groove metal
{{Short description|Subgenre of heavy metal music}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2022}}
{{Infobox music genre
| name = Groove metal
| other_names = Neo-thrash, post-thrash, power groove{{Cite book |last1=Stevens |first1=Anne H. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3U7ODwAAQBAJ&q=%22neo-thrash%22&pg=PT221 |title=The Microgenre: A Quick Look at Small Culture |last2=O’Donnell |first2=Molly C. |date=January 23, 2020 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing USA |isbn=978-1-5013-4582-1 }}
| stylistic_origins = {{hlist|Thrash metal|tough guy hardcore}}
| cultural_origins = Late 1980s–early 1990s, New Orleans, New York City, Texas, U.S.
| derivatives = {{hlist|Nu metal|metalcore}}
| regional_scenes =
| local_scenes = New Orleans
| other_topics = {{hlist|List of groove metal bands|NWOAHM|sludge metal|tough guy hardcore|crossover thrash}}
}}
Groove metal, sometimes also called neo-thrash or post-thrash, is a subgenre of heavy metal music that began in the early 1990s. The genre is primarily derived from thrash metal, but played in slower tempos, and making use of rhythmic guitar parts. It was pioneered in the late 1980s by groups like Exhorder, Prong and Bad Brains, and then popularized by the commercial success of Pantera, White Zombie, Machine Head and Sepultura. The genre went on to be influential in the development of the new wave of American heavy metal, nu metal and metalcore, and continued to gain traction in the 2000s with Lamb of God, DevilDriver and Five Finger Death Punch, and 2010s with Killer Be Killed and Bad Wolves.
Characteristics
Groove metal makes use of elements of thrash metal, but plays them in a slower tempo, making use of bouncy, unconventional rhythms. Loudwire stated that "Unlike so many other styles of metal, groove metal is one that doesn't have rigid boundaries and incorporates industrial, death metal, nu-metal, hardcore and a lot more."{{cite web |title=DevilDriver's Dez Fafara – My 11 Favorite Groove Metal Albums |url=https://loudwire.com/devildriver-dez-fafara-favorite-groove-metal-albums/ |website=Loudwire |date=May 10, 2023 |access-date=2 November 2024}} Music journalist Gary Graff also noted the influence of hardcore punk as integral to groove metal.{{cite book |last1=Graff |first1=Gary |title=501 Essential Albums of the '90s The Music Fan's Definitive Guide |publisher=Motorbooks |page=121 |quote=Pantera's second major-label release found the band going further into the creation of what the Texans dubbed "groove metal," an alloy of thrash and hardcore punk but with swagger.}}
History
=Origins=
File:Dimebag Darrell with Pantera.jpg, 1991. Pantera is credited with popularizing the groove metal genre.]]
In their book Hellraisers: A Complete Visual History of Heavy Metal Mayhem, journalists Axl Rosenberg and Christopher Krovatin traced the origins of groove metal to New Orleans' Exhorder and New York's Prong.{{cite book |last1=Rosenberg |first1=Axl |last2=Krovatin |first2=Christopher |title=Hellraisers: A Complete Visual History of Heavy Metal Mayhem |date=24 October 2017 |publisher=Race Point Publishing |page=172 |quote=Perhaps the first true groove metal bands were New Orleans's Exhorder, whose fuzzy guitar tone was uniquely sexy; and New York City's Prong, whose weirdo conceptual thrash went more for kinetic impact than grandiosity. However, groove metal's real claims to fame are two of metal's most important bands regardless of genre.}} Exhorder, formed in 1985, recorded their first demo in the summer of 1986, playing a style that was influenced hardcore punk and metal, as well as jazz, funk, blues and the music of Mardi Gras.{{cite web |last1=Collins |first1=Dillon |title=EXHORDER's Kyle Thomas: "Instead of Angry Young Man Music, I Will Just Write Angry Old Man Music." |date=September 29, 2019 |url=https://metalinjection.net/interviews/exhorders-kyle-thomas-instead-of-angry-young-man-music-i-will-just-write-angry-old-man-music |access-date=1 November 2024}} The band were immediately influential in the New Orleans metal scene, with pioneering sludge metal bands Eyehategod, Soilent Green and Crowbar all playing some of their earliest live performances in support of them.{{cite web |title=Exhorder's Slaughter In The Vatican: 25 Years Later |url=https://www.invisibleoranges.com/exhorders-slaughter-in-the-vatican-25-years-later/ |website=Invisible Oranges |access-date=1 November 2024}} Prong, on the other hand, originated from the New York hardcore scene, originally playing crossover thrash, before slowing their tempos and incorporating heavier percussion on their second album Beg to Differ (1990).{{cite web |last1=Martins |first1=Jorge |title=10 Essential Bands to Get Into Groove Metal |url=https://www.ultimate-guitar.com/articles/features/10_essential_bands_to_get_into_groove_metal-161797 |access-date=2 November 2024}} VH1 described the band as having "existed outside of categorical restriction", by having a sound rooted in both punk and metal, while also experimenting with elements of industrial music.{{cite web |url=https://www.vh1.com/news/h0tfpf/90s-post-thrash-groove-metal-scene |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220524053141/https://www.vh1.com/news/h0tfpf/90s-post-thrash-groove-metal-scene |url-status=live |archive-date=May 24, 2022 |title=Hidden Gems: Rediscovering The '90s Post-Thrash Groove Metal Scene |last=Coyle |first=Doc |publisher=VH1 |access-date=July 30, 2018}} A number of writers have also noted the Bad Brains's post-1987 music, particularly Quickness (1989), as helping to pioneer the genre.{{cite book |last1=Knowles |first1=Christopher |title=The Secret History of Rock 'n' Roll |date=October 2010 |publisher=Viva Editions |quote=The Bad Brains would split up shortly after releasing Rock for Light, a 1983 LP produced by new wave maestro Ric Ocasek, but they reformed in 1987 as a pioneering groove-metal outfit.}}{{cite web |last1=Foster |first1=Nathan |title=Top 10 Bad Brains Songs |date=August 26, 2020 |url=https://www.classicrockhistory.com/top-10-bad-brains-songs/ |access-date=2 November 2024}}
White Zombie, formed in 1985, playing music influenced by the noise rock of Honeymoon Killers, Swans and Pussy Galore, 1970s rock of Van Halen, Kiss and AC/DC, as well as Black Sabbath, the Cramps and gothic rock. Their early career was spent playing in the New York City noise rock scene, before being approached by the members of the Cro-Mags and Biohazard to instead begin playing in the New York hardcore scene.{{cite web |last1=Krovatin |first1=Chris |title=Cro-Mags, CBGBs, and Cockroaches: White Zombie's Sean Yseult Remembers NYC Metal's Lawless Past |url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/white-zombie-sean-yseult-90s-metal/ |website=Vice Media |date=June 3, 2016 |access-date=2 November 2024}} During this time, some New York hardcore bands were embracing metal influence and grooves, to the extent that bands including Sick of It All and Leeway self-identified as "Jackson Heights groove metal".{{cite book |last1=Koller |first1=Lou |last2=Koller |first2=Pete |last3=Abrams |first3=Howie |title=The blood and the sweat: the story of Sick of It All's Koller brothers |date=2020 |publisher=Post Hill Press |location=New York ; Nashville |isbn=1642932256 |page=105 |quote=We began to write heavier songs groove songs, which we referred to as "Jackson Heights groove metal", because between us and Leeway and a few other bands, that's where it came from}} White Zombie began leaning into the nascent sound of groove metal on their second album Make Them Die Slowly (1989).{{cite web |last1=Chillingworth |first1=Alec |title=Every Rob Zombie and White Zombie album ranked from worst to best |url=https://www.loudersound.com/features/every-rob-zombie-and-white-zombie-album-ranked-from-worst-to-best |website=Metal Hammer |date=December 2020 |access-date=2 November 2024}} The band achieved mainstream success in the mid-1990s, with La Sexorcisto: Devil Music Volume One (1992) peaking at number 2 on the Heatseekers Albums chart in 1993{{cite magazine|title=White Zombie Chart History (Heatseekers Albums)|url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/white-zombie/chart-history/tln/|access-date=November 16, 2019|magazine=Billboard}} and was certified double-platinum by the RIAA in July 1998.{{Certification Cite Ref|title=La Sexorcisto: Devil Music Vol. 1|artist=White Zombie|region=United States|type=album}} White Zombie's music videos were featured on Beavis and Butt-Head, helping to increase the band's sales.{{cite magazine |url=https://ew.com/article/1993/10/08/white-zombie-resurrected-beavis-and-butt-head/ |title=White Zombie resurrected by 'Beavis and Butt-head' |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |last=Browne |first=David |date=October 8, 1993 |access-date=November 16, 2019 |archive-date=February 18, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220218125256/https://ew.com/article/1993/10/08/white-zombie-resurrected-beavis-and-butt-head/ |url-status=dead }} Their 1995 follow-up Astro Creep: 2000 peaked at number 6 on the Billboard 200{{cite magazine |url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/white-zombie/chart-history/tlp/ |title=White Zombie Chart History (Billboard 200) |magazine=Billboard |access-date=November 16, 2019}} and sold 104,000 copies in its first week of release;{{cite magazine |title=Between the Bullets |magazine=Billboard |last=Mayfield |first=Geoff |date=September 12, 1998 |volume=110 |number=37 |issn= 0006-2510 |publisher=Nielsen Business Media, Inc. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CwoEAAAAMBAJ&q=white+zombie+%22astro+creep%22+%22first+week%22&pg=PA130 |page=130}} it was certified double-platinum by the RIAA.{{Certification Cite Ref|title=Astro Creep: 2000|artist=White Zombie|region=United States|type=album}} White Zombie's song "More Human than Human" achieved mainstream success in 1995, peaking at number 53 on Billboard
Venice crossover thrash band Excel's second album The Joke's on You (1989) took a more groove-driven direction.{{cite web|title=EXCEL: SoCal Thrash/Hardcore Crossover Group To Reissue The Joke's On You Via Southern Lord This November|url=https://www.earsplitcompound.com/excel-socal-thrashhardcore-crossover-group-to-reissue-the-jokes-on-you-via-southern-lord-this-november/|access-date=March 13, 2025|website=earsplitcompound.com|date=October 21, 2016 }} Far Out cited the introduction to the track "Tapping into the Emotional Void" as an early example of groove metal.{{cite magazine|title=Unsolved feuds: did Metallica plagiarise the 'Enter Sandman' riff?|url=https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/did-metallica-plagiarise-enter-sandman-riff/|access-date=March 13, 2025|magazine=Far Out}}
Texas heavy metal band Pantera's 1990 album Cowboys from Hell is often considered the album that codified and popularized groove metal.{{cite web|url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/cowboys-from-hell-mw0000308550|title=Cowboys from Hell – Pantera|website=AllMusic|first=Eduardo|last=Rivadavia|access-date=November 8, 2020}} They continued releasing influential albums through the 1990s; the 1992 album Vulgar Display of Power featured an even heavier sound than its predecessor, while its follow-up Far Beyond Driven (1994) peaked at number 1 on the Billboard 200, selling 186,000 copies its first week of release.{{cite magazine |url=https://ew.com/article/1994/04/22/message-behind-panteras-angry-sound/ |title=The message behind Pantera's angry sound |magazine=Entertainment Weekly |date=April 22, 1994 |access-date=November 16, 2019 |last=Sandow |first=Greg}}{{cite web |url=https://people.com/archive/picks-and-pans-review-far-beyond-driven-vol-41-no-17/ |title=Picks and Pans Review: Far Beyond Driven |work=People |date=May 9, 1994 |access-date=November 16, 2019}}
Thrash pioneers Metallica's Black Album (1991) included multiple groove metal tracks, including "Sad but True"{{cite web |last1=Enis |first1=Eli |title=METALLICA: HEAR PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED VERSION OF "SAD BUT TRUE" |url=https://www.revolvermag.com/music/metallica-hear-previously-unreleased-version-sad-true/ |website=Revolver |access-date=2 November 2024}} and "The Struggle Within".{{cite web |last1=Starkey |first1=Arun |title=Revisiting Metallica's landmark 'Black Album' as it turns 30 |date=August 12, 2021 |url=https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/metallica-black-album-1991-30-anniversary/ |access-date=2 November 2024}} Brazilian band Sepultura, previously established as having deathrash sound, released their fifth studio album Chaos A.D. in 1993, which saw the band slow their tempos and embrace the influence of New York hardcore acts like the Cro-Mags, Agnostic Front and Sick of It All.{{cite web |url=https://www.rhino.com/article/out-now-sepultura-chaos-ad |title=Out Now: Sepultura, CHAOS A.D. |publisher=Rhino Entertainment |date=October 13, 2017 |access-date=November 16, 2017}} Sound of the Beast author Ian Christe credited Chaos A.D. with helping to developing groove metal and as being widely influential.{{cite book|last=Christie|first=Ian|title=Sound of the Beast: The Complete Headbanging History of Heavy Metal|date=2003|edition=First|publisher=Harper Entertainment|location=London|isbn=006052362X|page=264}} Machine Head released their debut album Burn My Eyes in 1994. The album helped the band achieve underground success and sold over 145,000 copies.{{cite web |url=https://www.blabbermouth.net/news/metal-hard-rock-album-sales-in-the-us-as-reported-by-soundscan/ |title=Metal/Hard Rock Album Sales In The US As Reported By SoundScan |publisher=Blabbermouth.net |date=April 30, 2002 |access-date=November 16, 2019}}
=Developments=
File:Machine Head Live Zurich.jpg
Following the widespread success of Pantera, White Zombie and Machine Head, the genre expanded with notable subsequent groups including Skinlab, Pissing Razors, Grip Inc., Merauder, Pro-Pain, GZR, and Stuck Mojo. Additionally, several veteran thrash bands began to change their sound in favour of groove metal. Anthrax, who had recently replaced Joey Belladonna with John Bush as their singer, began stepping away from their previously established thrash metal formula to a more accessible alternative/groove metal approach for the remainder of their 1990s output, starting with and including Sound of White Noise (1993).{{cite news | url=http://www.villagevoice.com/2011-09-14/music/anthrax-and-joey-belladonna-keep-it-in-the-family | title=Anthrax and Joey Belladonna Keep It In the Family | newspaper=The Village Voice | date=14 September 2011 | access-date=27 April 2021 | author=Weingarten, Christopher R.| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111201124735/http://www.villagevoice.com/2011-09-14/music/anthrax-and-joey-belladonna-keep-it-in-the-family | archive-date=1 December 2011 }}{{cite news | url=https://ultimateclassicrock.com/anthrax-sound-of-white-noise/ | title=How Anthrax's 'Sound of White Noise' Kicked Off the John Bush Era | publisher=Ultimate Classic Rock | date=25 May 2018 | access-date=27 April 2021 | author=Kielty, Martin | archive-date=27 April 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210427193921/https://ultimateclassicrock.com/anthrax-sound-of-white-noise/ | url-status=live }}{{cite magazine | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=YIwHlb1zNyoC&q=%22Sound+Of+White+Noise%22+%22+metal%22&pg=PA79 | title=Anthrax - Sound of White Noise review | last=Wiederhorn |first=Jon |magazine=SPIN | date=July 1993 | volume=9 | issue=4 | page=79 |access-date=27 April 2021 | archive-date=19 September 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230919144822/https://books.google.com/books?id=YIwHlb1zNyoC&q=%22Sound+Of+White+Noise%22+%22+metal%22&pg=PA79 | url-status=live }} This was continued by the releases of Sacred Reich's Independent (1993),{{cite news | url=https://www.blabbermouth.net/cdreviews/independent-reissue/ | title=CD Reviews - Independent (Reissue) Sacred Reich | publisher=Blabbermouth.net | access-date=27 April 2021 | author=Bergman, Keith | archive-date=27 April 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210427193921/https://www.blabbermouth.net/cdreviews/independent-reissue/ | url-status=live }} Overkill's I Hear Black (1993),{{cite news | url=http://www.worshipmetal.com/features/i-hear-black-is-it-overkills-most-underrated-album/ | title=I Hear Black: Is It Overkill's Most Underrated Album? | publisher=Worship Music | date=9 March 2016 | access-date=27 April 2021 | author=Jennings, Chris | archive-date=5 June 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230605005837/http://www.worshipmetal.com/features/i-hear-black-is-it-overkills-most-underrated-album/ | url-status=live }} Coroner's Grin (1993),{{cite news | url=https://www.sputnikmusic.com/review/53987/Coroner-Grin/ | title=Coroner - Grin (album review 2) | publisher=Sputnikmusic | date=18 December 2012 | access-date=27 April 2021 | author=Wolfers, Jeremy | archive-date=19 September 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230919144747/https://www.sputnikmusic.com/review/53987/Coroner-Grin/ | url-status=live }} Testament's Low (1994),{{cite news | url=https://www.sputnikmusic.com/review/8659/Testament-Low/ | title=Testament - Low (album review) | publisher=Sputnikmusic | date=14 September 2017 | access-date=27 April 2021 | author=Geadom | archive-date=19 September 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230919144747/https://www.sputnikmusic.com/review/53987/Coroner-Grin/ | url-status=live }} Forbidden's Distortion (1994){{cite news | url=https://metalnerdblog.com/2011/10/07/forbidden-distortion-review/ | title=Forbidden – Distortion Review | publisher=Metal-Nerd Blog | date=7 October 2011 | access-date=27 April 2021 | archive-date=27 October 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211027130232/https://metalnerdblog.com/2011/10/07/forbidden-distortion-review/ | url-status=live }} and much of Annihilator's 1990s output.{{cite web|url=https://www.nocleansinging.com/2020/02/13/annihilator-ballistic-sadistic/|title=ANNIHILATOR: "BALLISTIC, SADISTIC"|publisher=No Clean Singing|date=February 13, 2020|access-date=March 25, 2021}}
In the 2000s, a second wave of groove metal bands emerged, including Damageplan, Lamb of God, Chimaira and DevilDriver.{{cite web |last1=Martins |first1=Jorge |title=10 Essential Bands to Get Into Groove Metal |url=https://www.ultimate-guitar.com/articles/features/10_essential_bands_to_get_into_groove_metal-161797 |access-date=2 November 2024}} Damageplan was founded with former Pantera members Dimebag Darrell and Vinnie Paul Abbott. They released one album, New Found Power, in 2004. The band broke up in December 2004, after guitarist Dimebag Darrell was shot dead at a live performance.{{cite magazine |title=Vinnie Paul, Legendary Drummer for Pantera & Damageplan, Dead at 54 |url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/obituary/8462386/vinnie-paul-dead-pantera-damageplan-hellyeah |magazine=Billboard |access-date=June 23, 2018}} One of the most commercially successful groove metal groups during this time was Five Finger Death Punch, who formed in 2005 and garnered extensive chart positions and album certifications of gold and platinum in the United States.{{cite web |last1=Monger |first1=James Christopher |title=Five Finger Death Punch |url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/five-finger-death-punch-mn0000640208#biography |website=AllMusic |access-date=2 November 2024}} Hellyeah formed in 2006 and featured Vinnie Paul of Pantera also saw commercial success.{{cite web |last1=Rolli |first1=Bryan |title=15 Years Ago: Vinnie Paul Triumphs Over Grief With 'Hellyeah' |date=April 10, 2022 |url=https://ultimateclassicrock.com/hellyeah-debut-album/ |access-date=2 November 2024}} The 2010s saw the formation of Killer Be Killed and Bad Wolves.{{cite web|website=New Noise Magazine|url=https://newnoisemagazine.com/review-bad-wolves-disobey/|title=Album Review: Bad Wolves - Disobey|date=May 7, 2018|access-date=July 31, 2018|archive-url=https://archive.today/20200919154604/https://newnoisemagazine.com/review-bad-wolves-disobey/|archive-date=September 19, 2020|url-status=live|quote=[...]it's not surprising that the name of the game here is groove metal}} Malevolence's third studio album Malicious Intent (2022), saw widespread success and included the influence of groove metal and sludge metal into beatdown hardcore and metalcore.{{cite web |last1=Heilman |first1=Max |title=REVIEWSAlbum Review: MALEVOLENCE Malicious Intent |date=May 18, 2022 |url=https://metalinjection.net/reviews/malevolence-malicious-intent |access-date=30 September 2024}} Metal Hammer cited them as a definitive groove metal act.{{cite web |title=A beginner's guide to groove metal in 5 albums |url=https://www.loudersound.com/features/a-beginners-guide-to-groove-metal-in-5-albums |website=Metal Hammer |date=May 31, 2023 |access-date=2 November 2024}}
Influence on other genres
The groove metal genre was a driving force in the New Wave of American Heavy Metal movement, which began in the 1990s. Additionally, it influenced the development and success of nu metal and metalcore, two of the most commercially successful subsequent metal genres. VH1 called groove metal "a musical purgatory that bridged the gap between classic thrash-y heavy metal and angst-y, down-tuned modern metal of the 21st century."
See also
References
{{Reflist}}
{{Heavymetal}}
{{Extreme metal}}