| New wave of American heavy metal | |
|---|---|
| Other names |
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| Stylistic origins | |
| Cultural origins | Early–mid 1990s, United States |
| Typical instruments | |
| Other topics | |
| New wave of British heavy metal | |
Thenew wave of American heavy metal (also known asNWOAHM andnew wave of American metal) was aheavy metal music movement that originated in theUnited States during the early–mid 1990s[1][2] and expanded most in the early to mid-2000s. Some of the bands considered part of the movement had formed as early as the late 1980s, but did not become influential or reach popular standing until the following decade.[1][2] The term itself borrows from thenew wave of British heavy metal dating to 1979.[2] NWOAHM includes a wide variety of styles, includingalternative metal,groove metal,industrial metal,nu metal andmetalcore. The term was reportedly coined byMark Hunter, vocalist of the American metalcore bandChimaira, in 2001.[3][4]
Although the term is used by the media with increasing frequency, the definition has not been finished completely.[2] This is due in part to the growing addition of bands that assimilate to common styles in NWOAHM (as defined below), yet have not differentiated greatly enough as to garner a new genre moniker.[5] One description by longtime metal author Garry Sharpe-Young helps classify the NWOAHM as a "marriage of European-style riffing and throaty vocals".[5] Several of the bands within the NWOAHM are credited with bringing heavy metal back into the mainstream.[1][6]
The new wave of American heavy metal has its origins in a group ofpost-grunge acts from the 1990s that brought heavy metal "back to its core brutality" and drawing not from the traditionalblues formula but fromthrash metal andpunk.[2] In the bookThe Next Generation of Rock & Punk,Joel McIver acknowledgedKorn as the pioneers of the new wave of American heavy metal, and also credits them as the first band labeled asnu metal.[7] The nu metal genre was popular in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Other roots of NWOAHM are attributed to bands such asPantera,Biohazard, andMachine Head.[8]
The producers behind the 2005 documentaryMetal: A Headbanger's Journey have written of the NWOAHM: "In essence, NWOAHM can embody the seething aggression of the 'hardcore' hormone, but play a type of acrobatic, precise, technical thrash/death metal synthesis regularly touched by the melody of traditional metal, but often just briefly. Vocally, these bands huddle around Pantera-derived roar, leaning toward a death metal bark, but often with 'clean' or 'sung' vocals as ear candy, sometimes from a member of the band who is not the front man."[9] They also referenceUnearth,Shadows Fall, andLamb of God as "leaders of the pack".[9]
In the bookNew Wave of American Heavy Metal, when listing the wave's most popular contributors, Garry Sharpe-Young stated: "...the groups that broke the metal scene into new territory aftergrunge [were]Pantera,Biohazard, andMachine Head. From there it gets really diverse, crossing the spectrum frommelodic death metal toprogressive metal and everything in between."[2] Sharpe-Young described bands such as Pantera, Biohazard and Machine Head asneo-metal, writing that the band Pantera started a new time period of heavy metal that involved both Biohazard and Machine Head.[5] Sharpe-Young lists the broad range of styles in the new wave of American heavy metal movement as ranging from theChristian metalcore scene, the1970s-inspiredprogressive rock ofCoheed and Cambria, melodic death metal, and thescreamo and "sub-Gothique"emocore ofAlkaline Trio andMy Chemical Romance.[2] Beyond this, the genre encompasses a number of different styles includingalternative metal, groove metal, hardcore punk andmetalcore.[2][6][10]
