Another week, another metal discussion. This time: Alternative Metal. I like to think of
Alternative Metal as the illegitimate child of
Alternative Rock, who spent her younger years fooling around with a slew of genres you wouldn't want to bring home to Mama:
Heavy Metal,
Nu Metal,
Gothic Metal,
Hardcore Punk,
Post-Hardcore,
Post-Grunge,
Prog,
Noise Rock,
Hard Rock,
Glam Rock and
Electronica (the last two can be
androgynous at times, and hence lacking of Mama's approval). When Alternative Metal was finally "born" in the mid-90's, his father could not be accurately determined.
"Alternative metal" is a tricky label, because it's as much an unbrella genre as alternative rock. I mean, you could have the "hard rock" of buzz radio ("
Well Enough Alone" by
Chevelle), the "metal" of pop-punk ("
Headstrong" by
Trapt) or the "post-grunge" of the new millenium ("
Breath" by
Breaking Benjamin). The only band I feel that can best define alternative metal is one of my favorites: 30 Seconds To Mars.
