Your way in
Math rock 1988
Odd meters and interlocking riffs assembled like a puzzle, usually without vocals. Post-rock's cerebral cousin.
- Heaviness
- 3
- Speed
- 6
- Melody
- 6
- Where from
- USA / Japan
- Tempo
- 100-160 bpm
- Song length
- 4-8 min
- Written about
- Frequently none - much of it is instrumental, Unease, Domestic detail, spoken rather than sung
- Vocals
- Instrumental
Why this one
| You said | Math rock | Match | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| No words at all When someone is singing, what should come out? | instrumental | 100% | ×3 |
| A steady walk What pace? | 6 out of 10 | 90% | ×2 |
| This century Does it matter when it was made? | 1988 | 52% | ×1 |
| Something to hold on to Do you want a tune you could hum afterwards? | 6 out of 10 | 100% | ×1 |
| Weighted mean | 90% | ||
Ranked over all 150 genres in the encyclopedia, on the 4 answers you gave, weighted vocals 3, pace 2, era 1, melody 1 out of 7. Math rock ties with the next, and won on being the broader of the two. 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
King Crimson, In the Court of the Crimson King 1969
King Crimson - In the Court of the Crimson King. The first track tells you everything.
- 2The one to put on first
- 3Then
- 4Then
- 5Then
The first is the entry point for Progressive rock, one step outside, so the second record has something to be heard against. After it come Math rock'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
-
Instrumental prog metal 90%
No vocals: the melody is carried by guitar or keyboard, and the structure can be as complex as it likes.
On the other branch of the tree entirely, and 6 steps from Math rock.
The way into Instrumental prog metal -
Post-punk revival 89%
The same basslines and the same chill, revived every ten years with contemporary production.
5 steps from Math rock, meeting it only at Rock.
The way into Post-punk revival
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
- No words at all put 33 genres at the bottom of that one question, among them Black metal, Death metal, Grindcore. Worth 3 of 7.
- This century put 43 genres at the bottom of that one question, among them Punk rock, Hardcore punk, Blues rock. Worth 1 of 7.
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.