Alternative Metal

Alternative metal is an eclectic form of heavy metal music that gained popularity in the early 1990s alongside grunge. It is characterised by some heavy metal trappings (most notably heavy riffs), but usually with a pronounced experimental edge, including unconventional lyrics, odd time signatures, more syncopation than typical metal, unusual techniques, a resistance to conventional approaches to heavy music and an incorporation of a wide range of influences outside of the metal music scene.

With the changing of the musical landscape by the popular breakthrough of alternative rock, "alternative metal" became a new phrase used to describe bands in the early 1990s who managed to make relevant era music that was "heavy without necessarily being metal". Newer bands emerged in this era with their distinctive takes on metal: Nine Inch Nails and Ministry started the industrial wave, combining punk-influenced electronic music and heavy guitars, Tool immersed itself in progressive rock influences, Rage Against the Machine was as informed by hip-hop and post-punk agitprop such as Gang of Four as it was by metal, and Helmet melded jazz and noise-rock with post-hardcore influences into a highly influential strand of intense rock music.

As the 1990s progressed, alternative metal's sound became more standardised as newer bands drew inspiration for the same collective set of influences that included Rage Against the Machine, Korn, Crossfade, Deftones, Nine Inch Nails, Marilyn Manson and Helmet. Korn in particular, with its down-tuned riffs and aggressive dissonance, created the sonic template for this new movement, which became known as nu-metal.

This description is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses materials from the Wikipedia article "Alternative metal".