Genre diving · 30 May 06
In the New York Times Magazine, John Wray explores two of the leading acts in underground metal, Sunn0))) and Boris.
Among other things, the article is a fascinating study of the taxonomy of the ever-widening web of sub-sub-genres. For bands like Sunn0))) (named for a rare type of amplifier), the term Heavy Metal is inadequate for conveying their sound—a wordless, melody-free assault of low-end vibration. What you need is a deep-dive into the sub-genre matrix. Sunn0))) is classified as Drone Metal, a descendent of Doom Metal, which is itself the unholy offspring of British Heavy Metal and Punk Rock (this gloriously low-tech Heavy Metal Family Tree delves even deeper if you want to go there). Even the relatively new term Drone Metal may be obsolete: One band’s site makes a distinction between normal Drone and Ambient Drone Metal. There is seemingly no bottom to the sub-genre well, though every sub-genre, presumably, must have at least one practitioner to qualify.
Posted by Jake |
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