| Type |
Elements |
Some Applicable Bands |
| Alternative Metal |
heavy guitar riffs with an experimental edge, umconventional lyrics, odd time signatures, more syncopation that typical metal, unusual technique, resistance to conventional approaches |
Sevendust, Sonic Youth, Helmet, White Zombie, Jane's Addiction, Corrosion of Conformity, Primus, Nine Inch Nails, Ministry, System of a Down, Tool, Rage Against the Machine, Linkin Park, Korn, Deftones, Fear Factory, Marilyn Manson, Murderdolls |
| Alternative Gothic Metal |
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| Ambient Black Metal |
ambient+black, electric guitar with synthesizers and keyboards, use of reverb to create atmospheric style |
Burzum, Velvet Cacoon, Wolves in the Throne Room, Xasthur, Leviathan, Manes, Blut Aus Nord, Summoning, Striborg |
| Avant-garde Metal |
large-scale experimentation, non-standard sounds, instruments, and song structures |
Celtic Frost, Master's Hammer, Buckethead, Meshuggah |
| Black Doom (Blackened Doom Metal) |
black+doom, high-pitched shrieks, highly distorted guitars, slow tempo, thicker guitar sound |
Dolorian, Unholy, Ajattara, Forgotten Tomb, Gallhammer, Nortt |
| Black Metal |
fast tempos, shrieked vocals, highly distorted guitars, tremolo picking, double-kick drumming, unconventional song structure |
Marduk, Venom, Bathory, Hellhammer, Celtic Frost, Mayhem, Burzum, Darkthrone, Naglfar, Immortal, Emperor, Mercyful Fate, King Diamond, Spektr |
| Blackened Crust |
black+crust punk |
Iskra, Gallhammer, Skitsystem, Darkthrone |
| Blackened Death Metal |
black+death, more usage of down-tuned guitars, palm muting, complex blast beats, vocals are shrieks and growls |
Blasphemy, Beherit, Impaled Nazarene, Belphegor, Behemoth, Akercocke, Angelcorpse, Zyklon |
| Celtic Metal |
heavy metal+celtic music, instruments may be used such as fiddle, tin whistle, flute |
Cruachan, Primordial, Waylander, Mael Mordha |
| Christian Metal |
contains Christian lyrics and themes |
Impending Doom, Underoath, Demon Hunter, As I Lay Dying, Norma Jean, Stryper, Holy Soldier |
| Dark Industrial Metal |
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| Dark Melodic Death Metal |
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| Dark Wave Metal |
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| Death Doom Metal (Doom Death Metal) |
slow tempos, pessimistic atmosphere, deep growling vocals, double-kick drumming |
Winter, Asphyx, Disembowelment, Paradise Lost, Autopsy, My Dying Bride, Amorphis, Katatonia, Morgion |
| Death Metal |
moderate tempos, heavily distorted guitars, deep growling vocals, blast beat drumming, complex song structures, multiple tempo changes |
Death, Possessed, Morbid Angel, Bolt Thrower, Carcass, Suffocation, Daath, Vader, Ten Masked Men |
| Deathcore |
influenced by modern death metal in its speed, heaviness, and approach to chromatic, heavily palm muted riffing and dissonance, traditional growls and screaming are prevalent, often combined with metalcore vocals, breakdowns and melodic riffs are common |
Killwhitneydead, Cryptopsy, The Black Dahlia Murder, Knights of the Abyss, The Red Chord, Winds of Plague, Through the Eyes of the Dead, My Bitter End, The Red Death, Rose Funeral, Glass Casket, Emmure, Despised Icon, Burning Skies, As Blood Runs Black, All Shall Perish |
| Deathgrind |
death metal+grindcore, technicality of death metal, intensity of grindcore |
Killwhitneydead, Napalm Death, Brutal Truth, Repulsion, Carcass, Autopsy, The Berzerker, Blood Duster, Cephalic Carnage, Condemned, The County Medical Examiners, Defecation, Exhumed, Gore Beyond Necropsy, Haemorrhage, Hate Eternal, Impaled, Macabre, Mortician, Origin, The Red Chord, Rotten Sound, Terrorizer |
| Doom Metal |
very slow tempos, low-tuned guitars, much thicker and heavier sound, music and lyrics evoke sense of despair, dread, and doom |
Pagan Altar, Witchfinder General, Pentagram, Saint Vitus, Trouble |
| Drone Metal |
drone+noise+minimalist, notes or chords are sustained and repeated throughout a piece of music, long-duration tones of drone, large amounts of reverb and feedback, vocals are usually growled or screamed, slow tempos, heaviness of doom metal, songs often very long and may lack beat or rythem in traditional sense |
Sunn O))), Earth, Burning Witch, Black Boned Angel, Khanate |
| Electric Metal |
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| Epic Metal (or Epic Doom Metal) |
clean, operatic and choral singing, lyrics inspired by fantasy or mythology, bombastic drumming style |
Candlemass, Solitude Aeturnus, Solstice, Doomsword |
| Extreme Metal |
umbrella term associated with thrash metal, black metal, death metal, grindcore, and doom metal styles |
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| Folk Metal |
heavy metal+folk music, folk instruments, traditional singing styles, lyrics involve paganism, nature, fantasy, mythology, history |
Ensiferum, Skyclad, Finntroll, Korpiklaani, Turisas, Moonsorrow, Amorphis, Ayreon, Windir |
| Folk Black Metal (or Viking Black Metal) |
Folk or Viking+Black, focus on Nordic folk music and mythology, typically seek to create an epic or romanticized atmosphere, harsh black metal sound is often augmented by sorrowful keyboard melodies, acoustic guitars and folk instruments, vocals are typically mix of high-pitched shrieks and clean choral singing |
Bathory, Cruachan, Primordial |
| Folkloric Black Metal |
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| Funeral Doom Metal |
death/doom+dark ambient, very slow tempo, evoking sense of emptiness and despair, heavy distortion, keyboards and synthesizers used to create dreamlike atmosphere, vocals consist of mournful chants or growls in the background |
Thergothon, Skepticism, Funeral, Nortt, Mordor |
| Funk Metal |
funk+metal |
Faith No More, Living Colour, Primus |
| Glam Metal (80's Metal, Hair Metal) |
typically composing of bands that arose in the late 1970s and early 1980s, combines the flamboyant look of glam rock and playing a power-chord based hard rock musical style |
Twisted Sister, Aerosmith, Kiss, Mötley Crüe, Quiet Riot, Poison, Bon Jovi, Stryper, Skid Row |
| Gothic Metal (Goth Metal) |
death+doom, melodramatic and mournful lyrics with inspiration from gothic fiction and personal experiences |
Paradise Lost, My Dying Bride, Anathema, Type O Negative, Tiamat, The Gathering, Theatre of Tragedy, Moonspell, Cradle of Filth |
| Grindcore Metal (Grindcore, Grind) |
death metal+industrial music+noise+extreme hardcore punk, draws inspiration from some of the most abrasive music genres, heavily distorted, down-tuned guitars, high speed tempo, blast beats, vocals which consist of growls and high-pitched screams |
Siege, Napalm Death, Brutal Truth, Nasum, D.R.I., Sepultura, S.O.D., Sarcofago, Repulsion, Carcass, Gut, Bolt Thrower, Brujeria, Gore Beyond Necropsy, Unholy Grave, Assuck |
| Groove Metal |
mid-tempo thrash riffs focusing on heaviness and groovy syncopation, occasional use of palm muting, metal-styled shouts, hardcore-styled barks, and clean singing, double-bass drumming, with emphasis on using the double bass drum in waves, uncomomon time signatures and polyrhythms |
Pantera, Brujeria, Cavalera Conspiracy, Damageplan, DevilDriver, Fear Factory, Five Finger Death Punch, Grip Inc., Hellyeah, Lamb of God, Machine Head, Mudvayne, Nailbomb, Prong, Daath, Soulfly, Mnemic, Chimaira |
| Hardcore Metal |
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| Heavy Metal (Metal) |
a genre of rock music, the root of all metal |
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| Industrial Metal |
industrial music+heavy metal, repeating metal guitar riffs, sampling, synthesizer or sequencer lines, and distorted vocals |
Pitchshifter, Powerman 5000, Prong, Ministry, Godflesh, KMFDM, Nine Inch Nails, Samael, Daath, Mnemic |
| Industrial Black Metal |
industrial+black |
The Kovenant, Mortiis, Ulver, Mysticum, Blut Aus Nord, The Axis of Perdition, Aborym, ...And Oceans |
| Industrial Techno Metal |
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| Love Metal |
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| Mathcore (Math Metal, Chaotic Hardcore, Schizophrenic Hardcore, Technical Hardcore, Experimental Hardcore) |
rythmically complex and dissonant style of metalcore, speed technical riffing, unusual time signatures |
Ion Dissonance, Fear Before the March of Flames, Protest the Hero, Sikth, The Number Twelve Looks Like You, Botch, The Dillinger Escape Plan, Ed Gein, The Locust, Blood Has Been Shed |
| Melodeath Metal (Melodic Death Metal) |
heavy+death, growled vocals, liberal use of blastbeats, higher-pitched growls |
Arch Enemy, Carcass, In Flames, Dark Tranquility, At the Gates, Afflicted, Amon Amarth, Unleashed, Kalmah, Tiamat, Bleeding Through, Norther, Nuclear Blast Allstars, Fear My Thoughts, Paths of Possession |
| Melodic Black Metal |
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| Melodic Thrash Metal |
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| Metalcore |
hardcore punk+extreme metal, breakdowns: slower, intense passages conducive to moshing |
Hatebreed, Earth Crisis, Merauder, Deadguy, Integrity, Unearth, Bullet for My Valentine, As I Lay Dying, Avenged Sevenfold, Killswitch Engage, Trivium, All That Remains, Shadows Fall, Underoath, Sonic Syndicate, Atreyu, The Autumn Offering, Still Remains, Mendeed, The Sorrow, Haste the Day, Darkest Hour, Poison the Well, Parkway Drive, In This Moment, Burn It Down, Calico, The Dillinger Escape Plan, Imperial, Inexist, Lamb of God, Chimaira, Walls of Jericho, Zao, Bleeding Through, Diecast, Fear My Thoughts, Mnemic |
| Morotic Death Metal |
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| Neo-Classical Metal |
heavily influenced by classical music, technical work consisting of elements borrowed from both classical and heavy metal music |
Yngwie Malmsteen, Tony Macalpine, Vinnie Moore, Paul Gilbert, Greg Howe, Joey Tafolla, David Chastain, Jason Becker, Marty Friedman, Michael Angelo Batio, Vitalij Kuprij, Trans-Siberian Orchestra, Joe Stump, Symphony X, Stratovarius, Rhapsody of Fire, Galneryus Versailles, Adagio |
| New Metal, or Nu Metal |
grunge+alternative metal+funk metal+hip hop+groove+thrash, aggressive vocals range from melodic singing, guttural screaming and shouting, sometimes rapping, sometimes DJs are used |
Korn, Limp Bizkit, Kid Rock, Deftones, Coal Chamber, Limp Bizkit, Staind, Static-X, Spineshank, Slipknot, Sevendust, Disturbed, Soulfly, Godsmack |
| Noise Metal |
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| Parody Metal |
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Ten Masked Men |
| Pirate Metal |
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| Post Metal (Metalgaze) |
post-rock+heavy metal, distorted guitar, heavy atmospherics, gradual evolution of song structure, minimal emphasis on vocals |
Isis, Helmet, Tool, Burst, Callisto, Neurosis, Red Sparowes |
| Power Metal |
combines characteristics of traditional metal with thrash or speed metal, often within symphonic context, harder sound similar to speed metal |
Dragonforce, Helloween, Stratovarius, Nightwish, Norther, Manowar, Iced Earth, Jag Panzer, Blind Guardian, HammerFall, Grave Digger, Primal Fear, Mercury Tide, Sonata Arctica, Symphony X, Nuclear Blast Allstars, Savatage, Symphorce |
| Progressive Metal |
progressive rock+heavy metal, powerful, guitar-driven sound of metal with complex compositional structures, odd time signatures, and intricate instrumental playing of progressive rock |
Amorphis, Blind Guardian, Cacophony, The Dillinger Escape Plan, Dream Theater, Enslaved, Iced Earth, Meshuggah, Mudvayne, Nightwish, Opeth, John Petrucci, Queensr˙che, Rage, Tool, Ayreon, Daath, Daryl Stuermer, Savatage, Symphorce |
| Rap Metal (Hip Hop Metal) |
hip hop+heavy metal |
Kush, Rage Against the Machine, SX-10 |
| Rock Metal |
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| Sludge Metal (or Sludge Doom Metal) |
doom+hardcore punk, slow and heavy songs, brief hardcore passages, fast tempos, heavy distortion, large feedback, doom style drumming with double kick drumming, shouting or screaming, lyrics focus on suffering, drug abuse, politics, anger towards society |
Down, Crowbar, Buzzov*en, Acid Bath, Grief |
| Speed Metal |
extremely fast, abrasive, and technically demanding music |
Motörhead, Judas Priest, Angel Dust, Anthrax, Blind Guardian, Cacophony, Exciter, Grave Digger, Metallica, Megadeth, Overkill, Primal Fear, Helloween, Racer X, Rage, Slayer, Venom, King Diamond |
| Stoner Metal (or Stoner Doom Metal, Stoner Rock) |
psychedelic rock+blues-rock+doom metal, slow-to-mid tempo, low-tuned guitars, bass-heavy sound, melodic vocals, retro production, guitar/bass effects like fuzz, phaser, and flanger |
Kyuss, Sleep, Acid King, Sons of Otis, Electric Wizard |
| Symphonic Metal (Orchestral Metal) |
has elements that sound similar to a classical symphony, female vocals |
Therion, Nightwish, Rain Fell Within, After Forever, Epica, Edenbridge, Rage, Trans Siberian Orchestra, Ayreon |
| Symphonic Black Metal |
similar to melodic black metal, but uses keyboarding or instruments normally found in symphonic or classical music |
Emperor, Thy Serpent, Cradle of Filth, Anorexia Nervosa, Dimmu Borgir, DragonLord, Winds of Plague |
| Symphonic Gothic Metal |
guitar-driven force of hard rock with the sweep and grandeur of symphonic music, melody hooks of mainstream rock, depth and complexity of classical music, dark edge of gothic metal |
Within Temptation, After Forever, Theatre of Tragedy |
| Symphonic Power Metal (Epic Symphonic Metal) |
power metal music with extensive useage of keyboards, or instruments normally found in classical music similar to symphonic metal |
Nightwish, Rhapsody of Fire, After Forever, Avantasia, Catharsis, Sonata Arctica, Stratovarius, Symphony X |
| Technical Death Metal |
complex rhythms, riffs, and song structures; decent guitaring instead of tuneless licks; complex and varied musical style |
Decapitated, Mnemic |
| Thrash Metal |
fast tempo and aggression, fast, percussive and low-register riffs, shredding-style lead work, lyrics deal with social issues using direct and denunciatory language |
Megadeth, Metallica, Slayer, Anthrax, Cavalera Conspiracy, Executer, Nailbomb, Sepultura, Sarcofago, Arch Enemy, Annihilator, Exciter, Voivod, Kreator, Sodom, Bathory, Meshuggah, Celtic Frost, Exodus, Iced Earth, Mercyful Fate, Testament |
| Traditional Metal (or Classic Metal) |
subgenre of heavy metal music before the splintering of the genre into different styles and subgenres |
Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Dio, HammerFall, Motorhead, Motley Crue, Kiss, Steppenwolf, Van Halen, Venom |
| Viking Metal |
galloping pace, keyboard-rich anthemic sound, bleakness, emphasis on Norse mythology, Norse paganism, the Viking Age, sorrowful keyboard melodies |
Ensiferum, Bathory, Enslaved, Amon Amarth, Borknagar, Kampfar, Windir, Turisas, Tyr, Windir |
| Unblack Metal (Christian black metal, Holy Unblack Metal) |
lyrics and imagery promote Christianity |
Horde, Antestor, Admonish, Blood Covenant, Frosthardr |