• personal favorites are in italics .
• reference albums will be underlined.
• i made this for fun DON'T PISS ME OFF FOR GOD'S SAKE .
• see more about rock here :)

"i've done an interview with melody maker back in the 70s and they said our band was playing heavy metal. i said we were heavy rock, we call it heavy rock, you call it heavy metal. i wouldn't accept the heavy metal thing for years and, eventually, you have to." tony iommi from black sabbath - feb 2020.

young british musicians in the early 70s are looking for a darker and heavier way to rock. and, as tony said, they just invent something huge without even knowing it.

• heavy metal progenitors:

black sabbath, judas priest, dio .

• important progenitor album:

black sabbath - paranoid (1970).

in the early 80s a new heavy metal movement is characterized by a substantial drop of blues / rock / hard rock influences in its music. new wave of british heavy metal bands are looking for a sound less "contaminated" by older bands like deep purple and black sabbath. but there's still a strong melodic element in the music.

• seminal nwobhm bands:

iron maiden , judas priest, saxon, diamond head

• important nwobhm album:

iron maiden - the number of the beast (1982)

in complete opposition to dark and confrontational lyrics, low key aesthetics and growled vocals from different styles of metal of this period there's one genre that is growing in popularity. parties, sex, drugs, rock star clichès and are the main ingredients of hair metal. reckless life styles. musically speaking hair metal is a weird combination of melodies influenced by pop, shredding guitar solos and heavy metal based guitar riffing. so there are some points of contact with other styles of metal, but the mood is completely different.

• seminal hair metal bands:

motley crue, poison, twisted sister, quiet riot

• important hair metal album:

motley crue - shout at the devil (1983)

also known as the "norvegian black metal scene" is a musical movement of bands that strengthen the sound and the imagery of the first wave of black metal from the 80s. the wearing of corpse paint is a standard. black metal artists are bitterly opposed to christianity and present themselves as misanthropic devil worshippers (most of the times). black metal is characterized by lo-fi recordings, exstensive use of blast-beat drumming (fast / frantic drum beats), creepy sounding guitar lines often played in tremolo picking (fast / frantic way to pick guitar strings with a plectrum) and creepy screamed vocals.

• seminal black metal bands:

mayhem, darkthrone, immortal, emperor, satyricon, gorgoroth, marduk, burzum

• important black metal album:

mayhem - de mysteriis dom sathanas (1994)

many bands born in this period develop a contaminated sound that combines heavy metal with influences from alternative rock and other genres not normally associated with metal. bands under the label of alternative metal often don't share similar sounds and, most of the times, the metal influence is less present than the rock element. that's why the label alternative metal is often criticized, and many times the artists themselves often reject this label. alternative metal bands are often characterized by heavily downtuned guitars, mid-tempo songs, a mixture of accessible melodic vocals and harsh vocals and sometimes unconventional sounds within other heavy metal styles.

• band considered alternative metal:

system of a down, deftones , mudvayne, sevendust

• important alternative metal album:

rock n' roll is the starting point of our journey. the genre is evolving in the us during the late 1940s and early 1950s. it origins from black american music such as gospel blues, jazz, boogie woogie and rhythm and blues. in the earliest rock and roll styles, either the piano or saxophone was typically the lead instrument. these instruments will be generally replaced or supplemented by guitar in the middle to late 1950s. the beat is essentially a dance rhythm with an accentuated backbeat. classic rock and roll is usually played with one or two electric guitars (one lead, one rhythm) and a double bass. after the mid-1950s, electric bass guitars and drum kits become popular in classic rock.

• seminal rn'r artists:

fats domino, elvis presley, chuck berry, little richard.

fast rhythms, short songs, raw vocals, provocative lyrics and distinctive look. early forms of metal take some elements from punk rock.

• seminal punk rock bands:

sex pistols, ramones, the stooges (proto-punk)

• important punk rock album:

ramones - ramones (1976)

the mix between the technical and fast side of heavy metal with the direct / denunciatory language of hardcore punk generated a new flavor of metal called "thrash metal". the technical side is pushed even further than heavy metal (faster songs, more complex guitar solos, raspy and distorted vocals). the vocal lines are less melodic, favoring aggression and shouting (like hardcore punk).

• seminal thrash metal bands:

metallica , megadeth, slayer, anthrax

• important thrash metal album:

metallica - kill 'em all (1983)

faster drums, more distortion to the guitars and growled or screamed vocals are now the standard. following the footsteps of thrash and black metal bands from the 80s a darker wave of metalheads is rising.

• seminal death metal bands:

possessed, necrophagia, death, cannibal corpse, obituary, morbid angel

• important death metal album:

possessed - seven churches (1985)

the release of pantera's cowboys from hell is considered the starting point of groove metal, a genre heavily inspired by thrash metal that places emphasis on heavy guitar riffs with usually syncopated rhythms (weird rhythms). guitars are generally down-tuned (the guitar sounds lower and heavier). vocals in groove metal usually rely on yelling, growling, screaming, or heavy raspy singing. groove metal is occasionally influenced by early, blues-inspired heavy metal bands such as black sabbath and deep purple.

• seminal groove metal bands:

pantera, machine head

• important groove metal album:

pantera - cowboys from hell (1990)

nu metal is a subgenre of alternative metal that combines elements of different styles of metal with elements of other music genres such as hip pop, alternative rock, funk, industrial and grunge. nu metal rarely features guitar solos focusing more on down-tuned guitar riffs. djs are occasionally featured in nu metal to provide instrumentation such as sampling, turntable, scratching and electronic backgrounds. vocal styles in nu metal include clean singing, raspy singing, rapping, screaming and growling. the.label nu metal is even more divisive than alternative metal. almost all musicians referred to as nu metal reject the label or try to distance themselves from it. many heavy metal fans do not consider nu metal to be a true subgenre of heavy metal.

• seminal nu metal bands:

korn, slipknot , drowning pool, coal chamber, p.o.d. (po...

in the 60s the british invasion bands that mix pop-oriented easy listening melodies with rn'r elements lay the foundation for the explosion of rock. the sound is heavier and rawer, electric guitars are more saturated different subgenres are emerging and many (blues rock, country rock, folk rock, country rock, psychedelic rock etc..)

• seminal rock artists:

the beatles, rolling stones, jimi hendrix, led zeppelin, deep purple.

basically punk rock but more edgy and metallic sounding. guitars are more distorted, drums play faster and vocals are shouted and almost never melodic.

• seminal hardcore punk bands:

black flag, minor threat, germs, bad brains, agent orange

• important hardcore punk album:

black flag - damaged (1981)

the primordial form of black metal is heavily influenced by thrash metal and the darker side of heavy metal. in these years the satanic / frantic / lo-fi sound of black metal is shaping up.

• black metal progenitors:

bathory, venom, celtic frost

• important first wave of black metal album:

bathory - under the sign of the black mark (1987)

with a fantasy-based subject matter, strong choruses and a dramatic / emotionally powerful sound power metal is shaping up in the late 80s. power metal has a faster, lighter, and more uplifting sound, in contrast with the heaviness and dissonance prevalent in other metal derivates. musically speaking power metal vocalists generally posses a high pitched voice and a wide vocal range. there's a strong melodic element in everything (vocal lines, guitar lines and sometimes symphonic elements).

• seminal power metal bands:

helloween , manowar, stratovarius, blind guardian

• important power metal album:

helloween - keeper of the seven keys part i (1987)

heavy metal bands like queensryche and fates warning were incorporating unusual elements to their music since the 80s. but in the early 90s dream theater are defining this sound decisively. progressive metal is a broad fusion music genre melding heavy metal and progressive rock. the music typically showcases the extreme technical proficiency of the performers and usually uses unorthodox harmonies as well as complex rhythms with frequent meter changes and intense syncopation.

• seminal progressive metal bands:

dream theater, fates warning

• important progressive metal album:

dream theater - images and words (1992)

the term metalcore has changed a lot its meaning during the years. in the mid 90s and early oos the label metalcore is used to describe the sound of bands like hatebreed or converge: a mix of hardcore punk kinda vocal style, lyrics and attitude with death metal inspired guitar riffing and drum beats. almost no melody in the guitar and vocal lines. from the early oo's bands like killswitch engage contributed to change the metalcore spectrum. these bands, often labeled as melodic metalcore bands, incorporate the same death metal elements of their predecessors with catchy / easy listening melodic choruses almost always singed with clean vocals. the lyrics are often emotional and introspective and influenced by screamo and emo music.

• seminal metalcore bands:

hatebreed (early metalcore), converge (ea..._avenged sevenfold_ (melodic metalcore), killswitch engage (..._bring me the horizon_ (metalcore), suicide silence (deathcore)..._pierce the veil_ (metalcore).