So, experimental metal.
As with most other schools of avant-garde music, the only thing that unites the experimental strand of heavy metal music is a delight in playing by another set of rules. That means unexpected instruments, weird time signatures, unorthodox subject matter, and non-intuitive genre cross-pollination. However, perhaps because most avant-garde metal musicians listen to and enjoy non-metal artists and styles, a good portion of experimental metal is pretty accessible stuff to new metal listeners.
Well, as accessible as experimental music ever is.
Giant Squid are the perfect experimental metal band to start with: full of surprises and easy on the ears. Besides working with plenty of non-standard metal instrumentation (cellos, vibraphones, synthesizers), Giant Squid unite proggy, vocal-centric songwriting with a touch of the pagan or kemetic (that means Egyptian, kids) and an unshakable sense of melancholy. Their fascination with all things aquatic takes a new form with every album, from the oceanoarcheology of Minoans to The Ichthyologist's strange tale of isolation and adaptation. Giant Squid certainly aren't the weirdest band on this list, but you'll be hard-pressed to find a band with quite the same sound or feel, or concept albums with such nontraditional subject matter.
Another stalwart of the San Francisco metal scene, Botanist's gimmick is simple enough: experimental, shoegaze/post-rock influenced black metal... played on a hammered dulcimer. Unlike most black metal (even of the experimental variety), Botanist's music is uplifting and dreamlike, driven by ethereal melodies and soaring atmospheres. There's an environmentalism/botany theme or narrative to the whole thing that nobody really gets as well, if you're into bands with esoteric meta-narratives. If not, you're free to close your eyes and enjoy some of the most unique post-black metal for what it is: great music and dynamic, unpredictable songwriting.
Want an experimental band that delivers exactly what it says on the tin? Try Diablo Swing Orchestra; it's absolutely as fun and silly as it sounds. Groovy metal riffs, jazz horns, and folksy melodies make up just a part of this Swedish band's eclectic sound, and the Orchestra put a new spin on themselves with every new track. Annlouice Loegdlund's weird and playful vocal performance evokes everyone from Tarja Turunen to Die Antwoord's Yolandi Visser—sometimes on the same song. If you're looking for experimental metal that's somehow both unpredictable and downright danceable, you can't go wrong with Diablo Swing Orchestra.
I've heard Menace Ruine described as the only band that lives up to the "ritual" descriptor that gets through around in the drone/black/doom metal scene. Considering the band sounds like a hippie cult returning to civilization after decades in exile, it's a fair claim. Maybe Menace Ruine is post-apocalyptic folk played on organs, synths, and drum machines. Maybe they're doom/drone metal with all the heavy riffs stripped out. Either way, they're a one-of-a-kind band and the perfect gateway drug to the netherworld of drone-influenced experimental metal.
If you've heard of any band on this list, it's Faith No More: they found mainstream success in the late 80s and 90s with songs like "Easy" and "Epic" and influenced everyone from Nirvana to Slipknot. They're also the sort of band that gets plenty of radio play without ushering listeners beyond the mainstream rock hits to the real essentials of their discography. The reason is simple enough: Faith No More didn't (and still don't) play by the strict rules of later rap-metal acts like Rage Against the Machine or Limp Bizkit. This means you probably won't find a Faith No More album you like all the way through. But a quick listen to a few of band's lesser known hits just might usher you into the weird world of metal's avant-garde frontlines, where bands like Primus, Fantomas, and Mr. Bungle blur the line between the listenable and the fascinatingly odd. Be careful, though. Stare into this void of musical weirdness long enough and you'll find it staring back at you. In clown makeup.
If you're ready (for some reason) to encounter avant-garde metal's eclectic pantheon, here's some albums to get you started: Primus' Sailing the Seas of Cheese, Faith No More's The Real Thing, Sunn O)))'s Black One, Mr. Bungle's self-titled album, Blut Aus Nord's 777 Trilogy, Neurosis' Times of Grace, maudlin of the Well's Bath, Earth's Earth 2, Arcturus' The Sham Mirrors, and Ephel Duath's The Painter's Palette.
If you want to see what's new in metal's experimental side (you poor, brave soul), here's a list to get to you started: Sunn O)))'s Kannon, Liturgy's The Ark Work, Sigh's Graveward, Blut Aus Nord's Memoria Vetusta III: Saturnian Poetry, Thy Catafalque's Sgùrr, Kayo Dot's Hubardo, Elagabalus's Damnatio Memoriae, Intronaut's The Direction of Last Things, and Aluk Todolo's Voix.
Neither of these lists are even remotely comprehensive, of course. I've tried to include a representative sampling of a variety of experimental metal styles, but feel free to suggest further listening material for metal newcomers as a comment if you're a more experienced metal fan.
As with most other schools of avant-garde music, the only thing that unites the experimental strand of heavy metal music is a delight in playing by another set of rules. That means unexpected instruments, weird time signatures, unorthodox subject matter, and non-intuitive genre cross-pollination. However, perhaps because most avant-garde metal musicians listen to and enjoy non-metal artists and styles, a good portion of experimental metal is pretty accessible stuff to new metal listeners.
Well, as accessible as experimental music ever is.
Giant Squid are the perfect experimental metal band to start with: full of surprises and easy on the ears. Besides working with plenty of non-standard metal instrumentation (cellos, vibraphones, synthesizers), Giant Squid unite proggy, vocal-centric songwriting with a touch of the pagan or kemetic (that means Egyptian, kids) and an unshakable sense of melancholy. Their fascination with all things aquatic takes a new form with every album, from the oceanoarcheology of Minoans to The Ichthyologist's strange tale of isolation and adaptation. Giant Squid certainly aren't the weirdest band on this list, but you'll be hard-pressed to find a band with quite the same sound or feel, or concept albums with such nontraditional subject matter.
Another stalwart of the San Francisco metal scene, Botanist's gimmick is simple enough: experimental, shoegaze/post-rock influenced black metal... played on a hammered dulcimer. Unlike most black metal (even of the experimental variety), Botanist's music is uplifting and dreamlike, driven by ethereal melodies and soaring atmospheres. There's an environmentalism/botany theme or narrative to the whole thing that nobody really gets as well, if you're into bands with esoteric meta-narratives. If not, you're free to close your eyes and enjoy some of the most unique post-black metal for what it is: great music and dynamic, unpredictable songwriting.
Want an experimental band that delivers exactly what it says on the tin? Try Diablo Swing Orchestra; it's absolutely as fun and silly as it sounds. Groovy metal riffs, jazz horns, and folksy melodies make up just a part of this Swedish band's eclectic sound, and the Orchestra put a new spin on themselves with every new track. Annlouice Loegdlund's weird and playful vocal performance evokes everyone from Tarja Turunen to Die Antwoord's Yolandi Visser—sometimes on the same song. If you're looking for experimental metal that's somehow both unpredictable and downright danceable, you can't go wrong with Diablo Swing Orchestra.
I've heard Menace Ruine described as the only band that lives up to the "ritual" descriptor that gets through around in the drone/black/doom metal scene. Considering the band sounds like a hippie cult returning to civilization after decades in exile, it's a fair claim. Maybe Menace Ruine is post-apocalyptic folk played on organs, synths, and drum machines. Maybe they're doom/drone metal with all the heavy riffs stripped out. Either way, they're a one-of-a-kind band and the perfect gateway drug to the netherworld of drone-influenced experimental metal.
If you've heard of any band on this list, it's Faith No More: they found mainstream success in the late 80s and 90s with songs like "Easy" and "Epic" and influenced everyone from Nirvana to Slipknot. They're also the sort of band that gets plenty of radio play without ushering listeners beyond the mainstream rock hits to the real essentials of their discography. The reason is simple enough: Faith No More didn't (and still don't) play by the strict rules of later rap-metal acts like Rage Against the Machine or Limp Bizkit. This means you probably won't find a Faith No More album you like all the way through. But a quick listen to a few of band's lesser known hits just might usher you into the weird world of metal's avant-garde frontlines, where bands like Primus, Fantomas, and Mr. Bungle blur the line between the listenable and the fascinatingly odd. Be careful, though. Stare into this void of musical weirdness long enough and you'll find it staring back at you. In clown makeup.
If you're ready (for some reason) to encounter avant-garde metal's eclectic pantheon, here's some albums to get you started: Primus' Sailing the Seas of Cheese, Faith No More's The Real Thing, Sunn O)))'s Black One, Mr. Bungle's self-titled album, Blut Aus Nord's 777 Trilogy, Neurosis' Times of Grace, maudlin of the Well's Bath, Earth's Earth 2, Arcturus' The Sham Mirrors, and Ephel Duath's The Painter's Palette.
If you want to see what's new in metal's experimental side (you poor, brave soul), here's a list to get to you started: Sunn O)))'s Kannon, Liturgy's The Ark Work, Sigh's Graveward, Blut Aus Nord's Memoria Vetusta III: Saturnian Poetry, Thy Catafalque's Sgùrr, Kayo Dot's Hubardo, Elagabalus's Damnatio Memoriae, Intronaut's The Direction of Last Things, and Aluk Todolo's Voix.
Neither of these lists are even remotely comprehensive, of course. I've tried to include a representative sampling of a variety of experimental metal styles, but feel free to suggest further listening material for metal newcomers as a comment if you're a more experienced metal fan.
