Post Metal

For the past few weeks, we have been discussing several subgenres of metal that are heavily associated and often mixed with one another. These subgenres included sludge metal, stoner metal and doom metal. The last subgenre that is often linked with them is post metal. Post metal is a recently developed subgenre of heavy metal and has only been created because of experimentation with the aforementioned subgenres.

Post metal is essentially the simple combination of post rock and heavy metal. For those who do not know, post rock is a style of rock music that focuses heavily on the texture and timbre of music. This style of rock focuses on dynamics and often consists of musical build-ups and slow progressive changes in rhythm and melody. Post rock bands are usually instrumental and they often incorporate soundscapes as well as looped music during their songs. It’s a very experimental form of rock music and it usually ignores all conventional song traits. 

What makes post metal different from post rock is the way the music is combined with heavy metal. Post metal tends to follow the compositional standards of post rock, but it usually has a grittier and more depressing tone. Post metal is also much more likely to feature vocals instead of instrumentals. These vocals are usually similar to those found in sludge metal. Due to the depressing nature of the music, it is often mixed with doom metal and sludge metal in order to provide moments of experimental depth to the music. 

The post metal subgenre was essentially pioneered by Neurosis and Godflesh, even though the term “post metal” was not actually coined at that time. We have already talked about Neurosis in depth, but it is important to note that their post metal sound was fully realized with their album, Through Silver in Blood.

Godflesh was a strong influence on both the industrial metal and the post metal subgenres, as it was an experimental band in nature. Godflesh is the brainchild of Justin Broadrick and G.C. Green, and has featured several other members during their lifespan. Recently, Godflesh has reunited and is considering releasing a new album.

The most notable band in the post metal subgenre is undeniably Isis. The term “post metal” was initially coined by the group. Their second album Oceanic set the official groundwork for the subgenre. Isis released a few more albums before disbanding, but their influence within the heavy metal genre has been huge. They essentially spawned the entire post metal scene and many bands within the subgenre today have often been accused of mimicking Isis. 

Today, post metal is a growing subgenre. Many bands such as Cult of Luna, Pelican, Giant Squid and Russian Circles have achieved great success by practicing it and often combining it with sludge and doom metal. Similarly, bands such as Agalloch, Lantlos, and Altair of Plagues have combined the subgenre with black metal in order to achieve a following. Post metal is a fascinating subgenre and one that will surely be further expanded upon in years to come.