Top 10 Characteristics of Extreme Metal
Primary genres of Extreme Metal are: Death metal, Black metal and Thrash metal.There are many subgenres of the primary genres, such as Technical death metal, Melodic death metal, Symphonic black metal.
There are also fusion subgenres - Blackened death metal (fusion between 2 primary genres).
The "extreme" label is usually applied to bands whose music is extreme. It isn't applied to artists where only lyrics or musician appearance may be considered "extreme" - Kiss, M. Manson, Ghost B.C. and Alice Cooper aren't extreme metal because their music isn't extreme (and isn't metal).
Extreme Metal traits are all intended to challenge / violate given artistic, social,cultural, or aesthetic boundaries. Extreme Metal is very experimental and isn't for everyone.
You don't have to listen to death metal or black metal to hear this. Thrash metal is enough to convince you of these elements.
Extreme metal tempos are usually over 200 BPM (beats per minute), with George Kollias of Nile reaching 280 BPM.
Drumming has become even more important than it was in non-extreme metal. A prime example is Brutal Technical Death Metal, as exemplified in the song Cast Down the Heretic by Nile.
Metal in general doesn't focus heavily on melody. While non-extreme metal genres like traditional metal, power metal, and prog metal still incorporate melodies, extreme metal reduces melodic elements to focus more on technical control and the virtuosity of the instrumentalists.
This is one of the biggest challenges for new metal fans. Liking these types of vocals is an acquired taste, meaning it's something you get used to. Some fans appreciate them because they are different and challenging.
Who said extreme metal is easy listening? For more information, you can check out a list I made: Top 10 Death Metal Songs for Beginners.
Blast beats are typical in extreme metal, especially in black metal and death metal.
A blast beat is a drum pattern described by Whitney Strub as "maniacal percussive explosions, less about rhythm per se than sheer sonic violence." Blast beats originated in hardcore punk and grindcore, with Napalm Death said to have coined the term.
The first metal musician to use tremolo picking was Ritchie Blackmore of Deep Purple, at the end of the solo in Highway Star. This solo is considered the first true metal solo for many reasons.
Tremolo picking is a variation of the guitar-playing technique known as 'alternate picking.' It involves playing a single note at high speed on a single string.
Very true. Black metal relies heavily on tremolo picking. Death metal also uses tremolo picking, often with palm muting. Thrash metal features tremolo picking as well.
You don't get much melody from death growls or thrash snarls. Melody often comes from the guitars, which play melodic riffs. This is more noticeable in subgenres that maintain more melody, such as melodic death metal, thrash metal, and progressive death metal. Black metal riffs can also be very melodic and beautiful.
Extreme metal just inverted the standard music paradigm, presenting a challenge since most music fans focus on vocals while listening. However, metal is a guitar-based genre, and overall, the instrumental part is more important in metal.
Examples of this can be found in songs like War Eternal and The World Is Yours by Arch Enemy, and Twilight of the Thunder God and Tattered Banners and Bloody Flags by Amon Amarth.
Palm muting is especially common in death and thrash metal. It is also used in non-extreme metal, but not to the same extent as in extreme metal.
As Steve Terreberry said, you have to "palm mute the crap out of them."
Lo-Fi music (short for "low fidelity") is recorded on cheap, substandard equipment and is of lower quality than contemporary standards. It often sounds like home-recorded music. Garage rock of the '60s and much of the punk rock of the late '70s could be tagged as Lo-Fi.
There are many Lo-Fi recordings, especially in black metal. Some black metal bands purposely chose this style. Some fans believe that certain types of music sound better in Lo-Fi, and I partly agree with that.
However, some extreme metal bands didn't do it on purpose. They simply lacked the funds for good equipment, especially for their debut albums or demos. Many extreme metal bands (not only black metal) never receive sufficient financial support, so their music remains mostly Lo-Fi.
The music on these albums can be great, but the sound quality is often poor. As a metal fan, you might know this. Honestly, I sometimes wish some metal albums had better sound quality because the music is excellent and the bands play amazingly, but the sound doesn't reflect that.
Darker lyrics are an additional feature of extreme metal subgenres, but lyrics alone do not define the music.
Having dark lyrics doesn't make music extreme - many old blues songs have extremely violent lyrics, but the music isn't considered extreme, and blues isn't generally seen as an extreme genre just because of some lyrics.
On the other hand, some extreme metal songs have lyrics that aren't violent or extremely dark. Metal lyrics tend to be dark, but there's a difference between "dark" and "darker."
This is optional because it's not part of the music, but such imagery is used in extreme metal. You shouldn't expect happy couples holding hands on a brutal death metal album cover.
However, I noticed that extreme metal bands offering higher-quality music often don't use or overuse these visuals. Bands like Opeth, Obscura, Nile, and Ne Obliviscaris come to mind. Many black metal album covers feature dark, atmospheric nature images, some of which are incredibly beautiful.
A band that probably overused visual transgression is Cannibal Corpse, likely for shock value and to get noticed. But again, what do you expect from a death metal band named Cannibal Corpse?
I'm not saying that extreme metal doesn't have lead guitar. However, extreme metal often focuses more on rhythm guitar than lead guitar because the genre aims for heaviness, which is more easily achieved with rhythm guitar.