How many different types of metals are there?

Answer 1

The chemistry answer:

There are 91:

• 6 Alkali metals
• 6 Alkaline earth metals
• 38 Transition metals
• 11 Post-transition metals
• 15 Lanthanoids
• 15 Actinoids

The music answer:

To put it simply, hundreds. With every new band that has any bit of originality a new sub-genre can be created. Now this may seem a bit ridiculous and metal has earned its share of criticism due to it, many listeners believe it for the best. The day may soon come when someone will create a worthwhile metal search engine that will produce EXACTLY what bands you are looking for.

The main sub-genres of metal are Heavy/Traditional, Speed/Thrash, Death, Black, Orchestrated/Symphonic, Power, Doom, Progressive, Gothic, Electronic, and Folk/Viking. Then, you get your crossovers between one or more of these sub-genres, the most popular being Blackened Death Metal (Black and Death metal together), and Symphonic Power Metal.

Then new sub-genres come into play like Melodic Death Metal, which is a crossbreed of Death Metal and Power Metal, also with elements of Thrash Metal, but sound little like any of these original roots.

There are also many forms of "extreme" metal outside of the death and black sub-genres, such as Grindcore and Technical Death Metal.

Then, metal occasionally meets other genres, such as hardcore and art rock. In fact much of today's metal is simply Scandinavian style Melodic Death/Thrash Metal mixed with American Hardcore, giving us the New Wave of American Heavy Metal.

Again, to answer your question, hundreds at least. And more arrive all the time.

Answer 2

84