Avant-Garde Metal Music Guide: History and Notable Bands

Avant-garde metal is a subgenre of heavy metal that pushes the stylistic boundaries of rock music. Although closely connected to progressive rock and progressive metal players, avant-garde metal artists stand out for their unorthodox song structures, singing styles, and instrumentation.

Avant-garde metal draws inspiration from genres like jazz, funk, hip-hop, mathcore, psychedelia, and classical music. It also borrows concepts from other forms of heavy metal music, including black metal, death metal, extreme metal, doom metal, grindcore, thrash metal, nu metal, industrial, and noise rock.

Avant-garde metal initially arose as a hybrid of 1980s death metal and 1970s progressive rock. Thrash metal and doom metal thrived in Europe in the 1980s, with many prominent bands arising from the Norwegian, Swedish, and German scenes.

• European innovation: In mid-80s Switzerland, Celtic Frost became an innovator of avant-garde metal (also known as experimental metal by some fans and critics), and their 1987 LP, Into the Pandemonium, helped redefine heavy metal. In Norway, experimental bands like Mayhem, Arcturus, and Solefald created a robust scene of avant-garde black metal bands. Blut Aus Nord and Deathspell Omega provided similar innovation out of France, as did Meshuggah in Sweden. Ephel Duath brought punk-tinged innovation to Italian metal.
• New directions in Canada: While the origins of avant-garde heavy metal mostly lie in Europe, North America produced many innovators. In the 1980s and 1990s, Canada's Voivod, Unexpect, and Gorguts naturally evolved from traditional death metal and thrash metal into avant-garde experimentation.
• Avant-Garde in the US: In the United States, local scenes developed their own distinct character. The San Francisco Bay Area—home of Mr. Bungle and Neurosis—thrived on influences ranging from crust punk to vaudeville. In Washington state, the bands Sunn O))) and Earth created a droning form of avant-garde metal with tinges of psychedelia. The Boston avant-garde metal scene prominently features the jazz, psychedelic, and post-rock tendencies of Toby Driver, a leader of maudlin of the Well and later Kayo Dot. Fellow Bostonians Isis developed a style called post-metal that eschews traditional verse-and-chorus song structure.
• Asian avant-garde metal: The Asian continent has also produced prominent avant-garde metal artists including Japan's Boris—known for their incorporation of noise rock—and Indonesia's Kekal, which borrows from both electronic music and prog rock.
• Twenty-first-century growth: The twenty-first century has seen further experimentation in avant-garde metal. Norwegian rockers Ved Buens Ende showcase greater jazz influence than many of their metal forebears. Ram-Zet, also from Norway, has continued the electronic industrial sheen that evolved in the '90s metal scene. New York's Imperial Triumphant incorporates masks and theatricality into their stage show.

Avant-garde metal is a wide-ranging genre with many sounds and influences. Most avant-garde metal bands share a few core tendencies:

1. 1. Roots in classic metal genres: Avant-garde metal bands tend to be well-versed in other forms of heavy metal including thrash metal, nu metal, atmospheric black metal, death metal, extreme metal, doom metal, industrial, grindcore, and noise rock.
2. 2. Interest in non-metal genres: Experimental metal incorporates elements of other music genres. These elements can come from popular music like funk, hip-hop, indie rock, or jazz. They can also come from classical music and ambient soundscapes.
3. 3. Unorthodox instrumentation: The core instruments in heavy metal are electric guitar, electric bass guitar, and a drum kit. Avant-garde metal often adds orchestral instruments, synthesizers, samplers, and instruments from other cultures.
4. 4. Experimental song forms: Some avant-garde metal songs are written with familiar verse-chorus-bridge formats. Others experiment heavily with song structure. Some avant-garde drone metal groups, like Earth and Sunn O))), may rely on epic-length soundscapes with no discernible song form.

Since the 1980s, avant-garde metal bands have helped shape the cutting edge of heavy rock music.

• Celtic Frost: Considered one of the creators of progressive metal, Switzerland's Celtic Frost found inspiration in the 1970s doom metal of Black Sabbath, the goth rock of Siouxsie and the Banshees, and the hardcore punk scene of late '70s England.
• Voivod: From 1982 to the present, Quebec's Voivod has created avant-garde metal that draws from 1970s prog rock, the 1980s new wave of British heavy metal, and twentieth-century classical or symphonic music.
• Mike Patton: Mike Patton has impacted experimental metal through a variety of bands, including Fantômas, Mr. Bungle, and Dead Cross. Patton has also enjoyed mainstream success as the singer of Faith No More, but his commitment to all forms of experimental music has made him a leader in the avant-garde scene of the San Francisco Bay Area.
• Buckethead: An avant-garde metal virtuoso based in suburban Los Angeles, Buckethead is known for rapid-fire guitar-shredding, his reverence for '70s funk, his obsession with martial arts, and the fried chicken bucket he wears when performing.

Become a better musician with the MasterClass Annual Membership. Gain access to exclusive video lessons taught by the world’s best, including Tom Morello, St. Vincent, Sheila E., Timbaland, Itzhak Perlman, Herbie Hancock, and more.