Your way in
Math rock 1988
Odd meters and interlocking riffs assembled like a puzzle, usually without vocals. Post-rock's cerebral cousin.
- Heaviness
- 3
- Speed
- 6
- Melody
- 6
- Where from
- USA / Japan
- Tempo
- 100-160 bpm
- Song length
- 4-8 min
- Written about
- Frequently none - much of it is instrumental, Unease, Domestic detail, spoken rather than sung
- Vocals
- Instrumental
Why this one
| You said | Math rock | Match | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| No words at all When someone is singing, what should come out? | instrumental | 100% | ×3 |
| Light How much weight do you want behind it? | 3 out of 10 | 90% | ×2 |
| As fast as anyone can play What pace? | 6 out of 10 | 60% | ×2 |
| The nineties Does it matter when it was made? | 1988 | 92% | ×1 |
| The inside of a head What should the words be about? | Frequently none - much of it is instrumental, Unease, Domestic detail, spoken rather than sung | 50% | ×1 |
| Weighted mean | 82% | ||
Ranked over all 150 genres in the encyclopedia, on the 5 answers you gave, weighted vocals 3, heaviness 2, pace 2, era 1, about 1 out of 9. Math rock leads the next by 5 points. Where two genres score the same the broader one wins, because a genre with subgenres under it is somewhere to carry on from and a leaf is a full stop.
Five records, in this order
- 1Start one step outside
King Crimson, In the Court of the Crimson King 1969
King Crimson - In the Court of the Crimson King. The first track tells you everything.
- 2The one to put on first
- 3Then
- 4Then
- 5Then
The first is the entry point for Progressive rock, one step outside, so the second record has something to be heard against. After it come Math rock's essential records in the order the encyclopedia lists them. Every one of these has a page here with links out to somewhere it can be played.
If that is not it
-
Neoclassical metal 77%
Bach and Paganini transposed onto a distorted guitar: harmonic minor scales, sweep arpeggios and three-minute solos.
On the other branch of the tree entirely, and 5 steps from Math rock.
The way into Neoclassical metal -
Garage rock revival 76%
A reaction to nu metal and radio pop: crisp guitars, plain production, narrow suits. It put guitar rock back on festival bills in the 2000s.
5 steps from Math rock, meeting it only at Rock.
The way into Garage rock revival
Not simply the second and third of the ranking: those are almost always near neighbours of the first, which is three names for one suggestion. An alternate has to sit at least 4 steps through the tree from the headline and from the other alternate, which is the same floor the "sounds like this, but isn't" panel uses.
What your answers ruled out
- No words at all put 33 genres at the bottom of that one question, among them Black metal, Death metal, Grindcore. Worth 3 of 9.
- Light put 12 genres at the bottom of that one question, among them Death metal, Brutal death metal, Sludge metal. Worth 2 of 9.
- As fast as anyone can play put 4 genres at the bottom of that one question, among them Doom metal, Drone metal, Funeral doom. Worth 2 of 9.
- The nineties put 23 genres at the bottom of that one question, among them Blues rock, Progressive rock, Rock and roll. Worth 1 of 9.
- The inside of a head put 88 genres at the bottom of that one question, among them Punk rock, Hardcore punk, Black metal. Worth 1 of 9.
Counted as genres scoring 20% or less on that answer alone. A recommendation that only shows what it chose is hiding half of what it did.