Groove metal

Groove metal (also known as post-thrash or neo-thrash) is a subgenre of heavy metal music. Music journalists and fans have used groove metal to describe Pantera, Exhorder and Machine Head. At its core, groove metal takes the intensity and sonic qualities of thrash metal and plays them at mid-tempo, with most bands making only occasional forays into fast tempo.

Characteristics and origins
Pantera's Cowboys from Hell album from 1990 was described as "groundbreaking" and "blueprint-defining" for the groove metal genre. King's X has been called the progenitors of the genre and their 1988 debut album Out of the Silent Planet is often cited as one of the major influences for groove metal, with dropped open tuning and lower, even tempos. Ian Christe credits Sepultura's Chaos A.D. and Pantera for creating the death metal–derived music of groove metal influencing later groups in the genre during the 1990s. Exhorder's debut Slaughter in the Vatican is also considered one of the first groove metal albums, having been released in 1990, the same year as Cowboys. Groove metal bands have incorporated thrash metal, and crossover thrash. Tommy Victor of Prong claims that the attitude of groove metal came from Bad Brains. Groove metal utilizes downtuned thrash riffs. The rhythm, just like progressive metal, tends to focus more on the rhythmic side of metal; it features primarily many irregular time signatures and atypical but complex stop-start rhythm structures. Vocals are usually either growled, screamed or shouted, rather than sung.

Groups
The style has been associated with bands such as Machine Head, Pantera, Exhorder , White Zombie, Fear Factory, King's X, Lamb of God, Sepultura, Soulfly, Cavalera Conspiracy, Gojira,  Throwdown, Alien Weaponry, Nevermore, Byzantine, late-period Bush-era Anthrax, Spiritual Beggars, Texas Hippie Coalition,  and Five Finger Death Punch. Some bands have gone to some lengths to avoid being labelled a groove metal band. Veteran thrash metal band Annihilator got let go by Roadrunner Records in 1993 when the groove metal trend began being promoted by the label. During the 1990s, the term was occasionally used to describe funk-influenced alternative metal acts such as Primus and Jane's Addiction.

Influence on other genres
Pioneering groove metal bands such as Pantera (originally a glam metal and speed metal band in the 1980s) and Sepultura (originally playing thrash metal and death metal ) laid the foundations for nu metal in the 1990s and some development of metalcore in the 2000s. Nu metal is an alternative metal subgenre which utilizes downtuned riffs, a more hip hop influenced beat accessible to rapping and turntablism and groove metal rhythms, while frequently lacking guitar solos and complex picking. Metalcore emphasizes general heavy metal characteristics as well as breakdowns, which are slower, intense passages that are conducive to moshing.