Although heavy metal is distinctive as a genre of music, it's also known for having numerous sub-genres (and in some cases, sub-sub-genres!). In particular, many of these sub-genres play out their differences in the guitar parts.
As you progress in your guitar lessons, it can be fun to explore the varying elements in these styles. Below we'll go over a few of the most well-known kinds of metal.
Classic Metal - Originally, this was the only kind of metal! Bands like Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, and Judas Priest really helped to define metal as its own kind of music. Although influenced by blues and psychedelic rock, early heavy metal was defined by distorted guitar sounds, gruff, heavy vocals, and complex dual guitar work. It's a great genre to explore as a student of the guitar, as it provides numerous classic and popular songs to explore.
Thrash - The key element of thrash metal is SPEED! Thrash music is known for being incredibly fast paced, and therefore might not be the best choice for beginner musicians. Look for bands like Metallica, Megadeth and Testament for great thrash songs.
Power Metal - Although it grew out of early heavy metal, power metal now has its own distinctive sound. Many elements are separate from the guitar, including high pitched vocals, double bass drumming, and fantasy lyrics. However, there's still plenty to offer for the guitar. Chord changes are somewhat less frequent compared to other styles of metal, although complexity is far from lacking in this genre due to fast guitar solos. Power metal is a great place to look for long, exciting guitar solos that are at times missing from other kinds of music.
Extreme Metal - Somewhat of a catch-all of term for non-traditional styles like death metal, black metal, and doom metal. Every element of metal sees exaggeration in these kinds of music. It might be the slow, dirge-like sound in doom metal, or the highly distorted melodies in death metal. Although not for everyone, excellent musicianship can be found in this kind of music.
There are many more styles of metal music to be found! As you progress in your guitar lessons, a great way to add some variation to practicing chords and scales is studying and learning popular metal songs.
Constantine Walker is a life-long metal fan and musician. He wants to make learning to play music as fun as possible!
As you progress in your guitar lessons, it can be fun to explore the varying elements in these styles. Below we'll go over a few of the most well-known kinds of metal.
Classic Metal - Originally, this was the only kind of metal! Bands like Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, and Judas Priest really helped to define metal as its own kind of music. Although influenced by blues and psychedelic rock, early heavy metal was defined by distorted guitar sounds, gruff, heavy vocals, and complex dual guitar work. It's a great genre to explore as a student of the guitar, as it provides numerous classic and popular songs to explore.
Thrash - The key element of thrash metal is SPEED! Thrash music is known for being incredibly fast paced, and therefore might not be the best choice for beginner musicians. Look for bands like Metallica, Megadeth and Testament for great thrash songs.
Power Metal - Although it grew out of early heavy metal, power metal now has its own distinctive sound. Many elements are separate from the guitar, including high pitched vocals, double bass drumming, and fantasy lyrics. However, there's still plenty to offer for the guitar. Chord changes are somewhat less frequent compared to other styles of metal, although complexity is far from lacking in this genre due to fast guitar solos. Power metal is a great place to look for long, exciting guitar solos that are at times missing from other kinds of music.
Extreme Metal - Somewhat of a catch-all of term for non-traditional styles like death metal, black metal, and doom metal. Every element of metal sees exaggeration in these kinds of music. It might be the slow, dirge-like sound in doom metal, or the highly distorted melodies in death metal. Although not for everyone, excellent musicianship can be found in this kind of music.
There are many more styles of metal music to be found! As you progress in your guitar lessons, a great way to add some variation to practicing chords and scales is studying and learning popular metal songs.
Constantine Walker is a life-long metal fan and musician. He wants to make learning to play music as fun as possible!