Top 10 Darkest Metal Subgenres

1. Black Metal

   

   Black metal is a subgenre of heavy metal music that began in the early 1980s. It is characterized by fast tempos, shrieking vocals, and raw recording quality. The second wave of black metal, which originated in Norway, gained international attention for both its music and controversies.

   Black metal definitely deserves its place at the top of the list. Not only for truly being the darkest sound, but also because black metal artists are very dark themselves. Just go read the story of the band Mayhem and inform yourself on the gruesome things some of them did on stage.

   Death metal can have pretty grotesque lyrics (just look at Cannibal Corpse), but they are mostly done for shock value. The Norwegian black metal movement, on the other hand, actually commits to their music and performs acts that can be way over the top.

2. Doom Metal

   

   I do not agree with doom metal being in third place because subgenres like deathcore, goregrind, and dark ambient are all darker.

   Doom metal is what plays whenever you know that death is near.

   The riffs are pretty much the definition of "ominous."

3. Death Metal

   

   Death metal is a subgenre of heavy metal music that emerged in the mid- to late-1980s. It is known for its aggressive drumming, distorted guitars, and growling vocals. The genre often explores dark and macabre themes in its lyrics.

   The darkest music genre of all time is black metal. Listen to Death's Individual Thought Patterns, Cannibal Corpse's Tomb of the Mutilated, and Morbid Angel's Gateways to Annihilation.

   With subgenres like grindcore, deathcore, pornogore, brutal death metal, blackened death metal, deathgrind, noisegrind, goregrind, and even pornogrind, death metal wins the crowning achievement of the darkest metal subgenre.

4. Gothic Metal

   

5. Death/Doom Metal

6. Thrash Metal

   

   Thrash metal is a subgenre of heavy metal that emerged in the early 1980s and served as an early precursor to extreme metal. It is known for its fast and aggressive guitar work, shredding solos, and use of double-bass drumming. Vocals in thrash metal can range from melodic singing to intense shouting.... read more

7. Depressive Suicidal Black Metal

   It's literally black metal but darker.

8. Funeral Doom Metal

   

9. Drone Metal

   

10. Symphonic Metal

    
The Newcomers
11. ?

    Nu Metal

    

    Nu metal isn't the scariest, but it can get you going.

    This can be very dark, actually.

12. ?

    Glam Metal

    

    Glam metal is a subgenre of heavy metal that features pop-influenced hooks, prominent guitar riffs, and upbeat rock anthems. It rose to popularity in the 1980s with bands like Mötley Crüe, Poison, and Bon Jovi. The genre is also known for its flashy clothing, theatrical makeup, and energetic stage... read more

The Contenders

13. Technical Death Metal

    

14. Dark Ambient

    

    Truly terrifying. Google dark ambient albums, "Ambient 4" by Brian Eno. Get that album, listen well, and don't listen to it when it's dark.

15. Heavy Metal

    

    Heavy Metal music is a sub-genre of rock that emerged in the late 1960s and 1970s. It is known for its heavily distorted guitars, powerful vocals, and themes that often explore darker or more intense subject matter. Bands such as Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, and Metallica helped bring the genre to mainstream... read more

16. Grindcore

    

17. Industrial Metal

    

18. Alternative Metal

    

    Alternative metal is a music genre that infuses heavy metal with influences from alternative rock and other genres not typically associated with metal. It emerged in the late 1980s and gained popularity in the 1990s. Bands like Tool, Deftones, and Faith No More are often cited as pioneers of the genre... read more

19. Blackened Death Metal

20. Deathcore

    

    I actually think black metal is the 'darkest' one, but I voted for deathcore because this should be third, instead of doom metal. Deathcore is pure screams of anger. You go compare deathcore with all the subgenres under death metal (because I do think both black and death metal are 'darker' than deathcore).

21. Symphonic Black Metal

    Keyboards make it one of the darkest types of music.

22. Satanic Metal

    This is not a genre. I guess that it can be used to classify some bands whose lyrical themes revolve primarily around Satanism, but it is not an actual subgenre of metal.

    It is called Satanic Metal. I'm not sure you could get any darker.

23. Pornogrind

    

    It's called Pornogrind, for goodness' sake!

24. Post-Metal

25. Dark Metal

    Bands like Darkthrone and Gorgoroth write riffs to make the songs dark and colorless.

26. Goregrind

    

27. Pornogore