Extreme Instrumentation: Bands That are Changing The Sound of Extreme metal
When it comes to metal music, you have the core staples of instruments. Drums, one or two guitars, and bass. Maybe keyboards depending on the genre of music you are making. The genre really doesn’t stray too far from the formula that got it to where it is today. But it’s not the rule of metal, so to speak. Many bands break the standard by only have a guitar and drums (Pig Destroyer comes to mind), or Sunn O))) with just guitars. Some even go further than that and add elements that we wouldn’t normally think of. Instruments that make us think “How can THAT be metal?”. Well, I am gonna look at a couple bands that push the envelope of what makes metal the unique and eclectic genre it is. Bringing different cultures, history, creativity and individuality into their sound.
The first popular act that truly took classical instruments and made them sound heavy was symphonic metal act Apocalyptica. Starting out as a Metallica cello tribute act, the band began to record new original material, along with covers from bands like Sepultura, Pantera and Faith No More on their second album Inquisition Symphony in 1998. The band’s third album Cult showed a full album of original compositions. With the heaviness and bass ringing of the cello, it added a unique heavy thud that somehow makes metal and classical music work so well. The band rose to popularity and prominence with 2007’s Worlds Collide. The album still featured original material, but featured guest vocalists from Corey Taylor of Slipknot, Dave Lombardo of Slayer, and Till Lindemann of Rammstein on the band’s cover of David Bowie’s “Heroes”.
The Hu is a Mongolian folk metal act formed in 2016. Blending the band’s heritage of instrumentation with the use of a morin khuur, a toyshuur and the iconic sound of throat singing. The band’s folk heavy sound began to gain the attention of the metal world. With the throat singing adding a bass heavy thud to the string sounding instrumentation and driving drums on the band’s lead single "Yuve Yuve Yu". Releasing their debut album The Gereg in 2019. The album would become a huge success, with singers Jacoby Shaddix of Papa Roach and Lzzy Hale of Halestorm doing guest vocals on the deluxe edition of the album. The band would follow that album up three years later with Rumble of Thunder, which Metal Hammer dubbed the album the 15th most anticipated metal release of that year.
A project that pushed the experimentation of black metal is the band Botanist. The project’s lyrical message of nature and ecology conveys a message in the band’s complex and perplexing delivery. In that the band plays black metal without any guitars. The band uses dulcimers and hammered dulcimers to simulate or mimic the sound of the guitars. Entrancing the listener into an almost pagan, ritualistic eco-spin on black metal that fits the nature vibe of the band itself. It creates a defining sound that not only reflects the band’s live show and imagery, but helps them grow and develop in sound. Rooting the band with a complex writing style. Conveying dynamic instrumentation, creativity, inspiration and writing thanks to the addition of dulcimers.
Another act is atmospheric black metal act Sear Bliss out of Hungary. Since their 2001 album Grand Destiny, the band has incorporated a trombone into their take on the evil and melancholic nature of black metal. With the trombone, it adds a huge, anthemic and religious tambour to the band’s driving black metal sound. Almost adding a classical or symphonic, sometimes folk-like element to the band’s sound. Helping them standout with very few bands using a brass instrument in the extreme metal genre.
A breakout act in recent years, Indian heavy metal act Bloodywood blew up with the band’s breakout single “Gaddaar” in 2021. Taking the band’s roots in Indian culture, from the instrumentation of dynamic percussion to Bollywood-like production and melody, combined with the band’s fusion of nu metal and folk metal. Creating a completely original sound that defines the band and showcases the band’s inspiration to not only take inspiration from heavy metal’s roots, but bring their influence and cultural origins with them to create not only a heavy as all hell sound, but adds pop and dance like elements to their music.
Folk metal is a eclectic genre that captures the heritage of the culture they write about from either their homeland and heritage. Many bands like Finntroll and Korpiklaani include accordions in their sound, along with wind instruments like flutes, to capture that bar/drinking sing-along feel to their music. Swiss folk metal act Eluveitie add a hurdy-gurdy to their sound. Similar in sound to an accordion but more complex, it adds a recognizable depth to the band’s folk metal sound. Especially seeing it live since it is not only a rare instrument to see played live, let alone in a metal band. The instrument, played by the band’s vocalist Anna Murphy, can be heard prominently on the band’s third album Evocation I: The Arcane Dominion. As the album truly dives into a heavy, old-world like sound with a heavy message of folk and Baroque-era instrumentation and sound on that record. Due to the addition of acoustic instruments and reliance on folk-popular instruments like fiddle, Scottish highland pipe, mandolin and of course hurdy-gurdy.
The last project I’ll be talking about today is industrial metal act Author & Punisher. The project of Tristan Shone, the instrumentation of the project is done solely by Shone. In a 2018 piece done by Noisey, he broke down how he makes his own instruments and using his mechanical engineer background to design the instruments to deliver his punishingly heavy drone, industrial and metal elements with the project. After appearing on Phil Anselmo’s label Housecore Records, he officially signed with Relapse Records, releasing his sixth album Beastland. Intense, heavy, pounding and unrelenting, Author & Punisher is a beast of a project that hits like a ton of bricks live or on record. His most recent record, 2022’s Krüller, features guest appearances by members of Tool and received positive reviews from critics.
Diverse instrumentation can truly help enhance almost any style of music. From incorporating it from a band or artist’s culture like Sepultura did with the Roots album, to making a band stand out from their peers like Botanist. The creativity of using these unique and diverse instruments also helps people who play these instruments know that they can bring that knowledge of that instrument into music of any kind, even the extreme metal kind. In the almost fifty years that metal itself has existed, and this is the kind of unique sounds we get in metal today, I will be fascinated to see musically where we go from here. Will we get more instruments from cultures we aren’t even aware of? Will there be new spins on classic instruments we already have? Could new inventions to make music be created in the next few years or decades with the way technology advances? Only time will tell, but I know I will be curious to hear it.
