8,720
edits
Changes
Rock
,→Sub-Genres
* Instrumental Guitar Rock - With the appearance of exalted guitar players such as Jimi Hendrix, Jimmy Page, Eddie Van Halen, and Randy Rhoads, rock began to place higher value on virtuosic caliber guitar playing in the 80's, often known as ''shredding''. Some players branched out to release solo records that had no or little vocals, instead using lead guitar throughout the songs serving to play the songs' melodies, which were often embellished as though every song was a giant guitar solo. The general song-writing followed the inspiration of Hair Metal, which is what most of these musicians were playing before starting their solo projects. Songwriting featured similar dramatic crescendos, sensationalized choruses, reverb-laden rhythms, and upbeat bluesy riffs; and many albums had contrasting ballads. Examples: Joe Satriani, Paul Gilbert, Yngwie Malmsteen, Steve Vai
* Melodic Death Metal - An outgrowth of death metal found particularly in Scandinavia, this sub-genre incorporated far more melody in guitars and sometimes vocals, as well as neo-classical elements into songwriting in contrast to death metal's atonal or dissonant scales. Examples: In Flames, Soilwork
* Metalcore - Another sub-genre of metal, metalcore focused on uniting the elements of thrash-metal inspired guitar riffs and drumming with the modernity, aggressiveness, vocal-styles, and rhythms of hardcore. Examples: Killswitch Engage, often Unearth, Lamb of God* Pop-Punk - A mixture of the pop nature of Alternative rock mixed with the vocal tone and up-tempo speed of punk. Musically, the songwriting was more traditional and less extreme than older punk, with the tempo slowed down a bit and sections having less contrast. Rather than feature the anti-establishment angst of the punk movement, pop-punk generally focuses on humor or the monotony of everyday life. This made it much more radio-friendly and accessible to the mainstream, where it enjoyed huge success. Examples: Green Day, Blink 182* Progressive Rock - Seeking to escape the simple foundations and song structures of rock's blues influence, groups started experimenting with evolving themes, more complicated song structures, odd-time signatures, and greater exhibition of technical abilities, creating progressive rock in the 70's. Examples: Genesis, Rush, Pink Floyd* Progressive Metal - Adds the experimental and complex elements of progressive rock with the extreme elements of heavy metal. Following this paradigm, one could basically place "progressive" in front of any sub-genre of heavy metal and find a couple of bands that fit. However, because such groups are relatively rare compared to their parent genres, this one sub-genre lumps them all together. For example, the prominent progressive metal act is Dream Theater; however, they take a strong Hair Metal influence in comparison to Opeth, who take a strong Doom Metal influence. Examples: Dream Theater, Opeth, Meshuggah, Periphery, Protest the Hero
* Punk - Examples: The Ramones, The Sex Pistols
* Power Metal - Examples: Iron Maiden, Dragonforce