Last Updated on January 25, 2026 by Christian Adams
One of our most popular pages on BSM (in terms of organic search traffic) is a barebones list of rock genres from A to Z (copy-pasted from Wikipedia and doctored with numerous additions). It didn’t even have a featured image until recently. The list has sat unmolested for over a decade, collecting clicks. For whatever reason, perhaps a lack of competition, Google loves that page.
While strategizing for the 2025 website overhaul, I thought it might be cool to annotate the list from start to finish. It seemed like a fun and easy project I could bang out in a few days. I haven’t been so wrong about anything in a long time. It took three days just to get through A–C. Nevertheless, clinging to the sunk cost fallacy, I decided to stick with it and finish what I started. And now, we have Rock Genres Explained.
So, here you have the first installment of Rock Genres Starting with… Today, we survey the first letter of the alphabet, A.
Acid jazz
| Origins: | Late 1980s U.K. dance music |
| Peak popularity: | 1983–1999 |
| Defining artists: | Brand New Heavies, Us3, Jamiroqui |
| Signature cut: | n/a |
Acid jazz combines elements of funk, soul, hip-hop, jazz, and disco. It’s what you hear in the background at trendy bistros and high-end hotel lobbies.
Acid rock
| Origins: | Mid-1960s offshoot of garage punk and early psychedelic |
| Peak popularity: | 1966–1975 |
| Defining artists: | Jimi Hendrix, The Doors, Jefferson Airplane, The 13th Floor Elevators, Vanilla Fudge, Blue Cheer |
| Must-hear album(s): | Jimi Hendrix, Have You Ever Been Experienced? (1967) and The Doors (debut album) |
Acid rock is the darker, louder, and more passively aggressive older stepbrother of psychedelic rock, and one might argue that The Grateful Dead should be cited as the defining artist of the genre; however, The Dead were far too melodic and folksy to approach the raw, unbridled power of bands like Blue Cheer and MC5, and far too unfocused to realize something like “White Rabbit”.
The genre is loosely associated with the use of LSD, and hence, the term “acid”, leading people to believe it was music to hear during an acid trip, which couldn’t be any more misleading if it were propaganda.
As somebody with dozens of acid trips under my belt, you wouldn’t want to listen to most of the so-called “acid rock” bands while under the influence of acid. Trust me on this one.
Adult contemporary music
| Origins: | Mid-1960s easy listening and soft rock |
| Peak popularity: | 1967–present |
| Defining artists: | The Carpenters, Air Supply, Barry Manilow, Richard Marx, Phil Collins, Michael Bolton, Mariah Carey, Burt Bacharach, Lionel Ritchie |
| Non-essential listening: | “Against All Odds” by Phil Collins |
What do you get when you cross easy listening with soft rock? Power ballads for movie soundtracks.
Adult contemporary (AC) music is lush, soothing, slow, and polished, bearing little relation to rock music except for a guitar solo between the bridge and the outro chorus. It’s frequently classified as Muzak or background music, heard in elevators, waiting rooms, and taxis in Southeast Asian countries.
Today’s AC has evolved to embrace elements of R&B and smooth jazz. This is music for people who don’t really care for rock music, but classical is just a bit too sleepy, and modern jazz is too busy. When Bryan Adams enters the chat room, that’s your cue to pay attention.
It’s important to note that a high number of classic and well-respected artists have become mainstays of AC, e.g., Elton John, Rod Stewart, etc., and equally important to acknowledge that it’s not necessarily our (the listening public’s) fault. Who could resist the temptation of another Burt Bacharach smash hit from Dionne Warwick?
Adult alternative
| Origins: | 1980s album-oriented radio formats |
| Peak popularity: | 1980—present |
| Defining artists: | U2, R.E.M., Coldplay, Dave Matthews, Sheryl Crow, Counting Crows |
| Non-essential listening: | “Losing My Religion” by R.E.M. |
Adult album alternative (also triple-A, AAA, or adult alternative) is a radio format derived from classic album stations of the ’70s as well as the alternative rock format that developed in the ’80s.
Your clue is the “adult” part of the phrase, but AAA includes a wide range of “precious” music, including indie rock, Americana, pop rock, classic rock, alternative rock, new wave, alternative country, jazz, folk, world music, and sadly, blues.
In the days when radio programming mattered, AAA songs originally tended to be deep cuts from popular artists but shifted to singles when artists started aiming for the charts.
U2 wasn’t considered AAA until Joshua Tree (1987) and beyond. “With or Without You” got played on just about every American rock radio station for a year or longer.
“Beautiful Day” (2015) is currently the reigning king of the genre, which might as well be a cover of Adele’s “Rolling in the Deep” for its lack of connection to rock music.
Album-oriented rock
| Origins: | Late 1960s FM radio broadcasting |
| Peak popularity: | 1977–1992(ish) |
| Defining artists: | Fleetwood Mac, Boston, Steely Dan, ELO |
| Defining album: | Boston, Boston (1976) |
Another term that’s more of a radio format than a genre of rock. Album-oriented radio (AOR) was coined and developed by radio stations playing album tracks (aka deep cuts) by rock artists from the hard rock and progressive rock genres. The format is now most closely associated with classic rock.
In a closely related anecdote, ’70s late-night radio station disc jockeys loved 7-minute tracks like “Stairway to Heaven” because they could drop the needle and have a smoke or take a piss. In some cases, they could play side 1 of Boston’s first album and take a walk around the block before anybody noticed.
Afro punk
| Origins: | Mid 70s punk |
| Peak popularity: | 1977–1992(ish) |
| Defining artists: | Bad Brains, Fishbone, Death, Pure Hell |
| Must-hear album: | Bad Brains, Rock for Light (1983) |
In the most basic terms, afro punk is punk music made by black (or African-American) people, and the “niche” is generally extended to any punk band with a black guy. Technically, the Dead Kennedys were vaguely afro punk because D. H. Peligro was black.
Bad Brains, Fishbone, Death, and Pure Hell were the era’s most successful or notable all-black “punk” bands.
Afro rock
| Origins: | Late 60s–early 70s central African music |
| Peak popularity: | 1969–1974 |
| Defining artists: | Osibisa, Assagai, Super Eagles, Lafayette Afro Rock Band |
| Must-hear album: | Darkest Light: The Best of Lafayette Afro Rock Band (1999) |
It seems strange not to mention Fela Kuti, but you’ll hear about him next. This genre specifically refers to central African rock music from the late 1960s and early 1970s, created by bands like Osibisa, Assagai, and Lafayette Afro Rock Band.
In short, afro rock is African music using standard rock instruments: guitar, bass, and drums, and healthy doses of wah-wah guitar, a horn section, and plenty of conga and other percussion instruments. The beat comes first.
Afrobeat
| Origins: | Late 1960s West African music, funk, jazz, soul, Afro-Cuban music |
| Peak popularity: | 1969–present |
| Defining artists: | Fela Kuti |
| Must-hear album: | Fela Kuti, Zombie (1976) |
Afrobeat was pioneered in the 1960s by Nigerian multi-instrumentalist and bandleader Fela Kuti, who married James Brown’s funk with jazz and traditional West African dance rhythms. Melodies focus on chanted vocals with complex intersecting rhythms. At the height of his popularity, Fela Kuti was the biggest pop star in Africa, identified on a first-name basis.
Alternative country
| Origins: | 1990s alternative and country rock |
| Peak popularity: | 1992–present |
| Defining artists: | Uncle Tupelo, Wilco, Son Volt, The Jayhawks, Whiskeytown |
| Suggested song: | “Drown” by Son Volt |
Sorry for being judgmental, but this genre makes no sense to me. I thought we’d be talking about Hank Williams III, Kip Attaway, and David Allan Coe, but they’re considered “outlaw country.” Huh.
The Jayhawks don’t belong in this subgenre, but that’s life. Sometimes you’re guilty by association.
Alternative country is lo-fi, lo-effort country(ish) indie rock music made by people who (a) didn’t want to go full-country, and (b) thought it would be cool to rewrite a Gram Parsons song or five, talking about bluegrass like Bill Monroe. Emphasis on cool.
Uncle Tupelo’s first album, No Depression, might get credit for defining the genre, but okay, so what?
Fun fact: Peter Buck (R.E.M.) produced Uncle Tupelo’s third album (March 16–20, 1992), which contains several tracks featuring the same mandolin used on R.E.M.’s adult alternative anthem, “Losing My Religion”, one of the worst “rock” songs ever foisted upon the listening public.
Alternative dance
| Origins: | 1980s electronic dance music |
| Peak popularity: | 1985–present |
| Defining artists: | New Order, The Prodigy, Chemical Brothers, U2, Fatboy Slim |
| Non-essential listening: | Fatboy Slim, You’ve Come a Long Way, Baby (1998) |
I’m kidding when I say anything with a drum machine is considered dance music, but I was standing right there when ZZ Top recorded “Legs”.
New Order is a band I use as a conversational barometer. If you mention New Order in the same breath as rock music, we might not be talking much longer.
I had super high hopes that this genre would reveal something new or groundbreaking about the “dance” genre of rock music. I was thinking that maybe, just maybe, there was an alternative type of dancing in rock music that I didn’t know about.
Alternative dance is essentially electronic dance music with flimsy elements of indie rock, like so many sprinkles on a cupcake, like a detuned guitar riff over the main hook, or Achtung Baby, take your pick.
Alternative funk rock
| Origins: | Late 1970s hard rock and funk |
| Peak popularity: | 1980–2000 |
| Defining artists: | Fishbone, Primus, Jane’s Addiction, Red Hot Chili Peppers, 24/7 Spyz, House of Large Sizes |
| Must-hear album: | Fishbone, Truth and Soul (1988) |
A hybrid of punk and metal with funk that emerged from mostly West Coast bands in the 1980s. They weren’t doing James Brown covers, but leaning heavily on the 7th and 9th chords.
Alternative hip-hop
| Origins: | A natural progression of mid 1980s rap and hip hop |
| Peak popularity: | 1990–1998 |
| Defining artists: | Tribe Called Quest, De La Soul, Black Sheep, Pharcyde, Outkast, Arrested Development, The Fugees |
| Must-hear album: | De La Soul, 3 Feet High and Rising (1989) |
I struggled with including this genre on the list because hip-hop is not perceived to be rock music, but I think hip-hop in the late 1980s and early 1990s rocked harder than any rock music on the airwaves. And it’s all based on the same thing: a good beat, a good hook, and somebody who’s got something to say that I want or need to hear.
It’s easier to say what alternative hip-hop isn’t than to define the category. AHH is not N.W.A. and “Fuck the Police”. It’s a new perspective and creative approach to hip-hop that didn’t adhere to many of the cliches associated with gangsta and hardcore rap. In my opinion, it all started with Beastie Boys and their MTV crossover.
Tribe Called Quest and Black Sheep showed us that rap could make us think about serious shit while nodding to the beat, rolling down I-55 at 75 clicks. De La Soul and Outkast confirmed, as presented by the B-Boys, that rap could be seriously fun, too.
One might argue that most of today’s top artists are making alternative hip hop.
Alternative metal
| Origins: | Mid-80s heavy metal and hard rock |
| Peak popularity: | 1989–2002 |
| Defining artists: | First wave: Soundgarden, Jane’s Addiction, Helmet, Tool, and Alice in Chains, Faith No More, Living Colour. Second wave: Korn, Limp Bizkit, Disturbed, Godsmack, System of a Down, Linkin Park, Slipknot |
| Must-hear albums: | Soundgarden, Badmotorfinger (1991) and Slipknot, Iowa (1997) |
If you read the previous entry, the development of alternative metal is nearly identical to alternative hip-hop in the sense that a new breed of rock and metal bands were eschewing the traditions and tropes of their predecessors, in this case, 1980s metal.
The first wave of alternative metal ditched the big hair and sexist overtones and took all the good things about hard rock and metal—the power chords and gnarly riffs, the soaring vocals, the thunderous backbeats—and applied them in new and exciting ways. The genre emerged from several different scenes, including (but not limited to) hardcore punk, noise rock, grunge, and stoner rock. Every band in the first wave is also considered alternative rock.
The second wave of alternative metal, also known as nu metal, went one step further (in some cases) by adding elements of hip-hop and dance. Likewise, several bands like System of a Down and Slipknot incorporated other, unexpected tricks.
Alternative rock
| Origins: | Late 1970s punk, rock, new wave, and funk |
| Peak popularity: | 1980–present |
| Defining artists: | Too many to list |
| Must-hear album: | Too many to list |
Alternative rock has at least one elemental signature of rock music without most of the histrionics and ego of classic rock music defined by Led Zeppelin, et al. (see cock rock).
In some ways, even though many alternative rock bands were heavily influenced by Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, the music emerged as a patent rejection of 1970s excess and exuberance. We needed some levity after a decade of The Song Remains the Same.
However, that is not to say that anything that isn’t Led Zeppelin is “alternative.” Alternative metal has Reagan-era bullshit written all over it.
Alternative to What?
The term originates from late 1970s journalism and radio broadcasting, but didn’t reach critical mass until 1989–1990 or so. As an “umbrella term”, alternative rock involves dozens of subgenres, but especially post-punk and new wave, and a litany of artists from local independent scenes that eventually gained widespread appeal. Many artists who are now considered alternative rock were originally from other genres, until a moment in the late 1980s, when they received enough attention to be lumped into one broad category.
Today, everything from The Cure to Smash Mouth could be considered alternative. The question is: Alternative to what? The answer: Led Zeppelin, et al.
Americana music
| Origins: | Early American folk and traditional music |
| Peak popularity: | 1950–present |
| Defining artists: | Pete Seeger, Phil Ochs, The Kingston Trio, Bob Dylan, The Byrds, Wilco, Lucinda Williams, Gillian Welch, Mumford & Sons, Violent Femmes |
| Flagship song: | “Black Angel Death Song” by Violent Femmes |
Also known as American roots rock, Americana can be traced back to early 20th-century folk music, winding its way through 100 years of cultural and musical tapestries: country, folk, blues, bluegrass, R&B, gospel, and rock.
Early Americana involved acoustic guitar, banjo, mandolin, harmonica, fiddle, and upright bass for melody; washboards, washtubs, and empty ceramic jugs of moonshine as percussion; and the songs typically went on about everyday life in rural, post-Reconstruction America. Workin’ in the coal mine type of stuff. Woody Guthrie has entered the conversation briefly.
Musically, Americana sounds like an oral history of a young and upcoming nation, as told from the front porch of a settler’s homestead in Tennessee.
The folk revival of the 1950s paved the way for Bob Dylan, who single-handedly put everybody else on the map—not just Americana music. Name your favorite band, and I’ll wager there are no more than six degrees of separation from Dylan.
Aside from the Violent Femmes (for a brief period), I don’t think there’s a significant band or artist who genuinely or intentionally identifies with this genre. It’s more of a manufactured brand name for marketing purposes.
Anarcho-punk
| Origins: | Mid-1960s garage, proto-punk rock, and political activism |
| Peak popularity: | 1977–1988 |
| Defining artists: | MC5, The Fugs, Sex Pistols, Minor Threat, Crass, Black Flag, Dead Kennedys, Against Me |
| Must-hear albums: | Dead Kennedys, Fresh Fruit for Rotting Vegetables (1980) |
For a genre defined by anti-establishment political and social angst, nearly every so-called anarcho-punk band had at least one top-shelf toe-tapper in their setlist. Somehow, the Dead Kennedys found a catchy way to say, “Let’s Lynch the Landlord” while preaching pacifism in theory.
It’s probably safe to say that every band listed in the ‘defining artists’ category wouldn’t appreciate the label, mainly because “anarchy” in and of itself is one of the most misunderstood political philosophies in modern history.
What is Anarchy?
The version of anarchism that circulates in punk rock scenes is often a stripped-down, highly generalized take on the actual political philosophy, which creates a few major disconnects. The biggest one is the idea—popularized in tracks like “Anarchy in the U.K.”—that “anarchy” simply means mayhem, zero rules, and a kind of rebellious, anti-authority free-for-all.
In political theory, however, anarchism centers on a society without a state that functions through voluntary cooperation, mutual responsibility, and community-driven forms of organization—not just unchecked personal freedom.
Within punk culture, the emphasis can tilt toward crafting an outsider identity or adopting a distinct lifestyle (like straight-edge practices or signature punk aesthetics) rather than building a strategic approach to class struggle or structural transformation. This more “lifestylist” orientation has drawn criticism from traditional or materially focused anarchists, who fear the movement loses relevance once adolescence fades.
What Do Punks Get Wrong About Anarchy?
Critics also point out that newcomers who arrive via punk often have little exposure to the historical or theoretical foundations of anarchism—such as anarcho-syndicalism or anarcho-communism.1 That gap can lead to friction over fundamental questions, including appropriate tactics, long-term aims, and whether violence or pacifism best serves the cause.
What we can say about most bands of the anarcho-punk genre is they’re generally loud, fast, angry, with shorter songs and supercharged energy, and sometimes they sing and shout about maleficent social issues, all of which used to sit very nicely in the teenage hemisphere that regulates pleasure.
Anti-folk
| Origins: | Mid 1980s Lower East Side, NYC |
| Peak popularity: | 1990–2005(ish) |
| Defining artists: | Lach, John S. Hall, Paleface, Michelle Shocked, Beck, Jeffrey Lewis, Regina Spektor, Moldy Peaches, Roger Manning |
| Relevant listening: | Roger Manning’s first three albums |
Anti-folk rock is a joke; a reactionary punchline to a long story about how mainstream folk music (of the era) could only crawl so far up its collective, pretentious ass. A group of musicians said, “Hey, we really like folk music, but we’re not gonna take ourselves so seriously.”
The music was unconventionally good and surprisingly humorous, the bands printed and distributed their music independently, and the audience identified with the overall cool-kid ethos. Several artists loosely or wholly associated with anti-folk went on to enjoy decent to extremely successful commercial careers (Regina Spektor, Moldy Peaches, Beck, Michelle Shocked), and if that isn’t irony, I don’t know the meaning of the word anymore.
NOTE: Roger Manning is not to be confused with Roger Joseph Manning, Jr. of Jellyfish.
Anatolian rock
| Origins: | Mid 1960s Turkish folk and rock music |
| Peak popularity: | 1960–1980 |
| Defining artists: | Moğollar |
| Must-hear album: | N/A |
Also known as Turkish psychedelic rock, the genre is a hybrid of Turkish folk music and rock. The genesis of Anatolian rock dates to the 1930s and the establishment of the Turkish Republic, when Ataturk promoted a national identity that gelled with Western culture. Rock and roll started to gain popularity with educated youngsters in the 1960s, and like so many people who heard The Beatles for the first time, many kids said to themselves, “Yeah, I wanna do that!“
Anatolian rock features an interesting fusion of Turkish folk and emerging rock genres like surf rock and psychedelic rock. It sounds super familiar but somewhat alien at the same time. But what’s fascinating about the genre is how this music became deeply political and divisive in Turkish society. And in fact, following a military coup in 1980, rock bands were banned from performing, and some were sent to jail.
The band Moğollar is credited with “changing the landscape of Turkish rock by incorporating elements of Anatolian folk music.”
Arena rock
| Origins: | 1970s mainstream rock (aka stadium or corporate rock) |
| Peak popularity: | 1975–1999(ish) |
| Defining artists: | First wave: Pink Floyd, Kiss, REO Speedwagon, Styx, Toto, Journey, Boston, ELO, Van Halen, AC/DC. Second wave: Def Leppard, Poison, Motley Crue, Whitesnake, Bon Jovi, Aerosmith. Third wave: U2, R.E.M., Dave Matthews, Radiohead, Metallica, Foo Fighters |
| Must-hear albums: | Queen, News of the World (1977), and Def Leppard, Pyromania (1983) |
Also known as “dad rock” (and frequently lumped in with butt rock or cock rock), arena rock gets dismissed by critics for being too eager to please.
Music to be performed in front of 15,000 people needs to be big on every level.
First, it needs to reach the common denominator of an audience (big production = radio-friendly). Second, it needs to be upbeat and dynamic (big hooks = anthemic sing-alongs). And finally, the band needs to put on a show (big stage values = pyrotechnics and lasers).
Queen is one of the original arena rock bands, but Alice Cooper, Kiss, and Elton John were also incredible and spectacular live performers in football stadiums. Why? They wrote dumb but memorable sing-along songs, and, most importantly, they put on a memorable visual display of showmanship.
Music vs. Spectacle
Just because a rock band can sell out at arenas on a regular basis doesn’t mean they fall into the arena rock category—Phish and The Grateful Dead being two great examples of bands that placed more emphasis on their music than the spectacle.
Oasis is technically arena rock, but their stage show is stunningly flat and tedious.
The first wave of arena rock sort of stumbled into itself with a couple of pearl-clutching power ballads from REO, Styx, and Kiss, which sustained a phalanx of classic rock bands into the mid-1980s and paved the way for a second wave.
Here Come the Power Ballads
Three first-wave bands that never had a power ballad: Pink Floyd, Van Halen (David Lee Roth-era), and AC/DC. Everybody else had a “Babe” or a “Keep On Lovin’ You”.
Every second-wave arena rock band had at least one power ballad. Even Van Halen with Sammy Hagar had “Dreams”.
The rise of grunge almost killed the formula, but a third wave emerged in the mid-1990s, led by U2 and R.E.M., who grew from cult bands to worldwide superstars within a decade of formation. Now, instead of power ballads, we get “Everybody Hurts” and “Nothing Else Matters” by Metallica.
Art pop
| Origins: | Mid-1960s pop and rock |
| Peak popularity: | 1966–present |
| Defining artists: | The Beach Boys, David Bowie, Roxy Music, Björk |
| Must-hear album: | Björk, Debut (1993) |
In my opinion, all forms of “art rock” started with Brian Wilson’s “Good Vibrations” in 1966. But first, let me digress.
All art is making some kind of statement. Andy Warhol and his pop art movement drew inspiration from avant-garde literature, fashion, film, and fine art. Mixed with an appreciation of high versus low culture, pop art emphasized style over substance as an aesthetic, i.e., the object was the statement itself.
If you’re unfamiliar with postmodernism, think of Warhol’s Campbell’s Soup Cans (1962). That’s art? No, it’s a clever display of self-awareness and biting commentary about the nature of commercialism and consumption, otherwise known as “popular culture.”
Art pop was initially influenced by pop art in the mid-1960s, as pop musicians like Brian Wilson, Phil Spector, and the Beatles began taking themselves seriously. I’m not kidding. It’s that simple. Up until Pet Sounds and Sgt. Pepper’s, there was very little “art of self-awareness” in rock music. Both albums were the first to mix the episodic structures of classical music with the stupid-simple conventions of pop music. And in doing so, elevated pop music as an art form, obliterating standard practices in studio recording. If Warhol could do it with a can of soup, the Beatles could do it with a song.
Wilson’s “Good Vibrations” snowballed into art rock, glam rock, punk, post-punk, new wave, and so on.
Art punk
| Origins: | Mid 1970s punk rock |
| Peak popularity: | 1977–1981 |
| Defining artists: | Pere Ubu, Television, The Fall, Wire, Public Image Ltd. |
| Must-hear album: | Wire, Pink Flag (1977) |
Early punk rock music was exceedingly simple. It was more about feel than precision.
After a while, certain bands recognized that “punk” was more of a fashion statement or personal aesthetic than a unified type of music. While many early punk bands seemed to be repelled by progress, nearly every art punk band had at least one member who went to art school.
The consensus is that a new wave of punk-inspired bands started playing a more “sophisticated” style of rock, which introduced an open-ended proposition.
We’ll talk more about this in the next section.
Art rock
| Origins: | Mid-1960s psychedelic and pop-rock music |
| Peak popularity: | 1966–1981 |
| Defining artists: | The Beatles, Beach Boys, Pink Floyd, Roxy Music, King Crimson, Genesis, Yes, Brian Eno, Frank Zappa, Captain Beefheart, Velvet Underground |
| Must-hear albums: | The Velvet Underground, The Velvet Underground & Nico; Brian Eno, Here Come the Warm Jets; Captain Beefheart, Trout Mask Replica, and Genesis, The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway |
Art school has made an indelible mark on the evolution of rock music. John Lennon, Pete Townshend, and David Bowie went to art school. Some members of Radiohead reportedly met at art school. Members of Talking Heads went to art school. Bauhaus is named after a German art school. Brian Eno went to art school. The mentions could go on and on, but they won’t help us define or understand what, exactly, is art rock?
The term “art” has been a negative descriptor in rock music because it implies some educational bias about pretense and the principles of avant-garde. Punk rock was all about “not knowing how to play your instruments”, while art rock seemed to understand that to break the rules properly, you had to know them inside and out.
What Is Or Isn’t Art Rock
Art rock is often associated with progressive rock, but that’s misleading and inaccurate. Nobody in their right mind would say that Rush is art rock. The Beatles and The Beach Boys are considered the co-parents of the genre, with Pet Sounds and Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, representing the paternal twin offspring. Likewise, conceptualism and experimentation are the driving forces behind all forms of art rock, whether the influences are jazz, classical, or any type of avant-garde expression.
Forever associated with Andy Warhol and the late 1960s NYC art scene, The Velvet Underground are second-generation primogenitors of art rock as we know it, and The Velvet Underground & Nico (1967) is equally compelling as anything The Beatles or Brian Wilson ever did.
I think the best way to describe art rock is that it’s always trying to say something meaningful with intention, which is a clear departure from rock and roll, where traditional themes of love, heartbreak, good times, and dancing the night away are expressed and portrayed in three-and-a-half minutes or less. Art rock tends to be more time-consuming, penetrating, lyrically expansive, controversial, and personally vulnerable, no more exemplary than Lou Reed’s 7-minute magnum opus, “Heroin”.
Avant-garde metal
| Origins: | 1980s progressive and extreme death metal |
| Peak popularity: | 1986–present |
| Defining artists: | Celtic Frost, Voivod, Mr. Bungle, Neurosis, Sunn O)))), Tomahawk, Saccharine Trust, Yakuza |
| Must-hear albums: | Mr. Bungle, Mr. Bungle (1991), Neurosis, Souls at Zero (1992) |
A subtle mutation of progressive rock and death metal, avant-garde metal was supposedly pioneered by a small number of bands like Celtic Frost and Voivod in the mid-’80s, but to be honest, Celtic Frost doesn’t sound all that different from what Metallica was doing at the same time (Ride the Lightning (1985) and Master of Puppets (1986)). Metallica had melody. Celtic Frost didn’t. And early Voivod sounds way ahead of its time, but avant-garde? That’s a stretch.
Certain artists may straddle the line between alternative metal and avant-garde metal, but the difference between genres can be distilled in two words: extreme experimentation.
Most alternative metal is defined by a new stylistic approach to metal, but it doesn’t stray too far from the original format. Songs have a relatively linear structure; you can hear what the singer is saying (for the most part); the time signatures might get a little bumpy, but there’s a journey from Point A to Point B.
Important Departures
Avant-garde metal involves two important departures. First, it takes the experimentation several steps further by dismissing conventional structures. Second, it obliterates the concept of “style” with a focus on the abstract “substance” or elemental foundation of music.
One might assume that AGM is nothing but an unrelenting onslaught of brutal sonic punishment, and frankly, some of it is, but you might be surprised by how many ways the experience can be achieved. And of course, that’s generalizing, which is only appropriate for readers just passing through. Fans of avant-garde metal will be spitting at their monitors.
By the close of the 1980s, Neurosis, Earth, and Mr. Bungle appeared on the scene, and in my opinion, the first Mr. Bungle album is the epitome of avant-garde metal and deserves its singular meditation. AllMusic called it a “dizzying, disconcerting, schizophrenic tour…hopping from genre to genre without any apparent rhyme or reason, and sometimes doing so several times in the same song.”
Mr. Bungle set the course for others to follow. It’s okay if a track doesn’t have an intro. There usually won’t be a recognizable chorus, and if there is a guitar solo somewhere, you might not hear it over the sound of a man in excruciating pain and/or delirious pleasure. Tempos might range from glacial sludge to the speed of light, often in the same track. Nobody is going to care if we cycle through jazz, orchestral pop, noise rock, soft rock, bossa nova, carnival music, ska, and Southern California funk, all within the space of several minutes. You might even enjoy it.
Bands like Tool, Melvins, Avenged Sevenfold, Meshuggah, Boris, Doom, and Godflesh may dabble in avant-garde motifs and vocabulary, but their hearts (and bank accounts) exist in other genres.
Therein is the rub: true avant-garde metal is not the easiest listening experience in rock music, not by a long shot. And so, because AGM never got too popular, it never really went away.
We love to hear your feedback! Let us know if you think we missed something in the comments.
