The difference, by ear
Where several of these bands came from - the same dissonance and the same volume, without metal's tuning or its audience.
Noise rock is shouted where alternative metal is part sung, part screamed, at much the same pace, around 90 to 150 bpm. To hear the difference, play Faith No More next to Sonic Youth. Alternative metal comes from the metal side of the tree and noise rock from the rock side, and noise rock came first, by five years. United States appears in the origins of both.
In figures
Alternative metal
Where it sits
Heavy metal › Alternative metal
In short
Metal weight without the dress code or the scene rules: unconventional structures and influences from post-punk, funk or shoegaze.
How it sounds
- Metal weight with structures and textures borrowed from post-punk, funk or shoegaze.
- Low tunings and thick guitar tone, often with no solos at all.
- Variable vocals: sung, spoken, whispered, screamed, sometimes in one song.
Key acts
- Faith No More
- Tool
- Helmet
- Deftones
Start here
The pickTool - Ænima. Complex without showing off, heavy without insisting.
Full page →Noise rock
Where it sits
Rock › Alternative rock › Noise rock
In short
Alternate tunings, feedback as an instrument and rhythm sections that hit like machinery. The grandfather of sludge.
How it sounds
- Alternate tunings, often invented for a single song.
- Feedback and harmonics treated as musical material rather than accidents.
- A heavy, near-mechanical rhythm section with distorted bass up front.
Key acts
- Sonic Youth
- Big Black
- The Jesus Lizard
- Melvins
Start here
The pickThe Jesus Lizard - Goat. The rhythm section sounds like heavy plant in operation.
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