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Rock
,→Sub-Genres
Rock and Roll started out as basically a fusion of different genres in the 1950's. Since ''The Beatles'' and the "British Invasion", it became extremely popular and spawned a number of different sub-genres:
* ''Alternative '' - Alternative came around in the early 1990's as an attempt to move away from the technicality, pop-influence, "cheesiness", and synthetic "perfection" of the 80's. It featured a return towards folk and classic rock styles, yet the sound had a more modern edge due to more advanced production and playback technology. Vocal ranges returned to the normal range of most humans compared to the high-pitched vocals popular in the 80's. Guitar riffs were made simpler and less prominent. Guitar timbre features more clean and slightly broken up tones - heavy distortion was often nasty and rough instead of smooth and searing like the 80's. Examples: Nirvana, Better than Ezra, Spin Doctors, Alanis Morisette
* Alternative or Nu Metal - Appeared in the late 90's as an outgrowth of alternative rock, particularly grunge. It incorporates the more downtrodden vocal stylings and modern sound of alternative rock with the riffing and rhythms of heavy metal. Yet it goes further by favoring down-tuned guitars and frequent usage of completely screamed vocals. Many groups also incorporated rapped vocals. While starting out as an underground movement, it eventually became mainstream and lost much of its identity in the process. Examples: Korn, Limp Bizkit, Deftones, Disturbed
* Black Metal - Incorporates the blast beats and extreme sound of death metal with synth/symphonic elements and neoclassical songwriting. Guitars are distorted and provide thick textures such as in doom metal, but without any emphasis on down-tuning. Vocals are often screamed and snarled. Examples: Cradle of Filth