The difference, by ear
Black metal is growled or screamed where post-rock is mostly instrumental, and much faster: 160 to 280 bpm against 60 to 140. Songs run longer in post-rock: usually 7 to 15 minutes, against 4 to 9 minutes in black metal. To hear the difference, play Slint next to Bathory. Post-rock comes from the rock side of the tree and black metal from the metal side, and black metal came first, by nine years.
In figures
Post-rock
Where it sits
Rock › Progressive rock › Post-rock
In short
Rock instruments used for texture and crescendo rather than for choruses. The song climbs for ten minutes and detonates once.
How it sounds
- A long crescendo: the piece starts near silence and ends in a wall of sound.
- Guitars with delay and reverb used for texture rather than riffs.
- Almost always instrumental, with pieces running eight to twenty minutes.
Key acts
- Slint
- Mogwai
- Godspeed You! Black Emperor
- Explosions in the Sky
Start here
The pickMogwai - Young Team. The closing track runs sixteen minutes and earns every one.
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.
Full page →