Groove metal.html



This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (July 2008)

Groove metal, sometimes called neo-thrash metal, post-thrash and power groove, is a term sometimes used to describe a derivative of thrash metal, which took influence from hardcore punk and traditional metal. The sub genre took its current form during the early 1990s¹²

Albums such as Exhorder's Slaughter in the Vatican (1990), Pantera's Cowboys from Hell (1990),³ and Sepultura's Arise (1991) first incorporated groove-based rhythms into thrash metal. However, it was not until later albums like Exhorder's The Law (1992), Pantera's Vulgar Display of Power (1992), Sepultura's Chaos A.D. (1993), White Zombie's La Sexorcisto: Devil Music, Vol. 1 (1992), Overkill's I Hear Black (1993) and Machine Head's Burn My Eyes (1994) that groove metal took its pure form.

Musical traits

Groove metal bands tend to play mid-tempo thrash riffs focusing on heaviness and groovy syncopation.²⁴ Guitarists generally play low syncopated power chord patterns and mid-paced guitar solos, and occasionally use heavy palm muting. The tone is typically described as thick and mid-scooped down with boosted bass and trebles, usually under a harsh distortion. Solid state amplifiers using transistors are commonly used to gain this asymmetrical harmonic clipping sound, although tube amps are used sometimes as well. Like most other heavy metal bass styles, groove metal bass lines typically follow the rhythm guitar riffs but are sometimes used as introduction to a guitar riff or as intermezzi when the guitar riffs are de-emphasized. The use of bass distortion is common. Vocals usually consist of thrash metal-styled shouts, hardcore-styled barks, and clean singing. Groove metal drums typically use double-bass drumming, with emphasis on using the double bass drum in waves, rather than rapid fire double bass and blast beats used in extreme metal styles.⁵ Uncommon time signatures and polyrhythms are typical for some bands; generally these bands put heavy emphasis on the changing beat. Groove metal typically follows in a medium tempo,² but can vary from band to band or song to song.

Origins, early history and influences

The origin of Groove Metal is hotly debated, however, most early progenitors of the genre such as Exhorder, Pantera, Sepultura, and White Zombie claim influence from their peers and contemporary thrash metal bands such as Slayer, Megadeth and Metallica, blues-laden traditional heavy metal such as Black Sabbath and Kiss, and hardcore punk bands such as Dead Kennedys. Exhorder covered Black Sabbath's "Into the Void" on the album The Law, while Pantera covered Black Sabbath three times - once on Far Beyond Driven with the song "Planet Caravan", the second cover being "Electric Funeral" on Nativity in Black, and the third being "Hole in the Sky" on The Best of Pantera: Far Beyond the Great Southern Cowboys' Vulgar Hits!. Pantera also covered hardcore punk band Poison Idea's song "The Badge" for The Crow's soundtrack. White Zombie covered Kiss's "God of Thunder" of their E.P. God of Thunder.

See also

• List of groove metal bands

References