Why?

I really love finding out how all the different parts of the Rock, Punk and Metal spectrum mix together. I love hearing something like a Pantera song and knowing which part comes from where, and how it would sound totally different without such and such an album.

I also really enjoy reading lists and countdowns of things like The 100 Best Metal Albums Of All Time, 100 Rock Albums You Must Own, The Most Influential Rock Albums In History, 200 Metal Albums You Must Hear Before You Die, The Greatest Heavy Metal Bands Ever, and so on; as well as any Documentary Film or TV Show on or related to the genre, such as Heavy Metal Louder Than Life, The Decline Of Western Civilization, American Hardcore, Such Hawks Such Hounds, Until The Light Takes Us, Global Metal, Metal Evolution, Heavy:The Story Of Metal and so on.

What?

The following is a list of 1000 (Originally 50, 100, 250 and 500 but it kind of snowballed) studio albums from various genres and sub-genres that constantly appear in such lists, countdowns and top-one-hundreds, that a metal fan would arguably need to have heard or at least know about in order to claim to have a full and comprehensive understanding of metal.

Why was that album included?

The majority are either genre-defining albums, genre-starting albums or hugely influential albums that inspired hundreds of other bands. They either developed the artistic or commercial legitimacy of the nebulous meta-world of Metal or are in-part responsible for either its credibility or popularity.

I’ve tried to keep repetition to a minimum, however if an artist has multiple entries on this list there could be a number of reasons; They might display clear influence to disparate groups across each included release, or else all of the included albums by one singular artist may individually feature perpetually covered or copied tracks, or tracks that are often featured on genre compilation cds and radio/music-tv programming…

Or the artists with multiple releases may either showcase exploration into significantly different musical territory across the separate releases that got included or else showcase historically significant line-up changes, technological advances or artistic trends (eg. the albums were important in creation, popularization or revival of things like concept albums, blast beats, synthesizers, lyrical trends or necro-production etc).

Or of course, it could just be the case where the band were on an unstoppable run of brilliant albums, and all of the albums together are considered a must-have period of the band. Sometimes there’s just no arguing with an unstoppable run of classics.

Some of the albums may have you scratching your head as to they they were included here. There are usually one of two reasons for this. Firstly; Metal didn’t just start one day perfectly formed and unarguably Metal. It came together in fits and starts, things hinted at being Metal for years before any band wrote an entire Metal album. Bands would have one metal song, or even just one metal riff, or even simply an attitude that would inspire future metal musicians of one subgenre or another.

Secondly; Metal is a constantly changing and evolving form of music that both takes from other genres to become diverse and gets taken by other genres as well. Some albums by Metal bands sound nothing like traditional Metal and some albums by Punk, Rock, Blues, Pop, Hip-Hop, Electronic or Jazz bands can include a lot of influences from Metal. The more that you hear, the more you understand where the boundaries are and where the boundaries aren’t. The more you hear that isn’t close to a boundary, the more definitively you understand both what the center is like and how that center relates to things that are far out on the borderline of no longer being Metal. Basically, if you listen to every album on this list, you’ll know what you are talking about when it comes to Metal. You’ll know what an artist is doing and where it came from, you’ll understand more clearly how all the different pieces of the puzzle fit together.

I Don’t Like This List…

To be honest, it is literally impossible for one person to ever understand everything about Metal fully, you’d have to hear every album, demo or riff made in a garage by every musician, ever, since the dawn of time. Not all the albums here even are metal, but hearing them will broaden your understanding of what metal in its entirety actually is.

…and before that puts you on the defensive, for clarity I’d like to state this: I’m not saying that if you haven’t listened to all of these that you know nothing about Metal, only that you don’t know everything about Metal. The main gist of the list is that Metal comes in all shapes and sizes.

The composition of the list is roughly as follows:

The Different Types Of Metal – 73%

The Rock Music That Got Us To Metal – 17%

The Punk Music That Got Us To Metal – 8%

The Alternative Music That Changed Metal – 2%

Sure, there’s some Pop Punk and Rap in there to demonstrate how bands like A Day To Remember mix Pop Punk sounds with Metal sounds, or how Black Sabbath and others added Rap in the 90s/00s. Don’t let that “get your back up” but don’t forget there’s over 60 Black Metal related albums and around 90 Death Metal related albums.

If you still wonder why an album is included in this list then listen to it and find out why! You may not enjoy every album that you hear, but you will understand Metal more completely with each one that you do hear, which of course is the reason for the list in the first place. Its an important moment in every Metal fan’s journey when they finally accept that Metal isn’t just the bits of Metal they enjoy and that things aren’t “not Metal” just because you don’t like them or understand them.

If you disagree with a subgenre’s existence (eg. “Classic Rock” or “Hair Metal”), or an artist’s designated sub-genre in this list (Eg. Why is Mortis alongside Black Metal artists?), try not to get too bogged down in that head-space. While some subgenre categorizations are a matter of fact (ie. Nirvana are definitely not Black Metal and Dragonforce are definitely not Hardcore Punk) its important to remember that subgenres are initially awkwardly built around groups of bands who kind of sound a bit alike, live a bit close to eachother or have one non-musical commonality between them and sometimes its not until years later that bands notice a subgenre exists and specifically try to play within that subgenre. For this reason some people disagree over whether Alice In Chains or Pearl Jam are Grunge or not.

Secondly subgenres are a matter of consensus. If enough informed and reasonable people agree upon something then it exists, even if you disagree just because you don’t enjoy it. Maybe it didn’t definitely exist when it first started getting mentioned, but over time enough bands started sounding that way and identifying as that subgenre and suddenly it does exist.

Thirdly, the lines between some subgenres are blurred and often bands are creative and diverse enough to fit into a subgenre on some songs, or parts of songs, but not others. For this reason some people disagree over whether Metal Church and Anvil are Thrash or not. At the end of the day, if more people associate a band with a particular subgenre or scene than don’t, and a lot of their music sounds like that subgenre, then arguing is going to be a waste of time.

If you have a suggestion for an album that this list is missing out on then feel free to send me a comment, I’m always interested in learning more.

Now; With all that explanation out of the way, keep a positive attitude and an open mind, and please enjoy this fan-made and non-for-profit, labour-of-love list of 1,000 albums that will help you understand Metal, or at least serve to give newcomers a starting-point with some recommendations:

Material Covered Includes: Early Rock, Psychedelic, Progressive Rock, Classic Rock, Heavy Metal, Glam, NWOBHM & Metal, Thrash Metal, Groove Metal , Death Metal, Technical-Death, Melodeath, Black Metal, Power Metal, Folk Metal, Symphonic Metal, Progressive Metal, Doom Metal, Sludge Metal, Metalcore, Deathcore, Djent

Punk , Hardcore , Grunge , Pop-Punk , Emo, The Wave, Stoner, Industrial , Nu Metal

The List:

Elvis Presley – Elvis Presley, 1956, Rock And Roll, USA

Chuck Berry – Chuck Berry Is On Top, 1959, Rock N Roll, USA

Little Richard – Here’s Little Richard, 1957, Rock N Roll, USA

Howlin’ Wolf – Moanin’ In The Moonlight, 1959, Blues, USA

Willie Dixon – I AM The Blues, 1970, Blues, USA

Bo Diddley – Go Bo Diddley, 1959, Rock And Roll, USA

Link Wray – Link Wray & The Wraymen, 1962, Rock And Roll, USA

Dick Dale – Surfer’s Choice, 1962, Surf, USA

Bob Dylan – Highway 61 Revisited, 1965, Mixed (With Folk & Rock) USA

The Yardbirds – Having A Rave Up With The Yardbirds, 1965, Rock, USA

The Sonics – Here Are The Sonics, 1965, Garage Rock, USA

The Troggs – From Nowhere – The Troggs, 1966, Classic Rock, UK

Steppenwolf – Steppenwolf, 1968, Classic Rock, Canada

The Kinks – Kinks, 1964, Classic Rock, UK

Buffalo Springfield – Buffalo Springfield Again, 1967, Mixed (With Classic Rock & Folk), USA

Gun – Race With The Devil, 1968, Classic Rock, UK

Spooky Tooth – Spooky Two, 1969, Classic Rock, UK

The Rolling Stones – Sticky Fingers, 1971, Classic Rock, UK

The Rolling Stones – Exile On Main St., 1972, Classic Rock, UK

David Bowie – The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars, 1972, Glam-Rock, UK

***

This music was important in the development of Metal, some of the most influential work on the first generation of Metal musicians came from this period. Many of these albums influenced or made careers for the journalists, producers, A&R men, equipment manufacturers and fans that directly and indirectly allowed Metal to develop in the way that it did . They helped to cement and legitimize the rock genre which would later spin off into the Psychedelic, Progressive Rock, Hard Rock and eventually Heavy Metal Rock-subgenres.

In addition to the fans at the time, such as Motörhead’s Lemmy or Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page, many musicians from later periods as diverse as AC/DC, Guns N Roses, Yes, Heart, Mountain, Soundgarden, Nirvana, Journey, Spineshank, Entombed, Clutch and Monster Magnet would take influence or cover songs from this pre-metal world. Due to its reputation and the media perpetuation of its quality and importance, fans from every generation will look back to this music and find inspiration.

This era of music has caused a definitive and long-lasting ripple effect on every subsequent generation of musicians. Bands both trying to sound like this, and trying not to sound like this have had direct and indirect impacts on the moulding and changing of various subgenres. Where would Grunge, Glam or Prog be without David Bowie?

Vocal styles, production techniques, equipment, and lyrical approaches from this era are constantly being used, emulated, revived (well, slightly differently or ironically), forgotten about or deliberately ignored and all this has a constant wave effect on the ongoing history of Rock music and its offspring Punk and Metal.

***

The Beatles – Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, 1967, Psychedelic, UK

The Beatles – The Beatles, 1968, Psychedelic, UK

The 13th Floor Elevators – The Psychedelic Sounds Of The 13th Floor Elevators, 1966, Psychedelic, USA

Big Brother And The Holding Company – Cheap Thrills, 1968, Psychedelic, USA

The Crazy World Of Arthur Brown – This Is The Crazy World Of Arthur Brown, 1968, Psychedelic, UK

Coven – Witchcraft Destroys Minds And Reaps Souls, 1969, Mixed (With Psychedelic & Classic Rock) UK

Sir Lord Baltimore – Kingdom Come, 1970, Mixed (With Psychedelic & Classic Rock) UK

Captain Beyond – Captain Beyond, 1972, Mixed (With Psychedelic & Classic Rock) UK

Blue Cheer – Vincebus Erputum, 1968, Mixed (With Psychedelic) USA

Iron Butterfly – In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida, 1968, Psychedelic, UK

Cream – Disraeli Gears, 1967, Psychedelic, UK

The Jimi Hendrix Experience – Are You Experienced, 1967, Mixed (With Classic Rock & Psychedelic) UK

The Jimi Hendrix Experience – Electric Ladyland, 1968, Mixed (With Classic Rock, Prog & Psychedelic) UK

The Velvet Underground & Nico – The Velvet Underground & Nico, 1967, Mixed (With Psychedelic) UK

The Doors – L.A. Woman, 1971, Mixed (With Psychedelic) UK

Frank Zappa – Freak Out, 1966, Mixed, USA

Frank Zappa – Hot Rats, 1969, Mixed, USA

Captain Beefheart – Trout Mask Replica, 1969, Mixed, USA

***

The Psychedelic movement’s importance on the world of Metal can be felt even today. Psychedelic lyrical themes including drug taking, insanity and dark fantasy have cropped up ever since their first popularization in the sixties and there is scarcely one subgenre which doesn’t have at least one band that takes the music in a Psychedelic direction. The popularity of this genre gave Progressive Rock a start, directly and indirectly, as fans of Psychedelic bands who started their own bands ended up playing Progressive Rock and also as Psychedelic bands taking things to the next level would themselves become Progressive Rock.

It also resulted in some of the first instances of screaming vocals, heavily distorted guitars and aggressively attacked drumkits (although the Jazz world had a hell of a lot of influence there too), which would go on to have a profound effect on the development of Metal and inspire musicians who liked this new sound to refine it and make whole songs or albums from these Metal-esque moments by Psychedelic bands.

The influence of Psychedelic music can also be found in a lot of Stoner Rock and Metal music, with a lot of effects loops, album covers and reverb choices being directly influenced by old 60s bands. Early Monster Magnet owes a huge debt to the Psychedelic Scene for example, as indeed does Kylesa. Compare them to the more straight forward Fu Manchu and Black Tusk from each of their respective scenes and see what a difference a Psychedelic influence makes even when you play everything else similarly. Even certain Black Metal bands take influence from psychadelic music of this era.

***

King Crimson – In The Court Of The Crimson King, 1969, Prog, UK

King Crimson – Larks’ Tongues In Aspic, 1973, Prog, UK

King Crimson – Red, 1974, Prog, UK

King Crimson – Three Of A Perfect Pair, 1984, Prog, UK

King Crimson – The Power To Believe, 2003, Mixed (With Prog & Metal) UK

ELP – Emerson, Lake & Palmer, 1970, Prog, UK

ELP – Brain Salad Surgery, 1973, Prog, UK

Genesis – Foxtrot, 1972, Prog, UK

Genesis – Selling England By The Pound, 1973, Prog, UK

Genesis – The Lamb Lies Down On Broadway, 1974, Prog, UK

Jethro Tull – Aqualung, 1971, Prog, UK

Jethro Tull – Thick As A Brick, 1972, Prog, UK

Jethro Tull – Broadsword & The Beast, 1982, Prog, UK

Pink Floyd – The Dark Side Of The Moon, 1973, Prog, UK

Pink Floyd – Wish You Were Here, 1974, Prog, UK

Pink Floyd – Animals, 1977, Prog, UK

Pink Floyd – The Wall, 1979, Prog, UK

Gentle Giant – Octopus, 1971, Prog, UK, Reviewed Here

Van Der Graaf Generator – Pawn Hearts, 1971, Prog, UK

Van Der Graaf Generator – Godbluff, 1975, Prog, UK

Flower Travelin Band – Satori, 1971, Prog, Japan

Rush – 2112, 1976, Prog, Canada

Rush – Hemispheres, 1978, Prog, Canada

Rush – Moving Pictures, 1981, Prog, Canada

Yes – The Yes Album, 1971, Prog, UK

Yes – Fragile, 1971, Prog, UK

Yes – Close To The Edge, 1972, Prog, UK

Yes – Relayer, 1974, Prog, UK

Camel – The Snow Goose, 1975, Prog, UK

Kansas – Leftoverture, 1976, Prog, USA

Hawkwind – Hall Of The Mountain Grill, 1974, Prog, UK

Aphrodite’s Child – 666, 1972, Prog, Greece

Marillion – Script For A Jester’s Tear, 1983, Prog, UK

Marillion – Misplaced Childhood, 1985, Prog, UK

IQ – The Wake, 1985, Prog, UK

Nick Drake – Bryter Layter, 1970, Mixed (With Prog & Folk) UK

Budgie – Budgie, 1971, Mixed (With Prog & Heavy Metal) UK

Budgie – Never Turn You Back On A Friend, 1973, Mixed (With Prog & Heavy Metal) UK

Budgie – Bandolier, 1975, Mixed (With Prog & Heavy Metal) UK

Budgie – Never Turn You Back On A Friend, 1973, Mixed (With Prog & Heavy Metal) UK

Uriah Heap – Look At Yourself, 1971, Mixed (Prog & Classic Rock) UK

Uriah Heap – Demons And Wizards, 1972, Mixed (Prog & Classic Rock) UK

Atomic Rooster – Death Walks Behind You, 1971, Mixed (Prog & Classic Rock) UK

Wishbone Ash – Argus, 1972, Mixed (Prog & Hard Rock) UK

Queen – Queen II, 1973, Mixed (With Classic Rock & Prog) UK

Queen – Queen II, 1974, Mixed (With Classic Rock & Prog) UK

Queen – Sheer Heart Attack, 1974, Mixed (With Classic Rock & Prog) UK

Queen – A Night At The Opera, 1975, Mixed (With Classic Rock & Prog) UK

Meat Loaf – Bat Out Of Hell, 1977, Mixed (With Classic Rock & Prog) USA

***

As well as having an obvious impact on the later movements like first-wave Progressive Metal; Progressive Rock, which was as much an attitude as an actual genre, had an impact on thousands of bands from all subsequent eras and scenes who wanted to take things in complex, sophisticated or artistic directions. It had an effect on the keyboard players who would play in certain Hair Metal and Power Metal bands, it had an effect on Black Metal musicians like Ishan who wanted to create grand orchestral work and it had an effect on many guitarists who would take inspiration from the unusual and difficult ways that Prog bands chose to play them.

Even the development and popularization of instruments like the Chapman Stick had a direct impact and influence on bands like Scale The Summit.

Furthermore; as with what happened with Psychedelic music, Prog bands experimented with all sorts of sounds, and tracks like King Crimson’s ‘Larks Tongues In Aspic Part 2′ and Genesis’ ‘Dancing With The Moonlit Knight,’ as well as ELP’s ‘Knife Edge,’ Van Der Graaf Generator’s ‘Arrow’ and Jethro Tull’s ‘Aqualung’ contained some of the heaviest music ever written at the time. Flower Travelin Band were particularly metallic. The first Genesis album had drumming on it that actually resembles the Blast Beat and their fourth album contains some of the earliest recorded examples of guitar tapping.

The development of the rock opera and concept album had an influence on Progressive Metal bands as well as other bands who later would write concept albums without identifying as being Progressive bands, including Fear Factory and Marilyn Manson.

Two of Metal’s most important and influential bands ever; Iron Maiden and Judas Priest became inspired to play because of Prog bands, and some of their early work shares sonic similarities with the likes of Rush (Maiden’s ‘Prodigal Son,’ Saxon’s ‘Rainbow Theme’) and Pink Floyd (Priest’s ‘Run Of The Mill’). The guitar influence of Wishbone Ash similarly cannot be overstated.

Numerous musicians, including Ozzy Osbourne, Forbidden and Between The Buried And Me have covered King Crimson. Iron Maiden as well as the Alternative/Stoner band Clutch and the Hair Metal band W.A.S.P have covered Jethro Tull, Mushroomhead have covered Pink Floyd and Extreme Metal band Opeth took a large influence from Camel to the point where their track ‘Benighted’ bares an almost cover-like resemblance to Camel’s ‘Never Let Go.’

Uriah Heap have been covered by Gamma Ray and W.A.S.P.

The popularity and perceived extremes of Prog also paved the way for the reactionary simple and honest music of Punk. Without Prog there would be no reason for much Punk music to have been made and also a less valid chance of it gaining the same level of popularity that it did.

Furthermore, the non-muscial influence of Progressive Rock on Metal is again noteworthy. Progressive Rock musicians such as Gentle Giant’s Derick Shulman went on to form or work for important Record Labels in the history and development of Metal.

***

Led Zeppelin – Led Zeppelin, 1969, Classic Rock, UK

Led Zeppelin – Led Zeppelin II, 1969, Classic Rock, UK

Led Zeppelin – Led Zepp IV, 1971, Classic Rock, UK

Deep Purple – In Rock, 1970, Classic Rock, UK, Reviewed Here

Deep Purple – Machine Head, 1971, Classic Rock, UK, Reviewed Here

Deep Purple – Burn, 1974, Classic Rock, UK, Reviewed Here

Deep Purple – Purpendicular, 1996, Classic Rock, UK, Reviewed Here

Free – Fire & Water, 1970, Classic Rock, UK

The Who – My Generation, 1965, Classic Rock, UK

The Who – Tommy, 1969, Mixed (With Classic Rock) UK

The Who – Who’s Next, 1971, Mixed (With Classic Rock) UK

Kiss – Kiss, 1974, Classic Rock, USA

Kiss – Destroyer, 1976, Classic Rock, USA

Kiss – Creatures Of The Night, 1982, Heavy Metal, USA

Kiss – Revenge, 1992, Classic Rock, USA

Kiss – Sonic Boom, 2009, Classic Rock, USA, Reviewed Here

Heart – Dreamboat Annie, 1976, Classic Rock, USA, Reviewed Here

Heart – Little Queen, 1977, Classic Rock, USA, Reviewed Here

Grand Funk Railroad – Closer To Home, 1970, Classic Rock, USA

Grand Funk Railroad – E Pluribus Funk, 1971, Classic Rock, USA

Grand Funk Railroad – We’re An American Band, 1973, Classic Rock, USA

T. Rex – Electric Warrior, 1973, Classic Rock, UK

The Sweet – Sweet Fanny Adams, 1974, Classic Rock, UK

Bad Company – Bad Company, 1974, Classic Rock, UK

The Sweet – Desolation Boulevard, 1974, Classic Rock, UK

Cheap Trick – In Color, 1977, Classic Rock, USA

Thin Lizzy – Jailbreak, 1976, Classic Rock, UK

Thin Lizzy – Black Rose, 1979, Classic Rock, UK

Thin Lizzy – Thunder & Lightning, 1983, Heavy Metal, UK

Ted Nugent – Cat Scratch Fever, 1977, Hard Rock, USA

Lucifer’s Friend – Lucifer’s Friend, 1970, Classic Rock, Germany

Night Sun – Mournin’, 1972, Classic Rock, Germany

Black Widow – Sacrifice, 1970, Classic Rock (with Prog), UK

Iron Claw – Dismorphophobia, 1970, Classic Rock, UK

Zior – Zior, 1971, Classic Rock, UK

Dust – Hard Attack, 1972, Classic Rock, USA

Foghat – Foghat, 1972, Classic Rock, UK

Alice Cooper – Killer, 1971, Classic Rock, USA

Alice Cooper – School’s Out, 1972, Classic Rock, USA

Alice Cooper – Billion Dollar Babies, 1973, Classic Rock, USA

Alice Cooper – Welcome To My Nightmare, 1975, Classic Rock, USA

Alice Cooper – Trash, 1989, Mixed (With Classic Rock, Heavy Metal & Glam) USA

Alice Cooper – Hey Stoopid, 1991, Mixed (With Classic Rock, Heavy Metal & Glam) USA

***

The ‘Classic’ and Hard Rock world is arguably the most direct and important period in the development of Heavy Metal, it was for the heavier moments in these band’s repertoires that the phrase Heavy Metal even became popularized in the first place, and a large proportion of people still call these bands Heavy Metal bands today, even if it is actually only part of their overall sound (they would often dedicate over half their albums to Folk or Blues or Progressive Rock songs).

Thrash bands like Nuclear Assault and Megadeth covered Led Zeppelin, and so do the unique Progressive band Tool. Anthrax, Megadeth, Death Angel and many others from the world of Thrash covered Kiss, as well as bands as diverse as Nirvana (even if sarcastically), Robot Lords Of Tokyo, Skid Row etc

Deep Purple’s In Rock was spectacularly heavy for its time and their track ‘Smoke On The Water’ from Machine Head is one of the most famous guitar riffs of all time, it has been performed live by Rainbow, Gillan and even Black Sabbath. The song has been covered by Power Metal band Metallium, the Thrash band Sepultura and even by Iron Maiden.

Alice Cooper and Thin Lizzy influenced and were covered by bands as diverse as Anthrax, Megadeth, Guns N Roses, Bon Jovie, Poison, Krokus, Sevendust, Everclear, Mastodon, Grave Digger and Six Feet Under.

Thin Lizzy’s guitar sound and often vocal patterns too were hugely influential on NWOBHM bands, and its hard to listening to deep cuts from bands like early Saxon, Tygers Of Pan Tang, Diamond Head, Samson etc. and not hear Thin Lizzy’s ghost. Thin Lizzy’s music has been covered by the likes of Thrash bands Anthrax, Megadeth, Sodom, The Accüsed… Power Metal bands Helloween, Gamma Ray, Primal Fear, Running Wild… Death Metal bands Vader, Six Feet Under… Alternative bands Smashing Pumpkins, Everclear, Rollins Band, Ash… Emo band Funeral For A Friend… Rock bands Bon Jovi, Blue Murder, Gun, Def Leppard, The Replacments, Pretty Maids… Hardcore band Hellnation… Folk Metal band Skyclad…. Prog Metal band Mastodon… Symphonic Metal band Therion… Stoner Rock band Fu Manchu and many more. Their reach is undeniable.

Queen have been covered by Robert Plant, Warrant, Poison, Extreme, Def Leppard, W.A.S.P, Guns N’ Roses, Scorpions, Yngwie J. Malmsteen, Raven, Queensrÿche, Metallica, Anthrax, Testament, Helloween, Blind Guardian, Nine Inch Nails, Between The Buried And Me, Shinedown, Mr. Bungle, Foo Fighters and more.

Grand Funk Railroad have been covered by Monster Magnet, Helloween, Bon Jovie & Poison.

The work of these bands is a constant feature in guitar magazines, lists of most-important-albums, Guitar Hero games, film soundtracks, covers played in pubs by unsigned bands and is also a permanent fixture on classic rock radio.

***

ZZ Top – Tres Hombres, 1983, Southern Rock, USA

ZZ Top – Eliminator, 1983, Mixed (With Southern Rock) USA

Lynyrd Skynyrd – (Pronounced ‘lĕh-‘nérd ‘skin-‘nérd) 1973, Southern Rock, USA

Lynyrd Skynyrd – Second Helping, 1974, Southern Rock, USA

Blackfoot – Strikes, 1979, Southern Rock, USA Reviewed Here

The Outlaws – Ghost Riders, 1980, Southern Rock, USA

Molly Hatchet – Flirtin’ With Disaster, 1979, Southern Rock, USA

.38 Special – Wild Eyed Southern Boys, 1981, Southern Rock, USA

The Allman Brothers Band – Brothers & Sisters, 1973, Southern Rock, USA

Gov’t Mule – Gov’t Mule, 1995, Southern Rock, USA

***

Southern Rock has an impact on Metal in several ways. Firstly, the success of Lynyrd Skynyrd and their influence on guitarists is equal to that of bands like Queen, Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple and Black Sabbath. Secondly, the genre’s impact can be felt in the world of Sludge Metal, where bands like Acid Bath, Baroness, Black Tusk and others owe a large part of their sound to their Southern roots.

Pantera and the bands that Pantera inspired owe a large part of their sound to the Southern Rock movement, and bands like Drive By Truckers, Blackstone Cherry and Halfway To Gone mix contemporary music with Southern Rock to create their own sounds. Anyone who have their music described as southern-fried in magazines (even the Nu Metal band Soil) often owes part of their sound to the southern scene.

Its impact can also be felt in unexpected sources, such as Coheed And Cambria (who have covered ZZ Top and made known their love of Gov’t Mule) and Metallica (who have covered Lynyrd Skynyrd) as well as Corrosion Of Conformity’s and Ozzy Osbourne’s guitarists Pepper Keenan and Zack Wylde, who took strong musical influence from it.

Alambama Thunderpussy, Weedeater, Black Label Society, Coheed And Cambria, Metallica, Armoured Saint, Tesla, Shinedown, Deftones, The Hellacopters and more have covered Lynyrd Skynyrd.

Firewind & Warrant have covered Blackfoot. Nashville Pussy have covered Molly Hatchet. ZZ Top have been covered by Motorhead, Van Halen, Coheed And Cambria, Mastodon, Kid Rock, Queens of the Stone Age, Girlschool, Tygers of Pan Tang, Iron Maiden and more.

***

Black Sabbath – Black Sabbath, 1970, Classic Rock, UK

Black Sabbath – Paranoid, 1970, Classic Rock, UK

Black Sabbath – Master Of Reality, 1971, Classic Rock, UK

Black Sabbath – Heaven And Hell, 1980, Mixed (With Classic Rock & Heavy Metal) UK

Black Sabbath – Headless Cross, 1989, Mixed (With Classic Rock & Heavy Metal) UK

Black Sabbath – 13, 2013, Mixed (With Classic Rock & Heavy Metal) UK, Reviewed Here

Rainbow – Rising, 1986, Mixed (With Classic Rock & Heavy Metal) UK

Rainbow – Long Live Rock N Roll, 1978, Mixed (With Classic Rock & Heavy Metal) UK

Dio – Holy Diver, 1983, Heavy Metal, USA, Reviewed Here

Dio – The Last In Line, 1984, Heavy Metal, USA, Reviewed Here

Heaven & Hell – The Devil You Know, 2009, Heavy Metal, UK

Ozzy Osbourne – Blizzard Of Ozz, 1980, Heavy Metal, UK, Reviewed Here

Ozzy Osbourne – Diary Of A Madman, 1981, Heavy Metal, UK, Reviewed Here

Ozzy Osbourne – No More Tears, 1991, Heavy Metal, UK, Reviewed Here

AC/DC – Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap, 1976, Classic Rock, Australia

AC/DC – Highway To Hell, 1979, Classic Rock, Australia

AC/DC – Back In Black, 1980, Classic Rock, Australia

Blue Öyster Cult – Agents Of Fortune, 1976, Mixed (With Heavy Metal & Classic Rock) USA

Blue Öyster Cult – Cultösaurus Erectus, 1980, Mixed (With Heavy Metal & Classic Rock) USA

Blue Öyster Cult – Fire Of Unknown Origin, 1981, Mixed (With Heavy Metal & Classic Rock) USA

UFO – No Heavy Petting, 1976, Hard Rock, UK

UFO – Lights Out, 1977, Hard Rock, UK

UFO – Obsession, 1978, Hard Rock, UK

Scorpions – Virgin Killer, 1976, Hard Rock, Germany

Scorpions – Taken By Force, 1977, Hard Rock, Germany

Scorpions – Love Drive, 1979, Hard Rock, Germany

Scorpions – Blackout, 1982, Hard Rock, Germany

Scorpions – Love At First Sting, 1984, Hard Rock, Germany

Boston – Boston, 1976, Hard Rock, USA

Styx – The Grand Illusion, 1977, Mixed (with Hard Rock and Prog) USA

Journey – Escape, 1981, Hard Rock, USA

Michael Shenker Group – MSG, 1981, Hard Rock, Germany

Yngwie Malmsteen – Rising Force, 1984, NeoClassical, Sweden

Yngwie Malmsteen – Trilogy, 1986, NeoClassical, Sweden

Joe Satriani – Surfing With The Alien, 1987, Mixed (With Hard Rock), USA

Steve Vai – Passion And Warfare, 1990, Mixed (With Hard Rock), USA

The Cult – Electric, 1987, Mixed (With Hard Rock), USA

The Cult – Sonic Temple, 1989, Mixed (With Hard Rock), USA

Montrose – Montrose, 1973, Hard Rock, USA

Van Halen – Van Halen, 1978, Mixed (With Classic Rock) USA

Van Halen – Fair Warning, 1981, Mixed (With Classic Rock) USA

Van Halen – 1984, 1984, Mixed (With Classic Rock, Heavy Metal & Glam) USA

Van Halen – 5150, 1986, Mixed (With Classic Rock, Heavy Metal & Glam) USA

Y&T – Black Tiger, 1982, Hard Rock, USA

Krokus – Metal Rendez-Vous, 1980, Hard Rock, Switzerland

***

The first wave of very hard rock and actual Heavy Metal’s influence on Metal should be obvious. As with Classic Rock, a great deal of what Metal is was defined by this period and this is responsible for so much of the vocal styles, lyrical themes, guitar and drum techniques and the favoured production styles and tonal choices of almost every subsequent generation of Metal musicians.

This is the absolute foundation of Metal. Make this music faster and it becomes Speed Metal, make it both faster and heavier and it becomes Thrash Metal, add a lot of harmonies and melody and it can become Power Metal or Glam Metal depending on how you handle it. Add extra instruments to it and it can become Folk Metal or Symphonic Metal, and moving away from its sound or structure into other musical territories can result in Prog Metal or Nu Metal depending on how its handled. Rapping or Yodeling? Dj Scratches or Fiddles?

Stoner bands have covered Blue Öyster Cult, Metalcore bands have covered Dio, bands from Anthrax to Fozzy to Dream Theater have taken inspiration from Journey and Testament have covered Scorpions.

AC/DC have been covered by Exodus, Onslaught, Annihilator, Anthrax, Trust, Mutiny Within, Iced Earth, Grave Digger, Six Feet Under, Wolf, Omen, Bullet For My Valentine, Living Colour, Kid Rock, Refused, Hinder, Ugly Kid Joe, The Dwarves, The Atomic Bitchwax, Crippled Black Phoenix, W.A.S.P, Guns N’ Roses, Twisted Sister, Quiet Riot, Warrant, La Guns, Great White, Night Ranger, Godflesh, Marilyn Manson, Frankenstein Drag Queens From Planet 13, Dropkick Murphies, Dayglo Abortions, Flipper and more.

Black Sabbath are credited with the invention of Heavy Metal, their influence can be felt all over the Rock, Punk and Metal spectrum, and with individual tracks the band have even spawned entire subgenres. For example ‘Symptom Of The Universe’ contains all the key ingredients for Thrash Metal and it was covered by the Thrash Band Sepultura (as well as the Stoner band Orange Goblin and the Alternative Metal band Helmet).

Furthermore the trio of ‘Sweet Leaf,’ ‘Electric Funeral’ and ‘Into The Void’ collectively contain the key ingredients to the Stoner sound and the Doom sound, and have been resemble-to-the-point-of-covered by Sleep as well actually covered by the Stoner bands Kyuss, Monster Magnet & Orange Goblin, as well as the the Groove Metal band Pantera, the Thrash bands Sacred Reich and Exhorder, the Nu Metal band Godsmack, the Alternative/Grunge/Sludge band The Melvins, the Power Metal band Iced Earth and even Ugly Kid Joe)

If you want to be pedantic you could even argue that ‘Supertzar’ almost planted the seeds for Symphonic Metal, after a fashion.

***

Aerosmith – Toys In The Attic, 1975, Mixed (With Classic Rock & Glam) USA

Aerosmith – Pump, 1989, Mixed (Hard Rock & Glam) USA

Kix – Kix, 1981, Mixed (With Classic Rock, Heavy Metal & Glam) Australia

Def Leppard – Pyromania, 1983, Mixed (With Heavy Metal & Glam) UK

Def Leppard – Hysteria, 1987, Mixed (With Heavy Metal & Glam) UK

Whitesnake – Love Hunter, 1979, Mixed (With Classic Rock & Heavy Metal) UK

Whitesnake – Whitesnake, 1987, Mixed (With Heavy Metal & Glam) UK

Quiet Riot – Metal Health, 1983, Mixed (With Classic Rock & Glam) USA

Twisted Sister – Under The Blade, 1982, Glam, USA

Twisted Sister – Stay Hungry, 1984, Mixed (With Glam & Heavy Metal), USA

Hanoi Rocks – Two Steps From The Move, 1984, Mixed (With Glam & Punk & Heavy Metal), Finland

Motley Crüe – Shout At The Devil, 1983, Mixed (With Glam & Heavy Metal), USA

Motley Crüe – Dr. Feelgood, 1989, Mixed (With Glam & Heavy Metal) USA

Motley Crüe – Motley Crüe, 1994, Mixed (With Glam & Heavy Metal) USA

Dokken – Tooth And Nail, 1985, Mixed (With Glam & Heavy Metal) USA

Ratt – Invasion Of Your Privacy, 1985, Glam, USA

Stryper – To Hell With The Devil, 1986, Glam, USA

Great White – Once Bitten, 1987, Mixed (With Glam & Pop) USA

Great White – …Twice Shy, 1989, Glam, USA

White Lion – Pride, 1987, Mixed (With Glam & Pop) USA

Warrant – Cherry Pie, 1990, Glam, USA

Poison – Look What The Cat Dragged In, 1986, Mixed (With Glam & Pop) USA

Poison – Open Up And Say …Ahhh!, 1988, Mixed (With Glam & Pop) USA

Cinderella – Night Songs, 1987, Mixed (With Glam & Pop) USA

Europe – The Final Countdown, 1986, Mixed (With Glam & Pop) USA

Bon Jovi – Slippery When Wet, 1986, Mixed (With Glam & Pop) USA

Bon Jovi – New Jersey, 1988, Mixed (With Glam & Pop) USA

Skid Row – Skid Row, 1989, Mixed (With Glam, Hard Rock & Heavy Metal) USA

Skid Row – Slave To The Grind, 1991, Mixed (With Glam, Hard Rock & Heavy Metal) USA

Guns N Roses – Appetite For Destruction, 1987, Mixed (With Glam, Hard Rock & Heavy Metal) USA

Guns N Roses – Use Your Illusion 1, 1991, Mixed (With Glam, Hard Rock & Heavy Metal) USA

W.A.S.P – W.A.S.P, 1984, Heavy Metal, USA, Reviewed Here

W.A.S.P – The Last Command, 1985, Heavy Metal, USA

W.A.S.P – The Crimson Idol, 1992, Heavy Metal, USA, Reviewed Here

Georgia Satellites – Georgia Satellites , 1986, Mixed (With Glam and Southern Rock) USA

Dangerous Toys – Dangerous Toys, 1989, Mixed (With Glam and Southern Rock) USA

Slaughter – Stick It To Ya, 1990, Mixed (With Glam and Heavy Metal) USA

Tesla – Mechanical Resistance, 1984, Mixed (With Glam and Heavy Metal) UK

Thunder – Backstreet Symphony, 1990, Mixed (With Glam and Heavy Metal) UK

Lita Ford – Lita, 1988, Mixed (With Glam, Pop and Heavy Metal) USA

The Darkness – Permission To Land, 2003, Mixed (With Glam & Hard Rock) UK

Steel Panther – Feel The Steel, 2009, Mixed (With Glam & Hard Rock) UK

***

A lot of the early work of Hair Metal bands, such as ‘Burn In Hell’ by Twisted Sister, or Dokken’s ‘Bullets To Spare’ was very similar to traditional Heavy Metal; before the more keyboard, ballad and production-job focused wave of Glam Bands became popular. This may go some way to explain why the earlier bands got called Metal, while the later bands got called Glam, Gypsy Rock or other related terms. Many members of the American public often confuse the most accessible pop-side of the Glam movement with all Metal, which explains why Grunge and Prog musicians mistook Metal as a simplistic genre for so long.

While some Metal purists may overlook the entire genre because of what hit-obsessed record company executives turned the genre into when bands mixed Glam with Pop music, its important to remember that there are songs by bands like W.A.S.P and even Ratt that sound almost indistinguishable from traditional Heavy Metal in the tradition of Sabbath, Priest and Maiden (If you haven’t heard any such Metallic Hair Metal, click here). Even when they weren’t that heavy, they were often at a level of heaviness similar to 70s Hard Rock acts like Areosmith and Kiss.

The commercial impact of Hair Metal drew numerous new fans into becoming Rock and even Metal fans, and had an impact on existing bands who took elements of the Hair Metal sound into their own sound. Judas Priest famously took influence from Hair Metal lyrical themes and synth sounds to a massive hysterical critical and fan backlash and Rainbow, Def Leppard and Whitesnake all incorporated parts of it.

Conversely, In reaction to the melodic and poppier sound of Hair Metal, many Metal bands (especially Thrash bands) were inspired to become even faster, heavier and darker than they already were.

Furthermore, like Prog’s impact on Punk, Hair Metal’s popularity and perceived excess also had a direct impact on the formation and popularity of the reactionary Grunge and Stoner Rock genres (two sides of the return-to-Classic-Rock-and-Metal’s-Spirit idea, which saw bands back-pedalling away from Hair Metal and starting bands with a sound and spirit more akin to the Zeppelins and Sabbaths of the 70s).

Hair Metal bands were influenced from a variety of different sources. AC/DC, David Bowie, The Rolling Stones, Aerosmith, Alice Cooper and Queen seem to be the most prevalent, although Pop, Prog Rock and Southern Rock bands also crept in there.

Dokken covered ELP, The Beatles and the Yardbirds, members of them have played on Iron Maiden and Rush tribute albums. Ratt have covered Creedence Clearwater Revival. Cinderella have covered Janis Joplin and Scorpions. W.A.S.P have covered Ray Charles, Jethro Tull, Mountain, Deep Purple, Humble Pie, Uriah Heap, Chuck Berry, The Who, Elton John, Queen and more. Hanoi Rocks have covered The Stooges, Creedence Clearwater Revival and Hall & Oats. Warrant have covered AC/DC, Nazareth, Blackfoot, Areosmith, Queen. Def Leppard have covered ELO, T-Rex, Sweet, Jeff Beck, Thin Lizzy, David Bowie, Alice Cooper, Mott The Hoople, Badfinger, Engelbert Humperdinck, Rod Stewart, Roxy Music, The Kink and The Rolling Stones. L.A. Guns have covered Donovan, AC/DC, David Bowie, Aerosmith and Queen. Mötley Crüe have covered Elivs, Sex Pistols, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Raspberries and The Tubes. Extreme have covered The Beatles, Wild Cherry, Queen and Kiss. Great White have covered Humble Pie, Ray Charles, Jimi Hendrix, Badfinger, Robin Trower, Led Zeppelin, X, Free, Jefferson Airplane, The Who, Bob Dylan, Savoy Brown. Tesla have covered Peter Frampton, Traffic, Creedence Clearwater Revival, The Who, Bad Company, Aerosmith, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Montrose, The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, and Jeff Beck. Enuff Z’Nuff covered Cheap Trick, John Lennon, The Beatles, David Bowie, Queen and David Lee Roth. Mr. Big have covered Cat Stevens, Free, Deep Purple, David Bowie and The Who. Britny Fox have covered Nazareth and Slade. Stryper have covered Judas Priest, Kansas, Scorpions, Black Sabbath, Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, UFO, Van Halen, Ozzy, Boston, Sweet, Kiss, Iron Maiden and Earth Wind & Fire. Lita Ford covered Alice Cooper, Monstrose and Generation X.

Even though a vocal minority of purists would like to delete the Hair Metal chapter from Metal’s History, it is there, and it did influence everything which came after it in one way or another. For an example of the influence of Hair Metal; the music of Mötley Crüe has been covered by bands as diverse as Refused, Cataract, Between The Buried And Me, Six Feet Under, Fozzy, Static X and Holywood Undead, and the music of Twisted Sister has been covered by Dimmu Borgir, Anthrax, Six Feet Under, Vision Of Disorder, Cradle Of Filth, Nashville Pussy, Fozzy and Hammerfall.

W.A.S.P songs have been covered by Children Of Bodom, Nightwish & Fozzy. Shadows Fall have covered Dangerous Toys. Whitesnake have been covered by Jorn, Static X and Tarja. Lita Ford has been covered by Device and Reel Big Fish. Enuff Z’Nuff have been covered by The Wildhearts.

***

Motörhead – Overkill, 1979, Mixed (With Heavy Metal), UK

Motörhead – Ace Of Spades, 1980, Mixed (With Heavy Metal) UK

Motörhead – Orgasmatron, 1986, Mixed (With Heavy Metal) UK

Motörhead – Inferno, 2004, Mixed (With Heavy Metal) UK

Saxon – Wheels Of Steel, 1980, Heavy Metal (NWOBHM), UK

Saxon – Denim & Leather, 1981, Heavy Metal (NWOBHM), UK

Saxon – Crusader, 1984, Heavy Metal (NWOBHM), UK

Saxon – Solid Ball Of Rock, 1991, Heavy Metal, UK

Diamond Head – Lightning To The Nations, 1980, Heavy Metal (NWOBHM), UK

Quartz – Quartz, 1977, Heavy Metal (NWOBHM), UK

Praying Mantis – Time Tells No Lies, 1981, Heavy Metal (NWOBHM), UK

Tygers Of Pan Tang – Wild Cat , 1980, Heavy Metal (NWOBHM), UK

Def Leppard – On Through The Night, 1980, Heavy Metal (NWOBHM), UK

Raven – Rock Until You Drop, 1981, Heavy Metal (NWOBHM), UK

Angel Witch – Angel Witch, 1980, Heavy Metal (NWOBHM), UK

Witchfynde – Give ’em Hell, 1980, Heavy Metal (NWOBHM), UK

Holocaust – The Nightcomers, 1981, Heavy Metal (NWOBHM), UK

Tank – Filth Hounds Of Hades, 1982, Heavy Metal (NWOBHM), UK

Girlschool – Demolition, 1980, Heavy Metal (NWOBHM), UK

Samson – Head On, 1980, Heavy Metal (NWOBHM), UK

Iron Maiden – Iron Maiden, 1980, Heavy Metal (NWOBHM), UK

Iron Maiden – Killers, 1981, Heavy Metal (NWOBHM), UK

Iron Maiden – The Number Of The Beast, 1982, Heavy Metal, UK

Iron Maiden – Piece Of Mind, 1983, Heavy Metal, UK

Iron Maiden – Powerslave, 1984, Heavy Metal, UK

Iron Maiden – Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son, 1988, Mixed (With Heavy Metal & Prog) UK

Iron Maiden – Brave New World, 2000, Mixed (With Heavy Metal & Prog) UK

Bruce Dickinson – Chemical Wedding, 1998, Mixed (With Heavy Metal & Prog) UK

Judas Priest – Sad Wings Of Destiny, 1976, Mixed (With Heavy Metal & Prog) UK, Reviewed Here

Judas Priest – British Steel, 1980, Heavy Metal, UK, Reviewed Here

Judas Priest – Screaming For Vengeance, 1982, Heavy Metal, UK, Reviewed Here

Judas Priest – Painkiller, 1990, Mixed (With Heavy Metal & Thrash) UK, Reviewed Here

Accept – Restless & Wild, 1982, Heavy Metal, Germany

Accept – Balls To The Wall, 1983, Heavy Metal, Germany

Accept – Metal Heart, 1985, Heavy Metal, Germany

Accept – Blood Of The Nations, 2010, Heavy Metal, Germany, Reviewed Here

Riot – Fire Down Under, 1983, Heavy Metal, USA

Riot – Thundersteel, 1988, Heavy Metal, USA

Manilla Road – Crystal Logic, 1983, Heavy Metal, USA

Exciter – Violence & Force, 1984, Mixed (With Heavy Metal & Thrash) Canada

Anvil – Metal On Metal, 1982, Mixed (With Heavy Metal & Thrash) Canada

Anvil – Forged In Fire, 1983, Mixed (With Heavy Metal & Thrash) Canada

Anvil – Juggernaut Of Justice, 2011, Heavy Metal, Canada

Metal Church – Metal Church, 1984, Mixed (With Heavy Metal & Thrash) USA

Metal Church – The Dark, 1986, Mixed (With Heavy Metal & Thrash) USA

Wolfsbane – Live Fast Die Fast, 1989, Heavy Metal, USA

Armored Saint – Symbol Of Salvation, 1991, Mixed (With Heavy Metal & Thrash) USA

Jag Panzer – Ample Destruction, 1984, Heavy Metal, USA

Omen – Battle Cry, 1984, Heavy Metal, USA

Storm Witch – The Beauty And The Beast, 1987, Heavy Metal, Germany

Running Wild – Under Jolly Roger, 1987, Heavy Metal, Germany

Running Wild – Port Royal, 1989, Heavy Metal, Germany

Running Wild – Death Or Glory, 1989, Heavy Metal, Germany

Rage – Reign Of Fear, 1986, Heavy Metal, Germany

Rage – Perfect Man, 1988, Heavy Metal, Germany

Helstar – Nosferatu, 1989, Heavy Metal, USA

Cacophony – Speed Metal Symphony, 1987, Heavy Metal, Germany

Venom – Welcome To Hell, 1981, Heavy Metal, UK

Venom – Black Metal, 1982, Heavy Metal, UK

Venom – At War With Satan, 1984, Heavy Metal, UK

Mercyful Fate – Melissa, 1983, Heavy Metal, Denmark

Mercyful Fate – Don’t Break The Oath, 1984, Heavy Metal, Denmark

King Diamond – Abigail, 1987, Heavy Metal, Denmark

King Diamond – Them, 1988, Heavy Metal, Denmark

***

NWOBHM and other Heavy Metal from the same time by non-British bands was incredibly important in the development of Thrash Metal, Power Metal and even Black and Death Metal. Some bands, like Motörhead and Iron Maiden became some of the most important, influential and iconic bands in the history of Metal, but some like Diamond Head, Angel Witch and Tygers Of Pan Tang are more famous today for their influence on bands like Metallica. Bands like Angel Witch and especially Venom were particularly influential on Thrash Metal and later various Extreme Metal styles.

Some music by bands like Tygers Of Pan Tang and Saxon can sound more like Thin Lizzy than Metallica so its always interesting to listen to the broad and diverse Spectrum of NWOBHM bands. Just as the basis of bands in the Grunge movement varied from Punk to Hardcore to Noise to Classic Rock to Heavy Metal to Hair Metal, often two NWOBHM artists would sounds vastly different, one with a softer Rock sound, one more Progressive Rock influenced, and another sounding almost like Thrash, Black or Power Metal at times.

In recent years there has come to be a New Wave Of Traditional Heavy Metal sub-subgenre in which artist seek to replicate the sound, spirit and ideals of this era of music (more so than Stoner Rock and Power Metal already did in their own ways). Bands like White Wizzard, Cauldron, Enforcer, Holy Grail, Wolf, Ram, Steelwing and countless others can fall into this category. However since the time has passed, there is often little to distinguish some artists from fitting into another subgenre such as Stoner Metal (in the case of The Sword, Blood Ceremony and Grand Magus) Folk Metal (in the case of Slough Feg) or Power Metal (in the majority of borderline cases and bands with names derived from Judas Priest lyrics). Some artists can toe the line between NWOTHM and Thrash Revival, they are reviving an old school sound from the eighties but can’t help mixing in some of their other influences.

Sometimes reviving sounds from the early 80s isn’t enough to actually designate a band as either NWOTHM however. Some Metalcore bands such as Bullet For My Valentine and Shadows Fall sometimes intend to come across as a revival of Thrash or Trad Metal but their choice of production styles and choruses separate them from the generally agreed upon Thrash Revival or NWOTHM sound.

In any case, none of these later bands would sound anything like they do without the NWOBHM and Traditional Heavy Metal bands of the late seventies to mid-eighties.

***

Metallica – Kill ‘Em All, 1983, Thrash, USA

Metallica – Ride The Lightning, 1984, Thrash, USA

Metallica – Master Of Puppets, 1986, Thrash, USA

Metallica – …And Justice For All, 1988, Thrash, USA

Metallica – Metallica, 1991, Mixed (With Thrash & Hard Rock) USA

Megadeth – Peace Sells… But Who’s Buying?, 1986, Thrash, USA

Megadeth – Rust In Peace, 1990, Thrash, USA

Megadeth – Countdown To Extinction, 1992, Mixed (With Thrash & Hard Rock) USA

Megadeth – Endgame, 2009, Thrash, USA, Reviewed Here

Anthrax – Fistful Of Metal, 1983, Thrash, USA

Anthrax – Among The Living, 1987, Thrash, USA

Anthrax – The Sound Of White Noise, 1991, (Mixed with Thrash & Hard Rock) USA

Slayer – Show No Mercy, 1983, Thrash, USA

Slayer – Hell Awaits, 1985, Thrash, USA

Slayer – Reign In Blood, 1986, Thrash, USA

Slayer – South Of Heaven, 1988, Thrash, USA

Slayer – Seasons In The Abyss, 1990, Thrash, USA

Onslaught – The Force, 1986, Thrash, UK

Exodus – Bonded By Blood, 1985, Thrash, USA, Reviewed Here

Exodus – Fabulous Disaster, 1989, Thrash, USA, Reviewed Here

Exodus – Tempo Of The Damned, 2004, Thrash, USA, Reviewed Here

Exodus – The Atrocity Exhibition Exhibit A, 2007, Thrash, USA, Reviewed Here

Testament – The Legacy, 1987, Thrash, USA, Reviewed Here

Testament – Practice What You Preach, 1989, Thrash, USA, Reviewed Here

Testament – The Gathering, 1999, Thrash, USA

Overkill – Taking Over, 1987, Thrash, USA

Overkill – The Years Of Decay, 1989, Thrash, USA

Overkill – Horrorscope, 1991, Thrash, USA

Overkill – Iron Bound, 2010, Thrash, USA, Reviewed Here

Nuclear Assault – Survive, 1988, Thrash, USA, Reviewed Here

Nuclear Assault – Handle With Care, 1989, Thrash, USA, Reviewed Here

Sacred Reich – The American Way, 1990, Thrash, USA

Dark Angel – Darkness Descends, 1986, Thrash, USA

Forbidden – Forbidden Evil, 1988, Thrash, USA, Reviewed Here

Death Angel – The Ultra-Violence, 1987, Thrash, USA

Death Angel – Act III, 1990, Thrash, USA, Reviewed Here

Vio-lence – Eternal Nightmare, 1988, Thrash, USA, Reviewed Here

Flotsam & Jetsam – Doomsday & The Deceiver, 1986, Thrash, USA

Flotsam & Jetsam – No Place For Disgrace, 1988, Thrash, USA

Lääz Rockit – Know Your Enemy, 1987, Thrash, USA

Sepultura – Beneath The Remains, 1989, Thrash, Brazil

Sepultura – Arise, 1993, Thrash, Brazil

Kreator – Pleasure To Kill, 1986, Thrash, Germany, Reviewed Here

Kreator – Extreme Aggression, 1989, Thrash, Germany, Reviewed Here

Kreator – Hordes Of Chaos, 2009, Thrash, Germany, Reviewed Here

Sodom – Obsessed By Cruelty, 1986, Mixed (Thrash Metal & Black Metal), Germany

Sodom – Agent Orange, 1989, Thrash, Germany, Reviewed Here

Sodom – M-16, 2001, Thrash, Germany

Destruction – Eternal Devastation, 1986, Thrash, Germany

Tankard – Zombie Attack, 1986, Thrash, Germany

Exumer – Possesed By Fire, 1986, Thrash, Germany

Holy Terror – Terror & Submission, 1986, Thrash, Germany

Voivod – War & Pain 1984, Thrash, Canada

Annihilator – Alice In Hell, 1989, Thrash, Canada

Annihilator – Never Neverland, 1990, Thrash, Canada

Watchtower – Energetic Disasembly, 1985, Mixed (With Thrash & Prog) USA

Watchtower – Control & Reistance, 1989, Mixed (With Thrash & Prog) USA

Realm – Endless War, 1988, Mixed (With Thrash & Prog) USA

Artillery – By Inheritance, 1990, Thrash, Denmark

Sadus – Swallowed In Black, 1990, Thrash, USA

Sabbat – History Of A Time To Come, 1988, Mixed (With Thrash, Prog, Black & Death) UK

Posessed – Seven Churches, 1985, Mixed (With Thrash & Death) USA

Posessed – Beyond The Gates, 1986, Mixed (With Thrash & Death) USA

Bathory – Bathory, 1984, Mixed (With Thrash, Black & Death) Sweden

Bathory – Under The Sign Of The Black Mark, 1987, Mixed (With Thrash, Black & Death) Sweden

Bathory – Blood Fire Death, 1988, Mixed (Thrash Metal & Black Metal), Sweden

Celtic Frost – Morbid Tales, 1984, Mixed, Switzerland

Celtic Frost – To The Mega Therion, 1985, Mixed, Switzerland

Celtic Frost – Into The Pandemonium, 1987, Mixed (Avant-Garde) Switzerland

Hellhammer – Apocalyptic Raids 1990 AD, 1990, Mixed (with Black Metal) Switzerland

***

Thrash Metal’s importance in the history, definition and continuing evolution of Metal cannot be understated and instances of Thrash Metal’s biggest bands’ influence on subsequent generations are almost too numerous to count. Although a lot of people may consider Thrash as an extreme subgenre, in a lot of ways it is sort of a distillation of the real heart and soul of most of Metal’s core sounds and values.

During the commercial peak of Hair Metal, when bands made music with part of Metal’s key sound and popularized it to a wider audience at the expense of what certain Metal fans considered Metal’s core values and credibility; Thrash Metal took that key sound, attitude and those core values and did its best to highlighted them, at times deliberately cultivating an audience of anti-Hair Metal fans as a sort of gut-level marketing technique (in the same way that many Punk bands had done to Prog a decade earlier).

Many of the Thrash bands took influence from the original Heavy Metal bands and the NWOBHM movement, as well as from the Punk Movement (as well of course as from Motörhead who combined elements of the two) and combined them in such a way as to create a new subgenre the primary characteristics of which were speed and aggression (more so than could already be said for Rock, Punk and Metal Music in general that is).

In the early years of Thrash, bands like Metallica, Anthrax and Overkill combined the key elements of these two styles, covering or taking influence from tracks by the likes of Black Sabbath, Judas Priest and Iron Maiden (and Diamond Head especially in the case of Metallica) as much as by the likes of GBH, Sex Pistols and Dead Boys.

In the later years of Thrash’s first incarnation, bands began writing longer, more complex tracks and albums like ‘…And Justice For All’ and ‘The Years Of Decay,’ which demonstrated a very progressive attitude but without actually becoming full-out Prog albums.

After Thrash became popular several existing Metal bands, such a Judas Priest, Accept and Raven took on elements of Thrash Metal into their own sound. This was also true of Punk and Hardcore Punk bands, which gave rise to the Crossover Thrash sub-subgenre, in which Thrash Metal bands like Nuclear Assault, M.O.D and others would take large elements of the Hardcore Punk sound into their own Thrash music and Punk and Hardcore Punk bands like The Exploited, Corrosion Of Conformity, D.R.I etc would make Punk music that incorporated a lot of Thrash Metal’s sounds.

Thrash Metal also played a large part in the invention and popularization of the emerging Death Metal, Power Metal, Prog Metal and Black Metal Subgenres, as well as the later Groove Metal, Melodeath, Metalcore and Thrash Revival subgenres. Types of riffs, general approaches to instruments and drumming styles that were either invented or popularized by early pioneers such as Dave Mustaine, Dave Lombardo, Cliff Burton and Gary Holt can be found to some extent or other in most forms of Metal that came afterwards:

The Blast Beat, a key component of most Grindcore, Black Metal and Death Metal albums was arguably invented (or at least popularized) by Charlie Benante on Crossover Thrash band S.O.D’s debut album.

Helloween, who are one of the most important bands in the history of Power Metal started off as a Thrash Metal band.

Prog Metal band Dream Theater have covered numerous tracks by Metallica, including the entire ‘Master Of Puppets’ album.

Many of the early Death Metal albums still featured a lot of key Thrash Metal musical tropes, and the genre was arguably named in a song by Possessed, who were considered a Thrash band by many (although some fans have retroactively deigned them a Death Metal band). Many Death Metal bands, from Decapitated to Six Feet Under have covered music by Thrash Metal bands, especially Slayer. Cannibal Corpse have covered Metallica and Napalm Death have covered songs by both Sepultura and Kreator.

The Thrash Metal bands Sodom and Sabbat, along with several ‘War Metal’ or ‘Viking Metal’ bands like Celtic Frost, Venom, Hellhammer and Bathory who were at least partially Thrash Metal were heavily influential on Black Metal bands to the point of being considered part of a First Wave Of Black Metal that pre-dates the actual establishment of the genre as its recognized today (the first wave of which is considered to be the second wave of Black Metal by purists).

Cradle Of Filth, who are associated with but separate from Black Metal, have covered both Slayer and Sodom.

Thrash also influenced Metalcore bands; like Shadows Fall and Trivum, who made their love of Thrash Metal known frequently sonically, in interviews and in their choice of covers are sometimes actually referred to as Thrash Metal bands by certain fans and even magazines. Chimaira took considerable lead guitar influence from Metallica and Lamb Of God owe a large portion of their sound to Slayer.

The Thrash Metal band Anthrax even played a hand in the popularization of Rap Metal/Nu Metal due to the success of their track ‘Bring The Noise’ which was a reworking of a track by the Hip-Hop band Public Enemy and actually featured Public Enemy rapping over Thrash Metal guitar riffs, something of a unique event at the time. They rapped over their own music even earlier on the track ‘I’m The Man.’ Metallica, Megadeth and Sepultura also had an influential impact on the Nu Metal subgenre with their Self-Titled (Black), ‘Countdown To Extinction’ and ‘Roots’ albums respectively. Furthermore, Thrash had, in part, an indirect impact on the Nu Metal (and in fact Doom Metal) movement through a reactionary contrast to its focus on speed, while the non-relenting intensity of most Thrash songs also had a similar effect on Grunge and Nu Metal songs which then chose to have much more broken up and dynamic song structures, after a decade of what some of those bands would have considered to be bands taking things to far in one direction.

Recently; there has been a revival of Thrash Metal movement, featuring bands like Municipal Waste, Revoker, Gama Bomb, SSS, Evile and others, in which bands attempt to largely recreate the sound of classic 1980s Thrash Metal often as strictly as possible.

Like other forms of music, Thrash musician’s non-musical work is sometimes noteworthy, such as Thrash Musicians like Ross Robinson and Andy Sneap going on to become important producers who have a hand in defining what the current sound of Metal is.

Overall; Thrash Metal, especially its most important and famous bands and albums, had and continues to have an unarguable impact on the history and sound of Metal music.

***

Pissing Razors – Cast Down The Plague, 1999, Groove, USA, Reviewed Here

Pantera – Cowboys From Hell, 1990, Mixed (With Thrash & Groove) USA, Reviewed Here

Pantera – Vulgar Display Of Power, 1992, Groove, USA,

Pantera – Far Beyond Driven, 1994, Groove, USA

Machine Head – Burn My Eyes, 1994, Groove, USA, Reviewed Here

Machine Head – The More Things Change, 1997, Groove, USA, Reviewed Here

Machine Head – The Blackening, 2007, Mixed (With Groove, Thrash & Metalcore) USA, Reviewed Here

Sepultura – Chaos AD, 1993, Groove, Brazil

Sepultura – Roots, 1996, Mixed (With Groove & Nu Metal) Brazil

Sepultura – Roorback, 2003, Mixed (With Groove & Crossover) Brazil

Fear Factory – Demanufacture, 1995, Groove, USA,

Fear Factory – Obsolete, 1998, Groove, USA

Fear Factory – Mechanize, 2010, Groove, USA

Channel Zero – Stigmatized For Life, 1993, Groove, Belgium

Prong – Cleansing, 1994, Mixed, USA

Black Label Society – Sonic Brew, 1998, Mixed (With Groove & Stoner) USA,

Reviewed Here

Black Label Society – 1919 Eternal, 2002, Mixed (With Groove,Stoner & Nu Metal) USA, Reviewed Here

Black Label Society – The Blessed Hellride, 2002, Mixed (With Groove,Stoner & Nu Metal) USA, Reviewed Here

Black Label Society – Order Of The Black, 2010, Mixed (With Groove & Stoner) USA, Reviewed Here

Gwar – Scumdogs Of The Universe, 1991, Mixed, USA

****

Groove Metal was directly influenced by Thrash and is also known by certain fans as “Post Thrash,” or even actually just considered to still be Thrash by others. It isn’t technically a real subgenre on its own, but the post-Thrash release of albums like Chaos AD, Vulgar Display Of Power and Demanufacture has had an unmistakably large impact on the world of Metal.

The Thrash band Exhorder’s music bares a lot of sonic similarities with Groove Metal and had a direct and audible influence on the definitive Groove Metal band Pantera’s music. Pantera singer Phil Anselmo had even been a roadie for Exhorder at a time when Pantera were primarily playing a Glam/Hair derived form of music.

Sepultura, who released one of the definitive Groove Metal albums of all time in ‘Chaos AD’ were primarily a Thrash Metal band before its release (as well as being considered a Death Metal band by many fans).

Robb Flynn of the influential Groove Metal band was a member of the Thrash Metal band Vio-lence and took a large part of the Thrash style with him into Machine Head’s sound.

****

Coroner – Mental Vortex, 1990, Mixed (with Thrash & Death Metal) Switzerland

Autopsy – Severed Survival, 1989, Death, USA

Autopsy – Mental Funeral, 1991, Mixed (With Death & Doom) USA

Morbid Angel – Alters Of Madness, 1989, Death, USA

Morbid Angel – Blessed Are The Sick, 1991, Death, USA

Morbid Angel – Covenant, 1993, Death, USA

Morbid Angel – Domination, 1995, Death, USA

Dismember – Like An Ever Flowing Stream, 1991, Death, Sweden

Dismember – Massive Killing Capacity, 1995, Mixed (With Death) Sweden

Carnage – Dark Recollections, 1990, Death, Sweden

Unleashed – Where No Life Dwells, 1991, Death, Sweden

Entombed – Left Hand Path, 1990, Death, Sweden

Entombed – Wolverine Blues, 1993, Mixed (With Death) Sweden

Merciless – The Awakening, 1990, Death, Sweden

Master – Master, 1990, Death, USA

Massacre – From Beyond, 1991, Death, USA

Cannibal Corpse – Butchered At Birth, 1991, Death, USA

Cannibal Corpse – Tomb Of The Mutilated, 1992, Death, USA

Cannibal Corpse – Vile, 1996, Death, USA

Cannibal Corpse – The Wretched Spawn, 2004, Death, USA

Deicide – Deicide, 1990, Death, USA

Deicide – One Upon The Cross, 1995, Death, USA

Deicide – The Stench Of Redemption, 2006, Death, USA

Six Feet Under – Haunted, 1995, Death, USA

Six Feet Under – Maximum Violence, 1999, Death, USA

Malevolent Creation – Retribution, 1992, Death, USA

Immolation – Dawn Of Possession, 1991, Death, USA

Immolation – Failures For Gods, 1999, Death, USA

Obituary – Slowly We Rot, 1989, Death, USA

Obituary – Cause Of Death, 1990, Death, USA

Obituary – World Demise, 1994, Mixed (With Death & Groove) USA

Death – Leprosy, 1988, Death, USA

Death – Human, 1991, Death, USA

Death – Symbolic, 1995, Mixed (With Death & Prog) USA

Cancer – Death Shall Rise, 1991, Death, UK

Pestilence – Consuming Impulse, 1995, Mixed (With Death) Netherlands

Bolt Thrower – The IVth Crusade, 1992, Mixed (With Death) UK

Bolt Thrower – For Victory, 1994, Mixed (With Death) UK

Incantation – Mortal Throne Of Nazareen, 1994, Death, USA

Nocturnus – Threshold, 1992, Mixed, Death, USA

Amorphis – Tales From The Thousand Lakes, 1994, Mixed (With Death) Finland

Bloodbath – Insurrection Through Carnage, 2002, Mixed (With Death) Sweden

Behemoth – Zos Kia Cultus, 2002, Mixed (With Death) Poland

Behemoth – The Apostasy, 2007, Mixed (With Death) Poland

Suffocation – Effigy Of The Forgotten, 1991, Technical-Death, USA

Atheist – Unquestionable Presence, 1991, Technical-Death, USA

Gorguts – The Erosion Of Sanity, 1993, Technical-Death, Canada

Pestilence – Spheres, 1993, Technical-Death, Netherlands

Grave – Into The Grave, 1991, Death, Sweden

Grave – You’ll Never See…, 1992, Technical-Death, Sweden

Cryptopsy – None So Vile, 1996, Technical-Death, Canada

Nile – Black Seeds Of Vengeance, 2000, Technical-Death, USA

Nile – In Their Darkened Shrines, 2002, Technical-Death, USA

Kataklysm – Shadows & Dust, 2002, Technical-Death, Canada

Decapitated – Nihility, 2002, Technical-Death, Poland

Decapitated – Organic Hallucinations, 2006, Technical-Death, Poland

Vader – De Produndis, 1995, Death, Poland

Vader – Litany, 2000, Death, Poland

Dying Fetus – Litany, 2000, Death, USA

Fleshgod Apocalypse – Agony, 2011 Technical-Death, Italy

Dew Scented – Impact, 2003, Mixed (With Thrash & Death) Germany

Dew Scented – Invocation, 2010, Mixed (With Thrash & Death) Germany

The Haunted- The Haunted, 1998, Mixed (With Thrash & Death) Sweden

The Haunted- The Haunted Made Me Do It, 2000, Mixed (With Thrash & Death) Sweden

At The Gates – Slaughter Of The Soul, 1995, Melodeath, Sweden

Arch Enemy – Wages Of Sin, 2001, Melodeath, Sweden

Arch Enemy – Rise Of The Tyrant, 2007, Melodeath, Sweden

Dark Tranquility – The Gallery, 1995, Melodeath, Sweden

Dark Tranquility – Damage Done, 2002, Melodeath, Sweden

Soilwork – A Predator’s Portrait, 2001, Melodeath, Sweden

Soilwork – Figure Number Five, 2003, Melodeath, Sweden

In Flames – The Jester Race, 1996, Melodeath, Sweden

In Flames – Whoracle, 1997, Melodeath, Sweden

In Flames – Colony, 1999, Melodeath, Sweden

In Flames – Clayman, 2000, Melodeath, Sweden

In Flames – Reroute To Remain, 2002, Melodeath, Sweden

Children Of Bodom – Hatebreeder, 1999, Mixed (With Melodeath & Power) Finland, Reviewed Here

Children Of Bodom – Hate Crew Deathroll, 2003, Mixed (With Melodeath & Power) Finland, Reviewed Here

Children Of Bodom – Are You Dead Yet, 2005, Mixed (With Melodeath, Groove & Power) Finland, Reviewed Here

Insomnium – Since The Day It All Came Down, 2004, Melodeath, Finland

Darkane – Expanding Senses, 2002, Melodeath, Sweden

Amon Amarth – Once Sent From The Golden Hall, 1998, Melodeath, Sweden

Amon Amarth – Versus The World, 2002, Melodeath, Sweden

Amon Amarth – With Oden On Our Side, 2006, Melodeath, Sweden, Reviewed Here

Black Dahlia Murder – Defolrate, 2009, Melodeath, USA

Black Dahlia Murder – Ritual, 2011, Melodeath, USA

***

Death Metal’s validity and place within Metal is often unquestioned by most informed fans. The subgenre in many ways represents the logical conclusion of many of Metal’s key characteristics. Lyrically, vocally, and in terms of speed, heaviness and detuning, atonality and the physical challenge of actually being able to play the music, Death Metal is often the absolute extreme of each characteristic, or very close to the absolute extreme.

Death Metal’s popularity and limitations on popularity affected several bands. Fear Factory for example actually started out as a Death Metal band before developing their signature sound, and Entombed, who released some of the genre’s most definitive material on their first two albums eventually mixed it with Hard Rock with the ‘Wolverine Blues’ album. Morbid Angel combined it with Nu Metal and Industrial music on ‘Illud Divinium Insanus.’ Carcass and Napalm Death combined Grindcore with Death Metal on their ‘The Necroticism’ and ‘Harmony Corruption’ albums, although Carcass then went on to combine this with Traditional Heavy Metal and make one of the most influential albums for Melodeath bands in ‘Heartwork.’

One of the biggest influences that Death Metal had on other forms of music was in the form of the popularization of guttural Death Vocals, which other bands since Death Metal became popular often use sparingly either as backing vocals, for a few brief sections per song or in rare instances for a whole out-of-character track. Even Mondo Generator and Green Day for example each have at least one song (‘Girls Like Christ’ and ‘Take Back’ respectively) in which Death Vocals are used over the bands’ normal Punk music.

In addition to the vocal style, the general intensity and perceived brutality of the genre influenced many popular non-Death Metal bands. Pantera famously made their music heavier on Far Beyond Driven due to a love of the genre, and Slipknot incorporated death influenced Blast Beats into their second though to fourth albums. Soulfly, who started off as a combination Nu Metal and Groove Metal band gradually incorporated many Thrash and later Death Metal elements into their sound over the years and have featured guest vocal appearances from Death Metal singers including David Vincent of Morbid Angel and Travis Ryan of Cattle Decapitation.

The combination of Death Metal with other subgenres such as Grindcore and Traditional Heavy Metal gave rise to subgenres such as Goregrind and Melodic Death Metal. Bands from Pig Destroyer and The Berzerker to Soilwork and At The Gates owe a large part of their sound to Death Metal.

Death Metal also had a clear and direct influence on Metalcore. Killswitch Engage, Shadows Fall and Parkway Drive for example have taken influence from Death Metal to form a part of their sound, primarily through the aforementioned vocals but also through subtle guitar influences. Chimaira took an even more direct guitar influence from Six Feet Under and Cannibal Corpse. Slipknot are also heavily influenced by several Death Metal artists, including Deicide and bands like Messugah and later Periphery and Uneven Structure were directly and indirectly influenced by Death Metal’s prevalent atonal guitar style and low tunings.

The sub-subgenre of Deathcore is a form of Metalcore that is even more specifically inclusive of Death Metal tropes. Much like Crossover Thrash, the music came both from excessively Death Metal influenced Metalcore bands as well as from excessively Metalcore influenced Death Metal bands. Bands like Job For A Cowboy and Whitechapel can sound strictly Death Metal one moment and play things a Death Metal band would never play moments later.

From the early Death Metal-esque Thrash albums of Sepultura and Possesed to the Tampa Scene, to technical and progressive Death Metal bands, as well as Blackened Death Metal bands who combine elements of both Black and Death Metal, and Melodic Death Metal bands with inspirational lead guitarists; Death Metal has had a wide and lasting influence on the sound and history of Metal ever since its invention, most notably in the field of extreme metal, but also on a surprising number of bigger and more commercial bands too.

***

Carcass – Symphonies Of Sickness, 1989, Grindcore, UK

Carcass – Necroticism, 1991, Mixed (With Grindcore & Death) UK

Carcass – Heartwork, 1993, Mixed (With Grindcore & Melodeath) UK

Napalm Death – Scum, 1987, Grindcore, UK

Napalm Death – Harmony Corruption, 1987, Mixed (With Grindcore & Death) UK, Reviewed Here

Napalm Death – Fear Emptiness Despair, 1994, Mixed (With Death, Groove & Grindcore) UK, Reviewed Here

Napalm Death – Enemy Of The Music Business, 2000, Mixed (With Death, Groove & Grindcore) UK, Reviewed Here

Extreme Noise Terror – Holocaust In Your Head, 1989, Grindcore, UK

Repulsion – Horrified, 1986/1989, Grindcore, UK

Terrorizer – World Downfall, 1989, Grindcore, USA

Impetigo – Ultimate Mondo Cannibale, 1990, Grindcore, USA

Brutal Truth – Extreme Conditions Demand Extreme Responses, 1992, Grindcore, USA

Brutal Truth – Sounds Of The Animal Kingdom, 1997, (With Grindcore, Crust Punk and Prog) USA

Anal Cunt – Everyone Should Be Killed, 1994, Grindcore, USA

Brujeria – Matando Güeros, 1993, Grindcore, USA

Agoraphobic Nosebleed – Honky Reduction, 1998, Grindcore, USA

Agoraphobic Nosebleed – Altered States Of America, 2003, Grindcore, USA

Mortician – Chainsaw Dismemberment, 1999, Grindcore, USA

Mortician – Darkest Day Of Horror, 2003, Grindcore, USA

Pig Destroyer – Prowler In The Yard, 2001, Grindcore, USA

Pig Destroyer – Terifyer, 2006, Grindcore, USA

Nasum – Inhale/Exhale, 1998, Grindcore, Sweden

Nasum – Human 2.0, 2000, Grindcore, Sweden

Cephalic Carnage – Anomalies, 2005, Mixed (With Grindcore & Death) USA

The Berzerker – Dissimulate, 2002, Mixed, Australia

Exhumed – Anatomy Is Destiny, 2003, Mixed, USA

Cattle Decapitation – Humanure, 2004, Mixed, USA

*** Grindcore has is roots in both Anarchopunk and Hardcore Punk, but over the years has mixed together with elements of other extreme Metal subgenres in interesting ways. There are Crossover points that are Death Metal bands playing Grindcore riffs, Black Metal bands using extremely brief song durations, Grindcore bands changing into Death Metal bands over time. Members of Grindcore albums have joined, toured with, worked as a producer on or had their records produced by members of Death Metal bands or Thrash bands or even Hardcore bands.

For example Exhumed have covered Possesed, King Diamond and Sodom. Exhumed’s debut was produced by Death’s James Murphy. Travis from Cattle Decapitation has guest appeared with Soulfly and Chimaira. Both Deicide’s Glen Benton and Obituary’s John Tardy appear on Napalm Death’s ‘Unfit Earth.’ Decaptiated have covered Napalm Death. Vader have covered Terrorizer.

At times the distinction between Grindcore and Death Metal becomes blurred, and Deathgrind and Goregrind are used to term bands like this, although over time these bands have influenced other artists to the point of starting distinct genres of their own.

Some bands have mixed progressive ideas, or electronic sounds with it to create new and interesting variations on the base sound.

Carcass branched off into Melodeath, influencing countless artists and Napalm Death continuously reinvent themselves.

Bands like Exhumed (as covered by Job For A Cowboy) and Agoraphobic Nosebleed have been influential on the Deathcore subgenre. ***

Emperor – In The Nightside Eclipse, 1994, Black, Norway

Emperor – Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk, 1997, Black, Norway

Mayhem – De Mysteriis Dom Sathanas, 1994, Black, Norway

Mayhem – Ordo Ad Chao, 2007, Black, Norway

Immortal – Pure Holocaust, 1993, Black, Norway

Immortal – At The Heart Of Winter, 1999, Black, Norway

Immortal – Sons Of Northern Darkness, 2002, Mixed (With Black), Norway

Darkthrone – Soulside Journey, 1991, Death, Norway

Darkthrone – A Blaze In The Northern Sky, 1992, Black, Norway

Darkthrone – The Cult Is Alive, 2006, Mixed (Black & Crust Punk), Norway

Enslaved – Eld, 1997, Black, Norway

Burzum – Hvis Lyset Tar Oss, 1994, Black, Norway

Burzum – Filosofen, 1996, Black, Norway

Sarcófago – INRI, 1987, Black, Brazil

Blasphemy – Fallen Angels Of Doom, 1990, Black, Canada

Beherit – Drawing Down The Moon, 1990, Black, Finland

Abigor – Nachthymnen, 1995, Black, Austria

Judas Iscariot – Thy Dying Light, 1990, Black, USA

Marduk – Panzer Division Marduk, 1999, Black, Sweden

Dissection – A Storm Of Light’s Bane, 1995, Black, Sweden

Gorgoroth – Pentagram, 1994, Black, Norway

Gorgoroth – Incipit Satan, 2000, Black, Norway

Horde – Hellig Usvart, 1994, Black, Australia

Ancestor – The Return Of The Black Death, 1998, Black, Norway

Enslaved – Vikingligr Veldi, 1994, Black, Norway

Enslaved – Run, 2006, Mixed (with Black & Prog) Norway

Graveland – Thousand Swords, 1995, Black, Poland

Ulver – Bergtatt – Et Eeventyr I 5 Capitler, 1995, Mixed (with Black & Prog) Norway

Ulver – Nattens Madrigal: Aatte Hymne Til Ulven I Manden, 1997, Mixed (with Black & Prog) Norway

Carpathian Forest – Strange Old Brew, 2000, Symphonic-Black, Norway

Carpathian Forest – Defending The Throne Of Evil, 2003, Symphonic-Black, Norway

Cradle Of Filth – Dusk And Her Embrace, 1996, Mixed (With Black) UK

Cradle Of Filth – Midian, 2000, Mixed, UK

Dimmu Borgir – For All Tid, 1997, Black, Norway

Dimmu Borgir – Enthrone Darkness Triumphant, 1997, Symphonic-Black, Norway

Dimmu Borgir – Puritanical Euphoric Misanthropia, 2001, Symphonic-Black, Norway

Dimmu Borgir – Death Cult Amageddon, 2003, Symphonic-Black, Norway

Absu – Tara, 2001, Black, USA

Blut Aus Nord – The Work Which Transforms God, 2000, Mixed (With Black, Industrial, Prog) France

Deathspell Omega – Si Monvmentvm Reqvires Circvmspice, 2004, Black, France

Taake – Nattestid Ser Porten Vid, 1999, Black, Norway

Antaeus – De Principii Evangelikum, 2001, Black, France

Peste Noire – La Sanie des siècles – Panégyrique de la dégénérescence, 2006, Black, France

Gehenna – Adimiron Black, 1998, Black, Norway

Melechesh – As Jerusalem Burns…Al Intisa, 1996, Mixed (With Black) Jerusalem

Melechesh – Sphynx, 2003, Mixed (With Black) Jerusalem, Reviewed Here

Satyricon – Volcano, 2002, Mixed (With Black) Norway

Samael – Ceremony Of Opposites, 1994, Mixed (With Black) Norway

Samael – Passage, 1996, Mixed (With Black) Norway

Striborg – Spiritual Catharsis, 2004, Mixed (With Black) Australia

Agalloch – The Mantle, 2002, Mixed (With Folk, Ambient & Black) USA

Deafheaven – Sunbather, 2013, Mixed (With Black) USA

Mortiis – The Smell Of Rain, 2001, Mixed, Norway

Akercocke – The Goat Of Mendes, 2001, Mixed (With Black, Death & Prog) UK

Anaal Nathrakh – Eschaton, 2006, Mixed (With Black, Death & Prog) UK

Aborym – With No Human Intervention, 2003, Mixed (With Black & Industrial) Norway

The Ruins Of Beverast

– Rain Upon The Impure, 2006, Mixed (With Black) Germany

Negură Bunget – ‘N Crugu Bradului, 2002, Mixed (With Black & Prog) USA

Nachtmystium – Instinct Decay, 2006, Mixed (With Black & Psychadelic) USA

Inquisition – Ominous Doctrines Of The Perpetual Mystical Macrocosm, 2011, Mixed (With Black) Columbia

Wintersun – Wintersun, 2007, Mixed (With Black, Melodeath & Folk) Finland

Winterfylleth – The Mercian Sphere, 2008, Mixed (With Black & Folk) UK

Watain – Sworn To The Dark, 2007, Mixed (With Black) Sweeden

Carach Angren – Where Corpses Sink Forever, 2012, Mixed (With Black) Holland

Cthonic – Bu Tik, 2013, Mixed (With Black) Taiwan

In The Woods… – Heart Of The Ages, 2005, Mixed (With Black & Folk) Norway

Primordial – Imrama, 1995, Mixed (With Black & Folk) Ireland

Primordial – Spirit The Earth Aflame, 2000, Mixed (With Black & Folk) Ireland

Primordial – Redemption At The Puritan’s Hand, 2011, Mixed (With Black & Folk) Ireland

Falkenbach – …En Their Medh Ríki Fara…, 1996, Mixed (with Viking, Black & Folk) Germany

***

Black Metal evolved into different subgenres by mixing with other sounds such as industrial, ambient, soundscape, folk, thrash, death, prog, shoegaze etc.

Children Of Bodom and Opeth both have artistic roots in Black Metal but present entirely different sounds.

Bands mix parts of Black Metal with hardcore, early Swedish Death Metal and modern punk to create new music. Trap Them, Black Breath and Kvelertak would sound utterly different if not for the influence of Black Metal. Even Metalcore bands like Chimaira owe at least one song’s sound to the influence of Black Metal.

***

Skyclad – The Wayward Sons Of Mother Earth, 1991, Folk-Metal, UK

Cruachan – Tuatha Na Gael, 1995, Folk-Metal, Ireland

The Lord Weird Slough Feg – The Lord Weird Slough Feg, 1996, Folk-Metal, USA

Slough Feg – Ape Uprising, 2009, Folk-Metal, USA

Mägo de Oz – Mägo de Oz, 1994, Mixed (Folk and Metal) Spain

Týr – Ragnarok, 2006, Folk-Metal, Faroe Islands

Moonsorrow – Voimasta Ja Kunniasta, 2001, Folk-Metal, Finland

Moonsorrow – Kivenkantaja, 2003, Folk-Metal, Finland

Ensiferum – Ensiferum, 2001, Folk-Metal, Finland

Ensfirium – Unsung Heroes, 2012, Folk-Metal, Finland

Finntroll – Jaktens Tid, 2001, Folk-Metal, Finland

Аpkoha – Гой, Роде, гой!, 2009, Folk-Metal, Russia

SIG:AR:TYR – Beyond The North Winds, 2008, Folk-Metal, Canada

Heidevolk – Uit Oude Grond, 2010, Folk-Metal, Netherlands

Korpiklaani – Tales Along This Road, 2006, Folk-Metal, Finland

Metsatöll – Äio, 2010, Folk-Metal, Estonia

Turisas – The Varangian Way, 2007, Folk-Metal, Finland

Turisas – Stand Up And Fight, 2011, Folk-Metal, Finland

Alestorm – Captain Morgan’s Revenge, 2008, Folk-Metal, UK

***

Folk Metal is a vague term that can apply to a whole host of vastly different bands. Adding folk instrumentation, playing reinterpretations of traditional folk pieces or having folklore based lyrics and imagery all can land a band with the folk metal tag. The bands may have their roots in Black Metal, Melodic Death Metal, Power Metal, Thrash Metal (or anything else) and two folk metal bands may share almost no sonic similarities excluding the fact that they use additional bow or wind based instruments and may write lyrics about folklore, or in some cases alcohol. Commonly, the vocals may not be delivered in English as frequently as they would be in other subgenres.

With that being said, there are many Folk Metal bands who share a similar aesthetic in terms of their metal influence and not just their folk influence. Two of the most common types of Folk Metal are those rooted in Melodic European Power Metal and those rooted in Black Metal.

There are folk metal bands who take things very seriously and bands who are very over the top and silly, there are bands with comedy overtones and who dress in costumes as well as those who just play Metal as any normal band, but with parts of their music rooted in folk music.

Similarly, many bands may use folk influences, additional instrumentation, sing about their own cultures or in their own languages but still escape the term, for example Soulfly and Jurojin.

***

Haggard – And Thou Shalt The Seer, 1997, Mixed (with Symphonic & Doom), Germany

Nightwish – Oceanborn, 1998, Symphonic, Finland

Epica – Design Your Universe, 2009, Symphonic, Netherlands

Therion – Theli, 1996, Symphonic, Sweden

Within Temptation – The Silent Force, 2004, Symphonic, Netherlands

Delain – April Rain, 2009, Symphonic, Netherlands

Amberian Dawn – River Of Tuoni, 2008, Symphonic, Finland

Equilibrium – Sagas, 2008, Symphonic, Germany

Pythia – The Sepent’s Curse, 2012, Symphonic, UK

Xandria – Neverworld’s End, 2012, Symphonic, Germany

****

Much like Folk Metal, Symphonic Metal is a very vague subgenre title and not entirely agreed upon by Metal fans and musicologists. Many Metal bands may work with a Symphony orchestra and not get labeled as Symphonic Metal. There are also very Symphonic Black Metal albums by Dimmu Borgir and Emperor (to name but a few) that are not often called Symphonic Black Metal and there are very symphonic Power Metal albums by Rhapsody that aren’t always called Symphonic Metal, because they don’t specifically sound like Amber Dawn and Nightwish.

Similarly there are Nu Metal and Alternative Metal bands that utilize very similar sounds, approaches and imagery to Symphonic Metal (ie. In This Moment, Lacuna Coil) but are not routinely called Symphonic Metal, because the non-symphonic components of their sound are too different. Sometimes the combination of the two styles is jokingly referred to as “Corset Metal” due to the prominence of Female lead singers in Gothic clothing.

Fleshgod Apocalypse have popularized the idea of Symphonic Death Metal in recent years.

Symphonic Metal bands often have their roots in Power Metal, Classical Music, Progressive Rock and Gothic Music, often with Neoclassical influenced guitar and a very prominent Keyboard Player. However while this sentence could easily describe Children Of Bodom, the exact blend of influences seems to be key to making a band get categorized as Symphonic Metal.

****

Helloween – Walls Of Jericho, 1985, Mixed (With Thrash & Power) Germany

Helloween – Keeper Of The Seven Keys Part I, 1987, Power, Germany, Reviewed Here

Helloween – Keeper Of The Seven Keys Part II, 1988, Power, Germany, Reviewed Here

Helloween – Time Of The Oath, 1996, Power, Germany, Reviewed Here

Helloween – Straight Out Of Hell, 2013, Power, Germany, Reviewed Here

Gamma Ray – Heading For Tomorrow, 1990, Power, Germany, Reviewed Here

Gamma Ray – Land Of The Free, 1995, Power, Germany, Reviewed Here

Gamma Ray – No World Order, 2001, Power, Germany, Reviewed Here

Iron Savior – Iron Savior , 1999, Power, Germany

Freedom Call – Crystal Empire, 1999, Power, Germany

Primal Fear – Jaws Of Death, 2001, Power, Germany

Manowar – Into Glory Ride, 1983, Power, USA

Manowar – Hail To England, 1984, Power, USA

Manowar – Sign Of The Hammer, 1984, Power, USA

Manowar – Kings Of Metal, 1988, Power, USA Reviewed Here

Vicious Rumors – Digital Dictator, 1988, Power, USA

Vicious Rumors – Vicious Rumors, 1990, Power, USA

Hammerfall – Glory To The Be Brave, 1997, Power, Sweden, Reviewed Here

Iced Earth – Night Of The Stormrider, 1991, Power, USA

Iced Earth – Something Wicked This Way Comes, 1998, Power, USA, Reviewed Here

Stratovarius – Dream Space, 1994, Power, Finland

Stratovarius – Visions, 1997, Power, Finland, Reviewed Here

Stratovarius – Infinite, 2000, Power, Finland, Reviewed Here

Sonata Arctica – Ecliptica, 1999, Power, Finland

Edguy – Theater Of Salvation, 1999, Power, Germany

Rhapsody (Of Fire) – Symphony Of The Enchanted Lands, 1998, Power, Italy

Angra – Angels Cry, 1993, Power, Brazil

Angra – Holy Land, 1996, Mixed (With Power & Prog) Brazil

Falconer – Chapters From A Vale Forlorn, 2002, Power, Sweeden

Dragonforce – Inhuman Rampage, 2006, Power, UK

Sabbaton – Carolus Rex, 2012, Power, Sweden

Nevermore – The Politics Of Ecstasy, 1996, Power, USA

Nevermore – This Godless Endevour, 2005, Power, USA

****

The basic template for Power Metal is laid down by the mixture of Judas Priest and Iron Maiden. The bands often place a lot of emphasis on virtuosity and an over-the-top spirit. They usually add especially fast music (although usually without the sheer ferocity of Thrash), and a lot of very grand sing-along choruses. Often Dio era Rainbow and Queen will inform the sound, and most bands, especially in later waves, like to play “cheesy” ballads.

Many Power Metal bands also like to employ lead Keyboards, in the tradition of Deep Purple, often dueling solos between a keyboard player and a guitarist …although it is not a requirement (in fact the keystone album for the Genre, Keeper Of The Seven Keys by Helloween, doesn’t feature a lead keyboardist).

Yngvie Malmsteen, Accept, The Scorpions and Running Wild were all huge influences on a lot of Power Metal bands and help to define its “European Sound.”

Although Power Metal is often thought of as being really European, that is only part of the story. The Genre is often split into two spiritual camps: 1) “Melodic” or European Power Metal (although bands from non-Euopeans often play this kind of music and 2) USPM – The American Kind – (although bands from non-Americans often play this kind of music).

With USPM, especially the later stuff, a huge early-Metallica and Painkiller-era-Judas Priest is often detectable. Bands like Savatage, Crimson Glory and Queensryche (who fit comfortably into early Prog Metal brackets as well) can be viewed as a sort of first wave of USPM and inform a lot of the sound too. The influence of Warning era Queensryche on Iced Earth for example is absolutely undeniable (just compare ‘Roads To Madness’ and ‘Melancholy [Holy Martyr]’ to see how much).

Only Two camps is an oversimplification of course, as there are different approaches, attitudes and mixtures with which bands can take things. Power Metal bands can often blur the lines between Folk Metal, Prog Metal, Melodic Death Metal or Thrash Metal on different songs or albums. Grave Digger are heavier than Stratovarius but not quite as heavy as Children Of Bodom.

****

X Japan – Blue Blood, 1989, Mixed (With Power & Prog) Japan

Symphony X – The Divine Wings Of Tragedy, 1997, Mixed (With Power & Prog) USA

Symphony X – Twilight In Olympus, 1998, Mixed (With Power & Prog) USA

Symphony X – Iconoclast, 2011, Mixed (With Power & Prog) USA

Blind Guardian – Somewhere Far Beyond, 1991, Mixed (With Power & Prog-Metal) Germany

Blind Guardian – Imaginations From The Other Side, 1995, Mixed (With Power & Prog-Metal) Germany

Blind Guardian – Nightfall In Middle Earth, 1998, Mixed (With Power & Prog-Metal) Germany

Avantasia – The Metal Opera, 2001, Mixed (With Power & Prog-Metal) Germany

Crimson Glory – Transcendence, 1988, Prog-Metal, USA

Savatage – Hall Of The Mountain King, 1987, Prog-Metal, USA, Reviewed Here

Savatage – Gutter Ballet, 1989, Prog Metal, USA, Reviewed Here

Savatage – Streets A Rock Opera, 1991, Prog Metal, USA, Reviewed Here

Savatage – Handful Of Rain, 1994, Prog Metal, USA, Reviewed Here

Fates Warning – Awaken The Guardian, 1986, Prog-Metal, USA

Fates Warning – Parallels, 1991, Prog-Metal, USA

Psychotic Waltz – A Social Grace, 1990, Prog-Metal, USA

Arch/Matheos – Sympathetic Resonance, 2011, Prog-Metal, USA

Pain Of Salvation – One Hour By The Cold Lake, 1998, Prog-Metal, Sweden

Dream Theater – Images And Words, 1992, Prog-Metal, USA

Dream Theater – Awake, 1994, Prog-Metal, USA

Dream Theater – Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes From A Memory, 1999, Prog-Metal, USA

Dream Theater – A Dramatic Turn Of Events, 2011, Prog-Metal, USA

Queensrÿche – The Warning, 1984, Mixed (With Heavy Metal & Prog) USA, Reviewed Here

Queensrÿche – Operation: Mindcrime, 1988, Mixed (With Heavy Metal & Prog) USA, Reviewed Here

Queensrÿche – Empire, 1990, Mixed (With Hard Rock & Prog) USA, Reviewed Here

Queensrÿche – Hear In The Now, 1997, Mixed (With Grunge, Heavy Metal & Prog) USA, Reviewed Here

Queensrÿche – Queensrÿche, 2013, Mixed (With Heavy Metal & Prog) USA, Reviewed Here

Voivod – Nothingface, 1989, Mixed (With Thrash & Prog) Canada

Strapping Young Lad – City, 1997, Mixed, Canada

Evergrey – In Search Of Truth, 2001, Prog, Sweden

Green Carnation – Light Of Day, Day Of Darkness, 2002, Prog, Norway

Devin Townsend Project – Ziltoid The Omniscient, 2007, Mixed (With Prog) Canada

Devin Townsend Project – Deconstruction, 2011, Mixed (With Prog) Canada

Gojira – From Mars To Sirus, 2006, Mixed (With Prog), France

Porcupine Tree – Deadwing, 2005, Mixed (With Prog & Metal) UK

Porcupine Tree – Fear Of A Blank Planet, 2007, Mixed (With Prog & Metal) UK

Tool – Ænima, 1996, Mixed (With Prog) USA

Tool – Lateralus, 2001, Mixed (With Prog) USA

The Mars Volta – De-Loused In The Comatorium, 2003, Mixed (With Prog) USA, Reviewed Here

The Mars Volta – Frances The Mute, 2005, Mixed (With Prog) USA, Reviewed Here

Coheed & Cambria – Good Apollo I’m Burning Star IV Volume One: From Fear Through The Eyes Of Madness, 2005, Mixed (With Emo, Metal & Prog) USA, Reviewed Here

Maudlin Of The Well – Bath, 2001, Mixed, USA

Opeth – Still Life, 1999, Mixed (With Death, Black & Prog) Sweden

Opeth – Blackwater Park, 2001, Mixed (With Death, Black & Prog) Sweden

Opeth – Damnation, 2003, Mixed (With Death, Black & Prog) Sweden

Opeth – Heritage, 2011, Mixed (With Prog) Sweden

Riverside – Second Life Syndrome, 2005, Mixed (With Death, Black & Prog) Poland, Reviewed Here

Riverside – Anno Domini High Definition, 2009, Mixed (With Prog) Poland, Reviewed Here

Anathama – Judgment, 1999, Mixed (With Prog) UK

Anathama – We’re Here Because We’re Here, 2010, Mixed (With Prog) UK

The Grand Astoria – Omnipresence, 2009, Mixed (With Prog, Stoner & Speed Metal) Russia, Reviewed Here

Protest The Hero – Scurrilous, 2011, Mixed (With Prog) Canada, Reviewed Here

Spiral Architect – A Sceptic’s Universe, 2000, Mixed (With Prog) Norway

Edge Of Sanity – Crimson, 1996, Mixed (With Death, Prog) Sweden

Cynic – Focus, 1993, Mixed (With Death & Prog) USA

Orphaned Land – Mabool, 2004, Mixed (With Death, Prog & Folk) Israel

Arcturus – The Sham Mirrors, 2003, Mixed, Norway

Between The Buried And Me – Colors, 2007, Mixed (With Death, Prog) USA

Between The Buried And Me – The Great Misdirect, 2009, Mixed (With Death, Prog) USA

Mastodon – Leviathan, 2004, Mixed (With Sludge & Prog) USA, Reviewed Here

Mastodon – Crack The Skye, 2004, Mixed (With Prog) USA, Reviewed Here

***

Some Progressive Metal bands started off in the early 80s as almost indistinguishable from Traditional Heavy Metal in the vein of Iron Maiden and Judas Priest, usually based around grand melodic vocal lines and occasional piercing screams as well as frequent guitar solos.

In many cases it wasn’t until the late 80s where the bands would become fully progressive by taking a more obvious sonic influence from Prog bands as well as using existing Prog traditions such as writing concept albums.

These more Traditional Progressive Metal bands (which should be an oxymoron, surely?) like Savatage, Crimson Glory, Fates Warning etc had a lot of sonic similarities with both the earlier work of Power Metal bands (Such as Helloween’s ‘Keeper Of The Seven Keys’ title track) as well as the more theatrical moments from Thrash Metal bands (such as Overkill’s three self-titled tracks and Annihilator’s ‘Fun Palace’).

The extremely strong crossover between all these subgenres, at a stage when subgenres were more truly subgenres with less of a claim to separate-genre-status than they arguably have today, is a contributing factor in why certain people view certain blatantly Metal acts by today’s broader standards as not actually being Metal. The mutual sonic link between genres in this arbitrary point in the evolution of Metal (long after the actual beginning, but before several of the important innovations) however is not actually definitive of the boundaries of the entire Metal genre as they stand today, and things which fall outside the sonic boundaries of this period can still be considered as Metal.

It wasn’t so much until the mid-to-late 90s when bands would become truly progressive by writing music that was utterly unique from anything that had ever came before. As opposed to simply writing Metal songs with a Prog influence, they would come to truly progress the boundaries of what Metal could sound like and indeed what still ‘counted as’ Metal.

With the popularization of Grunge and then the wider Alternative Rock/Metal movement which included among other things early Pop-Punk, Brit Rock, Stoner Rock as well as certain Pop and Singer Songwriter musicians, the scope of areas within which Metal could be Progressed widened.

Tool, for example, emerged in the middle of the Grunge scene and since became one of the most influential and important bands in the Metal scene.

Later; Queensrÿche, who were one of the originators of what is considered to be the Traditional Prog Metal sound actually mixed Progressive Metal with Grunge on 1997’s ‘Hear In The Now Frontier’ and with Alternative Metal on ‘Tribe.’ Mudvayne conversely mixed Nu Metal with Prog on ‘L.D 50’ and Rush mixed an Alternative music sound with their own on their ‘Counterparts’ album.

Bands like Mastodon and Baroness later combined influences from the Sludge scene they emerged from and combined that with already Sludge-influenced Post Metal bands like Neurosis and Isis as well as selected Progressive Rock traits to once again create genuinely Progressive Metal that bypasses the aforementioned Traditional Prog Metal sound but still deserves the ‘Progressive’ description. Without Hardcore Punk like Black Flag and Flipper inspiring Sludgey Grunge and Metal derived bands like The Melvins and Neurosis, the shape of Prog Metal today would be radically different.

Furthermore, without the existence and influence of Metal as it stands today, several important Prog bands (such as Porcupine Tree and The Mars Volta) would sound vastly different. Even band’s from the very beginning of Prog, including King Crimson themselves actually incorporated Metal into their sound on recent albums.

Prog Metal is a very important influence on the Djent movement and many Djent bands are sometimes categorized as Progressive Metal.

Furthermore; in addition to the music that is commonly considered to be either Prog or Post Metal, some Thrash Metal and Death Metal bands display the kind of innovative thinking and musical complexity of progressive bands, but still stick within their subgenre’s stylistic boundaries, and ignore the addition and influence of popular Prog tropes such as the inclusion of mellotron, and are defined separately as technical rather than progressive although the distinction is often very subtle and often blurred (sometimes people use “Technical” as a substitute term for “Progressive” however usually it also has distinct connotations of a specific sound and direction in and of itself).

***

Neurosis – Through Silver In Blood, 1996, Mixed (With Sludge, Post Metal & Prog) USA

Neurosis – Times Of Grace, 1999, Mixed (With Sludge, Post-Metal & Prog) USA

Cult Of Luna – Somewhere Along The Highway, 2006, Mixed (With Post Metal) Sweden

Isis – Oceanic, 2002, Post-Metal, USA

Isis – In The Absence Of Truth, 2006, Post-Metal, USA

Rosetta – Galilean Satellites, 2005, Post-Metal, USA

Red Sparrowes – At The Soundless Dawn, 2005, Post-Metal, USA

Pelican – The Fire In Our Throats Will Beckon the Thaw, 2005, Mixed (With Post-Metal) USA

The Ocean – Precambrian, 2007, Post-Metal, USA

Jesu – Conquerer, 2007, Post-Metal, UK

Russian Circles – Enter, 2006, Post-Metal, USA

Giant Squid – Cenotes, 2011, Post-Metal, USA

Today Is The Day – Temple Of The Morning Star, 1997, Mixed, USA

Unsanse – Unsane, 1991, Mixed, USA

***

Separate from Prog Metal, the Progressive genre of Post-Metal exists. Post Metal is analogous to Post Rock in its attitude and conventions, but distinct due to its much heavier and intense sound. It is often characterized by a focus on texture as well as favouring of long slow build-ups, instrumental music, use of repetition to create depth and layers and slow challenging. Neurosis, one of the genre’s most famous acts started their career as a straight up Hardcore Punk band, and with each album moved further and further into unique and unexplored musical territories which combined Metal with numerous influences, including folk.

***

Red Hot Chilli Peppers – Mother’s Milk, 1989, Mixed (With Rock, Metal & Funk) USA

Faith No More – The Real Thing, 1989, Mixed (With Nu Metal & Funk) USA

Faith No More – Angel Dust, 1992, Mixed (With Nu Metal) USA

Living Colour – Vivid, 1988, Mixed (with Funk) USA

Ugly Kid Joe – America’s Least Wanted, 2003, Mixed (With Groove, Funk & Hard Rock) USA

Extreme – Pornograffiti, 1990, Mixed (With Funk, Glam, Hard Rock & Heavy Metal), USA

Fishbone – Give A Monkey A Brain And He’ll Swear He’s The Center Of The Universe, 1993, Mixed (With Funk), USA

Primus – Sailing The Seas Of Cheese, 1991, Mixed (With Funk), USA

Infectious Grooves – The Plague That Makes Your Booty Move…It’s the Infectious Grooves, 1991, Mixed (With Funk), USA

Mr. Bungle – Mr. Bungle, 1991, Mixed, USA

***

During the late 80s and throughout the 90s, there was a trend of incorporating elements of Funk into rock and metal. This became popular in the Alternative and Nu Metal scenes but also came up in unexpected areas like Hair Metal, Thrash Metal and Death Metal on a smaller scale. Some bands would do it for one song only, or only on their demos, before getting signed and dropping the funk side of their sound due to a change in the musical climate, for example Slipknot and Powerman 5000.

Several of the more successful albums to feature this cross over of styles went on to be influential to a multitude of other bands from various spheres.

***

Nine Inch Nails – Pretty Hate Machine, 1989, Mixed (With Industrial) USA

Nine Inch Nails – The Downward Spiral, 1994, Mixed (With Industrial) USA

Nine Inch Nails – The Fragile, 1999, Mixed (With Industrial) USA

Skinny Puppy – Mind The Perpetual Intercourse, 1986, Mixed (With Industrial), Canada

Skinny Puppy – Rabies, 1989, Mixed (With Industrial), Canada

Ministry – The Land Of Rape And Honey, 1988, Industrial, USA

Ministry – Psalm 69, 1992, Industrial, USA

Pigface – Gub, 1991, Industrial, USA

Chemlab – Burn Out At The Hydrogen Bar, 1993, Industrial, USA

16 Volt – Wisdom, 1993, Industrial, USA

Marilyn Manson – Antichrist Superstar, 1996, Mixed, (With Industrial) USA,

Marilyn Manson – Mechanical Animals, 1998, Mixed (With Industrial) USA

Marilyn Manson – Holywood, 2000, Mixed (With Industrial) USA

Rammstein – Mutter, 2001, Mixed (With Industrial) Germany

KMFDM – Naïve, 1990, Industrial, Germany

Godflesh – Street Cleaner, 1989, Mixed (With Industrial) UK

Throbbing Gristle – The Second Annual Report, 1977, Mixed (With Industrial) UK

Stabbing Westward – Wither Blister Burn & Peel, 1996, Mixed (With Industrial) USA

Front Line Assembly – Tactical Neural Implant, 1992, Mixed (With Industrial) Canada

Filter – Title Of Record, 1999, Mixed (With Industrial) USA

Killing Joke – Pandemonium, 1994, Mixed (With Industrial & Post Punk) UK

Killing Joke – Killing Joke, 2003, Mixed (With Industrial, Metal & Post Punk) UK

White Zombie – Astro-Creep 2000, 1995, Mixed (With Industrial & Groove) USA

Rob Zombie – Hellbilly Deluxe, 1998, Mixed (With Industrial, Groove & Nu Metal) USA

***

Extreme and Progressive Metal took large influence from Industrial Music. Artists like Fear Factory, The Berzerker and Aborym combined Industrial tendencies with Extreme Metal. Napalm Death were influenced by Godflesh. Isis have covered Godflesh Many Nu Metal artists such as