Your way in
Proto-metal 1968
The heavy bands from before the term existed: over-amplified acid rock, already built around the riff.
- Heaviness
- 6
- Speed
- 5
- Melody
- 7
- Where from
- USA / United Kingdom
- Tempo
- 90-140 bpm
- Song length
- 3-7 min
- Written about
- Drugs, Doom and apocalypse, Bikers and the road, The occult, newly fashionable
- Vocals
- Sung
Why this one
| You said | Proto-metal | Match | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| No words at all When someone is singing, what should come out? | clean | 80% | ×3 |
| Slow. Let it take its time. What pace? | 5 out of 10 | 60% | ×2 |
| The beginnings Does it matter when it was made? | 1968 | 100% | ×1 |
| The dark What should the words be about? | Drugs, Doom and apocalypse, Bikers and the road, The occult, newly fashionable | 100% | ×1 |
| Short. Say it and stop. How long should a song be? | up to 7 min | 58% | ×1 |
| Weighted mean | 77% | ||
Ranked over all 150 genres in the encyclopedia, on the 5 answers you gave, weighted vocals 3, pace 2, era 1, about 1, length 1 out of 8. Proto-metal leads the next by 3 points. Where two genres score the same the broader one wins, because a genre with subgenres under it is somewhere to carry on from and a leaf is a full stop.
Five records, in this order
- 1The one to put on first
Budgie, Budgie 1971
Budgie - Breadfan. Metallica covered it, but the original is stranger.
- 2Then
- 3Then
- 4Then
- 5Then
The first is Proto-metal's own entry point. After it come Proto-metal's essential records in the order the encyclopedia lists them. Every one of these has a page here with links out to somewhere it can be played.
If that is not it
-
Deathrock 74%
The American version, more punk and more theatrical, with tribal drums and horror-movie imagery.
On the other branch of the tree entirely, and 7 steps from Proto-metal.
The way into Deathrock -
Surf rock 74%
Instrumental, drenched in tank reverb, with fast tremolo picking. The sound of the Californian coast, later recycled by punk and by Tarantino.
On the other branch of the tree entirely, and 5 steps from Proto-metal.
The way into Surf rock
Not simply the second and third of the ranking: those are almost always near neighbours of the first, which is three names for one suggestion. An alternate has to sit at least 4 steps through the tree from the headline and from the other alternate, which is the same floor the "sounds like this, but isn't" panel uses.
What your answers ruled out
- No words at all put 33 genres at the bottom of that one question, among them Black metal, Death metal, Grindcore. Worth 3 of 8.
- Slow. Let it take its time. put 22 genres at the bottom of that one question, among them Hardcore punk, Black metal, Death metal. Worth 2 of 8.
- The beginnings put 67 genres at the bottom of that one question, among them Folk metal, Metalcore, Nu metal. Worth 1 of 8.
- The dark put 119 genres at the bottom of that one question, among them Punk rock, Hardcore punk, Alternative rock. Worth 1 of 8.
- Short. Say it and stop. put 18 genres at the bottom of that one question, among them Doom metal, Progressive rock, Progressive metal. Worth 1 of 8.
Counted as genres scoring 20% or less on that answer alone. A recommendation that only shows what it chose is hiding half of what it did.