Alternative metal

Alternative metal (also known as alt-metal)^[4] is a genre of heavy metal music that combines heavy metal with influences from alternative rock and other genres not normally associated with metal.^[5][6] Alternative metal bands are often characterized by heavily downtuned, mid-paced guitar riffs, a mixture of accessible melodic vocals and harsh vocals and sometimes sounds that are unconventional within other heavy metal styles.^[5] The term has been in use since the 1980s,^[7] although it came into prominence in the 1990s.^[8]

Other genres considered part of the alternative metal movement included rap metal^[5][9] and funk metal, both of which influenced another prominent subgenre, nu metal. Nu metal expands the alternative metal sound, combining its vocal stylings and downtuned riffs with elements of other genres, such as hip hop, funk, thrash metal, hardcore punk and industrial metal.

Alternative metal began in the 1980s with bands like Faith No More, Living Colour, Soundgarden, and Jane's Addiction. The genre achieved success in the 1990s with the popularity of bands like Helmet, Tool, and Alice in Chains. In the late 1990s and early 2000s, nu metal achieved mainstream popularity with the mainstream success of bands like Korn, Limp Bizkit, P.O.D., Papa Roach, Disturbed, System of a Down, Linkin Park, Slipknot, Deftones and Staind. After 2003, nu metal's popularity began to decline, with many nu metal bands moving on to other genres.