The difference, by ear
Black metal is growled or screamed where cyber metal is part sung, part screamed, and much faster: 160 to 280 bpm against 120 to 180. To hear the difference, play Fear Factory next to Bathory. They share a root in heavy metal, and black metal came first, by sixteen 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 →Black metal
Where it sits
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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