Rockpedia

Compare

Two genres, side by side. The ratings are editorial judgements on a ten-point scale, not measurements. Where they come out level, the difference is in the prose underneath them.

First genre

Arena rock / AOR1976

Second genre

Black metal1982

Head to headArena rock / AOR vs Black metal
Arena rock / AOR: heaviness 4, melody 10, speed 5. Black metal: heaviness 9, melody 4, speed 9.Heaviness4 / 9Melody10 / 4Speed5 / 9
Each corner is a ten-point rating. The further out, the higher.

The difference, by ear

Black metal is growled or screamed where Arena rock / AOR is sung cleanly, and much faster: 160 to 280 bpm against 100 to 130. To hear the difference, play Journey next to Bathory. Arena rock / AOR comes from the rock side of the tree and black metal from the metal side, and Arena rock / AOR came first, by six years.

Put together from each genre's vocals, tempo, song length, key acts and place in the tree.

In figures

Heaviness
Arena rock / AOR4
Black metal9
+5
Speed
Arena rock / AOR5
Black metal9
+4
Melody
Arena rock / AOR10
Black metal4
−6

Arena rock / AOR

1976 · USA

Where it sits

Rock › Blues rock › Hard rock › Arena rock / AOR

In short

Hard rock polished for stadiums and FM radio: huge choruses, keyboards and glossy production.

How it sounds

  • Interlocking keyboards and guitars with choruses harmonised across several voices.
  • Glossy production and heavy compression, everything audible on a car radio.
  • Structures that are predictable by design: verse, pre-chorus, enormous chorus.

Key acts

  • Journey
  • Boston
  • Foreigner
  • Toto

Start here

The pickBoston - More Than a Feeling. Recorded almost entirely in an MIT engineer's basement.

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Black metal

1982 · Norway / Sweden · 10 subgenres

Where it sits

Heavy metal › Black metal

In short

Tremolo picking, blast beats, shrieked vocals and deliberately cold production. More an aesthetic than a technique - atmosphere matters more than clean sound.

How it sounds

  • Tremolo picking on open fifth voicings, with vocals in the high register.
  • Deliberately thin, cold production - the missing bass is an aesthetic choice, not an accident.
  • Fast blast beats, drums often mixed back, atmosphere placed above technique.

Key acts

  • Bathory
  • Mayhem
  • Darkthrone
  • Emperor

Start here

The pickDarkthrone - A Blaze in the Northern Sky. The production is intentional, not a flaw.

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