at a risk of starting an argument, what is the difference between Rock and Metal

[kj]

... to get some interesting discussion going, i want you to tell the people of the UGS what the difference is between Rock and Metal, and indeed if there is a difference in the first place. Examples of each genre would be great too.

[theGoodnightstory-S]

To be honest when it all boils down, metal is rock punk is rock emo is rock and soo on!!. just what i think.

[gord]

i guess everyone has a different opinion. in my eyes all metal is rock but not all rock is metal....

for example, the Foo Fighters are a rock band

and Metallica are a metal band

but you could get away with saying Metallica were a rock band, whereas Foo Fighters are not a metal band

if that makes sense

[kj]

yeah, i kinda see where you are coming from. I definately want to see peoples views and opinions. But what justifies being categoried as either? is it image or the sound of the music that has the most influence?

[gord]

the sound more than anything. expect more elaborate guitar solos in metal, and heavier guitar riffs.

although having said that i wouldn't consider the darkness as metal and their guitar solos are outta this world

[humndislocation]

I would say that metal is a genre defined by complex guitar parts, and good solos. In my opinion, you can hear a bit of a classical influence to real metal. Guitar parts that consist of more than just strumming chords, or at least one guitar strumming chords and the other playing more complex parts. That's why I'd say that Metallica used to be a metal band, but they're just a hard rock band now.

It's also why I'd say that nu-metal is just a media term. The music bears no real relation to metal.

[Becca Bomb]

Also, without a doubt, the image is apparent in 95% of metal bands. For example, you can recognize in most cases that a band is geared towards metal. On the whole though, metal is very heavy guitars and the vocals tend to be rough and deep. You'll rarely hear a mellow song from a metal band.

[graham enzk]

rock has a much higher melting point than metal.
also metals appear in the elemental table but rocks are mixtures of the elements.

[Bobsy]

Rock Music is the 'parent-genre' and then there are 'sub-genres' like punk, metal, alternative etc.... And then in those 'sub-genres' there are more 'sub-genres' and so on. Metal is genrally heavier, faster, more aggresive, and often has more over the top solos and vocals than rock music, plus very rarely do you hear of deep purple singing about concentration camps or big metal monsters. The Darkness's solos are just typical rock if you ask me, listen to bands like rainbow, aerosmith etc... and you'll hear the similarities whereas metal solos are generally faster, longer, and rather than trying to write something that goes with the song they just try show off how fast they can go and how many techniques they can play. Thats my 2 cents, probably wrong but fuck it

[humndislocation]

Originally Posted by Bob AOAS

rather than trying to write something that goes with the song they just try show off how fast they can go and how many techniques they can play.

Depends on the band. Some metal bands do play solos that go very well with the song. At the Gates, Dark Tranquility, Megadeth and Metallica for example. Other bands, like Slayer for example, generally don't write solos that go well with the song.

[Tommy Sports]

rock music is music with a beat which is based around the electric guitar and played by small groups of performers, you cant really define it because it covers such a wide range of styles,
metal is just a subheading for some of the more extreme genres of rock music, (just as punk is a subheading for anti-rock genres of rock music)
there are many styles of metal, classic heavy metal from the late 60s/70s, black metal (which borders on being classical music), death metal, gore metal, thrash metal, etc etc..

[gav]

Originally Posted by punkiconess

the vocals tend to be rough and deep. You'll rarely hear a mellow song from a metal band.

i think thats quite wrong. i doubt you could call manowar or lost horizons vocals rough or deep.

or their lyrics

[humndislocation]

Originally Posted by punkiconess

Also, without a doubt, the image is apparent in 95% of metal bands. For example, you can recognize in most cases that a band is geared towards metal.

You could say that of most genres though in my opinion. At least with alternative genres. 90% of the time you can tell if a band is punk/pop punk/goth/nu-metal/thrash metal/death metal/industrial etc.. just by looking at them.

I can usually tell if a band is shit or not just by the way they look, or the way their album cover looks. There are exceptions to the rule, but I'd say that's generally true.