and inoffensive.
To the musicians of harder and more extreme music genres
the mainstream is something only old and boring
farts end up in. I believe this isn't always the case.
Even though the mainstream excels in shallowness (after
all isn't mainstream the music your parents and the silly
kid next door listen to?) there are actually a few good
FM Rock bands floating along that use
sweet and melodic airs with style and a certain dose of
originality (of course, any Death Metal
fan reading this will think I'm an old and boring fart
as well). Alternative and other "unacceptable"
Rock genres tend to slip into the mainstream unnoticed
as more and more people get used to it (due to excessive
plugging by the media) and start treating
it as unimportant background sounds as they do with all
other music. (Foob)
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Manticore
You, silly. Look it up in the dictionary. Bands:
None since I wouldn't think the Manticores bothered.
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Marblecore
A specific kind of Hardcore only played by marble statues
of the Queen of Sweden. Bands: All bands with marble
statues of the Queen of Sweden. (Foob)
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Marblecore
A specific kind of Hardcore only played by marble statues
of the Queen of Sweden. Bands: All bands with marble
statues of the Queen of Sweden. (Foob)
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Metal
A synonym for Heavy Metal. A Metalband
is a band playing Heavy Metal. (Foob)
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Metalhead
A fan of Heavy Metal music. (Foob)
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Moshing
First of all, lets define moshing. Moshing is the act
of running around in a mosh pit, and hitting other people
with their upper-body. That is exactly what moshing is,
no if's, and's, or but's about it. Some people have e-mailed
me saying how crowd-surfing and stage diving are moshing;
well, they are not. If it were moshing, then it would
be called moshin; instead, it is given it's own name.
Mosh pit: an area where people are moshing, mostly
in front of the stage. (taken from the the pro-mosh
site)
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Neo-Classical
Metal
Neo-Classical Metalbands almost always revolve around
the guitar virtuoso guitar playing of a guitar
God who incorporates classical elements into technically
intricate Metal songs or who create Heavy Metal versions
of classical masterpieces or in own composptions heavily
influenced by classical masterpieces. The pioneer of the
genre probably is the Swedish guitar virtusoso Yngwie
Malmsteen but in the eighties many were to follow in his
footsteps (those that had the skills, that is). Many of
these Neo-classical bands specialised in making entirely
instrumental albums because that made it easier to show
off their musical abilities. Neo-classical Metal has also
influenced several Progressive Metal
bands such as Dream Theater.
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Neo-Progressive
The Neo-Progressive subgenre of progressive
rock grew out of a movement in the early 1980s by
a number of U.K.-based bands that focused on music that
was deeper than new wave, both instrumentally and lyrically.
The premier band of the genre was Marillion, who
went from lengthy club tours to the top of the charts
within a few years and dropped from popular favor almost
as fast. Neo-Prog bands are generally influenced by early
Genesis, Camel, and to a lesser extent,
Van der Graaf Generator and Pink Floyd.
The music holds a much more lush sound than general rock,
but lacks the sophistication of truly symphonic progressive
bands like Yes or Camel. Instrumentally, the bands
tend to be characterized by a "noodling" approach
that focuses on dynamic solos, and at its best, neo-prog
lyrics are deep, insightful, and acerbic. Whether neo-prog
is diluted progressive or adventurous pop depends on the
point of view of the listener — most progressive
rock listeners are likely to find the genre dull and unchallenging,
while fans of AOR will find the mix
more interesting than most rock bands. Although all of
the major bands are still producing albums, the classic
era of neo-prog effectively ended when vocalist Fish
left Marillion in 1987. — (text by A.D. Jensen on
this
Rock Music Page). Bands: Marillion, Pallas, Twelfth
Night,...
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New
Wave of British Heavy Metal
or NWOBHM is used to indicate a list of bands rather than
a genre. It's simply the collection of bands making up
the wave of British Hard Rock
and Heavy Metal bands of the early eighties,
of which Iron Maiden and Def Leppard are
probably the best known. The NWOBHM period lasted to about
1985. Oddly enough some non-British bands, such as the
Scandinavian EF-Band, were concidered to be NWOBHM
bands as well whereas other British Metal bands of the
eighties such as Motörhead and Judas Priest never
pop up in the lists circulating the Internet (probably
because they started out a few years earlier). Musically
speaking the NWOBHM bands play quite varied types of Heavy
Rock. The music ranges from somewhat retro sounding
Hard Rock played by bands like Praying Mantis,
over the Neo-progressive Rock from
Twelfth Night and Pallas, to Hard Boogie
Rock (Spider), classic Heavy Metal (Iron
Maiden, Holocaust,...), rather sweet sounding
FM Rock or Melodic Hard Rock (Shy,
Shiva, Valhalla,...) and some early versions
of Speed Metal (Jaguar, Tysondog,...).
The most important British NWOBHM labels were Ebony,
Neat and Heavy Metal Records. Other labels,
such as the Belgian Mausoleum Records and Roadrunner
from The Netherlands, also released a lot of NWOBHM-bands.
Bands: Iron Maiden, Def Leppard, Saxon, Tygers
of Pan Tang, Girlschool, Angel Witch, Avenger, Black Rose,
Limelight, Sledgehammer, Tank, Witchfynde, A2Z, Samson,
Battle Axe, Holocaust, Jaguar, Rock Goddess, Legend, Raven,
Shiva, Tysondog, Crucifixion, Demon, Diamond Head, E.F.
Band, Tokyo Blade,... A more complete list can be found
on the NWOBHM
website.
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Noise
or Noise-Rock
A kind of Alternative
Rock in which the purpose is to create a wall of sound
using loud, unintelligable guitar playing with lots of
feedback. The most famous band of the genre (and probably
also the inventors) is Sonic Youth.
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Nu
metal
Starting mid 90's, Metal has evolved in
what the rock press has dubbed 'Nu Metal' -- a new order
of heaviness which has become one of the most forward
thinking sounds around. When Cali skate punks Deftones
and Korn released their debut albums in the early
nineties, they set a precedent for legions of new bands
to follow. Eclecticism is the new mantra in rock music,
as bands mix and blend their own sound from a broad range
of influences, including electronica, hip-hop and...err...The
Smiths. 'Nu Metal Army' profiles the pioneers of this
musical hybrid, and pays particular attention to its rap-metal
fraternity. "Nu-metal" seems to be the most
popular term for the music that Disturbed and a raft of
other major bands - Korn, Limp Bizkit, Slipknot, Linkin
Park - play, although "rap metal" and "alternative
metal" are also contenders in the name game. Deena
Dasein wrote: Nu-metal is an unfortunate term. Nu
doesn't refer here to a letter in the Greek alphabet,
or to the Yiddish equivalent of "Whassup?" It's
reminiscent of nu-leather and other cheesy synthetics.
And calling this music metal is even more of a problem.
The non-commercial metal websites either fully ignore
these bands or mercilessly excoriate the style. "Nu
metal is not metal" is the succinct title of one
screed. Yet a number of the musicians in these bands grew
up as legitimate metalheads, appreciating
the bands that anyone and everyone would classify as metal,
from Black Sabbath, Slayer, and '80s-era Metallica to
the myriad of underground death metal bands. Nu-metal
achieved mainstream respect in a major piece in Spin magazine
by Lorraine Ali in August 1998. She described it as a
"hybrid that takes as many cues from alternative
rock, hip-hop, and SoCal hardcore skate
culture as it does from Black Sabbath and Slayer."
She hails the "spandex-free" style's lack of
"the corny hail-Satanism, Tawny Kitean videos, and
big hair of the '80s," which gives some idea of how
deeply she appreciates metal. Actually, the genre is merely
another flavor of the staple of rock music since forever:
hard rock. (Just as there has
always been teeny-bop fare.) Hard rock is always here,
merely tinted with different attitudes. Decades ago, Kiss
and Van Halen emblazoned their hard rock with lust. In
more recent times, grunge streaked hard rock with irony
(read by some as self-pity or angst). The current edition
of hard rock colors it with elements of hip-hop and coats
it with angst-ridden aggression. Nu-metal's aggro is less
like the balls-out defiance of bands like Slayer than
the choreographed sort found in pro-wrestling. Aggression
is some new kid on the block. Hardcore
punk did it up proud in the '80s, but that never had
anything like a mainstream audience. Major label money
- more muscular than the music itself - gets these Nu
Metal bands radio play, MTV face-time, and on the bills
of major tours like Ozzfest (along with advertising and
promotion). The clueless music industry is always chasing
after what's hot, finding clones and shoving them down
our throats until everyone is sick of it and ready for
the next fad, please. It's the cultural version of planned
obsolescence. The only cute twist is that the industry
can't tell when the bandwagon will grind to a screeching
halt, dumping out all the costly baggage of established
and newly-minted acts. Rawk is dead. Long live rawk.
Bands: Deftones, Papa
Roach, Kid Rock, Linkin Park, Slipknot,
Disturbed, From Zero, Mudvayne, No One,...
.
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NWOBHM
see New Wave Of British Heavy Metal.
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Oi!
A fast, loud and (even) more amelodic offshoot of Hardcore
Punk. Unlike many hardcore bands Oi!-bands
originally were apolitical. Over time however, due to
the influence of certain bands, it became known as a racist
(Nazi even) white music genre. Nevertheless there are
also lots of Oi!-bands that are anti-rascist. Bands:
Business, The Templars,... | Plooban@cs.com
wrote: A style of punk sometimes know as street
punk and closely related to English skinheads. Its name
is derived from the Cockney shout of HEY! which is often
repeated throughout songs. Cockney Rejects, Four
Skins, Oi Polloi are just some of the bands
that are good examples of this kind of music.
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Plugging
Giving extensive airplay or television play (Mtv) to certain
bands. This has got everything to do with the familiar
Dollar sign and only sporadically with the quality of
the plugged band in question.
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Power
chords
A two or three note chord played on the bass strings of
a guitar, usually made up of the 1st and 5th tones of
the major scale. Since it has no 3rd (which makes a chord
either major or minor) a power chord will sound good against
nearly any melody. Most commonly found in blues
rock, early heavy metal and punk
rock which is almost nothing but power chords. (Billy
N. Logic)
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Power
Pop
Kevin
wrote: It's like The Cars with loud guitars.
From Bomp
Records site: Powerpop was what happened right after
punk rock, when some of the bands learned how to play
their instruments a little better and started borrowing
melodies and harmonies from old '60s pop records.
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Power
Metal
Power Metal means: speed, symphony, melody and high pitch
lyrics. It’s a fast kind of Heavy Metal with a lot of
guitar melodies often based on the modal scales used in
the neoclassical age. Bands that started to play this
genre were Helloween, Gamma Ray, Blind
Guardian (first period),... Inbetween 1996 and 2000
many bands followed their steps: Stratovarius,
Hammerfall, Edguy, Labyrynth, Domine,
Angra too (only first album Angels Cry), and many
more. I feel Power Metal has died now, leaving the scene
to a new kind of metal which derives influences from the
same sources Power Metal did. I am talking about Symphonic
Death Metal (In Flames, Dark Tranquillity,
Sentenced and so on).(Emalaith)
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Progressive
Rock (+ Progressive Metal)
Also known as Symphonic Rock. Has its origin in
those late sixties bands that started to incorporate symphonical
(classical) elements in their music. As a result their
song structures became quite intricate and sometimes even
arabesque. With the introduction of often prominent synthesiser
sounds the songs tend to get bombastic too. The use of
synthesisers, classical (and sometimes also jazz-) inspired
song structures, different themes within one song and
tempo changes distinguishes Progressive Rock from other
seventies genres. The songs vary from sweet sounding and
poplike (Alan Parsons Project, E.L.O., Starcastle)
to the experimental approach of King Crimson. The
Punk wave of the late seventies put
a sudden stop to the blooming symphonic period. Record
companies no longer wished (or dared) to sign progressive
acts since the conviction of that period was that songs
should be no longer than three minutes and consist of
only a few different chords (which is quite the opposite
of the progressive approach). Especially the use of synthesisers
was considered utterly tasteless. With the coming of New
Wave (finding its roots in Punk) the synthesiser taboo
was broken and immediately a new generation of symphonic
bands started to rise, Rush and symphonic poprock
bands Toto and Saga being the most important.
A bit later on new bands (Marillion, followed by
(mostly British) bands like IQ, Pallas,
Twelfth Night,…) start to return to a less
ambiguous yet less complicated approach of the genre.
These bands are also often called neo-progrock
bands. From the mid eighties on progressive elements also
found their way into Heavy Metal. Queensrÿche
is probably the leader of this pack and certainly one
of the first bands to create so-called Progressive Metal.
This sometimes leads to excesses (but rather interesting
ones) of bizarre experimental bands like the semi-Industrial
O.L.D. or the Thrash influenced
Japanese band Doom. Halfway the nineties also Death
Metal acts (such as the Italian Sadist) start
to use progressive elements. The result is very loud fast
agressive and intricate songs that require tight combined
action of the band members. Unfortunately in the case
of some bands the very heavy sound and muddy production
(or not so tight playing) makes the songstructures "unintelligable".
First and second generation bands (and bands heavily
influenced by Progrock): Yes, Procol Harum, The Nice,
Emerson Lake & Palmer, Genesis, Yes, Moody Blues,
King Crimson, Gentle Giant, Alan Parsons Project, E.L.O.,
Jethro Tull, Mike Oldfield, Pink Floyd, Queen (second
period), Supertramp, Pink Floyd, Camel, Barclay James
Harvest, Asia, Eloy, Focus, Kansas, Kayak, Manfred Mann's
Earth Band, Meat Loaf, PFM, FM, Styx, U.K., Vangelis,
Sky, Starcastle, Machiavel (early), Nektar, Spartacus,
Van Der Graaf Generator, Big amongst Sheep, Gizmo, Aviator,
Marillion,… Third generation Progrock & -Metal
(eighties): IQ, Pallas, Pendragon, Twelfth Night, Aragon
Progressive Metal bands: Queensrÿche, Watchtower,
Dream Theater, Stratovarius, Elegy, Doom (Japanese), O.L.D.
(early),… Progressive Death Metal acts: Sadist,
Caducity, Chemical Death, Nocturnus,… (Foob,
with parts from 'Oor Pop Encyclopedie')
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Psychedelic
Rock
A certain kind of Rock dating back to the late sixties
when rock bands started experimenting with eastern and
Indian elements influences, fuzzy guitars, oriental instruments
(like the sitar), special vocal effects and lots of feedback,
creating a multi-layered sound. As pathmakers for the
genre The Yardbirds and The Byrds are mentioned.
They influenced bands like The Beatles and The
Rolling Stones to start making psychedelic songs as
well (in the second half of the sixties). Psychedelic
song structures tend to be long and fluid with improvised
parts.Bands: Pink Floyd (with Syd Barrett), Traffic,
The Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane,... Back
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Psychobilly
Mixture of Rockabilly and Punk, originating
in the early eighties and played by the likes of The
Cramps, Mojo Nixon and Shockabilly.
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Punk
Punk Rock is generally considered to have surfaced in
1975, but exactly what band was the first punk act is
still a fuzzy issue. If anybody tells you they can pinpoint
the first punk band, they are either lying or confused.
Many early bands, such as Iggy and the Stooges,
MC5, Richard Hell and the Voidoids
displayed some aspects of punk, but no band combined all
the elements, in my opinion, until the Ramones
gathered in 1975. The Ramones self-titled debut album,
released in 1976, was the first example of punk rock.
Being tired of music they considered boring, they gathered
and began to piece thier own sound together. This lack
of originality in music was a key factor in the creation
of the Ramones' sound. Another factor was their lack of
technical skill as compared to the bands of 1975. Their
music would usually only utilize a few chords per song,
and lyrics were usually repetitions of short phrases.
Because of this, Ramones' songs are characterized by their
amateur and aggressive sound. They brought back the two-minute
song, creating a sound many found reminiscent of early
rock and roll. Others, blown away by the buzzsaw guitars
and unconventional lyrics, condemned them. Legend has
it that touring A&R man got up and left in disgust
after hearing only half a song. The Ramones directly influenced
British punk acts, helping to spawn the English punk scene
of the middle seventies. They played a fourth of July
concert in London which was attended by many members of
future punk bands, such as the Sex Pistols, the
Clash, the Damned, Generation X, and
Souxsie and the Banshees. This was the seed for
what was to become the huge London punk scene of 1977.
The Sex Pistols took the ameteurist style of the Ramones,
added a streak of nihilism, creating a sound and an image
that is still the ideal in punk rock. Their music was
even more raw and unrefined than the Ramones'. A fast
paced rhythm guitar, sometimes out of tune, was the main
musical feature of the Sex Pistols' music. Basslines were
slaughtered live by the Sex Pistol's most renowned member,
Sid Vicious, who oftentimes played drunk or on
heroin. Johnny Rotten, singer for the Pistols and
Vicous are oftentimes seen as two of the "all time
great punks" contributing much to the punk style,
both musically and fashionably. The nihilistic lyrics
of the Sex Pistols were the crux of their music. Johnny
Rotten half sang, half screamed lyrics over cracking PA
systems. Pistols' songs savagely attacked the status quo,
making them instant villians. The Sex Pistols were largely
responsible for the vilification of Punk Rock and its
followers, for their actions both on and off the stage.
These acts helped to keep punk rock in the public eye
and win over many new followers to the new style. The
lyrics too often raised huge controversies. Besides being
a huge influence on punk musically, the Sex Pistols also
helped to create the look that came to characterize most
British punks: fetish wear, bondage trousers, and obscene
T-shirts. Their manager, Malcolm McClaren, was
also the owner of a fashion boutique, SEX, on the King's
Road. Seeing the Pistols as a way to help promote his
fashions, he began to imitate their style in his work.
The Clash took a more idealistic, but no less aggressive
stance than the Sex Pistols. The Clash was the first punk
band to actively merge politics with their music. Songs
like White Riot supported left wing politics, and
helped to fight apathy of British youth. Critics now view
the Clash as one of the most influential rock bands of
their time. They were the first band to utilize the reggae
and ska beats used frequently in punk rock today, and
were the first band to mix punk with other genres such
as rap, jazz, and funk. For the complete version of
this text click here
(Matt Schild's site) and for a complete history of Punk
click here
(the 'History of Punk' site). (Matt
Schild)
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Rap
Metal
A mixture of Rap and Metal. The best example can be found
on the Judgment Night-soundtrack. Of course one of the
earliest examples is the Run DMC remake of the
old Aerosmith classic 'Walk This Way' (In fact,
this Run DMC / Aerosmith cooperation boosted Aerosmith's
stagnating carreer). And let's not forget rapper Ice-T
who combined Rap and Metal in his band Body Count and
Speed Metal pioneers Anthrax who delivered some
noteworthy Rap Metal tracks on several EP's. The mixture
of Rap and Metal will later prove to be of big influence
on many late 20th century Metal bands, resulting in the
so-called Nu Metal scene.
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Riff
A repeating melodic phrase used for a driving rhythm,
played on bass guitar or guitar. Originally from the blues,
but found more extensively in early rock (Chuck Berry,
Rolling Stones). Differs from a lick
in that it is played in the background of the other music
as a rhythm element. (Billy
N. Logic)
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Shredder
Synomym for a guitar virtuoso or guitar
god.
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Ska
punk
A crossover of Ska and Punk which was predated by the
Ska Rock & early Ska Punk of the band Fishbone.
By the mid eighties Ska Punk crawled out of obscurity
when bands like Rancid earned significant exposure.
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Skatepunk
Joshua describes it as: Fast paced, fun filled, rebellious
tunes. It's all about skating harder, and evading cops
faster. Screeching Weasels are the all time greatest SkatePunk
band. PennyWise, BLANKFACE, and Link 80 are excellent
too.
(Joshua
Hopkins)
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Solo
(Guitar solo)
An extended melodic guitar line usually played in place
of the vocals for one verse or chorus of a song. Typical
rock song structure goes verse-verse-chorus-verse-solo-chorus.
Heavily rooted in blues music but has spread into nearly
every branch of rock, country and a lot of jazz. (Billy
N. Logic)
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Sludge
Metal
A kind of slow and pondering Metal closely related to
Stoner.
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Southern
Rock
A type of Hard Rock (originating
mainly from the Southern states of the U.S.) that's heavily
influenced by blues and boogie. Quite a few Southern Rock
bands had multiple lead guitartists, which often results
in long guitar jams.Bands: Lynyrd Skynyrd, ZZ Top,
The Allman Brothers Band, 38 Special, Molly Hatchet, The
Outlaws, Wet Willie,…
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Space
Rock
Closely related to Psychedelic
Rock (but with more electronic gadgets and synthesiser
sounds interwoven with distorted guitars) and probably
invented by the legendary Rock band Hawkwind.
Bands: Hawkwind, Treatment, Spacemen 3,...
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Speed
Metal
Grew from the traditional Heavy
Metal and revived this scene when it seemed to be
lacking breath. Speed Metal was a next logical step after
Metal bands from around 1980 like Accept, Blitzkrieg,
Diamond Head, Jaguar and Holocaust started to put a heavier
foot on the gas pedal from time to time. The first band
to do this consistently as a thought over stylistic element
was the American band Metallica and it brought
them immediate recognition among Heavy Metal fans and
world fame later on. Within one year already Metallica
was followed by compatriots Anthrax and Slayer
and the Canadian Exciter. It's not clear if these
bands simply reacted very fast after hearing the Metallica
album or whether it's a case of parallel evolution. Pioneers:
Metallica, Slayer, Anthrax, Exciter, Exodus,… Others:
Nuclear Assault, Helloween, Grave Digger, Testament, Overkill,
Annihilator, Damien Thorne,… (foob)
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Stack
In this case it has nothing to do with
TCP/IP. Dave wrote: a stack would be like a guitar amplifier
that consists of two 4 x 12 speaker cabinets and an amplifier
head.
(Dave)
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Stagediving
The act of jumping back into the crowd after having climbed
on the stage (in the hope of being caught by the crowd
or otherwise being saved by some deus ex machina). See
also: crowdsurfing, which might be
the next step after having stagedived.
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Stomper
A subgenre of Oi!, which sounds even
more agressive.
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Stoner
/ Stoner Rock / Stoner Metal
A kind of Metal or Grunge that originated in the nineties
and which used a distorted guitar sound which sounded
muffled, with not as much high tones, which gives it a
"dusty feel". Stoner is heavily influenced by
the early Black Sabbath albums dating from the
seventies but also by the psychadelia of 70's Acid Rock
bands like Blue Cheer. Pioneers: Kyuss,
Monster Magnet,... Bands: Masters of Reality, 7
Suma 7, Fu Manchu, Karma to Burn, Celestial Season,...
This 'Stoner
Rock Rules'-site is entirely dedicated to Stoner,
as is this site of the German
Stoner Rock Community.
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Straight
Edge
Straight Edge is a more philosophical offshoot of the
punk movement, a reaction to the hedonism
and self-destruction that characterised punk. The basic
tenet of the philosophy centres around the issue of self-control.
The goal is to regain as much personal control over your
own life as possible. sXe is the only youth counter-culture
to actively discourage drug use, alcohol use, and casual
sex. Straight edge is a lifestyle centred around personal
development and well being, while encouraging fun and
togetherness. sXe (Straight Edge) is not just about being
into contemporary punk music acts and being against drugs.
It goes deeper than this. The movement wishes to attract
people away from dependancy lifestyles centred around
drug habits (legal or illegal) and unhealthy and exploitative
eating and general living habits common in modern cultures.
sXe is not dogmatic, there are no hard rules, these are
for you to decide. Nobody should dictate like the police,
or preach an ideology like the church or state. The term
itself is believed to have been coined by the band Minor
Threat of the punk rock/hardcore scene in the early
'80s. Their singer Ian MacKaye eschewed the nihilistic
tendencies of punk rock, promoting instead the simple
(almost simplistic) philosophy of "don't drink/don't
smoke/don't fuck." (Out of Step with the world,
by Minor Threat, 1981: I Don't smoke, Don't drink, Don't
fuck. At least I can fucking think. I can't keep up (3X).
Out of step with the world). In the 12 years since
the demise of Minor Threat, these simple beliefs have
transformed the minds of scores of teens worldwide. Increasingly
disenchanted with societal ills, young men and women adopt
the straight-edge doctrine as a blueprint to better first
themselves, and then the world in which they live. While
the original definition of straight-edge only included
the rejection of mind altering substances and promiscuous
sex, modern interpretations include a vegetarian (or vegan)
diet and an increasing involvement and awareness of environmental
and political issues. Straight-edge grew out of the hardcore/punk
scene and the music plays an important role. The music
is fast, powerful, with angry and thoughtful lyrics. It
forms a vital outlet for rage and sadness against abusive
and/or dysfunctional political, societal and family structures.
(Lars
Norved)
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Thrash
A genre that quickly emerged after Speed Metal. It has
the same bursts of Speed but the overall feel is more
agressive and the sound slightly darker and heavier. In
fact, Slayer, one of the first Speed Metal bands
is also considered the first Thrash Metal act. Thrash
is influenced by Hardcore as well,
drawing from that source its very agressive energy. Later
on this approach produced some very interesting and highly
skilled bands like Pantera (a band that started
of its carreer as a Glam Metal act (!)). It was this band
that gave the Metal genre a new boost in the early nineties
(since the scene seemed to show signs of stagnation again).
Out of Thrash Metal yet another genre would arise: Death
Metal with the Brazilian band Sepultura being
one of the famous links between both genres. Pioneers:
Slayer, Exodus,… Others: Living Death, Pantera, Sepultura,…
(foob)
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Trash
People sometimes write the Thrash Metal
genre as Trash Metal, thinking it means Garbage Metal.
This is a misconception. The correct spelling of the genre
is Thrash or Thrash Metal which comes from the verb 'to
thrash'. (foob)
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Women
in Rock
Since it's mainly a male scene all
girl bands are something of an oddity in the hard
music genres. Rock is macho. That's the reason. In fact
the few female bands that stand their ground among
all them male chauvinist pigs haven't got a particular
female image but sometimes even a real macho one. On the
other hand (and this was especially the case in the earlier
days of all girl bands) they seem to want to emphasize
their femininity in the band names (knowing all too well
that the rarity of being a female rock band would gain
them more interest in the music press): Girlschool,
Rock Goddess, Cycle Sluts from
Hell,… However the fact that they relatively
got more attention might also be the reason why no female
band ever reached the top sport of the ladder. Rock critics
sometimes weren't really interested in the music and therefore
some bands received too much attention too soon and were
easy targets for negative criticism by others. The pioneer
female Rock band is of course the excellent seventies
band The Runaways which was later to spawn two
succesful solo artists Joan Jett and Lita Ford.
Pioneers: The Runaways, Girlschool, Rock Goddess,…
Bands: L7, Cycle Sluts from Hell, Slant 6,… (Foob)
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Genre
(or something else) missing?
Write a description like the ones found on this page
and e-mail
it to me.
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Need
some more?
Here's another
Lexicon of genres (it's in German) if you didn't
find what you were looking for on this page. And if
you don't know how to read German, Allmusic
is another great starting point to find out more about
the different types of music. And here's another site
that goes into great details about Rock music genres:
Rock
Music Pages.
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