Top 10 Metal Subgenres that Best Do Specific Elements of Metal Music

The Top Ten
1 Thrash Metal - Riffs Thrash Metal is a Heavy Metal subgenre developed during the early 1980s and an early precursor of Extreme Metal. Thrash Metal features a faster and more aggressive guitar work than Traditional Metal with shredding and double-bass drums and can range from melodic singing to loud shouts.

The English band, Venom is credited for laying the groundwork for Thrash Metal with their debut album "Welcome... read more

There are great riffs outside thrash but thrash riffs are just incredible.

2 Power Metal - Vocals

Great vocals are a must in power metal. If you rank correctly the power metal singers, you will get half of the Top 10 (really) best metal singers of all time - Hansi Kursch, Tobias Sammet, Michael Kiske, Roy Khan.

3 Technical Death Metal - Drumming

One name and one number: George Kollias (Nile) - 280 bpm. Also Flo Mounier (Cryptopsy), Francesco Paoli (Fleshgod Apocalypse).

4 Death Metal - Brutality

All death metal subgenres are brutal but some of them are even more brutal (Brutal Technical Death Metal).

5 Prog Metal - Complexity

Prog Metal is known for that

6 Symphonic Metal - Instrumentation / Orchestration

You can hear more instruments than you usually hear in metal songs (guitars, bass and drums, and occassionally - keyboards/piano). Blind Guardian employ full symphonic orchestras with violins, cellos, flutes, etc. (example - Sacred Worlds).
Instrumentation is the particular combination of musical instruments employed in a composition, and the properties of those instruments individually. Instrumentation is sometimes used as a synonym for orchestration.

7 Death Metal - Growls
8 Neo-classical Metal - Guitar work Neoclassical metal is a subgenre of heavy metal that is heavily influenced by classical music and usually features very technical playing, consisting of elements borrowed from both classical and speed metal music.

Yngwie, Marty Friedman, Jeff Loomis, Jason Becker, Buckethead

9 Power Metal - Choruses
10 Thrash Metal - Lyrics Thrash Metal is a Heavy Metal subgenre developed during the early 1980s and an early precursor of Extreme Metal. Thrash Metal features a faster and more aggressive guitar work than Traditional Metal with shredding and double-bass drums and can range from melodic singing to loud shouts.

The English band, Venom is credited for laying the groundwork for Thrash Metal with their debut album "Welcome... read more

I like most of the thrash lyrics, though my fave lyrics are from other subgenres

The Contenders
11 Black Metal - Shrieking

People often associate black metal with shrieking vocals.

12 Heavy Metal - Riffs Heavy Metal music is a sub-genre of rock music that originated in the late 1960s-70s, featuring more distorted and heavier instrumental work and darker lyrical themes. Heavy Metal broke into mainstream success with bands such as Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden and Metallica.

Other notable Heavy Metal bands include Judas Priest, Anthrax, Testament, System of a Down, Megadeth, Slayer, Pantera, Avenged... read more

Example - Iron Maiden riffs

13 Symphonic Metal - Vocals

I understand what you mean but don't forget that there are Symphonic death Metal and Symphonic black Metal

14 Heavy Metal - Solo

Yes, that's how it all started

15 Power Metal - Lyrics

Mostly fantasy based lyrics

16 Technical Thrash Metal - Guitar work
17 Speed Metal - Choruses
18 Thrash Metal - Drumming Thrash Metal is a Heavy Metal subgenre developed during the early 1980s and an early precursor of Extreme Metal. Thrash Metal features a faster and more aggressive guitar work than Traditional Metal with shredding and double-bass drums and can range from melodic singing to loud shouts.

The English band, Venom is credited for laying the groundwork for Thrash Metal with their debut album "Welcome... read more
19 Power Metal - Solos

I have always noticed power metal solos are different. Its likely fast but not very heavy. An early example of guitar works is Adrian Smith & Dave Murray's solos. Some guitarists use special effect pedals.

20 Progressive Metal - Solo
21 Black Metal - Dark riffs
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