Extreme metal is a loosely defined umbrella term for a number of related heavy metal music subgenres that have developed since the early 1980s. It has been defined as a "cluster of metal subgenres characterized by sonic, verbal, and visual transgression".[1]
Extreme metal acts set themselves apart from traditional heavy metal acts, such as Iron Maiden, Judas Priest and Motörhead, by incorporating more abrasive musical characteristics such as higher tempos, increased aggression and a harsher extremity. In the majority of the world, extreme metal does not receive much radio-play or achieve high chart positions.[6]
Extreme metal's sonic excess is characterized by high levels of distortion (also in the vocals – growling, gargling or screaming), less focus on guitar solos and melody, emphasis on technical control, and fast tempos (at times, more than 200 beats per minute). Its thematic transgression can be found in more overt and/or serious references to Satanism and the darker aspects of human existence that are considered out of bounds or distasteful, such as death, suicide and war.[7] "Visual transgression [can include] ... medieval weaponry [and] bloody/horrific artwork."[7]
According to ethnographerKeith Kahn-Harris,[8] the defining characteristics of extreme metal can all be regarded as clearly transgressive: the "extreme" traits noted above are all intended to violate or transgress given cultural, artistic, social or aesthetic boundaries. Kahn-Harris states that extreme metal can be "close to being ... formless noise", at least to the uninitiated listener.[8]: 33 He states that with extreme metal lyrics, they often "offer no possibility of hope or redemption" and lyrics often reference apocalyptic themes. Extreme metal lyrics often describe Christianity as weak or submissive,[8]: 40 and many songs express misanthropic views such as "kill every thing".[8]: 40 A small number of extreme metal bands and song lyrics take radical (left or right) political stances; for example, the Swedish black metal band Marduk has commonly referenced the Nazi Panzer tanks, which can be seen in works such as Panzer Division Marduk (1999).[8]: 41
The British band Venom are one of the first bands to venture into extreme metal territory, due to their ideological shift into themes of evil, the devil and hell.[3] Their first two albums, Welcome to Hell (1981) and Black Metal (1982), were a major influence on thrash metal and extreme metal in general.[8] This early work by Venom, in combination with bands like Discharge, the Exploited and Amebix, as well as American hardcore punk, brought integral elements into the budding extreme metal landscape at the time.[3]
When extreme metal band Hellhammer first began making music, it was generally panned by critics, leading to the members forming Celtic Frost in its place, which proved very influential on the progression of the genre. During this period, the line between extreme metal genres were blurred, as thrash metal bands such as Slayer, Sepultura, Sodom, Destruction and Kreator were integral to the first wave black metal scene.[3] The front cover of the Sarcófago's 1987 debut album, I.N.R.I., was a major influence on black metal's corpse paint style make-up.[12] That record is also considered one of the first wave black metal albums that helped shape the genre. Their second album, The Laws of Scourge, was one of the first technical death metal records to be released.[13]
^Hagen, Ross; Barratt-Peacock, Ruth, eds. (6 September 2019). Medievalism and Metal Music Studies. Emerald Publishing Limited. p. 216. ISBN9781787563971.
^Prown, Pete; Newquist, Harvey P. (1997). "Chapter Thirty-three: Industrial and Grindcore". Legends of Rock Guitar: The Essential Reference of Rock's Greatest Guitarists. Hal Leonard Corporation. p. 249. ISBN978-0793540426.
^Henderson, Alex. "Desolation of Eden". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 16 August 2018. Retrieved 26 June 2015. Deathcore -- the type of noisy, caustic, abrasive mixture of metalcore and death metal that Chelsea Grin offer on their first full-length album, Desolation of Eden -- is bound to annoy a lot of parents, which is exactly the point."
^Heaney, George. "Ghost Town – The After Party". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 17 November 2015. Retrieved 22 October 2015. most electronicore is essentially metalcore with some synths tacked on for good measure
^Cosmo Lee. "Stylus magazine review". Stylus Magazine. Archived from the original on 17 June 2008. Retrieved 18 July 2008. "Death 'n' roll" arose with Entombed's 1993 album Wolverine Blues ... Wolverine Blues was like '70s hard rock tuned down and run through massive distortion and death growls.
^Janosik, MaryAnn (2006). The Greenwood Encyclopedia of Rock History: The video generation, 1981-1990. Greenwood Press. p. 231. Heavy hardcore was considered hardcore based more in metal, adding heavier thrash metal riff stylings
^Stuart Maconie (24 May 2020). "Dungeon Synth". BBC Radio 6 Music. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
^Prato, Greg (16 September 2014). Primus, Over the Electric Grapevine: Insight into Primus and the World of Les Claypool. Akashic Books. ISBN978-1-61775-322-0.
^Christe (2003), Sound of the Beast, p. 264, As close to death metal as any other gold-selling record before it, Chaos A.D. stripped down Sepultura's sound into a coarse metallic loop. The CD sold half a million copies, and alongside Pantera the band forged a streetwise, death-derived groove metal that inspired an upcoming generation of mavens in the 1990s.
^"Sludge Metal: Doom's Filthier Sibling". 5 October 2017. Retrieved 27 May 2018. The sound of sludge has gone pop a couple times, first when mixed with alternative rock by Nirvana, Soundgarden, and other grunge acts in the early '90s,
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