To me, alt metal seems to be a catch-all term for bands that have a heavy, metal influence, but may not fit into other genres, like alt rock or grunge. One of the defining characteristics, IMO, is the influence from other genres besides just metal, like grunge, rock, rap, and emo. Another characteristic is the philosophy that seems to underlie the music, which seems to be more about personal issues. These are reasons why I don't consider alt metal, metal. While the sound might be there, even in such a watered down form, the spirit isn't. Alt metals concerns aren't the same as traditional metal, which was more about the overall dark nature of things like the screwed up socio-political realm and the failure of organized religion. Alt metal is more concerned with personal loss, failures in relationships, and the like. So, the spirit, the underlying philosophy is different, and musically, it's too...watered down metal, for me to consider it actually metal.