Last Updated on January 10, 2026 by Christian Adams
Buckle up for a wild ride as we tackle some of the most important rock genres that start with P in this first half of the letter’s installment. Our rock genre explainer doesn’t quit until rock bands stop coming up with new subgenres.
Pagan metal
| Origin: | Early 1990s European extreme metal (especially Finland, Germany, Russia) |
| Peak popularity: | 2000–present |
| Defining artists: | Moonsorrow, Falkenbach, Arkona, Primordial |
| Exemplary album: | Voimasta ja kunniasta (2001) by Moonsorrow |
Emerging in the early ’90s alongside black and folk metal, often associated with viking metal (in theory), pagan metal is where heavy riffs meet ancient myths. The subgenre is more of a concept than a type of rock music. However, most pagan metal bands are focused on pre-Christian spirituality, mythology, and cultural heritage, often incorporating folk instruments, archaic languages, and epic atmospheres. Bands like Moonsorrow crafted sweeping, cinematic epics, while Ireland’s Primordial added a mournful Celtic weight. Russia’s Arkona leaned heavily into Slavic folk traditions, mixing growls with traditional instruments.
As implied earlier, there is a wild disparity in sound between pagan metal bands. They can be ferocious and blackened, or melodic and gymnastic, but always tied to a sense of cultural history. For some, pagan metal serves to reclaim old traditions; for others, it’s just an atmospheric, powerful twist on extreme metal’s already convoluted sprawl.
Pagan rock
| Origin: | Early 1980s British hard rock |
| Peak popularity: | 1985–1995 |
| Defining artists: | Inkubus Sukkubus, Fields of the Nephilim (at times), All About Eve |
| Exemplary album: | Belladonna & Aconite (1993) by Inkubus Sukkubus |
Pagan rock has no association with pagan metal, drawing from goth and post-punk with moody atmospheres and overtly pagan, Wiccan, or mystical themes. Emerging in the alternative/gothic underground of the ’80s and ’90s, it carried spiritual content more directly than occult rock, often tied to neo-pagan movements.
Like so many subgenres of rock music, pagan rock is more an umbrella term than a cohesive musical genre. Inkubus Sukkubus became the flagship band, mixing gothic rock stylings with witchy lyricism. Fields of the Nephilim flirted with similar themes, though with more Western and apocalyptic imagery, while All About Eve leaned toward ethereal folk rock moods.
Pagan rock splinters from new age music with tangents into medieval folk rock, the darker elements of traditional and folk music, Celtic rock, neo-folk, and neoclassical metal, darkwave, ethereal wave, ambient, industrial, and experimental music.
Paisley Underground
| Origin: | Early to mid-1980s Los Angeles underground classic and punk rock |
| Peak popularity: | 1980–1989 |
| Defining artists: | The Bangles, The Dream Syndicate, Rain Parade, Green on Red, the Three O’Clock, Game Theory, and Thin White Rope |
| Exemplary album: | The Days of Wine and Roses (1982) by The Dream Syndicate |
Cross the energy of punk with the sophistication of classic rock and you get…the Paisley Underground, a retro-psychedelic movement in 1980s California, drenched in jangly guitars, rich harmonies, and a love for ’60s psychedelic and folk rock. It wasn’t a long-lived scene, but it offered a colorful counterpoint to L.A.’s glam metal excess. More importantly, it kept psychedelic-leaning rock alive in an era dominated by slick new wave (The Cars, Blondie) and hard rock (Van Halen, Aerosmith), paving the way for later indie revivalists.
The scene was typecast as inspired amateurism rooted in a punk rock, DIY ethic, drawing influences from the Velvet Underground, Quicksilver Messenger Service, Crazy Horse, Creedence Clearwater Revival, the Doors, Love, the Beatles, the Byrds, Big Star, Buffalo Springfield, the Bee Gees, the Monkees, the Mamas & the Papas, the Soft Boys, Bob Dylan, the Beach Boys, and the Who.
The term originated in late 1982, but the Paisley Underground movement was mirrored in New Zealand’s Dunedin Sound, whose chief exponents (such as the Chills and Sneaky Feelings) were often cited as directly comparable to Paisley Underground bands. Jangle pop is a closely related genre of 1980s guitar rock named after the ringing, light guitar sounds, such as those of R.E.M., Pylon, and the dBs.
Peace punk
| Origin: | Early 1980s British anarcho-punk scene |
| Peak popularity: | 1980–1984 |
| Defining artists: | Crass, Subhumans, Conflict, Flux of Pink Indians |
| Exemplary album: | Stations of the Crass (1979) by Crass |
There was a time when politics and activism were equal partners in punk rock, which made for some uneasy bedfellows. To understand peace punk, you must have a working knowledge of anarcho-punk (aka anarchist punk), an ideological subgenre of punk rock that promotes anarchism. The term has been broadly applied to refer to any punk music with anarchist lyrical content, which may figure in crust punk, folk punk, hardcore punk, and other styles.
The punk rock interpretation of anarchism is a crudely simplified version of the broader political philosophy, leading to several misalignments. The most significant misunderstanding is that “anarchy” in punk is a synonym for chaos, lawlessness, and a “no-parents-no-rules” attitude, as famously portrayed in songs like “Anarchy in the U.K.”. In contrast, a well-rounded political theory of anarchism emphasizes a stateless society ordered through voluntary cooperation, community responsibility, and self-governance, not just individual freedom without repercussions.
Identity vs. Lifestyle
The punk approach can sometimes focus more on developing a distinctly adolescent identity and alternative lifestyle (e.g., straight edge, punk fashion) rather than a dynamic strategy for broader class struggle and systemic change. This “lifestylist” leaning has been criticized by more traditional, “materialist” anarchists who worry about the movement becoming irrelevant upon the onset of adulthood.
Some anarchists argue that those coming into the movement via punk often lack a historical or theoretical understanding of established anarchist currents like anarcho-syndicalism or anarcho-communism, leading to ideological conflicts over tactics and goals, such as the use of violence or pacifism.
Peace punk was the most explicitly anti-war, pacifist wing of the late 1970s countercultural movement and the subgenre of anarcho-punk. Emerging from the DIY squats and collective houses of Thatcher-era Britain, peace punk was about direct political action, zines, and activism. The music came in somewhere down the line. Peace punk bands often distanced themselves from established anarchist movements because, well, yeah. They knew less about anarchism than you or me.
Crass was its central force, delivering furious, minimalist punk with lyrics that railed against militarism, capitalism, and authoritarianism. Bands like Conflict and Subhumans joined in, pairing raw punk with calls for non-violent resistance, animal rights, anti-corporatism, labor rights, and the anti-war movement. Musically, it was scrappy, sharp, and unpolished, a rejection of commercial polish.
Some critics point out the irony that a movement steeped in anti-capitalism can still contribute to consumerism, where anarchist symbols like the circled-A become commodified and sold on t-shirts in mainstream stores.
Pinoy rock
| Origin: | Late 1960s–1970s Filipino pop and rock |
| Peak popularity: | 1969–present |
| Defining artists: | Juan de la Cruz Band, Hotdog, Eraserheads, The Dawn |
| Exemplary album: | Himig Natin (1973) by Juan de la Cruz Band |
Filipino (sometimes Pilipino) is the English term for people from the Philippines. The common informal self-referential Tagalog term for people from the Philippines is Pinoy (male) or Pinay (female). The term is formed by the last four letters of Filipino with the diminutive suffix -y. In Tagalog, the suffix is commonly used in Filipino nicknames like “Jokoy” or “Ninoy”. Originally used as a pejorative for Filipinos who immigrated to the U.S., it’s presently used as a slang term for all Filipinos.
A Modern Definition
Distilled for modern audiences, today, Pinoy rock is rock music made by Filipinos for Filipinos, sometimes in the Philippines, with lyrics in Tagalog, Filipino, and/or English (Taglish), containing relevant cultural themes endemic to Filipino people (i.e., nationalist). It’s both a reflection of Western rock filtered through Filipino culture and a distinct musical identity. Pinoy rock helped establish the groundwork for what we know today as Original Pilipino Music (OPM). Pinoy rock comes in all flavors, including alternative rock, post-grunge, new wave, folk rock, pop rock, punk rock, funk, reggae, heavy metal, ska, and indie rock.
Regardless of genre or subgenre, in terms of production and presentation, Pinoy rock has almost zero deviation from rock music produced in the United States or any other Western country. It’s the same thing. There’s no “Pinoy flair” like exotic instruments or formal song structures. The only difference is they’re usually singing in Tagalog. Because these genres are generally considered to fall under the broad rock music category, Pinoy rock may be more specifically defined as rock music with Filipino cultural sensibilities. Fair enough. But how did that happen?
A Personal Take on Pinoy Rock
When I first arrived in the Philippines, I was initially perplexed by the predominance of Western pop and rock music in society. During one of my first visits, I recall sitting in the back of a taxi, on the way from the airport to my hotel in Makati, and hearing R.E.O. Speedwagon’s “Can’t Fight This Feeling” followed by “Winds of Change” by the Scorpions on the radio. The driver softly sang along to both cuts. I was thinking, This is pretty funny. I had no idea Filipinos liked R.E.O. Speedwagon! And suddenly, a history book punched me in the face and said, “Think about it, dude.”
For a decade after the end of World War II, the Filipino airwaves were dominated by the easy listening songs of Patti Page, Jo Stafford, Perry Como, Frank Sinatra, and Pat Boone. In the 1950s, Ricky Nelson, Paul Anka, and Neil Sedaka became teen favorites, but Elvis Presley introduced rock n’ roll as Filipinos know it.
Elvis, et. al
Elvis’s arrival in the mid-1950s coincided with the introduction of rock n’ roll and American youth culture in the Philippines. His music resonated with Filipino youth, who embraced his rebellious image and sound. His popularity continued into the 1960s, with many local artists adopting his style. For example, Eddie Mesa, the “Elvis Presley of the Philippines,” began his career in the late 1950s and was a prominent Elvis impersonator in the early 1960s.
Elvis became a symbol of the new youth culture, which was further defined by new dance crazes, fashion, and the rise of transistor radios and jukeboxes. His impact was so profound that the traditional “kundiman” and “harana” songs were in danger of becoming obsolete as younger generations started singing in English. Instrumental bands like the Ventures and the Shadows were popular, as electric guitars, drum sets, and amplifiers became more available.
The arrival of the Beatles in 1966 signaled a change. Many Filipino bands began adopting similar musical styles and emulating a social and political consciousness with an increased sense of nationalism. Pinoy pride, for lack of a better term. The Juan de la Cruz Band, featuring Joey “Pepe” Smith, bassist Mike Hanopol, and lead guitarist Wally Gonzales, is often credited for announcing a new “Golden Age of Pinoy Rock” in the early 1970s. The band helped kickstart the scene with raw, bluesy hard rock with lyrics almost exclusively in Tagalog. Their anthem “Himig Natin” is the de facto theme song of the early Filipino rock movement.
The Manila Sound and the Birth of OPM
In the mid-1970s, Filipino musicians began using Tagalog more often. The Manila Sound and OPM (Original Pilipino Music) emerged from Hotdog (band) and APO Hiking Society, dominating the airwaves with disco and funk. Songs like Hotdog’s “Ikaw ang Miss Universe ng Buhay Ko” (“You’re the Miss Universe of My Life”) contained the first known use of Filipino and English (also known as Taglish) within the same song.
Pinoy rock-adjacent folk musicians and bands included Freddie Aguilar, Florante, and Heber Bartolome. In 1978, Freddie Aguilar’s debut single, “Anak”, became the most commercially successful Filipino recording in history, spreading to other countries in parallel with the Filipino diaspora. And that was the last we heard the term “Pinoy rock” for a while. Like I said, today, the only difference between Filipino music and any other music is language.
Pirate metal
| Origin: | 1980s and 2000s Europe (especially Scotland & Germany) |
| Peak popularity: | 1987–1992, 2008–present |
| Defining artists: | Alestorm, Running Wild, Lagerstein |
| Exemplary album: | Captain Morgan’s Revenge (2008) by Alestorm |
Most types of rock music are attached to vague terms like baroque, psychedelic, and sadcore, and you wonder, “What the fuck does that mean?” and somebody’s gotta explain it. And then there are genres like Latin rock and orchestral rock, which are pretty self-explanatory. You can connect the dots on those fuckers. Pirate metal is exactly what it sounds like: heavy metal with nautical, swashbuckling, rum-soaked themes—performed in costume, a key point.
Now and again, I come across a genre or a band that makes me say, “Wait, what?” Welcome to Wait, What? Featuring Running Wild.
Formed in Hamburg in 1976, Running Wild was one of the “big four” German power metal bands from the mid-1980s, alongside Grave Digger, Helloween, and Rage. The band’s first two albums contained Satanic themes and imagery. Their debut, Gates to Purgatory (1984), sold remarkably well with little or no promotion. Feeling their message was misunderstood, Running Wild dropped the Satanic nonsense and shifted gears toward pirates, sailing, and historical themes for 1987’s Under Jolly Roger.
Nearly two decades later, the Scottish metal band, Alestorm, took revived pirate metal to international notoriety with over-the-top sea shanty choruses, folk metal instrumentation (accordions, fiddles, whistles), and tongue-in-cheek humor. Lagerstein and others followed suit, turning pirate metal into a festival-friendly subculture.
Pop punk
| Origin: | Late 1970s punk rock |
| Peak popularity: | 1976–present |
| Defining artists: | Green Day, Blink-182, Buzzcocks, The Ramones, Sum 41, Paramore |
| Exemplary album: | Dookie (1994) by Green Day |
Pop punk balances punk’s raw speed with pop’s melodic sweetness. Think: The Monkees on beer and amphetamines with a nasty disposition. The Ramones and Buzzcocks laid the groundwork in the ’70s, but the ’90s saw Green Day’s Dookie and Blink-182’s Enema of the State (1999) catapult the style to radio dominance. It’s bratty, catchy, and often focused on youth, relationships, and suburban angst. Sum 41 leaned heavier, Paramore added emo intensity, and bands like The Descendents gave it emotional depth.
Though trends rise and fall, pop punk never truly disappears. Every new generation rediscovers it, whether through Warped Tour nostalgia or TikTok revivals. Its blend of speed and melody is just too irresistible.
Pop rock
| Origin: | 1960s pop and rock |
| Peak popularity: | 1964–present |
| Defining artists: | The Beatles, Elton John, Fleetwood Mac, Maroon 5 |
| Exemplary album: | Rumours (1977) by Fleetwood Mac |
I was going to spend an hour on a 500-word rant about pop music when a notification pinged on my phone, reminding me to remind my son to take his anti-seizure medication.
Sometime around 2005, I went through a prolonged phase of listening to mostly pop rock, rock n’ roll, and garage rock from the early to mid-1960s. Nothing after 1965, basically, so a lot of Everly Brothers, Herman’s Hermits, early Beatles, the Kinks, the Animals, the Dave Clark Five, etc. I was trying to reconnect with the essence of rock.
Is It Pop or Rock?
Eventually, a thought occurred to me: Is it catchy? Yes. OK, it’s pop rock. Rock music for all occasions. We’re talking about rock music that appeals to a mass audience. Sometimes, it’s pop music with touches of rock. Other times, it’s rock music with touches of pop. It’s almost easier to say what’s NOT pop rock music than define the subgenre, but let’s give it a shot.
Fleetwood Mac can be played in a dentist’s waiting room and a Saturday night swinger at your crib. Iron Maiden doesn’t belong at either venue.
Pop rock is one of rock’s broadest, most enduring branches: catchy melodies and polished production paired with the backbone of rock instrumentation. The Beatles helped define the balance between hooky pop songwriting and rock energy, and by the ’70s, artists like Fleetwood Mac and Elton John made radio-ready rock a global force. In later decades, pop rock adapted with the times: Bryan Adams and Bon Jovi in the ’80s, Matchbox Twenty in the ’90s, Maroon 5 in the 2000s.
Critics sometimes dismiss it as “safe” rock, but its accessibility has made it the backbone of mainstream guitar music for decades. Pop rock is where rock collides with the charts.
Pornogrind
| Origin: | 1990s underground extreme metal scene (Europe & U.S.) |
| Peak popularity: | 1999–2009 |
| Defining artists: | Gut, Cock and Ball Torture, Rompeprop |
| Exemplary album: | SpermSwamp (2007) by Cock and Ball Torture |
Transgressive performance art is generally so over-the-top that it borders on satire. God forbid we deny anybody’s right to a good time if it’s between consenting adults and nobody gets hurt. Pornogrind is a deliberately shocking offshoot of grindcore and goregrind, defined by its obscene lyrics, grotesque humor, and ultra-distorted riffs. Songs are short, brutal, and often steeped in parody as much as extremity.
Gut and Cock and Ball Torture pushed the style in the ’90s and 2000s, with grotesque album covers and lyrics designed to offend. Musically, it’s pounding, downtuned grindcore, i.e., blast beats, guttural vocals, and little regard for subtlety.
Post-Britpop
| Origin: | Late 1990s British alternative rock |
| Peak popularity: | 1999–present |
| Defining artists: | Coldplay, Travis, Keane, Snow Patrol |
| Exemplary album: | Parachutes (2000) by Coldplay |
We begin the “post-genre” section of the list, and let me tell you, I’ve been anxiously waiting for this moment.
Any genre that starts with “post-” is something that came after, while “proto-” is something that came before. It’s superficially simple. The trick has always been deciding when something started and when it ended.
The Britpop Invasion of 1994 came on like a tsunami, bringing bands like Oasis, Blur, Suede, and Pulp to the masses. But just as quickly as Britpop flooded the market, the tide receded, leaving an effete and introspective wave of U.K. guitar bands. Critics labeled them post-Britpop—bands that kept Britpop’s melodic accessibility but leaned away from its working-class bravado toward sensitive, arena-ready balladry.
[Editor’s note: Post-Britpop is often and erroneously confused with the Britpop revival of the mid-2000s, featuring bands like Kaiser Chiefs, The Libertines, and Arctic Monkeys.]
Coldplay’s Parachutes (2000) set the regrettable tone with stupid, atmospheric melancholy, while Travis, Keane, and Snow Patrol built careers on soaring choruses and radio-friendly sincerity. Oasis, though part of Britpop, bled into the post-Britpop era as their pathetic, lad rock influence lingered. Meanwhile, it always grinds my gears when I see Coldplay described as alternative rock. Alternative to what? They make post-adult contemporary music. It’s not even closely related to rock music. Keane? Noel Gallagher once said, “The two biggest cunts in a rock band are the lead singer and the keyboard player.” Keane is a buy-one-get-one-free band of cunts.
It’s sometimes seen as “pedestrian” compared to Britpop’s edge, but post-Britpop reshaped British alternative rock for the 2000s, leading directly into the shithole of stadium-ready modern rock.
Post-grunge
| Origin: | Origin: Mid-1990s U.S. alternative hard rock |
| Peak popularity: | 1994–present |
| Defining artists: | Foo Fighters, Bush, Nickelback, Creed, Shinedown |
| Exemplary album: | The Colour and the Shape (1997) by Foo Fighters |
Grunge is special because it’s almost unthinkable to look at a genre, point at a date on the calendar, like April 8, 1994, and say, “That’s the day it ended.” Forget all that Don McLean’s “American Pie” bullshit. The rock n’ roll didn’t die with Buddy Holly. It was just sad for a while. Anyway, April 8, 1994, also marks the beginning of post-grunge because you didn’t think major label record companies were just gonna give up the ghost, did you?
In the rush to fill the space left by Kurt Cobain, dozens of would-be post-grunge rock challengers approached the arena. Cobain was the ultimate big game kill. Roughly two guys, Dave Grohl (Foo Fighters) and Gavin Rossdale (Bush), feasted on the carcass, leaving the scraps for Candlebox, Collective Soul, Live, Silverchair, Creed, Matchbox Twenty, Puddle of Mudd, Seether, Staind, Three Days Grace, Breaking Benjamin, and Shinedown. Half of those bands couldn’t have tried any harder to sound like Kurt Cobain. It was embarrassing to hear. There was a time in 1996–’97 when Nickelback, Alanis Morissette, and Garbage were considered post-grunge.
Speaking of Nickelback, if you remove them from the post-grunge pool, they’re a perfectly acceptable modern pop-rock band. If they’re associated with Nirvana in any way other than record sales, it’s a slap in the face of every indie and alternative rock band on the planet.
Another Major Label Scam
Without bullshitting anybody, post-grunge is the radio-friendly version of grunge, a scam foisted upon us by major labels, who used terms like “less abrasive or intense” to compensate for banality and the bald-faced lack of artistic merit. Still built on big guitars and emotive vocals, post-grunge leaned toward polished production and anthemic choruses that drove straight down Main Street in every American town, city, and village.
Make no mistake, hundreds of millions of dollars were invested in bands like Bush and Creed because record company sharks knew the ROI would be outstanding. Mudhoney’s most expensive album cost them $15,000 in recording expenses—a huge amount by Mudhoney and grunge standards. The absence of specific cost information for Sixteen Stone (1994) by Bush suggests the budget was likely within the typical range for rock albums at that time (mid-1990s), which could vary widely, but was generally budgeted for at least $200,000, and sometimes much more. Likewise, the so-called aesthetic of grunge became a clearly defined posture for mainstream success.
TL;DR: Post-grunge emerged when grunge’s dead body was pureèd into something more commercially appealing.
Post-hardcore
| Origin: | Early to mid-1980s Washington D.C. hardcore punk |
| Peak popularity: | 1983–1999 |
| Defining artists: | Fugazi, Hüsker Dü, At the Drive-In, Refused |
| Exemplary album: | Repeater (1990) by Fugazi |
It’s important to remember that hardcore punk is only one of many subgenres of punk rock. Post-hardcore is what happened after Minor Threat broke up, which is a funny story. The band officially split in 1983, driven apart by creative differences. Lyle Preslar (guitar) and Brian Baker (drums) wanted the band to sound more like U2, and Ian MacKaye, god bless him, didn’t want any part of it. Following the breakup, MacKaye stated that he did not “check out” on hardcore, but in fact, hardcore “checked out” on him.
Hardcore punk had already splintered into multiple crossover subgenres (crustcore, death metal, skate punk, speed metal, street punk, and thrash metal) by the time Minor Threat imploded, so post-hardcore was an afterthought for an unsustainable ecosystem. It was headed in this direction anyway, so…
Ian MacKaye formed a new band, Fugazi, that drew a blueprint with their angular riffs and politically charged lyrics. Hüsker Dü fused punk ferocity with melodic songwriting, paving the way for alternative rock. In the ’90s, At the Drive-In and Refused injected chaotic energy, screaming and experimenting in equal measure. Emo was a thing for a while.
The genre’s broadness is its strength: some bands veer melodic, others abrasive, but all ride in the wake of Minor Threat.
Post-metal
| Origin: | 1990s–2000s, U.S. and Europe |
| Peak popularity: | 2002–present |
| Defining artists: | Neurosis, Isis, Cult of Luna, Pelican, Russian Circles |
| Exemplary album: | Oceanic (2002) by Isis or Station by Russian Circles (2008) |
Post-metal might imply that metal went away and came back as something else, like alternative metal. Think of it as metal’s answer to post-rock: guitar-based, mostly instrumental, long songs with anticlimactic crescendos, using metal instrumentation to make not-metal music. The focus is on the mood, not the riffs, but these kids can play. Strip away metal theatrics and replace them with sprawling, atmospheric jams.
Neurosis pioneered the sound by mixing sludge heaviness with cinematic scope bordering on avant-garde metal. Isis perfected it on Oceanic, layering crushing riffs with hypnotic repetition. Cult of Luna and Pelican carried it further, blending doom, ambient, and post-rock textures. And one of my favorite bands of the new millennium, Russian Circles, has one foot in post-rock and the other foot here.
Post-punk
| Origin: | Late 1970s punk rock |
| Peak popularity: | 1977–present |
| Defining artists: | Joy Division, Gang of Four, Siouxsie and the Banshees, The Fall |
| Exemplary album: | Unknown Pleasures (1979) by Joy Division |
Post-punk emerged long before the Sex Pistols’ demise and The Clash’s release of Combat Rock (1982). In fact, the subgenre developed in tandem with the original punk movement. It was only a matter of time before punk energy met art rock ambition. Instead of three-chord fury, bands experimented with mood, texture, and politics.
The First Wave
In that first wave of post-punk excitement, Joy Division turned punk minimalism into haunting, atmospheric soundscapes. Gang of Four used jagged funk-infused riffs to critique capitalism. Siouxsie and the Banshees brought gothic elegance, while The Fall went off the deep end with relentless cynicism.
The result was a movement that shaped every nook and cranny of alternative rock, from goth to indie to industrial, neo-psychedelia, darkwave, dance-punk, jangle pop, ethereal wave, dream pop, and shoegaze. Sometimes called the “ugly twin sister” of new wave music, post-punk wasn’t a single sound but a spirit of experimentation rooted in punk’s unfiltered urgency, and a rejection of punk’s often caustic and primitive conventions.
It came as a shock to the music industry, but 1,000 bands were launched by the Sex Pistols’ concert at Manchester’s Lesser Free Trade Hall in 1976. Another 1,000 bands were formed when Never Mind the Bollocks (1977) was released in the U.S.
Many notable music writers and critics like Jon Savage, Simon Reynolds, and Nicholas Lezard predicted and announced post-punk’s arrival, embracing bands such as Devo, Pere Ubu, Television, Mission of Burma, Talking Heads, Suburban Lawns, Throbbing Gristle, the Feelies, Wire, Public Image Ltd, the Raincoats, and the Cure.
The Second Wave
The second wave of post-punk was more experimental, incorporating an array of influences that ranged from Syd Barrett-era Pink Floyd to krautrock, with stops at funk, glam rock, and experimental rock music along the way. Additionally, post-punk was a musical genre and a period of alternative music occurring roughly between 1978 and 1984.
By 1981, “new wave” and “post-punk” could be used interchangeably.
Regional scenes developed across Europe alongside new wave music, the most notable being the Netherlands’ Ultra movement, Germany’s Neue Deutsche Welle, Spain’s La Movida Madrileña, and the coldwave scenes in France, Poland, and Belgium, as well as the Soviet and Yugoslav new wave. The original post-punk era emerged in parallel with the no wave and industrial music scenes. By the mid-to-late 1980s, post-punk had largely dissipated.
Post-punk revival
| Origin: | Late 1990s alternative rock |
| Peak popularity: | 1999–2005 |
| Defining artists: | The Strokes, Interpol, Franz Ferdinand, Yeah Yeah Yeahs |
| Exemplary album: | Is This It (2001) by The Strokes |
At the turn of the millennium, rock rediscovered its skinny-tie roots. The post-punk revival drew directly from late-’70s post-punk (aka new wave), mixing sharp riffs, angular rhythms, and danceable grooves with modern aesthetics, i.e., digital production techniques and beats per minute. The Strokes spearheaded the movement with Is This It, a record that sounded both fresh and retro. Interpol channeled Joy Division’s gloom, Franz Ferdinand leaned into dance-punk hooks, and Yeah Yeah Yeahs added art punk chaos with pop rock sensibility. For a few years, this revival defined indie rock worldwide, sparking scenes from New York to London. Even today, its influence lingers in the crisp, riff-driven indie sound that still dominates festival stages.
Post-rock
| Origin: | Early 1990s alternative, indie, art rock, jazz rock, experimental rock, electronica |
| Peak popularity: | 1989–present |
| Defining artists: | Slint, Mogwai, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Explosions in the Sky, Tortoise, toe |
| Exemplary album: | Spiderland (1991) by Slint |
Post-rock takes rock’s instruments and uses them in music that intentionally moves away from traditional rock characteristics such as song-based structures, vocal-driven melodies, and standard guitar riffs. Often instrumental, cinematic, and built around atmosphere rather than riffs or choruses, post-rock tends to “paint music” as a landscape. Elements of jazz rock, electronic music, and world music are frequently used to elevate and deconstruct a rock sound for the post-rock ambiance.
Sweet Home Chicago
Emerging in the late 1980s and early 1990s, post-rock found a spiritual home in scenes like Chicago’s instrumental rock movement and the experimental London scene. Early pioneers included bands such as Talk Talk (especially Spirit of Eden (1988) and Laughing Stock (1991), 5ive Style, Slint, and Bark Psychosis. While initially a diverse term used to describe bands from Tortoise and Stereolab to the more ambient sounds of Brian Eno, the term later solidified around a core set of musical characteristics.
The genre often prioritizes the sonic quality of instruments over their traditional rock function. Guitars are frequently processed with extensive effects like delay, reverb, and distortion to create ethereal soundscapes or walls of sound rather than traditional lead melodies.
Post-rock compositions sometimes—but not always—utilize dramatic shifts in volume and intensity, often referred to as “crescendocore”; building from quiet, ambient passages to intense, loud climaxes. This structure is a hallmark of the genre, effectively building emotional tension without relying on lyrics. Tracks are often long, spanning 4 to 20 minutes, and eschew the standard verse-chorus-verse format in favor of through-composed narratives, loops, and repetitive motifs that slowly evolve.
While not exclusively instrumental, vocals are often sparse, used more as an ambient texture (e.g., Sigur Rós’s use of “Hopelandic” or invented language) than a carrier of lyrical meaning. The genre draws heavily from minimalism, ambient music, electronic music, and even modern classical composition, moving beyond typical rock n’ roll chord progressions.
Influence and Evolution
Iconic bands within the genre include Texas-based Explosions in the Sky, known for their emotionally resonant guitar interplay; Montreal collective Godspeed You! Black Emperor, noted for their political overtones and sprawling orchestral arrangements, and Iceland’s Sigur Rós, who infuse post-rock with ethereal vocals and sweeping, atmospheric soundscapes. Mogwai (Scotland), toe and Mono (Japan), and Slint (U.S.) are other highly influential acts.
Post-rock’s legacy is found in its profound influence on subsequent genres like math rock, atmospheric black metal, and a wide range of ambient electronic music.
Power pop
| Origin: | Mid-1970s post-British Invasion rock |
| Peak popularity: | 1970–1980 |
| Defining artists: | Badfinger, 10cc, Big Star, Cheap Trick, The Knack, Teenage Fanclub, 20/20 |
| Exemplary album: | #1 Record (1972) by Big Star |
– Pete Townshend, describing his band’s music in 1967
“Power pop is what we play—what the Small Faces used to play. The kind of pop the Beach Boys played in the days of ‘Fun, Fun, Fun’, which I preferred.”
Power pop is pure songcraft: chiming guitars, lush harmonies, and choruses so catchy they feel inevitable, based on the early music of bands such as the Who, the Beatles, the Beach Boys, and the Byrds. The subgenre of pop rock originated among post-British Invasion bands of the late 1960s, who kept the “innocence” of pop and rejected new forms of rock music like baroque pop, psychedelic rock, and art rock.
The power pop sound is defined by melodic hooks, vocal harmonies, an energetic performance, and cheerful-sounding music underpinned by a sense of yearning, longing, despair, or self-empowerment. The sound is primarily rooted in pop and rock traditions of the early-to-mid 1960s, although some artists have occasionally drawn from later styles such as punk, new wave, glam rock, pub rock, college rock, and neo-psychedelia.
The Birth of Power Pop
Early 1970s releases by Badfinger, the Raspberries, Big Star, and Todd Rundgren are sometimes credited with solidifying the power pop sound into a recognizable genre. Big Star’s #1 Record (1972) is considered the holy grail. Power pop reached its commercial peak during the rise of punk and new wave in the late 1970s, with Cheap Trick, the Knack, the Romantics, Nick Lowe, Dave Edmunds, and Dwight Twilley among those enjoying the most success. After a popular and critical backlash to the genre’s biggest hit, “My Sharona” (Get the Knack, 1979), record companies generally stopped signing power pop groups, and most of the 1970s bands broke up in the early 1980s.
Never the biggest seller, power pop is a musician’s genre; adored by critics, endlessly imitated, and forever rediscovered by bands chasing the perfect hook. Over subsequent decades, power pop continued with modest commercial success while also remaining a frequent object of derision among some critics and musicians. The 1990s saw a new wave of alternative bands that were drawn to power pop. Although not as successful as their predecessors, Jellyfish, the Posies, Redd Kross, Teenage Fanclub, and Material Issue were critical and cult favorites. In the mid-1990s, an offshoot genre that combined power pop-style harmonies with uptempo punk rock, dubbed “pop punk“, reached mainstream popularity.
10 Essential Power Pop Albums
| Rank | Artist | Album Title | Year |
| 1 | Big Star | #1 Record | 1972 |
| 2 | Cheap Trick | Heaven Tonight | 1978 |
| 3 | The Raspberries | Fresh | 1972 |
| 4 | The Knack | Get the Knack | 1979 |
| 5 | XTC | English Settlement | 1982 |
| 6 | Todd Rundgren | Something/Anything? | 1972 |
| 7 | Weezer | Weezer (The Blue Album) | 1994 |
| 8 | Flamin’ Groovies | Shake Some Action | 1976 |
| 9 | Badfinger | Straight Up | 1971 |
| 10 | 20/20 | 20/20 | 1979 |
Power metal
| Origin: | 1980s European speed metal (Germany, Finland) |
| Peak popularity: | 1987–2005 |
| Defining artists: | Helloween, Blind Guardian, DragonForce, Stratovarius |
| Exemplary album: | Keeper of the Seven Keys: Part I (1987) by Helloween |
Power metal is epic, melodic, and unapologetically grand, combining characteristics of traditional heavy metal with speed metal, often within an orchestral or symphonic context. Fast tempos, soaring vocals, and fantasy lyrics translate to a lighter, more uplifting sound, in contrast with the dissonance of extreme metal. It’s a genre built on escapism and the sheer scale of theatrical, dramatic, and anthemic songs with fantasy-based subject matter and strong choruses. Hence, the emotionally “powerful” sound.
The roots of power metal trace back to the vocal style of Ronnie James Dio (Rainbow, Black Sabbath, Dio), who applied medieval, Renaissance, folk, and science fiction themes to his music. All that sword and sorcery, storming castles and slaying dragons with the force of a thousand suns bullshit. Iron Maiden, Scorpions, Accept, and Judas Priest were also important building blocks of the genre. In the early 1980s, Omen, Riot, Savatage, Metal Church, and Warlord were technically proto-power metal bands.
Power metal as we know it was established by Germany’s Helloween, whose second album, Keeper of the Seven Keys: Part I (1987), is generally considered the most influential power metal album to date. Its volatile combination of power and melody would inspire an entire generation of metal bands like Blind Guardian, who turned it into Tolkien-esque grandeur. DragonForce later made it viral with lightning-speed guitar heroics. Stratovarius and countless others kept it symphonic and uplifting.
Powerviolence
| Origin: | Late 1980s California punk and metal |
| Peak popularity: | 1986–1990 |
| Defining artists: | Siege, Infest, Man Is the Bastard, Spazz, Charles Bronson, The Locust, Dropdead, Black Army Jacket, Hellnation, and Rorschach |
| Exemplary album: | Slave (1988) by Infest |
Powerviolence (sometimes written as power violence) is a furious and impatient subgenre of hardcore punk, closely related to bandana thrash, thrashcore, and grindcore. While the term powerviolence originally included many stylistically diverse bands, it typically refers to bands that focus on speed, brevity, breakdowns, and constant tempo changes. Meanwhile, powerviolence songs are often very short, fast, and abrasive, with some lasting less than 20 seconds.
In contrast with grindcore, powerviolence rejects musical aspects of heavy metal (solos, cartoonish and macabre themes, etc.), veering toward socio-politically charged and iconoclastic hardcore punk. Siege and Infest are considered the pioneers of powerviolence, drawing their inspiration from Hüsker Dü, Neon Christ, Dirty Rotten Imbeciles (D.R.I.), and Corrosion of Conformity. Man Is the Bastard added noise elements, Spazz injected absurd humor, and Charles Bronson pushed the speed and fury even further.
While powerviolence is closely related to thrashcore (often referred to simply as “thrash”), it is markedly different from thrash metal in both sound and approach.
