The difference, by ear
Djent inherits the guitar-and-kick lockstep directly, and takes it into polyrhythm rather than into machine aesthetics.
Both are part sung, part screamed, but djent is a little slower: 90 to 160 bpm against 120 to 180. To hear the difference, play Fear Factory next to Meshuggah. They share a root in heavy metal, and cyber metal came first, by nine years.
In figures
Cyber metal
Where it sits
Heavy metal › Industrial metal › Cyber metal
In short
Mechanised death metal with cold digital production, dual vocals and science-fiction themes.
How it sounds
- Cold digital production with processed guitars and quantised drums.
- Vocal contrast: growls in the verses, clean melodic singing in the chorus.
- Synthesizers and a dystopian science-fiction atmosphere.
Key acts
- Fear Factory
- Sybreed
- Mnemic
Start here
The pickFear Factory - Demanufacture. The kick drum sounds like a pneumatic hammer, deliberately.
Full page →Djent
Where it sits
Heavy metal › Progressive metal › Djent
In short
The name imitates the sound: seven- or eight-string guitars, heavily compressed palm mutes and polyrhythms. Meshuggah built the vocabulary; a generation of forum users named it.
How it sounds
- Seven- or eight-string guitars, tuned very low, with heavily compressed palm mutes.
- Polyrhythm: the riff repeats on a cycle that does not line up with the drum meter.
- Precise digital production with a deliberately sterile tone and no reverb.
Key acts
- Meshuggah
- Periphery
- Animals as Leaders
- TesseracT
Start here
The pickMeshuggah - Nothing. Count the bars if you can.
Full page →