The difference, by ear
Black metal is growled or screamed where garage rock is sung cleanly, and much faster: 160 to 280 bpm against 140 to 180. Songs run longer in black metal: usually 4 to 9 minutes, against 2 to 3 minutes in garage rock. To hear the difference, play The Sonics next to Bathory. Garage rock comes from the rock side of the tree and black metal from the metal side, and garage rock came first, by nineteen years.
In figures
Garage rock
Where it sits
Rock › Rock and roll › Garage rock
In short
High-school bands, a Farfisa organ and one good idea recorded badly. Attitude beats technique here, and punk descends from it directly.
How it sounds
- A Farfisa or Vox organ, very often louder in the mix than the guitar.
- Raw production cut in a few hours, with saturated vocals and distant drums.
- One good riff, repeated for two and a half minutes.
Key acts
- The Sonics
- The Standells
- The Seeds
- ? and the Mysterians
Start here
The pickThe Sonics - Psycho. Gerry Roslie's voice is a decade ahead of punk.
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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