n00b Question: Breakdowns and Slams

[NinjaGeek]

So I've only been listening to music for 2-3 years or so now, and while I have a decent hold on some music theory, I know very little about rock/metal terminology that has developed sepparate from theory.

I've heard breakdowns and slams are similar, but not the same thing. I can easily hear the difference between deathcore and slam death, but how would I explain it to someone without any examples? If someone could explain them in music theory terms that would be helpful.

Also if anyone could provide an example of each that would also be benneficial, just tell me the song and at what time in the song it occurs. I have the album Deaf to Our Prayers by Heaven Shall Burn, which I believe would have some breakdowns, and the album Effigy of the Forgotten by Suffocation which I think has some slam riffs. So if you could provide some examples from those 2 albums that would be helpful, but feel free to provide examples from other stuff too.

Also correct me on anything I've gotten wrong, I'm extremely n00bish in this area.

 

[bw_chris]

not a noob question at all, now Im not familiar with the term "slam" but a breakdown is generally when the song is brought down to half time or even slower, a shitload of metalcore and hardcore bands rely on breakdowns alot for the heavy effect where as death metal bands such as suffocation rely more on the groove and all out brutality to get the heads banging.

Some bands can mix the two very well and achieve notoriety amongst the death metal crowd and the metalcore crowd

Theres no formula to create music, some recommended listening

All Shall Perish
Beneath the Massacre
Kataklysm
Decapitated

 

[Hallucinations]

Wormed, Dripping and all such stuff

 

[panzerfaust666]

A breakdown could also be seen as a Bridge I believe. It kinnda resolves the tension of the song, or solves the "story"( musically).

 

[Symbiant]

Break downs isn't really slowing the tempo down at all. I used to make a lot of DnB dark shit and break downs were basically yeah bridges that would link to the next drop.

 

[BrutalD]

Slams are grooves without long moments of silence or just a cymbal in the spaces between notes. And slams are often combined with constant double bass and aggressive drumming whereas breakdowns often make use of triplets and *chugga* style riffing by using double bass triplets and double bass that plays only during notes.