Heavy Metal Subgenres (Most important)

BLACK METAL 

Black metal is an extreme subgenre and subculture of heavy metal music. Common traits include fast tempos, a 'shrieking' vocal style, highly distorted guitars played with tremolo picking, raw (lo-fi) recording, unconventional song structures and an emphasis on atmosphere. Artists often appear in 'corpse paint' and adopt pseudonyms.

Cultural origins	First wave: early–mid 1980s, European extreme metal scene Second wave: early 1990s, Scandinavian extreme metal scene
Typical instruments	Vocals, electric guitar, bass guitar, drums

Initially a synonym for "Satanic metal", black metal is often met with hostility from mainstream culture, due to the actions and ideologies associated with it. Many artists express extreme anti-Christian and misanthropic views, advocating various forms of Satanism or ethnic Paganism. In the 1990s, members of the scene were responsible for a spate of church burnings and murders.

MAIN BANDS 

VENOM (1979)

Venom are an English heavy metal band that formed in 1979 in Newcastle upon Tyne. Coming to prominence towards the end of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, Venom's first two albums—Welcome to Hell (1981) and Black Metal (1982)—are considered a major influence on thrash metal and extreme metal in general.

ALBUM THAT YOU MUST TO HEARD "BLACK METAL"

MERCYFUL FATE (1981)

Mercyful Fate is a Danish heavy metal band from Copenhagen, formed in 1981 by vocalist King Diamond and guitarist Hank Shermann. Influenced by progressive rock and hard rock, with lyrics dealing with Satan and the occult, Mercyful Fate were part of the first wave of black metal in the early to mid-1980s.

ALBUM THAT YOU MUST TO HEARD "MELISSA"

BATHORY (1983)

Bathory was a Swedish extreme metal band formed in Vällingby in 1983 and named after the infamous Hungarian countess, Elizabeth Báthory. The band's frontman and main songwriter was Quorthon (Tomas Forsberg). Bathory's first four albums were "the blueprint for Scandinavian black metal".

ALBUM THAT YOU MUST TO HEARD "BATHORY"

THRASH METAL 

Thrash metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music characterized by its fast tempo and overall aggression. The songs usually use fast percussive beats and low-register guitar riffs, overlaid with shredding-style lead work. The lyrics often deal with social issues and reproach for "The Establishment," using direct and denunciatory language, an approach which partially overlaps with the hardcore genre.
The genre evolved in the early 1980s from combining the drum beats of hardcore punk with the guitar style of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal.

Stylistic origins	hardcore punk, speed metal, punk rock
Cultural origins	Early 1980s in the United States, United Kingdom and Germany
Typical instruments	Rhythm guitar, lead guitar, bass guitar, drums, vocals
Derivative forms	Death metal, black metal, groove metal

MAIN BANDS (as better known "big Four") (1983)

MEGADETH (1983)

Megadeth is an American thrash metal band from Los Angeles, California. The group was formed in 1983 by guitarist Dave Mustaine and bassist David Ellefson, shortly after Mustaine's dismissal from Metallica.

ALBUM THAT YOU MUST TO HEARD "COUNTDOWN TO EXTINTION"

SLAYER (1981)

Slayer is an American thrash metal band formed in Huntington Park, California in 1981, by guitarists Jeff Hanneman and Kerry King, pioneer of the thrash metal subgenre.

ALBUM THAT YOU MUST TO HEARD "SHOW NO MERCY"

ANTHRAX (1981)

Anthrax is an American thrash metal band from New York, formed in 1981 by guitarist Scott Ian and bassist Dan Lilker. The group was considered one of the leaders of the thrash metal scene during the 1980s.

ALBUM THAT YOU MUST TO HEARD "FISTFUL OF METAL"

METALLICA (1981)

Metallica is an American heavy metal band formed in Los Angeles, California. The band's fast tempos, instrumentals, and aggressive musicianship.

ALBUM THAT YOU MUST TO HEARD "MASTER OF PUPPETS"

GLAM METAL 

Glam metal (also known as hair metal, sleaze metal and often used synonymously with pop metal) is a subgenre of hard rock and heavy metal. It combines elements of those genres with punk rock and pop music, adding catchy hooks and guitar riffs, while borrowing from the aesthetic of 1970s glam rock.

Stylistic origins	Heavy metal, hard rock, glam rock, pop rock, punk rock
Cultural origins	Late 1970s and early 1980s in Los Angeles and New York City
Typical instruments	Guitar, bass, drums, keyboards

MAIN BANDS

KISS (1973)

Kiss is an American hard rock band formed in New York City in January 1973 by Paul Stanley and Gene Simmons. Well known for its members face paint and stage outfits, the group rose to prominence in the mid to late 1970s with their elaborate live performances, which featured fire breathing, blood spitting, smoking guitars, shooting rockets, levitating drum kits and pyrotechnics.

ALBUM THAT YOU MUST TO HEARD "KISS"

VAN HALEN (1978)

Van Halen is an American rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1972. From 1974 until 1985, the band comprised guitarist Eddie Van Halen, vocalist David Lee Roth, drummer Alex Van Halen, and bassist Michael Anthony.

ALBUM THAT YOU MUST TO HEARD "VAN HALEN I"

MÖTLEY CRÜE (1981)

Mötley Crüe is an American hard rock/heavy metal band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1981. The group was founded by bassist Nikki Sixx and drummer Tommy Lee, who were later joined by guitarist Mick Mars, and vocalist Vince Neil. Mötley Crüe is one of the best-selling bands of all time, having sold more than 100 million records worldwide.

ALBUM THAT YOU MUST TO HEARD "SHOUT AT THE DEVIL"

DEATH METAL 

Death metal is an extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. It typically employs heavily distorted and low tuned guitars, played with techniques such as palm muting and tremolo picking, deep growling vocals and screams, aggressive, powerful drumming featuring double kick or blast beat techniques, minor keys or atonality, abrupt tempo, key, and time signature changes and chromatic chord progressions. The lyrical themes of death metal may invoke slasher film-stylized violence, Satanism, religion, occultism, Lovecraftian horror, nature, mysticism, philosophy, science fiction, and politics and they may describe extreme acts, including mutilation, dissection, torture, rape, cannibalism, and necrophilia.

Stylistic origins	Thrash metal, first wave black metal, hardcore punk
Cultural origins	Mid-1980s in the United States (particularly Florida)
Typical instruments	Vocals (death growl), electric guitar, bass, drums
Derivative forms	Groove metal

MAIN BANDS

POSSESSED (1983)

Possessed is an American death metal band, originally formed in 1983. Noted for their fast style of playing and Jeff Becerra's guttural vocals, they are routinely called the first band in the death metal genre.

ALBUM THAT YOU MUST TO HEARD "SEVEN CHURCHES"

DEATH

Death was an American metal band from Orlando, Florida, founded in 1983 by guitarist and vocalist Chuck Schuldiner. Death is considered to be one of the most influential bands in heavy metal and a pioneering force in death metal.

ALBUM THAT YOU MUST TO HEARD "SCREAM BLOODY GORE"

OBITUARY (1983)

Obituary is an American death metal band formed in 1984 in Tampa, Florida under the name Executioner, then changed the name's spelling to Xecutioner, and later changed their name to Obituary in 1988. The band comprises vocalist John Tardy, drummer Donald Tardy, guitarist Trevor Peres and bassist Terry Butler. The band is a fundamental act in the development of death metal music and one of the most successful death metal bands in the world.

ALBUM THAT YOU MUST TO HEARD "SLOWLY WE ROT"