avant-garde metal

Information about avant-garde metal

Avant-garde metal
Stylistic origins: Black metal - Death metal - Progressive metal - Experimental rock
Cultural origins: late 1980s-early to mid 1990s, Switzerland and Norway
Typical instruments: Guitar – Bass guitar – Keyboard – Synthesizer – Violin – Sampling – Drums – Hammond organ
Mainstream popularity: Growing popularity since mid-late 1990s, particularly in Norway.
Subgenres
Other topics
Experimental music


Avant-garde metal or experimental metal is generally regarded as a cross-genre reference to metal bands or more exactly as a stylistic adjunction with specific traits (just like Progressive-, Symphonic-, Viking-, Pagan-, Folk-, Industrial-). It is characterized by large amounts of experimentation and by non-standard sounds, instruments, and song structures. Some of the earliest instances of a band being classified as avant-garde lie with Celtic Frost, Master's Hammer, Fleurety, Ved Buens Ende and Ulver.

Characteristics

It should be noted that there is no common agreement yet within the metal world on the correct usage of the term avant-garde metal, though certain issues, such as the presence of experimentation, are agreed upon. Hence the fact some tend to argue that there is no unifying aesthetic of avant-garde metal, which is indeed the case but as Wesley D. Cray underlines:

"Avant-Garde Metal cannot be treated like other genres, such as Black, Death, Doom, Thrash, etc. Those genres are rooted in similar aesthetics and ideologies, leading to strong commonalities amongst bands united under one genre. With the Avant-Garde, on the other hand, there really is no common aesthetic or ideology. [1] The bands have to be taken on a one-by-one basis, evaluated individually rather than on genre aesthetics."[2]


Nevertheless technically speaking avant-garde metal statistically tends to be characterized by a certain number of common traits such as: But also sometimes (just like progressive metal)
  • Use of unconventional song structure
  • Use of unusual rhythm and time signature (even though avant-garde metal isn’t necessarily obsessed by them)
Most of the artists that play avant-garde metal also have a strong focus on a generally dark atmosphere. The bands involved have often been associated with extreme metal (and most particularly black metal), and a number of avant-garde bands also have a black metal background, but it is worth noting that avant-garde metal is often looked down upon by black metal purists, who consider common elements from avant-garde metal, such as keyboards or excessive clean vocals, to be alienating elements which have nothing to do with "true" black metal. Though extreme metal generally seems to be the most implied in playing avant-garde metal, it is theoretically possible to be associated with any kind of metal sub-genre.

Difference with progressive metal

While progressive metal, like avant-garde metal, is also a genre which favours experimentation and non-standard ideas, there are rather large differences between the two forms (although, confusingly, there is also quite a bit of overlap between the two genres). One of the most striking differences is that the experimentation of progressive metal lies mostly in complex rhythms and song structures[3] , while the genre usually sticks to a more traditional instrumentation[4] , whereas in avant-garde metal the usage of unusual sounds plays usually a fundamental role[5] . In other words, Progressive is more orthodox in its use of unconventional structures and still refers to admitted western musical theories whereas Avant-garde is more iconoclast and is more instinctive in its experimentation.

For a better comprehension, Ethan Mittel suggests this analogy:
"Let's say there are two architects. For the sake of this discussion, their names are John Petrucci, who represents progressive metal, and Mike Patton, who represents avant garde metal. They are each trying to create a large mansion using their prior knowledge. Petrucci breaks out his rulebook and follows every guideline all the way down to the punctuation marks. Mike Patton, on the other hand, tosses the rulebook in the trash, and lets his imagination guide him through the construction. At the end of the day, both mansions are complete. John Petrucci has built a massive, elaborate mansion with winding corridors, but has a more traditional architecture. Mike Patton's mansion looks more like something from a Dr. Seuss book. There are eccentrically-shaped doors, rounded edges, decor of every form, and a great collection of other oddball detailing. Put simply, progressive metal and avant garde metal are about as different from each other as Earth is different from Venus." [6]


While Mittel's analogy may be useful and clearer for some, it is not entirely true. While avant garde indeed ignores many conventional habits and is less concerned by theoretical considerations they still refer intuitively to some basic principles of the tonal language (the common musical grammar almost all western music uses) even though they tend to deviate very much from it.

Difference with alternative

Avant-garde metal must also be distinguished from alternative metal on several traits: Even though alternative tends to use some innovative musical ideas, avant-garde metal is generally regarded as more adventurous in terms of musical language and aesthetic. Furthermore, Avant-garde metal tends to use unconventional structures and often unconventional instruments or sounds, while alternative tends to use more standard song structure and a more classic instrumentation. At the same time despite a large amount of eccentricities, unorthodox and unconventional traits, avant-garde still saves a certain number of specific traits of Heavy metal (most particularly its specific groove) unlike alternative.

Origin and debates about the term

Though already existing before, the "avant-garde metal" term has begun to be commonly used in the early 2000s by some journalists specialized in metal and by fans.

But the term as defining some stylistic traits is sometimes still debated:
  • because of its marginality, it doesn’t have yet a large mainstream audience (even among metalheads), so many still ignore its existence.
  • because many confuse the specificity of avant-garde metal with progressive metal or with alternative
  • because there is a common belief in the metal community that there is no unifying aesthetic of avant-garde metal, and that any metal band with extensive experimentation could be considered avant-garde, even if the bands don't sound anything alike.
  • because there are often confusions about the fact some bands may be associated with several styles throughout their career (e.g Arcturus and Ulver were black metal before, Celtic Frost are first known for their Thrash/proto-black orientation)
But during recent years the term has gained wider acceptance. And its specificity begins to be slowly recognized as such.


List of notable avant-garde metal bands

References

1. ^ This is by the way also the case of other avant-gardist music such as the contemporary music which has no unifying aesthetic and is characterized by countless different approaches whose only common traits is to reject some or most of the conventional and traditional habits of classical music
2. ^ Wesley D. Cray, "The Avant-Garde", on Metal Observer
3. ^ "Mittel Ethan, "The Avant Garde And How To Swing It" on Metal Storm" 2006.
4. ^ "Mittel Ethan, "The Avant Garde And How To Swing It" on Metal Storm" 2006.
5. ^ "Mittel Ethan, "The Avant Garde And How To Swing It" on Metal Storm" 2006.
6. ^ "Mittel Ethan, "The Avant Garde And How To Swing It" on Metal Storm" 2006.

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Death metal is an extreme heavy metal subgenre. It is typically characterized by the use of heavily-distorted guitars, harsh low-pitched growled vocals, morbid lyrics, fast-paced rhythms and melodies, and unconventional song structures.
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Progressive metal is a sub-genre of heavy metal music which blends the powerful, guitar-driven sound of metal with the complex compositional structures, odd time signatures, and intricate instrumental playing of progressive rock.
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Experimental rock or Avant rock is a type of music based on rock and roll which experiments with the basic elements of the genre, and/or which pushes the boundaries of common composition and performance technique.
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Motto
Unus pro omnibus, omnes pro uno (Latin) (traditional)[1]
"One for all, all for one"
Anthem
"Swiss Psalm"
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Motto
Royal: Alt for Norge ("Everything for Norway")
1814 Eidsvoll oath: Enige og tro til Dovre faller
("United and faithful until the mountains of Dovre crumble")

Anthem
Ja, vi elsker

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A musical instrument is a device constructed or modified with the purpose of making music. In principle anything that, produces sound, and can somehow be controlled by a person playing it, can serve as a musical instrument.
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The guitar is a musical instrument with ancient roots that is used in a wide variety of musical styles. It typically has six strings, but four, seven, eight, ten, and twelve string guitars also exist.
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The electric bass guitar (or "electric bass") is a bass stringed instrument played with the fingers by plucking, slapping, popping or using a pick. The bass is typically similar in appearance and construction to an electric guitar, but with a larger body, a longer neck and scale
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An electronic keyboard or digital keyboard is a type of keyboard instrument. Its sound is generated or amplified by one or more electronic devices.

Modern usage of the term "electronic keyboard" typically describes a type of inexpensive synthesizer marketed to
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Synthesizer is generally any kind of electronic musical instrument, or electronic device capable of producing or manipulating audio tones, such as musical notes, through audio signal processing.
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''For the Anne Rice novel, see Violin (novel)


The violin is a bowed string instrument with four strings tuned in perfect fifths. It is the smallest and highest-pitched member of the violin family of string instruments, which also includes the viola and
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sampling is the act of taking a portion, or sample, of one sound recording and reusing it as an instrument or element of a new recording. This is typically done with a sampler, which can be a piece of hardware or a computer program on a digital computer.
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The Drum kit

1 Bass drum | 2 Floor tom | 3 Snare | 4 Toms | 5 Hi-hat | 6 Crash cymbal and Ride cymbal
Other components
China cymbal | Cowbell | Sizzle cymbal |
Splash cymbal | Swish cymbal |
Tambourine | Wood block | Rototom
A drum kit (or
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The Hammond organ is an electric organ which was designed and built by Laurens Hammond in 1934. While the Hammond organ was originally sold to churches as a lower-cost alternative to the pipe organ, it came to be used for jazz, blues, and then to a greater extent in rock music (in
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Motto
Royal: Alt for Norge ("Everything for Norway")
1814 Eidsvoll oath: Enige og tro til Dovre faller
("United and faithful until the mountains of Dovre crumble")

Anthem
Ja, vi elsker

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For experimental rock music, see .


Experimental music is a term introduced by composer John Cage in 1955. Cage defined "an experimental action is one the outcome of which is unforeseen" and he was specifically interested in completed works that
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Heavy metal (sometimes referred to simply as metal) is a genre of rock music[1] that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s.[2] With roots in blues-rock and psychedelic rock, the bands that created heavy metal developed a thick, heavy,
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Celtic Frost is an extreme metal band from Zürich, Switzerland, best known for their influence on the thrash, black, goth, doom and death metal genres. They experimented with melding classical music and heavy metal, this source was important for the symphonic metal and gothic metal
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Master's Hammer were a black metal band from the Czech Republic. They were founded in 1983 and produced several demos, before releasing their debut album Ritual in 1990.
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Fleurety is a Norwegian avant-garde metal band. The band was formed in 1991 by Svein Egil Hatlevik and Alexander Nordgaren.

The band released their first demo Black Snow in 1993.
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Ved Buens Ende was a Norwegian avant-garde metal band. Their sound is diverse with quiet instrumental jazz influenced sections and aggressive black metal blast beats and vocals. Ved Buens Ende means "At the end of the bow" referring to the mythological rainbow Bifröst.
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Ulver (Norwegian for “wolves”) is a multi-disciplinary musical group from Norway. Since their first, folklore-influenced black metal release in 1992, Ulver’s style has ever been changing by mixing elements of experimental, electronic and ambient music, avant-garde
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arrangement refers either to a rewriting of a piece of existing music with additional new material or to a fleshing-out of a compositional sketch, such as a lead sheet. If a musical adaptation does not include new material, it is more accurately termed a transcription.
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In music, timbre, or sometimes timber, (from Fr. timbre; IPA /'tæmbəɹ/ as in the first two syllables of tambourine, or /'tɪmbəɹ/, like timber)[1]
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Scale can refer to:
  • Scale (computing). See also Scalability.
  • Scale (map)
  • Scale (ratio)
  • Scale factor
  • Scale (spatial)
  • Scale (zoology)

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For the American band, see .
In music, an ostinato (derived from Italian: "stubborn", compare English: obstinate) is a motif or phrase which is persistently repeated at the same pitch.
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The musical use of more than one key simultaneously is polytonality. Bitonality is the use of only two different keys at the same time.

A well-known, though not uncontroversial, example is the fanfare at the beginning of the second tableau of Igor Stravinsky's ballet,
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Bimodality is the simultaneous use of two distinct pitch collections. It is more general than bitonality since the "scales" involved need not be traditional scales; if diatonic collections are involved, their pitch centers need not be the familiar major and minor-scale tonics.
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Atonality in its broadest sense describes music that lacks a tonal center, or key. Atonality in this sense usually describes compositions written from about 1907 to the present day where a hierarchy of pitches focusing on a single, central tone is not used as a primary foundation
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Industrial metal is a musical genre that draws elements from industrial music and heavy metal music. Industrial metal music is usually centered around metal guitar riffs and industrial synthesizer/sequencer lines, heavily distorted, very low pitched guitars, as well as
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