Post-metal
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Post-metal | |
|---|---|
| Stylistic origins: | Post-rock, Heavy metal music, Minimalism, Ambient, Sludge metal, Industrial music, Art rock, and Doom metal |
| Cultural origins: | Early 2000s, United States, Sweden. |
| Typical instruments: | Guitar – Bass – Drums – Synthesizer – Other less common instruments, such as cello, minimal use of vocals. |
| Mainstream popularity: | Limited, exists mostly within the metal scene. |
| Regional scenes | |
| California, Chicago, Illinois, and Umea, Sweden | |
Post-metal is a music genre describable as a mixture between the genres of post-rock and metal, with its roots in progressive rock and industrial music. It is broadly characterized by distorted guitar, heavy atmospherics, gradual evolution of song structure, and a minimal emphasis on vocals.
Post-metal is a closely related to the larger and older genre that is art metal, as post-metal bands often name art metal groups as influences.[1] Hydrahead Records owner and Isis frontman Aaron Turner originally termed the genre "thinking man's metal", demonstrating the link with art metal and the avant garde, by trying to move away from common metal conventions[1]. "Post-metal" is the favoured name for a growing genre, one also referred to as "instro-metal",[2] "postcore" and a great range of others.
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[edit] History
The genre's "forefathers" include bands like Tool, The Melvins, Godflesh and Neurosis. As Turner states, "those bands laid the groundwork for us [...] we're part of a recognizable lineage".[1]
Although Neurosis and Godflesh appeared earlier and display elements befitting post-metal, Isis are often credited with laying down the conventions and definition of the genre in less nebulous terms, with their release Oceanic in 2002. Their 2004 release, Panopticon is a prime example of post-metal, and post-rock elements are clearly evident in the contrast between calm melodic passages and aggressive distortion-driven climactic sequences. Similar musical structuring can be heard in Pelican's 2005 sophomore album, The Fire in Our Throats Will Beckon the Thaw, again with a focus on gradual evolution of structure.
[edit] Characteristics
The simplest way to define post-metal is as a mix of post-rock and metal. This indicates the interplay of light and dark - taking the distorted guitars and guttural vocals of metal and post-hardcore and setting that against the clean instrumentalism of post-rock. Pieces tend to be at a slow- to mid-tempo, focussing on chord changes and barrages of sound rather than lead guitar riffing and shredding, and usually eschewing guitar solos. Post-metal tends not to feature the dischordance present in a lot of modern hardcore and metal; a feature present in music by contemporaries such as Converge and Dillinger Escape Plan. This indicates that post-metal is more closely related to post-rock than to metal - in terms of sound, as opposed to lineage.
A typical post-metal set-up includes two or three guitars, a bass guitar, synths, a drumkit and a vocalist;[3][4] however, it is important to note that it is not unusual to hear completely instrumental post-metal: Pelican, for example. Orchestral passages are not uncommon, especially in the work of Cult of Luna, likewise you may hear strongly jazz-influenced music from Kayo Dot or Boris. The overall sound is generally very low, with guitars being detuned sometimes to as low as B,[5] the equivalent of a 7-string guitar. Production is usually very tight, and there is little "garage band" feel to the music. This allows for pervasive or minimalist sections, as in clean guitars or synth, to come through more clearly. The general philosophy behind post-metal production is that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, so each instrument is usually given about equal presence. Vocals are often not particularly high in the mix, and in most cases are in the style of hardcore or metal, i.e. guttural and shouted, rather than clean or shrieked as in emo, or growled in death metal. Lyrics cover a broad spectrum of issues, usually somewhat metaphysical, existentialist or macroscopic, as opposed to deeply personal or directly allegorical. Themes often include political dissatisfaction, or criticism of "herd mentality".[6][7][8]
[edit] Structure
Post-metal is also defined by structure, which leans far more towards that of post-rock than metal: songs tend to 'evolve' to a crescendo or climax (or multiple ones within a song), building upon a repeated theme or chord shift, whereas metal, however, often adheres to verse-chorus-verse conventions of song structure. As Aaron Turner of Isis states, "the standard song format of verse-chorus-verse-chorus is something that has been done and redone, and it seems pointless to adhere to that structure when there are so many other avenues to explore".[5] The result of this is often long songs, commonly in the range of six to eleven minutes.[9] Therefore a typical post-metal track is not generally suitable for radio play, nor is it commercially viable. Similarly, albums are often created as quasi-conceptual, creating the greatest impact when listened to as a whole. Likewise, it is not uncommon to see literary influences on albums, such as Red Sparowes' At the Soundless Dawn or Mastodon's Leviathan. This is arguably what makes the genre such an element of the avant-garde. It draws upon the ideas of contemporary classical music and minimalism in the vein of Steve Reich (i.e. repetition and expansion of a theme) and John Cage, at the same time as the metal scene.
A typical post-metal piece might start with a lone guitar, but eventually build to six-plus members playing simultaneously, as shown in songs like "Genesis" from The Beyond by Cult of Luna. Likewise, a post-metal song may leap "head-first" into the music, with distortion and aggression evident from the start, in a nod to the inescapable metal element of the genre. Songs like this challenge the definition of the genre, but the majority of them will contain clean interludes or lulls, usually as parts of a build-up in themselves. Relevant examples include "False Light" from Oceanic by Isis, "Australasia" from Australasia by Pelican, or "Monstrously Low Tide" from "Leaving Your Body Map" by maudlin of the Well.
Elements of post-metal can also be found in metal, metalcore and hardcore, even in releases by otherwise convention-following bands. For example, on Bless the Martyr and Kiss the Child, Norma Jean have two songs as good examples of post-metal: "Pretty Soon, I Don't Know What, but Something Is Going to Happen", and "Organized Beyond Recognition". Other hardcore bands such as Envy ("Chain Wandering Deeply"), Eden Maine ("Disformasiya"), and Converge ("Jane Doe") all give nods to the genre in some pieces, largely in their structuring. Many bands include one or two "epic" songs in an album; it is those which are comparable to post-metal.
[edit] Criticism
As a label, some see "post-metal" as redundant, as it refers to only a select few bands. On some levels, to those not particularly familiar with the music given the label, it is indistinguishable from doom metal, hardcore, metal, sludge metal, stoner metal, or any one of a plethora of genres. As it only refers to a small number of artists, in order to use the label effectively, it is necessary to have some knowledge of the music in first place, making it a somewhat esoteric term.
However, a user of the tag might point out that it unites a group of artists with a specific sound, distinguishable from other genres by fine nuances, and is not intended as a broad, all-encompassing description. Also, as a genre it has only existed in a tangible form since around 2002.
[edit] List of notable post-metal bands
- Boris
- Callisto
- Cult of Luna
- Isis
- Jakob
- Jesu
- Kayo Dot
- Kekal
- Neurosis
- Pelican
- Red Sparowes
- Russian Circles
[edit] References
- ^ a b c Caraminica, Jon. The alchemy of art-world heavy metal. The New York Times. Retrieved on September 20, 2005.
- ^ An Interview with Donny, Rob, Benny, and Augie of Tides.... StonerRock.com. Retrieved on September 20, 2006.
- ^ Cult of Luna#Members
- ^ Callisto offical biography
- ^ a b Porosky, Pamela. Aaron Turner and Michael Gallagher interview. Guitar Player. Retrieved on September 6, 2006.
- ^ Cult of Luna lyrics (see Salvation)
- ^ Isis lyrics (see Panopticon)
- ^ Callisto lyrics
- ^ The Fire in Our Throats Will Beckon the Thaw
