Your way in
Symphonic black metal 1994
Keyboards and choirs over black metal structures. Grand, theatrical and by far the most saleable of the subgenres.
- Heaviness
- 8
- Speed
- 8
- Melody
- 7
- Where from
- Norway
- Tempo
- 160-240 bpm
- Song length
- 5-9 min
- Written about
- Occultism, Grandeur and menace, Nature as a hostile force, Vampiric and gothic imagery
- Vocals
- Growled or shrieked
Why this one
| You said | Symphonic black metal | Match | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| A growl or a shriek When someone is singing, what should come out? | harsh | 100% | ×3 |
| Heavy. I want to feel it. How much weight do you want behind it? | 8 out of 10 | 100% | ×2 |
| Quick and driving What pace? | 8 out of 10 | 90% | ×2 |
| This century Does it matter when it was made? | 1994 | 76% | ×1 |
| The dark What should the words be about? | Occultism, Grandeur and menace, Nature as a hostile force, Vampiric and gothic imagery | 50% | ×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 6 answers you gave, weighted vocals 3, heaviness 2, pace 2, era 1, about 1, melody 1 out of 10. Symphonic black metal leads the next by 1 point. 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
- 1Start one step outside
Darkthrone, A Blaze in the Northern Sky 1992
Darkthrone - A Blaze in the Northern Sky. The production is intentional, not a flaw.
- 2The one to put on first
Emperor, In the Nightside Eclipse 1994
Emperor - In the Nightside Eclipse. Recorded by teenagers, and it sounds monumental.
- 3Then
- 4Then
- 5Then
The first is the entry point for Black metal, one step outside, so the second record has something to be heard against. After it come Symphonic black 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
-
Melodic death metal 84%
Iron Maiden-style guitar harmonies over screamed vocals. The Gothenburg scene later became the foundation of American metalcore.
4 steps from Symphonic black metal, meeting it only at Heavy metal.
The way into Melodic death metal -
Melodic metalcore 83%
Gothenburg harmonies imported into American hardcore. The dominant formula of the 2000s.
4 steps from Symphonic black metal, meeting it only at Heavy metal.
The way into Melodic metalcore
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
- A growl or a shriek put 78 genres at the bottom of that one question, among them Alternative rock, Blues rock, Doom metal. Worth 3 of 10.
- This century put 43 genres at the bottom of that one question, among them Punk rock, Hardcore punk, Blues rock. Worth 1 of 10.
- The dark put 119 genres at the bottom of that one question, among them Punk rock, Hardcore punk, Alternative rock. Worth 1 of 10.
- Yes. A proper melody. put 12 genres at the bottom of that one question, among them Grindcore, Brutal death metal, Cybergrind. Worth 1 of 10.
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.