The Final Post

Alright metalheads, this is the final post of “Into the Pit.” It has been a fucking killer past couple of years, but it is time to lay this blog to rest. So what was the point? Why did I do this in the first place? Well, let me explain.

I wanted this blog to serve as a guide for all things metal for the readers and writers of ACRN. The early posts of this blog were really focused on defining the sub-genres of heavy metal. Those posts should be used by readers and writers as a means to figure out exactly what kind of metal they are listening to.

Beyond that, I wanted this blog to serve as a modern commentary on the state of heavy metal. I live and breathe this genre of music. I have an encyclopedic knowledge of heavy metal. It’s my passion and I wanted to share my expertise with you, the readers.

Before I put this blog to rest for good, I thought I would make one final top five list. These are the five songs that I consider to be the HEAVIEST OF ALL TIME. Not necessarily the best, just the heaviest. Thank you, readers, for checking out my blog over the past few years. It has been real. Now here we fucking go!

Honorable Mention: Meshuggah - "Bleed"
No one forgets the first time they hear “Bleed.” The technical precision of the track is astounding. Beyond that, there is so much power behind the song. Meshuggah are out for blood and ready to fucking kill. The song is dark and comes from a real pit of despair. This is one of Meshuggah’s finest moments and absolutely one of their heaviest.  

5. Bloodbath - "Eaten"
Everything about this song screams “HEAVY!” The band’s name, the cover art for the record it’s on, the song’s name and its subject matter all make it unbelievably fucking powerful. The song is about getting eaten by a cannibal. Gore, blood and guts are the centerpiece of the song's lyrics. The music that compliments the lyrics and is just brutal. Peter Tagtgren and pals simply nail the delivery of "Eaten," and the song’s final moments are jaw-dropping. Stop what you are doing right now and check out this absolutely monstrous tune! 

4. At the Gates - "Slaughter of the Soul"
The first riff of "Slaughter of the Soul" is bloodcurdling. It’s so powerful and so intense. The song just builds from there. Tomas Lindberg’s terrifying shrieks and poetically deadly lyrics make this song an absolute monster. "Slaughter of the Soul" is timeless and a masterpiece of heavy metal.  

3. Behemoth - "Lucifer"
This song is from another world. It thrusts listeners into the depths of hell where they await their final judgment. It’s the little touches that make this song so thrilling and so captivating. The atmosphere is so immersive and so intricately crafted. Everything about this song is built around the world the band creates. "Lucifer" is a brutal song that will terrify even the toughest of listeners. 

2. Gojira - "The Heaviest Matter of the Universe"
This song could not be more appropriately named. Gojira understand what it takes to create a heavy song. They understand this more than any other band and that is why this tune is just so blisteringly powerful. This song just takes control of its listeners and forces them to mosh. Joe Duplantier leads listeners into madness from the stage as the song calls for a pit. This song has a groove that is so intense that it is hard not to lose control. Rock out to "The Heaviest Matter of the Universe" and just try not to lose yourself in the pure fucking metal! 

1. Strapping Young Lad - "Oh My Fucking God"
Do I even need to explain why this song is the HEAVIEST OF ALL TIME? Devin Townsend and his crew are fucking mad men. This is a song that is just pure passion. It’s controlled chaos in the finest of ways. Even the song’s chorus is heavy as hell. If you have never listened to "Oh My Fucking God" before, do yourself a favor and just take a moment to get annihilated by its ferocity.

Djent

This week it’s time to talk about the most recently created subgenre of heavy metal, which is simply called djent. The word “djent” was coined by Fredrik Thordendal of Meshuggah, and is actually an onomatopoeia for a distinct guitar sound that he commonly uses in Meshuggah’s music. This sound is a distinctly distorted palm-muted guitar tone, and was made popular by Thordendal and Misha Mansoor from the band Periphery. Djent as a subgenre revolves around combining the aforementioned guitar tone with progressive metal music.

Meshuggah is often given credit for creating djent, and the band definitely shares similarities with other bands in the subgenre, but Meshuggah is notably and distinctly different from almost all of the other djent groups. Meshuggah is an extreme metal band at its core, whereas most other djent groups are more rooted in progressive metal and deathcore collectively. Meshuggah formed nearly two decades before any of the contemporary djent bands and released their genre-defying, legendary second album, Destroy Erase Improve, over ten years before anyone even began to think about capitalizing on their success. 

The albums that really started to get musicians thinking about taking greater influence from Meshuggah were Catch Thirtythree (released in 2005) and Obzen (released in 2008). These two experimental records achieved a great amount of success and attracted new legions of modern heavy metal fans. 

Among those heavy metal fans was Misha Mansoor of the band Periphery. Mansoor released solo tracks online around 2005, which attracted a very strong following. Mansoor’s tracks were more progressive than Meshuggah’s work and were praised for their very high production values. Mansoor eventually decided to form Periphery in order to release his material through a more concentrated outlet. 

Periphery’s music set the standards for all other djent bands by including incredibly technical virtuoso guitar solos, intricate progressive polyrhythms, computerized electronic sounds and the signature guitar tone of the djent subgenre. Periphery really capitalized on SiKTH’s progressive and technical insanity and combined it with Meshuggah’s extreme nature in order to create a completely unique musical style. Fans of Mansoor’s solo work immediately became immersed in Periphery’s debut self-titled album, and the group’s popularity greatly spread, encouraging the entire djent scene to form. Just this year, Periphery released their second album, Periphery II: This Time It's Personal, which has received much critical acclaim and can be streamed below.

After the release of Periphery’s debut record in 2010, many deathcore bands took interest in the group. Bands such as Born of Osiris, Veil of Maya and After the Burial completely switched styles, changing from being deathcore bands to djent bands. 

Meanwhile, there were still many new djent bands starting up. These bands included acts such as Animals As Leaders, The Contortionist, Tesseract and Vildhjarta. 

Djent has received a mixed reception among traditional heavy metal fans. Some praised the subgenre for its technicality and complexity. Meanwhile, others thought of the subgenre as a fad, and considered djent to just be a part of progressive metal. Many people also condemn the usage of the term “djent” due to the fact that the term describes a simple guitar tone. 

Nevertheless, the djent subgenre has created a large scene of loyal fans and it has become a movement that is very distinct in nature. It’s hard to deny that djent really has become its own metal subgenre, and it is currently one of the most popular mainstream subgenres of heavy metal.