Alternative metal

Characteristics#

One of the main characteristics of alternative metal and its subgenres are heavily downtuned, mid-paced “chug”-like guitar riffs. However, funk metal bands often use a more conventional riffing style influenced by 1980s thrash metal. Alternative metal features clean and melodic vocals, Examples include alternative metal bands associated with the nu metal movement, such as Korn and Deftones, who have been described as having “bipolar vocals”. Jonathan Gold of the Los Angeles Times wrote in 1990 “Just as rock has an alternative, left wing-bands like the Replacements and Dinosaur Jr.-so does metal. Alternative metal is alternative music that rocks. And alternative metal these days can reach 10 times the audience of other alternative rock. Jane’s Addiction plays an intense brand of ’70s-influenced arty metal; so does Soundgarden. In fact, the arty meanderings of Sabbath and Zeppelin themselves would be considered alternative metal.” Houston Press has described the genre as being a “compromise for people for whom Nirvana was not heavy enough but Metallica was too heavy.” The first wave of alternative metal bands emerged from many backgrounds, including hardcore punk (Bad Brains, Rollins Band, Life of Agony, Corrosion of Conformity), noise rock (Helmet, the Jesus Lizard, Today Is the Day), Seattle’s grunge scene (Alice in Chains, Soundgarden), stoner rock (Clutch, Kyuss), sludge metal (Fudge Tunnel, Melvins), gothic metal (Type O Negative), groove metal (Pantera, White Zombie) and industrial (Godflesh, Nine Inch Nails, Ministry). These bands never formed a distinct movement or scene; rather they were bound by their incorporation of traditional metal influences and openness to experimentation. while Primus were influenced by progressive rock, and funk and Faith No More mixed progressive rock, R&B, funk and hip hop. Fudge Tunnel’s style of alternative metal included influences from both sludge metal and noise rock.

Origins (1980s)#

The origins of the genre can be traced back to funk rock music of the early to mid-1980s, when alternative bands like Fishbone, Faith No More and the Red Hot Chili Peppers started mixing heavy metal with funk, creating a genre called funk metal , now often recognized as an early form of alternative metal. Other early bands in the genre also came from hardcore punk backgrounds. Bands such as Faith No More, Jane’s Addiction and Soundgarden are recognized as some of the earliest alternative metal acts, with all three of these bands emerging around the same time, and setting the template for the genre by mixing heavy metal music with a variety of different genres in the mid to late 1980s. During the 1980s, alternative metal appealed mainly to alternative rock fans, since virtually all 1980s alt-metal bands had their roots in the American independent rock scene. Living Colour was another alternative metal band that combined the genre with funk metal.

Expansion and breakthrough (1990–1997)#

The emergence of grunge as a popular style of rock music in the early 1990s helped make alternative metal more acceptable to a mainstream audience, with alternative metal soon becoming the most popular metal style of the 1990s. Helmet drummer John Stanier said “We fell into the whole metal thing by accident, we always hated it when people mentioned metal in conjunction with us.” Saby Reyes-Kulkarni of Pitchfork Media stated “bands like Faith No More, Soundgarden, Primus, Helmet, the Rollins Band, and dozens more were initially marketed as quasi-metal acts. This was only possible in a climate where record labels, journalists, and college radio DJs understood that the metal audience could embrace new, albeit arty variations on the form.” The alternative music festival Lollapalooza conceived by Jane’s Addiction singer Perry Farrell, helped bands associated with the movement such as Tool, Rage Against the Machine, Primus, Nine Inch Nails, Soundgarden, and Alice in Chains gain exposure. Many established 1980s metal bands released albums in the 1990s that were described as alternative metal, including Anthrax, Metallica and Mötley Crüe. Bands like Life of Agony combined alternative metal with hardcore punk influences. In the latter part of the 1990s, a second, more aggressive wave of alternative metal emerged; dubbed nu metal, it often relied on hardcore punk, industrial MTV stated that Korn “arrived in 1993 into the burgeoning alternative metal scene, which would morph into nü-metal the way college rock became alternative rock.” Stereogum similarly claimed that nu metal was a “weird outgrowth of the Lollapalooza-era alt-metal scene”.

Nu metal’s commercial peak (1997–2004)#

During the late 1990s and early 2000s, nu metal became prevalent in the mainstream, with bands such as Korn, Limp Bizkit, P.O.D., Papa Roach, Disturbed, System of a Down, Linkin Park, Slipknot, Deftones and Staind all attaining success. AllMusic has compared nu and alternative metal’s commercial success during this period to the rise of the glam metal phenomenon in the 1980s, stating that it is “ironic, given alternative metal’s vehement rejection of hair metal’s attitude.” elements) and Deftones, who have incorporated post-hardcore and dream pop influences. Korn’s 1998 album Follow the Leader and 1999 album Issues sold 3.6 million and 3.2 million copies in the United States, respectively, and the band’s 2002 album Untouchables sold 1.4 million. Korn’s eponymous debut (1994) and second album Life is Peachy (1996) sold 2.1 million and 1.8 million copies, respectively. Limp Bizkit’s Significant Other (1999) and Chocolate Starfish and the Hot Dog Flavored Water (2000) sold over seven million and six million, respectively. Korn and Limp Bizkit were frequently featured on MTV, often hitting number 1 and having multiple retired videos on the popular MTV show Total Request Live, competing on the show with boy bands like N’Sync and Backstreet Boys. Papa Roach’s album Infest (2000) went triple platinum and was supported by the hit single “Last Resort”. Other alternative metal bands considered influential to the nu metal genre such as Helmet have also tried to distance themselves from the movement.

Decline in nu metal and continuity in popularity of alternative metal (2004–2009)#

In 2004, nu metal’s popularity was declining, with bands like Korn, Limp Bizkit and P.O.D. having a decline in album sales. Instead, post-grunge bands like Nickelback were selling the most records and being promoted the most on radio. Additionally, many nu metal bands began to move away from the nu metal genre and moved on to other genres.

Mainstream decline (2010s)#

In 2016, Jason Heller of Vice wrote “The term alternative metal still pops up from time to time, but it’s no more relevant or meaningful today than alternative rock. Instead, it’s a relic. But the brief, nebulous era of alternative metal in the late 80s and early 90s remains a snapshot of a vibrant time when a brash new generation of heavy-leaning bands threw everything against the wall to see what stuck.”

See also#

• List of alternative metal bands

External links#

• 10 Essential Alternative metal singles
• Alt-Metal A To Z: 26 Bands That Define The Genre - VH1
• Alternative metal - Nuclear Blast