Metal Subgenres Explained: Thrash, Death, Black, Doom and More

"Metal" covers a huge range of sounds, from the bluesy riffs of the 1970s to blast beats and orchestras. Knowing the main subgenres makes it much easier to find bands you'll love. Here's a clear map of the big branches, what defines each one and where to start listening.

The roots: heavy metal

Heavy metal grew out of hard rock and blues in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Black Sabbath's slow, ominous riffs are widely seen as the starting point. Key traits: distorted guitar riffs, powerful vocals and a darker mood than rock.

The main branches

Subgenre	Sound in one line	Bands to start with
NWOBHM	Fast, melodic twin guitars, late-1970s Britain	Iron Maiden, Saxon, Judas Priest (closely linked)
Thrash metal	Very fast, aggressive riffs and shouted vocals	Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth, Anthrax
Death metal	Low growled vocals, heavy down-tuned riffs, complex drumming	Death, Cannibal Corpse, Morbid Angel
Black metal	Raw, cold production, shrieked vocals, tremolo picking	Mayhem, Darkthrone, Emperor
Doom metal	Slow, heavy and mournful	Candlemass, Electric Wizard
Power metal	Soaring vocals, fast melodies, epic themes	Helloween, Blind Guardian, Sabaton
Progressive metal	Long songs, odd time signatures, technical playing	Dream Theater, Tool, Opeth
Nu metal	Down-tuned grooves mixed with hip-hop and electronics	Korn, Linkin Park, Slipknot
Metalcore	Hardcore punk energy, breakdowns, screamed and clean vocals	Killswitch Engage, Bring Me the Horizon
Symphonic metal	Orchestras and choirs layered over metal	Nightwish, Epica

How the branches connect

Thrash took the speed of punk and the riffs of NWOBHM.
Death metal and black metal both grew out of extreme thrash in the mid-1980s, then went in opposite directions: death metal towards weight and technique, black metal towards atmosphere and rawness.
Doom stayed closest to early Black Sabbath, slowing everything down.
Nu metal and metalcore brought metal to a new generation in the 1990s and 2000s by mixing in hip-hop, hardcore and electronic sounds.

Words you'll see a lot

Riff: a repeated guitar pattern that carries the song.
Breakdown: a slower, heavy section built for headbanging, common in metalcore.
Blast beat: extremely fast alternating kick, snare and cymbal hits, common in death and black metal.
Growl / scream: harsh vocal styles. Clean vocals are sung normally.
Down-tuning: tuning guitars lower for a heavier sound.

How to find your subgenre

Pick a band you already like and look up which subgenre it's filed under.
Listen to two or three classic albums from that branch.
Branch out sideways: if you love thrash, try crossover thrash or early death metal; if you love power metal, try symphonic metal.
Follow the support acts on tours. Bands usually tour with others from neighbouring scenes.

Subgenre labels are useful maps, not strict rules. Many of the best bands mix several of them, and that's part of the fun.

Heavy Metal Subgenres Explained: A Map From Thrash to Doom