The differences between Metal & Rock music

[Medusa's eyes]

Okay, I have been thinking about this for quite a long time.

What's actually the difference between metal and rock?
For example: sometimes when I listen to Dream Theater, I almost start to think it's progressive rock instead of progressive metal. But I know it's a metal band.

I'm just wondering.

 

[Taliwakker]

There is no official difference.....depends who you talk to...back in the 80's bands like Poison and Warrant were labeled by some as metal.....some extreme metal fans would say bands like Sepultura are rock.
To be truely metal you need to have tats, long hair or no hair at all, have at least a casual relationship with Satan, have a drug dependency of some sort, own a copy of Slayer's 'Reign in Blood' on vinyl and play or have a guitar player that plays a guitar that is not your standard strat body shape (eg a flying V or BC Rich Warlock).
If you do not comply....then i guess you are rock.

 

[karelrulez]

I always think of Metal as sounding 'tighter' than Rock music. The riffs are bigger etc.. It doesn't always have to be 'heavier' than Rock ofcourse, but that's often the case.

 

[The Metal Chick]

Metal has more distortion and has guitar solos. You can headbang harder to it

 

[Yngvai X]

Metal has more distortion

not neccesarily true. a lot of modern rock bands nowadays have a really saturated guitar tone, even MORESO than a good metal guitar tone. The difference is that the metal guitar sound is "tighter" IMO. And plenty of good metal lacks the gratuitous guitar soloing. When I think of metal, I think of tight, chugging rhythm guitars, double bass drumming, high pitched melodic or screamed/growled vocals, and I think metal has a certain attitude that rock at one point might have had but doesn't anymore, and thats the stressing of being a free and independant person, and not letting anyone telling you what to do, and fuck anyone who tries.

 

[The Metal Chick]

Ok Matt, you win

I agree with the attitude thing. That's absoutely true.

 

[SevenString]

this is just my opinion, but i always thought of it this way:

Sabbath = Metal
Zep = Hard Rock

metal pretty much always has the predominant usage of the "1-5-1" mode-less shape on the guitar. Is it major or minor? who knows! However, the vocal lines and chord movement will USUALLY pull metal into a minor mode of some sort.

anyway, if the guitar parts REGULARLY use this shape, then it's probably metal.

 

[OfSinsAndShred]

Rock sounds "looser", more jam-based, more blues-based. *shrug*
Metal's heavier, and SevenString's right with the Sabbath/Zep analogy.

 

[Technetium]

In the past I've thought rock was more blues influenced, and metal was more classical influenced. It might be true more often than not, but it's not a good definition to go by.

 

[arglebargle]

Dream Theater is a combination of progressive rock and metal.

 

[arglebargle]

I'm pretty sure metal and rock use different scales and song structures, but I'm not a music theory person, so I could be wrong.

 

[Yngvai X]

In the past I've thought rock was more blues influenced, and metal was more classical influenced. It might be true more often than not, but it's not a good definition to go by.

No way. Keep in mind theres more to metal than Yngwie and Symphony X...metal's roots go back to Led Zeppelin and that sort of thing, and they were influenced by blues...metal has its share of classical influence tho.

I'm pretty sure metal and rock use different scales and song structures

Not at all.

 

[OfSinsAndShred]

There's tons of blues-influenced metal out there... Sabbath, Metallica, all the classic stuff.

 

[soulshred]

ı cant explain it but when ı hear a music ı can tell if its rock or metal and ı am sure everyone here can whats considered metal in 80s is now considered as hardrock.Dream theater is obviously metal especially now

 

[Wicked Inferno]

There is no official difference.....depends who you talk to...back in the 80's bands like Poison and Warrant were labeled by some as metal.....some extreme metal fans would say bands like Sepultura are rock.
To be truely metal you need to have tats, long hair or no hair at all, have at least a casual relationship with Satan, have a drug dependency of some sort, own a copy of Slayer's 'Reign in Blood' on vinyl and play or have a guitar player that plays a guitar that is not your standard strat body shape (eg a flying V or BC Rich Warlock).
If you do not comply....then i guess you are rock.

maidens guitarist frequently used strat bodied guitars

*shoots down theory*

 

[Taliwakker]

maidens guitarist frequently used strat bodied guitars

*shoots down theory*

not really.....Adrian Smith kept things Metal on more than one occasion.....Dave Murray is the one who let the team down.

 

[theodyssey]

symphony x. romeo uses the strat style body (n esp or something, i know, but same general shape). Same with lepond. They apparently are rock.

 

[SilentRealm]

metal and hard rock can often be so similar that the lines are pretty blurry, theres plenty of metal bands around that sound more like rock, and plenty of rock bands that sound more like metal. being into prog i would think of metal as being very skilled musicians with insane guitar solos etc and generally pretty well written lyrics. but i know this isnt accurate as there are rock and solo and jazz and fusion musicians who fit that bill also, as well as plenty of bands who fit none of it and just thrash their instruments and scream incoherantly and call themselves metal.

so who knows really.. its a question ive also asked myself many times.

 

[Taliwakker]

so who knows really.. its a question ive also asked myself many times.

it is definately a new 'age old' question....i look forward to discussing this further, whilst passing round the ol peace pipe in Shreddi's spa when the slack prick gets one put in.

 

[ElPredicador]

Well, I have nothing to say, but I want to say something, so I said that.