Metal Subgenre Evolution: From Raw Aggression to Technical Fusion
TL;DR
- The evolution of metal music, from thrash to black metal and nu-metal, demonstrates a continuous exploration of heavier, more extreme, and often darker themes and sounds.
- Black metal bands like Mayhem and Darkthrone intentionally adopted a lo-fi aesthetic and dark, atmospheric soundscapes to convey raw emotion and thematic depth.
- The development of genres like death metal and black metal involved pushing boundaries with aggressive vocals, satanic themes, and sometimes controversial real-life actions.
- Nu-metal emerged as a fusion genre, blending heavy riffs with hip-hop influences and groove, appealing to a generation seeking a different kind of heaviness.
- System of a Down's unique sound, incorporating diverse influences and vocal harmonies, set them apart within the nu-metal landscape and achieved mainstream success despite initial resistance.
- The emergence of technical and math metal, exemplified by bands like The Dillinger Escape Plan and Meshuggah, showcases a focus on complex musicianship and intricate song structures.
Deep Dive
Daron Malakian's exploration of heavy metal's evolution reveals a continuous thread of innovation, moving from raw aggression to complex technicality and diverse stylistic fusions. This journey highlights how subgenres emerge as reactions to preceding trends, each adding unique sonic textures and lyrical themes, ultimately shaping a broader landscape of heavy music.
The evolution of metal began with foundational bands like Black Sabbath, whose early work laid the groundwork for darker themes. This evolved into thrash metal, exemplified by Metallica, which introduced faster tempos and more aggressive instrumentation. The lineage continued into grindcore with bands like Napalm Death and Carcass, pushing boundaries with extreme speed and guttural vocals. Death metal, pioneered by bands like Death and Morbid Angel, further intensified these elements, often exploring darker lyrical territories like satanism, which became a defining characteristic, particularly with bands like Deicide.
As the genre progressed, black metal emerged in the early 90s, partly as a rejection of perceived commercialization in death metal. Bands like Mayhem and Darkthrone, originating from Norway, embraced a raw, lo-fi aesthetic and atmospheric, often sinister, soundscapes. This era was marked by extreme lyrical themes and controversial real-world events associated with some artists, such as church burnings and violence, underscoring a desire for authenticity and extremity that contrasted with the polish of earlier metal.
The mid-to-late 90s saw the rise of nu-metal, which blended heavy riffs with groove-oriented rhythms, hip-hop influences, and often introspective or aggressive lyrical content. Bands like Korn and Slipknot achieved mainstream success by incorporating elements from industrial music and other genres, creating a sound that was both heavy and accessible to a new generation. System of a Down, while emerging during this era, distinguished themselves by incorporating diverse influences, including Armenian folk music and pop melodies, alongside heavy elements, and incorporating vocal harmonies rare in the genre.
The progression continued into more technical and progressive subgenres like mathcore and progressive metal, exemplified by bands like The Dillinger Escape Plan and Meshuggah. These groups pushed technical proficiency and complex song structures to new heights, demonstrating metal's capacity for intricate musicianship and experimentation. This evolution shows a constant push and pull between raw energy, thematic depth, technical mastery, and cross-genre experimentation, continually redefining the boundaries of heavy music.
Action Items
- Analyze the evolution of metal subgenres from thrash to nu-metal, identifying key sonic and thematic shifts for each.
- Catalog 5-10 influential bands within death metal and black metal scenes, noting their distinct lyrical themes and production styles.
- Identify 3-5 bands that successfully fused industrial elements with metal, analyzing their use of electronic instrumentation and samples.
- Document the emergence of nu-metal by examining the sonic characteristics and lyrical themes of 3-5 key bands from the genre's inception.
- Explore the influence of early punk and psychedelic music on the development of thrash and subsequent metal subgenres.
Key Quotes
"I know all these Metallica covers as you know when I got older I knew them and so we were on tour with Metallica on the Summer Sanitarium tour I met Metallica on stage really playing with them I never met them before wow we're the first band nobody knows us it's 1999 maybe at this point toxicity is not out yet we're on our first album and we are on the Summer Sanitarium tour it's us Bank of Power, Manowar, Pantera, 5000, Kid Rock was on there I think Korn was on there and Metallica."
This quote highlights a pivotal moment for the band System of a Down, showcasing their early career exposure by playing alongside established bands like Metallica. The speaker, Daron Malakian, emphasizes the significance of this experience, particularly as they were relatively unknown at the time, underscoring the impact of such opportunities on a band's trajectory.
"So next thing you know I go on the other side of the stage I get handed a Les Paul I think it was one of Kirk Hammett's Les Pauls and they're like alright go 60,000 people so at this point we're in 1986 I'm 11 years old so this was my introduction to thrash."
This quote details a significant personal experience for the speaker, Daron Malakian, recounting his childhood encounter with thrash metal by playing with Metallica. The anecdote illustrates the profound impact of early exposure to influential music and the surreal nature of such an event for a young fan.
"The grindcore thing you know there's a few bands like here's another band from the US called Repulsion that once again this was all still very underground stuff but these guys were kind of you know doing something that other people weren't really necessarily doing I need another sound so I'm running in the I'm running in the I'm killing your I'm killing your I'm killing your vocals are not heavy metal vocals anymore either."
Malakian describes the evolution of grindcore, highlighting bands like Repulsion for their unique sound and underground status. He points out how the vocal style in this genre diverged from traditional heavy metal, becoming more guttural and less melodic.
"But there is a band before we get to those bands that some people say were death metal before death metal and they even had a song called death metal cool which some people say named the genre but their really great song is a song called the exorcist the band called Possessed which is from the Bay Area."
This quote introduces the band Possessed as a potential progenitor of the death metal genre, noting their song "Death Metal" and highlighting "The Exorcist" as a standout track. Malakian suggests that Possessed's early work may have influenced the development and naming of the death metal genre.
"The black metal really is taking it to another level but here's a little taste of Deicide this is the noise this is the bomb this is the wrath of god this is the spirit this is the darkness this is the light this is the sacrifice."
Malakian discusses the intensity and thematic elements of black metal, using Deicide as an example. He describes the music as "noise" and "bomb," emphasizing its dark, sacrificial, and potentially chaotic nature, suggesting it represents an escalation in extreme musical expression.
"The way you can kind of compare how the Black Sabbath sound was happening from the late psychedelic stuff from the late 60s it was something that was kind of happening that kind of trickled into one thing trickled into the other into the other and like you know in each case it's like someone has an idea of a new variation on something that's kind of around yeah and builds on it."
Malakian draws a parallel between the evolution of Black Sabbath's sound and the development of other genres, suggesting a lineage of influence and innovation. He posits that new musical ideas often emerge as variations on existing sounds, building upon what came before.
"I feel like you know new metal gets a bad rap because it became a cookie cutter thing where every label wanted their new metal band it's just because it got so popular yeah it got really popular but the bands that I'm playing right now and I'll I guess include our own band in that thing we were all doing something original and mixing things with metal that weren't being done before."
Malakian reflects on the commercialization of nu-metal, acknowledging its popularity while asserting that bands like System of a Down offered something unique. He emphasizes their originality in blending diverse musical elements with metal, differentiating them from the more formulaic bands that followed.
"The musicianship you got to get out and you are jazz so from late 60s psychedelic new wave British heavy metal thrash metal death metal black metal industrial metal new metal we get into the late 90s to me this is one of the heaviest bands ever out of Sweden it's hard to out heavy Meshuggah."
Malakian highlights the technical prowess of bands like Meshuggah, positioning them as exemplars of heavy and complex music within the evolution of metal genres. He connects their intricate musicianship to jazz, suggesting a sophisticated blend of styles that pushes the boundaries of heavy music.
Resources
## External Resources
### Books
- **"Black Metal"** by Venom - Mentioned as an influential album in the development of black metal.
### Articles & Papers
- **"I Cum Blood"** by Cannibal Corpse - Mentioned as an example of a death metal song with a distinct sound.
### People
- **Chuck Schuldiner** - Mentioned as the primary figure behind the band Death and a key figure in death metal.
- **Euronymous** - Mentioned as a figure from the band Mayhem, owner of a record store that was a hub for the Norwegian black metal scene, and was murdered.
- **Varg Vikernes** - Mentioned as the person who murdered Euronymous and a member of the band Burzum.
- **Lemmy** - Mentioned as a potential influence on the growly vocal style in metal music.
- **Joey Jordison** - Mentioned as someone who recommended The Dillinger Escape Plan.
### Organizations & Institutions
- **Metallica** - Mentioned for their music, covers played by the speaker in their youth, and a concert experience.
- **Slayer** - Mentioned for their music and influence on extreme metal.
- **Mayhem** - Mentioned as a Norwegian black metal band associated with controversial events.
- **Burzum** - Mentioned as a Norwegian black metal band associated with controversial events.
- **Darkthrone** - Mentioned as a Norwegian black metal band known for a specific sound and lyrical themes.
- **Death** - Mentioned as a band that evolved into a more technical and progressive sound.
- **Cannibal Corpse** - Mentioned as a Tampa-based death metal band.
- **Morbid Angel** - Mentioned as a Tampa-based death metal band with satanic lyrical themes.
- **Obituary** - Mentioned as a Tampa-based death metal band with a sludgy sound.
- **Possessed** - Mentioned as a band from the Bay Area, potentially influential in early death metal.
- **Repulsion** - Mentioned as an early underground band in the grindcore scene.
- **Sepultura** - Mentioned as a Brazilian band whose sound evolved over time, bridging thrash and death metal.
- **Sarcófago** - Mentioned as a Brazilian band influential in the black metal scene.
- **Ozzy Osbourne** - Mentioned as an artist the speaker saw Sepultura open for.
- **Venom** - Mentioned as a band representing the first wave of black metal.
- **Celtic Frost** - Mentioned as an influential band, with Hellhammer being a precursor.
- **Killing Joke** - Mentioned as an influential English band in the post-punk/industrial scene.
- **Nine Inch Nails** - Mentioned as an industrial band with strong songwriting and commercial success.
- **Ministry** - Mentioned as an early industrial band that incorporated guitars.
- **Korn** - Mentioned as a band that brought a new sound to heavy music, influencing nu metal.
- **Deftones** - Mentioned as a band within the nu metal scene.
- **Slipknot** - Mentioned as a band that emerged from the nu metal scene with a theatrical stage show.
- **Rage Against the Machine** - Mentioned as having influenced nu metal bands.
- **The Dillinger Escape Plan** - Mentioned as a band known for technical musicianship and math metal.
- **Meshuggah** - Mentioned as a heavy band from Sweden, associated with progressive/math metal.
### Other Resources
- **Metallica covers** - Mentioned as songs the speaker learned to play guitar with.
- **Grindcore** - Discussed as a music genre characterized by fast tempos and blast beats.
- **Death Metal** - Discussed as a genre evolving from thrash, characterized by growly vocals and often satanic themes.
- **Tampa, Florida** - Mentioned as a significant location for the emergence of death metal bands.
- **Black Metal** - Discussed as a genre emerging in the early 90s, characterized by dark, atmospheric, and often satanic themes, with a lo-fi production style.
- **Corpse paint** - Mentioned as a style of face paint used by black metal musicians, inspired by Kiss and King Diamond.
- **Groove Metal** - Described as a style of metal with a different "bounce" and rhythm compared to thrash.
- **Industrial Metal** - Discussed as a genre incorporating electronic elements and drum machines with metal.
- **Nu Metal** - Described as a genre emerging in the mid-to-late 90s, characterized by downtuned guitars, groove, and influences from hip-hop and industrial music.
- **Alternative Metal** - Suggested as a classification for bands like System of a Down.
- **Prog Metal** - Mentioned as a genre characterized by technical musicianship and complex structures.
- **Math Metal** - Described as a subgenre of metal focusing on technicality and complex rhythms.
- **Tetragammerton** - Mentioned as a podcast, website, and source of information on various topics including counterculture, esoteric subjects, and music.
- **Element Electrolytes** - Mentioned as a product for hydration and energy.
- **Athletic Nicotine** - Mentioned as a performance nootropic for focus and energy.
- **Squarespace** - Mentioned as a platform for building websites and online presence.