Technical metal

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Technical metal
Stylistic origins	Thrash metal Jazz-Fusion
Cultural origins	Late 1980s United States, Europe
Typical instruments	Vocals − Guitar − Bass guitar − Double-bass drum
Mainstream popularity	Underground
Derivative forms	Progressive metal
Subgenres
Technical death metal, Mathcore

Technical metal (also known as tech metal) is a cross-genre reference to heavy metal bands who perform a regular show of skill using changeable, sometimes jazz-like time signatures and drumming patterns, and often dissonant or atonal guitar riffs. Bands of this type are also called technical metal if their music is more technical than is normal for the genre of music they play. The first wave of technical metal began in the late 1980s when some thrash metal bands, such as Watchtower^[1], Coroner^[2], and Sadus^[3] , began playing music a great degree more technical than their counterparts.

Contents 1 Math metal 2 Technical death metal 3 Progressive technical metal 4 Mathcore 5 References 6 See also

[edit] Math metal

The term, math metal, is used to describe a variant of technical metal that can be seen as a fusion of math rock's complex tendencies with metal music. It has been applied to the band Meshuggah^[4], as well as bands such as Coprofago and Hacride.

[edit] Technical death metal

Main article: Technical death metal

In the late 1980s and early 1990s, certain death metal bands began to combine the technical aspect's of early technical metal with death metal. Bands such as Death, Suffocation, Cryptopsy, and Gorguts were at the forefront of this new genre. In 1991 Death released Human. This album and later Death albums have proven influential on 1990s technical death metal bands. ^[5] Other early technical death albums are Effigy of the Forgotten (1991) by Suffocation, Considered Dead (1991) by Gorguts, Nespithe (1993) by Demilich and Focus (1993) by Cynic. While these bands became recognised for their technicality, it wasn't fully understood until the mid 1990s when other bands created music that furthered what were then the borders of death metal.

[edit] Progressive technical metal

Progressive technical metal was formed when certian progressive metal bands began playing music much more technical their contemporaries. It is sometimes similar to Metal fusion. Jazz elements are frequently used, but not to the same extent as the former genre. Usually this type of music is instrumental (with exceptions). Example's include Spastic Ink^[6] and Spiral Architect^[7]

[edit] Mathcore

Main article: Mathcore

Mathcore is a style of metalcore recognized for a high level of technical musicianship. The subgenre has its roots in bands like Converge^[8]and The Dillinger Escape Plan^[9].

The music is usually filled with discordant but still very solid and harmonic, somewhat technical riffing, complex time signatures and song structures, and passionate, energetic vocals although bands often use additional fading out hollow-like background vocals. Songs played by bands of this style tend to vary from mere seconds in length to over 15 minutes and rarely feature a conventional verse-chorus song structure. Bands of the mathcore genre, because they are not commercially viable, are often categorized differently depending upon the whims of journalists.

[edit] References

[edit] See also

• Progressive metal
• Technical death metal
• Math rock
• Mathcore - a style of technical metalcore