Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the United Kingdom and the United States. With roots in blues rock, psychedelic rock, and acid rock, heavy metal bands developed a thick, massive sound, characterized by distortion, extended guitar solos, emphatic beats, and loudness. The lyrics and performances are sometimes associated with aggression and machismo.
Progressive metal is a broad fusion music genre melding heavy metal and progressive rock, combining the loud "aggression" and amplified guitar-driven sound of the former with the more experimental, cerebral or "pseudo-classical" compositions of the latter. One of these experimental examples introduced to modern metal was djent. 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.
Symphonic black metal is a subgenre of black metal that emerged in the 1990s and incorporates symphonic and orchestral elements. Notable symphonic black metal bands include Dimmu Borgir, Emperor and Carach Angren.
Doom metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music that typically uses slower tempos, low-tuned guitars and a much "thicker" or "heavier" sound than other heavy metal genres. Both the music and the lyrics intend to evoke a sense of despair, dread, and impending doom. The genre is strongly influenced by the early work of Black Sabbath, who formed a prototype for doom metal. During the first half of the 1980s, a number of bands such as Witchfinder General from England, American bands Pentagram, Saint Vitus, the Obsessed, Trouble, and Cirith Ungol, and Swedish band Candlemass defined doom metal as a distinct genre.
Power metal is a subgenre of heavy metal combining characteristics of traditional heavy metal with speed metal, often within symphonic context. Generally, power metal is characterized by a faster, lighter, and more uplifting sound, in contrast with the heaviness and dissonance prevalent, for example, in extreme metal. Power metal bands usually have anthem-like songs with fantasy-based subject matter and strong choruses, thus creating a theatrical, dramatic and emotionally "powerful" sound.
Darrell Lance Abbott, best known by his stage name Dimebag Darrell, was an American musician and songwriter. He was the guitarist of the heavy metal bands Pantera and Damageplan, both of which he co-founded alongside his brother Vinnie Paul.
Melodic death metal is a subgenre of death metal that employs highly melodic guitar riffs, often borrowing from traditional heavy metal. The style originated and developed in Sweden and the United Kingdom around 1993. The Swedish death metal scene did much to popularise the style, soon centering in the "Gothenburg metal" scene.
Metal Circus is an EP by Hüsker Dü, released in 1983. As one of their early records, it was largely rooted in the band's initial hardcore punk style. However, signs of a new, poppier influence emerge on Metal Circus, particularly in the songs sung by Grant Hart. It also features some of Bob Mould's most passionate singing and shows further development in his guitar playing. Harmonic, chorus-type effects applied to Mould's guitar are more prominent. The change from the furious hardcore moments of Land Speed Record and Everything Falls Apart towards increasing melodicism hints at the groundbreaking new approach that was to be seen on the band's next release, Zen Arcade.
Chris Reifert is an American death metal musician, and one of the pioneers of the death/doom genre. Although his music is more death metal than doom metal, he is one of the first musicians that blended the two styles. He played drums on the Death debut album, Scream Bloody Gore. Since he parted ways with Chuck Schuldiner in 1987 after Schuldiner moved back to Florida, Reifert decided to stay in the San Francisco Bay Area, and in 1987 he formed his own band, Autopsy. In this band, he played not only drums but handled the vocals as well. After several albums, Autopsy split up in 1995 and Reifert and bandmate Danny Coralles began playing in their side-project, Abscess, full-time. After Abscess dissolved in 2010, Autopsy reformed and is currently planning to tour and record new material.
A vibrato system on a guitar is a mechanical device used to temporarily change the pitch of the strings. Instruments without a vibrato have other bridge and tailpiece systems. They add vibrato to the sound by changing the tension of the strings, typically at the bridge or tailpiece of an electric guitar using a controlling lever, which is alternately referred to as a whammy bar, vibrato bar, or incorrectly as a tremolo arm. The lever enables the player to quickly and temporarily vary the tension and sometimes length of the strings, changing the pitch to create a vibrato, portamento, or pitch bend effect.
A string is the vibrating element that produces sound in string instruments such as the guitar, harp, piano, and members of the violin family. Strings are lengths of a flexible material that a musical instrument holds under tension so that they can vibrate freely, but controllably. Strings may be "plain", consisting only of a single material, like steel, nylon, or gut, or wound, having a "core" of one material and an overwinding of another. This is to make the string vibrate at the desired pitch, while maintaining a low profile and sufficient flexibility for playability.
Groove metal is a subgenre of heavy metal music that began in the early 1990s. The genre achieved mainstream success in the 1990s and continued having some more success in the 2000s. Inspired by thrash metal and traditional heavy metal, groove metal features raspy singing and screaming, down-tuned guitars, heavy guitar riffs, and syncopated rhythms. Unlike thrash metal, groove metal is usually slower and also uses elements of traditional heavy metal. Pantera are often considered the pioneers of groove metal, and groove metal expanded in the 1990s with bands like White Zombie, Machine Head, Skinlab, and Sepultura. The genre continued in the 2000s with bands like Lamb of God, DevilDriver, Five Finger Death Punch, and Hellyeah.
"Mr. Crowley" is a song by British heavy metal vocalist Ozzy Osbourne about English occultist Aleister Crowley. It was first released on Osbourne's debut solo album Blizzard of Ozz in September 1980 in the United Kingdom, and then a live version of the song was released as a single in November 1980. The song was written by Osbourne, guitarist Randy Rhoads, and bass guitarist/lyricist Bob Daisley.
Onward to Golgotha is the debut studio album by the American death metal band Incantation. The album was released in 1992 on Relapse Records. It was re-released in October 2006 with a bonus DVD of live performances. In the January edition of the American heavy metal magazine Decibel they added it as their 72nd hall of fame album. To celebrate being added to the hall of fame it will be re-released on 180 gram vinyl, but limited to only 1,000 copies.
Post-metal is a style of music that is rooted in heavy metal but explores approaches beyond the genre's conventions. It emerged in the 1990s through the work of bands such as Neurosis and Godflesh who transformed metal texture through experimental composition. Associated with and inspired by post-rock and post-hardcore, the genre employs the darkness and intensity of extreme metal but emphasizes atmosphere, emotion, and even "revelation", drawing on a wide range of sources including ambient, noise, psychedelic, progressive, and classical music to develop an expansive but introspective sound. Post-metal songs are typically long, with loose and layered structures that discard the verse–chorus form in favor of crescendos and repeating themes. The sound centres on guitars and drums; any vocals are usually screamed or growled and resemble an additional instrument.
A Twisted Christmas is the seventh and final studio album by American heavy metal group Twisted Sister, with the band releasing it on October 17, 2006. The album features classic Christmas songs performed in metal versions, often featuring lyrical changes.
Tribulation Force is the third album by the German gothic metal band Necromance, released on Pleitegeier Records in 2001. While considered the band's best effort by many, the album did not receive any advertising, leading to poor sales and forced Necromance to split up.
Chris "The Heathen" Valagao is a heavy metal musician, best known as the front man for Canadian speed/thrash metal band Zimmers Hole.Chris is accomplished SPFX artist and pyrotechnician for film and television, director and producer of many music videos and a builder of custom motorcycles. He is of Portuguese and Norwegian heritage.
Bangladeshi rock or Bangla rock is the rock music in Bangladesh that derived from the British and American rock music and mixed up with Bengali classical and adhunik music from the 1960s. In Bangladesh rock music is often recognized as "band music". Rock music was introduced in the 1960s, by few bands, who from the beginning have been developing a distinct rock sound of Bangladesh. Bangladeshi rock is commonly divided into two categories, the "East Pakistan" rock scene and the "Bangladesh" rock scene. From the 1970s to 2000s, it was sometimes considered as the most popular genre in the country.
Abnormality was an American death metal band from Boston, Massachusetts. Formed in 2005 from various acts such as Sexcrement, Forced Asphyxiation, Goratory, Parasitic Extirpation and Iranach, the band has released two studio albums, Contaminating The Hive Mind, and Mechanisms Of Omniscience as well as EP The Collective Calm in Mortal Oblivion. In 2015, the quintet signed with Metal Blade Records.
