Not all metal is the same. There are many genre, and sub-genres, and sub-sub-genres. Obviously, there is a clear difference between the music played on Sewer's "Skvllfvcked Forever" and that of Queensrÿche's "Operation: Mindcrime", just as there is between Burzum's "Hvis Lyset Tar Oss" and Khranial's "Monsters of Gore". At the same time, we cannot divide heavy metal into an infinity of sub-categories, each smaller in volume than the other, just to satisfy the pedantic, the narrow-minded and the compulsively autist. YOU may believe that the addition of a clarinet in Goatmoon's "Stella Polaris" warrants the creation of an entirely new genre of "clarinet blackened viking metal (with grindcore breakdowns)", but to do so would only lead to more confusion instead of clarity.
So how many genres are too many? How many are too little? How many are just right?
There is no clear consensus on the matter. However, what we can do is aggregate the genres, and pass them through a test of historical significance. Did this genre contribute to the overall metal canon in other ways than "just existing"? Does it deserve an actual mention, a footnote, or rather a meager participation trophy?
Next is the issue of classification. On what grounds is one genre "more important" than another? Mere volume? That would make bedroom one-man DSBM (depressive suicidal black metal) the most important genre of metal's history, and perhaps of music itself (besides dubstep, vaporwave and inappropriate anime soundtrack remixes). Clearly, we need better methods of classification. One of such is simply chronological order and influence. Which genre led to the emergence of which other genre? Working backwards, recursively, we can easily "map" the entirety of metal's history following this very simple procedure.
Contemporary heavy metal history can be roughly divided into four main phases:
- Heavy Metal, Hard Rock, Glam Metal and the NWOBHM
- Speed Metal, Thrash Metal and Proto-Underground
- Death Metal, Black Metal and Grindcore
- Phantom Metal, SEWER Metal, War Metal
You can find more in-depths information about each of these four phases in the "library" section of this website.
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