What Is Djent Music? Explore the Heavy Metal Subgenre

Djent (pronounced “gent”) is an umbrella term for a subgenre of heavy metal music and a style of progressive metal identifiable by its repetitive power chords, unusual time signatures, and the use of polyrhythms, or two different and contrasting rhythms within the same musical composition. The term “djent” is an onomatopoeia credited to Fredrik Thordendal, guitarist for the Swedish extreme metal band Meshuggah. Frederik reportedly used the term to describe the band’s guitar sound: crunching, four-note riffs marked by high gain—a distorted, “dirty” guitar tone—and palm-muting, in which the guitarist’s strumming hand lightly touches the strings to deaden the tone and lend weight or “chug” to their sound.

Djent began trending with an online community of musicians and soon came to describe a style of music that embraced several metal subgenres—including metalcore and iterations of math metal like mathcore—and utilized complicated rhythms and heavy riffs. Guitarist Misha Mansoor, a.k.a. Bulb, of the prog metal band Periphery, has received credit for uniting these groups under the rubric of djent metal. Critics and fans alike consider Animals as Leaders, Tesseract, Textures, and Sikth to be foundational groups of the djent scene.

The djent sound has attracted numerous other musicians and bands, including Paul Antonio Ortiz (who also performs under the pseudonym Chimp Spanner) and Monuments. Several prog metal and metal bands, like Veil of Maya, Xerath, and Vildhjarta, have folded “djenty” elements into their music. Deathcore and progressive death metal acts, such as Born of Osiris, also use elements of the sound along with nu-metal bands like Hacktivist, who merge djent metal with rapping.

Several characteristics define djent music, including:

1. 1. Chug: The term “djent” is a nod to the high-gain, low-pitch, palm-muted guitar “chug” of extreme heavy metal and other metal genres. Djent guitarists like Acle Kahney of Tesseract often wield exceptional technicality in playing but boost the gain on their amp or employ guitar processors to reproduce the dissonant djent sound. Sweden’s proto-djent band Meshuggah played eight-string guitars to add crushing layers of chug to their music.
2. 2. Polyrhythm: The use of two contrasting rhythms within the same song, or polyrhythm, is an earmark of djent music. While some African, Latin, and classical music styles also utilize polyrhythms, djent music uses them to lend a groove and beat to their heavy and technically complex sound.
3. 3. Prog metal roots: Djent shares many of the elements that define prog metal. Both subgenres use extended solos, syncopated rhythms, repetitive riffs, unique melody structures, and time signatures. Djent and prog metal also echo various influences, from jazz fusion and ambient sounds to hardcore, thrash, and black metal.

Here are some of the most notable djent bands:

1. 1. After the Burial: The Minneapolis, Minnesota–based prog metal band After the Burial has managed to issue six full-length albums despite incredible upheaval during their 17-year history, including the death of co-founder and rhythm guitarist Justin Lowe and numerous band roster changes.
2. 2. Cloudkicker: Commercial airline pilot Ben Sharp is the sole architect behind the post-metal/prog metal band Cloudkicker. He composes, engineers, and records all the music himself. Though he has professed a dislike for touring, the Ohio-based Ben hit the road with fellow djent band Tesseract in 2014.
3. 3. ERRA: Birmingham, Alabama’s ERRA mixes metalcore and progressive metal with elements of melodic and ambient sounds for their signature sonic attack. They wield considerable influence over the metalcore and prog metal scenes through five albums and frequent touring with other djent groups.
4. 4. Periphery: The Grammy-nominated band Periphery is one of the founding acts of the djent movement, with guitarist Misha Mansoor serving as one of the primary architects of developing the loose tenets of the djent sound. The band has forged connections with other djent groups, including Tesseract, The Safety Fire, and Monuments. They traveled the country with Tesseract and Monument on the League of Extraordinary Djentlemen tour to promote their self-titled debut album in 2014.

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