Groove metal

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Groove metal (sometimes referred to as half-thrash or post-thrash) is a subgenre of heavy metal that emerged in the early 1990s. ^[1][2] The genre emerged in the early 1990s through albums such as Exhorder's Slaughter in the Vatican (1990) and Pantera's Cowboys from Hell (1990); ^[3] who first incorporated groove-based rhythms into thrash metal. But it was not until later albums like Exhorder's The Law (1992), Pantera's Vulgar Display of Power (1992), Sepultura's Chaos A.D. (1993), White Zombie's La Sexorcisto: Devil Music, Vol. 1 (1992), Overkill's I Hear Black (1993) and Machine Head's Burn My Eyes (1994) that groove metal took its pure form.^{[citation needed]}

Origins

Early progenitors of the genre such as Exhorder, Pantera, Sepultura and White Zombie claim influence from their peers and contemporary thrash metal bands such as Slayer, Megadeth and Metallica, blues-laden traditional heavy metal such as Black Sabbath and Deep Purple as well as hardcore punk bands such as Black Flag. ^[4][5]

Musical traits

Groove metal bands tend to play mid-tempo thrash riffs focusing on heaviness and groovy syncopation. ^[2][6] Guitarists generally play low syncopated power chord patterns and mid-paced guitar solos, and occasionally use heavy palm muting.

The tone is typically described as thick and mid-scooped down with boosted bass and trebles, usually under a harsh distortion. Solid state amplifiers using transistors are commonly used to gain this asymmetrical harmonic clipping sound, although tube amps are used sometimes as well. Like most other heavy metal bass styles, groove metal bass lines typically follow the rhythm guitar riffs but are sometimes used as introduction to a guitar riff or as intermezzi when the guitar riffs are de-emphasized. The use of bass distortion is common.

Vocals usually consist of thrash metal-styled shouts, hardcore-styled barks, and clean singing. Groove metal drums typically use double-bass drumming, with emphasis on using the double bass drum in waves. Uncommon time signatures and polyrhythms are typical for some bands; generally these bands put heavy emphasis on the changing beat. Groove metal typically follows in a medium tempo, ^[2] but can vary from band to band or song to song.

See also

• List of groove metal bands

References