The difference, by ear
Black metal is growled or screamed where pop punk is sung cleanly, and faster: 160 to 280 bpm against 160 to 200. Songs run longer in black metal: usually 4 to 9 minutes, against 2½ to 3½ minutes in pop punk. To hear the difference, play Ramones next to Bathory. Pop punk comes from the rock side of the tree and black metal from the metal side, and pop punk came first, by five years.
In figures
Pop punk
Where it sits
In short
Punk speed, garage-pop choruses and lyrics about suburban boredom.
How it sounds
- Simple major progressions - I-V-vi-IV - played fast and distorted.
- Choruses with vocal harmonies and singalong 'whoa-oh' hooks.
- Clean production, compressed drums, tempos of 160 to 200 bpm.
Key acts
- Ramones
- Green Day
- blink-182
- The Offspring
Start here
The pickThe Descendents - Milo Goes to College. The manual, written twelve years before the boom.
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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