Your way in
Proto-metal 1968
The heavy bands from before the term existed: over-amplified acid rock, already built around the riff.
- Heaviness
- 6
- Speed
- 5
- Melody
- 7
- Where from
- USA / United Kingdom
- Tempo
- 90-140 bpm
- Song length
- 3-7 min
- Written about
- Drugs, Doom and apocalypse, Bikers and the road, The occult, newly fashionable
- Vocals
- Sung
Why this one
| You said | Proto-metal | Match | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Singing When someone is singing, what should come out? | clean | 100% | ×3 |
| As heavy as it gets How much weight do you want behind it? | 6 out of 10 | 60% | ×2 |
| A steady walk What pace? | 5 out of 10 | 100% | ×2 |
| The dark What should the words be about? | Drugs, Doom and apocalypse, Bikers and the road, The occult, newly fashionable | 100% | ×1 |
| Yes. A proper melody. Do you want a tune you could hum afterwards? | 7 out of 10 | 70% | ×1 |
| Weighted mean | 88% | ||
Ranked over all 150 genres in the encyclopedia, on the 5 answers you gave, weighted vocals 3, heaviness 2, pace 2, about 1, melody 1 out of 9. Proto-metal leads the next by 2 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
- 1The one to put on first
Budgie, Budgie 1971
Budgie - Breadfan. Metallica covered it, but the original is stranger.
- 2Then
- 3Then
- 4Then
- 5Then
The first is Proto-metal's own entry point. After it come Proto-metal'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
-
Deathrock 83%
The American version, more punk and more theatrical, with tribal drums and horror-movie imagery.
On the other branch of the tree entirely, and 7 steps from Proto-metal.
The way into Deathrock -
Horror punk 82%
Punk with B-movie horror imagery, baritone vocals and mutant doo-wop choruses.
On the other branch of the tree entirely, and 5 steps from Proto-metal.
The way into Horror punk
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
- Singing put 54 genres at the bottom of that one question, among them Black metal, Death metal, Post-hardcore. Worth 3 of 9.
- As heavy as it gets put 13 genres at the bottom of that one question, among them Rock and roll, Folk rock, Country rock. Worth 2 of 9.
- The dark put 119 genres at the bottom of that one question, among them Punk rock, Hardcore punk, Alternative rock. Worth 1 of 9.
- Yes. A proper melody. put 12 genres at the bottom of that one question, among them Grindcore, Brutal death metal, Cybergrind. 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.