The difference, by ear
Faith No More appear on both lists. Alternative metal is heavier and stranger; funk rock is groove-first.
Alternative metal is part sung, part screamed where funk rock is sung cleanly, and swings further either way: 90 to 140 bpm against 100 to 130. To hear the difference, play Red Hot Chili Peppers next to Faith No More. Funk rock comes from the rock side of the tree and alternative metal from the metal side, and funk rock came first, by four years.
In figures
Funk rock
Where it sits
Rock › Alternative rock › Funk rock
In short
Slap bass and funk grooves under rock guitars. Rap rock, and through it nu metal, start here.
How it sounds
- Slap bass or a very prominent bass tone as the lead instrument.
- Funk-style guitar with ninth chords and wah-wah, alternating with heavy riffs.
- Syncopated groove and drums full of ghost notes.
Key acts
- Red Hot Chili Peppers
- Faith No More
- Living Colour
Start here
The pickFaith No More - Angel Dust. An album that deliberately sabotages its own success.
Full page →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 →