I’m a metal head. Have been for a few decades now. Given that it has been that many years, one of the aspects of metal that I barely even notice anymore is just how many subgenres there are.

This was brought to the forefront of my mind just yesterday. I was at work, and music was playing. At one point, someone asked me, “What the hell is this music?” It gave me pause for just a moment. I had actually chosen some of my music that I deemed to be the most “accessible” and the least unusual or offensive to the other people in the room with me. In my line of work, often people are asleep. In that case, I listen to whatever I want to. But when people are awake, I strive to be more selective in what I choose to play.

So, it really surprised me that, what I had deemed to be easily accessible and “normal” metal warranted such a question.

Still, I tried to answer and offered that I would consider it “gothic doom.”. That was when another individual in the room offered the observation, “I think there are more genres of metal than there are genres of all other music combined.”

That made me think. Because, honestly, I’m not sure that the truth is too far off from that comment. There are so many subgenres that all fall under the metal umbrella. There are entire, 20+ minute YouTube videos that discuss the different genres of metal. On the surface, that seems insane.

But to me, it just seems natural. It makes sense. Hell, it even seems necessary. Because, of course, just because someone likes Iron Maiden, that does not, at all, mean they are going to like Gorguts or The Melvins. They all fall under the metal umbrella, but they are so different as to not even seem like the same type of music. At least to those of us already in the “know”.

But, again, why is it that way?

Despite all being metal, so many of the subgenres found within the genre have very little in common with each other, other than the fact they use distorted guitars, bass and drums.

And, well, that is all that really sets metal apart from all other genres of music. So it isn’t that odd, is it?

But more than that, it helps to really categorize music. There is a vast gulf between the thrash metal of Slayer, the polished progressive metal of TesseracT, and the slow, ponderous build of Bell Witch’s funeral doom.

Or, take, for example, two of my very favorite bands. From a musical standpoint, there is very little that is the same between the building, dynamic post-metal of Neurosis, and the progressive styling of Fates Warning. In fact, it would almost be impossible to find two albums that, at least on the surface, seem more dissimilar than the epic titan of an album Through Silver In Blood, and its temporal counterpart, the excellent album A Pleasant Shade of Gray.

So, to simply refer to both of these as metal albums doesn’t help the listener. One may be right up their alley, while the other could be something they have little to no interest in.

As I think about it, it really is just a type of shorthand. With a style of music that is so varied and has a truly incredible amount of breadth and depth to it, this shorthand helps to describe the music to someone else who may, or may not, be interested.

I love post-metal. It is one of my favorite types of metal. If you tell me something is post-metal, I am going to give it a chance, no questions asked. However, I am much more selective in my black metal. So I’ll need additional information before I decide to listen to something with that label.

Those labels help. They accelerate the process of understanding and setting expectations for the music. And so, something that initially seems to be a hindrance to someone getting into metal can actually evolve into a strength.

And with just so damn much metal out there, that shorthand is a real lifesaver.